“I will travel with you. I would rather receive my boon immediately than having to wait at your leisure,” Roz stated.
“You do not trust me, Roz?” Loog snickered.
“I do not,” Roz snapped. “There is no honor among thieves where you are concerned.”
“It is a pity you are untrusting of me. We would work well together on future projects,” Loog considered.
“Let us get through this project before devising new ones,” Roz said harshly.
Loog flashed a light onto Jess and studied her throat. He then turned and spoke in a strange language to his minions. Grul, one of aliens, lifted Jess as if she were a feather and threw her over his massive shoulder. They started walking at a brisk pace.
*****
Troy rushed through the woods easily following Jess’s internal signal. Then suddenly her signal faded to the point that he couldn’t sense her. Why? He had always been able to track her whenever he needed to. What had suddenly happened to terminate his connection to her? She had to be hurt or—no he couldn’t think like that. Jess is not gone but she was in trouble. He had to find her, protect her and bring her home. How ironic that the moment he had decided to tell her everything she had found out on her own; and in the most horrible way possible. Oshun had blurted it out unthinkingly while he would have explained it gently. Well, the damage was done and there was no undoing it. He just had to find her and explain his true motives in not telling her sooner. But locating her would much more difficult without her internal signal to guide him. He looked into the sky and asked the stars for direction. The stars began to move and make a formation. He looked at the configuration and grinned.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
He then took off running.
*****
“Do you know where you are going,” Roz demanded. “It feels as though we lost.”
“We are not,” Loog snapped.
“How can you be so sure? For you know the portal cannot be reached from Topal,” Roz said caustically.
“It is here,” Loog insisted.
“Check the map again. And read it properly this time,” Roz said heatedly.
“You’re welcome to read it yourself since you find my navigation fruitless,” Loog suggested nastily.
“Drop her to the ground,” Roz snapped at the Grul.
Grul laid Jess on the ground. Roz peered down at her.
“Give me light,” Roz demanded.
Grul held a shone a beacon of light onto Jess. Roz looked at the throbbing star intently, trying to decipher the etching.
“Well?” Loog mocked. “In which direction should we go? We will follow your lead.”
Roz turned to glare at him then stalked away in silence. Loog laughed raucously at Roz’s expense.
“You don’t have any idea as to where we should go. You couldn’t read it,” Loog laughed.
“Shut up!” Roz yelled. “Your hilarity gets us nowhere.”
He moved to where she stood and grasped her slim neck.
“From now on you will keep your mouth shut and do as I say. Is that clear?” Loog said cruelly.
Roz looked at him rebelliously. He shook her hard.
“Answer me,” he shouted.
Roz slowly nodded.
“Say it,” he commanded.
“Yes,” she mumbled.
He grinned evilly and crushed her against him. He kissed her roughly. Roz thought she would vomit as he pushed his thick tongue into her mouth. He then ended the kiss and pushed her away from him. Roz wiped her sleeve across her mouth.
“There’s a lot more of that coming. So get used to it,” Loog smirked. He turned to look at Jess’s prone, still body.
“Grul, pick her up,” Loog ordered.
“Use her to satisfy your sick lust,” Roz spat as she pointed to Jess.
“I prefer an active participant. And you will take part in the fun; if you know what’s good for you,” Loog jeered. “Let’s go.”
They started off. Loog kept Roz close to his side and squeezed her breasts and buttocks as they walked along. She tried to move away from him but he kept a tight hold on her. Roz looked straight ahead and tried to ignore what he was doing. She plotted her revenge and swore that he would pay for his cruelty to her.
*****
Troy stopped and looked at the light that was shining from afar. It was odd that a light would be shining in the middle of the night. The light was some distance away but its location was in the center of his star formation. Troy knew that this development was not coincidental; coincidence did not exist. He began moving toward the ray of light. Troy had traveled several miles when the light was extinguished. But that mattered little for his night vision was clear and sharp. He could now see the object of his pursuit. The group was Wulshuk and they were moving swiftly but Troy had little difficulty keeping pace. One of the men carried something over his shoulder. Troy stared at the object and gasped. It was Jess slung over the brute’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She didn’t appear conscious which was why he had lost her signal. His blood boiled with fury. How dare they harm Jess? They would sorely regret their activities of this night. He would make them pay in spades. They approached a clearing and stopped. Troy hid in the copse several yards behind them. Loog looked up into the sky and pointed. Troy followed the direction of his finger and was amazed at what he saw. There in the night sky were a huge mass of circulating stars. It was beautiful but most importantly it was meaningful.
“Look! We found it,” Loog exclaimed excitedly.
Roz stared at the moving mass of stars.
