Teaser Tuesday

It was recently brought to my attention that nowhere - not blog, not website - do I have an excerpts from The Witch's Eye. Whoops. Guess it's time to remedy that. No set up. Enjoy (because it's the only teaser for this novel you'll get!)

She couldn’t see the top of the rock formation, but after thirty seconds or so, she could hear Jamie climbing up the other side. There was silence; he was trying to figure out where she’d gone.

"Bollix," Jamie muttered from the rocks. She saw his feet swing over the side, just inches from her nose, as he lowered himself to the beach and then took off across the wet sand in a slow trot.

Shay pried herself from the crevice. "Why the hell are you following me?"

Jamie swung around and sighed with relief. "Jaysus, Mary and Joseph," he said, jogging back to her. "What are you doing back there?"

Shay held her hands up in front of her. "Stop. Don’t come any closer."

He froze in his sandy tracks. "What’s wrong?"

"Why the hell are you following me?"

"I don’t know what you’re--"

"Don’t give me that crap. You were outside Whitethorn Cottage. You were on the road by Mrs. Brendan’s. What’s your problem?"

"What happened at Whitethorn?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "That’s not the point."

He took a step closer. "But something happened, didn’t it? I knew it."

The wind gusted from the west again, stronger this time, roaring through the cove. Jamie looked alarmed. "Look, we should get off the beach."

"I’m not going anywhere with you." Shay trudged past him through the wet sand in the direction of the ruined church. Another blast of wind made her stagger.

Jamie came up next to her. "We really should get off the beach."

"Um, no."

He grabbed her arm. "Now."

Shay whirled on him. "What am I, crazy? Why would I go anywhere with you? Whenever you’re around weird shit happens. Maniac drivers, invisible birds flying through windows, rocks falling from the sky."

"Rocks?"

"Yeah, rocks falling from the goddamn sky."

"Gruagach," Jamie said more to himself than to Shay.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"So what’s next? Tidal wave? Earthquake? Dragons?"

Jamie forced a chuckle. "Ha, dragons." His eyes darted from side to side. "Don’t be silly."

"So excuse me if I’m not all gung ho to follow your lead. Either you’re trying to kill me or you’re my personal bad luck charm."

"I’m not trying to kill you."

"Oh, that’s comforting. So something is trying to kill me?"

"I didn’t say that."

"Well, whatever. I’m better off on my own."

Jamie opened his mouth to respond when a massive blast from the west sent both of them sprawling onto the sand. Shay had never felt a wind like that, not even on the night of her arrival. It seemed concentrated only on their strip of beach and directed like there was substance in its force, and intelligence in its assault. She shielded her face with her arm at the bombardment of a million grains of sand, and her ears crackled and popped from the pressure.

The wind subsided as quickly as it came; Shay sat up, pulled out her ponytail holder and shook loose sand from her hair. Beyond the cove, the setting sun just kissed the horizon extending wrinkled blood red fingers out across the metallic sea. Then she heard it, the wailing cry. It was faint this time, far away and carried on the wind, but it was the same high-pitched, dying cat shriek she’d heard twice before.

"That can't be good," she said under her breath.