Star Angel
Awakening
David G McDaniel
visit:
TeamStarAngel.com
Star Angel: Awakening
Copyright © 2009 by David G McDaniel
Reprinted, Copyright © 2015
Published by
Black Helm Entertainment
Cover design by
Ivan Zanchetta
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced
in any form, in whole or in part, without
written permission from the author.
The Star Angel Pentalogy is:
Book One: Awakening
Book Two: Return to Anitra
Book Three: Dawn of War
Book Four: Rising
Book Five: Prophecy
visit:
TeamStarAngel.com
Jessica has moved to a new city and is about to start at a new school, when on the eve of that momentous event a young man falls from the sky.
Like a meteor he hits, on fire and striking the ground at incredible speed. Completely freaked Jess is nevertheless compelled to run to the scene of the impact, only to discover the young man is, remarkably, fine. He has a mysterious device with him, and while in the middle of trying to understand what’s just happened the device activates and the two of them are sent hurtling to a whole new world. Suddenly Jess is in a fight for her life. This is a world at war, a grim place filled with destruction and populated, impossibly, by humans like those of Earth. But this isn’t Earth, and the reality of that fills her with increasing dread, as any hope of finding the device that brought them fades. It’s been lost in the transition and it soon becomes clear she could be stuck in this chaotic place forever.
Which is only the beginning of her problems. For in the legends of this world she’s an angel, prophesied long ago, foreseen to come exactly as she has, destined to usher in their salvation and bring them from the darkness of war into the light of a new age.
But Jess has no time for such things. She’s no angel. Just a girl on the run, and all she wants is to get home.
Dedicated with love to Dahlia, a true warrior, and to her amazing mother, Moriah.
Two of the strongest girls I know.
“Fear is the Great Paralyzer. A warrior need not carry a gun, or a sword, or have vast physical strength to be great. He need only be master of his fear.”
— Code of the Astake
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1: THE ARRIVAL
CHAPTER 2: PANIC
CHAPTER 3: BAD DECISIONS
CHAPTER 4: OUT OF CONTROL
CHAPTER 5: UNEXPECTED COMPANY
CHAPTER 6: IMPATIENCE
CHAPTER 7: A MYSTERIOUS DEVICE
CHAPTER 8: FREEFALL
CHAPTER 9: AN IMPOSSIBLE FIGHT
CHAPTER 10: HORUS
CHAPTER 11: INTO THE WILD
CHAPTER 12: SHOGUN ASHIKAGI
CHAPTER 13: THE KISS
CHAPTER 14: DISCOVERED
CHAPTER 15: LOST
CHAPTER 16: HOUSE OF THE WITCH
CHAPTER 17: THE BEAUTIFUL KITANA
CHAPTER 18: NO WAY BACK
CHAPTER 19: THE CONCLAVE
CHAPTER 20: NEXT OF MANY TESTS
CHAPTER 21: THE ICON
CHAPTER 22: PARTY TIME
CHAPTER 23: WORLDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 24: FLIGHT OF THE SHOGUN
CHAPTER 25: THE CRUCIBLE
CHAPTER 26: SELLING THE QUEST
CHAPTER 27: IT BEGINS
CHAPTER 28: LOVE’S END
CHAPTER 29: A MOMENT IN TIME
CHAPTER 30: ASHIKAGI’S MOVE
CHAPTER 31: JESS BECOMES A SKULL BOY
CHAPTER 32: SECOND INTRODUCTIONS
CHAPTER 33: INTO THE FRAY
CHAPTER 34: KAZERAI ATTACK!
CHAPTER 35: THE DEATH OF ALL HOPE
CHAPTER 36: ALONE
CHAPTER 37: A TEST OF ALLEGIANCE
CHAPTER 38: OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
CHAPTER 39: THE CAVALRY RIDES
CHAPTER 40: ZAC
CHAPTER 41: WAR OF THE KAZERAI
CHAPTER 42: THE FIRES OF HELL
CHAPTER 43: GOODBYES
CHAPTER 44: HOME
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
Horus had the Icon.
