First Dimension

by Rebecca Royce

To the right, her sister Hailey stared at her with a face so close to her own and yet so different. Her twin’s eyes filled with tears and after a moment two slipped from her eye, which she quickly wiped away. “Oh thank heavens, I really feared the worst.”

  “I told you, Hadley is too mean to die in a boat crash.”

  Hadley’s gaze flew to the third speaker and she narrowed her eyes. She knew those tones too and she was less than thrilled to see him. Looking down at her, innocent as a newborn, was her father. Blond haired and blue eyed, he’d appeared forty years old her whole life. What used to be a funny family joke about good genetics was not so amusing anymore.

  Panic filled Hadley’s head and she shot up in bed. The nurse placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Easy there, I’m going to go call the doctor and tell him you’re awake.” She needed to get out of here and fast. Better yet, she needed to get Hailey out of there and then she could deal with her father.

  She almost begged the nurse to stay, to not leave her with her father, even if Hailey was present in the room.

  Hadley swallowed, her mouth felt dry. Hailey, who had always been wonderful at anticipating everyone else’s needs, handed her a cup with water and a small pink straw. Taking a sip, she felt better.

  How the hell had she gotten here? She made a split second decision to play stupid and see what she could accomplish by keeping her father from getting suspicious. “What’s going on? How did I get here?”

  Hailey sat down on the side of the bed and stroked her head. “Had, do you not remember? Some terrorists stole you off your science vessel and you were nearly killed. When Dad’s men showed up to rescue you, they found you floating on some driftwood twenty-four hours later.”

  If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn that was plausible. The whole thing could have been one giant hallucination brought on by trauma, salt water, and too much direct sunlight. But she knew that wasn’t true. She’d seen her sisters, held them close, travelled through dimensions, spoken to the Giant Squid, and fallen in love with Hawk. None of that was made up in her head.

  “I see.” She nodded. “Yes, I remember being kidnapped.” Silently, she prayed she could keep her answers vague and ambiguous.

  “What did they want, baby girl?” Her father stepped closer to the bed. “They were all killed in the fire that took down the ship. We never knew what they wanted; did they tell you?”

  Hadley smiled, but she feared that it came off as more of a smirk. Oh, they had told her things, all right. But what they had said she wouldn’t repeat to him. “I got the general impression they were angry with you, Dad.”

  Anything her Dad would have said was stopped by the arrival of the doctor who proceeded to poke and prod Hadley until she wanted to scream. As far as she was concerned, she had three objectives. The first was to get Hailey alone so she could somehow convince her sister that she was in grave danger staying near her father. Taking the Shadow People out of the equation had been wonderful for them and terrible for dear old dad. Hadley could guarantee that Leon would not be so forthcoming with the Breathless liquid her father needed to keep living.

  The second goal was to figure out something to do about her mother. She couldn’t be left to continue as she was and if the Warriors who remained here couldn’t get to her, then maybe Hadley could. But that would mean finding some of them, convincing them not to tell her father what she knew, and learning the location of her mother’s seclusion.

  Finally, she needed to get back to Hawk. Her heart panged at the thought. That would be nearly impossible and it was very likely he had no idea where she was. Dimensional travel was not something she knew how to do, although if she was going to get so consistently thrown from one place to another then maybe it was a skill she needed to learn.

  Shaking her heard as the doctor left the room, she decided she couldn’t deal with thinking about that right now. It would only make her crazy. When the time came, she would figure it out. She had to—her whole future happiness depended on it.

  To make matters worse, Hadley suspected she had to get this all done before her father spoke to Leon and learned that he would not be getting any more magical support to keep himself alive. Then she’d be a dead woman.

  Hailey walked into the room humming to herself and carrying what looked like lilies in a blue vase. Hailey never seemed to remember that they made Hadley sneeze. She couldn’t help smiling at her sister’s absentmindedness; it was a trait you could count on with Hailey.

  “Hailey, quickly, before Dad comes back, we have to talk.”

  Her sister lowered her eyebrows and walked towards the bed. “What’s wrong big sister?” Hadley smiled; she was, in fact, two minutes older than Hailey.

