At first she saw nothing through the screen of greenery. When she encountered a pair of yellow eyes staring at her, she gasped.

Unable to turn away, she saw the eyes were centered in a gray, furry face. Taking in the whole picture, she made out a canine muzzle, pointed ears, light facial hair, and a ruff of creamy fur around the creatureas neck. When he opened his mouth she was treated to a view of sharp, pointed teeth.

A guard dog? A wolf? She had never seen a natural wolf, although a werewolf had once come to her cla.s.s for young psychics. From what Vandar and his adepts had told her about this world, she was sure they didnat have such beings here. Still, the shape was the same as what shead seen.

As he approached, she smelled his wet fur and heard his panting breath.

He looked like he could rip out her throat in one savage lunge, and she would have run if she could, but the branch held her captive. Unable to escape, she raised her chin and stared at the animal as he took a careful step into the tangle of branches around her, then another. When he reached her, his eyes sought her face, and she had the strange feeling that he was going to speak to her. The moment stretched. Of course he didnat say anything because animals didnat talk. Instead, he brushed past her arm, and she felt the rain on his fur.

Shifting his body, he pawed at the place where her leg disappeared under a stretch of wet bark.

The tree limb didnat move for him any more than it had for her.

She lay on her sopping bed of branches and leaves, breathing hard, watching the wolf. If head wanted to hurt her, he could easily have done it already, she reasoned as he sniffed around the natural trap that held her fast.

When he took a step back, she made a small sound of distress. aCan you bring help?a she asked, knowing that he didnat understand her and that he couldnat answer.

To her surprise, he raised and lowered his head, like a man nodding, and his expression seemed to say, Wait right there.

In the next moment he disappeared, leaving her alone and shivering in the rain and wondering if she had made up her unlikely visitor. Maybe she had gotten hit on the head, and her brain was serving up strange visions.

Like the light flickering off to her left.

She turned in that direction, wondering if shead gotten turned around and misplaced the direction of the house.

Then the smell of smoke drifted toward her, and she realized that the lightning had started a fire in the forest.

Could it keep burning in this damp environment? She didnat know, but she saw that the flames were coming closer to where she lay trapped.

When panic constricted her chest, she ordered herself to steadiness. Fear wasnat going to help anything.

She could get out of this. She had to, because there was no alternative, and there was one thing in her favor. The rain was still falling, although more gently. Maybe it would put out the fire before it reached her.

Drifting smoke made her cough. Trying to ignore the distraction, she flexed her fingers and leaned forward, putting her hands on the heavy branch holding her fast. Eyes closed, she pressed her fingers against the bark and used her mind to extend the reach of her hand, sending her thoughts through the surface and into the living tissue beneath. She needed to learn the ma.s.s and weight. Learn how the branch was connected to the central tree trunk.

As the answers fell into place, she formed a plan of action. Pulling the branch up wasnat enough. She had to rotate it as she lifted; otherwise the trunk would hold the limb down.

Opening her eyes, she saw the fire creeping closer, heard the hissing of the wet wood.

Terrible images leaped into her minda"of herself, surrounded by flames. In Breezewood, teams of adepts would have come to pull water from a nearby well and shoot it toward any fire that threatened the city. But she was the only one here, and she couldnat stop a fire by herself.

Unable to hold back a whimper, she watched for a moment, then tore her gaze away and sent out her invisible energy, trying with every shred of power she had to make the branch shift.

Fear made her desperate as she poured out her psychic power. Despite the cold, sweat broke out on her forehead, and her muscles trembled. When the limb quivered under her fingers, she took hope and increased her efforts. To her dismay, the quivering was all she could accomplisha"for now.

Unwilling to give up, she lay back, sucking in great drafts of air and shivering from the wet clothing plastered against her skin.

Shead been in this world less than an hour, and she was already in more trouble than she could have imagined.

Still, iron determination made her reach out again with her mind. Before she got very far into the process, she heard something moving rapidly through the foresta"coming from the direction where the wolf had disappeared.

Was the animal circling back? This time to attack?

She tensed, probing the darkness. In the flickering light from the fire, she made out a dark shape hurrying toward her. A beam of light ran along in front of it, and as the figure drew closer, she saw it was a man holding a thing called a flashlight.

Shead seen it in a training exercise with Vandaras adepts. And also long ago in one of her cla.s.srooms.

Her teacher had made each of the students try to turn it on with his or her mind. Shead been one of the few who could do it. Here she knew that something called batteries made it work.

aAre you all right?a a man called.

aIam caught. And . . . and . . . the fireas coming.a aYeah. Iall take care of the fire.a Despite the circ.u.mstances, a spurt of wonder leaped inside her. This was her first encounter with a person from the other side of the portal.

She listened to his voice. It was strong and confident, and his accent was different from the people she knew in her own world.

aHang on. Iave got a fire extinguisher.a He backed away. As she listened to the sound of his footsteps receding, fear rose in her throat.

Then she heard a hissing sound, and the flames that had been lapping closer died away.