Now what?
Kitana assured him the Venatres high command would be waiting. But how to reach them? Now that he’d made it this far … There were so many forces out there, ranged across the open plain outside the walled city, miles away, engaged in the fury of combat … he had no idea where to head. He gazed over the vast distance between him and his objective. There, a hundred floors below, stretched out within the massive walls, relative peace, the darkness of a city braced for war. Outside the distant walls, battle. Tanks and armored infantry, running figures; gunfire, shots of energy, explosions and the fires of the fight with the Dominion lighting the night.
Just go. To the rear of the lines. Those who mattered knew he was coming.
Go.
High atop Vivitak, the scene of his crime against his own people, he stood poised, a lone figure at the edge of that towering structure, one man, as yet unseen, the shock of what he’d done not yet generating a response.
That would not last.
He took a deep breath and looked further. Vivitak soared above the city, a mighty tower, safe within its own inner compound walls, tallest building on Anitra, most guarded, at its peak the tomb of the Holy Emperor—the godlike figure Horus was, in theory, supposed to be serving. Until tonight he had been. Until tonight he’d been a good soldier. Now he stood in the heart of the capital a traitor, prepared to deliver the dead emperor’s Holy Icon to the enemy.
Too late, however, for doubt. And he reminded himself, once more, that it was the greater thing he did. The Venatres should have the Icon. This breach, a thing that would amount to the highest heresy within the Dominion once discovered—a threat Horus was quite certain had never been imagined, so guarded was the Icon, so untouchable; so unthinkable was the act ...
It was for the greater good. Kitana had not been wrong in that.
He leapt into space. A thousand feet or more to the ground, arcing toward the tiny night lamps ringing the plaza far below. Wind whistled in his ears, building rapidly to a roar as the mild leap turned to a plummet. He’d been in freefall further than this, of course, but never with so much at stake. He pinwheeled his arms, cycling his legs as he worked to maintain upright orientation, desperate to keep the Icon safe, knowing it was critical he hit his intended target on his feet. As he fell below the inner compound wall the last thing he saw was the first pursuers, emerging into the streets beyond. Word must have reached his comrades.
They were coming for him.
Crack! he hit the smooth marble stones of the plaza—on his feet, perfectly—splintering little shards away with the impact, turned it into a lunging step forward and sprang away, leaping into the air with force, as high as he could, sailing upward on a new arc over the towering inner wall. He cleared it, continuing to pinwheel all four limbs for balance, shiny Icon tight in the grip of one hand, back arched, gaze out and over the city below, spotting his contacts ranged among a block of shorter buildings.
WHOOM! a plasma beam cut the night, missing, its brilliant, sun-hot fury cooking the air just in front of him as he continued his downward arc on the other side, a slave for those critical seconds to physics. Falling, still in the air, vulnerable, no way to dodge.
The Icon was in jeopardy.
WHOOM! another shot, splitting the darkness with a concussion of sound, then another, and the squad of Astake powered armor had him i
n their sights and were opening fire.
He tucked and rolled, landed in the street directly between them and made the split-second decision to keep running. Engagement would gain him nothing. Keep moving! He took his next big leap, launching out and away, high and as hard as he could, hoping to clear their line of sight … over some intervening buildings and down into the canyon of an alley beyond.
Whump! another thudding strike as he landed on cobblestones and launched upward again, following the urge that compelled him. Staying on the ground would be more dangerous, not less. And slower. He hit; launched again; another massive leap, such range to it, another thrust closer to his goal. Whump! and … up and out in another.
The distant city wall rose into dominant view as he sailed high and over the next obstruction, a five-floor building, and for a moment he had a clear shot of the battle beyond—and a gauge of how far he had to go. Then, as he peaked in his upward arc, clearing the other side, there, straight ahead in his line of flight …
A fresh squad of Astake. Cannons up and trained on him, anticipating his descent. Three wide, dark barrels and he was arcing right for them. He twisted to the side, helpless, gripping the Icon. Desperately hoping to shield it …
Everything went black.
