by S. E. Smith
“Well, find them and kill them. We’ll sell them dead,” Zeb ordered.
“Where are you going?” Crag asked.
“Dragon hunting,” Zeb replied, checking his laser rifle.
“Tell Hans to get the ship ready,” Crag grunted before he took off.
Zeb walked over to the skimmer. He released the emergency canister attached to the side and tossed it. He aimed, and fired. The canister, filled with a fire retardant, exploded in midair and created a hole in the wall of flames. Sliding his leg over the seat of the skimmer, he turned the transport around and took off through the hole. In the distance, he could see the shape of someone running. A break in the clouds cast the moonlight down on the white hair of the woman he had seen earlier.
“So, you can shift into a dragon as well,” Zeb said under his breath. “Let’s see how good you can fight.”
15
Bracing himself against the wall, Asim glanced up when the door suddenly burst open. His eyes widened and a grim, pain-filled smile curved his lips but never made it to his eyes. He straightened as much as his broken leg would allow and nodded to his symbiot.
“It is good to see you, my friend,” he greeted through clenched teeth. “My dragon and I need your healing powers.”
His symbiot surged forward. It melted and flowed over his broken leg. Asim closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and relaxed. The warmth of healing energy flooded his body, making him whole once again. The fighting blood of his dragon ignited in his veins. When his eyes opened, the flames of an ancient dragon warrior of Valdier blazed from them.
“Our mates and the younglings are in danger,” he snarled, baring his teeth.
The two Grombots that had followed his symbiot into the room turned and quickly vanished. Stepping out of his makeshift cell, Asim shifted into his dragon and took off at a run for the wide, double doors. By the time he hit the doors of the barn, his symbiot had formed armor around his body. He burst through the doors and soared up into the air. Twisting, he scanned the burning field for his mate.
His gaze narrowed on Pearl’s white hair. She was running toward the barn. Behind her, a skimmer was approaching at an increasing speed.
Fury poured through him and he plunged forward. He swept over Pearl, placing himself between her and their attacker. He released a series of powerful fireballs at the skimmer. The male jerked the skimmer to the side but was unable to avoid the last fireball completely.
Asim released another burst when the man flew up into the air. The flames engulfed the skimmer. Within seconds, it exploded. The force of the explosion sent shards of the skimmer flying through the air.
Diving for the ground, Asim wrapped his body around Pearl and lowered his head to completely protect her from the flying projectiles. Molten pieces of metal rained down around them, but Pearl and his dragon were protected by the armor of his symbiot. He breathed heavily and trembled when he realized how small and fragile she felt in his claws.
He shifted back to his two-legged form and held her close to him, rubbing his nose against her cheek. The coppery smell of her blood hit him hard and he lifted his head. He didn’t need to instruct his symbiot to heal Pearl – it was already moving under the sleeve of her jacket and up her arm.
“I smell blood,” he groaned.
“The ass- wipe got in a lucky slice, but not before I jerked his ass off his skimmer,” she said, gazing up at him. “The other man said they broke your leg.”
“Yes, but my symbiot healed me,” Asim said. “Where are the younglings?”
Pearl looked over his shoulder with a worried frown. “Out there on the emus,” she said.
Asim glanced over his shoulder and his gaze narrowed in anger. He frantically wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt anywhere else, but he needed to take care of the threat to them first. He released her and stepped back. His body shimmered again. Once more, the gun-metal-gray, battle-scarred dragon stood in front of her. With a nod, Pearl shifted as well – her smaller, silver dragon standing proudly next to her mate. Pokey dissolved, divided into two, and created matching armor for each dragon.
With a loud roar, Pearl pushed up off the ground. Asim quickly followed. His dragon was still very protective of his mate despite her fierce nature. Together, they flew out over the field in search of the younglings.
It took nearly five fly-overs before they spied the small group emerging into the clearing near the tall rock. The emus turned in tight circles, prancing and stomping the ground. On the back of two emus, Roam and Jabir waved to Asim and Pearl.
