Lost In Dreamland

by Jason Paul Rice

  “Why? Are you some kind of secret billionaire or something?”

  Whitney giggled. “No, silly boy, because we will always figure something out. We figured out how to take down Benno Dante when so many people failed before us. We figured out how to stop an international weapons-for-money ring involving the Vice President that nobody else could.”

  Trent added, “You’re making some good points here.”

  “And I’m not finished. When you were kidnapped and it was up to just a little girl, I figured out how to get you back and bring that weirdo to justice.”

  Trent added, “Not to mention probably saving Robbie. I would have left him there and he probably would have died. I was pretty emotional and he was being such a punk ass about everything. But you stayed with him and made sure that maniac didn’t steal him back.”

  “I was shocked when I saw that helicopter coming down and I lost it when the wrecking ball dropped out of it. I had to light those guys up. I probably could have killed them too.”

  Trent said, “You can’t think like that. I only wish I had been there to see it all happen. I will admit it’s kind of strange watching you morph into a dragon. I just got used to seeing Darominius do it, but not my wife.”

  They drove for another hour and a half and finally made it back to Pennsburgh. Trent pulled into the small driveway and they got out of the car. Whitney noticed something hanging out of the mailbox. It had a golden glitter to it that caught her eye.

  Whitney pulled out the rolled-up piece of white paper that had been sprinkled in gold dust. She tried to blow it off, but the crushed gold wouldn’t budge. She unrolled the paper and the writing was upside down so she turned it over.

  A job well done, yes once again,

  Now to relax, before the next mission,

  A group of friends requests your time,

  Those library steps, you must climb,

  And walk those legs to the shelf you know,

  Off to your other home is where you’ll go.

  17

  Trent and Whitney went behind the magical bookshelf at the Granny Larson Library. Her ghostly friend, Richard, was waiting in the small, dark area for them. He silently led them as they walked around the corner and saw the glowing vortex hanging in mid-air.

  Trent dove into the swirling mass of numbers and letters with streaks of different colored lights bouncing around the circular image. Whitney jumped shoulder first into the portal and the immense pressure hit her as she slid downward.

  The speed increased down the slide and she splashed into the emerald waters. She kicked and paddled to get to the top and after emerging, gasped for some sweet air. Trent helped pull her into the golden boat and Richard attached the onboard motor.

  They calmly careened down the waterway with houses on either side.

  “I’m mad at you guys, you know.” Whitney said to Richard.

  “I had a feeling you would be a bit upset, but allow all of us to explain that once we get to the castle. It is wonderful to have you back in Soro Exxo,” Richard told her.

  They cruised up to the steep incline and Richard hit the button to transform the steps. The staircase emerged with a loud thud and Trent helped Whitney out of the boat. They walked up to the door and Richard punched in the code to open the door.

  The trio walked into the foyer and got on the hover pad. The initial speed jolted Whitney but she maintained her balance as they sped down the long hallway with old works of art and wallPads and streaming monitors.

  The hover pad came to a gradual stop and the passengers got off and walked into the dining room. She put on her mean face as she entered the room.

  The fluorescent-glowing ghosts sat around the table. Roland sat at the head of the table with Raquel to his right and Ruth-Ann and Richard to the left of their father. Whitney sat next to Raquel and Trent took a seat next to her.

  Raquel said, “It is so great to see you again.”

  Whitney said, “I wish I could say the same. Thanks for letting my husband get kidnapped on our honeymoon and then sending me on a crazy adventure without any help with the ghosts.”

  Roland spoke in a calming tone. “After all we have done for you, do you think we would just let something like that happen if we could have prevented it?”

  Whitney grudgingly shook her shoulders. “I guess not. But when I was being attacked by dark spirits, I was hoping you would show up to have my back.”

  Ruth-Ann said, “The rules are different for the dark spirits or they break them. We cannot come and start a supernatural war on the earth’s surface for obvious reasons. You have to believe that we can see into the future for some things, but the man who kidnapped Trent acted impulsively and struck quickly.”

