Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

She couldn’t help but wonder…if they all followed a Priestess and used Damon to read weird shit off dead or comatose bodies, did it mean the structure of this strange society was built on the foundations of mumbo-jumbo? Why live their lives without clear direction? Was the notion of magic a way for Priestess Aleena to keep everyone in line, while skirting any sort of real social structure like other planets and even space stations had?

On Anteris, everyone had a role, even those who were just waltzing in and out as often as she did. Many visitors were known to be the biggest scum of the galaxy and surrounding planets, but Ulric had established a sense of law and order. There was an active police force and a court. Everyone knew that if you pushed the envelope too far, the authorities would eventually catch up with you.

Only the worst bar on Anteris got away with a degree of lawlessness. That was why she’d been able to take out a cyborg without being arrested. Though, she was sure Ulric would have gotten her out of trouble, anyway.

That’s the problem. He bailed her out of everything, fed her the most delectable of dishes, satisfied her every whim whenever she craved it, let her dominate most situations, and covered all of her expenses while she was with him. She’d even stopped paying docking fees for Promise .

The carefree, skirt-chasing scoundrel who’d first entered her life had somehow morphed into someone else. Into a man who asked her to give up her job, so she could stay with him and do nothing.

He even said he loves me.

In a way, by caring about her, Ulric made her feel as if he were maneuvering her into a path she wasn’t ready to take just yet. She enjoyed being free to travel around the galaxy in Promise , taking care of business while sightseeing, and checking out what the male population had to offer.

It was no wonder she didn’t even miss him right now. If anything, she was glad to be away from him, because it meant she could do whatever she wanted with Damon-a mighty fine specimen who was attracted to her and never failed to strike the right chords. No matter what Damon claimed, he was from a planet she would eventually leave. She could have her fun, and then be on her way before she had a chance to develop any real feelings for him, or Damon for her.

She let go of her thoughts to concentrate on Damon and the girl.

“Laurie, speak to me. I can help you.” Damon had placed a hand over the girl’s, but she still wasn’t responding.

“What do you do, now?” Alex asked when he stood up and turned to face her.

He looked tired, frustrated. “I don’t think she’s going to talk, if that’s what you mean.”

“So, that’s it? There’s nothing else you can do?”

“There’s definitely something else I can do. Watch me perform a different type of magic,” he said with a wink.

“Is so-called magic your answer to everything?” she retorted.

He shrugged, a smile curving his lips. He seemed to enjoy her discomfort with the subject a bit too much.

“Have you ever thought that maybe what you’re doing isn’t magic at all, but could be caused by some sort of magnetic field around this planet? Maybe it’s just something in the water, and it makes you think you’re performing magic.” She was clutching at straws, because what he did when he touched her was very real. “Or maybe it’s power from whatever divine deity your Priestess serves.”

He looked confused. “What divine deity?”

Alex pushed off the wall. “Uh, the one Aleena serves. Whatever goddess protects your village . Surely, your Priestess spreads the word of some sort of deity, whether ancient or modern?” Even people who used the goddess Aphrodite as an excuse to screw around all the time would worship, make offerings, and take part in rituals in her honor.

Damon shook his head. “There are no goddesses or gods. We don’t worship any deities. Priestess Aleena is our matriarch-the one who ensures we remain in a safe and crimeless society. It’s all her doing. The power of her leadership keeps our vision clear.”

“Right.” She couldn’t help but smell a rat in his explanation. Or rather, in what sounded like a brainwashing statement the population was probably forced to recite. Alex didn’t suspect him of lying, as much as she suspected Aleena wasn’t as holy and fair as she liked the population to believe.

Alex had never met a woman who claimed to be the Priestess of her own church and dogma. It just wasn’t done. Then again, this planet wasn’t on anyone’s navigational maps, so Aleena could pretty much do whatever she wanted.

Why is Eden off the radar?

If Promise wasn’t damaged, Alex would be able to access her computer and research a little more about Eden and its moon, Paradise. She had a feeling something wasn’t right, but she didn’t particularly want to keep discussing it with Damon at the moment. Not when he was in the middle of an intense investigation and getting nowhere with this kid.

“Is everything okay?” He was kneeling down in front of the girl again, but the question was clearly for Alex.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Damon nodded, turned back to Laurie, and squeezed her hands in his. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and a flash of color passed from his hands to the girl’s.

“Alex, are you watching?” Damon whispered.

She sighed and observed him taking a deep breath. When he released it, the flash of color was back-amber-and forming an aura around their joined hands.

Alex felt the urge to move forward, but instead, she blinked a few times when the shimmer spread until it surrounded Laurie and Damon entirely. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes, until the light gradually receded back into Damon’s hands, as if it had never been there.

He opened his eyes in a rush and sucked in a breath.

“What the hell just happened?” It had only taken a few minutes, but she could tell he had experienced something.

Damon released Laurie’s hands and stood. “I just saw everything as she did.”

“Well, what did she see?” As unlikely as it sounded, she wanted to know what had obviously spooked him so much.

“As we suspected, Laurie walked in on the attack.”

Alex sighed. “So, you know who did it, then?”

He met her eyes, and his darkened. “Not entirely.”

“What do you mean?”

He took a few steps toward her. “Alex, some sort of animal attacked Mony Lin.”

“That’s a good thing, right? It means you were right. No one in Eden is capable of doing what we saw left discarded in the gardens, and that’s a good thing. Isn’t it?” She didn’t understand what the problem was with this scenario. “It was one of your wildlife.”

Damon shook his head. “No, Alex. We don’t have any wildlife within the walls. I thought I’d already told you that. Besides, this looked more like some sort of beast, which explains the lust and excitement it felt for the victim’s flesh.”

“What do you mean by a beast?” The wall behind her suddenly felt too solid, as if it was the only thing keeping her up but would soon close in around her.

“Alex, some sort of beast attacked Mony Lin with the intention of tearing him apart and feasting on his flesh,” Damon answered.

He was watching her too closely. She tried not to wince.

“There’s no way you could know all that just by touching someone’s hand.”

A chuckle escaped him. “After everything I’ve already shown you, you still question what I can do? You’re a hard woman to please.”

She wanted to tell him that wasn’t true. After all, he’d given her a lot of pleasure when he’d laid his hand upon her abdomen. One quick glance at the girl stopped her, though.