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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781456736118 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 05/23/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 1 MB |
Read an Excerpt
Tibran's Revenge!
A Novel of World DestructionBy Max Dahlstrom
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2011 Max DahlstromAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-3000-0
Chapter One
Robert Fisher
It came as a pleasant surprise to Robert Fisher when Julia Metcalf, his most recent girlfriend, agreed to travel with him for a vacation on the remote island of Sandeagh Mhor off the west coast of Scotland. He had only met her four days ago at a party, and although they had hit it off in a big way that night, he knew there was still a lot they had to discover about each other. While hiking around a remote and rough paradise was Robert's ultimate idea of a good time, he wasn't so sure about Julia. She had seemed to him to be too refined to take on such an arduous challenge. He tried, without success, to visualize her hiking through the mud and gorse bushes on the mountainous and bird-bedecked island. But she had said yes. Julia was a very attractive brunette, with a very pleasing personality, and she would be an excellent companion for him for a short stay on the rugged island. As a result of her agreeing to go with him, he was now really looking forward to the trip. He sincerely hoped she felt the same way about being with him. He had high hopes that their journey together would turn out well for the two of them.
Robert and Julia lived two blocks apart in the upper class Morningside suburb of Edinburgh. They had met each other at a typical Friday evening party held by a mutual friend in a fourth floor sandstone tenement apartment.
Robert had had several girlfriends, who had generally tended to drift away from him after a short period of time. He was, initially, a delight to be with by any woman's standards, given his pleasing and pleasant personality. But having been alerted after a few dates to his introverted tendencies, and his frequent quirky ways, most savvy women moved on to greener pastures. After all, who wanted to be discussing the merits of Star Trek versus Star Wars when world peace could be the intriguing topic of conversation? Most of the shallow women he had met until now had been more prepared to discuss the advantages of the Spanish island of Ibiza versus the Portuguese Island of Madeira as a honeymoon destination, rather than the latest Intel I9 sixteen core computer processor versus the MMX turbo charged 32GHz gamers delight. But Robert didn't mind in the slightest that he was an introvert. He was equally happy reading a good book or a taking a long walk alone in the Trossach Mountains in Perthshire. However, he had learned pretty quickly that having an introverted persona is anathema to achieving his desires in life. His longing for privacy had led to him on multiple occasions to being labeled as a social outcast. There were three key staples in life, and only two were in harmony with his psyche. A roof over his head worked out just fine. He had a pleasant single bedroom apartment in Edinburgh. He would eat in his kitchen, or dine alone in one of the many fine restaurants in his neighborhood. However with regards to having sex, while he could pleasure himself, doing so just didn't satisfy him anymore. If he wanted such pleasant distractions, he needed to communicate at least intermittently with the opposite sex. With time and with practice, his social skills had improved, and intimate communication with girls became much less of a hurdle for him.
It was not that he was unattractive to women. Women were drawn to him at the many student parties he attended, like moths to a flame. When he entered the room, their heads would turn. The bolder and more adventurous ladies would leave their circle of friends and flirt with him. Others would just flutter their eyes at him as he passed, hoping to draw his attention. He had glossy, dark, vaguely unkempt hair, designer day old stubble, and a soccer player physique. These physical characteristics gave him a raffish air. He couldn't see it himself when he looked in a mirror, but somehow women saw him as being a great genetic catch. No doubt, he thought, their real interest in him was to be a father for their children. And he was smart too, with a doctorate in psychology from Edinburgh University. In order to remain inconspicuous, he dressed very conservatively, and tried hard not to stick out in a crowd. He opted for tidy shirts, checked or striped for the most part, with faded jeans and logo sneakers. Although he would not describe himself as a wimp, the cool and damp climate of Edinburgh necessitated that he wear a warm jacket for nine months of the year. Typically he wore a navy blue blazer with brass buttons, but on occasions he would wear a tweed jacket with leather patches on the sleeves and try to pass himself off as landed gentry. There was certainly a value in having a neat appearance, good manners, a solid body and a good line in chat. Most social occasions when he was in the mood for fun, he would have no difficulty finding a new companion.
