Dragon's Mate: A Scifi Alien Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 2)

by Miranda Martin

  "Ladon no!" Calista screams, arriving at last.

  My hugely pregnant best friend runs out of the pyramid building straight to Ladon. She grabs his shoulder so I grab the other side trying to help. Ladon throws his head back and roars, his arms wide and his wings rustling while his tail swings wildly side to side. He's shaking his head but the sound of Calista's voice seems to calm him. He lets the two of us pull him back, neither of us big enough or strong enough to make him do anything he doesn't want to. Calista holds his face in her hands and talks to him rapidly in his own tongue. She's the only human survivor lucky enough to have learned the language of the Zmaj. I kneel beside Sverre and my tears fall on his face.

  "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I had no idea that would happen. What the hell Ladon?" I yell over my shoulder.

  Calista is still talking to Ladon and he's shaking. Physically shaking like he's struggling to control a rage that wants to consume him. His hands are clenched into fists, his jaw is a tight, hard line and he's speaking in the harshest tone I've ever heard him use. Sverre stirs then moves into a sitting position. He grabs his jaw and moves it back and forth until it pops. I run my hands over him trying to determine if he has any wounds that need immediate attention. The cut on his arm is bleeding still but not a lot and doesn't seem to be deep. He seems okay for the most part.

  Sverre is watching Calista talk to Ladon and it's easy to see he's shocked that she's speaking his language. He looks to me and I shrug unable to explain. Ladon turns his back on Sverre and I as Calista pats his shoulder then walks over to us.

  "Hi," she says smiling.

  Her belly is really starting to swell with her and Ladon's baby. She has a radiance about her, the glow of motherhood. Anger, fear, and relief war inside and I can't move, stuck between my desire to throw my arms around her and my anger at what her boyfriend did to my lover. Tears stream down my face and Sverre puts a protective arm around my waist pulling me close to his side.

  Calista talks to Sverre in his language. Jealousy hits me so hard and fast it's enough to break through the warring emotions and take full precedence. He answers her and they talk back and forth. I wrap my hands around his arm and lean into him feeling protective. It's ridiculous, I know, but it doesn't change how I feel.

  "Calista what in the hell is going on?" I ask as a growing crowd of survivors gathers to watch.

  Half a dozen or so stand with Gershom and another half a dozen stand away from him. They're talking softly among themselves as latecomers are brought up to speed by those who witnessed it first hand. My heart pounds in my chest. Looking at the gathering crowd, Ladon with his back to Sverre and I, Sverre sitting here hurt and talking with Calista I don't know what to expect. None of this is the welcome home I thought I would receive. I've been gone, missing, no one has asked if I'm okay. The man who saved me is attacked and brutally beaten as a thank you.

  Calista continues speaking rapidly and Sverre answers her. Tightening my grip convulsively on Sverre's arm rage builds inside until I'm sure it's going to explode. A flash of white pushes through the crowd then Rosalind arrives. Her long, dark hair hangs past her shoulders and her uniform is still impeccably white. When she arrives anywhere all eyes look to her. She takes control of a scene by her presence alone. The murmuring of the crowd silences under her gaze and even Ladon turns his attention to her. Calista stops talking to Sverre and turns towards Rosalind.

  "Jolie," Rosalind says looking at me. "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah," I say, unable to maintain my anger under the focus of her gaze.

  "Good," she says. "We have a new arrival I see."

  The people with Gershom mutter but I can't make out the words, I can only say it doesn't sound friendly.

  "This is Sverre," Calista says.

  I glare at her as that stab of jealousy hits straight into my heart. He's mine, you've got yours! It's ridiculous, I know it, Calista is my best friend but I can't really help feeling this way with her able to talk to him while I can't without extreme gestures and mimicking.

  "Welcome Sverre," Rosalind says and holds her hand out to him.

  Sverre stares at the hand then Calista says something, obviously explaining the gesture. Sverre takes the hand and shakes it but his eyes are still on Ladon.

  "They were fighting!" Gershom yells. "We can't have that kind of violence in the city."

  "I understand Gershom," Rosalind says without so much as a glance in his direction. "Allow me to get a handle on the situation."

  "Filthy animals," one of the men behind Gershom mutters loud enough that everyone can hear it.

  "They are not!" I scream, finding a focus for my pent up anger. Rosalind gives me a hard, cold look, pursing her lips. "They're not!" I insist. "Ladon attacked, unprovoked. Sverre didn't do anything."

  I move protectively in front of Sverre. He places his large hand on my shoulder and says something, speaking soft, just to me. I turn to look at him and he shakes his head. Sadness resides in his eyes. He looks at Calista and speaks rapidly.

  "What's he saying?" I ask her but I can't take my eyes off of him.

  An abyss is opening underneath my feet and I don't understand what's happening. It feels like everyone is in on some big joke and I'm the only one that doesn't know what's coming. Blood rushes to my cheeks, tears well in my eyes, and I'm shaking.

  "He says it's a disease, they can't help it," Calista say both to me and Rosalind. "He had hoped they would be able to control it, rise above it, but it seems they can't."

