On this side of the portal, there was no cave, only the rocks and forest, which stretched away in all directions.
She had never seen so many trees in one place.
And the air smelled different here.
Of course it did. She wasn’t breathing in the smell of burned vegetation. But there were more differences. This place wasn’t like Breezewood, either, the city where she had lived. There was something in the atmosphere that wasn’t entirely pleasant.
Vandar’s words came back to her. He had said that this society was more advanced than the one she came from. Could the smell be from the gasoline or the electricity he had spoken of?
Perhaps. But all she saw was the vast expanse of virgin forest.
As she stood among the trees, a blast of wind shook the branches above her, and she shivered as thunder rumbled.
A storm was coming on this side of the portal. Was it on the other side, too?
TALON grimaced as he looked up from the computer screen. He loved taking people out on wilderness trips, but keeping track of all the details made him crazy.
Like now. He had a canoe trip coming up, and the dehydrated food his clients would eat hadn’t been delivered. When he’d checked the order, he’d found that his supplier was out of beef stew, so they’d held up the whole shipment.
He’d switched to chili.
Of course, dehydrated meat was never the first choice of a werewolf. But they’d be able to catch fish for a couple of meals.
Speaking of which, it was time to fix dinner now. Which wasn’t too much of a problem. All he had to do was pull a package of steak out of the refrigerator and open it up. When he was alone, he didn’t bother with the fiction of pretending to broil or fry it.
A noise outside made him tense, and he turned toward the office window. Since the visit from the cops, he’d been waiting for something else to happen. What that was, he wasn’t sure.
Through the glass, he saw the wind kicking up the branches of the trees. Then thunder rumbled. Storms could be fierce out here in the woods, and he’d better bring in the tents that were airing outside.
PUSHING away from the tree, Kenna peered through the gathering darkness.
With no idea which way to go, she chose the easiest direction—downhill—her mind racing as she hurried through the forest.
For months she had been living in a terrible place where an evil creature dictated every move, dividing the people and setting them against each other. But it hadn’t been that way in Breezewood, and there was no reason to think that she wouldn’t encounter ordinary human kindness here.
Or would she?
As she hurried into the unknown, the rain broke, and she heard drops hitting the leaves far above her head. When they began to fall on her, she raised her arms over her head—not that it did much good. Her clothing would be soaked soon.
She stopped under a tree with thick foliage. It helped to shelter her a little, and she wanted to huddle there. But she remembered a school lesson from long ago. Lightning was attracted to trees. You could get hit if you were too close to one.
Yet how could she get away from them? They were all around her.
Somewhere to her right, a blast of light flashed. It was followed by a crack of thunder so close that it shook the ground around her. Then, through the rain, she saw a massive tree come crashing to the ground, taking other trees with it.
Gasping, she tried to sprint in the other direction, but her sandals slipped against the wet ground, and she almost fell. When she felt steadier on her feet, she looked around, shading her eyes from the downpour. Through the branches to her right, a light shone out. Not a flash from the storm, but a steady, warm glow that called her forward.
Even through the rain it looked brighter than any artificial light she had seen in her universe.
Electricity. That’s what made it so bright.
She had never seen so many trees in one place.
And the air smelled different here.
Of course it did. She wasn’t breathing in the smell of burned vegetation. But there were more differences. This place wasn’t like Breezewood, either, the city where she had lived. There was something in the atmosphere that wasn’t entirely pleasant.
Vandar’s words came back to her. He had said that this society was more advanced than the one she came from. Could the smell be from the gasoline or the electricity he had spoken of?
Perhaps. But all she saw was the vast expanse of virgin forest.
As she stood among the trees, a blast of wind shook the branches above her, and she shivered as thunder rumbled.
A storm was coming on this side of the portal. Was it on the other side, too?
TALON grimaced as he looked up from the computer screen. He loved taking people out on wilderness trips, but keeping track of all the details made him crazy.
Like now. He had a canoe trip coming up, and the dehydrated food his clients would eat hadn’t been delivered. When he’d checked the order, he’d found that his supplier was out of beef stew, so they’d held up the whole shipment.
He’d switched to chili.
Of course, dehydrated meat was never the first choice of a werewolf. But they’d be able to catch fish for a couple of meals.
Speaking of which, it was time to fix dinner now. Which wasn’t too much of a problem. All he had to do was pull a package of steak out of the refrigerator and open it up. When he was alone, he didn’t bother with the fiction of pretending to broil or fry it.
A noise outside made him tense, and he turned toward the office window. Since the visit from the cops, he’d been waiting for something else to happen. What that was, he wasn’t sure.
Through the glass, he saw the wind kicking up the branches of the trees. Then thunder rumbled. Storms could be fierce out here in the woods, and he’d better bring in the tents that were airing outside.
PUSHING away from the tree, Kenna peered through the gathering darkness.
With no idea which way to go, she chose the easiest direction—downhill—her mind racing as she hurried through the forest.
For months she had been living in a terrible place where an evil creature dictated every move, dividing the people and setting them against each other. But it hadn’t been that way in Breezewood, and there was no reason to think that she wouldn’t encounter ordinary human kindness here.
Or would she?
As she hurried into the unknown, the rain broke, and she heard drops hitting the leaves far above her head. When they began to fall on her, she raised her arms over her head—not that it did much good. Her clothing would be soaked soon.
She stopped under a tree with thick foliage. It helped to shelter her a little, and she wanted to huddle there. But she remembered a school lesson from long ago. Lightning was attracted to trees. You could get hit if you were too close to one.
Yet how could she get away from them? They were all around her.
Somewhere to her right, a blast of light flashed. It was followed by a crack of thunder so close that it shook the ground around her. Then, through the rain, she saw a massive tree come crashing to the ground, taking other trees with it.
Gasping, she tried to sprint in the other direction, but her sandals slipped against the wet ground, and she almost fell. When she felt steadier on her feet, she looked around, shading her eyes from the downpour. Through the branches to her right, a light shone out. Not a flash from the storm, but a steady, warm glow that called her forward.
Even through the rain it looked brighter than any artificial light she had seen in her universe.
Electricity. That’s what made it so bright.
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