So when he had been introduced by a well meaning colleague to Julia, he had smiled at her, and looked her deeply in the eyes. He had found himself drawn to her at once. It was something about her dark auburn hair, her full mouth and her delightful proportions coupled with her subtle expensive perfume and her pleasing smile. She had been wearing a low cut blouse revealing a tantalizing cleavage, and she wore stylish jeans that were molded to her shapely hips and legs. She sported minimalist makeup that accentuated her deep brown eyes, and her full lips. Robert was smitten. To break the ice, Julia had asked Robert if he'd like something to drink, and he had initially found himself tongue-tied. Then he thought, what the hell, and asked her if she'd like to dance. When she agreed, he steered her over to the area in the lounge of the apartment that had been cleared to act as a dance floor. As the evening progressed and the beverages flowed, she had moved in closer to him, and they had slow danced in a very intimate way for the final dances of the evening. They had left the party together shortly after midnight. Once they had reached the privacy of Robert's car, they squeezed into the back seat together and had kissed with an intensity that had taken both Robert and Julia's breath away. After surfacing for air, her lips numbed by the intensity of his kisses, Julia had whispered to him.
"Do you want to come back to my place? I make a really decent cup of coffee. What d'you think?"
"Julia, you darling, that's just my cup of tea!" he had replied, with a crude attempt at humor.
Julia groaned.
"Get in the car and drive." she had instructed him.
Feeling mellow after the wonderful evening he had had, Robert was not in the mood to argue, and with his typical gallantry, opened the passenger door for Julia before settling into the driver's seat. He had quickly driven them the short distance to her apartment. The coffee invitation had of course been a subtle ploy to allow Julia to carry on her seduction of Robert in a place where they wouldn't be disturbed. Robert would have been happy to accept the opportunity just to have an intimate discussion with Julia. While Robert sat himself down on the very comfortable sofa, Julia boiled some water in a kettle, and brewed some coffee using a black topped cafetiere. She had walked up behind Robert and placed her arms gently around his neck. She pulled him in to a deep and tongue filled kiss. Flinging caution to the winds, they had moved rapidly to her bedroom, arms wrapped around each other and lips locked together. The coffee could wait. Robert knew that he would not be returning home that night. Both helped each other pull of their clothes, and they had made passionate love in her bed. Robert could remember every detail of the occasion. It was idyllic. As they lay together, arms around each other, Robert found himself hoping that this relationship would last. Their love making had been intense, and they had moved in perfect harmony, both satisfying each other's needs in every way. Although it was much too early to tell if things would work out for them, Robert felt that he was ready to settle down with someone, and he had a feeling Julia might be the one for him. As he lay in her bed, feeling a marvelous release from the tensions of the world, he found his mind drifting back in time. Robert had had a lot of fun discovering sex. He recalled the many times that, once he had completed his work assignments for the day, he had walked the steep path from Pollock University Halls of Residence to stand atop Arthur's seat. It was a fabulous scenic view looking out over the expanse of Holyrood Park and the orderly streets of the city of Edinburgh. It had also been his favorite pastime to introduce that refreshing evening ramble to new female acquaintances he had met in his favorite local pub, the Volunteers Arms, also known locally as the Canny Man's. The typical Edinburgh pub in those days was wreathed with cigarette smoke, dimly lit, and always had the tang of stale beer drifting through the air. His ideal evening would start with two pints of his favorite Belhaven beer. The slight buzz the beer produced would give him a relaxed feeling inside. Only then would he feel relaxed enough to talk with other students sitting at the bar. If he was lucky, one of the attractive university girls who frequented the pub would accept his offer of a drink, and they would chat. If he was even luckier, the girl would accept his offer to see the lights of Edinburgh from Holyrood Park. He remembered the soft tongue-tingling kisses, and the smooth curves of the coed students tantalizingly covered by thin and teasing outer garments. Mostly, his romantic encounters ended with a kiss, but occasionally he been astonished by the forwardness of his companion for the evening, as she liberated his manhood in the privacy of the dark parkland, and provided him with an unexpected climax to the evening.
Robert was primarily a thinker, an intellectual, and despite his physique, he did not consider himself as a sporty type. But even intellectuals have a sex drive. His scholarly education had progressed extremely well. He had made top grades in Physics and Chemistry. Initially, given his desire to learn and his shy nature, most of his dates had been with text books. From his early teenage years, given the bragging that his classmates had done, he assumed he was the only one missing out on endless sex. Later on, it had come as a revelation to him that the majority of his peers had not yet experienced much beyond heavy petting, or a lip-synching smooch. He was most grateful to the Belhaven brewery for providing him with such a pleasant social lubricant that also tasted so good.
At college therefore, he had finally obtained a first class degree in geology, and at the same time, he had also received his degree in sex education.
