And tempting.
The flaming hair drew his eyes to her womanas place like a magnet despite her efforts to cover it and his efforts to ignore it.
He didnat know why only looking at her was enough to make his blood heat in his veins and pound in his temples, but there was no denying it did--as much as he wouldave liked to dismiss it.
She had surprised him--not just her speed, and her flight through his gateway, but when head caught her. The moment head landed on her, he had felt a strange sensation wash over him, for she was so slight it was not at all like tackling an opponent in battle. Her frailty had disarmed him.
He hadnat expected that much fight from one so puny and he was still more than a little bemused by it.
Dismissing his distraction with an effort, he forced himself to focus on the woman as his prisoner and enemy. He could not afford to think of her as a beautiful, desirable woman or his life would be forfeit--and she was not that beautiful. aTell me how you found the gateway--how you breached it,a he demanded harshly, realizing the moment he spoke that she was still affecting him, that he had not infused the words with the threat he had intended.
Danielle glared at him, struggling with indignation of her treatment and her afight if flight wasnat a possibilitya instinct. She was beginning to get really scared now that shead been imprisoned, and completely unable to convince herself that she was imagining what was happening.
She would almost have preferred to think her mind was gone.
Imprisonment meant she wasnat getting home anytime soon. She didnat even want to think about what else it might mean.
aLook, buddy! I already told you! I donat know anything about a d.a.m.ned gateway. I was testing my....a She broke off abruptly as a thought popped into her mind. What if her compet.i.tors had stumbled onto her finding? What if theyad somehow drugged her with--a hallucinogen or something like that just to try to get her to tell them about the pods?
aWho is buddy?a he roared. aDid he give you the key?a Danielle jumped and then looked at him blankly. aI meant you.a aI am Archangel Kirin, guardian of the gateway!a he growled. aWho is buddy?a Danielle began to think she wasnat the only one having a mental breakdown. aHe looked a lot like you,a she said hesitantly.
aHe is Elumi?a he demanded, stunned.
aWhatas Elumi?a She could hear him grinding his teeth all the way across the room. Abruptly, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the door open and stalked across the cell toward her. Danielle felt her eyes get a little wider with each step he took in her direction until they felt as if they might simply pop from the sockets. He caught her upper arms in a bruising grip, lifting her feet free of the floor. aTalk!a She needed no further prodding. aTheyare t-transporter p-p-pods. I--I invented them--to send p-p-people from one p-p-place to another. I donat know how I got here,a she ended on a wail. aI donat know what Elumi is. I donat know anything about a key or a gateway. I donat even know where I am!a He looked disconcerted when she burst into tears. He set her on her feet so abruptly her knees almost buckled. aI am Elumi.a Danielleas chin wobbled. aI thought you said you were Kirin.a He ground his teeth. His hands clenched and unclenched as it he was resisting the urge to grab her and shake her. aDo I not speak good English?a Danielle blinked the tears from her eyes. aYes.a He bent over, pushing his face so closely to hers that they were almost nose to nose. aI am Kirin, Archangel, whose duty it is to guard the gateway to Pearthen. I am an Elumi. You are a human. You should not be in high Earth. How have you learned to breach the gateway and gain entry into Pearthen?a aI donat know,a Danielle wailed like the child confronted by the parent with some misdeed. aI invented a machine. It wasnat supposed to take me anywhere except from one pod to the other.a The Elumi looked startled. He paled. aAn invention? A machine?a Sniffing, Danielle nodded. aI was the first to perfect it. There are others working on it, but I-I guess it isnat exactly perfect, though,a she ended frowning. aI shouldnat be here. Iall have to check the dataa. Can I go now?a aNO!a Danielle took a step back. Mopping the tears from her cheeks, she looked him over uneasily. aBut--you said I wasnat supposed to be here. You canat keep me here! Iam an American citizen! I have rights!a aNot here, you donat,a he growled.
Turning on his heel abruptly, Kirin stalked from the cell and slammed the door behind him.
Once he had left the woman, he merely stood staring into the distance, however, trying to get his mind around what she had told him.
She had designed a machine that would allow her to breach the gateway.
She had designed it to allow humans to travel from one point to another.
Their borders would be overrun with humans! There were millions of them. There was not an army in Pearthen great enough--even altogether, with every kingdom united and every man, woman, and child fighting--to keep the humans from pouring through their lands like a plague.
He had to tell the king!
Uneasiness filled him immediately.
What if she was lying?
Could she be? Was there any other explanation for what shead done?
