Determinant, a YA Paranormal Romance (Book 3 of The Guardians of Vesturon)

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Well, then, it is imperative we contact Therron immediately. Should I go to Xanthus?” Jurek asked.

  “I do not think that would be wise. It could compromise our entire operation there. Let’s wait to hear from him. Knowing Therron, he will contact us as soon as he possibly can. He knows the importance of this mission,” Rayn informed Jurek.

  “I understand.”

  “We should go to Vesturon in the hopes of hearing from Therron soon. Then you can be rejoined with your sister there,” Rayn was saying.

  “Really?” January asked me. “Are we going to Vesturon?” Her eyes were bright as she spoke.

  “Yes. We thought it best to have Zulietta sent there until Jurek can collect her. We have yet to hear from Therron though since the situation is so terrible on Xanthus. You also need to be introduced to Vesturon,” I said, the corners of my mouth turning up. It pleased me to see how excited she was about our upcoming voyage.

  “When? When do we leave?”

  Jurek interrupted our conversation saying, “I would prefer to travel by my own means and Tak and my men will accompany me.”

  “As you wish,” Rayn responded.

  “When and where shall we meet up?”

  “We can meet tomorrow afternoon at the Guardian Headquarters in Aurora. Do you know it?”

  “Yes, I am familiar with the city so finding the headquarters should be an easy thing. Until tomorrow then.”

  I thought he would immediately flash himself home, but instead he approached January and bowed deeply to her.

  “All is well with you?” he asked, giving me a scathing look. “The Guardian was kind to you?”

  “Yeah... I’m fine Jurek. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Then I received the yet shock of a lifetime. January all but threw herself at him and said, “Take care of yourself. I’m gonna miss you!”

  He grumbled something back in her ear and right before he vanished, she stuck her tongue out at him.

  When she spun around to face me, I knew she could see the storm clouds brewing in my eyes.

  “Rykerian, please let me explain things. I don’t want to fight about this but you have to let me tell my side of the story. Please?” she pleaded with me.

  I nodded curtly and looked at Rayn, silently telling him to leave us.

  “One thing before I leave you two alone, do you wish to teleport or travel by Space Transporter.”

  “Space Transporter. I wish to show January the universe.”

  “Very well. I shall make the arrangements. And January, it is good to see you again. Welcome back.”

  January took a seat on the couch and I pulled up a chair so I could face her. Then she told me this incredible story. I didn’t know if I wanted to thank this Jurek or if I should kill him.

  “You don’t really feel like you want to kill him do you?”

  “Oh January, I am at great odds. On the one hand, how can I not be grateful for what he has done for you? And for me? But it has come at such a huge expense. And if he had not abducted you in the first place, we would not be having this conversation.”

  “I know, but his story is such a sad one. We related on that level and when he told me about his species, I felt so sorry for him. And then the whole thing about how he made me confront my feelings for you. We just sort of became friends. I don’t expect you to understand nor do I expect you to like it, but there is some kind of connection between us that neither of us can deny nor explain. Before you get all mad at me again, it’s not that kind of connection. It’s more like friendship or even family.” She rose to her feet and started wringing her hands.

  “I don’t want you to be upset by any of this. I swear my heart and soul lie with you and always will.”

  “But January, can you not see how twisted this whole thing is? He destroys half of humanity on Earth, then comes here and threatens us and abducts you. He holds you prisoner for weeks with demands of saving his family and if we fail, he says he will kill you. Yes, he allowed us to communicate twice, but other than that I didn’t know if you were alive or dead. Can you try to understand how I feel about this? I assure you I am having great difficulty in tempering my thoughts of him.”

  She came to me and knelt between my legs as she grasped my hands. Her pale ice blue eyes held mine as she spoke.

  “I know it’s completely strange. I’m not sure how I’d handle it if the shoe were on the other foot. I am so mad at him about what he did here on Earth, but he also protected me. He did what he had to do for his family. He felt he was given no other choice. I was not harmed at all while I was there. I really don’t think he would have killed me. He was just saying that. And he forced me to look deep within myself confront my own demons. He understands how I couldn’t let myself open up to you because he’s been through much of the same things. We are so much alike in that regard. I’m not asking you to like any of this, but I am asking you to accept it for what it is.”

  “Where did he take you January?”

  “I honestly don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me but it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. We were somewhere out in space in some kind of space station or something. I stayed in one room that would convert itself into whatever room I needed it to be.”

  I nodded, trying to digest everything she was telling me.

  She hadn’t moved from the place between my legs and her beautiful face was imploring me to understand.

  “I missed you so much.” It was the first thing I thought to say.

  “Not as much as I missed you,” she whispered.

  I picked her up and set her in my lap, refusing to let her go. She laid her head on my chest and spoke again.

  “I want you to get to know him Rykerian. He could be a great ally for us in our war against the Xanthians.”

  I smiled at her words, saying, “Spoken like a true Vesturion.”

  She sat straight up, looked at me and said, “I know, right?”

  “Look, I will do my best to have an open mind concerning your friend, but I cannot promise I will like him.”

