An excerpt from Salvation,
Book Two of the Prophecy Series
Book Two of the Prophecy Series
Silence dominated the room until Nick finished drying the guitar case and set it next to the bookshelf. Like it or not, there was a reason Graig was here. The sooner this convo was over, the better.
Nick lowered his six foot one frame into a ridiculously comfortable leather Matiran recliner adjacent to the love seat. “Gonna tell me why you’re here, Graig?”
The other man’s ice-grey gaze didn’t waver. It never did. His mouth didn’t do much moving either. Classic Graig Roble; Mr. Strong and Silent. This was definitely not a good sign of what was to come.
“I’m here to bring you home, Nick.”
“I knew it!” He slapped his hands against his thighs, then leaned forward. “You can tell Alex I said, ‘oh, hell, no’. I’m perfectly happy here. I’d planned to visit for Christmas, but now I’m not so sure.” The last statement wasn’t exactly true. Given the awkwardness between him and his sister, she’d probably be relieved if he didn’t show up for the holidays this year.
Nick lowered his six foot one frame into a ridiculously comfortable leather Matiran recliner adjacent to the love seat. “Gonna tell me why you’re here, Graig?”
The other man’s ice-grey gaze didn’t waver. It never did. His mouth didn’t do much moving either. Classic Graig Roble; Mr. Strong and Silent. This was definitely not a good sign of what was to come.
“I’m here to bring you home, Nick.”
“I knew it!” He slapped his hands against his thighs, then leaned forward. “You can tell Alex I said, ‘oh, hell, no’. I’m perfectly happy here. I’d planned to visit for Christmas, but now I’m not so sure.” The last statement wasn’t exactly true. Given the awkwardness between him and his sister, she’d probably be relieved if he didn’t show up for the holidays this year.
“The request is not from your sister, although she does miss you terribly.”
Nick brushed off the dig and narrowed his gaze. “Then whose request is it?”
“The request comes from Ambassador K’nil, the Terrian and Matiran governments, and the Unified Fleet Brass.”
Say what? What the hell would the Anferthian Ambassador and the high muckity-mucks from Terr, Matir, and the Fleet want from him?
An exasperated sound rumbled in his throat and he pushed to his feet to pace the fifteen-foot room from wall to wall. “They think they can say ‘jump’ and I’ll say ‘how high’? I’m not their stooge, and I’m not going back.”
“I’m not their stooge either, yet here I am,” Graig said. “The recovery effort on Terr continues—”
“I know!” Nick clenched and unclenched his fists. “I’m doing my part to help.”
Graig quirked one ruddy eyebrow at him. “What do you hide from, Nicholaus Bock?”
He blinked. “As if you don’t know.”
“Tell me.”
What the hell? “I didn’t ask for this…this… Gift, you know that. If I choose not to use it, then no one has the right to say otherwise.”
“Do you have the right to deny those in great need who would benefit from your Gift?”
Well, shit, Graig had just played the humanity card.
“Tell me where you’d be, where all of us would be, if your sister had run away from her destiny.”
And now the guilt card. “Obviously, Alex is a much better person than I am.”
“No, she’s just not a selfish child.”
Ooh. Low blow. But what was wrong with trying to recapture normal? To be the person he’d been before his Gift to heal had awakened in that wide field somewhere in the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Nick brushed off the dig and narrowed his gaze. “Then whose request is it?”
“The request comes from Ambassador K’nil, the Terrian and Matiran governments, and the Unified Fleet Brass.”
Say what? What the hell would the Anferthian Ambassador and the high muckity-mucks from Terr, Matir, and the Fleet want from him?
An exasperated sound rumbled in his throat and he pushed to his feet to pace the fifteen-foot room from wall to wall. “They think they can say ‘jump’ and I’ll say ‘how high’? I’m not their stooge, and I’m not going back.”
“I’m not their stooge either, yet here I am,” Graig said. “The recovery effort on Terr continues—”
“I know!” Nick clenched and unclenched his fists. “I’m doing my part to help.”
Graig quirked one ruddy eyebrow at him. “What do you hide from, Nicholaus Bock?”
He blinked. “As if you don’t know.”
“Tell me.”
What the hell? “I didn’t ask for this…this… Gift, you know that. If I choose not to use it, then no one has the right to say otherwise.”
“Do you have the right to deny those in great need who would benefit from your Gift?”
Well, shit, Graig had just played the humanity card.
“Tell me where you’d be, where all of us would be, if your sister had run away from her destiny.”
And now the guilt card. “Obviously, Alex is a much better person than I am.”
“No, she’s just not a selfish child.”
Ooh. Low blow. But what was wrong with trying to recapture normal? To be the person he’d been before his Gift to heal had awakened in that wide field somewhere in the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
A blessing and a curse…
Seven years ago, a single moment changed the course of Nicholaus Bock’s life forever—the moment his preternatural Gift to heal awakened in him. A gift that made him an invaluable commodity to the known galaxy. Now his mentor’s intriguing and secretive new student goes out of her way to challenge his loyalty to everything he values.
A dark secret…
After facing death and destruction during the Anferthian invasion, Sakura Yamata revels in her new-found Gift to heal. Helping Earth’s survivors keeps her mind off the loss of her family, and the memory of the terrible choices she made. Nick could penetrate her defenses and discover what she’s hiding. She must not let the handsome healer close enough for that to happen.
A race facing annihilation…
When a mysterious disease strikes the hidden sanctuary of the Anferthian dissenters, Nick and Sakura are called in to help. But someone is going to great lengths to ensure the dissenters don’t survive. Nick and Sakura must set aside their differences and work together to save them before the fragile peace between three worlds is shattered.
Seven years ago, a single moment changed the course of Nicholaus Bock’s life forever—the moment his preternatural Gift to heal awakened in him. A gift that made him an invaluable commodity to the known galaxy. Now his mentor’s intriguing and secretive new student goes out of her way to challenge his loyalty to everything he values.
A dark secret…
After facing death and destruction during the Anferthian invasion, Sakura Yamata revels in her new-found Gift to heal. Helping Earth’s survivors keeps her mind off the loss of her family, and the memory of the terrible choices she made. Nick could penetrate her defenses and discover what she’s hiding. She must not let the handsome healer close enough for that to happen.
A race facing annihilation…
When a mysterious disease strikes the hidden sanctuary of the Anferthian dissenters, Nick and Sakura are called in to help. But someone is going to great lengths to ensure the dissenters don’t survive. Nick and Sakura must set aside their differences and work together to save them before the fragile peace between three worlds is shattered.
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