Out of Control: The Timeless Julieanna Scott, #3

By Cherie Baker

Six hundred-year-old Julieanna Barber is trying her best.
But her best may not be enough
to stop the Bankers,
to protect Earth,
to save herself.

In the meantime, her ghost companions are back, churning up feelings she thought long put to rest; her companion, Marcus, comes under fire; and her partner, Anthony, may be working with the Inter-dimensional mafia knows as the Bankers. Until Anna can rival his expertise, everything on Earth is in peril.

Even worse, she finds a dragon egg.

It's gonna be one tough week when the bloody thing hatches and Anna's still trying to unravel the Bankers latest scheme.

Long story short, the Bankers are coming.

They want to collect Anna, her friends… the neighbourhood cat.

In simpler terms, every single living thing without exception.

When the world isn't what we thought we knew. The space between is the key.

If you love ghosts, dragons, and fast-paced action, jump into this amazing adventure. It's a wild ride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dragon Lime
• Release date: Dec 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781911726043

Book preview

One

Clear water ran out of the silver tap so hot it steamed, cutting through the rose and lavender scented bubbles. I slid into the luxury fit for a queen. Not just one, but two or more of these tubs were found in almost every house in this modern era. Although I hadn’t really seen the point of racking up another debt, I’d finally caved into my companions’ complaints and installed electricity a few years ago. Without which, this luxury would not have been possible. I’d always been sure such frivolous things were a silly indulgence that would weaken the spirit. Thank goodness I’d wavered from that stubborn notion.

The hot water almost erased the last month of drudgery from my thoughts. Almost. The amulet around my neck was a constant reminder of my position as the new warden of Earth.

My partner Anthony was a tireless taskmaster when it came to monitoring the barriers that kept other dimensional things out. Every hour of every day we were removing the strange little creatures that had slipped through, or watching the warning map in the observation sphere, or searching for evidence of what the Bankers were really up to.

But right now, this moment in time was mine to relax. I closed my eyes and stretched. This was bliss.

A strange hissing noise whispered through the empty bathroom. I peered into the gloom beyond the candle. The flickering flame cast its glow over the white ceramic cistern and a psychedelic bathmat, but did nothing to reveal the source of the sound.

I manipulated the particles in the light switch on the other side of the room. The overhead bulb glowed, fully illuminating the space with its harsh blue-white glare.

A six-foot tall, transparent figure hovered a few feet away from the tub. He was dressed in an undyed tabard with a red cross in the centre over armour, like all the Knights of the Black Stone. Unlike the rest of his cohort, a hammer hung from his belt opposite his sword. Twenty other ghosts crowded behind him. There were so many diaphanous bodies, the blue-tiled walls took on a mystical, watery appearance.

Blast your ears, woman. The surprise is spoilt. Wulf, my long-deceased and dear friend, chuckled.

Vlad shoved the door open, wriggling his whole body in excitement as he charged through the ghosts. He pawed at the tub in case I hadn’t noticed our visitors.

I rubbed his ears. Yes, I know. We have guests, and they’re all your favourite.

The ghosts surrounding Wulf were all from the middle ages, near the start of my unnatural life. About half had been monks then and were averting their eyes now, even though the bubbles did a fairly good job of keeping my modesty intact.

This is hardly a suitable location for a reunion. All of you out. I’ll meet you in the lounge.

The ghosts disappeared through the walls, and Vlad scampered down the hall to catch up with them again. I stepped out of the bath with a sigh. The water had only just got deep enough to truly stretch out and would most likely be cold by the time I returned. However, a cold bath was a small price to pay to catch up with centuries-past friends. I pulled on a shabby old robe that fit perfectly before padding to the sitting room.

Although the lounge was fairly large, two hundred years’ worth of furniture and nick-knacks crammed the square space into a lovable jumble. Ghosts wandered through the green wing back chairs, red velvet couch, and flamingo pink beanbags as there was no room for so many visitors.

I glanced around. There were a few notable faces missing. Where are the rest?

Wulf set his helm on the ground and ran a hand over his short crop of grey hair. Our commander, Gareth, passed as most do.

Relief washed over me. Perchance his militant avoidance of my slightest touch was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn’t have to endure his scowl for the rest of eternity. And what of Kenric and Malcolm? Surely…

Something unpleasant flickered across Wulf’s face before he marshalled it back into good cheer. They took their particles out to the stars. I should think they will be some time returning.

Another relief swept over me. Malcolm had passed so soon after my change, I wasn’t sure he had even turned into a ghost. With luck, I’d be able to speak with my long-gone husband and brother again soon. What a joy that would be!

Vlad dropped his latest tennis ball in front of Wulf and nosed it at the big ghost.

Wulf looked at me. Could you…

I flicked my fingers, manipulating the particles around the ball. It flew across the room. Vlad bounded after it.

So I take it you’ve dispersed Glenn’s particles?

Wulf patted Vlad as the big dog dropped the toy under the ghost’s feet again. Aye, my troop took our share to the depths of the sea. He’s beyond even the most energetic sea beast.

