Yes, I've finally updated. It only took a few months. Things have been beyond hectic but I refuse to give up on this story, even though this might take a while. So, I finally sat down and finished this chapter. Truthfully I decided to post this as soon as I could, so there may be a few errors. I apologise in advance.
As always, thank you for your kind comments and support. I appreciate you all.
Enjoy.

22. Further Back

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Bella's POV

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Bella drove to the La Push in silence, enjoying the scenery, half lost in memories of traveling to Billy Black's house with Charlie as a child. She remembered going fishing with him on the lake, grumbling the entire time and ignoring her father's subtle smirk at her annoyance. She remembered playing in the rain with a young Jacob, tracking mud inside the Black residence. She wondered if Jacob was still the same happy go-lucky person as from before or if he took after his dad. She sincerely hoped he was not as much as an asshole.

Her ears prickled and she had the vaguest sense of someone watching her, bringing her trip down the memory lane to an abrupt stop. Bella blinked in surprise as she noticed had already arrived at the Clearwater house. She quickly killed the engine and jumped out of the car.

"You must be Bella Swan," a feminine voice brought her attention to the house. Bella swiftly turned around and saw a Native-American girl standing on the front porch with her arms crossed. She was tall and in obvious great shape, judging by her well-defined arms. Bella wondered idly if she was a body builder. She was rather pretty, dark scowl and all.

"Leah, I take it?" Bella asked in return.

"Smart too," Leah huffed out. "No wonder you charmed the bleach haired barbie," Bella frowned. What the hell?

"Please refrain yourself from insulting my girlfriend," Was Billy honestly gossiping about her relationship to other people at La Push? Did that man even know the definition of the word boundaries? Bella willed herself to calm down, knowing a punch to the throat would not be helpful if she wanted Charlie's things.

"Whatever," Leah rolled her eyes. "You couldn't at least bathe before you came?"

"Wow," Bella stared at the girl in disbelief. "What a great first impression you make. Are you always such a bitch to strangers or am I the exception?" She refrained the urge to sniff herself. Did she really smell awful? If so, Rosalie had not said anything about it before.

"You're not the exception sweetheart,"

"Don't call me that,"

"Your shit is in the garage," Leah informed her with an eye-roll. Bella inwardly bristled at hearing her late father's belongings referred to as shit but held her tongue. It would not help her to offend Sue's daughter, no matter how annoying and disrespectful she was being. Plus, the girl just lost her father and Bella had intimate knowledge of the anger that followed.

"Lead the way," Bella gestured. "Please," she added when the girl did not move. With another eye-roll from Leah, Bella followed her to the garage.

Various tools lined the walls, while most of the floor space was occupied by boxes and fishing equipment. A car covered with an old sheet took the rest of the space. Bella wondered briefly what kind of car it was. Her mind drifted to her mate, who she knew would be too curious to not unveil it, even if the scowling girl before her would have disliked it. A smile touched her lips at the thought. Although she was quick to school her features when Leah finally turned around.

"Grab it and go,"

"Whatever," the time traveler muttered and carefully took the box, deciding to just look at its content at home and not in this hostile environment.

"I've heard a lot about you from Billy," Leah commented as she watched Bella put the box in the trunk of her car.

"I imagine they were not complementary," Bella quipped dryly, turning to face the other girl. Leah's lips twitched upwards for a second before scowling again.

"You shouldn't associate with the Cullens,"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bella snapped, beyond annoyed now. "Listen sunshine, I only just met you and truthfully, you're not making a good impression. Secondly, I'll tell you what I told Billy – you have no say in whom I associate with so just fuck off and let me be," Instead of replying, Leah's body started to shake. Alarmed, Bella took a step forward but froze when a literal growl escaped the other girl. Was she having some kind of seizure?

"Woah okay, I did not expect that reaction. Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Leah's voice had taken a deeper tone. "Don't tell me to calm down you bloodsucker lover,"

"What the actual fuck? What is your problem?" Was this girl serious?

"My problem is you!" before Bella could even begin to address that, Leah let out another growl and without warning, disappeared. Bella jumped backwards in surprise, but her mood quickly shifted into fear and worry when a giant wolf stood in Leah's place.

