Melicity: Warrior Women of the League, #3

By Jo Carey and Frank Carey

This Snapdragon Lady has doubts.

Ireland's wee folk communicate with Melicity, but she's not sure what to believe.

The magic "folk" of Ireland help her as she and her alien fiancé fight an ancient vampire cult. Melicity's toughest enemy may be her own disbelief.

Melicity is the third book in an entertaining science fiction adventure series featuring the Warrior Women of the League. If you like fast-paced reads, strong female characters, and stories with a bit of romance and a touch of humor, you'll love Jo and Frank Carey's Warrior Women of the League series. 162 pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jo Carey
• Release date: Apr 26, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386436409

Jo Carey

Jo Carey grew up in the Midwest but her curiosity and gypsy-spirit has kept her on the move. She's lived in eight US states and spent three years living in Ireland. She has always loved creature movies, so creatures and bugs often show up in her books. Jo, a former information security compliance guru, writes fast-paced, character-driven stories in a variety of genres from medical thrillers to space operas and cozy mysteries. Her novels are filled with humor, romance, and sometimes creatures or aliens, or maybe even all of the above. She often builds her stories around a strong female lead character surrounded by plenty of hunky male heroes. Jo's been under fire on a golf course and climbed out the roof of an elevator in the Netherlands. Life hasn't been boring. Now residing in Texas, setting often plays a huge role in her stories. Jo was intrigued by the League of Planetary Systems, a world her husband, Frank, created for his science fiction books, and she now writes mysteries and other types of tales sets in that world. Jo was bitten by a cat, a fire ant, and a snake, before succumbing to the bite of the writing bug.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Lugh sat in the cafe sipping espresso as the crowds walked through the stalls of the marketplace. As was usual in the realm, it was a beautiful day, one which looked to stay that way.

Lugh's quiet morning was interrupted by a file folder landing on the table in front of him.

Hey, Aoife, what brings you to my quiet, little table? Lugh asked. Espresso?

Sure, why not, she replied. Like Lugh, Aoife was an ancient immortal. He waved at the waiter, a true elf, and raised two fingers. The waiter waved back before running inside.

So, what's this, Lugh asked while picking up the folder and thumbing through it.

Kalu's back.

Kalu? Kalu's dead, isn't he?

She shrugged, unloosing a flaming red bang upon her face, which she brushed away. Supposedly, he died in a fire set by local townspeople when he and his little band of merry bloodsuckers got caught having a blood tasting party.

This was during the period when the Venlantens were trying to get the nutrient on the QT, wasn’t it? It was a harvest-or-die situation, but the Venlantens were gathering nutrient without killing the subject, if memory serves.

Yep, but Kalu had other ideas. He felt that the humans should view dying for the Venlantens to be an honor. The locals took the opposite view.

Now, someone's trying to revive this cult? Where'd we get the intel?

Some of the folk have been hearing things.

What kind of things?

Several missing humans, whispers of the name Kalu, and vague references to the Devlin family.

References?

She nodded. The folk report there are rumors that the Devlins are reviving the cult.

Colin's family bringing back the practice of feeding off of humans? That is patently absurd, especially in this day and age of intergalactic travel. The non-humans, especially the Ventosian elves, would stamp out any threat to humanity the moment mankind put in a request.

Aye, it makes no sense.

That is not good, not good at all. Colin is a friend of mine and has done great good for the folk. OK, take this to stage one. Three tasks: what happened to those missing humans, more info on this cult, and specific details about these rumors.

Use the usual operatives?

Of course.

What about Colin?

I'll contact him and see if he's heard anything. In the meantime, I think it's prudent to warn the family in the usual ways.

It never rains, but it pours, Aoife observed before draining her cup. She got up. Anything else?

Not for now. Keep me posted, though. We don't want anything to happen to the Devlins, especially if it could spill over to the folk. I don't want a repeat of that vampire shit that happened after the Venlantens arrived. I want to keep ahead of this situation until it’s resolved.

Yes, My Lord, she said with exaggerated aplomb.

He threw a napkin at her retreating back.

Chapter 1

What do you mean, you’ve been slimed? I asked. Being the Facilities Director for the Cube, I thought I’d heard it all, but this was a new one, even for me.

I’ve got a crew down here, but I could use some more help, boss, Sandro said. Get these people out of here, now.

I’m on my way.

Sandro and his team had been called out to take care of a cleanup situation in transport tube 3. When I reached the scene on G deck, it looked like something from that old Earth classic film Ghostbusters.

Sandro, what the heck happened here?

Boss, we’ve got all the civilians out of the way and called animal control, Sandro said. I just caught a glimpse of it, but it looks like a Denovian Slug to me.

Where is it now? I asked as I slipped my arms out of the jacket I’d worn in preparation for a meeting with Ciara. Once off, I threw it into a far corner.

Last we saw, it was on top of the transport module, but I wouldn’t go in there ma’am. It’ll ruin your clothes. Their slime’s really nasty.

Was anyone hurt?

Don’t think so? Just messed up, Sandro said.

I wasn’t sure how to interpret that, but I couldn’t wait any longer. We needed to catch this thing before it could damage any wiring or cabling and cause a larger problem that my teams would have to fix.

Bleau, this is Melicity, I said into my comm unit.

Hi, Mel, Bleau said. You OK? You sound a little rushed.

Can you come to the north deck G transport tubes and bring your lasso?

My lasso? he asked. I wasn’t always a fan of Bleau’s cowboy persona, but I’d become more accepting since he’s saved my life with his lasso during the recent holiday fiasco. Yeah, cowboy. Get down here quick and bring your lasso and a big garbage can with a lid.

