Welcome Home (Alternate Worlds Book 3)

by Leigh, Taylor

  He swallowed, trying to ignore the pain clenching at his insides. ‘So, what are you trying to get at? Stop beating about the bush and speak plainly.’

  ‘You do not have the luxury of living for yourself. You are no different than me. You must make sacrifices for the good of this world. And yours.’

  With seizing lungs he fought against an oncoming wracking cough. ‘So. You want me to abandon your daughter and my work for what exactly?’

  Lucinda straightened, seething. ‘Help Ramses with his experiments. Do not ignore Noel. Use your gifts for your full potential.’

  ‘What do Ramses and Noel want me to do? If they want my help why do they sneak about and not speak plainly?’

  ‘Perhaps they believe you to be too hostile. Too set in antiquated beliefs.’

  He nearly laughed. ‘I can assure you that is not me, madam. But I have spoken plain with them. And they have given me no reason to proceed any further with their games.’

  She stepped nearer. ‘Go to them. Be the man they trust you to be. You do that, and you will in turn help my daughter you seem to be so fond of. The power you bring will help her, too.’

  Andrew stared at her, struggling with the blackness in his vision. His lips twisted up nastily. ‘And I thought you didn’t care.’

  * * * * *

  Sam’s skin felt too tight over her muscles. Her hair stood on end. The pounding on the door continued. It was not like the mad pounding of the robots. This was one fist. One big, powerful fist. And it sounded human.

  She bit her lip and took several hesitant steps forward, wracking her brain on what to do, what to say. She’d only met one dragon before and she wasn’t sure Marus even counted. From what she knew, these creatures weren’t pleasant. They were sneaking, devious, selfish, lustful animals that could never be trusted.

  And now she was all on her own with one to contend with.

  Fantastic.

  Her nerves were like a spring as she reached out and with wobbling hands, pushed up the latch. The door swung in to her and Sam wasn’t prepared for what she saw.

  A gorgeous, tall, muscular man was standing just on the other side, completely naked, and smiling like a shark.

  ‘Took you long enough, girl,’ he said in a surprisingly friendly way.

  Amber eyes flickered beneath curling blond hair.

  Sam averted her gaze, taken aback by all she was faced with. He was incredibly good-looking and his body was…intimidating to say the least. Then again, all dragons—from what she knew—made their avatars as physically perfect as possible. She bit her lip and looked back to him, firmly reminding herself any attraction she might feel towards him was due to nothing more than pheromones.

  ‘I know you,’ she said shakily, surprised by her words. He looked older, but it was unmistakable. He was from the recording. ‘You—you’re Noel.’

  The man was taken aback. He blinked those beautiful fire-like eyes once before flashing a smile again. ‘You know me. Afraid I can’t say the same.’ He took several steps forward to casually lean in the doorway, arms crossed, hips canted dramatically. ‘Got a name?’

  Sam pressed her lips into a thin line. ‘Yeah. Not sure I want to give it to you, though, mate.’ She crossed her own arms. ‘Care to put something on? Or is that all you’ve got?’

  Noel chuckled darkly and bared his teeth again. He held up a hand and snapped his fingers, and out of the very air a robe draped over him, part of the image. ‘Whatever you say.’ He grinned. ‘Just thought you were enjoying the view.’

  Sam rolled her eyes. ‘Last thing I’m interested in at the mo; and your dragon charms aren’t going to work on me, so don’t waste your energy.’

  His lips twitched in amusement. ‘What? Not enjoying your time here on Tick-Tock Island?’

  Sam glanced up at the black sky and then back to him. ‘Not since the change of scenery, no.’

  Noel tilted his head a little to one side. ‘What? That?’ He pointed up. ‘Oh, that never hurt anyone.’ He trotted down several of the steps, rolling out his muscular shoulders. He moved like a cat.

  Sam puffed her breath. ‘Yeah, well, I have experience which suggests otherwise.’ She looked him over. ‘What are you doing here?’

  Noel turned round to her. ‘So, what, you know my name, but not why I’m here?’ Something flashed across his face. Calculating, cunning.

