Jessica Strange (Blackwing Saga Book 2)

Book summary

In the year 2074, the West Coast States are a desolate frontier, emptied by The Event triggered by Phelonius Blackwing's arrest. Tacoma, Pacific Coast-Washington, is the last bastion of civilization. Jessica Strange, a former cop and defunct Ambassadorial liaison, now a freelance gun for hire, grapples with the loss of her husband due to The Event. Her life takes an unexpected twist when the Federal Government makes her an offer, leading to the discovery of mysterious creatures in the vaults of Q'estiria. Explore a post-apocalyptic Wild West in "Jessica Strange."

Excerpt from Jessica Strange (Blackwing Saga Book 2)

Cornelius and S'hyrlus were walking through a small, wooded area. Bang! The loud sound made them both jump. Bang! Bang! Out of curiosity, Cornelius walked toward the sound. S'hyrlus followed close behind.

They rounded a small hillock and saw someone, or something, looking down and busy with something. As they crept closer, Cornelius suddenly found himself staring into a huge black hole. Both heard a distinctive click and saw the creature pull back something near the top of an obvious weapon. The creature was speaking, but to the pair, it was gibberish.

"Do not move, Cornelius. It is obviously a weapon, and she thinks it will be effective."

"It would probably be quite effective since it is pointing at my head. How do you know it is a female?" Cornelius asked. His hands had crept upward slightly to show empty hands.

"This is a human female. This one is called Jessica." S'hyrlus touched him lightly, trying to look around Cornelius' bulk.

"Is she going to harm me?" he asked.

"If you move too quickly, she could try. The weapons here are primitive and effective against their own kind. I do not know how effective they are against us."

"From my perspective, I do not doubt her resolve, and I am…reluctant…to be the test subject on the effectiveness of her weapon."

***

Jessica was getting in some range time when she felt the presence of the two intruders. When she turned, muscle memory took over, and the Desert Eagle was cocked and aimed at the head of the first of the intruders.

"Can't you read?" she said with anger and disdain. "I don't want to be disturbed. I don't want company. And I don't need protecting."

She heard the pair speak gibberish, and then her name was spoken clearly. It was then that Jessica got a good look at the couple in front of her.

"You're S'hyrlus, aren't you? And who is this old buzzard? What are you doing here?" She hadn't dropped her weapon or relaxed her posture. "If you move, I'll ventilate you. I don't know how effective my friend here will be, but I'm game to find out if you are."

"Jessica! Stop!" Blackwing yelled.

Her eyes darted to Blackwing.

"These two decided to sneak up on me while I was getting in some practice. They need to read the signs I posted. This is a range area and not safe for intruders."

"They can't read your signs. This is my great-great-grandfather and my mother. You should've recognized her. So, stand down."

Jessica lowered her weapon, released the hammer, and re-holstered it. "You need to inform them," she said sternly, "unless they're trying to get shot. In which case, I'll be happy to oblige."

***

"Venerable ancestor, excuse my friend. She did not recognize you." Blackwing bowed slightly to his great-great-grandfather. "You have inadvertently entered a dangerous area. The weapon my friend is using would be fatal if discharged so close to our skin."

"How effective would that weapon be if discharged at our leather?" Cornelius asked, curious.

Blackwing chuckled. "Unknown. However, she did offer to be part of that experiment."

"Who is she?" Cornelius said. "She is quite impressive!"

"You are an insufferable flirt," S'hyrlus said.

"I am allowed to appreciate beauty wherever I find it," Cornelius grinned.

After a brief conversation with the woman, Blackwing handed Cornelius an unspent shell. "That is what she is shooting. The end is the part that is propelled by the expanding gases of the chemical reaction encased inside the flat end."

Cornelius' eyebrows rose at the weight of the shell that he weighed in his hand. "Most impressive! Was she one of those that helped in the apprehension of Nighthawk?"

"Yes, as was her mate, whom you have already met. He was one of the individuals you called me to Q'estiria to reclaim."

"Shall we proceed to your residence?" S'hyrlus asked. "That was our destination until we became…distracted."

Jessica discharged a few more shots as they walked away, making Cornelius and S'hyrlus jump at the loud noise.

