Legend of Palmerskin Hill

By Shayun Skien

A group of teenagers in an isolated piece of paradise are increasingly disenchanted with the failure of their elders to provide a loving and meaningful life. Add a mysterious mountain which has lured many to their deaths. Throw in an ageing intergalactic rock band who are looking for their next gig a band whose members include a costume-loving hermaphrodite, Bear who can play a mean riff on the steel guitar and morph into a savage Ursine creature when needed, and a blue-skinned Saurian drummer with a mysterious past. This gives the reader some idea of what to expect in Shayun Skiens highly imaginative tale of the unexpected. The Cootharabara Reading Centre

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Mar 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493135905

Shayun Skien

Author Biography coming up soon

Book preview

cover.jpg

Copyright © 2014 by Shayun Skien.

Front cover artwork by Shayun Skien

Back cover artwork by Glen Skien

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014904159

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-4931-3588-2

Softcover 978-1-4931-3589-9

eBook 978-1-4931-3590-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 03/17/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

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Contents

Lone Star

A Star Dies

The Stars Are Falling

Star-Struck

A Star Is Born

When Stars Collide

Dark Star

Rising Star

Star Quest

Hidden Star

Reaching For A Star

Wandering Star

Star-Crossed

Starlight

Chapter One

LONE STAR

SHE KICKED OPEN the rear hatch. The emergency lights from the pod illuminated the vast chamber in which it had finally come to rest. The walls and floor were of gigantic mortared stone. The natural rock above informed her that she was somewhere beneath the surface of the planet. She shouldered the backpack of micro provisions and survival kits. Behind stretched the submerged tunnel through which the autopilot had managed to navigate as it plummeted away from the blasting lasers. It had smashed against the tunnel wall and lost momentum. The pod would go no further. Returning the way she had come was not an option. Forward through the corridor that stretched ahead lay the only hope of finding a way back to the surface. She kicked angrily at the open hatch. The lock was still barred, and it clanged and clanged without closing. The echoes rebounded and then faded quickly. She shivered at the acute silence. The darkness bothered her.

After the first hour of walking, she rested. Fresh water plummeted into a turbulent pool gouged into the stone on one side of the tunnel. She could hear water crashing away somewhere into the deeper darkness. The noise was a welcome break from the hollow sound of her footsteps. She walked in darkness to conserve her power cells. She had been deliberate in her stride, counting and pacing herself to a steady gait. She was unaccustomed to being alone. She held on fiercely to her courage and summoned all her determination. Her mouth was dry. She kept going. She was pleased with her self-imposed strategies to conserve food and energy. The vast hallway was on a gentle upward grade, and that gave her reassurance that she was going in the right direction. The light from the pod had faded into the distance some time ago.

The tumbling liquid gave off a very high luminescence, which was enough for her to see into her bag and find some protein rations, which she washed down with the cool water.

The luminescence glittered from its engorged pupils. Its night vision had dispelled the darkness. The stalking had begun some time ago. It had picked up the scent by accident. The prey was now visible and close. Lean muscles twitched and tensed as it crouched low. Deadly jaws opened. A sudden terrible surge of brightness smashed the darkness away. Brilliance radiated through the water, and light flooded the vast tunnels. The instant it took for the predator’s vision to readjust was enough time for the prey to react to the danger. The huge feline sprang to pin the fleeing creature, but the hunt had failed. The beast lashed out with razor-sharp talons to tear skin from the leg of the prey as it shrieked and plunged into the swirling water. It bobbed momentarily as a dark shadow, then was dragged away by the current. The beast sat and licked its claw. It drank, watched, and waited. The prey was gone. It moved on, remembering the taste. The beast growled in annoyance.

Chapter Two

A STAR DIES

SHE WAS HAVING a bad day. Again! Claudel’s earrings jostled like hanging threats as she tidied the room. It was immaculately clean, but the cushions needed plumping and the throw was askew at one corner of the couch. No one seemed to notice the details. It was the small things that made the difference between slovenly and smart. The small house definitely wasn’t smart. Clean, yes, but too small and plain. The tiny veranda at the front was just large enough to accommodate the three of them whenever they ate outside to catch the breeze. She felt the anxiety gnawing at her. The fear that she would live and die in this cage fuelled her endless, angry tension. The mountains were a prison. She sat on the ornate brass bed that she shared with Ethan. It was plump with crisp linen and soft quilting. She ran a smoothing hand over the fabric and studied the deepening creases between her fingers. Too much work outdoors was the message they sent.

The mirror confirmed that she was an attractive woman—blonde hair swept up high, a graceful figure, and captivating eyes. He worked hard to provide all that he could. It was a marriage that was never quite enough. Foxley was his daughter from a wife who had survived the birth only long enough to hold her. Claudel didn’t feel ready for the commitment of parenting. They had no children of their own.

He couldn’t share the desires that tormented her. The feelings of discontent had grown. Everyone on Palmerskin Hill was contented. No one understood or shared her hunger for something more. It was the ‘something else’ that lived in the city with noise and choices and none of the sameness that bred and fed her discontent.

Foxley bunched her long dark hair and tied it back. She scowled as she struggled to catch the twisting curls that fell alongside her face. A small red blemish marred the smoothness of her chin. It was tender to the touch. She wrinkled her nose.

‘Foxley, what’s this towel doing on the floor? You come out of that bathroom and hang