"Seriously?" Bella cried. While she did not fully understand what had happened, she knew enough to figure out that this was something supernatural at play. She instinctively knew that Leah was that wolf now. She had read enough of Sherlock Holmes to know that the impossible, however improbable, could be true. Of course added with the fact that she was a time traveler and logic was a moot point by now. "You know, you didn't have to take my bitch comment this literally?" Apparently wolf version of Leah could understand human speak, since she let out a terrifying growl.
"Listen, we clearly got off on the wrong foot here, or paw in your case – " Bella jumped back when Leah took a menacing step towards here, fangs bared. While Leah was a lot bigger than normal wolves, she had nothing on werewolves. That fact was enough to make Bella take a calm breath and focus.
"Look, Leah. Can you somehow turn back? This would be easier if I could understand you," she requested politely. Leah somehow took offence to that and lunged. Panicking, Bella threw up her hands to protect herself. To her immense surprise, she managed to grab ahold of the wolf's shoulders, only barely stopping Leah from biting off her head. Then, with strength she didn't know she possessed; she pushed the wolf back. The giant beast flew backwards, landing harshly on the ground a few feet away.

"What the fuck?" Bella mumbled, staring down at her hands in growl snapped her back into reality and her eyes widened as the wolf jumped back to its feet. Bella gulped nervously. Was she seriously about to die on La Push of all places? After all the shit she had gone through in the past. Before she could properly curse that notion, Leah lunged again. The time traveler braced herself, and just like before – grabbed the wolf's shoulders.

"Don't," Bella breathed out, straining under pressure but Leah either did not hear her or dismissed her warning and pushed forward. A familiar tugging sensation swept over Bella and while she fought against it, she knew it was futile. The last thing Bella saw was Leah's panicked eyes and a glimpse of red in her peripheral vision, before everything went black.

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Rosalie's POV

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"Why. The. Fuck. Did. You. Leave. My. Mate?" Rosalie was vibrating with pure rage as she fought to free herself from her brothers hold. Irina was cowering behind her sisters, refusing to meet Rosalie's eyes.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know she would leave," Irina mumbled, flinching when Rosalie managed to break free for a moment. Emmett quickly drew her back, murmuring comforting words in the hopes to calm her down. Rosalie ignored him, her gaze focused on the youngest Denali sister.

"If I may?" a deep voice cut in. Rosalie's focus shifted to him. She had chosen Irina to watch over Bella, knowing Kate would ignore her mate's wishes for space. She had trusted Irina not to be distracted from her task, not to wander off to meet up with idiots with dreadlocks.

"No you may not. Fuck off Lars," the blonde growled.

"It's Laurent actually," he mumbled, taking a step back when Rosalie looked at him.

"I only stepped outside for a minute – " Irina began but was quickly cut off.

"You had one job Irina!"

"I'm sorry!"

"This is entirely my fault and I take full responsibility for it,"

"Shut the fuck up Lawrence!" Rosalie spat. "Let go off me Em,"

"Not until you calmed down. Irina didn't know about La Push," her brother tried to be the voice of reason.

"So you're telling me it's my fault?" Rosalie latched on to her anger, refusing to show exactly how terrified she was. She steadily ignored Jasper's sympathetic eyes.

"Of course not," Emmett responded quickly. "You know Irina would never do anything to deliberately harm your mate. It was an honest mistake,"

"If I may – "

"Lewis I swear to god! If you don't shut up, I will rip off your arms and shove them up your ass," Rosalie hissed, feeling a bit better when the man flinched.

She knew Emmett was right. They should have remembered La Push was off limits and warn Bella about the mongrels. Screw the treaty, the safety of her mate came first. If she was being honest, while she was angry with Irina for leaving her guard duty, she was more annoyed with herself. She should have been the one watching over Bella. There was a chance she was overacting and Bella was fine, but something felt off. Especially since Bella hadn't answered her phone for over an hour now. Something must have happened. Did she travel through time? Had Victoria attacked? Was she dealing with Billy Black and his condescending ass? Her mind reeled with the possibilities, the first two being a bigger concern. She knew Bella could handle Black.

"Relax, what's the problem? So she went to the beach. No need to be so controlling Rose," Kate piped up, rolling her eyes at the dramatics. "You don't need to be attached to the hip 24/7,"

"You think so little of me? You honestly think I fucking care if she went to the beach? Are you honestly suggesting I'm dealing with some attachment issues? I'm panicking because she just stepped into shifter territory, on a land none of us can enter without breaking the treaty. And while Bella is a very capable individual, she is decidedly human and possibly dealing with a supernatural threat. Most importantly, Victoria and her army doesn't give a shit about some land dispute and she might be in danger right now!" Rosalie glared daggers at the warrior.