CHAPTER 1: THE ARRIVAL
Boise hadn’t turned out to be the wasteland Jess expected.
With a harder pump she swung higher, breathing in the clean air, the sound of her friends’ nearby laughter receding. Her mind and her focus were far away, the view from the backyard breathtaking. The swings overlooked a shallow valley, no other civilization in sight, nothing to interfere with her imagination; a wide-angle panorama that stretched into the distance, far across rolling green forests, all the way to a vista of snow-capped mountains, all of it framed beneath a clear, late afternoon sky.
Summer in Boise was nice. Especially compared to the swamp heat of Florida, her home until last Christmas. Dad had moved them during the holidays, here to this—she had to admit—nice new development of affluent homes, and while winter in Idaho was a bitter bitch, as expected, after that things got better and summer, mostly, had been downright pleasant.
She pumped her legs and swung higher.
Down in the valley, directly behind the house and off to the right, was an old red barn. As she swung back and forth she watched it rise and fall in her line of sight. Her barn, she liked to think, the old structure having been there long before the new developments went in. Legally it belonged to her family since it sat on the property extending from their yard back to the woods, though it remained as neglected now as it probably had for the last umpteen years. Somehow it hadn’t been removed during the housing upgrades, now a sore thumb among the modern homes, leaning but sturdy, perfectly at peace among the wild field grass. Since her family arrived she’d been the only one to go down to it—though Dad did check it out once, when they first moved in. For her it had come to be a sort of refuge. Often she’d trudge out and sit in the rafters among the bits of rusted farm equipment, listening to music, reading or, sometimes, writing.
In a way she wished her friends weren’t there right then. She kind of wanted to go down to the barn now. Be alone a while.
She glanced over at Bianca, sitting in the grass with her “we’re just friends” boyfriend, Toby. She watched them laughing and talking as she continued to swing. Every now and then Bianca would lean in, touch Toby or otherwise get close without making it seem like she was getting close.
Jess looked away.
Bianca was a girly girl, always angling to get noticed by the boys. Always thinking of boys, always talking about boys, always dressing with boys in mind, ready to impress. B was an absolutely gorgeous Indian girl—Bianca Devnani. Her parents moved to the States before she was born so she was hatched right there, in Boise, an American through-and-through. Her genetics, however, were pure Indian, making her both exotic and beautiful. Perfect, satin-brown skin, just the right shade; shiny, jet-black hair with an amazing sheen. Trim, perfect figure. And, of course, a total flirt. None of those assets wasted. On top of it all, as if looks weren’t enough, Bianca was full of enthusiasm, always having fun, always ready with a laugh or a joke. In a way she offset Jessica’s own boring, some might say sullen, attitude.
Yeah, I’m not exactly the life of the party.
She turned her attention all the way to the mountain view.
But things were changing. To her surprise she found herself kind of happy in the new place. During the transition she’d realized she was ready for change, a new start, and Boise, she had to admit, was turning out to be promising. So far it hadn’t disappointed. Finishing at a new school went better than expected. Tomorrow, in fact, was their first day of high school, and though Bianca was looking forward to that monumental event way more than Jessica—for Jess it was just one more social jungle to navigate—she had to admit she was intrigued. Despite her natural tendency to view such things with less than the usual enthusiasm of her peers, she was managing to feel more hope than she had in a long time. Like the future was actually, maybe, something to look forward to.
In short, it was the eve of another chapter of her life and she was a little tingly with anticipation and, to her pleasant surprise, a touch of excitement. Of course, per usual, her mind had been racing like this all afternoon with wildly skipping introspection.
She took a deep, cleansing breath and swung higher.
Only to be interrupted by Toby.
“You listen to these guys?” His comment grabbed her attention.
