There's Always Tomorrow (Immortal Series)

  Books by Alice Addy

  ∆

  Courage Series — Historical

  MISSOURI LEGEND

  ARIZONA JUSTICE

  PENNSYLVANIA VALOR

  Birdsong Series — Historical

  TRACKS TO LOVE

  SWEETWATER

  BONJOUR, MY WIFE

  IT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING

  Immortal Series - Paranormal

  THERE'S ALWAYS TOMORROW

  °

  Visit Alice Addy at:

  www.aliceaddy.com

  1810

  Anthony Bowles and his best friend, Thomas Pinkerton, were young, rich, and foolish; but never as foolish as their last night in the ancient city of Prague. They should have taken heed of the warnings they’d received before starting out under the light of the full moon. Convinced the stories of monsters devouring the innocent were nothing more than figments of overactive imaginations and terrifying tales told to naughty children, they left the protection of the city streets and ventured deep into the woods.

  It was that single act that would change their lives forever—for all eternity.

  2011

  Sophie loved her job. Working for a handsome and mysterious private investigator was always exciting. One never knew who’d stumble through their door, or where their inquiry would take them. One afternoon, he walked through the door and turned her life upside down by telling her a fantastical story; a tale so bizarre, only a woman in love would believe it. Sophie never questioned his veracity and agreed to follow him anywhere in search of his life-long quest. No matter what they discovered, she was confident their love would endure throughout the ages.

  There's Always Tomorrow

  Alice Addy

  Copyright © 2012 Alice Addy

  2013 Revision

  This Book was published in 2012 as Beware of Helping Gypsies.

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN: 1482634287

  ISBN-13: 978-1482634280

  DEDICATION

  I wish to acknowledge Kathryn Nestor for her beautiful book cover. A talented artist, she never fails to bring my vision to life. Her use of color and light make all the difference. I eagerly anticipate the next design.

  Thank you so much, for everything you do.

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  PROLOGUE

  PRAGUE 1810

  It was pleasantly dark inside the old tavern, easy on the bloodshot eyes of the two young aristocrats. Both men were well into their cups and felt no pain as the hour grew late. The curious aromas that occasionally wafted in from the kitchen were foreign to them, but they were eager to try new things. They would have to return home to England and their families, soon enough.

  “I don’t know about you, Anthony, but I’m having a specta-cu-larly good time,” the sandy-headed man slurred. “Damn shame it’s coming to an end. Touring the continent was a brilliant idea. Although I’ll never be able to totally forget the boredom and drudgery of school, this whole thing has been grand.” He waved his hands around the room. “Had it not been for you, my friend, I should never…never have graduated at all, and that would have really pissed off my father.” He hiccupped loudly, punctuating his last statement.

  “Here, here, Thomas, drink up. The brandy is too good to waste and it cost a king’s ransom,” his friend chuckled. “Damn good thing our families wanted to get rid of us badly enough to pay for our little excursion. Frankly, I plan to stay away for a minimum of two years. Maybe I’ll even find myself a beautiful, foreign woman, wanting to buy into a title. Being a second son, it’s not bloody likely I’ll get one, but you never know.” He laughed heartily. “Who knows? I could perhaps get my hands on some obscure title, someday in the future—or at least that’s what I’ll tell her.” Anthony nodded his head and slapped his hand down on the table.

  “By God, that’s just what I’ll do, Thomas. I’ll find me a rich girl looking to step up into society. By the time she finds out that I exaggerated a little, I’ll have her with a nursery full of crying babies.” He snickered, drunkenly, feeling better about his future. Why was it that ideas were always more interesting when coming from the bottom of a bottle?

  Leaning over the wet, scarred table, barely able to hold his head up, young Thomas Pinkerton tried to comfort his lifelong friend. He patted Anthony on the back. “Now, now, what would you want with a damn title—or a wife, for that matter? You and I don’t have the responsibilities of our older brothers.” He hiccupped again, showing no sign of embarrassment. “We have the freedom to do as we damn well please, and no one expects anything different. Why would you want to ruin everything by getting yourself leg-shackled?”

