World Walker 1: The World Walker Read Online Free PDF Page B

few branches, but some rain the previous night had ensured the fire didn't spread. Dietricha felt the rage start to subside a little. She glanced at the bloody mess around her. She was going to have some cleaning up to do.  
    Then she heard it. Someone was clapping. She turned in disbelief. A red-haired woman almost as tall as herself, wearing a long black cloak, dropped down from a thick branch on the other side of the clearing and walked toward her, applauding and smiling.
    "What a display, Fraulein Strennbourg," the female said as she got closer. "I'd heard rumors, of course, but seeing your work at first hand...well, it's an inspiration. Bravo."
    Every hair on Dietricha's body rose and she snarled involuntarily. Her animal instincts were telling her plainly that danger was approaching, that it was fight or flight time. She had never been one for flight. But her brain fought her instincts. What possible threat could this woman represent, despite her confidence and seeming lack of fear?
    "Oh, you're right to be scared," said the woman. "I am here to kill you, after all."
    Dietricha decided that was probably enough talking. She had to get this over with and destroy the evidence, before a vacationing walker stumbled across the bloody scene and raised the alarm. She crouched slightly, then sprang at the woman, swiping a taloned claw at her unprotected head. She missed. It had never happened before. Although it had rarely come as far as this, as one look at her in wolf form was enough for most people to decide they would rather be her friend than her enemy.  
    Dietricha hit the ground, rolled and came straight up again, lips drawn back from her vicious incisors. The red-haired woman hadn't dodged, she had simply melted into the air. Now she was in front of her again. Dietricha didn't hesitate, just sprang a second time. The woman reached out, caught her by the throat, slammed her to the ground, then straddled her. Dietricha's yellow eyes widened in disbelief. How could this woman have strength like this? She tried to move, but the woman's knees pinioned her. She thrashed, but it was like being held down by iron manacles.
    "Did you think all this power was just for you?" said the woman, shaking her head. She held out the hand that wasn't gripping Dietricha's throat and one of the flame-throwers slid across the soil into her grip. She pointed it directly at Dietricha's face. "Shame," she said.  
    Dietricha made one last attempt to free herself, putting all her strength and power into the effort. She could feel the ancient magic of the oak circle entering her body, increasing her power. The woman above her faltered for a moment, and Dietricha felt the balance of power shift suddenly in her favor as her strength seemed to double, then double again. But even as she began to push the woman off her, the flame ignited, white-hot burning gas was released full into her face, devouring hair, skin, muscle, tissue, bone and finally brain, and suddenly it was all too late.

Chapter 5

    Los Angeles
    Present day

    The sun rose at 5:43am that summer morning. Unusually, Bob Geller didn't have his labrador with him as he climbed the path. That may have saved his life. Marcie had been kept overnight at the animal clinic after a minor operation, but Bob was a man of rigid habits and nothing would keep him from rising at 5, showering, downing the first of many coffees then heading up into the Verdugo mountains.  
    Bob had spent the best part of his life in the military, only leaving when an Iraqi land mine left him with one leg shorter than the other and a lifetime of nightmares. His career had cost him his marriage. His grown-up daughter had stopped even the pretense of staying in touch nearly a decade ago. Now in his late fifties, he kept his life simple. Healthy eating, exercise, a few nips of the hard stuff every day to distract him from the dull pain in his leg. He had never been a romantic - the first time he'd bought flowers for his