Worlds Apart (5 page)

“I'm sure you did,” Tina said. She
was, too. Kathy Brayley was meticulous. “I'd like to come by and
grab some soil samples. See if something's got into your
garden.”

“Yes, all right. But should we not
eat any of the produce until we know? We're not eating anything
right now, of course.”

“It might be best to wait. I'll
get you an answer as soon as possible. I know you don't want to
waste your food.”

“
Okay, thanks. Will you come by
today?”

Tina glanced at her watch. “Yeah.
Right after lunch.”

~~

Wet pine needles and mud made
Clive's search treacherous. The portal was well off from the
path—one of Ruth's duties was to make sure the humans did not build
a road too near it—and Clive spent half an hour slipping and
cursing through mountain debris before he reached it. He stopped
about twenty feet from it, found a log and sat. Trees rose around
him, their needles catching the rain and letting it fall in
bouncing splats onto the ground. Water sluiced off Clive's raincoat
and pants. His boots were caked with mud. Mist hugged the ground to
about three feet, air currents sending it swirling in a mysterious
dance.

The portal glowed in the mist,
although human eyes wouldn't see it. Its boundaries were
indistinct, a living thing that grew and shrank a few centimeters
in either direction. It pulsed with energy from all the recent
activity. Clive let his gaze wander over the surrounding area,
noting areas of disturbance both physical and psychic. His eyes
narrowed at one point before moving on to investigate the area a
few feet away. He stood and made his way over, a growl rumbling low
in his throat.

The scent of a male werewolf was
strong here. Clive had to remind himself the other man was not
present. Even so, he vibrated with tension as he followed the path.
Most of the physical indications had been wiped away by rain and
wind. His scent told him that the normal creatures of this forest
were avoiding the area—typical behavior for some time after a
werewolf came through. He could also see traces of the were's aura,
two days old, and malevolent. There was no familiarity to it, so it
wasn't someone Clive had met before. But he had no doubt, that even
as a man, his quarry was dangerous.

The werewolf's path wove in and
out with those of several other magical creatures. Goblins, as Ruth
had said, but also a few pixies, and at least one nymph. Those
paths were convoluted and haphazard, as if they had come through
without a specific destination in mind. The werewolf had gone
straight for the most recent path. Had he sent the others ahead as
scouts?

Clive squatted next to a tree,
taking out his thermos. He sipped, alert for clues. The rain
stopped for a moment, on the heels of a change in the breeze, and a
stronger scent reached him, acrid and vile. He stood, his shaking
hands clumsy in the gloves as he forced the lid onto the thermos
and slipped the strap over his head. He glared into a circle of
trees before moving to crouch behind a nearby huckleberry bush. His
nose twitched and the growl returned to his throat.

The werewolf had marked the cove,
a deliberate trail of urine that surrounded the trees. He'd been in
human form, but even so, the were's ownership was obvious. Clive's
growl grew stronger in challenge. But that would have to wait. A
glimmer distracted him. The cove was warded. Eyes narrowed, Clive
stood and circled the trees, picking out the telltale signs of the
ward among the trunks and branches.

The ward's complexity told him the
werewolf had power, and that whatever was hidden within the cove,
he didn't want it discovered. Clive crouched under a thick canopy
of evergreen boughs and removed his gloves. Lifting his left arm,
he tapped the black strap wrapped around his wrist. A pale blue
shimmer lit the mist in a twelve-inch square above his
arm.

Pulling a stylus from his jacket
pocket, he sketched the ward's motif onto the square, careful to
include every detail. When he was satisfied that he had enough of
the pattern for further research, he put the stylus away and tapped
his strap again. The square vanished.

Clive stood and circled the cove
one more time. When the other werewolf returned, he would know
Clive had been here. May as well throw down the gauntlet. Clive
walked closer to the trees, cautious, but determined. His body
twitched with anger as he left his own trail to intersect with the
other. When he finished, he stood, his fury building until he threw
back his head and howled into the trees.

The forest answered with utter
silence. Clive turned, and began the trek back to the
portal.

~~

The rain returned by the time Tina
pulled into the curving driveway leading to the Brayleys. She
grabbed her sample case and dashed for the front door. Kathy, bent
over in the classic stomach-cramp position, let her inside. Tina
placed a hand on her brow, assessing her patient. A low fever, pale
and clammy skin. “You okay?”

Kathy nodded. “This is nothing,
compared to yesterday.” She bit her lip. “I'm glad you came,
though. Come outside and see this.”

Tina followed her through the
house to the kitchen door. Kathy threw on a slicker and led her
out, past rows of herbs. Halfway into the garden, she paused and
gestured. “I haven't been out here since we got sick, three days
ago, but I came out after you called this morning. That's the plant
I harvested the leaves from.”

“But it's dead.” Tina moved to the
chard, staring at the brown, limp leaves on the ground, then
bending in astonishment to examine the purple streaks covering
them.

“Don't touch it!” Kathy grabbed
Tina's shoulder, her grip strong despite her illness. Tina
stood.

“I won't. But I will get a
sample.” Her eyes moved over the garden, noticing the same
distressed appearance of several nearby plants. “Are you saying it
wasn't like this before?”

“No, it was all fine, three days
ago. I would never have pulled leaves from a plant looking like
that. What could it be?”

Tina shook her head, then turned
as Kathy sank onto a large rock, her hands over her face. “What if
it's in everything? In all the soil? The water? You said you found
something, but you don't know what it is.”

Tina knelt in front of her. “I
said I didn't recognize it, but that doesn't mean much. I'm not a
microbiologist. It just means we have something a little out of the
ordinary. But it's not necessarily dangerous. You're nearly over
this already.”