  Scowling, Anthony lifted his mug. “It does sound rather stupid. We’re happy now, right? Let’s drink to enjoying our lives and staying free.” Smiling, he took a long swallow of the unusual brew the proprietor called ale. It caused him to belch, egregiously, and made his head spin. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he continued to speak.

  “When we get back to England, we’re going to be expected to join the guard or the Royal Navy. I don’t mind telling you, I’m in no blasted hurry to get myself killed for king or country.”

  Anthony stared at his equally inebriated companion. Thomas had been his dearest friend from their earliest years. Why, he couldn’t remember a time when they didn’t know each other. Their mothers had been best friends since they were just girls. Both of them were second sons and neither was likely to inherit the family title or the wealth that went with it. That proved to be both a blessing and a curse. Through everything, good and bad, the two friends had seen it through together.

  Much to the dismay of their fathers, they proudly failed to distinguish themselves while at university, as they felt it was totally unnecessary. Eventually, they would be expected to follow tradition. Their fathers would proudly buy them commissions in the navy, where upon they’d sail off toward some foreign shore to fight, and perhaps die. But for now, they preferred to drink and make love to all the pretty women.

  “Well, good friend, it seems I’m foxed and I need to find my bed. What say you? Shall we take the bottle and depart this illustrious establishment?” Anthony peered at his companion through heavy, unfocused eyes.

  Thomas, looking even worse than his friend, nodded in agreement and corked the bottle, before slipping it into his jacket pocket. “I guess we sleep alone tonight, eh?” he grumbled.

  Both men stood up on wobbly legs and turned toward the door. Anthony laughed, and slapped his friend on the back. “Guide me to the door, and later, I promise to find you a beautiful brunette. You know, of course, you’re in no condition to give her the pleasure she deserves.” Anthony hiccupped and teetered forward on his toes. “Let’s depart.”

  Thomas stood up carefully, pulling his vest into position and trying, although somewhat unsuccessfully, to appear sober. With his coat slung casually over his shoulder and his hat sitting at a precarious angle over his forehead, he led the way to the exit.
>
  The crowded tavern was overflowing and the exhausted barkeep wanted to lock up. It was time to leave. The moon was high in the sky and all good people had gone to their beds, hours earlier.

  “Keep to the lighted path,” a heavily accented voice growled from a darkened corner, just left of the doorway.

  Anthony stopped and glanced in the man’s direction.

  “What did you say, sir?” he inquired, trying to clear his head. “Were you speaking to us?”

  The deep voice repeated its warning. “It isn’t safe to enter the woods after dark. Terrible things happen to those who ignore the warnings.” The man’s boney finger slowly traced the path of a long white scar slicing downward, across the side of his face, from his brow to his pointed chin. “There’s wolves in the darkness, boys…Some say they’s big as a man.” He laughed and turned away, leaving the two foreigners feeling a bit uneasy.

  Thomas looked at Anthony and whispered, “What was that all about?”

  Anthony shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know and don’t care. These tales are merely folklore designed to scare the gullible. Forget it. I simply want to crawl into my bed and dream of a soft feminine ass and big round tits.” He sighed. “It’s been too long since I’ve pleasured a woman properly; tomorrow night, God willing, I intend to remedy that.”

  Arm in arm, the two handsome gentlemen stumbled out into the darkness. As the solid wooden door closed, the iron hinges groaned under its substantial weight and the large lock rattled from inside. Anthony noticed the tavern was very well fortified, and he chuckled. What were they afraid of?

  The weather had turned crisp, but the two men would step lively and hurry back to their hotel, to get a good night’s sleep before waking and doing it all again, tomorrow night.

