Blackstar: Future Knight

by Cheyenne McCray

The older woman tilted her head and regarded Kara. “You always had an affinity for the crystal. It warmed whenever it neared you, the power within it only stirred when you held it.” She glanced at the crystal on Kara’s chest. “See how it responds to your emotions?”

  Kara looked down to see the black and silver of the crystal swirling like a phallic-shaped galaxy of stars. It swirled slower now that she wasn’t feeling as angry as she had been before. “So you were going to use me as a baby?”

  “I am not certain.” The Cwen gave a slight shrug of her delicate shoulders. “I could have attempted it, but once we were attacked we missed the one opportunity we had for decades, and I had you sent to Earth of the past.”

  Kara couldn’t help the questions that kept popping into her mind. It was unreal, yet somehow it made sense, too. “How did you do that, send me back in time?”

  T’ni Lael gestured to the time-arch. “The technology our visitors gave us.”

  With a sigh of resignation, Kara said, “So now, on this one day out of so many decades, you want me to try to change your world.”

  “It is your world as well,” the Cwen replied with a determined note in her voice.

  “Whatever.” Kara twisted one of her curls around her finger. “So is this something where I could get hurt?”

  The woman paused. “I do not think so.”

  “Oh, that’s reassuring.” Kara released the curl. “And when am I supposed to do this?”

  “Tomorrow,” T’ni Lael replied quietly. “On the day of L’sen.”

  Kara’s eyes locked with the woman’s for one long moment. Then she pushed back her chair and stood, bracing her hands on the table.

  “I’ll think about it,” she said, then turned and walked away.

  * * * * *

  After donning the snow garb that Adan had given her, Kara slipped outside into the crisp, cold air. The snowsuit was very comfortable, although she had yet to get used to the zipper that went all the way from the front to the back.

  Guardcraft zipped by on maneuvers and Clan members went about their tasks from one white-walled building to another. The air chilled her face, yet it wasn’t unbearably cold, and there was something about this planet that she loved. Adan came to mind and she smiled. Perhaps it was simply love for him that made this world so inviting.

  She stuffed her hands into her pockets as she wandered down a road that had recently been plowed by snowcraft. Snowdrifts rose only a foot on either side of her because the roads never went as deep as the soil. Instead the Clans used some kind of spray to keep the packed snow from becoming slippery.

  Kara enjoyed watching the people go about their daily tasks, and many of them waved at her as she walked by. She had become friends with several men and women since she began her stay in the village.

  She did her best not to think about the Cwen and what she wanted Kara to do. Instead she thought of Adan and the countless times they had made love, the times they had gone snowmobiling—or snow-tracking as Adan called it. He had shown her around his beautiful ice-world and she found she loved it. He had taken her to the mines where they harvested gems and materials used to make structures and other items, to save snowtrees. Apparently they only used the wood from trees that toppled from the weight of snow or that were downed during larger storms.

  He had also taken her to the greenhouses where they tended vegetable gardens with plants they had brought with them from Earth all those years ago. They even had one greenhouse where they grew rows and rows of corn, used to make the only bread the settlement had.

  There were shops, too, such as metalworkers, bakeries, clothiers, and butchers. The latter raised a special breed of sheep brought from Earth that was the only animal hardy enough to survive the ice-planet’s brutal cold—other than the world’s indigenous and utterly strange animal life.

  The biggest difference from what she had grown up with was that no money was exchanged. The Clan exchanged services instead, all members working in harmony for the betterment of the whole. That wasn’t to say everyone got along perfectly, but what they did made sense in this harsh world.

  But Kara’s favorite place was the school, and she smiled at the thought. She loved working with the children, teaching them how to make crafts and helping them with their lessons. She could easily imagine herself going back to college and getting her teaching certificate so that she could teach elementary school back home. And she desperately missed the kids from the orphanage. How could she abandon them?

  At that thought Kara stopped walking and frowned. How could she leave Adan and return to her old life without feeling like she’d lost a part of herself?

