Escaped: Starwalkers Serial, #5

By Julia Crane and Lizzy Ford

Tyana has been locked away and stripped of her gifts by the very people who were supposed to keep her safe. She’s kept away from the man she loves and from fulfilling her role in the prophecy. But she’s willing to risk her own life to escape, especially if it means a chance at saving her sister, Cyena.

When Welon arrives unexpectedly at the door of the Lumerian colony on Earth, Tyana is initially hopeful he has the key to returning home. Until he begins spreading vicious lies about her sister. Welon is more determined than ever to rule the people of Lumeria, prophecy be damned.

Will Ryker find a way to help Tyana escape the clutches of the Lumerians and return to their home? Or will she be forced to spend the rest of her days on Earth with a colony of Lumerians who are not to be trusted?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lizzy Ford
• Release date: Jan 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507058985

Julia Crane

Julia Crane dreamt of elves and teen androids long before she captured them and put them on paper. She's written and released over fifteen young adult and new adult titles over the past two and a half years. From science fiction adventures to succubus, Julia's fresh voice is easy to read and imaginative. Widely known for her Keegan's Chronicles series and IFICS series, and she has hit numerous best selling list on Amazon.

Book preview

Escaped

(#5, Starwalkers Serials)

By Lizzy Ford & Julia Crane

Published by Guerrilla Wordfare and Valknut Press

Cover design by Eden Crane, Eden Crane Design

http://www.EdenCraneDesign.com/

Kindle Edition

Escaped copyright ©2014 by Lizzy Ford and Julia Crane http://www.GuerrillaWordfare.com/

http://www.juliacrane.com

Cover design copyright © 2014 by Eden Crane Design

http://www.EdenCraneDesign.com/

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.

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

Tyana rifled through the kitchen cabinet, not caring that she was making a mess. The saltshaker dropped to the floor and rolled across the tile, causing the cat, her only real friend left in the house, to scamper after it. Tyana pulled out a large glass bottle and spun it around in her hands.

Vodka. They didn’t have anything like alcohol on Lemuria. So far she’d resisted trying the beverage that others claimed made you lose your inhibitions.

But after two weeks of being locked down in the tiny house, she was willing to try anything as an escape. Initially, she’d been panicked at the idea of being trapped in a house full of people she didn’t know if she could trust. When she figured out Lydia and the rest of the colony didn’t want her dead or hurt, she went from scared to sad to now, bored. Distractions such as movie marathons, books and hopefully vodka were all that kept her mind from plunging into despair once more at the thought of being separated from Ryker.

Apparently the girls were having a lot of fun at the University and most of it involved drinking. Some of them claimed whole nights passed that they didn’t remember, and Tyana was hoping she could likewise make her time under Lydia’s guard pass more quickly. She should be enjoying her time with Ryker, not locked away like a criminal. What the hell had she done that was so wrong? True, she was paired with a member of the rebellion, but she loved him and he loved her. Didn’t that count for anything?

After all, there was no Lemurrian elite anymore. Who was there to say she wasn’t allowed to be with the man she loved, now that the old ways were gone?

Stilling herself, Tyana cast her senses out. Ever present, Lydia was in the shower. Tyana could hear the water running, and the old bag singing a pop song, out of tune. How long have they been here, waiting for my world to crumble? Long enough for Lydia to adopt Earthling mannerisms and fit into their culture.

It made her stomach turn.

Tyana unscrewed the top off the bottle of vodka and took a sniff. It didn’t smell too bad. Without hesitating, she tipped the bottle back and took a long swig.

Holy stars that burns! She coughed and looked down at the offensive clear bottle. What in the stars did the girls see appealing in that poison? She waited for the day to disappear and for time to speed up.

Nothing happened. Disappointed, she assessed whether or not she wanted to drink more and find out what happened.

Earthlings sure had strange vices.

Lydia shuffled into the kitchen. Tyana faced her and leaned against the counter. The elder was wrapped in a bright pink bathrobe and was wearing fuzzy white slippers. She looked ridiculous.

You know that’s much better if you mix it with juice. Takes the bite out of it, Lydia suggested, eyes on the bottle in Tyana’s hand.

On Lemuria what you saw was what you got, there was no mixing or diluting of anything. On this planet, everything was synthetic or complicated. And if it was organic, they charged an arm and a leg for it. Tyana had already put on several pounds from the food. But damn if it didn’t taste amazing, and she sort of liked the softness of her newfound curves.

Lydia pulled out two glasses, poured a couple inches of the vodka on the bottom and filled the rest with cranberry juice. She gave it a quick stir and handed the glass to Tyana.

Hesitantly she reached for the drink. After taking a sip, a slow smile spread across her face. The elder was right; it was much tastier with the juice. She could drink a gallon of it this way. She continued to suck the liquid through the straw, emptying almost the full glass. So far she couldn’t feel anything, and time wasn’t going faster. Perhaps the other girls were exaggerating about the effects.

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