Free GABRIEL (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 4) by Marilyn Campbell

all-clear to open the gates, but none of them had seen Shara. Deciding this was the best place to waylay her, he waited. And waited.
    The mailship docked, the gates opened, and most of the crew disembarked, but Shara had not yet appeared. Suddenly that problem became critical when he caught sight of four black-uniformed men striding toward the gangway. He didn't need any special talents to know they were coming for Shara and the tempometer.

 
     
     
    Chapter 4

     
    Inside one of the emptied cargo holds, Shara considered making the time-hop from within the ship rather than risk running into Gabriel. The problem with that was that she was at least twenty kilometers from where she wanted to arrive—near the administrative buildings in First Province—and she had no idea if any transportation would have been available from this point back then. Besides that, she'd always had a slight difficulty with her sense of direction.
    When she guessed that sufficient time had passed for Gabriel to have left the ship in search of her, she headed toward the deboarding area. Her dismay was obvious as she saw the one she wished to avoid striding toward her, pulling his floating satchel behind him.
    "It's nice to see you, too," Gabriel said sarcastically. "But, believe me, I am the least of your problems." He grasped her by the elbow and pushed her back the way she had come. When she balked, he told her, "There's a security team right behind me. Guess who they're looking for?"
    "Drek! I'm going to have to hop from here then."
    "You mean we're going to have to hop from here," he corrected her. "But only if you make it fast." He glanced behind him then gave her another nudge forward.
    Shara quickly led him down two passageways and back to the hold.
    "Is this where you were hiding for the last hour?" he asked as she secured the door.
    Ignoring him, she pulled the tempometer belt out of her bag and snapped it around her waist. She had already preset the program so that all she had to do was implement it. From Lantana's notes, she understood that anything she was holding would time-hop with her, so she tightly clutched her bag in her left hand and worked the tempometer with her right.
    Gabriel watched her finger trace the beveled edge of one of the large crystals on her belt. He was about to question why she was wasting time when the front of the glowing stone flopped open and he realized he was looking at the tempometer. As Shara took a step away from him, he instinctively pulled her into his arms and grasped the handle of his satchel.
    A firm knock against the sleeper door alerted Shara that the security team had probably found her. She couldn't send them a suggestion and concentrate on escape at the same time. She had no choice but to time-hop immediately and take the professor with her.
    "Let's go!" Gabriel ordered.
    Shara moved the tiny switch beneath her finger from left to right three times then held her breath.
    The knocking increased to pounding as someone called out, "Security! Open the door!"
    Panic gripped Shara as seconds passed and nothing happened. Suddenly she felt as though they'd been hit by a wall of energy that hurled them across the room. But they were no longer in the room. In fact, they didn't seem to be anywhere at all.
    She clung to Gabriel as they and their baggage seemed suspended in a black void. As abruptly as they had arrived there, they were slammed by another force that sent them spinning through a tunnel of illuminated, swirling colors. A deafening, high-pitched squeal sent needles of pain into her mind as they tumbled over and over within the eerie kaleidoscope.
    Just when Shara was certain they were either going to die or be driven insane from the noise, their bodies slowed to a gentle float and the squeal quieted to the tinkling of wind chimes. She remembered how that sound had accompanied Lantana's appearance and hoped it meant they were coming to the end of the time-hop. A moment later, she felt solid ground