  She walked faster, only hesitating a moment when she came to the Tower of Light. She had passed it countless times with Adan and thought it merely a monument.

  Not something that could change the lives of every person on the planet.

  She brought her hand to her chest. Through the thickly lined coat she could still feel the heat of the pendant between her breasts. How could one small piece of crystal be so powerful? Or was everyone here just fooled out of their gourds?

  As she strolled down the snowy path she caught side of a familiar form—tall, large and powerful. As always, when outside, Adan was wearing a black snowsuit that did nothing to hide his striking physique.

  Kara shivered, and it wasn’t from the chill air. It amazed her how just the sight of him caused a fluttering sensation in her belly and a zing from her pussy to her nipples.

  Adan was watching the crew of one of the spacecrafts, apparently supervising some kind of operation.

  A sense of mischief overcame her and she bent down and scooped up some snow in her gloved hands, quickly packing it into a ball. Slowly she crept up on Adan, careful not to make a sound.

  When she was close enough to see his profile, she wound her arm as if she was back on the girl’s softball team, and let loose with the snowball.

  It smacked square onto Adan’s cheek. He whipped around and spotted her, but Kara already had another snowball ready and fired at him again, landing another blow to his stunned face.

  She giggled and ran the best she could in her snow boots on the frozen road. She heard the thunder of Adan’s boots behind her and she sped up—but not fast enough.

  The next thing she knew, Adan had tackled her. His hands gripped her waist and she was flung flat on her back onto a clear patch of snow. He straddled her, pinning her down.

  “Um, truce?” she said, trying to hold back a laugh at the sight of snow still stuck to his eyebrows and in one ear.

  “Punishment is in order, woman,” he said with a growl.

  “Mmmm…” She glanced down to where his cock was covered by thick layers of clothing. Her gaze returned to his and she saw both amusement and desire in his dark eyes. “What kind of punishment did you have in mind?”

  “You will see.” Adan stood and grasped her hand, pulling her up so fast she stumbled into him. He gave her a quick searing kiss that sent warmth flooding through her, chasing away some of the chill.

  He kept a tight hold on her hand as he practically dragged her through the snow to one of the greenhouses. Kara’s body burned even hotter beneath her snowsuit and the pendant added to the heat flowing through her.

  “What if someone is in here?” Kara said as Adan pulled her through the greenhouse door and closed it behind them.

  “Then they will witness your punishment.”

  A thrill skipped through her belly at the thought of being watched. Not that she wanted witnesses, but the mere idea made what they were going to do all the more dangerous and exciting—whatever it was that Adan planned.

  He dragged her down a pathway, between rows of vegetables until they reached a cluster of citrus trees in full bloom. He brought her behind the trees to where a long table stood.

  “Bend over, put your hands on the table, and spread your legs, woman,” he commanded, and Kara shivered at the authority in his voice. In normal life, she wouldn’t be bossed
around, but with Adan—sexually—it was such a turn-on.

  She obeyed, placing her hands flat on the cool table and widening her stance.

  She felt Adan’s hand at the back of her snowpants, and then he zipped them down, all the way to the front, so that she was totally exposed to him.

  So that’s why they made the pants zip like that.

  Kara’s pussy grew wetter as he pushed aside the clothing so that her ass was bared, and he began to rub his palms over the firm flesh.

  “What are you going to do, Adan?”

  “Punish you.” And then he spanked her with the flat of his hand.

  Kara cried out in surprise. At first, the swat stung, but then she realized that it felt good, too.

  “Bad girl,” he murmured as he spanked first one cheek, then the other. “Bad girl.”

  Kara moaned, her pussy aching and begging for his cock. “Please fuck me, Adan. I promise I’ll be good.”

  He gave a low rumble and she felt the head of his cock at the entrance to her pussy.

  “That’s it.” Kara pushed back, trying to slide herself onto him, and he swatted her ass again.

