Into the
BETWEEN
Anna Webb
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and events in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2016 by Anna Webb
All rights reserved. Neither this book, nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form without permission.
Cover Artwork © 2016 by Taire Morrigan
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For my husband, Nicholas
Chapter 1 – Allyra
Chapter 2 – Jamie
Chapter 3 – Allyra
Chapter 4 – Jamie
Chapter 5 – Allyra
Chapter 6 – Jamie
Chapter 7 – Jamie
Chapter 8 – Allyra
Chapter 9 – Jamie
Chapter 10 – Allyra
Chapter 11 – Jamie
Chapter 12 – Allyra
Chapter 13 – Jamie
Chapter 14 – Allyra
Chapter 15 – Allyra
Chapter 16 – Jamie
Chapter 17 – Allyra
Chapter 18 – Jamie
Chapter 19 – Allyra
Chapter 20 – Jamie
Chapter 21 – Allyra
Chapter 22 – Allyra
Chapter 23 – Jamie
Chapter 24 – Allyra
Chapter 25 – Allyra
Chapter 26 – Jamie
Chapter 27 – Allyra
Chapter 28 – Jamie
Chapter 29 – Allyra
Chapter 30 – Allyra
Chapter 31 – Jamie
Chapter 32 – Allyra
Chapter 33 – Allyra
Chapter 34 – Allyra
Chapter 35 – Allyra
Chapter 36 – Allyra
Chapter 37 – Allyra
Chapter 38 – Jamie
Chapter 39 – Allyra
Epilogue – Alex
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Chapter 1 – Allyra
The sun was setting over the rocky outcrop, throwing long, strangely shaped shadows over Allyra as she scrambled over another rock, sending pebbles cascading in her wake. She paused to catch her breath and glanced up at her goal.
It was a mistake.
Allyra groaned as the distance to the top stretched away from her, instantly making her legs feel heavier and laden with concrete. Resisting the temptation to sit down, she pushed on, her movements slow and clumsy with exhaustion.
In theory, the sultry heat of summer was still at least a month away, but the African sun was unrelenting, baking the ground so dry that cracks snaked across it like an imperfect jigsaw puzzle. The heat sent a cool trickle of sweat dripping down the curve of her spine as she clambered over the final rise.
As she took her final step onto the flat plateau of the rocky outcrop, Allyra allowed her concentration to flag for a moment and immediately caught her foot on a protruding rock, sending her sprawling forward awkwardly. She cursed as she felt abrasive rocks sink through her skin, the pain a reminder that this place was filled with danger, demanding nothing less than all her concentration and effort.
Allyra drew up her knee to examine the damage and found blood already welling up through the cut, making her curse more thoroughly.
She cursed the offending rock.
She cursed the unyielding sun and the sweat drenching through her shirt.
She cursed Jamie for refusing to come with her this year.
Most of all she cursed her own unrelenting obsession that meant she was here, again, in this godforsaken place, on the same day, for the fifth year running.
Having thoroughly cursed everything she could possibly think of, Allyra got back to her feet and made a halfhearted attempt at brushing off the red dust clinging to her. She took stock of her surroundings.
On the plus side, she was finally at the top of the rocky outcrop. On the negative side, the sun was already dropping below the horizon, it’s waning light exploding in the sky and lighting up the surrounding veldt in a riot of pinks and oranges.
Without Jamie, she’d moved far too slowly and now the trip back would have to be made in the dark. She didn’t relish the idea. She might trip and fall, perhaps even breaking her neck and becoming an interesting morsel for some lucky scavenger.
Allyra had always had a penchant for imagining the worst and now it left her with charming images of hyenas feasting on her flesh and vultures picking her bones clean. She shook her head, trying to dislodge her morbid musings.
From the top of the outcrop, she had a perfect view of the surrounding veldt. It was flat and barren, the dry winter having long removed any traces of green from the grassland, leaving only a nondescript yellow, tinged with mirror-like silver. Nonetheless, she loved its wild, savage beauty.
The top of the outcrop was perfectly level, emphasizing the peculiarity of the place. For as far as the eye could see, the rocky outcrop was the only feature of any significance, it rose like a submarine periscope from a calm ocean surface. Adding to its already impressive height was a massive Baobab tree that grew impossibly from the dry, rocky ground.
Despite having made multiple visits to this particular place, Allyra had never gotten used to the sheer size of the Baobab. Her mind found the combination of its strange locale and impossible size difficult to comprehend. Every time she laid eyes on it, she felt as if it was for the very first time.
The Baobab was nearly as wide as it was tall – its trunk alone stood wider than five people placed side by side. It had shed its leaves during the arid winter, making its alien-like branches barren and a mirror image of its roots, appearing as if some unknown giant had uprooted it and flipped it on its head.
It was a symbol of timeless survival, presiding majestically over the African veldt. But there’d always been something unsettling about it, something she’d never quite managed to put her finger on. She didn’t like admitting to the irrational disquiet it stirred in her – it didn’t quite fit with the cool, logical exterior she liked to maintain. Nonetheless, it was real enough that she gave
