Alien Portals: A SciFi Alien Multiverse Romance Novel

by Ruth Anne Scott

  “Could that be it?” she asked. “Could it be talking about you?”

  “I don’t think so. These engravings are supposed to be clues that guide us where we need to go to find the stones.” He stroked her face, and she watched his eyes trace the curves of her jaw and then down the side of her neck to the swell of her breasts beneath her shirt. The warmth and velvety quality of his eyes told her the thoughts that were moving through his mind, then suddenly they brightened.

  “Water,” he said.

  “Water?” she asked.

  “Is there an oasis near here?” Vyker asked Jacob. “A stream? Anything with water?”

  “There’s a small spring not too far from here,” Jacob told him. “It’s frozen, but we break ice off of it to melt down for water.”

  “Show me.”

  Jacob nodded, and they started across the grass again. They hadn’t been walking long when they came to the edge of a narrow, frozen stream. The water looked like thick glass embedded in the ground.

  “It looks still,” she said.

  Vyker drew his blade out of his bag and lifted it high above his head, bringing it crashing down into the center of the stream. The ice cracked, and he smashed it with the blade again, dislodging a piece and tossing it up onto the bank on the other side of the stream. She could see the water rushing beneath the thick ice and realized that Vyker had been right.

  “Where’s the portal?” Jacob asked.

  They scoured the banks of the stream, examining the ground for anything that held the engravings that would show the location of the portal. The longer they searched, the more discouraged Galadriel became. It seemed that there wasn’t anything near the water that would make Vyker’s engraving make sense.

  “Is there any other water?” Vyker asked. “Anywhere?”

  “There’s one other place that we know of,” Angela said. “It’s smaller, and it’s a long way from here. We’ve only been to it once.”

  “We have to go,” Vyker said. “It’s our only option.”

  ****

  For the next three days, they walked through the growing darkness. Galadriel felt the confidence that she had had slipping away as her body grew weaker. The food that they had brought was running out more quickly than they had planned as they had to eat more to keep up their energy and body heat in the frigid temperatures. Now that the wall was destroyed, it was as though Galadriel could feel the energy of the space around them disappearing. Danger was building around them, and they could sense it.

  When they finally arrived, Galadriel collapsed to the ground and curled into a tight ball, trying to conserve as much heat as she could. The creek that they had reached was far smaller than the one before, seeming to originate in a spring, create a small pool, and then trickle on becoming narrower and narrower as it went.

  “This can’t be it,” Angela said. “You said that we were looking for something that has fury beneath. This is so small; it can’t be much of a flow even under the ice.”

  “This has to be it,” Jacob said. “It’s the only other water that we know of. If this has anything to do with flowing water, this is the only other place that it could be.”

  Galadriel could hear a cracking sound coming from the ice and she sat up weakly, trying to listen as closely as she could to find the sound. She dragged herself to her feet, fighting the dizziness that tried to take over, and walked over to the dip in the frosted ground where it looked like a spring once bubbled. The cracking grew louder, and Galadriel continued toward it.

  “Galadriel,” Vyker called from behind her, “be careful. Don’t get too close to the ice. You don’t know how thick it is.”

  Before he had finished the statement, Galadriel stepped forward and rested one foot to the ice atop the pool. She heard a louder, almost explosive crack punctuated by a scream and felt herself falling. The incredible cold that immediately engulfed her was so shocking Galadriel tried to cry out, but the water rushed into her mouth, and she felt her lungs burning. She forced her body through the water, trying to move toward where she could see water pouring from the spring above her. The water that had rushed into her was starting to drag her away, but Galadriel could feel warmth ahead of her. Somewhere above her, she could hear screaming and Vyker’s voice shouting her name, but she could only focus on the softer, warmer water that was just inches from her fingertips. She reached harder toward it, and her fingertips touched rock. Even though her eyes were open, and she knew that Vyker and Jacob were both holding lit torches above her, she could only see blackness. It was claiming her, dragging her away. Just as she felt her mind release, giving in to the pull of the blackness, she moved her fingertips, allowing them to trace the engravings that she felt embedded in the stone.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Galadriel woke up screaming. Water bubbled up from her lungs, and she could feel her heart racing as the panic of near death pumped adrenaline through her body. She could still feel water rushing against her back and she sat up as quickly as she could. She was now sitting atop a tall waterfall, the sunlight around her almost blinding as it glittered on the rocks and water around her. Despite her joy at opening her eyes again, she felt panic filling her as she realized that she was alone in the water. Vyker and the others were nowhere.

  She stood and wrenched her bag off of her back, dropping it to the bank of the waterfall. Her body was shaking equally from fear and exhaustion, and she collapsed onto the ground, draping herself across her bag so that she could allow the heat of the sun to dry her. She wanted to stay awake, to search for Vyker, but she couldn’t. Too much had been drained out of her, and she had nothing left to push her forward. Before she could even turn to her side, sleep claimed her again.

