Welcome Home (Alternate Worlds Book 3)

by Leigh, Taylor

  Ramses held out a hand to rest on Andrew’s back. ‘Please, do come in.’

  ‘If you insist.’

  He roughly ushered Andrew forward into the gloom beyond. Andrew noted himself suddenly under guard. Distractedly he allowed Ramses to slip the stone from under his arm.

  ‘Ah, and what have we here?’

  ‘Thought I would bring you a little present,’ he said tightly, ‘as a gesture of my goodwill.’

  Ramses beamed. Quickly, he unwrapped the stone to gaze at it with a look of something almost akin to love.

  ‘Oh, Traveller,’ he sighed, lost in thought. ‘Do you swear to come along peacefully?’

  Andrew spread his hands, his head feeling like it was about to split. ‘Does it look like I have much of a choice?’

  Ramses smiled. ‘Quite. Now please, just this way.’

  He guided Andrew out of the tent and down among the rubble. From there he helped Andrew through the gate to stand out upon the bare landscape. The Bone Vault was a good distance away. Walking there now wasn’t a desirable prospect. Andrew wasn’t entirely sure he’d make it that far, considering the rate he was deteriorating now.

  He stopped.

  ‘What now?’

  Ramses gave him a quirky smile before withdrawing a thin, golden whistle from his robes. He blew: a high, long trill.

  Andrew waited. And then he heard it. He’d been dreading it: A distant growl, and the sound of a gigantic parachute unfolding. Oh, why hadn’t they destroyed the monster earlier?

  With apprehension, Andrew watched as the huge bat-like form of or Noel rose from the pit of bones and swept low towards them. His pulse punched through his neck. Seeing it flying towards him now, growing more gigantic by the second, sent an animalistic fear through him. It took everything in him to not turn and run. How Ramses could stand there so calmly as this gargantuan beast barrelled down was lost on him. Madness was the only answer.

  Noel landed a good twenty metres away, shaking the ground with his weight. Andrew was awed by this creature and took note. Noel was covered in great overlapping scales, like iron plates with great sails fanning out from his neck to tail. And he was just so enormous. The beast’s wings were easily a thirty metre span. His feet could crush a large house. And his eyes…Noel’s head was lowered near to the ground; his eyes matched Andrew’s own height.

  Andrew walked forward slowly, feeling knocked senseless. Those eyes drew him in; there was something about the gleam of the orange. It tugged at his insides and Andrew stumbled onwards, mouth dry, desperate to obey. The great slit pupil shifted to track his approach. Andrew could see the turquoise stripes streaking his scales now; still he moved towards those eyes with a hungry desire.

  Come, come, come.

  How easy it was to surrender to this monster.

  This creature was beautiful.

  Andrew could hear the deep breaths pulling in and out of the large nostrils, radiating heat into the air.

  Finally his feet stopped; body locked by the hypnotic stare of the monster. He could feel the power wafting off the thick scales. Almost tangible. Andrew could almost see it shimmering over the beast’s skin: a veil of power that flickered.

  It was the beast’s soul. Some ugly, tarlike substance, not at all like the ghosts he’d met. Andrew realised that with a dawning, excited clarity. He could see this creature’s soul. Almost reach out and touch it—if he dared. Just as he had when Noel had been so much less formidable. So much more human.

  Another thought struck him. A novel thought. What would it be like to draw that into him again? Just like the Darkness on that distant shore in that shady world…could it be done? Possibly. He felt the pull but left it alone. He dared not attempt it with a creature so powerful.

  Being so close was making his legs weak again; an odd flurry of emotions washing through him. Something like desire, obedience, longing and joy, all mixed together in a debilitating wave. It was disarming. And completely uncalled for.

  ‘Dragon spell,’ Ramses told him, noticing Andrew’s condition.

  Andrew turned to him with wide eyes. ‘What?’ He felt something begin to snake beneath his nose and he dabbed at it with his wrist. It came away damp with red.

  Ramses walked boldly forward and placed a hand on Noel’s muzzle. ‘Dragon spell. It is a…I do not know the proper term to describe it…spell the creature emits, making those who sense it weak and obedient.’

