Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Read Online Free Page B

large portion of the yard. She smiled at all the good memories she had about it. And now she was eighteen—officially an adult and having hallucinations...probably.
    A quick movement by the wooden fort section of the jungle gym caught her eye. She looked closer and saw a tuft of brown fur poking up through one of the windows cut into the wood. It would be crazy to go outside...just to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her, right? But maybe it would be a good thing. If it was the wolf, maybe that amazing feeling would come back. She easily could sneak out the back deck off her parents' room so they wouldn't see her leave. And she was a decent runner, so she could take off for the house if she needed to.
    Before she changed her mind, she threw on a black button-up sweater and headed through her parents' room and out onto the back deck. She slowly and quietly climbed down the stairs. She looked over to the jungle gym from this angle and saw a tail poking through the wooden boards. She suppressed a giggle and crept toward the play set. The boards creaked as she stepped on the wooden stairs, causing her to stop mid-stride. The tail flashed away, and two brown eyes appeared at the top of the steps. It was definitely the same wolf as before.
    "Hi. Sorry if you were sleeping," Syney whispered.
    The wolf looked around, as if to see whether anyone else was around before backing up into the cabin area where Syney played house as a child. She followed him, as she glanced at her plastic appliances from so many years ago. She used to make so many mud pies right here. The wolf sat down and stared at her, looking her up and down. Syney self-consciously pulled her sweater around herself tighter and sat down across from the wolf. The two stared at each other for a while, almost as if neither knew what to make of the other.
    "I'm Syney," she finally said with a little wave. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, wow. I am special. I'm introducing myself to a wolf." She laughed and shook her head. "Lock me up now."
    The wolf seemed to hesitate for a moment but then moved to sit a few feet from her and lifted his massive paw out to her.
    Syney eyed it for a moment before taking it and giving it a shake. The moment her skin touched his soft fur and the rough padding on his paw, the sense of calm returned, "Wow, how do you do that?" She inhaled deeply and rubbed her thumb along the soft fur. "You're like a huge Valium in wolf form."
    The wolf made a small whine and tilted his head to the side, almost as if questioning her.
    Syney yawned. With all her stress gone, she was overcome with tiredness. "Now I want to sleep." She let go of his paw, and everything came rushing back.
    She looked toward the house. All the downstairs lights were off; her parents must have gone to sleep already. What harm would it do to sleep out here? It was warm enough; there was only a crisp autumn breeze in the air. She looked back at the wolf. "Do you mind if I stay out here with you?"
    The wolf stared at her.
    "I'll take that as a no." She gave a short laugh and lay down. She reached out and just touched his paw, letting the feeling envelop her. Just as sleep was about to take over, the paw moved away. Syney opened her eyes and watched as the wolf curled up alongside her, his back against her stomach. She put one hand on his fur and quickly fell asleep.
    The dream was so vivid; it felt as if she were really there. Syney was in what seemed like a temple made entirely of stone. Five sections were set above balcony-like seating at a theater, except they were all around in one big circle. She stood in the exact middle of it at ground level. Around her were five stone chairs—no, more like stone thrones. Each had a different symbol carved into its back. She didn't recognize any except one. The symbol on her baby blanket and the amulet was etched into one of the chairs. It had to mean something; she just didn't know what. A hissing noise from above made Syney jump. She looked up at