Children of a greater ev.., p.17
Children Of A Greater Evil: 21st Testing Protocol Book 2,
p.17
He scanned the faces before him, and she could almost read his thoughts. There were new security officers and a smattering of other crew. Some of them were young and impressionable, and she knew a few wouldn’t make the cut as crewmembers. Others would carve out their place on the Star of Ishtar and move to better positions and placements, like she would: the new SurgiTech, a younger female, experienced but untried on board a ship. She smiled at that thought.
Some of those who stood with her would be replaced as they failed the exacting standards the captain set. She’d heard that he was a firm captain, fair but demanding. He’d have to be to command this ship. The Ishtar had well over five hundred at full capacity, and the captain could select their placements as his command staff saw fit from the many who applied to join the crew. She sensed his satisfaction with the choices in the relaxation of his body.
Abruptly, he turned to Duvall, breaking her study of him. “Get them to where they need to present themselves.” His words echoed as he walked away. He had a purposeful stride. Quick but unhurried, like he knew where he was going and how to get there. A man who knew how to get what he wanted. Someone to respect and admire.
“My name is Commander Duvall McCord. I am your second-in-command, and my direct subordinate is Commander Grayson Myatt. While you are aboard the Star of Ishtar you will be required to fulfill your duties efficiently. As Captain Elphin said, do your job right and you will be one of ours, with all the benefits that come with being a crewmember of the Star of Ishtar.”
He paused and eyeballed each of the newer recruits, those fresh from the academy. Many of them paled under his gaze, and she smiled inwardly. Even the older people in the line seemed to quake beneath his scowl. He’d always had that air of innate authority, even when barely out of the academy himself. She knew his methods and watched him make full use of the carefully practiced tone of presence.
“Each of you has been assigned. You will present yourselves to the chief of your section. Those details will be found in your orders. Commander Myatt has organized a team to escort you to your cabins. You will have approximately one hour to prepare. We’ve arranged for crewmembers to escort you to your superiors. Be ready to present for duty. Any issues, you will, of course, take up with your section commander. Should there be need to take any further action, you will see Commander Myatt. You should only see me if you are a command crewmember or as a point of discipline. I am not one for small talk, so if you present to me, have a very good reason.”
He delivered the words slowly and deliberately, and Elara restrained a small smile on hearing at least one gulp from those in the line nearest her.
“We run a tight ship here. Discipline and commitment are the two key factors we look for beyond loyalty in our crew. You will from henceforth represent our ship everywhere, and we do not tolerate anything less than the best.” He looked around once more, the stern demeanor he wore so well reinforcing the message. If she hadn’t known him for so long, she too might have missed the hint of humor glinting in his eyes, the one many took for coldness.
Her legs ached, and she wanted to move and relieve the pressure on them, but she held herself still, waiting for the command to dismiss. She wouldn’t let herself or him down now. Not after she’d worked so long to achieve this position.
As the new ST, she had no previous experience on ships. She had vast experience in the field, but Elara was aware that would count for little in the eyes of most of the crew. She didn’t intend to signal a weakness to anyone and least of all on her first day aboard the Star of Ishtar. That thought held her still and controlled.
She had big shoes to fill after her predecessor, Jamieson, had retired, even though she knew she could fill the void he’d left behind. As a long-term member of the crew—over twenty years—his tenure on the Star of Ishtar had placed him aboard since its launch. Due to his experience in the heat of battle with the Ru’Edan he had made a name for himself as the coldest of cold in the hottest of situations. She hoped to emulate that herself and carve out her own place aboard the Ishtar, as its crew lovingly knew her.
Duvall and Grayson knew how much she wanted to prove herself. They just wouldn’t have expected it here, on the Ishtar.
She watched Duvall study her, then, quickly turning on his heel, call to those assembled, “Dismissed.”
Once they started to move away, she softened her stance, preparing to turn when the call came.
“Sudonne! A moment if you please.”
Elara turned to face Duvall. “Commander?”
“Welcome to the Star of Ishtar, Elara. While I am surprised you’re the new ST, Grayson and I are pleased you could join us. But how did you manage to pull it off? Keeping it quiet that you were the new ST?” he asked, his voice deep enough to make most women shiver with anticipation.
She smiled, thinking it was a shame she didn’t have any feelings for him except sisterly attachment, but then again, given his lack of deep commitment to women, maybe it wasn’t such a shame after all.