"Well, shit. Good point," was the only thing Kate came up with.

"Let's all take a breath. This is not helping," Carlisle said calmly.

"With all due respect Carlisle – " before Rosalie could finish her thought, the phone in her pocket began to ring. Emmett and Jasper quickly let go of her and she fumbled with the phone for a second before finally hitting the receive button. A surge of relief flooded through her as she noticed the caller ID.

"Bella?"

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice piped up hesitantly.

"Who is this?" the blonde asked with a sense of dread. She did not know how Victoria sounded but reckoned she would sound surer of herself, or smug. That's the impression Bella gave at least.

"My name is Sue Clearwater," the woman answered.

"Why do you have Bella's phone?" Rosalie demanded, ignoring Esme's disapproving look at her rude tone. Now was not the time for pleasantries.

"Bella was supposed to come over today to pick up a box which belonged to Charlie,"

"Okay?"

"My daughter Leah was to meet her. However, I just came home and Bella's car is here but I can't find the girls. Her phone was on the ground and I noticed all the missed calls from this number. I was hoping you'd know where they went. I've checked with Leah's friends but no one has seen her or Bella," Sue sounded incredibly worried. Rosalie's stomach dropped.

"No I haven't seen her," the blonde answered faintly. There was a long pause. "I'll let you know if I do," she added when Jasper nudged her side.

"Oh thank you," Sue said gratefully. "I'll make sure Bella calls you back if I see her,"

"Thanks," Rosalie hung up, and looked up to meet Emmett's equally worried eyes.

"We'll search the border just in case,"

"I will call Sam Uley and let him know of Victoria, the pack might help us search," Carlisle suggested thoughtfully. That was a good idea, Rosalie hadn't thought of asking the shifters for help. As much as she disliked their kind, she was willing to put up with them for Bella's sake. Probably.

"We'll find her Rose," Alice voiced reassuringly. Everyone nodded in agreement, even Irina met her eyes with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, Aristotle will be here in no time to annoy us with her antics," Kate stated confidently. A small smile touched Rosalie's lips. A rush of gratitude filled Rosalie. She could always count on her family to help, even if she was a complete bitch to them.

"Thank you," she murmured, relaxing slightly as Emmett squeezed her side gently.

"I will help of course,"

"Shut up Lenin," Rosalie snapped.

"It's Laurent," the man mumbled with a pout as Irina patted his arms in a consoling manner.

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Bella's POV

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"Jesus fucking Christ," Leah grumbled, pushing herself into sitting position. Bella glanced at her companion, both perplexed and irritated that the girl had followed her. After all she had just tried to bite her head off. While Leah was probably on the bottom of her list to travel with, it was curious that she was able to bring other people with her to the past. "What the hell happened?" the other girl looked around. "Where are we?"

"Welcome to my world," Bella snorted without humour. "This happens a lot,"

"What exactly is this?" Leah frowned.

"You're not the only supernatural being around here," Bella sighed and stood up. "I am a time traveler,"

"What the actual fuck?" Leah started at her with puzzled look. "Bring us back then,"

"I can't," Bella sighed. "I can't control my powers,"

"Are you kidding me?" Leah shot to her feet, glaring at her intently.

"Not my fault you grabbed me before I traveled!" Bella glared back. "Or attacked me, what the fuck was that about?"

"Where are we?" Leah demanded, ignoring her last words. "No, when are we?"

"I don't know,"

"This is your stupid power!"

"I never know where or when I travel! I must figure it out as I go along," Bella snapped.

"That sounds…mildly terrifying," Leah admitted after a long pause.

"Nothing mild about it," Bella snorted. "Come on, let's go have a look around,"

Bella stared around in disbelief, wondering exactly how far back they had traveled. They were standing in the middle of what seemed to be an ancient city. Luckily it was almost nightfall, so few roamed the streets. Those who did, shot the two a curious look. She had no real sense where they were but the intricate stone carvings on the buildings around them gave her a few ideas. As did the colourful tunics the people wore around them. She wasn't completely sure but it seemed like they were a few centuries behind their time. Or more.

"Where the hell are we?" Leah breathed out, mirroring Bella's incredulous expression.

