Syfi Warriors Page 20

  About the Author

  KD Jones has published over thirty books in five different series. She has been a huge fan of both romance novels and science fiction novels since she was sixteen years old. Her favorite television shows growing up were Star Trek and Doctor Who. When not writing, she can usually be found curled up on the couch with a good book, working on her hobby of photography, or spending time with her family. As a single working mom, she wants to show her son that anyone can follow their dreams no matter how old they are and where they are in life. Dreams can come true if you work hard and believe in yourself.

  KD Jones Book Series, Book List

  Katieran Prime Series

  Katieran Prime (Book 1)

  Prime Commander (Book 2)

  Prime Medic (Book 3)

  Kiljorn Prime (Book 4)

  Prime Deliverance (Book 5)

  Prime Salvation (Book 6)

  Colonial Prime (Book 7)

  Katieran Prime Celebration (Book 7.5)

  Kiljorn Commander (Book 8)

  Katieran Prime Miracle (Book 9)

  Colonial Commander (Book 10)

  Infiltration (Book 11)

  Discovery (Book 12)

  Galactic Cage Fighter Series

  Rage (Book 1)

  Talon (Book 2)

  Taurus (Book 3)

  Zara (Book 4)

  Hammer (Book 5)

  Zen (Book 6)

  Torch (Book 7)

  Maxim (Book 8)

  Ronin (Book 9)

  Nigel (Book 10)

  Dom (Book 11)

  Phoenix (Book 12)

  Earth Evolution Series

  Desolation (Book 1)

  Resistance (Book 2)

  Atonement (Book 3)

  Awakening (Book 4)

  Defiance (Book 5)

  7even Circles Series

  Moon is Calling (Book 1)

  Mercury Rising (Book 2)

  Fallen Venus (Book 3)

  Strange Lake Falls Series

  Strange Lake Falls Vampire (Book 1)

  Strange Lake Falls Werewolf (Book 2)

  Strange Lake Falls Vampire Mistress (Book 3)

  Strange Lake Falls Panther (Book 4)

  Strange Lake Falls Gypsy Wolf (Book 5)

  Strange Lake Falls Forbidden Wolf (Book 6)

  Strange Lake Falls Witch (Book 7)

  Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter Series

  Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter (Book 1)

  Tempting Bounty (Book 2)

  Rising Bounty (Book 3)

  Polar Bear Express Series

  Her Big Bad Polar Bear (Book 1)

  Bad News Polar Bear (Book 2)

  Phoenix Down

  Bethany Shaw

  The Invasion Series Book 3

  Nova’s family expects her to fail, and she’s determined to prove them wrong. Her first mission isn’t going to plan, though. Her ship has crashed and she’s the only survivor. Now, she must convince the handsome human that she means him no harm and is there to help him.

  James doesn’t believe his eyes when he witnesses an alien attack in his backwater town. After watching one of his neighbor’s be obliterated by one of the invaders, he comes to the rescue of an injured young woman. He rushes the unconscious beauty back to his farm where he and his niece tend to her. When she awakens, he realizes there is something about her that isn’t quite human. Can he and his niece trust the enchanting alien?

  Chapter 1

  Nova gripped the bar running across the top of the shuttle for support as another tremor rocked the craft. Her eyes went to the window. Imanji ships swarmed around her shuttle, taking turns firing on it. She should be out there defending her ship. This was what she’d been training for.

  “Open the bay doors,” she said with a growl. She needed to get out there and fight off the enemy ships before the shuttle was blown up. It’d be one thing to die in battle, but an entirely other thing to die trapped in this tin box unable to fight back.

  “Trying. The first blast hit the release. I’m having a hard time getting them to cooperate. I’m going to overwrite the program,” the pilot said. He tapped on some buttons as his copilot jerked the steering column to the right.

  The shuttle lurched and listed heavily. Nova grasped the bar with her other hand to keep herself upright.

