Liam's Encounter

By Elle Jackson

Special Agent Liam Allen cherishes the peace on his farm between assignments hunting aliens for the military. But when a terrible storm brings destruction, Liam finds the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen at the end of the rainbow.

Eshe speaks a language he’s never heard and hates wearing clothes. Their passion burns hot, but she’s an explorer from another world, and he’s supposed to kill her.

Will she kill him first, or will fated love save them both?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Changeling Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2019

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both?

Chapter 1

I’m going to explore a bit more before I return to the ship, Eshe said through her receptor’s transmitter as she walked deeper into the alien woods. The air filled with a high, rising whine as, above the trees, the cylindrical interstellar ship spun. The vibration from its energized matter engines created a storm that whipped the treetops with increasing violence. She glanced upward, frowning. Were the engines taking on a higher pitch?

Your highness, I think you should return to the pickup area now, Nea objected, worry in her tone. I don’t like the looks of this. Sensors indicate the ship’s engines…

I gave you an order. Eshe knew she was taking a risk, but her council’s constant second-guessing was maddening. If they didn’t even trust her to lead a survey mission, they’d never trust her as queen.

And she had no intention of ending up like her mother.

The engine whine abruptly intensified into a keening howl as a blast of wind staggered her. Eshe tried to turn in the direction of the ship, but her muscles felt stiff, barely moving at all. Something wasn’t right. Her stomach clenched as she realized she might have miscalculated -- badly.

With an effort of will, she lifted a leaden hand and triggered the transmitter just inside her ear. Nea, what’s happening? Her voice quivered as she fought to remain calm.

Silence answered. Eshe tried again. Nea, do you hear me? Something’s wrong. I can barely move, and it’s getting violent out here. We need to land the ship before we cause severe atmospheric disruption.

Nea’s voice came over the transmitter in a blast of static. Eshe… can’t stabilize the ship’s en… going to…

Nea… ? Nea?

Fighting panic, Eshe found herself sucking in deep breaths of Earth’s alien air. The oxygen seemed to intensify her paralysis. She sagged to the ground as her councilor’s voice crackled through the static again. Eshe… get back… ship, now.

Nea sounded so far away.

Eshe tried to move, but her body sank into the soil as if crushed by atmospheric pressure.

The Kilfane core shrieked, whipping the wind even higher. With a clap of thunder and an explosion of blinding light, the ship shot skyward far too fast. Eshe wouldn’t have approved that speed -- not with the engines malfunctioning.

In seconds, the craft was gone.

She stared after it in despair. Her first chance to prove herself, to prove that she wasn’t her mother, and it had all ended in failure.

A shroud of darkness descended over the wooded area. The dim light of the moon filtered through the canopy of trees in scattered bursts. As she lay on the ground, she noticed symbols marring the tree trunks inches from her head. Disoriented, Eshe ran a shaking finger over the symbol cut into the rough bark. A vertical line intersected a horizontal line. Another tree had a star carved into the trunk. What could it mean?

Humans are such a puzzling species, she thought, her mind drifting. Too bad she was forbidden to interact with the planet’s aborigines. One of the many Inquirer rules that frustrated her driving curiosity.

The smell of burning wood hung in the air. She breathed in shallow pants as her lungs fought to adjust to the heavily oxygenated atmosphere. This world’s ecosystem differed from Kilfane’s more than anticipated, and her body was taking far too long to get acclimated.

The scurrying of small animal feet startled her. Who’s there? Her voice croaked.

Silence answered. What if she couldn’t remain conscious long enough for her ship to return?

The wet ground -- littered with sticks, rocks, and clumps of loose dirt -- chilled her skin, even as the leaden atmosphere suffocated her. She felt so light-headed, she had to close her eyes.

Blackness crept in from the edges of her vision. I’m passing out…

Darkness took over and she could no longer hear the animals scampering around her.

* * *

Liam’s peace used to live at the bottom of a vodka bottle. Now, he found that calm during the long days tending his farm. True, he started work before dawn and ended after sunset, but he loved the quiet and working for himself. His hands got dirty and his clothes were always drenched in sweat, but everything he did was something he wanted to do. His drunken stepfather wasn’t around to beat him into anything anymore.

