The swirling and dizzying sensation was strange, and I didn’t even have time to register how I felt as we moved in the thick honey-like swirl of time travel. It was a wonderful sensation compared to the times he had rescued me. My body was pleasantly aroused and tingly all over. It surprised me, but I tried to enjoy every second. The whole trip didn’t last long, and soon we were standing on lush grass. I was a little light-headed and flushed, and grabbed his arm for support.

“Are we there yet?” I asked teasingly, trying to conceal my anxiety.

I knew the answer because the air smelled clean and fresh. Even the stars were brighter. There was a group of round, tent looking buildings covered with leather. I remembered seeing pictures in a history book, they called those tents “jurta.” The river was very close as a light breeze carried the smell of fresh water.

“Yes, we are there. Actually, we are here in the year four hundred and five,” he explained, and smiled at me.

“Was it any different when you transported Ema?” I asked, feeling better. The dizzy sensation was gone, and I felt strong and healthy, although a little embarrassed.

“Well, it was as if we fused together for a second, and then we separated,” he answered. “With you it seemed a little different though.”

“How was it different?” I asked, feeling the heat rise in my face.

“I had an experience… you might call it… kind of... arousing.” He hesitated and blushed.

“Oh… I see.” I searched my mind for the right reply. I became so embarrassed, and I blushed deeply. “For a second dizziness was my only sensation, and then we moved through something thick and sticky.” I had to tell a fib. I was too shy to mention that my experience traveling with him was something more personal.

He looked aside, and reached for my hand as he led me toward a distant house. “That’s because you’re not a Traveler, but a passenger, so to speak.” He laughed softly and blushed again.

This location appeared to be a village. Jurtas were lined up in a semicircle, leaving a wide plaza in the middle. It was dark, yet enough light shown from the jurtas for us to look around. Was the village deserted? No one was in sight. We walked up to a tall and wide wooden pole in the middle of the circle. I fingered the intricate designs carved into it. It was painted with brilliant colors. On top of it was a giant carved bird, standing with wings open wide, as if it were getting ready to take flight.

I tugged at Zoltan’s shirt excitedly. “I’ve been here before! Every time I play my tune, I am here, or some other place pretty much like this.”

“Really? I always see this kind of place in my mind when I play my birth tune too!” He smiled. “And I always see the Turul bird. I think everyone has a different place that shows in their mind when they play. Mom says she sits by the Blue Danube in medieval times. Dad’s vision takes him back much further. It is curious that we both see a similar place and time,” Zoltan marveled, following my gaze.

“Yes, it is,” I agreed, wondering about the coincidence.

We reached a jurta that stood a short distance outside of the circle. Zoltan grabbed the small wooden stick hanging on the side of the thick leather door cover, and lightly tapped the round drum hanging next to it.

“Doorbell,” he explained, sounding more collected.

“Who art thou?” a silvery voice sounded from the inside, in ancient Hun language.

“The Traveler and the Healer are asking permission to enter,” Zoltan answered, in the same melodious mother tongue.

“Come hither.”

Zoltan pulled the thick leather covering aside and urged me forward. Inside, the light was dim and flickering, emanating from oil lamps hanging on the walls of the wide, round room. Zoltan motioned me to take my shoes off at the entrance. We walked forward. A beautiful, statuesque, dark haired woman slowly rose from a curved sofa-like piece of furniture. She wore a soft green, delicately decorated calf length tunic, with loose black trousers. Her hair was braided with soft leather thongs. 

In book one of the Guarded Secrets series, Foresight, Ilona’s birthright as a Healer runs alongside her desires as a woman. She’s secretly and hopelessly in love with her best friend when fate brings Zoltan into her life. Will he break her heart, or will he bring true happiness? Ilona is hoping for a red tulip, the symbol of devoted love. Who will offer it to her? She discovers growing magical abilities within her in the strange world of the Huns, which are beyond her wildest dreams. She can use her given gifts for absolute good or absolute evil; the choice is up to her. Ilona is determined to control and guide her own life. Resourceful and daring, she crosses the line and breaks the sacred rules. She must face the consequences and has to fight for her life and for her men; as both of them disappear from the face of the earth. She acquires magical abilities beyond her dreams to find and save them. Zoltan saves her life by jeopardizing his, which prompts Ilona to start fitting the puzzle pieces together and discovering the ancient tribal secrets that not only can change her future but the future existence of the Huns as well.