Blackstar: Future Knight Read online

  FUTURE KNIGHT

  An Ellora’s Cave Publication, August 2004

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

  PO Box 787

  Hudson, OH 44236-0787

  ISBN MS Reader (LIT) ISBN # 1-84360-915-0

  Other available formats (no ISBNs are assigned):

  Adobe (PDF), Rocketbook (RB), Mobipocket (PRC) HTML

  FUTURE KNIGHT © 2004 CHEYENNE MCCRAY

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. They are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

  Edited by Heather Osborn.

  Cover art by Syneca.

  BLACKSTAR:

  Future Knight

  Cheyenne McCray

  Prologue

  It really was their luck, to flee the destruction of Earth and find a haven such as Blackstar—itself on the very eve of destruction as well.

  Adan Valnez paced the length of the well-guarded and secret travel chamber, ignoring his two companions. The walls were fine-hewn and crafted by expert woodworkers and gemlayers, talents nearly lost to Old Earth, but slowly making a comeback here on Blackstar. On Blackstar, things were more basic.

  And even more dangerous.

  Growling, Adan gripped the hilt of his sheathed sword while his companions waited for him to speak. His long dark hair swung well past his broad shoulders nearly to the small of his back, and his black eyes sparked with dark fire as he bit back the urge to smash his fist into something—anything. His breeches and tunic felt constricting, and his boots slammed against the wood floor like hammers on stone.

  No words could express the dire dilemma now faced by the three Clans. And Adan was weary of dilemmas. He was more than ready to find a pleasure-partner, relieve the pressure in his loins, and drink fire ale until his mind sang. Gods knew his companions didn’t hesitate to enjoy the amenities of their refuge. But he was Clan Leader, knight of the Blackstar Realm, and responsible for the welfare of all. Moreover, he took his responsibilities more seriously than Dominik and Dane, the other two Leaders and knights of the first order.

  At the end of the chamber, a floor-length panoramic window revealed the winter-held valley, hugged by the Mirror Mountains. The range was so named because the mountains’ crystals reflected the valley from the countless ice-laden snow trees, to the frozen lake, to the village. As Adan stopped his pacing, the crystals in the travel chamber seemed to blink in time with those on the slopes. The only warmth in this world was that within the Clans’ buildings and homes, and the hot springs beneath the frozen lake.

  Below the travel chamber, the Tower of Light glittered, and the village’s white walls sparkled in the always gray light. Unconcerned with the ever-present threat of danger, most of the valley’s residents went about their business, working in the mines, learning and practicing crafts and arts, tending crops in the greenhouses, patronizing the many establishments, and teaching children at their daily lessons.

  Earth’s remaining survivors, now a small community of less than five thousand, were fairly new residents of the refuge, at only one decade’s time. The newcomers had christened the planet Blackstar because it had a natural shield that reflected the endless depths of space and grasped enough warmth from the planet’s distant sun to keep the ice-world at a temperature where it still sustained life.

  Luck. Yes. We were lucky to find this place, all temper aside.

  Adan bit back a sigh.

  No matter how advanced Old Earth’s technology had become, Earth scientists had never discovered the wormhole that crouched in space waiting for its next meal. When Adan’s people fled Earth during the Age of Sorcery and the end of most life on Earth, their spacecraft had been swallowed whole by the anomaly. By sheer fortune, when they were spit back out, the small planet had been discovered, and Blackstar was now home.

  An occasional guardcraft zipped by the chamber’s window as Adan resumed his pacing, and he heard one of his companions clear his throat. His knights patrolled the realm’s borders, and guardcraft protected the citizens of Crystal Valley from ruthless beings that haunted the realm’s minimal borders. Beings that did not want to share their world with outsiders—ice-ghosts who wished to conquer Adan’s people.

  From outside Adan heard the drone of the craft, and from inside the room, the constant hum of the time-arch. Adan finally glanced at the two other Clan Leaders, his partners and friends, who had come to aid him in the search for the hidden powercrystal.

