Page 25 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

“Not long ago, we accidently opened a portal to your world. Ensley’s brother, Becks, was shoved through it.

He was injured and couldn’t get back through before it closed.

” I take a step toward Violet, appealing to her because she’s been the most reasonable out of the two of them.

“He doesn’t know anything about this world.

Creatures on our side don’t know you exist any more than humans know about the creature world.

His injury was . . . bad.” I have to take a moment to swallow over the lump in my throat before forcing the next words from my mouth.

“He’s injured and could be dying for all we know.

We have to find him, and fast. We really need your help. ”

Noah crosses his arms over his chest and shoots Violet a somber look. “The disturbance in New York.”

“They weren’t sure that was anything,” Violet says, wringing her hands.

He arches an eyebrow. “How much you wanna bet that’s what it was? And that chapter is particularly secretive. We don’t really know what they found.”

“Is this ‘New York’ anywhere near Central Park?” I cut in to ask.

“Central Park is in New York City,” Violet says, and my heart skips a beat. “How do you know about it?”

“Because I read it on a sign before the portal closed. That’s where Becks went through.”

Noah looks smug, but Violet just seems concerned.

“Come on,” she says. “Let’s get out of the swamp before it gets too late. The gators in the area are used to us, but I don’t feel like getting munched on tonight. The head of our unit will know what to do.”

We trail Noah and Violet to the far edge of the swamp lake, where a boat waits just beyond the tree line. It looks almost identical to the airboat we used back in our world. I know we’re not there anymore, but everything feels so familiar it’s hard to wrap my head around it.

Noah steers the airboat like someone who knows these swamps well.

As the light fades, he flips on a headlamp to guide us through the winding rivers until we reach a small dock.

Once the boat’s secured, we pile onto the rickety planks, which groan under our weight.

Violet and Noah lead us up a muddy embankment to a waiting vehicle.

I freeze when I see it. The brand logo is unfamiliar, and the body shape is slightly off, but otherwise it looks like a regular truck. The paint’s a faded, muddy green, and dents line the side, but it’s close enough to ours that it stops me in my tracks.

“What?” Violet asks when she notices I’ve stopped walking.

“Our trucks look really similar,” I say.

She glances at the vehicle and then back at me. “Really?” she asks as Noah piles in the front seat and cranks it.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know what car company that is or anything,” I say. “But all the essential parts look the same.”

She shrugs. “I guess that makes sense. We’ve always been told our worlds, even though they are separate, somehow affect each other.

I wouldn’t be surprised to know our industrial and technological advances are similar.

Maybe we even fought similar wars throughout history.

It would be fascinating to sit down and compare notes. ”

She’s not wrong, it would be interesting, but that’s not what we were here to do. “I just want to find my friend and bring him home.”

Pressing her lips together, she nods. “You all must care a great deal for Becks to have gone to such lengths to bring him home.”

“Yeah, we do.” Some of us more than others .

Noah rolls down his window and calls for Violet to get in.

She jumps in the passenger seat. Titus and Talon share a quick look and then both jump in the truck’s bed without having to be asked.

Miraculously, we all still have our backpacks, Talon’s mostly shredded pack included, and so after tossing them in the back with Titus and Talon, Imogen, Ensley, and I cram into the cab’s second row behind Violet and Noah.

The air in Florida is just as muggy as it was back in our world. Noah rolls all the windows down and yells back to Titus and Talon to stay out of sight, saying it’s illegal to drive with anyone in the bed, before he takes off.

The air conditioning in the truck must not be working, because he never rolls up the windows, which makes it hard to converse, so I don’t even try.

I spend the drive looking out the windows at the human world.

I catch subtle differences, but so far it’s still a lot like ours, which in a way makes it even more shocking.

It’s almost like we haven’t traveled to a different world at all.

After only about fifteen minutes, Noah pulls the truck off of the main road and onto a gravel drive. We bump along a dirt-and-sand road for probably less than a mile before he pulls to a stop in front of a boxy two-story house that’s perched up on stilts.

Teal with white shutters and trim, the house is loud. Not in sound, but visually. It’s a large dwelling, rivaling the size of Becks and Ensley’s home, with a full wraparound porch. If I had to guess I’d say it has seven or eight bedrooms.

We pile out of the cab at the same time Talon and Titus jump out of the back bed. They’re chuckling about something, and their hair is windblown. When Talon’s gaze connects with mine there’s a lightness in his eyes I haven’t seen in a while.

Not since that night.

It draws me in. He draws me in.

I turn away before I start thinking about that too deeply.

Following Violet and Noah, we ascend the front steps to the porch, the wood groaning beneath our feet with every step.

The house may be large, but up close it’s clear it’s in need of upkeep.

The teal siding is cracked and peeling. The wood on the stair handrail is rotted in places.

Many of the white shutters sit askew on the side of the house, and the screen that encases the wraparound porch has multiple holes.

Violet reaches for the front door just as it swings open in front of her.

Standing in the entranceway is a brown-haired middle-aged male wearing a short-sleeved button-up shirt and cargo shorts.

His gaze darts past Violet and Noah and skims over our group.

I don’t miss the hint of calculation in his eyes before the hard lines of his face smooth over and he smiles.

“Come on in,” he says in a friendly tone, and then steps back to grant us entrance.

His smile slips a little and he gives Violet and Noah a meaningful look as they pass, but then it ratchets back up as our small group filters single-file through the doorway into an open living space.

