Streaks of Purple Saga Volume Four, Heather Ray [accelerated reader books txt] 📗

I have a mother too, you know. Two years ago when I attended my first formal, my mother actually followed me to my date's doorstep with a camcorder." He laughed at the memory as he opened the passenger's side door. "It was humiliating, but it made her happy."

Alexis glanced away, wondering whether Jason noticed he'd drawn a comparison between this evening and a formal date. She waited, hands clasped tightly in her lap, as Jason closed her door and circled the car.

When he finally stepped into the car, she forced out the question that had been repeating in her mind for an hour. "Jase, why'd you do it?"

He knew exactly what she was talking about, so he didn't pretend otherwise. "Honestly, it was a pretty selfish reason." He glanced at her once before turning onto the street. "I wanted to dance with you."

Alexis squeezed her mouth shut to prevent a squeal from escaping.


Part Five

Green eyes stared out from beneath white bangs, cutting across the dance floor with experienced precision. He carefully scanned for the assortment of colors that would help him distinguish his friends from the rest of the partygoers.

Finally, he found a cluster of teens wearing predominately pink, white, and yellow. With a grin, he wound his way through the crowds to join them.

"Hey, Billy!" Kim called, waving eagerly upon his arrival, "What took you so long?"

"I wanted to make sure the repairs were complete on the Firebird before I left the Command Center," he murmured to the group. "I'm happy to report that your Zord is fully functional, Kim."

"Finally!"

she sighed, "I was worried I'd be grounded next time Zedd came a'calling."

Billy then smiled his greeting to Trini and Tommy, a question quickly forming. "Where are the others?"

"No one has ever

been able to keep Zack Taylor off the dance floor," Trini reminded him, "He's been showing off to Angela since we got here."

"And as for Jase and Lex," Tommy uttered, a smirk pulling his lip, "They're otherwise occupied."

At Billy's curious frown, Kim jerked her thumb to the dance floor. The "mad scientist" blinked when he saw his friends swaying slowly to the ballad.

"I

for one am not the least bit surprised," Kim declared, "They're adorable together!"

Part Six

By the main refreshment table, someone else noticed the couple in question. His dark eyes watched them sway to the music, the sharp black of his costume contrasting to the soft lavender of hers. They had been talking moments before, sharing a laugh over something "Zorro" had said. Now, they were engaged in the dance, her head resting comfortably against his cheek.

"Celery?"

Rocky blinked, bringing the pale green vegetable into focus. A grin slowly forming, he welcomed the distraction. "Thanks, Adam."

The "cowboy" nodded, leaning against the wall beside his best friend. "So, shall we do the pep talk?" he asked Aisha.

She watched Rocky absently bite into the bland snack. "Couldn't hurt."

Adam cleared his throat. "Rocky, you're now going to a school filled

with available women you haven't even met yet."

Aisha then threw her arm over Rocky's shoulder. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to scope out your options. So why don't you stop moping, and start mingling?"

"I thought I saw a group of cheerleaders dressed as the Sailor Scouts over by the restrooms," Adam prompted. "Really

short skirts."

Aisha rolled her eyes. "Men

!"

The knight in shining armor chuckled at his friends' antics, his spirits rising to the Rocky DeSantos norm. He quickly washed down the celery with fruit punch. "I'm game."

Side by side, the three friends wandered away from the dance floor.

The End...For Now!

To Be Continued In...

Streaks of Purple Saga/The Spectrum Force:

The Bridge

Excerpt from Streaks of Purple Saga/Spectrum Force: The Bridge

Chapter One

The North Pole

A heavy blanket of white powder covered the hills and vales so completely it was nearly impossible to distinguish solid ground from frozen lake. The sky above was thickly overcast, creating a murky gray canvas that stretched into the endless distance.

No human eye could possibly see through the snowdrifts well enough to note the streak of crimson that stained the tundra, painting a trail toward a small opening in a nearby mountain.

The crimson trail ended at an ivory bear, freshly killed and still warm from when life ran through those veins. Now, the veins were dry, and a large chalice stood nearby, steam curling from its contents into the torch-lit cavern.

A delicate ash-gray finger dipped into the cup, swirling its contents before rising to greet a pair of bow-shaped lips.

"Ech," she murmured, "what a miserable planet! At least the mammals on Fesp had a decent texture to their blood."

Though there were many things the planet Fesp did not have. It did not have a social structure, as the Fespin armies had been crushed, leaving conquering Denebian Empire to do what it would. Like a pack of locusts, the invaders stripped planets clean of any useful technology or magic, and shipped captives off as slaves to the four-corners of the Empire.

Since victory had been secured, and the assimilation of their knowledge was well under way, there was little reason for the Empire's princess to remain. So she had been assigned another mission, from the lips of the emperor himself.

"Celea, I am sending you to the Outskirts, where Phaedra currently struggles against Spectra and a handful of indigenous creatures called Humans. She has demonstrated quite well that she is incapable of gaining a foothold on Earth, so you will see that this mission succeeds."

At first it seemed like an amusing project, to journey to the edge of the galaxy and wipe out a species incapable of even interstellar travel, yet the young princess quickly discovered the tedium of working with her mother after a humiliating defeat.

"I don't care what

Acheron 'ordains,' you are not

needed here! I

will conquer Earth, and I

will lay the foundation for the Empire's expansion into this sector of the galaxy! I will tear Spectra limb from limb, and feed on the blood of her human pets myself!!

"

The humans that called themselves the Spectrum Force. Six individuals channeling the power of a White Stone. There were other Warriors of Light in the galaxy, and those who relied on White Stones were among the most formidable. The princess would have welcomed the opportunity to test her scythes against the combined might of this Spectrum Force, and typically her mother would have given her leave; but this battle had become personal for Empress Phaedra, and by no means would she allow her daughter the freedom of openly challenging these heroes.

Which left the princess frustrated and extremely

bored, a very dangerous combination.

Left to her own devices, but sworn not to interfere with her mother's plans, the princess had spent her time continuing the study of stolen legends she had begun on Fesp. Several weeks ago, she'd found a very interesting account of alternate planes of existence, which had piqued her interest.

She had begun a diligent study of all the scrolls she could find until she cobbled together some means of opening a pathway to such a dimension.

Grinning in gleeful expectation, Celea lifted the goblet of blood, and poured it into the shallow design she had carved into the frozen soil.

Chapter Two

Angel Grove

"Verisimilitude."

Billy looked up from the thick study aid he'd been perusing, and examined his friends' faces in turn. Trini looked confident, Jason seemed to still be teasing out the answer, and Zack frowned in frustration.

"This is nuts," he grumbled. "I mean, why would anyone need to know that word?"

"You could challenge the practicality of just about everything we do in school," Billy responded with a wry grin. "At least standardized