by Tawny Taylor
“I lied… because I’m scared,” she shot back. “Tell me, if you were slowly losing touch with who you were and what you’d done for thirty years, wouldn’t you be freaking out a little?” The pounding echo of her racing heartbeat thumped in her ears. She watched, tense. What would he do?
He closed his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. A bloated minute later, when he opened his eyes, she was relieved to see the fire blazing in their depths had cooled. He palmed her cheek and brushed his thumb over her mouth. “There is a way to see your home. But it is dangerous and we cannot leave the portal open for any longer than a second.”
“A second’s all I’ll need. What do you need me to do?”
She wondered if he could hear her wildly pounding heart. It was banging against her breastbone so hard it had to be visible. She was afraid, excited, sad, elated, caught up in a muddle of conflicting emotions.
Bastien placed one of her hands in his flattened palm. “You need our story, which remains beside the portal until your claiming. And a drop of your blood.”
Blood? Pain. Oh, ack! Freedom. That was all that mattered. She chanced a glance at Xander. “Don’t suppose there’s another way?”
“No. This is dangerous. I’m not sure… are you certain it’s so important to you?”
She nodded. “Yes. It is.”
“Very well,” Bastien said, dropping onto all fours. Xander followed suit and before she knew it, she was shaking in her non-existent boots between two enormous felines with the sharpest teeth and claws she’d ever seen.
Bastien had shifted forms for her once before, but now they were together, tiger and lion, and she was cornered, and they looked really hungry. How exactly had they intended to gather the blood they needed?
With those huge teeth?
Yikes! They’d get more than a drop or two if they bit her. More like a pint or two. But what was the point of opening the portal if it meant she’d be too dead to see anything? No, they couldn’t be planning on chomping her to bits.
Of course, her head was ready and willing to accept that bit of logic. The rest of her wasn’t as easily convinced. She inched backward, wedging herself into a tight spot behind a wooden column, just in case she was wrong.
Nothing to do but wait.
Did they possess the minds of men when they were in their animal form? Or did they only know the instinct of the beast they’d become? What ruled their actions? Feral impulses? Or conscious thought?
Why had they shifted?
Although they snarled, and Xander-the-lion let loose with a roar that had to be heard for miles -- not to mention almost make her lose control of her bladder -- she slowly came to believe they were not going to eat her up. For, as much as she’d like to think she’d found herself a safe hiding place, they could’ve easily gotten to her if they’d wanted to.
As if to prove that point, Bastien, the most beautiful tiger she’d ever seen up close -- the only tiger she’d seen up close -- pawed at her thigh. A razor-like claw pierced her skin.
“Ouch!” she shrieked, a reaction delayed by shock, disbelief. Pressing a hand to stem the bleeding, she sidled backward, all too aware of the two sets of predatory feline eyes trained on her.
They’d smelled blood! Oh no.
She back-stepped around the portal, spying a book sitting on some kind of stone pedestal. Xander had mentioned a book, hadn’t he? And words? Yes. She scooped it up, flipped it over to read the title, Conquered by the Knight. That sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place it. She was too petrified of the enormous snarling cats in front of her to take her time figuring out why.
She did wonder why they hadn’t changed back to men yet.
She inched around the back of the portal, the felines stalking behind her, and stopped directly in front of the mirror-like surface. This time, as she looked, the haze began to clear. A strange sensation, a tingly feeling, made her peer down at the book she held clutched to her breasts. It was vibrating, and a faint light seemed to be glowing from the pages inside. She flipped it open and read the words aloud at the bottom of the first page, “Where are you, Bastien and Xander? Come, find me, won’t you?”
The sharp crack of thunder sent her reeling backward, her ears ringing. The book fell to the floor with a thud just as her eyes caught sight of an image that looked both foreign and painfully familiar.
Home?
Without thinking, she squeezed her eyes closed and dove through the opening.
