PENETRATE (The Portals of Time Book 1) by Jackie Ivie Read Free Book Online Page B

Blinked. Focused. Scanned the incredible vista before him again. And then he experienced a sudden flash of something emotional through his chest. It held a hint of sadness. Even to him.
    That was odd.
    “Oh. Yes. Of course.”
    He turned Thundercloud’s head forward, nudged the horse with his knees, and was rewarded with the horse’s immediate movement. He’d been apprehensive without reason. Riding a horse wasn’t all that difficult. Just took a little practice.
    Like riding a bike.
    Yeah. Right, Neal.
    His lips twisted at his foolishness. This didn’t remotely resemble being atop any of his bikes. There could be several reasons why he wasn’t having trouble with Thundercloud at the moment, none of them based on Neal’s proficiency. The horse was probably tired. Hungry. Or he could just be biding time...waiting for the opportune moment to unseat Neal again.
    The wall on the left rose higher as they progressed. The right side matched it, lifting upward to twenty feet. Twenty-five. Thirty. Thirty-five. Neal was approximating, but he didn’t think he was far off. It looked close to the size of a four story structure. If the sun was at its apex, the area was probably fully illuminated. Right now, the base of the passageway was beset with a lengthy shadow that swallowed them up. He was surrounded on both sides by what would be solid black rock, except for darker slits in the stone every twelve feet or so. They were at varying levels through the wall. Neal didn’t have to ask the purpose of this construction. It had been part of his summer of castle education. The slits were for archers. If he looked higher up, he’d probably spot openings called murder holes, used for raining boiling liquids down on intruders. Castles were defensive structures, and this passageway was one hell of an obstacle for an attacker.
    It was a massive display of power.
    Might.
    Authority.
    Despite everything, goosebumps lifted on his skin. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but this approach made his heart pound quicker. He might as well be entering the maw of a large black tunnel. Each breath came with a heavy sensation. The only thing that muted the effect was the width of the space. He’d gauge it at twenty feet wide, never narrower. The ground changed to what looked like cobblestone. Sounded like it, too, if the impression of hammers hitting on rock as shod horse hooves traversed it was an indicator. Neal couldn’t see much at the moment, either. There was a distinct curve coming up, leading to the left.
    The walls finally met high above his head, the mass of black stonework rising to form a Romanesque arch. This one had a woven-leather and iron-studded gate hanging down from it. Wow. He was looking over a portcullis. He’d seen ancient ones, while touring castles. Never like this. They hadn’t looked this nasty. The spikes were lifted just high enough a rider atop a horse could get beneath it. Neal ducked his head even though he had several inches leeway.
    And if he wasn’t already slack-jawed, that would have happened as the castle came into sight.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
    CHAPTER SIX
     
    Coffee.
    That item went to the top of Neal’s mental list of investments. Steel, transportation, and men’s fashion took a backseat to coffee beans. Someone needed to make sure coffee beans were picked at the peak of ripeness. Slow-roasted. Ground evenly. Settled in a filtered well, so steamed water could be passed through them. None of which had been done to his pot of coffee before it got delivered. He was investing in a coffee plantation somewhere in South America and giving the instructions at his first opportunity. The world needed a decent cup of java, ASAP.
    That took care of his first fortune.
    Neal took one taste of the liquid in his cup and nearly spit it back out. It was a chore to swallow. For the first time in his life, he added sugar and copious amounts of cream. He made a face