Chapter 1

 

“Silas, man you have to go with us.” His younger brother checked his reflection once more in the mirror before turning back to him.

“Seriously, Dude, if you don’t come, the ladies will drop us in minutes.” Gage gave him a pleading look.

Silas put his feet up on the worn coffee table. “Gage, I’m tired, my feet hurt and there’s a show I want to watch.”

Gage rolled his eyes. “God forbid you should miss your home improvement show.”

Silas ignored him as Gage dropped onto the couch next to him. “I don’t know why you watch those damn shows anyway, you already know how to do everything they do.”

Silas grunted and leaned back against the couch.

“C’mon, Silas, please?” Gage said.

Silas sighed. He found it almost impossible to deny his younger brother anything he asked. He supposed it was because of the guilt he felt every time he looked at his sibling. Silas knew it wasn’t his fault that their parents died in the car crash when he was twenty and Gage was only ten but it didn’t ease his guilt.

He was in his first year of university, working toward his degree in architecture and enjoying his first taste of freedom from his parents’ rules. He was only six months into it when his parents were killed. He left school and flew home immediately. It was nearly two weeks after his parents’ funeral before the truth of it hit him. He was comforting Gage after another nightmare and as he held his crying baby brother, he finally realized that his parents were gone. They were alone.

He quit university and took a job with a local construction company. Their parents struggled to get by and the little money they left their two sons went toward their funeral costs. The last fifteen years were difficult but he and Gage soldiered through it together. On the better days, he liked to think that Gage was doing well. Even though he lost his parents at such a young age, Silas hoped he had done a good job of filling the void.

“Gage, I’m tired,” he repeated. “It was a long day today, the weather is miserable and I don’t particularly feel like going out in it again. Besides, don’t you have midterms this week? You need to be studying.”

Gage grimaced and ran a hand through his shaggy blond hair. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got all day Sunday to study.”

Silas frowned at him. “Gage, you need to take your classes seriously. You’re this close to getting your BBA. Do you really want to throw it away for a bit of meaningless sex?”

“Stop lecturing me, Silas. I don’t need to hear it right now okay?” Gage muttered.

“Gage - ”

“I mean it, Silas!” Gage jumped off the couch and paced back and forth in the small living room. “Can’t we just go out together on a Friday night and have a good time?”

Silas rubbed his forehead and Gage, sensing weakness, spoke quickly. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see. We won’t be out that late. Angela said she would come if her girlfriends went, and her girlfriends will only go if they think you’re there. I told them you would be. If we show up without you, they’ll leave, and the guys will kill me.”

“Gage, I have no interest in any of those girls. They’re way too young for me,” Silas replied.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But they don’t know that. They all think they have a chance with you. At the end of the night when they finally figure it out, they’re more than willing to hook up with my friends. You’re the ultimate wingman.”

“Jesus, Gage.” Silas shook his head. “Whatever happened to just going up to a woman and talking to her?”

“It doesn’t work that way anymore, man. I mean, sometimes it does but c’mon, you’ve seen my friends. They’re the nerdy types. We need a good-lookin’ brute like you to reel them in first. Hell, you might even find yourself a nice, old chick to bang.”

Silas laughed despite himself. “Well, how can I resist when you put it so eloquently?”

Gage held his fist out and Silas bumped it obligingly. “It’ll be a night you won’t forget, Silas. I promise you.”

 

* * *

“Quinn.”

“My Queen.” The tall, dark-haired woman dropped to one knee and bowed her head.

The queen, her blonde hair falling in a shimmering curtain to just below her knees, rested her hand on the dark one’s head. “Stand, Quinn. You need not be so formal when it is just the two of us.”

Quinn stood. She stared at the smaller woman clothed head-to-toe in a robe of soft blue silk. The colour matched her eyes perfectly and the queen wore it often.

In the flickering candlelight with her slender body hidden by the robe and her eyes glowing softly, the woman looked dainty and birdlike. Quinn knew better. She had seen firsthand the queen’s fighting abilities and the sweet roundness of her face belied her sharp mind and cruel nature. Although she had not witnessed the queen’s rise to power, she heard the tales of the ugly and brutal battles the woman had fought to gain the throne.

Now, the queen wrinkled her nose at her. “You smell, Quinn.”

“Forgive me, my Queen. The weather has flooded many of the roads. Our wheels were caught in the mud and I spent most of the day digging out the wagons.”

“Is that where you’ve been all day?” The queen poured herself some sweet red wine and sipped delicately at it.

“Yes, my Queen.”

“Do you believe that the queen’s massina should be spending her time digging in the mud?” The queen’s voice was deceptively soft.

“I believed that I should help your people. There were many wagons stuck and - ”

There was a sharp crack and Quinn’s head rocked back with the force of the slap. Quinn stared straight ahead. Her cheek was red and stinging but she made no move to rub it.

“Your only job is to protect your queen.” The woman glared at her. “After so many years together, why must I remind you of this?”

