Actually this book sprang from a question from a reader who remembered I had hinted Darik and Nicolle might be expecting in an earlier Badari Warriors book and then I hadn’t done anything else with that. I replied to her it didn’t work out for them and went on with my day but the question sparked off a train of thought in my head as to why it hadn’t worked out (besides me moving on to other stories and plots) and how that would affect them as a couple and what they’d do next. And then the Muse said “Here’s the story.” Complete and entire in my head. This has only happened to me a few other times in my writing life and when it does, it’s an amazing feeling and a gift. I abandoned what I was in the middle of writing and sat down and let the words flow and got it written in just a few days.
It’s such a sensitive subject so I hope I did it justice. I wrote somewhat from my own lived experience of nearly fifty years ago and that’s all I’m ever going to say on the subject.
And on a lighter note, there are over 3000 stock photos of the model I’d chosen for Darik on the cover of his first book and for this novella I had to go through ALL of them to find any which would work for this cover. He’s incredibly handsome so it wasn’t that there were any ‘bad’ shots but the photographer had done a lot of cropping and unusual lighting and some were of the model in a Santa hat, or black-and-white studies not color, or with other people (not Nicolle LOL) or in a setting which wouldn’t fit a Badari Warriors story…I think eventually I sent my cover artist for this novella about six possibilities based on what she outlined to me would work for the concept we’d had in mind. I love the finished cover!
Here’s an excerpt – Darik has gone to the grove of the Great Mother to ask for her help…be careful what you ask of a goddess…:
“What would you do to resolve this problem?” she asked.
“Anything you ask of me.”
She settled into the seat more comfortably and gazed at the butterfly. “Would you risk yourself to obtain the solution for all the Badari?”
“Of course.” Darik had no idea where this was going but he resolved to do whatever was necessary for himself and the others. Was she going to ask him to infiltrate a Khagrish lab and steal secrets perhaps? A daunting job for one man to accomplish but he’d do it to meet her price for ending the current situation.
“The original Badari had issues with fertility at times,” she said in a conversational tone. “There was a sacred place where the waters would enable a woman to conceive and carry her man’s child, if she could but drink a tiny portion. Difficult to reach, guarded by monsters but if the man—or woman—could overcome the difficulties and reach the spring, the reward was huge.”
“Superstition,” he scoffed before he could bite his tongue. “We’re dealing in real world issues here.”
The goddess wasn’t disturbed by his doubt, merely shrugging. “One race’s magic is another’s science. Trace elements, your Doctor Garrison said, didn’t she? Who is to say the water in this spring I speak of didn’t carry such extra content? Let me assure you the issue which was inherent in a number of the original Badari has carried down through time to you and your brothers, whether the Khagrish in their oh-so-clever, oh-so-evil pursuits of their science knew it or not.”
Darik pondered what she’d said so far. “Either way, the planet of my long-ago ancestors doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Yes, the enemy destroyed it.” The Great Mother leaned forward. “I can send you there.” She held out her hand. Resting on her palm was a tiny crystal flask, doublesided, with an amethyst stopper wedged into the top on each side. “One dose for your mate, one dose for your doctors to study and isolate the necessary magic, or elements if you prefer the term. Fill the bottle at the spring of new beginnings, sip from the waters yourself and you’ll return to your own place and time with the flask. You have seven days.”
The suddenness with which she presented the quest took his breath away. “If I fail?”
“You’ll die.”
Now he understood why she was allowing him to see her face so clearly. He voiced his final concern. “Nicolle isn’t Badari though so this water wouldn’t help her.”
“Isn’t she?” The goddess raised her eyebrows and the sky darkened. “She carries your blood, her immune system is now Badari, she has the gift of longevity—she has the mate bond, although the two of you have allowed it to become sadly tattered and fragile, which is a thing I never expected to see.”
“I love my mate,” he said, barely refraining from giving voice to a howl of rage. His inner predator was pacing and angry at the implied criticism but the goddess merely spoke the truth and he knew it.
“And she loves you, but the distance between the two of your hearts is vast right now.” Thunder boomed in the distance. The Great Mother placed her hand on his cheek as if to console him. “All these things can be worked out in time but you must talk to each other. You both mourn in your own ways, neither wants to hurt the other by bringing up the topic, she blames herself—”
“It wasn’t her fault, she did nothing wrong,” Darik said and now there was definitely a growl in his voice. His talons were trying to edge out of their sheaths.
“Talk to her,” the goddess said softly, patting his cheek before withdrawing her hand. “If you complete the quest.” Head tilted, she studied him. “Have you decided to take the risk?”
“I’m going.” His jaw was clenched so hard his head ached. “And yes, Nicolle and I will talk when I get back. Because I am coming home with the special waters.”
“I believe you.”
DARIK’S QUEST: A BADARI WARRIORS SCIFI ROMANCE NOVELLA (SECTORS NEW ALLIES SERIES) by Veronica Scott
Long mated, Darik and Nicolle have had trouble starting a family and the stress of the situation has begun to fray their mate bond. Finally Darik asks the goddess for help. She sends him through space and time to the planet of the Badari ancestors, where he must fulfill a quest in seven days, which she promises will help him and all his Badari brothers and their mates. Darik faces great danger without the support of his pack and undergoes a life-changing event before he faces the final dangerous barrier to success. With everything at stake now, including his life, can he accomplish the task the goddess set for him and return to his own time and place? Or will Nicolle be left alone on the Badari Warriors’ world, with no idea what happened to her mate? This is a 28,000 word novella.
Author’s Note: Content Warning: There are references to a previous, early pregnancy miscarriage.
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