Shielding Avon

By Rebekah Shelton

Despite Captain Jeremy Hanson's disdain for Cadet Avon Zadoorian, he has vowed to protect her. She is being hunted by Zarcon assassins and other assorted mercenaries. Avon is actually a Princess and the heir apparent to the Zarcon throne in a distant galaxy. Her entire life has been a lie. Avon was torn from her mother's stomach and discarded like trash. Her parents were killed just minutes later. Her aunt fled with her to the ship of the now General Jax Zadoorian, who helped the two refugees escape to Earth. The General raised Avon as his daughter, and her mother's twin sister pretended to be the hired help. Now, twenty years later, Avon's Emperor Grandfather is dead, and her uncle needs to present Avon's head on a pike to assume the throne of Zarcon. Avon and Jeremy are on the run from the Zarcon assassins. They have a military-controlled city, the slums, and a wasteland to transverse before they can escape Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebekah Shelton
• Release date: Apr 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310433368

Rebekah Shelton

Rebekah Shelton, originally from Northeastern Ohio and now residing in Middle Tennessee with her husband, is an empty nester who found her passion for writing through her love of reading. Her literary journey began with her first book, "Emerald Eyes," which started as a tragic romance but evolved into a captivating paranormal romance. Captivated by the characters she created, Rebekah continued to delve into their world, crafting the ongoing series known as the "Legend of the Snow Wolves." Expanding upon her storytelling prowess, she ventured into the realm of the supernatural with a mythological twist in her spin-off series, "The Red Wolf Chronicles."Driven by her addiction to sci-fi movies and her boundless imagination, Rebekah embarked on her third series, titled "The Battle for Zarcon," immersing readers in an exhilarating science fiction universe. Displaying her versatility as an author, she co-authored a book alongside her husband, Jeff, entitled "Operation De-ICE - The Battle for Earth," delivering a collaborative tale filled with thrilling adventures and epic battles."Address for Murder" draws inspiration from a real-life incident that sparked the author's imagination. The story revolves around a woman who faces difficulties receiving packages at her post office box, which had previously been rented by an FBI agent. Intrigued by the possibilities, the author began contemplating what would unfold if the box came into the possession of a CIA agent entangled in a dangerous web of deception and betrayal. Thus, "Address for Murder" was born, weaving a thrilling narrative that explores the consequences of a double or even triple cross, putting the life of an innocent girl in jeopardy.

Book preview

Chapter 1

After running non-stop for five miles, Avon slowed her gait before finally coming to a complete halt. I need to catch my breath, she gasped. And I need water.

Five minutes, Jeremy agreed. Remember to ration the water. We have another twenty-five miles to Lorian City. I’m not sure if and where we will be able to restock.

Did you grab any food?

U-Rats, and only a couple of days' worth. They need to last as long as possible. It looks like we are back to one meal a day again.

While Jeremy recalled growing up in the slums and eating once or twice a day, Avon's life had been different. She grew up eating three meals a day. Yet, she had eaten very little, trying to stay as thin as possible. Avon had believed all her life her father, General Zadoorian, had wanted a son, not a daughter. For this reason, Avon tried to prevent her body from maturing. It wasn’t until her training with Jeremy she added inches and muscle mass to her body.

Avon finally resembled the twenty-year-old woman she would be the next day. She finally looked like a young lady with curves, no longer a tomboyish figure.

Captain Jeremy Hanson had fallen into the duty of protecting Cadet Avon Zadoorian. He had promised to protect Avon and was honor-bound to his vow despite how he felt about Avon. He didn’t hate Avon but couldn’t find much to like about her either. They came from different milieus and dissimilar social and economic castes. Avon grew up wanting nothing. Jeremy grew up in the slums, destitute and fighting for everything.

Avon was being hunted by two Zarcon assassins. It had barely been two hours since it was revealed Avon was the heir to the Zarcon throne. Her entire life had been a lie. Avon had just learned she had been torn from her mother's stomach and discarded like trash. Her parents were killed mere minutes later.

Avon's aunt, her mother's twin sister, fled with her to the ship of the now General Jax Zadoorian. Zadoorian helped the two refugees escape to Earth, where the General raised Avon as his daughter. The expatriate Princess Alia pretended to be nothing more than hired help.

Just hours ago, Avon and Jeremy had hiked to the mansion after a camping trip. They had just finished a week-long bivouac five miles from the Zadoorian home on the back side of the General's property. The camping trip was a part of Avon's summer training, a precursor to Avon's upcoming survival course.