  Sam very much wished she’d finished watching that recording. At the foot of the stairs, she noticed the odd, bronze robots, all lined up like waiting soldiers.

  Trying to hide her nervousness, she shrugged, though she was certain Noel could smell it on her like perfume. ‘Well, seems like a pretty small island for such a big dragon. Not much to do here. Unless…do you know how to use this place? Are you a time traveller?’

  Noel’s eyes rose to hers sharply; he didn’t bother hiding his hunger. She braced herself. Whatever he wanted wasn’t good for her. ‘Time traveller? No. Afraid not.’

  Sam licked her lips. ‘So, how long have you been here, then?’

  Noel twisted his head one way than the other. ‘Oh, impossible to tell time here. This Realm has a tendency to pull its inhabitants in, like a poisonous flower. It happens now and then. It’s happening again.’

  Sam glanced up at the blackness above. It gave the sick sense of being an untreatable disease infecting the Realm.

  ‘Now, my turn. What are you doing in a place like this? This Realm is not easy to find and I know well that no-one has been here in a very, very long time.’

  Sam’s stomach tumbled and she balled her hands into fists. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t so terrible a thing. Andrew’s text had said it was impossible to free Tollin without a guardian, but perhaps Noel knew of another way. He may not be on her side, but if he could free Tollin, then Tollin could deal with the problem. He surely knew what to do better than she did.

  ‘I’m here…with my friend.’

  Noel frowned in confusion. He moved silkily forward, up a step. ‘Friend? I…didn’t know there was someone else here.’

  Sam pressed her tongue against her teeth. ‘Didn’t smell someone else, you mean.’

  Noel flashed another charming smile. ‘However you’d like to put it.’

  She straightened. ‘Yeah, well. He’s not here. He’s exploring another Realm right now. But he’ll be back shortly.’ Did she dare mention that her companion was Tollin? Would that help or hurt her case? Surely this man would know who he was, but would that endanger her, or make him respect her?

  Noel was watching her sharply now. Expecting something. Lying would do no good now. He’d catch that much too easily. He wasn’t human; she had to remind herself of that. And she was out of her depth.

  ‘Exploring? He’s a Realm Jumper, is he?’

  Sam struggled to keep her expression as blank as possible. ‘Loads of people are. Not such a big deal.’ She was starting to think that Noel really couldn’t jump. No way would he be so curious if he could come and go as he pleased. He must have been stripped of it—that was possible, wasn’t it? Marus hadn’t been able to, either. But…a punishment like that…what he’d done couldn’t have been good. That recording might have said. She was an idiot for not finishing it.

  Noel’s lips twitched. ‘No. But finding a place like this? Well, one has to know one’s way. Not many people know that. Only special people…’ His eyes glinted, despite the low light. ‘You two aren’t what anyone would call normal Jumpers.’

  She raised her chin. ‘Yeah, well, he is special. The Traveller. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.’

  Noel didn’t bat an eye. And much to her dismay, not even the faintest flicker of recognition passed over his features. He was either a master of hiding his emotion, or, as impossible as it was to believe, the name meant nothing to him.

  ‘I’m afraid not,’ he drawled. ‘I don’t suppose your friends and mine crossed much into the same spheres. Jumpers and…gods do not often meet.’

  Sam flattened her lips. ‘Never heard of hi
m? Well, you’re one of the few. He’s a force to be reckoned with. Even dragons and Daemons fear him.’

  Noel chuckled darkly. ‘Is that so? My, I’m feeling left out. One misses a lot when one is shut away for so long.’

  He looked up at her with warm longing which sent through her a tight spark of attraction she couldn’t fight. Damn these creatures. ‘So, if you’re a dragon, why not just…I dunno, jump away from this place? What’s stopping you?’

  Noel’s eyes rose to the black sky. ‘We all have our prisons.’

  Sam’s gaze warily followed his, praying he’d make no sudden movements. ‘What, you’re trapped here, too? That…the Darkness? Is that’s what’s keeping you here?’

  Noel, for the first time, showed some sign of emotion. He bared his teeth. ‘Do not speak of it in such a way! You are a fool!’ He bristled a little. ‘But... I am loyal. I do what I am told and I will not abandon the one who gave me life. So I am here. I watch this place. Protect it. You may say I am its…appointed guardian.’

