Elizabeth stared alternately at both paths, but felt nothing. "Help me down."

He looked at her for the space of two heartbeats, then jumped to the ground to assist her. The instant her feet touched the ground, she ran to the fork. Drawing a deep breath, she knelt, closed her eyes, then placed her hands on the ground.

Images slashed through her mind and she forced herself to relax, to try to get a clear picture. It took several minutes, but when the vision appeared, it was crystal clear.

And devastating.

She saw herself. Bleeding. Losing consciousness. Dying.

Dear God, what was she going to do? If she told him what she'd seen, he would never allow her to go with him. He would insist upon bringing her to the village-and the time spent doing that would mean they'd be too late.

She knew someone was going to die.

But she also knew that if she went with him, she probably would not come back alive.

Opening her eyes, she stood and turned to face him. "We need to take the left fork."

Chapter 23


Austin closed the distance between them in a single stride and grabbed her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I-"

He gave her a hard shake. "Don't lie to me. Your face is deathly white. You're frightened. What did you see?"

"We must take the left fork. We'll find him there."

"I'm not bringing you-"

"If we don't leave now, we'll be too late." She pulled herself from his grasp and ran toward the curricle. "Please. Hurry."

He caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder. "Too late for what?"

She fought the urge to panic. "Someone is going to die. I don't know who. I only know we're wasting time. Time we don't have." Realizing she needed somehow to reassure him of her safety, she said "I'll remain in the curricle, or I'll hide in the woods. I'll do whatever you think best, but we must go now."