A Timeless Affair Box Set (SciFi Dragon Alien Romance) E-Book

Mac Flynn

• Herausgeber: Crescent Moon Studios, Inc.
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

The complete A Timeless Affair series featuring all three ebooks!

Allie is a normal woman with a normal life, but one day she decides to take fate into her hands and have a little adventure. That choice leads her down a blue-colored rabbit hole and into a new world, and also into the arms of a handsome and mysterious stranger. Together the two learn about life and love, and what it means to be the world to another person.

Leseprobe

A TIMELESS AFFAIR BOX SET

A SCIENCE FICTION FANTASY ROMANCE

MAC FLYNN

Copyright © 2022 by M. Flynn

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

* * *

Want to get an email when a new book is released? Sign up here to join the M. Flynn Newsletter, the online newsletter with a bite!

* * *

Wanting to find the rest of the series and check out some of my other books? Hop over to my website for a peek!

CONTENTS

The Companion of Time

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

The Haunting of Shaft 3

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

The Future of Memories

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Continue the adventure

Other series by M. Flynn

1

What if. A question that haunts dreams, a companion that waits at the crossroads of everyone’s what was and what could be. Every choice, every action is decided by a roll of the dice, and what-if is the arbiter of those dice. Fate is the thrower and grants a mirage of choice to the individual who watches as their choices are tossed into the unfathomable abyss of what-ifs.

Sometimes, though, in a fleeting moment, the choice belongs to you.

“Watch out!”

A screech of car wheels echoed up and down the street. A man snatched a woman’s hand and yanked her out of the way as the vehicle came to a stop where she had tried to cross. The woman stumbled against a fire hydrant and spilled some of the drink out of her cup. The brown tinged water struck the sidewalk and the scent of cocoa wafted to everyone’s nostrils before the odor of exhaust overwhelmed it.

The man loomed over her, anger and fear on his face. “You need to watch where you’re going!” he snapped.

The woman turned around and revealed her twenty-something face to him. Her youthful appearance was framed by mid-length brown hair and bright brown eyes. She wore a plain white blouse and black pants that hung loose on her slim and petite frame.

The young woman shrank under the scolding look of her savior. “I-I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Well, pay attention next time!” he snapped as he tossed her hand away from him. He turned and marched away. “Damn idiots always on their cell phones…”

The woman ran a hand through her hair and happened to catch sight of the cell phone tucked safely in the purse that hung over her shoulder. “I can’t even use that as an excuse…”

Her eyes ghosted over her wrist and widened. The woman’s heart skipped a beat and she rushed off down a sidewalk crowded with early-morning pedestrian traffic. The clock that hung high above the throngs of humanity struck the nine o’clock hour. Not enough time. She was going to get another earful of-

“Miss Daniel!”

The new scolding came from a woman of forty with a round face and bright blue eyes. Her tempered black hair bounced up and down as she marched over to the cubicle where the young woman plopped herself down in her chair.

The older of the two glanced at her watch. “Five minutes late again, Miss Daniel.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” the young woman breathed out as she set her purse on the floor. “I nearly got run over and-”

“Again?” The accusatory word made the young Miss Daniel cringe. Her older companion crossed her arms over her ample chest and frowned down at her. “Miss Daniel, you used that excuse last week. At least try to think of something new when you come in late next time.”

Miss Daniel inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. No pink slip that day. “I will, I swear, Miss Schafer.” Miss Shafer arched an eyebrow and the color drained from the face of her younger compatriot. “Not that! I meant to say I won’t use that excuse!” She could have slapped herself. “I mean there won’t be a need because I won’t be late, I swear!”

Miss Shafer sighed. “I hope for your sake that you’re right. Three tardies in a month and you’re out, and these last five years will mean nothing.” She turned and strode away.

Miss Daniel’s heart sank, and she stared at the keyboard without seeing it. “Five years… has it really been that long?”

“Allie!”

Miss Daniel’s heart rate quickened from a slow waltz into a tango and she nearly leapt out of her skin. She did leap out of her chair and dropped into a heap on the floor. A face younger than hers popped into her vision. The woman sported a Cheshire grin and blue eyes that suited her long blond hair.

Allie clutched her heart and glared up at the other woman. “Do you have to do that every morning, Cara?”

Cara laughed and held out her hand. “Of course. It gets the blood rushing so you start out the day right.”

Allie sighed as she accepted her friend’s hand. “I think I’ve had enough shock today.”

Cara pulled her to her feet and shook her head. “You can’t tease me like that without telling me what happened, now ‘fess up.”

Allie dropped into her chair and told her tale of nearly being splattered on the side of a vehicle. As she finished Cara plopped herself down in the spare, bleak chair in that tiny space and leaned back. She crossed her arms over her chest and one leg over the other and frowned at her friend. “You didn’t take my advice, did you?”

Allie turned away to face her computer. “What advice?”

Cara wagged a finger at her friend. “Don’t play dumb with me, Allie Daniel. I know that you know that I know you’re not dumb, you’re just frightened.”

Allie paused mid keystroke and looked to her companion with a frown. “Frightened of what?”

Cara grinned. “Of your own shadow.” Allie cast her one last dirty look before she turned away. “Come on, Allie. I didn’t mean it like that.” Allie’s fingers flew across the keyboard. Cara grabbed the back of her swivel chair and spun her around so they faced each other. “You know what I meant. You’re afraid of change.” She raised her hand to her face and used her thumb and forefinger to make three sides of a box. “You’re afraid to take that one little shortcut I told you about-”

“It’s a back-alley full of dingy trash,” Allie reminded her as she turned back to her computer screen.

“And it chops five minutes off your walk here,” Cara countered as she leapt to her feet. “That’s fifteen minutes of your life you can keep to yourself if you just take a chance. Or you can keep nearly getting hit by a car almost every week because you don’t want to have one tiny adventure.”

