Energia: The Jewel of Grienox

Preface

C

haos. Chaos might have been the only word able to describe the scene that lay before the people of Grienox. Their home had turned to rubble, and their world had turned upside down as the invaders came upon them in waves, crushing waves of Armorin soldiers who seemed to tear apart the very existence of the Grienoxian culture, coming at them from all directions. With their planet, Grienox, being barely half the size of their neighbor, Armorin, the Grienoxian people didn’t stand a chance.

The Armorin planet was that of a sick people in every sense of the word. Their planet was dying, and their leader was causing it. That such a spirited and lively planet as Grienox had survived against them for as long as they had was truly amazing; however, they did not last—at least, not how they had planned to. The Armorin people were jealous and filled with hatred toward the energy-conducting Grienoxians, and it had escalated to the point of invasion. Anyone who stood in the way of their takeover would surely see punishment.

The king and queen of Grienox saw this clearly and made a decision in the hope of one day reviving their beloved planet. With much sorrow, they entrusted their beloved infant daughter, named the Jewel of Grienox by their people, into the hands of the queen's most trustworthy handmaid. Frantically racing to send off the evacuator ship, they discreetly sent the maid onboard with their daughter and packed the transport with as many Grienoxians as possible. With everything ready and everyone almost loaded, the king did one last thing before the departure. He anointed a protector. Protectors had not been chosen in Grienox for centuries, but the king spared no caution in the well-being of his daughter and brought back the tradition for the dire circumstance. He chose an infant boy from a noble Grienoxian family of warriors and performed the special anointing upon him, giving him the ability to sense the energy of the princess and grow to keep her safe. The boy's family was honored with the king's choice and allowed him to send their son with the trusted maid.

Armorin soldiers came at the launch bay from all sides, allowing the ship only seconds to spare before the area was overrun. The crew, led by the honorable Cassia, guided the ship quickly off the planet—but on to safety.

Skillfully, they made it past the Armorin blockade but were pursued by the smaller attack ships. In the midst of the chase, the main fuel cell of the ship was damaged.

Knowing the ship was about to combust, Cassia quickly loaded everyone into the escape pods and ejected them all into a space leap to a different galaxy where they’d be safe. However, just as the pods sped into space, the main ship exploded, and the pods were thrown off-line. Spinning uncontrollably, all the pods were thrust out of the leap and hurtled toward the surface of the closest planet. The crash dealt a devastating blow that some of the elderly Grienoxians did not survive—one being the maid to whom the king and queen had entrusted the children.

Finding the children as she checked the rubble, Cassia was faced with many new obstacles. She and the group decided it best to stay here, on this planet, until they could be certain the Armorins had lost them. Cassia was almost positive they would send bounty hunters as well to try to find the princess and end the threat she posed to their new rule. She knew she would need to keep the child safe. Safety was something she could provide, but in this new territory, stability was not. Cassia knew that the princess would need a comfortable home, somewhere she could be loved and cared for as she deserved. So she made it her duty to find a family who knew this planet and would be able to take care of her better than any of the confused Grienoxians could.

After changing the child into a human form and making her powers dormant in the hope that she would be at least eighteen before they surfaced, Cassia set off with the princess with plans to return to her people after placing the child in a safe home. In her absence, Heil, a royal guard, was left in charge, and the escaped Grienoxians now had to find a way to thrive on a new and strange planet—Earth.

CHAPTER ONE

The Meteorite

V

eronica Stanley lay in her bed with eyes wide open. Restful sleep had somehow grown distant as a slight shiver ran down her spine. She had not been able to sleep for a full week now on account of a recurring dream that would not leave her alone. Every time she fell asleep, she saw the same thing. It started with an image of a boy who looked to be about her age. He then began to glow. The dream shifted in perspective, and she saw herself do the same thing. She usually woke up in a cold sweat at that point, which was where she was at this moment.

She had lain in bed for many nights now, trying to figure out what it meant, but there was nothing she could think of. She could not even recall ever meeting the boy who was in the dream, and given the fact that he was quite handsome, she was sure she’d have remembered him.

Turning to see her clock, Veronica sighed at the time—5:30 a.m. She didn’t see a point in lying there staring at the ceiling any longer, so she slid out of bed and went out to the kitchen.

To her surprise, when she left her room, she saw someone else was up this early too. Her little sister, Sandy.

Sandy? What are you doing up? Veronica yawned.

Scanning for alien life in our neighbor's house, Sandy answered in such an innocent manner that Veronica almost missed the fact that it was completely crazy.

