BEYOND THE LOOKING-GLASS: Book One in the BEYOND Series by Gordon Rothwell Read Free Book Online Page A

another life?”
    “No, sir. Did you?”
    “Once. Years ago when I was a boy. My grandmother read me a story about a sailing ship seeking an island of treasure. I loved it. And I dreamed about becoming a pirate when I grew up.”
    Nikki laughed gently. “A pirate. Honestly, sir. That’s hilarious.”
    He groaned. “It’s true. And no laughing matter. Now you have my permission to go to sleep, Agent Rosetti.”
     
    ~*~

TEN
     
    Kellen was rudely awakened from a deep sleep inside his thatched Sherwood Forest hut. There was a blood-curdling scream that seemed to echo through the trees.
    Kellen dashed outside.
    Aleeta!
    He saw his ex-wife being dragged across the clearing grass by her hair. A scowling, muscular brown-skinned man dressed only in a breechclout and knee-high leather moccasins was towering over Aleeta’s shivering body. The Indian was holding a gleaming hatchet high above his head ready to deliver a death blow.
    Kellen dove through the air.
    He tackled the Indian and both men fell to the turf with a thud. Aleeta tore herself free from her tormentor’s grip and scrambled away to safety.
    Kellen clung to the powerful Indian, trying to keep his adversary from burying his razor-sharp hatchet deep inside his skull. But the Indian was far too strong. He broke free from Kellen’s sweaty grasp, and raised one sinewy arm and swiped with his hatchet. Kellen ducked, but the sharp blade nicked the top of his ear.
    The pain was excruciating. His own blood splashed into his eyes. In a rage, he lashed out with both feet and connected with the Indian’s groin. The brawny savage fell backward, sprawling awkwardly on the clearing grass.
    Kellen wiped away a gush of crimson from his eyes. He stood up defiantly, facing his enemy. The Indian pounced back up on his feet and crouched forward, tossing his deadly hatchet back and forth from hand to hand. He could hear the brave sucking in air with deep gulps, as he prepared to attack again.
    With a screaming war whoop, the Indian lunged with hatchet held high. The Indian’s rush toppled Kellen over onto his back. In a split second, the savage was astride his foe. Kellen could see the brave’s eyes were crazed and filled with hatred. The man’s angry face was contorted into a grotesque mask, as he prepared to deliver a final death blow.
    Kellen closed his blood-splattered eyes, expecting to feel the sharp edge of the hatchet pierce his flesh the next instant.
    But it didn’t come.
    A loud shot rang out, echoing across the clearing.
    He opened his eyes. The Indian had fallen off of him and was holding his injured wrist. The deadly hatchet lay just a few feet away.
    The Indian dove for the hatchet. But he was too late. Aleeta stood there with her foot on it, preventing him from recovering it.
    Aleeta leaned down and took the hatchet in her right hand. She moved like a stalking jungle cat toward the injured Indian. Kellen could see his ex-wife was boiling mad. And that did not bode well for this Indian.
    “How dare you,” Aleeta growled. “I’ll show you that it doesn’t pay to go around terrorizing innocent women. If there’s any chopping to be done this day, I’ll be doing it.” Aleeta was just about to send her Indian attacker to his Happy Hunting Grounds when a harsh voice called out.
    “Hold on there, Ma’am. There’s to be no killing in Sherwood this day. By order of the king. And I mean to abide by his rules. And that goes for you, too, Magua. You sneaky, back-stabbing son-of-a-bitch.”
    The speaker stepped out of the shadows of the trees at the edge of the clearing. He was a tall, bearded man dressed in animal skins and a raccoon cap. He carried a long rifle that was still smoking and had a hatchet of his own tucked into his waistband. He was accompanied by two powerfully-built Indians. But these men looked different somehow from the crazed one nursing his wound.
    “You stay out of this, Hawkeye,” Kellen’s attacker muttered. “This is not your affair.