Six on Sunday - THE GIFTING

Six paragraphs from The Gifting, Star Girl Book 2, a sensuous sci-fi romance:

1.     Sah'Reena paused, unmoving. Robin knew what she was doing. She was tuning her extraordinary senses to catch any sound or vibration that would alert her to the next barrage. The one thing she was forbidden to do was to erect a defensive shield. The training sessions were meant to keep her senses and skills razor sharp, and throwing up a protective barrier would defeat the purpose.

2.     "I'm associating the fact that the woman, the alien, Sah'Reena, holds a power reportedly so great that she could destroy this planet with a wave of her hands." Foxx raised his eyes to the director, but the head of the space center remained silent. After a few seconds, the scientist barely nodded, understanding the man would neither deny nor confirm what the news media reported. He continued. "Yet, Dr. Dickenson, who is human and virtually powerless, has taken it upon himself to protect her. To be her conscience, and I'm guessing the safety mechanism that holds her abilities in check."

3.     More gasps drew her attention to the Gifted nearby. Several had fallen to their knees, but their attention was no longer on her. Before she could turn to see what they were looking at, she felt him. He was a wall of energy growing closer and closer as he strode through the fallow field toward her. When he reached her, he drew an arm about her waist. With his other hand, he touched the back of her hand and gently pushed it downward. Without hesitation, she removed her power, releasing them.

4.     Sah’Reena hesitated as she neared the hatch. Something felt…different. Not a good different. One that did not sit well with her. It hovered like a storm cloud, filled with lightning and thunder, and the roar of wind that could unleash destruction at a moment’s notice. Robin told her to always trust her instincts. To trust what her gut, as he put it, told her. He also advised her not to think of this as a homecoming, but more like one of those monthly training sessions she went through, where anything could happen without warning. Returning to Murrall would almost be the same as stepping onto a new world. A world she already knew was filled with danger to both her, and now him.

5.     Before he could call out for help, he was struck at the back of the head. Pain exploded in the center of his brain, followed by darkness. The last thing he was aware of was the sound of a voice snapping orders to the guards.

6.     The streams of energy pooled in the center of his chest, increasing in intensity with every breath. Robin squeezed his eyes shut for a few seconds. When he opened them again, he started in shock at what he saw. No. At how he saw. At how his senses had been altered.

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