  Raquel said, “We have helped you in every way we could. We asked Darominius to stay with you the entire time and we asked our Wiccan friends to come and alleviate the pressure from you. There wasn’t much more we could do. However, you can take solace in knowing that you fought through all that hardship all by yourself. You don’t need to rely on anyone anymore.”

  Richard said, “It would appear that we are going to need your help soon. So now other people are relying on you.”

  Whitney smirked. “So you won’t help me when I need it most, but now you want me to help you? I don’t know about that.”

  Roland said, “I understand the frustration and in all the excitement, we forgot to congratulate the two of you.”

  The other family members joined in and congratulated the expecting couple.

  “Thank you,” Trent said and blushed.

  Richard chuckled. “Oh, you do talk again. I thought something happened to your tongue.”

  Trent said, “Nothing wrong with the tongue. I just don’t know what to say when I’m here. I’m just trying to soak it all in.”

  A flying tray zoomed into the room and hovered over the middle of the table.

  Richard said, “Water.”

  Raquel ordered, “Iced Tea.”

  Roland said, “Lager.”

  Ruth-Ann said, “Nothing, thank you.”

  The family looked at Trent and Whitney. Raquel asked, “Do either of you want to order a drink?”

  “OK, I’ll have an iced tea too.”

  The hovering tray spoke. “OK, I’ll have does not compute.”

  Richard said, “Just face the tray and say Iced Tea.”

  Whitney followed his instructions and looked at Trent.

  He said slowly, “Iced tea.”

  Whitney smiled, never having had a drink order taken by a floating tray before. The silver rectangle zipped out of the room and down the hallway.

  Richard said, “See mom, I told you she wouldn’t want to help us out in the next adventure. I guess she doesn’t want to go to space.”

  “Go to space? What? What do you mean go to space?”

  Raquel said, “You know it has been hinted at before, but if matters proceed at the rate that we expect, someone is going to try to invade Soro Exxo. Our planet shield is made of a secretive substance that no one has the technology to break. Unfortunately, someone is close to developing a way to break our shield.”

  Roland said, “Nothing is set in stone. This matter could not even be an issue after you have the baby, but better odds have it as a high possibility. We would be sending you and Trent into interstellar space to break up the operation.”

  “What operation?” Trent asked.

  Ruth-Ann said, “The operation to take over our planet. If this plan that someone has alerted us to continues to proceed, we need someone to infiltrate this alien gang and thwart the plan by any means necessary.”

  “Sounds pretty crazy, but that’s just up our alley.” The tray of ordered drinks flew back into the room and Whitney claimed her tea as the silver tray stopped in front of her.

  Roland said, “We know that you are going to be extremely busy with the baby and the agency you will be starting up, but you might want to brush up on your space knowledge. But not what is kno
wn right now by the humans, which is very little. We’re going to give you a few sources to gain a little knowledge.”

  Richard said, “Too bad you don’t want to help us out. Going into space sounds pretty cool. It’s a shame we can’t do it because we would be easily identified as ghosts. Despite all the crazy forms of life you could see, we are looked at as outcasts.”

  “Maybe I was a little hasty with my words earlier. I mean, we are friends and you have helped me a lot in the past. What do you think honey?”

  Trent said, “A chance to help our friends who hosted our wedding and go into space. Sounds like a pretty epic opportunity.”

  Roland said, “You two have big hearts that have too much worry right now. We know you are struggling financially now and nothing is worse than stress during a pregnancy. You’ve just committed to help us and we are in a unique position to be able to really help you with this problem.”

  Raquel interrupted, “Let me tell them. So there is an amazing amount of gold and money in general buried just under the surface of the earth. The problem is that the planet is so big that no one knows exactly where to dig. We do.”

  Trent asked, “Wait, so you are going to help us find buried treasure?”

