The Emperor's Seal
Touching Time Book 1
by Amanda Roberts
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Mystery
Peking, 1902
The Emperor’s Seal – the divine symbol of the Emperor on earth – is missing. The Empress will do whatever it takes to get it back.
Jiayi has a gift – she can travel through time just by touching historical artifacts. More than anything, she wants to escape the clutches of the Empress and run away to a foreign land. Finding the Emperor’s Seal could be her only chance at freedom, but is she willing to risk the wrath of the Empress?
Historian and wannabe archaeologist Zhihao has no love for the Empress or the Qing Dynasty, but when the Empress orders him to find the Emperor’s Seal in exchange for funding China’s first history museum, he cannot refuse. It is only after he accepts the assignment that he realizes the key to finding the seal lies in the hands of a palace slave.
Civil unrest and encroaching foreign powers threaten Jiayi and Zhihao's mission and lives as they hunt for The Emperor's Seal.
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Do it,” the empress commanded.
Carefully, as if it contained a snake
that could bite her, Jiayi pulled up the long sleeves of her robe
and took the box in her hands. She
inhaled slow deep breaths as she closed her eyes. She never knew what to
expect, so she had to be prepared for anything.
When she opened her eyes again, she
was surrounded by running horses. People screamed as they ran for cover. The
men riding the horses brandished weapons and they slashed and hacked at the
people around them. Jiayi turned left and right, searching for a way out before
she too was trampled. She had never died during one of her visions before, but
she didn’t know what would happen to her in real life if she did. She didn’t
want to take the chance. One of the riders stopped to skewer a man not far from
her. He
screamed as blood shot from his body
like a fountain. Jiayi was terrified, but there was nothing she could do for
him.
She had to take care of herself. The
stopped horse caused a break in the sea of galloping beasts. Jiayi had to run
while she had the chance. She had no idea where she was going, why the box the
empress handed her sent her to this place, this time, but she had to find it,
the emperor’s seal.
Somehow this body, this woman she was
inhabiting had a connection to it. She had to trust that this woman would lead
her to the answer.
She ran as far as she could, away from
the battle. Up on a hill, she saw a large tent and many men on horseback watching
the fray below. Why they were only watching, she did not know. She looked down
at her clothing and saw she was dressed in the clothing of a Manchu noblewoman.
The men who were watching were also dressed as Manchu. At least she wasn’t
running toward the enemy. She scurried up
the hill as quickly as she could.
“Please! Help me!” she screamed when
she was within earshot.
The men looked down at her in utter
surprise, as if they only just now saw her. It was possible. Jiayi had no idea
what her manifestations in the visions looked like to other people.
“Lady Caigiya!” one of the men dressed
as a general called out. He pointed to her and two of his men ran down to her
side and helped her up. “What happened? How did you get down there?” the
general asked when she finally made it to him.
“I…I don’t know,” she mumbled. “I must
have been lost…”
The answer seemed to satisfy the
general. He nodded again to his men. “Take her to the emperor. He must be
worried about her.”
Jiayi doubted that very much. She had never known an emperor to worry over
a woman, but she allowed herself to be led along. She was taken to a large
tent, one big and grand enough to be an imperial residence at the Forbidden
City. When the heavy curtains were drawn back, it was so dark inside she could
see nothing. She was ungraciously ushered inside and the curtains were dropped
closed behind her.
Amanda Roberts is a writer and editor who has been living in China since 2010. Amanda has an MA in English from the University of Central Missouri. She has been published in magazines, newspapers, and anthologies around the world and she regularly contributes to numerous blogs. Amanda can be found all over the Internet, but her home is TwoAmericansinChina.com.
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2 comments:
I enjoyed this excerpt, thank you :)
Sounds like a good read. Thanks for sharing.
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