A Facebook friend mentioned having a great holiday in Vienna, so today I'm sharing an excerpt from Topaz Eyes.
At this point in the novel, Keira Drummond is on her own in Vienna. Though she's come to the city to seek a meeting with Teun Zeger's third cousin she has time to spare to do some sightseeing. The problem is she thinks she's alone but is she?
...
Instead of walking back to her
hotel, Keira hopped onto the Ring-tram as it squeaked to a halt outside the
impressive museum frontage. Entering through the middle doors, she punched her
ticket and squeezed her way to the rear of the car. It was jam-packed, but she
found an empty seat when a couple made an impromptu late choice to get off at
the stop, jumping up in a flurry. As she settled down, her gaze drifted to the
front of the tram. Just before the doors closed and the car slid into motion, a
man forced his way through the closing space at the front doors.
Oh
God! That shit again?
Panic
set in. She stared out the window for guidance, from who knows what, or whom.
The grip on her bag threatened to break the leather strap, her fingers
trembling against her chest.
Rat
in a trap.
Not
absorbing a thing outside, she willed calm to descend. She was being ridiculous
again. The back of one hand snaked up to towel her sweaty brow. The tram was
packed full of people, the man trailing her couldn’t do anything to her while
she was on… but when she got off? Her eyes tracked her surroundings. Wide open.
Squelching down her fear, she made plans. Exit really quickly, so fast her hunter would be unable to follow her. He was still wedged down near the front and that was a good thing. Wasn’t it?
Squelching down her fear, she made plans. Exit really quickly, so fast her hunter would be unable to follow her. He was still wedged down near the front and that was a good thing. Wasn’t it?
Oh
God! Why was the tram so hot? The window close to her was open, but she felt as
if she was a tasty bit of meat on a spit… just ready for the picking. Or more
like the meat in amongst all the vegetables on a plate: her pursuer the fork,
poised and ready.
Having
got on at the Museumplatz area, she guessed the tram might get less busy by the
time it reached the University quarter. That was a good few stops ahead. She
had to get off before then to lose her shadow. Once she lost him, she could do
normal things like... find somewhere to eat? She felt nauseous already. Drawing
on reserves of strength, she fought back the bile threatening to erupt and
concentrated on the elusive being-normal thing.
According
to her guidebook, there were plenty of good restaurants around the area called
Schottenkirche, and it wasn’t too far from her hotel. She yanked open her map
so fast a split screeched down the middle. Her eye movements were feverish as
she blinked to a clear vision, one finger tracing her route. When her tram
passed along the Rathaus
Park, she could get off
and walk down the street named Schottengasse, and stop at some place when she
was sure the man wasn’t following her.
She
avidly scanned to confirm her bearings. When the car hissed to a halt at the
next stop, lots of people around her were exiting. Finding no street name, she
swallowed her alarm. She must be at Schottengasse already! How did that
happen? Scrambling from the seat, she
ducked down as low as she could and followed the queue. When she was almost out
of the door, she leaned to the side to track her snowy-haired follower.
Her
stomach almost heaved up its contents. He’d forced his way to the nearest
doors. Panic overtook her; her foot froze on the lowest step, her body fully
out of the vehicle. In slow freeze frames, her pursuer got off. A pile of
travellers surged behind him and forced him to move further onto the
pavement.
Keira’s
chin whipped around. No-one exited behind her. Zipping back inside, the doors
hissed to a close before the tram wheezed into motion. Thumping down onto the
nearest seat, her eyes gravitated to the window. Her stalker speed-walked
alongside the tram. She was terrified. He looked furious. Now he wasn’t just a
white head as his features imprinted on her memory banks. An aquiline nose sat
above tightly-drawn thin lips. Strong blue eyes flared his anger.
Keira
shut her eyes tight. She couldn’t look out the window any more. Her hand willed
the rapid pulse at her neck to still. Involuntarily, her lips curled up in a
nervous smile. Her nerves were still a jingle, but she also felt exhilaration,
a heady excitement. She’d lost him. Steeling herself to be braver, she scanned
the street up ahead. He’d have to run much faster to keep up since the stretch
they were travelling on moved alongside the edges of the Rathaus Park,
now a greater distance between the tram stops.
That
was confusing.
Pulling
up her map, she checked again. A genuine smile of delight split her face; her
body slid even further down the vinyl seat, beginning to relax a little. All
those people had exited at the Burgtheatre, the city theatre, and there was
still a bit of park to pass along before the next stop. She wasn’t near
Schottengasse yet. Relief flooded as the tram clicked into an even faster pace.
No-one got off or entered at the next stop. Keira heaved a sigh of relief when
there was no sign of her shadow alongside.
Her
legs trembled like mad when she got off at Schottengasse. As she walked down the fairly major thoroughfare,
she willed her nerves to calm. She sporadically scanned back on her speed-walk,
relieved there was no sign of her pursuer. After a few long blocks, she slowed
her pace and regained her breath. She couldn’t truly appreciate the marvellous
architecture around her, though she tried. When she was close to the
Schottenkirche, the local parish church, she selected a place to eat.
To find out what happens next...grab a copy from:
Crooked Cat Bookstore
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