GALLANT (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 3) (2 page)

But the dwarflike man who had purchased this fantasy had no way of knowing that, as he ran onto the set brandishing a sword that had been scaled down to his size.

Cherry stifled a yawn as the customer valiantly battled the robotic lizard. She had been told he was a Weebort—a humanoid specimen of small stature and grayish flesh, whose most peculiar feature was a forked tongue and whose occupation was that of an intergalactic trader. His people often acted as middlemen in many deals, both legitimate and criminal. Cherry guessed that he must have just closed a big one since his treat to himself was a holiday here in Innerworld, the Noronian colony in the center of the Earth.

Reminding herself of how much he was paying for this fantasy, she let out another hysterical shriek and struggled to get free of her bonds.

In two weeks the boredom might be ended. She had always wanted to make it into the big time and now it looked like she had the chance to make it into the biggest time of all.

Ten years ago, before a freak accident landed her in Innerworld, Cherry never expected her dream of becoming a star to come true. Abruptly, she had found herself in a place where dreams became reality, although the event that led up to her relocation was a trip into hell.

She and her best friend, Aster Mackenzie, had been invited on a fishing trip to the Bahamas, but no sooner had they reached the islands than the chartered yacht was hijacked by vicious drug smugglers. An elderly friend of Cherry's and a crew member were killed by one of the criminals before they reached their rendezvous point in the heart of the area known as the Bermuda Triangle.

Cherry's emotional outburst after her friend's murder resulted in a semi-automatic handgun being turned on her. The spray of bullets hit her right arm, partially severing it from her body. At the end of the frightening episode, the ship's captain was also shot, but with deadly accuracy.

To the astonishment of the entire party, Cherry's and the captain's lives were restored once they reached Innerworld. A robotic right arm was her souvenir of the nightmare and an artificial heart was his.

After their bodies were repaired, all aboard were told an incredible tale about where they were and how they had gotten there. Under the circumstances, the castaways had no choice but to accept the explanations given.

The smugglers' rendezvous point had been within one of the twelve magnetic fields located around the Earth. Cherry and the others learned that these sites served as doorways to a technologically advanced civilization in the center of the planet. Innerworld had been established by Norona ten thousand years ago when volterrin, a rare but vital energy source, was discovered in abundance in the Earth's core. The tunnels and doorways had been constructed for travel to and from the colony.

Occasionally, as was the case that fateful day, a small vessel went undetected in the area when a doorway was opened and the ship was subsequently sucked into the tunnel.

During their orientation, the group of new arrivals were also informed that none of the transplanted Terrans, as human earthlings were called, were ever permitted to return to Outerworld.

Cherry noted that the Weebort had slain the first monster and was heading toward her. On cue, a second creature lumbered out from behind a rock. "Behind you!" Cherry yelled, automatically assuming a horrified expression. As the Weebort spun around to face his new adversary, Cherry had to conceal another yawn of boredom. One more monster and a giant to slay before she could be rescued.

According to this client's request, after he saved the maiden, she was to prostrate herself at his feet and swear to be his devoted slave forever. The thin gold choker around her neck housed the universal translator that would allow him to hear her words in his own strange language. Had he requested a more intimate reward, another actress would have been given the part.

Participating in sexual fantasies was an option Cherry had always declined. When she first arrived in Innerworld, she was intrigued by the sexually uninhibited attitudes of its inhabitants, even though her own strict upbringing prevented her from comfortably enjoying such freedom to its fullest extent. After living there for ten years, she didn't blink an eye at what the natives considered acceptable behavior, but she preferred to limit her intimate encounters to humanoid males she knew longer than the time it took to sign over the required number of credits.

Having fun with them was something else entirely.

Her friend Aster had given up hoping that Cherry would find the "man of her dreams" as she had. Cherry adored men in general and thoroughly enjoyed the way they all seemed to adore her, but none ever held her interest long enough to establish any kind of lasting relationship.

Fortunately, her refusal to share her body with strangers hadn't affected her rocketing career. Employees of Fantasy World were free to work in the types of performances they were comfortable with, and those of a sexual nature did not warrant more or less recompense or prestige than those that were not.

She had always considered herself rather ordinary-looking, with her brown hair and eyes, and smattering of freckles on her nose. And she was far too short and thin to be imposing. It was her talent that had made her a star in demand at the age of thirty-nine, which, by Innerworld standards, was practically a youngster. Her pixie haircut reinforced a youthful appearance and was imitated by her admirers throughout the colony.

At the moment, however, few of her natural characteristics were visible. She was costumed in what she called early Viking—a heavy blond wig with long, thick bangs and two side braids, and a neck to floor sackcloth which was gathered at her waist by a rough rope.

Now she had a chance to become a star of the universe. Theodophilus, the director of the prestigious Noronian Performing Company, was making an unprecedented visit to Innerworld in two weeks.

Cherry had seen the announcement regarding his plans to audition players from Innerworld for his next intergalactic traveling show, but everyone had heard the rumor that he had already decided to hire Cherry. The audition was a mere formality where she was concerned.

Thoughts of heading off on an adventure into space, after not being permitted to leave Innerworld all these years, made this performance seem even more tedious than usual.

The Weebort had now done away with the third monster and was close to finishing off the eight-foot-tall ogre. Suddenly another, slightly shorter, giant burst onto the set. This one's head resembled that of a wild boar. His huge body was completely covered with coarse brown hair and only a neck to thigh tunic of body armor shielded his beastly form.

