Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy (36 page)

"Do you think they'll come back here?" I asked Aric. An alarming thought occurred to me. "Maybe the Innaki went away to gather more forces?"

Aric leaned past the waitress in the doorway and squinted at the sky, his face thoughtful.

"I don't think so."

"How can you be sure?"

He shrugged lightly. "I don't know. Just... call it intuition, but that one, the Innaki that was just here..." He paused then turned to face me. "Ugh, I don't know. I have to think on it. We should get out of here, just in case."

Stepping back inside the diner, he went to stand in the middle of the frozen crowd. He turned around slowly, his eyes alighting on the faces of each of the diners. He snapped his fingers and the crowd came instantly to life. They stood around, momentarily confused, then, as if nothing had happened, drifted back to their places at the tables, the subject of Smith and the Innaki unmentioned.

"They won't remember it," Aric said before I'd even asked.

"The amnesia thing? It's that easy?"

Aric nodded and touched my shoulder. "Ready to go?"

We made our goodbyes to Olaf. I gave him a hug, and his massive arms squeezed the breath out of me as he hugged me back.

"Thank you for everything," I told him, and he patted my shoulder.

"You take care Lucy," he said. "And we'll probably see you soon."

He shook Aric's hand. "Take care of her."

Aric's arm wrapped around my shoulder, and he nodded. Olaf looked down at me, and he bobbed his head toward Aric.

"And you look after him," he said to me. I smiled and cuddled closer to Aric.

"Of course."

Aric straightened. "We should get going. Thanks again - I'll get in touch as soon as we're settled."

I hugged Olaf again, took one last look at the affable scene in the cafe, and followed Aric out the door.

* * * * *

'Welcome to Canada'.

I swallowed hard as I read the sign. 'Welcome to your new life' was what it really meant. I was both excited and daunted by the prospect of starting a whole new chapter in my life.

Aric put the car into first and gripped the steering wheel.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I turned to him, taking a deep breath, then let it go in one long 'whoosh'.

"I think so," I answered.

He took my hand, gave it a squeeze, then brought it to his lips.

"We're going to be fine, Lucy," he said, before planting a kiss on my hand.

I threaded my fingers through his.

"I know."

"No regrets?"

"No, no regrets. It's just kind of a... momentous occasion. You know... the start of a whole new life. It's... scary. But in a good way."

He smiled and turned to look at the sign.

"Think of it as a big adventure."

"Oh, I've had enough adventure," I said. "I want a peaceful life, for a while anyway."

He glanced at me, a small crease furrowing his brow. The frown quickly disappeared and was replaced by a beautiful smile. He squeezed my hand again. Neither of us wanted to think past the immediate future to the time when we had to concentrate on the Innaki, and the fight to free the victims. The appearance of the Innaki at the cafe and its anomalous behavior only added more confusion to the whole scary mess. I read the sign again, and felt an unspoken understanding with Aric. When we crossed that line we would be leaving our troubles behind, or at least stashing them away so they couldn't taint our new haven. No more mention of aliens and gargoytes and military clones. We would lead a normal existence and I would cherish every moment of it, however long it lasted.

He kissed my hand again, then released it to grasp the steering wheel.

"Well, are you ready to go?" he asked again.

I nodded, and sat back in my seat. His foot pressed the accelerator, and we headed off to begin our new lives.

* * * * *

Epilogue

The pungent mix of straw and horse manure assailed my nose as I entered the barn, bringing back memories of the first day, when 'all the weirdness started'. Back then, I'd woken up in my back-to-front pajamas, my back aching from having slept on the cold, lumpy floor. Fourteen months, two weeks, and three days later, I was checking on the horses in our barn in what we termed our 'little slice of heaven'. I flicked on the light, and the horses stirred, an occasional snort and soft nicker issuing from the stalls. I pulled the sleeves of my woolly sweater up to my elbows, and leaned on the bars of the stall gate. My mare came to nuzzle my arm, hoping for a titbit. I fed her a piece of carrot, and patted her neck.

