Ghost in Her Heart

by

Autumn Dawn

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Autumn Dawn on Smashwords

Ghost In Her Heart

Copyright © 2010 by Autumn Dawn

www.autumndawnbooks.com

All rights reserved. Without limiting the
rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the
prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above
publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the
author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author
acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various
products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used
without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not
authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark
owners.

* * * * *

She’s the essence of our favorite beer labels
and tattoos, as harmless and homey as a recycled bottle of scotch
lager. ~ a dream

Prologue

“The situation is getting grim, Dagon.”

Dagon turned his back on the fire-streaked
sky. The night breeze ruffled his short dark hair, caressing his
damaged cheek with lover’s promise.

Pity it was the only lover he was likely to
have in his lifetime.

Not that he wanted a wife. Unfortunately, to
get what he did want, a wife was required.

“And you expect me to do what, Ser? Conjure
more women from vapor? Personally impregnate our few surviving
women with female babes?” His hands curled around the stone balcony
rail. It was as unforgiving as their future. Even if the women
who’d survived their enemy’s virus managed to conceive—a feat in
itself—none of them ever dropped girl children. If by some miracle
all of them gave birth the next day to twin girls, there still
wouldn’t be enough women to go around, and those babes would take
years to mature.

Ironically, they couldn’t even steal women
from their enemy, for the virus had infected their women as well,
devastating their population. It looked as if their generation’s
long war was going to end in total destruction.

The triple moons cast a pale light over
Dagon’s scarred face. The shiny acid burn ran in a narrow, long
streak from his left eye and curved behind his ear. The arc looked
like whimsical silver paint, but there was nothing smiling in
Dagon’s manner as he listened to his friend Ser’s arguments.

“We find women or we die out. I, for one, am
not willing to give up hope,” Ser leaned forward as he argued,
intent on winning.

Laser torches sprang to life as their
companions lit the darkness. There were more than a dozen warriors
gathered that night; grim veterans desperately seeking some hope
for the future.

“What of the tunnels?” an older man
asked.

“What would we do with them?” Dagon
countered. “Our enemies have the same problem as we do. Their women
will be of no use to us.” The tunnels had been useful for
teleporting into their unsuspecting enemy’s territory in
lightning-fast strikes. Unfortunately, they had developed
counter-technology and the tunnels had fallen into disuse. He
couldn’t see how they’d be any use now.

“There were rumors,” the man, Xcallion, said
slowly. “That the tunnels had been used to explore other worlds.
Worlds with no lack of women. Compatible women, who could breed
daughters.”

Silence met his words. No one wanted to speak
of their sudden hope.

“I’ve been there; to a place called Earth,”
Xcallion went on. “We were not allowed to talk about it, but I saw
the women. Some of them were very beautiful.”

The lone female among them, an aged, revered
lady called Ellyn, spoke up. “If you speak the truth, Xcallion, and
you go after these women, as I’m sure many of you are already
thinking of doing, you must find a way to do it without causing
more pain than must be.”

Still stunned by the idea of available women,
a whole world’s worth, Dagon demanded, “What do you mean?” He
wanted to find the tunnels tonight and see these women for himself.
Perhaps choose a dozen.

“Some of these women will have families,
friends, perhaps even husbands or children. You need some way of
discovering which are free to come. You can not make them leave
their husbands or babies.”

There was a general murmur of agreement.

Dagon nodded. The laws of their world decreed
a slow, painful death to a man who stole someone else’s woman.
Besides, he wanted a woman who was eager for his touch, not wasting
her energy pining for another. She’d need all her energy just to
keep pace with him. “We need a trap.”

“You are not hunting, Dagon,” Ellyn said
sharply.

“Oh, but we are. For young, lusty alien
women. It will be one of the finest hunts of our lives.”

Male laughter and appreciative murmuring
accompanied that. Already they felt hope.

It had been a long time since Dagon had felt
hope.

Heated arguing about the best way to get the
women broke out. Finally they decided to send out scouts. Once they
had more information, they would act.

“I’ve said it before, Ser. I don’t think
women are going to be attracted to something like this.” He would
have overruled the counsel’s decision if he’d had a better
idea.

They’d remained behind in the new Earth based
command center after everyone else had left, arguing over details.
There was still a lot of work to be done in preparing the site, but
the workers were eager. Already letters of invitation had been sent
out to selected marks. The women would begin arriving very
soon.

Nothing about the coming project made Dagon
feel easy.

Ser glanced up from his plans. “I agree.
Unfortunately, the elders have gotten involved. They looked at the
information and decided the best way to screen women was to pose as
a military-type academy offering incredible incentives. ‘Dreams
come true’, as they put it. A woman wants to own a home, we offer
to make it possible. She wants education, we promise it.”

“Empty promises,” Dagon said with a
frown.

“No; they’ll just take place in a different
manner and on a different world than they anticipate.”

Dagon grinned. “True. But why the pretense at
being a military academy? What if only brawny, ugly women
apply?”

“We’ll screen them,” Ser said quickly,
obviously disturbed by the idea himself. No one wanted an ugly
wife. “And the military ruse will give us a chance to give them
medical examinations. We don’t want anyone with disease. A few days
of calling you ‘sir’ will also train your woman to automatically
look to you for authority.”