"When is the bigger concern," Bella swallowed thickly. "I don't know if you're a good history student but judging by the architecture of this place, we are at least several hundred years behind our time," she stared at the huge stone structure that loomed over the buildings. "Perhaps thousands even,"

"Jesus," Leah started hyperventilating. "I did not sign up for this," she gasped for breath. Bella quickly turned towards her companion.

"Hey, deep breaths," she said soothingly. "This isn't my first rodeo, I'll get us through this," Somehow, was added in the privacy of her mind. Leah's breaths kept getting shorter.

"Okay let's try something else. Name five things you can see," Bella instructed. "Come on Leah,"

"The ground," Leah stuttered. "You, that wall, a fucking pyramid," she shook her head.

"Keep going," Bella encouraged, placing her hand on Leah's shoulder.

"The sky,"

"Good. Now name four things you can feel,"

"The ground, your hand, my shirt," Leah picked up a small rock. "This rock,"

"You're doing well. Now name three things you can hear," Bella suggested gently.

"Your voice, a child crying, birds chirping," Leah's breath was calming down.

"Two things you can smell,"

"Some kind of spices," Leah's face scrunched up in distaste. "Pretty sure I also smell shit," Bella snorted but silently agreed.

"Great. Now lastly, name one thing you can taste,"

"The coffee I had earlier," the wolf's breath was back to normal and her gaze more focused. She looked up at Bella in surprise, who finally released her shoulder. "How did you know how to calm me?"

"I'm no stranger to panic attacks," Bella admitted and quickly changed the subject before Leah could question her further. "Now as I've said before. I know this is fucking terrifying, but this isn't my first time waking up in the past. I know we aren't exactly friends, and you don't trust me but right now your survival depends on me," she gave the other girl a solemn look. "You need to do exactly as I say and not argue,"

"Fine," Leah finally agreed after some hesitation. "Where to Captain?" she added sarcastically.

"Right now, we need to get off the street," Bella ignored her snark. "We're not exactly inconspicuous," she gestured to their modern clothing. "We need to get our bearings and figure out our next move,"

"Okay," Leah nodded, glancing around with an anxious expression.

"Come on," Bella started walking towards one of the buildings. "There's no light in here so either the residents are asleep or it's empty," Leah followed her wordlessly.
The two ducked inside, relieved when they saw it was just an empty space. Bella let out a sigh, hardly believing their luck. Then she noticed the decoration. She had seen a similar painting in a museum she visited with René as a child. She remembered being fascinated with the colours, red, yellow, and turquoise. Unlike the modern art piece her mother favoured, she had gravitated towards the ancient world. Ironic, given her powers today. She also remembered the mini lecture from the employee of the art gallery.

"This is Mayan art," her voice sounded strangled. The girl beside her let out noise of distress.

"Of all places…" Leah stared at the wall with a dumbfounded expression.

"This isn't so bad," Bella snorted. "I once traveled to a concentration camp," she shrugged, trying to lighten the mood. Inwardly, she was panicking. "Not to mention that time I had to fight as a gladiator in the Roman Empire," she continued, furiously trying to recall any information on the Mayans. Unfortunately, aside from her fascination with the art, her mind came up empty. Leah shot her a look that was equal incredulous as it was fascinated.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, that wasn't pleasant," Bella shivered and forced the memories away. "So, this isn't so bad so far," she paused. "Although I will acknowledge that I might have jinxed us by pointing it out,"

"Dear god," Leah muttered, closing her eyes. "And I thought my life was bad,"

"Yeah you might be a bitch but I got the angsty vibes down to an art form," Leah snorted at that.

"What do we do now?"

"It's getting pretty dark. I propose we rest for now. We have no idea if the nights here are dangerous,"

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Bella sat on the floor, observing the quiet streets with an occasional glance in Leah's direction. The wolf's eyes glinted in the moonlight, showing equal amount of rage and sadness. The time traveler wondered if her eyes mirrored Leah's or if Rosalie's presence in her life had tamed the emotions. Most days she was convinced but on days like today, she was not so sure. God she missed her girlfriend. She wondered if Rosalie was panicking over her disappearance. Knowing her mate, she probably was. She hoped Emmett or Jasper could keep her calm. Fuck, she put Rosalie through so much shit with her powers.

"How can you stand this?" Leah finally broke the silence. Bella blinked in surprise, having grown used to the silence. She tilted her head, silent question in her eyes. "This nerve-wracking time travel business," Leah clarified.

