Alienne Mine: A Prequel to Dragon Dawn
Page 5
Ed gazed at the sea, shimmering blue-green in the sunshine, colors that brought Alienne to mind. The memory of her beautiful skin and eyes made him smile despite his woes. Over a month had passed since she’d left. Too long, he feared. He immediately shook his head. No, believe in her abilities, he told himself to counteract the feeling of doom.
As hard as it was, he knew he must be patient. He could wait – would have to wait – for her return. The universe was vast and unknowable, and she must be involved in things beyond his wildest imaginings.
But his heart was still stretched thin from grief and worry. He swam by himself, hoping exercise would lift his mood. The water was cool, invigorating, a perfect temperature for swimming. But he didn’t go out too far, because there was no reef to form a barrier between the shallows and open ocean. Dangers lurked beyond the aqua waves, darker waters with rip currents and predators like barracuda and sharks.
He switched from the crawl to an easy backstroke and headed for the beach. When he could finally stand in the water, he glanced to the west to catch a glimpse of the angling sun. Suddenly, he spotted something swimming toward him. A dark blue shape in the aqua surf. His heart raced. Shark!
He hauled himself from the water. Dripping wet, he turned and watched it come closer. Then he frowned, because he saw...arms, legs.
What the...?
Suddenly, he knew. A bewitching creature, an alien Aphrodite, rose from the sea, and his heart swelled with joy.
Gazes met and locked, eyes communicating what words could not.
They raced into each other’s arms, lips meeting at long last, three hearts beating as one.
* * *
“Alienne, I’ve missed you.”
She could feel the strength of his desire, his body so close, as if molded to hers. Swept up by her own needs, she kissed him passionately. Edward McAdams was indisputably the one, her Chosen. She had never felt this way about another being, whether a human or member of her own species.
When they finally drew apart, she felt beautiful beneath his ardent stare. His aura whirled about his head, the same vibrant colors as when they first met on the asteroid, sparkling silver laced with violet-gold. He was a handsome man with a glorious and kind spirit.
She smiled up at him.
He reached out and tilted her chin, then looked directly into her eyes. “I need to be alone with you,” he said. “But, will you...?” He hesitated. “Can we...?”
She nodded. “Yes, our evolutionary paths were similar. I have all of the requisite...”
“Shhh,” he said. He lifted her, cradling her in his arms, and then carried her to the small cove where he’d stowed his towel and other gear.
They made love from sunset till deepest dusk, blanketed by the first stars and a sickle moon. Afterward, as they clung to each other, their breathing calmed, and she felt a languid warmth envelop her, her heartbeats slowing in shared measure to his.
Together, they watched the night sky. Alienne gazed at it in wonder, as if seeing it for the first time. Its vastness did not threaten, her life no longer an empty shell of lost hopes and dreams. Instead, she felt reborn, with a sense of belonging she’d never known before.
She broke her silence with a contented sigh.
Edward came up on his elbow and kissed her brow. “I’ve fallen in love with you,” he whispered.
She smiled. “How strange that humans call it falling in love,” she said, snuggling against him, “when I feel as though I’ve been lifted to the sky.”
* * *
It was nearly ten p.m., the tide higher, the ocean roaring. With only the blaze of the Milky Way to light their path, they walked hand in hand to the Jeep.
Alienne touched Edward’s face. “You can’t travel with me. Not yet. If you disappeared from Hawaii, you’d be declared missing, presumed dead. As soon as someone found your Jeep here, seemingly abandoned, everyone would assume you drowned in the sea. We must make good plans, so that you can return if you wish.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she touched his lips with hers, silencing him with a passionate kiss.
She drew away and smiled. “Drive back to Poipu. Rest and sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’ll teleport you straight to my ship. Then we’ll try to figure things out, and afterward I’ll send you back to your hotel. No one will realize you’ve gone anywhere.”
“Okay, you win.” He kissed her once more, tenderly. “Where’s your ship right now?”
“It’s in a geosynchronous orbit. Above your head, Edward.”
He glanced up. “Hey, I can see it.”
She followed the path of his gaze and searched the sky. The stars twinkled back, just the stars, and she laughed at herself for being so gullible.
He chuckled, then pulled her close and kissed her on the tip of her nose. “I love you.”
“And I you, my Edward.” She parted from him and watched as he got into the Jeep.
She placed her hands over her hearts and said, “Until tomorrow.” With that, she teleported to her ship.
Alienne immediately walked to the viewport and looked down at the Earth. The Pacific Ocean was swathed in deepest nightshade-blue, but her keen vision discerned faint fluorescent-green trails left by ships at sea and the golden-white lights of Honolulu. She looked to the west of Oahu and a bit north, straining to find a hint of Kauai, but the island was now covered by clouds.
She touched the window and leaned closer, sensing Edward down there, far below. Then she whispered, “Sleep well, my love.”
Chapter 8
Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service.
