Page 1 of Stormbinder King

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Smack

I hit the ground hard, dirt filling my mouth as tree roots dug painfully into my belly and thighs. Too stunned to move, I lay there gasping for breath.

My whole body felt like I’d slammed into the side of a freight train.

Thehell?What had happened to me?

Gradually the ringing noise in my head subsided, and I began to hear sounds like the soft caw of birds and the rustling of wind through the trees.

My head spun as I sat up gingerly. It looked like I had landed somewhere in the middle of a strange forest, dappled lights flickering onto the uneven, veiny ground.

Where was I?

It was very warm, the air thick with a humid heat, the trees bowing under the weight of their heavy, wet moss and leaves.

In the slanted light that made it through the overhanging trees, I blinked in astonishment.

There was somethingwrongabout this forest. The hairs on the back of my neck were rising, my heart pounding, yet there was no one around that I could see.

Really, where the hell was I?

This morning I had been gritting my teeth and reminding myself that a job was necessary for things like food and rent as I led a group of snickering teenagers around the art museum where I worked as a receptionist.

I was 26 years old and had a graduate degree in Art History but the only thing I’d gotten from that major was a situationship named Kyle and not enough money to afford a decent apartment.

I’d probably have better luck with a statue, I thought as I glanced up at the thick marble thighs of the nearest huge sculpture.

It looked like some strange monstrous hybrid between a man and a beast, with long, dripping fangs.

At least a sculpture wouldn’t leave me on read for a week and then text back, “Sup.”

I was just waiting for someonespecial, someone I felt something for beyond just mild interest.

As I stood there, I noticed the statue was crumbling a bit at the base.

Well, shit. Had someone beendiggingat it? I moved forward in silent horror. We were in the Unknown Origins exhibit, full of different pieces of art the curators couldn’t identify or figure out who had made them.

I had to at least know how bad the damage was. My hands brushed carefully at the base, trying not to dislodge the crumbling marble pieces.

What was this? It looked like there was a symbol underneath the outer plaster covering the statue. It looked like two wolves, grappling together. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, the colorswere so vivid, the lines of claw and fang so sharp that I couldn’t help touching it with a little shiver of fear at how ferocious and violently they fought.

As soon as my fingers met the symbol, I felt the terrifying sensation of the ground opening beneath me. Then I saw nothing except a confusing whirl of colors and flashes, so bright that their exquisite brilliance seemed to pierce my skull, digging like nails into my head.

I closed my eyes and screamed.

That was the last thing I remembered before I was plunged into this terrifying new reality.

I barely had a chance to look around before I heard loud, rough voices.

My head was still ringing and I turned around to see what looked like a group of tall men in dark, plain clothes that blended into the forest.

“What are you doing out here, fool girl?” a rough man’s voice barked out at me. “You have some kind of death wish?”

“I-I don’t know,” I said, my eyes still so bleary that I couldn’t quite focus on them.

“Just put her in the outrigger!” another man snapped. “I need a piss. I’m not sticking around this forest to wait and see what comes out.”