“That’s it? There must be more,” Roz insisted.
“It’s there,” Loog breathed.
“All I see are a bunch of moving stars,” Roz complained.
“You fool! You know nothing,” Loog snarled. “Wake her up. She must be awake to open the portal.”
Grul laid Jess on the ground. Roz then knelt beside her to inject her with a rousing serum. Roz sat back on her heels to wait for Jess to wake. In seconds Jess began to stir. Loog motioned for Grul to hold her neck. Jess opened her eyes and looked around her. She immediately tried to get up. Grul huge hands tightened on her neck.
“Move an inch and Grul will happily snap your neck,” Loog said affably.
Jess stilled.
“Let me go,” she demanded.
“You’re in no position to give orders, Jessica. In fact, you will be taking them from me,” Loog said as he moved to stand over her.
“If you’re trying to intimidate me it’s not working,” Jess snapped.
“Tsk. Tsk. There’s no need to be nasty,” Loog said amiably. “All you have to do is open the portal so that I may walk through it and you can be on your way.”
“Never,” Jess stated flatly.
“Oh, I think you will. You see I have colleagues at your family’s home. One word from me and they will kill them,” Loog said smoothly. “Are you getting the picture?”
Loog didn’t have anyone at her family’s home but she didn’t know he was lying. The threat was the leverage he needed to persuade her to do his bidding.
“You wouldn’t,” Jess gasped.
“Oh but I would. The demise of your siblings would be such a shame. It appeared you were growing quite close to them,” Loog smiled devilishly.
“Bastard!” Jess yelled.
“I am. So what?” Loog murmured with a shrug.
“You’re bluffing,” Jess asserted.
“Try me,” Loog countered. He held a small transmitter to his mouth.
Jess remained silent. She couldn’t risk her family’s lives on a hunch.
“What do you want?” Jess hissed.
Loog sighed dramatically.
“I already told you. I’m requesting that you open the portal. That’s all you need do,” Loog said.
“I don’t know how,” Jess cried.
And that really was the truth. She didn’t have a clue of how to open it.
“That part
is probably true. But you will figure it out,” Loog said. He spoke to Grul. “Stand her up.”
Grul kept his large paw on the back of her neck and pulled her up.
“I have no idea of what I’m supposed to do,” Jess cried out.
Loog pointed to the circling stars.
“There it is. Focus on those stars and use your power to force an opening,” Loog said urgently.
Jess began to look at the spinning stars. They began moving faster and faster. Roz moved out from the trees into the clearing.
“Roz!” Jess exclaimed. “You’re a part of this?”
“Let’s just say I am protecting my interests,” Roz sneered.
“Forget about Roz and focus on those stars,” Loog shouted harshly.
Jess turned her attention back to the rotating stars. She could feel her Galaxia Star throbbing at the base of her throat. But the sensation was more intense than usual. It felt as though it were trying to break free of her. She thought she would explode into a trillion fragments if she didn’t somehow release it. Then she saw it. A white beam of light was radiating from her throat to connect with the circling stars. The brilliant light then formed the shape of an arch. It began gliding toward her. There it was; the portal to the universe. Roz and Jess gasp at the magnificence of it. Troy was stunned at the beauty of it. It stopped about fifty yards in front of them. Loog laughed gleefully as he began moving toward it. Suddenly they heard a roar. Grul loosened his grip on Jess to turn and see who had yelled. Jess didn’t have to look to know who was there. She knew it was Troy. A ball of fire whooshed passed her and slammed into Loog. Loog crumbled to the ground. Jess was able to pulled out of Grul’s loosened grip and whip him against the trees. His fat head slammed against it and burst into flames. You could hear his screams of agony as he slowly vaporized. Two more Wulshuk aliens charged Jess. She fought off a firestorm of laser strikes from the relentless Wulshuks. Loog staggered to his feet and moved toward the portal again. He was determined to pass through it to consume its power. Troy sliced Loog’s arm with his sword of light. Loog cried out at the excruciating pain.
“I will not allow you to pass through that portal,” Troy said.
“You’ll have to kill me to stop me,” Loog snarled.
Loog took two more steps toward the portal.
“So be it,” Troy said grimly.
Troy raised his powerful arm and brought his sword down and through Loog’s neck. Loog’s head fell from his body and rolled on the ground. As Troy was busy fighting Loog, Roz had begun to run toward the portal. Her genius plan was about to come to fruition. Jess saw her sprinting toward the portal.
“Noo!” Jess cried.
Jess lifted her palm and zapped Roz with bolts of jagged streaks of lightning. Roz fell to the ground as her back burned to a crisp. Jess lowered her hand and looked at Roz pitifully. Troy looked around them and saw that all of the Wulshuk were dead and had disintegrated. Jess and Troy looked at each other. Troy opened his arms and Jess ran into them. Troy lifted her and spun her around.
