by S. E. Smith
Madas’s Falling Star
Featuring Madas’s Unexpected Gift
S.E. Smith
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend Linda, who not only encouraged me to write but who also read the manuscript. Also to my other friends who believe in me: Christel, Jolanda, Julie, Jackie, Lisa, Sally, Elizabeth (Beth), Laurelle, and Narelle. The girls that keep me going!
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And a special thanks to Paul Heitsch, David Brenin, Samantha Cook, Suzanne Elise Freeman, and PJ Ochlan—the awesome voices behind my audiobooks!
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—S.E. Smith
Madas’s Falling Star, Featuring Madas’s Unexpected Gift
Two Lord of Kassis Stories
This Bundled Book Published March 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Susan E. Smith
Madas’s Unexpected Gift, First E-Book Publication May 2019
Madas’s Falling Star, First E-Book Publication October 2019
Cover Design by: S.E. Smith
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.
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All characters and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, or organizations are strictly coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Madas’s Unexpected Gift Novella Summary: An adventurous princess discovers a meteorite with an alien creature inside.
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Madas’s Falling Star Novel Summary: An adventurous princess and her pet lizard plan to steal the starship of a stranded warrior—but first she has to lead him away.
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ISBN: 978-1-952021-13-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-952021-12-1 (eBook)
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Romance (love, explicit sexual content) | Fantasy | Science Fiction | Royalty | Action Adventure | Contemporary | Paranormal | Multicultural | Short Stories by a Single Author
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Published by Montana Publishing, LLC
& SE Smith of Florida Inc. www.sesmithfl.com
Contents
Synopsis 1:
Synopsis 2:
Cast of Characters
Madas’s Unexpected Gift
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Madas’s Falling Star
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Additional Books
About the Author
Synopsis 1:
Madas’s Unexpected Gift
Can a small reptile from another world save the Princess he has adopted?
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L’eon, a Chameleon Lightning Lizard, awakens to find that his planet was destroyed by an unidentified force. Trapped in an iron-ore prison hurtling through space, he is lost and alone until an unfamiliar planet’s gravitational pull draws him to its surface—and he is freed by an enchanting alien who he quickly adopts.
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When a meteorite falls from the sky, Princess Madas Tralang rushes to claim the prized and potentially valuable space rock for herself. She is startled to discover an unusual creature huddled inside. Touched by the creature’s soulful eyes and unique features, she vows to protect the extraordinary reptile.
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Madas is unaware that she has befriended one of the most ferocious and feared species in the known galaxies. After all, who would ever believe that something so cute could be so deadly? Perhaps, someone should have warned Madas’s unwelcome suitor about L’eon before he decided to try and claim her!
Synopsis 2:
Madas’s Falling Star
Prince Gril Tal Mod is destined to be the next Supreme Leader of the Tearnats—if he survives long enough to ascend to the throne.
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Gril was supposed to be on a routine training exercise, but his flight goes horribly wrong when engine trouble forces him to land his fighter in a remote mountainous region. Once stranded on the ground, Gril discovers the malfunction was no accident—and he isn’t alone. He can sense someone watching him from the shadows.
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Princess Madas Tralang’s curiosity always seems to get her into trouble. When Madas spies an unusual object streaking across the sky before crashing near her location, she believes it is a good omen. After all, she found her pet, L’eon, the last time an object fell from the sky.
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Her hopes of finding something valuable are dashed when instead she sees a big, and rather ugly, Tearnat warrior. Though there is something about him…something magnetic, it’s his spaceship that she really wants. It is just what she has been searching for—a means to escape the dreary life expected of her!
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The giant warrior pilot of the spaceship isn’t going to give it up easily, however, and Madas soon finds herself locked in a battle of wits and skill with the strange warrior, but they are not the only players on the field. Danger surrounds Madas and Gril—both from Madas’s clan and from the saboteur who is determined to see Gril dead. Can the Prince of the Tearnats and a small, but deadly alien pet, defeat their foes and save Madas before time runs out, or will Gril’s growing love for a curious Princess doom them both?
