Free BEYOND THE LOOKING-GLASS: Book One in the BEYOND Series by Gordon Rothwell

to save his butt from that stinking mud hole!”
    “That’s all in the past, Kel. And I never loved him. I just couldn’t let him die. Not like that.”
    Kellen stared into his wife’s tormented eyes for several moments before he replied.
    “Okay, okay. I believe you. I’m sorry for what I put you through. If I could, Allie, I’d wash it all away. But we have to keep moving. GET UP! ON YOUR FEET!”
    He grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. “Stand up and fight, woman! Show me what you’re made of. Get mad, damn it! I know you can do it. ”
    He slapped her full in the face with his open hand. Her head jerked back and she was stunned for an instant. She jumped to her feet. “How dare you,” she said in a voice dripping with venom. “I’m going to kill you for that, you sonovabitch!”
    Kellen laughed and backed away. Aleeta moved toward him with clenched fists. And murder in her eyes.
    “That’s it,” he encouraged. “Come on. Get angry. Let me have it.”
    She rushed at Kellen and he fell backward into the mud. She punched him, hard, in the jaw. His senses reeled, and he gawked at the wild woman who was about to demolish him, and at the blue sky right above her head.
    “Hey, stop. I surrender. Look up. Do you see what I see?”
    Aleeta turned her head to see what he was staring at.
    Several seagulls were wheeling and diving overhead. Kellen jumped to his feet and hugged her. She wasn’t in the mood for hugging. But at least she hadn’t committed homicide in the marsh.
    “Don’t you see, Allie?” he said. “Gulls. That means water close by.” He took a deep breath. “Smell that? Aaaah…salt air. We’ve got to be near the sea. Our kids used to love the ocean. Remember those outings we took to the beach? Come on. Let’s go find them.”
    The two of them quickly beat a path through the tall marsh grass. The thick blades thinned out and they found themselves standing before a shimmering white beach. The bright sun shone down upon a peaceful blue lagoon beyond.
    They staggered out onto a deserted white beach. A pleasant breeze wafted over them, as they stripped off outer garments and plunged into the welcoming water.
    Aleeta cried out. “Look, Kel. A ship’s moored in the lagoon. See?”
    He shaded his eyes. “She’s a beauty. A real sea-going schooner.”
    “I can’t make out its name from here. Can you?”
    “I think so.” He squinted and strained his eyes. “I think it says The Hispaniola.”
    “Oh, Kel. Wasn’t that the---“
    “Yeah….it’s probably getting ready to set sail for the Island of Treasure.”
    He suddenly spied a longboat approaching the vessel. Even from where he was standing, he could recognize the two familiar figures sitting at the bow of the longboat.
    It was Tress and Jace.
    “Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum,” chorused a crew of raucous voices from the deck of the sailing ship.
    Aleeta waded up to stand beside him. “Are those our kids in the longboat?”
    He didn’t answer. He just nodded.
    “Oh, Kel! Our children in the hands of Long John Silver and his pirates. We have to save them.”
    He ran his hand through his hair. “Let me think. It should be dark soon. Maybe by then we can come up with a plan.”
     
    ~*~
     
    They made a small bonfire and dried out their wet clothing. Once it was dark, they doused the fire, and they crept along the sandy beach. Yellow lanterns glowed through small portals in the hull of the anchored schooner.
    In the dim light, Kellen spotted a beached dinghy resting on the sand. He guessed a few crewmen from The Hispaniola had left it there while they foraged for fresh meat in the nearby jungle.
    They moved silently toward the small beached boat. The slick sand under their bare feet was freezing cold. Aleeta climbed aboard and readied the oars. Kellen rolled up his pants-legs and pushed the craft out into the lagoon. He waded alongside, as the water churned above his knees. He hopped in, took over, and shifted the