Moments later, he was back, clambering to her side and hunkering down.

aYou put out the fire?a she whispered.

aI canat be sure itas dead. Iall have to check it later.a He kept the beam of his light out of her eyes as he studied her face, apparently as interested in her as she was in him. Up close, in the light from the flashlight, she saw that his hair and eyes were both dark and his features were hard-etched.

And he had a . . . knapsack over his shoulder. Squatting beside her, he took something from the carry bag. It was a small rectangle that unfolded into a surprisingly large blanket, which he spread over her.

The blessed warmth made her want to weep, but she held on to her emotions by force of will while he turned and played his light over the place where her leg disappeared under the branch.

aThis is a nice mess,a he muttered. aYouare lucky your leg isnat broken. Or is it?a aI donat think so. I mean, Iam not in pain.a Switching the subject, she asked. aHow . . . how did you find me?a aI was putting some things in my storage building. I saw the tree fall, and I thought I heard a scream. It took me a while to locate the tree.a Her own situation had made her sensitive to half-truths. aWhat happened to the wolf?a He tipped his head to the side, staring at her with a steady gaze. aWhat wolf?a aHe was here.a He shrugged. aI didnat see him.a She nodded, wondering if she had made up the encounter with the beast. No. He had been too real. His animal smell. His wet fur. The intelligence in his yellow eyes.

The man brought her back to the present. Did he smell like the wolf? Or did the animal scent simply linger in the wet air?

aWe have to get you out of here.a aHow?a aIall lift the branch. You pull your leg out.a She sighed. aI tried. Itas too heavy.a aOf course it is,a he said, and she wondered if shead made a mistake by revealing her attempt at escape. Without her telekinetic powers, lifting the thing would have been clearly impossible.

He played his flashlight beam over the bough, inspecting it. aIf I canat get the branch off you, Iall go back for a chain saw. But that will mean youall be out here for a lot longer.a Bending over the limb, he wrapped his hands around the circ.u.mference, giving an experimental tug before looking back at her. aGet ready to pull your foot out if I can lift this d.a.m.n thing.a aOkay,a she said.

aMy name is Talon Marshall.a An exchange of names. Another test.

aKenna,a she said, then remembered an important fact from her training. People here had more than one name. The last name told what family you belonged to. Vandaras men had picked a last name for her that was very common, in case anyone started trying to figure out where she had come from. aKenna Thomas,a she supplied.

aSorry to be meeting you like this.a With a murmur of agreement, she braced for more questions. Instead, he silently grasped the branch again. As he strained to pull upward, she sent her telekinetic energy to the tree limb, giving him a jolt of a.s.sistance.

Feeling the pressure ease off her ankle, she kept up her energy burst while she yanked her foot out, then tumbled backwards at her sudden release.

He made a startled exclamation, his voice uncertain as he said, aIt suddenly got lighter, then heavier again.a She only shook her head, unable to tell him that it had been her lifting and that the extra weight had piled on the branch when shead run out of energy.

She was free! Finally.

He was talking again, and she struggled to focus on his words.

aCan you stand?a aI think so.a Quickly, she pulled off the blanket head draped over her and pushed herself up. But she had been in one cramped position for too long, and when she stood on wobbly legs, one knee gave way and she started to fall back into the tangle of branches where shead been lying.

Talon Marshall darted forward, catching her before she could go down. As the two of them swayed on the uneven surface, she came to rest in his arms with her head on his shoulder and her wobbly legs wedged against his solid ones.

She felt herself trembling, from the cold and from her reaction to him.

aAre you all right?a aYes. Iam lucky you found me.a aYouare lucky the trunk, or a major branch, didnat smack you in the back or hit you on the head.a His arms were strong. And his body was warm and comforting. Shead been virtually alone in a crowd of people for months. It was hard to remember a time when anyone had held her, comforted her. Unable to stop herself, she let her head nestle against his shoulder as she raised her arms to grip him.

He cradled her in his embrace, and she wanted to burrow further into his warmth.

aHow did you get here?a he asked as his hands stroked over her back and shoulders.

The question brought a knot of tension back to her middle. This was the real start of her a.s.signment. The story she would have to tell. She wanted to confess everything to him and get herself out of the terrible situation shead been thrust into. But confession was not an option. Not when she was under Vandaras compulsion.

aI guess I got lost,a she managed to say.

He could have let her go, but instead, he kept his arms around her. aYou were very brave. With the tree and the fire.a aWhat else could I do?a aYeah.a He laughed. Then his voice turned sober again. aYouare wet and cold. Wead better get you inside.a aInside where?a aMy lodge.a The a.s.surance in his voice brought back the enormity of her situation. This man had found her trapped under a tree limb. Head freed her. Now she was going to repay him with lies.

To her horror, she began to cry.

In response, his arms tightened around her. aItas okay. Youave been through a lot.a She shook her head against his shoulder. She wasnat crying about what had happened with the tree. Instead, her thoughts were racing forward into the future and the situation that had already spun out of her control.

