THE DARK OF LIGHT
STARHAWKE RISING BOOK ONE
AUDREY SHARPE
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Captain’s Log
Also by Audrey Sharpe
About the Author
THE DARK OF LIGHT
Copyright © 2015 by Audrey Sharpe
ISBN: 978-1-946759-00-9
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Ocean Dance Press, PO Box 69901, Oro Valley AZ 85737
Cover Art by B&J
Visit the author’s website: AudreySharpe.com
To my mom.
My champion, my mentor, my friend.
I could not have done this without you.
I love you.
PROLOGUE
“Where do you think you’re going, little green man?”
The harsh voice echoed in the early morning air, a discordant note amid the cheerful chattering of birds and the whispering of the wind in the pines overhead.
On the trail below, Aurora Hawke paused in mid-stride. The sound had come from up ahead, where the path curved around a rock outcropping. The boulders prevented her from seeing the owner of the taunting voice, or the intended recipient. The speaker’s attitude, however, came through loud and clear.
“Is the alien trying to contact the mother ship?” a second male jeered.
The comment was followed by harsh laughter, and then a third male joined in. “Nah, they probably left him behind ‘cause he’s a runt.”
Great. Bullies before breakfast. What the hell were they doing on the hiking trail before sunrise? She’d been on this same path every day before dawn for weeks now and had never run into a soul. Even her new roommate, Reanne, had flatly refused to join her when she’d realized how early Aurora left each day. So what had lured these three Neanderthals out of their beds?
Shifting her weight to the balls of her feet and tightening the straps of the small pack on her back so that it fit snugly against her, she crept as soundlessly as possible up the path toward the rocks.
A breeze ruffled the branches of the pines and aspens that rose in graceful columns along both sides of the trail, the air unseasonably warm for mid-September in northern Colorado. The rustling of the leaves helped to conceal her approach. When she reached the rock edge, she flattened her back against the stone and peered around the corner.
Her first look confirmed what she’d suspected—these were not Academy cadets. The three large teenage boys stood in a rough semicircle across the trail, their haphazard clothing and long, unkempt hair a sharp contrast to the crisp uniforms and short hairstyles favored by most cadets. The ruffians were using the steep drop-off on the left to cage in their victim, making it difficult to see him. However, judging from the size of the boy’s shoes, he wasn’t more than eight years old, far too young for even a junior cadet.
He could be the child of one of the professors or staff, but why would they allow him to hike alone in the early morning? The area around the Academy was relatively safe, but as this situation proved, it wasn’t harmless. With the cliff behind him and the three boys in front of him, he was trapped.
The teenagers had tossed assorted rubbish near the base of the rocks. All three looked as though they had slept in their clothes. When the breeze shifted, she discovered they smelled like it, too. They’d probably fallen asleep on the rock after a night of drinking, and been roused by the child’s approach down the trail. She hadn’t encountered the boy on the main trail, so he must have been hiking the Pine Loop that branched off near the trailhead.
One of the boys moved slightly, giving her a glimpse of the victim’s profile. His hair was wavy, with a blend of colors from light tan to milk chocolate, like a dappled fawn. But it was his skin that made her catch her breath. It was tinged a pale green, with thin ribbons of brown swirling in non-linear patterns, giving the boy’s golden eyes the appearance of gazing out from behind fern fronds. Kraed.
That changed things considerably.
The Academy administration had trumpeted the arrival of Professor Siginal Clarek as a member of the staff this year, the first Kraed to ever accept a long-term position. His lectures were notable for the incredible wealth of information provided and the warm tropical setting in which they were taught, which mimicked the more humid environment of his homeworld.
Professor Clarek was her physics instructor and faculty advisor, and the boy with his heels backed up to the cliff was his son, Jonarel. Apparently the boy didn’t share his father’s aversion to the dry Colorado air.
She still didn’t like the odds, but she felt better knowing the boy’s identity. The bullies had chosen their victim poorly. For one thing, Kraed entered puberty at a much later age than humans. Jonarel wasn’t the child he appeared to be. He was at least as old as the boys he was facing, possibly older.
