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  Huana Marsh was ready and eager for an assignment off world as a seeker for the star Dekkar. Imbued with his power, she sets off to find the lost world of H'skar, origin world of the Hashka. Yaedo, the security officer for the temple is her chaperone and bodyguard and after a few days in his company, Huana knows why. Dekkar has selected her perfect mate and has locked him in a shuttlecraft with her. Since her body is demanding the attentions of its mate, their assignment is going to get a lot more complicated before it simplifies.

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  Caress of the Stars

  Copyright © 2011 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-55487-940-3

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

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  www.devinedestinies.com

  Caress of the Stars

  A Hashka Chronicle

  By

  Viola Grace

  Prologue

  The darkness of space had been filled with searching minds.

  Having left their bodies behind, the minds of the newly evolved race experienced everything by watching the races that their group consciousness drifted past, millions of minds acted as one. For thousands of years, they watched species grow and flourish, simply remaining in their invisible cloud until a growing dissent appeared in their midst.

  Three thousand of the gathered minds were tired of their aimless existence and wished to take a more active role in the lives of the species around them. An unseen civil war took place and two thousand five hundred minds separated from their energy mass, taking up residence in a quiet star system.

  Now that they were alone, they had time to plan for what they wanted in a species to call their own.

  The stars planned out a sturdy race, blue skin that was sensitive to the touch but difficult to pierce. They could survive on any of the occupied worlds without requiring life support, their lungs able to process a number of gasses into a usable form.

  The minds of the species was a matter for some debate and finally, they came upon the idea of creating a lobe in the brains that would allow the stars to visit any of their people at any time.

  One of the females brought up the problem that while they had designed an intelligent and worthy people, there was no guarantee that they would not die out in less than a generation, so they needed to work in an incentive to mate.

  They discussed the remembered senses that they used to have and it was in agreement that they would create signals that the males and females could not ignore. The females would go into heat and receptive males would scent it. To let the female know she had found a good match, the voice of an appropriate male would intensify her heat.

  With their list of what they did and did not want in a species, they now needed to craft it. Their thoughts and attentions turned in two directions. One group sought technologically advanced species who would be able to create the race. The others sought a race of sufficient population that a few thousand folk plucked at random would not be noticed.

  A human colony abandoned in a dead sector contained a population that was trapped and slowly dying, using up their supplies as time passed, fit the bill for building blocks of their ideal race.

  When the techs were located and in transit, the stars used their energy to put the people of H'skar in stasis. The researchers went to work immediately. If they delivered the transformed creatures, they would be allowed to live.

  It took two years to get a working example of a successful design, but once the prime Hashka had been created, the rest were transformed in a matter of months.

  With their minds blanked and their bodies remade, the Hashka race began to thrive.

  The stars guided them, nurtured them and occasionally used their bodies to remember what the feeling of touch was. The stars were delighted when it was apparent that they could build their power from the energy expended when their new creations either fought or mated.

  The planet of H'skar bloomed. The star named Dekkar poured all of his power into keeping it a living place. He watched over the primes and their children, keeping the temperature of the surface at the most pleasing for the precious new ones who appeared with every generation.

  When the other Hashka began to leave for other worlds to colonize, Dekkar asked a few of his chosen families to return once they had seen the star systems. They agreed and as they took to other planets, they remembered their promise to return to the world they had called home.

  While he would become the patron of three other planets, he would always remember the first world that he touched and the people he nurtured from their pale pink origins.

  Imagine Dekkar's surprise when H'skar disappeared. It was five hundred years before he found the right Hashka to help his beloved find it again.

  Chapter One

  Huana Marsh looked up from her research and blinked at the contingent of priests in her office. "May I help you?"

  "Seeker Marsh?" The male at the front of the contingent bowed low. "You are requested at the temple."

  She stared at the men in surprise. "You have to be kidding. I am not exactly your type."

  Usually, the priests only came searching for women who were unmatched and about to go into heat. Huana had at least six months to go before she went into her first heat and she was far from a stunning beauty.

  They blushed at her honest assessment. It was no secret that they tended to favour a certain type of woman for early selection. The priests were allowed first pick of the women in heat. If a match was made, they made excellent husbands.

  It was thought that a husband from the priesthood was a lucky thing, a blessing from Dekkar that ensured the star's attention throughout the life of the couple.

  "The high priest and his consort have requested your presence. We are not privy to the reasons. We have simply been assigned as your honour guard." His long, swirling blue robe over his bare chest marked him as a security guard at the temple.