"Oh that," Bella shrugged. "I don't,"

"What?" Leah looked at her skeptically, as if she was unsure if Bella was mocking her or giving her a genuine answer.

"I can't stand this," Bella answered in a softer voice, tearing her eyes away from the other girl. "I'm in a constant state of panic and self-doubt with more than a handful of suicidal tendencies,"

"You're not joking," Leah declared after a long pause. Bella shrugged, oblivious to Leah's horror-stricken expression.

"I mean I could lie and tell you it's magical and every trip is awesome, if you'd prefer that?"

"No," Leah's answer was forceful, which prompted Bella to look up again. "I hate when people lie, so always tell me the truth," a pause. "Even if it hurts," Bella almost reeled back at the bite in her voice. That hit a nerve.

"Guess we all have our trauma," she said jokingly, both trying to light up the mood and get a read on the other girl. Leah snorted and inclined her head.

"My ex-fiancé left me for my cousin," the wolf explained bitterly. Bella winced at the thought.

"Fuck that's shitty,"

"He's also the alpha of my pack," Leah continued breezily. "And get this, not only am I forced to see him daily and visit their home for meetings – I also share a mind link with him when we're in our wolf form so I constantly hear how madly in love he is," That was like being in a relationship with Edward. She shivered at the thought.

"Jesus," Bella muttered under her breath. "That's a whole new level of fucked up. Congratulation, you just made the club,"

"The club?"

"Yup, it's a very prestigious club," Bella bobbed her head. "It's specifically for people who got fucked hard by life,"

"I'm not sure if that's an accomplishment," Leah looked vaguely amused now, which had been Bella's intention. She now had a better understanding of Leah's anger issues.

"An excellent point," Bella acknowledged. "You're in it, nonetheless. Congratulations,"

"While I'm flattered and all, I'm not sold on the field trips for this club," Bella's lips twitched. "Plus, I'd rather not feel angry all the time," the wolf stared up at the sky with a dejected expression. Bella sighed, before channeling her inner Jasper.

"Look, I'm currently in therapy myself so I can hardly tell you how to live - "

"You're in therapy?" Leah sounded skeptical. "You're really relying a bit too much on that client confidentiality, aren't you?"

"Not if my therapist is a Vampire," Bella shot her a sardonic grin.

"What the hell? There are bloodsucker therapists?" the outrage in Leah's tone was evident.

"Not many I reckon," the time traveler shrugged, ignoring the offensive word for now. Carlisle was a doctor after all, who knew if any more vampires were working in the health industry. "Jasper is my doctor. He's a Cullen. Well, Hale technically. He's supposed to be Rosalie's twin,"

"Your brother-in-law is your therapist," Leah deadpanned, obviously not impressed.

"He's pretty good at it," Bella shrugged. "Whatever, my point is that I have experience with anger problems and depression,"

"You're not just going to tell me to stop being angry," the shifter muttered. "Like my mom," she added quietly. That was rather heartbreaking.

"Telling you to stop being angry is like ordering a depressed person to stop feeling sad. Or tell them just to go for a walk," Bella frowned in distaste. She hated that advice. "All I know is that carrying that much rage is exhausting, or at least I think so. It might be a lot of work but some things you can work through. Or, that's my hope,"

"I still feel like you're telling me to go to therapy," Leah accused, obviously not on board with the idea.

"Not necessarily, not everyone deals with their problem in the same way. I'm not exactly authority on good mental health but I know not one size fits all when it comes to recovery. You'll have to find whatever works for you," Bella shrugged. "Maybe it's therapy, maybe it's something else. You'll have to find out that yourself," Leah nodded absently.

"I'll think about,"

"You do you," Bella pulled herself up, stretching her legs. "Come on, I hear people starting to wake up. Let's explore,"

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The marketplace was an explosion of colours, different textiles, and mixtures of numerous scents; spices, fruits, various meat and fish (both fresh and cooked), along with a few more Bella could not identify. It was almost overwhelming, and Bella swayed on the spot. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Leah flinch, scrunching up her nose in distaste. She wondered the wolf gene was responsible for sensory issues or if it this scene was uncomfortable for everyone. After all she was having a difficult time as well. Maybe these people had just grown accustomed to it.

"Jesus, I can't handle this shit," Leah commented loudly, trying to be heard over the loud commotion.

"Yeah it's a bit much," Bella agreed. "However, we need to get appropriate clothes for this era, I don't like how much we stand out. That is never a good thing in my experience,"

"Fine," Leah half growled, rubbing her temples in an absent gesture.