The inside of the stilt house is rustic and a bit rundown, like the exterior.

The walls are mostly white-washed shiplap.

There’s a smattering of furniture in the large room to the left of the entrance: a couple of couches that have seen better days, an overstuffed armchair, two end tables and a coffee table.

The kitchen is open concept at the back of the room, with a round eat-in table that would fit at least eight places, maybe more.

But the house’s interior isn’t of as much interest to me as the human who greeted us.

When I glance back at the male, he’s studying our group again, and the intensity of his gaze puts me on edge. Instinctively, I tense and shift my stance, ready to run or fight if I have to.

“Tobias,” Violet says almost tentatively. “This is the group I messaged you about. The ones we found near the gate.”

Tobias shakes his head. “Right, right,” he says, and then motions that we should all move into the room off the foyer and take a seat.

Ensley sits next to me on the long couch, Titus next to her.

Imogen and Talon stubbornly refuse to sit, and I notice that Talon hasn’t turned his back on Tobias since we entered.

His gaze is shrewd as he takes everything in, and I can’t decide if he’s being overly cautious, or just smart.

I also don’t miss the small nod he gives Imogen, directing her to stand on the other side of the room.

The way they’ve positioned themselves, no one could sneak up on our group.

Between the two of them, they’re covering every window and door.

Violet plops down in the overstuffed chair with Noah on a small couch across from Ensley, Titus, and me. Tobias remains standing, just like Imogen and Talon.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to stare,” Tobias says.

“It’s just I don’t think I ever actually thought I’d see the day.

” He lets out a self-deprecating laugh. “You can be trained your whole life for a moment, but I suppose until it arrives, you’ll never really know how you’re going to react.

I’m Tobias, the head of the Southern United States branch of the Silent Order. ”

United States? Never heard of it. Just like I hadn’t heard of Florida either.

In the creature world, our country is called the Unified Colonies of Eldora.

UC for short. A couple hundred years back it used to be split into smaller provinces and kingdoms that came together to form one nation.

We don’t recognize the old boundaries anymore, but the swamplands are part of what used to be Suska.

“Welcome to our home and unit headquarters,” Tobias says with a tight smile. “What can we do to help you?”

I glance at Talon, but he keeps his lips shut, seemingly content to let someone else be the mouthpiece for the group.

“We’re looking for our friend,” I say, and then explain about Becks like we did to Violet and Noah.

Tobias’ brow pinches as he listens. “New York is a ways away. And there’s no guarantee he’s still there,” he says when I finish.

“We know,” I say. “But it’s a place to start.”

He nods. “I agree. And your plan is to return to your world after you’ve found your friend?”

“Yes. The only reason we’re here in the first place is to find him. After that, we just want to go home.”

But that isn’t truly where you belong, is it? a voice whispers in my head, but I shove it down. I may not be a creature, but that world is still my home and I plan to return to it when this is all said and done.

I might be imagining it, but he seems to relax a little at that. I can’t really blame him. Creatures have powers, humans don’t. I know that better than anyone. It’s only natural he’d see us as a threat.

Tobias rubs at his mouth as he digests everything. “Okay. So you need to get up to New York,” he says, almost as if talking to himself.

“Can you help us?” I ask.

Our eyes lock, and despite having no real reason to doubt him, unease prickles at the back of my mind. Still, what other option do we have?

“Of course,” he says easily. “It’s getting late. Let’s get everyone fed. We have enough room that you all can stay here if you don’t mind sleeping on couches and blow-up mattresses.”

When I glance over at Talon, he’s looking back at me, his expression unreadable. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but mine says, What other choice do we have? After a beat, he lets out a small sigh and gives a nod. That’s all the confirmation I need, and I accept on behalf of all of us.

“You must be hungry. Let’s see what we can cook up for you,” Tobias says with a smile. He then gestures for Noah to follow him into the kitchen.

I get to my feet, far too antsy to stay seated.

To keep my mind occupied, I wander around the room, letting my gaze trail over various objects until it lands on a globe in the corner.

Curious, I walk over to inspect it, surprised to see that the land masses look identical to our own, even though the names of the countries and some of the boundaries are a little different.

I sense someone come up behind me and glance over my shoulder to find Violet standing behind me looking uncertain.

“Our world is the same,” I say, running my fingers over the curved surface.

“Really?” she asks, coming closer.

I nod, and point out different land masses and what they’re called on our world. Their Europe is our Eshya, Australia is Osmain, and their United States is the same as our Unified Colonies of Eldora.

“It’s so odd. Our technology seems to mirror one another, we live on the same land masses, we even speak the same language.”

Violet’s gaze drifts from the globe up to me. “I always thought of our worlds as two different places, but perhaps that’s not exactly right. It’s more like different realities or dimensions on the same world.”

I nod, telling her that’s what I was thinking as well. I ask Violet to show me where we are and where New York City is, relieved to see they’re both on the same coastline.

“Your home seems large,” I say. “Is it just the three of you in your unit?”

“Oh no. There are fifteen members total that live here in our headquarters. They’re going to be really excited. Well . . .” She pauses, then gives a small, nervous laugh. “Maybe not excited to meet you, but it’ll definitely be a moment they won’t forget.”

I open my mouth to ask what she means, but Tobias’ voice cuts in from the next room.

“Dinner’s ready.”

Violet flashes me a quick smile, but there’s something guarded in her eyes now, something she doesn’t say.

I don’t press. Not yet. But I make a note not to let my guard down.