  Blond-haired, gray-eyed Dane had his feet up on the wooden meeting table, his arms crossed, his chair tipped back, and his gaze focused on Adan. Dominik—of equal stature as his companions, but dark-haired and green-eyed—rested one hip on the table and merely cocked an eyebrow at Adan’s unusual restlessness. Each of them wore the uniform of the Blackstar Knight with the star and sword insignia on one sleeve.

  “The draw of the crystal comes from Old San Francisco Providence, obliterated early in the Age of Sorcery.” Adan raked his fingers through his dark hair. “The Cwen informed me that it was hidden in Earth’s year 2010, long before the dividing of the continent. But finding the crystal will be like searching for a thimble in a hayfield.”

  “Needle in a haystack,” Dominik corrected with a grin, but then his features grew serious. “What has the Sanor queen told you to make you so restless?”

  Adan sighed. “Not much more than her usual pleas.”

  Dominik and Dane grunted in unison.

  The Clan Leaders already knew much of what they needed to know. Two decades ago the powercrystal was spirited away for safekeeping on Earth of the past. The nearly destroyed peoples of Sanor had hidden the crystal to keep it from falling into the hands of a vicious Ice-Witch. It was said that the one crystal was stashed with another priceless Sanor treasure.

  Adan had no interest in treasure. He only had interest in retrieving the crystal before the Ice-Witch Echna did. According to T’ni Lael, the Cwen—a refugee from the Sanor realm—the crystal held a great power that the Ice-Witch would use against Adan’s people if she possessed it. The bitch would then be in a position to mount a full, and likely final, attack on Adan’s people.

  Aye, what fortune, to flee the destruction of Earth to fight yet another potentially cataclysmic battle. Maybe here, though, the Clans could truly make a difference. Maybe they could act fast enough and decisively enough to save Blackstar from the fate of Old Earth.

  Adan braced his hands on the table and looked from Dominik to Dane. “The Cwen believes the Ice-Witch has learned the crystal’s location and when the crystal was hidden. She will send warriors of her own to retrieve it. We must find the crystal first.”

  Dominik shook his head, his sharply angled face reflecting the severity of his emotion. “Damn.”

  With a slow nod, an unusually somber Dane agreed. “We waste time talking when you should be hunting.”

  The time-arch seemed to hum louder, as if emphasizing the urgency.

  “Agreed.” Adan pivoted from the table and strode to the arch at the end of the room. The time-arch was a carefully crafted doorway with glowing runes around the rounded opening. The closer Adan and his sword came to the arch, the brighter the runes shone.

  Each man had been trained to use the arch countless times by T’ni Lael so that they had mastered the abilities required to reach into Earth’s past. The time-arch was powered by timecrystals and thoughtpower. It took all three to power it, with Dane and Dominik manning the control panels while Adan traveled.

  Adan bore a sword infused with the same powers as the time-arch, a sword t
hat would guide him through time and to the draw of the crystal. But as T’ni Lael had cautioned, it would only lead him to the correct year, and close to the location. He would have to use his soul—and his heart—beyond that.

  He nearly rolled his eyes at the thought of the Cwen’s insistence that he would need to use his heart. His heart was long dead, his soul long closed off. His keen hunting abilities, his intelligence, and his natural leadership abilities would have to do.

  Dominik and Dane each placed their palms on the twin control panels as Adan stepped through the golden shimmer. Adan nodded to each man and drew his sword, its own runes glowing in time with the time-arch’s.

  Adan concentrated on the draw of the L’sen Crystal, and then melded back in time.

  Chapter One

  I’m so pathetic. I have no life.

  With a frustrated groan, Kara Marks leaned back on the couch and stared at the white whorls on her living room ceiling. She twirled her finger through one of her honey-blonde curls and popped her gum as her gaze returned to the papers scattered across her coffee table.

