by S. E. Smith
Phoenix slowed as the last of the lines connected and the mirror she had created glowed with a soft blue haze around the vivid texture of a forest on the other side. She twisted, looking down at Spring and nodded.
“We can go through it now,” Spring said with a happy smile before she shifted into a white dragon with tiny flakes of gold edging her scales and flew through the portal.
“I’m next,” Roam growled with a grin, shifting into his tiger cub with a growl before he leaped after Spring.
One by one, each of the dragonlings and Alice followed. Only when they and the symbiots had gone through did Phoenix do a spiral in midair and follow them through the magical mirror to the thick forest on the other planet.
Chapter Six
Jarak Draken snarled another order at a warrior as he strode down the corridor. He ran a hand over the back of his neck before dropping it. If he didn’t get a grip on his dragon’s ill temper – and his own – soon, they would both be finding themselves ejected into space by the crew. As the Chief Security Officer aboard the V’ager, it was his responsibility to make sure everything was running smoothly.
“Sir, the last of the systems have been checked,” one of the ensigns reported.
“Were the additional security protocols added to the engineering department?” Jarak asked.
“Yes, just as you instructed, but there is still an issue with the programming for the bridge,” the ensign replied.
“Tell the programmers I don’t want problems, I want solutions. If the bridge is accessible during an attack, then the ship can be taken. I have to transport down to the planet. I will check the systems when I return. If it isn’t right, it will be your head I come after, then the programmers’. Tell them they had better resolve the issue before I return. Dismissed,” Jarak growled, turning to enter the transporter room.
Jarak snapped an order to the two warriors behind the transporter control. He hated transporting down, but there were times when it was necessary. He had a meeting with Trelon Reykill later this morning about a new weapons system the Prince and his mate, Cara, had been working on.
A shudder ran through Jarak. He cringed every time he was near the tiny human. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Trelon’s mate, he just never knew what new disaster was going to follow in her wake.
Cara’s first trip away from her planet had created a nightmare for him. In a few short days, he had discovered that years of security settings were meaningless. Rain in space, disco during training, the collapse of their communication systems when Lady Cara had blasted Lord Trelon’s Personal Virtual Companion, or PVC, program out to all the universe.
“Shut up,” he muttered.
“Sir?” one of the warriors asked, glancing up at him with a confused frown.
“Not you,” Jarak snapped. “Transport me down to the palace.”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied.
It isn’t funny, he growled to his dragon. Stop laughing!
PVC… It funny, his dragon chortled.
It took down our communications system! Do you have any idea how dangerous that could have been? Jarak demanded.
She thought it plumbing pipe, his dragon sniggered.
It wasn’t that funny, Jarak insisted.
His dragon sighed and the laughter died away, leaving it despondent. Jarak bit back a silent curse. Regret filled him. It had been a long, long time since his dragon had felt any sense of joy. For that matter, it had been a long, long time since he had. It was so bad that even his symbiot had refused to join him, preferring to remain in his cabin.
“Are you ready, sir?” the warrior at the control station asked.
“Yes,” Jarak murmured with a sharp nod.
“Transporting,” the male replied.
Jarak felt the familiar wave of his body dematerializing. He closed his eyes, sending a brief apology to his dragon for being so hard on him. Everything would be alright. He just needed to focus on his work. There was no such thing as a true mate for warriors like him or his dragon. They lived, they worked, and they died in battle.
Only no battle now and no mate, his dragon mourned.
Jarak was about to reply when an unusual feeling swept through him. This one was different from anything he’d ever felt before during a routine transporter transfer.
I should have taken a shuttle, he thought before everything went blank.
Chapter Seven
Sandra Morrison hummed under her breath while she arranged the flowers she had just picked in the vase. Lifting one of the flowers to her nose, she sniffed it to find out which one it was. The fragrant smell of a rose filled her nose.
Her hands moved over the flowers she had already placed in the vase to make sure they were where she wanted them before she carefully added the rose. She loved the scent of fresh flowers.
Picking up the vase, she carefully walked along the path leading up to the front porch. In her mind, she counted the steps. On the fifteenth one, her foot hit the bottom step.
Instinctively, her hand reached out and she grasped the handrail with one hand while she cradled the vase against her with the other. She had to pause on the third step to sneeze when the smell of the roses overwhelmed her.
“Mm, I probably should have only placed two in the vase. I think this one will have to stay outside,” she murmured to herself and her cat. “What do you think, Coco? Inside or out?”
The soft meow sounded huffy and abrupt to Sandra. Coco was still upset about her bath. Well, too bad. Sandra hadn’t appreciated all the mud that Coco had tracked into the house.
“You know, that’s what happens when it rains and you decide to bring a live mouse into the house! You left muddy paw prints all over the floor and the afghan I just finished making,” Sandra murmured with a wave of her hand before she turned toward the low table.
Coco replied with another meow before a low hiss escaped her.
Sandra turned and froze, the vase still clutched against her breast. Her face lifted and tilted toward the barely audible sound of wings flapping. It sounded like it was an owl or a hawk. Both of those were big enough to send Coco off in a huff.