What makes you think your equipment works? she asked warmly, not wanting to take away her sister's fantasy.

I know it does. I found it online.

Oh, did you now? Veronica smiled.

Yes, I did. And just to prove it's legit, I’ll test it on you. Sandy smirked and then scanned her sister. Seconds later, the scanner beeped negative, and Sandy smiled.

See, no alien.

Veronica feigned a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. I was worried for a moment. She smirked.

Sandy scoffed. I think you’d know if you were an alien.

I would hope so.

Sandy laughed and then turned back to her scan of the neighbor's house. She was always investigating odd things. And their neighbors definitely fell into that category.

Veronica left her to her work and continued to the kitchen. As soon as she was in sight of the fridge, she smiled. If there was one thing she wanted right now, it was a glass of ice-cold orange juice.

As she moved toward the refrigerator, she noticed a box on the counter. It was from her aunt Rebecca and addressed to her mother. Now, Veronica was not a nosy person, but she was curious. She glanced at the box for only a moment before she grabbed a knife to open it. To her surprise, her aunt had sent her mother a very old pewter gravy boat. Veronica smiled at the delicate beauty of the item. Reaching down to pick it up, she was startled by an intense burning sensation when she touched it.

What the—? She jumped and ran to put her hand under cold water.

When she turned the water off, she examined her hand to find a blister where the burning sensation had been. She did recall that pewter caused a slight reaction with her skin, but never like this. She had heard that allergies could grow worse with time, but still, this wasn’t normal.

Cassie walked quickly with a purpose to hide. She didn’t have much time before her mother found her, and without an answer for her, being found was not a good thing.

She looked back and saw her mother behind her and abruptly ducked into the closest room, which just so happened to be where she was heading anyway. As fast as she could, she ran past her best friend, Devan, as he pummeled a punching bag.

Devan noticed her dive behind the couch and stopped what he was doing. He looked over at the couch and suspiciously eyed the spot she had just been in. In the next moment, she poked her head up and flicked her hand to tell him to keep doing what he was doing. Then, she fell back into her hiding place. Shaking his head in confusion, Devan threw just one more punch before the door flew open again. This time, it was Regina, Cassie's mother.

She was a member of the Grienoxian Earth Council that was put together when the remainder of the escaped Grienoxians were united. She was probably one of the most important people in the building, and she took the liberty of extending her importance to her daughter, Cassie.

Ah, Devan, is Cassie in here? she asked.

Devan looked over to the couch and smiled.

No, I haven’t seen her yet today.

She nodded. Let me know when you see her, would you?

Of course. He nodded as she turned and left the room.

Devan smiled and shook his head. He figured he was done with the punching bag for now and went to grab a water out of the cooler in the room.

What did you do? he asked Cassie as she peeked out from behind the couch.

"It's more like what we are going to do…" She smiled.

Come again?

Cassie scoffed. I may have told my mother we’d investigate the atmospheric intrusion they recorded yesterday.

And she's chasing you around because…?

Because I never told her how or when. She keeps asking me what my plan is!

And you don’t have one.

Duh!

Wow, empty promises…shame on you, Cassie, Devan teased.

No. No, they’re not empty promises; we just need to inspect the crash site.

You know where it landed?

Of course not.

I feel so confident about our success, Devan replied sarcastically.

Shut it.

Devan chuckled to himself as Cassie paced the room. She closed her eyes thoughtfully, and finally an idea came.

I got it!

I’m sure you do. Devan smiled.

Remember that asteroid that hit yesterday?

The one found in some guy's grove?

Yeah…it hit the same time we had the intrusion, didn’t it? What if it's the ship?

That's some sick camouflage tech.

But it could be the ship!

OK, OK, yeah…let's try it. When do you want to head out?

Now.

Really?

Yes. It will be better to give my mom a report rather than tell her how I will get the report.

Good point.

Veronica sat on the couch staring at her phone. She wanted so desperately for someone to text her. She couldn’t remember another time she had been this bored, and it saddened her, not to mention she needed a distraction from thinking about her dream and rubbing the blister on her hand.

Sighing at the screen of her phone, she slumped in her seat. Not even her best friend, Dawn, had asked her if she wanted to do something today.

Ugh! she moaned to herself.

What seems to be the problem? her brother, Kyle, asked her from behind.

Kyle usually helped their mother in the kitchen at the restaurant she owned. Most Saturday mornings, he’d already be out of the house by this time.

What are you still doing here? Aren’t you at the restaurant today?

He smiled. Yes, but I have to bring Charlie to karate first.

