Two.
The monster screeched, tossed the club, grabbed for its blood-spurting throat and reeled back. The club smashed into a window and hung up on the frame as Dayn fired a second bolt into the same head, turning the creatures roar into a high-pitched mewl that grated on her soul.
Please, God. Three.
CHAPTER THREE
REDA DIDNT WAKEUP.
Instead, she watched in frozen horror as the three-headed giant staggered and went to its knees, and Dayn methodically fired bolts into the other two heads. As if that had finally hit the kill switch, the creature plummeted to the cabin floor, where it lay for a moment, twitching in its death throes, and then finally going still.
The sudden silence rang in her ears as she stared at the monstrous corpse, which smelled like chicken breasts gone very bad.
She yanked her eyes to Dayn, who stood looking down at the creature with an expression of pity, but also excitement, as if the attack had been partly a good thing.
Who was he? What in Gods name was going on? She wanted to ask him but couldnt get out the words. She was locked in place. Frozen. Once and always a coward under fire. Was this, then, what her subconscious wanted her to see?
Maybe. But shed seen it and the dream wasnt ending.
You can get up now. He said it without looking at her, but she thought she saw the twitch of a smile. Theres a bag in the pantry. How about you load up some provisions while I take care of the other stuff?
As he turned away, she slowly levered herself to her feet, suddenly wishing that a herd of pink elephants would walk past the broken window, so she could point at them and say, Ha, I told you so. Its a dream. Hallucination. Whatever. What mattered was that this wasnt really happening. It was all in her mind.
Except there werent any pink elephants. Which left her with a stinky dead giant with two too many heads, and a really hot guy who thought they were going somewhere.
MacEvoy, when I get through with you, youd wish you just mailed me the damn book for free, she thought. And then, because she couldnt think of a good reason not to, she went to pack some food.
The bag proved to be a single-strap rucksack, and the provisions at hand were heavy on the hard rolls, dried proteinshe didnt ask, didnt want to knowand trail mix. She loaded up whatever she sort of recognized, trying to focus on the similarities rather than cataloging the differences. Her brain, though, kept a running tally that twisted the knots in her stomach increasingly tight.
And all the while, she was entirely aware of Dayn as he pulled on a sweater followed by his heavy leather coat, loaded a rucksack with his crossbow and bolts and strapped on a narrow leather belt that held an unusually short sword on one side, pouches on the other. As she finished up her packing, he slung a sloshing crescent-shaped leather pouch over his shoulder, glanced over at her and nodded.
He didnt seem to expect a reply, though, because his attention moved on to the overturned couch and smashed end table, the broken window and the scattered other things that defined a life: a journal bound in what looked like nylon but wasnt, a bunch of interesting rocks in a jar, a huge antler with a picture of a beautiful stallion carved into it, only half-finished. And while he looked at the room, she was looking at him. Decked out in a strange mix of modern clothing and archaic equipment, he should have looked as if he was late for Halloween. Instead, he appeared utterly comfortable in his own skin andas evidenced by the giants corpsedeadly capable. She couldnt take her eyes off him.
He turned abruptly toward the door. Lets go.
She held her ground. Go where? They were the first two words she had managed to utter since the attack. Her mind might be racing but her body was still mostly vapor locked. That was the way it worked when she went into curl-up-and-die mode.
He tipped his head toward the dead creature. That was an ettin, which isnt native to this realm. It had to have come from the kingdoms, which means the vortex has probably opened back up. And that means we need to go. Now.
Vortex? Realms? How could he stand there wearing a crossbow and sword and talk about things that belonged in science fiction? It didnt make any sense.
Of course not, her rational self said. Its a dream, or a hallucination or something. But since counting to three didnt work, maybe this vortex will.
So she nodded and followed him out of the cabin, her boots crunching on broken glass and then echoing on the short steps leading down.
Vortex? Realms? How could he stand there wearing a crossbow and sword and talk about things that belonged in science fiction? It didnt make any sense.
Of course not, her rational self said. Its a dream, or a hallucination or something. But since counting to three didnt work, maybe this vortex will.
So she nodded and followed him out of the cabin, her boots crunching on broken glass and then echoing on the short steps leading down.
This way, he said, urging her along a wide path. His breath fogged the air. If we can get back through the stones Shit. His face fell. Its not glowing.
