by Viola Grace
Changed by an injury, Aster starts a new life as a bodyguard and finds herself falling for war, death and sex.
Aster’s assignment as a bodyguard suits her temperament. She likes to boss folks around while keeping them where they are supposed to be. A fan of order, she enjoys her position away from Earth on a world where her services can be of use.
Dressed up like a video game warrior for a costume party, she finds that fighting is part of the local community tradition and calling upon an ancient god is also traditional. She just never expected him to answer.
Yodin is an immortal who has been looking for another of his kind. Aster has only recently shed her previous life and entered the endless lifespan that he currently enjoys, but he intends to introduce her to the pleasure of an eternity with the god of war, death and sex.
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Copyright © 2015 Viola Grace
ISBN: 978-1-4874-0201-3
Cover art by Carmen Waters
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
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Devine Destinies, an imprint of eXtasy Books Inc
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Terran Times Second Wave
By
Viola Grace
Chapter One
Aster Marquis met the punch with one of her own, but hers made contact. Her opponent was driven back with the force, and she raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t realised he was really trying to make contact.
“Again.” Recruiter Norz was on the sidelines and watching her as she fought with his bodyguard.
Again, he struck and, again, she countered.
“Amazing. Each and every attack is met with precisely the same pressure to counter it.” Norz walked toward her and handed her a towel.
She passed it to his guard and took the second towel.
“I tried to explain, but it isn’t something I get to use on a daily basis.”
“When did this start?”
“After the accident, during physiotherapy.”
He nodded. “Your physique is impressive for a woman of your age.”
She grimaced. “It is a side effect. If someone puts weight on me, I push it. Anything seen as an attack is matched with equal force, and since my trainer kept adding more, my muscles kept building out of self-defence.”
“So, you are a completely passive defence system?”
Aster shrugged. “You tell me. I know that I react before anything happens to me now, but my strength is completely normal for a woman of my body type most of the time.”
Norz frowned; his silver skin and dark eyes showed he was obviously working on something. “I don’t know of a place for you, but with your other skills and with your eidetic memory, I believe we can find you a position in the Alliance or elsewhere.”
Aster smiled. “Do you think so? I don’t want to presume if there is a space that someone else could occupy.”
Norz inclined his head. “Your position would be yours and yours alone.”
Aster finished drying the sweat off her neck and cleavage and smiled at her sparring partner. “Thank you for the workout.”
He inclined his head to her and Norz. “It was my pleasure.”
He took the towel from her, and he left the gym.
Norz inclined his head. “Change your clothing and I will meet you for further discussions. As far as I am concerned, the moment you sign the contract, you are a Terran Volunteer.”
She smiled shyly and inclined her head. A spiral of excitement unfurled in her. She had changed when her skull was cracked and her brain rewired itself, and now, she would have a chance to use what she had become. Her joy threatened to spill over, but she kept her face as calm as she could.
Outer calm gave her the starting point for everything that came after, and she was getting the feeling she was going to be doing a lot of learning.
Two months later, she was pronounced fit to act as a hidden bodyguard. Her assignment would be as a companion to a wealthy, young noblewoman, but it would put her squarely in the trade courts of the Nyal Imperium.
She knelt on the observation deck with her gauzy grey robes around her, the filter over her eyes dimmed the view, but she could clearly make out the rising of the Earth above her.
Being swathed from head to toe in grey silk chiffon had been hard to get used to, but after weeks of training, she finally could move as easily in her disguise as out of it. Etiquette liaison was her title, but it was moving in her clothing that had been her greatest challenge. The knowledge of protocol came easily, which was absolutely bizarre.
Aster breathed deeply and spread her sleeves wide, pressing her hands to the floor and staring up at the stars.
Change. She was in a constant state of change, and it was hard to accept some days and a gift on others. A simple fall at work had nearly killed her, caused a brain bleed that should have ended her life. Her recovery had been remarkable, but as she relearned everything she had ever known, her mind did not stop. She had started to consume books and all information she could get her hands on. Her brain created new paths and new connections to make up for those broken by her accident.
Her family was a distant memory. When she had been injured, they had simply handed her over to the state in an effort to save themselves a mountain of debt. When she came out of her coma, she had no emotional attachment to any of them. The faces were as familiar to her as images once seen in a book or magazine.
She wished she could feel their loss, but there was nothing where her family should be. Empty memories of laughter flitted in her mind when she woke; the dreams were of a time when emotions ruled her brain.
