Starbound

by Brenda Hiatt

  But he shook his head with surprising fierceness. “No! I—” He coughed, then cleared his throat. “I must take you. Show you. The room…intentionally difficult to find. Come.”

  Eric led the way into the hall, guiding his chair around one corner, then another, taking us back the way we’d just come.

  “It’s in my own apartment?” I asked, startled, as we approached to door.

  “Not in. Through.” He paused by the door while I palmed it open. “Special access created for Sovereigns to avoid notice.”

  Which made perfect sense, now I thought about it.

  We followed Eric across the huge main room to the Sovereign’s office, a room I’d only glanced into during my initial tour of the apartment. He led the way past several plush chairs and the big desk with its vidscreen to the far wall, which was of that crystal-studded non-reflective metal I’d noticed earlier. There, he finally stopped.

  “Is there a…a secret door or something? How—?”

  Eric pointed at one of the crystals, a blue, star-shaped one. “Blue. Your signal, when device activates. Otherwise, colorless. All these know?” He gestured weakly toward the others.

  “Yes, I tried to message you. Quite a few people know now. It wasn’t my intention but it’s what got me Acclaimed in time.”

  His eyes wandered from face to face. “You and you, accompany us,” he said to Mr. O and Sean. “You others wait here. Not enough space for all.”

  Before either Cormac or Molly could protest, Mr. O said, “He’s right. No point all of us going. If we’re all still here two hours and—” He glanced at his omni— “seven minutes from now, you’ll know we were successful.”

  They both bowed and left, Molly still obviously scared despite Sean’s whispered reassurance.

  “Your hand,” Eric said to me. “There.” I touched the spot he indicated, just next to the blue crystal, and sure enough, a door that had been invisible a moment before slid down into the floor, revealing a tiny, softly-lit room. It was empty.

  Eric motioned me inside, then followed, as did Mr. O and Sean, looking as confused as I was. Eric was right—there definitely wasn’t room for two more people in here. The door slid shut and I felt the floor descend beneath us.

  A few seconds later the door opened again to reveal a long, dimly lit hallway. When we stepped out, the elevator door closed—and disappeared. A barely-discernible oval, marginally shinier than the surrounding wall, was the only indication of its location.

  Now Eric led us down the hallway, past a series of huge doors spaced at regular intervals—storage rooms, maybe?—then stopped in front of one near the end of the passage. “Through here,” he whispered.

  Mr. O touched the door’s access panel and the big door slid up into the ceiling. Behind it was a huge room filled with plastic and metal crates. Eric propelled his chair through the towering maze of stacked containers, turning corner after corner until we arrived at what appeared to be a blank wall.

  “Again. Your palm.” He motioned me toward the wall.

  I pressed my hand against it and the wall simply…disappeared. Behind it was a room maybe twice the size of the secret elevator.

  “Come.” Eric moved ahead of me to an alcove on the far side that held what I assumed must be the Grentl communication device.

  It was much smaller than I’d expected, a cube maybe ten inches on a side that appeared to be composed mostly of some kind of crystal, with copper projections at the near left and far right upper corners. Looking closer, I saw more coppery bits woven all through the semi-transparent crystal, from which emanated a faint glow.

  “What…what do I have to do?” I whispered. My numbness gone for the moment, fingers of dread crawled up my spine.

  “I’ll show you. But first, this.” Eric pointed to a tiny panel in the wall next to the Grentl device’s alcove.

  The panel was so small I could cover the whole thing with my palm—which I tentatively did. I felt it slide open and jerked my hand away to see a small recess that held nothing but a smooth, flat, circular something.

  “Take it,” Eric whispered.

  Tensing for I’m not sure what, I reached in and pulled out the object, a purplish crystal two inches in diameter and not quite an inch thick. I turned the thing over in my hand. “What is it?” There were no identifying markings, nothing to give a hint of its purpose.

  “Archive.” I had to stoop to hear him, his whisper was so faint now. “Can access after imprint on device. May help. Now.” He faced the square device again. “Left hand here. Right hand there. Simultaneous. Don’t…let go.”

