The Darkness Beyond Read online

  D.J. stopped long enough to look back at his friends. There was no way to know what was going to happen as he hunted for Reggie. He’d find her or die trying. With that thought in mind, he made eye contact with each man in turn, hoping that it conveyed how much they all meant to him.

  Barak was showing the strain of maintaining control over the barrier. Even so, he leaned forward slightly as if straining to see past the cave and into the world beyond.

  “Once you find your lady, come back here if you can. If not, aim for those low hills you see in the distance. There are caves along the back of the second range. One that holds a small stretch of the barrier hides behind a boulder shaped like an old man’s face. I will tell Berk that you know of that cave.”

  D.J. nodded, feeling better to have two possible escape routes. While they talked, Trahern and Devlin tossed a couple of equipment bags across to the other cave.

  “What’s that?”

  Devlin added one more bag. “Food and water. Basic survival gear. Should be enough to keep you both going until we can get you back across.”

  D.J.’s throat closed tight with emotion. He could barely choke out a simple, “Thanks, guys.”

  Then Barak released his control of the barrier. Just that quickly all of his friends disappeared behind the surging colors. D.J. hadn’t felt quite so alone in a long time. It took him another few seconds to focus.

  Once his pulse had returned to normal, he braced himself for the hunt that was about to begin. He stuck his gun into the waistband of his trousers and sheathed Larem’s sword as he stepped out of the cave and into the dim light of a Kalith evening.

  God, if he found all of this a bit bewildering, how bad was it for Reggie? He rested his hand on the pommel of his sword, drawing comfort from the familiar feel. Battle fever ran hot in his veins. He’d been at war with this alien world for most of his adult life. The only difference was, this time he was bringing the fight to them.

  Reggie stumbled along in between her two captors. Once they’d crossed the barrier, they’d made her put on a set of clothes and a cloak from the cache of supplies they’d left in the cave. At least they’d let her keep her own shoes. Thanks to the oversize pants, her feet barely showed anyway.

  Once they started hiking, it was hard to keep up with the pace set by Jeban’s partner. Obviously they wanted to put considerable distance between themselves and the barrier. Judging from the way Jeban kept looking back, he was worried about being followed.

  The thin air left her lungs burning from the effort to keep up. Despite being physically fit, it was all she could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. When they’d first started out, she tried to take note of the landscape, but eventually gave up trying to make sense of the endless monotony. The whole freaking world was brown with the occasional streak of gray. Each step they took kicked up a cloud of dust, clogging her nose and throat. Beads of muddy sweat trickled down her face and left her skin itching.

  Would D.J. actually cross into this hellish place to come after her? There was no way to know for sure that he’d been able to follow their trail back on earth, much less track her in an alien world. Her logical mind might have its doubts, but her heart told her he’d come. Despite having spent only a short time in his company, she felt a powerful connection to the man.

  Hunger and exhaustion were making it much harder to make sense of everything that had happened in the past few days, starting with the fight with Big Ed and then D.J. showing up on her doorstep. Not to mention how her whole image of reality had been turned inside out and upside down. For now, she just had to keep trudging along. As long as she focused on the simple things, she didn’t think so much about why she was there in the first place.

  Obviously Ray had his own plans for her. God knows what they were, but he seemed to be waiting for her trail to grow cold before pursuing them. Right now it was Jeban and company who scared her right down to her bones.

  “Stop.”

  The alien in front of her abruptly turned off the trail and waded into the high grass. They’d been walking along a narrow, dusty path that led down a steep hill toward the valley below. Where was he taking her now? She froze where she was, reluctant to go any farther.

  Jeban moved up beside her. “Follow him. We’re going to stop to rest and have something to eat.”

  Sure enough, a short distance into the grass, there was a small stream. The two Kalith immediately knelt down and used their hands to scoop up handfuls of water to drink. Reggie didn’t even let herself consider what alien microbes might be lurking in the water and followed their example. If these two guys could function back on earth, she had to assume there were enough similarities between the two worlds for her to be able to eat and drink in relative safety.

  God, she hoped so anyway. But regardless, she needed to maintain her strength if she was going to escape from these two. How she’d find her way back home on her own was a problem she’d deal with later.

  The water was cool and clear and tasted fine. It also felt good to splash it on her face and to rinse the dirt off her hands. When she’d had enough, Jeban motioned for her to have a seat on a nearby rock. Then, to her surprise, he tossed her a couple of granola bars, the same brand she bought for herself.

  The little touch of home had her eyes burning with tears that she refused to shed. “So people aren’t the only thing you steal from my world.”

  Jeban’s freaky pale eyes narrowed in anger. “I thought you would do better eating your own food.”

  Darned if she’d feel grateful for anything the guy had done, even if it was thoughtful. She perched on the rock but turned her back on the two men. Neither of them seemed interested in talking to each other much less her. That was fine. She was too tired to maintain a brave front.

  She nibbled on the granola bars, hoping to delay their departure as long as she could. Every minute they spent out here on the trail would give D.J. that much more time to track them. Besides, she didn’t want to think about what would happen once they reached their final destination.

  Footsteps behind her warned that her respite was over. Sure enough, Jeban circled the rock to face her.