She understood what drove him. He wanted his own ship and to captain his own future. They’d spent many nights over wine or ale discussing his beliefs that commitment grounded a person. Inwardly, she shrugged. He’d make those calls for himself, though she was sure that one day he would come across someone who would make him consider his choices a little more thoroughly.
“I’m pleased to be here, Duvall. Having an uncle who happens to be an admiral, he was able to let Captain Elphin know that I wanted to surprise you. It’s a small world in the Admiralty. Elphin already knew of me, so he okayed my placement. Once the powers knew there was no impediments to me joining the crew, it was fairly simple from there.” She felt a small smile creep onto her face, then let it drop away. “What do you think Grayson thinks?”
“Ah, still chasing him, are you?” He grinned, his eyes twinkling. “I think he’ll be pleased you’re finally old enough and you’re here.” He looked her straight in the eye. “But you may just need to remind him of that particular fact.” He motioned for her to go before him, barking out a deep laugh. “Come on, I’ll show you to your cabin.”
Available from Love Books Publishing
Available in Ebook via Books2Read
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Direct Autographed Copy
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The Blood Bride by Imogene Nix
Hope just wants to be an ordinary nestling. She went to college and escaped, but now she’s back and there’s a secret everyone is keeping from her.
Xavier is the new master of the nest, ready to welcome home the daughter of the house who he has never met. He’s unprepared for the woman who steals his breath and enchants him.
Now Hope and Xavier must fight for lives and those of the innocents. After all, it is only by overcoming the rogues that they will have a chance of a timeless future together. But will it be in time?
PROLOGUE
* * *
As silence descended on the house, the shadows grew—dark grays and blacks that bled into each other. First one figure then another broke away, making a run toward the house. Silent as the grave, they moved swiftly over dew-slicked grass. Then they stopped still. Waiting. Not a movement betrayed them until a signal propelled them back into action and they started crawling upwards. The walls damp coating no barrier to the intruders that ascended in the darkness.
The sound of each window breaking shattered the quiet—the figures were inside. Screams echoed through the night. Yet, in this area of large estates, heavy with noise-absorbing shrubbery, no one could hear those within. The blood-curdling screams went on and on before finally dying away.
Just one sound echoed through the night: The sobbing of a child.
The front door opened and figures trooped out—ghostly specters against an inky night sky, broken by a single outline. A child in white, carried at the center of the pack.
No sound broke the silence as they moved toward the trees surrounded the house.
Flames now licked at the manor: A deathly glow of oily smoke rising.
All that remained was a single person—wrapped in a cape of midnight blue beyond the house—watching them melt away.
Jemima moved toward the burning structure, breaking into a run as she breached the threshold. Vainly she attempted to enter, but the heat drove her back.
Now dashing tears from her face, she raced across the graveled driveway toward the gates, where the guardhouse was located. No sign of life existed within the building and some instinct of survival slowed her pace to a careful creep. Out of breath and heaving from exertion, she nervously checked within.
Small puffs of white vapor colored the glass. She darted from one window to another. Her cloak drawn tightly around her body, hoping it would camouflage her from sight.
Satisfied, Jemima entered through the heavy, wooden front door and moved toward the phone she spied on the floor. Her eyes darting here and there she dialed, listening to the rotary motor as it returned to the proper position. Time was short and if they came back, she needed to have shared the message.
The phone rang once. Twice. With a brrping sound it connected.
“Hello?” A male answered and she felt a warm flush of relief at the voice. A voice she knew well.
“The manor has been breached. The girl child taken.” The words erupted and her hand trembled.
“On our way.” The click of the receiver being replaced echoed loudly in the stillness of the room.
Copper. She smelled copper.
Her stomach soured, knowing it meant more deaths. Jemima looked around for the gun—a gun with deadly, holy water-infused copper bullets—she knew was hidden somewhere in the room. A gun she couldn’t find. No divine intervention exists here, she thought.
Hopefully they didn’t remain. Feeding. If they were still here, that’s what they would be doing. She found a corner and scrunched down, hiding from sight.
Crouched low, she tried to stay as still as possible, listening for sounds of the vehicles she knew would be coming. She dug her fingers into the flesh of her arms; remaining aware enough to stop before drawing blood. That would surely bring them out. Jemima dragged the cloak around her to capture the warmth, yet there was little to be found.
The sounds of engines roused her from the corner of the room. Jemima inched toward the window, the lead of the old glass distorting her view, hearing raised voices she knew Mistress Cressida had arrived.
