First Crossing Page 3

  She whirled and followed his gaze, and saw dark forms hurtling towards them, dragging thunderclouds and lightning in their wake. Her heart leaping in terror, she launched herself towards the ocean floor just as a giant wave smashed down on her back. Her fingertips hit the sand, then amazingly seemed to go through it, as she arrowed along the magical path that drew her through. Energy spiraled wildly around her, and she became part of the sand, the water, the tiny fragments of marine life.

  Then she was back on the floor of the ocean, and racing up to where the sun made the water a glittering halo of green. Seconds later she burst through the surface, her lungs screaming.

  Nausea… Again, nausea: and worse this time, because she hadn’t had time to breathe before coming through; her mouth was full of sea water.

  Coughing and choking, she trod water and waited for Hunter to appear, trying desperately not to throw up.

  The minutes crawled by, and he didn’t show. The waves lapped serenely around her. There was no sign of the tempest that had accompanied their abrupt descent; no clouds, no angry waves.

  Her breathing almost normal again, Eve narrowed her eyes against the sun and peered at the beach. It looked like the same beach they’d walked across just minutes before, but heaven knew what sort of world awaited there. She didn’t know what to do. Wait for Hunter? Swim back to the beach?

  She ducked under the water again to look around, but without swimming goggles it was too hard to see anything. It looked exactly like the ocean bed did every time she swam in the ocean: sandy.

  What awaited her on land, she had no idea. Whatever they had been running from had caught up with them, she was miserably certain of that. The question was, had Hunter survived the encounter? Maybe he had stayed behind to face them, to give her a chance to escape.

  All at once she felt overwhelmed. Whatever lay ahead, it was time to move: the currents here were cold, and even though she could withstand colder temperatures than most, her teeth were chattering. With one last look behind her, she started for the beach. Her progress was faster than it had been going out, because she was able to catch a few waves heading in to the shore.

  Sopping wet and cold, and with shoes full of water, she slogged out of the waves, feeling vulnerable out in the open. Too much of a target if something came after her. She wouldn’t feel really safe until she was out of sight.

  A few hundred yards distant, she spotted an older-style cottage set back on a scrubby patch of land. Sheltering trees were few and far between, so she approached cautiously, sending out feelers to see if anyone was there.

  It seemed not. That was a relief.

  With a quick look around, she tried the front door. As she expected, it was locked. The back door was secured too; that left the side door to the dilapidated garage.

  Not locked. Thank goodness.

  She slipped inside and shut the door behind her, then took stock. One small, grimy window up high let in some light, enough so that she could move around without bumping into something. The garage was plainly used for storage, not to house a car – that was a plus, if someone came home. Shivering, she looked around for something to wrap around herself, and let out a quick hiss of relief when she spotted a couple of old jackets hanging up next to a wetsuit and a surfboard. The one she plucked from the hook smelled musty and was encrusted with something evil-smelling, but at least it was warm. Traveling from one world to the next was really taking it out of her; she could normally shrug off cold temperatures.

  Eve hunched on the floor with her back against a pile of cardboard boxes, waited for her mind to calm, and finally allowed herself to think.

  She was fae. Part-fae.

  That was the huge, overwhelming fact that had been sitting at the back of her mind ever since the words had left Hunter’s lips. It explained so many things. Why she saw the things she did; why she felt things differently to everyone else. It probably explained why, when she was showing the victims of road accidents how makeup could disguise the scars, she was able to do a lot more than add a thin film of cosmetics. Every time she saw a damaged client, as her hands smoothed on foundation, she directed a pulse of healing energy to the ravaged tissue. She had no idea exactly how it worked; she had always explained it away as being some power passed down to her by Nana Alice.

  Now, she wasn’t so sure.

  Her thoughts turned to her father. How had he managed to keep a secret like this for so long? And how – how! – could he let her think her mother was dead?

