Approaching Storm (Alternate Worlds Book 2)

by Taylor Leigh

It wasn’t that she found she was intimidated by Tollin, but more that she didn’t want to disappoint him. For some reason, Sam found herself having a great urge to impress him, to show that she wasn’t worthless. She didn’t know if it was from their new connection, or something beyond that. Sam realised that even on the shuttle she hadn’t wanted him to think badly of her. Perhaps that was just the type of person Tollin was. Someone whom others wanted to impress.

  ‘All right, then.’ Marus cracked his knuckles. ‘This is going to take me a while, so why don’t you two kids push off so I can get some work done? Never bother a dragon when he’s working!’

  Tollin rolled his eyes and guided Sam from the room. ‘Now there’s an oxymoron for you! A working dragon!’

  Marus laughed hollowly. ‘Ha, ha. Now get out!’

  Tollin closed the door behind them and smiled at Sam. ‘Well, we’ve got a few hours ahead of us with nothing to do. Not sure I can stand for that!’

  Sam leant in the door frame and fought down a grin. ‘So what did you have in mind?’

  Tollin joined her against the door. ‘Well,’ He rested his head back and pursed his lips in thought. ‘Thought we might give that boyfriend of yours a ring.’

  Sam gaped at him in disbelief. She knew exactly what Tollin was thinking, she’d actually thought the same herself once she’d heard about the delivery schedules documented on the computer, but she hadn’t thought Tollin would actually act on it. ‘You’ve got to be joking.’

  Tollin nodded decisively. ‘Afraid not. But first, I’m hungry. How’s beans on toast sound?’

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  It was late, but Miol Mor was still bustling with activity. Though it was a much smaller city than Flotsen, which was a short train ride away, but it made up for it by being a favourite gathering place for the young, artistic generations. When the sun went down over the lake, the city truly came to life. Sam still missed the vastness of Flotsen, but Miol Mor was comfortingly familiar. Still, as she watched the crowds around her, she felt out of place, detached from what she used be.

  She and Tollin were in Lakeside, the dining district settled on the shore of Elk Lake. Broad boardwalks ran every which-way beneath open air cafes shining small lights down onto intimate tables. In the middle of one walkway stood a giant stone statue of Thedric the Peaceful presenting a sword to Druid Chief Flynn, which was cast into dramatic shadows by its flickering spotlights. A few teens sat beneath it, making a good deal of noise.

  Sam leaned against the railing. Beneath her came the constant slapping of waves against rocks. She wasn’t sure how late it was, last time she’d glanced at a clock tower it had been near midnight.

  Sam had managed to get a message through to Darius and though he’d been rather confused, had agreed to catch a train to meet them. She now kept her eyes peeled for his returning figure.

  ‘Here we are!’ Tollin crowed, trotting back into sight from the shadows. ‘Fresh chips! Only shop in town that still makes them properly!’ He handed Sam a funnel of paper. He popped one into his mouth and reclined against the railing next to her.

  She chewed and glanced up at her companion thoughtfully. The colourful lights cast his face into a strange hue. She felt weird—content, completely comfortable—but weird nonetheless. The constant hum of Tollin’s thoughts ran through the back of her mind, a new bit of noise in her head she’d already grown accustomed to.

  She secretly wished she wasn’t comfortable with it, for it brought with it a reminder of just how open her mind was. She wondered if she’d even sense it if he started picking through her brain. Disconcerting, to say the least; not exactly because she had anything to hide, but the only thing that she truly had to herself were her thoughts; and now that was threatened with invasion. If it had been anyone else she’d had her brain split with, she would have given up. She could not trust anyone with such a thing. To be so exposed and vulnerable to another person was positively unnerving. To think of the prospect of sharing a brain with anyone else, like Marus, was so disturbing it actually brought a smile to her lips. She decided she was rather lucky, in the long run. Tollin was certainly the best person for such a scenario.

  ‘Ah, look at you, grinning away,’ Tollin said, matching her smile. ‘That excited to see Darius, then?’

  Sam shook her head. No. He definitely hadn’t been listening to her thoughts. Maybe he was just very good at pretending. ‘Sorry, no, just remembering old times. D’you really think this is a good idea?’

