Star Kissed

By Lizzy Ford

When Mandy loses her job, she thinks she’s hit rock bottom – until her plane is swallowed by a strange storm that sends her and everyone else on board 10,000 years into the future. At first, she thinks the scary world is nothing more than a bad dream. The war-torn Earth is unrecognizable. Black fog blocks the sun, and the oceans are dry. Even worse: the planet is inhabited by half-human, half-alien creatures dying from a mysterious disease. Horrified at the thought of spending her life here, she clings to the knowledge that there’s one man who can open the star gate to send her home.

As the Naki prince who controls the star gate, Akkadi gets first choice of any human female that makes her way through the star gate. Only by breeding with purebred humans from the past can his race hope to remain immune to the disease and hopefully, develop an eventual cure. With shrinking resources and a raging battle for the human planet, dutiful, commanding Akkadi is less than thrilled at the idea of trying to figure out Mandy, a woman he views as wild with neither discipline nor respect for someone in his position.

He’s ready to write her off, when she offers him something too tempting to resist: her body for the chance to convince him by any means possible to send her home. Neither intends for the arrangement to be permanent or to fall for the other. Only when Mandy learns Akkadi’s secret and walks away does he realize he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her – even if it means losing his war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lizzy Ford
• Release date: Jul 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301408481

Lizzy Ford

I breathe stories. I dream them. If it were possible, I'd eat them, too. (I'm pretty sure they'd taste like cotton candy.) I can't escape them - they're everywhere! Which is why I write! I was born to bring the crazy worlds and people in my mind to life, and I love sharing them with as many people as I can.I'm also the bestselling, award winning, internationally acclaimed author of over sixty ... eighty ... ninety titles and counting. I write speculative fiction in multiple subgenres of romance and fantasy, contemporary fiction, books for both teens and adults, and just about anything else I feel like writing. If I can imagine it, I can write it!I live in the desert of southern Arizona with two dogs and two cats!My books can be found in every major ereader library, to include: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Sony and Smashwords.

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Star Kissed

By Lizzy Ford

http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com/

Cover design by Sarian Royal

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Smashwords EDITION

Star Kissed copyright ©2013 by Lizzy Ford

http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com/

Cover design copyright ©by Sarian Royal

http://www.Facebook.com/SarianRoyal

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events; to real people, living or dead; or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.

Chapter One

Mandy checked her boarding pass and watch. Somehow, she was always in the last zone called to board. Instead of stacking up with the rest of the passengers crowding the waiting area, she sipped the last of her mocha and reread the email from her agent.

… self-absorbed, selfish, vain … She ignored his drama, skipping ahead to the part where he told her when her last paycheck was coming.

His long email cutting her loose was expected after she’d been fired from what could’ve been the shoot that made her career. Well aware of how bad she’d screwed up, she just wished he waited until she was back in LA, instead of making her day worse.

She sighed and put her phone away, listening to the storm pelting the terminal. Only when the gate area was almost empty did she toss her drink and cross to the attendant.

You guys really fly in this weather? she asked, gaze on the steely clouds visible through the floor to ceiling windows. She saw no lightening, but rain splattered the windows hard.

Yes, ma’am, it’s safe to fly. The attendant said with a heavy New York accent. He didn’t bother looking at the storm.

Easy for you to say when you’re not flying, she answered silently. She took her ticket and walked down the long hallway to take her place at the end of the line waiting to get on the plane. Pounding rain drowned out the sounds of the chatty family in front of her. She checked her watch again.

There’s not even a delay, said the matronly woman in front of her.

Kinda strange, Mandy replied. I’ve seen sprinkles derail flights out of LA for hours.

My husband was saying the same thing. He travels for work a lot.

So do I, Mandy said. So I did. She sighed. I mean, I used to.

Lose your job? The woman turned sympathetic. With this economy, people are losing their jobs right and left.

Yeah, Mandy said. She wasn’t about to tell the kind woman she’d been fired because she overslept and missed her ride to the photo shoot with one of the most exclusive photographers in the world. It was only the most important morning of her life: the chance to be in a magazine featured in every checkout aisle of the grocery story and maybe even plastered across Times Square, which she’d seen the first time yesterday, after arriving to New York City from LA.