Jeremy was recruited for the summer to ensure Avon's continued enrollment at the ICE Academy. Avon had barely passed the physical evaluations at the end of her first year. Jeremy was selected by General Zadoorian to push Avon to her limits and ensure she was ready for her second year as a cadet. As second in command of the Intergalactic Command Exchange, General Zadoorian couldn’t let Avon wash out. He also needed her battle ready if his worst fears came to fruition, and they had.

It was only nine weeks into the twelve weeks of training and the day before Avon's twentieth birthday when everyone's lives radically changed. Arriving at the Zadoorian mansion, Jeremy and Avon found the house ransacked and Iramy injured. The Zarcon assassins had tortured Iramy, attempting to learn Avon's location. But Iramy refused to tell them.

The Zarcon assassins didn’t recognize Iramy as Princess Alia of Zarcon. Iramy drastically changed her appearance and disguised herself entirely as a human. Her hair was no longer pale blonde but now a fiery red. Her dark olive complexion had been bleached pale white. Her ears were no longer pointy, and her toes were no longer webbed. Even her Zarcon tail had been removed. Iramy appeared human. Rumors had spread for nearly two decades that Princess Alia was dead. No one was looking for her.

As Avon's aunt, Iramy would have died without regret or hesitation before divulging Avon's location. Iramy was astounded the assassins had let her live. She was more surprised her injuries were not as severe as they could have been since she had fought back and had stabbed one of the assassins in the leg. Had Iramy been in possession of a proper weapon, her sword, she would have killed them.

Arriving soon after the attack, Jeremy healed Iramy's injuries with the regenerator. Iramy beseeched Jeremy to protect Avon, to get her off the planet. Jeremy felt trapped, but he knew he was duty-bound to shield Avon. Reluctantly, he agreed. He and Avon quickly prepared to leave Earth to go into hiding. Before leaving the General's home, Iramy cut Avon's long pale blonde hair short and dyed it jet black. Until today, Avon thought she was human as well. Everyone did. All other Zarcon traits were removed within hours of Avon's birth.

The harsh truth was Avon's Emperor grandfather was dead. Avon’s uncle, Angar Zarcan, needed to present Avon's head on a pike before he could assume the throne. Avon and Jeremy were on the run, determined to keep Avon's young head from becoming an ornament atop the pointy end of a long spear.

Avon drank a few sips of water and stretched her back. She felt as if she had already been carrying a backpack all day. And the day wasn’t even close to being over. Avon lifted her pack onto her shoulders and clicked the straps around her abdomen. So, what is the plan once we hit Lorian City?

It was thirty miles from the mansion to the outer border of Lorian City. It would take more than a day to reach the outskirts on foot. With full packs and bedrolls, the trek would be even longer.

Crossing Lorian City, the slums, and getting to the coast would take several days. It would take at least two days to transverse the city and then another day to cross the slums. Avon had never seen the slums or the coast. The stylish mansion she shared with her father was on the city's western edge. The slums encompassed the entire eastern border. The slums were fifteen miles wide and more than fifty miles long, north to south. Jeremy and Avon hoped to reach the abandoned airfield and a hidden shuttlecraft in five days. Jeremy was a pilot. Together, they would leave Earth and find refuge on another planet in another galaxy.

Looking at the map Iramy gave me, the airfield we are supposed to go to is in the southeast section of the coast. I think we should head southeast. The assassins expect us to go the quickest route to the city.

But shouldn't we go straight to the city and get out of the open?

You are the military strategist, Jeremy pondered aloud. What do you think they would expect us to do?

To take the most direct route to the city and try to get lost in the crowd.

So, what do you want to do?

Head southeast, Avon grumbled.

We will keep moving until the sun sets, and then we’ll find a place to bed down, Jeremy added. We are lucky it’s still warm at night. We won’t need to light a campfire and give away our location.

I was hoping for a hot meal, Avon grumbled again.

Be thankful for any food, Jeremy scolded.

After traveling nearly twenty miles, mostly in silence, Avon and Jeremy noticed the sun more than halfway to the horizon. It’s time to bunk down for the night, Jeremy advised and led Avon into a thicket of trees and bushes to conceal their location until daybreak.

I hope Iramy is okay, Avon stated sadly as she sat on her bedroll. Her emotions quickly took over as her adrenaline levels started subsiding.

Iramy is a fighter. I’m sure she has gathered a stockpile of weapons and has fortified the mansion.

