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Click hereRemembering baby Keemo's diapers and the loud complaints of Bilan's men, I laughed. "Nappies? As if the little nose bombs were going to sleep? That's funny."
"Don't laugh at me, husband. I didn't invent the slang my people use."
Calia suddenly looked at me in alarm. "Oh, dear!"
Izel pulled up her dress. "What's the matter?"
"He won't be able to shave. His beard is scratchy, even abrasive. My lord, will you stop by and get some depilatory cream?"
I nodded. "I think I have some in my desk at work. But they work best when you have plenty of water to rinse off the skin afterward. Otherwise, they can burn. You might just have to deal with me having a fuzzy face."
"This will be a hardship, I think," Calia said sadly.
Izel and I went downstairs, said goodnight to the guards -- who reported that all was quiet -- before descending into the shelter. The light was on in the latrine, but the door was partially closed so that it was dark enough to encourage sleep.
I checked on my girls. Ixma was on one of the narrow mattresses on the floor and Sisi and Mina shared the one adjacent. I had to smile. Ixma wore my gym shirt from the day before. The one Izel had worn while hugging my sweaty body lay on the empty mattress set aside for Calia. I whispered goodnight to them and to Ixma, profoundly grateful they were safe.
No sign of Cholan, but according to Doyya, she had helped restore the one cell tower and was helping repair the second one. Hopefully it will be soon.
While the cot mattresses were a good four inches thick, they weren't terribly comfortable. That's probably why they were for emergency use. And because all of us were used to sleeping with others, setting up the cots seemed pointless; we'd try to snuggle and make contact through the night. Those narrow frames barely had space for one person to twitch, much less move about in a night of normal sleep.
With a sigh, I checked my watch for its alarm, then lay down on the narrow mattress beside Janetta. Izel settled next to me on the other mattress. Janetta, whom I'd thought asleep, scooted over and put her arm around me, sighing when she was settled. Zinja scooted up behind her. Izel smiled happily as she curled into my chest.
High Guard had taken a pounding, and but for several brave defenders, my family had come perilously close to being murdered. Wit had lost his father after barely two months of having him back in his life. He'd died bravely, but he was still gone. No telling what the effect on Wit's sisters was going to be. Both of Izel's men-at-arms had given their lives to protect our home, and that said much for them. Wit and four troopers were wounded in that same cause.
While I was grateful for those who survived, I felt gratitude for those who had protected my home and satisfaction that the men that tried to take Izel and kill my family had paid the price for their arrogance.
The next few days promised to be long while we recovered from this attack and prepared for the next. Having tasted blood, Atlantis would be back. That was a surety. However, in between, I would have the answer as to who ordered this attack. I would insist on it. And then I would act.
# # #
- COMMENTS
vintageriderover 2 years agoThis is my third time through this story. I won't the time to repeat all the praise you have already received for your efforts other than to agree that every one is well deserved. Regarding your comment below about hiring a professional editor and putting out a eBook, that expense is unnecessary. You've done a fine job already in that regard. I would buy that book if it was available (preferably a print version) just as it is and I'm sure many others will do the same if it becomes available. Talk to Todd172 on this site regarding doing that, both for the income possibility but also to protect your work. More than a few authors here have discovered their work published under someone else's name. There are many fine authors on this site and some truly excellent ones. You are one of those in the second group. You deserve the credit (and income) your efforts deserve.
TJSkywindabout 3 years agoAuthorI sent an inquiry about 21.3 last night, so... who knows? Hopefully, it will be resolved soon.
NotStanley had some questions and I will answer this one. For the Greys, their interest is evolution; they are a hive species that advance incredibly slow. A society that does not brook rebellion or "thinking outside the box" can have serious blinders. Not to denigrate Japan today, but during WW2, one small group of scientists evaluated the idea of nuclear fission (atomic energy by splitting the atom). Because these lead scientists made a decision, it was accepted by every other Japanese scientist that nuclear fission was impossible. No one questioned. Now imagine this as a biological constraint with a race that shares thoughts, even somewhat like the Borg. There is no dissent. Free will is an utterly alien concept and worse, it instills fear in them and they struggle to understand it. They trade tech with Atlantis in order to experiment on humans. Draconians have their own agenda: sex slaves and food among a pre-warp civilization. Interstellar treaties keep other races from interfering. The hostility between the major powers is encouraged by their alien allies. As mentioned earlier, the Empire evicted the Greys because of their meddling and experiments with the Imperial family. Likewise, the draconians were evicted for their choice of diet as well as their rampant spying and assassinations; after almost two hundred years, they are just now becoming more open and aggressive in their agenda.
