LunaLani The Starlifter Secrets Of Magic Island

By Zane Pace

FAR AWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF OCEANIA . . . LunaLani the Starlifter and the Kōlea live in a magical world during a magical time on the island paradise of Manumana. But something felt off.

 

LUNALANI SENSED DARK FORCES WERE COMING . . . CLOSING IN . . . A disturbance she felt deeply. A void of darkness seeping into the depths of her soul, filling her with dread.

 

PROTECTING HER FLOCK WAS EMBEDDED IN HER DNA . . . along with unimaginable powers coveted by an immortal entity. Will she lose everything, especially her long lost love? How will she find the strength to carry on?

 

LUNALANI'S VAST UNIVERSAL KNOWLEDGE CONNECTS PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE . . . She also knows much more: the unexplainable, the unseen. Intuition, superpowers and real magic enable her to move through levels of reality, beyond space and time.  She is far more than who she appears to be. What kind of power does LunaLani really have?

 

WHEN REALITY AND WOBBLY LINES OF TIME COLLIDE . . . explore the far reaches on an ultimate journey to the far beyond about the most magical power in the universe.

 

THE MAGIC LIVES ON.  BUY NOW.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Star Currents LLC
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781734378054

Zane Pace

Zane Pace aka S.L. Peterson believes words have healing power. When the message enriches our mind magic happens. Lives transform. His goal is to spark us all to look beyond what we can see. Intuition, superpowers and real magic are themes he believes evolve us and writes about it because it inspires what we all need, hope and dreams. Fulfillment, aspiration, unexpected seismic shifts and just surviving can be a daily struggle he believes we all share and can overcome together. Our mutual destiny and strength of the human spirit is alive. At our side, on our side. If we know where to look. Tap in to proven methods, sprinkled with wit and energizing life hacks in the uplifting "When Stars Align, Destiny Happens" and his avian superhero sci-fi new release, "LunaLani the Starlifter, Secrets of Magic Island". He and Chrissy live in Hawaii. They write, design, enjoy gardening and are active in animal rescue.         Let’s connect in space where writers and readers meet. YourVoiceYourReview.com & @BookFanatics.bfrs

Book preview

Prologue

It was a transitionary time, a transcendental time. A magical time in a world ruled by birds.

Far away in the middle of Oceania, LunaLani and the Kōlea lived on an island paradise called Manumana. They distanced themselves from cunning predators and lived way off the grid, undisturbed for millions and millions of years.

They enjoyed rich lives filled with love and spirit while safeguarding their ideals and common purpose from powerful external forces.

LunaLani’s vast universal knowledge connected their past, present, and future. But she knew much more: the unexplainable, the unseen. Intuition, superpowers, and real magic enabled her to move through levels of reality to guide the flock and inspire the world.

For so much that was asked of her, protecting all life was a responsibility she felt deeply, fundamental to her spirit, embedded in every cell. The Kōlea were dedicated to empowerment, family, and living by the Golden Rule.

Possessing a mind tough, a body rough, and a heart warm, LunaLani was far more than who she appeared to be. Fierce, unflinching, and ferociously protective when the world needed her most.

A calling and birthright, her vision was a world no one had ever dared dream. When reality and wobbly lines of time collided, LunaLani and the Kōlea were there for us all.

Chapter 1

Volcanic rings of fire encircled the seas; the continents, hot and unsettled, smoldered. Magic Island emerged from the coldest, darkest depths, from the bottom of the largest and deepest sea in the world, Oceania.

After millions of explosive eons the lava reached the surface, then erupted millions of years more, growing high above the clouds. Spirited and magnetic, Magic Island was bursting with new life. Where it all began—and ended.

Magic Island attracted danger and spirits like a magnet.

Certainly, Magic Island was not haunted. That would be inaccurate. Super-haunted, unusual magnetospheric forces, some natural, some not, and a whole lot of weird going on would be much closer to accurate, truth be told.

Her gold eyes flicked wide open, focusing straight ahead. LunaLani straightened her body, wings clamped close. She spun into a high-speed snap-roll and turned hard, bracing into the strong headwind. She reversed direction, feathered, and trimmed the streaming air currents smoothly around her.

A purple lens flipped down to protect her keen vision from soot and ash as she soared above Magic Island’s latest eruption. She effortlessly sailed higher. She inhaled deeply.

Silently floating on the crystal-clear jet stream, she set her sights on home. Gliding high above the clouds helped settle her unease, clearing her mind.

Her powerfully built shoulders and dynamic wingspan were strong as steel, ultra-lightweight.

Countless small clouds started rapidly forming in the distance. They began marching across the sky. Taking shape like a pack of wild dogs, they confirmed her suspicions. Dark forces were coming. Soon. Coming for them. Closing in. A disturbance she felt in her bones and in her heart.