  Nodding, I set the archive stone back in its little cubby and positioned myself directly in front of the communication device, my heart pounding. My earlier numbness would have helped now, because I was as scared as I could ever remember being in my life. I could hear my own breath coming in shallow, frightened gasps.

  Sean place a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Go on, you’ll be fine,” he whispered, but Eric waved him back.

  “Mustn’t…touch her. Not for this.”

  Taking one more fortifying breath, I extended my right hand until it was directly over the back projection and put my left over the nearer one. Then, counting silently to three, I grabbed both projections at the same instant.

  A searing current arced through my body, from one hand to the other and back, making me gasp and almost forcing me to let go. I gritted my teeth and held on. The current continued to race across me—not quite electrical in nature, more like alternating hot and cold sensations that bordered on painful. I tightened my hands to a death grip, determined not to let go until Eric said I could, and the current slowly diminished to a gentle warmth that was almost pleasant. I was suddenly reminded of how the Royal Scepter had felt when I’d first touched it. This had the same mine-ness.

  I turned my head to ask Eric if I could let go, but before I could form the question I was suddenly assaulted by a series of images—no, more than images. Experiences.

  I was a child being led by the hand into the Royal Audience Hall, then handed onto the knee of the man on the throne—my father. I was older, about my own real age, being introduced to a handsome young man by my mother. He and I were studying together. Now I was a few years older, being handed the Royal Scepter, feeling it warm in my hands. Older still, I faced this same Grentl device, felt the current running across my body. Years later, I held my first child in my arms, a son. I named him Leontine.

  The flashes came faster and faster, each one later in Aerleas’s life. I was elderly now…then abruptly I was a child again, a boy this time.

  Leontine-me listened while my mother, Aerleas, handed out an edict from the throne. I visited the People’s House and asked questions of some of the legislators there. I met a beautiful girl but she left and I was sad, but then I met a different girl—no, a woman—and we took vows together. I held our firstborn, also a son. Now I was handed the Scepter, felt it become mine. The Grentl device again, and I approached it fearfully, nearly letting go during the imprinting process. Much older now, I stood in front of an angry mob, trying to calm them.

  And then I was younger again, in my late teens, and angry, fighting with two other boys on a dirty city street beside a dumpster. Still angry, I sat by the bedside of a woman, my mother, as she died. I walked down the ramp from a space ship, scared and excited, taking in my very first glimpse of Nuath. Now I was giving an impassioned speech to a large group of people, shaking my fist. And again, to an even larger group. They’re cheering. An old man is lying at my feet, dead. Finally, the Grentl device again. It hurts terribly, searing my hands, but I can’t let go.

  That last image faded from my mind, leaving me shaking and confused. Then, before I could release the device, I felt something totally different—something even scarier. Images again, but this time they were mine—experiences from my own life, beginning earlier than I’d ever consciously remembered, as an infant here in this very Palace, and continuing on through every year o
f my childhood right up to the present. It was like my thoughts, my very brain, was being sucked out of my skull, faster and faster, through the device to some unknown end.

  Finally, finally, it stopped. While I was still gasping from the ordeal, the copper projections I held abruptly cooled, which I assumed meant they’d hung up. Carefully, gingerly, I let go. My palms were still tingling and my temples throbbed, but I didn’t seem to be injured in any way.

  I took a step back, away from the terrifying device, and slowly turned to find Sean and Mr. O’Gara staring at me, clearly alarmed.

  “M,” Sean said, reaching a hand toward me. “Are you okay? For a while there, we were afraid you might— That you—”

  “What happened?” his father interrupted. “Were you communicating with them? Did it work? Will they stop manipulating the power supply?”

  “I…I don’t know,” I stammered, still shell-shocked from my experience. “They didn’t…didn’t say anything to me. It was…it was…”

  Mr. O held up his omni so that we could all see it. “We’ll know in a moment. The next outage was to occur in…seventeen seconds.”

