“Well,that’s part of the problem solved, anyway,” Trin remarked, squeezing his hand.“Now we just have to find this Brooks girl somewhere on Earth and get to herbefore the Verrak assassin does.”

“I’llsend a special prayer to the Goddess that you’ll find her in time,” Nadiahmurmured. “But something tells me that this girl, whoever she is, has a longjourney ahead of her…and she might not like what she finds along the way.”

Epilogue

Somewherein the darkness, hidden from view, the muffled sound of heavy boots crunchingon broken glass grew more and more distant. The deep voice of the alienintruder was fading as he moved away, finishing his business here.

Thesounds were muffled by the nutrient bath that filled the tube so the one insideit could not make out the words the intruder spoke but that didn’t matter—hismemory would store it all for later and bring it back when necessary.

Therewas much to bring back when the time was right…memories of another—the makerwho had created the one in the tube in the first place. Memories anddirectives…tasks to fulfill…missions to complete…a race of people to destroy.

Fora moment a pair of burning black eyes with reddish glints opened in thedarkness and looked through the cool green nutrient soup. Black hair floatedaround his face and every muscle in his big body tensed in anticipation. Butthe time was not right…the cycle was not complete. Soon his time would come butit was not here yet.

Theone within the tube closed his eyes and slept for a little while longer,dreaming of the day when he would wake to kill and kill again until the maker’sorders were fulfilled…or he died trying.

The End

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Chapter One

It was happening again.

Emily Brooks gasped as a flash of heatswept over her body. It started in her lower pelvis and rolled outward, likeflames licking her skin from the inside out, stealing her breath and makingevery inch of her tingle with unwanted heat.

OhGod, ohGodohGod…No, please—not this—not this again!

Her hands clenched into fists at her sidesand her toes curled in her sensible low heeled shoes. The shapeless cottondress she wore was suddenly too hot—sticking to her full-figured body with thedew of sweat that bloomed across her flushed skin. The hair at the nape of herneck suddenly prickling and her eyes burned. Not like she’d gotten soap inthem, though—they burned as if there was some strange heat source behind them.

But though all these weird physicalproblems were uncomfortable and strange, they weren’t what Emily feared themost. She feared the other comingout. The one she sometimes glimpsed in the mirror. The one inside of her whowas getting closer to the surface every day…

“Miss Brooks? Miss Brooks, Avery pushedme!”

“Did not. Anyway, she pushed me first.”

“Did not!”

“Did so!”

“Class!” Taking a deep breath, Emily forced herself to forgetabout what was happening inside her and concentrate on the kindergarten classunder her care at George Washington Elementary.

Her stress must have come through in hervoice, because all fifteen of her kids got suddenly quiet and looked at herwith large eyes.

OhGod, what do they see? Do they see what I see when I look in the mirror?

Emily took a deep breath…then another.Calm, she had to be calm. It was only 9:30 and she had to make it until 2 whenthe bell rang for dismissal.

“Miss Brooks,” ventured Avery Andrews. “Doyou feel okay? Maybe you oughta go to the nurse.”

“I’m fine, Avery. Thank you for your concernthough—that’s sweet.”

Emily did her best to smile at the littleboy who was the class clown but so endearing you couldn’t help but love him.

“You don’t look fine,” Kelsey Pincter remarked.

“Yeah, your eyes look funny.” Miracle Jackson said. “All sparkyand hot. Like you gots a candle in your head, right behind your eyes—like ajack-o-lantern.”

Like ajack-o-lantern… Emily took anotherdeep breath.

“I’m just fine,” she said again more firmly. “Or I will be if everyone willsettle down before we go into the library. Other students are studying in hereso we need to be…what?”

“Quiet!” they all chorused loudly and eachof them put a finger to his or her lips. “Shhhh!”

Emily tried to smile. Normally her classwas the light of her life—she loved kids and since she was never going to haveany of her own, being a kindergarten teacher was wonderful. But just now shefelt shaky and hot and out of breath—like she’d just run an hour on thetreadmill at the gym. Not that she could usually do more than a brisk walk forthat long but still—that was the feeling she had.

“All right then, let’s go in quietly,” she murmured, putting herfinger to her lips. “Elbows and tip-toes. Line leader, open the door and holdit for the rest of the class.”

Avery was the line leader and he gave hera big freckle-faced grin as he followed instructions, tucking his elbows in andwalking with exaggerated caution on the tips of his toes. Emily tried to returnthe smile as she shepherded her class, which were all doing the same thing,into the large, beautifully decorated media center.

It was a warm, welcoming area which hadbeen painted by a local artist with various storybook characters on the walls.Alice and the Mad Hatter took tea in one corner while the caterpillar looked onfrom his mushroom. On a far wall, Lucy was opening the door to the magicalwardrobe that led to Narnia and on a another wall, a haggard looking FrodoBaggins was holding the One Ring aloft and staring up at the ominous MountDoom, looming in the distance.

This last mural was perhaps a touch darkfor an elementary school library but as a confirmed Tolkien freak, Emily hadalways loved it. Today, however, she barely noticed it as she herded her classto the big rainbow carpet in the Alice inWonderland corner. There, to her intense relief, she saw Mrs. Andrews, oneof the parent volunteers, was sitting in the big rocking chair and waiting toread a story. Dragons Love Tacos! proclaimedthe book in her hand and Emily’s class was already crowding around her. Theyloved story time.

Mrs. Peltz, the librarian with iron grayhair and stern features, was standing behind the check out desk explaining to afifth grader why he couldn’t check out the graphic novel he wanted since hestill had two more out.

“Mrs. Peltz,” Emily murmured when thedisappointed student left. “Since you have a volunteer here, do you mind if Irun to the faculty restroom for a minute?”

Mrs. Peltz pursed her lips to a thin, pinkline.

“Miss Brooks, you know you’re not supposed to leave students unattended in thelibrary!”

“I know.” Emily was beginning to getdesperate. She could feel another heat wave coming on. “I know but it’sjust—it’s that time of the month. And I left my, uh, supplies in theclassroom.”

“Well…” The librarian looked at herdisapprovingly.

“Please,”Emily begged in an undertone.

“All right. But no more than ten minutes,mind.” Mrs. Peltz nodded her sharp chin at the door. “Go on.”

“Thank you!”

Incredibly relieved, Emily left the mediacenter by the back door at a fast walk.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she gotout into the chilly wind of the breezeway that connected the media center tothe rest of the school. Tampa didn’t get muchcold weather but it was mid January, just after the Christmas break and thethermometer had actually dipped into the low sixties—positively frigid for Florida.