Page 13 of Abalim

Lisa slumped against the unforgiving wall and stared off into space, worrying her bottom lip with her top teeth.

He had the strongest urge to go over and rub his own lips over hers. Giving her a slight, sharp nip was optional.

No telling how much time passed as he stood there like a lovesick moron blindly watching a fascinating woman. He startled when she jumped up and raced with Althea to the front of the force field again.

With a shake of his head at his inability to keep his mind in the game, he joined them to see what had them so excited.

“What’s that?” Althea exclaimed, standing on her toes, craning her head as close to the shield she could without getting hurt, and peered down the corridor.

“What’s what?” Lisa responded. “You think a dimensional portal is being activated? I’ve always wanted to go through one!”

Abalim caught his breath. Could it be the Krystalii were already invading? No, that couldn’t be right. He was experiencing the past. And if he wasn’t mistaken, this happened long before he met up with Lord Baelon on Hiigar.

By the time he shook off his musings, all five women were standing at the force field trying to see what was happening down the dark corridor outside their cell.

The sound of stomping footsteps and hissing snaps got louder as who (or what) got closer. Bursting into the dim light outside the cell was a strange crowd of small aliens. The beings weren’t bigger than four or five feet tall, with two legs and six arms. To add to their oddness, they boasted tails shaped like a beaver’s with leathery scales and sparse, coarse hair. Each had a long snout with four black glinting eyes perched just above. On top of their oblong, flat heads were pocket-sized round ears that flickered and twisted. None of them wore any type of shirt, just pants or shorts ranging in color from brash gold to navy blue that covered their fur-lined skin.

Each carried a variety of weapons, complete with several sets of what looked like handcuffs.

Since entering the vision, Abalim constantly wished he had JR15 with him to ask if the bot knew anything about these aliens.

Then Abalim noticed the prone neon-red sexbot frozen with its metallic hand raised on the outside of the wall.

Not that the larger robot standing in front of the archway stopped the aliens. Two of them grabbed the android under her arms and dumped her to the side, leaving the archway clear.

Gibbering in a guttural language, one of the creatures aimed a small black box at the force field.

A sizzling whine before the shield dissolved.

Now the alien aimed the black box and pushed a different button that activated thenuteshsnares around the women’s necks.

All five screamed in agony, gripping the leather collars and dropping hard to the unyielding floor.

Abalim clenched his fists as he watched the little shits scramble to the women with hoots and whistles, securing their wrists and slapping putty-lookingrappugags over their mouths.

Once the women were secured, the aliens forced them to stand. They grabbed the women and scurried with them down the deserted, dark hallway.

The vision switched.

Now Abalim stood outside the building and watched Lisa being dragged to an alleyway. Racing after them, he skidded to a halt when he saw her floating next to a small spaceship. The alien activated thenuteshsnare around her neck and dragged her over an open table at its side.

Abalim rushed to her, and made it in time to watch her hit the metal sheet inside.

At the same time something was injected into her neck. Her eyes fluttered closed as the table slid into the ship.

He did his best to follow her, but couldn’t. The vision stalled, so he linked himself to Lisa’s psychic trail to see if he could connect with her in a different Dreamwalk.

Chapter Three

Lisastaredattheblinking cursor on her computer screen. The damn thing taunted her, daring her to come up with a plotline for a new series. Normally, starting a new series was easy. She had so many ideas about the various worlds and love stories she was eager to create.

Most of the time, it was hard to pick which one she wanted to start on. But for the first time in a long time, she couldn’t clear her head to begin typing. As she sat there and stared at the blank screen, she felt a prickle of awareness. She turned her head and jumped. Leaning on the frame of the open doorway of her office with crossed arms and one ankle casually crossed over the other was a breathtakingly handsome, masculine man.

The fission of fear was quickly replaced by wonder. The man studied her with a casual air and a slight smile on his luscious lips. She should be terrified that a stranger was in her house, standing there watching her. But for some reason, she knew him. As if she’d been waiting her whole life to meet him.

“Who, um, who are you?” Her face heated. She cleared her throat.Way cool, Lisa. Your voice sounds like a sex worker on steroids.

The man straightened and walked, no, strolled to stand next to her desk. Placing a hand over his heart, he gave a gallant bow. “My name is Abalim, and I’ve been sent to find you.”

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