Which means?
The vortex is already gone. He glanced at her. You know how to call one, right?
I She thought of the whirling wind in her kitchen, the spell her mother taught her. Yeah.
Then lets go. If we hurry we can be gone before the pack gets there. But he hadnt gone more than a few paces before a wolfs high, eerie howl rose into the clear night air, coming from very nearby. First one, then another and another joined in, swelling the note to a harmony, then to a chorus, as if they were intentionally singing together.
The hair on the back of her neck shivered at the sound, which was wild, feral and hauntingly beautiful. But at the same time, nerves twined through her, turning her skin to gooseflesh.
Dayn stopped in the middle of the pathway. Damn it, were already too late to get ahead of them, and we really dont want to interrupt the blood-moon ritual. He paused, considering. Given that I dont want to cross paths with them tonight, especially not with you, were going to need to hole up somewhere out of sight. He glanced back at the cabin.
Not there, she said quickly.
He nodded, then pointed off to one side, where the trees ran up a steep, rocky hill. Theres a cave I use sometimes. Well be okay there for an hour or two.
A cave, she repeated, apparently only able to string together two words at a time, preferably one syllable each. Suddenly very aware of the cold that bit through her shirt and lightweight leather, she hugged herself tightly. This couldnt be happening; it was all too unreal. Yet, strangely, Dayn seemed more real to her than anyone had in a very long time. He was bright and vivid; he drew her eyes and made her want to stare, made her want to touch. Shed felt inner sparklers when he kissed her hand. What would happen if he kissed her lips? What if he did more?
Focus. Stop transferring. You need to get out of here, not fantasize.
Here. He dug into his rucksack and pulled out a second sweater. Figured youd want another layer, unless your coat is one of those fancy jobs with the really thin insulation.
Its not. She slipped out of her leather and took the sweater from him. It was dark in color, thick and lightweight, almost airy, and the material had a faint rasp that suggested some dream-version of wool. Needing to say something that involved more than two syllables and might defuse the strangeness of wearing his clothes, she said, Okay, so you carry a sword but you know about Thinsulate. Whats the deal here?
He hesitated, then said, Theres some travel between your realm and this one, so a certain amount of your technology has leaked over and been adapted to work here. Im from the kingdom realm, which is pure magic. Thus, the sword.
Is there the same sort of sharing between your realm and this one? She was stalling, asking about things she didnt begin to believe in because she had been having sex dreams about him while hed apparently been waiting for her to show up and lead him somewhere. And she didnt want to wear his sweater. Except she did, because it was freezing out, and the sweater smelled like hima mix of pine, moss and mint.
I really am losing my mind, arent I? The thought brought a jab of new fear.
He glanced in the direction of the howls. Things are far more complicated between my realm and this one. And we should get moving before a pack scout catches sight of us.
Sorry. Holding her breath, she pulled on his sweater and smoothed it down her body, where it clung unexpectedly to her rather blatant curves. But she didnt care about that because she was already warmer, on the way to growing toasty. Letting out a soft sigh, she said, Ahh, yes. Thats good. Not letting herself snuggle or even take a deep breath, she nodded. Okay. Lead on.
He made a quiet noise at the back of his throat, adjusted his burdens and headed across the track and into the moon-dappled forest. There must have been some sort of path; she couldnt see any markings, but he led her up the steep, rocky slope with a neat economy of effort, his near-silent footsteps making her feel loud and awkward in comparison. After ten, maybe fifteen minutes, he motioned for her to join him on a wide, flat ledge near a triangular cave mouth.
Wait here. Ive got some lights and other supplies inside. He slipped into the darkness. Moments later a muted glow sprang to life and he called, Come on in.
She ducked to follow him in, found him crouched at roughly the midpoint of a low tunnel that was formed where two huge slabs of smooth, porous stone leaned against each other. In his palm he held a small rectangular unit that emitted blue-white light and a low background hum.
The wolfyn wont come up here, he said. After theyre done with the ritual, theyll run the lowlands for the rest of the night. Moon time, you know.
She only heard part of it, though, because the moment he said wolfyn, her stomach hollowed out and she flashed back to the woodcutting and the sly, evil creature that had seduced innocent Red. She sank down opposite him, and then leaned against the wall when her head spun. Those were wolfyn back there?