Beyond Read Online Free Page B

feet. It was from these feet that a beam was emitted, and the Horus trembled as that ray made contact.
    If the foreign craft outside was as large as Manhattan, then what the heck was the size of the Horus?
    Aimee wanted to scream at the absurdity of her plight. This simply could not be happening to her. But the Horus shook again and this time she was knocked to her knees. Strong hands grabbed her arms and hauled her up against a body that felt powerful and secure. She looked up into amber eyes that were so intense they exposed her vulnerability all the more.
    “You can’t stay here.” The male voice was soft and husky, but she could hear it over the dissonance because he was so close.
    “Do you know where the Bio Ward is?” he asked.
    “Bio Ward?” she mouthed, her fingers curled around his arms.
    “Zak!” Vodu called. His tanned face look strained. “We need you out there.”
    Molten eyes glanced away from her towards the elderly man. “I’m on my way.”
    “Get her out of here. She—”
    A blast hit the Horus and Aimee would have fallen were it not for Zak’s strong grip. He looked back at her and must have read her frantic look. He did not break eye contact with her, but spoke to Vodu.
    “I’ll drop her off in the Bio Ward on my way.”
    “Good.” Vodu clutched the panel for balance. “Zak. Be careful out there.”
    “Always.”
    Aimee felt herself pulled from the deck, and though she did not know this young man in the strange black uniform, she somehow felt safe in his presence. He exuded a take-charge charisma, and everyone they passed tipped their head towards him as if in a silent bid for luck. The hand that was not secured around her arm flicked impatiently at the door to the horizontal elevator.
    Inside, Zak surprised her when he touched a panel and the door collapsed into the floor, yielding to a huge plate of glass. Blazing along at parallel hyper— speed, Aimee was able to witness firsthand the destruction being imposed by the enemy craft. Sapphire beams flashed from the ship’s feet in myriad directions like a Disney laser show—only these were not innocent strobes, and they had one destination. The Horus.
    “What is happening?” she asked in a hoarse voice as the Horus shook again.
    “It's the Korons," Zak uttered with distaste. "They must be as surprised to see us as we are to see them.” He shook his head. “Inconvenient piles of rock and sand. Planet invaders.”
    “Planet?” Aimee felt the blood drain from her face. “They are from another planet ? Somebody better tell me where the hell I am.”
    Zak let go of her and frowned. “There is no time to explain what you want to hear. You were taken from your planet by accident. You are on the Guardianship Horus. We just finished our Lifequest around the four spectral galaxies, and taking you on board was—” he seemed to hunt for a word, “a misfortune. We are not hostile like the Korons you see over there, so don’t look so panicked. We start the Lifequest over again soon. You will be back on your planet in no time.”
    Thank God! Maybe she would be back in time to tell her friends it had just been a family emergency. Heck, her parents were probably so busy talking over each other that they hadn’t even noticed she was missing yet.
    A blast of radiant lightning was followed by a thunderous vibrato. That shudder was powerful enough to hurl Aimee against the glass wall. When her cheek smacked the panel she squealed, prepared for the tempered pane to shatter and eject her into space. Powerful hands seized her shoulders and drew her from the threat of oblivion. She was aware of a heart other than her own beating against her chest. She inhaled the fabric of his uniform, thinking that the material looked remarkably like space itself. Celestial camouflage.
    Another sharp quake threatened to topple her, but she was pinned against that bizarre uniform, trapped within inflexible arms. Panic brimmed as she started to struggle. She