  Andrew’s brain automatically went ticking through possibilities. ‘Pheromone.’

  A long smile pulled up from Noel’s mouth, revealing great, sharp teeth. ‘Very good, boy.’

  It shook Andrew to be addressed by the creature. It was so easy to forget he was sentient. And possibly more intelligent than he.

  He shuddered, unnerved by the thought.

  ‘Come,’ Ramses beckoned to Andrew and marched along, towards the wings.

  Andrew couldn’t help but notice how Noel’s great eye tracked Ramses’s movements with a near hungry interest. Andrew pulled himself free of his captivation and followed.

  Ramses had stopped near one of Noel’s large paws. Andrew took in the curved claws, each the length of one of the long seaboats used back on his world. His queasy feeling increased.

  Ramses gave the massive foot a kick, which sent a spike of panic through Andrew. Had this man lost his mind? Noel could swallow them both and hardly even notice the taste they left in his mouth!

  Instead of a set of jaws clamping round both of them, however, the dragon shifted his weight backwards, sitting up, reminding Andrew of a large rabbit, and the huge paw flipped over, claws stabbing to the sky. Without pause, Ramses stepped to the upturned palm and sat down cross-legged at the centre. Andrew hesitated.

  ‘You must be joking.’

  Ramses patted the space next to him. Andrew looked up. Noel was giving him an impatient look, blocking out the sky. Andrew sighed and squared his shoulders, then stepped up to the hot palm of the dragon; his brain still finding room to marvel over what a bizarre experience it was. He took his place next to Ramses.

  The world shifted wildly as the dragon stood on his hind legs and the stars above were suddenly disappearing. Andrew looked up in alarm as Noel’s other hand came clapping down, imprisoning them in almost complete darkness.

  Andrew suddenly knew what it felt like to be all of those small creatures he’d caught as a child.

  And then the flat equilibrium was shifting again and Andrew had to throw his hands out to steady himself as they rocked back and forth. He could hear the tremendous sound of Noel’s wings beating downwards. Andrew breathed deeply, heart hammering. The beast was flying!

  It was not a comfortable ride, nor was it a steady ride. Andrew was jolted and bounced about till his bones ached, but, mercifully, it was a short ride.

  Noel’s landing sent Andrew sprawling and he groaned. The fresh air was a relief when they were released from their captivity. Dizzily he sat up and staggered to the edge of Noel’s hand only to collapse in the dirt and be sick. He retched, watching blood come up in a detached, disinterested mood.

  Ramses didn’t bat an eye. ‘Shall we?’

  He stood, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, to give Ramses a withering look.

  Ramses glanced up at the dragon. ‘Go back and guard the city,’ he ordered.

  Andrew swallowed the acidic taste of bile. ‘Wait, guard the city? I’ve come, haven’t I? You promised to leave the city alone!’ The dragon pushed itself from the ground in a storm of rising sand.

  Ramses took the staircase down to the temple, the wind from Noel’s wings billowing his robes. ‘You are here, Traveller, but you have not yet done anything worthwhile.’

  Andrew clenched his teeth. This was infuriating. Still, he obediently followed him past bones and into the buried ruins. The great red window was still gaping black from where Andrew had pushed the man through. Jagged glass crunched beneath his boots.

  Ramses was being surprisingly careless. No guards were posted and the on
ly weapon Andrew could see was the long dagger strapped to his hip. Andrew still had his firearm stuffed down the back of his trousers. He wasn’t sure when he’d get another chance, and yet something stopped him. One day he’d rue his curiosity, yet he desperately wanted to know why Ramses wanted him—needed him. And that burned in him.

  It sent his skin prickling in anticipation as he stopped before the wicked chair contraption. He chuckled darkly, almost amused at his foolish hunger. His limbs began to shake.

  Ramses hurriedly unbundled the stone and gazed at it for a long moment. Andrew’s eyes flicked to it in interest. He could see nothing special about it. Yet there was something more to that. For it tugged at him with unnatural force.

  He tore his attention from the rock and up to the ceiling, taking in the rough snaking cables that stretched along and curved down to attach to the back of the chair and arch.

