The Moon's Heir - Book 1

Chapter 2

She had no idea what was happening when something like a gust of wind suddenly swathed her and produced an arm that slid around her waist and lifted her off her feet. She recovered as soon as she felt the arm tighten around her and struggled in the firm grip, her hands thankfully free.

Her almost immediate reaction once she recovered from the shock was to curl her fingers around her captor's wrist and push it away from her as hard as she could, ready to bend a finger back and shove her fingernails into the veins of his wrist when his hand wouldn't loosen more than a millimeter. 

But the very next second, she realized that her feet were no longer supporting her weight, and that the ground was getting farther and farther away . . .

She stopped struggling, gripped the wrist, and held on tight to the black sleeve over the arm.

'There goes the law of gravity!' she thought hysterically, gulping down her panic and terror as they rose up to consume her. She looked up at her abductor's face. He was staring straight up with unwavering eyes and did not even glance at her.

She looked down again. They were extremely high up now.

Zeraverto slowed and stopped in mid-air. "Cameo," he commanded, looking straight ahead and focusing on a familiar structure in his mind. A circular patch of air a few inches in front of him rippled, like looking through a thin smoke screen, and he felt her turn and look at the rippling portal of air as he gave his command.

He instantly flew forward into the portal, and it closed immediately behind him as he entered Cameo.

3:07 PM – Cameo

Bright light entered her eyes as she entered the portal and she blinked. When her eyes focussed again, she was still in his grip and floating in mid-air. But the scene around her had changed completely. The familiar tar roads, tall buildings, and rows of apartments that had been there a moment ago were now replaced by trees, grass, and a big, wide house with slanting roofs that reminded her of temples and old Chinese and Japanese houses that she'd only seen before in books.

Her captor flew towards the house, pushed open a door, and landed in a medium-sized room. He'd flown so fast that everything had looked like a blur to her. But as soon as he set her down on her feet, she pushed away his hand and darted from his reach, backing away while facing him. 

He let her escape, waited, and then took a step towards her.

She took a matching step back.

"Calm down," he told her without any expression or mood.

'Great advice!' she responded inside her head, taking another step back. 'You just kidnapped me. And the only thing you tell me is "Calm down"?!'

Zeraverto frowned very slightly as she kept her distance and watched him warily. He could hear her over-rapid heartbeat.

"What'swrong? Don't you know me?" he asked slowly, his expression still blank.

She stared, wondering whether madness went hand in hand with the ability to leap inhuman heights. 'I've got to meet you to know you!' She gave him the smallest shake of her head, not taking her eyes away from him.

Zeraverto eyed her carefully. 'They've tampered with her memory?' he speculated. 'But if that's true, why isn't she screaming the roof down?'

"MyLord Zeraverto?" asked a grating voice suddenly near the open door. She jumped and glanced at the door reflexively before turning her attention back to her captor. The owner of the voice was blocked from view by her towering kidnapper.