  Tollin pulled a thoughtful face. ‘I don’t know, you tell me. You know him better than I do; afraid our first meeting didn’t go over so smoothly. He wants to help you, I know that much.’

  Sam nodded. She couldn’t argue with that. ‘I just don’t want him to get into any trouble.’

  Tollin waved her worries away dismissively. ‘Bah, nothing to trouble yourself with. Darius isn’t directly involved with the Myrmidons. It would be difficult, and a waste of their resources, to go chasing after him.’

  Sam glanced away. Tollin didn’t seem the type to endanger people unnecessarily. Even as she spotted Darius’s light coloured head turning this way and that to scan the crowd she felt her guilt slipping away.

  ‘Ah,’ Tollin said, noticing him too. ‘Here comes our delinquent rugby star now.’

  ‘Behave,’ Sam warned through clenched teeth as Darius jogged their direction.

  He reached them and without casting a look to Tollin, took Sam up in a tight embrace. He rested his chin against her shoulder. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked into her hair.

  Sam pulled back to get a good look at him. He was tired, eyes rimmed with worry, but he still looked the same, wearing his favourite football team pullover and had that same familiar smell. Sam gave him a kiss on the cheek, ignoring Tollin’s eye roll. ‘Thanks for coming.’

  Darius gave her a look of utter disbelief which took her aback. ‘Of course I came! How could I not? Get a ring from you at this hour asking if we can meet, how could I just ignore that? What’s going on?’ He cast a hostile glance towards Tollin, who was doing his best to appear the picture of indifference. ‘Still with him, then?’

  Sam rubbed Darius’s arms. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Tollin said sharply. ‘Don’t mind thanking the man who saved your girlfriend’s life. Oh, he doesn’t matter. You’re clearly the one who’s oh-so caring, dropping her as soon as she leaves your little planet.’

  Darius lurched forward. ‘Oi! No-one asked you!’ He glowered at Sam. ‘What did you tell him?’

  Sam pressed her hands to his chest in an attempt to get him away from Tollin. ‘Ugh, just ignore him. He just wants to get under your skin. He’s all right. He saved my life, Darius, I’d be dead by now if he hadn’t shown up. He wants to help, really, and we need you.’

  ‘If it’s not too much to ask of you,’ Tollin huffed.

  Sam shot Tollin a tone it down glare.

  Darius spread his hands wide. ‘Okay, so I’m here. What could I possibly help you with?’

  Sam bit her bottom lip. ‘You ever drive for that delivery service?’

  Darius nodded. ‘Yeah. Once and a while, when someone’s off.’

  Tollin fixed Darius with a sharp look. ‘Ever deliver in Druid land?’

  Darius nodded again. ‘Of course. We go all over.’

  Tollin cracked a smile. ‘To a place called Tartan Timber?’

  Darius glanced from Sam to Tollin, eyes narrowing. ‘What d’you want to know about that place?’

  Sam caught the change in Darius’s demeanour immediately. His face had adopted a nervous quality, lips drawing into a thin line. Sam exchanged a look with Tollin. His eyebrows went up a few degrees.

  ‘Ah,’ Tollin’s voice softened to a near purr. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere. What’s wrong with it?’

  Darius glowered, blatantly uncomfortable. ‘I didn’t say anything was wrong with it. I just don’t know what you want with it.’

  ‘It’s important, I swear,’ Sam pleaded.
/>
  Darius sighed. ‘What do you want to know?’

  ‘What can you tell us?’ Tollin bounced back. ‘What’s the road like getting there? How’s security? Is there a guest entrance, any of that you can help us with?’ Tollin pulled a wrinkled schematic from his pocket and spread it out on the damp railing for everyone to get a look at.

  Darius crossed his arms, baffled. ‘That’s rather specific information. Folks wanting to know about this sort of thing usually have something particular in mind.’ He turned uncertain eyes to Sam but the look she gave him was enough for him to drop his questions; he pointed to a spot on the map. ‘There are two gates to get in, both electrified, I think, no doubt they have motion scanners; and checkpoints where you have to scan your pass to get through, one at the foot at the drive and one further on.’

  Tollin nodded.

