by Sharon Sant
‘What a terrible idea. You’re a man. You’d be begging for mercy inside five minutes.’
He grinned. ‘Probably.’
A loud knock boomed through the house. Ellen jumped. ‘I swear that door will cave in one of these days.’
‘I’ll let him in,’ Jacob said, leaving Ellen to set the table.
A few moments later, Jacob came back with a grinning Luca. He was still in his work suit, but had taken off his jacket and tie and wore his shirt open at the neck. ‘Still fat then?’ he asked kissing Ellen on both cheeks.
‘Yes, thank you, Luca, for reminding me. I must admit, this enormous mound on my front had escaped my attention momentarily.’ Ellen rolled her eyes.
‘But you must be ready to pop soon.’
‘Luca,’ Jacob cut in, putting an arm around Ellen, ‘Your bedside manner must be a sight to behold.’
‘I’m told the patients love me,’ Luca grinned.
‘Not as much as the nurses, though, or so I’ve heard,’ Ellen added.
‘There’s none as beautiful as you, Ellen.’
‘Told you we should have fixed him up with Alex while we had the chance,’ Ellen said to Jacob, smiling indulgently. ‘She would have kept him in check.’
‘She’d terrify me!’ Luca said. ‘Anyway, who wants to date someone who looks exactly like their best mate? That’s just weird.’
‘She’s very attractive,’ Ellen chided.
‘And so is Jacob, but I have no desire to snog him.’
‘Alex is too busy for men, or so she keeps telling me,’ Jacob said. ‘She’s got the Successor to train and all of Astrae to listen to.’
‘Sounds like another day at work, then,’ Luca quipped.
‘But she loves it,’ Jacob said.
‘If she’s happy, then I’m grateful for that,’ Ellen said, stroking Jacob’s arm. ‘I’ve certainly been happy with the arrangement.’
‘Yeah,’ said Jacob, gesturing Luca to sit at the table as Ellen went to fetch glasses from the sideboard. ‘I know I’ve said it before, but that was some Council meeting. Two Watchers. I never thought in a million years we’d get that through.’
‘It just goes to show how scary Alex actually is,’ Luca said, ‘A gazillion years of tradition stamped out by one loud yankie girl.’
‘So you don’t think my powers of persuasion had anything to do with it?’ Jacob asked with amusement.
‘No chance, mate. I’ve seen her in action.’
Luca took the drink offered by Ellen. ‘How’s work for you guys, anyway? Any more commissions, Ell?’
‘More than I can fit in at the moment. And when junior arrives it’s going to be even worse. I could do with some help but Jake is a bit… preoccupied.’
‘If I’m submitting a novel then it has to be perfect.’
‘There’s perfect and then there’s you,’ Ellen said with exasperation as she eased herself onto a dining chair.
‘You’ll be happy when it’s a best seller. Besides that, who do you think has grown the veg we’re about to eat?’
‘That’s another thing.’ Ellen rolled her eyes. ‘I swear between Astrae and those vegetables, I’m a poor third place.’
‘And then there’s the farmhouse renovations,’ Luca reminded her.
‘Whose side are you on?’ Jacob cried in mock affront.
‘Hers, obviously,’ Luca said. ‘So, is the book nearly finished?’
‘Sort of. My agent says there are promising rumbles for when it’s ready.’
‘There are some promising rumbles here,’ Luca said, sniffing at the rich, beefy aroma that filled the kitchen. ‘When’s dinner?’
Ellen laughed. ‘How rude, it’s a good job we know you so well.’
‘Seriously, when? I’ve been saving lives all day, it makes you hungry.’
‘I’ll go and check on the oven,’ Ellen said pulling herself up. She paused for a moment, holding her belly. Jacob noticed and stood to support her.
‘There’s no need to look so worried,’ she said, noting the change in his eyes.
‘I can’t help it,’ he said, guiding her gently back to her chair. ‘Sit down, I’ll go and check.’
‘Jacob,’ she began slowly, ‘women have been having babies since the dawn of time.’
‘Not my woman.’
‘I’m my own woman, thank you very much. Don’t forget who brings in the bacon around here.’
Jacob gave her a lopsided grin. ‘I do the veg, though.’ He went over to the oven and took out the casserole dish. ‘I think it’s ready,’ he said, lifting the lid and stirring it. He brought the pot carefully over to the table. ‘It’s hot,’ he warned.