  ‘How did you manage all of this?’ he asked. ‘It seems far too advanced for this civilisation.’

  ‘Too advance for you as well, I shouldn’t wonder!’ Ramses purred, holding the stone up to the light and studying it.

  Andrew wasn’t about to argue that point. ‘Yes, but how did you even know where to begin?’

  ‘Ancient texts.’

  Andrew straightened at that. ‘Oh?’ Ancient texts? The itching desire to know just who those ancients were ate at him. ‘And you could understand them?’ Without Tollin’s invaluable translations of the Daemon texts, Andrew would never have been able to decipher what the temple said. Andrew rather doubted they had access to such knowledge. Ah. Noel. It had to have been that blasted dragon.

  Andrew walked along the length of the cable and stopped next to Ramses. ‘And what exactly are your ambitions for this?’ He tentatively held out a hand and rested it on the chair, wondering if he’d experience the same strange phenomenon as when he’d brushed against it earlier.

  Yes, there it was. Humming just beneath the surface. That same, strange pull: drawing him in hungrily.

  A trembling began in Andrew’s right arm. He clenched a fist, desperate to still it.

  Ramses turned the stone slightly and then pushed it into the keystone at the top of the arch. It fit perfectly; two puzzle pieces locking into place. Andrew wasn’t sure what he was expecting; the entire device to start glowing and shaking? As far as he could tell, there was no change at all.

  He looked to Ramses to see if this came as a disappointment to him. It didn’t seem to.

  Ramses at last turned. ‘I would say it’s time now, wouldn’t you?’

  The trembling had branched up along his right side to his jaw and Andrew clamped it firmly. Ramses either did not notice or care, rather gestured sweepingly to the chair. Andrew stuck out his chin but obeyed. He didn’t have much choice. And he was incredibly curious. Not to mention, it was a relief to his muscles to sit.

  Even so, he felt rather foolish and lost; he directed his eyes up to Ramses. He didn’t know what the man expected of him. Andrew could feel a distant connection with the chair, yes, but beyond that, nothing. No supernatural powers, no fantastic reaction.

  Ramses nodded to one of his men and was presented with—ah, a pipe. Andrew felt an excited quiver in his muscles at the smell of it. Ramses struck a match and the tantalising scent hit Andrew’s senses wonderfully.

  ‘I do hope you’ve given me the correct dose this time.’

  With a swipe he took the pipe from Ramses to study it. Although not entirely certain what his limit was, the amount did not seem so intimidating. Not that it would matter much, he’d had adverse experiences every time he’d taken them.

  Andrew inhaled deeply, letting the sweet, dizzying flavour fill his lungs.

  ‘What exactly do you want me to do?’ he asked slowly as his head began to swim.

  ‘What you do best.’

  Andrew wasn’t positive he knew what that meant, so he closed his eyes and focused on the slow shifting of his perception—courtesy of the drug. His mental picture of the room twisted, dulled, physical objects became less real, and the invisible, shimmering world began to rise.

  As he opened his eyes, it became real. How surprisingly easy it was to step into this spirit world these days.

  The guards and Ramses circling him glimmered with that odd, bluish hue. And the chair…he could feel the energy pulsing now: a river, flowing from somewhere and coursing through him, like he was a net dropped into the stream. Or perhaps he was a drain, for behind him, pinning him back against the chair, was a swallowing force that seemed to threaten to pull his insides out his back. It clamped him there with strength impossible to fight; it drew his eyes upwards where the red stone was glowing blood red in this hazy world of few colours.

  Andrew was fascinated. The stone appeared to be some sort of connector. A doorway between this world and whatever lay beyond. A key. And if that was the key…then what was it unlocking?

  Andrew’s consciousness was violently ripped through the foggy curves of dimensions. He staggered as his feet hit the ground. Pain roared through him, knocking him to his hands and knees on black sand.

  It was dead quiet. None of the quietly begging spirits of before came for him now.

  He lifted his head enough to look about, trying to ignore the dreaded shake returning violently to his limbs. Above, a low rumble came from the black sky. The distant horizon glowed with red light. He frowned at it. The same red glow as the stone? Could that be his beacon back to the physical world?