Or not. It was only a slim chance anyway. Did it matter that she overslept this morning? There were some big names after the contract; she’d lucked out just to be selected for the pre-shoot.

No one in their right mind was going to want her to model for them after she was fired by one of the biggest agencies in the business. She was heading home from the last gig ever, probably in her career. There’d be no more travel, just a boyfriend she’d outgrown and an apartment whose rent she wouldn’t be able to pay once her last paycheck reached her in a few weeks.

Don’t worry, you’ll find something, the woman said, catching her look of desolation. You’re too pretty not to.

I’m sure, Mandy said. Maybe pawnshop commercials on local TV channels. She tried to imagine herself selling gaudy gold rings and old cell phones to strangers. Conscious of the woman’s gaze, Mandy forced a smile and motioned her forward.

The plane wasn’t packed, and she sat in a row of three seats with one other person, a Hispanic man built like a UFC heavyweight, complete with tape over a nose that appeared to be broken. He sat in the window seat while she shoved her stuff under the seat in front of her and sank into the aisle seat.

Rain drowned out the sound of the captain’s welcome. She looked around. No one else seemed concerned about the storm. She gripped the arms of her seat as the plane taxied to the runway. Which was louder: rain falling hard enough to sound like hail or the straining engines?

The take off was smoother than she expected, but the ascent into the clouds rocky. The aircraft’s wings dipped precariously more than once, and it felt as if the clouds were massive water balloons hurling themselves at the plane. The aircraft shook from the storm’s battering. Lightening arced by the aircraft, the white light blinding.

Disgraced runway model Mandy Bennett dies in fiery plane crash. She could see the headline now. It would be on the last page of her local newspaper, too tiny for anyone to read without glasses. A perfect finish to her miserable career.

Mandy’s eyes went to the window. Fascinated by the play of light and dark, she pushed up the arm dividing her seat from the middle seat and slid over, fastening her seatbelt amidst the bumpy ascent. She leaned around the muscular man. Black and grey storm clouds swallowed the aircraft, making the cabin dark.

Looks awful, she murmured.

What? he shouted above the sounds of engines and storm.

I said, it looks awful! She clenched the arm of the seat.

Lightening lit up the cabin bright as day. Suddenly, they broke through the clouds and into the calm, clear night sky on the other side. The shaking stopped, and the engines no longer sounded like they were ready to quit. Their whine faded to a grumble.

Thank god, Mandy breathed, relaxing. She switched back to the aisle seat and grabbed her neck pillow for a nap.

Folks, this is your captain. A staticky voice said over the intercom. The good news is we made it through the storm. The bad news: we may have had an indirect lightening hit. It’s fried our radar but nothing else. We’ll continue until we reach an area with low or no storm activity, then land to switch planes. In the meantime, the flight attendants will come around with the beverage cart.

Mandy rested her head back to doze, the drone of the engines in her ears. The beverage cart bumped her elbow, and she moved it. The flight attendant asked the muscular man what he wanted to drink.

Diet Coke.

She almost snorted. She needed something stiffer but didn’t bother opening her eyes, knowing she’d be sloshed by the time they hit LA if she started drinking now. Not that she drank normally, but today was too awful not to.

Another bump of turbulence jarred her. It subsided, and the drone of the engines soon lulled her into a deep sleep.

A dream unlike any she’d ever had began.

She was in a small, white room that resembled a hospital room, except the bed was only a foot off the floor and made of heavy plastic piping. The room smelled of something metallic instead of antiseptic, and there were no windows. The doorway was vacant of a door. A small plastic tray sat next to her bed, on it what looked like a Pez dispenser and another small, double-barreled plastic pen. She scrutinized them for a long moment, unable to identify the unusual dream items.

There were plastic sandals on the floor by her bed. Her grey hospital attire – a loose fitting tunic and baggy pants – rustled as she moved. They, too, were made of plastic-like material. She fingered her thin shirt then swung her legs off the bed. Settling her feet into the sandals, she walked to the doorway and peered out.

The hallway was lined with door-less doorways. A voice speaking some unrecognizable dream language called out to her from down the hall. She turned, taken aback by the man-like creature before her. His eyes were human, but his face was deformed and scaly, like he was half-lizard. He was hunchback, though still taller than any man she’d ever seen and covered in patches of scales and skin. If not for the kind brown eyes that crinkled when he made an attempt at a smile, she would’ve run. Or floated, because she didn’t feel at all connected to the strange world.

