A Portal for Your Thoughts Read online

  “Told you it was hot.”

  Lissa’s eyes watered as she hastily gulped the hot liquid down.

  “Next time I’ll believe you.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I will be. Goatweed is an excellent fever reducer. I should be fine by morning.”

  “How do you know so much about medicine and herbs?”

  “It’s what I want to study,” Lissa told him. She lowered herself to the ground and leaned back against the log. “What are you two doing here? Where are we? Are we near Capily?”

  “You already know who I am,” Steve told her. He pointed at Cecil. “That’s Cecil. He’s a friend of mine from my world.”

  “Are you on an important mission for the king?”

  Steve thought a moment.

  “Kinda. Right now we’re waiting for Sarah to arrive so she can take us back to my world. Now that you’re here, you’ll have to come with us.”

  Lissa blinked her eyes a few times as she stared at him.

  “Why would I want to go back to your world? I’d rather stay here, provided you could help me get back home. I know Lady Sarah has been there before. Could she drop me off?”

  Cecil eyed Steve. “She doesn’t know.”

  Steve shook his head. “No, she doesn’t.”

  Lissa warily eyed the two men. “What? What don’t I know?”

  “You’re right,” Steve began as he sank down next to Lissa on the ground, prompting Cecil to follow suit. “This is Lentari, but not the Lentari you’re familiar with.”

  “What does that mean?” Lissa asked, confused.

  “Clearly you fell through that portal, right?”

  Lissa slowly nodded.

  “Well, I hate to tell you this, but that damn portal has dropped us in the past.”

  “The past?” Lissa repeated, frowning. “How far into the past?”

  “Over a hundred and twenty years.”

  “What? But… but my father will be worried about me!”

  “Honey, your father hasn’t been born yet.”

  Lissa’s eyes widened.

  “So you’re waiting here for Lady Sarah to take you back to our time? Can she take me with her? I don’t want to stay here.”

  Steve glanced helplessly over at Cecil, who returned his frank stare. Comforting a young teenage girl in distress was way above and beyond the two of them. Steve noticed that Lissa was openly crying. She turned her tear streaked face to his and grasped his hand.

  “You will take me with you, won’t you?”

  Steve nodded. “Yes, we will. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of you, too. You’re the girl that disappeared from Capily which prompted a visit from the king and queen.”

  Lissa’s crying was abruptly shut off. She stared at Steve in shock.

  “The Kri’yans came to Capily because of me? I only went searching for herbs yesterday.”

  “I think you’ll find that you actually disappeared about four days ago.”

  Lissa shook her head, sending her brown tresses tumbling about.

  “No, it was just yesterday.”

  “I keep forgetting this portal messes with time. Sarah fell through and I went in immediately after she did. She arrived six months before I did.”

  “Why aren’t you with her now?” Lissa wanted to know.

  “We had to split up. I had to come here for a few days and am now waiting here for her to take us back.”

  Lissa looked up at the thousands of stars twinkling down upon them. Then she turned to look back at their rudimentary campsite.

  “She’s late,” Steve confirmed, answering Lissa’s question before it was asked. “I don’t know what’s happened to her. She should have been here by now.”

  “What happens if –”

  “No, no more ‘what ifs’. Let’s give her some time. She could be running late. For now, we stay here for the night. I’ll stand guard. You and Cecil should get some rest. I’ll make sure you two stay plenty warm through the night.”

  “You cannot be expected to stay awake the entire night!” Cecil protested. “The least I can do is stand guard a few hours. If anything happens I can alert you. Fair’s fair.”

  “Fine. I’ll wake you in a couple of hours. Get some sleep.”

  ****

  Dawn arrived without preamble. The sun was just peaking over the eastern horizon when their campsite finally stirred. Cecil yawned, stretched, and sat up. Lissa, looking much more refreshed than she did the previous night, sat up and smiled shyly at Cecil. Then her brow furrowed as she frowned at him.

  “Weren’t you supposed to be standing guard?”

  Cecil, in mid stretch, froze.

  “He never woke me. Where’s Steve?”

  They searched the campsite but could find no traces of the fire thrower anywhere.

  “Steve!” Cecil called as loudly as he could. “Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

  Lissa tried. “Sir Steve! Where are you?”

  “Sir Steve?” Cecil repeated, puzzled. “Why did you add a ‘sir’ to the front of his name?”

  “Because that’s what he’s called in my time,” Lissa informed him. “He and Lady Sarah were Kre’Mikal’s bodyguards. Did you know they defeated the evil sorceress Celestia in a magnificent battle? There were trolls, therons, and malwerns, too. I wish I could have seen it.”

  “I’ll let you tell me all about it later,” Cecil promised. “In the meantime let’s find Steve.”

  They headed towards the lake when they saw movement in their peripheral vision. It was Steve, but he was pacing. He had paced so much, for so long, that he had created a path through the grass and had worn it down to bare dirt and rock.