  Andrew stood weakly, only to double over with a gasp as fire flared through his abdomen; with a broken cry of pain he clenched his teeth. It was so infuriating, having a body that would not obey him! His breathing came ragged in his ears as he panted. His vision blurred, turning the black sand to a blur.

  If I’m not really here, how can I feel?

  Oh, yes, of course. His body, back sitting in that chair a world away, was in considerable pain. His brain was just informing him of that. He stiffly straightened. If only he could detach his brain from that physical form.

  Turning round in a circle, he took in the bleak, black landscape and the glowing horizon. So, why was he here? What did they want him to do?

  That slinking, creeping entity was still here. That thing that Andrew had channelled. What had Arkron called it? Ectoplasm.

  He searched the blackness. It was impossible for him to be sure if it was a trick of the eye, or was something moving out there?

  He raised his eyes back to the red horizon, feeling a bit pointless. His eyes caught something else: A flashing. A golden white flashing in the sky. A tiny little star. Just a pinprick of light. And it was blinking with a steady pulse, like his lighthouse back home.

  He frowned at it. There was a pattern to it and that excited him. He focused, memorised it. In this world in inexplicable things, Andrew was not about to discount anything. Once he had it down, his brain ticked through different codes. Some sailors used lanterns and flags to signal each other…could this be something similar? Some meaning behind it? He didn’t have the peace of mind to work it out.

  Still, it persisted: impatient, demanding.

  Andrew decided it best to simply address it.

  ‘Where am I?’

  The light seemed to pause, as if in thought, and then it resumed, with a different pattern.

  And Andrew got it.

  It was a signal he recognised.

  A code he could read.

  Nowhere.

  ‘How is that possible?’

  He waited for the blinking to finish.

  There are spaces where nothing is.

  Andrew nodded. ‘And I’m not really here.’

  No. You’re stuck in a chair surrounded by mental Myrmidons.

  ‘You seem to be rather familiar with my situation.’

  I’ve kept my eye on you.

  ‘Do I know you?’

  Yes.

  Andrew let out a frustrated breath. ‘So, why am I here?’

  The light took its time in blinking back
a reply.

  They want you to open a doorway to another Realm for them.

  ‘How?’

  You can’t, mate. Not in your genes. They just think you can. You can’t connect to other Realms, not physically. Remember, you’re not really there.

  The silence of the sandy shore was almost too much. It made Andrew nervous. He was being watched.

  ‘All right. But I am here,’ Andrew said, giving the light an irritated frown, ‘and…and last time I was here…’

  Something weird happened.

  ‘Well, yes.’ He flushed.

  He couldn’t say he had been entirely coherent last time he’d been here. And certainly not in control of his body. That…black thing that had taken over him. It had been one of the most invasive experiences of his life. He’d had no control, been completely used, turned into a puppet for that thing’s will.

  The light seemed to guess what he was thinking.

  You can control more than you think.

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  Blink, blink, blink.

  It’s who you are.

  Andrew shifted his eyes from the star on the horizon to the blackened landscape: the scraggly trees, the tops just visible like dead fingers in the red glow, and that darkness that moved like a living thing. What was he able to do? What control did he have?

  He became aware of the fact that the darkness was inexplicably closer than it had been since he’d arrived. His little island of sand was shrinking, giving way to inky blackness. It reminded him of a time when, as a small boy, he’d wandered out onto the rocks at the ocean to look for the little creatures that lived there. He had been so distracted, he hadn’t noticed the tide come in and he’d been stranded by the rising water till his brother had sailed out to save him. He felt the same prickling worry now.

  ‘I have no soul,’ he said out loud, trying to convince himself. ‘It can’t harm me.’

  So, what are you afraid of?

  Andrew chuckled. He found the question rather empowering, even as he became aware of a peculiar twitch in his arms and they lifted out before him. It wasn’t natural. This sensation was coming from without, not within; some outside force acting on him. And Andrew found that he could sense his surroundings differently, as if a new understanding had been opened up to him. He could feel an invisible tugging, like leads tied to his arms, stretching off into the darkness. Things pulling at him. Things he could reel in.