He didnat think so. She had not flown, for she had no wings. She had been propelled in some manner, and that suggested the existence of the machine she had claimed to have built.
He was never to leave his post--under penalty of death--but it would be nigh a month before his relief arrived. He did not think he could wait so long as that. She had said there were others. Even if he kept her locked up, others might perfect their machines in that time and pour over their borders.
He would have to risk it, he decided. He felt certain the king would consider the potential for disaster and forgive him for leaving his post under the circ.u.mstances. Either way he was almost certainly looking at expulsion. He would be banished for failing to prevent her from pa.s.sing through his post. He might be facing death for leaving his post, but he would certainly be facing death if he remained where he was and did not report the danger immediately.
Kirin had not considered the possibility that he might be seized the moment he showed his face, but such was the case. He had no sooner lit upon the ramparts of King Sorecetas fortress than an alarm went up.
aTraitor!a the captain of the guard snarled. aSeize that archangel! He has abandoned his post!a aI have news for King Sorecet!a Kirin ground out, struggling against the hold of the two warriors that seized him. aIt will mean your head, not mine, if you prevent me from carrying the news to him.a aWhat news?a Captain Daelin demanded, signaling to the two guards to hold.
Kirin narrowed his eyes at the captain. It was not that he distrusted the man, but he was not certain he trusted the man with his life. If he relayed his news to Daelin, there was no guarantee the man wouldnat simply report the news himself, as his own discovery, in order to gain favor with King Sorecet. aHumanas have perfected a device that will allow them to breach our gateway.a Captain Daelin stared at him blankly for several moments and finally began to laugh, though there was little humor in it. aThe solitude has turned your mind! They do not even know of the existence of the gateway. If they did, they are not the same as Elumi. Their fragile forms could not make the transition.a Kirinas jaw set. aI captured a human female. She breached the gateway twice. The first time, she moved so fast I could not catch her. I only caught her when she came again because I was prepared to intercept her. This is not my imagination. I questioned the prisoner. I tell you, she has invented a device that allows her to pa.s.s through our gateway. She told me there were others working to perfect the same device. If something is not done quickly, we will be overrun by the humans. I must speak with the king!a Captain Daelin frowned, but he looked more thoughtful now, even slightly uneasy. aIf what you say is true--and I do not believe it--then it would be something the king should know. I will not allow you to carry unverified information to King Sorecet, however. He is planning the siege of Nardu castle and he will not be pleased to be interrupted with any news at all.a He considered for several moments more and finally nodded. aI will see this human for myself and question her. If it is as you say, then you may keep your head and I will carry the news to King Sorecet while you bide a while in the prison to reflect on the inadvisability of abandoning your post--for any reason.a * * * *
Danielle felt weak all over when she saw the fierce birdman fly off. Her rubbery legs gave out abruptly, and she sat hard on the cold stone floor. Head been so furious about her breaching his gate, shead been terrified for several moments that he would torture the information he wanted out of her.
She was more than a little surprised that he hadnat, now that she thought about it, for he had been angry and tremendously agitated about the situation--which meant it must be something his people considered a serious infraction.
In fact, except for catching her to begin with, he had seemed very reluctant to touch her at all--almost like the thought of doing so unnerved him.
Relief not withstanding, she realized fairly quickly that she did not want to be in the cell when he returned. He hadnat tortured her a yet. That didnat mean he wouldnat, and who was to say head be satisfied with the information she gave him? For all she knew, they considered breaching the gate enough of an excuse for execution. Considering his behavior, that didnat seem at all farfetched, for he did not strike her as the sort of soldier that would be easily unsettled. His face had been youthful--far more handsome that shead noticed that first time--but there was knowledge and experience drawn upon it as well. His had not been the face of an untried, inexperienced boy but a hardened, seasoned soldier.
Picking herself up off of the floor, she looked around the cell. There was one window, high upon the wall and barred. Beyond that, there was no other way in or out of the cell but the door, which looked like it was made of the same material as the prison itself, and the door only had a tiny window--also barred.
The window was out of the question--both windows, for that matter, the one because she wouldnat be able to get her thigh through it, much less the rest of her body, the other because she didnat have frigging wings.
She was also buck naked, unfortunately, which meant she had nothing she could use to pick the lock. She moved to the door anyway to study it.
She almost felt ill when she saw how simple the locking mechanism was. If she only had a pin! A paperclip! A credit card might have done the trick.
Grasping the handle, she gave it a disgruntled tug.