“My apologies, my Queen. I will not forget again.”

The queen sniffed and took another drink of her wine. “I trust you will not.”

She returned to her chair by the large fireplace that dominated the bedroom and stared moodily into the crackling flames. Quinn remained by the door with her arms folded behind her back and waited patiently. Through the window to her left she could see the sky growing darker. It had been pouring rain all day and the distant booms of thunder were growing steadily louder. As lightning flashed across the sky the queen sighed loudly.

“This is no ordinary storm, Quinn.”

When Quinn didn’t reply, the queen said impatiently, “Come – sit by the fire with me.”

Quinn crossed the room and sat on the edge of the chair. She was tired and hungry and yearned for a hot bath but she did not allow any of her emotions to show on her face.

The queen finished her wine in two large gulps and set the glass on the small table next to her chair. “I spoke with the majii and she assured me there will be another orb three nights from now. I want you to go and bring back all those who appear. Male and female.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

“You will have to leave immediately. It is a two-day journey if you ride without stopping. Take Akia and the usual others, including Kila.”

“Are you sure she is ready, my Queen?”

The queen snorted softly. “You question me, Quinn?”

“No, my Queen.”

“Good. Then go and bring me my breeders.”

Quinn rose and left the room silently. When the door to the queen’s bedroom shut behind her, she leaned against the wall beside it for a moment. Her head was aching and she was bone tired. She sighed and pushed away from the wall, nodding to the guards who were standing watch outside the queen’s bedroom. She had chosen them herself, both for their fighting abilities and their ability to keep their mouths shut about anything they witnessed or heard. She trudged down the hallway. She needed to gather the others and move out quickly if they were to arrive and set the traps before one of the other clans showed up.

 

* * *

 

“Some weather we’re having, huh?” One of Gage’s friends, Silas thought his name was Craig, said politely.

Silas nodded. “Yeah.”

He, along with Craig, Gage, Steve, Evan, and Kyle were standing huddled under the awning of a closed coffee shop. Silas glanced at his watch impatiently before nudging Gage. “When are they supposed to be here?”

Gage shrugged. “Any minute now. They were taking a cab here and then we’re going to walk to the bar.”

“Walk to the bar?” Silas glanced up at the sky. The rain fell in sheets and lightning was flashing across the sky every few minutes. “In this?”

Gage punched his arm as a cab pulled up in front of them. “You’re not sugar, Silas.”

The girls piled out, giggling and shrieking softly as they darted under the awning. A small blonde snuggled into Gage’s arms. “Hi there.”

“Hi, Angela.” Gage grinned delightedly at her and kissed her cheek. “How are you?”

“I’m good.” She glanced at Silas, looking him up and down quickly. “Hello, Silas.”

“Hey, Angela.” Silas blinked as a redhead with her breasts nearly falling out of the dark green dress she was wearing, pressed up against him.

“Hi, I’m Veronica,” she said in a breathless little girl voice. “Like in the Archie comics.”

“Hello, Veronica.” Silas tried to take a step back and bumped up against the glass door of the coffee shop. Veronica pressed closer and rested one perfectly-manicured hand on his hard biceps.

“God, you’re strong. Gage says you work construction.”

“That’s right.”

“I love construction workers. So buff and tanned.” She laughed – a high-pitched giggle that set Silas’ teeth on edge.

He smiled politely at her before flashing Gage a warning look. Gage cleared his throat. “Silas, you know Angela and you’ve just met Veronica. These other lovely ladies are Andrea, Paula, Gemma and Lacey.”

The women smiled at him as Gage stuck his hand out from under the awning and let the rain splash onto his palm. “What do you say we get to the bar before the whole damn street floods?”

Evan glanced at the dark sky, pushing his glasses up self-consciously. “Maybe we should wait until the rain slows down a bit.”

“We’ll be here all night then,” Lacey pouted. “It’s cold out.”

“I don’t mind.” Veronica put her arms around Silas’ waist and ran her fingers up and down the back of his leather jacket.

“We’re not sugar, we won’t melt.” Silas said with another polite smile. He unwrapped her arms from his waist. “Let’s go.”

He stepped out into the rain, pulling his collar up as the others followed him. He strode down the street. Behind him he could hear the girls giggling and squealing as they slipped and slid in their high heels on the slick pavement. The street was completely dead. No cars passed by and there were no other people scurrying through the rain. Silas moved a little faster as cold rain dripped down the back of his neck and under his jacket.

A large boom of thunder went off directly above them and one of the girls screamed. Jagged lightning flashed and the top of the hydro pole in front of them exploded with a loud bang as sparks showered down. The street lights went out and they were plunged into darkness.

“Oh shit. Gage?” Angela said loudly. “Take my hand.”

“Sure, baby. Don’t be afraid.” Gage took Angela’s hand as Silas turned to face the rest of the group.

“I think we should call it a night.” He had to shout to be heard over the rising wind.

The girls gave small moans of dismay and Gage shook his head. “Nah, man, it’ll be fine. The bar is a couple of blocks down. I bet they haven’t lost electricity.”