  How the hell was she supposed to do this? Hadley took a deep breath. “Ever read any science fiction?”

  Hailey’s shake of the head was all the answer Hadley needed. This wasn’t going to be easy. “Ever watched any on television?”

  “Well sure, I’ve seen some. I mean who hasn’t?” Hailey’s voice raised two octaves, a trait that always came out when something made her nervous.

  “Hailey, our life is a science fiction extravaganza.”

  Her sister raised an eyebrow. “How hard did you hit your head?”

  “Don’t you think it’s weird that we don’t know Mom, don’t even have any pictures of her, have never seen a wedding album, or that Dad never tells stories about her.”

  Hailey shrugged sitting down on the bed as she examined her nails. “I guess I always assumed he didn’t want to talk about her because he either loved her so much he couldn’t or he didn’t love her enough to talk about her.”

  “It’s neither of those things.”

  “Oh yes? You’re suddenly an expert on all things Dad, are you? Okay, fill me in.”

  Hadley proceeded to do just that, and to her sister’s credit, Hailey never said a word, never interrupted, and never made any indication that she thought Hadley was nuts.

  When Hadley finished, Hailey sat very still, her eyes wide. Finally she spoke, “You’re joking, right?”

  “I wish I was.”

  “But things like that just don’t happen. You’re the scientist, you of all people should know that.”

  A loud bang sounded as the door to the hospital room opened and hit the wall hard. It took Hadley a few minutes to realize who stood there. She’d seen him before but it was the bald head that really gave him away. It was Hawk’s second-in-command, Jeremiah.

  “You’ve told her, haven’t you?”

  “Told Hailey, yes.”

  “Damn it, this changes everything.” Jeremiah stalked towards the bed. “You’re not even supposed to be here right now. This wasn’t how I saw it in my vision.”

  Hailey’s head moved back and forth as she followed the exchange between the two. She pointed at Jeremiah. “I’ve seen you somewhere, haven’t I? You’ve been following me. I thought I was out of my mind.”

  “This is Jeremiah, he’s one of Hawk’s warriors. We left him behind on Earth.”

  “Hadley, get up, your father is coming and he has the other warriors. He’s managed to convince them you’re a threat to the Princess.”

  Hadley didn’t need to be told twice. Pulling the IV connection out of her hand, she jumped up from the bed.

  “He believes what you believe?” Hailey shouted now.

  “He doesn’t just believe it; he knows it to be true.”

  Jeremiah ran to the door and stared out at the silent hallway. “Can you run, Hadley?”

  She nodded. “I can.”

  “Good, because I figure we have a two minute escape window.”

  Jeremiah ran back and grabbed Hailey. He scooped her up in his arms. It was a smart move, as there was no way Hailey was coming with them willingly. Hadley paused for a second, finding the whole thing very amusing as she watched Hailey ready herself to shriek just as Jeremiah’s hand clamped over her mouth. Just days ago, shrieking was exactly what she would have been doing
. Now she was so used to this type of situation, she didn’t even need to be carried.

  “Lead the way, Jeremiah.”

  He ran for the door and Hadley kept as close behind him as she could manage. For all she knew, they were going to have to run for hours. Two nurses tried to stop them. Jeremiah, with one arm, cold-cocked both of them as they made it to the stairwell.

  As they took the stairs two-by-two Hadley concentrated on her footing. Move, she instructed herself over and over again. There was no time to waste. If they caught her, she was dead and, to make matters even more distressing, so was Hailey.

  The hospital alarm sounded, ringing in her ears, and Hadley wondered if they’d make it out the door.

  “Jeremiah…” She panted, trying to talk as she ran.

  “I know, I’m not sure how we’re going to get out either.” He swung around, looking left and right, Hailey still kicking in his arms. “Damn it woman, you don’t want me to drop you. Trust me on that.”

  “Whatever happens, get her out of here. She still doesn’t believe and she’ll have no chance. Maybe I can reason with the men, talk to them about home, and flying in the claws of birds.”

