Veronica
Scott: I’ve finally written the long awaited sequel to Wreck of the Nebula Dream and I’m
sharing an exclusive excerpt from my new release today.
The
story:
The
survivors of a terrible wreck meet again—but this time only one can survive.
They survived an iconic spaceship wreck together.
She never expected to see him again … especially not armed to kill her.
Twilka Zabour is an interstellar celebrity. She
built on her notoriety as a carefree Socialite who survived the terrible wreck of
the Nebula Dream, and launched a successful design house. But now the man who
gave meaning to her life, then left her, is back–this time for the worst of
reasons. Will he kill her … or help her survive?
D’nvannae Brother Khevan survived the Nebula Dream
in the company of a lovely, warm woman, only to be pulled away from her, back
into his solitary life in the service of the Red Lady. Now Twilka’s within his reach again–for all
the wrong reasons. Khevan will do everything within his power to discover why
Twilka has been targeted for assassination, and to save her.
But Khevan is not Twilka’s only pursuer. Will allies
Nick and Mara Jameson arrive in time to aid the couple, or will Khevan and
Twilka’s ingenuity be all that stands between them and death?
The
excerpt:
The dreams she couldn’t escape for long were
especially bad tonight. Twilka tossed and turned on the huge bed in the city’s
most luxurious hotel, more than a little afraid to seek more sleep. She’d
clawed her way out of the nightmare where she was surrounded by laughing,
faceless drunks, intent on living their last few hours of life aboard the Nebula Dream by passing her around among
themselves. In the dream, there was no help coming, no rescue, and she woke
screaming. Heart pounding, she lay still for a moment before reaching for the
glass of water at the bedside. Should she take the meds her doctor had given
her to suppress the memories?
No, the prescription stuff made her into a robot
who’d sleepwalk through tomorrow’s activities, and she needed all her wits
about her in the negotiations. Taking the glass, she kicked her way free of the
covers and strolled barefoot to the private terrace, high above the planet’s
surface. Inhaling a deep breath of the flower-scented air, she took one
tentative step onto the balcony, clutching the door handle with her free hand.
Acrophobia was a bitch. As she sipped the water, she reflected on the irony
that she, of all people, was reluctant to take a drug to quell the nightmares.
“A legal one no less,” she muttered to herself. After years of enjoying all the feelgoods all the time with no regard
for consequences.
The view of the city was breathtaking, all colorful
twinkly lights at this hour. Raising her eyes to the plateau, she took a deep
breath. The Red Lady’s oversize temple dominated the horizon, glowing ruby like
a baleful eye. Shivering, wishing she’d put on her robe, Twilka pivoted to
re-enter the room. With a stifled scream, she saw a dark shadow standing beside
the bed. Breaking the water glass on the door frame and holding the jagged base
fragment as a weapon, she said, “I’ve activated my personal panic button. The
hotel’s security detail will be here in a minute. Leave now and I won’t press
charges.”
He stepped into the moonlight. “We need to talk.
Cancel the alarm.”
Khevan.
She sagged against the balcony door, allowing the broken glass to roll from her
hand onto the carpet. “I told you, we have nothing left to discuss. Anything
between us died a long time ago.”
There was pounding on the door. “Miss Zabour?”
He didn’t even glance at the portal, intent on her. “Send
them away.”
“The hotel has orders to check on me in person if
the alarm is triggered.”
“Make it fast.” There was a flicker and she couldn’t
see him any longer. If she squinted, the air shimmered with a faint distortion
where he’d been.
Another
D’nvannae trick. Giving the spot where he presumably
stood a wide berth, she went to the door and opened it. Blaster in hand, the
security chief scanned the room behind her. “Are you all right, Miss Zabour?”
“I’m fine. I had a nightmare and I was confused when
I first awakened.” She lied with ease. There had been such incidents before.
“I’ll have to check the room.”
Stepping aside, she invited him to enter with a wave
of her hand. “I broke my water glass, so watch out for the fragments.”
“I’ll have housekeeping send a robo to clean up the
mess,” he said, moving through her suite with efficient speed. He scanned every
possible spot a person could hide.
“In the morning will be fine. I need my sleep.”
Twilka forced herself to fake an elaborate yawn.
The second man remained outside in the hall while
his team lead finished the quick search of the room, closets included. Twilka
stood by silently, occasionally glancing at the minor visual distortion where
Khevan lurked. “Thank you for answering so promptly,” she said, as she escorted
the officer to the door. For a moment, she was tempted to step outside with him
and escape the conversation Khevan was determined to have, but she was angry
he’d pursued her. And dangerously intrigued.
Get
this over with now.
He’d gone visible again as she walked into the
sleeping area. Hands on her hips, she said, “You do that often?”
He shrugged, face impassive. “A gift from the Lady.
At certain levels of the Brotherhood, new abilities are earned.”
“And I’m sure you’re at a stratospheric level
nowadays. I hope the goodies were worth it. How did you get in anyway?”
“The locks and other security measures in a place
like this offer no challenge. And stealth is a basic skill for the D’nvannae.”
“I’m aware.” Leaning against the door, she studied
him. Part of her wished she’d taken a feelgood. Being alone with him was
sending shivers through her and it was hard to concentrate. Hard to breathe.
Twilka reached for the anger over how he’d treated her and the emotion drove
the tremors from her nerves. Have to get
control of this meeting. “Hand me my robe, would you?” Taking it from his
hand, she slid the soft garment onto her body and strolled to the plush
armchair. Sinking onto the cushions gracefully, crossing her legs, she said,
“Your Lady isn’t going to visit me too, is she?”
No comments:
Post a Comment