Chapter 9
Maggie hit the floor with a painful thud then something extremely heavy, and hard, and most definitely masculine landed on top of her, flattening her face-down on the floor.
Home. Yay! Wheeze.
She might not be breathing at the moment, but at least her worst fears hadn’t come true. She remembered everything -- ugly past, better present. Job, home, boss. Hopes. Thank goodness! Now, if only she could take one lousy breath.
She was still trying to re-inflate her oxygen-starved lungs when she was forced over onto her back. One scarlet-faced, wild-eyed Xander sat on top of her, knees supporting most of his weight, hands pinning hers to the floor on either side of her shoulders. “What the hell are you doing?” he growled through gritted teeth.
Trying to breathe?
But before she could answer, two more men -- one in mid-shift from tiger to man and another she did not recognize -- came flying through her bedroom wall.
Uh oh!
Bastien somersaulted across the floor, sprung to his feet and shouted, “Xander! Then he lunged at the other guy, who was racing toward the door.
“Shit! No!” Xander leapt to his feet and, while she inched herself into a safe spot between the bed and the wall, sprinted after the intruder, obviously desperate to stop him from escaping her bedroom.
To her surprise, even though the Dynamic Duo outnumbered the other guy, speed won over bulk. Out he went, through her bedroom door, down the short hallway to her living room. Xander and Bastien followed, hot on his heels, but she guessed when they returned a few minutes later -- without him -- they’d been unable to catch him.
Oh boy. Gauging from the enraged look in their squinty eyes, they were blaming all this on her.
That was unfair. Somewhat.
Maybe she had done something risky by trying to escape, but how was she to know some guy would take advantage of the open portal by crossing through when he shouldn’t have? She’d never expected that.
Xander stomped toward her, his jaw set so tightly, the muscles in his neck stuck out in ropey chords. It had been several years since she’d seen a man so furious. It was intimidating, and his anger made her regret what had happened. But, unlike the last man who’d glared at her like that, she wasn’t scared of Xander.
“You have no idea what you’ve done,” he growled.
“No. But… you don’t think I was trying to cause trouble, do you? Because all I wanted was to come home.”
He snapped, “That you’ve managed. And then some.” He caught one of her arms in his fist and gave it a slight tug before releasing it and stalking toward the door. He raked his fingers through his hair. “Now none of us can return to Alyria until Kieran is caught. Which means the portal is vulnerable.”
Oh, ack. More confusing portal rules? Would she never understand how this stuff worked? She watched Xander’s retreating back then turned to Bastien. “I don’t understand. Why should it matter?”
“Only under very specific circumstances can the portal be locked if a Twelfth Knight remains on this side,” explained Bastien, who seemed to be maintaining his temper a little better than Xander. “The portal’s magic works under certain conditions and not others. It was designed to keep your world safe. Alyria, on the other hand, is more vulnerable --”
“Okayyy.”
“Which means an entire army of humans could invade Alyria, and we can’t do a goddamn thing to stop them,” Xander added, as he returned to the room.
“Oh gosh. Sorry.” She meant it. She really,
really did. Even if she didn’t fully understand how the portal worked. Humans could pass through? But Alyrians couldn’t? Or did Xander mean they’d have to stay to catch Kieran?
The bizarre connection between her and the Dynamic Duo made her keenly aware of their emotions, to the point of feeling them. Not only was she feeling crappy for letting some guy mess things up, but also worried and scared for Xander and Bastien’s safety, and for the future of their world. Their very nice and clean world.
That whole women can’t work, wear clothes or leave their homes alone thing aside, Alyria did seem to be a nice place to live. It just wasn’t paradise for her because of her past. She’d fought so hard to get where she was. She couldn’t simply throw it all away for a couple of guys, no matter who they were.
Xander helped her to her feet then released her hand and crossed his arms over his chest. Bastien stood next to him, looking a little less furious but far from gleeful.
Now what?
