Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lena and Azara exited the bathroom. The guys and Myri sat around the table in Tarek’s ship. It was more like a mini home than a ship. Several beds hung from the ship’s walls. A kitchen and living area lay in the middle. At an upward diagonal from the living quarter were the ship’s controls. Below the controls sat the engine room. At the opening of the door, they all looked up. Gideon and Jonah’s eyes fell on Lena. Gideon’s lips parted and he quickly shifted his gaze to Azara. Jonah stood, his eyes scanning Lena.
Lena smoothed down the wrap, feeling extra self-conscious now. She walked to the table and sat next to Jonah. Azara sat next to Gideon, kissing him on the cheek. His eyes flicked to Lena’s. She scooted closer to Jonah, who wrapped an arm around her.
“Gideon,” Lena said. “What is the prophecy?”
Gideon looked at Azara. Lena thought she saw a spark of anger in his eye but it softened just as quickly. “I don’t believe in prophecies.”
Lena locked eyes with him. “Gideon. Why does the Priestess want me?”
He stared at her, his jaw locked. “She’s crazy. That’s why,” Gideon answered.
“Tell me the prophecy, Gideon.”
He folded his arms across his chest and his jaw tightened. “You make your own destiny Lena. Knowing a prophecy doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” Lena countered.
“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Azara cut in. “The offspring of your greatest threat to power will grow to overthrow you. You must find and destroy this enemy to ensure your lasting reign.”
Gideon tensed as he heard the words. Azara placed her hand on his arm. “Gideon, she needed to know,” Azara said.
Lena felt complete disbelief. All the years of hiding and worry because of a prophecy. “The Priestess thinks I can overthrow her?” Lena cut in.
“It could be anyone,” Jonah added.
“Could be, but most people who knew of the prophecy thought it meant you, Lena. Including the Priestess,” Tarek inserted. “And yes, she believes it to be true.”
Lena tried to comprehend all she had just heard. “Do you believe it?” Lena asked the group at the table. Druinn and Myri glanced at each other, then at Gideon. Gideon looked at them angrily, and Druinn shrugged his shoulders.
“Na, I don’t really believe such things,” Druinn said. “I think we all write our own destinies.” His eyes probed Lena’s for a moment. “But the Priestess believes it, so a lot of people want ta use the prophecy against her.”
Lena’s mind spun, grabbing at information within its depths. “If they can control the Priestess, they can control Mir,” Lena said. “Mir’s location in the galaxy provides the easiest gateway for trade. With the treaties among other planets expiring, if they control Mir, they can control the port. You control the port, your control reaches other planets. And they think they can control her, through me.”
“That is exactly why we’re getting you off this planet,” Gideon huffed.
A beeping overhead had Druinn jumping up the ladder into the pilot seat. “A signal is trying to lock onto our location,” Druinn yelled. “Non-defense ship.”
Myri jumped up from the table and ran to a control panel on the side of the ship. Her fingers flew across the panel’s surface. “I cloaked our location earlier. There shouldn’t have been anything they’d be able to lock onto.” Her eyes soared over the information across the screen. “There is a foreign signal coming from our ship. Gideon, what other tracking devices do you have?” she asked, her voice near panic.
Gideon stood from the table. His hands rested in fists on the surface. “Search our gear.” It took him only two steps to grab Lena’s pack and start dumping the contents.
Jonah scrambled to stand and then knelt on the floor in the pile of gear.
“How long till they find us Myri?” Gideon asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes,” she answered. “Find the signal, I can’t scramble it without knowing what it is.”
“Can you track it?” Lena asked? “I mean, we know it’s coming from the ship but can you find an exact location?”
Myri’s eyes went wide. “Just give me a second. I might be able to. Keep looking though, in case I’m not fast enough.”
Lena’s hands rummaged through the contents. Nothing she saw resembled any type of tracking device. It held food mostly, a first-aid kit, water tablets. She reached for a weather blanket. Jonah’s hand fell on top of hers.
“Lena,” Jonah said. She looked at him kneeling across from her. His blue eyes looked panicked as he pulled her closer to him. He looked like he wanted to say something. Instead, he put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her softly. Her eyes locked with his. A message lay behind them that she didn’t know how to decode.
“I found it,” yelled Myri. Lena broke her gaze with Jonah and looked towards the voice. “It’s coming from the bathroom.”
Lena leaped up and got to the bathroom one step behind Gideon. He grabbed her dirty clothes and furiously started shaking them. Something clanked to the ground. Gideon leaned over and picked it up. Opening his palm, a beautiful ivory star lay in his hand, carved to perfection with images of the galaxy. Gideon stormed to the ship’s exit, Lena following closely behind. Once outside he placed the star on a rock outside the doorway. Gideon grabbed another stone and started hitting the carving. It only took a few blows before her star lay shattered on the stone. Gideon sifted through the broken pieces before pulling out a tiny circle of metal.
“Where’s Jonah?” Gideon demanded of Lena.
Lena looked to the empty space next to her and then spun towards the airship’s entrance. Tarek bolted into the ship, and out just as fast.
“Jonah’s gone,” Tarek said.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Gideon grabbed Lena’s waist and hauled her towards the ship.
“You’re too late,” a voice called. A flood of light crashed down on them from the surface above. A company of Cimmerian soldiers rappelled from the walls of the ravine and formed a semi-circle around them, their weapons pointed and ready to fire. Their green camouflaged uniforms stood out against the red cliffs behind them. Jonah stood in the middle, his gun pointed straight at Lena.
Lena’s heart stopped, her breath caught as the truth crashed around her. “Jonah. What have you done?”
The End of Book One
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THE MIR CHRONICLES
Book Two
Children of the Resistance
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Acknowledgments
To Dad to whom this book is dedicated. You were the first person who encouraged me to write. Your excitement over my story motivated me from day one and kept motivating me through my countless revisions. You read my work from the roughest of drafts and provided my first feedback and encouragement. I love you!
To Carol, you’re the best writing friend ever! You saw me through all the ups and downs and kept me going. You were my sounding board, my beta reader, my encourager, but more important to me, my friend. Thank you for inspiring me to keep writing.
To my beta readers, Steve Hardman, Carol Vaughn, Crystal Boyack, Chelsea Smith, and Wade Wallace. Your feedback made this story what it is. Thank you!
A huge thank you to Cameron Boyack for cleaning up my manuscript.
Westin Smith, your artistic skills are amazing. Thank you for the cover.
And lastly, to Wally, Cole and Avery, you three inspire me every day. I love you!
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The Angel and the Warrior (The Mir Chronicles Book 1) Page 22