Approaching Storm (Alternate Worlds Book 2)

by Taylor Leigh

  Tollin was flashing a wry grin. ‘Probably a good time to tell you that Marus is a dragon, too.’

  Sam staggered. ‘What? But… He’s human!’

  ‘Yeah. Sorry.’

  Sam stared at him. ‘B—but…you said that…you’re his brother.’

  Tollin cleared his throat. ‘Another long story, actually, same long story. Or the same long story from before, not the spore one. Don’t worry about it. I don’t breathe fire or anything!’ He gave her what he must have assumed was a comforting smile.

  ‘Any other surprises you feel like springing on me?’

  ‘At the moment?’ Tollin studied her. ‘Nah, I’m good.’

  ‘So, I suppose it goes without saying,’ Sam whispered softly. ‘That you’re not…human.’

  He was giving her a strange, searching look. ‘Correct.’

  ‘Coo,’ Sam managed. She flashed him a shy smile. ‘I just kind of assumed you were an angel.’

  Tollin barked with laughter. ‘Far from it, Sam. But I do try.’

  She shrugged. ‘Well, you’ve been close enough for me.’

  He seemed a little touched as he turned to follow Marus. Sam trailed behind him. The man had a bottle of whiskey in one hand as he rooted around in one of the pocketed holes in the tunnel. She glanced down at a large bag he had at his feet, which she hadn’t noticed till now.

  ‘I hope you haven’t forgotten the list I sent you,’ Tollin remarked patiently. ‘I know how terrible your memory is.’

  Marus bent over and unzipped the bag. He pulled out what looked like a rubbery tan body and a large glass bowl. Strange tubes ran from the leathery suit and spilled on the ground. ‘Here it is,’ he said. ‘Took me some time to find it. Spacesuits are not exactly common. Or cheap.’

  Tollin picked it up and admired it. ‘Well it’s wonderful, Marus. I’m impressed.’

  Sam swallowed. ‘What are the suit for?’ She already knew the answer, but having someone say it made it all the more real.

  ‘For flying to Scottorr, of course!’ Tollin cried. ‘And hopefully by the end of the hour. The real Passing isn’t for another sixteen hours but I have a feeling we won’t have the luxury of waiting that long. You technically don’t need suits for the real Passing, but for this, you will. It’s going to be rough.’

  Her heart rate kicked up a notch. ‘We don’t have a shuttle, how will we get there?’

  Marus straightened. ‘You’re looking at him, sweetheart.’ He put a broad hand to his chest.

  Sam’s mouth went dry as sand. ‘Great.’ This was really happening. Butterflies beat against her stomach like a flock of birds. ‘I just need a moment.’ She spun on her heel, desperate to be free of the strangers before she did something stupid—like cry.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sam stood at the top of the bowl they were in and stared far below at the city of Layers. She pressed her tongue to her lips in an attempt to keep from crying. She didn’t dare let the tears fall but she could already tell it was a losing battle.

  She tried to remember what she’d said last to her father. Tried not to think about what his final moments had been. Her memories of him were all in a jumble. What would he make of all of this? She’d wished she’d thanked him for all he’d done. All she had left was regret. Regret that their relationship hadn’t been closer. Regret that she’d not spent a bit more time with him. He’d done what was best for her. What would he think now?

  She looked up. The sky was growing steadily darker. A storm was coming. A storm that fit the day. One unlike anything she’d seen before. It was as if every dark cloud in the sky was being sucked into a slowly growing giant whirlpool above. The storm was rotating slowly, like a typhoon. Every once and a while, a dull flash of lightning would illuminate a portion of the clouds. Sam felt stuck watching it, entranced by the strange sight. There was something rather mesmerising about it.

  ‘Sam!’ Tollin barked.

  She jerked and turned to look at him. She must have looked as bad as she felt because she saw his expression softened slightly. ‘Are you sure you’re all right?’

  She shifted uneasily. ‘Yeah, I’m…fine. Really. It’s just all so…alien. All of this. I can’t believe it’s actually happening.’ Her eyes welled with tears and she turned away, fighting them away in frustration. ‘And my head is spinning. Look at those clouds, it’s not natural! It’s just all…mental!’