Excellent. That’s a call for celebration! Part of me had been worried the monster would figure out a way to reorganise his particles, but Glenn was nothing more than a bad dream now.

Before my ghost could decide which bottle of Scotch to open, Anthony stepped out of a dimensional portal. His alabaster skin fairly glowed under the electric lights, and a frown marred his perfectly sculpted face. There appear to be a lot of time anomalies here. You know you should not encourage spectral visitors.

My good cheer evaporated. The ghosts froze. Usually such a remark would be followed by a swift retribution of some sort, but all I did was tap the whisky bottle with one finger. Anthony’s understanding of etiquette was sketchy at best. I will associate with anyone I choose. You are not my minder.

True, I am not, but you may find this useful. Anthony handed me a little blue cube. Hold on to it. It will answer all your questions.

I turned the thing over in my hand. ’Twas not made of cardboard, wood, plastic, or metal. What is it?

A knowledge cube. It contains a record of everything in the universe—every thought, action, even dreams and hopes.

It seemed a little small to hold so much, in my opinion. How do I use it?

Anthony frowned. I’ve just told you… Hold on to it until it makes sense. Now, come along. I’ve found a nest of sprites living under a shopping mall. It will take both of us to catch all of them.

I am already engaged at the moment. I glared at Anthony and made no move to get up.

But you must. They are hungry.

That sounded ominous. I launched myself out of the seat. Wulf, take this lot to the Sheep’s Head. I’ll meet you there. You remember it?

Wulf grinned. Hard to forget the smugglers’ den that saved my arse more than a few times.

Two

Time passed but ’twas impossible to tell how much. Anthony’s endless stream of chores made the pages of a calendar meaningless. We popped in and out of the featureless grey zone between reality to attend some catastrophe or other all over the globe. Sometimes the sun was out and other times it was night with no way to gauge how many hours had passed. After we finally found all the sprites, trixie little beasties were very good at hiding, exhaustion pulled at my limbs so much I could hardly stand.

The sound of children dashing after a rather stained football on the far side of the field drifted over the unknown park. When Anthony opened another portal to the between, I sat down on a damp bench.

Enough already. I’m going home. Although my ghost buddies had most likely given up waiting and gone on to wherever ghosts existed, I was too weary to carry on.

Anthony frowned. The backlog of cases Glenn would not assist me with is nearly complete, but there is one more we must attend to today.

I plucked some moss off the damp wooden struts. There was no strength left in me. It was too overcast to drink any sunlight, and I’d not had any coffee in weeks. No.

Anthony waved at the portal. Glenn had a mature protocyst queen in his flat. We must return her to the Delta quadrant immediately unless you want to keep the creature here?

Of course I don’t want a squid that lays parasitic eggs in people’s brains. But Glenn’s been gone for months. What’s one more day?

I forgot to attend to her. She will be hungry and frightened. It is our duty. Anthony flicked his fingers, making a portal to Glenn’s rooftop penthouse.

With astounding arrogance, he didn’t even pause to see if I followed him. Perhaps that kind of dogmatic certainty about right, wrong, and unwavering duty could be considered a superpower. It felt like a supreme irritation to me. But re-homing the pest would make Earth a better place. I dragged myself off the bench and stepped through the portal.

The flat was even more disgusting than I remembered. Considering what I’d found here when I freed Jamie just a few months ago, that was saying something. The pale, winter sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows barely illuminated the open-plan lounge-kitchen. Yet ’twas enough to see water marks on the walls and soot stains on all the tasteless gold carpet and upholstery. The automatic sprinklers had done their job keeping the fire from spreading to the rest of the building, though. That was pleasing, since normal, everyday humans lived on the floors below the monster.

Splinters of wood and chrome littered the carpet. It used to be uber-chic, minimalist furniture, until Glenn smashed everything into matchsticks in a fit of rage while searching his own home for any clue to my identity.

Only the enormous aquarium mounted on the back wall remained intact.

Anthony scanned the glass enclosure and nodded. The queen has not escaped.

That was good news. The horror the creature could unleash on the world if it got loose didn’t bear thinking about. I still don’t understand why you didn’t get rid of it years ago if you knew Glenn had one.

As you well know, Glenn and I are independent, fully autonomous entities, therefore, it was not my job to monitor his activities. Besides, there are no rules against keeping an endangered species as a pet if you look after it properly.

Pet? You said these things were an abomination.

Anthony looked confused. Abomination? I don’t think I would use that word to describe them.

He had. I forgot nothing, much to my distress, but I would not argue about it now. You also said that they shouldn’t be in our world.

He opened a small portal and handed me a little fishing net from the tiny slit. Well, that’s true, of course. They should be on Gamma, Delta-seven. Only a handful remain in their world.

Possibly due to idiots thinking they'd be good pets. I clutched the net in one hand and flicked on a light with the other. Inside the tank, something with a lot of tentacles skittered under a rock.

Anthony snapped the lights off. Doctor Anna, I thought you understood. We do not want to disturb the creature.

