wasn’t a danger to her, the panther pounced, right for him.
He tried to avoid the great cat, but there was no avoiding the collision. He expected the heavy weight of the cat, the heavy muscle, bone and slashing claws. Instead, what he found was a naked human woman pinning him to the forest floor, a dagger in her hand, at his throat.
“Shifter...” she growled.
Evangeline’s scream ripped through the portal as she tumbled through an empty, white void and landed unpleasantly...on a barn.
Make that, through a barn. She crashed through the wooden roof, through the second story and into a bale of hay, cursing and yelling. There was an unpleasant chorus of noise that echoed her arrival, as horses reared up in fear, yelling their disapproval. The noise blended with the pain and confusion and she was sure that she was about to pass out.
When the moment of nausea passed, she sat up. The horses were still making an unholy noise, looking as though they would die of fright. She didn’t bother to calm them down. Many wild animals feared her, and it wasn’t because she was bigger than them or that she was going to hurt them at all. It was a part of that sixth sense animals had, one that told them when to run for shelter when a storm was going to hit and even part of what helped domesticated dogs alert their owner to illness. Animals feared her instinctively, unless she spent a large amount of time with them. It was a part of her nature at work, as a half demon, half angel.
Aware that there were no humans to question her arrival, she snuck out of the barn. Or, tried to. Her entire left leg limped along behind her. It was the most she could do with it. Putting too much weight on it hurt. She limped out and surveyed the land. There was open land before her. Farming land, it had to be. There was a lack of large farming machinery, but that was a part of what Dirk had said, right? No machinery functioned correctly on the Second Realm, or at least, not the machinery she was used to. Instead, there was an abundance of horses and related horse-drawn plows.
What wasn’t near her were the other Assassins or the vampire who had ushered them into this world. She considered going to the house she saw in the distance, but instinct told her that she would find nothing of use there. Humans feared her instinctively as well as animals. Some ignored the instinct, but most, especially those in tune with their intuition, kept far away from her.
Looked like she was alone, for now.
She glanced back at the barn she had ruined. The humans in the house would no doubt want an explanation as to why the barn looked as though it had been hit by a meteor, but there was no time to stay and explain. She didn’t even know if the people who inhabited the barn were friendly or not, especially towards her.
Pulling her gaze away from the ruined barn, she headed for the open field. She was awfully vulnerable running exposed in a field such as this, but she could see the wooden fence that edged the end of the property. Following the fence might take her to some sort of road.
Luck was on her side as she crept along the edges of the fence. There were no animals to announce her presence or humans to demand that she leave their property. She found a dirt road and followed it, without any idea of where she was going or who she was going to encounter. She hadn’t been expecting any cement sidewalks, exactly, but she had to wonder about the kind of city she might find. The dirt road looked well-trodden by horse hooves and many feet. It was relatively clear, with only some trees lining either side of the road. No cities anywhere, just the paths of horses and carts. If she had to guess, she’d say the horse was the fastest form of transportation around here.
In no time, the dirt road led to a large stone wall. It was the sort of stone wall that guarded a village or, no, a castle . As she approached the wall, the castle came into clear view, towering
He tried to avoid the great cat, but there was no avoiding the collision. He expected the heavy weight of the cat, the heavy muscle, bone and slashing claws. Instead, what he found was a naked human woman pinning him to the forest floor, a dagger in her hand, at his throat.
“Shifter...” she growled.
Evangeline’s scream ripped through the portal as she tumbled through an empty, white void and landed unpleasantly...on a barn.
Make that, through a barn. She crashed through the wooden roof, through the second story and into a bale of hay, cursing and yelling. There was an unpleasant chorus of noise that echoed her arrival, as horses reared up in fear, yelling their disapproval. The noise blended with the pain and confusion and she was sure that she was about to pass out.
When the moment of nausea passed, she sat up. The horses were still making an unholy noise, looking as though they would die of fright. She didn’t bother to calm them down. Many wild animals feared her, and it wasn’t because she was bigger than them or that she was going to hurt them at all. It was a part of that sixth sense animals had, one that told them when to run for shelter when a storm was going to hit and even part of what helped domesticated dogs alert their owner to illness. Animals feared her instinctively, unless she spent a large amount of time with them. It was a part of her nature at work, as a half demon, half angel.
Aware that there were no humans to question her arrival, she snuck out of the barn. Or, tried to. Her entire left leg limped along behind her. It was the most she could do with it. Putting too much weight on it hurt. She limped out and surveyed the land. There was open land before her. Farming land, it had to be. There was a lack of large farming machinery, but that was a part of what Dirk had said, right? No machinery functioned correctly on the Second Realm, or at least, not the machinery she was used to. Instead, there was an abundance of horses and related horse-drawn plows.
What wasn’t near her were the other Assassins or the vampire who had ushered them into this world. She considered going to the house she saw in the distance, but instinct told her that she would find nothing of use there. Humans feared her instinctively as well as animals. Some ignored the instinct, but most, especially those in tune with their intuition, kept far away from her.
Looked like she was alone, for now.
She glanced back at the barn she had ruined. The humans in the house would no doubt want an explanation as to why the barn looked as though it had been hit by a meteor, but there was no time to stay and explain. She didn’t even know if the people who inhabited the barn were friendly or not, especially towards her.
Pulling her gaze away from the ruined barn, she headed for the open field. She was awfully vulnerable running exposed in a field such as this, but she could see the wooden fence that edged the end of the property. Following the fence might take her to some sort of road.
Luck was on her side as she crept along the edges of the fence. There were no animals to announce her presence or humans to demand that she leave their property. She found a dirt road and followed it, without any idea of where she was going or who she was going to encounter. She hadn’t been expecting any cement sidewalks, exactly, but she had to wonder about the kind of city she might find. The dirt road looked well-trodden by horse hooves and many feet. It was relatively clear, with only some trees lining either side of the road. No cities anywhere, just the paths of horses and carts. If she had to guess, she’d say the horse was the fastest form of transportation around here.
In no time, the dirt road led to a large stone wall. It was the sort of stone wall that guarded a village or, no, a castle . As she approached the wall, the castle came into clear view, towering
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