“I’ve fed from Kele, and see, she’s not become a vampire.”
“But she’s already a shifter.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Something made her believe they could change her species. He took a shaky breath and swallowed to ease the tremor in his voice. Every rumor had a root of truth. This one could save his people. He really must find more of these humans. “You came through the light like Sorin said?”
“Yes.”
“And never met a shifter or vampire?”
She shook her head. “No. You don’t exist where I come from.”
Then how did her people have stories of vampires if they’d never encountered one? Changing a person…this he’d never heard of. What a concept. His contained excitement almost had him bouncing on the bed. So many new ideas, so many experiments he’d have to run. What would happen if he bit her?
“Benic, I don’t think feeding from Susan would be wise. She’s had enough excitement. Let’s not change her species today.” Kele hid her grin behind her hand. “Maybe tomorrow?”
Dipping his chin to his chest, he acknowledged Kele’s advice. “I thought as much.” Let them think he could be easily dissuaded—before he left for his castle, he’d have his vial of human blood, with or without Susan’s consent. He offered them both his most charming smile. “Did you see the blue light, Kele?”
Kele’s easy smile faded a little. “I think everyone within the forest did. Is the light your reason for visiting?”
“I can’t come just to admire the most beautiful female in all Eorthe?” He reached past Susan and tucked a strand of Kele’s silken hair behind her ear.
A blush graced her cheeks. “Save that kind of talk for my mother. What do you really want, ferret?”
The nickname warmed his cold heart. She had always compared his personal nature to the intelligent and conniving little creatures. Kele could make an old vampire consider abandoning the comforts of his castle to live in the forest among dogs. “I want to go to the Temple and see from whence Susan came.”
“There’s nothing to see. The gateway closed and won’t open again.” Susan leaned her chin on her knees, a faraway look in her eyes.
Chapter Six
Susan didn’t know how to explain her situation to people who didn’t even know about electricity. They might think she was some sort of demon or bad luck omen or worse, their missing goddess. “This will be difficult to believe. You need to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not from this world.”
Benic raised an eyebrow, his smile growing wider. “Oh, this story is going to be good. I can tell.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“Benic, let her talk.” Kele set a reassuring hand on Susan’s shoulder. The small shifter had been an odd comfort throughout this ordeal, and Susan found herself relying on it.
Susan took a steadying breath. “The blue light everyone saw was a doorway of sorts, and I fell through it.” If their roles were reversed and Kele was telling her this story back on Earth, she’d have called 911 to have her institutionalized.
Kele’s eyes sparkled. “So the Goddess did send you.”
“No!” Susan shook her head and waved her hands as if physically warding off the idea. The last thing she needed was to be linked to a deity. “No goddess, no magic. Science brought me here. I used pure, logical technology to create the machine that opened the portal.”
At her declaration, Benic’s amused expression transformed to awe. “A world of science? You built a machine to travel among the stars?”
“Not between stars, but dimensions.” They blinked at her like she must have done to them a dozen times in the past day. She sighed. “This won’t be easy to explain so remember, ‘open mind’. Let’s imagine we’re from the same world but different dimensions. You call your planet Eorthe and we call ours Earth.” She paused to let them absorb the idea. “I studied what is called super-string theories. Quantum physics, which is my specialty, tells us that the sub atomic particles that make up our world are collapsed from waves of probability simply by the act of observation.”
Glazed stares met hers. She recognized the look. Many of her students had worn it when she taught at the university. “Let’s pretend that every time something happens, a new timeline branches off as a probability, like a new branch sprouting from a tree.” She pointed at Kele. “You decided to bring me here. Another probability is that you left me with Sorin. This other timeline branches off your decision and continues to develop in another separate reality. If we used my machine to fold the fifth dimension through the sixth like a bridge, we could arrive at this other branch, but there would be little difference in reality because it was such a recent event.”
Benic nodded, his expression grave and focused. “Fascinating.” His enthusiasm had bubbled off him and left him serious. “I admit to not understanding most of it, but you obviously do.”
Susan finally met his green-eyed stare. “You believe me?” This was a big step in getting someone to help her find a way home.
His eyes widened a little. “What I believe doesn’t really matter.”
Jerking, Susan recalled she might have proof. She searched her jacket then her pockets.
“What are you looking for?” Kele leaned to glance inside her pocket.
“I had a badge.” She sighed. “I must have lost it between the Temple and here. It’s made of a substance called plastic. I know you wouldn’t have that here. My picture is also on it.”
“A small piece of unknown material lost in the woods. We should look for it in the morning.” Benic’s speech grew quicker as if excited. “There is more to tell, yes?”
“Much more. My machine was going to fall into the hands of—of a faction I didn’t agree with. So I destroyed it. In the explosion, I got thrown through the gateway and transported here.” She surveyed Kele’s room. “A very long way from my reality line.”
Kele leaned back on her hands, her legs stretching forward as she stared off into the distance. Silence hung in the room. “How different are our worlds?”
A sob strangled Susan’s voice, and her words came out rough. “I barely recognize it as home. The plants, sky and animals appear the same.” She peered from Kele to Benic. “There are only humans in my reality. No shifters or vampires—you’re only myths. Never proven to exist.”
“Myths?” He rubbed his chin. “Your race is not even myth here. You couldn’t have mistakenly jumped more than dimensions, but worlds as well?”
“No. I considered it this evening. Except we’re all speaking the same language, breathing the same air, and your food hasn’t poisoned me. Yet. To confirm it, I checked the stars. Even the constellations are the same. This is Earth, but something happened in your past to really divert the branch from my reality.”
“The only human on Eorthe.” Kele’s voice carried a regret that broke through the unemotional barrier Susan tried to maintain.
She reached for the small female with her hands, needing something to cling to and anchor her so she wouldn’t be swept away in the tidal wave of sorrow. What she would do to have someone strong to lean on, to protect her in this crazy world.
Trapped.
She needed to figure out what to do. Her future seemed bleak at best, living among shifters in a dormant volcano. She thought of Ahote’s dark form slinking through the vegetation. Nausea rose. She didn’t want to end up some male’s plaything. Hugging herself tight, she realized she needed a moment alone and some time to come up with a plan.