  Sam felt her heart give a violent twitch. A guardian! She hoped her expression hadn’t been a complete giveaway of how excited that made her. It probably wouldn’t even matter. Surely he could hear her heart banging in her chest. ‘You’re a guardian?’

  Noel’s eyes flicked up again and he let his shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. ‘If you want me to be, darlin’.’

  ‘Fine, be that way if you like.’

  ‘Why did he leave you here all alone, girl?’ The man’s eyes took on a fiery sheen. ‘Just what Realm did is he exploring? What was he searching for?’

  ‘He didn’t leave me. We’re a team. And sometimes we’ve got to split up to get things done.’ Sam felt her mouth going dry. ‘And I don’t know what telling you would help if you’ve been here as long as you claim.’

  ‘You are a fool to insult my knowledge.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘What Realm is he on?’

  Sam lifted her chin. True, she had no idea how she was going to do that. Any of it. Tollin’s Realm could only be opened by the will of some sort of guardian and the closest thing she had was Noel. And Sam wasn’t so sure she trusted him with that. ‘Why do you want to know so badly?’

  ‘You said it yourself, I’m a guardian. And I don’t take too kindly to strangers sneaking around.’

  She bit on her tongue to keep from losing her temper. ‘Look, I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but if you want him to take you somewhere, you’ll have to take it up with him. I can’t make decisions like that. But you’ll have to be patient.’

  Noel glanced away from the darkness, once again focused on her. ‘Because you can’t jump.’

  Sam swallowed. ‘Yeah. Because I can’t jump.’

  His lips pulled back from those white teeth again. ‘Well, perhaps we can make a deal. You and I.’

  She bit her lower lip, feeling a mounting wave of nervousness. She wasn’t so sure she had a choice.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Andrew swept into Victoria’s room, looking pale and wan as ever, yet with more bruises to add to his collection. He wheezed, practically seething rage, and collapsed on her bed in a heavy heap.

  She was by his side in moments, rolling him over so he could gasp for breath. ‘What on earth has happened to you?’

  Andrew groaned and managed to kick his boots off, squeezing his eyes shut. ‘A combination of my disease, your mother and that snake, Noel!’

  Victoria gaped at him. She dashed to find a cloth before dabbing at his cuts. ‘Noel did this to you?’

  Andrew simply growled in response, blowing out his lips impatiently.

  Victoria sat back, frowning. ‘I think it’s time for you to explain what you’ve been up to.’

  After a few moments of him puffing his breath, he told her all about his conversation with Samantha Turner, his discovery of the secret tunnel, Ramses and his encounters with Noel and her mother.

  ‘So Noel knows about the time room…’ Victoria glowered. ‘You dismissed that possibility when we first found him.’

  Andrew pushed up his chin. ‘But I didn’t immediately fall in love with him. I kept my mind open. I was the only one who didn’t have the wool pulled over my eyes by that charming stranger. Now look how it’s all turned out!’

  She rolled her eyes. Such drama. ‘But what are they after? What leads it all back to you?’

  ‘Despite what they say, for once I would say it’s not…about me.’

  ‘What then?’

  He sat up a bit, wincing in pain, growing cross from it. ‘The time device, of course! We all agree that the technology is clearly beyond anything that the people of your planet are capable of making, but oh well, one of life’s little mysteries, let’s just forget it and move on with our dull little lives! No possible reason that Ramses and his sneaking friend Noel would want to get their hands on that!’

  ‘But why would they be interested in talking to Sam?’

  Andrew at last paused. He lowered his eyes in thought. ‘Perhaps because…that is not all that room does. Those tunnels that crawl off into the Bone Vault; there’s something out there they are working on. Something they’re interested in.’ He looked towards one of the window slits. ‘There must be something in the treasury, that’s what your mother said, isn’t it? Some piece of it all we’ve completely missed.’ With a pained groan he rolled from bed and started walking.

  Victoria hitched her skirts and went after him. ‘So, what do we do?’ She paused as a thought hit her. ‘Oh! There’s an incomplete list of what’s in the treasury—at least there used to be—that might help?’