"Not long now, huh, girl?" She munched happily on her carrot, and moved away towards the water bucket. I did my rounds of the stalls, checking to see the horses were all bedded down safely. Switching off the light, I pushed the barn doors closed, and fastened the lock, then, using the light of the moon, I walked briskly back towards the welcoming glow of the cabin.

I found Aric outside on the porch, tying the end of the hammock he'd bought that day, to a post. He'd already tied the other end around a tree.

"Everything okay then?" he asked. I nodded, and inspected the hammock.

"You're actually going to get in that thing?"

He grinned at me. "Of course - it's a double, so we can use it together."

I eyed it dubiously, and he positioned himself beside it. "Now, for the road test!" he announced. Sitting back, he swung his legs sideways and fell backwards, lying awkwardly in the middle of the hammock. I laughed until my sides hurt - he looked like a gangly legged bug caught in a spider's web. He wriggled around until he had moved up into a more dignified position.

"It'll take practice," he said sheepishly. "Come on, hop in. I brought you a blanket." I moved to the tree and tested the knot he had made, then inspected the one around the post.

"Oh ye, of little faith!" he quipped. I sat down on the other side and swung my legs sideways as he had, falling in a tangled mess on top of him.

"Now this is romantic," he said with a grin. Wriggling around awkwardly, I eventually managed to maneuver myself to his side. He tossed the blanket over us, and pulled me so I was resting against his shoulder.

"Comfy? I told you this would be a good idea."

"Hmm... I'll reserve judgment," I replied with a smile.

We lay silently for a while, listening to the familiar sounds of the forest at night. A soft breeze sent the hammock swinging, its rhythmic motion enhancing the tranquil moment.

Aric eventually broke the silence. "So, any signs of labor yet?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not a thing. I may have to call for Max if it goes on much longer."

My mare was in foal - the first I'd ever had to deal with, and I was a little anxious about her. She was one of fourteen horses I'd bought for my burgeoning trail riding business. I'd been surprised at how quickly we had settled in. Aric divided his time between computer graphics freelancing, and tree planting in the forest. We had decided we both needed jobs which would help us mix with the local community. We had made some good friends amongst the welcoming locals. I couldn't remember a time when I had been more content.

Every now and then, when the phone rang, I would worry it would be the call to help the others, but eventually, I'd settled down, and pushed the fear aside. Ellen, Saul and the others had visited a couple of times, and when Aric had gone off to work, Jomi had schooled me in the art of controlling my wyk. I still felt a pang of guilt for keeping it from him, but it would be worth it if the time came when I needed to use it.

I knew Aric had been making discreet inquiries into the identity of the traitor, but he hadn't discovered anything. (Or if he had, he hadn't told me). The intentions of the Innaki who'd let us go at the diner was still a mystery. So much was unresolved, but I was content to leave it that way for now. I was taking Olaf's advice and 'living for the moment'.

"Jomi called tonight," Aric said. My blood went cold and I lifted my head to see his face. He rubbed my shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, "she was only calling to see how we are getting on."

I exhaled a soft sigh of relief, and turned to look at the stars. The night sky out here was magnificent - we could see more stars than I could ever imagine. Very occasionally, the northern lights could be seen glowing in the distance. Tonight though, the inky sky only displayed a blanket of tiny twinkling lights. Despite the knowledge of what was really going on out there, the beauty of the night sky had begun to appeal to me again. We had spent countless hours sitting out on our front porch, admiring the sky, and talking into the night. I decided I quite liked the addition of the hammock after all - it was easier to look up and view the stars.

"So," I said, do you know which one of those is Jomi's home?" I pointed up to the sky, and the light of the cabin made the huge diamond on my finger flash.

"No, you can't see it from here," said Aric. He caught my hand in his. "Hey, I see you're wearing your ring." Moving my hand, he held the gem to the light from the cabin. "I thought you said it was too big."