‘We guessed that,’ Ellen said.
‘Funny,’ Jacob replied. ‘Being pregnant doesn’t exempt you from being tickled into submission.’
‘Whoa, there.’ Luca held up a hand. ‘Whatever you do in private, please keep it there.’
Ellen started to laugh, but then suddenly doubled over, clutching her stomach. Jacob dropped to his knees beside her chair.
‘What is it?’
She lifted her face to him, the colour suddenly gone. ‘I think the baby is coming.’
‘Right now?’
She nodded. ‘I’ve been having pains all day.’
‘All day?’ he squeaked. ‘Why didn’t you say something before?’
‘I don’t know; I’ve never had a baby before. You have Watcher powers, why didn’t you feel anything?’
‘I don’t know,’ Jacob cried. ‘I felt something but I didn’t know what it was. I’ve never had a baby before either!’
‘Does that mean we’re not going to get dinner?’ Luca asked.
Jacob got up and began to pace the stone flags. ‘We’re miles away from the hospital. How long do you think we have?’
Ellen frowned. ‘How should I know? You were the one who wanted to live in the countryside.’
‘Well, are the contractions close together?’
‘I suppose. I haven’t really been counting.’
Jacob grabbed his hair. ‘How could you not be counting?’
‘Jake, stop panicking. The midwife lives in the village. Call her, she said she’d come anytime if we needed her.’
‘Right…’ Jacob disappeared to find his phone.
Ellen turned to Luca. ‘You might as well have something to eat while we wait.’
‘Don’t need to tell me twice,’ he said, reaching for the pot and spooning some stew onto his plate.
Jacob returned a few moments later. ‘She says she’ll be here as soon as she can, but she’s not at home so it’ll take her a bit longer than normal.’
‘I’m sure it’ll be fine,’ Ellen said, and then clutched at her tummy again.
‘That was a big one, right?’ Jacob asked, his face etched with concern. She nodded. Jacob turned to Luca. ‘Can you help?’
‘I can phone my mum, she’d know what to do,’ he replied, swallowing a large piece of potato.
‘Your mum? Can’t you deliver the baby?’
Luca dropped his spoon. ‘Are you crazy?’
‘You’re a doctor!’
‘I do lungs, not babies!’
‘But they must have taught you about babies at medical school.’
‘That,’ Luca said, waving a hand in Ellen’s direction, ‘is Ellen. I am not going down there…’
Ellen squealed as another contraction gripped her. ‘Someone is going to have to do something soon,’ she growled.
Luca exchanged a worried glance with Jacob. He stuffed another spoonful of casserole into his mouth and swallowed before speaking. ‘You’d better get some towels.’
‘What are you calling her?’ The midwife asked.
Ellen turned her flushed face to Jacob. ‘We thought Alexandra, didn’t we?’
He nodded, beaming, and ran a hand down Ellen’s damp hair.
‘That’s a beautiful name,’ the midwife said stroking the baby’s cheek. ‘Hello there, Alexandra. I wonder what sor
t of headaches you’re going to give your mum and dad.’
‘The normal sort, I hope,’ Jacob replied darkly.
There was a tap at the bedroom door. Luca’s voice came from the landing.
‘Is it safe to come in yet?’
Ellen gave Jacob a tired grin. ‘Of course you can, Dr Valvona.’
The midwife bit back a smirk as Luca pushed open the panelled door and came in. ‘Lucky I got here in time,’ she said. ‘Although I’m certain you could have coped without me.’
‘Yes,’ Luca said sheepishly. ‘But it’s better to keep to your own specialty.’ He leaned over to have a look at the child sleeping in Ellen’s arms. He couldn’t decide which one of them she looked like. She had tiny grizzled features that didn’t really look like much at all yet, apart from maybe a prune that his mum once persuaded him to try.
‘Quite right, doctor,’ the midwife said in amused agreement as she packed her case.
Jacob gazed at the bundle in Ellen’s arms. Letting the baby’s tiny hand grasp for his thumb he opened up his mind and waited for some contact. He drew back slightly and gasped.
‘She knows me already.’ The baby yawned and opened her eyes, still puffy from birth. ‘Her eyes are blue.’ He glanced up at Ellen and Luca in turn.