A shiver rolled through me. The spawn would crawl up a person’s nose, make a nest at the back of the brain, and feast on adrenaline until it grew large enough to hatch. I thought you said the adults weren’t a risk to humans.

Anthony frowned. No, I said they would not infect your brain. They can strangle you easily. I’ve even heard of them popping a skull clear off the spine when frightened.

Great, another time his ambiguous words were less than one hundred percent true. Coming back to collect the queen had made perfect sense when he’d mentioned it in the park. Now? Now the fishing net he’d given me felt too flimsy for this job–more like something a child would take to dip starfish out of rock-pools on a summer’s afternoon. Especially if the creature could pop my head off like a bottle top.

Anthony and I walked up to the tank. He was as silent as one of my ghosts, but it seemed every loose piece of debris crunched under my boots. The creature shot a stream of vivid slime into the tank. The water began to bubble. Acrid steam gathered on the surface, etching the glass.

Anthony lay a hand on my arm. See that? You’ve frightened the poor thing.

Boo hoo. I mimed wiping away a tear. How many people do you think this thing has killed? Maimed? Infected?

Anthony peered at me with a quizzical look. It doesn’t kill anyone for pleasure, but you seem to want to make this relocation more traumatic for the subject than it needs to be.

Anger shot through me. How dare he claim I was trying to torment the monster? If I hadn’t bowed to Anthony’s soft-hearted environmentalist concerns, it would be dead already. I took no pleasure in that. It was pure fact. The thing was too dangerous. Death was the only way to make sure the Bankers didn’t infect more people.

I shifted closer to the tank and reached for the latch on the lid.

Anthony waved my hand back. You mustn’t touch that.

Very well, smart arse. If I’m not to touch it, how are we going to get the creature out?

Anthony held up his amulet. You must try to remember you have better tools to interact with the physical world now.

I wouldn’t say manipulating particles with my mind is better. It’s actually ruinously difficult and uses all my concentration, whereas flipping a catch is a fraction of a second.

And that is your problem, dear doctor—it takes no thought. He picked up a splinter of wood and touched the edge of the tank. Steam hissed as the wood turned black in his hand. Since you scared her, the whole thing is now coated in phosphoric acid. But I forget how frail the human mind is. Allow me.

He waved his amulet towards the tank. The latch lifted and the lid retracted along on two silver tracks, leaving the liquid exposed. An iridescent sheen mirrored the surface, hiding everything below.

The rotten smell that wafted out cancelled all the annoyance Anthony’s jibe had stirred in me, replacing it with a wall of fear. The liquid the creature lived in wasn’t water, perhaps a sulphur or something worse…

A thin, leathery tentacle reached from the murky depths, exploring the open surface. More tentacles shot out, grabbing the edge of the aquarium, the tracks, the locking mechanism.

I gripped my net tighter, wishing it were a sword or dagger. Can it escape?

She’s just exploring.

More tentacles broke the surface and lashed over the top of the tank as if it was searching for something. One slapped against the glass, pointing in my direction.

I took a step back. It moves fast.

If you wanted a caress, you should not have frightened the poor thing with light and noise.

Who in their right mind would want that?

Glenn seemed to like them.

Surely he didn’t, I shuddered, play with the creature?

Anthony smiled wistfully. When he dangled a special treat over her tank, she would tap his cheek in thanks before taking it. She can be very gentle.

That was hard to believe. The tentacles thrashed the tank so violently that it rocked and cracked the plaster.

There’s no way I’m going to get close enough to scoop it out. Can’t you just teleport it from there?

Anthony shook his head. That would take foul liquid back to her home world. With all of your indoctrination, I forgot—

He said indoctrination as if he’d spent years teaching deep wisdom to be a worthy guardian of Earth’s borders; practising with me until I was proficient; explaining how our amulets worked and why I could travel through the dimensions with nothing more than a strong desire to do so. But no, after a few weeks of confusion, he’d handed me a useless cube that was supposed to contain all the knowledge in the universe. I still failed as often as not when I tried to deport any trespassers. My training has hardly taken all of your day. Every time I try to ask a question, I get such a vague answer it’s worthless.

Anthony inclined his head. That is your opinion and I respect it, however the matter at hand is that I completely forgot about Glenn’s pets. The poor thing is probably starving.

So feed it. Wait, you said pets… I glanced around the room, wishing he’d let me keep the lights on. Are there others?

Be at ease, doctor. Sheba is the only creature Glenn kept in this flat. She’s very territorial. Anthony went to the kitchen, righted a large chest freezer with a flick of his hand, and pried the twisted door open. He rummaged in the icy depths for a moment. A vision of small babies, dismembered arms, legs, or heads flitted through my mind. Quickly followed by thoughts of old batteries or an exothermic chemical broth so violent, it had to be stored in the freezer.

Anthony straightened up, waving a packet of strawberry ice lollies. This should calm her down.

I chuckled, expecting him to put the frozen dessert back, but he trotted across the room, unwrapping three as he went.

So it’s not a joke? That thing actually likes Popsicles?

"Only strawberry. She nearly put