  “Ow!” she cried at the same moment he plunged his cock into her pussy. Her cry instantly became a moan of pleasure as he moved in and out of her. “You feel so good.” She rocked back as he drove into her. “You’re so damn big. You fill me up.”

  “Am I just a cock to you, woman?” he said as their flesh smacked together.

  “Noooo…oh, God, that feels good.”

  “Then tell me again that you want me.”

  He came to a stop and leaned closer to her ear. “Come on, love, say it.”

  That wasn’t hard at all. “I want you, Adan. Only you.”

  “That’s my good girl.”

  The smell of her juices mingled with the scent of orange blossoms from the trees surrounding them. She heard a light scraping noise and the sound of the greenhouse door opening and closing again.

  The thought of being caught send a thrill of fear and excitement through Kara. Every time they made love someplace public, it excited her. She wondered if perhaps she was a closet exhibitionist.

  Her thighs trembled as they always did when she came close to climax. Adan pumped in and out of her harder and harder until stars sparked behind her eyes and she cried out with the force of her orgasm. As always, the pendant magnified her orgasm, extending it, making it almost unbearable.

  Adan drove in and out several times more, extending the length of her climax until he came with a loud grunt. God, how she loved the feel of his cock throbbing inside her and the warmth that filled her after their lovemaking.

  His hands moved from her hips to her waist and he bent close to her ear. “I promise you that you’re mine, Kara Marks,” he growled out. “Forever mine.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The moment she woke the following morning, Kara knew something was different. Adan’s arm was wrapped around her belly, his morning erection pressed tight to her naked ass, her head tucked under his chin. It was like every other morning…but something was different. She could feel it simmering beneath the surface of her skin, humming through her body, and burning through the crystal that she gripped in her palm.

  Adan stirred and Kara tried to wriggle out of his grasp. She needed to get up—she didn’t know why, but something urged her on. When she began to slip from Adan’s hold, he tightened his arm around her and nuzzled her hair. His naked body felt so good pressed to hers, and his masculine scent mixed with the smell of their sex from last night stirred an automatic desire within her.

  But sex would have to wait.

  “Morning, love,” Adan murmured, his voice gravelly with sleep. “Since when do you wake before I do?”

  Kara released her hold on her pendant and tried to pry Adan’s arm from her waist. “Let me up.”

  He snuggled closer and hooked his leg over her hip. For one moment she was tempted to give in and have wild, passionate sex like they did every morning. But not today. Not now at least.

  “I’m serious, Adan. I need to get up.”

  He emitted a low groan, but relaxed his hold and she squirmed out of bed.

  Cool air brushed her bare flesh as she padded across the floor to the shielded window. She lightly touched it with one finger. Silently the shield shimmered and then vanished, revealing a sun swept valley.

  It was beautiful. Prisms of light glinted off the Mirror Mountains and the reflection of the village, the snow-laden trees, and the frozen lake was even more vivid. The village’s white walls sparkled more than ever.

  Water actually dripped from the trees as some of the snow melted, and the lake glimmered as if the surface had melted, too, and she could see a patch of dark ice several feet from the shore. The underground hot springs kept the lake from completely freezing, but she had never seen the surface look like this.

  And the Tower of Light—it was nothing short of amazing. It glittered, casting every color of the rainbow across the snow.

  Children played around the monolith, making snow angels and having snowball fights. Their hoods were back, exposing their beautiful faces, rather than being hidden from the harsh elements like they normally were. Despite a feeling of dread in her belly, Kara had to smile at the sight of the happy children.

  Not only was the outdoors a virtual wonder, but Kara’s crystal pendant felt like flame against her bare chest. It didn’t hurt her, but it was hot all the same.

  A shiver laced Kara’s spine as she sensed Adan coming up behind her. His warm breath caressed her neck and the warmth of his body heated hers, even though he wasn’t touching her. He moved beside her and braced one hand on the window pane, and wrapped his other arm around her naked waist.