‘Of course they are, Mr Lightfoot,’ the midwife said as she clicked her case shut. ‘Newborns always have blue eyes.’ She dragged the case from the room.
‘Maybe,’ Jacob said, still peering down at the baby. His own eyes transformed from blue to grey as he looked up at Ellen. ‘But I bet they don’t all do that…’
Not of Our Sky © Sharon Sant
E-edition published worldwide 2013
Kindle edition copyright Sharon Sant
All characters and events featured in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are entirely fictitious and any resemblance to any person, organisation, place or thing, living or dead, or event or place, is purely coincidental and completely unintentional.
ALSO BY SHARON SANT:
Runners
Elijah is nothing special. He’s just a skinny kid doing his best to stay one step ahead of starvation and the people who would have him locked away in a labour camp - just another Runner. But what he stumbles upon in a forest in Hampshire will show him that the harsh world he knows will become an even more sinister place, unless he can stop it. As past and present and parallel dimensions collide, freedom becomes the last thing on his mind as he is suddenly faced with a battle to save his world from extinction. But before Elijah can find the courage to be the hero the world needs, he must banish his own demons and learn to trust his friends. And all the while, the sinister figure of Maxwell Braithwaite looms, his path inextricably bound to Elijah’s by a long dead physicist, and hell bent on stopping Elijah, whatever the cost.
The Memory Game
If there is a hell, I think maybe this is it.
Weeks after fifteen-year-old David is killed by a speeding driver, he’s still hanging around and he doesn’t know why. The only person who can see and hear him is the girl he spent his schooldays bullying.
Bethany is the most hated girl at school. She hides away, alone with her secrets until, one day, the ghost of a boy killed in a hit-and-run starts to haunt her.
Together, they find that the end is only the beginning…
The Memory Game is a ghost story like none you’ve seen before.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon Sant was born in Dorset but now lives in Stoke-on-Trent. She graduated from Staffordshire University in 2009 with a degree in English and creative writing and is now pretending to research a PhD in literary studies. She currently works part time as a freelance editor and continues to write her own stories. She is an avid reader with eclectic tastes across many genres, and when not busy trying in vain to be a domestic goddess, can often be found lurking in local coffee shops with her head in a book. To find out more you can follow her on twitter: @sharonsant or find her on facebook: you can also go to her website: www.sharonsant.com
Table of Contents
The Sky Song Trilogy
BOOK ONE: Sky Song
Copyright
One: Midnight is when everything changes
Two: The Coming of the Watcher
Three: Hide and Seek
Four: The Boating Lake
Five: The Warning
Six: Educating Ioh
Seven: Back to Life
Eight: The Taming of Ioh
Nine: The Problem of Ellen.
Ten: Winners and Losers
Eleven: Revelations
Twelve: The Gamble
Thirteen: Betrayal
Fourteen: Luca’s Discovery
Fifteen: The Olive Branch
Sixteen: The Completed History
Seventeen: Luca’s Secret
Eighteen: Kiss of Life
Nineteen: Sweet Little Lies
Twenty: Rise of the Watcher
Twenty-One: Lights on the Horizon
BOOK TWO: The Young Moon
One: The Prodigal Son
Two: Happy Families
Three: Needle in a Haystack
Four: The Sword of Damocles
Five: To Save a Life
Six: Her True Name
Seven: The Prophecy
Eight: The Young Moon
Nine: Carefully Planned Coincidences
Ten: The Fall
Eleven: Homeward Bound
Twelve: Sacrifices
Thirteen: Chaos from Order
BOOK THREE: Not of Our Sky
One: Frozen
Two: Second Thoughts
Three: Regrets
Four: The Star
Five: Drawing Together
Six: The Strongest Bonds
Seven: Trapped
Eight: Uneasy Alliances
Nine: Karo’s Promise
Ten: The Spark
Eleven: The Audience
Twelve: The Symbol
Thirteen: The Colour of a Soul
Fourteen: At the Epicentre
Fifteen: Reunions
Sixteen: Hopes and Fears
Seventeen: Family Ties
Eighteen: The Circle of Fate
Nineteen: The Circle Closes
Twenty: Not of Our Sky
Ten Years Later…
ALSO BY SHARON SANT
ABOUT THE AUTHOR