  Jeremiah’s eyes got wide. “I didn’t think I was homesick until you said that.”

  “What’s your animal?”

  Grinning widely, he continued down the stairs. “The Jackal.”

  A door at the bottom of the stairs slammed. Hadley skidded to a stop behind Jeremiah.

  “Where is she?” The unmistakable voice blotted out everything else.

  Hadley had never been so glad to hear his voice in her life. Hawk. Somehow he was here. Tears sprang to her eyes as she pushed past Jeremiah into Hawk’s arms. “I’m right here.” She knew it was too early to feel relief, but just having Hawk there made the feeling start to creep up her insides.

  His mouth claimed hers hard and she practically purred.

  “This is all very romantic, but I can’t imagine Jeremiah was dragging the two of them through the hall because he felt like it.” Hadley’s eyes whirled to Dragon. He looked the most disheveled she’d ever seen him. Somehow in the brief course of their acquaintance, Dragon had gone from one of the most put-together men to utter chaos personified.

  Jeremiah looked at his watch. “Minute and a half before Pettigrew arrives with Prize and the whole gang in tow.”

  Hawk raised an eyebrow. “Then maybe its time and past I do something about Pettigrew.”

  Dragon shrugged. “Sounds like fun.”

  “No.” Jeremiah sounded so authoritative it stopped everyone in their tracks. “Stopping Pettigrew isn’t your job, it’s not your path.”

  “Is it yours?” Hawk sounded skeptical. “I’ve recently become acquainted with the flaws of the so-called Sight.”

  “I’m not saying if it’s mine or not but you have your role to play and yours is to get Hadley to Astor, where I imagine she has not been yet or we wouldn’t all be standing here.” Jeremiah grasped Hawk’s arm. “Get your woman to Astor.”

  “I’m not going to just leave my sister here while I go gallivanting off to Astor with Hawk. There is still a lot of retribution to dish out here.”

  “Hell, you sound like him.” Dragon rolled his eyes and Hawk shoved him against the wall.

  “Everyone has a path, my lady. Yours is very important and it’s waiting for you on Haven. You are not responsible for all of this but we need you in Haven. Things will fall to chaos without you. Hailey and I have to do the next part.”

  “I hate to agree with anything Jeremiah says, but, in this case, it’s sound logic.” Dragon pushed his brother away. “Perhaps we should all return to Haven.”

  Jeremiah shook his head. “Not you, Dragon.”

  “Oh, crap.”

  The door at the top of the stairs slammed open. “Stop them, they’ve taken my daughters.”

  “Daddy!” Hailey screamed and Jeremiah covered her mouth with his hand. “Do that again and I’m afraid I’ll have to knock you out.” Hadley feared he actually would and opened her mouth to speak when Hawk grabbed her hand and sliced it with his knife. She cursed, unprepared for the assault of her still healing hand.

  Seconds later she saw the portal open. Hailey gasped next to her. She swung around to look at her sister.

  “I love you Hailey, we’ll see each other again.”

  Hadley wasn’t so sure why she was certain of that, but she was.

  Swallowing, she continued. “Take care of her, Jeremiah.” He nodded and she smiled sadly. Just as she knew in her heart she would see Hailey again, she knew she would never be back to Earth.

  “So much for my plans of tracking the Giant Squid.”

  The sound of footsteps running down the stairwell ended her musings.

  She smiled at Hawk. “Let’s go.”

  Together they once again stepped through the portal.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  They hit the ground gently. It was another open field, but this one was filled with rocks. He scooped her up and laid her back down in a grassy clearing a few feet away. Off in the distance, the sound of a rushing river filled the horizon. Just in case it had been hard, Hawk took the brunt of the fall, keeping Hadley on top of him. They’d spent the journey in silence, just glad to be together and to not be dragging anyone with them this time. Immediately, he rolled on top of her.

  She ran her hands up his back, stopping at his neck. He leaned down and kissed her, hard. He’d almost lost her. The thought repeated in his head over and over. “Hadley, it was too close, we came too close to it all being over.”

