by T. J. Quinn
Putting Maya behind me, I looked around, trying to find the woman.
“You must be Fallon,” I said in a calm tone.
There was someone else with the woman, probably her sister, according to what the black dragon had told me.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” the woman asked, still not showing herself.
Following the woman’s trail, I walked out of the town hall and stood in the middle of the main street, silently inviting her to do the same.
“Come on out,” I invited her.
“Why should I? I don’t know you, and I certainly don’t trust you,” she replied in a cold tone.
“If I wanted to hurt you, you would be dead by now,” I mocked her, amused with her belligerence.
“There are worse things than death,” she spurted at me.
“True. But this time, I come in peace. Adruz told me you would take care of my mate while we fix things back in the city,” I said in a skeptical tone. Though I wanted to get rid of the Asseptians, I still wasn’t convinced we would succeed. “But I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”
“You’re Ryoko,” the woman finally said, coming out of her hideout. “Adruz told me about you.”
“Yes… I’m Ryoko,” I confirmed.
“I’m Fallon,” she told me, standing in front of me, a few yards away.
“Fallon? Fallon Miller?” Maya’s voice broke the surrounding silence. “Oh, my god… I can’t believe it’s you! I thought you were dead,” she cried out as she ran out of the town hall and down the street to meet Fallon, her red hair flying behind her.
“Maya!” I called her, enraged, but she paid me little attention.
“Maya?” the woman murmured, too incredulous to move.
Maya reached Fallon and crashed her in a bear hug, and when the shock wore off, the woman hugged her back, crying and laughing at the same time.
“God, I can’t believe it’s really you,” Maya said, in an ecstatic tone, as she jumped up and down with Fallon still wrapped in her arms.
“I thought you were dead,” Fallon cried out. “Your house… it was all destroyed…”
“We were all captured that night,” Maya told her, finally stopping to cradle her face. “God, you have no idea how much I have missed you,” she cried, wiping the tears from her face.
“I’ve missed you too,” Fallon assured her, hugging her tighter. “Janis, come on out!” she called out her sister. “Maya is here. Can you believe it?”
The other woman showed her face from behind a half-destroyed wall with a slight frown. “Maya? Your friend Maya?” she asked, astounded.
“Yes… this is amazing,” Fallon told her as she reached them.
“Is this little Janis? You’re so grown up,” Maya said, letting me go to hug the sister.
“Ten years is a long time,” Fallon pointed out.
“I guess I can assume you all know each other,” I said, scowling, interrupting the reunion.
Maya laughed and letting Fallon go; she walked to where I was standing, a couple of feet away from the girls. “Ryoko, she’s Fallon. My best friend. Remember I’ve told you about her? She’s alive,” she said, wrapping her arms around me.
“Talk about a small world,” I grumbled, feeling a bit relieved.
Maya had scared me when she had run out of the town hall like that. I had feared for her life.
“Adruz sent you,” Fallon asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
“Yes… we decided Maya would be safer here with you. But right now, I’m not so sure,” I said in a harsh tone. “You were supposed to be inside the town hall, not wandering around.”
The woman scowled. “We are safe. No dragon would ever attack us.”
“You should be more worried about the Asseptians,” I scolded her.
“We’ll be more careful from now on,” she assured me.
“I’m staying here with her, Ryoko. She’s right. We’ll be safe here. I saw the bomb shelter; no one will find us there,” Maya interrupted us, turning around to look at me.
“How can I trust you’ll stay where you’re supposed to?” I grumbled.
“You know I won’t risk losing you,” she assured me. “And I’m sure Fallon feels the same way for her dragon,” Maya insisted.
“I do,” she assured me.
“What’s going on here? Who is this man?” Janis asked, still frowning.
“His name is Ryoko, and he’s with me,” Maya explained. “I rescued me from the aliens.”
“But he’s an alien too,” Janis pointed out the obvious.
“It’s a long story, but rest assure, he’s one of the good guys,” Maya told her.
“I have to go back to the city. Are you sure you’ll all be all right here?” I asked, looking around, not very convinced.
“Yes, we will. We have clean water, access to food, and a place to hide if it’s necessary,” Fallon assured me.
“I’m trusting you my mate’s life,” I said in a grave tone.
“She’s like family to me. I’ll protect her with my life,” Fallon promised.
“Hey… I’m not that helpless, you know? I can take good care of myself,” Maya protested.
I cradled her face and kissed her. “I know, but she’s a dragon’s mate. She’s stronger than me,” I said before kissing Maya again.
“Will you leave right away?” Fallon asked me.
“Yes. One of the dragons flew us here. He’s waiting on the outskirts of this town, making sure we weren’t followed,” I informed her.
“Who brought you?” she asked, curious.
“Zayn.”
“I’ll walk you there. I would like to greet him,” she told me, and I accepted.
She stepped aside with her sister and exchanged a few words.
I kissed Maya goodbye and made her promise she would take care. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks, but she promised to do her best.
“Just promise me you won’t let those bastards kill you. I wouldn’t know what to do without you,” Maya whispered, her face buried in my chest.