  The answer came immediately: fear. Whatever it was that had led to her mother sending her away, and to her father agreeing to leave the Otherworld with Hunter, carrying his daughter to safety – it had to be huge. Something big enough and scary enough for Eve to feel the fallout even in a different world.

  The thought came again: Why are they hunting me?

  Drawing her knees up under her chin, Eve thought about Hunter’s words earlier, and came to the inescapable conclusion that they either wanted her dead, or in their power. Okay. That much was easy. But as for the ‘why’….

  Because she was dangerous to them?

  Because they would be able to hold something over her mother?

  Because she held the answer to something, maybe.

  She sighed. Only Hunter would be able to tell her, or her mother. Neither was here, and she didn’t even know if Hunter was alive. If he wasn’t, then how was she supposed to find her way anywhere? How was she supposed to evade them?

  Since her efforts to think things through had come up with nothing but more questions, she turned her attention inward, curious about the hyper-awareness she had experienced after crossing from Human Earth. Before crossing over, she was routinely able sense things; to sometimes see future events. She could tap into others’ emotions and, quite often, their thoughts.

  But from the moment she met Hunter, she was able to send thoughts, as well as receive them.

  And that wasn’t all she had received. Her face flooding with heat, she recalled the jolt of sexual arousal when he had been helping her to get a fix on the coordinates for the path under the sea. Had that come from her? Or him? Was it deliberate?

  No, she wasn’t going to think about that. Someone – or something – was hunting her. That was what was important. Getting out alive. Once she was safe, she could start thinking about how she was going to fit into this strange new life.

  Outside, she heard a tiny snick of sound. Eve scrambled to her feet, silently cursing herself for not finding a spot to hide. Although that might not matter here: she was no longer on human earth. For all she knew, everyone here might be able to sniff out strangers at a thousand paces.

  The door opened, and Hunter slipped inside.

  Relief made her rubber-kneed. “It’s you! What happened to you?” Then he came closer, and she could see the gash on his face in the dim light. Blood trickled from his hairline down over one ear. His energy was far weaker than it had been earlier. “You’re wounded.”

  He waved away her concern. “I am all right,” he said impatiently. “This will heal within hours. But they have found the path, and it’s only a matter of time until they align themselves to it.” He fixed his eyes on hers; deep, green, compelling. “Eve, you must listen carefully. Do exactly what I tell you – it is imperative you get this right.”

  Eve just nodded, her eyes searching his. She wasn’t about to argue. When you were the prey, getting away was pretty important. “What went wrong? How come they caught up so quickly?”

  “You’re part mortal,” he said bluntly. “You have a lot of latent power, but you don’t know yet how to cloak yourself, or how to put up strong shields against the kind of creatures that are hunting you. They followed your trail faster than I thought, and they’ve found new ways to hide their approach. By the time we were ready to dive to SF3, it was too late.”

  She swallowed. Oh great; they could track her because of her human-ness. “Where are they?”

  “Too close,” he said tersely. “Longer
explanations will have to wait, Eve. We have half an hour at most, and it might only be minutes. I’ll have to send you through to Elm Crossing. It’s a pocket of the dimension we’re in now – not ideal, but it’s well-defended, and you’ll be safe until your powers are more fully developed. I’ll stay here and draw them away.” He absently wiped away a trickle of blood on his forehead with the back of his hand. “They can’t be allowed to find you.”

  “So you’re not coming.” Eve fought down the panic that assailed her at the thought of having to find her way around by herself.

  “I can’t. My task was to remove you from Mortal Earth, and see you to safety.” Despite the tension she sensed in him, his voice was as steady as ever. “Now they know where you are, and you’re not safe anymore. I’m sorry, Eve, but it means another transition, and that’s going to be hard on you. The crossing will be uncomfortable, and when you get there, you can’t let anyone know too much about yourself.”

  She stared at him helplessly. “What am I supposed to do there? Where do I go?”