  She nodded, nibbling on his neck. “I don’t want to think right now, Hawk. Kiss me.”

  “I think if I start kissing you, I’m not going to be able to stop. I think I’m going to want to make love with you right here on the ground.”

  This time he tried to kiss her gently. He hadn’t managed to the first time they were together and she was the most precious thing in his life. More important than King, country, or loyalty to his Warriors. Hadley could ask anything of him and he’d give it.

  What was amazing is that he knew she would never ask more than he would be happy to give.

  She shook gently in his arms and he slid his hands down her throat to the top of her neckline. Their faces sat merely inches apart and her breath felt warm and smelled sweet. He was already so hard it was painful and they hadn’t even done anything yet. But looking at Hadley, being close to her, made his groin stand at attention even without the possibility of consummating their love.

  He pulled what was left of her hospital gown off of her body and ran his hands up and down her legs. She shuddered and gasped. For just a moment, he allowed his gaze to travel her naked body. Hadley was perfection itself. Long legs attached to curves that didn’t quit, with breasts he wanted time to suckle and memorize. If she would let him, he would spend eternity worshiping her like this.

  “Hawk?” Forcing his gaze to meet her eyes, he saw she was happy, albeit confused.

  “Did you know that in your eyes, although they are truly the greenest of green, one gold speck illuminates from the middle?”

  “No. But I look so different here than I do on Earth.”

  “You’re crazy. You’ve always been gorgeous, since the moment I first saw you, I knew you would be the undoing of me.”

  “The undoing?”

  He leaned down and planted a kiss on her nose. “That I would never be able to resist you, that you could have whatever you wanted from me anytime you wanted it.”

  “I can?”

  He laughed. “Oh, you have no idea.”

  She reached between them and undid his pants’ zipper. He helped her by pulling his pants off while she tugged his tee shirt over his head. Kissing her again, he was relieved when she opened her mouth to meet him tongue to tongue. Her breasts pressed against his bare chest triggered sensations up and down his spine that went beyond any pleasure he had known before.

  She squeezed her legs around him and he gr
oaned. They were entangled in each other, her pale porcelain-like skin illuminated against his darker tone. He bit down on her shoulder, her neck, and the nipple of her left breast. She arched off the ground.

  Unable to wait any longer, he reached down into her core and stroked her most private area.

  “Oh yes, Hawk, that’s what I need.”

  He loved the way she felt on his fingers. “Me too, darling, me too.”

  Hawk moved until he was in a good position to enter her. Determined to keep the pace slow, he pushed home. He thrust forward, gradually picking up momentum as she moaned and writhed beneath him.

  There was nothing so exquisite as the feel of being inside Hadley. In and out he moved, knowing that every second he was inside of her was a gift to be treasured and never forgotten. He could feel her muscles contract against his and within moments she screamed. He pressed his mouth on hers, wanting to actually taste the sensation of Hadley in his mouth when she came. His own release was just as forceful. Truly joyous, he laid his forehead on hers and refused to move until it was absolutely necessary.

  Hadley’s hands brushing over his face brought him out of his pleasure-induced stupor.

  “Am I crushing you?” He needed to move, he was twice her size.

  “No. But the ground is getting a little uncomfortable.”

  “Ha.” He pulled himself off her, groaning slightly to leave her warmth as he stood. He offered her a hand helping her up.

  “Hawk, I have a problem, I have no clothes.”

  She was right. They’d traveled over in her hospital gown, and that had been in bad shape to begin with, but he’d then torn it to pieces. He bent over and picked up his tee shirt. Looked like she’d be making do in one of those again.

  “Here.” She took it with a smile and a glimmer in her eyes. This one was even bigger than the last and she swam in it.

  “It’s a good thing it’s warm or I couldn’t let you give me your shirt.”

  “Some day, I swear we’ll get you a wardrobe fit for a queen. You won’t have to wander the countryside wearing nothing but that.”

  “It’s okay.” She twirled like a ballet dancer. “I kind of like it, if you want to know the truth.” Her face turned somber. “We need to get to Astor.”