  Richard answered, “Unless you don’t want us to?”

  Whitney took a sip of her tea. “No, I think that sounds like a fair arrangement. We save this planet and you save us financially.”

  Trent leaned over and kissed her. He whispered, “See, I told you not to worry about money.”

  She playfully slapped him on the shoulder and said, “I was the one who told you not to worry about money.”

  Roland added, “The true generosity of your soul was exposed when you agreed to take in Mary and Robbie. Sometimes good people are rewarded, not often enough though. For right now, enjoy the pregnancy as much as you can and do what you need to make your agency great without worry of cost. It is our honor to be able to help you two with your dream.”

  Richard said, “Just make sure you don’t default on the loan. You are going to have to return and possibly go into space for an unknown period of time. It can pop up at any time and you are required to drop everything and carry out this mission. It will be hard to leave a young baby, but you will be abruptly called on.”

  Trent and Whitney looked at each other. She hadn’t really thought about the fact that she would have to abandon her son or daughter that soon after the birth. The fact that they didn’t know how long the mission would take made Whitney uneasy.

  Trent said, “This is a lot easier for me to say yes, but it is ultimately up to you. I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for you.” He looked at Richard. “Right, I wouldn’t have been here?”

  Richard answered, “Probably not, but that isn’t a slight either. There’s the phrase one in a million, but our girl here is more like one in a trillion or whatever comes after that.”

  Ruth-Ann said, “It’s a quadrillion.”

  Richard looked at her and said, “I was just making a point. No need to be a know-it-all.”

  Raquel said, “Children, we are losing track here. Let’s give our favorite earthly couple.” She looked at Trent and Whitney. “Shhh, don’t tell anyone. Let’s give them a nice little send off so they can enjoy a calm period before the storm, although with a baby that will be hard to do. Congratulations once again and I’m glad we can still be friends.”

  Everyone stood up and Raquel floated over and gave Trent and Whitney a hug. Whitney still couldn’t get over the fact that the ghosts’ bodies had substance to them. They said goodbye and got back on the hover board as Whitney’s mind raced about the next adventure. Richard handed her an electronic reader with information about space as they approached the slide that would take Trent and Whitney back home to earth.

  Thank you so much for your time. I’ve included the first two chapters of Cosmic Diamonds, Book 4 in the Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventures.

  If you enjoyed this book and would like to keep up with all new releases from Jason Paul Rice, please join here: http://wix.us12.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=665dc0f022fe051e64658f2a5&id=fe264a44d3

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  SPECIAL THANK YOU: Nandita Naik, Ljilja Romanovic, Sarah Shotts, Stephen Sexton

  Preview: Cosmic Diamonds: Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventure #4

  Prologue

  Roxelle Idris-U472Z

  “I’m one badass bitch. I’m one badass bitch.” Roxelle repeated her mantra as she waited inside the pressurized cabin of the Foribus Oraculi.

  She stared at the mesmerizing blue pulsar named Densive 11 through the viewport on the right side of the cabin. She stared at the brilliant blue rotating oval with beams of argent-tinted light bursting from both poles and extending thousands of kilometers in either direction. The rapidly rotating neutron star was set to the black backdrop sprinkled with different sized dabs of bright white light.

  She pulled up her GravSuit and mentally prepared for the dangerous work ahead. The purple-fleshed female being tucked her long black braids into the neckline.

  “Arrib. Check me out,” Roxelle said, pointing to the back of her neck with her thumb.

  She could smell his minty breath as he approached. He pushed a few stragglers into her suit and patted her on the right shoulder.

  Roxelle Idris-U472Z walked to the other side of the cabin and only fourteen meters away sat the gleaming carbon planet named Dia 447. The pull from the pulsar caused the carbon to be compacted so tightly, most beings referred to it as a diamond. The sight still awed her even after seeing it thousands of times.