  Andrew turned his eyes to her. ‘That is as good as an idea as any. So we try and find it. If it is important it must be documentation somewhere! We go to the records.’ He leant against his cane heavily with each step and set off.

  They pored over scrolls till the hours went thin and the candles burnt low. There seemed some pressing sense of time running out that Andrew couldn’t shake. So he frantically pressed on, forcing Victoria to do the same. From the corner of her eye she watched him read till it was clear his eyes blurred and his head brutally ached. He at last looked up from the parchment before him when he could no longer see it. She knew that blinded look all too well.

  ‘Feels a bit weird in here, doesn’t it?’ Victoria piped up from her spot on the floor.

  Andrew blinked and gave her a curious glance as his sight returned. He appeared somewhat grateful for a distraction, though it did nothing to stop the clenching in his head. ‘What does?’

  She shrugged. ‘Dunno. Just sort of feels like we’re separated from the world. I’ve always thought so, at least.’

  Andrew pinched his nose, wincing at the mounting pressure. Victoria supposed an inevitable nosebleed was coming on. ‘I suppose I can understand that. Often associated with reading. Even if it’s been completely fruitless.’ He pressed his lips into a thin line and closed the scroll he’d been perusing with a sigh.

  ‘Perhaps there’s nothing. Ramses could just be a treasure hunter. There are people like that.’

  Andrew let out a growl. ‘I would like to agree but you are forgetting one thing: Noel.’ He stared to the window. ‘He is the dangerous piece to this. And we need to find out what he wants. Whatever they are doing out in the desert, whatever they are playing with, for once I feel they know more than me. I’m the one who’s missed something. I’m the one in the dark.’ He sighed. ‘This world has too many delicate threads we’re just now beginning to understand. These people are threatening to undo all of that and we don’t yet know precisely what that means.’

  She gathered up the useless scrolls in resignation.

  ‘Victoria,’ Andrew reached forward and grabbed her arm, stopping her short.

  Victoria stopped, trying to ignore the flutter his long fingers coiled round her arm gave her. His blue eyes held an alien hesitation.

  She put her hand on his. ‘What’s wrong?’

  He shook his head in a tight sweep. ‘Nothing is the ma
tter. I need to ask you something. Something personal.’

  That was a surprise. Victoria did her best to mask it but couldn’t quite keep the disbelieving colour from her voice. ‘Oh?’

  Andrew’s eyes drifted to his feet. She seemed to be the only person he could make eye-contact with and even the short time their eyes had locked was already broken. ‘Yes. I have been thinking on recent conversations we’ve had. Conversations about us.’

  This was odd. She felt her pulse pick up a beat faster. ‘What conversations about us?’

  Andrew glanced over her shoulder, expressionless. ‘About our status.’

  Victoria frowned in confusion, trying to work out what Andrew was getting at. She hadn’t remembered many of those. And not long at that. ‘Sorry. Not really following.’

  Andrew huffed his breath. ‘About our…marital status.’

  Victoria’s brows dropped a bit lower. ‘We don’t have a marital status.’

  ‘I know!’ Andrew groaned. ‘That is what I am getting at. It is only…logical…that we do finally…wed each other, or whatever the hell you call it here.’ His expression had become a tight scowl. ‘With both of us acting as representatives of our planets, marrying only makes sense. It would solidify an allegiance between the two worlds which would hopefully dispel some of the suspicion and ill-feeling felt on both planets.’

  Victoria couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open. ‘Are—are you proposing to me? Andrew, things are slipping towards madness around here—we don’t know what’s going to happen and you want to get married?’

  Andrew pulled an angry face. ‘Yes,’ he muttered quietly.

  Victoria mashed down her excitement. Jumping round like one of those spoilt girls at court would immediate make Andrew change his mind. And, considering Andrew’s rather dispassionate proposal, it was hardly something to make her turn giddy. It was, the way he’d put it, a logical proposition. She just couldn’t believe he’d actually suggested it. Being tied down to one person for his entire life didn’t seem the type of thing Andrew would be keen on doing. And yet he’d just done the most unpredictable thing imaginable.