Cara strode out of the cubicle. Allie typed away a few more lines before her shoulders slumped and she hung her head. “Damn it, Cara. Why do you have to be so spot-on?”

Cara popped her grinning face over the wall. “Because that’s a friend’s job.”

Allie stabbed a finger in the direction of her friend’s cubicle. “Away.”

“But-”

“Away.”

Cara rolled her eyes but ducked out of sight. Allie swiveled around to face her screen once more, but her fingers merely lay on top of the keys. Her face fell and her heart grew heavy as she thought back to what Schafer had said.

She sighed and shook her head. “Five years and I can’t even show up on time…”

And why couldn’t she show up on time? Because she was too afraid of a short alley that stretched across two blocks. Allie winced. Not exactly a gold star for effort. She returned to her desk job, but the thoughts nagged at her mind all the long workday.

When the clocks announced the five o’clock hour she stood and turned to find Miss Schafer’s hulking figure in the doorway. “I expect you to arrive on time this coming Monday, and no excuses.”

Allie nodded. “Of course.” Schafer gave her a disbelieving look but left. Allie closed her eyes and sighed.

“Stop that.” Cara’s head popped over the wall of her cubicle. “You’re blowing away all the good air.”

A ghost of a smile tinged Allie’s lips. “I’ll have to remember to install a fan next week.”

“Just don’t make it a loud one,” Cara quipped before she disappeared and reappeared in the doorway with her purse slung over her shoulder. She jerked her head toward the exit. “But let’s blow this popsicle stand before the weekend starts to melt.”

Allie and her friend left their source of income and stepped out onto the busy street. People swarmed everywhere, all eager to partake of as much weekend as they could bite into.

Cara looped her arm through one of Allie’s and turned them in the direction of Allie’s home. “So, what are you up to this weekend?” she wondered as she marched her down the sidewalk.

“Not much,” Allie replied as she looked over her shoulder in the opposite direction. “But what are you doing?”

“Walking with you.”

Allie arched an eyebrow. “But you live in the opposite direction.”

Cara shrugged. “Well, maybe I want to walk home with you just this once.”

Allie rolled her eyes. “I know what you’re trying to do, and the answer is no.”

Cara feigned shock. “Me? Trying to do something?”

“You’ll come with me and try to get me to go into that alley,” Allie accused her.

“Maybe I was, but maybe you do need a bit of an adventure.”

Allie sighed. “Listen, Car, I appreciate what you’re trying to do-”

“Do you?” Cara teased.

Allie dug her heels in into the sidewalk and they skidded to a stop alongside one of the tall buildings. She turned around and faced her friend as she clutched the strap of her bag. “I really do understand that you’re trying to get me out of my shell, but there’s just some things I have to figure out on my own.”

Cara’s face fell. “That sounds lonely, Allie, and as your friend I really disapprove of that.”

Allie clasped Cara’s hands in hers and gave her a smile. “I’ll see you Monday.” She turned and walked in the direction of her home.

“Live a little, Allie!” Cara called after her. “You might even meet a handsome guy doing it!”

Allie waved at her friend without turning around and soon had other things on her mind, like safely crossing the street. She followed the flow of traffic, but the farther she walked from the commercial district the more the crowds fell away until the sidewalk was only sparsely populated. Her footsteps rang out on the sidewalk as the buildings created an artificial horizon and blocked out the setting sun. They cast their long shadows over her and the street, and the lamps flickered on like trapped fireflies.

Soon Allie reached that spot. The point of decision. She could see the dark maw of the alley some thirty feet ahead of her on the left. Twenty feet now. Ten. Allie paused and looked down the long alley. The alley was an anomaly, being the only one along the path to her home that ran in that direction and cutting the city block in two.

She looked at the way ahead of her and then to her left. Darkness had completely settled on the city and only a single flickering street lamp shone its weak light a few feet into the alley. Allie grasped the strap of her bag with both hands and bit her lower lip. Her eyes slowly moved to the safe but longer route ahead of her.

That’s when a small light caught her attention. She paused and squinted into the darkness of the alley. There was definitely something down the way, but she couldn’t figure out what it was other than the color was of a slightly bluish tinge. Perhaps it was an LED flashlight, or a door left slightly ajar. Nothing that would really interest her, and definitely not something to risk stepping off the beaten path.

What if.

Allie took a deep breath and turned left.

2

Allie’s footsteps sounded even louder as she walked between the shadowed walls of the alley. Garbage cans seemed to rear up from the darkness, startling her enough to make her freeze before realizing her silly mistake, wherein she hurried faster down the path. Her imagination conjured up dangers real and imagined, of leering faces and grotesque shadow monsters.

“Almost halfway there,” she whispered to herself, but her mind wasn’t relieved.

The only relief was the strange light that had attracted her earlier. As she drew closer to the blue glow, she realized the light didn’t come from any of the adjoining buildings but hung close to the wall on her left. A few more steps and her curiosity changed to confusion. The light was a small orb that appeared to float without line or rope at her eye-level.

Allie stopped five feet from the glow and tilted her head to one side. The light didn’t have a hood or shade around it, and there didn’t appear to be any cord that provided the electricity. A battery-operated light came to mind, but she couldn’t see any brackets that connected the light to the wall. Indeed, there was a good foot of space between the light and the bricks.

Allie let out a yelp as light burst out of the hole and stretched the circle into a portal large enough through which she could walk. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers before the swirling beauty of that sea-blue vortex. A soft breeze came out of the light and wafted over her. Sea air stung her nostrils, and she could hear the faint noise of splashing water against a hull.

“What is it?” she whispered to herself as she, mesmerize by the gap, stretched out her hand.

