Glyph
Page 26
Lincoln stood waiting for her. A throng of hybrids stood behind him. Something about their air had changed. Mina couldn’t put her finger on it, but she didn’t ask questions as she exited the Nomad and let her brother hold her close for a few moments.
Morse supervised Doyle’s transport out of the ship. The med bay table had been detached from the wall. It floated at waist height, guided along like a legless gurney.
Behind them, the hangar bay door had been left open. Somehow, the Factory still retained atmosphere, so Mina glimpsed black space and bright stars without fearing the vacuum of space. Something shifted in the darkness outside, and she looked again.
Nothing. Just her bleary eyes playing tricks with her. Mina shivered and turned back to Doyle.
“Who are they?” Lincoln asked, looking at Morse and Alice robed in blankets.
“Alice and Morse were being held prisoner on Condar,” she said. “Morse is a hybrid, Alice is, well, I don’t know much about her.”
Morse and Li guided Doyle’s stretcher. They passed beyond the Nomad and stood out in silhouette against the backdrop of stars.
Doyle stopped the stars, Mina thought.
Something changed again, and this time Mina paused to look more closely.
The stars were shifting.
And then, out of the blackness of space, a gigantic Condarri warship exited the aether surrounding it like a ship coming out of a fog.
Mina cried out.
Everyone else spotted the ship at the same moment. It flew toward the Factory like it intended to land inside.
Morse and Li bolted, pulling Doyle’s gurney with them.
Hybrids scrambled to get away. Shouts of weapons, of fear, and even panic accosted Mina’s ears. Lincoln held her close, pulling her back away from the open door, which was slowly, slowly closing.
It wasn’t fast enough.
Doyle, Morse, and Li had been closest to the doors, and though they had moved quickly, they weren’t fast enough to escape the aether that burst through the hangar in advance of the Condarri ship.
It knocked Morse and Li off their feet, casting them aside like they were leaves in the wind.
“NO!” Mina yelled.
Her words were caught in a confusion of darkness, cries of battle, and the pounding of boots on the ground.
The aether grabbed Doyle off his gurney, pulling him out the doors.
Horrified, Mina broke loose of Lincoln’s grasp. But there was nothing she could do.
The aether retreated, taking Doyle with it. Still unconscious, he floated out the Factory doors and into space.
Then, the doors snapped shut, leaving the rest of them in a darkness so complete even the hybrids could not see through it.
~End Book 3~
Author’s Note
Hi again!
Thanks for sticking with the series. I love writing these books, and I hope you enjoy reading them. We’re almost to the end! There’s one more book to go to wrap things up. I’m working hard on it and will be publishing it as soon as humanly possible.
If you want a few updates sent directly to your email, join my readers’ group. I keep it light—new release announcements (with discount pricing!), occasional book recommendations, and freebies. Sign up here: http://tmcatron.com/join/
After you’ve signed up, will you leave me a review on Amazon (or Goodreads or Bookbub or wherever you hang out)? I use the reviews to find out what my readers want, and they help spread the word!
And finally, if you are looking for more Shadowmark stories, check out The Mine, a novella about Alice’s story. Or “Sasquatch,” a short anthology story about Emily from the previous book.
Thanks again for reading! I can’t wait to share the final book with you.
Keep in touch,
T.M. Catron
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Carina and Tara for beta reading. And thanks so much to Diane for editing.
I could not do what I do without you.
About the Author
T.M. (Tiffany) Catron spent her childhood looking for hidden worlds in the back of her closet. When she didn’t find any, she decided to grow up already and write them into existence.
She’s the author of the post-apocalyptic sci-fi series, Shadowmark, and the space opera (with wizards!) series, Star Streaker. Her stories tend to include strong female characters (or those who want to be strong) and fun, twisty plots. Although Tiffany primarily writes sci-fi, she enjoys a good story in any genre.
If she’s not watching Doctor Who or putting together Star Wars Legos with her son, Tiffany is imagining what trouble her characters can get into next. She’s a coffee-fueled writer of science fiction who believes challenge and opportunity can be empowering. She’s trying to make the world a better (and more fun) place, one book at a time.
Tiffany lives in Tennessee with her husband, son, and three spoiled dogs.
To connect with her, visit:
www.tmcatron.com
books@tmcatron.com
Also by T.M Catron
The Shadowmark Series:
Shadowmark, Book 1
Aether, Book 2
Glyph, Book 3
Book 4 (Late 2017)
“Sasquatch,” Phoenix Force Anthology
The Mine
Hybrid (Winter 2018)
The Star Streaker Series:
#1 Solaris
#2 The Deliverance Code
#3 Defiance
#4 Prometheus Rescue
“Machinations,” Bluebeard Anthology
Standalone:
“Melting Point,” Cyberwar: Digital Battlefield
As Wilhelmina Kirk:
“Winter’s Goblin,” The Goblin and the Grocer (Primed Fairy Tales Book 3)