  Had I really been communing with the device for two whole hours? It had felt like seconds…and days.

  We all tensed, barely breathing, as we watched the seconds count down on Mr. O’s omni. Two seconds. One. And…nothing. No change.

  Mr. O went to the door of the room and looked out. “The lights are still on. I think…I think we may be all right.”

  “You did it!” There was awe in Sean’s voice, and disbelief. Then, loud and exultant, “You did it!” Without warning, he hugged me to him and I was too stunned—by everything—to protest, or even to comprehend.

  Slowly, by stages, it sank in. I had done it. We were still here. Nuath hadn’t been destroyed. Relief bubbled up in me, bittersweet because I couldn’t share it with Rigel, but relief all the same. I turned excitedly to Eric.

  “Eric, we did it! Thank you so much! I could never have done this without you.”

  He didn’t respond or move, slumped down in his chair, his head tilted at an awkward angle. I reached over and shook his shoulder gently, reluctant to wake him. “Eric?”

  Slowly he opened his eyes, but didn’t sit up any straighter. “Contact established?” he whispered.

  “Yes, I think so. They didn’t disrupt the power, anyway.”

  “Done, then. You…Emileia…saved Nuath.” Those last two words were a mere breath, but accompanied by a smile so happy, so peaceful, that I felt like I’d been given a medal. Then Eric’s eyes closed again and he sank even deeper into his chair, his head lolling back, his breathing stilled.

  “Eric?” I repeated, tears starting to my eyes, but I knew even before I touched him again that he was gone, his life’s work finished.

  The three of us gazed down at Eric’s lifeless body for a long, somber moment.

  Mr. O was the first to find his voice. “He held on for decades longer than anyone should have to, just so he could accomplish this last task. All of Nuath would honor him as a hero, if they knew.”

  I swallowed. “I wish we could tell them. There should be a…a holiday in his honor or something.”

  “A nice thought,” Mr. O agreed. “But now, we need to get him back upstairs before someone from the Healing facility arrives. They’ll know already that he’s dead.”

  He motioned to Sean to help him maneuver the chair around so they could guide it out of the room. Sean nodded, but then paused to look closely into my face.

  “Will you be all right?”

  I shrugged. I didn’t see how I ever could be, with Rigel gone. The Grentl threat was all that had kept me moving forward, and now it was over. My sense of purpose was gone. I looked up at Sean helplessly, not sure how to put any of that into words. Knowing that even if I could, it would pain him.

  “I just—” I began, when a hum interrupted me.

  We all turned to see a faint bluish glow emanating from the Grentl device along with the hum, which was intensifying. I glanced questioningly at Mr. O’Gara, since Eric could no longer advise me.

  “Do you think I should—?”

  He nodded urgently. “Yes. You must. We can’t risk ignoring them again.”

  Terrified at the prospect of another session like the last one, I moved slowly to the device. Exactly as Eric had instructed me before, I grasped the two projections simultaneously. The current was milder this time, the sense of mine-ness even stronger.

  “Hello?” I said it aloud, but also tried to project it with my mind, not at all sure how this communication actually worked.

  There was a pause, during which I could feel my heart beating. Then, without warning, a thought intruded itself into my brain, unmistakably from without.

  From the device.

  From the Grentl.

  “WE ARE COMING.”

  AUTHOR'S NOTE

  Starbound is the third book in the STARSTRUCK series. If you enjoyed reading Starbound, I hope you will consider leaving a review wherever you buy or talk about books. For the latest information about upcoming books in the STARSTRUCK series or any of my other books (listed below), please subscribe to my newsletter (click here), visit brendahiatt.com or connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. As always, happy reading!

  Books by Brenda Hiatt

  Teen Fiction

  Starstruck - An orphaned astronomy geek dreams of escaping her tiny town and becoming somebody and then the hot new quarterback befriends her. But strange things happen: her acne clears up, her eyesight improves, and when they touch, sparks fly—literally! Soon she discovers secrets that change her humdrum life forever and expose her to deadly perils. The middle of nowhere just got a lot more interesting!