  Roxelle’s sponsors were assumed to have the only WARPDRIVE in the universe, so the company she worked for, TJ9974 Interstellar Mining Corporation, was the only company that could access the endless reserves of the precious gem.

  Some inhabited terraformed planets had mines of diamond reserves, but nothing compared to an entire Earth 43-sized planet. Her company had a stranglehold on the interstellar market.

  The scientists who worked for her company knew that the gravitational pull of the pulsar was going to tug in and obliterate the diamond planet. Even the gravity of the diamond planet was dangerously increasing by the day because it was getting closer to the pulsar. However, her greedy sponsors weren’t going to quit mining until the shimmering sphere disappeared.

  Another peek out the viewport made her cringe. Her co-worker, Diandre, was the first to test the ever-changing conditions today. Her suit wasn’t calibrated correctly and buckled under the increased pressure. She was crushed by the increased gravity and Roxelle couldn’t do anything but shake her head in disgust. The limp suit lay on the surface of the glimmering planet.

  A monotone voice came over the intercom. “We need to recover that suit. Lord Ingram said we can’t lose any more equipment. And hurry in case the manual pressure valves have been moved.”

  A long pole with a soft hook on the end extended from the bottom of the spaceship and moved slowly toward the white suit. The yellow hook got under the suit and lifted the dangling polymer uniform and helmet. A side compartment of the ship opened and the hook dropped the suit into the opening. The black door slid shut and the rod and hook retracted into the bottom of the ship.

  Roxelle put on her green helmet with her lucky number 7 in gold above both ears. The tinted visor helped with the glare of the diamond surface.

  “Arrib. Can you connect my helmet to the suit?”

  The stout green male being nodded and motioned for her to lean down. The tall woman lowered her shoulders to help the short man out. Roxelle hated this part because she knew they were only required to connect the helmet so the sponsors wouldn’t lose the suit if someone got smashed like a pancake.

  Roxelle neared the departing door as two porters dragged the recovered suit into the cabin by the legs. The two men lost their respective grips and nearl
y fell to the ground. The sloshing of blood and the sounds of bone scraping bone that came from inside the uniform sent a chill up her back.

  Another being went out on Dia 447 and her uniform held up. Roxelle breathed a sigh of relief as a technician came over to adjust the pressure levels of her suit.

  Now we are going to need two more people for the secret heist. I don’t know where we can find two beings on such short notice that we can trust. If we lose one more person it might be time to call off the big robbery. I love that we can afford to lose a being, but not a stupid suit. Assholes.

  Roxelle took a deep breath as the door automatically opened. Nervous energy shot through her thick body. She leaned out and grabbed the guidance rod. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She tried to calm down, knowing any moisture could fog up her visor.

  She floated, suspended in space, and placed gloved hand over gloved hand along the black guidance rod as she worked her way down to the surface of Dia 447. Her boot soles hit the surface and her knees buckled a bit. The waist high electric power drill was lowered down from the craft followed by her partner Senti.

  Roxelle was considered one of the best miners because she had a rare combination of strength and delicacy. She was shocked that her company hadn’t developed or bought droids to do the mining and eliminate the need for beings. They would be considered illegal by the Interstellar Council, but she knew her sponsors’ greed would outmatch the possible ramifications.

  She turned on the power to her A447 Drill crafted especially for mining diamonds. The flat edge of the drill head had a slight curve that helped Roxelle shape the diamond with more accuracy. All stones still went through the refinery, but a perfect mining of the gem saved a lot of time and money.

  Roxelle held the vibrating drill steady as small fragments chipped away and sparkled past her helmet. Her partner, Senti, held the enormous vacuum head over the area she had been chiseling. They worked as a team for the next three hours until they were called back to the spacecraft.

  They waited in the cabin as the last group took their shift. Senti threw up in his hand as some of the nasty remains of Diandre were being dumped out of the helmet. This further reinforced the plan Roxelle had been crafting. She knew the sponsors didn’t care about her or her life or safety.