She backed away from him, wanting nothing more than to run to the furthest corner of the military base. There was no escaping the enclosed building beneath the moving white sands, but she knew every secret hiding spot, every tight corner.
Her father turned from her and lifted a decanter to pour himself a drink. “Before you go to your virtual flying lesson see the medic and have your cut attended to, but leave the scar. I will not have you forgetting your promise.”
Chapter 2
Imperial Palace of the Zhang Dynasty, Planet of Lintian, Many years later…
“Holy space balls,” Rick Hayes swore as he reached forward to poke his finger into the transparent elderly woman floating next to him. The spirit turned and arched her brow in annoyance. When she moved away from him, dark hair streaked with white lifted around her head unhampered by gravity, and her long sleeves drifted in the breeze.
Dev tried not to let his grimace show. It appeared the Imperial Palace was infested with ancestral spirits. Actual ghosts were rare occurrences. In fact, many cultures didn’t believe they even existed. He’d seen several milling about though he pretended not to since no one else had indicated they knew the apparitions were there…until Rick’s run in with this mysterious elemental lady.
Blast it all!
Dev had been on enough high skies adventures to know things generally did not end well when Rick became curious. The pilot’s big mouth was sure to drop them into trouble again, and it would be Dev’s duty to make sure he pulled them out of it. He owed Rick his life. If Captain Samantha’s crew hadn’t saved him and made him part of their family, he’d be nothing but a crispy memory told by a Data Moon Base Brimstoneman.
Rarely had he felt such desperation and fear, as he had the day he was almost sacrificed. Bad wiring had compromised Dev’s vessel, and his shields had given out during entry into Data Moon Base’s atmosphere. The local zealots saw the flaming ball of his ship zipping to the ground near their Earth Settlement and naturally assumed it was a special delivery from the devil.
Yeah, Dev thought sarcastically, because what would be more likely? The legendary devil cared enough to attack a fanatical orb of a dust ball world, or a transporter ship had malfunctioned and had to make an emergency landing?
Luckily, Dev’s Bevlon blood had kept him from burning up during reentry. Not so fortunately, that same blood had also almost gotten him skinned and set on fire. In his nightmares he could still hear a young boy’s hateful chanting, “Into the fire! Into the flame! Burn him now and feel no shame!”
Dev knew how he appeared to many humanoid cultures. One look and they wanted him dead, all because he had been born Salebinaben Johobik en Dehauberkelsain en Thoraxian en Yyrtolzx Devekin. His father had been full-blooded Bevlon, a demonic-like race in appearance. His mother had been human. The fruition of his parents’ strange relationship had produced Dev. It was his red skin and dark eyes that had set the Data Moon zealots off. He’d inherited the intense coloring, large body size, and black eyes and hair from his father. The humanlike form he’d received from his mother.
“Burn him! Listen to the angel and burn the demon spawn!”
“Crucify him!”
“Burn the demon!”
The voices were etched deep into his memory. Dev hadn’t expected to be rescued. Back then, no one cared whether he lived or died. Bevlons did not coddle their children into adulthood, and he didn’t know his human mother.
His loyalty to Rick and the others was from more than the fact they’d saved him, an outsider no one else cared about. The crew had become something Dev had never imagined he would have—a real family. Sure, Rick was like the pesky little brother he sometimes wanted to throw into deep space without a suit, but no one else better try it.
Remembering the past helped Dev stay focused in the present, but more importantly it reminded him why he wasn’t dragging Rick from the palace by his hair. Rick made another move toward the spirit. Dev focused a glare of warning in the man’s direction and gave a small shake of his head. Rick winked back at him.
Dev had been alone until Captain Samantha and her band of misfits came for him, a condemned stranger. Crewman and empath Evan Cormier had seen Dev in one of his visions. Rick, Samantha, and Evan had come in with laser pistols blasting while the brothers, Lucien and Viktor, had waited with the ship ready to make their getaway.