Asim circled around and landed several meters from the birds. Pearl smoothly landed next to him. The symbiot dissolved and shook before reforming into the large Werecat with wings Jabir loved so much.
“Grams! We ran the bad man off. He rode aways on his skimmer for the mountain and didn’t come back,” Roam laughed, sliding off of his emu.
“That is wonderful! You were both so brave,” Pearl exclaimed, bending down to pick Roam up in her arms. “Your daddy and mommy are going to be so proud of you.”
“Are either of you hurt?” Asim asked, looking at Roam before he turned to look at Jabir.
“No, we’s okay,” Jabir said with a grin.
Asim started to take a step toward Jabir to lift the little boy down when the emu under Jabir jerked to the side and stumbled. Its legs trembled before it slowly sank down to the ground. Less than a second later, a cry escaped Jabir when he was lifted by the back of his neck off the back of the emu.
“Don’t move or he dies,” Zeb ordered.
Asim took a threatening step toward the man before freezing. The soft sound of Jabir’s whimper of pain warned him that the man holding the boy wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. His gaze narrowed in helpless rage as Zeb ruthlessly pressed his weapon against Jabir’s temple.
“I should have killed you,” Zeb growled.
“Release him!” Asim ordered, moving ever so slightly so that he was in front of Pearl and Roam.
“Give me the woman and I’ll release the boy,” Zeb demanded with a shake of his head.
“Never!” Asim snarled.
Zeb’s finger tightened on the blaster in his hand. “The woman – now,” he repeated in a cold voice.
“No…,” Asim started to say.
“Yes,” Pearl quietly interjected.
“Pearl…,” Asim hissed, turning slightly in her direction.
“He’ll kill Jabir. I can’t let him do that,” Pearl replied.
Asim watched her lower Roam to the ground and push the boy behind her. She ran her hand along her pants and smiled at him. Stepping closer, she brushed a kiss across his lips and pressed her hand against his.
“Remember rule number eleven,” she whispered before stepping away and turning toward Zeb.
“Release him,” she said, lifting her chin in defiance.
“Not until you take his place,” Zeb countered.
Pearl stepped forward and turned to look back at Asim. A shiver ran through her when she heard Jabir release a cry and the soft thud of him hitting the ground. A second later, Zeb’s cold hand gripped her neck. Pearl gave Asim a small nod, her eyes cool and calm.
Releasing a long breath, she swung her clenched fist as hard as she could down between Zeb’s legs and twisted sideways at the same time as Asim released the knife she had slipped into his hand. The blade struck Zeb in the upper left shoulder. The force of it knocked him backwards several steps. Pearl followed up with a hard kick to Zeb’s stomach, sending him lurching into the tall grass.
The emus followed him. The young birds went on the offensive against their attacker. They surrounded the man and began kicking him with their strong powerful legs. The group disappeared into the tall grass, following Zeb when he tried to crawl away. A shudder ran through Pearl as the sounds of the man’s screams and the thuds and clucking of the emus filled the air.
“Make sure he is never a threat to us again,” Asim ordered Pokey.
The symbiot shimmered and
disappeared into the tall grass. Pearl scooped Jabir up into her arms and shifted into her dragon while Asim did the same with Roam. They both lifted up, carrying the boys away from the last pitiful, choked cries of their attacker.
Later that night, Pearl double checked on both of the boys. They were sprawled out on Jabir’s bed, sound asleep with Pokey. It had taken a while to get both of them to calm down. She had fed them, bathed them, and finally read several books before they began yawning and their eyes drooped.
Pearl looked up when Asim opened the door, stepped in, and secured the door behind him. Her gaze softened when she saw the fatigue on his face. She walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him.
“The boys?” Asim asked.
“Asleep. They were ready to join the hunt for the other man,” Pearl chuckled, leaning back to look up at him with a questioning expression.
