“Yes,” she murmured.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sam rubbed a hand down Honor’s damp back beneath his shirt as she snuggled into his side, falling asleep. His body was relaxed and his mind satiated. It had been one wild night. Dawn was just beginning to show beneath the blinds, and a chill filtered through the bottom of the bedroom door. He really should get the front door fixed so it at least, well, existed.
He stretched his legs and closed his eyes to scout for threats outside. The sensors weren’t at full capacity yet, so he had to be vigilant.
The world was safe around them. He yawned and settled in to get a little sleep, ignoring the fact that the marking hadn’t appeared on his hand. They’d had sex all night, she’d screamed his name, and he’d gotten lost in her sweet and curvy body.
But no marking.
Oh, she was right, and it was on him. Even realizing that fact didn’t reveal a path for him to fix the problem. He forced the stress and doubts away and then drifted into sleep. The second he was almost there, the room spun. He growled and then careened through space and time, landing hard on his back.
Heat flared against his front and he groaned as he sat up. This wasn’t a dream or a dreamworld—somehow, he was really here. At least most of him was in this place.
“Sam?”
He turned to find Honor next to him, sitting up on a red metal surface, her nose burning from the three red suns blaring at them. Only his T-shirt covered her. At least she’d drawn it on before falling asleep.
They floated above a sea of purple that seethed and spit up spiked steam. “Ah, great.” He looked down at his boxer briefs.
Honor reached for his hand, the scent of her terror sharp on the slight wind. “Um. Are we dreaming? Is this a dream?”
“No.” He held her closer, noting the dimensions of the metal sheet. It felt solid, but he’d learned during his ritual that illusions always gave way. If they plunged into the mess of liquid below them, pain was coming fast. “We might just be partly here, or it could be all of us. I’m not sure.” Usually this sort of experience was a dream, but lately, with parts of their bodies being pulled into portals, it was possible they were actually here. Now he needed to get Honor away. He pinched her arm.
“Ow.” She drew back, her eyes wide and slightly distorted by the strange atmosphere. “Why did you do that?”
“I was hoping to wake you up and send you home,” he admitted. This was a disaster. He’d known better than to let down his guard, but after opening his mind to her and then having viorous sex for seven hours, he’d wanted to rest. “Okay. I need to think.”
An animal screeched high and loud in the murky distance.
Honor jumped and scrambled closer to him. “What was that?”
Probably something that wanted to eat them for dinner. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it—we’re far away from it.” Hopefully.
She gulped and looked down at the purple liquid. Curiosity lit her luminous eyes. “Are we in a different dimension?”
“No.” He kept her close, waiting. Knowing it was coming. “We’re three-dimensional beings, so we can only exist in a three-dimensional world.” He looked for the portals. Not yet. “But we’ve traveled through different ones, probably, and here we are.” Now he just had to get them back home.
She shook her head. “I can’t believe this.” Now she’d gone breathy. “I mean, how does this place even exist and we don’t know about it?”
He shrugged. “Your choice. It seems kind of obvious to me. There are worlds other than the one we live in.” The mist parted, and the clouds started to move away. He looked up. “We’re going to be dragged into different places, but hopefully it’ll be fast. Hold on to me so we don’t get separated.”
She all but jumped on his lap. “How do we get home?” Her voice sounded shocked. Lost. Kind of intrigued.
“Instinct.” It was the best he could explain. Of course, last time he’d jumped through worlds, he’d been undergoing a ritual to become the Keeper, and it had taken a couple of centuries. All that time was only many hours at home, though. This had to be different. He wouldn’t allow Honor to face the pain he had. Ever.
Three portals swirled open above them, all dark, all hiding their secrets. “Gut?” Sam asked.
“Um, left one?” She held tight to him.
He shook his head. “No. Feel the vibrations. Reach out with those impressive skills and try to protect yourself.” Before she could do so, the force started to draw them from the platform. He held her and maneuvered them through the middle portal.
This time, he landed on his feet with Honor in his arms. Sharp spikes rammed right through his heels to his ankles, and he growled. Pain flashed harsh.
Honor gasped and looked around, clinging to his neck. “Sam. Your feet.”
“I know.” He stood on a field of spikes with spiked trees all around them. A pleasant breeze wafted through the trees, smelling like chocolate chip cookies, and bright red butterflies meandered from spike to spike.
“What should we do?”
He sighed. “Just wait for the next series of portals. I’ll send healing cells to my feet but can’t really fix them until I get the spikes out.” He could, at least, neutralize the poison in the spikes. Apparently the butterflies liked the thick goo he could feel trying to kill him.
Three portals opened up above them. “Is it always three?” Honor whispered.
“Not always,” he said, studying the dark voids. “Concentrate. Where do we go?”
She trembled. “Middle one?”
“No.” He could feel danger and death in that one. “Left. This time.”
* * * *
Honor would never be a world-class portal jumper. She’d chosen the wrong possibility about seventy percent of the time. “I suck at this.”
“We all have different skills.” Sam held her on his back as he healed bite marks down his torso. The thing that had come at them in the last world had looked like a cross between a tabby house cat and a fanged buffalo.
Honor set her head on his shoulder, her nose to his neck. It had been days. Or felt like days, but Sam assured her they’d probably only been gone a couple of hours. “Are we getting closer to home?” Earlier, he’d been able to feel a path home, but he hadn’t mentioned it since.
“Yeah.” He didn’t sound sure.
Her stomach growled. They’d taken a risk and eaten some berries earlier, and she’d been farting since. At least they’d gotten some food.