Maliuth: The Reborn (10 page)

Flaura stamped the paperwork to send Emily Williams back to Earth for her
three days as a spirit. With a flash, the Terran female was gone. This one was
going to be tricky. There was so much anger in the tiny female that she
wondered, not for the first time, if this wasn’t a mistake. She almost missed
the snotty, purple tears of normal Terran females. The icy coldness Emily radiated
was definitely a different experience.

 
With a sigh, she snapped her
fingers and filed the forms away. It was too late to turn back now. She would
just have to see how it played out. If Emily missed her window, she would
retrieve her immediately for another cycle on Earth. She wouldn’t let her
become a lost particle. She had gained too much ground on that pompous Florian
to lose it now. As if thinking of the annoying male caused him to appear, he
materialized at her work desk.

“How many Earth females are you going to send to Prion?” Florian pushed
his square glasses higher onto his nose. This action just made it look as if he
was looking down at her. Which is the effect he was going for. The only thing
that dulled his snobbish appearance was the black lock of hair that fell over
his forehead.
 
“You know that Emily’s
energy won’t have the same reaction as the one you sent before.”

Flaura looked at Florian and smiled, “You are just jealous that I found a
perfect use for Earth energy. Even if it works one in a hundred times, that is
still good results.” She knew that her assessment was accurate when Florian
stood taller and straightened his sweater vest. He always did that when he was
flustered.

“I am not jealous.” He denied heatedly, “I just don’t want you to waste
good energy on your little experiment.” He looked around nervously, “What if
you get…her…attention?”

Flaura swallowed nervously, “I am not doing anything against
regulations.” To make herself feel even better she added, “She has far better
things to do than watch over the placement of a few Earth energies.”

Florian didn’t look convinced, “Don’t be so sure about that.” He looked
around, “Just be careful. I don’t want to see you get into trouble.”

“Why Florian…” Flaura looked at him astonished, “I didn’t know you
cared?”

Florian backed away a few steps, “I don’t care…” He stammered, “I just don’t
want to have to pick up the slack if you are taken off of placement duties.”

They both jumped when a new voice spoke out. “What in the Universe are
you talking about Florian? Has Flaura done something that would require me to
take her off placement duties?”

Turning in her seat, Flaura saw that the new arrival had taken one of her
favorite guises. That of a Terran grandmother. Complete with the round body,
silver hair, bespectacled face, overly large flowing dress and sandals. The
image didn’t put her at ease. This was not just a boss…she was
the
boss. In this guise, they called her
Tara.

“Of course not.” Florian was quick to try to cover his earlier statement.

“I am just working on the creative placement of some Earth energy.”
Flaura insisted.

“I have been watching the results of your last placement. There are some
very interesting possibilities for Alea on Prion. Are you sure it is wise to
add another Earth energy to the mix so soon?” Tara looked at her intently.

It was like a splash of cold water on her confidence. Biting her lip in
uncertainty, Flaura persisted. “I think that Emily is the right mate for
Galan.”

After a long pause Tara finally said, “I agree. Emily is going to be
an…interesting addition to Prion.” Without another word, she disappeared her
voice left floating in the void. “I will be watching how things evolve with
your experiment.”

Flaura couldn’t believe her good luck. She had made it through an
inspection by Tara and hadn’t been relieved of duty…or worse.

“I can’t believe that.” Florian was looking at her with a shocked
expression on his face, “You just passed an inspection…without any corrective
action recommended. It is unheard of…it is incomprehensible…it is—”

“Back to work.” Tara’s voice thundered over them.

Without a word of good-bye, Florian was gone. To Flaura’s thinking, this
might be for the best. She needed to concentrate on getting Emily to Galan now
that she had set the wheels in motion. She had a feeling that female was going
to need all the prodding she could provide. With Tara watching, there was no
way she could fail now. If she did, Emily might not be the only lost particle.

With a course of action firmly in mind, Flaura disappeared out of her
cubicle. She had work to do.

Other Titles available:

Terraneu Series

Kniam:
A Terraneu Novel (Book One
)

Knollig:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Two
)

Knaleg:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Three
)

Kneus:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Four)

Marcael:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Five)

Knadyn:
A Terraneu Novel (Book Six)

Aquadomina Series

Raife:
An Aquadomina Novel (Book One)

About the Author

What haven’t I talked about yet? I have gabbed about my two daughters.
One has her Associates degree and is going for her BA. One is working toward
her Associates degree, and then will decide on her BA. My husband and I
celebrated our 23
^rd
year of wedded bliss. (LOL…anyone who tells you
it isn’t daily work is a liar!) Our four dogs are still terrorizing the house
and I struggle daily to write around the canine fur ball in my lap. That pretty
much summarizes my life here in the Wild West!

As always, my thanks go out to everyone whose support and kindness gives
me the push to make every day matter, and to write, edit, and publish my
stories.

I wish all my readers the best in 2015 and can’t believe how fast this
year is going by! It is already the last few months of 2015 and since it’s my
favorite time of year, I am very excited!

There is a link on my webpage at
http://www.stormymcknight.com/
if you want to send me your thoughts, or sign up to be on the mailing list for
release updates and events. Also new covers, story ideas, book trailers and the
latest news are posted on my website first.

Stormy