Free March Forth (The Woodford Chronicles Book 1) by Deirdre S. Hopton Page A

again.  “They’re ready for us.”
                  “Wait,” Deanna said, panicking.  “I’m really not okay with going to some mysterious place where people are going to run tests on me.”
                  Steven nodded and shrugged a shoulder, while continuing to tap on his device.  “I get that.  But the thing is – “
                  Deanna felt a sudden feeling of vertigo.
                  “The thing is,” Steven continued, “you don’t really have a choice.”
                  The feeling of vertigo dissipated, and Deanna’s head felt clearer.  However, something felt wrong.  It took her a moment to realize they were no longer in her living room.  She was sitting in exactly the same position she had been in on her couch, but the chair underneath her was a comparatively uncomfortable metallic affair.  The room they were in was small, with dark grey walls, a dark grey carpet, and a dark grey ceiling; it was terribly gloomy, she thought.  Steven, rather than sitting a few feet away on her couch, was now seated in a chair identical to her own, on the other side of a small table which was immediately next to her.
    After taking a moment to assess her surroundings, Deanna felt a vague sense of anxiety that was almost immediately pushed aside by an overwhelming rush of pure rage.  The sense of awe and wonder that Steven had awakened in her by showing her that magic was real dissipated in the face of her current situation.  She found herself in a completely unfamiliar place, with no idea where she was or how far from home, and she had no control over when or even whether she could return home. She felt frightened and helpless, and feeling like that – like a victim – made her angry.
    She stood and faced him with fire in her eyes.  “You’re a complete bastard.”
    Steven made the fatal mistake of uttering a chuckle; he actually said, “Ha!”  It was a surprised reaction, but Deanna did not take it that way.
    “You kidnapped me, you absolute prick,” she snarled. 
    Steven also stood up, looking down at her, and she noticed that his eyes were a colder, paler blue than she had previously thought.
    “I brought you here to help you as much as anyone else,” he said quietly but icily.  “I would advise you to watch your tone.”
    “Would you?  I guess it’s lucky for me I don’t take advice from kidnappers.”
    “You’re being ridiculous.  I did not kidnap you.  We are facing a confusing situation – we are BOTH facing a confusing situation – and I brought you here so we can get to the bottom of it.  I’m sorry if you feel inconvenienced, but you have to think of the greater good, here.”
    “Inconvenienced?  You just whisked me away from my home and anything that is familiar to me, to some dark, gloomy place I’ve never been, and I don’t even know where I am!  That’s more than just an ‘inconvenience.’  You essentially just stole my freedom, and I have no idea what your intentions are.”
    Steven’s tone softened slightly, though his facial expression remained hostile.  “I didn’t mean to scare you.  You will not be harmed while you are here.  But we NEED to find out why all of the shielding that makes me undetectable to literally everyone else has no effect on you.”
    “But….” Deanna trailed off, looking away for a moment.  “I don’t want to be trapped like some kind of a lab rat.”
    A new voice, behind her, said, “I assure you, young lady, you are neither trapped nor shall you be treated like any kind of a rat.”
    She whirled around, surprised.  A short, stocky man with grey hair and wire rimmed glasses stood behind her.  Like Steven, he wore all black.  She did not know when he had entered the room or how much of the conversation he had heard; she assumed he had arrived by the same magical means that Steven had used to bring her here.  (This assumption would turn out to be