"Do you have anything we can trade with?" the time traveler wondered, patting the pockets of her jacket. At least she had the pocket knife she stuffed in earlier. This was getting beyond embarrassing at this point in time, she really should start carrying around a survival kit of some sort.

"What?"

"It's not like they're going to take our money. We need to trade," Bella replied sarcastically, to which Leah shot her an annoyed look for before checking her own pockets. The wolf fished out a few crumbled-up dollars and a packet of gum. Bella let out a disappointed sigh, showing Leah her pocketknife and car keys in her hands.

"We can trade your knife," Leah suggested hopefully.

"I'd rather not. It's better to have a weapon in this situation," Bella's thought flashed to her time in ancient Rome. "Believe me,"

"Fuck, what then?" Leah ran fingers through her short hair and Bella spotted a flash of silver. Without a thought she grabbed Leah's arm. The wolf sputtered in outrage, but Bella ignored her, examining the bracelet.

"This will do," Bella decided and let go.

"What? No!" Leah protested, clutching her arm protectively, as if afraid Bella would rip the bracelet off.

"You have a better idea?" the time traveler tried not to sound too annoyed but failed.

"Sam gave me this," Leah informed her with a frown.

"Your ex-fiancé who left you for your cousin?" Bella cocked an eyebrow. She let out a small sigh when Leah scowled. "I'm sorry, that was bitchy of me. Look, I honestly have no idea what to do. I'd rather not steal because I have no idea what the punishment is if we get caught. But if this bracelet matters that much to you, I won't force you to give it up. We'll have to come up with an alternative plan," Leah stared at her arm for a long moment.

"Fine," she finally let out. "I guess it can be a cleansing ritual. Let go of the ghost of the past or some shit like that,"

"Very spiritual of you," Bella's lips twitched up in amusement. Leah smirked with a small shrug. "Thank you, for real,"

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," the wolf looked uncomfortable with her gratitude and took her bracelet off. "Where to?"

"Let's try that woman over there," Bella suggested, discreetly pointing out an old woman in front of a clothing stall. Leah shrugged again and followed Bella through the crowd. The woman looked up as the two approached, eyeing their garment with both interest and suspicion. Bella plastered a charming smile on her face, pointing at the dresses on the table.

The woman said something in an unfamiliar language, gesturing towards Bella. The time traveler offered a sheepish smile, trying to wordlessly communicate how she did not understand. The woman's eyes narrowed, eyes roaming her body. It was not a suggestive thing, mostly since the woman seemed highly suspicious of her. There was however a glint of fascination in her eyes. Bella knew she stood out like a sore thumb around the locals, with her white skin and modern clothes. Even Leah, with Native American heritage, was too tall to be inconspicuous.

It took a lot of hand gestures and apologetic smiles to finally convince the woman that they meant her no harm and wanted to buy from her. Luckily the woman seemed enthralled by Leah's silver bracelet. The wolf had handed it over with great reluctance, only relenting after a hard kick to the shin from Bella. The two hastily mumbled their thanks before grabbing the garments and ducking into the nearest alley to change. While the colourful skirt was not Bella's style at all, she felt better as soon as she discarded her jeans. At least they had a better time blending in now.

Just as Bella was about to suggest they'd go explore the city, a loud drum in the distance caught her attention. The time traveler peeked around the corner and noticed the marketplace emptying quickly. She and Leah exchanged a nervous look.

"What the hell is going on?" Leah whispered furiously.

"I don't know. Let's find out," Bella murmured back and the two followed the crowd from the market. They were silent as they walked, both unnerved by the excited energy coming from the people around them. While Bella had no idea what was happening, previous experience had taught her it was nothing good.

They finally came to a stop in front of the large pyramid, doing a double take at the sea of people. There must be at least five thousand people gathered there, staring up at the huge structure. Bella's eyes followed their line of sight, frowning as she noticed five figures at the top. A man was strapped to a stone altar, stripped bare and painted blue. A man wearing a ceremonial garment stood beside him, holding a large knife to his ribs.

"I don't know much about this time period but are they actually going to…" Leah trailed off, staring at the altar with a horrified expression.

"Sacrifice that man to appease the Gods? I think so. Yes," Bella continued where she left off, feeling queasy at the sight of it. What fresh hell had she got herself into now?

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To be continued...