Bethany's Rite by Eve Jameson

closest thing you’d be able to compare it to is a large panther,
but with a spiked tail.”
    He continued to run his fingers through the length of her
hair, letting it fall in wispy strands against her shoulders and back.
    “Your arms and legs will be fine. That Predator injected you
with a drug that will eventually wear off. But for the next couple of days,
you’ll be groggy and lethargic. You’ll sleep a lot. But that’s normal. And I’ll
be here.” He tightened his hold on her briefly and kissed her hair.
    Bethany tried to take what he had said and make sense out of
it. She couldn’t.
    “Are you an alien?” She was nervous enough, asking the
question. It didn’t help anything when he burst out laughing.
    “Oh babydoll, you constantly amaze me. In the strictest sense,
yes, I suppose I am. But no more than you are. We are from the same home world,
Ilyria. But it’s not in outer space, it’s in a different dimension, entered and
exited by portals.”
    “Portals?”
    “Doorways through dimensions.”
    “Of course.”
    Wyc chuckled, and the soft laughter echoed in his chest
against her ear. “It’s believed that the same race that settled Earth, settled
Ilyria. Though there’re no records that go that far back. But the Sleht are a
different matter.”
    Bethany felt him stiffen at the mention of his enemy. She
had so many questions she wanted to ask, but her eyelids kept insisting on
closing. She was having a hard time following Wyc’s words as he wove together
stories of the world he claimed she came from. Finally, unable to fight the
drowning sensation a moment longer, Bethany drifted into a deep sleep and
allowed the comfort Wyc offered to seep into her heart and soothe her dreams.
* * * * *
    Thump . Bethany frowned. Tried to open her eyes. Too
much light. Too bright. Scrunched them shut again.
    Thump . Her entire body jarred from the impact. What
on earth? She tried the open eye thing again. One eye, narrow slit. There was a
blonde Amazon leaning over her. Thump . Kicking her bed.
    She blinked and tried to open both eyes. The Amazon frowned.
    “Are you awake enough to eat?” The Amazon was not only built
like a brick house, stunningly beautiful with blonde hair that fell in a long
braid over her shoulder and light, clear blue eyes, she had a voice that
sounded like she stole it from an angel.
    “I think so,” Bethany croaked. Sometimes life sucked. She
pushed herself up to her elbows, thankful that her arms were working once
again. She kicked her legs under the covers. Yay. They worked too.
    She sat up, dragging herself up to rest against the
headboard. She had been naked the last time she remembered waking up in Wyc’s
arms. Now, she was covered in an extra-large, black T-shirt. Wyc’s, she
supposed. It was odd to think of someone dressing and undressing her without
her knowledge, even if she had screamed in that person’s arms.
    The Amazon lowered the tray she was carrying down onto the
bed over Bethany’s lap. And then stood back up and continued to stare at her.
Bethany picked up the orange juice and took a large gulp. She hadn’t realized
how hungry she was until she took her first bite. Ravenous. She continued to
stuff eggs into her mouth as the Amazon watched.
    Bethany finally paused long enough to ask, “Are you the
maid?”
    Amazon’s nostril’s flared as she snapped her spine straight,
her breasts jutting out enough to cast shade. “I’m the captain of Wyc’s
personal guard. Myrra Lansyr.”
    “Oh.” Bethany stabbed a piece of ham. “Is he here?”
    “No.”
    “No?” That bothered Bethany. A lot. He said he’d be here
with her and the man had left. If she wasn’t so hungry, she’d take a moment to
snarl at the male gender in general. Instead, she finished off the ham.
    “No. He left me in charge.”
    Not reassuring. “How long have I been here?”
    “Almost two days.”
    Bethany chocked on a bite of biscuit. “Really?” Myrra’s
answer was to simply raise an