Dev would give his life to protect his makeshift family. They accepted him, teased him, baited him, and, yes, occasionally called him Barbecue Boy, but they would put themselves on the line to save him. Together they traveled from adventure to adventure, wherever their ship landed. Recently, Samantha had married a cat-shifter and was now settled on the man’s home planet of Qurilixen. It did not change their bond, and Dev would always answer her call if she needed him.
His new captain, Jarek, was Samantha’s brother-by-marriage. The man had offered them a place on his ship. He needed to replenish his dwindled crew, and they needed a purpose. Jarek and his men were all honorable, even if they were borderline space pirates.
Jarek’s second-in-command, Lochlann, was a dragon-shifter. The men came from the same home planet. The two were long-time friends who had run away from home because dragon-shifters and cat-shifters were at war. Neither one of them had wanted to fight, so they chose the high skies. Though the war on Qurilixen was over, the men’s families didn’t fully accept their friendship.
Lastly, there was Jackson, a highly trained super soldier. To Dev, the man was a kindred spirit. He had the same drive and determination, and the almost compulsive need to train for battle in the Virtual Reality room aboard their ship.
This was Dev’s life. It was more than a half-demon reject could have ever hoped to achieve. He did not dare aspire to have more. And it was how he found himself in a royal alien palace silently praying Rick would not sexually proposition an old lady’s ghost.
One would think escorting Princess Mei to visit her family wouldn’t demand a quick departure off planet. Then again, One wouldn’t know Rick’s penchant for mischief in any situation.
They stood inside the Hall of Infinite Wisdom located in the center of the palace compound. The building was a large structure, set high upon stone to tower over the surrounding courtyard and gardens. If the ornate décor was any indication, the local royals had lived in isolation for some time, away from any kind of real intergalactic conflict.
Dev stayed toward the back of those gathered to keep an eye on everyone. He didn’t like their odds of escape from inside the belly of the fortified palace, but bad odds didn’t mean impossible. There were numerous official reasons why they had come to the planet, but really it was so Jarek could ask for Mei’s parents’ blessing to marry her. Since, technically, the crew had kidnapped Mei to begin with, it wasn’t likely her parents would be too excited by the proposal.
Evan crossed his arms over his chest and kept his attention on the Emperor and Empress. Dev wasn’t sure if Evan was trying to read the royals, or trying not to, so he watched the man for a sign that all was not well. Evan did not like using his ability, but would if necessity called for it. Returning a kidnapped princess to angry parents with an army at their fingertips might warrant such a necessity.
Like a child with a new toy, Rick couldn’t seem to help himself. He ran his hand into the apparition’s upper leg. “She feels like air.”
Mei turned at Rick’s words and eyed the situation. She nodded toward the spirit, and quickly introduced, “This is my great-grandmother, Zhang An. She is my ancestor who helps to watch over and guide us,” before continuing her somewhat private conversation with her parents and Jarek.
Rick made a move to touch An again and the spirit silently glided out of his reach. An was clearly aware of what was happening but chose to ignore Rick as she focused on her living relatives. Dev let loose a captured breath as it appeared the crisis might be averted.
Dev shared a quick look with Jackson. The man leaned toward him and whispered, “Should we grab Rick b
efore he does something really foolish?”
“Next time I vote we lock him on board the ship.” Dev studied the locals, trying to judge their temperament. He had a feeling one word from the Emperor would produce a significant number of trained guards. Part of him wanted the fight. It might be a fun challenge. Then again, he wouldn’t want to put the others in harm’s way.
“Mei belongs with the captain,” Jackson whispered. “If they don’t approve, we take her by force. Look at how they act toward her and then watch her expression. She does not belong here. If only we would be so lucky to find—”
“Jackson, you have to feel her,” Rick interrupted softly. He had stepped close to the spirit once more. “I swear, it’s like she’s not even there, but she is.”
Jackson made a move to grab Rick as if he’d forcibly pull him from the room. Dev placed his hand on his arm to stop him. “This is the captain’s future. Let him handle it how he sees fit.” Observing a servant looking into the room from a doorway across the hall, Dev nodded to direct Jackson’s attention to her.