Maybe she is hiding in our underground bunker. I hope she is safe.

Knowing Iramy, she is busy cleaning up the mansion and putting everything back in order.

Avon snickered. You’re probably right. I just can’t believe she is my aunt. All these years, she has pretended to be a nanny and a housekeeper, and she was really a Princess.

And look at you, Jeremy chuckled. You are really a Princess too.

I don’t feel like a Princess. Right now, I don’t feel so spoiled, either. I’m hot and sweaty and hungry and tired and....

Me too, Princess Avon, Jeremy snapped.

Avon started crying. Please. Please stop the Princess crap. I can’t take it right now. It’s too much for me to handle, to even comprehend. If you keep calling me Princess, you may slip up and endanger us.

Shit, Jeremy grunted. We need new identities. Didn't Iramy put some fake documents into your pack?

She said she did, Avon replied and grabbed her backpack. Let me find them. After digging for a few minutes, she found two false documents. Nova Rodaz and Jack Rodaz.

They must have been for you and your father, Jeremy surmised.

I hope you can pass for a middle-aged General, Avon giggled.

I’m sure the fake identities are for civilians, not ICE, Jeremy quickly deduced. I wonder how many credits we have.

There’s no way of knowing, not without scanning them. By the way, we still have our implanted chips. We need to remove them.

Two people with cuts on their little fingers will be a dead giveaway. We can’t take a chance, Jeremy countered.

Once we hit the city, our chips will let the government know where we are. If the Zarcons have a mole inside ICE, he or she will be able to pinpoint our location in a matter of minutes using the chips.

You’re right. We have to remove them, Jeremy finally agreed. Who’s going first?

Let me do yours first. Otherwise, I will be in too much pain to remove yours.

Let me sanitize my knife, Jeremy insisted, pulling out his military-issue knife and laser. After putting the laser on the lowest setting, he held out the knife and watched the metal turn red. He let the knife cool for a moment before handing it to Avon.

Make it quick, Jeremy grimaced and held out his hand.

Avon took Jeremy's hand in hers. Sorry, Avon whispered as she sliced the pad.

Jeremy winced and bit down on the sheath of his knife to keep from screaming.

Avon pulled the tissue back and found the microchip. Using the tip of the blade, she dug it out. As quickly as Avon could, she grabbed Jeremy's laser and reheated the knife. Then she lowered it to his finger, cauterizing the wound closed.

Sorry, Avon whispered again.

Jeremy took a couple of deep breaths to steady himself from the pain, first from the cut and then from the burn. Jeremy knew it would be a week before his finger sufficiently healed.

Finding his own courage, Jeremy looked at Avon. Ready?

Not really, but I know I’ve got to do it, Avon whispered hoarsely.

Close your eyes, Jeremy suggested. And bite down on this, he added as he handed her the sheath.

Your mouth was on this, Avon grimaced.

You will be glad you did. Besides, I don’t have any more germs than you do.

Says you, Avon tried to laugh.

Close your eyes, Jeremy repeated. He couldn’t bear to have Avon watching him. Jeremy couldn’t have to look Avon in the eyes while he hurt her. It wasn’t as if he had feelings for her. But Jeremy knew how much it would hurt, and he wondered for a moment if cutting Avon was an infraction of his oath to protect her.

Avon put the sheath between her teeth and closed her eyes. She jerked as she felt Jeremy touch her hand. It wasn’t as if he had never held her hand before. She was just scared of what was about to happen. Avon tried to relax, to find her happy place, but all she could think of was her hand in his.

Avon remembered the first time he took her hand, the first time they had danced. Avon remembered how he held her hands the first time she walked into the river. She was surprised at how fond she was to have these memories, especially since she and Jeremy barely tolerated each other.

Avon and Jeremy were not friends by any stretch of the word. But they had been thrown together, and despite her dislike for him, she needed him. Avon needed Jeremy to survive.

Suddenly, Avon felt the knife's sharp blade cut into her finger. Reality and the harsh truth of her existence rushed back to her. Avon tried not to scream in pain, biting down harder as Jeremy found the chip and pulled it out of her finger.

Don't move, Jeremy warned as he seared the wound.

Is it over? Avon asked, trying not to cry. She refused to let Jeremy see her cry. It would have made her appear weak, and Avon was determined not to show any signs of weakness.

Yes, Jeremy replied. It’s okay to cry. I know it hurts like hell.

We need to destroy the chips, Avon suggested as she choked back the pain.