  “We are leaving soon.”

  Not knowing when they would stop again, she sipped more of the cool water, enjoying its soothing trickle down her throat. She was about to reach for another handful when the nameless guy stopped her by putting his hand on her shoulder.

  “We go now.”

  She nodded but drank anyway. When she stood up, his expression made it all too clear that he’d noted the small rebellion. The chill in his eyes was scary, but she refused to cower.

  Once again the other guy took the lead, Jeban following Reggie. It worried her that she was starting to trust Jeban to look after her. That was nothing but stupidity. If he’d really wanted to help her, he would’ve left her back in her world. Even so, he was far less scary than his partner.

  For now she studied their surroundings, trying to memorize the path back to the cave. If somehow she managed to slip away, she’d need a plan. Of course, the cave would be the first place they’d look for her, but it was the only route home that she knew. Besides, it was the first place D.J. would check.

  Just past the next rise, they reached the valley floor. The hills behind them looked much like those she could see in the distance. The terrain in between was flat and dry. Most of the plants were burned brown from the dry heat even though the light from the two stars in the sky was far dimmer than earth’s single sun. No wonder Jeban had described his home as the land of the dying suns.

  The stream ran parallel to the trail until it abruptly disappeared underground. From that point, the path they were following did a ninety-degree turn and headed straight across the valley floor toward the hills beyond.

  “How far do we have to go?” she asked.

  She’d addressed the question to Jeban, but it was his friend who answered. “Are you in such a hurry to meet your fate?”

  There was
nothing to be said to that, so she walked on in silence. Despite her two companions, she’d never felt so alone in her life.

  Outside the cave, it didn’t take long for D.J. to pick up a trail left behind by Reggie and her captors. They were nowhere in sight. Considering the head start they’d gotten, he hadn’t really expected them to be. Rather than go charging down the hillside, he went back inside the cave to rummage through the supplies that Devlin had provided.

  It was mostly food and water, but his friend had also stuck in extra clips for D.J.’s Glock as well as a first-aid kit and some space blankets, the kind that took up little room but provided a surprising amount of warmth. He’d also included matches, two flashlights, a small backpacker’s stove, and even some plastic ties that could be used as restraints.

  Yeah, like D.J. was going let the bastards live long enough to need those. Sworn Guardian Berk might have a different opinion on that subject should their paths cross, but he’d deal with it then. Rather than leave the packs in the cave where one of the Others might find them, D.J. stashed them a short distance away from the cave behind some low bushes.

  Time to begin the hunt.

  He didn’t bother with caution. These guys either knew he was coming or they were fools. Whichever it was, he had to make up time if he’d stand any chance of catching them.

  Starting off at a trot, he waited to see how the thinner atmosphere affected his stamina before picking up speed. He slowed occasionally to catch his breath as he looked for tracks to verify that he was still following the right trail.

  About an hour later, he came to a stop. The grass to the side of the trail looked trampled, as if someone had cut across country. He drew his gun and started forward, worried about what he’d find. As soon as he spotted the stream, his tension drained away. It made sense that they would’ve stopped here for water and maybe a brief rest.

  That didn’t keep the fear that they’d stopped for much darker reasons from eating at him. He’d feel a whole lot better if he had some inkling of why they’d brought Reggie into Kalithia. It sure as hell wasn’t because of her bitchin’ computer skills, not in this world where such things didn’t exist.

  He studied the edge of the stream and could see where three different individuals had knelt to drink. Then he spotted something lying in the dirt beside a nearby rock. Granola wrappers. Okay, so they were feeding her. He had no doubt that she’d left the scraps of paper for him to find. God, he loved the way her mind worked.

  Enough time wasted. After a quick drink, he soaked his handkerchief and wrapped it around his neck. Then he returned to the original trail, picking up greater speed as he ran downhill. Based on what he’d been able to learn from the footprints Reggie and her escorts had left in the dust, they were walking. As long as he maintained a faster pace, eventually he’d catch up with them.

  When he did, there’d be hell to pay.

  Cody knew he was sulking, but right then he didn’t care. In the past two days, thanks to D.J., his whole life had gone straight to hell, starting with his best friend being kidnapped and dragged into an alien world. Not only that, Cody was now surrounded by a bunch of killers armed with swords and guns.

  The whole thing read like a bad science fiction movie, the kind where the geeky kid gets swept up in events too big for him to comprehend. Devlin had taken off in a helicopter shortly after they’d left the caves. Lonzo had stayed behind with that Barak guy to wait for D.J.’s return.

  Evidently Devlin was going to make contact with someone they knew who still lived in Kalithia. From what they said, this guy Berk was part of some kind of local militia. For Reggie’s sake, it was nice to know there were good guys on the other side of that barrier, too.

  Devlin was also going to sic D.J.’s friend Cullen on tracking the helicopter that had whisked the human contingent of bad guys off to safety before Trahern and Lonzo could catch up with them. Cody almost wished he’d been invited along for the ride. For one thing, Cullen was the guy D.J. had wanted Cody to work with on the computer stuff.