  “I know it must be frightening. And confusing.” He reached out a hand. “Come here. You have to be ready to go in an instant; I need to lock in the coordinates, as we did before.”

  She flushed, remembering only too well what had happened the last time. Hunter didn’t appear to notice her reluctance. This time he turned her to face away from the ocean, again taking his place behind her. His hands settled into place, warm on her shoulders, his fingers trailing lightly near the throbbing pulse in her neck. “Ready?”

  She tried to relax. “Yes.”

  “Open, then.”

  Hesitantly, she allowed him entry again. Immediately she felt that flooding surge of power and energy, burning blood-red and hot through the core of her. She clamped her thighs together and fought down the flame of arousal, biting her lip in the effort to control her reaction, her hands coming up to clench over his. Her nails dug into his skin.

  Then it happened, same as before. The force coalesced into a tightly-focused ray of energy, burning a path into her mind; her muscles; her tissues. She could feel the path; she could, in her mind’s eye, see it stretching out in front of her.

  “Okay,” she whispered, letting her hands fall back to her sides. She sagged back against him, spent. “It’s locked in.”

  For a moment he didn’t move, and Eve became aware of a something different humming between them. He feels it too, she thought. His hands squeezed her shoulders gently, then he drew back and slid his palms slowly down the sleeves of the rough jacket that covered her arms, and linked his fingers with hers. Something unspoken lay between them.

  She had to ask. “Did you… do that deliberately?”

  He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “No. But it can happen, if there is an attraction between parties. Especially if one half is untrained, as you are.”

  If there is an attraction between parties. He made it sound like a scientific experiment.

  Fighting the impulse to turn and melt into him, she turned her focus away from the insistent warmth between her thighs, and straightened. Move away, Eve.

  She turned to face him, folding her arms. “Tell me about this place you’re sending me to.”

  He said nothing for a moment, his face betraying nothing of what he thought. Eve extended her awareness and probed gently, but hit a shield immediately. He stared back, and let her know that he’d felt it by quirking one eyebrow.

  She shrugged. “Tell me.”

  “It will take some time before you understand how it all works. I’ll try to give you some idea, but if they come before I’ve finished, I’ll boot you out of here so fast your head will spin, so be ready.”

  Eve matched her expression to his: business all the way. “Okay.”

  “And it will hurt.”

  Well, she was no girly girl. She shrugged, pretending indifference.

  “You were raised on Human Earth by a human father, but your mother was half fae.”

  Eve’s brows flew up at that. Half fae. “That means I’m only one-quarter fae?”

  “Yes. Your grandmother mated with a voyager from Earthstar.” Obviously reading bewilderment in her face, he searched for words to explain. “Think of it as simply Earth in another galaxy; yet another version of where we are now, rather like Mortal Earth – but on a higher plane.”

  Eve’s mouth dropped open. This was beyond anything she could have imagined. Had she not already crossed into two strange lands, she would have laughed in his face. Half human, one-quarter fae… and one-quarter something the hell else that she couldn’t get her head around. Not to mention the fact that she had gained both a mother and an extra grandmother, all on the same day.

  “Your grandmother Liliana,” he went on, “is not only full fae, but also a powerful ruler. When one of our spies recently brought news of your planned execution, she and your mother assigned me the task of bringing you back.”

  Eve’s pulse jumped. Execution? Her day was definitely getting worse. “But why? What possible reason – ”

  “Wait, we’ll get to that. Now stay with me here; you have to concentrate. When we first crossed over today, it was to the Otherworld, which is mostly fae. Your grandmother rules there, but you would have been too easy to find. With me so far?”

  “Yes,” she said faintly.

  “When we locked in to the path under the ocean, we arrived here, which is another dimension of the Otherworld. Many different beings co-exist: vampires, fae, shapeshifters. It’s like an ethnic melting-pot, where different nationalities are learning to coexist. There is no one ruler; there are territories.”

