“Stop looking at me like that,” Chase said, scooting to the edge of the bed and looking seriously at Danny. “I’m tired of seeing guilt in your eyes every time you look at me. You didn’t break my hand, Danny. Someone evil did that. And he can’t hurt me anymore. I’ll get better.”
“I’ll try to remember,” Danny said, smiling at the instant ease that came with hearing Chase talk. He fingered Chase’s lips, then masked the move by touching his cheek. Chase smirked and pulled Danny into a kiss. Danny dropped to one knee to meet his lips, both surprised and relieved to finally have his affection returned.
“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” he asked.
“Given what happened to Hawk, it’s probably for the best,” Chase murmured, lightly kissing his nose.
Sky made a few incredulous squeaks. “You were serious when you suggested a threesome? You two?”
“Old stomping grounds,” Danny shrugged.
“I’m a one-on-one guy. No more groups,” Chase said, rubbing his thigh.
“Is she going to put you to bed, or do you want to watch a flick with me and Amanda?” Danny asked.
“Ooh. Tough choice,” Chase said, rolling back onto Sky’s lap.
Danny laughed and swatted Chase’s arm, but he didn’t force the issue. Chase had always expressed a desire for monogamy and for being with women, but things changed, and Danny could hope. He went to check on Hawk next. Hawk’s bright red hair had been shaved off, leaving only a shadow of black roots. Morrigan had healed the scrapes and bruises. Danny wanted to touch his head, but he knew Hawk was sensitive about the loss.
“Hey,” Danny greeted, lightly touching Hawk’s shoulder. “How’s your Prince?”
“He’s not a prince out here,” Hawk sniffled, closing his eyes and rubbing his face against the pillow. “He’s a deserter, like me.”
“You are not a deserter,” Danny said.
“A part of me hoped he’d stay with his family,” Hawk confessed. “I hoped he’d face up to the people who hurt him and get justice. I hoped he’d find a reason to live that didn’t depend on me. It’s a lot of pressure on me.”
“You don’t have to share a room with him if you don’t want. You already have a roommate,” Danny said.
“Who never uses her bed,” Hawk said, glancing over his shoulder at Sky.
“That might change now that she’s discovered Hyproxin. And she’ll only be able to use it with our help,” Danny said, stroking Hawk’s arm soothingly. “At least Corin was able to say good-bye to his family and bring some fancy pillows. He didn’t bring any Festival drugs, did he?”
“No. Morrigan checked,” Hawk said, tapping Corin’s fingers. Corin stirred, then winced in pain. The three-week boost in healing was nice, but he still had a long way to go, both physically and mentally. “He knows the way to Cordova,” Hawk whispered.
“Do you still want to go?” Danny asked.
Hawk’s face scrunched up and he sobbed silently. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s give it a few days. Heal up. Then decide. Half my pilots can’t sit in a chair right now,” Danny said, stroking Hawk’s face until he calmed down again. When Hawk closed his eyes, Danny glanced back at Chase, but Chase was focused on Sky. Danny went to the crew lounge and stopped short.
Amanda stood in the middle of the room but was not watching a flick. She wore her white and green dress, and she stared into space, her mind a million miles away. The dress was tattered at the bottom, but she’d cleaned off the blood and mud.
“There’s my favorite pilot,” Danny said. “How are you?”
“Ready to fly,” she said, swishing the dress side-to-side.
“You look beautiful. Sorry I tried to… grope you,” Danny said.
Amanda laughed. “Thanks. Given the circumstances, I’ll forgive you this time.”
“Do you think we can still be close platonically, as friends?” Danny asked, offering a hand. She took it and he twirled her, then brought her in close for a slow dance.
“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out who I am. As a healthy person,” she said, leaning more heavily on him with every sway. “He stole my life. I could have had a sailboat. And a goldfish.”
“I know,” Danny said. He wished the same for himself. “You can still have it. It’s not too late. Every day is a new dawn. A new chance.”
“Oriana,” she whispered. New Dawn.
Collette pulled her robes tighter as she came to the leveled site where Corin’s beloved textile mill once stood. The Prince of Metallurgy was planning a monument to Corin and to the eight people who died in the fire last Festival. It was no substitute for justice, but at least now, the victims had names in the public record. Jeremiah saw it as a cemetery, and he mourned for Corin. He didn’t want to let Corin go with the travelers, but Collette knew it was for the best. If Corin hadn’t been safe in the Palace, she didn’t know where in the city he would be. But Collette was determined to make Nola a safe place for her son to come home to some day.
Judith squatted on the ground, wearing long work gloves and a mask over her face. She sifted the debris and ashes, picking out beads and sequins. Corin’s workshop in the Palace was under a pile of rubble, and the rooms in the family wing were inaccessible. Her son had survived, but it seemed like every place in the city that carried his memory had been destroyed.
“Did you know them?” Collette asked Judith. “The eight who died?”
Judith nodded and sniffled. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and the top of her mask wet with tears. There was glitter mixed with the ash on her gloves. The box she’d brought to collect remnants only had a dozen or so beads in it.