Jemima retreated. Remained hidden from the woman because if she knew, all may well be lost. From the shadowed room she listened to the conversation...
“It smells like Estersham.” The Mistress’ eyes closed. “If it is, we have a problem.” She turned once more, her face set and eyes now glacial in intensity. “James?”
The man nodded as if he knew what was to come.
“If I take those steps, I cannot return. Another must stand in my place.” Her voice hardened while her eyes glittered in the dim light, piercing in their intensity.
Then the Mistress’ voice called out in the near silence. “You and yours have been my loyal servants for so many years. I took an oath to protect you long ago. I renewed it with marriage and births, over and over. Now, my home and yours have been breached and this child taken from us. The girl child, who will be the hope and salvation of our kind, was ripped from the bosom of our nest. I will repay your loyalty and I will get her back.” The words of power rippled in the night and licked at Jemima’s skin.
Available in Ebook
books2read.com/BloodBride-Nix
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Direct Autographed Copy
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Also by Imogene Nix
Warriors of the Elector
Star of Ishtar
Starline
Starfire
Star of the Fleet
Starburst
The Star of Eternity
The Star of Ishtar & Starline - Print
Starfire & Star of the Fleet - Print
Starburst & The Star of Eternity - Print
The Secrets World:
Blood Secrets
The Blood Bride
The Illuminated Witch
The Sorcerer’s Touch
House Secrets
As Dawn Breaks
Immortal Consequences
Unnamed Book III
All That Glitters - a House Secrets Novella (Coming in 2023)
Danu’s Secrets
The Downfall of Padraic O’Shaunessy (Coming in 2023)
Unnamed Secrets Book II
The Automaton Series
Haven House (Coming 2022)
Nobel Crest (Coming 2022)
The Search Duology
Miss Elspeth’s Desire
Miss Isabelle’s Craving
Reunion Trilogy
War’s End
The Assassin
Executing Justice
The Reunion Trilogy in Paperback
Sex Love & Aliens
Tangled Webs
False Webs
Covert Webs
21st Testing Protocol
Cyborg: Redux
Children Of A Greater Evil
When Evil Came To Stay
Finis: The War To End All Wars
Celtic Cupid Trilogy
Blame The Wine
A Stranger’s Embrace
Revenge On Cupid
The Celtic Cupid Trilogy in Paperback
Zombieology
The Reset
I Dream of Zombies
The Six Million Dollar Zombie
Make Room For Zombies (2022)
Unnamed Zombiology Book (coming 2023)
Knights of Pleasure
Silken Knights (Coming in September 2022)
Single Titles
The Chocolate Affair (also in Print)
Falling In Love Again (Previously A Sapphire For Karina)
BioCybe (also in Print)
Hesparia’s Tears (also in Print)
Tomorrow’s Promise
A Bar In Paris (also in Print)
Inheritance Of The Blood (also in Print)
The Plan
Loving Memories (also in Print)
Hero of Heartbreak Hill (also in Print)
My One & Only
Curse Bound (coming 2021)
Raspberry Dreams (Not Yet Released)
Non Fiction
Self Publishing: Absolute Beginners Guide (With Suzi Love)
Written as Ciara Cave
25 Curated Ways To Get Rid Of Telemarketers
Book Signings for Absolute Beginners
About the Author
Imogene is published in a range of romance genres including Paranormal, Science Fiction and Contemporary. She is mainly published in the UK and USA.
In 2010, Imogene Nix (the pen name not Imogene herself) was born. Imogene sat down and worked tirelessly for 3 months culminating in the book Starline, which became the first in a trilogy titled, "Warriors of the Elector." Since then she’s had over 30 titles published and is now focusing on hybridising herself - with a mixture of traditionally published and self-published works.
In fact, she’s taking control of many of her back catalogue books, which are slowly re-releasing as self-published titles.
Imogene is a member of a range of professional organisations world wide, and believes in the mantra of mentoring and paying it forward and is actively involved in mentorship (through NaNoWrimo and her vlog: In The Chair With Imogene Nix) and tutoring of new and upcoming authors.
In her spare time she loves to drink coffee, wine & eat chocolate and is parenting more than one spoilt cat along with her husband and daughters and looks forward to weekends away with her husband in their caravan “The Seven Year Hitch!” Do look forward to her caravan romance at some point!
To Contact Imogene
www.imogenenix.net
imogene@imogenenix.net
Imogene Nix, Children Of A Greater Evil: 21st Testing Protocol Book 2
