Cheyenne McCray - Future Knight, Cheyenne McCray
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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 that 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
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