  Darius let out a breath. ‘There’s a delivery lot to the back. That’s the only place I go. They’ve also got the biggest generator I’ve ever seen: it’s not environmentally safe; I can tell you that, the whole bloody place glows. There is also front entrance, but I’ve never been there. There are armed guards, too. I didn’t even think that was legal.’

  Tollin raised his eyes to Sam, giving her another one of those damnable conspiratorial gazes. He had to stop that. It never failed to send a scorching shiver down her spine. He considered her important enough to share some private thought with.

  Darius caught the look, or possibly the significance of it. ‘Hang on, just what is this place? What are you two getting involved in?’

  Sam bit her lip, not sure what she should say. After all she’d been through, the last thing she wanted was to drag Darius into it as well. At least she had Tollin with her as some sort of protection. What did Darius have? Nothing. He would be on his own if anyone decided to come after him.

  Tollin leant in closer. ‘You know it’s not right, don’t you? You know there’s something off about it.’

  Darius shrugged. ‘Yeah, I mean, I’ve always felt something, but I haven’t really questioned it.’

  Tollin smacked the railing. ‘Well, now why doesn’t that surprise me? Classic human for you there, Sam! Textbook example! See something strange, look the other way.’

  Sam huffed and rolled her eyes. ‘All right! Get off your high horse any time.’

  ‘Hey, what d’you mean, “classic human”? Who the hell do you think you are? And why do you want to get in there, anyway?’

  Sam shook her head. ‘Please, don’t mind him. We’re just interested because…’ She decided the only safe course she could take would be the truth. ‘It has to do with my father’s death.’

  Tollin wrinkled his nose.

  ‘What does that mean?’ Darius’s eyes grew wide with worry. ‘Sam, whatever trouble you’re in. Let me help.’

  Tollin had had enough. ‘Well,’ he mused, ‘thanks for the information. I suppose we’ll be able to put some of it to use.’ He pushed himself up off the railing and took a step away from Darius without another glance.

  Sam attempted to give Darius a reassuring smile ‘Thanks for coming all the way out for us. It was a longshot, I suppose.’

  ‘Hang on,’ Darius said, holding up a hand. He had a wild look to his eyes, the look of one running out of time. ‘I don’t know if this will be important to you or not, but I was delivering on the night of the Passing.’

  Tollin straightened and turned back to him. ‘That seems a bit reckless.’

  Darius nodded, his shoulders relaxing. ‘We’d been behind all day and they said they needed the shipment that night. Anyway, I was late getting there and had to stay the night, it wasn’t safe to try and drive back.’

  Tollin ran his hand over his chin.

  Darius was brightening. Even though he didn’t know the whole extent of what was going on, he certainly had to sense something was and was getting into the feel of things, delighted to have some morsel of information Tollin didn’t know. Everyone wanted to impress Tollin, Sam knew all-too-well. That was just the way it worked.

  ‘Well, a shuttle came down. Landed right in the shipping bay where I was camped out.’

  Tollin stared at him. Sam didn’t like the look on his face. ‘Oh, well, now, that is interesting. What did you see? What did you hear?’ Tollin almost barked.

  Darius was catching on to Tollin’s urgency. ‘Some bloke arrived, just him. It was weird. He must have piloted by himself, there wasn’t any crew.’

  Sam shrugged. ‘So?’

  Darius rolled his eyes. ‘Because, Sam, you don’t just fly a shuttle by yourself, and this guy was important, there should have been a flight crew.’

  Tollin frowned thoughtfully. ‘Why do you think he was important?’

  Darius shrugged. ‘Because of the reception he got. Armed guards, some important looking fellow came out to greet him. The man from the shuttle was strange. Something about him. And he was Scottorrian, which seemed a bit off.’

  ‘Why?’ Tollin asked.

  Darius crossed his arms. ‘Well, he was coming from Scrabia, wasn’t he? Not many Scottorrians on Scrabia to begin with; and why would someone who works for a logging company be on Scrabia anyway? Not like there’s trees there.’

  Tollin nodded. ‘What did this man look like?’

  Darius paused thoughtfully. ‘Kinda tall, older than you, had glasses, um, longish hair, stubble, like you, but grey.’

  Tollin grew solemn. ‘Avery Roth.’

  Darius’s head bobbed rapidly. ‘Yeah, I think I heard that name.’

  Sam felt a chill run through her. ‘He’s here?’