“Oh Troy!” she cried as she hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry I ran. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright, sweetheart. I understand why you did so,” Troy said as he kissed her neck.
“I thought you had betrayed me and it was the worst pain I have ever felt,” Jess said tearfully.
“Don’t cry, darling. I should have told you earlier,” Troy said regretfully. “By remaining silent it looked like I had ulterior motives. But I swear to you that I do not. I just did not want to add another worry to the list.”
“I believe you, Troy. I should have trusted you enough to know you had your reason for not telling me. I can be a huge idiot at times,” she admitted.
“And I can be protective to the point of my own detriment. But I love you too much to change. You will just have to put up with it,” he said ruefully.
She looked at him in shock.
“You love me?” she asked in disbelief.
He smiled wryly.
“Yes. I love you to distraction. I fell in love with you years ago but I couldn’t tell you,” he confessed. “I had a duty to perform and I would not allow my personal feeling to interfere with that responsibility. Your safety trumped all else.”
Jess laughed in joy.
“Did I say something funny,” Troy asked. He was not amused.
“No. You’ve just said something that I’ve wanted to hear since high school,” she said joyously. “I love you too, Troy with every cell in my being. You are my life and I could not survive a single day without you in it.”
“There is one more thing you should know, Jess,” he said seriously.
“What is it?” she asked curiously.
“I too have a Galaxia Star,” he said.
Jess frowned in confusion.
“That’s impossible. I would have seen it by now,” she said.
“It is in the same place as yours only hidden beneath my skin,” he explained. “It has been waiting to be activated by you. You are the only person who can do so. You see, Jess you are my twin flame. We were born to be as one. You are my other half and you can ensure that we live forever as one by releasing my star.”
Jess was astonished by his confession. But she was also intrigued by it. She loved him more than anything in the galaxy and she could make sure that they were together for eternity. She liked the sound of that. She smiled slowly.
“Will you become one with me, Troy?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” he replied.
He then kissed her deeply. After a moment she pulled back and grasped his hand. She tugged on his hand for him to walk with her into the portal. He held back.
“I can’t go in with you for the first time, sweetheart. You must do that alone to consume the power that is awaiting you,” Troy said. “Only after you have become one with the universe will you be able to wake up my slumbering star.”
“But I don’t know how to do that,” she said in concern.
“You will know. Just trust the universe. She will guide you,” he replied. “Go now. She is waiting.”
Jess looked at Troy one last time then began walking toward the spectacular, shimmering portal. She stopped a foot before the entrance and looked into the brilliant light. She smiled for she knew she was finally home. She was about to fulfill her destiny and her heart surged with happiness. She stepped through the arch then turned to face Troy. Thunderous claps sounded as she made a cross with her arms. Dazzling rods of color swirled around her as luminous light lit the night sky. It was the most splendid spectacle Troy had ever seen. Jess felt the formidable, potent supremacy fuse her entire being. She felt steep in unadulterated dominion, and it transcended the world as she once knew it. She was pure triumphant energy. Jess looked at Troy and smiled. She knew it was now time. She projected a beam of light to the base of Troy’s neck. Troy felt the insistent throbbing of his star. Then he saw the beam of light emanating from his throat. It melded with Jess’s ray and began tugging him to move forward. He did so until he had passed through the portal and joined Jess. They embraced and the sky opened in beautiful galactic song.
*****
Tah and Boshar and their children stood on the lanai. They heard the music from the heavens and smiled broadly. As they gazed into the sky Jess and Troy appeared before them and threw kisses down to them. Boshar and Oshun laughed in delight. Troy had been correct when he’d said that all would be well and he would bring Jessica home. He had kept his promise. Boshar waved to the smiling couple and her heart was at peace. She knew that Jessica and Troy had become the heart of the galaxy.
About The Author
Cristina Grenier has been writing stories for as long as she could remember. She's a hopeless romantic and her writing reflects it. She loves to write Romance and Erotic stories. Cristina draws from her past experiences and from others around her when writing. She enjoys giving readers characters they can relate to and storylines that feel real.
Besides being
an avid writer, Cristina is also a talented artist. She enjoys painting landscapes and figure drawing. In her spare time , she also likes to travel, shop, and enjoys music of all genres. She currently resides in Connecticut with her husband Steve and their daughter, Megan.
If you wish to contact Cristina or keep up with her latest works, please visit her goodreads page at www.goodreads.com/cristina_grenier
Heart of the Galaxy (Paranormal Romance Aliens) Page 11
