Volume three of our Far, Far Away series brings seven authors together to put a spotlight on stories of marginalized love.
Step across the galaxy to a world where love defies gender, race, and the outbreak of war. Fight for love of all kinds when the well-being of family and friends are threatened by magic power-tools. Witness an unlikely and dangerous affair between a god and his human handler. Then learn the meaning of self-love through the lived experience of a sentient Sapphire.
Through these powerful, unique tales, love is revealed to be the ultimate risk, it gives you purpose when the world turns dark and strange, and it proves time and again that it crosses all barriers, whether they are those of culture, time, distance, or strife. In this collection, love really does conquer all.
Worldsteppers
by Jane Lupino
‘WHATEVER YOU WANT, WHEREVER YOU
WANT, WE HAVE THE VACATION FOR YOU! WHETHER IT’S A FAMILY BREAK TO THE THEME
PARK WORLD OF THORALTON; A ROMANTIC GETAWAY TO THE PARADISE LAKES OF LAVNOS; OR
EVEN THE HEDONISTIC WORLD OF VIRDON, WHERE PLEASURES BEYOND YOUR WILDEST
IMAGINATION AWAIT YOU. WHATEVER YOU WANT, WHEREVER YOU WANT, 'WORLDSTEPPERS'
TOURS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD’
More than a few pairs of eyes
watched in appreciation as Marik entered the StepZone waiting area and
sauntered towards the group of tourists. His body moved easily beneath the
close-fitting, dark purple ‘'WorldSteppers'’ uniform t-shirt.
Vyla moved away from the guests
and greeted him. “They seem like a nice bunch.” She glanced back at them. “The
one with the blue backpack could become a bit of a handful, though.”
Marik studied the small crowd of
twenty, all strangers, all with one thing in common, the search for the holiday
of their dreams. “I’m sure we’ll be able to handle him,” he said with a grin.
He strode across to them and Vyla
suppressed the smile trying to force its way onto her lips. The view of Marik's
delicious behind always did that to her. The way it looked inside his shorts,
which stopped halfway down his thighs and showed off his well-muscled, tanned
legs.
She followed and listened as he
started the standard speech for all the vacations they led.
“It’s great to see all of you
looking so excited about this trip into the wild. The mountains and forests of
Juriss are spectacular at any time of year, but right now is by far the best
time to visit.
“Now, before we leave, I will
just explain a little about the travel procedure.” He looked around at them
all. “Have any of you travelled with us before?”
A few tentative hands rose.
“Great! So, you know the drill.
But, for those who’ve never done this before, firstly, where have you been?
I’ll tell you: you've been missing out on the best times of your lives!” He
laughed and most of the people sitting listening laughed with him.
Marik waved his hands to bring
them back to silence. “I’m kidding. It’s great that you’ve joined us this time
and hopefully the experience will be one that you’ll remember for the rest of
your life. Maybe it’ll even tempt you into joining us again to try something
different. Don’t forget: if you book your next trip before the end of this one,
you’ll be entitled to a very substantial discount,” he said, a true salesman to
the end.
One or two people nodded and
several others looked up with interest. Marik hoped that at least twenty-five
percent of them would rebook so that he and Vyla would get a healthy bonus at
the end of the season.
“Okay, so before we go, I’ll just
run through the routine. Vyla will go first so that she’ll be there to meet you
when you arrive. We’ll go through one at a time. When I activate the StepZone,
you’ll feel a slight pull and may experience a moment of disorientation. This
is perfectly normal and should pass within a few seconds. Very occasionally,
someone may experience a mild episode of nausea, but again, this should pass
quickly. The trip will take approximately 0.5 seconds and when you arrive,
please step off the zone immediately so that your travel companions can come
through. Are there any questions?”
The man with the blue backpack,
who Vyla had pointed out earlier, put his hand in the air.
“Where, exactly, will we land?”
Marik smiled. “As was described
in the travel pack you received, we arrive directly in the hotel lobby where
we’ll spend the first night before we set out on our safari.”
“Thank you.”
Marik held his arms out as if he
would embrace them all. “Okay, departure will start in two minutes, so please
gather your belongings and take your numbered position at the gate.”
As he and Vyla watched them, a
pretty blonde girl wearing a tight sleeveless blouse and very short denim
shorts caught Marik’s eye and smiled. He smiled back and held her gaze for just
a moment longer than Vyla felt was absolutely necessary.
“Come on,” she snapped. “We need
to get going.”
Marik winked at her, his deep
brown eyes twinkling.
Vyla swallowed as the familiar
jolt shot through her whenever he did that. She’d long ago given in to her
feelings for him; his dark, curly hair and rugged good looks along with his
amiable manner and gentle sense of humour had her hooked from their first trip
together seven years ago. She’d also given up all hope of ever doing anything
about it. For a start, he was too interested in the pretty young things who
always seemed to find themselves on his tours. Plus, they had to work very
closely together, and it would be far too awkward if things went bad. There was
also the fact that he’d very early on given the impression that a quick fling
on tour was about all the commitment he wanted to handle.
Marik stood by the departure
gate, chatting with some of the guests, his easy laugh carrying across the
waiting area. He nodded to Vyla as she approached and held the gate open for
her.
“See you on the other side,” he
said, as he always did just before she went through.
She smiled and stepped onto a
small square plate of blue light on the floor. It flashed green and she
disappeared, the StepZone immediately returning to blue.
The last passenger to go through
was the pretty blonde. Marik took her passport, brushing his finger across the
back of her hand. “Okay…Ule, are you ready?”
Ule looked up into his eyes. “I’m
always ready…for anything,” she answered in a low, husky voice. She leaned in,
giving him a good view of her cleavage.
Marik leaned forward, his mouth
almost touching her ear. “I hope so,” he murmured. “I’ll see you on the other
side for sure.”
Ule pulled her passport out of
his hand. “I’ll be waiting,” she purred. She stepped onto the plate and
vanished.
Marik shook himself and grinned
as he stepped onto the plate.
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