Defying Gravity Read online

  They dashed for the spacecraft. Explosions burst around them, but landed just behind. One blast forced their hands apart. He flew along the uneven path, taking himself farther away from her. Her lips parted to tell him to wait, but she couldn’t get the words out before she tripped, tumbling antennae over boots onto her back. She squeezed her eyelids tight while preparing for death.

  If only she still had a chance at that kiss . . .

  His hand caught hers again and yanked her up as a crater appeared where her head had been. They stumbled forward. The Earthlings closed in.

  She peered over her shoulder and wished she hadn’t. Hundreds of Earthlings chased them. They would never reach the ship in time. “They’re too close.”

  “We’ll make it.” He tossed her over his shoulder and leapt the last few yards toward the space cruiser.

  Her head knocked against his back—and gave her a nice view of his firm behind—as she focused upon their captors. A bolt of terror shot through her body, sending icy prickles through her hair. They’d never make it. Her antennae quivered, and her vision blurred from dizziness.

  When he placed her back down, she teetered on her feet. This spacecraft was a quarter in size to the SS Perseid. She was no engineer, but it appeared relatively unharmed, except for a blackened, crumpled spot at its nose. Oh, no. Recognition plunged her to the days before the crash.

  “I spoke to you before the Perseans attacked. We hit your ship first,” she said.

  “Not now.” He opened the hatch, shoved her inside, and entered behind her. His muscles bulged as he heaved the door closed and locked it. “Come on.”

  She followed him with wide eyes. This craft amazed her. Whereas the SS Perseid was cold, white, and sanitized, this vessel warmed her with colors. Rich blue tinted the walls, and purple coated the floor. Yellow splashed across the ceiling. The control room was smaller than the SS Perseid’s, too, just enough room for a captain and a co-captain. Actual controls spread over a panel. There was no reason to hide anything here.

  The oval-shaped window gave them a view of the field and Earthlings. A red beam sprayed the spaceship’s nose with dirt. Ice flowed through her veins again as panic sent her pulse pounding in her head.

  “Hurry,” she said, barely hearing the word over the roar of her horror-stricken blood.

  His fingers raced across the control screens. The light panel was on, but nothing would start. He growled, pressing more buttons. The engine rolled over, but it stalled. “We’re out of power.”

  She shrieked and twisted away from the glass when a beam struck the ship. Metal sizzled, and the blast rocked them. “Do you need electricity?”

  “Yes. Merdre!” He banged his fists on the panel. Then, he paused and his eyes widened at her words. He grasped her hand once again. The gesture seemed so easy between them, like the last two puzzle pieces fitting together. They fled down a long corridor to the back of the ship.

  Equipment and panels filled the engine room. In the center, a perfect sphere hovered in the air. Two gray spokes protruded from the darkened orb. He placed her hands on these spokes, and once again, his touch sent a hot surge flowing through her.

  “Keep holding them. Your electricity should charge the sphere, and we’ll be able to escape.” He released her and turned to leave.

  “Where are you going?” Her voice rose in pitch as another explosion nearly knocked her to the floor.

  “I’m going to fly us out of here.”

  His feet pounded down the hall and away from her. Another blast shook the entire ship. She took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes. He trusted her to do this, and warmth flowed into her heart and vanquished the fear.

  Here goes nothing. She turned the jewel in her choker.

  Her soft light illuminated the small room. She grasped the spokes as her electricity poured into them and within the sphere. The area sizzled with energy. Lightning bolts erupted from the ball as it lightened from dark gray to a brilliant white. The engine turned over, went off, rolled again. The spaceship rumbled to life. The propulsion tanks deafened her as she released the spokes. The sphere grew brighter and brighter.

  A smile played on her lips while she twisted the stone back in place. Her blue light no longer competed with the white.

  “We did it.” She shimmied her body in a happy dance as the cruiser lifted.

  Boom!

  The explosion threw her in the air. She landed upon her knees as the craft bounced upon the ground before shooting off again. Her head struck against the wall, and her vision filled with stars. Were they in space yet? She crawled forward before mind-crushing gravity shoved her into the abyss.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Alezandros’s hair danced and he flicked his tongue when Linia restored the energy to the cruiser. All the panels lit up, and the ship rose from the ground. The Earthlings blasted laser beams at them, but the ship was too fast. They busted through Earth’s atmosphere and into outer space.

  Stars twinkled light years away. The solar system’s star shed light upon the dying planet below them. He was more than ready to leave Earth far behind, so he turned the ship toward a reddish planet in the distance. The rest of space loomed in inky blackness, but he didn’t care.

  They were alive. They had escaped. Best of all, Linia was on board with him.

  He chuckled to himself at his enthusiasm to be with a Persean, but he was. Oh, so happy. She brought warmth to him unlike any Medusan woman could. She stirred his body, his soul. She was adventure personified.

  She hadn’t returned to the cockpit either.

  A tendril of fear ensnared his happiness and squeezed it tight. His fingers flew over the controls, and he set their course toward nearby Andromeda. Then, he unbuckled the belts and leapt from his seat.

  His footsteps echoed along the corridors. With each step, his worry grew until he was sprinting toward the engine room.

  “Linia?” His voice rose in pitch as the doors parted.

  She lay on the floor with her head resting against the wall. A dark liquid smeared against the painted chrome, and his heart skipped a beat. He collapsed on his knees beside of her.

  Her eyes were closed. Blood trickled down a bruising cheek. His hand hovered above her head. Please, don’t be dead. They’d come so far. He loved her. A tear splattered upon her hair, darkening the strands.

  “Linia,” he asked again as he brushed his hand through her silky hair.

  Her eyelids fluttered, and he noticed the faint movement of her chest.