  “That’s more than fair, and more than I can ask.”

  Chapter 8

  January and I decided we would finalize the issue of Jurek’s sister before we would approach the idea of getting married—as she called it. We didn’t want to add any more stress than necessary to my family.

  The next day we boarded the Space Transporter and headed for Vesturon. Rayn was at the helm, which allowed me to explain all the sights to January. Other than the usual first time side effects of space travel, January was seemingly intrigued by it all. She couldn’t stop asking questions.

  When we made the jump to hyperpropulsion, her curiosity presented itself.

  “What happened to all the stars?”

  “Oh, they’re still there. You can’t see them because we are traveling faster than the speed of light.”

  “Okay, where I come from that would be an impossibility.”

  “That is correct. But where we come from it is a way of life.”

  “How so?”

  “Rayn, would you care to answer? I let him answer this kind of thing as he’s the family genius,” I joked.

  “I’ll do my best. January, we learned a long time ago that you can cheat astrophysics.”

  “How can you do that?”

  “Okay, cheat may be too strong a word. How about this...we take shortcuts.”

  “Can you explain?”

  “Let’s see...well the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, correct?”

  “Duh! Yeah!”

  “Hang on a moment and this will all make sense. What we do is take the space-time continuum and fracture it into sections, much like your string theory. If you bring the ends of the strings together and move from end to end, in that fashion, your distance is shortened significantly, correct?”

  “Yeah, but...”

  “Stay with me for a moment. We bend the trajectory on which we want to travel in a loop formation—much like a swit
chback on a mountain road. Except for a major deviation. We don’t follow the road.”

  “Huh? You lost me on that.”

  “Okay. Imagine a straight path, but take it and bend it like this,” Rayn said, taking his finger and drawing an imaginary curved line.

  I went to the screen and using my glove, I drew the line that Rayn was describing.

  “Like this January. We start with this and change it into that.”

  “Okay, but you still have the same length, except it’s not straight.”

  “Ah, you are correct. But there is a big difference. We don’t follow that trajectory. We leap from one section to the next using a sort of loophole method,” Rayn finished.

  I gestured with my hand at the line I had drawn saying, “Like this. We jump from point A to B to C and so forth. So in a sense, it is a shortcut because we cheat the space-time continuum. If you were to stretch the trajectory out, it would be the total distance traveled, but our method makes it only seem much shorter. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah, in theory. But how does it really work?” January persisted.

  “Now that is a question for our astrophysicists and engineers! I can only describe the theory but not the mechanics,” Rayn said.

  “Do not believe him January. Rayn could build this Space Transporter if he wanted. He is brilliant and the brains in the family,” I quipped.

  No sooner had the words left my mouth when the ship’s screen lit up like a Christmas tree.

  “What was that?” January asked, her eyes popping out of her head.

  “Rykerian, strap yourselves in, and fast. We have company...and not the good kind,” Rayn shouted.

  I threw January into a seat and fastened her harness and barely got myself strapped in when Rayn threw the ship into an evasive maneuver. Unfortunately, we were in a Space Transporter and not a Star Fighter, so our capabilities were limited.

  “Rayn?” I yelled.

  “The ship has Xanthian markings. I’m getting Xanthian readings from my probe too.”

  “Can we outrun them?” I inquired.

  “Doubtful. Start stripping the ship’s data but be careful. Our ride is about to get very bumpy!”

  “Can I help?” January shouted.

  “No!” we both retorted simultaneously.

  “Stay put. I do not want you to get injured,” I told her as I moved toward the ship’s compsys.

  My fingers flew across the board commanding the compsys to transfer all data to my shadar.

  “How long?” Rayn asked.

  “A few minutes. How much time do we have?”

  “About that much. We will be cutting it close.”

  “Your veil is up right?”

  “Yes, but they tracked our heat trail. They cannot see us but they know where to fire.”

  “Fire? What do you mean fire?” January asked.

  “They are preparing to fire on us,” I told her. “Rayn, teleport her to the space dock right now. I would feel better knowing she was there.”

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “We will follow as soon as we strip all the data on board. It cannot fall into Xanthian hands. We can sacrifice the ship but not the data.”

  “I’ll stay,” she said.

  “No! I want you out of here. Rayn, teleport her now!”

  I watched as she disappeared and did not breathe until the commander on Vesturon informed us she had arrived safely and was in his care.

  Rayn bellowed, “Brace yourself, incoming annihilator beams!”

  The blast hit the ship and I crashed against the main console, wrenching my shoulder and snapping my forearm. I screamed with the initial break, but forced myself to go to that place in my mind where I could control the pain.

  “Are you okay?” Rayn shouted.

  “No! I broke my bloody arm! Just get us out of here!”

  “Impossible. They are all over us. There are five of them and they have us covered like icing on a cake. How much longer before the strip is complete?”

  “Soon! Can you do anything at all?”

  “Incoming!” he shouted.