  The full moon shown brightly on the street and it clearly illuminated the path meandering through the park. The stone bridge crossing the river, was straight ahead, perhaps a quarter mile. The hotel was straight on from there.

  Thomas stopped midway down the sidewalk and pulled on Anthony’s sleeve. “I say…if we cut through the park and cross the stream here, I bet we can save some time. I’m not looking forward to freezing my bullocks off by taking the long way around.” His body swayed with the effort of keeping his balance. He smiled, lopsidedly, at his friend.

  Anthony’s green eyes tried to focus on the path leading into the darkness. They had been in Prague only a few days, and he was unsure of the layout of the ancient city, not to mention, his head was splitting. He closed his eyes and groaned, before consenting to follow. “I suppose it would be nice to get warm sooner, rather than later. I guess it couldn’t hurt to take a shortcut. Lead the way, good man, but if you pass out before we get back to the hotel, I promise to leave you where you fall,” he threatened.

  “You know me better than that, Anthony. When was the last time I passed out?” Thinking back, he remembered Munich and Paris and several villages he couldn’t recall by name. “All right. Leave me where I lie,” he laughed.

  Disregarding the stranger’s warning, the two Englishmen left the safety of the lighted street for the darkness of the city park. It was quite evident, by their unsteady gate and the happy, drinking song they chose to sing at full volume, the strangers had been imbibing more than their fair share. Only dumb luck would protect them from harm, this night.

  After more than half an hour, the men were still wandering in the darkness. “Are you sure we aren’t going in circles, Thomas?” Anthony shouted. He was tired and freezing and had lost all confidence in his friend’s ability to navigate the unknown pathways. “I know I’ve seen this bench before. Damn it, Thom. We never should have left the sidewalk. I’d be asleep in my own warm bed by now, had I not let you convince me to follow you through the woods. Where the hell are we? Damn it all! I think I’m beginning to sober up.”

  “Easy, my friend,” Thomas cajoled. He stopped and turned in circles to get his bearings. Breathing hard, he pointed down a short ravine. “There. That’s the way. I’m certain of it. Come along.” Thomas didn’t wait for Anthony to agree, as he ran down the steep embankment. A tree had fallen across the stream, creating the perfect natural bridge. The young man ran across it and disappeared from Anthony’s view.

  “Aw, hell, Thom. I don’t like this,” Anthony muttered, as he reluctantly ran after his friend, crossed the creek, and found himself deeper in the dense and most impenetrable part of the forest. Even the light of the full moon could not lessen the darkness of the thick foliage, making it nearly impossible to see three feet in front of one’s face.

  “Took you long enough,” Thomas whispered, taking Anthony completely by surprise.

  “You bastard. You better know where you’re going. I’ve ruined my boots and torn my sleeve. Which way now, Marco Polo?” Anthony snapped. He was too tired and too drunk to be forgiving.

  Thomas motioned with his arm. “Follow me.”

  The two men trudged on, for what seemed like an hour, before Thomas admitted he was hopelessly lost. “Who would think a forest as impregnable as this, would be located so close to the heart of the city? Take Hyde Park, for example. A blind man couldn’t lose his way there. I’m truly sorry, Anthony. I always seem to mess up.” He plopped down on a large flat rock and rested his pounding head in his hands. “Maybe we should just sleep here until sunrise.”

  While Anthony stood looking down at his friend, with his temper threatening to explode, a noise came to them from over a slight rise. “Did you hear that, Thom?”

  “Aye. It sounds like a woman, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah, and it’s coming from over there. I think we should take a look.”

  The two men were on full alert by the time they crested the hill, and the sight that awaited them caused them to sober quickly enough.

  A beautiful girl, of no more than fourteen years, was trapped by a small rockslide and needed their immediate help.

  As they scrambled down the hillside, they heard the growling and snarling of a beast, partially hidden from view, coming from the edges of the clearing. The terrifying sound caused their blood to run cold. Unarmed, how could they possibly rescue the girl and walk away unscathed?