  By the time that she woke again, Galadriel’s clothing was dry, but the chill that had seeped to her bones was still there. She knew that it was because Vyker wasn’t there. She forced herself to sit up and reached into her bag for the small amount of food that she had left. Eating started to fill her with a sense of warmth that calmed some of the shaking and helped to clear her mind, but she still ached to have Vyker near her. She forced more of the food into her, trying to build her strength as much as she could so that she would be able to find her way back to the spring and to Vyker.

  Even after she was finished eating, she felt cold. She reached forward and touched the water bubbling over the waterfall. It was hot against her skin, telling her that it flowed from a hot spring deep in the ground just like the one in the frozen creek. Peeling off the clothing that had become torn and soiled over the days of walking through the ice trying to get to the portal, she climbed down toward the pool at the bottom of the waterfall and slipped into the warm water. She didn’t want to bathe. She didn’t want to swim. She wanted to scream and to cry. She wanted to claw her way back through the portal and into Vyker’s arms. Sinking as far as she could into the water and closing her eyes made her feel like she could disappear.

  She was letting herself slip beneath the surface, filling her ears with the warm water, when she thought she heard her name. Galadriel paused, telling herself that it was her heart echoing the sound of Vyker’s voice, not actually him. She squeezed her eyes closed and sank deeper into the water, but again heard her name, louder this time. Pushing against the bottom of the pool with her feet, Galadriel broke through the surface of the water and looked around. Her eyes snapped to the top of the waterfall and saw Vyker staring down at her.

  “Vyker!” she shouted.

  His eyes locked on her, and she saw him clawing at his bags to take them off of his back and toss them aside where they landed near hers. His hands tore at his clothes so they fell to the ground. There was frantic intensity in his movements, and Galadriel could feel her heart reciprocating it, reaching out for him at a new level of desperation.

  Galadriel felt her heart leap as Vyker jumped down into the water with her. He made his way through the water and rushed into her arms, wrapping his around her waist and
gathering her up against his body. Her wet, warm body felt lush against him, and he nuzzled her closer to feel their skin slip against each other. Galadriel had never felt so beautiful, so adored as she did when she was in Vyker’s arms. The body that had felt too full and curved now felt indulgent and worshiped as he dipped his head down to touch his mouth to hers, encouraging her to part her lips so that he could slip his tongue in across hers and explore her mouth. As he kissed her, he brought his hand around her hip and dipped it between her thighs, finding her already slick and warm. She whimpered into his mouth as he drew his fingers between her folds and massaged the pads into her tight clit.

  "I was so scared," he murmured against her lips.

  “So was I,” she told him. “I didn’t want to be alone.”

  Vyker slipped his fingers back down and plunged them inside her, causing her breath to catch and her body to press harder against him, her fingertips digging into his shoulders. He pushed deeper, and Galadriel gasped, dropping her head to his shoulder and biting into his skin.

  "Is that the only reason?" he whispered gruffly into her ear.

  Galadriel shook her head and she ran her tongue from his shoulder up to his ear. Her hands lowered over his back and grabbed his ass, yanking him up against her and forcing his hand harder against her.

  “I couldn’t be without you,” she said.

  “Neither could I,” he replied. “I don’t ever want to feel that again.”

  Vyker moved his hand deeper, and Galadriel gasped. She needed him closer to her. She needed to know as intensely as possible that he was there.

  "I want you inside me."

  Vyker swept her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist and walked backwards into a shallower part of the creek. Giving her another deep kiss, he lowered her back to her feet and turned her around. Placing one hand on her upper back and the other on her hip, he bent her forward until her hands hit a massive rock embedded into the bank. The position presented her to him and Vyker took a moment to enjoy the view, running his hand down her back and then through her core.

  Galadriel arched her back and moaned at his touch, making her irresistible. Vyker entered her in one hard thrust, and she cried out at suddenly being filled. Running his hand down her thigh, he lifted her leg so that she propped her foot on the rock, driving him deeper. The water rushed around their thighs, creating a contrast in temperature against the heat of their bodies that sent a chill through him.

  Galadriel felt Vyker’s thick, delicious cock withdraw almost all the way, and then he buried himself in her again. She tossed her head back, indulging in the feeling of her tight, velvety body enveloping him and massaging along his shaft like she was made for him. Being outside seemed to trigger something in Galadriel as it had their first time together, and she moaned and cried out as he thrust into her with abandon. The unchained sounds seemed to push Vyker further out of control and he increased his speed, rolling his hips to push as deep as he could with each stroke.

  Galadriel gave a deep sigh and stood up so that her back pressed against his chest and her head rested back on his shoulder. She wrapped her arm back around his neck, and he turned his head to kiss her as he continued to push into her. She could hear her own sounds growing around them, getting higher and more frantic, and he reached around her body to run his fingers over her until she toppled over the edge. She felt her body squeeze his cock and push him closer to his own climax.

