The Rift Read Free Page B

extended about a hundred feet, but that was
impossible; they’d have seen it earlier. Something lurched through
it. On the far side, a fire burned.
    She pointed down the… the whatever it was.
“Someone’s coming.”
     
     
     
     
2. The Field
     
     
    For the first time in years, Vero considered
the reality of Hell. She seemed to be staring down a tunnel leading
there.
    The silhouette looked like a man. He stooped in
the tunnel, which put him well over six feet. One hand held his
stomach, the other a backpack.
    Vero stepped back. She’d have run, but Pieter
held her hand. The same quality that compelled him to explore empty
fields kept him from doing the sane thing and dashing for his car.
In most people, she’d call it bravery. In Pieter, stupidity. Gloria
backed slowly toward the street.
    The man emerged into the moonlight. His
clothing looked… well, a bit formal. Not quite what she expected
for a man—or demon—walking out of Hell. Metal buttons fastened his
long-sleeve shirt together down the front, and a dark stain spread
where he held his hand. An axe blade peeked over his back. Again,
Vero tried to back away. Pieter didn’t budge.
    “ We’d take you to our leader, but
the Secret Service probably wouldn’t let us get close,” Pieter
said. Half a smirk emerged from an otherwise serious
face.
    Vero tried to wiggle free of her boyfriend. She
considered punching him.
    “ I don’t catch your meaning,” the
figure said. He spoke perfect English, with no accent.
    He didn’t seem like demon material. He looked
too human. And his face seemed kind, though tensed in
pain.
    Maybe this was some kind of science experiment
or secret technology. But if someone had invented some kind of
teleporter, no way it would appear in an empty field in SLO. That
left, what… aliens? Magic? Another world?
    Pieter gave a little bow. “Forgive me for not
introducing myself. I am Pieter Walters the Third, king of
Emptyfield. Here is my queen, Veronica Mendoza. And this is my
loyal chambermaid, Neil Matsumoto with his mistress, Gloria
Stone.”
    “ Chambermaid?” Neil
said.
    The figure appeared dumbfounded. “King? Then…
you’re aware of this place? How did you know to be
here?”
    For just an instant, Pieter’s grin faltered. He
waved his hand as though tossing something behind his back. “Your
name, first, fair traveler?”
    “ James. James Weatherton. Your…
Highness.”
    Somehow, it didn’t really surprise Vero that
Pieter’s reaction would be humor. Running still seemed like a
better idea to her.
    Reality TV. That might explain it. In the dark,
maybe they simulated that tunnel with mirrors… or something. She
had no idea how to create a tunnel in midair, but if anyone could
do it, Hollywood could.
    “ Does that tunnel lead to another
world?” Neil asked. He sounded almost hopeful. “Or just somewhere
else on earth?”
    The man stared at him. “Who are you all,
really?”
    “ King of this plot,” Pieter
replied. “Don’t question me again. We came here in answer to the
prophecy.”
    James’s jaw dropped open.
“Prophecy?”
    “ Of course,” Pieter said. For an
instant, Vero believed him. Except for that smirk. “Now, tell us,
thou traveler from another world, why hast thou cometh?”
    James stared at Pieter for a moment with a
bewildered look. He bowed his head slightly. “I apologize for my
appearance, Your… uh… Your Highness.” Half a smile curled on
James’s lips. “But I’m here with a warning for your world. I need
sanctuary. Will you help me?”
    “ No problem,” Pieter
said.
    “ You’re hurt,” Gloria said. She
stepped forward, bolder than Vero had seen her all night. “Do you
need me to call an ambulance?”
    “ A what?”
    “ An, uh… a doctor.”
    James wavered for a moment. “I…”
    A voice echoed from the tunnel in a nasally,
singsong voice. Vero heard something like James’s name—it sounded
more like “Jamasu”—but she couldn’t understand the