It flew open at her sharp tug and she sprawled in the floor, too stunned for several moments to do more than gape at the wide open s.p.a.ce beyond. He hadnat locked it? Boy, he must think she was a real moron!
Or maybe head thought she was too terrified even to consider trying to escape?
Or maybe head been so stunned by what shead told him that he hadnat realized he hadnat locked it?
What did she care? The only thing that mattered was that he hadnat locked it.
Jumping to her feet, she ran outside before it occurred to her that the unlocked door might be some sort of trick. Fortunately, he was nowhere in sight.
Unfortunately, the prison had been built on a fairly high outcropping of rock.
She didnat waste time a.n.a.lyzing her fear of falling. That crazy birdman was liable to come back any time, and she had no desire to see just how p.i.s.sed off he would be when he discovered head forgotten to lock the cage and his captive had flown the coop.
Slipping over the edge, she sc.r.a.ped the hide off every conceivable tender spot on her body as she slipped, slid, climbed, and fell from point to point until she landed on the mossy soil at the bottom.
Catching her breath, she listened for the tell-tale whine of electricity she remembered. Shead been really stunned right after head caught her, but she recalled the general direction theyad come--head landed right on the porch thingy outside the cell, not flown around to the front from a different angle.
The stream couldnat be too high off the ground. When head slammed into her shead hit the dirt pretty quickly afterwards with only a little friction burn and bruising, no broken bones. It hadnat taken moments. The trip from air to ground had been more like a fly being spattered by a fly swatter.
The hair on her skin began to p.r.i.c.kle when shead been walking for maybe fifteen minutes. Knowing it meant she had to be close to the path, she stopped, sniffing the air for the faint trace of electrically heated air. Pinpointing the general vicinity, she raced toward it, zigzagging back and forth as the whine seemed to move away and then closer, leaping into the air.
Abruptly, so suddenly she thought for a moment that Kirin had hit her again, something powerful slammed into her back and everything went dark.
Kirin saw his life pa.s.s before his eyes.
He and his escort of three were still some distance from the guard post when he saw the door of the cell standing open. He didnat dare look around for the woman. To do so would instantly alert his guards to the fact that there would be no prisoner waiting to be interrogated.
He hadnat bound her and he hadnat locked the door.
A cold sweat broke from his pores. Head been so stunned by the news--so certain the pathetic creature head captured was too terrified to present any sort of problem---he hadnat considered she would even attempt to escape. Truthfully, once head realized that she had had to use a machine to travel, it hadnat occurred to him that there was any way she could escape.
He was a dead man. There wouldnat be any trial. He wouldnat get the opportunity to try to explain his mistake, let alone correct it.
He didnat have to worry about banishment. They would take his head.
He wasnat really aware of coming to a decision not to simply accept his disgrace and just punishment. Tensing, he waited until everyone began to slow to drop to the platform. The moment they began their descent, he shot for the gateway with every ounce of speed he could muster and went through.
Behind him, he heard shouts of fury. He didnat slow, however, until he found a defensible position.
Whipping his sword from its scabbard, he dropped to the roof of the high building and tensed for battle.
Two made it through the gateway directly behind him. The third either did not know the key to the gateway, or he had returned to report that Kirin had escaped.
He would worry about that later. At the moment, he needed to concentrate on keeping his head. And when he was done, he would find that twice d.a.m.ned human female and he would make her rue the day she had crossed him!
Chapter Three.
Danielle literally fell out of the pod. Unlike her first trip through, however, she didnat allow herself the luxury of resting. The moment she hit the floor, she began to crawl frantically toward the console.
He might be right behind her. She had to shut the transport down--change the coordinates. Her fingers trembled as they flew over the keyboard, striking the wrong keys over and over. She stopped after a moment, dragging in a couple of deep, cleansing breaths to calm her frayed nerves. When shead managed to calm the shakes a little bit, she began again, more slowly this time.
It seemed to take forever, but finally she had the entire system shut down.
Dead silence invaded the room. Her ears began to ring with the quiet. Shead been tinkering with the transporter so long shead grown accustomed to the low background whine of the equipment.
She found herself shivering, her teeth clacking together like castanets. Finally, she pushed herself from her work chair and headed toward her bathroom. When shead turned the shower on as hot as she could stand it, she slumped against the wall of the shower for some time and finally wilted to the floor, her mind curiously blank as she lay in the tub with the water trying to drill holes through her skin.
After a time, the heat began to seep past the surface and into her bones and the shaking slowed and finally stopped. Her brain began to spark and fire and finally random thoughts wandered through.