  She was alive.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Gentle hands shifted her as Linia opened her eyes. Where was she? She jerked upon seeing Alezandros, but then the memories of what happened settled upon her, weighing her down.

  “Did we make it?”

  “We’re in space.” He brushed his fingertips against her cheek before he caressed her head. She winced at the tenderness of the spot. He showed her his dark bluish-red tinged fingers. “You’re bleeding.”

  She felt the wound, and her breath burst from her in a fine hiss. “I suppose I am.”

  “I can fix it.” Eagerness seeped into his voice while he placed his hands on her cheeks. He leaned forward, and she trembled at his closeness. She’d never been quite this close to a male before him, and it excited and scared her in ways she couldn’t comprehend.

  “I won’t harm you.”

  She believed him as his breath fluttered against her hair. When his cool, damp tongue darted over the gash, she gasped.

  “All better.” His voice rumbled against her temple.

  With a shaking hand, she fingered the wound. It was no longer bleeding. “Amazing,” she whispered as their eyes met. His slithering-like hair stroked her face. They were so, so close. Would she get a second chance at that kiss? Her breath hitched when he bridged the gap. His lips pressed against hers. She could’ve sworn her heart halted a beat before speeding up.

  The kiss warmed her all the way to her toes. Her mouth tingled.
Passion drove away the last bit of fear. Her antennae flashed a deeper blue, almost purple, and buzzed with energy. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer while their tongues danced together. His body temperature was cooler than hers, but they balanced each other perfectly.

  When he broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead against hers. “What are we going to do?”

  She brushed her fingers along his cheek. It appeared smooth, but felt rough. Alezandros was so different from her, but she had grown to care about him—maybe even love him—all the same. They had survived and saved each other. She gnawed on her lower lip while remembering how horrible her people had dealt with him, how terrible his people had treated hers.

  “I’m sorry for what we did. I didn’t know what our true mission was,” she said in a quiet voice.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He lifted her to her feet, and they strolled down the corridor. A smile made his lips nearly vanish. “I knew you didn’t know. I could tell in your voice you didn’t hate us just because we’re Medusans.”

  “I should hate you, though.” She paused, standing before the control room and studying him.

  “But you don’t, do you?” His penetrating gaze rooted her to the spot.

  “I think I’m falling in love with you.” Heat singed her face at the admission. It was so wrong, but so right, and she felt confused by it all. Could love come so quickly and steal her heart like a thief in the night? She thought it had, even when stone parted them.

  “Don’t be embarrassed.” He kissed her hand and led her to her chair before sitting too. “You Perseans aren’t all bad.”

  She saw the smile on his face and grinned. Out the window, stars winked at them. A red planet loomed upon the horizon as they hurtled through space.

  “I don’t think they will understand,” he said, touching a strand of her hair.

  “Understand what?” Her voice was small and timid. She thought she knew what he was referring to, but she had to hear it from him. She had to believe and trust.

  “How a Medusan could fall in love with a Persean and vice versa.”

  Her heart sang at his announcement. Love bloomed inside her, but he was right. Their peoples would never understand. The blossoming bud started to close. It would’ve been better for her to fall in love with someone like Griffon, but he had been nothing like Alezandros. A Medusan wouldn’t be welcomed on Persea. She couldn’t survive living on Medusa, if it was like that forsaken Earth. Her shoulders slumped, and her antennae drooped so far down they disappeared into her mass of hair. Tears blurred her vision.

  “It’ll never work out,” she said without hope.

  He swiveled his chair and hers, so they faced each other. His lips captured hers, and her heart swelled through the sadness. “We don’t have to return home.”

  His words were tempting. She wanted to be with him, but she considered her parents, her friends, her lovely Persea. The thought of never returning home stabbed her in the heart and ripped it into two.

  “I don’t think I could stay away forever,” she said.

  He embraced her and pulled her into his lap. “Not forever. When are you supposed to be back?”

  “A solar year.” Her eyes narrowed, questioning him.

  “Until then, we have a year to brave new worlds, explore the galaxies.” He entangled his fingers in her hair. His face was so close she could feel his breath upon her lips. “There is a friendly planet in Andromeda. It wouldn’t take long to travel there.”

  “What about your sister and nephews?”

  He frowned and lowered his gaze. His thumb grazed her ear before he looked up with determination set in his chiseled jaw. “My sister said I should settle down with a nice girl.” He smiled again before he grew serious. “I’ll see my family again as will you. I won’t take that from us.”

  They wouldn’t have to give up their families. With her language skills, they could travel. She could see all the galaxies. She didn’t know if a year would be enough, but it might be all they had.

  When she returned to Persea, she could tell them her travels. A fluttering of excitement seized her. Perhaps her people would understand and Alezandros and she could be together! She wrapped her arms around him and caught his lips in a mind-blowing kiss that left them both hot and panting.

  “Let’s explore new planets.” She bounced off his lap and into her chair.

  He grinned and stroked her cheek. “Then, buckle your seatbelt, love. It might be a bumpy ride.”

  THE END

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank my critique partners Aubrie Dionne and Christine Rains. You’ve looked over Defying Gravity so many times you probably know it by heart. I will be forever grateful for your comments as I tackled space and romance. I would also like to thank Aubrie for the cover art. Thank you to my family for supporting my writing. Also, I never could have done this without the support of the writer community. There is no other community greater.

  And a special thank you to the reader. I hope you enjoyed what I’ve written, and I appreciate your comments and reviews.

  Thank you.

  About the Author

  A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. Her e-books include a horror novelette titled Once Upon a December Nightmare, a short story collection with authors Aubrie Dionne and Lisa Rusczyk titled The Best of Raven and the Writing Desk, and the space fantasy novelette Defying Gravity. She is a member of Valley Writers and the Virginia Writers Club.

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