Cast of Characters
Prince Gril Tal Mod—Future ruler of Tearraid, home world of the Tearnat and member of the Desert/Sand Tearnats
Princess Madas Tralang—Member of the Tearnat Forest Clan, daughter of Queen Tima Tralang
Devac Gru—Gril’s former mate
Goroff Tralang—Madas’s oldest brother
Joren Tralang—Madas’s older brother by a couple of years
Orden Tralang—Madas’s brother
Queen Tima Tralang—Queen and ruler of the Forest Clan
L’eon—Chameleon Lightning Lizard from another world and Madas’s constant companion
River Knight—claimed by Torak
Walter Bailey—owner, manager and Ringmaster, Nema’s husband, Ricki’s father
Nema Bailey—owner, performer, Walter’s wife, Ricki’s mother
Mattie—animal trainer/performer in the circus
Star Strauss—claimed by Jazin Ja Kel Coradon
Jo Strauss—claimed by Manota Ja Kel Coardon
Torak Ja Kel Coradon
Jazin Ja Kel Coradon
Manota Ja Kel Coradon
Ajaska Ja Kel Coradon-Leader of Kassis
Madas’s Unexpected Gift
A Lords of Kassis Story
1
The meteorite glowed, turning a molten red as it entered the atmosphere. Large outer pieces began to disintegrate from the heat. The small reptilian creature deep inside curled into a tight bal
l. Sorrow coursed through him. He sniffed and buried his head under his tail.
He had been in his second hibernation, hidden deep beneath the surface of his home world when it was destroyed. One moment he was peacefully slumbering and the next he was hurtling through space.
He had tucked his body into the narrow crevice he had carved out for his long sleep when the large section of rock was blasted into space. The force of the explosion had melted the iron embedded in the rock around him, sealing him inside. Now, the sheltering iron shell was slowly disintegrating around his small body.
The meteorite broke through the atmosphere of the planet, and he floated upward inside his small prison. It began twisting and turning in its downward trajectory. He grunted as he was flung around inside his prison. Seconds later, he heard the snap of trees breaking and he was tumbled over and over with dizzying and bone-jarring speed. His head felt like it was still spinning when his rock capsule came to an abrupt stop.
He lay on his back, dazed and disoriented. Through a crack in his rocky prison, he could see a sliver of light. A moment later, a shadow blocked his view. He hissed when the light brightened as it reflected off of a sharp metal blade.
He closed his eyes momentarily when the shadow moved and brilliant sunlight flooded the sterile interior of his iron bubble. When he opened his eyes again, he was staring into the warmest, softest brown eyes that he had ever seen—and he felt an immediate connection. That connection solidified when the creature staring down at him in awe suddenly smiled and spoke. “Aren’t you the most handsome little creature that I’ve ever seen,” the soothing voice murmured.
Warm hands reached inside his former prison and scooped him out. His body rippled with changing hues when she held him close and ran her hand over his head. He had never felt anything this good in his life. In his world, his kind were avoided. They were fierce and deadly to anything that came near them—yet, this creature acted like she had never seen or heard of his species before.
She lifted him to her lips and pressed a light kiss to his head. He closed his eyes in delight when she followed up by rubbing her nose affectionately against his cheek. His body vibrated with pleasure. He opened his eyes wide and grinned at her.
“You are adorable. My very own fallen star,” she laughed.
2
Madas couldn’t believe her luck! The sonic boom had made her jump and startled the birds she was studying. When she had looked up, she was excited to see the fireball cutting across the sky in her direction. She stuffed her sketchbook in her bag and grabbed the spear she always carried. In seconds, she was running through the forest with her eyes glued to the fireball.
Jumping over a fallen log, she fervently hoped that the fireball would not land too far away or in one of the large lakes that dotted the surrounding area. The thundering snap of tree limbs shattering under the force of the meteorite sent a thrill through her.
It was close! She looked at the broken limbs. A path had been cleared through the trees. She saw the line stretch to the edge of the lake. Her heart pounded when she paused along the tree line. Madas reached out, gripped the rough bark of a fallen tree, and pulled herself on top of it. She looked down into a medium-sized crater with steam rising from it.
“Incredible,” she whispered in awe.
Jumping off the tree trunk, she slowly walked toward the crater. Her lips parted, showing off perfectly straight, sharp white teeth. Inside the crater was a melon-sized meteorite. She shrugged off her bag, dropped it to the ground, and stabbed her spear into the saturated soil beside it.
