Dark Waltz (A Praestani Novel), page 1
DARK WALTZ
A Praestani Novel
by
A. M. Hargrove
Dark Waltz
Copyright © 2012 A.M. Hargrove
All Rights Reserved
No part of the book may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system without the prior written permission of the Author. You must not circulate this book in any format. Thank you for respecting the rights of the Author. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the Author’s overactive imagination. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Acknowledgements
With every book I write, it seems this part gets longer and longer...and for that I’m grateful. When I first started this new thing called writing, I never knew it would take me in this direction and all I can say is, wow, what a ride it’s been!
So, as always, I want to start by thanking my family first for all their support: TAC and McIntyre (the greatest kids EVER) and my husband Henry. You’re the ones that have to listen to it all, from beginning to end, so thanks for being there. I love you all!
Next, thanks to my amazing team of beta readers. I almost don’t know where to start here.
Terri Thomas, what would I do without you? In this book, as I bit my nails while writing all those scenes (you know the ones I’m talking about *wink*), you were the one that guided me through that whole process. Thanks for all your guidance in the steam factor department!
Shelly Greninger, well, what can I say, except your words spun some magic and it sure shows throughout these pages. I still can’t believe all the help you sent my way, considering you did it all by hand. I’m humbled and amazed by the amount of hard work you put in...just wow!
Laurie Lewis...I’m sorry you were so sick and had to miss work, but I’m supremely happy Dark Waltz was in your hands and filling that void on the day you were ill! Your suggestions were greatly appreciated and I’m glad you made a quick recovery. Thank you my friend.
And finally, Midu Hadi, you’re so thorough and honest as you gave me your opinions and made this a better story in every way. I wish I could borrow your brilliant mind every once in a while (I promise I’d return it...really!). You amaze me daily.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Juls Sumner and Alana Rock for their input on Dark Waltz as well. Although you don’t think you helped much, your opinions meant a lot to me, so thanks for sending them my way ladies! Thanks, too, to my special friend Tana Troniak. I don’t know how you keep up with everything you do, but I am so grateful that you do. You’re one the kindest and most helpful people I’ve ever met. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t see that big smiley face on Goodreads every day.
Thanks, too, to my friend Fiona Hunt, who took the time to proofread Dark Waltz. Oh, and thanks for those great suggestions on what I need to read next! Keep sending them my way girl!
Now, on to the fun. I couldn’t write this without acknowledging some of my wonderful author friends, whom I speak to quite frequently for support, laughs, opinions and, well, you name it. So here’s to Janelle Stalder, Lila Felix, Martha Bourke and John Corwin. Thanks for all the fun everyone! You guys are amazing. I would like to extend a very special thanks to the incredible Misty Provencher for all the time she spent with me on the phone, assisting me with various things from tech issues to reading scenes from Michele Leighton’s hot new book, Down To You (and thanks too, Michelle!). Thank God for free long distance! You’ve been such a huge help to me Misty…big hugs to you girl. And here’s to all you Indie Authors out there! Even though we may not speak live, I’ve talked with you through Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook and email and I’ve appreciated the information I’ve learned from each of you more than I can ever say.
This acknowledgment page would be incomplete without mentioning all the girls at the BGC on Goodreads: Tana, Terri, Janelle, Gin, Ruth, Juls, Nicole, Karla, Midu, Alana, Heather, Maghon, Jennifer and Diana. Thanks for all the unbelievable laughs and ridiculously funny things we’ve shared! I dare not mention any of them here because, well, you all know why!
I have to recognize my good friend and mentor, the incredible author Brian Rathbone. Without his knowledge of this industry and his willingness to help, I’m sure I would be wandering around aimlessly out there, still trying to figure out how to self publish my first book. Thanks so much Brian!
And finally...thank you God, for sending Jennifer Nunez my way. I’m still not sure how that all happened. I think it might have been Twitter or Goodreads, but whatever it was, I’m sure glad because I don’t know what I would do without that wonderful lady. By the way, she’s my editor, the one that keeps my books in line, catches all my goof ups and all that! Thanks Jenn! dp
For more information about A. M. Hargrove and her upcoming book releases, please visit her at:
www.amhargrove.com
www.amhargrove.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/amhargrove1
www.facebook.com/guardiansofvesturon
www.goodreads.com/amhargrove1
You can contact her at annie@amhargrove.com
Dark Waltz
Music Written and composed by
Matteo Saggese, Umberto Morasca and Frank Musker
We are the lucky ones
We shine like a thousand suns
When all of the color runs together
I’ll keep you company
In one glorious harmony
Waltzing with destiny forever
Dance me into the night
Underneath the moon shining so bright
Turning me into the light
Time dances whirling past
I gaze through the looking glass
And feel just beyond my grasp is heaven
Sacred geometry
Where movement is poetry
Visions of you and me forever
Dance me into the night
Underneath the moon shining so bright
Turning me into the light
Let the dark waltz begin
Oh let me wheel - let me spin
Let it take me again
Turning me into the light
Chapter 1
The Planet Vesturon, 2030
Sarah turned her head as she heard footsteps approach.
