The Needle's Eye (novel preview)

Chapter Three

To celebrate the release of THE NEEDLE'S EYE, here is a new chapter! Get your copy tomorrow (September 13th) in ebook or print on Amazon!

I

The next day, the sea was lashing out with violent rage. Waves slapped against one another in a lethal feud. Dark clouds churned overhead, threatening to break and in the distance, lightning bolted down with crooked fingers, clawing the water ravenously. This storm had not been predicted, but nature did occasionally move against logic. Likewise, reason could not always tackle foolishness.

The condition of the weather was unmistakably severe, yet Elizabeth found herself in the rowboat. She was sensible, so why had she agreed to venture out into the sea when the threat of this storm was evident? And why were her sisters sitting there with her as if they were unaware of the danger all around them?

Delia was dipping her feet into the violent sea, tempting the sharks that were circling in the rough waters below. Emily was reading some hefty tome, ignoring the fact that the wind was tossing the pages so viciously that she could not keep them still.

"What's wrong with the two of you?" Elizabeth heard herself say. Her voice sounded very distant, as if the wind was trying to steal it away.

Somehow hearing her distressed words, Delia looked back, her eyes as cold as the air's chill.

"Be quiet, Elizabeth," she said in return, turning away again after only a short glance. "No one wants to hear what you think."

Emily did not even lift her eyes from the pages of the book that passed before her rapidly, and despair sank into Elizabeth's heart. Had she not said that they would only come out into the boat if the sea was calm? They truly never did listen to her, did they—or perhaps it was that she always gave in to their wishes?

Waves rocked the rowboat, and Elizabeth winced. She closed her eyes as a spray of icy water splattered against her face. The small boat would not be still, and behind her eyelids, the motion was making her nauseous.

This boat will turn, she thought, stiffly clenching the sides. We will be cast into the sea!

She'd predicted this, but presently the boat became still, just as the feelings passed her. Regaining steadiness, her fear sank a bit, and she dared to open her eyes.

She understood the meaning of nothingness.

Everything was shrouded in a thick, white cloud, and she could not hope to see through it. The hidden sea was as calm and silent as winter. The storm, at least, was gone—but just as suddenly as it had stopped, Elizabeth found that she was alone in the boat. Both of her sisters were gone.

Oh God...

Elizabeth stood abruptly, feeling panic rise as she realized where she was. She knew that the boat had drifted into the forbidden fog, but fear gripped her heart even tighter in a cold grasp for the fact that she'd lost her sisters.

"Emily!" she cried. "Delia!"

Her voice traveled away from her, carrying out over nothing for empty miles.

"Emily!"

Elizabeth heard the desperation in her own voice. She felt completely helpless there on the boat—confined. She had to free herself. Though unable to take a deep breath, her panic caused her to ignore any opposing fear as she did the unthinkable, plunging headfirst into the biting water.

The chill shocked her. She opened her eyes beneath the surface, and the salt attacked them angrily, but what she saw beneath her would not allow her to spare them. Below in the depths was what had at first glimpse appeared to be a sunken building, but as her eyes scanned over it, she saw that the structure was not alone. There was not one building beneath her, but an entire city.