Cherry had barely adjusted to the surprise of seeing a fifth enemy when that creature raised his arm and pointed a metal-encased finger at the Weebort. Letting out one of her best screams, she alerted him to the new danger. When he turned, the look of genuine terror on his face warned Cherry that something was wrong.

A split second later, a beam of blue light shot out of the boar beast's finger but the Weebort bolted in time for his opponent to be hit instead. As the giant robot crashed to the floor in a deafening explosion of circuitry, the beast aimed his deadly finger at the Weebort's fleeing back.

The force of the blast catapulted the Weebort forward, slamming him into Cherry at the same moment the beast took off in the opposite direction. She saw his forked tongue snake in and out of his mouth as he slid to her feet. He was trying to tell her something but the pandemonium around them prevented her from hearing his words. Before her disbelieving gaze, his skin began to wither and turn black. Within seconds, the Weebort's body turned to ash then disappeared completely.

"Calm down everyone!" a man ordered from behind Cherry. "That was only a test."

As she twisted her head from side to side to determine who the speaker was, he quickly untied her bonds and continued to try to calm the small group of frantic actors and actresses.

"Management felt you were all getting a little too complacent with that fantasy and decided to throw in a surprise. You all did very well. Congratulations. Cherry, I'd like a word with you privately."

She angled her head at the man who spoke with such authority. He had been assigned as a bit player right before this performance began. "Are you with the management?" she asked without making any move to follow him.

Over his left eye was a black leather patch but his other dark brown eye hurriedly scanned the area before answering, "More or less." He grasped her elbow and tried to pull her along but that action made her dig in her heels.

The man would have been incredibly striking even without the eye patch. A snow white streak began at each of his temples and ran to the ends of his wavy black hair, which fell just below his shoulders. A muscular physique was enhanced by a rather piratical costume of tight, black leather pants and a matching short vest, which revealed a bare, well-developed chest.

Hooked to his waistband was a small black box that Cherry thought looked like a weapon but she was certain only security personnel were permitted to carry such things. He looked like the devil's own spawn and there was no way Cherry could have met him before and forgotten who he was. "Why don't I know you?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, we don't have time for an in-depth interview. Now, come with me."

Cherry's chin came up a notch as her self-protective instincts came into play. "I don't believe you're with management, I don't believe that was a test and I'm certainly not going anywhere with you until I get some answers."

Before she could say another word, his arm wrapped around her small waist and he lifted her off the ground. As she opened her mouth to protest, he covered it with his free hand. With a suggestive laugh, he told her coworkers, "We've only been lovers a few days. Still a few rough spots, as you can see. I'm sure you'll excuse us for a few minutes."

Cherry squirmed in his grip and tried to bite his hand but that only caused him to tighten both holds on her as he carried her off the set. Her public reputation, as a fun-seeking, free-spirited woman who tended to
love 'em and leave em,
worked against her. Her coworkers laughed and wished her captor good luck.

As soon as he found an unoccupied room, he put her down but didn't release her. "I apologize for hauling you off like that but I couldn't risk arousing suspicions. You have an incredibly powerful scream. If you'll promise not to use it, I'll take my hand away from your mouth. I mean you no harm."

Cherry glared at him for a few seconds then decided to give him a chance to explain what was going on. If he didn't satisfy her curiosity, she could always scream later. She nodded and he slowly removed his hand from her face. When she remained quiet, he let go of the rest of her as well.

Immediately, she backed away from him and massaged her jaw. "So much for the Noronian code of nonviolence." She raised one eyebrow at him. "Perhaps you're not a Noronian."

Frowning, he said, "I don't have time to explain. I'm sorry if I hurt you but my mission is extremely important. In a few minutes, Frezlo will be out of my tracking range. What did the Weebort say to you?"

"Frezlo? The Weebort? Something tells me you're guilty of breaking another Noronian code—the one about honesty. That wasn't any test back there, was it?"

"No, it wasn't. And more lives could be lost if I don't catch up with Frezlo. Now—"

"Frezlo's the one that looked like a wild boar, right?"

"Yes,"
he ground out, clearly frustrated with her questions.

The realization that she had been in the midst of a real-life adventure had her bubbling with energy and she began pacing around him. "What is he, some kind of an assassin? Are you a tracker? Was the Weebort—"

"Enough!" he exclaimed, grasping her shoulders to make her stand still. "Just tell me what the Weebort said to you before he burned up."

Suddenly Cherry sensed that the dangerous look about this man wasn't created by a costume. It was inbred. "I don't know."

He gave her an urgent shake. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're wearing a translator."

She pushed him away from her, more angry than frightened by his macho behavior. He was acting like some American men she had known, not at all like a Noronian. "I
mean,
I don't know. I couldn't hear what he said. There was too much noise."

The man frowned at her again but he seemed to believe her. "All right. I'll have to get someone to touch your mind. Even if you think you didn't hear him, your subconscious would have picked it up. If you'll accompany me to my ship—"

Cherry sidestepped the hand that reached out to her. "No way, pal. If someone's going to crawl around inside my head, it'll be somebody I trust. Governor Romulus is my friend. I'd let him do it."

"Romulus is my friend as well but I don't have time to go looking for him. You'll have to come with me." He reached for her again and this time she barely avoided his touch as she headed toward the door.

"Last chance, Cherry," he warned.

She glanced back to issue a smart retort and saw the small black box in his hand. As her mouth opened to scream, he fired.

Gallant Voyager's chest tightened with near-panic as he saw her collapse on the floor.
Drek!
His paralyzer had been set to stop Frezlo, not a pint-sized female. Going to her quickly, he checked the pulse at her neck and was relieved to discover a faint assurance that he hadn't killed her.