Read Spiral: Book One of the Spiral in Time for Free Online Page B

than she had ever heard him. She would have to go. She had presented her paper, the rest of the conference wasn’t important, and the book would certainly wait a few more days.
    With all her heart, she wished her hangover could wait, although she had an awful feeling it would come along for the ride to Maiden Castle. Something terrible, indeed. She knew what that felt like.

    The great clock hanging in the middle of Waterloo Station said 10:00, and the train left in ten minutes. Germaine looked around in vain for a porter as she pushed a luggage cart loaded with her life compressed into a pyramid of four suitcases and a computer balanced on top.
    “Just like a bag lady,” she muttered, as she trundled down the platform. Plastic bags filled with books and conference souvenirs hung from each arm, swinging and banging people as she hurried by. She felt out-of-breath. It was a lot to carry, but staying in England for a year meant bringing all her clothes from California. After Aubrey’s alarming call, she decided to take everything with her—there was no telling when she would get back to London.
    Her head pounded. She was sure her eyes were red. With barely enough time to pack and check out, she had only glanced in the mirror. Now, her hair was coming loose from a too hasty attempt to tie it back and kept falling over one eye.
    Her conference presentation had been a great success and afterward, against all better judgment, and barely recovered from her plane trip—she drank some wine. Germaine knew why, too. Moira had run off with the Adonis, her new conquest, and then Aubrey had been called away. Irrationally, she felt abandoned.
    Safely on the train, she signaled the drink waiter, and pointed to a bottle of vodka. “A Bloody Mary, with lots of ice.” Hair of the dog that bit you and all that. If she wasn’t careful she would end up alcoholic—it seemed to be her answer for everything lately.
    The 10:10 to Dorchester rumbled south, slowly leaving behind the congestion of London. In a little under two hours she would find out what Aubrey called “terrible.” An explosion at a famous English Heritage site was pretty dramatic.
    The gentle rocking motion and soft clacking of the rails was soothing as she watched the urban landscape of old, brick industrial buildings and endless lines of row houses pass by the window, until there was only green countryside. She was tired. Sleep was no longer restful. Her nights were fitful, heavy with disturbing dreams she couldn’t remember on waking. Even the wine hadn’t helped last night; she kept waking up, finally falling into a deep sleep about 4:00 am. It was an all too familiar pattern.
    Exhausted, the motion of the train lulled her to sleep, a welcome oblivion. She dreamed vague passing thoughts as her mind settled. Then a dark, frightening dream possessed her. It was like nothing she had ever dreamed before.
    A deep hole yawned before her, black and ominous. She knew it led down into the earth and tried to cry out. No sound came. Her mouth was covered, taped shut! It was a pit, black and heavy, closing in. A woman at the end of a long, dark hall came toward her, carrying something sharp. Terror filled Germaine’s heart. And a memory came of pain, endless pain. Then, it all changed. Brilliant blue water, glinting with sunlight, surrounded her as far as she could see. High waves formed and moved toward her. They were crashing over her—she would die! She screamed and covered her face.
    The high squeal of train brakes jolted her awake. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Had she screamed? She looked around the car, but no one was looking at her. Yet it felt so real. She thought she was drowning, dying!
    Even though her eyes were open, she felt caught in the dream and wrapped her arms tight around her body. She couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of fear and peered out the window, expecting to see ocean waves crashing over the train tracks. But outside was all gray skies,