Sam took a deep breath and then turned toward the door. His hand felt numb, like it wore a welding glove— bulky, lacking coordination as he turned and pushed.

For being an ordinary door, it was unusually heavy. Sam had to dig his heels in more than he’d expected. Probably hasn’t been opened in a while, he thought as it scraped against what sounded like overgrown earth and not a floor as he’d imagined. The hinges groaned open.

Didn’t expect this, he thought.

He had expected a room. Maybe a room with secret files or weapons? Or maybe hidden treasure? He’d even entertained the idea of finding Satan himself—not that he wanted to, but the thought had occurred to him.

But it wasn’t even a room at all. It was an entrance to another world, like a portal in a sci-fi book. They were clearly leaving Earth as he knew it. The terrain filled his eyes with remnants of a bad fairy tale set in a swamp.

Spilling out of the unknown, an abundant fog lingered in the doorway, taunting Sam. With Tallulah close behind, he stepped through, his feet partially submerged into soft ground.

The fog consumed a sparse grove of ancient cypress trees protruding like abandoned Greek columns out of the shallow, murky water. Although it was daytime in this place, the canopy cover of the trees blocked the light almost completely. Vines hung like last year’s decorations. The air was earthy and stale. Sam detected a slight hint of sulfur.

There was no doubt in his mind. They were not alone. Thousands of living creatures, hidden among the shrubs, trees, and fog, trumpeted their songs: a full chorus of frogs, birds, reptiles and insects—more insects than Sam wanted to think about.

“So much for these boots,” Tallulah griped, looking down at her formerly white uniform boots, now five-inches deep in mud.

They trudged across the pasty ground while it smacked back at their feet.

Sam, being first to reach a black willow tree, grabbed its trunk for stability. He turned to watch Tallulah, several yards behind him, struggle with each step, her arms flailing in large circles as she attempted to stay upright in the mud.

Less than a whisper brushed against Sam’s ear. It was a thought so faint he wasn’t sure if he’d heard it audibly, or if he’d thought it himself. “She’s beautiful.”

The sound lingered as Sam stood frozen, considering what it meant. It wasn’t a lie. She was beautiful. Her smile and flowing hair were like a poem that you’d read again and again or a song you’d play endlessly. He could have thought it. He tried to convince himself that thinking it, if he actually did, didn’t mean he loved Hayley less. But if his mind hadn’t been the origin of the thought, they must have company.

A sudden, loud popping sound drew his attention toward Tallulah. The mud had opened and devoured her legs. She was now up to her waist in the mud and sinking fast.

She screamed and dug her hands into the surrounding area, grabbing nothing but handfuls of soggy earth. She extended her arm in an attempt to recruit a greenbrier vine from a tangled collection. The mossy ropes responded to her telekinesis gift immediately by moving toward her outreached hand, but they remained in a tangled mess. As they pulled toward her, they only created more of a rat’s nest.

Sam fought the urge to jump in to free her. He knew if he did, they’d both need rescuing. He could help her better from more stable ground.

Painfully close, the tangled vine mocked her outreached hand still yards away. The attempt seemed futile until Sam drew his sword and sliced a strategic vine allowing the gnarled mess to unravel and stretch far enough for Tallulah to grab.

Pulling with all her strength, her hands only slid down the vine, stripping it of piggyback moss and soupy earth, exposing the rubbery plant beneath, her precarious position unchanged. A hand-over-hand approach produced the same slippery results as she sunk deeper into the sludge until she wrapped the vine around her hand several times finally stopping the downward momentum.

The mud seemed to be more than a natural element, but rather a living entity. It wanted Tallulah and it was fighting hard against their efforts to free her. Either it was alive or something living controlled it.

***

So… get the book to find out what happens next!!!! : )

http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Angel-Realm-Guarding-ebook/dp/B004X1XCDE