Read Fire Island: Book 3 of The Chatterre Trilody (Chatterre Trilogy) for Free Online Page A

circuit board, then scanned it with her tricorder and showed GEA-4 the readings. Following the robot's directions, she carefully began repairs, but the harder she worked, the more difficult it was to see.
    Glancing up, she realized that the once-bright fire had burned down to embers, but what was even more surprising was that a human and a big furry creature were sitting behind it, staring at her. “How long have you been there?”
    When the silhouette didn't respond, GEA-4 said, “He was here first.”
    Hmm, maybe the robot's information wasn't so suspect after all. Tem-aki sat back on her heels and studied the alien as intently as he was examining her. At least she hoped GEA-4 was correct about it being male. It was impossible for her to tell because the flowing yellow robe and ornate blue cowl camouflaged gender, height, weight, and just about everything except long dark hair, strong cheekbones and steady gaze, which seemed very male. Since GEA-4 had said 'he', Tem-aki decided to think of the stranger as male, until she found a valid reason not to.
    Whoever and whatever this person was, she needed his help finding food, shelter, tools and parts to repair GEA-4. Most importantly, she needed to find Larwin, but, if the silent man's attire was any clue, he came from a very backward culture.
    Tem-aki smiled at him and introduced herself. He didn't bat an eyelash or introduce himself. “GEA-4, can he speak?”
    “Unknown.”
    Great! Alien cultures had never been her strong suit, but she recalled that in some cultures, it was prohibited for females and males to interact unless they were either mated or part of the same family unit. “What should I do?”
    “Fuse the relay.”
    That was not the answer she wanted, but probably the best advice, at least for the moment. Tem-aki pulled her las-cutter from the tool pouch, which was designed into her spacesuit, calibrated it to emit a soldering beam and did her best to refasten the delicate wire to the circuit board.
    ~0~
    Cameron watched in fascination as the golden-haired woman – at least he thought the apparition was a woman – bent over the smaller, damaged one. Was it her child? The posture of the one in the strange, turquoise outfit looked like she was trying to heal, but he didn't know how she could do that, when she was fiddling with a barely visible hair. And why was a tiny silvery hair, which appeared not bigger than an eyelash the focus of her attention? Furthermore, why was it sticking out of a cut at the base of the injured one's skull?
    Surely the other injuries were much more severe than the tiny hair. With that thought, the back of his own neck began to tickle. He moved a hand to scratch it and encountered whiskers. A backward glance confirmed that Saphera was as fascinated by the two unknowns as he was.
    Reaching behind, without taking his attention from the unexpected pair, he patted Saphera's neck. A soft, tentative purr came from deep within her chest. Crawling forward, she leaned against his side and together they watched the odd pair.
    Once, when it looked like the taller one was having difficulty trying to move the smaller one, Cameron considered offering his assistance.
    But he realized that if she/they wanted his help, they have would asked, so he stayed on his mat, without seeing anything more earth-shattering than the pair emerging from the underworld.
    Then, as the sun climbed high in the sky and the embers began to die, the smaller one suddenly sat up and clasped the taller one's face between her damaged hands. Saphera shivered so hard, as she leaned against his side, that Cameron nearly fell over.
    The pair remained motionless for so long that he began to worry that he should do something. But what? Chant? Without being sure if they were sent by the sky creators or from the underworld demons, he couldn't decide what they were doing here.
    How could he know what to pray or which chant would be appropriate, when he couldn't even decide if they were