“I took care of Zeb and the one at our home. The other one escaped. I notified Zoran about what happened. He has dispatched several ships to find the man. I reassured Mandra, Ariel, Vox, and Riley that the boys were fine. They will be here first thing in the morning. I told them it would probably be best as I knew you were getting the boys down for the night,” he said with a sigh.
“It helped being here in Mandra and Ariel’s house. Jabir had his own toys and bed. Pokey is sleeping with them,” she said, stepping back and guiding him to a large chair by the window. “I made you some dinner. Let me get it.”
Asim tugged on her arm, pulling her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He held her close, his chin against her hair and closed his eyes. Pearl could feel the heavy beat of his heart. She relaxed against him, understanding that he needed this time.
“I was afraid I was going to lose you,” he murmured.
“You weren’t the only one,” she replied, resting her head against his shoulder and staring out at the dark. “When Hans told me what they had done to you, it pissed me off.”
Asim chuckled. “You showed him!” he said, gazing down at her.
Pearl smiled. “He did it to himself, really. Neither my dragon nor I wanted a dead body in the house,” she declared.
“I knew the moment that you knocked my ass in the lake that I had met a woman who was a warrior at heart. You proved it tonight,” he said with a sigh and his arms tightened around her. “Tomorrow, I’m setting up a security system throughout the valley.”
“No, tomorrow you are going to get up and take care of the animals like you do every day. We will not live our lives in fear because of one incident. Besides, we have an army already here! Between the Grombots and the emus, I can’t imagine a safer place to live,” she said sternly.
“I do believe you are right,” he said, bending his head to brush a kiss across her lips.
“You bet your ass I am,” Pearl retorted.
She turned and threaded her hands through his hair. Pulling his head down again, she captured his lips in a long kiss that shared the depth of her fear of losing him. Asim deepened the kiss and thanked the Goddess once more for giving him such a perfect mate.
Epilogue
Present Day:
“Wait a minute! What happened next?” Brogan demanded, leaning forward with his hands on his knees when Asim stopped talking.
“What do you mean ‘What happened next’? We got the kids to safety,” Asim said.
Brogan pushed up off the floor and grabbed the wooden sculpture. He shook it in front of Asim’s face with a frown. When Asim gave him a puzzled look, Brogan released a growl of frustration and shook the wooden emu again.
“What happened to the other man? What happened to the emu that was shot?” Brogan demanded.
“Oh,” Asim replied with a grin.
Barrack stood up and brushed the back of his pants. “Do you want us to hunt down the other man? We are excellent hunters,” he said.
“No, no…. Crag was eventually caught for another offense and is serving time on an Antrox prison asteroid,” Asim assured Barrack.
“What about the emu?” Brogan asked again.
“You know, emus are amazingly resourceful and hardy creatures. The one that was shot received only a minor wound that was healed quickly with the help of my symbiot,” Asim reassured the agitated warrior.
“What about the half-blind Pactor and the Grombots and Roam and Jabir…?” Brogan added, with an intense curiosity that took Asim by surprise.
Asim chuckled and stood up. “Come, I will show you,” he said.
The three men walked through the barn. Brogan and Barrack gazed around them in wonder, as if seeing the animals in it for the first time. Grombots – more than a dozen – swung from the rafters. Large nets were strung beneath the beams to catch the little ones still learning. Brogan stumbled when a half dozen Marrats raced out in front of him. Tasiers slept or munched on thick blades of purple grass and watched them from behind the safety of the glass cubicles that separated the boys from the girls.
Asim paused in the door. Out near the corral, Pearl and Ariel laughed as they petted the newest member to their family – Hobbler and George’s daughter – Isabel. Adalard and Mandra jumped to the side when half a dozen emus swept past them at a run with Jabir riding the largest one in front.
Jaguin and Sara were standing with two other men and a woman. The small group turned and smiled at Barrack, Brogan, and him. Asim heard the two men next to him draw in a startled breath when they realized the other two men were twin dragons – and they each had an arm wrapped around the small, dark-haired woman between them who was holding a toddler in her arms.