“Well?” she asked the Guardian as he came to a halt in front of her.
“I think you may have something here.”
“Go on.”
“I have accessed all of Thomas’ Guardian records via the official CompSys and they’ve been wiped clean. It’s as if your brother never existed.”
“What? That’s impossible!” Sarah jumped to her feet and came nose to nose with Shandro Tellus.
“Please Sarah, you need to remain calm. If you can’t, I’ll be compelled to use my Power of Tranquility on you. I, more than anyone, realize the disappearance of his documents is highly irregular.”
“Don’t you dare use any of your Vesturion Powers on me, including Tranquility! I do not need to be lulled into a false sense of security right now. And you call this ‘irregular?’ You have got to be kidding me Shandro. People don’t just disappear out of the CompSys. I knew it. I just knew it!” Sarah began pacing, her mind spinning with all sorts of horrific scenarios.
Shandro reached out for her arm, but she snatched it out of his grasp.
“So help me, Shandro. Don’t you dare put me under your spell! You damn Vesturions and your supernatural Powers,” she spat, giving him a nasty look. “For months I’ve had my suspicions but no one would give me any answers. I knew Tommy wouldn’t just disappear and not say anything to me. But why the cover-up? What do you think is going on?”
Shandro shook his head and massaged the back of his neck.
“I can’t say. I can’t even hazard a guess. Whatever it is, it goes all the way to the top.” He looked at me knowingly.
“Are you saying, ‘The top,’ as in The Yarristers? Rowan Yarrister, and his sons, Rayn, Rykerian, Xarrid and Tesslar? The Great Leader, Rowan Yarrister, of the planet Vesturon, kind of top? The Leader of the Universal Free Rule kind of top?” The Universal Free Rule, or UFR, was the ruling entity of the universe, the one that maintained order and ensured freedom for all life forms everywhere.
Sarah narrowed her eyes as she fumed, “What the hell are you trying to tell me Shandro? Are you saying that my brother-in-law, Rykerian’s family is involved in Tommy’s disappearance? And that my sister January probably knows something about this? Because if that’s the case, I’m marching my ass over there right now and we’re going to have a come to Jesus meeting over all of this!”
“Calm down Sarah or I’m leaving here and not coming back. I’ve risked my position over this and possibly compromised the safety of several of the Guardians who report to me to get this information. If you confront your sister and her husband, this whole thing will blow up in our faces and we’ll never find out anything. Do you honestly think they will admit to knowing anything? Think about it! Use your bloody head!”
Sarah fidgeted with the buttons on her jacket and realized Shandro had a valid point. As a Guardian of Vesturon himself, he had risked a great deal to help her. She had been to Rykerian and January’s several times over Tommy’s disappearance to no avail. What made her think they would tell her anything now?
“You’re right...as usual. So what now?”
Shandro was by her sid
He moved his fingers and lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. For as long as he could remember, he had loved her. She was his best friend’s sister, so he had said nothing, but had harbored his feelings in silence. It pained him to see her hurting the way she had been these last months. He knew how close Tommy and Sarah were. He would stop at nothing to help her find him.
Sarah promised herself that she wasn’t going to cry. It was so hard to hold back all the tears, but when Shandro smiled at her she couldn’t help but smile back. She knew that what he felt for her was far deeper than what she felt for him. As much as she wished she could return those feelings she knew she would only ever love him as a brother.
“So what’s next?” she asked.
“Wait to hear back from me. I’ll let you know something as soon as I can. And please, say nothing to your sister or her husband. Not a word Sarah.”
“Thanks Shandro. I know how you feel about Tommy. I know you miss him too.”
Shandro nodded and walked away.
********
Sarah replayed the last few months in her head. Her last conversation with Tommy had been normal. He was on Earth with his team of Guardians, where he’d been stationed for six months. They were trying to wrest Earth out of the hands of the Xanthians. Those nasty Xanthians…that parasitic species had ruined everything. Eighteen years ago they’d hired a team of terrorists and unleashed a deadly disease on humanity that had wiped out over sixty-five percent of the human population. Then the Xanthians had invaded Earth with the sole intention of assuming leadership and relocating their entire species there. They wanted Earth’s natural resources because they had depleted the ones on their home planet of Xantha. It hadn’t worked out exactly like they had planned, Sarah thought with a smirk.
Many of the surviving humans had banded together to fight back and the rebels had gained ground, with the help of the Guardians of Vesturon. The Xanthians, not to be outdone, had enlisted the aid of several other unsavory species to combat the rebels, and war was still underway. Sarah had grave doubts of whether Earth would ever be returned to its rightful inhabitants again.