Yes, but not here. Once the chips go offline, ICE will know where we are. It might be better to find a way for them to continue being traced. Right now, ICE doesn’t know we are on the run. We need to feed them to a rodent or something.

What are the chances of finding a rat tonight or before we hit the city?

I’m not sure. But we need to find a way. Hopefully, we can find something or someone going in the opposite direction.

Can we eat now? Avon asked. She was hungry and needed to think about anything besides everything that had happened that day.

Yes, Nova, Jeremy laughed.

Thank you, Jack, Avon chuckled. I guess we need to get used to our new names.

Jeremy pulled out two U-Rats and handed one to Avon. Eat everything. We can’t afford to waste one crumb.

Trust me, I’m hungry enough to eat the plastic.

Jeremy chuckled. I’ve created a monster.

Tell me you’re not hungry?

Famished, Jeremy laughed.

After dinner, Jeremy buried their trash. We should get some sleep, Jeremy suggested. I would like to head out as soon the sun comes up. We need to find a place to sleep tomorrow in the city before it gets dark again. Our original thirty miles to the city have become almost forty.

We will barely reach the city before dusk, Avon groaned. The pace we are walking is inhumane.

No more brutal than having your head removed and put on a pike, Jeremy reminded Avon. Are you going to give up so quickly and let your uncle win?

Personally, I don’t give a shit about my uncle, but I would like to live long enough to see my next birthday.

That's right, tomorrow is your birthday.

And I was so looking forward to my chocolate cake, Avon sighed, half in anger, half in anticipation of its taste. And the assholes smashed it. I could kill them just for that.

Be careful what you wish for, Jeremy warned. I would like to get to the other side of the city, not having to fight them. Zarcon assassins are some of the deadliest killers in several galaxies. I’ve heard failure results in their own beheading. I’ve also heard it’s a public execution with swords.

I’ve heard the same, Avon frowned. I also heard their families are executed first. I’m not sure Zarcon is a place I want to go to or be associated with.

I understand, but you didn’t get the option of choosing your birthplace or your birthright. Whether you want to accept it or not, you are half Zarcon. You are the heir to the throne.

Stop reminding me. Right now, I only want to get a few hours of sleep and live another day.

I totally agree with you, Jeremy sighed. One day at a time.

Good night, Jack, Avon whispered as she closed her eyes.

Good night, Nova.

Chapter 2

Avon awoke just before dawn, hearing noises nearby. For a moment, she had feared the two had been found. Jer...Jack, Avon whispered, reaching out to wake Jeremy.

It’s just me, Jeremy whispered. I have a surprise for you.

Food? Avon asked as she tried to focus.

We could use them for food, but I have another idea.

Avon sat up and saw Jeremy holding his pack out. His belongings were on the ground. What’s in your pack? Avon asked.

A couple of pigeons, Jeremy smiled. I’ve eaten my fair share over the years, but I was thinking of using them to throw off anyone using the chips to track us. I’m sure any Zarcon spy is already searching for us. ICE is probably still clueless unless your father called for reinforcements after Iramy contacted him on his secure channel.

I’m sure my father is keeping things low-key, Avon countered. He’s good at keeping secrets. I’m starting to wonder how he got some of those injuries he had me heal over the years. Was he on some super secret mission, or was he doing something else?

Like what?

I don’t know. Maybe he was out killing Zarcons or some other spies.

Too much speculation there, Jeremy shrugged. The more we learn, the more confusing everything becomes. There has been a whole world we knew nothing about. There have been more lies told than either one of us can count. My head was spinning all night trying to figure it out.

Did you come up with any answers?

Not a one. But I heard the pigeons cooing, which gave me an idea.

Oh yeah, the birds. I forgot about them.

I was thinking about the habits of pigeons. Remember the saying about pigeons always returning to their roost?

Avon nodded.

I was thinking we tie the chips to the pigeons. Ten miles down the road, we release them. They will fly back to this area. It could confuse anyone tracking our chips.

It’s a good idea. At least keep the assassins busy for a while. But what about your stuff? How are you going to carry everything?

Jeremy gritted his teeth. I have sorted what we absolutely need. I can tie it up in my blanket until we release the pigeons.

And the rest?

I will leave it behind, bury it.

I will carry it, Avon offered. We’ll jam everything into my pack. I’m sure you packed everything for a reason. We’re not leaving anything behind. Nothing they can use to find us.

It’s going to add to the weight of your pack, Jeremy reminded Avon.

"I know. I have already considered it. But I can do it. Hell, it