As she stepped into the crater, her boots sank into the damp soil loosened by the meteorite’s impact. Squatting, she studied the dark gray rock. The steam created from its entry into the planet’s atmosphere and its contact with the cold mountain water of the lake gave it an eerie appearance.
Moving her hand to her belt, she pulled the long knife that was sheathed at her side. She waved her hand over the rock to clear the steam. There was a crack in it.
“Perhaps there is a treasure inside—and finally I’ll have enough wealth to leave my village and travel to the stars,” she wistfully mused.
Madas tilted her head and slid the tip of her blade into the crack. She froze when she heard a small hiss from inside. She shook her head at her fanciful musings. It was simply the heat trapped inside escaping. Nothing could survive inside the iron-ore rock while it hurtled through space, she thought.
Pushing aside her hesitation, she wiggled her blade a little farther into the crack and pried it open. Her lips parted in awe when the meteorite split open and revealed a small but brilliantly colored creature with large ears, huge eyes, and tiny toes.
“Aren’t you the most handsome little creature that I’ve ever seen,” she cooed to the frightened reptile that stared up at her.
Madas sheathed her knife before she gently reached inside to scoop up the unusual body. He fit in the palm of her hand. She giggled when he wrapped his front toes around her finger as she ran her other hand over his head. She studied him for a moment before she lifted him to her nose and tenderly rubbed it against his soft scales in a sign of affection. His body vibrated, and she heard the distinctive sound of his purr. Lowering him, she laughed when he grinned up at her.
“You are adorable. My very own fallen star,” she chuckled.
The creature’s eyes glittered with amusement. She grinned when the chameleon twisted around in her hands and climbed up her arm, and laughed when he paused on her left shoulder and brushed her cheek with his nose.
She remained still when he weaved his small body through her long green locks and reappeared on her right shoulder. He sneezed and shook his head before he sat down. Reaching up, she scratched him under his chin.
“L’eon,” she murmured. “I think I will call you L’eon.”
Three hours later, Madas reached up and stroked L’eon as she walked back along the path to her village. He had his tail partially wrapped around her neck and was looking around with wide, curious eyes. Inside her bag, she carried the remains of the meteorite.
“Good day, Madas,” a male’s deep voice greeted.
Madas drew to a startled halt along the path and silently groaned. Standing in the middle of the path was Cardin, son of one of the clan’s council members.
I should have taken the long route home, she thought with a sigh of resignation.
“Cardin,” she reluctantly acknowledged.
“Where have you been?” he demanded.
Madas raised a delicate eyebrow and studied Cardin’s expression. The male Tearnat was only slightly larger than she was, but he was sturdily built. There were dark markings on his green skin along his forehead and cheeks. Two of his sharp teeth were broken, and one was missing.
I might have been responsible for that one, she humorously thought.
As if he could hear her thoughts, he snapped his mouth shut, and his scowl turned darker. She could tell by the way his tail was moving back and forth that he was feeling aggravated. She wondered what had set him off this time.
“Watch your tone with me, Cardin. I don’t answer to you,” she warned.
“You may not answer to me yet, but you will,” he retorted.
“What do you want, Cardin? I have someplace to be,” she stated.
He sneered at her blunt, dismissive tone. It was obvious she had gotten under his scales. He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
He is trying to intimidate and dominate me. If he continues trying, he just might lose another one of his teeth—or two, she savagely thought.
“Your mother sent me to find you. A trading ship is expected to land soon. She wants you to return to the safety of the village,” he said.
Madas rolled her eyes. “My safety is the last thing my mother is concerned about. You know as well as I do that I can fight. She is more worried that I might escape her control and lose what little value I have for her,” she dryly replied.
Cardin walked toward her. Madas kep
t a wary eye on him. She tightened her grip on the spear in her hand, her body stiffening with unease when he reached up and grabbed her chin. His sharp nails bit into the skin along her jaw.
“You are too willful for your own good, Madas. One day it will get you into trouble,” he said in a cold voice.
She tilted her chin and pulled it free from his grasp. The tip of one of his nails scratched a thin line along her jaw. He yanked his hand back when a low, menacing snarl filled the air. His eyes darkened with confusion, and he gazed at her with a befuddled expression.
Madas lifted her hand and soothingly stroked L’eon’s head. She smiled when the little creature affectionately rubbed his nose against her neck. Lowering her hand, she gripped her satchel, and pushed past him.
