Dick by Law by Robert T. Jeschonek Page A

follow the scent to the source. It smelled near, so very near, but he saw nothing. Heard nothing.
    There it was again, right next to him, right there ...but no. Nothing there when he looked.
    Grip turned in a circle, staring all around him, but all he saw was forest . He was completely alone in the darkness.
    Except he wasn't. Suddenly, he felt something brush against him, and the familiar scent flared up stronger than ever. H e breathed the scent deeply...and realization washed over him.
    All at once, Grip recognized the scent. He knew whom it belonged to, and his heart quickened.
    Hopping in rapid circles, he looked everywhere but saw nothing. Where was she? The one so familiar, the one who'd brushed against him.
    Where was his mate ?
    The scent surged all around him then, and he thought he felt her presence. She pressed against his flank, and he knew it was her. Everything was familiar...except for the cold. There was no heat in her body.
    In spite of the cold, Grip pressed himself against her in return , longing to feel the familiar contours of her body. Without wondering how she'd come to be there or why, he reveled in her presence . He forgot all about the six killer dinosaurs and his hunger for vengeance.
    Then, the world brighten ed once more.
    Light filtered through the branches of the pines and fir trees , dim gray at first but steadily intensifying. The gray light brightened, shifting to pale yellow and then blazing gold. Sunbeams pierced the forest scape, flashing to life around Grip, projecting glowing spots on the mucky ground.
    And she was gone. Just like that, his mate was no longer with him. He couldn ' t feel or smell her anywhere.
    Frantically, Grip nosed through the undergrowth, rummaging for a fresh trace of her...finding nothing. Whining, he prodded and probed the leaf litter and muck, straining to pick up her trail. But no.
    She was gone.
    And the world, just like that, was back to normal. The forest creatures resumed screeching and howling as if nothing unusual had happened. The heat of the day shot back toward its roasting peak. Bodies thrashed and scampered through the brush, chasing or being chased.
    And all of the bodies were warm.
    Perhaps, if Grip were a different kind of animal with a different kind of mind, he might have wondered at the significance of what he'd just witnessed. The sudden darkness in the middle of the day and the visitation of the dead might have given him pause. Might have made him question the road he was on.
    But Grip wasn ' t that kind of animal. When he'd given up scouring the brush for a trace of his mate, he sat for a moment and rested at the edge of the clearing . Panting, he squinte d up at the sun, mysteriously restored to life after its seeming death.
    T hen, he caught the scent of the six killers, wafting on the gently rolling breeze. With a growl, he got back on his feet and set out after them again.
    All that mattered was the trail before him, fading but still true in the curling steam rising from the broiling forest floor.
    Â 
    *****
    Â 
    Chapter 2 3

    130 Million Years Later
    The Empire State Building
    New York City

    Hours after their meeting with the book editor , Simon and Ishi went straight to the top, just as Ishi had said they would --the top of the Empire State Building.
    Wrapped in each other's arms, they gazed at the twinkling lights of Manhattan from th e building's observation deck. Other visitors stood and wandered all around them, talking and laughing and snapping photos...but Simon and Ishi might as well have been alone. Simon felt like they were in their own private little world, looking down at the distant city far below.
    He held her close, breathing in the sweet scent of perfume from her hair and the back of her neck. Ishi turned and kissed him softly on the lips. H er expression was so full of tenderness, he felt a wave of loving warmth roll through him.
    As she turned back to the view, he held her more tightly than ever. It was a perfect