Charlie was their little brother. The youngest, and sometimes a royal pain, he practically dictated Kyle's schedule. The four always got along very well, but Veronica always believed it was because each of them had a role. Kyle was the big brother who you would usually bring problems to. Sandy was the relentless researcher; she was always looking for something abnormal. Charlie was the baby; he always got what he wanted. And Veronica…well, she was their rock. She would always lift her siblings up when they needed her to. However, when Charlie was in one of his moods, sometimes it was easier just to laugh.

You have fun with that.

I’ll try. Thanks.

Charlie then ran down the stairs and out the door without saying a word.

Looks like I’ll be trying really hard today. Kyle sighed and then patted Veronica on the shoulder and ran after Charlie.

Veronica smiled. She thought to herself how fortunate she was to have been adopted by such a lovely family. She was also thankful that Kyle was so nice to her. He had been a year old when his parents adopted her as a baby. Since then, he had made every effort to make her feel loved—along with everyone else, of course.

V! You’re still here! Sandy squealed as she hopped down the stairs.

Yeah, it seems all my friends have forgotten about me today.

I haven’t! She smiled.

Sandy, born two years after Veronica had been adopted, had always looked up to her. In Sandy's sixteen years, she and Veronica had become quite close.

No? Veronica smiled.

Of course not! In fact, I have an activity planned for us already.

Do I need a tinfoil hat? Veronica teased.

Sandy grabbed a pillow from the couch and playfully whacked her.

Those don’t actually work.

Good to know! Veronica laughed.

Sandy nodded. She then grabbed a blue folder from her backpack and opened it with a mischievous look in her eye.

We’re going to check out that asteroid that crashed yesterday.

Don’t you think it will be blocked off by now?

Nope. The truck doesn’t get here until three. Which means we have plenty of time to get there and take a look before the government arrives to take care of it.

What if it's radioactive? And how do you know when the truck will arrive?

I thought of that. Sandy smiled and pulled out two hazmat suits that Veronica, sadly, was not surprised she had. And I have my ways…shall we get going?

CHAPTER TWO

Connected

A

re you sure this is the right orange grove?" Devan asked as he and Cassie walked the rows of the grove. Doubt was beginning to creep into the back of his mind. He wondered if this disturbance they were investigating was really anything more than just an asteroid.

I’m sure it is…it should be somewhere up ahead. I just hope we won’t have to introduce ourselves to anyone.

Why? You brought along an anointed protector for help, Devan teased. He had been trained in every kind of combat that he had access to and had all the confidence in the world that he could handle himself against any threat. However, he had never actually put any of his training or confidence to the test.

Sure! Cassie laughed. "But in case you forgot, you never did get any of the anointed powers that are supposed to come with the job."

Devan shook his head, amused. He was without a comeback.

You got me there.

Cassie and Devan then continued on, walking all through the grove until, finally, they found the asteroid in the very back of the property.

Thank goodness! Cassie exclaimed with a smile as excitement overtook her. She went to run for the large space rock to investigate but was quickly stopped. Devan had grabbed her arm and abruptly pulled her behind a large citrus tree as if what she was about to do was life-threatening.

What's your problem? she snapped.

Shh! he replied and pointed toward two yellow figures near the large rock.

Cassie gasped.

Bounty hunters, she stated then backed further away.

Looks like it might be a few government guys in protective suits, Devan replied calmly. Any ideas? he asked.

We could change into lizards and check it out first.

Lizards, huh? Well, all right.

Cassie gave Devan an annoyed glare, and then the two changed from Grienoxians into lizards. Crawling over to the two yellow figures, they listened to their conversation while observing the crash site.

I don’t see anything alien looking, one said.

I just want to get a few more pictures, and then we can leave, the shorter one replied.

Devan made up in his mind that they were just curious kids, much like he and Cassie were, only they were there on Grienoxian business, and he guessed that the two girls were there purely out of personal interest. Looking up at them while in his lizard form, he somehow managed to meet the eyes of the taller girl just as she looked down at him. Suddenly, he was struck with a feeling that he could not describe. Not only was she beautiful, but she was so strikingly familiar to him that he felt he should know her name. After a long moment of staring at her, a vision flooded his mind. He saw the anointing that had taken place when he was a baby, and he gasped.

A sensation blew through his body like he was being struck by lightning. He couldn’t catch his breath. What was happening to him?

Ready? Veronica asked as Sandy snapped her last photo.

I suppose. I was really hoping to have found something substantial, though.

Well, they can’t all be winners.

No, I guess not. Sandy sighed.

Hey, no frowning. There will be other chances for you to research things like this. You’ve still got our neighbors to figure out, Veronica teased and nudged her lovingly.

