Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
“How does it work?” I asked, as she wound it around my wrist.
“Just push back the hour hand to reset the time to when you wish it to be,” she explained. “Then you’ll go back to that time. But I’m afraid it can’t go further back than three hours,” she added. “I use it when I have a lot of patients and I’m running late. That way I can see everyone at their appointed time and no one is inconvenienced.”
I couldn’t help wishing that doctors in the “Human Realm” as they called it had access to that kind of equipment.
“But if I turn back time, does that mean I’ll forget everything that happened here in, er, Hidden Hollow?” I asked uncertainly.
As bizarre as this experience was, I wanted to remember it, I realized. Literally running into Tark and meeting Madam Healer and the strange but fascinating magical chemistry lesson—all of it was something I never wanted to forget. It was weird but amazing—I wanted to think it over later when I finally got home and slipped into bed.
“That’s an excellent question, my dear,” Madam Healer said approvingly. “But since you apparently have magic in your blood, no, I do not believe you will forget our encounter.”
“Magic in my blood?” I frowned. “No, you must be mistaken. I don’t have any magic at all.” If I had, I was thinking, my life would probably have been a whole lot happier and a hell of a lot easier.
“Ah, but you must,” Madam Healer said earnestly. “Otherwise Hidden Hollow would never have called to you and the magical bubble that surrounds the town would not have parted to allow you entrance.”
“Magical bubble?” I asked, frowning. But just as Madam Healer was opening her mouth to answer, there was a tinkling sound from the front room.
“Ah—I’m afraid I have another patient,” she said. “But I would greatly like to talk to you again, my dear…er, what is your name?”
“Oh—Harmony. I’m Harmony,” I said.
“Harmony. I believe your magic may lie in the same vein as my own,” she said. “Come talk to me later and we can discuss it.” She looked up at Tark. “You will watch over her for at least an hour?”
“Of course.” He nodded. “I’ll bring her right back if there’s a problem.”
“Do that.” She nodded at me again and then slithered out of the room, leaving me still cradled in the massive Orc’s arms.
3
HARMONY
Tark took me to his house—which was only two houses over from Madam Healer’s office, just off Main Street—and put me down at last, carefully on his enormous couch.
“How do you feel?” he asked anxiously, sitting down beside me.
“Um…okay, I guess.” I touched my forehead again. The lump was completely gone by now and I doubted I was going to have any kind of reaction. I knew, at least with human medications, that if there’s going to be a bad reaction, it will normally happen right away. So it was probably safe for me to go home now.
But I didn’t want to.
There was something about the big Orc sitting beside me—something I liked and trusted. I didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet.
Meanwhile, Tark was making himself more comfortable.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take this fucking thing off,” he rumbled and rose to remove the elaborately carved silver plate that covered his broad chest.
When it came off, I had to bite back a gasp. It was molded, like a lot of armor is, to show defined pecs and abs, but I didn’t know what might be under it. But from what I could see through the thin white T-shirt he was wearing, it looked like his chest was even better defined than the armor that had been covering it. He was pure muscle—and completely mouthwatering in an extra-extra-extra large way.
“Sorry—I was getting kind of sweaty,” he apologized and plucked at the t
T-shirt with a grimace.
“Er, you can take it off—if you want. The shirt, I mean,” I added quickly. “I won’t be offended.”
“Oh, if you don’t mind,” he rumbled and proceeded to peel the thin white shirt up and off.
I tried not to stare—I really did. But it was really hard not to. He looked like a Greek god—if Greek gods were green, that was. I noticed with interest that the flat disks of his nipples were a darker green than his skin and that he didn’t have any chest hair. He did, however, have a narrow line of black hair that led from his navel down into the waistband of his brown leather trousers.
“I’d better get something else to wear,” he said and started for the back of the house, which I hadn’t seen yet. Then he stopped. “Or maybe I’d better not. What if you have a reaction while I’m gone?”
“You can just stay here—I don’t mind if you’re shirtless,” I said, which was possibly the biggest understatement I’d ever been guilty of. I was enjoying the sight of his bare chest and broad shoulders way more than I should have—especially since he was basically a stranger.