Touring the Stars by S E Gilchrist

Author:S E Gilchrist
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Escape Publishing

Chapter 7

The evening meal was over and night had fallen, casting fathomless shadows over the city. Elise stood on the balcony on the uppermost level of the building they’d rented and thought of all the secrets such darkness could hide. Weird how the Jurians had yet to restore public lighting to the roadways and outside major buildings. Maybe they’d become accustomed to living in gloomy obscurity.

Or maybe the trauma of long years of being subjugated still crawled in their subconsciousness.

Whatever the reason, Elise suspected the dark streets had worked in the hunted Elite soldiers’ favour.

So far.

With Magar on the chase, it was only a matter of time before they were captured.

The good news was that Challie had recovered quickly from her blast with the past. Elise had called into her room a few minutes ago to say goodnight and had found the other band members and Challie engaging in a laughing game of Skits, one of the Darkon people’s favourite dice games.

Elise hadn’t stayed, feeling too restless and on edge.

Whether it was the after-effect of the events of the day or the knowledge that tomorrow was her personal D-day, she wasn’t certain. Instead she’d sought her own company and climbed the stairs to the top of the building, hoping for a cool breeze to blow away her troubles.

More than a breeze flowed over the city. During the meal, a strong wind had developed, whipping around the streets and bringing with it a tangy alien scent Elise couldn’t identify but found quite pleasant.

The wind gusted icy blasts against her face, snapping through the unbound tendrils of her hair, but she enjoyed the freshness. After days of living with recycled air, it was wonderful to be outside and on the surface of a planet.

Rubbing her hands up and down the goose bumps feathering her skin, she couldn’t stop looking in the direction of the two-storied memorial hall.

This time tomorrow night that building will house either my triumph or my failure.

A soft footfall scuffed on the tiles behind her. Her body registered Magar’s presence before her mind, tensing as he approached.

‘You were quiet at the meal.’ His low voice wrapped around her heart, stirring her senses into a needy hunger and playing havoc with her initial intentions.

She’d hoped to interrogate Reece before now about the art of seduction. She would then practise some scenarios in privacy before putting her plan into action once they were back on board the Bastian and heading for the next venue.

But apart from a few ideas her friend had whispered earlier in the day, time had slipped past and no opportunity had occurred for them to meet alone. Challie’s encounter with the Elite captain had sucked up the remainder of the day. Reece had needed to return to her own home to attend to her dancing-school commitments. Tomorrow Elise and the others would need to set up the equipment and check the instruments and sound, as well as incorporate last-minute fittings for their outfits. It promised to be a busy day.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.