“She’s too tough and mean for you to have her for dinner,” Sandra called out to the large bird she could hear nearby. She turned and set the flowers on the table. “You’ll have to find your dinner somewhere else. Besides, I’m rather attached to the fluffy mud ball and would hate to lose the only companion I have to talk to.”
Sandra tried to keep her tone light, but she could hear the touch of sadness in it. She shook her head at her melancholy. There was no sense in feeling sad about things she couldn’t change. Her fingers stroked the petals of the rose she had just picked.
“Remember the beauty, Sandy,” she whispered. “As long as you remember it, it will never fade.”
She drew in a breath and released it. In the last two years, her life had changed so much that she’d often wondered if she was locked in a sad dream. Shaking her head, she thought about how strange and difficult life could be. She had given up being mad. It hadn’t done anything but given her headaches.
The last straw had been the increased worsening of her vision in the past year. Diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at thirteen, she had known this day would come, she just hadn’t expected it to come so soon. At forty-two, she had hoped to have a few more years before it became virtually impossible to see, even during the daytime.
Her right hand moved to her left and she touched her finger where her wedding ring had been. Even after almost two years, she still felt for it.
She had given almost twenty years of her life to a man who had also known this day would come, but once it had, he had run like hell. The pain of it still cut like a knife through her. Sandra shook her head and pulled a bright smile to her face. She wouldn’t think about it. Wayne had made his choice.
“What is it they say? ‘If you love them, let them go. If they come back, they are yours forever; if not, they never were.’ I just wish I had let him
go a lot sooner,” Sandy chuckled with a sigh. “Oh, well, Coco. At least we were lucky enough to find this place. It is perfect for just the two of us.”
Sandy chuckled when she heard the indignant sneeze of her fluffy feline companion. Coco did not sound the least bit impressed. Personally, Sandy had fallen in love with the little house that had begged for some love.
“We’re lucky Chad didn’t mind getting saddled with the two of us,” Sandy chided, feeling along the back of the rocking chairs for her sweater. “I guess it is official. I’m going to end up a lonely old woman talking to her cat. Chad is going to have a field day with dealing with us.”
Sandy pulled on her sweater and sat down in the rocking chair on the back porch. There was a nip in the air, letting her know that winter was going to be upon them before she knew it. She didn’t care. Her older brother, Chad Morrison, had made sure that she had plenty of wood for the fireplace.
Rocking in the chair, Sandy felt next to the rocker for her basket of yarn and knitting needles. She held the yarn up to the sunlight stream onto the porch. It was difficult to tell if it was blue, white, or black. She wasn’t completely blind yet, but the last touches were fading fast.
Her head tilted to the side when she heard the sound of a truck coming up the long drive. It must be nine o’clock. Chad came by at exactly nine every morning to check on her.
Five minutes later, the sound of his boots echoed on the wooden steps. Sandy continued to knit, an amused smile playing on her lips. She could almost feel her brother’s exasperation.
“You’re acting like an old lady,” Chad remarked.
“I’m enjoying my retirement,” Sandy chuckled, rocking.
“You’re too young to retire. Do you have any coffee made?” Chad asked, walking past her to the front door.
“If it means you’ll be less of a grouch, then yes. There is a fresh pot. I wouldn’t mind a cup. Two tablespoons of French Vanilla creamer, please,” Sandy called out behind the closing of the screen door.
“I know,” Chad retorted.
Sandy chuckled and continued to rock and knit, waiting for Chad to return. A couple of minutes later, the smell of the rich coffee with the scent of French Vanilla teased her nose. She laid her knitting down on her lap and held her hand out for the mug of coffee.
“It’s hot,” Chad warned.
“I should hope so, I never did care for the iced version. It is a total waste of good coffee,” Sandy replied, taking a sip.
“Sandy….”
“I’m not giving up, Chad,” Sandy murmured over the rim of her cup. “I’m simply taking a well deserved break. I worked for over twenty years for the government. I invested well and I have the inheritance from mom and dad that I never touched. I won’t starve – at least for a few years.”
“You’ve been here for almost a year,” Chad pointed out, leaning against the post.
“Yes, and spent it renovating the house and going to the eye specialist. I’m finished with both, so I’m taking time for me,” she replied.
“What do you mean you’re finished with both? You have an appointment next week with the specialist at the Mayo Clinic,” Chad said with a frown.
“No, I don’t. I canceled it,” she replied softly.
“Sandy….”
Sandy placed her coffee cup down on the table next to her and carefully wound the wool around the knitting needles before she placed it back in the bag. Standing up, she stepped toward her brother. Her hands rose to make sure that she didn’t step on his toes. She could see the shadowy outline of him. A smile lifted her lips when he grasped her outstretched hands.
“How many doctors does it take to tell me the same thing before I finally accept that there is no cure?” she whispered.
“They can slow it down,” Chad insisted.
Sandy nodded her head. “And they have for as long as possible. We’ve had a lifetime to get used to the idea, Chad. It isn’t the end of the world. It is amazing what the human body can adjust to. My other senses are improving. I’ll be fine,” she assured him.