The meditation techniques that she had been taught had increased her ability to see what was coming and had been useful. They allowed her to learn and study at an increased speed. She could identify everyone on Luna Base by species, name, title and occupation. She had done introductions for two arriving shuttles of Terrans, and none of them had known she was one of their own.
“Aster, are you ready?”
The voice belonged to Nadiel, her movement instructor.
Aster moved easily to her feet and turned to bow. “I am ready, Master Nadiel.”
“Your ship is waiting. Your clothing is onboard. You are ready for this, Aster.”
Aster bowed again. “Thank you.”
“I look forward to watching your career.” Nadiel smiled.
With her hands at her sides, Aster walked with head high through Luna Base. She cruised to the shuttle and nodded to the pilot. Her robes marked her as a hidden one. Her appearance was designed to avoid attention, to blend in with the walls and shadows.
She strapped herself in to the seat in her quarters, and the shuttle took off, whisking her to her assignment.
Aster stood in the hall, her pack at her feet, and she waited to be collected like a lost puppy.
Lady Abrieth arrived in a cloud of perfume and a barely-there gown. Six guards accompanied her, and the guards looked far more worried than she was.
“Ah, my hidden one. Welcome to Rekfa. I think. I am pretty sure that we are on Rekfa.” The lady waved it away.
Aster moved toward her and the guards shifted to block her. “I am no threat to the lady. I am here to make your lives easier.”
The guards advanced on her, and Aster sighed as one went on the attack. She knocked him to the ground, and he lay stunned. Aster moved toward the second with all the grace and speed that she had been taught, but when he moved aside, she stopped.
Lady Abrieth blinked in surprise. “You are such a quiet thing. What is your name?”
“Aster. I offer myself as your etiquette liaison, lady.”
“I accept. Sorry about Tobr; he is a stickler for protocol. No guard can be accepted without being tested.”
Aster paused. “You are aware of the conditions of my employment?”
Lady Abrieth made a face. “I am aware. Come, we will deal with that at my apartments. It isn’t safe in the open.”
Aster walked next to the woman with the exorbitant price on her head and a political job to do. The lady may act like an airhead, but she was a negotiator of the highest order who had the misfortune to get caught in a love triangle with a Nyal royal family member and their Presku lover.
The situation would have been awkward enough, but their boy losing his virginity to the good lady upset the family of the Presku, and the Nyal family was outraged at the loss of the alliance they had wanted to forge.
The result had been that honour could only be satisfied by the death of Abrieth. It was not a great situation. The lady’s family had gone looking for someone who could keep her alive and let her do her job.
It seemed a situation tailor made for Aster’s peculiar skill set and the timing had ended up being perfect.
Aster floated along next to the lady; with the guards around them, they made their way into a private transport, and then, they were being whisked through the city.
Aster carried her bag when they left the transport, and the rest was a confusion of arrangements until she was given the adjoining rooms to Lady Abrieth’s apartments.
It was more space than she needed, but if Lady Abrieth was in any danger, Aster had to come through quickly. Proximity was important.
It was a strange sort of situation, a deadly sleepover. When the guards finished rifling through her robes and took up posts outside the doors, Abrieth smiled wistfully. “I suppose we need to get the other thing over.”
Aster got her med kit and opened it, setting the unit to extract through the lady’s skin.
A quick shot from Abrieth’s inner arm was all it took. The blood rinsed in the unit and when it was ready, Aster injected it into herself.
“How long will that last?”
“Five days. I will warn you when it wears off.”
It had been a matter of trial and error on the Luna Base. Finally, they found that if she carried someone else’s genetics inside her, she would defend them as she did her own body.
Lady Abrieth was now part of her for the next five days.
Aster sighed and sat back, taking in the ramifications of the situation she was in. Oh, goody.
Chapter Two
The first attempt came on the way to a negotiation for supplies to fuel nineteen colonies for six months.
Aster was walking next to the lady when she felt shadows move around her. The shadows were the hostile intent aimed at Lady Abrieth, and Aster quickly pinpointed the source.
A male was walking toward them, and instead of moving to avoid their rather bulky gathering, he aimed directly for their center. Lady Abrieth.
Aster waited until he was only a few paces away, and she cut him off, blocking his attack and giving the guards time to get their lady to safety.
He looked at his disappearing prey, and he snarled, striking at Aster over and over until she forced him to his knees and handed him over to local peacekeepers.
Her veils gave him a soft aspect, but he was a chalky grey with the look of a man who killed for a living. Aster left him with the law, and she followed her group into the offices where the negotiations would be carried out.
