Time Travel Romances Boxed Set by Claire Delacroix

approached. Workers crawled over the
site like bees in a hive, their clothing different but no less
strange than that of Bard and his priest. The great stone hall rose
high behind them, higher than any hall Aurelia had ever seen.
    Surely everyone she knew could not have been
slaughtered? It looked as though Bard had need of every strong man
for the ambitious construction he made here.
    Encouraged by the thought, Aurelia focused
her attention on the men themselves, hopefully seeking a familiar
face. She scanned the first workman that she and the priest passed
by, but did not know him. Nor the second, nor the third. Aurelia
returned more than one questioning glance, and hoped desperately
that the priest did not notice her curiosity.
    But there were no faces she knew in the
yard.
    Aurelia refused to despair. Maybe the women,
at least, had been allowed to survive as household slaves and
whores. They would be hidden away at this hour, working in kitchens
and storerooms and fields. With so many men filling the courtyard,
Aurelia knew there must be women kept to service their needs.
    It was the fate of conquered women
everywhere to roll to their backs, willingly or not. Somewhere on
this holding, Aurelia would find someone she knew.
    The priest led her through a wide portal set
beside a soaring tower that had not existed before. The portal was
thrice as high as Aurelia stood, its wooden doors heavy with iron
studs and folded back against the inside. As they passed beneath
its shadow, Aurelia glanced up and saw the spikes of a wicked iron
gate that could be dropped across the passage.
    She had never seen such fine iron work in
all her days and slanted a glance to the priest. Aurelia knew well
enough that blacksmiths possessed a secret power and taught their
songs only to specially chosen apprentices. Had this priest been
responsible for increasing the power of the smiths’ songs?
    The high walls were wrought so carefully of
stone that they seemed perfectly smooth. Aurelia touched one as she
passed through the passageway behind the portal and marveled at the
thin line sealing each stone to the next.
    The craft of the stonemason had also been
taken to new heights by Bard’s men.
    The truth could not be denied. There was
powerful witchery at work in this place.
    Aurelia slanted a glance to the impassive
priest, much impressed by his influence. Perhaps her father had
underestimated the powers of the men from Rome.
    Another pair of doors - these wooden ones
ornamented with swirls of gold or brass - opened at the priest’s
touch to reveal a hall of such sumptuous design that Aurelia halted
and gaped.
    The floor was like a gaming board,
alternating dark and light squares, but wrought of some infinitely
smooth stone that was cut with incredible precision. The ceiling
arched high overhead and Aurelia could not imagine what magic
possessed the slender columns that they could hold up a roof
wrought of stone. The interior was in the midst of being painted
most artfully with writhing Celtic dragons and knots.
    On the far side of the hall, a pair of
staircases wound skyward like two embracing arms, their curves
smooth beyond belief. Rails gleamed gold on either side of each
staircase and red tapestries were being laid against the stone
stairs.
    Despite her determination to despise
everything associated with Bard, son of Erc, Aurelia was
impressed.
    A long table of dark wood was being
assembled between the ends of the staircases, its front rife with
ornamentation. The wood gleamed with a reddish hue alien to this
corner of the world. Where the staircases met high above, Aurelia
could just spot a wide double doorway.
    The hall was filled with the sounds of
hammering and men muttering. She assumed they chanted the spells
that made such wizardry possible. And such power!
    Aurelia feared suddenly that her abilities
might be as nothing compared to the sorcery of Bard and his
priest.
    But it would not do to let this priest see
her doubts.
    The priest