Approaching Storm (Alternate Worlds Book 2)

by Taylor Leigh

  The darkness beyond was too thick, too complete. Whoever was in there had to be working completely blind. He stopped just at the door, ashamed that he didn’t feel a desire to step inside. He strained with his eyes and ears, willing his senses to detect anything. There was nothing. Not a sound. The darkness was so thick, so real, if he reached out his hand, he could almost touch it.

  There was a metallic crash and Roth jumped. He didn’t even care what the security cameras caught. Something was happening inside of that room. His heart started going at ninety kilometres an hour.

  He clenched his teeth. ‘Pull yourself together, Avery!’

  He stood frozen for another long moment. Since the thing had fallen, all was again still. Silent as the grave. Yet, Roth couldn’t help but think it was a waiting silence, the silence of a predator crouched in the grass.

  Slowly, knowing it was probably a very stupid thing to do, Roth stepped forward. He reached his hand around the corner, into the blackness and was surprised when it didn’t actually bite at him. His insides loosened a bit. It was simply darkness. He found the switch and swatted at it. To his relief, the light spat on without a problem, flooding the room with pale illumination.

  There was no-one there.

  The room was completely empty—save for the row after row of shelves containing artefacts. Roth stepped further into the room, frowning, disconcerted. It couldn’t have simply been his imagination. He slowly walked down the narrow room, glancing down each row for anything out of the ordinary. He saw nothing.

  Then he came to the last row.

  There was a metal object lying on its side from where it had fallen from the shelf. He breathed out in irritation. At least it wasn’t pottery. He strode forwards, muttering at the carelessness of co-workers but stopped dead. He saw what artefact it was. He recognised its shape immediately, and the sight made him feel slightly ill.

  It was the lamp.

  He shook his head, shaking away any reluctance and strode forward, swiping the cool, metal object off of the floor. He dusted it off, checking for damage. It appeared to be unharmed—one small stroke of luck. Roth reached to put it back on the shelf, but paused.

  How the hell had it fallen? There was no explanation for that. The lamp had been nowhere near the edge, nothing had disturbed it; of that he was certain.

  He held the lamp up and studied it more closely. Funny to be so reluctant to see what was inside. Honestly, what was holding him back? Roth wasn’t a superstitious man, and whatever this lamp held, it had to be important. Perhaps even pertaining to the stars aligning.

  ‘Well, Traveller, what did you seal up in here? What were you so afraid of, aye?’ With a wry smile he rubbed it, to no avail.

  Why don’t you just find out?

  Why didn’t he just find out? He’d spent enough time torturing himself over it. Too much time hesitating, being careful. Finding the lamp on the floor was almost a bloody invitation to open it! Honestly, what was he doing, afraid of something so broken and insignificant?

  With almost maniac movements Roth threw himself at the lid and began to claw.

  He desperately dug his fingernails in, scraping at the wax, prying under the lid till it hurt. Thin tendrils of wax clumped under his nails. Desperation, desire, wild urging filled him. He had to open the lamp.

  The lid wobbled free and fell to the floor with a clang!

  The lamp was open.

  Roth stared down into the yawning mouth and laughed shakily. How could he have been wrong about so much? It was nothing to be afraid of. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

  Then the room went dark.

  * * * * *

  ‘C’mon, Sam, you’ve got to open your eyes! You’re missing it!’ Tollin cried, exhilarated.

  ‘Rather not, thanks!’ Sam gasped, clutching Tollin tighter as she squeezed her eyes shut.

  Being jostled about, with open air on every side and nothing to secure her besides her grip round Tollin’s waist was disorientating to say the least. She hadn’t opened her eyes since they’d taken off, fearing sickness would overcome her. Vomiting while enclosing inside of a helmet was just about the worst thing she could imagine. That and falling.

  The beginning of the flight had been rough, but once Marus had risen beyond the mountains—Sam had peeked for that—his huge batwings caught a wind current and they floated now as smoothly as a kite.

  Tollin let out a whoop of exhilaration; voice fluttering away on the wind. The curiosity was too much for Sam. She couldn’t help herself. She cracked open one eye and then the other, and instead of feeling sick, she was awed by the view.