  The muscles on his companions and their paler blue robes identified them as personal guards for the higher-ranking members of the temple.

  "I see. Just a moment, please." Huana locked her research away and walked to her boss's office.

  "Arkol, I will be out for a while. Keep an eye on the front in case you have a client." She leaned in the doorway and grinned at his rumpled countenance.

  "Where are you off to?" Arkol ran his hands through his dark hair and scowled as he came out of his seeker's trance.

  "I have been summoned to the temple. Don't laugh. Come and take a look if you don't believe me."

  No seeker could resist their own curiosity, so she was unsurprised to find Arkol next to her, peering around the corner and making a soft whistle at the four priests waiting for her.

  "Raveli isn't going to believe that you were summoned by fo
ur priests."

  "I wasn't summoned by priests, it isn't my time. I was summoned by the high priest and his consort." She held up a hand and stopped his train of thought. "Don't even go there. I am going now. Keep your twisted fantasies between you and your wife."

  He waggled his brows at her and gave her a small wave, wiggling his fingers lasciviously. "Oh, I will."

  Sighing and rolling her eyes, she turned and made her way back to the front of the office, tossing her cloak over her serviceable tunic and trousers. "Let's go, gentlemen."

  The security officer tried to take her arm, but she pulled away. "Let's not pretend that this is something else. Two bring up the front and two the rear."

  One of the men grinned. "I am good with that."

  Three of them chuckled while their spokesperson scowled.

  "Stop it, Nakor. She is an honoured guest of the high priest. This is not the moment for innuendo."

  They sobered and as a group, turned to the door. The man next to her murmured, "If you don't want to attract attention, you might want to take my arm and pretend you are going in for your preliminary check. No one would understand any other reason. As you said, you are not really our type."

  She tried to control her hurt, but masked her emotions and took his arm. No one needed to tell her that she was very plain for a Hashka. Her parents had told her that the stars had given her those features for a reason and she had tried to believe them. She had yet to succeed.

  A few of her neighbours saw the escort and immediately scuttled off to spread the rumour of her being selected. For most women, it would be considered a high honour, but she could only think of it as a cruel taunt. The action of being escorted to the haven of the most eligible, intelligent and wealthy males on the planet and she was going in for a business meeting was a cruel irony that the stars would answer for.

  The muscles of the forearm she was holding twitched when her fingers clenched around them. The great steps of the temple loomed ahead of them and as they took the first steps, all passersby gave polite applause.

  Huana flushed a dark purple and hissed to her companion, "This is something I am not going to live down."

  "Yes, you are. Just keep breathing and take your nails out of my arm. Everything will be fine." He patted her hand and they passed the ranks of security before entering the cool confines of the interior temple.

  As they were no longer in the public eye, she released his arm as if scalded. He seemed rather perturbed by it, but stepped away from her.

  Her escort brought them to a private chamber, not the public hall as she had anticipated. She took a deep breath as they opened the door and let her enter on her own.

  The high priest and his consort were waiting for her in their sitting room. They rose to greet her and invited her to sit.

  She had seen him from a distance, but never this close. He and his wife both had the glow of the stars in their eyes, midnight blue hair and skin that was bright and healthy. They were the epitome of Hashka health and sexuality.

  "Greetings, High Priest Taru, Priestess-Consort Vieal."

  In their eerie manner, they spoke as one. "Thank you for answering our call, Huana Marsh."

  "It is my honour to serve the emissaries of Dekkar."

  They inclined their heads as one. "Your star has need of you."

  "If you needed a seeker, I am sure that you have one or more on staff here at the temple."

  "I need you, Huana Marsh." The rumble of the voice through the two pairs of lips went straight through her soul.

  She knelt at the feet of her star and bowed her head. "Whatever you need of me is yours, dearest star."

  "I knew you would say so, dearest daughter. I am asking you to go on a journey, a journey from which you may never return." The voice grew ominous. "Are you willing to take such a risk?"

  She thought about it for a moment, thought about her life on Slithinish and her future. The priests would never come back for her again. She was doomed to live her life searching for her perfect mate and finding only disappointment and eventual madness. Life as a seeker was interesting, but it was not going to take the place of a mate and family. Her features were too plain to attract any of the men and if they didn't get close, she would never know if their voices could raise her heat. It was a horrible roundabout.

  If she did leave Slithinish, she would be leaving her friends and family behind. "Will you tell my family where I have gone?"

  They smiled. "We will. They will be given a pension to replace your earnings as well. They will not suffer financially in your absence. Now, do you wish to know where you are going?"

