GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3)

GALLANT

Innerworld Affairs Series

Book Three

by

Marilyn Campbell

USA Today Bestselling Author

GALLANT

Reviews & Accolades

"Stunning..."

~Affaire de Coeur

"Marilyn Campbell simply excels in futuristic romance. Nobody does it better!"

~Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author of The Night Is Watching

Previously titled:
Stardust Dreams

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ISBN: 978-1-61417-450-9

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Prologue

"Do not be frightened my children. I bring peace and goodwill to all mankind."

The group of twenty tourists paying their respects at the Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine gaped in stunned silence at the ethereal figure speaking the gentle words. Standing on a fluffy white cloud that hovered just above the Shrine was a female angel, complete with golden halo and white feathered wings. With her light blond hair and flowing white dress, she could have stepped out of the pages of a children's Bible.

"You have been chosen as the first on Earth to receive the message, but you will not be the last. Judgment Day is near. Soon, the Messiah will take human form and walk among you. Behold the image of the Messiah." In the air beside her, a face appeared. "Remember, the meek shall inherit the Earth, and the nonbelievers will perish. Prepare yourselves to meet your maker."

As suddenly as the angel and the image had materialized before the people, they vanished. An Italian woman fell to her knees before the Shrine and crossed herself. An American family walked away smiling, satisfied that the special effects were up to what they would expect from such a famous attraction. Several opportunists urgently sent texts with the photos they'd just taken on their phones, while others simply continued to stare in bewilderment at the recently animated space, uncertain about what they'd seen or heard.

And the one among them, who was not at all what she appeared to be, noted each of their reactions for the report to her superior.

Chapter 1

Innerworld—Planet Terra (Earth)

Cherry Cochran screamed at the top of her lungs as the man-eating, two-headed lizard caught sight of her. Tied to a tree as she was, there was very little else the petite brunette could do. She took a deep breath and let out another blood-curdling cry for help.

That scream, along with a lengthy list of other impressive talents, had propelled her to stardom. This particular performance—playing a damsel in distress—was one she had done so many times, it could no longer be called improvisation. She and most of the other actors and actresses who worked in the Innerworld Indulgence Center's Fantasy World tended to groan when this reenactment was requested. There was simply no challenge to playing out a fantasy where they all knew precisely what the others were going to say and do at any given moment.