Dream, she reminded herself. He wasn’t going to hurt her.

He held out something she didn’t recognize. She took the small object. The size of a Twinkie, its consistency was that of stiff foam. She squeezed it a couple of times and watched it bounce back into shape.

The half-man, half-beast touched something on the back of her neck. Her hand went to where his left, and she could feel a small metal plug at the base of her skull.

What the hell? She traced it with her fingers. It was round, about the size of the plug for a cable TV wire.

Is that better? he asked. Can you understand me now?

I can, she answered and looked at the spongy object in her hand. What is this?

Food.

She tested it and grimaced. The size of a candy bar, it tasted as foamy as it felt with and had no real flavor.

Edible? Maybe in an emergency. Food? No.

Even food eaten in a dream on a plane tastes awful, she said. She handed it back to him. You’d think they’d use that bail out money to make it bearable.

Does it not please you? he asked, concerned. His whole face showed his disappointment with the expression of a cartoon.

I’m not really hungry, she said.

Voices came from down the hallway, and the creature took her arm in a grip that was surprisingly strong for an imaginary creature in her head and pulled her back to her room.

You must stay out of sight, he hissed. The voices grew nearer. You must have triggered the alarm when you stepped across the threshold.

Alarm? she repeated.

Come, he said and took her arm again, this time leading her quickly out of her room, down a hallway almost too low for him to stand upright, and down another hallway. They heard you all were here, and I think my masters fear a raid. I will not let them have you, too. I saw what they did to the rest of –

What the hell are you talking about? she asked, baffled. Who heard? What others?

In here. He pushed her into a room the size of a janitor’s broom closet. It was uncomfortably small. This is my room.

Oh, sorry, she said.

Why should you be? he asked.

Never mind. I’ve never had a dream like this. So bizarre. She picked up another square, plastic-like object as she spoke. It was adorned with odd cuneiform script. It was too light to contain anything.

The lizard-man plucked it from her hand and set it down.

Very dangerous, he warned her. Sit here. He motioned to a small square plate suspended a foot off the floor.

She looked at it doubtfully but sat, surprised when it held.

Now, I must find the medallion, lizard-man said.

Take your time. It’s a long flight, she said and watched him lift a box off a suspended table, shake it, and open it. He looked inside with a frown, sealed the box, and shook it again. He reopened it.

There it is, he said and reached in to withdraw an object. Sometimes I forget the code.

Dear God, this is weird! The seat beneath her was cold. She couldn’t remember ever feeling heat or cold in a dream before.

Take this. Wear it, he instructed her and opened his massive hand to reveal a piece of what looked like rounded teal glass on a woven leather cord. The glass bore more of the strange cuneiform characters. It was lost by one of the Naki-gods.

It’s a beautiful color, she said, marveling at a shade of blue-green only a dream could produce. I hope I remember this.

You will if it’s around your neck, the lizard-man said. He draped it over her neck then tucked the medallion into her gown. Wait here.

He left, and she heard the whoosh of an invisible door close. Mandy reached over to grab the box off the desk and opened it. It was empty. She sealed it, shook it, and opened it again, surprised when she saw the small pyramid object in the bottom. She closed and opened it again to find more of the foamy space Twinkies, nonetheless delighted by the magic box.

The half-man returned and took the box from her, setting it again on the table. He reached into a pocket and withdrew a pouch. He dumped its contents into his massive hand. Colorful glass shards filled his hands, their once sharp edges worn down by time, like sand glass. Pinks, blues, greens, ambers … the colors reminded her of Depression glass she saw in the windows of stores selling antiques in Temecula, near LA.

They’re coming, he said. You must take these with you. Give them to a man named Urik, and only to him.

I don’t have any pockets. She held out her hands, marveling at the waterfall of color. His words clicked. Are we going somewhere?

I am not, but you are, he said. Right now. Do you remember how you came in?

I don’t even know where I am.

Aratta, the royal city, he replied. In the healer’s ward. You can descend via the low-lift to the lowest floor. After that, you – He listed a series of directions that included references to things she didn’t understand. Seeing her blank look, he stopped and looked at her expectantly. We need to get you outside.