Pearthen, high Earth, birdmen--it sure as h.e.l.l wasnat her idea of heaven!
That was the scariest man--whatever--shead ever seen in her life!
Sitting up finally, she looked down at her hands. The green stuff from the plants head smeared her over still colored her skin. The sc.r.a.pes and bruises shead collected from her climb down the rocky outcropping were real. They stung.
She hadnat imagined that place.
She hadnat imagined that huge, muscle bound winged barbarian that had threatened her, imprisoned her--sort of.
What had she done?
Was her machine totally whacked? Or was it just some sort of fluke that had--what? Carried her into another dimension? It couldnat have carried her to another planet. Ok, so maybe that wasnat any more farfetched than another dimension, but head spoken of humans like he was familiar with them. He spoke English remarkably well. Head also referred to that place as Pearthen, high Earth. Unless he was a kook, and she really didnat think he was, then it had to be another dimension--unless there was something like the theoretical worm hole that was connecting his world to this one and they didnat know they were on another planet?
It made her head hurt just trying to untangle the gnarly thing. She wasnat going to get anywhere until she started a.n.a.lyzing the data the computer had collected. She might still not be able to figure it out without going back and she sure as h.e.l.l wasnat going back to that place if she could avoid it.
She was seriously pruny by the time she finally shut the water off and climbed out. She might have been tempted to stay longer anyway, except that shead run out of hot water.
While she towel dried her hair and combed the knots out of it, she considered if she felt up to turning the system back on. Deciding she didnat at the moment, she wrapped her towel around her and headed for her bedroom to look for something to put on. She was halfway between the bathroom and her chest of drawers when the voice of G.o.d spoke.
aWoman!a Recognizing that voice instantly, Danielle let out a squawk like a dying chicken, sprang a foot clear of the floor, and touched down again with her legs already churning. Unfortunately, she had no idea from which direction the voice had come and her resemblance to a chicken with its head cut off didnat end there. She ran around in frantic little circles, searching for something she could use as a weapon, letting out another squawk of fright each time her foot touched down.
When she finally discovered that her nemesis was between her and the only exit from the room--except the windows--she let out another squawk and leapt flat footed onto the bed, still looking wildly around for something to throw at him or beat him unconscious with. Grabbing the lamp beside the bed finally, she whirled and flung it at him with all her might.
It was still plugged in. When it reached the length of the wire, it simply hit the floor.
The crash finally penetrated some of Danielleas panic. She stared down at the broken lamp for a moment before her gaze bounced to the winged barbarian.
He was staring at her in stunned amazement, as if he couldnat figure out what the h.e.l.l she thought she was doing.
This wasnat really very surprising considering Danielle had no idea what the h.e.l.l she was doing.
She saw, though, when she looked at him that he looked--different. Gashes covered his arms, his thighs and his chest, some mere scratches, other oozing--something blue. The moment she froze, he made a flying leap for her, flattening her on the mattress with the weight of his body.
Stunned both by the attack and her sudden impact with the bed, Daniel hardly breathed. She didnat even try to move at first. As the edge of her shock wore off, however, it finally sank in that she wasnat crushed or mangled from the tackle. At about the same time she realized she wasnat incapacitated, she also realized that he hadnat so much as moved since head landed on top of her. Craning her neck, she looked down at the face planted in the middle of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. All she could see was hair. When he still didnat move she reached shakily for the hair and picked up a lock to peer at his face.
He didnat twitch, but she couldnat see him all that well so she used the hank of hair she had in her fist to lift his head a little higher for a better look.
He was unconscious.
She might have thought he was dead except she could feel the warmth of his breath stirring against her bare skin.
A shiver went through as his breath skated over her damp, bare skin like the light caress of fingers.
Thoroughly confused, she eased his head down on her chest again, not because she was really concerned about hurting him, but because she didnat want his head slamming into her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Placing a palm against his shoulder, she struggled to ease his weight from her enough to wiggle out from under him. She was damp with perspiration by the time shead managed to free herself, and huffing from the effort.
Rolling off the bed, she stared down at him for several moments, wondering what had made him lose consciousness.
Shaking that off after a moment, she focused on what to do with him.
Call the police?
As tempted as she was, it took no more than a glance around her place to realize she didnat want cops crawling all over it, poking around her things. She hadnat let anyone in since shead begun work on her project. She sure as h.e.l.l wasnat going to call some of the worldas nosiest people in to have a look around.
She also wasnat just going to stand around and wait for the giant, really p.i.s.sed off, winged barbarian to wake up.