Chapter 2

As she skirted Magic Island, her vision was clear despite billowing white swirling smoke puffing above the crater. Switching her downrange vision on, she cut through the wet and heavy sulfurous steam plume that vented like a giant pressure cooker ready to blow. Suddenly, without warning, huge jetted lava unleashed a raging fire fountain reaching high into the sky.

Loud crackling crust shattered. Thrumming lava spewed from the earth and rumbled and rocketed up. The entire island shook from massive, pressurized, shifting tectonic forces.

Shrieking escaped from the fissures and pierced the air, sounding like countless spirits fleeing a haunted house fire.

Lightning danced along the rim and skittered, probing inside the crater. LunaLani’s skin crawled.

The sparkly liquid fire shot higher into the sky than ever seen. Ethereal, it had an animated quality of disbelief, crashing back down to earth, forcing flowing torrents down the sides of the cauldron, cutting deep channels.

Lavafall rivers of fire cascaded into the boiling sea, setting off more mayhem. Shrapnel-filled smoky sea geysers exploded down the coast like fiery bazookas heaving lava balls for miles along the expanding coastline.

The leeward side was a desert in contrast to the wet windward side, where old-growth forests, massive canopies, thick jungle, and grassland prairies had thrived for hundreds of thousands of years. After a section of the rim had melted and collapsed, lava had flowed only to the leeward direction, sparing the windward side’s countless pristine beaches, rangelands, bamboo forests, and fruit, nut, and oak trees.

It was as if Magic island had split down the middle and fused back together, a split personality. Peaceful and chaotic. A beautiful monster.

Chapter 3

She dreamed of soaring, just as in her real world. The dream overtook her while she basked in the thin, sun-washed high altitude. Her upper and lower eyelids shut slowly together.

Her dream began pleasantly enough, then tricked her every time. It started with soaring, but as soon as she was deeply asleep, it quickly deteriorated into an inescapable nightmare. Always chilling, disconcerting, leaving anxiety in its wake for days.

The horrible nightmare was sneaky. It hacked her sleeping mind cloaked as her favorite soaring dream. The nightmare exposed itself once she was vulnerable, then entangled her. It lulled her, then tricked her. But it did plant a seed. She saw it as a sign to gain insight; something to pay attention to.

Rising higher and higher into the solitude of the thin, visceral deep blue, she reached deeper and deeper into time and space. The suppressed memory turned the pleasant dream into her worst nightmare as it hijacked her unconscious mind and soul.

Bright purple and red flashes jarred her from the soaring, meditative sky-world dream.

The nightmare ripped apart and shredded her tranquility, invading her, forcing her to relive that dreadful day. The day that everything had changed—in the beginning. The day she’d lost those closest to her. Their faces haunted her: Mac, her Commander; and especially Glin, her First Officer and life mate.

She tried to wish her way back to consciousness to escape the trauma—bargaining unsuccessfully with her own mind for the freedom to return to consciousness, willing herself to be released from the darkness, pain, and raging fire.

An all-consuming void filled her with helplessness. The familiar burnt-gunpowder smell permeated the air as heavy currents tugged and pulled her inexorably toward the white-hot inferno. Pinned by twisted wreckage, unable to move and unable to save anyone, let alone save herself, she watched the inferno spread. Closer . . . and closer.

A small, shrill cry, barely audible, filled her with hopelessness. Doom shot through her, causing her to tremble. Then the anguished screaming started. Sounding like a siren of a thousand eagles screeching at once, the ROAR overwhelmed her—and the flock.

She struggled to escape the iron grip of the nightmare and the terrible screaming . . . It only stopped when she realized the screaming she heard, that had awakened her, was her own.

Only then was she able to free herself from the fierce grip of the nightmare that would not release her. It was always the same: the good dream went to Armageddon, then the smell, fighting the impossible current, trapped, the fire, the quiet cry—the wounded scream. It seemed to prey upon her more frequently and was progressively worsening. Until now, it had never happened in front of the flock. It was out of control.

The storm clouds darkened.

Chapter 4

Feelings of weakness and vulnerability slowly began to dissipate and wash off her. In a post-traumatic stressed-out state, her consciousness returned. Her racing heart began to slow, and blood seemed to flow normally again as she came back to full awareness. She was starting to feel like herself again as her mind unwound, leaving a dull headache.

Her dreams were fundamental to her core; they guided and informed her. Lately, though, frequent nightmares had intruded and caused searing, dark pain from the past. She relied on dreams, emotion, intuition, signs, and intellect equally, as they were all needed to fully activate her powers of vision and reason. Even suffocating dreams, while dark, shed light.

She had no doubt dreams were messages sent to her from a portal beyond physical bounds and even her own mortality. Determined to understand their purpose, she learned from them when there was something to learn, or the need to look at a plan of action in a new, enlightened way.

Her tense muscles relaxed as she slowly lifted her head, pausing while gathering her sanity. Her bell-ringing mind began to quiet.