  She glanced at a photo of her softball team from when she was an All-Star pitcher in high school. Next to it was a picture of her with several children from the local orphanage. When she could, she enjoyed spending time with the children, especially the youngest ones. Maybe she did have some life. She smiled.

  Her eyes rested on the crystal cube-shaped paperweight next to the pictures. Inside the cube hung a silver-bordered pendant. Its silver chain glittered in the room’s soft lighting. It was the only thing she had left from parents who had abandoned her shortly after her birth, but why they had made it into a paperweight, she’d never know.

  And why she kept it was even more of a mystery.

  Maybe it was because she found it amusing in some respects. The pendant almost looked like a penis, only much, much smaller.

  While she studied the cube, she wondered when her life had become so freaking boring. Here she was on a Friday night, reviewing loan documents for clients instead of out on the town with some gorgeous guy. Well, at least a fairly decent-looking one. Right now just about any guy would do. Even doing one of her craft projects, like the art collages that plastered most of the walls in her home, would be better than nothing.

  She turned her gaze to her living room’s bay window and stared out at the gathering dusk. A streetlight stuttered and came to life, casting its yellow light over cracked sidewalks and patched pavement.

  Other than spending some time at the orphanage, working out at the health club, and her job as a loan agent, she truly had no life. At least not an exciting one.

  Her friends Jan and Sheri—well, they meant everything to Kara. The girls had lived in the same foster home until they were each shuffled off to separate families, but fortunately they’d all been raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and they’d been able to remain in close contact. The trio shared a bond that transcended the fact that they had all either been abandoned as toddlers, or had parents who’d passed away in tragic accidents.

  Kara released her curl. It snapped back over her forehead, and in a restless movement she jumped to her feet. She felt antsy, like she could just about crawl out of her skin with boredom. The health club would definitely be a good choice right now to work off some of her restlessness. Maybe she’d strike up a conversation with one of the gorgeous guys who regularly worked out there. Or maybe not. All brawn, no brains…

  But damn she needed to get laid. Just the thought of a good fuck made her nipples ache and her pussy throb. She loved sex—everything about it. The scent of a man’s semen and of her own juices, the feel of a muscled chest beneath her palms, the feel of his hands upon her body. And being fucked…God, how she loved fucking.

  She moved to the bay window and eased onto its royal blue padded seat, her legs tucked under her. It was her favorite place to sit and daydream. After pushing aside the sheer curtain, she placed her cheek to the glass so that she could see past her own reflection and into the night. Resting her head against the cool surface, she watched dry leaves swirl across asphalt in a gust of wind. A car passed by, its headlights piercing the dusk and the drone of its engine filling the night, and then the street was empty and quiet again.

  Out of habit she twirled her finger in the curl that always hung over her forehead and popped her gum again. Maybe she’d call her friends and see if they’d like to go out to dinner, perhaps see a movie, or head to one of the nightclubs they enjoyed frequenting. When she wasn’t working, Kara enjoyed flirting and teasing the opposite sex. As much as she enjoyed sex, she wasn’t an easy lay, even though she’d had a few one-night stands. Rather, she was choosy—probably too choosy. She just couldn’t find the right man, the man who really did it for her.

  Maybe she just needed to dig out BOB, her battery operated boyfriend, and give herself a good orgasm. What would the neighbors think if she sat on her window seat and fucked herself with her vibrator while playing with her nipples? She had to grin at the thought of her neighbors directly across the street. Mrs. Hannigan would be bound to have a stroke, and Mr. Hannigan would probably enjoy the show.

  A rumble rose in her belly and she realized she hadn’t eaten for hours. She had spent the evening catching up on work she’d brought home. She was the top producing loan agent at the biggest bank in San Francisco, and she hated to lose one iota of the momentum that had taken her to that position. Yeah, she was definitely a workaholic, but she liked it that way. Working kept her from thinking about things that never were and things that never could be.