He’d also grown up on a planet that was populated with very large, very lethal predators. Even though the Kraed had long since learned how to safely co-exist with the creatures of their world, Kraed children were still taught to defend themselves from infancy. Jonarel could probably handle these three without her assistance, but she wasn’t prepared to bet his life on it, especially given his precarious position.
One of the teenagers snatched the tablet Jonarel was carrying from his hands and dangled it above the Kraed’s head. “What you doing with this, little green man?” He waved the device in the air. “You studyin’ humans so you can grow up to be a real man?”
Despite his small size, Jonarel managed to look haughty as he stared at the giants in front of him. “If I wanted to learn anything valuable about humans, I certainly would not begin with you three.”
Aurora slapped a h
and over her mouth to stifle a bark of laughter. The boy had guts. And no sense of self-preservation.
The bullies looked ready to tear him to pieces. “Is that so?” sneered the largest of the boys, the apparent ringleader. “Well maybe it’s time to find out if little green men can fly.” He grabbed the front of Jonarel’s jacket in both hands.
Aurora didn’t wait to see what he planned to do next. “Let him go.” She stepped around the rock and pinned the ringleader with the authoritative look she’d perfected in her Academy leadership prep classes.
The boys looked startled by her presence, but Jonarel didn’t show any surprise at all. In fact, he looked like he’d been expecting her. That was disconcerting. Then again, Kraed were known for their acute senses. He’d probably heard her approach.
The ringleader’s attention switched to her. “Not gonna happen, girlie.” He leered as his gaze lingered on her ample chest. “But if you want to wait until we finish here, I’d be happy to take care of you.”
Ugh. She fought down the bile that rose in her throat as the other boys snickered. Keeping her expression carefully neutral, she stared hard into the leader’s eyes, refusing to respond to his taunt.
He dropped his gaze. “Just keep walkin’,” he muttered.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” She took a step closer. The two boys standing on either side of the ringleader glanced nervously between her and the large bully, clearly unsure what to do next. Good. She wanted them to be uncertain.
“And why is that?” The leader faced her, dragging Jonarel with him. That was an improvement at least. Now the larger boy’s body was between Jonarel and the cliff.
“Because that’s my friend you’re threatening. He was supposed to meet me here.” She couldn’t see Jonarel’s face, but she hoped his expression wouldn’t give lie to her words. “I’d appreciate it if the three of you would head home so we can work.”
The ruffian snorted. “Work? You’re jokin’. This kid is just outta diapers. What’re you gonna do with him, play house?” That comment brought on a roar of laughter from the other boys.
Aurora spoke over the racket. “What you don’t seem to understand is that this kid is a Kraed. They don’t reach their adult size until they’re in their twenties. He’s probably older than you are.”
“Eighteen,” Jonarel said.
So he was two years older than she was. Good to know.
He turned his head so his gaze met hers. Intelligence and awareness shone in those otherworldly eyes. Maybe his age wasn’t the only thing about him that wasn’t what it appeared.
“Eighteen?” The bully jerked Jonarel onto his tiptoes and brought their faces centimeters apart. The larger boy’s lip curled as he snarled, but Jonarel remained completely relaxed, his arms hanging loosely at his sides.
The Kraed had courage to spare.
The bully glared at Aurora. “If you’re telling the truth.” His tone indicated she was lying. He was right. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Jonarel Clarek.”
“What kinda name is that?”
“A Kraed name.”
Jonarel pointed to the device one of the boys still held. “My name is on my tablet.”
“I didn’t ask you.” The bully gave Jonarel a hard shake that made his teeth click together.
“Knock it off!” Aurora took a step toward the leader. She spoke slowly, giving weight to each syllable. “I said, let…him…go.”
The bully’s pupils widened, showing the first flicker of uncertainty. He had about five inches and at least fifty pounds on her, but her forceful attitude seemed to be unsettling him. He was probably used to picking on the weak. She certainly was not weak.