~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Alienne fought both logic and instincts as she ordered her ship to Deimos. Despite her vow to stay away from Mars, she needed to investigate. She hoped the little moon would hide her from any possible threat. Her worst fear was that some sort of horrible entity, a veritable demon, lurked within the red planet.
But her remote observations yielded nothing, no hint of alien activity either on the surface of Mars or within its depths. The laser beacon had stopped signaling Earth weeks ago and quiet now prevailed. The Magnificent One’s explanation must be correct – the previous activity could have been caused by some kind of planetary librarian.
She left Deimos and put her ship back in geosynchronous orbit above Kauai. At ten a.m. she teleported Edward to her side. She watched his startled expression relax to a welcoming smile.
Then she grinned when she saw he was wearing swimming trunks.
“Hey,” he said as he drew her into his arms.
She kissed him. “No vertigo this time?”
“Nope.”
“I’m glad. You look like you’re ready for a swim, and I know exactly where to take you. While I was away, I did something...for you. It’s a surprise.”
“You know, don’t you, that I love surprises,” he said with a wink.
She laughed. “Close your eyes, Edward.”
Alienne gave the order for her ship to leave Earth orbit. In the next instant, she folded space and then, almost immediately, she felt faint shuddering as the ship left the slipstream. This mimicked her own body’s trembling, such was her excitement.
She was about to show Ed what she’d purchased with a few boxes of Ghirardelli chocolate.
* * *
Ed gazed through the window of Alienne’s vessel. A metallic sphere appeared to hover in space not far away. He tried to gauge its size, but he couldn’t begin to estimate the dimensions. His instincts told him it was immense, perhaps as big as a solar system, and in actuality quite distant from the ship.
Alienne stood beside him. “We are in my home galaxy, that which you call Hoag’s Object. Should you wish it, this will be our new home. It is similar to what humans call a Dyson Sphere. There is a brown dwarf star inside. It warms everything, provides an unlimited source of energy, and casts a pink glow on the lands and seas within the shell, much like a perp
etual sunset.”
He shook his head in amazement. “I’m at a loss for words.”
She smiled. “Ah, you are intrigued, then. Good.”
“How many people live there?”
“None. It is our star palace. Ours alone.”
Stunned, he whispered, “Ours?”
“Yes. Everything I own is now yours...my ship, this sphere. I know you love the sea, and there are many beaches inside just waiting for us to explore. We can get lost in there...happily lost. And if we ever get bored, we can go anywhere you like. I am giving you the stars, the very universe, Edward.”
He stared into the depths of her beautiful turquoise eyes, seeing love, a perfect match to his own feelings.
“Do you wish to swim in our star palace today, or shall we go back to Kauai and settle your plans?” she asked.
“Let’s stay here for now. A day or so won’t matter. Everything else can wait. But promise me after we finish up on Earth, we’ll go back at least once more, in 2029, so that I can see my friends touch down on Mars.”
She kissed his lips. “Yes, of course. I promise.”
“Thank you,” he said, touching the silken strands on her head. He held her close and breathed in the sweet scent of Christmas, then he smiled, realizing this went far beyond the ship and sphere. She’d already given him the very best gift of all – herself.
“I love you, my dear Edward McAdams. I love you so much,” she said in tender whisperings.
“And I you,” he whispered back, “Alienne mine.”
About the Author
Deborah O’Neill Cordes is a screenwriter and novelist of speculative and historical fiction. Her childhood was divided between big city and small town America; in the summer before sixth grade her family moved from Staten Island, New York to Flagstaff, Arizona. Both of her home towns nurtured her love of science and history. Afternoons spent fossil hunting on the Staten Island shore gave way to exploring Northern Arizona’s ancient ruins. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in zoology, magna cum laude, from Northern Arizona University. Just three credits shy of a double major in zoology and history, she decided to graduate on time and pursue history as a vocation by getting a master’s degree with thesis, also from NAU. After teaching secondary school for fourteen years, she turned to writing full-time. She is also a dedicated genealogist; the surnames in her sci-fi works – McAdams, Stroganoff, and Granberg – having been last names in two of her ancestral lineages.
In addition to Alienne Mine and Dragon Dawn, Deborah is the co-author of the Morgan O’Neill time travel novels, which she writes with Cary Morgan Frates. Several of Deborah’s works have been optioned by Hollywood, while many others are award winners, garnering finalist placements in the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Conference Literary Contest, semi-finalist wins in the William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, and the Metro Goldwyn Mayer finalist award in the Seattle International Film Festival’s Perfect Pitch Forum.
She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two West Highland White Terriers, who, alas, are precocious terriers and therefore never white.
Please visit Deborah O’Neill Cordes at:
http://www.deborahoneillcordes.com/
Please visit Morgan O’Neill at:
http://www.morganoneill.com/
Copyright © 2015 by Deborah O’Neill Cordes
ISBN-10: 0986193607
ISBN-13: 978-0-9861936-0-6
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