***

When Blackwing, Cornelius, and S'hyrlus entered, all the Q'estirian guards popped to attention. Suzanne rushed to pay her respects to S'hyrlus. Irving glanced at the new arrivals, but it wasn't enough to distract him from his work.

"What brings the grandfather of my grandfather to this humble place?" Blackwing asked as he sat, being the last to do so.

"I came to see this place for myself," Cornelius said. "It was…suggested that to pass any judgments on those who live here, without experiencing this place for myself, would be arrogant."

"Besides, he was turning into an old relic in that office of his," S'hyrlus smirked. "He needed something to get his blood flowing once more."

"Which it is, thanks to your Jessica," Cornelius said. "I would like to see some people here and see their technology. Do they have any cities?"

"We are not far from the last populated city on this continental coast," Blackwing said.

***

Blackwing switched to English. "Irving, what are you working on? Cornelius would like to see some of what you're doing."

"I'm working on an app that can be used to translate documents from your language to English and to translate English to your writing." Irving brought over the electronic pad and showed it to Blackwing.

"It misinterpreted a couple of words. Mind if Cornelius sees it?"

Irving made a face. "It isn't finished, and it does have some errors, apparently."

"He just wants to see your technology. I'm sure it will impress him."

Irving capitulated grudgingly.

Blackwing took the pad over to Cornelius and S'hyrlus.

***

Cornelius looked at the presented device.

Blackwing explained: "Irving has been working on this device to translate the human language to our writing and our writing to their language. He says it is not completed yet, but he is working on it."

Cornelius nodded and pointed to the screen. "There is an error at this rune. For what purpose is this device being created?"

"We hope that it will aid those of our plane that travel to this plane, as well as the reverse."

"What about the edict against travel to this plane and the travel ban, by these…humans, to our plane?"

"Hopefully, in time, those bans will be lifted. After all, you are here, now."

***

"Given any thought to your other duties?" S'hyrlus asked Suzanne, shifting to the language of the nymphs.

"Other duties?" Suzanne asked. "What other duties?"

"Raising and naming Q'estirian younglings."

Suzanne paled.

S'hyrlus grinned. "You have not contemplated on that, yet?"

"Honestly, no, I have not. I would like to ask, why did you name him Socrates?"

S'hyrlus chuckled. "In my time, I have named many Q'estirian younglings." She sighed. "More than I care to think about. I visited what you would call Rome, Athens, other places, and other times in my younger days. I gave names of those I respected, or someone reminded me of someone I had known before. Should you decide to raise and name a Q'estirian youngling, the family name cannot be changed or modified, so pick a name that fits with the surname."

"I have noticed that some of the names on the council were…odd. I had trouble stifling a laugh at a couple of them."

"The Five Families rule the council. Their surnames are from Dragon names: Blackwing, Crowfoot, Thunderclap, Nighthawk, and Hornsdoodle. Each is revered, so which ones caused your mirth?"

"Honestly, Hornsdoodle." Suzanne tried to stifle the flush of embarrassment.

S'hyrlus smiled. "Hornsdoodle was a misinterpretation of the dragon name for one with randomly twisting and curling horns. A Dragon's horns are part of their defensive weapons. Most dragons have either straight or straight but twisted horns. They tend to be symmetrical. The one that became the name Hornsdoodle had non-symmetrical horns that twisted and curved. Those horns were challenging to defend against because of their non-symmetry.

"Each family has similarities inside their group, and you can see that if you look at them. The Hornsdoodle clan tends to be dissimilar to others in their clan and different from the other four clans."

"So, I should refrain from laughing at the name?" Suzanne asked.

"I would. The entirety of the Hornsdoodle clan has enormous pride in their family name and is easily offended and unforgiving."

***

Irving became miffed when Blackwing, and the old codger, began to talk in their own dialect. I wouldn't mind so much if they weren't so dismissive about it.

When Suzanne and S'hyrlus started with their dialect, he waved a hand behind him and walked out the back door. When he turned to see where he was going, he ran into Jessica. His hands came up to avoid running into her. As it turned out, his hands impacted her breasts.