  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from telling them to hurry up already. They were doing everything they could, but at the moment they were defenseless against their enemy’s blasts. Her parents swore she was going to get herself killed. They’d been against her joining the academy and had practically disowned her when she’d told them she was joining Captain Zephyr Cree on the Warship Retribution to protect the galaxy. She didn’t want to prove them right. She was a skilled fighter who could take down an Imanji ship – first she needed to get out of this shuttle.

  “Got them. Get ready to jump,” the pilot said.

  Finally. Nova let out a breath. She kept her hands firmly on the bar as she traveled the length of the shuttle to the bay doors. Her heart sped in her chest. This was it. She was really going to do this. She’d aced all her simulation tests, but this was different. This was real. Life or death.

  The doors glided open. The blue air swirled below her and she breathed it in, taking a second to take in the glorious blue of the sky on this foreign planet, Earth, before plunging herself out. The air was cooler than she was used to and nearly took her breath away.

  Focus, Nova. She closed her eyes and pictured her phoenix. Fire erupted over her body. Her arms transformed into wings, and her legs fused together into a tail. The bird took shape within seconds. She flapped her wings and dove, putting a little distance between her and the shuttle before swooping back into the air, spinning, and blowing a spray of molten fire at the enemy ships on her craft’s tail. The ship flew right into the inferno. Orange flames consumed the Imanji craft, and seconds later it exploded, sending bursts of orange, blue, and yellow into the air.

  Nova ducked to the right to miss the debris fluttering in the sky, and to get eyes on her next target. Two more ships were firing on her shuttle. The craft were meant for rescue missions and had no weapons. Their only defense was to launch their own into the sky. As phoenixes they could fly and control fire from their tails, wings, and mouths.

  The Imanji ships in pursuit of the shuttle split up, going in different directions. Nova squawked and flapped her wings harder going after the closest one. She spit fire, but the ship bobbed and weaved, causing her to miss entirely. Drawing in another breath she fanned her wings to send balls of fire before spewing more fire. Let them try to dodge that.

  Her eyes narrowed as the flashes of fire zeroed in on their target, hitting it, and annihilating it. She soared higher and got in position to take out the final ship. It wasn’t close enough to target yet. She pushed herself faster. It was firing on the shuttle. A blast hit the starboard side. The shuttle jerked. Fire exploded on the damaged side.

  Nova’s lungs screamed as she pushed herself faster. She had to save the shuttle. Her squad was on there, and they were counting on her. She rolled balls of fire off her wings, sending them in the direction of the enemy ship. Then she inhaled a deep breath, ready to send a spray of fire.

  Her cheeks puffed out. She was almost close enough. The ship dove at the last second. She held the fire in her mouth, nose-diving to the surface before spraying the fire onto the ship. It erupted in flames before exploding. The discharge was close enough to hit her. Pieces of shrapnel embedded in her wings and torso. She squeaked, wheezing as the shards ripped into her body. Her wings ached. Pieces of the ship had blown holes through the thin skin.

  A cry got stuck in her throat. Her vision blurred. She forced deep breaths in and out, hoping the pain would dissipate after a moment.

  The whine of her shuttle grew louder. A few more seconds and she’d be safely on board where she could change back to her humanoid form. The shift would help heal some of the wounds. She just had to keep stationary. She could d
o that.

  Her attention went to the world around her so she’d have something to focus on other than the burning pain. This planet was beautiful. Greens, blues, whites, blacks and patches of yellow littered the landscape. It was colorful compared to her world, Delphi. It was a shame the Imanji were here to destroy the planet. If only there was a way to stop them. The best her people could hope for was to save as many innocent lives as they could. First, she needed to get back on the shuttle and patched up.

  The shuttle bee lined for her, slightly over her current position. When it hit the right spot, she just had to fly up and into it. She could handle that. Just a few more seconds.

  She forced her wings to keep moving. The shuttle was nearly on top of her. A blast of whitish blue shot out from behind the shuttle, ensnaring it in an icy block. The craft waivered, listing from side to side before it lost altitude. It spiraled, careening to the ground where it hit with a crack. It didn’t explode. It couldn’t, because it was frozen solid.