“I’ll come back for you sooner than you expect,” I assured her before I kissed her.
“You better!” she threatened me before she turned around and rushed back into the town hall.
“Let’s go!” I told Fallon.
The sooner I left, the sooner this would be over, and I would come back for my mate.
Fallon looked around, trying to find Maya.
“Maya entered the town hall. We haven’t been separated for a long time,” I explained, with a dark mask on my face.
“I know the feeling. She will be all right,” she assured him.
Janis turned around and headed to the town hall, while we walked down the main street.
“Are you sure your mate’s plan will work?” I asked Fallon
“It has to. It’s our only hope to get rid of the Asseptians,” she told me, scowling.
“We could stay as we are,” I told her, mostly to try her faith in her dragon.
I knew we had no choice.
“For what we know, the Asseptians are greedy. They won’t stop here. Once they have exhausted this planet’s resources, they will leave to find a new one. Do you really think they will allow you to take Maya with you? Or even allowed to stay behind?” she asked me in a stern tone. “They only consider their own needs.”
I sighed. “I know that. The dragons need to win this. We don’t have a choice.”
“They will. And with your help, things will be a lot easier. I’m sure of it,” she told me with a hopeful smile.
“Let’s hope you’re right.”
“Fallon! How are you?” Zayn asked her, coming out from behind a few trees. “Adruz told me what happened.”
Smiling, the woman walked to where he was and allowed him to nuzzle her.
“I’m fine. Completely recovered,” she assured him, caressing his snout.
“Glad to hear it.”
“W
ill you be careful?” she asked, changing the subject.
“You don’t need to worry about us. Now that we know how they captured us the first time, they don’t stand a chance against us,” Zayn told her.
“Even so. Expect the unexpected and trust no one,” she begged him. “I wouldn’t stand losing any of you.”
“We’ll be back soon,” he promised her.
I hoped on the dragon, and we flew away, leaving my soul behind.
Chapter Twenty Seven
Maya
Meeting Fallon after all these years felt like a miracle, a sign that everything would be alright.
We spent the night talking about what we had been doing for the past ten years and how we had met our mates. We went to bed very late, but none of us looked very sleepy. There was too much going on in our minds.
The following morning, we decided to go treasure hunting, and after spending the morning building a pushcart, we went scavenging around town. We found many things we could use on our short stay in this abandoned town, and we celebrated our findings as if we had found gold.
Back at the town hall, it was hard to keep our spirits high. With no news of our men or what was going on, our hearts became burdened with worry and sorrow.
We all went to bed a couple of hours after the sun went down, with nothing else to do.
In the middle of the night, a massive explosion woke us up, and we all jumped from our beds and rushed to the street.
“What do you think happened?” I asked, shaking visibly.
I knew this couldn’t mean anything good.
“I have no idea. It came from the west; that’s all I can tell you,” Fallon told me, as nervous and edgy as the rest of us.
“That’s where the city is, isn’t it?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.
“I don’t know for sure, but I guess so,” Fallon confirmed it reluctantly.
“There shouldn’t have been any explosions. They should have taken the vessel before the Asseptians knew they were coming,” I mumbled, wriggling my hands nervously as I stared at the orange glow in the night sky.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Fallon cautioned me. “We don’t know what’s going on, and we might be worrying over nothing.”
“But you have to admit this doesn’t look good,” I insisted, too nervous to be appeased.
“Yes, I know. But the Asseptians don’t stand a chance against the Slyths and the dragons united. Especially now that they know how they act,” she reminded me.
I sobbed, too nervous and worried to hold back my feelings. “I can’t lose him too, Fallon. I’ve lost so many people over the years… one by one, ripped out of my life…” I cried, louder.
Fallon picked me in her arms and hugged me. “You’re not losing him,” she assured me.
“What should we do? Don’t you think we should go into the bomb shelter, just in case?” Janis asked, trembling.
She had seen more action since she was with Fallon than she had her entire life.
“You can go if it makes you feel better. I’ll stay here and keep watch. If I notice anything strange, I’ll rush down to the shelter,” Fallon told her.
Janis shook her head. “If you’re staying, then I’ll stay with you,” she said in a firm tone.
“Me too. I wouldn’t stand not knowing what’s going on,” I agreed.
Fallon smiled. “Good. We’ll stay here, then, but be prepared to run to the shelter in case of danger.”
Janis pulled some rocks to where we were, and we sat down, looking west and praying for the best.
At some point, we were surprised by another blast, this one louder, which meant it was closer. We all jumped to our feet. The battle was coming our way.
“Back to the shelter, quickly,” Fallon yelled at us. “Quick!”
We started running while Ryoko’s words played relentlessly in my mind. I hadn’t kept my promise. I should have stayed in the shelter the whole time, and again, my concern for his safety had exposed me to danger.
We kept running, but the roar following us was getting louder and louder. We weren’t going to make it back to the shelter. The Asseptians were on the run, judging by the engines' roar coming our way, and as Ryoko had told me, they were trying to destroy everything on their way.