  Vyker held her closer against his body, and she gathered the sounds pumping from his throat with her kiss until his body relaxed and the series of intense pulses stopped. Suddenly, she pulled away from him, withdrawing his erection from her so that she could turn around and sit on the rock. Galadriel grabbed his hips and pulled him forward to stand between her thighs. Vyker groaned as she took him into her mouth, his eyes closing and his head falling back as the masterful glide of her lips and swirl of her tongue immediately sent him rocketing toward orgasm.

  "Galadriel," he moaned, and she could feel his hands trying to ease her head away from him, "Galadriel," he said again, more insistently.

  She tightened her grip on his thighs and sucked with greater intensity, making her intention very clear. Within seconds, his body contracted and waves of overwhelming pleasure rolled through her as he spilled into her mouth. She gave a happy sigh and swallowed deeply, then pulled her mouth slowly off of his relaxing erection, cleaning him with her lips and tongue until she felt his knees shaking beneath her hands.

  He lowered down to kneel in front of her and leaned forward to kiss the center of her chest. He kissed along her breasts and then up her neck until she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He pulled her off the rock and into his arms, cuddling her close to his chest as he walked back into the deeper area of the creek and dipped down to rinse them both off.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  They stood in the water for a few minutes, Vyker gently swaying her through the water and Galadriel running her fingers along his back and her lips along his neck. Her body was limp and pliable in his arms, and she occasionally let out a soft cooing sound. Finally, she lifted her head and looked at him.

  “Where are the others?” she asked.

  Vyker sighed.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think they followed me.”

  “What happened?” she asked.

  Vyker carried her carefully to the side of the pool and set her down so that they could climb to the top.

  “When you disappeared into the water, I completely panicked. I didn’t know what had happened to you. I thought that maybe there was an underwater cavern that had sucked you in. I jumped in after you. That’s when I realized that the water was coming from a hot spring.”

  “The fury,” Galadriel said, suddenly realizing the significance of the words in the engraving.

  “And this,” Vyker said, opening his arms to indicate the waterfall before reaching into his bag to pull out clean clothing, “has to be the rain. The frozen creek got its water from the spring, but there’s no ice over this one. That means the rain can get to it.”

  “How did we get here, though? I don’t understand.”

  “The engravings were under the water on the front of the spring. You must have touched them.”

  Galadriel could vaguely remember feeling the engravings beneath her fingertips as she felt herself sinking under the water. She felt like she was drowning, but now she realized that it was moving through the portal that was giving her that dragging, darkening feeling.

  “So this is where we were meant to go.”

  Galadriel put on a pair of pants and shirt, wanting the delicacy of another dress but knowing that she needed the ease of movement and protection of these garments instead.

  “It has to be.”

  “Where do we go from here?” she asked.

  Vyker picked up his bags and positioned them over his back again. Galadriel dreaded picking hers up again, but she leaned down and pulled it into place, tightening the rope between her breasts. She thought back to when Vyker had to tie her bag into place for her. It seemed at once so recently and a lifetime before. Everything had changed for her in the time since she climbed on the plane with the goal of understanding the wall. She never would have been able to imagine what that one choice would have made.

  “There’s only one more engraving,” Vyker said. “A fallen star that never shined. Lost forever and never gone. One simple choice. Always changed.”

  The translation sounded ominous, and Galadriel felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She understood why Vyker had chosen to make the engravings as vague as they were, working to protect their meaning from anyone who might attempt to translate them and figure out what they were supposed to relay. As the confusing words repeated through her mind, however, she wished that she could understand them better. They left her feeling out of control and like she had no way of making a difference in their journey.

  Together t
hey started walking down the incline beside the waterfall, having no idea which direction they should travel. Galadriel was worried about Jacob and Angela, but with Vyker beside her again, she knew now that she truly had everything that she needed.

  The new stream that they were traveling through was lush and beautiful beyond anything they had found in the others. As different as the frozen stream was to the desert, this one was to both, seeming more like a dense, fertile jungle. They moved through it carefully, not knowing what they might encounter as they traveled.

  “Does this stream have one of the temples?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Vyker said. “I don’t think so. Usually, I can feel it, even the replica walls. I don’t feel one here.”

  “But if there isn’t a wall here, why are we here?”

  “There has to be a star stone here. Remember, that’s what we’re looking for. We need to find all of the stones so that we can restore them to the true wall. Somewhere here, in this stream, there is at least one star stone. We just have to find it.”

  One Month Later…

  Galadriel reached down and filled her hand with the cool water from the pool so that she could rinse her mouth. She splashed more water on her face, allowing the droplets to cool her and calm the nausea rolling through her.

  “Galadriel?”

  Vyker crossed the grass to her, carrying an armful of wood and a bundle of fruit in the other hand. They had made camp in the same place where they had first come through the portal, using it as their central location from which they traveled out and always returned. This helped them to feel more in control and less like they might get lost in the completely unfamiliar location. Staying in the same spot also helped them to feel more confident that if Jacob and Angela did make their way through the portal, they would be able to reunite with them more easily.

  She sat back on her heels and used the edge of her shirt to wipe her mouth.