Rundimahair: A new hero for a new adventure by Larry Forkner (summer books .TXT) 📗

response was instantaneous and vicious. The creature began slamming against the door in rapid bursts of energy, all the while screaming its rage at Sean.

“Time to leave,” was the thought that urgently filled his mind.

Sean fully agreed and hurried back to the elevator. He no longer wanted to know what was inside the basement rooms. In fact, he felt an urgent need to leave this strange place immediately.

When he stepped out of the elevator, Sean hurried back into the entry hallway. It was definitely time to get himself gone from here.

Just as he hurried toward the front doors, four very large, powerfully built men stepped through the entryway. Sean was now feeling scared and nervous as he watched them walk directly toward him.

The man in the middle was more intimidating than the other three which was saying quite a bit. They were all similar to a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. It wasn’t just his massive size which caused this feeling. It was more a sense of sinister power radiating from him, although he was tall and incredibly muscular.

The four men walked toward him at a rapid pace, glaring with blank, menacing expressions. His fight-or-flight sense kicked into high gear, but he hoped he could talk his way out of trouble without things getting physical. There was no way he was going to win if this turned into a slugfest.

“Look, I understand that you’re upset, and I apologize for walking into your home uninvited. I didn’t break in though. I know it sounds strange, but the front door just opened on its own. Of course it didn’t give me the right to just walk in, but I was curious to see what this amazing place looked like inside.”

Sean realized he was babbling now, and from the look on their faces, they weren’t listening anyway. They just continued to glare at him in a way that almost appeared like they were looking right through him.

He quickly stepped out of the way when they were almost in his face, but he brushed against the big man closest to him. Instead of turning this contact into a physical confrontation, the group just walked into what looked like a conference room and shut the door behind them.

Sean furrowed his brow as he looked at the place where his shoulder had contacted one of the men. Although Sean knew he’d bumped the big guy’s arm, he realized that he hadn’t felt a thing. Just as that was starting to creep him out, the strange whisper he’d been hearing on rare occasions spoke to him now.

“You are only here in spirit,” passed through his mind. “They cannot see or hear you.”

As he heard the voice in his head, Sean realized it wasn’t really a whisper. It was hard to explain–even to himself. It seemed as though someone was talking softly inside his mind. It felt like an old friend he’d known for years but hadn’t heard from for a very long time.

“Who are you?” Sean asked aloud.

“Your Guide, now please turn around. Grainne is why you are here,” the voice murmured in his mind, in the same calm, quiet manner.

“Who or what is a Grainne?” Sean muttered, as he turned and looked toward the front door.

Sean’s question was answered when a tall, stunningly beautiful, and curvaceous woman walked through the doorway. She appeared to be in her twenties, except for the look in her eyes. Those dark gray eyes seemed to express several lifetimes of experience.

She wore her thick, lustrous, dark-brown hair onto her shoulders. In her four-inch heels, she was near to his height. Her stride was quick and confident, and her form-fitting designer dress really accented her perfectly shaped figure.

Sean stood very still and hardly breathed as the striking woman sauntered past him. She too seemed oblivious to his presence. She’d marched by him like he wasn’t even there.

The beautiful woman quickly approached the conference room, just as another dozen men and women hurried through the home’s entrance door.

They all rushed past him and filed by the gorgeous woman holding the conference room door open. They smiled and greeted her with friendly respect, but Sean could see a certain uneasiness in their demeanor. The woman holding the door was definitely the one in charge.

“Thank you, Grainne,” another attractive woman said, as she passed into the conference room. “It looks like we’re all here.”

“We’d all better be here,” the woman she called Grainne said, smiling prettily.

She’d spoken in an open, friendly manner, but Sean sensed the steel in her voice. The one called Grainne was used to being obeyed.

Just as the last person was filing past her to enter the conference room, Sean took a couple of steps toward them. If he could get past her before she closed the door, he could hear what they had to say.

When Sean was within twenty feet of the door, Grainne suddenly turned and looked in his direction. He froze instantly. Something about the predatory look on her face terrified Sean.

“Do not move and do not look at her!” the voice in his mind said urgently. “She shouldn’t be able to sense your presence, but she has extraordinary powers of perception.”

Sean looked down at the lovely flagstone floor and tried to clear his mind of all conscious thought. Even without making eye contact with her, he felt sure Grainne was glaring at him.

His breathing became shallow, and he was preparing to turn and run for the entry door, as he heard her high heels move slowly across the floor. It sounded like she was heading right for him.

“Be still as death,” the voice in his head whispered.

“Still as death?” Sean repeated in his mind. That wasn’t a very comforting thought.

She was close enough for him to smell her lovely perfume. It was an alluring fragrance, which he was sure cost a fortune.

Sean’s “run for your life” senses were now kicking into overdrive. Despite her great beauty, he felt a dark and deadly nature inside of Grainne.

He wanted to look up