  Ice. The shuttle was covered in ice, the one thing deadly to a phoenix.

  No. Her squad was gone. The frigid temperatures would’ve killed them instantly. Her heart sank for her fallen comrades.

  Another bolt of ice shot out. Nova cried out, lurching to her left but not fast enough. Some hit her wing. The orange-ish tip turned white, crackles of ice expanded over the flesh in a spider web formation. She shrieked. Pain jolted through her. Her pulse raced in her ears.

  Move. She flapped her good, if you could call it that, wing hard enough to miss another blast. Red clouded her vision. These bastards murdered her squad, murdered thousands of species, sending some of them into extinction, and now they wanted to take her out, too. She drew in a breath and spewed fire out as the Imanji ship closed in on her. They shot too. Her fire hit another blast of ice midair. The ice shattered, falling in tiny crystals to the ground below.

  Nova’s body trembled. It couldn’t take much more. The ship fired again. A ball of fire rolled off her tail. It blocked some of the attack, but a bolt of ice got through, lodging itself into her already frozen wing.

  Her vision darkened. Both wings became leaden. Her face fell forward so her chin was pressed against her chest, and she entered a free fall headfirst. Tiny bursts of fire rolled off her body as she catapulted to the ground. It was getting closer now but still seemed so far away. Her eyes fluttered. She blinked them furiously to keep the darkness threatening to pull her under at bay.

  The ship circled around ready to take another shot at her. A crack reverberated through the air. It was a foreign sound that came from the ground.

  Her eyes narrowed, searching until she found the source. There was a man on the ground with a primitive looking weapon in his hands. She wanted to yell – tell him to run and save himself. His weapon looked pitiful compared to what the Imanji and the phoenixes used. He fired again. As she predicted, whatever he was shooting had no effect on the Imanji ship, but it did get its attention.

  The ship changed course, focusing its attention on the man instead of her. Nova gritted her teeth. The man – the human below had no idea what he was up against. She had to protect him. That was the reason she was here after all.

  Her wings protested when she tried to flap them. The frozen wing wouldn’t move but her semi good one fluttered a little. She righted her body, but let herself continue to fall. The impact when she hit might kill her, but she could save this one person from the Imanji. She just wished there was more she could do to warn him. He had no idea what he was up against.

  The ship closed in on the man. He fired whatever weapon he had several more times. Each time sending a loud crack reverberating through the air. None of his efforts deterred the Imanji ship. As if knowing his efforts were doomed, he tossed the weapon on the ground and backpedaled.

  Nova drew in a breath that caused her lungs to screech in protest. She blew it out, sending balls of fire rolling off her tail and semi injured wing at the same time.

  Her vision doubled. Darkness closed in on her, but not before the Imanji ship burst into a fiery ball.

  The man jumped back as bits of the craft rained down around him. The bulk of the ship hit the ground, sending a spray of brown and green into the air. It sped across the ground before hitting a tree where it finally came to a stop. Nova sighed and let her eyes close. She’d saved him. But it wasn’t enough. The man still had no idea what he was up against and no way to truly defend himself.

  The darkness clawed at her. She just hoped she’d done enough to help him. Her last thoughts went to her parents. It looked like they were right. Joining the Retribution had gotten her killed.

  Chapter 2

  James brushed his hands off on his jeans as he stood. The cows in the barn grumbled loudly. They were louder today than usual. Maybe they had some idea of what was happening in the world. The electricity, phones, TV, and Internet were down, and had been for the past twenty-four hours. The loss of power wasn’t completely unusual, given the location of the farm. It was in the middle of Nowhere, Georgia and storms had rolled through right before the outage. Thankfully, they had an old radio that was still picking up signals. He could hear the idle chitchat over it as he made a final sweep of the cows.

  He pulled the fence shut and made sure it latched, then made his way through the barn. A voice spoke over the radio and he stopped to listen, staring intently at his niece, Emma. She lay across the hay, her chin on her hands watching the radio as if it were a TV.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be helping me?” he asked. “The cows won’t milk themselves.”