  Right now, though, Trahern was taking Cody back to Portland to pick up a few things before heading up to the Paladins’ Seattle headquarters. Rather than think too much about it all, Cody closed his eyes and tried to doze off.

  It didn’t work. About the time he managed to relax enough, Trahern pulled off the road, jarring Cody back to full alert.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I thought we’d stop and chow down.”

  Cody wanted to protest. No one seemed to be hurrying enough. Yeah, D.J. was hot on Reggie’s trail, but Cody wanted—needed—to be doing something soon.

  “But—”

  Trahern turned his chilly gaze in Cody’s direction. “No buts, Cody. None of us can function well when running on empty, and we have a long way to go tonight. Believe me, the first thing you learn in this world of ours is to eat whenever you get a chance. There’ll be enough times ahead when you’d give your left nut for even a handful of granola.”

  Cody hadn’t made up his mind yet about whether to throw in his lot with these guys, but for the moment he had little choice in the matter. Once Reggie was back where she belonged and the Paladins had tracked down the guys who’d kidnapped her in the first place, he’d have time to think about it.

  The other problem was that he had next to no money. The restaurant didn’t look all that expensive, though. Maybe he could afford a bowl of soup; that was usually cheap.

  “A little something might be good.”

  Then Trahern actually winked at him. “Better eat up, Cody. It’s not every day Devlin picks up the tab. Personally, I’m going order a big steak with all the trimmings.”

  Okay, then. Obviously Devlin Bane looked out for his men. That was good to know.

  Cody studied the restaurant’s sign, which advertised home-style cooking. “Hey, think this place has a good dessert menu? And maybe extras to go?”

  “No wonder D.J. took to you.” Trahern chuckled as he pulled into a parking spot and turned off the engine. “I like the way you think. You’re gonna fit right in with us.”

  When was the last time he’d fit in anyplace? He couldn’t remember, but the idea that these guys actually wanted him to hang with them felt good. As they climbed out of the truck and headed inside, the Paladin clapped him on the back.

  “While we’re waiting for our dinners, you can tell me all about your fencing classes and what kind of weapon you like best. I’m a broadsword fan myself.”

  When Cody started talking, it was clear that Trahern was really listening to him and cared about his opinions. Once the food arrived, they both turned their attention to eating.

  Hanging with the Paladins felt damn good.

  Chapter 12

  What was going on? For the third time in the past fifteen minutes, Jeban had paused to stare back up the trail behind them. After the second time, he’d said something to his partner in their own language. All Reggie had been able to pick up was the growing tension in Jeban’s voice. That, and his buddy’s name: Kolar.

  Once Jeban had drawn Kolar’s attention to whatever was going on behind them, they’d both started walking faster and looking back more often. Jeban was careful to keep her between them, shoving her forward if she tried to slow down at all. She didn’t know what to think. Was help on its way or was something else going on?

  Obviously these two were criminals in both worlds. If they were being tracked, it could be that their own people were after them. Only one way to find out. The next time Jeban stopped, she walked back to join him.

  If there was something happening behind them, she sure wasn’t seeing any sign of it. “What’s going on?”

  “Perhaps we are being followed,” Jeban answered in English as he drew his sword. “Kolar, I’m going to circle back to see for sure.”

  As soon as he disappeared off the trail into the tall grasses, Kolar caught Reggie by the arm and dragged her along in his wake. She fought to pull free of his grasp. He only tightened his gr
ip, hard enough to leave bruises, making her wish that Jeban had been the one to stay with her.

  “Any idea who it might be back there?”

  Kolar stopped to answer. “Does it matter? If it is one of our people, he will be enjoying your company along with us.”

  As he spoke, Kolar’s eyes traveled from her head to her toes, pausing along the way to let her know exactly what he was thinking. She glared at him, but it had no effect.

  His smile made her skin crawl. “Of course, it could be someone from your world coming to retrieve you, but that will not happen. Either he will die or you both will. That would be a shame. I have such interesting and pleasurable plans for you. Pleasurable for me, anyway.”

  He moved in closer, his intent to kiss her obvious. Reggie turned her head to the side so that his lips landed on the side of her head. In response, he caught her chin in a painful grip and positioned her face right where he wanted it.

  “You should be careful, pretty little human. I like it when women resist my attentions. Punishment offers its own pleasure.”

  Then his mouth crushed down on hers as he used his other hand to grope her breast, hard. When he deepened the kiss, she retaliated by biting down on his tongue.

  Kolar howled in pain and jumped back. He spit a mouthful of blood on the ground, his furious expression promising retribution. She immediately retreated, preparing to bolt if he took one more step toward her.

  Instead, she backed right into Jeban. It didn’t take him long to size up the situation. He looked at each of them with equal disgust. When Kolar tried to grab her, she used his partner as a shield.

  “Get out of the way, Jeban. She needs to learn some manners. I shall greatly enjoy teaching them to her.”

  Jeban kept himself firmly between her and his friend. “Now is not the time. There will be plenty of time later for us to school her in the proper behavior for a slave.”

  Her stomach plummeted. So much for Jeban being the nice guy. When he reached out to take her hand, she jerked it back out of his reach and marched off down the trail ahead of them both.