Linn Halton - Forbidden:

Angels Among Us

Linn B. Halton

A division of HarperCollins Publishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Linn B. Halton Linn B. Halton I live in a small village in Gloucestershire with the man I fell in love with, virtually at first sight. We were at a party and our eyes met across a crowded room! My days are spent with characters who become friends and Mr Tiggs, a feline with catitude. I always knew that one day I would write romantic novels, but I never dreamed they would have a psychic twist! I’ve experienced many ‘unexplainable’ things, but it took a long time for me to accept the reality of what that means. Love, life and beyond…but it’s ALWAYS about the romance!

Dedication I would like to thank Kim, Heidi, Kate, JB, Erin, Susan, Shaz, Charlotte, Dizzy C, Nikki and Tobi for valued feedback and support - love you guys! Also Mandy for being a listening ear and for her constant support and guidance. To my friends and colleagues at Loveahappyending Lifestyle emagazine - writers who share their knowledge and from whom I've learnt so much! To all of the HarperImpulse team - for your energy, enthusiasm and the buzz you create that writers and readers are loving so much! Lastly I have to thank 'my rock', Lawrence, without you by my side I wouldn't be able to devote all of my time to writing …

Ceri Ceri

Prologue Prologue The Ethereal Pathway I’m in a tunnel. It’s dark and yet little rays, like pinpricks of sunshine breaking through foliage, seep towards me from every angle. Too minute to light my path, I wonder if they are really threads drawing me along in case I lose my way. My body is cold and I feel disconnected, as if I’m no longer whole. Alex is calling my name, his voice distant. I want to find my way back to him but I’m being coaxed away, carried on a wave of light within a dark place. Am I dreaming? Will this moment pass and then I’ll simply wake up next to Alex, content in the knowledge that the future stretches out ahead of us? Fear takes control of my mind. I want to go back. I’m frightened and I don’t want to be in this place. It seems I am incapable of doing anything and the fact that I don’t have a choice is terrifying. Ceri’s journey continues…

Chapter One – Transition Chapter One – Transition Something instinctive tells me that I have to make some sense of this quickly. The memory I have of the past is draining away, like sand running through a sieve into a black hole. Fragments of thoughts that are clear one moment, then hazy before my mind can play each one through to a conclusion. Is someone trying to erase my past, one memory at a time? Why have I been pulled into this vortex where time doesn’t seem to be relative to anything? I try to concentrate. What’s the last thing I can remember? The sunshine was streaming in through the window and I turned over to find Alex lying next to me. My world felt complete and I was happier than I had been in a long while. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alex would love me forever, no matter what the future held. Someone told me I was an angel, but I can only recall the voice and not the face of the person speaking to me. Was it Alex? There was a warning… yes! The voice told me that Alex and I were not destined to be together and we had broken one of the cardinal rules: angels don’t fall in love with their spirit helpers. I feel as if I’m being pulled in two directions at the same time. Which way should I turn? I realise that I’m no longer attached to my earthly shell. The next part of my journey has begun. My heart cries out for Alex, for his love. I won’t let go, I won’t let go…

Chapter Two – The Healing

Chapter Three – Trust

Chapter Four – Eyes Wide Open

Chapter Five – A Friend In Need

Chapter Six – Coming Clean

Chapter Seven – Heaven Or Hell

Chapter Eight – Earthbound

Chapter Nine – In Love With Love

Chapter Ten – First Impressions

Chapter Eleven – A Little Doubt

Alex

Chapter Twelve – Sometimes The Truth Isn’t Pretty

Chapter Thirteen – The Week From Hell

Chapter Fourteen – Facing The Past

Ceri

Chapter Fifteen – Feeling At Home

Chapter Sixteen – A Little Surprise…

Chapter Seventeen – Time To Kickback

Chapter Eighteen – A Moment In Time

Chapter Nineteen – Announcements

Chapter Twenty – When The Past Catches Up

About HarperImpulse

Copyright

About the Publisher

I live in a small village in Gloucestershire with the man I fell in love with, virtually at first sight. We were at a party and our eyes met across a crowded room! My days are spent with characters who become friends and Mr Tiggs, a feline with catitude. I always knew that one day I would write romantic novels, but I never dreamed they would have a psychic twist! I’ve experienced many ‘unexplainable’ things, but it took a long time for me to accept the reality of what that means. Love, life and beyond…but it’s ALWAYS about the romance!

I would like to thank Kim, Heidi, Kate, JB, Erin, Susan, Shaz, Charlotte, Dizzy C, Nikki and Tobi for valued feedback and support - love you guys! Also Mandy for being a listening ear and for her constant support and guidance.

To my friends and colleagues at Loveahappyending Lifestyle emagazine - writers who share their knowledge and from whom I've learnt so much!

To all of the HarperImpulse team - for your energy, enthusiasm and the buzz you create that writers and readers are loving so much!

Lastly I have to thank 'my rock', Lawrence, without you by my side I wouldn't be able to devote all of my time to writing …

The Ethereal Pathway

I’m in a tunnel. It’s dark and yet little rays, like pinpricks of sunshine breaking through foliage, seep towards me from every angle. Too minute to light my path, I wonder if they are really threads drawing me along in case I lose my way. My body is cold and I feel disconnected, as if I’m no longer whole. Alex is calling my name, his voice distant. I want to find my way back to him but I’m being coaxed away, carried on a wave of light within a dark place. Am I dreaming? Will this moment pass and then I’ll simply wake up next to Alex, content in the knowledge that the future stretches out ahead of us?

Fear takes control of my mind. I want to go back. I’m frightened and I don’t want to be in this place. It seems I am incapable of doing anything and the fact that I don’t have a choice is terrifying.

Ceri’s journey continues…

Something instinctive tells me that I have to make some sense of this quickly. The memory I have of the past is draining away, like sand running through a sieve into a black hole. Fragments of thoughts that are clear one moment, then hazy before my mind can play each one through to a conclusion. Is someone trying to erase my past, one memory at a time? Why have I been pulled into this vortex where time doesn’t seem to be relative to anything?

I try to concentrate. What’s the last thing I can remember? The sunshine was streaming in through the window and I turned over to find Alex lying next to me. My world felt complete and I was happier than I had been in a long while. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alex would love me forever, no matter what the future held. Someone told me I was an angel, but I can only recall the voice and not the face of the person speaking to me. Was it Alex? There was a warning… yes! The voice told me that Alex and I were not destined to be together and we had broken one of the cardinal rules: angels don’t fall in love with their spirit helpers.