She remembered the dirt hole that their dad dug under the house. She and Tommy lived in that hole with their parents until January and Rykerian had come and taken them to Vesturon. They’d been so young then, and it was such a scary time. They had very little food and water and they lived in fear that someone would discover their hiding place and try to kill them while they slept. That was eighteen years ago, but even now she had nightmares about those days.
Where could Tommy be? Her mind kept replaying their last conversation for hints or clues of any kind. He said things had been busy lately with more fighting than usual. The Xanthians had several teams of mercenaries that were causing skirmishes everywhere, but nothing extraordinary.
In a blazing moment of clarity, Sarah knew what she had to do.
Her mission began to unfold in her mind. She knew that Shandro would fight her every step of the way, but if he didn’t assist her she would just find someone else who would.
********
“You’re insane Sarah Liana St. Davis. And not just a little.”
“Shandro, there is no other way. It’s a sound plan.”
“Sound? What part of this plan has any semblance of ‘sound’ to it? It’s insane, exactly like you!”
“It’s the only way. I have to go to Earth to find him.”
“You have no idea what you are saying. You claim to have nightmares of the Earth you remember, but that was Eden compared to the Earth of today! I’m not exaggerating. It’s completely out of the question. If you go there, you’ll never come back here,” Shandro insisted.
“You don’t seem to understand Shandro. That’s exactly the point. I go to find him or die trying. That’s what he means to me. The Tommy I know would do the same for me and you know damn well that’s the truth.”
“Sarah,” Shandro said, his voice edged with pain, “the Thomas I know would gut me alive if he knew I consented to this ridiculous scheme of yours.”
Sarah chewed her bottom lip before launching into her rebuttal. “It doesn’t matter what the Thomas you know would do because he’s not here to do anything, is he? Shandro, I have to do this. You, of all people, should understand this.” Her eyes darkened with pain as she pleaded with him for his understanding.
He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his belly clench. “Sweet Deity Sarah, the thought of you on Earth with all those barbarians, sickens me.”
She stood before him and cupped his cheeks with her hands. “I know Shandro. But I can’t sit here anymore, thinking there might be something I could do. Please help me. You know he’s everything to me. I’d gladly give my life for his.”
“He feels the same for you. He still bears great guilt you know.”
Sarah nodded. “I wish he didn’t. We were stupid kids. Please help me Shandro.”
“You know I will but I’ll do it against my better judgment. Sarah, I swear if you don’t come back to me alive, I will go down to Earth, hunt you down and make you pay somehow.”
The corners of her mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile as they began their preparations for her journey to Earth.
Chapter 2
Darkness fell quickly on Vesturon this time of year. Sarah waited impatiently for Shandro near the space dock, but far enough away to avoid suspicion. They had repeatedly gone over every detail and by now she knew everything by heart and could recite it in her sleep. As of today, she would lose her identity. Shandro would supply her with her papers, identification and everything else she would need to travel inconspicuously to Earth.
A shadow fell across her and she glanced up to see her co-conspirator. She’d always thought he looked dashing when he was in full uniform, and he did not disappoint tonight. Dressed in black from head to toe, including knee-high boots, Shandro was perfection that most women would die to get their hands on. She wished she were one of them. He was handsome in every way, from his dark hair to his smoldering eyes. It was unfortunate she never felt anything but brotherly affection for him.
“Do you have everything?”
He nodded as he handed her a packet. She opened it up to see the identifying documents she would need for passage once she arrived on Earth. It contained a scan of her fingerprints, along with her DNA and an imprinted pictogram of her retina scan. It also listed her as Liasare Davidson. She chuckled when she saw it; she thought it was a clever twist of her birth name, Sarah Liana St. Davis. Shandro wanted her to dye her hair, but Sarah hadn’t thought it necessary. It was a nondescript shade of brown and her eyes were your everyday average hazel, neither of them being extraordinary enough to draw attention. He actually agreed with her for a change.
“I realize we have been over this, but your life is at stake so it bears repeating. The first thing you must do when you awaken from your sleep is...”
“I’ll inject myself with the drug to reverse the effect of what you’re giving me here and I’ll immediately eat and get the hell out of wherever I am at the time.”
“Correct and then...”
“I plan to seek out a place to set up as a base. I sleep during the day and never at night. Nighttime is the death zone. I’ll be on my guard at all times. I’ll never act shy or demure but bold and aggressive and will always look others directly in the eye.”
“Very good Liasare. What else?” Shandro asked.
“Never sleep in a vulnerable spot and always wear my boots in case I have to leave in a hurry. I won’t ever travel alone down a dark street or alley, but stay in crowds. I won’t leave my food or drink unattended and I won’t trust anyone. I’ll stay clear of any Guardians unless my life’s in danger. If necessary, I’ll go to them then, but not tell them who I am. I won’t try to contact you and I think, perhaps, that will be the most difficult of all.”
