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Enjoy this nighttime excerpt from Martian Divides...

"Wake up, Kelly!"

Kelly blinked at him as her eyes briefly refused to focus. "Who... What? Oh, Jerod. It's you."

He raised his eyebrows. "You were expecting someone else?" he asked incredulously.

She sat up and shook her head.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Kelly rubbed her head with one hand and gripped the blankets with the other. "What makes you think anything is wrong?"

Jerod smiled slightly. "You haven't been shy since the day we met. You only pull the blankets up over your bare chest when something is wrong. Then there was the symbiont waking me up because you had quit breathing..."

"I quit breathing? I've never had a problem with sleep apnea."

"I know. The symbiont knows. It wanted me to get you breathing again."

"I'm breathing now." Her eyes took on a distant look. "I had some sort of dream. More like a nightmare I guess. But I can't remember what it was about."

Jerod frowned. "That is odd. Martians don't have nightmares. Even dreams are rare. The symbiont compels us to resolve our issues. You should have Coren examine you."

Kelly sighed. "Katy hates it when I drag him out of bed in the middle of the night."

"Right now, your sister should be the least of your worries. You're coordinating the departure of the entire Martian fleet in a few months. Anything that upsets your symbiont could have dire consequences for the rest of us. Besides..."

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"If it's this important the symbiont has already summoned him. That's him now."

Kelly sighed. "Come in, Doctor."

Coren stepped inside. Red swirls raced through his face. He said nothing as he approached the bed. He pulled a flashlight from his lab coat pocket and shone it into each of Kelly's eyes. He scowled as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"What's this about a nightmare?" he growled.

Kelly blinked rapidly to get rid of the spots in her eyes. "Thanks, I needed that."

He patted her knee through the blanket. "All part of the service. Now really, tell me about your nightmare. It's rare for Martians to even dream. This could be the beginning of an excellent research paper."

"You and your papers... Really, Doctor, I feel fine. I had a nightmare and it upset me because that's what nightmares are supposed to do. Do I have to be deliriously happy all the time just because I'm the matriarch?"

He shrugged. "It does make things easier for the rest of us. 'When the matriarch ain't happy, ain't nobody happy,'" he teased.

"Some bedside manner," Jerod responded.

"Yes, Doctor, isn't it supposed to be a bed side manner?"

"What? I'm sitting on the side of the bed."

"Right next to my naked wife," Jerod groused. "It's my worst nightmare."

Coren put his hands on Kelly's bare shoulders and brought his face right next to hers. "Does he always wake up cranky like this? Because if he does, I can prescribe something..."

More about Martian Divides: Third in the Martian Symbiont series

Martian Divides picks up the Martian Symbiont story two years after the end of Martian Blues. The Martians who returned to Earth hundreds of years ago finally found human women who were compatible with them and their telepathic symbiont. With the additional issue of defending Earth from hostile aliens now resolved, the Martians decide it's safe to return to their one true passion: space travel. Only one group of beings can threaten their plans.

Angry that most other people now carry the alien telepathic life form, the underground insists that what's left of real humanity is in danger. They believe Martian influence on society puts them at a disadvantage so they set out to prove their humanity still has a voice. When they attack a Martian the resulting mental shockwave has consequences felt around the world.

The Martian matriarch chooses not to delay the planned return to outer space. However, faced with the prospect of losing her telepathic leadership, humans with the symbiont insist on a successor. To their dismay the underground comes to realize they might not be getting rid of all the aliens. Loyalties and friendships are tested as events unfold along various sides of the Martian divides.