Two strands of light shot out from the glow and wrapped around her wrist. Allie screamed and tried to pull her arm back, but the light dragged her closer until her fingers brushed against the swirling glow.

“Gotcha!” a voice shouted as a hairy arm stretched out of the vortex.

The stubby fingers wrapped around her arm just past the bands of light and dragged her into the vortex. Allie’s scream echoed down the alley but was cut short when the portal collapsed in on itself and blinked out of existence. The alley fell back into silent darkness.

For Allie, however, her adventure had just begun. The trip through the portal was as quick as stepping through a doorway, but the landing was much harder. The hard, broken concrete of the alleyway ground was replaced by smooth riveted plates. She tripped over her own feet and stumbled to the ground. The stench of sea water she had smelled before once again invaded her nostrils, but with more force.

A rough hand of thick, fat fingers grabbed the back of her coat collar and lifted her off the ground. She squirmed in their hold and slipped out of her coat, but her bag strap caught in the clothes, and she became entangled. Her captor looped its heavy arm around her waist and pressed her against its chest. She gagged as the stench of sweat and rotten food filled her nose.

The man grabbed the top of her head and pressed her head against her neck. “Calm down, girl, or I’ll break your pretty little neck.”

“Don’t do that,” one of the other figures snapped as they stepped into the weak light of an oil lamp.

Allie’s breath caught in her throat as she beheld a man with the snout of a pig. His ears, too, flapped about atop his head like those of aspiring bacon. The flesh on his hands and face were slightly pink, and the hands ended in fingers little more than cloven hooves with opposable thumbs.

Her captor removed his hand and her sore neck straightened out. “Bah. I wasn’t gonna do nothing, at least not when she’s worth so much.”

“We’ll have to see how much,” the pig man mused as he leaned down so he was eye-level with her. His nostrils flared as his beady eyes gave her a close inspection. “I think she’s a fine specimen, but all these ugly humans always look alike to me.”

“The spell was supposed to catch a pretty one,” a third boar-man spoke up to her left. “She looks good enough for whatever that dame wants her for.”

The pork man in front of Allie grabbed the collar of his companion and gave it a yank. His companion stumbled and fell flat on his chin with a heavy clang. “That ‘dame’ could suck us dry in a few seconds, so shut your mouth and let me do all the talking, got it?” His subordinate companions bobbed their heads in unison which caused the one on the ground to bounce his bruised chin against the steel plating.

Allie had watched this comedy of stupidity play out in horrified silence, but now that they had quieted, she took the opportunity to let them know her true feelings. She let out a terrible scream.

Two of the pig men clapped their hands over their flappy ears while her captor winced. Allie squirmed and thrashed in his hold, but his grip didn’t waver.

“Will you shut her up!” the leader snapped.

“It’s your plan to capture these human females,” her captor shot back. “I don’t know nothing about what makes ‘em tick.”

“You don’t know what makes a woman tick, even your own mum!” the leader retorted as he stalked up to Allie. He grabbed her cheeks in his fingers and squeezed her lips into a tight, painful pout. Her screaming stopped and the fear intensified as he stuck his face into hers. She could see that he had a pair of tusks slightly hidden beneath his lower lips and his breath wreaked like dead fish. “Now you listen here, human. We’re gonna take you to a nice lady who’s going to adopt you, so if you don’t want to deal with us any longer than we want to deal with you then you’d better keep your trap shut and look pretty. Got it?” Tears sprang into her eyes, but Allie nodded. He released her with a toss of her head and straightened. “Good. Now let’s go see what the buyer will pay for this pair of lungs.”

Allie was shoved ahead of her captor, and for the first time she was able to take in the other sights. She found herself on the deck of a large ship, but how large was impossible to guess because of the thick fog that covered the area in damp air. A thin metal railing curved around behind her and her frazzled mind still realized they must be at the rear or bow of the ship. Faint gas lamps illuminated a large building in the middle of the deck that she assumed was the pilot house and galley, as the smell of better food wafted over her as they passed the rear of the structure.

The group followed the wide promenade, and she was led down a flight of stairs to the lower deck. The railing stretched out beyond the upper deck so that the walkway was still opened to the sea air and the upper flooring was held up by small wooden posts spaced at perfect intervals. Cabin doors spaced some twenty feet apart now lined the walls of the central structure. Her captors pushed her down the walk and her shaking hands clutched onto the strap of her bag, her last lifeline to normalcy besides the clothes on her back.

The men, if they could be called that, stopped in front of one of the doors and the leader rapped his knuckles on the metal. The door opened to reveal a split-room cabin with a spacious seating area at the front and a door that led into a small bedroom with a bed that looked more at home in a mansion than a ship. A woman of twenty-five sat at a round table with three other empty chairs. She held a glass goblet in one hand and a look of boredom marred her beautiful face. The woman wore attire suited to the early twentieth century flapper complete with a long, beaded dress and a peacock plume tucked between a head band and her hair. Bracelets jingled about her thin wrists and high heels graced her tiny feet.

Allie’s frazzled mind couldn’t help but notice something that sat in the bedroom beyond the main room of the cabin: a coffin. Her heart skipped a beat as images of her imminent death roused within her a fighting spirit. She spun around and flung out her knee in the hopes that these pig men still had all the usual assets. They did, and her knee connected with one of the man’s balls. His eyes bulged out of his head before he collapsed to his knees. Allie dashed for the door, but the third boar man blocked her path.

The leader grabbed her arm and wrenched her back around. He yanked her against his side and lowered his lips to her ear. “Do that again and I’ll cut you open, money or no money.”

The complete conviction in his voice caused her color and fight to drain out of her.

The pig man returned his attention to their hostess who had remained seated with disinterested expression. He bowed his head and the other pigs followed, though the one Allie had injured toppled over onto the floor.