  Below them, far below, stretched the red desert. The canyons, cities, landmarks were all shrunk to miniatures. Clouds blew by and up above, Scottorr’s glow was masked behind that dark storm, growing steadily nearer. She hardly noticed it.

  It was all too unbelievable. She couldn’t help but let out a delighted gasp.

  Tollin turned his head back to her, face cast into shadow from the planet above, lit just enough for Sam to see his wry smile. She shook her head, unable to stop laughing. It was incredible! She was flying, actually flying!

  Tollin threw his arms wide, letting go of Marus, and let out another whoop, expression twisted into a wickedly delighted grin. Sam shrieked in frightened elation and grabbed hold of his shoulders. ‘You’re mad!’ she shouted over the wind.

  ‘Absolutely!’ Tollin growled.

  The dragon beat his wings wildly and Tollin tipped forward, grabbing hold of the Marus’s back again. They rocketed upwards. Now Sam watched the storm clouds growing in apprehension.

  ‘We can’t fly through that! It’s not safe!’ she shouted. She took a look at her situation and realised how stupid the statement sounded.

  Tollin didn’t answer, but his body had gone taut.

  The huge storm cell stretched on for miles, covering the desert, rotating ever-so slowly. The hairs on her arms and neck rose with the sharp charge in the air.

  Perhaps it was the sun behind the clouds, but the centre of the storm was too nasty a colour: coal black. To Sam’s dismay, Marus was drifting straight towards it. It was the calmest point in the clouds.

  The sky flashed, illuminating the constantly shifting landscape around them. The sound of thunder rattled her skull. Sam bent in closer and wrapped her arms tighter about Tollin’s chest. They’d be struck from the sky.

  The dragon turned his head around to look at her. ‘You doing all right?’ he cried over the wind.

  Sam swallowed. ‘Not really!’

  Marus chuckled and beat his wings furiously, carrying them into the cell. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky and Sam stared into the clouds surrounding them. For a brief second, she thought she saw the winged body of a creature silhouetted in the grey. Sam blinked. The storm was screwing with her senses.

  A high-pitched scream ripped past them. Sam and Tollin’s heads jerked in the direction of the sound. Marus began to slow up. He hovered in the air, wings beating in a steady rhythm. Another flash of lighting shot close by and Marus wobbled. Something whipped past Sam, with a sound like cloth being unfurled. She thought she saw a strip of wing and tail in the fading light.

  ‘Oh…’ Tollin’s groan was almost lost to Sam on the howling wind.

  Another scream burst through the storm and with a flash of light, something went hurtling towards Marus. All Sam saw was a flat gaping maw and rows of teeth. Sam barely had time to shout Marus’s name.

  As the dragon swivelled his head back around, the thing hit him full in the face. It was all wings and spindly limbs and pale round orbs.

  The dragon let out a frustrated roar and shook his head wildly, breaking into a long dive. Her stomach dropped and a gasp stopped Sam mid- scream.

  What she saw was horrifying: Another flash gave her a view of her surroundings. She wished it hadn’t. They were surrounded in a swarm of devilish creatures.

  ‘Gah! Feeders!’ Tollin growled through clenched teeth. ‘Keep sharp!�
��

  ‘Feeders?’ Sam gasped.

  ‘They live up here, when the Passing happens the sky turns into a buffet with all of that stuff passing back and forth. We’re in the middle of a feeding frenzy!’

  The things hit Marus full in the side and he let out another roar, clawing and tearing at the winged things swarming his body. He blew fire sporadically in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the swarm. His body jerked violently, listing under the brute force of them.

  There were too many, Sam acknowledged numbly. The dragon was becoming frantic, turning animalistic in self-preservation. With a snarl, Marus broke into a barrel roll, tucking his wings to his sides and corkscrewing down at a breakneck speed.

  The force pulled at Sam, sucked her away from the solid force of the dragon. Her fingers began to slip from Tollin’s waist. Something small and wiry clamped claws round her neck and jerked her free from her hold.

  She was falling.