Cree and Calo murmured to Melina before walking in their direction. Asim could see the confusion and suspicion in Barrack and Brogan’s eyes as the other twin dragons approached. The expressions on Cree and Calo’s faces reflected their own feelings of disbelief and uncertainty.
“Asim…,” Calo greeted, not looking at Asim but at Barrack and Brogan.
“What is all of this?” Barrack quietly asked, gazing at the chaotic, yet somehow normal scene before eyeing the two warriors who stopped in front of them.
“Hope. A second chance,” Cree said before he clamped his lips together.
“Jaguin thought you might like to know that it is possible to find a mate – and for her to be strong enough,” Calo explained, his gaze moving back to where Melina stood holding their young daughter.
Asim turned and looked at the twin warriors. “This is home – a place where family and friends come and share. It is a place where you find love and acceptance for who you are. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t perfect, that is what makes you special,” he explained with a wave of his hand.
“In our village, everyone feared us. Our whole life we were feared and rejected for being who we were – twins,” Barrack murmured, staring around him.
“We were treated the same way, but we found Melina. She loves us and fought to save our lives,” Calo said, turning to look at the men. “She is our partner. She keeps us grounded.”
“I understand now what Pearl and you were trying to tell us,” Brogan reluctantly admitted, glancing around him as if seeing their world through different eyes.
“What is that?” Asim asked.
“That there are different rules that can help guide us this time – and help us in making the right choices,” Brogan said.
“We grew up with the people of our village believing one thing – that we would never find a true mate. We were fortunate that our parents believed differently. Your mate is out there, but you will need to handle her with care, for she will not understand the ways of the dragon,” Cree cautioned.
Calo nodded. “… Or the needs of twin dragons. You will need to be patient,” he said.
“And follow Pearl’s last rule, no matter what happens,” Asim agreed.
“Which rule was that?” Barrack asked.
“Pearl’s Unbreakable Rule: Family and Friends come first. Be loyal, be true… and love them like there is no tomorrow,” Asim quietly shared, staring
across the yard at his mate. Pearl turned to look at him, a small smile curving her lips. “Cree and Calo can explain that one to you.”
Asim didn’t wait to see if the twins finally understood. His gaze was locked on Pearl. She met him halfway across the yard. He could see the questioning look in her eyes fade to understanding when he gently nodded his head.
“Are they ready?” Pearl asked, lifting her hand to trace the lines near the corner of Asim’s right eye.
“They will be. You were smart to ask Jaguin to have Cree, Calo, and Melina come,” Asim replied, bending to brush a kiss across her lips. “Perhaps, I can talk them into taking all three Pactors home with them.”
Pearl chuckled and shook her head. “You know you’d miss them as much as Ariel and Jabir would,” she said.
“Fly with me,” Asim suddenly said. “I know this little place in the forest not far from here….”
Pearl reached up and captured his lips. Her hand ran down between them and she brushed her hand across the front of him before pulling back with a grin. She stepped back and turned. Looking over her shoulder, she had a mischievous sparkle dancing in her eyes.
“Last one there is on the bottom,” she laughed.
Asim watched his mate transform. The silver dragon flicked her tail, stroking the tip along his chest before she lifted up off the ground. Jabir, riding the emu, swept by him, laughing and waving to Pearl as she flew off.
She going to be top, his dragon snorted, impatiently pacing and wanting to pursue his mate.
I think it is time you tried the bottom, Asim said with a wicked grin.
Oh, yes! His dragon groaned when Asim sent a deliciously wicked idea to his dragon.
Asim shifted into his dragon. In a flash, the battle scarred dragon was in fast pursuit of his mate. Well, fast enough to reach her just a few seconds too late to win. Wrapping his tail around Pearl’s silver tail, he locked them together and brought her gently down to the ground where the delicate silver dragon settled on top of the large male who groaned in delight.