The woman lifted her patrician nose and sneered down at the pig man. “Will you please get up off that rug? It was rather expensive, and I don’t want your filthy clothes to stain it.”

The pig man struggled to his feet, and his companion was forced to help him. Together they backed up behind their leader and followed him as he pulled Allie to within a few feet of the table. He shoved her in front of him and she stumbled. Her legs knocked against the table and rattled the furniture.

The woman lowered her glass and narrowed her gray eyes. Allie’s breath caught in her throat when she noticed the woman’s sharp fangs poke out from under her upper lip. The contents of her cup had stained the glass a deep red, and a pungent rust odor struck her nostrils.

The woman curled her lips up into a sneer and the move accentuated her long teeth. “What is this thing?”

“The companion you ordered us to bring to you,” the pig leader explained.

The woman stood and stalked around to stand behind Allie. Allie stiffened as she felt cold breath waft over the back of her neck. The woman’s voice curled over the tiny hairs and caused a shudder to run through her body. “This ugly little frightened thing? What use would she be as a companion?”

Some of the color drained from the pig man’s face. “She just came through the portal and I’m sure she could be trained-”

“Don’t try to be smarter than me,” the woman scolded him as she strutted back to her chair and set a hand on the back to face them. “You haven’t even lived one lifetime while I have several, though even half that amount could tell me you have brought some wench from a dumpster to pass off as a companion.”

The pig leader frowned. “We had a deal. We bring you a girl through the portal and you pay us.”

The woman narrowed her eyes and her grip on the chair tightened. Allie could see cracks appear in the wood frame beneath her hand. “Are you challenging my judgment?”

The pig man shook his head. “N-not at all!”

The woman raised her glass to the door behind them. “Good, now get her out of here.”

“B-but you paid for the portal,” the pig man reminded her as he gestured to Allie. “Maybe you want to keep her around or something?”

The woman turned her back on the group and shrugged. “She means less to me than the air I no longer breath, so take her with you.”

The pig leader bowed his head and grabbed Allie’s arm. He tugged her out of the room and his two compatriots quickly scuttled after him. They shut the door behind them and gathered in a group.

The one who held Allie whipped his head to her and his lips curled back in a snarl. “You bitch!”

He flung her forward and she crashed into the railing. Allie was thrown halfway over the railing and glimpsed the rough black waters below the ship. The fog had lifted a little, showing her that the vessel moved at a good clip and there was no land in sight.

The largest of the pig men wrapped his arms around her and yanked her away from the railing. He spun around to face his compatriots, and her captor looked over at their boss whose cheeks still bloomed with red rage. “So, what are we gonna do with her now?”

The leader’s eyes fell on Allie and his nostrils flared. “We throw her overboard.”

3

Allie’s eyes widened, as did those of the other two boar men. Her captor wrinkled his snout. “But she’s gotta be worth something. I mean, she came through that portal stuff-”

The boss spun around to face them, and his nostrils flared. “You fools! You don’t think she won’t be noticed hanging around with us, especially after you made such a ruckus about the slop they serve in the galley?”

The third boar hunched his shoulders and gnashed his teeth together. “It wasn’t fit for a rat.”

“Well, that’s got the eyes of the captain on us, so over she goes!”

“No!” Allie was surprised to find it was her own voice that had spoken up. She pressed herself against her captive’s smelly chest and shook her head. “Please don’t! I won’t say anything to anybody, I promise!”

The leader grabbed her by the collar of her coat and snorted. “Oh, we’ll make sure you don’t say a single word.”

“Stop! Please stop!” she pleaded as she thrashed in his hold.

The porkers dragged her back to the rear of the vessel where the soft waves of the ship’s wake lapped against each other. One of them clapped their pudgy hand over her mouth to stifle her screams. The black, murky waters splashed below her as her lower half was lifted over the railing. Allie shut her eyes and pushed the tears out. They ran down her cheeks and dropped into the endless expanse of water that would take her to death.

“What are you doing with that young woman?

The men froze and spun around, yanking Allie away from the precipice of her death. Allie followed their gazes and beheld an elderly woman somewhere around eighty. She sat in the darkness of the eaves of the deck porch, and her pale features stood out starkly from the shadows. This woman, too, had terrible red eyes and canines that were just a little too long.

The leader of Allie’s captors snarled at her. “None of your business, now get lost.”

“I am making it my business,” the woman snapped as she rolled into full view.

The stranger wore a black vest over a white blouse, and an ankle-length skirt with folds covered her lower half. She rolled silently with her heeled shoes planted on the chair’s pedals and her short gray hair bobbing up and down against her ears as she dipped a little to spin the wheels.

The old woman stopped a few feet from the group and didn’t flinch when one of them raised his hand to swat at her. “Get out of here,” he hissed.

She cast such a hard, dangerous look at him that he froze mid-strike and his eyes widened. He shrank back and she returned her attention to the others. They, too, were a little cowed by their companion’s sudden surrender. “Whatever intentions you have for her, I will take her from your hands.”

The leader stepped up to her and puffed out his ample, but flabby, chest. “Are you saying you want to buy this scrawny creature?”

The old woman looked Allie over and smiled. The gesture was soft and at once eased some of the young woman’s terror. “Yes, I believe I would.”

The leader eyed her with a piggish look. “And what would you pay for such a treasure? Mind you, I only just recently refused the offer of Madam le Boyer.”

The strange woman scoffed. “And yet I now find you just about to throw her overboard. Is she to be kept in the waters until you find a proper offer?”

The piggish man shifted feet and wrinkled his brow. “Yes, well, we were just showing her the view.”

“And I’m sure she’s done seeing it, so if you would take this-” She drew out a small wallet from inside her vest and opened the fold. An unfamiliar currency popped out, but from the way their eyes popped out I knew she was loaded. “-then we will finish this arrangement and you ‘gentlemen’ will leave her to me,” the woman commented as she drew out a few bills and handed it to the leader.