  The world tilted end over end. For a moment she had a glimpse of Tollin, already far above her, shouting her name and Marus, ripping and tearing at the bat-like creatures. Then it was gone and the earth was spinning below her. Her breath was lost. The edges of her vision were blackening. It was over.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘SAM!’ Tollin shouted as he watched in dread as the limp form of Samantha Turner toppled away from him. He ripped one of the feeders off of his arm in frustration and leant over the side of the dragon, shouting her name yet again. Uselessly.

  This would not do. Having his companion being ripped off the back of their ride and free-falling through the air was not exactly keeping with his hope nothing else would go wrong.

  Another feeder whipped past him and Tollin shot out his hand as quick as the lightning flashes around him and grabbed it by the legs. The creature shrieked in rage and flapped maniacally, almost lifting Tollin from his seat. Good. It would hold him. He grabbed one of the creature’s wings in his free hand, then, taking a deep breath, with the flapping creature grasped tightly in hand, like some morbid, mutant balloon, he jumped.

  Sam had fallen before him by a good few seconds, and she was hardly falling gracefully. Tollin dropped straight like an arrow. Despite the feeder gripped tightly in one hand, and—perhaps by determination alone—he was gaining on her.

  The shocked expression on Sam’s face, barely visible through the fogged helmet, made the whole effort completely worth it. He released the creature’s trapped wing and caught Sam around the waist with his free hand while shouting for her to hang on.

  They were still falling, the feeder doing little good to hold up two, but that was easily fixed. The things were everywhere in the sky. As Sam struggled to wrap herself around him, Tollin scanned for a target.

  Bingo.

  Another creature, lovely and quite large, dove by and Tollin snagged it by the tail. Now, with two feeders in hand, they were able to, if not rise, at least substantially decrease their fall. The bats struggled, shrieking in rage, but they were too exhausted to put up much of a fight.

  Sam stared up at him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck, legs entwined about his waist, her expression a mixture of terror, disbelief and absolute amazement. A good combination, Tollin decided, under the circumstances. This was probably one of those moments where the hero got a nice kiss. Under different conditions, of course.

  ‘Hello, love, come here often?’ he asked, unable to help himself.

  Sam fought back a wide grin. ‘Oh, just on a lark. Wanted to try something different, you know.’ Her voice came a little breathless.

  Tollin flashed a grin. He was beginning to like Samantha Turner. He’d underestimated her. One day, he chastised himself, he’d have to stop doing that. The underestimating, of course, not the other bit.

  Now they just had to wait for their ride.

  Unfortunately, the dragon seemed a little distracted.

  Above, Marus blasted feeder after feeder with liquid fire, tearing at the creatures covering his body in frantic swipes. His brother was clearly not too concerned at the moment about saving his passengers. How very typical.

  Sam chanced letting go of Tollin’s neck and gave a quick, broad wave up to the dragon. He must have finally spotted them. Tollin’s sharp ears could clearly make out the irritated growl.

  Tucking his wings to his sides, Marus tilted his body downward and went rocketing like a bullet, headfirst towards them. He was coming on too fast. Too fast to stop.

  ‘Slow down, slow down, SLOW DOWN!’ Tollin hollered, knowing it was absolutely useless. Hell, it was better than just bracing for impact.

  Tollin calculated that by now Marus must have discovered that the feeder’s saliva was venomous. His eyes had taken on a mad, shining gleam as he shot downwards.

  A feeder landed on the dragon’s face, shattering his concentration. He roared and shook his head wildly, losing his focus and flipping snout over tail through the air. The feeders were growing frustrated with the lack of meal they were getting out of the scaly, cantankerous monster. The two soft humans, dangling metres below them, Tollin realised, looked a much more tantalising target. Almost as one, they all broke away from their attack on Marus, joining his wild dive towards him and Sam.

  He turned his head to look at her. Sam was staring up at the formation of bats in fascinated horror. He could see the reflection of their approach on the glass of her helmet. If he didn’t do something fast, they were going to be stripped to the bone in a matter of seconds.

  ‘I’m going to let go now!’

  Sam jerked her head back to look at him. ‘What—?’

  Tollin flashed a wild grin and let go of the feeders.

