Page 72 of Nexus
The noise of the avalanche muffled my footsteps as I sprinted through the trees and shrubs. Ruen heeded my advice and kept his limbs and head tucked behind me. Dodging trees, I skirted around the two groups as they spotted each other. I was long gone by the time they converged.
Chapter Fifty-Three
BIRDS AND ANIMALS FLED when they heard me coming as I raced across the valley. Ruen and Aurora were peering over my shoulder, now that they were no longer in danger of being decapitated by branches. I headed directly for the pathway that led to the gate, stomach gurgling with hunger and feeling weak from using too much energy.
“The soldiers must have heard you,” Ruen said, turning to look over his shoulder. “I can hear them chasing after us.”
I reached the mouth of the mile-long crevice between the high rock walls that would take us to the gate. By the time I neared the end of the path, I was staggering from exhaustion. Four soldiers stood guard about fifty yards from the gate.
“Don’t stop!” Ruen urged me, thumping me on the back with his bony knees. I’d slowed down enough for the soldiers that were chasing us to see us. They shouted in glee, thinking they had us trapped.
Putting my head down, I put on a final burst of speed. One of the guards managed to dive out of the way, but the other three weren’t so lucky. Two bounced off my gut and were trampled beneath my gigantic feet. The third one clung to my boobs, staring up at me with a terrified expression.
I peeled the soldier off me and tossed him over my shoulder, then had to lift my hand to shield my eyes from the bright blue light. “I’m going through the gate!” I shouted to warn Ruen. He cringed behind me, holding onto Aurora tightly as I ran full tilt through the magical portal.
Again, my entire body tingled from head to toe when I became encased in the light. It was worse this time. I figured it was because three beings were passing through the portal instead of just two. My transformation happened so fast that I didn’t feel myself shrinking. One moment, I was a huge ogre who was wedged in the doorway. The next moment, I became human again. We spilled through the gate and landed in a heap on the bare concrete floor of the warehouse.
“Don’t shoot them!” one of the shifters who was standing guard shouted. “They’re Lord Gilden’s envoys!”
Ruen was tangled up with me. He had one hand on my shoulder, another one clutched my shirt in a death grip and a third one was holding tightly to my arm. Someone spoke even as I was trying to figure out how he’d grown an extra hand.
“Who the hell is the woman with the green and blue hair?” someone asked.
Still shaking in exhaustion and hunger, I pushed Ruen off me and turned my head. A pair of stunning green eyes stared at me from an exquisitely beautiful face of a woman I’d never seen before. “Aurora?” I croaked. In this form, I could feel magic emanating from her. It was her hand holding onto my shirt so tightly.
“It’s me,” she replied in a melodious voice.
“But, you’re a bird,” I mumbled in stupefaction.
“It’s a long story,” she said with a grimace and struggled to sit up.
“Why is she naked?” the shifter who’d stopped his colleagues from shooting us asked. One of the other guards was talking on his cell phone. I heard Drake’s name mentioned and figured he was reporting to our boss.
I took the hand the shifter offered me and let him pull me to my feet. Aurora was handed a jacket and drew it around herself. “My feathers didn’t follow me through the portal,” she said, which only confused them more. Almost a foot shorter than me, she was slender, had light brown skin and short, spiky blue and green hair. She wasn’t full-figured like I was and had small boobs in comparison to mine.
The door to the portal was swung shut, cutting off the blinding blue light.
Ruen recovered from the pain of his transformation and rose to his feet. All signs of his former joy were gone. He was back to being his usual pessimistic self again. “I need a shower and to burn these clothes,” he said gloomily.
All signs of the giant’s semen were gone, but our clothes were tattered and our hair was greasy. My weapons were gone, but the ones he’d borrowed from me were still strapped to his arms and legs.
“We’ll take you to Lord Gilden,” the lead guard said. It wasn’t a suggestion and the werelion wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I’m starving. Can we stop for burgers on the way?” I asked as my stomach rumbled loudly.
“What’s a burger?” Aurora asked.
“You have a lot to learn about this world,” I told her as we followed two of the guards to the exit.
“I’ve never been to this dimension before,” she said. “I’ve only ever lived in the underworld.”
The shifters exchanged looks, probably doubting the wisdom of bringing her along. Our boss hadn’t told them to leave her behind when he’d been notified about our arrival. They indicated for all of us to climb into the back of the SUV when we reached it.
We had a silent ride to Lord Gilden’s building. Aurora stared out through the windows, taking everything in. She didn’t ask any questions and huddled close to my side. Ruen had removed my weapons and handed them back to me. His head was resting against the back of his seat. I knew he was awake, but he clearly didn’t want to engage in conversation.
I peered into my backpack when I slipped my knives inside it, then quickly closed it again as a glimmer of light shone upwards. The scroll fragment was buried at the bottom of my pack. The glow was fainter here, but it was still visible.
Aurora flicked a glance at my backpack, but knew better than to say anything. As far as the shifters knew, we’d gone to the underworld as trade envoys. The dragon lord was the only one we could tell the truth to.