Before his enlistment, he’d wanted nothing to do with the farm, but his experiences in the Army had changed all that. Liam would never be able to un-see the horrific things he’d witnessed when his squad had stumbled upon the unimaginable.

They were no longer fighting other countries. Other humans.

Now tending his farm had become an escape from the relentless stress and danger of his job. If it weren’t for the horrific flashbacks of his baby sister and his mother burning to death in the fire, his existence here would be perfect.

Sighing deeply, Liam walked out on to his porch. The mysterious storm had hit with no warning at all. He’d barely had time to secure his dog, Domino, before all hell broke loose.

The tornado had lasted seconds, but it had left chaos in its wake that had taken hours to clean up. His barn had suffered the brunt of the destruction, but at least the horses, cattle, and pigs were safe. Now the storm had passed.

With a tired sigh, Liam dropped onto the farmhouse porch swing, cold beer in hand, and looked around with a certain weary satisfaction. He’d rebuilt the two-story farmhouse following the tragic fire that had killed his mother and sister. He’d tried to recreate the charm of the family’s old home: white siding, navy blue shutters, the large wraparound porch with a wooden swing to the left of the front door. He’d added floor-to-ceiling windows that gave the home the open feel he craved.

Liam took three large gulps of his beer and tossed the bottle in the trash, and then got another out of his cooler on the side of the swing. He loved the crisp evening air.

A startling flash of light made him look up just as a rainbow shimmered into being against the black backdrop of the sky.

Weird. Since when did rainbows appear at night?

The colors came in softly at first, pale pink, blue, lavender. Then, as if hit by lightning, the rainbow exploded.

Excruciating pain stabbed through Liam’s body as the multicolored light blinded him. He toppled off the swing, hitting the porch floor hard. After several long agonizing moments, the crippling pain subsided. He took a few deep breaths and lifted his spinning head.

What he saw wasn’t possible. It was… something from a fairytale.

The rainbow now lay over the ground in a path stretching from Liam’s front steps to the woods that bordered his property. He’d never seen anything like it. The colors shone vividly against the dark landscape.

Something tugged at him, drawing him away into the dark.

He staggered to his feet and took a hesitant step off his porch toward the luminescent path. The smell of damp dirt hung in the air along with rain-soaked livestock, but there was another scent, one that was not familiar. It reminded Liam of copper or metal, with a hint of fresh laundry.

Something about it made his instincts howl. That wasn’t a feeling Liam could ignore. Training had sharpened his senses to a hyper-alert edge, a vigilance that had saved his squad many times over.

So he allowed the delicate odor to lead him down the glowing path.

The rainbow hovered just above the ground like a luminescent mist that swirled around his feet with every step. He looked back to see the colors disappearing behind him, even as they stretched out ahead.

What the hell?

Once under the cover of the trees, the light from the path allowed Liam to see. The shadows that lurked just off the trail moved and distorted into the shapes of animals or humans. Everything about this felt ominous.

All Liam could hear was the cracking of vegetation under his feet. It worried him. Animals only grew this quiet when a predator was near.

The path finally ended just ahead, revealing something dark lying in the leaves. There really is something at the end of the rainbow, he thought. With my luck, it’ll have fangs and claws.

Edging forward, he heard a moan. It sounded… human. Like a woman. Forgetting caution, he began to run.

The woman lay where the rainbow ended -- a slender, beautiful figure sprawled on the ground. She had dark, flawless skin the color of mahogany, long midnight black hair, feathery lashes that fringed her closed eyelids, and full, tempting lips. She was also naked save for the tiny gold jewelry affixed to the area just below both eyes. He’d never seen piercings so small.

When Liam turned the woman over to check her pulse, he saw more jewels affixed to her sternum between her breasts.

Liam shrugged off his own shirt and covered her, draping it over her petite frame. He put two fingers to her throat to find her pulse strong, steady.

He pulled out his cell phone, only to realize he had no bars. Then again, even if he could call an ambulance, the closest hospital was fifty miles away. He’d do better to assess her himself and determine if she could be moved. His military training had included first aid treatment of the most common combat injuries. That made him her best hope.

Liam gently used