“If Rick’s ass gets thrown into a local prison for feeling up a dead woman, I’m not going after him.” Jackson kept an eye on the servant until she disappeared. Dev knew it was a lie. Jackson would be the first one to volunteer for the mission.
As Mei began to argue about her future happiness with the ancestral spirit and her parents, Dev felt sorry for Jarek. Dev couldn’t imagine having a woman to love. He long ago accepted he was not meant for such things. After years of being ridiculed and feared as a demon, he was used to people trying to attack him without reason or provocation. What sane woman would want a half-breed devil in her bed, let alone in her heart? If the Emperor thought Jarek was unworthy of his daughter, Dev could only imagine what would have happened had a demon stood in the captain’s place.
“She should marry the father of her unborn child,” An declared in support of Mei leaving with Jarek.
That caught Dev’s attention. Mei was pregnant out of wedlock? Her parents didn’t seem too pleased by the news. They stared at the couple in shock. The Emperor looked ready to call his guards.
“Oh, blasted spaceholes,” Jackson swore. His entire body tensed. “Get ready.”
Dev waited, carefully watching the Emperor for a sign of attack.
“Way to go, Cap!” Rick yelled suddenly, breaking the awkward silence as he drew the heated attention toward himself. “You sent off some straight shooters right up the ole—”
“Rick,” Dev growled, unable to take the man’s nonsense a second longer. He grabbed him to shut him up.
“Ow, let go,” Rick demanded. “I didn’t knock her up.”
Dev released him, realizing a second too late that Rick knew exactly what he was doing. The man only acted the way he did to pull negative attention away from the captain and his pregnant lover. In comparison to Rick, Jarek would look like an exceptional choice. Also, if everyone was staring at Rick, the lovers would be able to make a run for it if they so chose.
The ploy worked. An turned on Rick to keep the attention off Mei and Jarek. “You insolent little...”
“Whoa, easy there, ghostly sweetness, you’ll get your chance at me,” Rick said, grinning at the older woman. “No need to call Dev names.”
The bad joke was Rick’s attempt to defuse the situation he’d created. An’s figure shuddered with light and her face tinted with pink. Furious, she pointed at him, “I will teach you respect, little man. You will bow in the presence of my greatness.”
Rick paled, apparently realizing that he’d played his asinine role too well. “Hey, now, I was just joking around. Things were getting a little tense, and I was just trying to save the captain from everyone’s anger. You know, lightening the mood with humor.”
“Do not make me curse you,” An warned.
“Rick, I’d listen to her and say no more,” Evan interjected.
“Easy, don’t get your, uh, gown in a twist,” Rick said, ignoring Evan’s sensible advice. Though he was great at causing trouble, he wasn’t the best at calming it. “No need to threaten us with whatever mojo power thing you have.”
Jackson hit Rick’s arm. “Shut your black hole.”
“Ah, so you think you are funny?” An’s eyes glazed with white. “Let’s see how humorous you and your friends think my power is.”
Jarek started to take a step forward to protect his men. Dev awaited his command. Mei pulled Jarek back, shaking her head. “She predicts their future. No physical harm will come to them.”
An’s voice took on an ominous quality. “Together you travel, and together you’ll remain. Tied and joined like the five elements of our people. The road to happiness is very rocky for all of you.”
“What does that mean?” Lochlann whispered. It was the first he’d spoken since they’d walked into the palace hall.
“Is she telling the truth?” Jackson questioned Evan, as if skeptical of the ghost’s powers.
“I don’t know,” Evan answered. “I can’t read spirits.”
“Great going, space cadet.” Jackson nudged Rick.
An’s eyes cleared, and she smiled vindictively, evidently knowing something they didn’t. “You will find your love hidden within the mystery of the five elements. One element for each of you.” She moved her eyes over Lochlann, Evan, Dev, Jackson, and Rick. “The corresponding element will hold the secret to your future happiness. But fate is not clear. If you do not recognize it, you will lose it and be forever alone.”