A big part of her, specifically the bit that was getting an internal thrashing from her conscience, wanted to do anything she could to make things right again. Regardless of the fact that she’d never intended on putting Alyria in jeopardy, her hasty and ill-planned act had indeed put a great many people in danger. She wasn’t even crystal clear on how, exactly, humans posed a threat, but she was intuitive enough to know they did. She was pretty sure she didn’t want to ask for any specifics at the moment.
The other part -- a much smaller part -- wanted to defend her actions and send Xander and Bastien off to chase down the fugitive on their own. There was a lot they didn’t know about her. Things she couldn’t talk about again. She simply couldn’t stay in Alyria. They wouldn’t understand.
Besides, how much help could she be?
Well, she supposed for one, she knew her way around. And she had a car. When she’d been in Alyria, she’d needed someone to help her find her way…
A certain person flashed through her head.
Oh. My. Gosh! The guy who’d jumped through the portal.
She’d been too distracted and out of sorts earlier to realize how familiar he’d looked. When she’d been in Alyria, he’d made sure she’d never seen his face. But having followed her masked savior for twenty minutes as she walked to Xander’s office, she’d gotten a good, long look at the back of his head and body.
The escapee was none other than Mask. He’d used her. And she’d been stupid enough to let him.
As if she hadn’t been feeling guilty before! That was it. She had to help Xander and Bastien, however she could. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where he might be headed?” she asked, meekly.
“No. Do you?” Xander was looking a little less angry and a tad more desperate. He stood with a shoulder slumped against the wall, staring out the window.
“No.” Her mind set, a course chosen, she headed for the dresser. “But I’d be glad to help if I can.” Bra, panties, a knit pullover. She tossed the garments on the bed then went to the closet for her favorite pair of jeans. With two scowling hunks watching, she pulled on her clothes. “Let me explain something to you two. Maybe women run around naked in Alyria, but in this world, being unclothed in public will get a girl thrown in jail, if not molested. Not to mention frostbite of the delicate parts sucks. Don’t ask me how I know that.” She pointed at the winter wonderland outside her window. It was early morning and the sunlight glittered off the enormous icicles hanging from the gutter.
Bastien shuffled closer to the window. “Your world is white.”
“And very cold.” She stepped into a pair of ankle-high boots. “But only for about four months out of the year, if we’re lucky.” A cardigan sweater and ski coat topped off her outfit. She turned a critical eye to the Dynamic Duo. “Hmmm. You two are a little underdressed. You’re going to freeze your butts off if you go out like that.”
Talk about a turn of events. In Alyria, Bastien and Xander had been the ones to do all the caretaking. They’d provided her with food, shelter, her every need. Now that they were in her world, it was her turn.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t as prepared as they had been. One look in her closet told her she’d have a heck of a time dressing her boys for the weather. Both sporting short sleeved shirts -- that fit their bulky selves to perfection -- and snug pants, they’d get cold in a hurry in December’s frigid temperatures. A trip to the nearest department store was in order. Pronto.
But first, she needed to check something. She went to her television, switched it on, and flipped to the Weather Channel. She’d been kidnapped on a Friday night, the week before Christmas. According to the weather station, it was Saturday. Morning. Evidently, she’d returned only a few hours -- if even that -- after she’d left. This was good.
She led the grousing Dynamic Duo through her apartment. Xander complained nonstop about the length of time it was taking her to prepare to leave. He had no idea what he was saying. It had taken her five minutes. What woman was ready to face the public in five minutes -- hair combed, makeup applied? Puh-leez.
Bastien asked a lot of questions about the things they passed as they headed through the kitchen and into the living room.
“That’s a refrigerator. Microwave. Television. If we get a chance later, I’ll show you how they work.” A deaf ear to Xander’s grumbling, her mind working at full speed, she caught up her purse and keys on her way out the front door. “A word of warning before we go outside --”
“No more delays. Another minute and we’ll never catch him.” Xander rushed ahead of her as they stepped off the building’s porch, immediately slipped on a patch of ice covering the walk, and fell on his ass. “Ouch! Dammit.”