He looked over the bills and grinned before he tucked them into his pocket. “She’s all yours.” He nodded at his man who held Allie, and the ‘gentleman’ pushed her forward.

Allie stumbled, but the old woman caught her at her side and cast a warning look at Allie’s former captors. “Thank you, gentlemen. Now if I so much as see you looking at this young woman again, I swear on the grave of my sire I will tear out your eyes.” The men winced as though physically struck, but she ignored their reactions and instead smiled down at Allie. “Come,” she whispered as she draped her thin arm across Allie’s waist and turned them away from the men. “Let’s get you something to eat, hmm?”

Allie felt like she was sleepwalking in a nightmare as the strange woman guided her down the long left-hand promenade and stopped them at a door halfway down. Her savior swung it open before she rolled back and gestured to the interior.

“After you, my dear.”

Allie shuffled into the cabin and found it was identical to that of Madam le Boyer, even with the coffin in the back room. The difference was in the atmosphere as the woman followed her inside and closed the door. There was none of the coldness as the other room. Perhaps it was the little touches, like the basket of flowers on the table or the handwoven blanket thrown over the couch.

The woman gestured to said couch. “Do have a seat. You look so pale that I half wonder if you aren’t ready to become one of us.” Allie stiffened and felt more blood drain from her face. The woman sighed and patted her hand. “You really have had a trying time, haven’t you? Don’t worry about my-ahem, appetite. I have all the blood I need in the fridge. Now then-” She tapped Allie on the rear in the direction of the seating area. “Go on and sit down before you collapse, and I’ll see what I can do for your food.”

Allie stumbled forward but caught herself and shuffled over to the couch where she reluctantly took a seat. She rubbed her cold hands together as her eyes darted over the room. Nothing appeared amiss outside of the coffin that she could see through the open bedroom door.

“What’s your name?” her hostess called from the little kitchenette.

“Allie.”

“That’s a wonderful name,” the woman complimented her as she poured some steaming water into a cup. She deftly turned around in her chair and wheeled herself over to the couch where she held out the mug. “This will fend off some of that chill that sank into your bones.”

Allie took the mug between her shivering hands and was surprised when the scent of chocolate hit her nostrils. “Is this-?”

Her hostess smiled. “Cocoa. Nothing like it on such a damp and foggy evening. Now then-” She wheeled herself a little backwards and set her pale hands in her lap. “-tell me a little about yourself. Your clothes-” She tilted her head a little to study Allie’s attire. “I have not seen the like on this world.”

A little color drained from Allie’s face as she grasped the mug tighter between her hands. “T-this world?”

The woman leaned back and clasped her hands together. “My, my, you are new, aren’t you? And your scent is very unlike this world, too. Do you happen to know the name of the planet from where those beasts plucked you?”

Allie swept her eyes over all the familiar, albeit dated, conveniences. “This isn’t Earth?”

The woman laughed. “Oh, very much no. This is the planet Pallido. It’s one of the prime vacation spots for vampires because the slow and uneven axis rotation means the nights last twice as long as those on Earth.”

Allie’s eyes settled on the woman’s long teeth. “T-then y-you’re-”

“A vampire?” The woman grinned and revealed her fangs. “Yes, dear.”

4

The cup shook so violently in Allie’s hands that a little bit of the warm cocoa spilled over onto one of her thumbs. She yelped and jerked her hand back.

“Oh my,” the woman lightly scolded as she snatched a napkin from the table and rolled a little closer to Allie. “Allow me.”

The woman stretched out her pale hand, but Allie shrank away. Her hostess froze and a look of pain appeared in her eyes, but the emotion was quickly swept away by kindness. She drew her hand back and lay the napkin over her lap. A smile danced across her lips as she studied the frightened woman before her. “There’s no need to be afraid. I make it a policy not to take my meals on the go. That’s quite a nuisance in someone of my-well-” She looked down at her legs. “Someone in my position.”

A twinge of regret struck Allie’s heart. “You… you can’t heal yourself?”

The woman laughed and waved off the remark. “Oh no. That is, vampires have impressive healing, but this-” She brushed one hand across her thigh and sighed. “This occurred before I was turned.”

“I’m sorry.”

The woman looked up and blinked at her guest. “Whatever for?”

“I didn’t mean to remind you of what happened.”

“Nonsense, child,” her hostess scolded her with a wave of the napkin. “I’ve become quite used to my circumstances, and it still amuses me to surprise people by my spryness. Now then-” She held the napkin out to Allie. “Take care of that spill. A little water from the sink will help.”

Allie took the napkin but didn’t stand. Instead, she grasped the cloth tightly in her shivering hand and studied the pale woman in front of her. Her voice was low and hesitant, but with a tinge of hope. “Why are you helping me?”

The vampiress leaned closer and a soft smile graced her lips as she spoke in a low whisper. “Because you need it.”

Allie’s eyes fell on the long fangs, but she swallowed the lump in her throat and managed a shaky smile of her own. “Could you… I’d like to know your name.”

The woman blinked at Allie before she leaned back and laughed. “Of course, where are my manners? My name is Lady Urbina, but you may call me Bina.”

Allie stood and gave her a strong smile. “Thank you, Bina, for everything you’re doing for me.”

Bina waved her hand at the sink. “Hurry along now and look to your thumb. And I see you have some stains on your pants.”

Allie looked down and cringed. Her clothes revealed the dustiness of the deck boards. She shivered as the memories came flooding back. “I really thought I was going to die out there.”

Bina rolled over to her and gave her hip a push toward the kitchenette. “Not on my watch, now shoo. While you do that, I’ll see what clothes I can find. You’re much too noticeable in that dated attire.”