"Hey! Watch it!" Jessica glared at him. "Can't you at least wait until we are alone before you grope me?"

"Oops, sorry, Jess."

She glared at him with her fists on her hips. "And just what, exactly, are you sorry for?"

"Sorry, I got miffed at Blackwing, both of them, Suzanne, and Blackwing's mom. I'm not sorry for bumping into you. Just sorry I did it out here…and not in private."

Jessica grinned flirtatiously.

"Did anyone say anything to you about dinner?" Irving asked.

"No, but I suspect they're gonna want Sichuan beef."

"Has anyone given you the okay to hire a cook? I'm getting tired of running to town every time I turn around."

"Would it help if we both went to town to buy dinner? We could get a pizza and go to our room." She smiled at him suggestively.

"What are you two cooking up?" Trooper asked as he came up to the pair.

"Just thinking about going for dinner," Jessica said. "Would you like to accompany us?"

"No, you two go on. The last thing youngsters need is some old codger dampening any…um…spontaneity."

"You're not 'some old codger'…not to us, anyway," Jessica said.

"Jess is right, Cap. Come with us," Irving added.

"Well, as long as I'm not in the way," Trooper smiled.

A few minutes later, the three were about to enter the restaurant that made the favored Sichuan beef when Smith approached.

"Fancy meeting you three here," Smith said as he walked up.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were stalking us," Jessica said derisively. She fingered the grip of the Desert Eagle in the holster on her hip.

Smith put up his hands. "Take it easy, Jess. I'm not stalking you, and I don't want any trouble. Is it so strange? This place has the best Sichuan, after all."

"You need to make some new friends…to run into…by accident." She glared at Smith.

"You seem to be a burr under her saddle," Trooper said. "I'd recommend you back away slowly. She is quite capable."

"I'm looking for people to man the PD, even if it is temporary, and here are the last three members of the PD, pre-event." Smith tried to look innocent.

"You need to —"

"Hold on, Jess, I want to hear what he has to say," Trooper said and turned to Smith. "You're trying to get the PD up and running again?"

"I am, or we are, trying to get the political structure working again, but anyone willing to be mayor has security concerns. No one wants to be mayor for only a day or two and then be assassinated shortly after."

"Things are a bit wild here, but that's to be expected. We did have an event that significantly altered our society. What're you offering?"

"Offering?" Smith shrugged, "Just a lot of work at a thankless job for lousy pay and even lousier benefits. Why? Are you interested?"

"I don't know yet. I might be."

Smith's eyebrow rose. "I was led to believe that you weren't."

"Cap, we need to talk about it," Jessica whispered.

"Why? You and Irv have your own life. Why do we need to discuss it? I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions; thank you very much."

Jessica's head was nodding while she glared at Smith. She said to Trooper: "We'll place our order and be back when it's done. If you finish your meeting before then, you know where to find us. Come, Irving!"

***

Jessica and Irving walked out of the establishment half an hour later and joined Trooper. They walked to a secluded alley before departing via the wizard-step coins to reappear seconds later at their residence.

"Jessica, are you upset with me?" Trooper asked as they walked into the house.

"With you? No. I'm upset with that slime-o Smith!" Jessica fumed.

"Why?" Trooper asked.

"I don't trust him…or anyone he works for."

"He offered me the job of mayor or police chief, whichever one I want. Was he serious?" Trooper asked.

Jessica's brow furrowed. "I'm sure he was. He's a Fed and thinks he can do whatever he wants and knows that anything he establishes can all go away with nothing more than a shrug, as an explanation, when cornered later."

"He seems to want the same things we do," Irving observed.

"His impetus is for his aggrandizement. Not for any altruistic ideal. Have you forgotten how he was ready to ventilate Blackwing?" she turned to Trooper. "Or when he pulled his gun on you in your office?"

"But if we are in charge, we can make a big difference," Trooper said. Irving nodded.

"Until such time as you would bend the rules, not that you ever did that, for someone you know." She looked sideways at Trooper. "Then the corruption would start creeping in."

Trooper looked shocked. "Are you saying I'm corrupt?"

"Not what I said and not what I meant. Besides, nobody's perfect and human nature is ever-present, whenever humans are involved."