Deadly Designs (Design Series) by Dale Mayer Page A

scoop before either could wake. He took two steps toward Storey and walked into the portal.
    ***
    Storey watched the three disappear into her portal and whispered a prayer that this path would lead them home. She grabbed a corner of the paper and hopped in herself. The last thing she saw was the dark, dank cold of the Louer world.
    Good riddance.
    She tumbled into sunshine. Sunshine and nothing else – no buildings and definitely no bedroom.
    "Oh shit."
    "Ya think?" Eric stood beside her, still holding the sleeping child. Her pet, now awake, glared at them. Maybe as long as it was being held tight in the child's arms he wouldn't take off. Storey would have much preferred to have had it in a cage.
    First things first. "Any idea where we are?"
    "No. You?"
    "Not yet." She turned around, puzzled. "But I will. This can only be one of three dimensions."
    "Great." Eric shifted the load in his arms. "If we get caught by Louers, this isn't going to look so good."
    He was right.
    Time to get serious, again. "Stylus, we need help and now. I don't know where we are. We're trying to get to my house. Help."
    In a shaky script, the stylus wrote, You're only halfway. Go through the portal again .
    Storey and Eric stared at each other in horror.
    Eric spun around at her words. "What. We are? Here?" He shook his head. "As in the new Louer dimension?"
    She put the sheet of paper with the portal back on the ground. "Let's take another jump and see if it will take us to the right destination."
    With a nervous glance around, Eric gave an abrupt nod and stepped in. Storey followed immediately.
    And fell into her room.
    "We're home," she crowed. She turned around a huge grin on her face. "Finally."
    She couldn't believe how good it felt. Her bedroom. Different than she remembered, it looked like her mother had changed her bedding. Still, after all she'd been through, she was finally home. Clean clothes, a shower, food. Definitely food.
    She motioned to the bed for Eric to lay the child down.
    He did so carefully, asking, "What about your parents?"
    Her smile fell away. "Right. That problem. Damn it." She studied Eric. How could she explain he was a ranger from another dimension and they'd brought a child of yet a third dimension and a weird pet home? What could she possibly say?
    Shit. Instead of solving one problem, she had three more. Not that Eric was a problem. He was about the only good thing here.
    Were her parents at home? How could she find out without drawing attention to herself and her entourage? She wanted a shower and a change of clothes so bad. The clothes she could grab. The shower – not if her parents were home. She looked out the window, realizing it was daytime. And likely early. She didn't know what day of the week or what day of the month it was, but at least the sun was shining. That meant there was a chance, a slim chance that her parents weren't home.
    She opened her bedroom door and stuck her head around the corner. The house was silent. For the moment. "Eric, I'm going to slip downstairs and see if we are alone. If we are, I'll search for food. Stay here with her."
    Eric frowned.
    "It's the only way. Don't wake her up."
    Eric's gaze widened in horror, panic starting in his eyes. "You can't leave me with her."
    "I'll be back soon." She closed the door softly and crept down the hallway to her mother's room. The door was ajar and it was dark inside. Empty. That was a good sign. At the top of the stairs, she cocked an ear and listened.
    So far, so good. Skipping the second stair, which squeaked, she made her way to the first landing and poked her head around the corner. Nothing. And no one. Thank heavens for that. In the den, she stopped and frowned. Different furniture. Had they bought new furniture while she'd been gone? She crossed to the corner of the den where the Louers had tried to enter the house. A smirk broke free. Typical. Her mother had already repainted.
    Just to be sure, she checked the garage and front driveway