About the author
Prologue
Brisbane – now
In the darkness, the city lights rolled with the surface ripples of the Brisbane River. A figure ran along the river edge, darting in and out of pools of amber light provided by pathway lighting.
He dodged the trees and shrubbery that hung over the path and pushed away the lurking shadows snatching out for him. They wanted him. He tried to run faster, but was already puffing, and the sweat poured from his forehead. Glasses bounced up and down on his nose. He grabbed them and tossed them. He was sick of looking at the blurred, coloured auras of people.
She had screamed when she needed to be quiet. She was silenced, and now the path he pounded screamed up at him. A park bench appeared. He needed to rest, so he stopped. His heart pounded and the sides of his head throbbed, banging like something wanted to get out. He sat down, closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head.
An image of the girl appeared. What had he done? He opened his eyes and looked around. Fairy lights glowing in the canopy of a nearby tree brought him some comfort. They reminded him of the stars in the sky. There was a connection there, but of what? He wasn’t sure. He wished he could float away and swim among the stars.
Shadows appeared. Real shadows. People shadows. Surrounding him. He looked at each in turn. They pointed guns at him. Some shook. One he knew and gave him a nod. A comrade? Maybe he shouldn’t have done that—it could raise suspicion. He turned his attention to the blood-stained knife resting on his lap. He held it up and wiped it on his trousers. He felt their tension.
“Don’t shoot me.” He dropped the knife to the ground. “I’m not an amber person.” He looked down at the knife. Still stains of blood. “But she was.”
“You need to stand and raise your hands in the air, sir.”
He looked to see who was speaking. How many of them were there? He placed his head in his palms and rubbed his eyes. Think. Think. He needed to get away. The knife. He looked down at it. The fairy lights reflected on the exposed steel like stars in a dark silver sky, stars calling him home.
The voice told him to get the knife. But it was a different voice. A heavy, dark voice coming from deep within him. He obeyed and picked up the knife, grazing his knuckles on the ground. He stood up, looking at his knuckles. Blood appeared. He screamed and charged at the officers.
The last thing he heard was the gunfire that killed him.
Part One – The discovery
Only I understand the vastness, the mysteries of creation.
Outer space. Only I can reveal the greatness there. But I am coming to you. I am returning. You have been patient.
In the darkness comes a light. The world will see it soon. Be not concerned, for it is the coming of the day.
Take heed. Keep watch.
1 - Stars and dots
A sci-fi robotic sound flooded the room. Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Kinnaird tried to hold on to the dream world he’d been in. The dream world where he was strolling in a garden with his wife and son, Erica and Johnny, a garden so lush and full of life. But he had sensed another presence in the garden. Half awake, he reached for his phone, the source of the sound now lighting a corner of the room. Two-thirty am. Here we go again. He leaned over to apologise to his wife about the phone call at such an ungodly hour, but reality came back. Erica wasn’t here.
He placed the phone against his ear. “Jack Kinnaird.”
“Sorry for waking you at this unearthly hour, sir,” the senior officer said. “There has been a shooting involving some of our officers. Two dead—a victim and the suspect. I’m about to call Detective Sergeant Catherine York. Please pick her up on your way.” The officer ended the call.
Jack checked the clock on his phone again. Yep, just past two-thirty am. An ungodly hour, but nothing out of the norm. The room returned to darkness as the phone’s screen went off. He sat up in bed and focused on a slither of moonlight on the wall, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. The dream was so real. He wanted them back. But his way of living didn’t align with those feelings. His mind was a battlefield. Fighting with evil, fighting with Erica. She’d tell him sin was crouching at the door, then they’d be fighting about religion. Yep, a battlefield. He’ll try and keep the door shut today. He’d been doing well lately.
The phone rested in the palm of his hand. He squeezed it, wanting to crush it, but brought his emotions into check and placed the phone on the bedside table. Night calls had a big impact on his marriage. But he loved what he did. Mostly. He wasn’t so sure on nights like tonight.
He lifted the thin bed covers and sat on the side of the bed. Okay, let’s get into it. Energised, he headed towards the shower. It would be quick, but he wanted to wash away the thoughts of family.
Ten minutes later, he stepped out into the night. Solar-powered lights barely lit the path leading to the stairs to his unit’s garage. He paused at the top of the stairs and looked to the night sky. A bright glow caught his attention. Mercury? Mars? Surely not. There was something odd about the orange glow. Maybe it was a comet on its way to destroy earth—he had mixed feelings about that. He descended the stairs.
The glow didn’t appear threatening, but he’d bet there would still be some panicked crazies contacting the police call centre regarding the menacing bright dot in the sky, sure UFOs or Mars were attacking. Jack let out a small chuckle. But that was human nature: panic at the fear of the unknown. Some people needed to watch less late-night streaming shows, spend less time on social media, spend less time feeding their irrational and unfounded anxieties. There were no piles of toilet paper in his garage.
Sleepiness had departed.
The greyness of the outside world slowly revealed itself in his rear-view mirror as the garage door opened. He took a deep breath in preparation for what awaited him as he backed out of the garage. The street was quiet. The roads were quiet. Quiet was to be expected this hour of the morning—the favourite time of the enemy, who lurked in the quietness and darkness of these hours.
After a short journey, he turned into Catherine’s street, pulled over and parked outside her house. Cath was his partner when the boss needed serious crimes to be investigated—they’d been partnered off and on for the last three or so years, to the point where they were now mates.
He turned the car’s lights off and waited, not wanting to disturb the sleepy street and raise the concern of those with suspicious minds. He rested his arms on the steering wheel and looked down the street. All quiet in this neighbourhood, although that strange light still showed in the night sky. The passenger door opened, bringing a slight chill and a small thump as a backpack found its place on the floor. He turned as Cath reached for the seatbelt strap. She smelled nice.
“Good morning, Detective.”
“You’re half right.” She buckled up. “It’s morning. Did we have a weekend?”
He ignored her remark, started the car and drove off. The speck in the sky followed them through the rear window. He drove in silence, thinking, analysing, getting into the detective mindset. What was that thing in the sky?
“I have a vague recollection that you know something about stars. Not movie stars. Stars staring down from above.”
A quick glance at Cath showed a look of puzzlement.
“Something in the sky intrigued me.” He moved his head around to try and locate it, but it was no longer visible. “Not to worry. It’s gone.”
Cath rubbed some cream on her face. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are! Was it twinkling, Jack?’
She was chirpy this morning. “Nope. Just a bright orange blob.”
“Sounds like a planet.”
