Free Chaos (The Realmwalker Chronicles Book 1) by C.M. Fenn Page A

path. He puts his hands up in front of him in a “wait” gesture.
    “Give us five minutes,” he says softly. “And in five minutes, if you still aren’t convinced, we’ll leave you alone.” He’s looking down into my face, but my attention is on his upraised hands. I inhale sharply at the sight of them. I start to shake and find my legs aren’t strong enough to support me. Sam reaches out to stabilize me before I collapse. I feel lightheaded and dizzy. This can’t be real.
    He sets me on the ground gently and sits next to me, one arm still on my back for support.
    Ember is there in a flash, sitting on my other side, looking concerned. “What is it? Are you all right?” she asks anxiously. I’m shaking my head back and forth, refusing to accept what I just saw.
    Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it was a trick of light. I see Sam’s hand, the one that’s not supporting me, resting on his leg. I reach for it, take it in my own, and slowly turn it over. No, it wasn’t a trick of light. His palm is scarred.
    I lightly run my fingers over it. His hands are warm and rough and nearly twice as big as mine. I can feel the scar tissue and I know it’s real. Resigned, I take off my bandages. It takes me a second but once they’re off, I hold my open hand next to Sam’s to compare. My injury is nearly identical to his. As I’m looking between our two hands, Ember places hers next to ours. She has the same scars.
    “We keep the scars,” Ember explains quietly, “the ones we get from falling. It’s a personal choice. We can choose to have Doc heal the wounds with or without leaving scars. I guess it’s sort of a rite of passage, a badge of honor. It’s something we all have in common and we wear them proudly.”
    I can’t deny what they’re telling me anymore. If my dream wasn’t a dream, and Chaos is real, then everything Mel and Crank said was real too. I was summoned to Chaos. Something, or someone, some grand unseen power, plucked me from this world and quite literally thrust me into a horrifying dimension where giant evil beasts roam free.
    “Why?” I ask aloud.
    “Because you are needed, Adelaide,” Sam says to me.
    “Me?” I erupt with laughter but it sounds more hysterical than amused, and that frightens me so I abruptly stop.
    “Yes, you,” Ember insists. “Everyone who is chosen to come to Chaos has a purpose there. We each have some unique, much-needed quality that we bring to the fight.”
    “Fight? What fight are you talking about?” I’m starting to feel sick thinking about what she may say next.
    “Before you can understand that, you first have to understand what Chaos is. Are you well enough for me to continue?”
    I nod.
    She takes a deep breath and continues. “Chaos is another realm of existence. Some would call it a parallel dimension. We aren’t really sure how many different realms exist, but we do know of three for sure. First, there is Earth realm, where we are right now. Some Realmwalkers call it ‘Top-side’ or ‘Earth-side.’ Then there’s the realm of Chaos.”
    “Where I was last night.”
    “That’s right. Chaos alone isn’t an evil place. It simply acts as a bridge-realm between here and the third realm I’m going to tell you about.”
    “But if Chaos isn’t an evil place, why are there Calms to protect you? And what are Calms exactly?” I interrupt.
    “Good question. Mel and Crank mentioned Calms to you, right?” she inquires.
    “Yeah. Mel said we were in Minor Calm and that we were safe from that creature there.”
    “That’s right.” She nods. “A Calm is a space created by the Realmwalkers within Chaos. It’s easiest to think of it as a room within a room. There are currently two Calms in Chaos. Major Calm is our main base. It’s basically our headquarters.
    “Minor Calm is more like a way-station for Realmwalkers who need a safe place in a hurry and are too far from Major Calm. The Calms are the only places in Chaos that we can be safe all the