“You knew we had our own intra-planetary transporters,” Jae gave her a small smile that might have tried to be encouraging. Obviously he was uneasy around females on a crying jag. “I just saved us a trip. You okay now? You look all right. A little red around the nose.”
“No, I’m fine.” A snuffle betrayed her. “How does this house arrest work? Do you need to get my fingerprints or a-anything? Do I get to call a lawyer?”
“No. Come on,” Jae told her brusquely. “There might be time to see the last off. Watch the dress.”
He strode away from her. Lina grabbed on to the lace train of her wedding gown to make sure that it didn’t sweep across machinery or into any of the boxy experiment stations here in the main lab. It was a huge if dim place, most of the front third gridded with enclosed tables that contained a variety of monitored experiments. In the past few days she and Lon had benefited from a couple medical stations Wiley had rigged. Jae had set up a shooting gallery along the far wall to while away quarantine.
The back of the place she hadn’t had time to explore, but she’d used a whirlpool-like mini-pool there that was otherwise utilized for marine experiments. A full bathroom was nearby, hidden computer stations occurred at various places along the walls, and other than that, it looked like Hoarders could shoot a full season of episodes with the piles that she could see back there. In the far reaches of the lab equipment the size of cement trucks sat buried amongst the stuff.
Unfortunately, Lon’s minutes-long death throes two days ago had created an indoor hurricane, from which the warehouse’s automatic cleaners were still trying to recover.
She followed Jae to the central data desk where Dr. Wilder Mem-Bazer had already settled.
The aqua-skinned genius with the subdued brush of violet hair was talking to a 3-D screen hanging in the air. “Systems are checking in full blue. I've got you cleared for hyperspace insertion coordinates EF-679-45. Three minutes.”
“Right.” It was golden Aiko herself, known as the hero Orenya, who filled most of the screen, with the hint of a person or two behind her. She still held her courageous, cover-up smile from the wedding. And there was something odd…
“Coordinates noted,” she said as she checked her subscreens. “Time marked. All other Legion passenger ships are clicking out of com range. There goes the hospital ship, mark. Robot drones are checking in; I'm giving them the go-ahead now. Time for us, I suppose. We’ll see you in about four or five days, Wiley. Oh—there's the bride herself.”
Aiko nodded to Lina. “Congratulations again. Sorry we have to take him away from you for a while. On my world we have a saying: 'Dark start, bright finish.' We'll continue that party when we all get back. He’ll be fine; don’t worry.”
“Thank you.” Lina tried to bring up a genuine smile, but her very bones quaked in horror. “Good luck to you all.”
“We don’t need luck; we are the Legion. Take care of business, Wiley. Jae. Hyperspace insertion mode commencing. Fallow out.” The screen blanked.
Fighting back a scream, Lina turned quickly from the screen. She clapped both hands to her mouth and then realized that Jae was still staring at the space in the air where the screen had been. His honey-brown skin had gone pale.
“You saw it too,” she accused him. Her speech diffused the scream. Wilder caught the words and turned toward the two of them.
“What's the matter with you? I can understand Lina being upset, but you, Jae...” He paused. One of his eyes targeted Jae and the other, Lina. “What the skurn is it?”
Jae tried to speak, then tried again. “Aiko... She's not coming back.”
“What? What do you mean?”
Lina put her hands on Jae's shoulders, surprised that she could do that much as he stood there paralyzed. She said, “He means that she's g-going to be killed. Real soon.” She squeezed her eyes shut, exhaled as much of her fear as she could. Nothing to be done…
Wilder turned to his control board and then back to them. “They're gone; no further direct communications possible until they return to normal space. What's this about?”
Jae choked, “I saw the Mark of Ramseur on her—the Feithi death sign.”
###
About the Author
When you think of strong women and strange worlds, think Carol A. Strickland.
Although born in a small town in Illinois noted for its Nineteenth Century demonic possession cases, Carol claims that all those voices inside her head are a result of having stories to tell and books to write. Even so, her strange devotion to and study of Wonder Woman would seem to indicate an abby-normal brain.
A one-time comics letterhack and outspoken member of various comics message boards, Carol has found herself the basis for two comic book villains (at times her opinions have not been taken well by the books' creators) (both villains were soundly thrashed) (and both, for some perverse reason, were male) and had one superhero wear her costume design. (Light Lass!)
Carol has also become an award-winning painter. Along with her writing, she exercises this skill in her secondary hours (both of them) as she waits for the lottery to free her 9-to-5 time to more fulfilling pursuits.
