Every story has a villain. Trouble in Mind, Book Two of my Interstellar Rescue series, has three.
One of them, though, has some redeeming qualities. In fact, by the end of the
book, you might even say he’s a good bad guy, my favorite kind of villain.
The being who calls the plays for Team Evil
is Ren Sennik, Minister of Labor for the Minertsan Consortium, one of those
little Gray aliens who have been haunting the common consciousness of humans
for at least the last 70 years. Sennik aims to take over his planet’s
government and a young human boy is key to that plot. Unfortunately for Sennik,
his prize slave has been freed in a raid by the cursed Interstellar Council for
Abolition and Rescue. So the Minister hires two Thrane hunters to retrieve the
boy.
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| From NIGHTMARE (directed by Rodney Ascher) |
Brothers Kinnian and Trevyn Dar are among the
most proficient trackers in the galaxy. That’s a trait they share with their
half-brother Gabriel Cruz, the bastard son of their brutal father, Kylan. But
there the similarity ends. These two are bloodthirsty and relentless, with
fully developed psi talents which Kinnian, in particular, never hesitates to
use to rip open minds to find what he wants. Once they track the boy to Earth, they
will destroy any number of vulnerable humans to run him down, slicing through
their minds like so much sofra
cheese.
Kinnian and Trevyn are enraged to find that
their quarry is in the hands of black ops kidnappers on a mission to acquire a
different target—his mother, Asia Burdette. What’s worse, their own
half-brother Gabriel is on the boy’s trail, too. Kinnian sees this as the
opportunity he’s been looking for to eliminate his rival for power in the
family once and for all. But Trevyn . . . well, let’s just say he sees this
unexpected reunion with Gabriel in a completely different light.
Meanwhile, back on Minertsa, other elements
of Sennik’s plot are coming together. But someone quite close to him is
secretly working against him, and the results of his scheming will not be quite
what he’d planned.
And now, an excerpt:
The Minister of Labor opened his mind in summons and
waited until he saw his second-in-command appear in the doorway of his office.
--You needed
me, Director Prime?
Sennik let the female be aware that he approved of her
prompt appearance. In fact, he approved
of Ardis’s appearance in all aspects—her smooth, light skin, her long-fingered
hands, her large, liquid, black eyes.
Her aura, as usual a delicate lavender shot through with deeper tones of
violet and midnight blue, communicated just
the right combination of respect and ambition, of eagerness and
ruthlessness. Then there was that
intriguing hint of sexual interest that sometimes seemed to curl around the
edge of his perception.
He monitored his own vibratory emissions and was
pleased to note none of his observations had colored his aura. He remained an even-toned silver-gray.
--What is
the status of our search for the slaves stolen in the raid on Del Origa?
--We have identified all
those taken, sir, and we have begun reacquisition of all the test subjects who
remain in accessible territories.
--Excellent. When do you anticipate completion of this
task?
Director Second Ardis’s aura blushed with an
uncomfortable salmon. There are many who have been resettled on
Terrene. Taking them all at once would
raise questions. The teams have been forced
to be discreet.
--Blast
Terrene! Nothing but a poison pool where
fang-eels slither to hide! Take the
slaves or kill them outright if taking them is impossible.
Sennik noted the boiling black in his aura and struggled to calm himself. He amended his order. Except,
of course, the immature ones. Those we
must have. We have too much invested in
them to lose them. What news of the
coordinator?
Ardis’s aura flashed green with fear. The
Thranes report he may have been among those who have been sent back.
--Sent back?
--You are
aware the abolitionist organization Rescue often tries to send the slaves back
to their home planet?
Sennik waved a hand.
It’s not as if that ridiculous
speck of dust they all come from—what is the name of that stupid place? Erp?
--Earth,
sir.
--Yes,
well. It’s not as if the place is at the
far end of Zfar’s Galaxy. The ball of
dirt practically sits on top of one of our busiest jump nodes. It should be a simple matter to get my
property back. I sent Thrane hunters
after the boy for a reason. Contact the Bloodstalker and tell Kinnian Dar I am waiting for him to earn the credits I’m
paying him.
Cheers, Donna
Cool excerpt, Donna. You really have my curiosity up why the kid is so important and so key to the gray's plans. Really looking forward to the release.
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