  But sometimes she really wished she had chosen a more rewarding career, something that made a difference in someone’s life. That she was truly making an important contribution.

  Kara groaned. There she went again.

  Just as she started to slip off the window seat to head into the adjacent kitchen, a shimmer above the sidewalk caught her eye—a golden gleam in the evening sky. Slowly she released her curl and stopped chewing her gum. The gleam was maybe ten feet from her living room window, and it was growing larger and larger.

  And strangely, her pussy started to pulse and throb, a sensation that grew more intense the brighter the glow became. Ripples flowed through her body and she swore she was close to orgasm.

  The golden light vanished and the ache in her pussy lessened.

  A man’s form appeared where the shimmer had been.

  Kara squeezed her eyes shut then opened them again. He was still there.

  Not real. This can’t be real.

  The guy, who couldn’t possibly be real, held a sword with both hands on its hilt. He posed as if prepared to strike anyone who might be lurking behind bushes to either side of her window, looking like some kind of futuristic knight.

  Heart pounding, Kara placed her hand flat against the windowpane, unable to tear her gaze from him. Black clothing molded athletic thighs, tapered hips, a large chest, and broad shoulders, and some kind of insignia was on the sleeve of his shirt, like he was a Green Beret or something.

  Her eyes traveled to his face and her tongue darted out along her lower lip. The ache between her thighs magnified. Even though he wasn’t what she considered classically handsome, he was delicious…long black hair way below his shoulders, a strong jaw, high cheekbones, a hawk-like nose, a hard masculine cut to his mouth, and intense penetrating eyes—

  Eyes that were now focused directly on her.

  Kara’s hand moved to her throat. Shit. She slid off the window seat, stumbled, and almost fell. She backed away until she could no longer see the man, her heart pounding even faster than before.

  What were you thinking, Marks? Some guy appears out of nowhere holding a sword, and you’re sitting there thinking how hot he is?

  She tried to remember if she’d locked the doors. As usual she hadn’t set the alarm.

  Kara whirled to run to the alarm control box and smacked into something solid.

  She was trapped by strong arms and staring at a black-cloth
ed chest. Too shocked to scream, Kara’s eyes shot up to meet the gaze of the man from the street. He was even taller than she realized, several inches over her five feet eight, and he was better looking in person, in a ruthless sort of way. His scent of winter breezes and testosterone washed over her, and his black eyes were narrowed and focused on her face.

  She gulped and swallowed her gum.

  Terror combined with fury as she regained her senses. “Back off, creep!” At the same time she rammed her knee up toward his balls, she drew her arm back, clenched her fist, and aimed it toward his jaw.

  In an easy movement he blocked her knee with his, caught both her wrists, and forced them behind her back. He bound her wrists in one of his big hands, drawing her tight against him, and he used his other to catch her chin.

  Oh, shit.

  “Listen, you sonofabitch,” Kara said, struggling to free herself from the intruder’s grasp and attempting to keep fear out of her voice. “You’d better get out of my house, now.”

  Saying nothing, he simply studied her, turning her chin so that he could examine one side of her face, then doing the same with the other side.

  Kara couldn’t stop the trembling that took over her body. “Who are you?”

  “I am Adan.” His voice was deep and throbbing, and he had a strong accent that sounded European, yet different. Despite herself, Kara felt a flush from her belly to her pussy. “What is your name?” he asked.

  She scowled. “Like hell I’m going to tell you.”

  The man called Adan’s fierce expression remained as he moved his hand from her chin and reached for the single curl over her forehead. He tugged at it, watching closely as it sprang back into place when he released it.

  What was he doing?

  The female was beautiful and Adan regretted that he had no time to spend with an Earth woman of the past. Such was forbidden in most cases, and ill-advised in most others. Meddling in the timeflow beyond retrieval of items that shouldn’t be here in the first place—now, that would be risky indeed.