  Starcrossed - The Starstruck adventure continues! Formerly a nerdy nobody, Marsha is the newly discovered princess of a secret civilization. Even better, she’s dating her literal soulmate. But when a new boy arrives at Jewel High, everything M thought she knew about herself and her future turns upside down. Will the destiny that lifted her from obscurity now tear her away from Rigel and their happy ever after?

  Mystery

  Out of Her Depth - After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, a newly divorced woman goes to Aruba alone for what should have been her 25th anniversary trip. To force herself out of her comfort zone, she signs up for scuba diving lessons. But when she finds a ring during her first dive that turns out to be a clue in a high-profile murder case, she finds more adventure than she bargained for.

  Traditional Regency Romance (teen-appropriate)

  Gabriella - A lost wager obliges a Duke to bring a pretty nobody into fashion for the London Season. Irksome duty turns into something quite different as he falls under the spell of his protege's innocent charm. Gabriella would rather help run her father's veterinary practice than fit into fashionable society but the more time she spends with the dashing Duke, the more conflicted she is. Could this be love?

  The Cygnet - A young lady would rather write poetry than make her London debut until she meets a handsome marquis and Cupid's arrow strikes. She transforms herself to attract him, only to learn he apparently has an aversion to her first love, poetry! Is all lost? (Originally published as The Ugly Duckling.)

  Lord Dearborn's Destiny - After a fortuneteller prophesies a statuesque blonde as his perfect match, a skeptical Lord Dearborn meets just such a woman. Blinded by her beauty, he barely notices her cousin, a lively, witty brunette. Though he has more in common with the petite and impoverished Ellie than the divine Miss Rosalind, she is not in his style at all. Will his eyes be opened in time to his true Destiny?

  Daring Deception - The new Earl of Seabrooke needs a fortune—fast! When a young buck cannot pay his losses at the table and offers his sister instead, Seabrooke agrees to wed her sight unseen. Appalled by her brother's bargain, Miss Chesterton infiltrates Lord Seabrooke's household as a servant to prove him a fortune hunter. But even as she gathers evidence, she finds herself losing her heart t
o the handsome Earl.

  Azalea - After an arranged marriage, Azalea's new husband immediately sails back to England, but she is already in love. When he's lost at sea, she's devastated. Six years later, Azalea sails to England herself and learns that her husband is alive but has no memory of her or their marriage. Worse, he is betrothed! Can Azalea force Christian to remember the truth before he breaks her heart again?

  Christmas Bride - Holly was so looking forward to Christmas! Not only is it her birthday, it's her first wedding anniversary. But now her husband Hunt, the Marquess of Vandover, is in jail, and it's all Holly's fault. Her attempt to help him advance his diplomatic career went terribly wrong and now her husband stands accused of treason. Somehow, she must save Hunt—and their marriage—and Christmas!

  Also

  (for slightly more mature readers)

  Time Travel Romance

  Bridge Over Time - A switch in time! An independent modern woman mysteriously trades places with a near identical ancestress in 1825. Each is desperate to get back to her own time until she falls in love with the very man her counterpart most wanted to avoid. Is this destiny, or simply a cruel trick of fate?

  Regency-set Historical Romance

  Scandalous Virtue - An overprotected widow ready to kick up her heels meets a notorious rake trying to reform. Each sees the other as a shortcut to change . . . until the sparks fly!

  Rogue's Honor - First book in “The Saint of Seven Dials” series. A duke’s daughter in disguise is thrown into the company of a legendary Regency Robin Hood. Love is the last thing either of them needs just now, but when was love ever wise?

  Noble Deceptions - An American shipping heiress and the new Saint of Seven Dials find themselves trapped into a marriage neither wants. Even as passion turns to love, both hide secret identities that could lead to arrest. If they trust each other with the truth, will it lead to a lifetime of happiness—or to disaster? (Originally published as A Rebellious Bride.)