But instead of releasing his hold on Jonarel, he gave her a lecherous smile that bared his crooked teeth. “I don’t think so.” A predatory gleam appeared in his eyes. “I think we’ll make this into a party, instead.”
Jonarel’s hands flexed as the bully stepped forward, dragging him along. Her heart rate picked up. She didn’t know what the Kraed planned to do, but she wanted to avoid a physical confrontation if at all possible.
Instead of reacting to the implied threat, she sighed dramatically. “That’s a shame.” She gave the leader a look of pity. “I was hoping to save you boys from a trip to the hospital.”
“Oh yeah? You gonna put us there, girlie?”
“No. But the boy’s father will.”
That brought him up short. “Whadda you mean?”
She used the patient tones of a teacher explaining a particularly difficult problem to a student. “Did any of you happen to notice his last name?” She looked each boy in the eye before returning her focus to the ringleader. “Clarek. As in Professor Clarek, the new head of the Astrophysics department at the Academy, who happens to be built like a grizzly bear.”
All three boys paled, so she pressed her advantage. “It’s clear you three don’t know anything about Kraed, so let me share another fun fact with you. Kraed males are incredibly protective, especially when it comes to their families. You’re threatening a Kraed male’s only son. A very large Kraed male. Do you have any idea what is likely to happen to you if he finds out you hurt his child?”
The boys stared at her with rapt attention. So did Jonarel, though his expression was one of fascination, not fear.
“I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t relish infuriating a man who could knock my head from my shoulders with one swipe of his hand. But, it’s your call.” The silence stretched out as she gave them time to ponder her words.
Finally, one of the boys shuffled his feet and looked up the trail with an expression of longing. “Uh, maybe we should head back to town.” He glanced nervously at Jonarel.
“Yeah.” The other boy kicked a rock with his shoe. “This is boring.”
The ringleader seemed torn between his need to maintain his macho image and his desire to keep his body in one piece. Physical preservation won out.
“Whatever.” He gave Jonarel a little shove and brushed his hands together like he’d touched something dirty. “You space geeks aren’t worth my time, anyway.” His gaze flicked insolently over Aurora before he gestured to the other boys. “Let’s go.”
They gathered their few belongings from the rocks and started up the path. Jonarel stepped to the edge of the trail to give them room. The ringleader plucked Jonarel’s tablet from the hands of his friend as they passed and shoved the device hard into Jonarel’s chest, knocking him off balance.
As Jonarel’s arms pin-wheeled, time contracted to a single point, bringing every detail into sharp relief. The rustle of Jonarel’s jacket sleeves against his torso. The look of surprise that flashed across his face. The crunch of a pebble under Aurora’s foot. The rush of air into her lungs as she inhaled.
Then he pitched backward over the cliff.
“No!” She lunged forward, her left hand making contact with his ankle as his torso disappeared from view. She held on, but her momentum pulled her over the edge, face first.
The decline was sharp, but not the vertical drop she had anticipated. They were sliding, not falling. As they tumbled past a large tree, she reached out with her right hand and grabbed for an exposed root. Her fingers tightened on the rough wood and her left arm jerked as she and Jonarel came to an abrupt halt.
She stifled a groan, grateful that Jonarel was a featherweight and the sudden stop hadn’t dislocated her shoulder. She looked up at the trail. They’d fallen about ten meters down the side of the cliff. A moment later, three heads appeared over the edge, like prairie dogs from a burrow, their expressions a matched set of shock.
“Help us!” she called, her voice weakened by the strain of holding onto Jonarel with one hand and the tree root with the other.
The boys exchanged a quick glance, and then their heads disappeared. The sound of fading footsteps trickled down as the miscreants ran up the trail, away from the Academy.
“Perfect.” So much for outside assistance. She gl
anced down. Jonarel was dangling by his right leg, his hands planted firmly on the ground on either side of his torso. Below him the ground sloped at roughly forty degrees for about a hundred meters. She could just make out the shattered remnants of his tablet where it had slammed into the ground at the bottom of the ravine.
“Jonarel? Are you okay?”
The Dark of Light (Starhawke Rising Book 1) Page 1
