The Golden Bell by Autumn Dawn Read Free Book Online

slowed.
Disappointed, she looked around at the unassuming stand of birch,
seeing nothing more interesting than a fleeing grouse. Fallon
dismounted. Twisting on the seat, she watched Kirk dusting off
snow. Fallon took off his helmet, tossing it to his friend, then
stripped off his snowsuit, tossing it for sport, too. Kirk laughed
and tossed it back. “Feeling the heat already?”
    Fallon grinned. “Know it.” He turned to Rain.
“Take off the helmet and suit and follow me. I promise you’ll be
more than warm enough in a minute.”
    Wary of his wicked grin, she slowly obeyed,
glowering as the cold bit into her exposed skin.
    He unbuckled her duffle and slung it over his
shoulder. “Leave the boots and gloves on; Kirk will get them later.
There’s less for him to carry this way.” He held out his hand.
“Ready, Dorothy?”
    “Careful, Toto. I might just make a coat out
of you to keep from freezing out here.” Taking his hand so he could
help her through the knee-deep snow, she followed, grimacing as
powder worked its way down her boots. At least it was growing
warmer.
    A shadow caught her eye, and she froze,
staring at the unusually big tree to her right. Was that a
wolf?
    Fallon tugged her on, and she noticed the
snow thinning under the shadow of the trees. The warmth continued
to build, and she looked up as the light dimmed, greened. Well,
that explained it. The trees had grown huge, and their leaves
blocked the sun…
    Rain stiffened and looked around. Redwoods.
She was in a redwood forest. Ferns and moss provided a soft cushion
on either side of the faint dirt path. Mushrooms the size of
ottomans dotted the forest floor, adding splashes of red. A
wolf-like creature wove in and out of the trees, a silent watcher
to her personal drama. Rain just stood there, looking, ignoring the
snow melting into her socks.
    Fallon smiled and handed her a pair of shoes,
then slowly peeled off her gloves. “Welcome to the Dark Lands.
We’ll pitch this stuff back through the gate, then I’ll take you up
to the Citadel and introduce you around.”
    Dazed, she looked at him, blinked when she
noticed him stripping off his sweater. Underneath was a black
leather vest that buckled across his chest. A red embroidered
Celtic knot decorated his left breast. She recognized the black
pants from this morning, but she’d never seen the weapons belt he
buckled on, or the gun in the low holster against his right thigh.
A silver dagger hilt rode his left hip. She stared.
    He grinned. “Standard uniform, you’ll be
seeing a lot of it. Come on, let’s go blow your mind.”
    He’d originally intended to take her straight
to her quarters to settle in, and then slowly introduce her to his
world. Seeing the wonder in her eyes changed his mind. Why not
build on it? This magic, the mystique of stepping into an alien
world that was now her own, this is what she needed. Let her first
moments be full of pleasure and the rest of her days would be
colored by it. Tossing aside his mental itinerary, he took her
hand, threw her a grin, and headed for the path that led to the
market.
    The path through the woods wasn’t long.
Rain’s eyes lit up when she first caught sight of the colorful
tents and booths nestled against the curve of the Citadel’s
stonewall, facing the bay. Rows of merchants selling everything
from produce and crafts to weapons and livestock greeted shoppers
with cheerful invitations to try their wares. Women with baskets
did the household shopping, haggling with shopkeepers as their
children scurried around, ogling the goods. By the look on her
face, Rain couldn’t wait to explore.
    Fallon grinned, congratulating himself on a
great idea. All women loved to shop and this one was no
exception.
    Rain was in awe of the colorful costumes and
elaborate hairstyles of the local women. While the men seemed to
prefer darker colors and simple pants and tunics, the women swept
around in the full spectrum of the rainbow, in styles ranging from
harem