I looked up slowly, first noticing idle white paws, followed by the meaty scent of steamy breath. There were dogs, eight of them, Huskies if I remembered rightly. It would have been most unusual to see such creatures wandering around this close to a city; if they'd been wild, that is, but these were far from it.
The dog owner was a brute of a man, human enough in appearance, but with a belly more rotund than an overweight cow. When he smiled, he flashed his one crooked tooth and stuck his tongue out at us.
'Hah, there he is,' the man beamed, as he leaned over me. 'The name's Butland. Oh, and before I forget, Violet said to pass on her best.'
'Is she alright?' I ask, eager to learn more.
The man moved to punch my arm, but stopped halfway and shook me instead. 'Is she alright?' He repeated, laughing. 'Jake, your friends, rescued all of us from Beckerbeat Camp. They're unstoppable!'
'Who's with her?'
Butland didn't reply. Instead, he moved to pet one of his dogs, offering it a treat, only for the others to start whining in protest after being left out. 'You've all had yours.' He admonished, running an accusing finger over them.
'You're not from the city then?' Molly asked, inserting herself into the conversation.
'No, I have always preferred the woods,' He turned to look at her, winking. 'My cabin lies not too far from here; if you'd like to join me?'
'In your dreams.' Molly muttered between clenched teeth. He still overheard her snide comment, though.
'It's no matter,' he laughed. 'That's where your friends are hold up anyway.'
Molly fell back to whisper in my ear. 'You don't trust him, do you?'
'What other choice do we have? He's taking us where we need to go, though, right?'
Molly's expression was a sour one, and the others were far from thrilled. 'Look, if he's lying, we take him out. Agreed?'
Only Alistair nodded, smiling at me before something caught his eye.
A strange keening noise was filling the air, followed by a brilliant flashing of purple light, then out of the small fluctuating portal came Asher. He appeared pale and sweaty, and he wasn't even looking at us as he spoke. 'We've got to be quick. We can use this to get home. If we get home, we can stop it.' He said, his words falling over themselves as he conjured another portal and disappeared.
I looked up in horror to see him falling from the sky this time, but just shy of the ground, he vanished again.
'We can do this.' His words were bordering on nonsensical, and his eyes looked red and sore like he'd been awake for days.
'What did you do to Asher?' I ask Butland.
If the man was guilty, he was doing a marvellous job of acting innocent. 'I didn't do this, and I can't figure out what's wrong with him either. You can ask Violet about it, though; she should be back at the guest lodge by now.' Butland stopped and began whistling to his dogs. They all lined up next to each other, and as he strolled past them, he couldn't help but pet each one in turn. After a brief belly rub and a kiss on the nose, the huskies all ran off. It was a heartwarming sight to be sure.
'You have a guest lodge?' Molly asked, sounding curious.
'Of course, I do.' He just stared at her as if believing that it needed no further explanation.
Much like the farms of old, Butland seemed to own a lot of horses and cattle. Even the abrupt clearing up ahead gave way to several fields of bountiful crops.
'Come in, come in. I'll get the kettle on.' He said, watching suspiciously as a light turned on in one of the main building's small square-shaped windows.
Butland set off sprinting towards the wide-open cabin door. 'This isn't right. They're supposed to be using the building next door!' He cried.
We all ran after him. When I entered, I fully expected to find bodies and broken furniture as seemed to be the norm throughout Titan's Reach. I was wrong.
'A party?' Molly asked incredulously.
Butland laughed with relief, reaching to swipe a full tankard of ale from the yellow kitchen counter on the left.
As much as I would have loved to unwind, I knew we didn't have time. Sitting at the head of the grubby looking table was Violet and someone I didn't recognise. Then Asher blinked through another portal above us, this time landing on top of the table and smashing several glasses and pots in the process.
'It's like I said, we need to go this way! come on!' And then he was gone again.
I leaned in to hug Violet. 'Damn, its good to see you.' The dashing lad next to her frowned but said nothing.
'Do you know what's going on with Asher?' I ask after pulling away.
'He's fine,' She replied sharply. 'See, there he goes again.' This time Violet was laughing as he zipped from one side of the room to the other.
The way she was behaving didn't sit well with me, and I had no idea why. 'Any clue as to where Jasper and his family ended up?'
She just shrugged, sipping more ale and staring blankly at the guy next to her.
'How about your sister?' When I asked her that, I couldn't help but notice her mood quickly shift from careless to mildly upset. 'Your sister, Violet. We've been looking for her since we got here.'
She seemed unusually defiant; it was as though she was fighting some internal battle, one that we were unable to see. Her pupils were contracting wildly; the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, and yet she sat perfectly still.
Sameth had barely sat down before bolting back to his feet. 'Son of a-'
Violet was holding a knife out in front of her, waving it around at the slightest sign of movement. 'Everyone, please take your seats. Our guest of honour will be arriving soon, and it won't do to have this place looking any filthier than it already is.'
'What's going on?'
'Jake Goodwin, please take your seat. The same goes for you, Butland. Our guest of honour is coming.'
I couldn't help but scowl again. 'Why do you keep saying "guest of honour" Violet?'
'Never mind that! I let you in my home!' Butland roared, leaping for her. Violet gripped firmly onto the knife, ducked, and sliced behind the man's knee joint. His leg buckled with ease, causing him to slump and fall to the floor in a heap.
I was speechless; Violet would never behave like that out of choice. And I'd never heard her use my full name before; only my mother would do that whenever she was annoyed with me.
'Listen to Violet.' The stranger added belatedly, his words contributing to a conversation that had already passed. He was still gazing off into the corner of the room when he stood up abruptly and turned around.
The old wooden door to the cabin flew open, almost breaking free of its hinges as it clattered against the side of the kitchen bench. I heard Molly curse as he walked in, and Sameth was whispering something that sounded like a prayer in the Elvish tongue.
The others seemed to have been stunned into silence, myself included until I finally found my voice again. 'You died, how is this possible?'
The tall man shrugged. 'Just a little theatrical performance and I have to say, you all played your parts very well.'
'You bastard!' Baltar snarled, running to tackle him to the ground. Edmond stepped aside at the last moment, though, and being blinded with rage; the bigger man ran into the wall.
Smugness and arrogance were not a good look for Edmond Strike, as he stood grinning at us all; the victims of his cruel joke. 'Welcome to my world.'