“Dated?” Allie asked her as she looked down at herself.

“Yes. Those fibers are very much 21st century spun.”

Allie froze before she half-turned to her hostess. “What do you mean? What year is this?”

“The 23rd century.”

Allie’s jaw hit the floor. She swayed a little as the shock struck her.

“Steady!” Bina scolded her as she grabbed the young woman before she crumpled to the floor. “Let’s just get you sitting down again and have a nice little chat about the rules of time and space travel.”

“The 23rd century…” Allie muttered as she let the woman lead her in a daze back to her chair. She plopped down in the seat and stared dumbly at the table with her jaw slightly agape. “Different planet. Different century.” She cupped her head in one hand and her wide eyes dropped to the floor. “Is this a dream or a nightmare?”

Bina set a hand on the woman’s trembling shoulders and leaned her head to one side to catch Allie’s eyes. “Neither, and that puts you a very unique position and very interesting position.”

Allie lifted her head and blinked at her. “What do you mean?”

A mischievous smile slipped into Bina’s lips. “You get to find out how true the old saying ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’ is.” Allie blinked at her before a choked laugh burst from her parched lips. Bina grasped Allie’s arm and guided her to her feet. “Now let’s get you cleaned up and into some new clothes so you can drink your cocoa in comfort.”

Bina led the way to the coffin bedroom as Allie followed in a half-daze. She couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that she was centuries ahead of her own time and on a far-away planet.

Bina rolled up to an armoire and opened the doors wide. Though her hostess’ back was turned to her, Allie tried hard not to stare at the ‘bed.’ “You needn’t hide your curiosity,” Bina spoke up without turning to look at her. “I know I’d be very curious about such an arrangement if it wasn’t my own, and among the stars it pays to be curious about your surroundings. Though-” She looked over her shoulder and tapped the side of her neck. “Be mindful you don’t get too curious that you put yourself in a trap.”

Allie furrowed her brow. “A trap?”

“Or a pinch, or whatever the kids call it these days,” Bina mused as she resumed her search.

Allie noticed that the closet was full of clean-pressed pants and blouses, but there was a pair of jeans, a pair of dress pants, and two blouses of a simpler style than the ones the vampiress wore. Bina took out those sets and turned to her where she held them up. “What do you think of these?”

Allie stepped forward and rubbed the material. Though they looked like cotton, the fabric had a strange bouncy quality to them. “What are they made out of?”

“Stardust and wishes,” Bina teased as she draped the clothes over Allie’s arms. She patted the dress pants that lay on top. “Now see if these fit with one of those blouses and I’ll get to making you a new cup of warm cocoa.”

Bina rolled out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind her as she left. Allie’s attention was drawn inadvertently to the elephant, or rather, box in the room. Her face paled a little at the sight of the coffin.

Being left alone in the room with the unusual bed gave her a sense of urgency, and so she draped one set of clothes over a chair and tossed on the other. The clothes fit perfectly, and she paused long enough to admire herself in a full-length mirror. The fabric gave off a sheen that was easy on the eyes but reminded her of starlight on a still pond.

She hung the other set back in the armoire and hurried out into the main part of the cabin. Bina sat in the kitchenette but turned at the sound of the door opening. She looked Allie up and down with a soft smile. “Beautiful.”

Allie blushed as she walked up to her. “I’m just lucky the clothes fit.”

Bina looked at her empty hands. “You needn’t have put the other set away. They’re for you, as well.”

“But I couldn’t-”

“Nonsense,” Bina insisted as she returned her attention to the cocoa. “If we’re to be companions then I want you to be dressed comfortably and fashionably.”

Allie looked down at herself. “And this is the latest fashion in the 23rd century?”

“More or less but I generally am a few decades behind the times,” Bina admitted as she held out the cocoa mug to Allie. “The advantage of being an old vampire, however, is one needs only to wait until the old fashion comes full circle, and then I just need to dig deep into my closet for something fashionable to wear.”

Allie cupped the mug in her hand and studied the older woman. “Are you that old?”

Bina laughed. “Quite old, even for a vampire. Many people are amazed that I have never bonded with another.”

Allie tilted her head to one side and arched an eyebrow. “Bonded? Like made friends?”

Bina shook her head. “No, dear. Bonding, or to be more precise, blood bonding-” She paused and gestured with one arm at the table. “But perhaps you should sit down for this.”

Allie took a seat while Bina rolled up to park close beside her. She leaned back and cupped her hands in her lap. “Blood bonding is a very old and very intimate ritual between an immortal such as me and a human like you.”

“Were you once human?” Allie asked her.

Bina laughed. “Of course, my dear. No other species in the galaxy can become a member of the undead. That makes the blood bonding all the more unique. A vampire gives their blood to a human to prolong their life and grant them greater speed and strength, but in return they must protect the vampire during the day, and even most nights.”

Allie winced. “It doesn’t sound like they get much sleep.”

Bina shook her head. “No, but-” A horn rang out. The vampiress shot up in her chair and frowned up at the ceiling. “What in the world are those fools doing now?”

Allie’s pulse quickened. “What’s wrong? Isn’t that the foghorn?”

Her hostess shook her head. “No. That’s the signal that we’ll be coming to port soon.”

5

Allie blinked at her. “Shouldn’t we be-?”

A light flickered in the middle of the room and the holographic figure of a middle-aged man appeared in the cabin. He wore a uniform and sported a clean-cut beard. “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that the ship will soon be docking at Porta Tetro. I apologize for any inconvenience this may bring and promise to reimburse any lost connections off the planet. Have a good evening.”

The image flickered before it disappeared.

Bina clasped her hands together and frowned at where the hologram had appeared. “What in the world are those idiots doing that for?”

“The ship can’t dock there?” Allie asked her.