  He nodded, expression serious. ‘I know.’ He swallowed. ‘What can I say that will help you?’

  Sam took in a shuddering breath. ‘Well, who are you, for starters? Or should I say what are you?’

  He smiles sadly and sat down on the ledge. Sam hesitated a moment, then dropped down next to him. ‘You said Marus is your brother, but you told me he’s a dragon. Are you a dragon too?’

  ‘No,’ he said flatly. His face worked unhappily. ‘I’m not. I’m what’s known as Dragon Kin.’

  She waited, expectantly. ‘Which is?’

  He groaned and pressed his face into his hands. ‘Oh, Sam, does it really matter?’

  She glared at him. ‘Yes! I’m about to go off who-knows-where with you. I’m trusting my life to you, I deserve to know!’

  ‘Why?’ he cried, staring at her. ‘Why does my life history matter right now? I’ve told you what you should know; I stop Daemons! That should be the most comforting thing I can say!’

  Sam stiffened. ‘Well it’s not! I don’t know who you are, you say you’re a thousand years old; you could be a murdering psychopath for all I know!’

  He looked at her hard. ‘You don’t really believe that, do you?’

  Her shoulders slumped. ‘No.’

  He turned away, so Sam could only see his profile. The sun was shining on his face, casting it into shadows.

  She cleared her throat. ‘You said you jump Realms? What does that mean?’ She studied his profile. ‘What are Realms?’

  He glanced at her. ‘Don’t you think you’ve had your world shaken enough for one day? I’ve told you, this can all wait, Sam.’

  She nudged his arm with her shoulder. He glanced down at the point of contact and then up to her eyes. Sam took note of him. She was taken aback by how very tired his brown gaze was. It was the only part of him that Sam could actually believe was old. Those eyes, Sam could tell, had seen more than any person should. They were tired and sad. And for some reason, that made her sad too.

  ‘All right,’ she yielded. ‘Just tell me one day, yeah?’

  He nodded. ‘I promise.’

  Sam could feel her cheeks inexplicably warming from their proximity and gazed down at the rocky slope below them.

  She frowned. Something caught her eye. A flicker, a tiny glint of light. ‘Did you just see that?’

  Tollin leant towards her. ‘What?’

  Sam was just about to point it out when a rock just above her head exploded into splinters. She yelped. Tollin pushed her out of the way very roughly and they both slid down to the basin through red sand.

  ‘What was that?’ Sam gasped as they hit the bottom of the slope.

  ‘A shot,’ Tollin said through clenched teeth. ‘They’ve found us.’

  Marus hurried forward. ‘You two having a row? I heard shouting.’

  Tollin scrabbled to his feet. ‘We need to get into the caves and get her suited up fast—we’ve got company!’

  Sam could have sworn there was almost a gleeful edge to his voice.

  Marus growled irritably.

  ‘Hold them off for us, will you?’ Tollin barked as he passed, hand tight around Sam’s.

  Marus whirled on them. ‘What? Me against who knows how many men? Are you crazy? As fun as that sounds under different circumstances—’

  ‘You know what to do,’ Tollin cried over his shoulder. ‘You’re due for a change, anyway!’

  Marus swore. ‘This is so humiliating!’

  There was a blast of hot air and Sam staggered as she and Tollin rounded the bend and darted inside one of the tunnels. Tollin spun aro
und in a circle and grabbed the bag, swinging it back around to drop at her feet. Bewildered, Sam took the suit Tollin thrust at her and struggled into it with some difficulty. Tollin darted and adjusted one of the tubes attached to the side of her suit.

  ‘Don’t want your air supply leaking out.’ He smiled with a wink.

  ‘Aren’t you wearing one?’

  Tollin gave her a wry grin. ‘Not human, remember? I can handle more than you can.’ He held out his hand to her. ‘Come on!’

  Sam hesitated and scooped up her helmet. ‘We’re going back out there? Isn’t it dangerous?’

  Tollin cocked his head to one side and Sam realised for the first time she couldn’t hear any more sounds of fighting. ‘Twenty Myrmidons not so much trouble for a dragon.’

