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.A thought, clear and sharp, pierced his mind.The first one inmany hours.Aleksei.Aleksei would help him.Always had, no matter what.He was hismate.Home.Home was a really good idea.Only how to get home? And where was he, anyway?Annoyance pushed away fear.He couldn t think while he wasrunning, and once he stopped, being on all fours came as a shock.Paws.Fur.A snout.The body of a wolf.The lack of hands was troublesome.How to create a rune withouthands? He did have hands, usually.He didn t have fur and fangs.The sheer need to become human again triggered the change.Changing back into human form was more painful than the other wayaround, but maybe Gabriel was only more aware of the differencesbetween the two bodies.Expecting that strange, horrible-smellingcreature would jump out at him and kill him, just like he himself hadkilled the deer, didn t help, either.Better not to think of it.Gasping and shaking violently, Gabriel found himself lying in amesh of leaves and molten snow, covered in deer blood and aching allover.Above him, stars sparkled, and all around him were trees.Next to him were his shirt and his jeans.For some reason, hemust have retraced his steps, but he still didn t have a clue where hewas or how he d gotten there.All he was sure about was that this wasn t Kyril s world.74SAM C.LEONHARDWhen he heard a sound in the darkness, he jumped up on shakinglegs.The creature was somewhere behind him; the rotten smell hecould make out was proof of it.He didn t know what it wanted, but heknew he d better try to get the hell out of here before it came anycloser. Aleksei, Gabriel said helplessly. I messed this up big-time.Asalways.With half-frozen fingers, he painted the rune to his world andfailed.No golden glow.No portal. Shit, shit, shit. He was too nervous, too cold, too scared.Again.More carefully this time.There was a scream behind him, so damn close his heart skippeda few beats out of sheer panic.Frantically, he wasted several seconds torummage through his wet clothes in search for his knife before heremembered he d left it at home.No chance to fight the creature.Not with his shaking hands as hisonly defense. Concentrate!His clothes pressed to his naked chest, he took a shaky breath anddrew the rune that would take him home.This time, he stayed focused,trying not to listen to the sounds around him, trying not to smell thecreature closing in on him, trying to concentrate.The thought of hisknife, a present from Aleksei, helped him to do so.That, and hisoverwhelming wish to go home and tell his lover everything that hadhappened in the past weeks.Every little detail; every embarrassingsecret.If he couldn t trust Aleksei to help him solve his problems, hemight as well stay here and let the creature catch him.The last line was a bit wobbly; his hands shook despite his effortto keep them calm.But the portal opened.The light illuminated theground around him; an owl fled from the piercing glow with angryhoots. Yes!Gabriel took one last look back into the darkness his headmoved on its own accord, just as if the creature had taken it and turnedit around.75TAINTED SOULHe saw a shadow just outside the portal s light.So damn close!Come with me!Gabriel screamed; his heart pumped adrenaline through his veins,and he jumped through the portal with one huge leap.He thought hecould see movement from the corner of his eye.An arm, claws, reaching out for him, touching him, trying to holdhim back.GABRIEL crashed onto the street, unable to stop his fall in time, andlanded face-first on the pavement.For a few horrible moments hebelieved the creature had followed him through the portal and wouldrip him to pieces while he was still trying to catch his breath.Then thelight vanished, the portal closed, and Gabriel realized he was alone.Alone streetlamp, an empty street, dark houses, and locked cars were allthat was there.He was back home.Whatever had been after him was gone.He was too confused and too scared to think about it now.And hewas cold.He was also naked.Dumbstruck, Gabriel stared at the clothes in his hands.They weredirty and wet, soaked with snow from another world.But they wereclothes; better than nothing.Still trembling, Gabriel forced his unwilling legs into the jeans,wondering in a very distant way why there were only two legs and notfour.Closing the buttons of his shirt was equally hard; he didn t quitemanage it, the last button not having found a hole.He must lookterrible.Staggering, Gabriel wandered through the deserted streets until hefound the path leading to his home.His feet were numb with cold,which was good, because that way, he didn t feel the cuts.76SAM C.LEONHARDAt home, there was light in every window.The sight made himweak with relief.He had run away.And only now, with proof that Aleksei washome, did he dare to admit his fear that his lover might have left himwhile he d been playing hide-and-seek with a monster. I wanted to kill him. The memory was haunting.The voice hadtold him to do horrible things to his lover.So far he d resisted, but for amoment, Gabriel seriously considered not going back inside.Everywhere else was safer than here.At least everywhere else, hecouldn t hurt the man he loved.Gabriel put one hand on the doorframe, not daring to go inside.He didn t even know how much time had passed since he d left.Hours?Minutes?He heard footsteps inside the house, pacing.Aleksei s footsteps.He would recognize them anywhere.Okay, so Aleksei hadn t abandoned him. I need to tell him whathappened, Gabriel muttered, pushing the door open and forcing hisunwilling feet inside.Running had taken him right into danger s way.No use trying it again.Better to sort this out.And Aleksei was the onlyone who could help him with that task.Quietly, he crossed the hall, leaving wet, bloody tracks on thelight planks.He didn t notice.He wasn t even aware that he wasn twearing shoes.When he entered the living room, the cat jumped up, startled.Onelook at Gabriel and he hopped off the couch, hissing, before vanishingtoward the door and into the night.Aleksei merely raised an eyebrow [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]