Free Believe by Victoria Alexander Page A

her.
    “Tessa?”
    Her vision blurred and the world swirled as if she was caught in a real-life special effect. Nausea gripped her. Galahad faded to a shadow and the vibrant colors of his world melted together to subtle browns and grays and all the dusty hues of the library stacks. Tessa stumbled forward and smacked her hip on the corner of the table, her reference books still arranged neatly in the center. She reached out and her hand flattened on the solid, oak surface. She was back!
    Without warning, her hand pushed through the table. The library vanished. Galahad stood before her. She fell into his arms.
    “My lady!”
    A weariness so intense it was impossible to fight gripped her. She sank toward oblivion. Was this itthen? Was her coma ending in death? Or was this the end of nothing more than a bizarre dream? Would she wake back in her own world? Or stay in his?
    No! She struggled to keep her eyes open. Her voice was barely a whisper. “I won’t give up. I can’t. I’m going to Greece in three weeks…”
    Lethargy overcame her and swamped her senses. Darkness surrounded her, sucking her deeper into an endless void. She slipped into unconsciousness, her last thought oddly practical and far from the man who held her in his arms or the legend who trapped her in its mists.
    Her tickets were nonrefundable.

Chapter Five
    “I simply cannot believe you have dragged me back here again along with another unsuspecting victim!” Viviane pulled her brows together and cast him her most venomous glare. “This Tessa of yours is right, you know. This era is rather disgusting.”
    “You tried to send her back,” Merlin said, an accusing tone in his voice.
    “Of course I tried to send her back. I want to go back. She doesn’t belong here and neither do I.”
    “This is where it all started, my dear.” Merlin glanced around the cavern chamber furnished with all the paraphernalia needed for a wizard’s art and life. “I must say, I miss it.”
    “Nonsense. You can’t mean that.” Viviane waved a disgusted hand. “It’s a cave, Merlin. A nasty, cold, drafty, damp cave. It’s far too deep beneath the castle for even a hint of sunlight and I hate it.”
    “It has a certain amount of charm,” Merlin said defensively.
    “It has a certain amount of mold,” Viviane snapped.
    “It’s part of my persona.” Merlin’s voice had thatlofty, superior tone that even after centuries of cohabitation had not lost its ability to set her teeth on edge.
    “I suppose it’s also part of your persona to dress like an illustration in a children’s book? I have always hated you in that costume.”
    “Very well.” His blue silk robes shimmered and blurred and snapped, replaced by a pair of gray flannel pants and black mock-turtleneck sweater.
    Cashmere, she noted approvingly. Very nice.
    “Is this better?”
    “Much, thank you.” At least he’d had the decency to leave her own clothing alone. She did so prefer her modern wardrobe of sophisticated, flowing tunics and pants, chic little designer suits and abundant sequins to just about anything that could be had in this horrible time period.
    “I’ve always rather liked my robes. They suit me. They say wizard .”
    “They say ridiculous .”
    “Besides, that’s what people expect of me.”
    “Not anymore. The world and its people have progressed far beyond needing magicians that live in caves surrounded by the bits and pieces of spells and magic and enchantment.”
    Merlin sighed. “Pity.”
    Viviane bit back a sharp response. She should know better than to go head to head with the man. It had never worked before and was obviously not about to work now. Mentally, she counted to ten and struggled to adopt a more conciliatory attitude.
    “Merlin, my love, I simply do not understand why you have thrust us, and that woman, back to Arthur’s court.”
    “I told you, Viviane. I am fed up with the modern world believing that we, that all of this, never