  Lissa looked up at Cecil. “Is he alright?”

  “I don’t know. Steve? Can you hear me?”

  Steve lifted his bloodshot eyes and stared at Cecil.

  “Sarah didn’t come. Something has happened to her.”

  “What do we do now?” Cecil asked in a quavering voice. “How do we get home?”

  Steve turned to look at his two companions. He dropped his hands to his sides.

  “I honestly have no idea.”

  TO BE CONCLUDED IN

  THOUGHTS FOR A PORTAL – coming late April, 2015!

  Author’s Note

  Okay. Don’t hate me. I know that this is the first ever cliffhanger I’ve ever done and it certainly wasn’t planned that way. I could have, as my wife pointed out after she read the story, have probably condensed the full story into something that could be released as one title. However, the story wouldn’t have flowed as well as I would have wanted and I would have had to cut out parts that I wanted to share. So there you have it. My first cliffhanger.

  Now, before you really start cursing my name let me tell you that the sequel is already done. Yep, you heard that right. I have the cover done, the writing is finished, and at the moment of this writing I am getting ready to give it to the beta readers. I will say that is one advantage to taking so long to release a title. Who do you have to thank for that? My wife. She finished reading, looked straight at me, and said, “Your fans are gonna KILL you. You’d better start writing the sequel. Like now.”

  With her insistence, and her constant reminders, I wrote the sequel in a record time. I’m making it available as a pre-order, officially releasing at the end of the month (April, 2015) so that I can officially say that I released two books in the same month.

  Did you enjoy the story? Hate it? I always encourage my readers at the end of each book to leave a review wherever they bought the book. I’m an indie author. A glowing review works wonders for me. If I ever want to try and include the story in an advertising bundle or marketing strategy then many companies look for a high rating. If you can, I would greatly appreciate it. If you absolutely hated the book I have no qualms about anyone being honest and letting others know what they didn’t like about it. You won’t ever hurt my feelings so I ask you to be honest.

  Fun things
are in store for Lentari. As you may have noticed I have left Steve and Cecil in quite a pickle. And let’s not forget Sarah. She’s been kidnapped and is now being held against her will. How is she going to escape? Who will help her? Does Sheriff Bixby actually win in the end?

  I hope you’re intrigued enough to find out. The promising thing is that you won’t have to wait long. I promise.

  Are you looking for something else to read while you’re waiting for the next Tales of Lentari book to be released? In the past I have included some recommendations in the back of the books for other titles you may be interested in. Oftentimes I’ve been asked what are some of my favorite self-published books? Well, dear reader, wonder no more. Here are some of my favorites. If you haven’t checked them out before I strongly encourage you to do so.

  The Blue Moon Detectives Agency series by JH Sked

  Hemlock and the Wizard’s Tower by B Throwsnaill

  Dragon Blade by J.D. Hallowell

  Klondaeg the Monster Killer by Steve Thomas

  The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker

  They, just like myself, are all indie authors and would love to get their books into the hands of some new readers. I’ve read all of them and enjoyed every single one of ‘em.

  I wanted to take the time to thank you, the reader, for picking up a copy of this ebook. These books only exist because of dedicated readers like yourself. So from the bottom of my heart I will give you my thanks. Thank you for reading.

  Want to be sure you don’t miss another book release? Sign up for my newsletter. The Daily Scroll is the only official source of Lentarian news. You’ll never miss another contest, or giveaway, or book release ever again! Sign up is on www.Lentari.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow me online through Facebook (www.fb.com/BakkianChronicles). You’ll never know when I’ll ask for some name suggestions, or ask an opinion about weapons, monsters, etc.

  I hope to see you online!

  J.

  P.S. Read on to see a list of fan submissions!

  Fan Submissions

  Where would I be without the help of my fans? I owe you guys a lot! I asked for help naming some characters. Here’s what was used!

  Erik Munson – Leanna, Bertol, Torya, Eslac

  Toni Trick – Tessler

  April Enos – Graylan, Ruskin, Quinn

  Gunnar Kristjansson – Gunnar

  Derek Pritchard - Breet

  Brett Gable – Melvyn, Fensham, Zevern, Merrith

  Rachel Gardner – Tyril, Ruan

  Duncan Wheatley – Duncan

  Kendall Davis – Hattie

  Deb Shapiro – Brent

  Heather Doyle – Gabriel

  Tina Batson – Calin

  Claire Jones – Selwyn, Aislinn, Jonquil

  And I need to give a hearty thank you to my friends at Fresh Baked Disney (www.FreshBakedDisney.com) for their permission to use their likenesses in the book. Deriksen and Aras were inspired by David and Sara of Fresh Baked fame. Thanks again, guys! See you in the Happiest Place on Earth!