  “Christ. How many do you see?” Anthony managed to ask over the pounding of his heart.

  Thomas whispered, “Three, maybe four. It’s the big black one I’m worried about. He’s their leader.”

  “Help me, please. They’re going to kill me,” the young girl pleaded, as she tugged on her bleeding foot. She saw the two men carefully approaching. They stood no more than twenty feet away, but they carried no weapons. “The wolves are going to kill me,” she cried.

  Anthony looked around for something they could use to defend themselves.

  “Find a sturdy stick or a club. Heavy rocks might help. We need to scare them off, but I’ll tell you now, Thom, I think our chances of walking away from this aren’t too promising.”

  Their eyes locked in understanding, and they silently nodded. They would save this girl from the wolf pack, or they would die together, trying to do the right thing.

  “Damn, I wish I hadn’t followed you down the path,” Anthony joked.

  “And miss all this?” Thomas laughed. “It’s been a great life, Anthony. Now, let’s get to it.”

  Armed with a large piece of white oak and a good-sized stone gripped tightly in his other hand, Anthony crept to his left, to the far side of the circle.

  Thomas waited until his friend got into position and then began throwing large stones at the wolves, hoping to scatter their numbers. Startled, the animals fell back slightly, only to regroup again. Thomas picked up a sturdy tree limb—his makeshift club—and charged forward, into the center of the fray.

  “Get the girl,” he shouted. “I’ll keep them back.” He waved the large stick back and forth, and bravely tried to stare the wolves down, yelling obscenities at the top of his lungs.

  Anthony rushed in during all the chaos, and discovered the beautiful young girl
had her foot firmly trapped under a boulder. It would take a few minutes to dislodge it, precious time they did not have. “Keep them back, Thom. She’s caught pretty good.”

  Just then, the leader of the pack made his move. Within moments he had Thomas on the ground. Anthony could hear his friend’s tormented screams. Turning away from the girl, he picked up his club and ran at the snarling beasts, swinging like a mad man. He shouted, he clubbed, his thumbs gouged at eyes and ripped at throats. Consumed by the will to survive, he fought on, finally rejoicing as he watched Thomas scoot out from under the teeth of the large, black male.

  Immediately, the wicked menace turned his feral, yellow eyes upon Anthony, his fangs dripping with saliva, and mixed with the blood of his friend. Strong muscles hunched across his immense shoulders as his claws dug into the wet ground. His terrifying growl ripped through the silence of the night, warning Anthony of his imminent attack.

  With a terrifying howl, he lunged through the air.

  The girl screamed, and Thomas launched himself onto the monster’s muscular back. As Anthony tried to avoid the teeth, Thomas repeatedly struck the wolf’s skull with his sharp rock. Blood splattered through the air, and still the monster kept up his attack. The wolf seemed to possess a superior, almost human intelligence. It was as if he understood their tactics and planned one step ahead. Just as Anthony positioned his thumbs over the animal’s eyes, the wolf reared on his hind feet, flinging Thomas’ body to the ground.

  The monster stood more than six feet tall on his hind legs. With his head thrown back and his eyes fixed upon the silver moon, he howled an unearthly cry and skulked off to the edge of the clearing. One wounded female limped over to his side. He stood and glared back at the two injured men before disappearing, once again, into the darkness.

  The last thing Anthony did, just before everything went black, was to free the young girl from her trap. As he felt her foot release, he let go his grasp on this world. What little strength he still possessed, quickly drained from his body. He glanced over at his friend, lying unnaturally still, at the edge of the clearing. They had given it their best, and he was proud of their efforts. As his life’s blood flowed from the jagged wound on his neck, he felt no fear and no regrets. Thomas had died bravely. Who would have thought that the young, devil-may-care rogue, Pinkerton, was made up of that kind of courage? Anthony smiled. The young girl was safe and he was feeling so very, very tired.