  This time we took multiple hits that sent me airborne. I collided with the main screen, bones crunching and flesh tearing. The impact left me dazed. My ribs were broken; of that I had no doubt. Breathing was sheer hell. My midsection quickly became saturated with what I could only assume was blood. My head throbbed as the back of it had also slammed into the screen. My leg was awkwardly contorted, but I couldn’t stop. If I did, we would die.

  “Rayn!”

  No response. I heaved myself upwards and saw Rayn slumped in his chair. The whole of it had been torn from its bolts and it was lying sideways in the aft of the ship. Using my good arm and leg, I pitched myself toward him. Tapping our destination into the teleporter, I got us out of there.

  We materialized at the space dock and then everything faded to black.

  Chapter 9

  I heard faint voices in the background and a constant whirring. My eyelids felt glued together. Every muscle felt leaden and when I tried to lift my head, it was locked in place. Where was I? What in the world happened?

  I dug into the recesses of my mind and I recalled boarding the Space Transporter, but then...nothing. I engaged my senses in an attempt to understand what was happening.

  The voices became clearer, but not enough to interpret their meaning.

  Then it hit me like lightening. The Space Transporter...the Xanthians...taking multiple blasts...getting injured...Rayn! How was Rayn?

  I was instantly assailed with her scent as it penetrated my soul...citrus with a crisp freshness to it. It reminded me of floating on a warm sea. I could taste the tanginess of the citrus mixed with the salt in the air. Oh how it soothed me. I inhaled deeply, letting it infuse and permeate throughout my body.

  At first, her touch was so light, I barely felt it. Then I felt cool, soft fingers weaving their way through my hair, beginning at my forehead and moving back to the crown. Oh it felt so nice, that soft massaging motion.

  Why couldn’t I open my eyes? I wanted to see her. I opened my mind instead. Her anguish engulfed me. I wanted to hold her in my arms. I willed her to put her face next to mine. It wasn’t that I wanted her there—I needed her there. We spoke through our minds...she telling me how worried she was and I telling her I was glad she was here. Her love washed over me like a cooling rain...a balm to my torn and battered body.

  “Why can I not move?”

  “You were badly injured Rykerian.”

  “How is Rayn?

  “In about the same shape as you, but he’s going to be fine too.”

  “What happened?”

  “You mean on the ship?”

  “No...me. What happened to me?”

  “Only a broken arm, a broken leg, fractured neck vertebra, crushed ribs, punctured and collapsed lung...not to mention the countless lacerations.”

  “Are you trying to be humorous?”

  “No...I’m totally serious here. Like I said, you were injured...critically, in fact. Luckily, you got here in time and they did a decent job of patching you up.”

  “Lay next to me.”

  “There isn’t room.”

  “Please!”

  “I’ll hurt you. I don’t want to cause you any more pain Rykerian.”

  “You are causing me a great deal of pain by refusing to lay with me. Please...I need to feel you...all of you January.”

  “Okay...but will you let me know if this makes your pain worse?”

  “It won’t. Trust me.”

  The bed moved slightly as she climbed on it.

  She gently rested her hand on my chest, being so very careful not to apply any pressure. Then she moved it up to my neck and then my cheek, and finally my lips. She traced the outline of them and I felt the bed move a bit. Her lips touched mine ever so briefly. I moaned in the back of my throat, wanting more, but knowing I could not.

  “Take my hand in yours January,” I barely croak
ed out.

  The soft yet firm fingers laced with mine and I felt a peace descend over me, as sleep reclaimed my body.

  Time passed. I knew not how much, nor did I care. I was healing and that was all I focused upon. The day finally came when I could open my eyes and move my arms. Julian had kept my body in a semi-unconscious state for several days. Knowing me well, he understood I would not be willing to lay quietly, hence the major sedation.

  January stayed by my side continuously, refusing to leave for anything. She slept next to me every night, holding my hand and murmuring words of love to me. She had lightened up my life and my love for her rooted itself deeply within my soul and spread throughout every part of me. I was madly in love with her, bound by heart, mind and soul, and could not ever part from her again.

  Chapter 10

  It took January a bit of time to get over her shock of her first view of our home. My family resided in a palace of sorts, as we were much like royalty on Earth. It had been built over a thousand years ago and looked similar to the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, albeit much more grand and ancient. It was constructed mostly of a variety of stone and had weathered beautifully over the ages.

  The interior was luxurious by any standards. Masterful oil paintings and hand woven tapestries graced the walls while the polished marble floors gleamed.

  The palace consisted of five levels. The main level contained all the formal areas...the grand dining room, greeting rooms, music room, ballroom, and so forth. It was where all high level entertaining took place.

  The kitchens were all located on this level as well. The lower level beneath the palace housed the laundry facilities, and all the other working areas of the palace.

  The second floor was where the family resided for the most part. The informal living areas, kitchen, dining room, entertainment room, exercise area, and the like were all located here.

  All the bedroom suites were located on the third floor, other than my parent’s. Theirs was on the fourth floor, where they each had an expansive office, along with their own private living quarters. Their personal staff was located on that level as well.