  Sam took a deep breath and his hand and they both stepped out of the cave. She staggered backwards in alarmed surprise. She was not prepared for the sight of the alien creature before her.

  The handsome, swaggering man was gone. In his place was a stocky black reptile with great wings and splayed claws. Yet as frightening as he was, there was still something familiar. And as Sam stared at him, she was surprised to see the dragon’s face suddenly shift to something almost human.

  He was not a particularly big dragon, as Sam would have imagined. More about the size of a large horse—minus the bulking wings and twisting tail, of course.

  Marus looked completely uncomfortable. To her surprise, he spoke.

  ‘I hate it when people see me this way,’ he admitted in much the same voice he had in human form. ‘It’s so…unattractive.’

  Tollin rolled his eyes. ‘You have been human for far too long!’ His tone was thick with sarcasm.

  Marus’s scaly brow came down. ‘I’m not saying I’m not proud, but how many people am I going to impress when I’ve got a bloody tail?’ He rubbed a clawed hand down his stubby arm.

  ‘You’d be surprised,’ Tollin continued. ‘With the standards you have, I’m sure you’d easily be able to find someone who’d be impressed by that.’

  Marus bared his sharp teeth. ‘I don’t see any reason to be flying your sorry-arse anywhere! You can just wait for the proper Passing yourself if that’s how you’ll be!’

  Sam stepped forward, momentarily forgetting she was interrupting an impending row between a fire-breathing dragon and an ancient Daemon hunter. ‘Okay! We all know you’re handsome, Marus, we can move beyond that. You can change back to your normal charming self once we get there!’ Blimey, they were as bad as children.

  Marus lifted his foreleg and scratched himself behind one ear flap. ‘Which is where, exactly?’

  Tollin cleared his throat. ‘Watcher’s Keep. Good place to hole up for a while. And the sooner the better, before our little friends come back.’

  Marus coughed, spewing smoke and sparks. ‘Watcher’s Keep? We can’t go there!’

  ‘Of course we can,’ Tollin said, unconcerned. ‘It’s out of the way, protected and we know who owns it.’ He ticked each reason off on a finger as he spoke.

  Marus huffed, puffing more smoke into the air. ‘Yeah, it’s that last one I’m worried about. A mental time-travelling psychic and a blood-traitor witch are not exactly what I look for when I want a housemate.’

  Tollin waved a hand dismissively. ‘Relax, neither of them are there, I know that for a fact. Righto, time to be off!’

  A wave of adrenaline spiked fear hit her. This was like the boring queuing for a ride at a funfair, only to finally be strapped in. ‘Already? Just like that?’

  Tollin flashed her a smile. ‘No time like the present! Come on, then.’

  She looked down at the ground and swallowed. There was a calm centre in her somewhere. There had to be. She just had to find it.

  Tollin pushed her chin up gently. The press of his fingers against her skin stabilised her. ‘Hey now, you’re brave, Sam, I know you are. You can do this.’ He pulled something out of his boot. ‘Here, I think you should have this. I don’t care much for weapons but this one is special.’

  Sam gazed in curiosity at the triangle-blade knife he offered her. ‘Thanks,’ she said, taking it. Her stomach turned queasy at the thought of Tollin giving her her first weapon. What would she possibly use it against? She wasn’t even sure she could.

  Tollin seemed pleased. He gestured for her to put her helmet on, making a popping noise as he dropped the pretend helmet over his head. Sam picked up the bowl, dusted it off and placed it over her head. She struggled with it for a moment before Tollin, rolling his eyes, came over to her.

  ‘Here, let me help. You’re just looking ridiculous.’ Tollin twisted Sam’s helmet closed and she heard it click. She gave Tollin a tense smile and bobbed her head up and down.

  Sam was surprised by the creeping feeling of claustrophobia. She had never been afraid of tight spaces, but now that she was stuck in her own personal fishbowl, she decided she didn’t much care for it. Her breathing hissing electronically into the glass and she felt like an alien creature. Her life had turned absolutely mad.

  With a smile, Tollin vaulted up to Marus’s back and gave her an energetic wave. ‘Come along!’

  Sam edged cautiously towards Marus. The dragon swung his long neck around and fixed her with a steady blue stare. ‘I won’t bite!’