She saw he had her phone and was scrolling through her music. “Hey,” she slowed. Toby was your typical, gangly teenage boy in the middle of an uneven growth spurt, full of testosterone and prone to acts of stupidity.
She slowed all the way and stopped. “I didn’t say you could listen to that.” Ordinarily she was soft-spoken, but in moments like this there was an intensity to her voice that could not be mistaken. Toby was messing with something personal.
“I’m not listening to it,” he defended. “Just looking.”
Bianca leaned in, guilty but curious, looking over Toby’s shoulder. Toby laughed as he scrolled, “You are such a geek, Jessica! This is such melancholy crap. I mean, who listens to this?”
Bianca clicked her tongue. “It’s not melancholy, dork.” She realized what Toby was doing was wrong and decided to help her friend. “Jessica’s music is … relevant.”
Jess got out of her swing. “Give me that.”
Toby prepared for flight but Bianca reached around him—careful to drape herself across his shoulder as she did—snatched the phone from his grasp, jumped up and ran it over to Jessica. Toby stood and looked at his empty hand.
“Hey!” he protested. “I was going to give it to her!”
Bianca grinned at him as she handed it over.
Then stuck out her tongue. “Too slow, bro!” That was enough to get things going. Toby started for her, she dodged, ran around the swings once then jumped into one. Jess backed away, not wanting to be part of what was about to happen. Quickly Bianca began pumping, gaining altitude.
Frustrated, Toby got in the swing beside her and started working up to speed to catch her. Pulling back hard, thrusting his long legs out straight in front of him, faster with each arc. Making threats. All the while Bianca giggled, swinging higher, steadily higher until her chains began to pop at the top. Unbearably juvenile as far as Jess was concerned, but she reminded herself they were juveniles. This was the way her age group behaved, whether in Florida or Idaho or anywhere.
Why she herself found it so annoying escaped her.
Toby matched Bianca’s velocity. Once in sync he began twisting side to side, trying to whack her with his big feet. On the third try he caught her and she screamed, knocked wildly off course.
“Ow!” she complained. “You’re going to give me a bruise!”
Toby laughed and kept it up. Then his foot hit one of hers.
“Stop!” she squealed. “I j
ust had these done!” She held the “damaged” foot awkwardly for him to see, spinning back and forth in the swing from the impact. “These toes are perfect!” She fanned them out to prove it. Just another effort to be noticed, thought Jessica.
After all, Bianca was the one that started this.
“Don’t be such a girl!” Toby mimicked her whiny voice. He continued his efforts to hit her, by now swinging super high, almost out of control, even as Bianca began to slow.
Then, wisely, feeling the threat, she bailed, leaving her swing snapping back and forth at the end of the chains. Toby, pumping hard, legs out and spinning side to side, came arcing down, lined up for the strike and … caught the chains of the empty swing across an ankle, yanking himself clear. He flipped in a little flat spin and Whoomp! hit the ground in a poof of grass.
Both girls gasped.
Bianca was the first to move. She ran to him, dropping to her knees beside him in alarm and checking for injuries. He groaned as she probed his neck and head, quickly getting his senses back. When she saw he was okay some of her real concern faded and she took the opportunity to simply touch him, feeling places she’d like to feel that, probably, weren’t hurt at all; his chest, his shoulders, pretending to continue her examination though it was clear she was no longer looking for owies. She finished by rubbing his cheeks and running her hands roughly through his hair.
“Ouch,” he complained.
She giggled. “Idiot!”
“Me?” he was fully coherent now. “You did that!”
He struggled to his feet and she jumped away, laughing, provoking another chase.
“Did not!” she insisted, running from him. Jess rolled her eyes.
But was she really annoyed with her friends for being so immature? Or … was she jealous? In some ways, did she wish she could be more like them? Bianca, after all, was having fun. More than Jess could say about herself right then.
Star Angel: Awakening (Star Angel Book 1) Page 1