She shrugged. Hell. While I’m stuck in dreamland, why not just jump off the roof?

Yes, that will get you outside, he said slowly. It’s a risk.

I’ll be fine. I’ll wake up before I hit the ground, she said. It’s not like you can get hurt in a dream, right?

"Um, well, maybe not your dreams."

Look, this is getting a little weird, so let’s just do this. She indicated the glass shards with her eyebrows. What do I do with these?

Put them here, he said and produced another necklace with a tiny box dangling from it.

She regarded it dubiously, unable to believe the tiny box would hold the double handfuls of glass she held. He opened it, and she poured the shards in. They fit, and there appeared to be room for many more pieces of glass.

I need one of these, she said, lifting the box to study it. Maybe bigger ones for all my clothes.

They come in all sizes, he said. He lowered it around her neck. Ask Urik for one. Come. I shall take you where you can jump from the building. He limped out of the room at a quick pace. It is a very large chance you are taking that they will not be here, and if they are, they don’t know to rescue you. Even if they don’t, it’s a better fate than staying here. If you fall to your death, I can retrieve the necklaces before they get you.

Sounds like a plan, she said, anxious to leave the dream. Thank you for helping me. I think.

I cannot let my masters hurt you as they did to the others. His voice grew sad. His sorrow bothered her. She didn’t remember people in her dreams having emotions, either.

What others? she asked again.

The others on the craft you were in. My masters did horrible things to them. There may be another one or two left, but not on my floor. I cannot bear to see it happen again.

The dream was getting too intense. And more real, too. The hallway was chilly and the medallion against her chest warmed by her skin. She began to feel uneasy for the first time since it began. It had to be time to wake up. No dream had ever seemed so real or long before.

He led her to a window at the end of one hallway. It appeared to have no covering, just as the doorways had no doors. When he touched the invisible window, it opened. A sudden gust of wind swept her blonde locks around her head.

He stood aside and waited.

Mandy went to the window. A heavy, dark fog covered much of the world around her, though she could see lights below dotting the fog. The sky was dark and the stars blocked by a bank of dark clouds.

One ugly dream, she murmured. We’re not going to the roof?

No time, he said with urgency she didn’t feel. Remember, only give the shards to –

Urik, she finished for him. I got it. Is he waiting for me down there? I mean, if I don’t wake up first?

Maybe.

Okay then. It’s been nice talking to you … uh, what’s your name?

Gonor.

Thank you, Gonor.

You’re welcome, my human friend.

She almost asked him what to do with the necklace bearing the teal medallion. He was clear about the shards but not about the other necklace.

Not that it mattered. She’d be awake in a few seconds.

Mandy shook her head and faced the dark fog, fear in her breast before she reminded herself this was all just some strange dream. She’d dive off the building and wake up on board the plane again. With a deep breath, she jumped.

Until she felt the cold rush of wind and the sting of rain, she’d been able to ignore her sense of unease. Panic bubbled at the all-too-real sensation of falling. She clawed at the air helplessly, as she dropped into a fog too black to see through. She broke free after a moment. The ground wasn’t far beneath the fog and rising up fast. A strangled cry tore from her throat.

Wake up!

And then she stopped falling.

Mandy pushed her crinkly shirt down. She was suspended in midair, twenty feet from the ground. Her arms and legs moved freely. No rope or other restraint was tied around her. She simply wasn’t falling.

Her terror faded again, replaced by confusion. This hadn’t seemed like a dream when falling, but now, suspended in air, it did. She looked down, feeling the eyes of people watching her.

The scene below was some sort of battle, which had paused to stare up at her. The men and creatures were divided into three distinct groups: those in black clothing that blended into the shadows of the dark world, men in green and those in silver uniforms. One of the men in black was pointing what looked like a bazooka at her, its muzzle glowing green. She looked down and saw a green dot on the back of one thigh.

When their initial shock wore off, the men began fighting again. The man with the bazooka moved it towards the edge of the battle, and her body followed it. He lowered the weapon’s muzzle, and she floated downward until her feet touched the ground. The man slung the bazooka onto his back, revealing a face that was half-human, half cyborg.