“Gage, this is - ”

“What’s that?” Veronica pointed to Silas’ left. He stared curiously at the small glowing orb hovering twenty feet above the wet pavement.

Silas took a step back, joining the group as the orb grew steadily larger. The wind howled and he realized with sudden alarm that it wasn’t just a wind from the storm. The orb was creating the wind and it was rapidly growing to tornado level.

“Back!” Silas roared. “Everyone get back now!”

He grabbed Veronica’s hand and yanked her backward. “Move goddammit!”

She stumbled in her high heels and fell to one knee. He yanked her to her feet with a panicky roughness. There was a strange electricity in the air. He could feel the hair on his body standing on end and the orb was now five times its original size and crackling loudly.

“Silas, what the hell is going on?” Gage grabbed his arm.

“I don’t know but we need to get the hell out of here now!” Silas shouted.

“What’s happening? What is that thing?” Angela shrieked loudly.

As if it heard her, the orb began to throb and pulse and Silas cursed and pulled Veronica back.

“Go now!” He pushed her down the street and grabbed Gage’s arm. “We need to go! Right - ”

The orb suddenly pulsed with a brilliant white light and the group threw their arms up to shield their eyes. Behind him, Veronica shrieked as she was lifted off her feet and sucked toward the orb.

“Silas!” Gage was being dragged toward the orb and Silas grabbed his arm grimly and dug his feet in. It was pointless. The wind was a howling, blasting tornado and he felt his own feet lifting off the ground. All around him the others in their group were being lifted into the air and sucked into the orb. There was another brilliant flash of white light, Gage’s arm was torn from his grasp and both he and Silas were pulled into the light.

 

* * *

 

“Silas. Silas, wake up, man. C’mon, open your eyes.”

Silas groaned and blinked rapidly. His head was aching and throbbing. He blinked again as Gage’s worried face swam into focus.

“You okay, buddy?” Gage helped him sit up and Silas touched his hand to his temple. It came away wet and he stared in disbelief at the red liquid on his fingers.

“You must have hit your head on a rock. I’ve been trying to wake you up for five minutes.” Gage squatted beside him and gripped his shoulder. “How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Silas groaned. The rain was still falling steadily but the wind had died down. He took a cautious look around. “Where the hell are we?”

“I have no idea.” Gage helped him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed a bit. “But I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.”

Silas continued to look around as Angela joined them. The entire wet and shivering group was standing in the middle of a field. In front of them was a large forest with tall and impossibly thick trees. Behind them was more field. He squinted in the darkness but it was impossible to tell how far the field went.

It was raining as hard as ever and thunder and lightning was crashing across the sky. It showed no sign of letting up as Steve pointed to the forest.

“C’mon, we should head for the trees.”

“Are you sure that’s smart?” Craig asked nervously. “We don’t know what’s in there.”

“It’s better than standing exposed in the middle of a field.” Steve’s brown skin was glistening with water. He shoved past him and started towards the trees. After a moment, the others followed.

It was even darker in the forest, but the trees were so dense and their branches so thick that the rain could barely penetrate the trees and was reduced to a light drizzle.

“God, I’m so cold,” Veronica moaned. Silas shrugged out of his jacket and handed it to her. She took it with a nod of thanks and slipped into it.

They gathered under a large tree and stared blankly at each other.

“Anyone have any goddamn idea what’s happening to us?” Gage asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kyle pushed his thick black hair off his forehead.

“Isn’t what obvious?” Craig asked.

“Time travel.” Kyle touched the tree behind them, rubbing his finger along the bark and then staring at the pad of his finger.

“Shut up, Kyle,” Evan said testily.

Kyle shrugged. “Then you explain it.”

“I can’t and neither can you. But we didn’t just fucking travel in time through a giant glowing orb.”

“I think we did.” Kyle stared solemnly at them. “Shit like this happens all the time.”

“It does not!” Paula said indignantly.

“Sure it does. People disappear under mysterious circumstances. Their family and friends say it was aliens but what do you want to bet it’s some type of time travel.”

Lacey snorted loudly. “Or maybe it is alien abduction. Maybe that orb is some kind of alien life force that sucked us into space and dumped us on its planet.”

Kyle shrugged. “Maybe. Anything’s possible.”

Lacey rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t being serious, Kyle.”

Silas wiped the blood from his face as Gage took a few steps into the forest. “Gage, stay with the group.”

Gage frowned. “Did you hear that, Silas?”

“Hear what?”

“It sounded like singing. Everyone be quiet for a minute.”

Silas listened carefully. Although he heard nothing, Gage frowned and moved deeper into the forest.

“Gage!” He hissed quietly.

Gage shook his head. “I heard it. Can’t you hear it?”

“No. Just stay here. Don’t - ”

Silas cursed as Gage broke into a jog and disappeared into the forest. “Goddammit, Gage!”

He chased after his brother and after a moment the others followed.