  Tollin sighed. ‘So it would seem.’

  Sam sucked in a deep breath and wrapped her arms around herself. Fear crept through every small crack in her it could find, and she wasn’t exactly sure why. Roth had followed her here. He knew she was here. Why did that frighten her so much? He was just one man. He’d come alone. Almost like he had a personal agenda.

  Darius stared at her. ‘All right, there?’

  Sam nodded, squaring her shoulders. ‘Fine. Just…a bit unexpected.’

  Tollin gave her a compassionate glance and then turned back to Darius. ‘Did you manage to catch anything they might have said? Anything about Sam?’

  Darius frowned. ‘Nothing about Sam. I would have remembered that. Let me see…the other researcher, he mentioned something about a project…damn, I can’t remember! Project…Gateway? Something like that.’

  Sam clamped her hand into a fist reflexively, feeling the band of the ring bite into her skin. A gateway between Realms, it had to be. They were working it out.

  ‘What did they say about it?’ Tollin queried.

  Darius groaned in frustration. ‘It’s been a while, I hadn’t really been listening; I hadn’t thought it important.’

  Tollin nodded sympathetically. ‘That’s how it always works. Just try and remember.’

  Darius pressed a hand to his eyes. ‘He said…it was coming along well, I think. And the other man, Roth, he mentioned something about things beginning to move faster than first anticipated; maybe? I don’t know. Wasn’t exactly paying attention.’

  ‘Hmmph,’ Tollin slumped back against the railing. ‘No doubt because they’d finally managed to get a fixed location on Sam.’

  Darius shook his head in confusion. ‘But why? Why are they so interested in Sam? If she’s in danger, what are you doing to protect her? You bringing her out here to the centre of everything seems a pretty stupid thing to have done!’

  Tollin gave Darius a stern look. ‘Believe it or not, I care about Samantha Turner. I want her safe as well, but we can’t just sit back and ignore her enemies, they aren’t going to go away, they’re going to get worse.’

  Sam bit her lip and looked away from her two companions, out across the lake. The faint reflection of the Druid city across the water shimmered in the blackness. Why did hearing Tollin state he cared about her have to send her stomach into such violent flips?

  Tollin grumbled unhappily,
ignoring Darius’s insistent glower. ‘Well now, what about this Project Gateway…We don’t have much time left. A month, perhaps…’ His fingers pressed to his lips.

  Sam crossed her arms tighter across her chest, hoping it somehow disguised her nerves. ‘Well, bit obvious, isn’t it? We have to get in there and put a stop to it. Turn it off, unplug it, whatever! You know whatever they’re working on has to do with the anniversary. We can’t just let them follow through with it.’

  Her statement caused Tollin’s lips to twitch, which she felt a little triumphant about.

  Darius shook his head wildly. ‘Absolutely not! I don’t even know what the hell you’re talking about but I am not about to allow Sam to go there. You don’t have that authority over her, mate, and I’m not about to let you put her in danger!’

  Tollin’s smile pressed into a thin line. He didn’t answer.

  ‘Tollin!’ Sam cried. He had adopted a an alarmingly considering look.

  What if he was actually listening to him? She had seen that Tollin took a rather unconcerned view when it came to safety and Darius—for some odd reason—had clearly upset that view. Tollin was bothered by Darius’s challenge and visibly irritated with having to compete for attention. Perhaps that was the reason for his stubborn silence now. How very childish.

  Perhaps he’d heard her thoughts, for he huffed out a breath and crossed his long arms across his chest. Darius evidently sensed his indecision. He eyed him. ‘Maybe she should stay with me this weekend, out of the way, somewhere unsuspicious, away from you.’

  Tollin’s glower deepened.

  It was admittedly a tempting suggestion to slip off with Darius and assume normal life, yet Sam was already in so deep. She couldn’t go back. She knew that much. She wouldn’t live and neither would Darius and she’d go mad thinking about Tollin if they parted now. ‘I’m not leaving you.’

  Tollin’s face worked in angry emotion. ‘I wish I could say yes to that. If I thought Sam could be protected by her useless boyfriend then I’d say yes. But things just got a lot more complicated. Roth is here especially for her, and I unfortunately believe I need her with me to stop this.’