Typically unruffled with Zen composure, Gemini was shaken by the ear-splitting death-rattle disturbance.

He soothed her with a tremulous wing.

Easy, Auntie. It’s over . . . It’s over . . . I’m here, we’re all here, you’ll be fine, everything is okay.

Something had changed in her this time; it really demanded her attention. This time the night terror felt like that, adamant, more intense. It seemed to be morphing. Into what? She did not know exactly. She thought she knew the who and the possible why, but now the when felt soon.

All of it made her overheat. She began cooling herself by opening her mouth wide while fluttering her wings, creating a mini-sandstorm with her powerful downdraft, brushing back Gemini.

Auntie? Auntie! Are you okay?

Barely.

An eyelid twitched; her breath caught with a loud gulp. Her throat expanded to twice its normal size, and she gasped loudly without warning as if she were resurrected. One large golden eye suddenly flicked open with a wet SMACK.

Chapter 5

Her piercing scream had caused no lasting damage to those around her but had momentarily wobbled and incapacitated the entire flock with worry and confusion. They crept out from the hiding places they had dove to when it began. Waggling tongues stopped clicking, and cries turned to wishful, calm chirping once the outburst subsided.

Murmuring to one another in whispered bafflement, the flock began to regain a semblance of composure. The scream had disturbed their equilibrium. Their sense of security was vital to their well-being and had been uprooted.

Unity and focused determination are fundamental for any elite cohesive force to function, and this outburst would change none of it. But it certainly created a new underlayment of concern among them. There was no time to get a readout on it now.

LunaLani was back. Her eyes alert. The fog of the night terror shaken off. Her energy generator quickly restored her while she eased back into her conscious mind and body; tension receded.

The twins are gone—the storm . . . They’re still out there somewhere, Gemini said quietly. There was no time to waste.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then scanned the cloudy, dark sky.

I caused this to happen. It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention and brought this upon the flock. I’m sorry; it will never happen again. I will make it right.

It’s not your fault, Auntie.

I should have known.

It’s not your fault, he repeated. We’ve known for eons we have enemies, that there are hostile forces out there that hate us Kōlea; it goes with the job. We never know when, and neither you nor any of us could have done anything to stop this. Kai and Mali just simply disappeared.

I—I . . . could have . . . , she broke. They will reappear! Nobody actually disappears. They are someplace. It may not be easy, but I will find them if I have to scan under every rock . . . I will bring them back!

I will be at your side.

Of course, Gemini, but not physically. I have to do this alone. I will not place the flock at risk. I need you here. Things are going to change a lot now.

Gemini had heard this before, and knew it was an impossible promise to keep. Risk was what they did. They risked everything every day. And that would not change until their work was finished or they were finished.

But . . . I have to back you—

"Protect the flock while I bring the twins home, Gemini. Please. I must do this alone. I must fix this."

Okay. I don’t have a choice, do I?

You always have a choice. But think about it: we cannot both be gone at the same time. Sometimes we are stronger together; sometimes we are stronger apart. We cannot leave the rest of the flock exposed. Our two frontline Protectors have disappeared. What else are we supposed to do?

Gemini knew she was right. She was the Admiral, after all. He loved her, just as the entire flock did. She made it easy for them. She led from the front. Not one casualty, ever. Her force was strong and extended far beyond what any being had seen before. The flock had witnessed many flashes of her power. There was no doubt in their minds:

Team Starlifters won, always. Entities that combined forces, going against them, lost always.

It was simple math. Physics. LunaLani was a magnetosphere-controlling entity. A star force unto herself. Unmatched, a universal boss, with a low profile. But when provoked, the best advice? Get out of her way.

Her integrity and credibility fully explained her leadership vibe. She did whatever needed to be done. And now was when it mattered most. At this exact moment, this defining moment in time.

Her world needed her more than ever. The world was teetering. Without her, it was going to be disastrous. The signs were everywhere.

Lives and freedom were at stake. Everything everywhere might have to change. Forever.

The Kōlea fleet together would never be able to prevent all the risks and dangers they faced ahead. The danger was real. Faced with the tipping point, things had to really change quickly. To get back what was lost. Before it was too late.

If the same old calculus was no longer working, it served no purpose. She needed better options, outside convention. Go big. Beyond what had ever been tried.

Life would never be the same.

Chapter 6

Gemini glided to the carefully stacked coconut pile. He cracked one hard shell open with a swift downward tomahawk-hammer wing swing, cracking it in half. He picked up the fractured coconut with arm-like appendages between his hooked claws and shoulders.

He twisted the two halves apart, then whirled his talons like a hand mixer into the coconut meat, coconut water, and a splash of aloe, transforming it into a soothing coconut haupia smoothie in seconds.

Being attentive to her needs and having experienced the wailing scream-fest in the past, Gemini knew her throat felt trampled upon and needed medicating to stave off swelling.

Her