Page 1 of An Unlikely Knight

Chapter One

VILLAGE OF CULROSS, SCOTLAND

The salty scent of the Firth of Forth drifted through the narrow streets, mixing with the rich aroma of ale and freshly baked bread from the nearby bakery. It was the kind of place where time moved slowly, even the cobblestone streets reminding of times past.

Erin Maguire had agreed, against her better judgment, to meet Tammie Lockhart at The Red Lion, a cozy pub with white-shuttered windows and a red brick façade that stood at the heart of Culross, a picturesque village an hour north of Edinburgh where she currently lived.

Meeting the petite blonde at the pub was a far better option than venturing to Dunimarle Castle, a place haunted by more than its centuries-old stone walls. To go there would bring stark reminders of the memory of something that made her question her sanity.

The idea that other realms existed, that travel between them was possible, sounded just as absurd now as it had the day after she’d returned from what Tammie insisted on calling “the alter-world.” No matter how many times she told herself what happened was impossible, no amount of logical reasoning could erase the fantastical things she had seen.

If not for the fact that the woman sitting across from her was unwaveringly insistent and could describe every last detail of what Erin herself remembered, she would have an easier time dismissing it all as a hallucination. A realistic dream caused by too many late nights reading fantasy romance novels.

There had to be a logical explanation. Shared delusions. Some kind of psychological phenomenon. She had read about those before, they were called collective hallucinations. If it weren’t for the fact that pulling out her phone mid-conversation would be rude, she’d be researching it right now.

“We need your help,” Tammie said again, her voice edged with desperation.

Erin exhaled a slow breath and leaned back in the booth, pressing her head against the solid wood.

“I'm trying to forget,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Tammie leaned forward, tapping her finger against the wooden tabletop with urgency. “I totally understand why you’d want to push the memory away. What happened was horrifying. But ...”

“But?” Erin cut in. “You’re saying that it’s my responsibility to save Padraig, the man who is supposedly still trapped there?”

A flicker of frustration crossed Tammie’s face. “Not supposedly. He is trapped there, Erin. And we desperately need your help.”

We.

That single word carried the weight of an impossible truth. Tammie and her sisters had already rescued four men, knights who had been cast into that place centuries ago by an evil sorcerer named Meliot. The wizard had cursed them, banishing them to the alter-world after they thwarted his attempt to seize a village. For nearly three hundred years, the men had been lost in a strange enchanted realm, prisoners of dark magic.

It was the kind of tale that belonged in a book, not real life. Every part of it was as unbelievable as sprouting wings and flying to the moon.

Erin exhaled sharply. “What could I possibly do to help? You and your sisters actually know and understand magic. The closest I’ve come to anything remotely mystical is cracking open a fortune cookie.”

A storm of thoughts whirled through her mind. She could refuse to help, put her foot down and make it clear she wanted nothing to do with this insanity. She could ignore Tammie’s pleas, distance herself from the others who also insisted that it was real—that she had been abducted, taken to another realm, and barely escaped with her life.

Or …

She could agree to help.

The thought sent a cold shiver racing down her spine. Her throat tightened, and she blinked hard against the sudden burn of tears.

If she said yes … then what?

What if it was true?

And what if she was taken again?

The other realm had been a place like no other. Purple skies, more than one sun, extra moons as well. Live creatures and beings that should only exist in fantasy or horror movies. There had been a dragon, a huge fire breathing creature that had flown with the grace of a bird. Then there was the evil sorcerer, Meliot, who’d taken her captive and had nefarious plans for her. Erin had yet to find out what he planned for her, and she was more than fine with not knowing.

“Come to Dunimarle, let us tell you everything.” Tammie’s eyes searched hers. “Please.”

Erin shrugged. “The last time I was there, you told me what you all believed to be true. I heard it all and considered what you asked. I don’t think there is much else I need to know at this point.”

“You were in shock still. We’d just returned from the alter world. You’d been unconscious, perhaps not well enough to understand everything.”

“Knowing that I was unconscious proves to me that I must have imagined it all. Have you considered that you and I were drugged and somehow were misled?”