“Sorry, dearest, but I tried to warn you.” Shaking her head, she offered one red-faced Xander a hand up. She hated to admit the fact that she was enjoying the shift in power, immensely. Too much.
Even so, as she looked up into his gorgeous eyes, the thought of him getting all dominating and bossy was making her toasty warm again. Clearly, it didn’t matter where they were. Those pheromones were still as powerful as always.
He brushed the snow off his ass. She resisted the urge to help. Then after sliding a half-smile at her, he set off on foot, trailing a set of small animal footprints in the snow. “Here, looks like he went this way.”
“He did?” She stooped down to take a look at the tracks. “Oh, he shifted?” Four paws, four toes on each. “What is he? A dog?”
“In this world, he’d be called a timber wolf. And he has the advantage, since his animal form blends in easier with local species than mine and Xander’s.” Bastien hurried past her, falling into step beside Xander. “This way.” He motioned toward the creek, which sat at the bottom of a fairly steep ditch. The guys slipped and skidded down to the frozen creek and stopped, looking up and down the winding streambed.
A girl who valued her safety, Maggie opted to watch their progress from up above. She was surprised to see them handling the cold so well. It was probably their determination to catch their quarry that kept them going. At just over twenty degrees Fahrenheit, it had to be a good fifty-five degrees colder than what they were accustomed to.
Looks like they’ve lost the trail.
Both grim, they scrabbled back up the bank. Xander nearly went careening back down when he hit a slick patch at the top. “Bastard followed the creek so we couldn’t track him.”
“Hmmm.” Up close, Maggie could see the cold had taken its toll. Both Bastien and Xander were shivering, their skin reddening from wind burn. “What now?”
Bastien shook his head. “Doubt we’ll catch him on foot now.”
“If that’s the case, how about getting warmed up while we plan our next move?” she suggested.
“I’m thinking that’s a good plan,” Bastien said, his teeth chattering.
They headed back to her place, spent about ten minutes thawing out -- which was thoroughly enjoyable since it involved getting cozy under her down comforter -- and then she proposed going about the
ir search in a little more orderly manner. First, she had to get her Dynamic Duo properly suited up for the weather.
As it turned out, neither Bastien nor Xander were particularly patient shoppers, not that she could fault them. First priority was hunting down their renegade knight. Buying clothes didn’t even register on their Important-Things-To-Do list.
But buy clothes they did (or rather she did), and upon returning to Maggie’s apartment building, Xander was off again, searching for Kieran on foot. For some reason beyond her understanding, he was convinced their escapee hadn’t gone far.
This time, Maggie opted to stay home where she could be warm and dry. Xander insisted he would be okay on his own, and she trusted his judgment. He was, after all, a big boy, and his sense of direction beyond question. Bastien reluctantly agreed to stay with her to guard the portal.
As it turned out, she was extremely grateful he had. Because about a half hour after Xander left, as she sat cozy on the living room couch watching Tivo’d episodes of American Idol, things really started getting ugly.
Now, she had an appreciation for how much danger she’d brought to Alyria and all its inhabitants -- Bastien and Xander included.
Could she just die now?
She jumped to her feet and raced to the door to secure the deadbolt. “Uh… Bastien!”
Chapter 10
It wasn’t Kieran’s return that alarmed her. It was the cops out front who had her worried. What the hell?
“Aw, damn!” Bastien shouted, pulling her along as he raced toward the bedroom. “What the hell does that bastard think he’s doing?”
“I have no idea. Evidently, he’s looking for some press.” She searched her bedroom for something useful, not that she had any clue what that might be. How did a girl hide a mystical portal to an alternate dimension? Could she disguise it somehow?
At the moment, it looked like a cloudy mirrored panel on her wall. Maybe she could hang something over it. Then again, what good would that do? If Kieran pulled the curtain aside, it was there to be seen.