Kirfan's status will be somewhat resolved in the next chapter, 21.3. Look for more changes in 21.4.
TJSkywindabout 3 years agoAuthorTrips to the restroom across the house continue to be a struggle due to the worsening balance issues. CPAP supplies arrived and my blood sugar has dropped about 100 points; I did that by seriously cut back on carbs, though I miss having sandwiches! After almost 4 months of poor sleep, it will take a few days to really feel the improvement on the sleep side. But I will take it! On the flip side, I am pretty much unemployed these days.
I checked the night before on the story progress and discovered I am making headway. I originally thought I had over 200 pages, but while I used to be able to do math in my head, that's no longer the case. I'm just over 80 pages, a big difference. This has taken a while because I was stuck on a section, tried 4 rewrites, and ended up trimming 40+ pages. I still have some things to wrap up, and yes, Melannee will be a big part of chapter 21.4 (the final part of 21). I expect within a week I will be sending this off to my readers. While they are proofing, I will work on Bard's Tale 5.
People keep telling me they like my writing, so I'm going to take a stab at getting Book 1 professionally edited with an eye for sale as an ebook. Depending on how much the editing costs will let me know how much of a budget I have for the cover illustration.
I ask for your patience for a few weeks when all the surprises in Starlight Gleaming will be revealed.
Again, I thank you for your concerns; I am doing the best I can. Take care, stay safe, and don't assume the people you care for know how you feel -- tell them. Slainté
BigDog167about 3 years agoA little wordy and more sex than is needed in my opinion but I know everyone is different. I too have health issues so I can understand how that goes. If you do not have one already you might set up a Patreon or whatever it is called account. I am sure some of you fans will help out if they can.
TJSkywindover 3 years agoAuthorSTATUS UPDATE
I'm actually working on the stories now. Unfortunately, my health issues continue to worsen. I have been unable to work since November, and my boss has already hired my replacement. I hold no animosity there as she has a business to run and she's been very good to me. This coming year will bring a lot of personal changes. Hopefully not too many bad ones.
I had to rebuild the index of people's names and notes about them because over the summer, my computer had a hard crash and my working copy of Starlight Gleaming, including the 60-page index, became really corrupt -- every time I tried to open the file, Windows froze hard and required a power-down to start working again. The list of names is now current, and I worked on putting it together while writing 21.1 and 21.2, but the notes about places, gods, weapons, vehicles, and such are still a mess. Mostly I'm happy I was able to convert it to a text file, but right now there are over a thousand pages with a hard return at the end of each line and those have to come out. That take work and time. Ranji, Janetta, and her ground crew are at the front of the names list, but everyone else is alphabetic now and can be easily re-sorted. Some names that I thought were in there actually weren't so I fixed that oversight. At this point the list of names runs 28 pages.
My internet and phone were both down over December for about 12 days. I had about that many days when I couldn't even sit up to read much less write. Still, I managed to review some things and found a few continuity errors I'd missed earlier; most were small but the biggest one was -- exactly how old were Sisi and Mina? A few readers pointed out that the girls had aged two years, not one, and when I went back to where the girls first arrived, I discovered my readers were right. Dang!
I'm working on Starlight Gleaming 21.3 (which has a lot happening, and I might need to make it four parts instead of three); I'm also working Bard's Tale 5 (the Whisper Winds make their journey to the capital and it's been more than a year since there's been a chapter there). I'm also preparing Starlight Gleaming Book 1 for professional editing (half-way done with that).
Some of the things happing in 21.3 include the return of Charunt, Izell's brother makes his move, several women troopers and their children are kidnapped, Melannee makes a significant appearance, and a few other surprises are planned. The main issue thus far has been the first big battle scene had some tactical and timing issues, and I've had to do a few rewrites. The review is nearly done so I can start adding in all the planned chaos into a readable story.
With no job, I hope I can get Book 1 edited and with a fancy cover so Amazon will sell enough copies to keep the lights on. I don't just beta read for Annabelle; I also read for RedFirebrand and a few others. I haven't heard from Red in a while, though, and I'm worried she's in as bad a situation as I am; she also lost her job around May or June. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'll send her an email just to make sure she's okay. I haven't heard from her since her last chapter went up.
So that's where I am at this point. I appreciate your patience and your continued interest. Stay safe and try to keep your spirits up. Slainté
