Kim Taylor:
Twenty-two years old. Final-year college student in literature, who doesn’t take crap from nobody. Kim is a powerful witch, hiding her magic to avoid detection. She’s the main female character of Forbidden Road and Merlin’s Creed. Daughter of Julie Evans-Ralston and Mark Ralston. Tricked by Morgan La Fay, Kim finds herself in 500 AD with no memory of who she is, about to enter into an arranged marriage with a prince who betrays the high throne, and puts her life at risk.
Forbidden Road, Chapter 2:
I never knew my parents as Mark and Julie Ralston. To me, they were always Markus and Julia Taylor. The identities that they had chosen.
I discovered the truth about our family on my sixteenth birthday, when my mom took me to Glastonbury for a weekend and we had the talk. Only mine wasn’t about guys and safety.
It had convinced me that we were by far the weirdest family at my school. Of course, I had already made that statement many times before.
After all, we had magic.
I was at my final year of college now, eager to graduate and start my own independent life.
Seth Rivers:
Twenty-four years old. Computers masters student in Kim’s college and an Olympic fencer. When traveling to 500AD with Kim, they get accidentally separated and he becomes a knight in Fergus Mór’s court. Seth is down-to-earth, humble, and has a critical worldview, which charms Kim when she gets to know him. But things don’t start off that smoothly at first…
Forbidden Road, Chapter 4:
“Do you know who that was? That was Seth Rivers!”
The name was familiar. Was Seth famous?
“Our fencing champion. He was on the news last night,” Bradley continued, Zhi Ruo watching him with admiration. “They said he’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. He’s been winning tournaments all year and they think he’s a sure Olympic gold medalist, if there ever was one.”
A fancy athlete. No wonder he was so full of himself!
Forbidden Road, Chapter 4:
“I’m really sorry, Kim.” He shook his head. “I haven’t had a fight with anyone in months. And now it’s twice with you in one day. I don’t know why this is happening.”
“I thought you were a pro at fighting.”
For the first time, he gave me a kind smile. “Actually, I’m an amateur.”
Right. He had to maintain the status for the Olympics.
Kim tells Seth she’s a witch
I sat in front of Seth, under a tree by the stream, a short distance from the path. In different circumstances, this would have been a very romantic place for us.
I had cast a protection spell around us―a few meters in each direction, enclosing our blanket, and ensuring nobody could hear what I was about to say.
“All right, I’m listening.” He smiled reassuringly, but his voice was very tense.
“I’m not sure where to start.” I felt like I was literally going to swallow my tongue. I’d never thought of this moment. Everyone said it didn’t matter, but clearly it did.
Seth put his hand on mine. “Kim, just…tell me. Whatever it is.”
“Okay.” I took a deep breath. “Remember yesterday’s lecture?”
“What of it?”
Yes, what of it? Where was I going to go with that? “Uh…maybe this isn’t the right way to explain.”
I looked at the water flowing in the stream next to us. I could show him a spell. No. That would be too much. Perhaps a direct route was better.
I looked straight into his eyes. “Seth…do you believe in magic?”
That confused him. “I…don’t think so. What’s that got to do with anything?” Then, there was suddenly a look of understanding and almost relief on his face.
Did he get it? Was it just that simple?
“Wait, is this about faith? Do you belong to the Wicca religion?”
Not that simple.
“No. I am not a Wicca. I’m…” Here I go. “I am a witch. As in, I can do real magic.”
He tilted his head, for a moment measuring whether I were being funny. Or maybe he thought I might be a little bit insane.
“I can move things with my mind. I can conjure things. Change the weather…”
“Change the weather?”
“In a relatively small area. Say, the valley we’re in right now and…”
He shook his head, confused. And then, he looked at me. “Show me.”
Definitely not the response I’d expected. He just didn’t believe it! He observed me, waiting to see what I’d do.
I looked at the clear sky and imagined that through that blue I could see heavy clouds, as though they were behind it. I closed my eyes. Give me rain. Give me rain. The image of the drops was clear to me, and when I opened my eyes, clouds started rapidly forming above us. I paused and gave myself a moment’s rest from the concentration. I got into the habit of always pausing after a weather spell; they required so much focus.
In less than a minute, there was wind and rustling in the trees and drops of water started to come down from the sky.
“Are you…?” Seth’s voice was hesitant.
“Making it rain. Yes.”
“How?” he said, but it was rhetorical. I’d just told him how.
The rain got heavier, wetting the path and the ground, creating a strong noise on the water.
Seth looked around, knitting his eyebrows in bewilderment.
“How come we’re not getting wet?” he suddenly asked. The ground surrounding the blanket was completely dry.
“I’d cast a protection sphere around us first. Nobody can hear or see us and we’re going to stay dry. I can make it warm, too, if you want.”
“Or, just stop the rain.” Then he smiled. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”
“It’s okay. It’s not a bad idea.”
He was still finding it hard to grasp that I was doing this, but at least he was responding. I needed to show him I had control over it. I looked into the sky and this time imagined the sun shining from behind the clouds. Give me a blue sky. Give me a blue sky. The image was strong in my mind, and a few minutes later, the rain stopped.
“Incredible,” he mumbled once the sky had cleared. “What else can you do?”
I shrugged. “Different things. Like, conjuring. For example, the shoes just now. Or the protection spell.”
“Or love spells?”
I did not see that one coming. “Of course not,” I reassured him. “You can’t control minds.”
“So…this…us…it’s real?” he asked and then, he suddenly looked down. “I mean…”
He had just said he loved me! Not directly, but he did.
“Yes,” I said quickly. And I love you too, I wanted to add, but then, he hadn’t quite said it. “Actually, that’s why I have magic. My powers exist so that I can meet the right person in life, fall for them, and protect them.”
“Fall for them.” He breathed hard, and then finally smiled. “Kim, you have no idea what was going on in my head on the drive here. Every moment we spend together has been the best I’ve ever had with anyone, and then you tell me there’s something. And I started wondering if you’ve got another guy, or some illness, or anything else stopping you from being with me.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m so sorry. I really didn’t know how to tell you.”
“It’s okay. I don’t think there was an easy way.”
“I could have prepared this better.”
“What? To tell me that you had magical powers? I don’t think you could have.”
He was coming around. I sighed in relief. “Thank you. For saying this.”
“You’re welcome.” He took my hand in his, now smiling. “You really are special, aren’t you?”
Another excerpt:
Back in the past…after time travelling, getting separated, and forgetting who they are and each other…when Seth tried to kidnap Kim and didn’t know she had a Karate black belt: read here
More Forbidden Road