  She nodded, barely keeping up. Half an hour ago she was barely coming to terms with being fae. Then an Earthstar grandparent. Now it was vampires and shapeshifters?

  She was going to wake up any minute now.

  “This is where we had planned to keep you until you learned self-defense, both physically and on a psychic level. You also will have to learn combat skills.” Unexpectedly, he reached out a hand and cupped her chin, rubbing a thumb over her chin, just touching her lips. “What you will be doing is like nothing you have experienced before. It’s going to be tough, but from what I’ve seen, you’ll handle it.”

  Almost in a trance, she simply nodded. “But now I’m not stay; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:ing here.”

  “No. You will remain in this dimension; same mix of people and races, but we’re moving you to safety through another portal. This one is heavily guarded and protected, and only a few know about it.” He hesitated, and for a fleeting second she saw a rueful expression in his eyes. “Your grandmother, Liliana, had to send her other two daughters there for safety some years ago. Their names are Helena and Sophie. You will arrive at their door, and they will be expecting you.”

  She stared at him. “That would make them … my aunts?”

  He inclined his head. “They are your aunts. However, they have always proved troublesome to Liliana, and you too may find them difficult. But they are too afraid of Liliana to betray you, and that is what is most important right now.”

  She rolled her eyes and moved away from his hand. So she was being sent to live with the black sheep of the family. Better and better.

  “What am I supposed to do there?”

  “Lessons and combat training will be arranged for you. The rest of the time, you will work for your aunts in the family business.” He frowned. “It would be better if I were there with you; that was always intended, while you adjusted to the life here. Now, however, I have a lot of work repairing the breach that led to them finding you. There are traitors who need to be dealt with. And while your aunts will not hand you over to the enemy, they cannot be trusted in other ways. They know you are their sister Tia’s daughter and Liliana’s granddaughter, and they know your father is mortal.” He paused for emphasis. “They do not know you have Earthstar genes, and Tia does not want them to know.”

  It was a good thing that Eve’s arms were still tightly folded, b
ecause she needed something to hold on to.

  She felt completely, utterly lost.

  Her father was back on Human Earth, probably grieving as much as she was. In the space of a day she had discovered she was part fae and… and part-Earthstar, although she was still confused about what that meant. She had traversed two worlds, but was not permitted to stay in them and meet either her mother – or the grandmother who did seem to care at least a little about her welfare. Instead, she was going to be flying off to some other pocket of this – this dimension, or whatever it was called, to stay with two aunts who could not be trusted.

  Oh, joy. She stared at her feet so Hunter wouldn’t see the moisture in her eyes. Big tough guy Hunter who spoke lightly of her having to learn self-defense and combat skills.

  “I do know something of self-defense,” she said, managing with some success to keep her voice from wobbling. “Surely that will help.”

  “I know,” he said, his voice unreadable. “Mixed martial arts. A reasonable grounding.”

  “And I’m fit.”

  “Yes, you are. You can run, swim, leap. A legacy of your paternal grandfather, we are thinking.” His tone was matter-of-fact, steadying. “You really have no idea of what you present to the world, Eve. That is why you are being hunted.”

  “Executed,” she said quietly, still not looking up. “You said “a planned execution.”

  “Unfortunately, yes.”

  “Can you be more specific about the ‘why’?”

  “In our world, great importance is placed on prophesies, both magical and clear visions seen by minds that can actually tap into worlds of the future.” He reached out and tilted up her chin. “You, Eve, figure in more than one of those visions – a child taken from the Otherworld at birth and raised on Mortal Earth. It is said that you will determine the balance of power between worlds, and there are many who will kill before they let that happen.”

  She looked at him, his face caked with blood and his shirt torn, and trembled at the thought of what was after her. “Eve.” He bent forward and whispered against her lips, “They will not reach you. You will be safe, until you learn the skills you need. You are strong. Remember that.” He leaned forward infinitesimally and kissed her, his lips warm and comforting. “When it’s time, I’ll come back for you.”