Centaur of the Crime: Book One of 'Fantasy and Forensics' (Fantasy & Forensics 1) by Angel Michael

Author:Angel, Michael [Angel, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Banty Hen Publishing
Published: 2014-01-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Galen’s spell to send us to my world dumped my brain back into an ocean of eye-searing whiteness. The burnt-oven smell of ozone filled my nostrils. I tried to scream. Air rushed out from between my lips in a dull hiss.

I landed with a bump that sent a painful twinge through my knees. Teetered on the sandy brown edge of my well-worn living room carpet. I stumbled forward a step.

My senses threatened to overwhelm me. The solid walls of my home, the scents of coffee and newsprint and lemon wood polish made me weak in the knees. Then Galen’s firm, warm hand clasped my shoulder and steadied me.

“Allow me, Dayna,” the centaur said, as I regained my footing. “Crossing worlds is rarely a comfortable kind of travel.”

“No kidding,” I said, in a quavering voice.

Liam sprawled on the carpet next to me. After a moment, he raised his head, shook it groggily, and got to his feet. He pawed at the carpet’s surface with one cloven forehoof.

“Strange ground cover you have in this world,” he said, half to himself.

Shaw managed to keep his footing, but the griffin swayed and listed like a drunken lion. He spread his wings reflexively to balance himself and knocked over the books and knickknacks that I had perched on the fireplace mantle.

“My apologies, Dayna,” Shaw said ruefully. “Thy chambers are a snug nest for one such as I.”

“Admittedly, you do keep rather cozy quarters,” Galen agreed.

My living room had a vaulted ceiling, but the centaur had to duck his head under one of the mission-style beams. He’d have to do some serious knee bends if he was going to get through some of the other doors in the house.

“The architect wasn’t familiar with centaurs or griffins.” I stepped over to the windows looking out over my front yard. Gauzy white curtains lay over the glass, but I hastily drew the heavy drapes closed. “Neither are my neighbors. I’ll have to come up with a way to get you three out of the house without attracting attention. Probably after dark.”

Galen snorted. “With less than two days left before my people go to war? I hope that we shall not throw away the pittance of time we have!”

“The wizard doth speak true,” Shaw chimed in. “Together we can out-run, out-fly, out-fox, or out-fight anything in thy world.”

I held my hands up. “Guys, hold on. Listen to me. This place is different than Andeluvia. A lot different.”

“In what way?” Liam asked, canting an antler at me.

“Well…” My mind raced for a second, trying to pick the best way to explain. “For starters, the ground cover you mentioned, my carpet. A lot of my world is covered in things that would be odd to you. We, ah, crush rocks into a kind of paste and smooth it out flat, flatter than the cobblestones in Andeluvia, and use it all over the place, for sidewalks and streets.”

“Why in the world would you do such a thing?”

“Because most people in my world get around using cars.

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