“Elements?” Lochlann repeated. “What elements?”
“Yes. The secret of your future is hidden in the five elements—metal, water, wood, earth, and fire.”
“Which one am I?” Jackson asked.
“And I?” Lochlann questioned.
“That is for you to figure out.” With that, An blew away on a sudden gust of wind. Dev watched her leave the hall. Seeing her ineloquently saunter away when she thought the living could no longer see her did take away some of her scary mystery vibe.
“How does predicting what will come curse us?” Rick frowned.
“She just gives us enough to consume our thoughts,” Evan said. “Trust me, knowing only a very small piece of something will drive you mad. The thought will creep into our heads and make us crazy.”
“Metal, wood...” Lochlann tried to recite.
“Water, earth, fire,” Evan finished.
“Dev’s got fire, that’s easy,” Rick said. “And I must be metal because my body is rock hard with muscles.”
“I think the elements refer to the ones we are meant for,” Evan said. “Not who we are.”
“She didn’t say that,” Rick protested. “I’m metal. I know it.”
Dev didn’t speak. There was nothing for him to say. It was as if she’d found the one secret weapon that could hurt him and stabbed him with it—the desire to be loved and accepted. A physical ache filled his chest, so he held himself rigid and waited for the pain to pass. He knew he was not meant to find love, but to have it dangled before him so unexpectedly was most brutal. His hand clenched. He wanted to punch Rick. He wanted to chase after An and make her tell him more. For if he had a chance at losing love, then that meant there was actually a chance he would someday find it. That hope was the cruelest part of all.
And maybe the whole curse thing was just a mean prank told by a cranky spirit, and nothing had really changed.
Chapter 3
Rifflen Federation Military Base, Several Months Later
“Back away. That is the general’s heart alarm. He’s dying.” Captain Violette pushed past the men who were rushing toward the general’s door. They couldn’t do anything for him, not if his heart alarm was already sounding. She hurried to be by her father’s side, hoping in vain to make it in those last seconds of his life. When she’d obeyed his order to escort the mysterious Josselyn safely onto the base, she never expected the woman would dare to murder him in his own office. Why would she? He was giving Josselyn land, travel papers,
and credentials. Why would she kill him?
Violette’s stomach tightened. Time appeared to slow as she strode toward the office door. Part of her had been waiting for this day for the last thirty years, since he’d made her promise an oath over their bloody arms, but she never thought it would result in his death. Her father was so healthy, so good, so…
Dead?
The base’s alarm repeated in a series of two short beeps and one long. Violette ignored it. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to rewind time, back to the moment when Josselyn approached her on the floating bucket of asteroid dust they called a fuel dock out in the middle of deep space. She should have disobeyed her father. She should have insisted on being in the room with the two of them. Already she knew it was too late. Her father was gone. There were no last seconds to be had with him. Not with the alarm. The death notice was being automatically sent out to the Federation.
Her father hadn’t talked about Josselyn since the day Violette found the holo-box—until a few weeks ago when he simply told her it was time. It would appear her father’s mystery lady was real—very real—and, by the look of her, too young to have plagued her father’s conscience as long as she had. Josselyn looked to be Violette’s age, maybe even younger, but had been born when her father was a very young man, which made her closer to a hundred. If Violette hadn’t known about the Federation’s short stint preserving prisoners into a stone-like state, she would have wondered at the clear discrepancy in the timeline.
Violette kept moving. She didn’t let her panic or grief show. The general wouldn’t have wanted her to display weakness. As she touched the door, she said to the soldiers, “You have your orders. As his heir, I’m in charge now until the federation sends his replacement. This base operates on the old codes, and I invoke my rights.”
She walked into her father’s office, and the sick feeling intensified. Violette had grown up with Josselyn’s name in her head, a recording that never stopped playing in her dreams. The woman wasn’t in any database she’d ever accessed. And the most surreal part was that when she finally met Josselyn, the woman didn’t even know who Violette was—no idea she was talking to the general’s daughter.
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