Dear Reader,
Thanks so much for reading this book. You have no idea how I hope you enjoyed it!
“Three Worlds” is a series that will uncover new worlds, new characters, new adventures, and I hope new concepts for readers to explore. I have information about more books in the series as well as other books I’ve written, on my website: http://www.CarolAStrickland.com. Or join me on my Facebook Pro Page, where I’ll be holding contests and generally jabbering away. This is something I also do on my blog: http://carolastrickland.blogspot.com, where I’m liable to write TMI by the bucketload.
Keep reaching for the stars!
Carol Strick
2009 review of Touch of Danger:
“Highly recommended: 5 Hearts”
—The Romance Studio
With thanks...
...to Romance Writers of America, especially the members of our local chapter, the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers. They are steadfast, encouraging and always willing to offer their opinions and expertise.
...to my own guides, who sent me an amazing Dream ten years before this was first published—the same week they cracked my noggin with a metaphorical frying pan and yelled, “Hel-LO! It’s mid-life! Start doing what you’re supposed to be doing!” What a fun bunch of guys!
...to Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora’s Cave, who gave me the thrill of being a real, published author by believing in me and my work. Indie is very real, but it wasn’t so much in those days.
…Thanks to Samantha Gordon at Invisible Ink Editing for editing this 2013 composite book. I didn’t have to take her direction, so if you have probs with this novel, bring them to me.
...Mille fois merci to Timothée Hayes and (so long ago!) Geneviève/Glortie, for helping with my Québécois and French. Yes, it’s really “marde” and not “merde” if you’re in Montréal. Timothée also explained why it's so important for French Canadian cursing to include obscure Catholic rituals. (YouTube helped with their many “How to Swear in French-Canadian” videos.) And to Christophe Raoux for enlightening me about a line of French love-speak. Oh, those French!
…to Tony Lavely, who bravely critiqued the original second half of this manuscript. He not only had problems with “marde”, but also with “god” only being capitalized when someone actually addresses the Source. Hope none of that bothers the readers. He also made great observations and generally helped me a lot.
…to Tish Shaffer and Marcia Colette, for checking out an early version with patience and lots of Café Carolina pastries.
Other novels by Carol A. Strickland
Burgundy and Lies, a sweet historical romance
Applesauce and Moonbeams, soft sci fi
Check Carol A. Strickland’s Amazon Author Page for more
Trademarks Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges the
trademarked status and trademark owners of the following workmarks mentioned in this word of fiction:
Adventureland: Walt Disney Productions
Band-Aid: Johnson & Johnson Corporation
Big Mac and McDonald’s: the McDonald’s Corporation
Biography: A&E Television Networks
Bullwinkle: Ward Productions, Inc.
CNN and CNNi: Cable News Network LP
Coke and Sprite: The Coca-Cola Company
Cosmopolitan: Hearst Communications, Inc.
Frisbee: Wham-O, Inc.
Jell-O and Miracle Whip: Kraft Food Holdings, Inc.
Hershey: Hershey Foods Corporation
James Bond 007: MGM Inc.
Jeopardy!: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
Kleenex: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Luke Skywalker and Star Wars: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Pepé Le Pew: Time Warner Entertainment Company, LP
Playboy: Playboy Enterprises International, Inc.
Shoney’s: Shoney’s, Inc.
Snapple: Snapple Beverage Corp.
Star Trek: Paramount Pictures Corporation
Velcro: Velcro Industries B.V. LLC
Walmart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
“An Innocent Man,” written and copyrighted by Billy Joel, is used with permission.
Front cover illustration by Colleen Doran.
TOUCH OF DANGER
Published by Carol A. Strickland
Copyright 2013 Carol A. Strickland
EPub Edition March 2014 ISBN 978-0-9912688-0-1
Mobi Edition December 2013 ISBN 978-0-9912688-1-8
PDF Edition March 2014 ISBN 978-0-9912688-2-5
Print Edition March 2014 ISBN 978-0-9912688-3-2
FIRST EDITION
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Carol A. Strickland, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
NOTE: A version of the first half of this novel was first published and copyrighted under the name Touch of Danger in 2009, then re-edited and re-copyrighted in 2011. The second half of this book was first published and copyrighted in 2011 under the title Star-Crossed. Now in 2013 the two books have been combined into one volume and re-edited.
http://www.CarolAStrickland.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-A-Strickland/209213702439893
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