CHAPTER SIX.

MILES AWAY, A man named Ramsay Gallagher brushed back a lock of dark hair from his forehead as he stared out the reinforced gla.s.s window of his mountain chalet. He was searching for something he was pretty sure he wasnat going to see. Not yet.

From a distance his house looked like the vacation home of a millionaire who enjoyed indulging his whims.

In reality, it was a well-fortified stronghold, perched at the top of a Colorado mountain that head had the foresight to purchase years ago. It was an excellent location for a man who valued his privacy.

Only one winding gravel track led up from the highway. There were no guardrails, and a driver required nerves of steel to make it to the top of his mountain, where access to the house was blocked by a stout metal gate and sheer cliffs.

You had to want to come here. And you had to know how to get past the barriers head erecteda"unless, of course, you could fly.

He smiled as he thought of a helicopter circling his property, the pilot trying to figure out where to land. Head be out of luck. And if men came down a rope ladder, Ramsay could nail them before they reached the patio outside his bedroom.

He grimaced. Donat go looking for problems. Youare not expecting an attack. Not today.

Yet a change in the fabric of the universe had put him on alert, and he had learned to trust his instincts.

Some major element had shifted in a way that he didnat understand yet, but he would. And if trouble came his way, he was prepared to deal with it.

His fingers played over the leather of his easy chair, appreciating the soft, smooth texture. He liked his comfort, and he valued fine things, but now he was distracted by the sensations drifting toward him from far away.

Too restless to sit, he climbed out of the chair, strode to the window, and studied the mountain scenery. He could have lived anywhere in the world, but he had chosen this place because it suited him so well. Not just the grandeur of the craggy peaks, the pine forests, and the animals that inhabited them. He liked the isolation.

He had other houses, as well. One along the California coast where he could watch the waves crashing on the rocks twenty yards below. Another outside Washington, D.C., in Potomac, Maryland, where he was close to the center of world power. One on Lake Como in Italy. He was rich enough to own property around the world. And he traveled to his other abodes when he wanted a change of scenery.

But he always felt safest here. And for now, he would stay in this mountain retreat and watch for what might come.

TALON could feel the woman in his arms struggling to contain her tears. He didnat have much experience comforting women, but he gave it his best shot as he patted her back rea.s.suringly and spoke softly.

aEverythingas okay. Come on. Letas go inside where you can get warm and dry.a aOkay,a she whispered as though the word was from a foreign language.

aHowas your leg? Can you walk?a As he spoke, he stooped to pick up his gear.

aI think so.a Slinging his arm around her waist, he played his light along the ground in front of them, guiding her through the branches of the ma.s.sive tree sprawled at the edge of the forest.

She was limping, he noticed. But her leg wasnat broken. That was the important thing. Not the feel of her soft breast pressing against his side. To distract himself, he went back over his finding her and the rescue. There was something strange about the way the branch had lifted off her. Head been pulling up, and it had rotated slightly as it rose. Had he done that, or had some other force been operating?

The speculation brought him up short. What other force would that be? The branch must have conveniently shifted when head pulled on it.

He wanted to go back and have a look at it. But that was out of the question now. He had to get her dry and warm, or she could go into hypothermia, even in late summer.

They made their slow way out of the branches, and he breathed out a sigh as they reached open ground.

aThis way.a Turning to the left, he led her to the lodge.

As they walked, he could feel her trembling. A natural response to her narrow escape. And to getting drenched.

After she got out of her wet clothes, head put her in one of the bedrooms. He imagined her lying under the covers, and an erotic picture leaped into his mind. Of her reaching out naked arms to him and pulling him down to the bed with her.

Sternly, he ordered himself not to go down that road. She was simply a woman who had had the misfortune to get clobbered by a tree in the storm. On his property.

They reached the porch, and he helped her slowly up the two steps, then into the front hall. Head given her a quick once-over outside, but it had been dark. Now, standing under the overhead light, he took in more details, starting with the light brown hair that hung in wet strands around her ears.

Her skin was paper white, making her look like shead been living in a cave for months.

She was about average height. Too thin, he thought. Because she was dieting like so many women, or because she hadnat had enough food recently? Her large blue eyes were set wide apart, above high cheekbones, a small nose, and temptingly full lips.

Dropping his gaze, he noted the way her wet shirt clung to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Quickly, he lowered his eyes, taking in the soaked jeans and the leather sandals that looked like theyad been made on a hippie commune. Strange footwear for a tramp through the woods.

aDid you lose your pack or your purse?a he asked.

aMy knapsack,a she answered, her voice shaky.

aWe can look for your stuff in the morning.a aThanks,a she murmured.

aCome on.a He led her down the hall to one of the guest suites and sat her on the closed toilet seat in the bathroom while he thought about what she could wear.

KENNA sat where head left her, trying to make her fogged brain function. She was sitting on a toilet seat. In a bathroom. She had seen pictures of bathrooms in this world. She hadnat really understood how foreign they were.