The battle’s sounds were now so close we could feel their waves. We hastened our pace, but it wasn’t enough. Those few feet from the shelter would mean the death of us.
Suddenly, Fallon wrapped her arm around Janis and me and propelled us forward, as another blast, just a few yards away from us, shook the ground under our feet.
Without warning, Fallon had pulled us off the ground and flew us out of the city. Janis and I cried out our surprise, scared to death, but after a while, we went silent, trying to help Fallon take us out of harm’s way.
The sound of bombs exploding followed us for a time, but after a while, all we could hear was a distant roaring.
Fallon kept flying, even though I was sure she was exhausted. The urge to take us away fueled her, but I knew she would have to stop soon.
After a while, she looked for a clearing and took us there. She only released Janis and me when we were safe on the ground.
For a few moments, we just stayed there, in silence, catching our breaths and waiting for our bodies to stop shaking.
“What… happened…?” Janis asked, breaking the silence between us. “How come… you have… wings?” she asked again, her words coming out through ragged gasps.
Fallon looked over her shoulders and looked at the wings coming out of her back.
“I don’t know…” she confessed. “I guess it has to do with the claiming ritual. It gave me some of his abilities,” she explained, still amazed.
“What do you think happened?” I asked, in a frightened tone, tears running down my cheeks, fear clutching my heart and squeezing it painfully.
“I guess the Asseptians were trying to escape, and we were caught on the middle,” she ventured, rubbing her forehead, looking exhausted.
“What will we do now?” Janis asked in a weak tone.
“We’ll wait here, for now,” Fallon said, looking around. “Adruz will find us.”
“How do you know that?” I asked, exuding the doubts that were eating me alive.
“He can pick my scent in the air. He will always be able to find me,” Fallon explained with a faint smile.
“Do you think they are still alive?” I asked, trembling, unable to hold back the words.
“I’m sure of it. This setback was just the Asseptian's attempt to escape. You’ll see,” Fallon told me, sounding confident.
“I wish I was so sure…” I mumbled, taking a seat on the ground, leaning my back against a fallen tree trunk.
Janis sat next to me and held me in her arms. “Everything will be all right; you’ll see,” Janis murmured.
“Were we too ambitious?” I asked, rubbing my forehead. “The Asseptians have destroyed hundreds of planets on their path, and no one has been able to stop them.”
“Because they attack people before they know what’s coming. This time, the dragons and the Slyths know what they are up against, and things are different,” Fallon stated in a firm tone. “Even if things didn’t go as planned, I know they will be able to destroy those bastards.”
Janis looked at Fallon and frowned. “You looked tired. Why don’t you take a seat next to us?”
Fallon gave us a faint smile. “I have no idea how to get rid of the wings,” she explained.
“How did you get them?” I asked, intrigued.
“I was so desperate to get us out of there that they came out on their own,” she explained.
“Have you tried to will them away?” Janis asked with a slight frown.
“Yes… but it’s not working. I’m probably too distracted for it to work,” Fallon said, shrugging. “Adruz will help me when he gets here. Meanwhile, I’ll go for a ride to make sure we’re alone.”
“You look too tired
,” Janis protested.
“I’m fine, and I’ll feel better if I’m sure we’re safe here,” she assured us.
“Don’t go too far,” I asked, looking into the dark woods.
The night was still dark, and the sun would take at least one hour to come out.
“I’ll be close, don’t worry. Light a fire, if you can,” Fallon suggested, moving her new wings a couple of times before she jumped into the air.
She was away for a while. Janis and I stayed put, too tired to do anything.
Fallon came back with a smile on her face. “Zayn and Ryoko are coming with Adruz,” she told us, falling to her knees, her wings grazing the ground.
“Oh, God… thank you, thank you,” I cheered, jumping to my feet and rushing to her side to hug her.
“See? I told you they were stronger than those slimy parasites,” Fallon told me, hugging her back.
I sobbed and stepped back. “When will they be here?”
“Half an hour, I guess. They’ve just left the city where we were,” she told me, with a weak smile, wavering.
I held Fallon in my arms before she fell to the ground, on her face. Janis rushed to our side.
“You’re too tired. Why don’t I help you to lie down on the ground, belly down?” I suggested, and she accepted, clearly too tired to do much more.
Feeling a lot better, I stayed there with Fallon until she fell asleep. Janis lay down next to her sister, and I went back to where I had been sitting.
Waves of relief still washed over me, and I couldn’t wait to see Ryoko. I finally understood fate or no fate, I loved him, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him and no one else. I just hoped he hadn’t given up on me and that we could go through the second stage of the claiming ritual.
I wanted to be one with him. I needed him to become part of me so that we would never feel alone.
Time went by slowly. I kept looking at the night skies, hoping to see the dragons, and when they finally showed up, I rushed to my feet to go meet them.
The first time I saw a dragon up close, fear had rushed through me, but Zayn’s kind gestures and the naughty shine in his eyes calmed my fears, and now, I welcomed them with open arms.
Ryoko jumped from Zayn's rump and ran to meet me.