  Sam looked at his spiny, scaly hide and bit her lip. ‘Just climb up?’

  Marus let out an enormous impatient breath. ‘Oh for stars’ sake, yes!’

  Sam awkwardly scrabbled up onto his back, gratefully grasping Tollin’s hand. She swung up behind him, feeling precariously exposed.

  ‘Might want to hang on,’ Tollin advised her.

  Marus spread his wings out wide and flapped them up and down heavily, causing Sam to wobble and sand to billow. She wrapped her arms around Tollin to steady herself, winding her fingers into the front of his shirt in a death grip.

  Suddenly a thought hit her. ‘Wait!’ Sam leaned around Tollin to call to Marus. ‘There are remotes floating around Scottorr to protect it from falling boulders coming from Scrabia. They’ll shoot at anything that doesn’t have the proper codes.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. We’ve done this before.’ Marus flashed a grin.

  And with that, he beat down his powerful bat-like wings and took to the sky in a cloud of red dust.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘You saw what?’ Roth could hardly contain his excitement. At first he had been at the point of sacking his entire team for losing Turner and the artefact once again; but when he was informed with what had happened he forgot all his ill-feelings.

  ‘I’m telling you, I saw a great, flying reptile, must have been longer than ten metres. We tracked Turner and her companion to the mountains, but when we engaged them we were met with the beast. It effectively destroyed any possibility of getting to them. Not long after it took to the sky, Turner and her companion with it—riding it! The creature doesn’t match any of the species we know about on the planet. I swear it was a—a dragon!’

  Roth sat down heavily in a chair. ‘This is impossible,’ he said more to himself than to the radio he was holding.

  ‘I’ve got it all recorded for you to see for yourself. Crisp, clean projection.’

  A dragon. The thought sent a chill through him. They were supposed to be legend, extinct, nothing more than the stuff of old tales, yet one had been supposedly spotted in the desert. The anniversary had to have something to do with this. Perhaps it was making the walls between the dimensions thinner. Possible. Probable.

  Dragons were carved in the deepest layers of the various ruins around the planet. The storerooms were stacked with such objects, but he’d never paused to think about it, Roth had always assumed it nothing but myth. This raised some interesting questions. How many other myths should he not be ignoring?

  ‘Get back here as quick as you can. I want to see the footage for myself.’ He was surprised how hard his heart was pounding.

  Roth stood still in the gloom of the lab, p
ondering the new developments. Samantha Turner clearly had a new, powerful friend. Someone in league with dragons; someone who had to know what the artefact was capable of. There was only one person, real or imaginary, who could possibly have that knowledge and power.

  The Traveller.

  The name flashed across his mind, inscribed on the seal of the lamp.

  If there were dragons, why not other myths as well?

  He had sealed something inside of that lamp ages ago. More than likely, whatever was inside was dead by now. How could anything survive for so long? By the look of the lamp, Roth estimated it was a thousand-years-old. Just a rusted, dented, old lamp. Nothing special. And yet…there was something, something…wrong about it. Something that made even unshakable Roth feel slightly disturbed when he looked at it. As if it were watching him. Hungrily.

  Stories of djinns trapped in lamps, granting wishes to their masters, flashed through his mind. Scrabia’s history was rife with such tales.

  But Roth did not believe such things. So he’d put it away. Placed it at the back of the artefact room, out of sight, not so much out of mind. Just for now, of course. He’d get around to looking it over again. Someday.

  Perhaps it was because he’d been thinking about it. Perhaps it was because he was alone and the room was quiet. Perhaps that was why he heard the metallic clink from the storeroom.

  Roth shut his eyes, rubbed his face. What the hell was wrong with him? He was getting jumpy over the smallest of things. It was not in his nature.

  ‘Someone there? You’re not allowed!’

  Silence.

  Roth waited. He could hear the timepiece ticking on the wall. His heart thudding. The air circulators kicking on.

  Bump.

  Someone was rifling through the artefacts in the back. All of those priceless objects collected over hundreds of years. Roth squared his shoulders and marched towards the blackened doorway. He was disturbed to find his legs were almost reluctant to move that direction.