Bina shook her head. “That isn’t what’s wrong. We’re not supposed to stop at all until we reach Porta Prima.”

Allie looked from the port holes back to her hostess. “What’s wrong with that?”

Bina pursed her lips as she studied her guest. “Porta Prima is only a few hours away as the crow flies, but two days’ time on this voyage.” Allie blinked at her. “The ship sails with the shadow of the planet in order to allow its sun-averse guests as much time as possible to enjoy the journey. However-” She furrowed her brow and gripped the wheels on her machine tighter. “This detour also means this trip will take much longer than I anticipated. If we’re docked more than an hour the morning will reach the ship.” She turned her attention for a moment to the port hole and her far-away voice showed Allie that she was more talking to herself than her. “Something terrible must have happened to force this detour.”

“I still don’t understand why it’s bad that the sun will rise,” Allie persisted.

Bina sighed. “It means you must stay here while I sleep. Do you understand?”

“In here?” Allie asked her as she swept her eyes over the cabin. “Or on the boat?”

“My cabin,” Bina explained as she rolled away from the table and over to one of the port holes. Her eyebrows crashed down at the scene that the hole revealed. “The sun will rise in a few hours.” She looked over her shoulder at Allie and her expression softened. “Little time to enjoy one another’s company.” Allie blinked at her, but the vampiress laughed it off. “No need to worry. I can see the fog’s lifting, so there won’t be any more attempts on your life, at least for tonight.”

A great part of Allie wasn’t comforted by those words.

Bina looked askance at her guest and her expression softened. “No harm will come to you so long as you remain by my side. This I promise you with all my life.” A mischievous smile tickled the corners of her lips. “Well, what life I have in me.”

Allie had to force her hand from reaching to protect her throat. “Can you… do you make your own kind?”

“You’re asking if I intend to make you into my eternal companion? The answer is a very definite ‘no.’” Bina brushed a wrinkle out of her skirt before she looked down at herself and sighed. “As many adventures as I’ve had, I wouldn’t give this life to another.” She lifted her eyes up to Allie and there was a strange spark in them. The look didn’t frighten Allie, but she couldn’t read it. “Especially you.”

“Me?” Allie repeated.

Bina shook herself and smiled. “I’m sputtering nonsense, aren’t I? And you must be bored of it.” She smiled as she swept a hand around the room. “Go on. Look around as you please, and when you tire of that we’ll go on deck and see those sights.” She leaned back and admired the young woman. “It will be interesting to see through a pair of young eyes for once.”

Allie stood and took a stroll around the room. The cabin had little unique furnishings other than the style being of such an antiquated date. However, something personal on the end table beside the couch caught Allie’s attention. It was a picture frame. She stooped and studied the photograph. The picture was faded from years of exposure, but she could see the shot was of a crowd of people that mingled in a large square. Large stone buildings surrounded the huge outdoor space.

“That is a very old photograph,” Bina spoke up with a voice that revealed her fond affection for the object. “I took it about a century ago, I think, in one of the piazzas in Italy.”

Allie looked over her shoulder at her hostess. “What were you trying to take a picture of?”

Bina nodded at the picture. “Pick it up and look closely. Do you see a man in the left background?”

Allie did as she was bidden and picked up the frame. She studied the left side of the photo and her eyes fell upon a man of somewhere around thirty. He leaned his back against a portico column. The structure cast most of him in shadows, but Allie could see there was a look of boredom on his features not unlike the expression Madam le Boyer had shown toward her. She couldn’t be sure of the expression, however, as he wore a pair of goggle-like glasses that completely hid his eyes.

Allie looked up at her hostess. “You mean the man against the column?”

Bina nodded. “Just the one. “What do you think of him?”

Allie returned her attention to the picture and shrugged. “He’s nice enough. Who is he?”

“Just a drifter who rarely ever stands still long enough for his picture to be taken,” Bina told her as she rolled over to the kitchenette. She drew a decanter from the fridge and a wine glass from the cupboard. The liquid was red and had a rust-tinged scent to it. Allie noticed the contents of the decanter splashed a little as Bina’s hand shook. She set the wine glass on the counter and set her free hand over her other shakier one but retained her smile at the young woman. “It took me quite a few years to capture even that poor photograph.” Her eyes darted up to the young woman at her side and a crooked smile slipped onto her lips. “Handsome, isn’t he?”

“I suppose,” Allie agreed as she set the picture back down.

The old woman chuckled. “Spoken like someone who believes they have no chance with the fellow, or-” She paused and raised a teasing eyebrow, “-perhaps you prefer men of greater build?”

“Neither.” Allie answered as she moved away from the photo. Bina smiled as she poured herself a drink but didn’t reply.

Allie stopped near the door and looked out one of the port holes. Darkness and water were all she could see. A pale man in a top hat and tails strolled by followed by a younger man with some complexion. The younger man wore a tweed jacket and knickers with the soft shoes she would expect to find on a caddy.

Allie half-turned to her hostess who had rolled back to the table with her glass in hand. “Is this really the 23rd century?”

Bina set her glass on the table and chuckled. “The surroundings hardly suit such a century, do they? The ship was designed to mimic a luxury cruise liner from the early twentieth century. Even the chimney stack is just for decoration, and the smoke courtesy of a hologram.” She cast a look of disgust at the kitchenette. “The imitation is sometimes too good.” She raised her arms and shrugged. “But I suppose going on these cruises reminds me to be grateful for the modern conveniences, and to never style my kitchen in such a drab manner.”

Allie turned to face the cabin and surveyed her surroundings. “So, if this is another planet then humans can explore space?”

Bina smiled. “You’re curious about the level of technology from your own century.” She paused and cast a raised eyebrow at her guest. “What century are you from?”

“The twenty-first.”