“You and Corin were there,” Collette said.
“I saw Officer Belgard try to throw him into the fire,” Judith said.
“Will you testify?” Collette asked.
Judith shot her a look, then tossed a handful of blackened debris at the ground in disgust.
“I can’t reform a system if I don’t have evidence or witnesses,” Collette said. She could bar the Prince of Law from the Palace, but she couldn’t strip him of his title without evidence. She didn’t know which officers to trust. Corin was gone, and Collette was more determined than ever to find someone who would speak up. “Did they beat you, too?”
Judith shook her head and pulled off one of her gloves so she could wipe the tears from her face. “Corin showed me what they did to him, though. They made sure he couldn’t testify, didn’t they?”
“He’s not dead,” Collette said quickly. Jeremiah’s behavior and Corin’s disappearance had led many to the conclusion that Corin had died. His inclusion in the memorial only furthered that narrative. Collette had taken him to the rendezvous in secret so that they wouldn’t get ambushed on the way. “He went with the travelers. It’s safer for him there.”
Judith sobbed in relief, hugging her gloves to her chest. “I told him to run. I didn’t think he’d run without me.”
“Do you want to talk to him?” Collette asked.
Judith nodded fervently. “How?”
“Their ship was headed for Cordova. Our broadcasts reach that far. We can broadcast a message,” Collette said.
“Can he talk back?” Judith asked.
“He hasn’t yet. But maybe he will, if he hears your voice,” Collette said. After so many years of animosity, it was easy for Judith not to trust Collette’s offer. It would take time for any Fotri to believe Collette was truly on their side. And she had to stop using that word, even in her head.
She looked deeply into Judith’s eyes, and a new premonition came. She saw Judith reclined on a chair with Corin’s beaded Festival robe draped over her pregnant belly. Collette strained to get more clues from the vision. She wondered if the baby was Corin’s, and if he was coming back soon.
“Collette?” Jeremiah called urgently, shaking her until the vision faded.
“Jeremiah,” she said, her eyes darting across the empty lot. “Judith was here.”
; “She came and got me when you froze,” Jeremiah said, guiding Collette to a bench by the Lilac river walk. “Did you have a premonition?”
Collette nodded. “A good one.”
“Did Corin come home?” he asked. His eyes were red from crying, and he dabbed his cheek with one of the green and yellow pinwheel-striped napkins. Corin’s most prized work had burned in the fire, and Jeremiah had become fixated on the special napkins Corin had made for the Palace. Until they excavated the debris and unburied Corin’s workshop, it was all they had of him.
“I wouldn’t worry about Corin. You wanted him to be happy. And he is,” Collette assured him. She wished she could share her visions of Corin’s future, so that Jeremiah could trust it was more than a platitude. The premonition had become clearer since she saw Corin with the travelers. “He is happy. And he will be for a long, long time.”
Amanda's escape is unprecedented. Now there's a bounty on her head and her enemies will stop at nothing to make she disappears permanently. Start Oriana’s thrilling adventure from the beginning with “The Disappeared: The New Dawn Book One.”
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Looking for a stand-alone adventure? When Amber discovers the dark secret of her utopia, she must use her astral projection ability to save herself, her siblings, and the world!
If you enjoy complex characters, and exploring morally gray conflicts, you'll love The Qinali Virus.
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Thank you so much for reading Premonition. The crew is still growing and changing, and I hope Amanda, Danny, and the rest will continue to thrill you.
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THE QINALI VIRUS
An ancient warning. A new threat.
Amber’s astral projection ability is rare… and it’s everything the Council of Highmere has been waiting for.
Trained in astronomy, Amber is bored by her tedious, Council-appointed job. When her mind wanders, so does her astral body, and always to the same place – a meteor-flattened crater in a forest with an ancient metal sign poking up through the dirt.
The sign warns of Sudden Death.
Her entire life, she’s been taught to believe that only the old die. But now two young people are dead who shouldn’t be, and the secret that killed them will put Amber’s entire family is in danger. Can she use her astral projection ability to save herself, her siblings, and the world?
The Qinali Virus is a thrilling sci-fi adventure about a psychic sibling duo on a quest to save the human race from extinction. If you enjoy complex characters, and exploring morally gray conflicts, you'll love this psychic sci-fi thriller.
Pick up this page turner today!
Also by Valerie J. Mikles
The New Dawn Series Novels
#1 The Disappeared
#2 Sequestered
#3 Trade Circle
#4 Hybrid
#5 The Gray Market
#6 The Confluence
#7 Premonition
Standalone Novel
The Qinali Virus
About the Author
Valerie J. Mikles is a PhD astronomer who defected from academia to pursue her dream of being an out of work actor in L.A. She is active in community theater as an actor, choreographer, costumer, and stage manager. She frequents sci-fi conventions as a science/author guest and a fan/cosplayer. She currently lives in Maryland with her three cats and works on weather satellites for NOAA.
Premonition: A Space Opera Adventure Series (The New Dawn Book 7) Page 28