After she passed through security, she rejoined her group and resumed her place at the lady’s side. Lady Abrieth winked at her with one violet eye, and there was a glow to her lavender skin. “I think you may have been the best investment that the Imperium has engaged in.”
“All they did was pay for me to be here.”
“And your training, Aster. They footed the bill for that and all the medical scans and experiments that were performed on you. How did you know he was going to attack?”
“He was coming toward us, looking right at us. Everyone else here looks and then looks aside. It was an unusual behaviour.”
“Are you injured?”
“No, but thank you for asking.”
They continued into the area of boardrooms and offices. Aster kept to her lady’s side until they were shown into the room where Lady Abrieth was going to do her magic with the negotiations.
Aster remained behind Abrieth’s chair until the recess was called, and she escorted her to the lav.
While Lady Abrieth was primping at the mirror, Aster asked her, “Why do you wear such skimpy clothing? Wouldn’t you be treated with more respect if you dressed more conservatively?”
“Probably, but I would not get the amazing deals that I am currently gaining during the negotiations. Have you noticed that the men stare? Have you noticed that I have gotten eight months’ rations for the price of four? Offering the view of my body is a distraction tactic, just as your concealment is. I know what you look like under those drapes, and all that they do is provide you with a psychological advantage.”
Aster shrugged. “It is true. I had to take more training to move in the robes than I did for anything else.”
The lady smiled at her in the mirror. “So, we both dress for the job we have, not the job we want.”
“May I ask one question before we return to the hall?”
“Sure.” Abrieth grinned at her in the mirror.
“Why did you sleep with the Presku?”
Abrieth’s face softened and her smile was filled with sweet memories. “Because I wanted him and he wanted me. We were very good together.”
“Would you marry him?”
“Take him as a mate, you mean?” Abrieth tilted her head. “If he got pregnant, I suppose I would.”
Aster was thankful that she had done her homework. The Presku had a secondary head in their male organ that reached out and took in tissue from their partner. It used that tissue to generate the next generation. If he were pregnant, they would be hearing about it in the next month or so.
“Are you hoping that he is?” Aster couldn’t believe she had asked it so boldly.
Abrieth smiled slyly. “Why would I want something like that? A tall, witty, handsome man who worships the ground I walk on and he gets to carry the child? Who would want something like that?”
“You are right. Silly of me. Are you ready?”
“I am. Let’s get this over with; I have a party to attend this evening.”
Aster inclined her head and walked with her charge out of the ladies retiring room and back to the boardroom.
It was riveting to watch, but Aster was glad to be heading back to the lady’s apartments. She felt flickers of aggression nearby but no one made a move. When they returned to the lady’s quarters, Aster and the other guards grabbed a meal and refreshment while Abrieth got dressed for her party.
The guards were of Abrieth’s species. The Bo. Their names were Tobr, Rin, Ehki, Limo, Gess and Sern.
Sern asked, “How di
d you see him coming this morning?”
“He looked at no one but Abrieth, not even the buxom woman to his right. The folk here glance and look away. It wasn’t right.” It was easier to say that than to say she felt waves of hostility aimed at the lady.
It had been described to her as seconds of precognition or telepathy. She could feel when folk had immediate intent against her. That was the reason for the swap of genetic material. Lady Abrieth was now part of her until Aster’s body did away with the injected traces.
Her body was primed to defend itself at all times. It had been a little hard to adjust to, but she had come to accept that this was her new lot in life. Her mind was sharp, her body was ridiculously toned and her senses extended in a seeking aura around her body.
She had never wanted to be whatever it was she was becoming, but now that the change was upon her she accepted it. She just didn’t want to advertise what she couldn’t quantify.
Aster tidied up and put her dishes away.
“Aster, can you come in and help me with this?”
Aster sighed, and the looks that the guards exchanged told her that they used to be the ones on fashion assist.
The gauzy wrap that Abrieth was struggling into looked more like a handkerchief than a top, but Aster followed her directions and got it to hold.
“Don’t sneeze, lady. It could blow.”
“I will be fine. Do you have some nicer robes?”
Aster chuckled. “I do. I have some very pretty ones, but that will not make me effective as your bodyguard.”
Abrieth sighed and turned from side to side, her body gleaming through the thin fabric.
“Fine, at least put on fresh clothing for this evening. The source of all the fuss is going to be there, and I want to make a good impression on his family.”
Aster smirked, “I believe your still being alive will do that.”