He shouted to the other men in black. The cyborg rushed to her and knelt, yanking two small black ovals from his cargo pocket. He pulled on one of her feet, and she careened into him, startled. He steadied them both then released her.

Forgive me, human.

Sure, she said. Her eyes went to the battle.

Why wasn’t she awake yet?

The cyborg grabbed one of her ankles and yanked. Mandy toppled onto her backside, jarred out of her thoughts. Irritated, she watched him roughly encase her feet in the same kind of odd, sock-like shoes she saw on his feet. He stretched forward and gripped her neck, rubbing the metal circle at the base. With a satisfied nod, he released her and rose.

Put this on, he directed her. This will protect you from the graders.

Though she had no idea what a grader was, she accepted the long coat. He pulled her to her feet and waited for a split second while she tugged on the coat. He reached forward, yanked it into place, and took her arm. The coat was heavy and awkward, too long even for her arms and legs with no buttons or zippers she could see to fasten it around her.

Stumbling over the coat, she let the cyborg lead her away from the battle into a dark city. The block-like buildings were made of something that resembled black concrete with no windows, and the streets were made of the same material. The thin little shoes were more comfortable than any she’d ever worn, rendering the hard streets cloud-like.

She was soon tired of running, even in a dream. Ready to go home, Mandy tugged her hand away from the cyborg. His pace slowed to a quick walk, and he led her into a small side street. She was about to complain out loud but was struck by the details of the world around her.

The buildings were put together like a Lego city constructed of interconnecting blocks. They strode between and beneath the blocks through a labyrinth. The air was heavier than LA smog on a bad day and tasted and smelled like the interior of a car repair garage. Her ears and fingers were cold, and she realized she could almost see her breath. Black fog clung to buildings and hung low overhead.

Wake up! She ordered herself.

This had to be the longest flight ever.

Wait here, the cyborg said and paused at the corner of one block. He didn’t wait for her response but trotted down another road leading further into the labyrinth.

Mandy looked down where her watch had been. It had to be time to wake up or for the plane to land! She leaned against the building, surprised by how rough it was. The material scraped her arm, and she touched the forming welts.

There’d never been pain in her dreams before.

The others on the craft you were in, Gonor had said. What did he mean? Even if he meant her plane had landed in the city he’d called Aratta, there was nowhere on earth like this place!

She peered around the corner, suddenly wondering if the men in black were the men Gonor had warned her against or those he hoped would find her.

A few minutes passed. The cyborg didn’t reappear. Was he a dream ghost that now vanished? Concerned she’d be left completely alone, she looked back the way she came. The labyrinth was too confusing for her to remember her way back to Gonor. She started towards the street.

Wake up, wake up, she told herself, this time loudly in hopes of jarring herself out of the dream. She closed her eyes halfway down the alley and concentrated, trying to force herself awake.

Human. The man’s voice was low and quiet, much closer than she expected. Mandy jumped and turned around, jaw almost dropping.

Whoever he was, he was the most stunning man she’d ever seen. Tall and lean, with his hands clasped behind his back in a display of checked power, he was what every Ralph Lauren perfume ad’s model aspired to be. His eyes were large and deep blue, his long brown hair tied in a braid down his back. His body was toned and muscular without being bulky. He wore all silver, like the men fighting the cyborg, with a medallion of fiery orange dangling around his neck and several sashes in different, vibrant colors crossing his chest.

She guessed he was important by the sashes marking some kind of rank or stature, his chiseled carriage and commanding gaze. He was certainly the most incredibly handsome man she ever saw, even from among all the male models she worked with.

You have something I want, he said in a tone that matched his bearing. I have something you need.

Dear god, let it be me!

What might that be? she asked in surprise. I don’t have anything. His gaze went to her chest, and she glanced down at the medallion. She lifted it. This?

He gave one short, brisk nod.

Okay, I know what you want. She dropped it. What could I possibly need when I wake up and leave you behind in this dream?

Dream, he repeated, gaze intensifying. You think this is a dream.

It’s too strange not to be.

They looked at each other for a

Reviews for Star Kissed

[edensteffey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

good

I liked this better than I thought I would. I liked the main characters and the plot moved along quickly.

[Yossy Perez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved it!

[sdriver_283769151 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Way too rushed, jumps around, shallow characters, the most obvious plot line in the world...ugh. SO unoriginal.