She heard his deep sigh. A smile curved her lips when he grunted and set his coffee cup on the railing so he could pull her into his arms. She hugged him back.
“I worry about you,” Chad muttered.
“It’s your job,” she teased.
“I should have taken every dime of that bastard’s retirement,” Chad retorted.
“Leave Wayne alone. He’s miserable. I’m happy with that,” Sandy chuckled, pulling back and tilting her head. “Did I tell you that there was a huge hawk or owl eyeing Coco this morning?”
“No, you didn’t. I bet Coco scared him off with that psycho killer glare she has,” he laughed.
Sandy smiled affectionately. “Maybe she did.”
Chapter Eight
Phoenix landed and shifted just inside the thicket of trees where the others were waiting for her. From above, she’d been able to see that the portal had taken them to a section of forest not far from the yellow house with the white shutters.
“What did you see? Did you find the house? Did you see the lonely lady?” Zohar asked.
“I saw the house. There was a lady, too,” Phoenix replied with a breathless smile.
“What do we do now?” Roam asked, yawning.
“I’m getting hungry. Will it take long to help her not be afraid of dragons? I want some breakfast,” Jabir complained, rubbing his stomach when it growled.
“My tiger is hungry, too,” Roam moaned.
“We have to talk to the lonely lady first,” Phoenix said with a scowl.
“Bálint, can you find us some food likes you did before?” Alice asked.
Bálint gazed around the forest. A look of uncertainty crossed his face. This forest looked different.
“I can try. The trees and plants looks different from back home. I don’t knows if it has the same plants to eat,” he admitted.
“Why don’t you boys go looks for food while us girls go and talks to the lonely lady?” Phoenix suggested.
“I don’t know, Phoenix. Maybe we should sticks together, just in case,” Jabir murmured, stepping closer to Precious.
“You gots your symbiot and Precious, you’ll be fine,” Spring replied with a wave of her hand. “Go find some food and meets us back here.”
“You’s sure is bossy,” Roam complained, wiping his hand across his nose.
Spring turned on Roam so fast, he stumbled backwards and fell. He stared up at her furious face and swallowed. Wrinkling his nose, he growled.
“I’m not bossy,” Spring stated, her hands on her hips. “I’m mad at you.”
Twirling around again, Spring shifted into her dragon. Roam covered his face when she began digging, throwing dirt on him. He blinked when he saw her disappear under the loose soil.
“What did I do this time?” he groaned, smearing moist dirt across his face as he tried to brush it off. “I just said she was bossy. My daddy tells my mommy that all the time and she just tells him ‘You bet your ass I am’. She don’t gets mad at him.”
“Maybe she is just hungry. My daddy gets growly when he is hungry,” Zohar said.
“I remember Grandpa and Mommy telling me that their ranch isn’t too far from here. Maybe we should go there. Mommy and Grandpa says they knows about dragons and likes them,” Bálint said, stepping forward.
“Which way do we go?” Jabir asked with a hopeful smile.
“Bio has been there before. He can show us the way,” Bálint said.
“I’s riding on Precious. Roam, do you wants to ride with me?” Jabir asked.
“Uh-huh,” Roam said, peering at the hole before climbing to his feet and walking over to Precious.
“Precious, we needs a flying machine,” Jabir instructed.
Within seconds, Precious, Goldie, and Bio had transformed into three large golden hawks. The boys all laughed as they climbed onto the saddles that formed on the backs of the large birds. Zohar gripped the saddle when Goldie turned to
face the girls.
“We’ll finds some food and come back. We’ll meets you at the yellow house,” Zohar said.
Phoenix and the other girls nodded. She couldn’t help but think that Zohar looked a lot like his Daddy sitting in the saddle with his chin raised. Taking a step back, she waited as each large bird took off, Bio in the lead.
“What do we do now?” Alice asked, stepping closer to Phoenix.
Phoenix turned and glanced at the other girls. Her gaze paused on Spring. Her sister was peeking out from the hole she had dug, her eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“We go see the lonely lady,” Phoenix murmured.
“There’s a truck there. It looks like the ones our Mommy gave us to play with. Maybe we should waits until it leaves,” Jade said, peering at the house from behind the tree.
“Oh, it’s leaving now,” Amber exclaimed with a mischievous grin. “We needs to check the house out to makes sure there isn’t no more humans there.”
“I can do that!” Alice said. “I’ll be rights back.”
“Alice… wait,” Phoenix started to say, but Alice had already disappeared.
“Spring, can you gets us closer to the house?” Phoenix asked, turning to look at her sister.
Spring climbed out of the hole and shook the loose dirt off her before she shifted back to her two-legged form. She bit her lip, looking from the hole she had started to the house through the trees and back. She looked back at Phoenix.
“I can try. The ground is rocky here. I can’t digs through the rocks,” Spring replied.
“It’s clear,” Alice replied, scaring all of them when she suddenly reappeared.
“What did you see?” Jade asked.
Alice grinned at Jade and Amber. “The lonely lady has a cat just like Roam, only fluffier and a girl. Her names is Coco and she even talks like Roam,” she said.