First World(61)

I picked the bolt-lock. Within thirty seconds I was inside staring at three revolvers.

I pulled out the first gun.

“This is a Colt 911, a semi-automatic weapon.” I checked the clip. “It has seven rounds, so you need to make the shots count.”

I turned to Quarn. “Do you have any experience handling guns?”

He was my best chance. Despite guns’ rarity on the streets, they weren’t non-existent.

Quarn nodded. “Besides chasing you around York, my other aim in life was to remove every gun from the Gangers. Which was hard to achieve without handling them on more than one occasion.”

The second gun was the same. I handed that to Josian, after pointing out the basics. “That’s the safety; click it off before you shoot.”

He dropped the gun into his deep side pocket.

The third gun was useless, just a prop for beginners.

“So the guns are just as useful as a threaten-scare tactic. With some luck we won’t need to use them,” I explained to the men.

At some point everyone had moved nearer and we were pushing uncomfortably close to the corner of the room.

Most of the gear went into Josian’s bag, although the tasers and pepper spray were shared around.

Josian reached up to the top shelves. He pulled out a sheaf of rolled material, which he handed to me. I recognized it immediately.

A wicked smile crossed my face. This was my weapon.

I untied the leather string that held it together. I felt a slow motion flood of anticipation as the roll unraveled.

Quarn, smiling broadly, let out an exclamation. “A throwing-knife set. Are you going to use that?”

He leaned forward eagerly, his blue eyes alight. He wanted his sword, a gun and the throwing knives. Someone had a problem sharing ... weapons’ hog.

I nodded. “Oh, yes. This was one of my specialized advanced classes. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this set for a long time.”

I lovingly stroked the shiny pearl handle of one of the eight knives. Lifting it free, I laid it flat on my hand, inspecting the high quality and perfect balance.

Reluctantly, I re-sheathed the weapon and tucked the leather into the deep pockets of my coat.

“Let’s go kick some ass.”

“Aribella,” Lallielle protested half-heartedly.

My swearing had eventually breached her maximum mother capacity.

Josian laughed. “You’re definitely my daughter; your mother is going to have her work cut out.”

He ducked down to kiss her cheek. She chuckled, accepting his attempt to appease her.

Looking away, I found myself caught in Brace’s stare. Something was up with him; his aloof coldness was growing the longer we were on Earth.

I didn’t have time right now – but something was there and I would figure it out. I shook my head. Well, I probably wouldn’t; Brace was awfully good with the secrets.

I moved aside then as Quarn took the lead.

As I was moving forward to follow them, I felt this strong shove from the right side that sent me reeling. I had no chance to recover my balance, so I simply closed my eyes, prepared to hit the ground.

But I never did.

I was back in the vacuum; I’d fallen straight into the rift.





Chapter 12





I screamed silently in the pressing darkness. My energized cells bounced around my body as I moved at the speed of light. I guess I hadn’t realized the last time how much Brace had calmed me. It was quicker this time for the rift to expel me violently. Suffice to say I wouldn’t be sitting easy for a week.

The room was dark and I couldn’t find anything to anchor myself in it. I stayed still and quiet, trying to sense what dangers were lurking around me.

I could be anywhere in the entire universe. A jostling on my arm reminded me I still had my night-vision goggles.

Hmmm, Abby, that may be useful right now.

Pulling the rubber strap back, I slid them over my head, groaning as I poked myself repeatedly in the eye. Finally they settled over my face and images jumped at me. The darkness turned to a landscape of green and gray.

It took a few minutes for me to adjust. The strange color plateaus from the night vision were disorientating. Eventually, the room came into focus. It was small and empty. There was a door on the far wall. An empty room whose only purpose could be receiving from the compound.

I walked a few steps forward, moving toward the door. I wondered why no one had followed me through the rift. Did it close behind me?

I couldn’t stand around waiting to be rescued. There was only one way to figure out where I was.

I dropped my hand onto the handle. Taking a deep breath, I pushed down and the door clicked open. I gave a gentle shove.

The next room was dark as well; I took my time before stepping through into what looked like a huge single-level room. I was puzzled by what I saw through the goggles. The room looked like a dungeon – like those from the fifteenth century, similar to those I’d seen in books about the medieval period.