The vampire leaned back, and a gentle smile graced her lips as she swished the red contents of her glass. “The twenty-first. What an exciting century that was, and what a nuisance! I remember having to pack a dozen passports just to get halfway around the world. In early centuries I would have been able to travel around the whole of the world with nothing more than a map and my pocketbook.”

Allie’s eyebrows shot up. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to know one should never ask a woman’s age,” Bina teased as she sipped her drink.

Bina didn’t venture any further information, so Allie resumed her survey and peeked into the bedroom again, but didn’t venture inside. Not with that ‘bed’ in there.’ She finished her exploration back at the table where Bina had emptied most of the contents of her glass. Allie resumed her seat but couldn’t help but catch a few quick looks at the ‘drink’ of her hostess.

“It’s blood,” Bina confirmed before she downed the last of the fluid. She set the empty glass on the table and wrinkled her nose. “Though of a vintage I must remember to throw out. Now then-” She set the glass on the table and smiled at her companion. “Shall we go have ourselves a stroll?”

Allie cast a fearful look at the door and wrapped her hand around her neck. “You said there were other vampires on board? More than just you and Boyer?”

“Most of those in the cabin are vampires, and you might recognize us from these-” She pointed a sharp fingernail at one eye. “Gray eyes. After our… change we are granted heightened sight during the dark, but all our eyes have this color.”

“Then will the other vampires… will they-?”

Bina shook her head. “So long as you are with me, none will dare touch you. Now come. Let’s enjoy the night air while it still lasts.”

6

Allie and Bina strolled out onto the lower deck and Bina led her to the railing. She was reluctant to follow after her last visit to the barrier, but she inched her way over to the metal posts. The arms of the ocean gently lapped at the sides of the ship at the bow cut through the water.

Bina looked ahead of them and pointed at some twinkling lights on the distant horizon. “Those are the lights of Porta Tetro. It’s a city of some ten million people, many of them vampires.”

Some of Allie’s color drained from her face. “There are that many vampires?”

Bina chuckled. “You needn’t worry. The population is so high because most of the vampires in the universe live on Pallido. Killing humans is also forbidden and were we to attack them we would be wiped out within a matter of days.”

Allie’s eyes widened. “How?”

“Solar guns,” Bina explained as she bowed her head and sighed. “During the last great war between the humans and vampires a century ago the humans invented a gun capable of firing bullets infused with solar energy. A small graze will kill a young vampire. A direct bullet strike will kill an older one.”

“Even you?” Allie wondered.

Bina wrapped her left hand around her right arm and pursed her lips as she looked out on those bright lights. “Not quite, but one is left with a heavy burden of pain and regret.” She winced and clenched her teeth. “Blast it all…”

Allie grasped the back of the woman’s chair and watched the vampiress’ whole body shiver. “Are you okay?”

“Quite… quite alright,” Bina assured her as she sat up straight, though not without some effort, and dropped her hands into her lap. She looked up and gave Allie a bitter smile. “Even vampires have their moments when time catches up to us. A drink usually alleviates such reminders, but it seems that staying up on this long night has taken its toll on my body.”

Allie gestured to the cabin door. “Should we go back inside?”

Bina shook her head. “I really am quite well, though I’ll have to retire earlier than I’d hoped.” She returned her attention to the twinkling lights. As they’d spoken the lights had grown larger and now Allie could see the dark outlines of tall skyscrapers. “If we remain in port long enough, perhaps we can take a walk among those streets. The vampire culture is very old and very long-lived. You can see medieval shops beside modern office buildings, and people call out with all the accents of a thousand years of language.”

Allie stepped up to the railing and draped her folded arms over the top. A small smile played across her lips as she shook her head. “Cara is never going to believe this.”

“Cara?” Bina asked her.

“My friend back-well, back on Earth in my time,” Allie explained. A small smile touched her lips as she thought back to her jovial friend. “She’d believe a lot of things, but this’ll probably be too much for her.” Bina looked out to the dark waters and pursed her lips. The oppressive silence between them made Allie’s pulse quicken. “What? What’s wrong?”

Bina leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I’m afraid returning you to your home will be… difficult.”

Allie’s eyes widened and panic struck her. “What do you mean? Can’t I just go through the portal like last time?”

Her hostess pursed her lips. “You traveled here through a portal?”

Allie nodded. “Yeah. Isn’t that how most people space and time travel?”

A dark cloud settled on Bina’s brow and her tone came out sharper than before. “Those stupid brutes… what were they thinking?”

Allie knelt beside the chair and grasped the arm, more to keep a firm hold on her increasingly fraught sanity than to steady herself. “What’s going on? Can’t I go back through the same portal?”

Bina’s expression softened as she set her cold hand atop one of Allie’s own. “I’m sorry, but no. Portals are a fickle means of transporting people and other things through time and space. Opening the same portal could throw you to any point in time, and even beyond the existence of the universe.”

Allie took a few shuddered breaths. “But they caught me somehow. Why can’t that work again?”

Bina pursed her lips. “Poachers such as them use science so far advanced that they think it’s magic. To believe that they can return you back to your old life is… not a good idea.”

Tears sprang into Allie’s eyes as the full rush of her predicament collapsed on top of her. “No.” She stood and took a few steps back, all the while shaking her head. Her bleary eyes could hardly see the pity-filled expression on her companion’s face. “No. There has to be a way back.” She lifted her eyes to the deck and the faraway lights. Determination mixed with her fear as she balled her hands into fists at her side. “I’ve got to find it.”

Allie strode forward, but Bina caught her wrist. The vampiress’ strength stopped Allie dead in her tracks, as did her red-eyed look. “What do you intend to do? March your way across the universe until you find a way home? You won’t even reach the other side of Tetro before the authorities catch you for being un-bonded.”

Allie frowned. “What do you mean? Is that part of what we were talking about earlier about the blood bond?”