She tried and failed to stifle a laugh. As annoying as this man could be, she couldn’t deny his wit. She pulled one of the uncomfortable hospital visitor’s chairs up beside his bed and sat down, surprised to find herself enjoying his company. For the next hour they chatted, mostly small talk, nothing that encroached on the trauma of the last two weeks. And, for a while, it seemed that she actually lifted his spirits.
But when she finally stood to go, she found herself searching for the right words to say.
“It’s good to see you feeling better.”
“Nice of you to stop by.”
Caroline nodded. Jeez, I suck at good-byes, she thought as she awkwardly turned to go. His voice brought her up short.
“Maybe we can get together sometime. I mean now that we’re both unemployed we could start our own support group. Hackers Anonymous!”
She turned back toward him, one hand on the door. “Careful. I might just take you up on it.”
Then, as she stepped out into the hall, she couldn’t resist getting in the last word.
“But good luck selling a twelve-step program with the acronym HA.”
CHAPTER 121
In the three weeks that had passed since the assault on Grange Castle, Jack had attended two military funerals and then returned to Kauai. There was nothing like the warm Hawaiian breezes to help a body rest and recover. His left hand was healing nicely and the cool bottle of Corona felt great against his palm as he leaned back in the beach chair to watch surfers ride the blue waves.
His other hand rested on a shapely bare leg in the chair next to his. Janet placed her hand atop his and smiled, her tan face radiant in the morning sunlight.
“How about a stroll along the beach?” she asked.
“I was kind of thinking about a nap.”
She gave him a knowing grin. “I bet you were.”
“You know, for my recovery and all.”
“Uh-huh. Tell you what. First a stroll, you buy me lunch, and then we’ll see about that nap you’re so interested in.”
“Done.”
Jack swung his legs out of the lounger and stood up, feeling the warm sand between his toes. Taking her hand in his, he led her out to where the waves dampened the sand. For a minute they just stood there, letting the cool water wash over their feet and suck the sand through their toes. He leaned in and kissed her parted lips, soft and slow.
And in that moment, he was good and truly happy. Comfortable even. As they picked up a leisurely stroll along the beach, Jack looked at her and smiled. It was a feeling he could get used to.
EPILOGUE
As Jack Gregory dreams, I watch, careful not to reveal myself. For I am Khal Teth and I will abide by my agreement with this man. Finally I begin to understand. In some incredibly strange fashion, this man is bound to my destiny. He is the one my desperate mind was drawn to. The one I have subconsciously searched for through all of the millennia of my unknowing banishment.
This dream draws my attention and I know not why. Jack and Janet sit at a large dining room table, surrounded by two families, eating a meal. There is much laughter. There is much joy. It bores me.
My thoughts turn to the Sun Staff that Jack tried to retrieve from Bolivia. Twice have my hosts sought it out and both times it terrified me. I did not understand my fear of the thing, thinking only that it threatened to recall others to this planet, beings who would take my human playthings away from me. But it is so much more than that, an Altreian artifact of immense power, a device left on worlds populated by primitive peoples, left to monitor them and signal its makers when those people’s technology rises to the point that they require further investigation. At some time after my banishment, the Altreians visited this planet but it failed to attract the High Council’s interest. That is fortunate.
Once more my attention is drawn to Jack’s dream. What is it in this vision that attracts me? Then I see her. Sitting between two other young people is the girl from another of Jack’s recent dreams. The one who had been hanging from manacles in a cave as a ragged man held a knife to her throat. The one who had dangled beside the tortured corpse of Jack’s friend Harry.
What is it that draws Jack to her? Why can I not see the destiny that binds us to her? It tasks me. Something is coming. Something terrible. But no matter how hard I try, I cannot see what it is.
Once more I turn my attention to Jack, who is in laughing conversation with an older, jovial-looking man as a motherly woman passes him a plate filled with steaming food. Boring people with boring lives serving the lord of chaos. It is a scene suddenly fraught with dark portent. It fascinates me. It thrills me.
It leaves me cold.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Alan Werner for the hours he spent working with me on the story line. Thank you to my editor, Clarence Haynes, for his wonderful work in fine-tuning the end product, along with the outstanding editorial and production staff at 47North. I also want to thank my agent, Paul Lucas, for all the work he has done to bring my novels to a broader audience. Finally, my biggest thanks goes to my lovely wife, Carol, for her loving support throughout our many years together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2008 HeritagePortraits.com
Richard Phillips was born in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1956. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1979 and qualified as an Army Ranger, going on to serve as an officer in the U.S. Army. He earned a master’s degree in physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1989, completing his thesis work at Los Alamos National Laboratory. After working as a research associate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he returned to the army to complete his tour of duty. Today he lives with his wife, Carol, in Phoenix, Arizona, where he writes science fiction thrillers.
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