Ghost Moon Read Online Free Page A

most people were too busy surviving to worry about history.
    But Griffin had access to books and journals that ordinary people never saw. He had let her read some of them, and she knew that life had been very different before the turn of the previous century.
    The change was precipitated by a man named Eric Carfoli,who had come to a place called Chicago, for a “World’s Fair.” Logan had told her they had had the same fair in his world, only nobody named Carfoli had been there. In her world, the man had said he could create psychic powers, and people had flocked to his tent.
    And when they emerged, many of them did have abilities that they’d never dreamed of.
    Some could read the future. Some could move objects with their minds. Some could look into the private thoughts of other people—or communicate mind to mind over long distances. And some had acquired the ability to change from human to animal form.
    They’d been excited about their new talents and eager to use them. But the people without the powers had feared them and killed many of them. And in the end, the two sides had lined up against each other and fought fierce battles.
    When the fighting was over, the land was in ruins, the place called the United States of America was destroyed, and the people who were left banded together for protection in walled cities like Sun Acres.
    That was how strong men had declared themselves noblesand taken power. And how some previously free people had been forced into slavery. It had also created a world where men had asserted their domination over women.
    Quinn broke from a stand of trees and saw a light flickeringahead of her. An electric light. In her world, it would have seemed like magic. You flipped a switch, and the room filled with brightness. You didn’t need oil lamps or candles. Or fireplaces for heat. And you didn’t need slaves with psi powers to run equipment like ovens or water pumps—the way she had done.
    This side of the portal was different. In so many ways. There were a few people with psychic abilties, but not enough to be a problem for the rest of the population. And in truth, many people didn’t even believe in those powers. Which was why a family where the men changed to wolf form could keep their secret hidden.
    EVERYBODY has secrets. And his were bigger than most because there was so much at stake, Colonel Jim Bowie thought as he looked out the window of his quarters onto the parade ground of the military compound. Not a standard U.S. Army installation. No, this was Flagstaff Farm, and he had built the facility from scratch—after inheriting the property and a small fortune from his late wife.
    God rest her soul. She’d died in a fatal car accident five years ago. An accident he’d arranged, because he’d needed her wealth more than he’d needed a wife.
    With her money and his know-how, he was preparing his men for a mission so secret that he hadn’t spoken of it aloud.
    He ran a hand over the close-cropped gray hair on his head. Prematurely gray. He was still in his prime. He trained every day along with his troops. He could still climb a thirty-footrope and scramble over an eight-foot barrier almost as fast as his fastest recruit. And he could beat any of them on the firing range. Ordnance had always been his specialty.
    Not that he was competing with them. He wouldn’t allow himself or them to see it in those terms. But staying in top physical condition was part of leadership.
    Superb intelligence and careful planning were even more critical—when it came to the task he’d assigned himself, the most important thing he had ever undertaken in his life.
    It had been in the planning stages for month—years, even. And now he was very close to the big day.
    Everything was in place, but he had one nagging doubt. A soldier whose behavior seemed a little off. And until he was sure of the man, he would wait to inform the squad of the upcomingmission.
    AS Quinn drew closer to Logan and