Chapter Three

EVIE

I slowly opened my eyes, praying my ordeal in the forest was a horrible nightmare and I was back in my small apartment in Boulder. Unless my pathetic fern had gotten fruitful and multiplied while I was sleeping, there was no way that I was in my own bed. Of course, the rock sticking in my back was another indication that I was still living in the horror show.

I groaned, and a figure poked his head into my view. I recoiled, hitting my head on the hard ground again. "Stop doing that, dammit."

"I don't know what you mean, female. I am trying to help you, but you insist upon injuring yourself." The male spoke almost formally, irritated, as if I were trying to be difficult.

I struggled to a sitting position, brushing leaves and dirt off my clothes, and scowled at the male, because he was definitely a male, though not human by any stretch. He was close, but far more muscular and built than any man I had ever seen. He had muscles upon muscles as if he lived in the gym, though I sensed he wouldn't even know what I meant if I asked him what he benched. And he wore pants, a leather vest, and what appeared to be a sword strapped to his waist. Had I fallen into a scene from some fantasy movie or was I still dreaming?

I often dreamed about those movies, wishing I was one of those princesses being rescued, only I learned early on that no one would rescue you. You had to do it yourself. But there was a small part of me that wanted a handsome prince to climb the tower, defeat the bad guys, and carry me off to the castle to live out my days in pampered luxury. Hell, I'd be happy to live my days with someone who gave a damn about me. I didn't ask for much, really. I had a pathetically low bar.

The question was. Was this guy the prince or the bad guy?

He squatted next to me and frowned, studying me carefully. I rubbed the back of my head. "I'm not trying to injure myself. Where am I?"

He narrowed his dark, almost black eyes. "Where do you think you are?"

I exhaled my frustration. "Look, buddy. I'm not in the mood for games. I got lost in the woods and now I'm here, wherever this is. It doesn't look like where I was, though."

The trees were similar, but even I could see the leaves were broader, a different shade of green. The sky was a deep, dark blue, navy to black even, and the stars didn't appear to align correctly. I had spent enough time outside to identify certain constellations, and none of them was visible and should have been. No, something was terribly wrong, and I was afraid to accept what my eyes were telling me.

Understanding dawned on the male's strange face and he bared his teeth in what I hoped was a smile. Though, he had tusks jutting out from his lower jaw and I feared he was about to eat me, and not in the pleasant way.

"You came through a portal from another world." He nodded as if that explained everything and my chest seized.

"A portal from another world? Are you saying this isn't earth?" I could hear the panic in my voice, the way it rose to almost a shriek, but I couldn't stop it.

An enormous horse's head shoved between us and snorted. I scrambled back before I could stop myself. "What the hell?"

The male stroked the horse's nose. "You scared him. Be more quiet or you might attract beings less friendly."

"I startled him?" I paused. "Wait, less friendly?"

He shrugged. "There are all manner of beasts in the forest, then there are those who would take advantage of a comely lass."

A laugh bubbled out of me. Comely. I barely knew what that meant. "But you won't, is that it? I'm supposed to take your word that you won't hurt me?"

He rolled to his feet and leaned over the fire to poke at something on a spit over the flames. "I haven't hurt you yet, have I?"

I watched him suspiciously, but he was right. He hadn't hurt me or done anything threatening. Not yet. I pulled my knees to my chest and studied him. "How do I get home?"

He didn't even look at me. "Portals are very unpredictable things. They appear and disappear all the time. We cannot find them or guarantee that the one you came through will be there, or that it will bring you back to your world."

My heart stuttered. "You mean I might not be able to get back at all?"

He shrugged, the movement incongruous to what I expected of a creature such as himself. "It's possible." He paused for a long moment, his hand turning the meat on the stick over the fire. Finally, he spoke, slowly, carefully. "I might know of a place where you could connect with someone who could help you get back home."

Hope rose inside of me and I straightened. But he held up his hand, staving off my questions before I could voice them. "I said maybe. Portals are unpredictable. I could bring you to the capital and we could see if they could help you get back home. If they can't help you, no one can."

I nodded fervently. "I'll take any chance I can get. But why would you help me?"

He still avoided my gaze, focused on his dinner. "I'm going there, anyway. It would be no trouble at all."

It still seemed too good to be true, and in my experience, that was never a good thing. But beggars couldn't be choosers. I needed to get home, because this was so not my home. And I wanted to see Gary get payback, even if I got fired right after. But he'd have to face me first.

"Excellent. I'm Evie. And you are?"

He grunted. "Breac." He gestured to a rock by the fire. "Are you hungry?"

As if on cue, my stomach growled, and I nodded. "What is that? And, no offense, but what are you?"

A faint smile curved his lips. "This is venison. And I'm an orc."

An orc. Well, he didn't look like those nasty creatures from the movies, except maybe that white one from that trilogy. He was a dark green, muscles carved from emerald stone, and skin I itched to trace, though he had scars criss-crossing his body as if he was used to battling for position. I was dying to ask about them, but sensed that might be pushing the boundaries of hospitality, so I settled on the rock and took a piece of meat.

"Oh my god. This is delicious. What did you season it with?"

He settled on a rock across from me and glowered at me. "Seasoned?"

I waved the piece of meat around. "You know, garlic, salt, pepper, basil."

He paused and stared at me for a long second, then went back to eating, those sharp teeth tearing at the meat in sullen silence. I don't know what I did to piss him off, but whatever. I kind of needed him to survive and this dinner was better than the healthy rubber chicken I had hours ago at the leadership thing, so I was all in. Assuming he could get me back to my world.