Nomad by JL Bryan Read Free Book Online Page A

New Haven.
    Even at this late hour, people flowed in every direction in the crowded terminal. Travelers from a wide range of races and nationalities lugged their suitcases across the tiled floor, the women dressed in everything from burkhas to hooker boots. Raven moved along with the crowd, keeping her head low.
    A young man approached from the opposite direction and tried to lock eyes with her. His interest in her felt like a threat, and she swerved to avoid him.
    He stopped walking and looked her over. From the corner of her eye, she saw him turn back and approach her again, and she prepared to block and counterstrike.
    He looked dangerous, his blond bangs dirty and unkempt, his irises a stormy dark gray. His sharp cheekbones were prominent under his eyes, and he clearly hadn't shaved in days. He wore ragged clothes, with holes in his dark plaid shirt and worn-out jeans. He was a few years older than her, in his early or middle twenties.
    "You look like you've had a rough ride," he said. His voice was low and quiet as he followed alongside her.
    She kept walking and didn't acknowledge him. If he tried to attack, she would have to break his arm, and that would draw everyone's attention.
    "New York Port Authority," he said, gesturing to the multinational crowd around them. "A good spot for a couple of time travelers to meet, don't you think?"
    Time travelers? Raven tried not to let the surprise show on her face. She slowed to look him over. Was he somebody she knew? She didn't feel the slightest hint of recognition, but most of her mind was lost in its fog of amnesia.
    "Let my buy you a coffee, Raven," he said. "There's a horrible-looking vending machine over this way. Your bus doesn't leave for a few hours, right? You told me this was a long, dull, kind of scary night at the bus terminal."
    "I told you what? When?"
    "In the future. Coffee?" He pointed back over his shoulder.
    "In the future," Raven repeated, not sure what else to say. Her instincts told her to run, but this strange man knew her name. He might know other things that could loosen up her memories.
    "Don't act like you've never been to the future." He grinned. His teeth, unlike the rest of him, didn't look like they belonged to a homeless, hungry drug addict. They were perfectly straight and porcelain-white, and they made the rest of his appearance seem like a disguise. "I need to talk to you for a second. What else did you have planned? Nothing. I already know that. That's why I came...that's why you sent me back to this night, after you've arrived in 2013, but before you reach New Haven--"
    "Sh!" she snapped.
    "Coffee?" he offered again.
    "I want a coffee anyway," she said. "Just keep your voice down about where I'm going. Anyway, I'm not going...where you said."
    "All I know is what you told me." He led her through a spacious area that looked like a shopping mall, but the lights were off and the gates were down for the night.
    While the coffee vending machine churned and spat mysterious black fluid into paper cups, Raven studied the strange young man. He'd turned his back to her while he got the coffee, as though he trusted her. She didn't see any obvious guns under his clothes, but plenty of deadly weapons could be concealed.
    Though he acted familiar, she didn't trust him enough to tell him about her amnesia. That put her in a difficult place, because she couldn't even ask his name without tipping him off.
    "Solid black, just the way you like it." He handed her a hot paper cup and looked at her carefully with his unusual eyes. "Isn't it?"
    "Maybe." She took the coffee from him. It tasted strong but foul, and she grimaced. "I like my coffee black, but I don't think this is coffee. It's more like tar, with just a subtle hint of paint thinner."
    "I promised you the best, and I lied." He forced himself to swallow a mouthful of his own coffee. They sat at a table in front of a closed fast-food restaurant, in chairs that had been chained to the table for the