On my way, he said.

I took a flashlight from one of the maintenance team and approached the transport module. The hatch that led to the roof was open, so I stepped underneath it and pointed the light up. All I could see was the transport shaft above me. I’m tall for an Earth female, five feet ten inches in my bare feet, but in my Triano heels, I topped out over six foot.

Sandro, get over here. When he approached I said, I need you to hold the torch and hand it up to me after I pull myself up to the roof of the module.

Ma’am, I really think you should wait until Bleau or animal control gets here.

I appreciate the concern, but we need to corral this thing before it does any more damage. I handed him the torch and reached my arms through the opening. I pulled myself up until I could sit my butt on the side of the hatch. I reached down for the torch and moved the light around the top of the transport seeing movement at the far corner.

As I shone the light toward the movement, a large blob moved into view. I got on my hands and knees and crawled toward it. The creature didn’t move which seemed odd, but I was happy for a bit of good luck, I could see the iridescent golden slime running in a steady stream from the side of its mouth and puddling on top of the transport. The creature seemed more interested than afraid, as I moved closer. When I got within thirty feet or so, I reached into the back waistband of my skirt and realized I didn’t have my blaster.

I kept my eyes locked on the creature, not wanting to lose it in the tubes. The goo trail it was leaving everywhere would wreak havoc on electronics even if it didn’t seem to be acidic. I put my hand down again right into a puddle of the stuff. Great. I could wipe it off on my skirt, but this was my best suit. I hated to ruin it.

With my eyes locked on the creature’s, I could see it getting nervous, so I knew I had to act. I wiped my hand on my skirt, silently mourning the loss, and took off one of my Triano’s. I gauged the distance and launched the four-inch heel into the blob’s head.

Yes, I said as the heel stuck in the creatures head, and it fell over. Darn, I’m gonna miss those shoes, I thought as I crawled toward the blob. I couldn’t be sure if it was dead or just stunned, so I took off my shirt and wrapped up the slimy creature using the sleeves to secure it.

As I was crawling back to the hatch, Bleau poked his head through and shone his torch my way. Looks like I missed a fun party, he said, grinning that aw shucks cowboy grin that I usually found irresistible.

Glad you could make it. What the heck took so long? I asked, continuing my crawl back to the hatch with the creature in one arm.

Sorry. I don’t carry a lasso with me all the time. It was in my locker at the gym, he said. What can I do to help?

First, stop grinning like that. Did you bring a garbage bag?

As I reached the opening, he pulled himself up to the top of the module, and held out the bag. I deposited the creature, shoe and all, into the bag. Hand that down to Sandro, and tell him I want my shoe back. He handed the bagged creature down through the opening. Now take off your shirt.

Really? Here? he said with a lift of his eyebrows.

I smacked his shoulder. I’m not going out there without a shirt, I said.

Oh sure, but you think it’s OK to make one of your employees do it, he said.

Do you really want me to go out there like this? I’m sure there’s quite a crowd waiting.

Without further discussion, he removed his shirt and handed it over. I buttoned it up, and lowered myself down to the floor of the transport tube. With only one shoe on, I landed off balance, but Sandro rushed over to steady me, giving me a once over.

What happened up there? he asked.

I used what I had to capture that slimy thing before it could cause more damage. I saw several people in the crowd snapping pictures as I walked off with my head held high, limping in my one remaining Triano heel, my designer pencil skirt dripping slime, and Bleau’s western cut shirt on top. Definitely a fashion statement. If I see those pics on the CubeWeb, they better not be posted by any of my staff," I said, clomping my way toward my apartment.

Chapter 2

After I dispatched the creature, I went home and took a really long shower, put on my second best suit and heels, and headed back to my office. I hoped the remainder of the day would be quiet, though I fully expected to get a lot of messages about the images I was sure had made it to the CubeWeb before I’d even stepped into the shower. Have you seen the CubeWeb? Chichi asked. There’s some good pics of your slimy adventure this morning. Was that stuff really sticky? Did it smell bad? Did it...

I don’t really want to talk about it, I said, heading into my office and closing the door behind me.

I was sitting at my desk trying to get my head back into the performance reports I’d been working on before Sandro called, when there was a knock and my office door opened.

Ciara Devlin, Director of the Cube, walked in and sat down in the chair in front of me. Heard you had a bit of excitement today, she said.

Just a slimy situation, I said. No big deal.

I never knew Trianos made such good weapons, Ciara said with a grin.

What can I do for you, director? I said, not sharing her amusement. I’d gotten a little better acquainted with our legendary director during the Cube’s celebration of Earth’s Christmas holidays last year, but I still didn’t feel comfortable being too friendly with the woman. To be honest, she intimidated me, and I hated that about her.

I stopped by to see if you were free Friday night, she said. I’m having a get together of some of the women on the Cube, and I’d like you to come.

I’m free, I said. I’d learned that Ciara liked to hold social gatherings, and I didn’t feel I could refuse though I knew I’d be uncomfortable.

Great. See you at my place at 1900 hours, she said. I’ll order dinner.

After Ciara left, I added the event to my calendar and took a minute to check out the pics on the CubeWeb that everyone but me seemed to have seen.

I wasn’t too happy to see a great shot of my outfit, as I limped down the corridor leaving a slime trail behind me, but I have to admit someone had posted a great pic of the fat little blob of a creature with my Traiano heel sticking out from the side of his head.

It was lunch time, but I