You’re right.

Sandy hugged her big sister and then began walking toward the front of the grove and back to the car. However, just as she did, a piece of asteroid was blasted from the side of the rock and knocked Sandy to the ground.

Sandy! Veronica gasped. Sandy, are you all right? She ran to her sister and tossed the large piece of rock to the side, noting that it was about the size of a small door but didn’t seem heavy at all.

With how easy it was to toss off of Sandy, Veronica expected her to be unfazed, but the impact was enough to knock her out, leaving her with a sizeable bruise on her forehead.

Veronica looked back at the asteroid and noticed the piece that had flown off left an opening into the rock. As she examined it closer, she realized that it wasn’t a rock at all. In fact, it looked like it might have been some kind of spaceship, and Veronica had seen enough movies to know what came after the spaceship.

Come on, Sandy. Let's get you out of here! She panicked, trying to get Sandy up frantically. However, she was too late; the aliens had already stepped out of the ship.

Grabbing Sandy's shoulders and hoisting her up so she could carry her, Veronica quickly ducked behind an orange tree, where she was surprised once more by the presence of two teenagers, who were also hiding behind the large tree.

Um, hi. Veronica looked at them in shock.

Hi. The girl smiled.

You’re not wearing suits, Veronica gasped.

Don’t worry. It's…it's not radioactive, the girl replied as if she was not the least bit worried about the aliens who now walked freely through the grove. Veronica was quite impressed by the calm demeanor that the girl possessed, not that she knew enough to know anything about her.

The boy, however, was frozen solid in what Veronica deemed to be fear. He had every right to be afraid. Anyone in his right mind would be just as scared as he was after seeing aliens. He had even closed his eyes.

We’re, uh…well…what happened here? the girl asked, seeing Sandy, who was unconscious in Veronica's arms.

She was hit by the door when the aliens opened…their…uh…ship.

Oh no. We have to get out of here, the girl replied.

Veronica nodded and then quickly began to unzip her hazmat suit. She was glad to be rid of the bulky thing; however, now that it was useful for something, she did not regret wearing it.

What are you doing? the girl asked in confusion as she watched Veronica step out of the suit and smooth out her pink T-shirt and jeans.

I’m going to use this as a distraction so we can run.

Good idea! The girl smiled, impressed by her quick thinking. However, her smile faded when she remembered the frozen boy behind her.

I’m Veronica, by the way. She smiled.

Cassie, and this dork is Devan.

Pleasure to meet you. Can Devan run? Veronica asked.

Devan seemed slightly familiar to her, but she couldn’t put her finger on just how she knew him.

I can get him to.

Good. I’ll… Veronica started but stopped when she noticed Devan's eyes were now open—only thing was, they were glowing white.

What's happening to him? Is it the aliens? She felt herself start to panic again.

Cassie shook her head in astonishment. Veronica could tell she knew what was going on, but the shock left her speechless.

Cassie! What's happening to him? Veronica said in a harsh whisper, trying to snap her back to the moment.

Cassie was about to answer when Veronica's eyes too turned white and began to glow. They were now linked. The protector's anointing had been activated, and Cassie gasped as she realized she had just met the princess of Grienox.

Devan's and Veronica's eyes both lost the white glow, fading back to their normal blue color as they began to take deep breaths. The effects of the activation left both their heads spinning.

Devan looked at Cassie with wonder in his eyes. He was in the presence of royalty—not just any royalty either, but the royalty he was sent to protect.

What. Just. Happened? Veronica coughed out.

You’re kind of connected…can we explain it later? Cassie smiled and then nudged Devan and pointed to the bounty hunters coming toward them.

Devan smiled. Let the protector do his thing, he said proudly.

Cassie rolled her eyes but nodded anyway. She then picked Sandy up off the ground and turned to Veronica. Confused did not seem like a strong enough word to describe the look on her face.

Do you have a car here? Cassie asked calmly.

Uh…uh, yeah, this way.

The girls took off toward the front of the grove. With Sandy cradled in Cassie's arms, the three made a quick getaway—at least until they spotted the alien bounty hunter who had followed them.

Hey, I think it's time you use that suit. Cassie stopped and gestured toward the purple figure moving toward them.

Veronica nodded and hung the suit on a nearby tree. They took off toward the car once more when the alien went toward the suit.

Is Devan going to be OK? Veronica asked with worry in her voice.

Oh, he's fine— Cassie answered but was interrupted by a large explosion coming from the location of the spacecraft, followed shortly by Devan screaming as he