“You hope,” Dagon muttered, arms crossed.
He’d seen the attitude of some of these Earth females in the two
months they’d been hunting. He was used to protecting women,
treating them with consideration. These Earth women almost demanded
a man take them in hand before they would give him an measure of
respect.

On the other hand, these American girls were
also quite relaxed in their morals. Remembered temptation heated
his blood. He was surprised at himself. One would think that he’d
have jumped at the chance to reveal in the beds of the many women
who’d offered themselves since he’d been here. Unfortunately, he
found himself strangely reticent. He could kiss them, caress their
soft and eager bodies, but always something would stop him long
before the final act. Maybe it was disgust at himself, the woman’s
easy virtue…who knew? He only knew that once a woman started
snaking her hands under his shirt, he had to disengage. Often to
her loud protests and even curses.

Most likely it was his religious training
that was hard to break free of. It was easy to follow the credo of
chastity outside of marriage when there were no women to sin with.
A part of him had always looked askance at the rule, and he’d
wondered how he’d feel if the opportunity to sin arose. Well, now
he knew.

Some virtuous piece of him had survived the
years of vicious warring. He was set on having a woman of his own
to claim and defend, and wanted to forget the hard won lessons of
deceitful women and politics. That part of him was like a starry
eyed, smooth-skinned choir boy, and would take more effort to smash
than was worth it, considering that he was about to have the pick
of their captives in a matter of weeks. He was a man. He could wait
that long.

At least he didn’t have to worry about
pleasing a woman. That niggling worry had been completely burnt
out. Now he just had to find one that wasn’t eager to share herself
with any likely male who wandered by.

Papers shuffled as Ser slid a folder out of
the haphazard pile on his desk. He handed it to Dagon, an amused
gleam in his eye. “By the way, we’ve finished our list of those in
charge of physical training. Your name is on it. As program
‘director’ we decided it would be expected.”

Tension gripped him as he looked at the list.
“The only training I know is the hard kind, Syn. These women will
not appreciate it. How will I find a wife when they will all hate
me?”

Unperturbed, Ser sent him a sly grin. “You’re
clever. You’ll think of something. Besides, it will keep them
occupied while we gather all the women. It will only be for a few
days, but we don’t want to miss any of the women who are
delayed.”

They couldn’t afford to. Once the women
started disappearing, the Earth authorities were bound to get
suspicious. They expected nearly a thousand women to arrive—an
ambitious number. It would take a great deal of manpower to handle
them, but the volunteers were more than eager to do so. If they
could get two more groups of that size in, they would have enough
women for the remnants of their population. Barely. The youth of
the next generation might have to import their own wives in a few
years, at least until the female babes of the Earth women grew up.
Thanks to their science, they would be able to assure the sex of
the children. They couldn’t afford not to be selective.

Dagon closed his eyes at the nebulous image
of the woman who would be his. Very soon, he would slake this
endless hunger. Soon, the loneliness would end. The hope of future
generations rested on him getting her pregnant as soon as
possible.

Anticipation made his blood race, his head
light. He couldn’t wait to do his part.

Chapter 1

“Girl, you need a new hobby.”

Helvana Clue looked up from her microscope
and blinked as her eyes adjusted. “This isn’t a hobby, Kelsa. It’s
my job.”

Her roommate splayed one hand on her workshop
counter and peered at her microscope slide. “How can you sit and
stare at bug guts all day? Look at this poor guy. He’s spread out
and pinned down like some sort of sadistic sex experiment.”

Her clipboard made a poor shield, but Helvana
grabbed it and jotted down a few notes anyway. “I study microbes,
insects, and lower life forms,” she said in her best ‘you are not
going to get to me’ tone.

“Bugs, girl. You study bugs.” She grimaced.
“Do you know how hard it is to fix you up with anyone decent with a
hobby like yours? And don’t call it a job. You’ve yet to get a
paycheck from it.”

Annoyed, she tossed aside the clipboard. “As
if I’m dying for a date with one of your weird friends. Thanks for
the thought, Kelsa, but no thanks. That last guy had a pierced
nipple.”

“He showed you?” Kelsa asked with a naughty
grin.

Vana grimaced. “Unfortunately. It blended in
well with his bleeding skull tattoo.”

“Yeah, but could he kiss or what?”

“Why are you pestering me?” Vana asked,
dodging the question. Of course she hadn’t kissed the guy,
especially not after he’d wiggled his pierced tongue at her. Thank
God they’d been on a double date. She’d hate to think what he’d
have been like if they’d been alone.

She braced her feet on the bottom of her
stool and scowled at Kelsa. “For that matter, you usually knock
before you invite yourself into my lab.”

“That’s because I never know what might be
running around. Remember that two foot centipede that chased me
that time?” She shuddered. Even her short blond locks seemed to
quiver.

Helvana grinned. That little breeding
experiment couldn’t have gone better. Chasing her hyper roomie
around had been a perk. “Millipede.”

“Whatever. This came for you today.” She took
an envelope out of her backpack and handed it over.