It was a part of his make-up though, that he could never totally disconnect himself from his academic background. As he lay there in Julia's arms that night his mind jumped to the various classes he had attended at Edinburgh University, and the snippets of wisdom he had received from Professors in the geology school. It was fascinating what lay beneath everyone's feet, and how little most people knew about it. On a trip with his parents to the Grand Canyon, he had marveled at the layers of colored rock eroded by the Colorado River. Other trips had taken him to see fossils embedded in sandstone rocks eroded by the massive power of the sea. One lecturer in particular had impressed him the most. The topic of the class that day was the geology of the lowlands of Scotland. Professor Gavin Oldhurst, a diminutive grey-haired man, stooped over the lectern had talked at length about the complex geological history of the fault line that had created the Firths of Forth and Clyde. Professor Oldhurst was a crashing bore on any subject other than geology, but he put pure passion into his teaching, and it excited his students. He explained at length about the volcanic activity that had been the architect of several peaks in the area. The Professor's favorite geological feature, he explained, was the majestic rock where Edinburgh castle was perched. He ignited his student's imaginations with descriptions of explosive and fiery volcanic eruptions. With his hands, he would drag the students downwards into the earth's crust as he imagined them all sinking with the huge tracts of land sliding towards the earth's core. The land sank as a result of faults in the crust of the earth to the north and south of central Scotland. Like an elevator in reverse, large areas of the landscape between where Edinburgh and Glasgow would be built, would sink over the years to be swallowed by the sea.
There was something magical about Edinburgh for Robert. Perhaps it was the history of the city. Perhaps it was the ancient castle dominating the horizon. Perhaps it was the Edinburgh festival and the fringe festival each August. Robert loved living in the city. It was a very cosmopolitan city, with a lively night life, despite the cold and damp conditions prevalent for most of the year. Around the time of the Edinburgh Festival, the city came alive with tourists. Thousands of visiting artists, hoping for fame and a coveted supportive review in the Scotsman newspaper, sang, played music, danced and acted out small plays in local pubs, churches and on street corners. In fact, they performed just about any type of performance anywhere they believed they might attract a few passers-by as an audience.
Robert adored visiting Edinburgh Castle. The stark fortress was a monument to middle ages engineering, and was molded to the dark and damp rock face of the ancient volcanic plug arising from the flat grassy parklands of Princess Street Gardens. The castle had been virtually unassailable during times of war because of its position, perched on the steep black slippery stone cliffs arising from the greenery of the gardens. Castle rock was just one of the volcanoes here that had formed the hilly terrain contrasting the grassy plains of the Lowlands of Scotland. These volcanoes had originally erupted many millions of years ago. The resulting basalt and cinder cones they had created sank with the fault plain ending up in shallow seas, and were buried in silt over time. Over the millennia, the land had risen again and re-exposed the conical peaks. Multiple ice ages, and the resulting sheets of thick glacial ice, had scoured away the softer ash and rock to leave the harder central craggy cores of the volcanoes. These plugs of core volcanic rock had resisted further erosion from harsh weather and winter's ice to form the craggy volcanic rock peaks that provided such stark and striking counterpoints to the flat Lothian landscape.
Julia shifting in her sleep disturbed his train of thought. She snuggled against his chest, and sighed. In return, he gently stroked her soft blond hair. She sighed again, and he felt her relax as once more she drifted into deeper sleep. But Robert was not yet in the mood for sleep. "I've had too much excitement for one night." he said to himself. He got out of bed and took a trip to the bathroom to relieve himself. He trotted through to the kitchen, and poured himself a cup of Julia's excellent Arabica coffee. He sipped the coffee in silence and tried to gather his thoughts. Too late he realized, after three cups of the brew, he felt not unexpectedly more awake than ever. His mind racing, he returned to the bed and settled himself under the duvet cover, trying not to disturb Julia's rest. Too much was going on in his world for him to drift quietly off to sleep right now. He was especially excited about the trip to Sandeagh Mhor. There were two major things pulling him in the direction of the distant and isolated island, and one of them was lying next to him. The other was his passion about all things to do with the science of geology. Sandeagh Mhor had had a particularly fine birth those millions of years ago. It would be fun to explore the island and trace its volcanic past. But he was also ready for a vacation, and that was the real pull of the small and remote Scottish island for him. He had read the web site information on the island. He thought that the language used in the pamphlet was a little flowery and it had not been written by anyone with any knowledge of science, but it remained intriguing. The e-pamphlet had not been enough to satisfy his scientific curiosity. However it was roughly in keeping with what he knew of the history of the development of the Scottish islands.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Tibran's Revenge! by Max Dahlstrom Copyright © 2011 by Max Dahlstrom. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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