ZenithRising by Marilyn Campbell

She was no longer entranced enough to follow him into that
dark abyss. She also no longer felt any shimmering…except in her pussy. That
part of her practically had its own heartbeat. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that much fun but…” She stroked his arousal until it straightened. “I’ve been
thinking about that cushy lounge for two in the te—”
    Noah grabbed her hand and pulled her into a light jog back
down the beach. Seconds later they came to an abrupt halt. Where there had been
five striped tents, there was now only a single tan one. As they got closer
they could hear a man saying some sort of punch line and a woman’s shrill
giggle. The flaps of the tent were securely closed.
    “What the hell?” Noah went to where the bell had been
sitting but it was no longer there. Instead he saw the two robes they’d been
wearing. None of it made any sense. “Excuse me,” he said aloud. “We reserved
this cabana for the night.”
    After a moment of whispering the man inside replied, “I’m
afraid that’s not possible, sir. My, uh, niece and I have it for the
entire week and we were promised complete privacy.”
    Maggie picked up the robes and handed Noah his. “Something’s
very wrong here. Let’s just go speak with the concierge.”
    Noah’s expression went from furious to worried but he
accepted her suggestion. Rather than taking the side door they walked directly
into the lobby, only to be brought to another sudden stop. Everyone there was
in costume. Flapper dresses and feathered boas and sequined headbands.
Old-fashioned tuxedos with white spats over polished black shoes. Even the
staff uniforms had been changed to old safari-style outfits to fit the theme of
whatever party was going on.
    “Mr. and Mrs. Nash?”
    Maggie recognized the voice and subtle Jamaican accent
immediately. It was her bellhop, Reynard, wearing a crisp khaki ensemble
complete with pith helmet.
    “If you will please follow me, I will take you to your
bungalow.”

Chapter Six
     
    “Who did that?” Karma roared. “Who let the fox out?”
    None of the Abstracts spoke but one by one their thoughts
shifted to Love.
    “I am sorry,” she blurted out. “But the test was unfairly
difficult. They only have five Earth days before all their fates are sealed
forever. It was illogical to have them spend a chunk of the time figuring out
when and where they were and how to manage.”
    Justice rose to her defense. “Love has a valid point though
I am not convinced releasing the fox was the best solution. What is done is
done however. Since I presented this mission I will take the responsibility of
getting Reynard back in his cage.”
    Karma was far from satisfied but accepted Justice’s promise.
“See to it that you do. Quickly. Earth’s humans are having a difficult enough
time without Deception running freely through the ages.”
    Once, long ago, The First would have had something to add
but as Earth aged and humans multiplied it became necessary to allow others to
function without constant oversight. The First could never forget how, when
that conclusion was originally drawn, things were thrown into chaos with humans
mucking about without rules or consequences. That era was followed by a period
of them being constantly controlled and manipulated like marionettes, not only
by the Abstracts but beings of other dimensions who had slipped in while no one
was on guard.
    As a solution, The First had set down guidelines by which
the Abstracts could interact with humans, interfere with their lives or make
revisions to their individual histories. Toward that end, portals were created
on Earth so that moving through time or dimensions was only possible in those
locations at specific times with limited duration. Use of a portal had to be
approved by all members of the Council before being presented to The First for
activation.
    Because altering events that had already occurred was the
most tempting yet most potentially disastrous sort of