  Emma jumped at his voice and shot up so fast she tripped over her feet and fell to her knees. “It’s aliens, James.”

  James chuckled and shook his head. “Aliens? I think you’ve found some nut job on there that is trying to start a panic. Turn that off.”

  Aliens, ha. It sounded absurd. There was no such thing. It’d figure that Emma would find some crazy person.

  “That’s what they said, James,” Emma protested, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. Her brown eyes widened. “They’re all over the place. LA, New York, Washington DC,” she paused and looked down at the wooden floor. “They say one’s heading to Atlanta.”

  “I don’t know what you’re listening to Emma, but it’s a hoax. Time to get back to work.”

  “It’s real, James.” She stomped her foot. “Just listen, will you?”

  He didn’t have time for this. They had to go into town today too, to get more water. It wasn’t low yet, but without power and it being midsummer he didn’t want to take any risks.

  “James, listen,” Emma said, pointing to the radio.

  James sighed. It wasn’t like Emma to tell tall tales. She was a good kid and did what he asked. “Fine.” He took a few steps forward and turned the volume up on the radio.

  “…evacuations are underway. If you live in a city affected by one of these alien crafts you’re urged to evacuate immediately. The aliens have attacked Washington. The military advises everyone to evacuate all affected locations. Drop everything and leave. Seek shelter in a safe location.”

  “What do we do?” Emma asked. She tucked a lock of brown hair behind her ear and swallowed.

  “It’s a hoax, Emma.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Someone is playing a mean, cruel joke. Any loon can get on a radio like this. You can’t believe everything you hear.”

  Emma shook her head. “I don’t think so. They wouldn’t do that. Not for something like this. People from all over are saying there are aliens attacking us. There was a guy from France earlier.”

  James opened his mouth to argue, but stopped when the tornado sirens began to sound. His gaze went to the window. It was sunny outside with no clouds in sight. There was no reason for the sirens to be sounding unless…

  “James,” Emma said, running to him and wrapping his arms around his waist. “I’m scared.”

  It’d been a long time since Emma had clung to him like this. The twelve
year-old was a tomboy who was quickly growing into a little, opinionated woman. He’d take back the preschooler who’d held his hand in the parking lot any day.

  He smoothed a hand over her back like he’d done when she was a child. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “What if it’s really happening? Grandma and Grandpa are in Atlanta. My mom’s in New York.”

  “I’m sure they’re taking care of themselves,” he said. “Let’s get to the house and grab a few things for the cellar.” The sirens wouldn’t go off for no reason. They were being warned about something. But what? “Come on.”

  He led Emma out of the barn and through the grass to the farmhouse. The blare of the sirens was louder now, and instead of stopping they cycled through only to pick back up again seconds later. Something was definitely going on, but an alien invasion? He didn’t think so.

  The roar of an engine made him turn around. “What does he want?” he said under his breath as a red pickup truck sped down the gravel drive, sending rocks flying in its wake.

  His neighbor Garret McGee made it his business to be in everyone else’s business. It was annoying as hell.

  “Get your gun, boy,” McGee yelled out his window as he waved him over. “One of them alien things just landed in your field.”

  Emma froze against him. “James.”

  “You saw it?” James asked.

  “Hell, I fired at it. There was some fiery bird thing in the air too. Looked like them was shooting at each other, or something.” McGee clapped his hand on the truck. “We better go make sure they are dead. Don’t want them out and about come nightfall.”

  He didn’t know what was going on, and while McGee was a bit of a pest, he wasn’t a liar or one to make up stories. If he saw something, then he needed to check it out.

  “Give me a second.” James led Emma inside the house. He turned her around and met her gaze. “Listen to me, I want you to get some supplies: canned food, water, blankets, flashlights. Gather it up and put it in the cellar. Then you’re going to lock yourself in and don’t open it up for anyone but me. Do you understand?”