  Sam didn’t scream, and the gasp she managed was lost above them on the wind. The feeders dove around them, unable to get a fix on their falling prey. They screeched in rage. Tollin’s vision flipped and spun and then everything was blocked out by the all-encompassing form of the dragon.

  Marus spread his wings with the sound of a giant rug being shaken out, slowing. He dropped beneath them and Tollin directed their fall, grasping hold of Marus’s scaly back. He and Sam crashed down heavily. He gave Sam a big grin. ‘Having fun, yet?’

  ‘Oh, loads,’ she managed to pant.

  He spun her around and wrapped his arms around her waist before she had a chance to slide off again.

  Marus started pounding his wings again; pushing himself up further into the swarm of bats, towards the dark, calm centre of the storm. The feeders didn’t let up. They seemed to be enjoying torturing him and danced as close as they could to his snapping teeth; a few were not so lucky.

  Tollin clenched his jaw. They weren’t making much headway upward; Marus was just wearing himself out with this fight. If he continued with this he wasn’t going to have enough strength to reach Scottorr. A feeder swept past Tollin, claws raking through his hair.

  Suddenly, with no warning at all, the bats broke away as one. Marus looked around wildly to see if there was some greater threat behind him, then let out a triumphant laugh. He watched the diminishing bats with a wide grin. ‘Wankers! Think again about messing with the King of the Skies!’ he gave out a whoop.

  Tollin heard Sam groan miserably. He searched the clouds for what she’d spotted. And when he did, he groaned as well.

  ‘Oh…’

  Clearly feeling pleased with himself, Marus began his upward climb again.

  ‘They’re coming back,’ Sam said.

  The bats were coming back, a thick line, packed tight and rocketing towards them as fast as their wings could carry them. Marus let out a nervous groan and turned to face them full on. Tollin leaned forward to shout at his brother. ‘Are you mad? Outfly them!’

  Marus’s eyes were wild and Tollin felt a sneaking suspicion his expression mirrored his brother’s. The bats were coming up fast.

  ‘Dragons don’t run,’ Marus muttered, grinding his teeth.

  ‘Fly, Marus!’ Sam screamed.

  That did it. The dragon snarled and slammed h
is wings downward, shooting up into the darkening clouds. He twisted in and out of the swirling mist, diving and rising, wings pounding. They continued to fly, up, up, up, into the black of the centre of the storm. The air was growing thin.

  Around them, the clouds were thickening, growing, darkening. And they were doing so at a rapid, alarming pace.

  A strong gust of wind hit them crossways and threw Marus off-course, punching through a curtain of black clouds. Marus spun, fluttering his wings, huffing, till he managed to steady. At least…Tollin thought they were steady. They had tumbled into complete, overwhelming darkness.

  The buffeting, howling wind was gone, everything was. It was absolutely still. He looked about. The way they’d come from was lost—whatever way that had been. All direction was. Tollin, as sharp as his eyes were, could see absolutely nothing.

  He felt a wary chill run down his spine. This was not good.

  This wasn’t natural.

  Tollin’s life was filled with the inexplicable and strange. Yet flying through a storm, only to be knocked into a completely different plane of reality was not something he’d expected.

  The clouds, bats, planet, it was all gone. They’d simply tumbled into nothingness. A rabbit hole in the sky. As if they’d crossed over another dimension without any thought or explanation whatsoever.

  And there was something about this darkness. Something wrong. Something alive about the void, something hungry. Predatory. Waiting. Something he didn’t understand. And that was a first—or at least, very rare.

  There was nothing. Absolutely nothing; nothing besides that patient waiting. Tollin was reminded of a carnivorous plant. Just waiting to draw victims in.

  The flapping of wings whizzed over their heads. So, several feeders had been sucked in as well. Probably not an accidental jump, then.

  They needed to get out. Now. Before those feeders smelled them out. Before they became so disorientated Marus fell from the sky.

  The only problem was: how? There was nothing here, no direction, no up nor down, just dead air. An inexplicable void that shouldn’t exist. A void that Tollin had a sneaking feeling was very alive. Very alert. Very evil.