Page 12 of The Erion Triad

“What?” Lucie’s tone flatlined. She mentally winced at the hardness in her voice.

What reason would Grant have to lie? He was the only one to have her back. Everyone else had turned theirs on her. Life was harsh, but that was just the way it was.

“Doesn’t there come a time in life when you’re due a little bit of happiness, Janie?” she continued. “You’ve got to grab it wherever it comes from.”

Janie smiled, though Lucie ignored the pity in her eyes. “Of course. You deserve all the happiness in the world, Lucie. You know that. Why don’t you sit down while you can and I’ll come over and wait on you? It’s Elvis’ birthday. The lunch crowd is going to be big today and I’ll bring over your favorite. Okay?”

Lucie nodded and quickly gave Grant’s order before turning back to the table and her waiting boyfriend. When she got there, he held up his phone, an excited look on his face.

She sank onto the seat next to him. “What?”

“Just got a call from Stephenson. Wants to meet with me in an hour!”

Lucie’s heart stuttered, excitement mixed with every heartbeat. This was finally it. Everything they’d worked for. “Does he want to meet me too?”

After all, she was the artist in the sample he had shown the man.

Grant’s smile twisted. He slipped his phone into his front pocket. “That will come in time. At the moment, I’m working on the details. There’s no use going down this path unless everything been signed, sealed, and delivered.”

“But… why?” She couldn’t understand why the producer didn’t want to meet her. See her. Listen to her live.

“Let me handle things. I want the best for you and there’s a procedure for doing this type of business. I know how to treat these people. Believe me, they like the mystery. Build it up and they’ll snap you up like a shark on a hook.” He leaned forward and gave her a peck on her mouth before sliding from the seat. “I’m only trying to get the best deal for you, Luce. You know that. I’ll call you later. Tell you how it all goes. You never know, this might be the time, Luce.”

He walked out of the door without a backward glance. Her little red car slid out of the carpark and into the flow of traffic. Belatedly she realized Grant had taken the car and she had no way to get back home after her shift.

The day seemed to be normal. Just another day out of her life, and yet there was a sticky white mass in her brain that made her mind foggy. She couldn’t help but feel there was something she had to remember. Something important, but her mind was caught on a slippery slope.

She sighed, got up from the table and reached for her apron. Might as well help Janie set up before the lunch crowd came in. Lord knew, it was going to be busy enough today as it was. Maybe a day mindlessly taking orders would shake her brain back into gear and she’d remember what on earth she’d forgotten. She had a deep feeling that it was very, very important.

Chapter Five

Juliran

Blue green light surrounded himself and his brothers as he stood at Lucie’s side, and then he was racing down a tunnel made of intense light. Two bright sparks sped next to him following the ever-changing twists and turns of the wormhole. There was one final twist and a white light enveloped him.

His feet hit hard ground. The light withdrew to reveal a city unlike any he’d seen before, steeped in nighttime shadows. A hard, black surface lay beneath his feet. Strange, cube-like vehicles on four wheels lined the path they stood on. Stretched on either side were buildings made from small, brown and tan bricks interspersed by small windows covered in sheer, shiny coverings. Overhead, lights shone from tall poles, illuminating spots of light beneath.

A sound blasted, and a vehicle hurtled towards them. Kyel grabbed his arm and propelled both himself and Zaen onto a grey sidewalk.

“It wasn’t going to stop?” Juliran stared at the vehicle as it sped along the pathway, its engine spewing evil-smelling fumes. In their Homeland, pedestrians were always safe, their transport vehicles being restricted to air-space only unless disembarking.

“We’re in Lucie’s mind, remember? We are wherever she is,” Kyel said.

Juliran glanced at the dark, depressing scene. It was a world so unlike their own, and his first impressions were unsettling. He didn’t like the thought of their bright star in such darkness. “The quicker we can get her back to us, the better.”

“I second that, brother.” Zaen, twitched in his clothes, rolling his shoulders and grimacing as though not comfortable at all.

“If we’re in her world, where is she?’ Juliran said, spinning about. People in couples or groups walked past, ignoring them. Some entered a vehicle and after a moment, two lights at the front end lit up and the boxy-looking machine rumbled along the wide, black surface past them before disappearing around a corner. Juliran coughed as acrid smoke stung his nostrils.

“At least we look the part,” Kyel said.

Juliran glanced at his clothing. Gone were his leathers, replaced by a thick, dark blue material that covered him from waist to ankle. An uncomfortable tin metal catch ran from his waistband to the bottom of his groin. His leathers were much softer on his cock.

He wore black boots on his feet, but they ended at the ankle. No calf protection at all. He would have to remember that if they were attacked. On his torso was a white shirt made from soft, light material. The sleeves ended mid-bicep. The cool of the night was warded off by a jacket with a fake-fur-lined collar. His brothers were dressed in similar styles, matched by the males that walked around them.

He peered closer at his brothers. Despite the shadowed light of the night, they looked different.

“Your skin has changed.” He glanced at his hands. They were a tan color, close to their Lucie’s skin. Gone was the blue hue known in their Homeland. However, their eyes had retained their glow. “Your horns are also missing.”

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