Kathy stared past Tina, her gaze
despairing. “But look what it did to the plants. What if it's still
in us? What if the diarrhea was just the first stage?”

“Hey.” Tina gripped Kathy's
shoulders, forcing her to look at her. “Don't freak yourself out
over it. I'll get samples and send them to Portland. We'll keep a
close watch on all of you. For now, don't eat any more from the
garden, even when you're back to solid food. Not even your herbs.
Do you have bottled water?” At Kathy's nod, she went on. “Use that
for everything, even brushing your teeth. You might boil some water
for washing your hands, or let it sit with a teaspoon of chlorine
bleach in it. I'll take samples from the creek, too, and from your
tap. We'll figure it out. Is there anyone who can stay with you to
help out?”

“My sister's been by a few times.
Maybe we should go stay with her.” Kathy stood, her hands
trembling. “How long will it take to get information
back?”

“A few days, probably. Maybe a
week.”

Kathy sighed, but nodded. “I'll
call her and see what we can do.”

“Good. I'll get samples out here,
then I’ll come inside.”

Kathy limped back to the house.
Tina watched her a moment, then made a slow turn, her eyes straying
past the garden to the forest beyond. There was something… a scent,
perhaps? It brought the memory of Clive's body on hers, the taste
of his mouth. Her lips quirked, but then she frowned, hearing the
splash of rain falling on the creek at the edge of the
forest.

She turned her attention to the
garden, taking in the distressed plants, narrowing her eyes at the
soil. The plants should have been standing straight, swaying under
the rain, bright green in the mild winter weather. But this garden
was sick with something that left purple streaks and grew in a
vicious colony in her petri dishes.

Tina shivered. Was it contained to
just the Brayleys garden? Was it in the creek? She watched the
rain, rivulets of water running along the ground, soaking into the
soft soil. Whatever was here could be carried away to contaminate
the entire forest. She'd have to make some phone calls.

Chapter 5

The rain fell in heavy drops,
causing the portal to shimmer with broken static. Descending
darkness gave the impression of lateness, but Clive's strap
informed him it was just two in the afternoon as he stepped through
the portal into Kaarmanesh. He sighed.

He always sighed when he entered
this realm, an involuntary reaction to something he couldn’t name.
The climate was similar to the Flatlands. The air was fresher, with
less carbon dioxide. They didn't have the industry and automobiles
that poured pollutants into the atmosphere, and they had more
trees. But Clive didn't think his sigh was a result of
that.

It had more to do with the change
in
feeling
, a release that was almost sexual, but without
the intensity. He didn't feel freer in Kaarmanesh. Clive didn't
feel free anywhere. But he felt easier, knowing that he was
recognized for what he was, and that the folk here took their own
precautions against him. He didn't have to bear the burden
alone.

Forest surrounded him here too,
with the welcome addition of hundreds of shades of magic. They
appeared as subtle contours rising and falling everywhere he
looked, although they extended through all the senses, not just
sight. It was the way of Kaarmanesh and as natural to him as
breathing. The absence of these contours in the other world is what
gave the Flatlands its name.

He stood with quiet ease, alert to
any danger. Signs of all the recent traffic were apparent here as
well, but there was no indication anyone had been by in the last
couple of days. Clive settled his backpack into place and began the
walk into town.

The village of Poentreville was
busy, despite the rain. The path from the forest took Clive past a
few homes on the outskirts of town, their gardens green with winter
vegetables in the mild northwest climate. The houses gave way to
shops: a healer and apothecary, no doubt the province of a witch
who grew herbs at one of the houses he had just passed, another
shop selling furniture, an emporium, and a cafe. A tavern stood
halfway down the street. Clive headed there, pausing to allow a
female elf lead her brood of youngsters into a store before he
stepped onto the walkway. She nodded her thanks, but kept her
children away from him. A few goblins were gossiping outside the
furniture store. Clive watched them, trying to remain unobtrusive.
They returned his look with disinterested politeness, and he nodded
as he continued past them. None of these had been through the
portal in any recent time.

He was a block from the tavern
when he spotted the nymph. She was outside leaning against the wall
of the tavern, eyeing him with calculated consideration. Sizing him
up as a potential customer, no doubt. He kept his interest to the
fading shimmer of portal magic around her. She smiled when she saw
him looking, and turned to show off a shapely leg, clad in black
tights, and ran her hand down her thigh.

“Cold day for traveling, isn't
it?” she said as he approached. “Perhaps I can help warm you
up.”

He smiled at her with regret. “I
couldn't do you justice, dear. Not after the night I've just
had.”

“Oh, a challenge.” She stepped
closer and stood on tiptoe to breathe a soft howl into his ear. Her
smile was teasing. “I know how to please a werewolf. You won’t be
sorry, I promise.”

He wasn’t tempted at all, but he
smiled down at her and played the game. “Like it kinky, do
you?”

“Maybe I do. Let me show
you.”

“Do you like it Flatland kinky? I
can see portal magic all over you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You with
Portal Enforcement?”

He shrugged. “Let’s just say I
have an interest.”

“I admit I went looking a few days
ago,” she said. “There’s no law says
I
can’t go through. I
thought it might be fun.”

“Was it?”

“Not really. It's too flat over
there. I never made it to town.”

“Did you notice anything strange
in the forest while you were over there? Did you run into any
others from here, or notice traces of others?”

She shook her head and leaned
against the building, arms crossed in front of her. “I don't know
what you mean. It's all strange over there, without any
magic.”

Her aura flickered in that
tell-tale way he always noticed when people lied to him. It was one
reason he was good at his job.

He tilted his head toward the
tavern. “I’ll be here for the night. Let me know if you think of
anything.”