"It is. It must have cost a fortune."

He grinned at me. "Here you go coming over all stingy on me again."

I laughed. "I would have made do with a smaller engagement ring you know."

He looked at me, his brows raised over twinkling eyes. "Did I say it was an engagement ring? I don't remember saying that! You said you're a modern woman - you're too young to be engaged."

"Oh? So why is it on this finger then?" I waggled my left ring finger about, and the diamond flashed.

"Because that's the finger you presented to me when I gave the ring to you," Aric said, trying hard not to laugh. I slapped him playfully on the chest.

"Well, if it's not an engagement ring, what is it?'

He lifted my hand again and studied the ring. "It's a... 'I promise to be with you forever, or at least until you're totally sick of me' ring," he declared.

"I see. A bit wordy. But seriously, next time you want to buy me jewelry - think 'small'."

"You mean, 'cheap'", he teased.

"I'm not being stingy! It's so big it gets caught in my hair."

"Oh, I didn't know, right, well, I'll take it back and we can find you something smaller."

I yanked my hand away. "No! I'm keeping this one. It has sentimental value - it was given to me by my very favorite person in the world - in the universe!"

He laughed and pulled me closer, planting a kiss on my forehead. "You are so... incorrigible."

We lay quietly again, enjoying the closeness. I jumped when a shooting star streaked across the sky.

"Don't worry, it's only a meteorite," Aric said, soothing my tense shoulders. I lay back again, and relaxed against him.

"They're supposed to be lucky," I said. "We should make a wish." Closing my eyes, I made a wish that things would be like this forever. It was a big ask, considering the circumstances, but I figured if the stars had chosen to bring us together, then saw fit to throw chaos in our path, well, they owed us one. I felt kind of silly even thinking it; I wasn't really into astrology - I used to read my horoscope in the local paper, but it was more for fun. There'd been an undeniable connection between us from the beginning. Maybe there was something to it after all. I shifted so I could see his face clearly.

"Do you believe the position of the stars define people's fates?" I asked.

"No, not really."

"So, you don't believe our relationship was just... meant to be? Like, we were destined to be together? Star-crossed lovers... or something..." The feeling had been there from the moment I'd met him, and I wondered whether he'd felt it too.

"Isn't the term 'star-crossed' meant to be a bad thing?"

I shrugged. "It sounds kind of romantic to me."

"From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers, take their life." He quoted Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. "A star-crossed relationship is one which is supposed to be thwarted by the stars. I guess in our case, it's kind of true."

I shivered and laid back against his chest. He pulled the blanket up around me. "It's okay," he said, "in this story, we'll win in the end."

We lay quietly for a while as the hammock rocked in the breeze, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Eventually, I turned to him.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

He brushed a stray lock of hair from my face. "I was thinking, we might have to call for help somehow, because I don't know how we're going to get out of this thing!" He wobbled the hammock, and I jabbed him in his side.

"Here I was hoping you were lying there thinking about how much you loved me!"

He laughed, and put his hand to my cheek. "I'm thinking I love you every moment of every day. I can think of more than one thing at a time, you know."

I knew he was telling the truth. Content with his answer, I lay back against his shoulder. He pulled the blanket up against the chilly night and put his arms around me again. Above us, the stars shone on, but they no longer held my attention. For now, it was just me and Aric, in the world we'd made for each other.

THE END

* * * * *

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tracey Lee Campbell grew up in Sydney, Australia, before moving to Queensland as a teen. She has been writing stories since she was very young and wrote her first manuscript when she was just ten years old. She has always had an interest in things which can be classed as 'highly strange', the mysterious and the spooky. In 2010 she decided to combine her two passions to produce a paranormal romance series. This book, Starcrossed: Perigee, is the first in the trilogy.

Tracey lives in Australia with her husband and children.

More information on further titles in the Starcrossed series can be found at:

www.starcrossedthebook.com

Connect with Tracey Lee Campbell at:

TraceyLeeCampbell.com