  She laughed lightly. "Only if it will not conflict with your master plan, dearest star."

  They smiled, their robes and gleaming skin bright in the light streaming through the windows. "You are going to find the lost planet of H'skar. You are the only one who can."

  "The planet of H'skar? It's a fairy tale. A legend lost to the ages."

  They sighed. "It has been lost, but it is very real. You are the woman who can find it and I will send you out with both an escort and the power to signal me when you have located it."

  She blinked in surprise as they rose as one and embraced her from both sides, the ample breasts of the consort a stark contrast to the erection of the high priest. Lips pressed against her flesh, trailing across her neck, cheeks and ears. When the power began to flow into her, she spasmed, her body held up only by the hands of Dekkar's emissaries.

  When they released her, every nerve in her body tingled, every cell was aware of the breeze on her flesh and the heat of the sun. Even her hair rippled with power, her senses keener than they had ever been.

  "Huana, Seeker of Dekkar, I charge you to find H'skar and call me to tell me where it has strayed. Security Priest Yaedo will accompany you and assure your safety."

  The emissaries took her hands and smiled as they were given control of their bodies again. The normal voice of the high priest was surprisingly warm. "Thank you, Seeker. He has been waiting to speak to you for you for a very long time."

  Their encouraging faces bolstered her nerves as she waited for her escort and the ship he would pilot to be powered up. For better or worse, she was on her way to the stars.

  Chapter Two

  It was surreal to be hustled along the shaded corridors of the temple toward the private launch area. An acolyte met them in the halls with two bags for her. "These are your travel bags. Your companion will meet you in the shuttle."

  "Can I call my family?" Huana gripped the handles of the bags tightly.

  "You can make a call from the shuttle and the high priest will make sure that they are looked after. If you do this for Dekkar, he will make sure that you are taken care of. That includes your family." The priest of the house nodded toward the light at the end of the hall. "It is time for you to go now."

  Hauling the bags with her, she hiked out toward the lone shuttle waiting on the launch pad.

  A shadow was visible inside the shuttle and as she stepped into the dim interior, she winced. "Hello, Priest."

  "Greetings, Seeker. Please stow your bags and prepare for lift off. We have a collective to catch."

  The surly and insulting security officer was busy doing pre-flight checks. He sounded just as pleased to be on this assignment as she was.

  Keeping her thoughts to herself, she locked her bags down and took up the navigator station, quickly sending a link to her parents. "Hello, Ma. Is Pa in his study?"

  "Of course he is. Why aren't you at work?"

  "There has been a development. I am going off world for a while. I have an assignment. It will require me to leave for a while."

  The heavy sigh that gusted from her mother made her smile. "This is rather sudden."

  "That is correct. Now with client confidentiality at stake, we are going to simply wish me well and I will send you messages as I am able. Now, put Pa on. I can hear him in the background."

  "I love you and I wish you good luck, Hu. N
ow, here is your Pa."

  "What is this? Why aren't you at work, Hu-bear?" The rich, warm tones of her father made her smile.

  "Because I have an assignment that is taking me off world. Take care of Ma and don't let Arkol and Raveli kill each other. Love you, Pa."

  "I love you, too, Hu-bear. Now, be safe and be in touch when it's feasible." Her father was going to calm her mother down and that is why she wanted him included on the call.

  "Bye, Pa. Bye, Ma." With a sigh of satisfaction, she discontinued the connection to face the audience of one that was lurking behind her.

  "You seem to have quite a close relationship with your family, Seeker." The temple head of security strapped into the pilot's seat.

  "It comes and goes, Priest. Right now, they are resigned to my pursuing my career in whatever form it takes. Last year, they were trying to organize an arranged mating with a passing freighter captain." She chuckled and buckled her harness. "I refused to leave the world without saying farewell to them. Now it is done, we can get underway."

  A rare smile crossed his too-handsome features. "That is my cue, I suppose. Pre-flight checks are complete. Engine test is green. We are ready to launch."

  She breathed deeply as they began to taxi down the small runway and just as she felt they were going to drop off the cliff, the shuttlecraft rose in the air and made its way through their atmosphere.

  "We will have a small transport of our own, but we will be travelling with a caravan of ships. You will be addressed as my servant, as my facial markings clearly identify me as a priest of Dekkar."

  She frowned, but he had a point. The tattoos and metallic spirals that marked his forehead and temples were hard to miss.

  "I don't do well in a subservient pose."