  “In the decade I have been on Blackstar, I have never seen anything so beautiful.” He tightened his hold around her waist. “Except you.”

  A smile touched Kara’s lips, but it slipped away as the knot in her belly tightened. This was the day she was supposed to use the crystal to change the fortunes of all the planet’s residents.

  “I am concerned for you, love.” Adan sighed as he changed the subject. “T’ni Lael assured me no harm would come to you. But she is able to wield the crystal as well.” He brought her closer so that her head rested against his chest. “Turn it over to her. She has the knowledge and the power to use it. Then I will not worry that you could be in danger.”

  Kara gave a deep sigh. The mere thought of giving up her pendant sat like a heavy weight upon her soul.

  She frowned and looked up at Adan. “What about the Ice-Witch and her people?” He cocked an eyebrow and she continued, “What if they don’t want this change? It’s their planet, too.”

  He looked thoughtful for a moment. “It would allow everyone to grow plentiful crops, we could bring other species of animals and varieties of plants through the time-arch. It would be of benefit to all.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Adan frowned. “Why would it not?”

  Kara nodded and returned her gaze to the sparkling landscape and the children playing in the snow. Deep within her soul, she knew everything was about to change. Whether for the better, she didn’t know.

  When the sun neared its peak for the day—its highest point until another two decades had passed—Kara and multiple Clan members moved outside to the Tower of Light. Dane and Dominik, and a host of other knights wore their laser weapons on one hip and rested their hands on the hilts of their swords strapped on the opposite side. Their gazes traveled the landscape, always on the lookout for whatever might pass the sentries and come their way.

  Adan had never left her side and walked close to her, nearly suffocating her with his overpowering presence. The normally chill air felt almost warm, and the snow was slushy beneath her snow boots. The Cwen wore her emerald green robes that scrubbed the snow and dampened the hem. Somehow today Kara felt less antagonistic toward T’ni Lael. Perhaps she was finally accepting that the woman had done what she thought
was best. Maybe she had been right to send Kara to Earth.

  They reached the lake and the monolith, and Kara’s pulse rate picked up. The only sounds were the snowbirds chirping from the hardy snowtrees, the crunch of boots on snow, and the crack of ice near the dark spot on the lake.

  When they came to a stop before the monolith, T’ni Lael, ever so graceful and beautiful, broke from the small crowd. She approached the pillar, then turned to face them.

  “The time has come.” Her voice rang through the air, and Kara imagined it so loud it would cause an avalanche on the Mirror Mountains. “Our people will know life as it once was, countless centuries ago.

  “Come, child.” The Cwen motioned to Kara, who gritted her teeth at being referred to as a child. She forced herself to step forward, away from Adan’s reassuring presence, conscious of every eye that was on her. She heard Adan’s boot step, but T’ni Lael held up her hand. “Only Kara.”

  Adan caught Kara’s wrist and pulled her back to him. Tension radiated from him and straight through her. “Give her the pendant,” he said under his breath. “I will not allow anything to happen to you.”

  Kara simply nodded and Adan visibly relaxed, his features softening. “Thank you, love.”

  She hadn’t exactly said she would give the Cwen the crystal, she had merely nodded. She wasn’t sure she could give it to anyone. It was a part of her and the mere thought of separation left her cold.

  Color from the pillar shaded T’ni Lael’s features in a soft purple glow. Orange, red, yellow, and blue scattered across the snow, reminding Kara of light pouring through a stained glass window.

  When Kara reached the pillar, the Cwen held out her hand. Even though her smile appeared serene, Kara noticed the lines of tension around the woman’s mouth. “It is almost time,” she said. “Give me the crystal.”

  Kara brought her hand to her chest and gripped the pendant in her palm. It burned the hottest she had ever felt it, and she almost snatched her hand away. But she couldn’t if she tried. At that moment, she knew she could not give the crystal to anyone else.