The Spectrum Force Volume Four by Heather Ray (bearly read books TXT) 📕

The Bridge

The North Pole

A heavy blanket of white powder covered the hills and vales so completely it was nearly impossible to distinguish solid ground from frozen lake. The sky above was thickly overcast, creating a murky gray canvas that stretched into the endless distance.

No human eye could possibly see through the snowdrifts well enough to note the streak of crimson that stained the tundra, painting a trail toward a small opening in a nearby mountain.

The crimson trail ended at an ivory bear, freshly killed and still warm from when life ran through those veins. Now, the veins were dry, and a large chalice stood nearby, steam curling from its contents into the torch-lit cavern.

A delicate ash-gray finger dipped into the cup, swirling its contents before rising to greet a pair of bow-shaped lips.

"Ech," she murmured, "what a miserable planet! At least the mammals on Fesp had a decent texture to their blood."

Though there were many things the planet Fesp did not have. It did not have a social structure, as the Fespin armies had been crushed, leaving conquering Denebian Empire to do what it would. Like a pack of locusts, the invaders stripped planets clean of any useful technology or magic, and shipped captives off as slaves to the four-corners of the Empire.

Since victory had been secured, and the assimilation of their knowledge was well under way, there was little reason for the Empire's princess to remain. So she had been assigned another mission, from the lips of the emperor himself.

"Celea, I am sending you to the Outskirts, where Phaedra currently struggles against Spectra and a handful of indigenous creatures called Humans. She has demonstrated quite well that she is incapable of gaining a foothold on Earth, so you will see that this mission succeeds."

At first it seemed like an amusing project, to journey to the edge of the galaxy and wipe out a species incapable of even interstellar travel, yet the young princess quickly discovered the tedium of working with her mother after a humiliating defeat.

"I don't care what

Acheron 'ordains,' you are not

needed here! I

will conquer Earth, and I

will lay the foundation for the Empire's expansion into this sector of the galaxy! I will tear Spectra limb from limb, and feed on the blood of her human pets myself

!!"

The humans that called themselves the Spectrum Force. Six individuals channeling the power of a White Stone. There were other Warriors of Light in the galaxy, and those who relied on White Stones were among the most formidable. The princess would have welcomed the opportunity to test her scythes against the combined might of this Spectrum Force, and typically her mother would have given her leave; but this battle had become personal for Empress Phaedra, and by no means would she allow her daughter the freedom of openly challenging these heroes.

Which left the princess frustrated and extremely

bored, a very dangerous combination.

Left to her own devices, but sworn not to interfere with her mother's plans, the princess had spent her time continuing the study of stolen legends she had begun on Fesp. Several weeks ago, she'd found a very interesting account of alternate planes of existence, which had piqued her interest.

She had begun a diligent study of all the scrolls she could find until she cobbled together some means of opening a pathway to such a dimension.

Grinning in gleeful expectation, Celea lifted the goblet of blood, and poured it into the shallow design she had carved into the frozen soil.

Angel Grove

"Verisimilitude."

Billy looked up from the thick study aid he'd been perusing, and examined his friends' faces in turn. Trini looked confident, Jason seemed to still be teasing out the answer, and Zack frowned in frustration.

"This is nuts," he grumbled. "I mean, why would anyone need to know that word?"

"You could challenge the practicality of just about everything we do in school," Billy responded with a wry grin. "At least standardized testing directly impacts our futures. A better SAT score means a better chance at getting into your top choice school."

"Yeah, but tomorrow is the P

SAT. It's just practice! Why are we even studying for it?"

"The PSAT serves its purpose," Trini answered. "It's a good measure of how you'll do on the real test, and your scores can be forwarded to universities. Over the next few months you'll get pamphlets from colleges all over the country, along with scholarship and financial aid information."

"The bottom line is, it's worth spending a couple hours on," Jason finished. "So 'verisimilitude'… that has something to do with the truth, right?"

"Right. Something that has the appearance of being true or real."

A sudden grin crossed Zack's face, and he jumped from his seat at the round patio table, hurrying to the screen door of the house. He held open the door for Alexis, who precariously balanced a large tray of tortilla chips with bowls of salsa, nacho cheese dip, guacamole and sour cream.

The Purple Ranger stared at him in surprise. "How'd you know I was coming?"

Jason chuckled, standing up to take some of the bowls from her overstocked tray. "We think he's part bloodhound. He can smell food a mile away."

Zack immediately proceeded to pile a single chip high with all the flavorful options.

"So, what's the next vocab word?" Alexis prompted, hovering at Jason's shoulder.

"Here's a challenging one: Sesquipedalian."

Jason's eyebrow quirked. "Gesundheit."

Alexis grimaced. "Are you sure that's not Greek or something?"

"The use of really big words," Zack muttered around a mouthful of chip and dip. He glanced up when he felt the startled stares of his friends. "What?"

"How'd you know that?" Trini demanded to know.

The Black Ranger shrugged. "You can't grow up with Billy Cranston without picking up something

. Besides, there's no better word to describe my main brain!" He tossed another chip into his mouth. "So when's the food coming?"

Alexis brushed her hands together. "Salad's all done, and the burgers and hot dogs are ready for grilling. Mom'll be right out."

As if on cue, Amanda Darling pushed through the door holding a tray of seasoned meat. She smiled warmly at the group of teenagers, and set the tray beside the charcoal grill.

"Do you need refills on drinks or anything?" she offered. "Lunch will be ready soon."

"We're fine, Mrs. Darling," Jason answered.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Trini volunteered.

"No thank you; everything's under control. Just keep hitting those books!"

"Here's a good one," Billy stated with a grin. "Egregious."

"Ooo… I know

this one," Alexis grumbled, rubbing her forehead.

"Doesn't it mean like really social?" Zack suggested.

"Bro, you're thinking of 'gregarious.'"

"Oh. Yeah, that sounds about right."

Amanda smiled warmly as she watched her youngest daughter interact with her new friends. When she first met Jason that Friday, he'd suggested that the entire group come over at once, to give Amanda the chance to meet them. Amanda had taken to the idea quickly, and opened up her home to the group for a picnic. And after less than an hour in the company of Trini, Jason, Billy and Zack, Amanda found herself completely charmed by them.

"Any word from Kimberly or Tommy?" she wondered aloud.

Trini politely swallowed the tortilla chip before replying. "They went to pick up the pictures from the Halloween Ball. They should get here any minute now."

You wanted to learn more about the Spectrum Force, their mentors and the enemies they fight? Read on and you shall find information on these characters and more!

Rachel Castaneda - The Purple Enforcer

Full Name:

Rachel