  "What are you talking about? He's nice! He' saved me, he's protected me, this can't be a thing! It's crap," tears fall as I try to deny what he's saying.

  "Jolie," Calista says, her voice choking with unshed tears that shine in the corners of her eyes. "I know, I don't understand it all but he calls it bijass, it's a regression that the Zmaj are suffering from. Somehow it makes them aggressive, it's why they don't live together. They can't, they can't resist it."

  "No, this can't be. There has to be a way. I won't have it, he's mine. It's not fair," I cry turning to Rosalind.

  "Fix this!" I yell at her. Calista moves towards me but I step back from her approach. "No, Ladon is your man. You get him under control. Somebody fix this. This can't be the way it is!"

  Calista holds her hands up between us and the tears fall down her face now. "Jolie-"

  "Don't you Jolie me! I've always stood by you, now I need you! You have to fix this. There has to be a way."

  "We need time to understand," Calista says.

  "No, no time. We can fix this. Damn it we're the smartest, the cleverest people on the planet. We can find an answer. We can fix this."

  "Get the monster out of here," someone standing with Gershom says but I can't see who through my tears.

  "Piss off!" I scream. "He's not a monster."

  Gershom steps up beside Rosalind. "Lady General," he says, his voice sweet and controlled.

  "What Gershom?" she asks.

  "I would propose we banish the newcomer. We can't have this kind of violence erupting. The alien admits that they can't control their aggression. We have the one we know," he gestures at Ladon. "This one should go away, for the safety of our people."

  Rosalind narrows her eyes and doesn't look at him. Her lips purse tight and it's plain to see she's considering it.

  "No," I say my voice cracking. "No, you can't send him away."

  "Until we understand this," Rosalind says. "It's for the best. He should leave the city, for now."

  "NO!" I scream turning and holding on to Sverre.

  His turquoise eyes stare into mine with sadness and he reaches up to wipe a tear from my cheek. Calista is speaking and he may be listening to her too but his attention is on me. He leans in and kisses me, his strong arms wrapping around my waist then he lets me go. He says something then hands are on me pulling me away from him. I fight against them, struggling for all I'm worth. Screaming his name, clawing at the people holding me back.

  Sverre talks to Calista the
n he locks eyes with me. He shakes his head and I stop struggling. Once I do he nods then he turns and heads out of the city. As I watch him walk away my heart shatters as everything I've ever wanted falls to pieces. I collapse into my tears and Calista gathers me into her arms. Sobs shake my body as I cling to her.

  "It's okay, I'll fix this," she whispers, running her hands along my hair. "Somehow."

  Her words are meaningless to me. I've never felt this empty before.

  14 SVERRE

  I should have known better. He's too far gone to the bijass. I couldn't get him to listen to reason no matter how I tried. When he drew blood, I lost control too. Damn it. The look on Jolie's face as I walked away is seared into my memory. I don't think I've ever had to make a harder choice but the one who claims to be her friend, Calista, made sense.

  We won't overcome the bijass by brute force. I have to be smarter than that. I should have made my presence known before entering the heart of Ladon's territory. Meet him on neutral ground somewhere. If I hadn't been distracted by the Zzlo I would have thought of it but I was driven by dimly remembered fears and my need for help to save Jolie. Now I've messed things up, again.

  Sitting on a dune looking down at the city below me I chew on a piece of dried bivo meat and contemplate what to do now. I'm not leaving Jolie, not for long, but when I told Calista what Jolie had been through she promised they could help her. I told Calista that Jolie needed epis and she understood. How does that one know my language while Jolie does not? It's not fair. I want to talk with Jolie and understand every word. I want to know her thoughts, her feelings, I want to hear her musical voice and have it form pictures in my mind.

  Damn it. How long before the Zzlo find the city? They're not ready. None of the city defenses are activated and the ones like Jolie didn't appear to have any weapons to speak of. Ladon alone won't be able to stand against a Zzlo assault. We have to get past the bijass. It's more important than ever with the slavers here. I wanted it at first for Jolie but now it's a matter of both our races surviving.

  The sun is dropping behind the city illuminating it with its last rays. The buildings light up outlined in fiery red. It's beautiful but stirs old, unwanted memories of pain so I push them back into the mists. She will come soon. She promised. If she really is Jolie's friend she will show up. If not then I will invade his territory again but this time I won't come in peace. Jolie is mine and I won't let them keep me from her for long, no matter what it takes.

  Shadows creep over the striated sand dunes chasing away the final beams of light. Rising I scavenge for material to start a fire. As darkness reclaims the land I find enough for my purposes. Making a small pile of the debris I breathe, letting out fire from the glands in the back of my throat and the kindling catches. I feed some of the bigger pieces slowly into it but not too many. I don't want anything that attracts too much attention, just enough to guide Calista to my position as we agreed.

  Once the fire is self-sufficient I settle back and wait. I try to focus on nothing and clear my mind of all thoughts, emotions, and distractions but it's impossible. The look on Jolie's face as I walked away rises unbidden. The pain in my chest, the irregular rhythm of my hearts return, making it feel like a massive hand is crushing my chest. My eyes fly open and all focus is gone pulling me back to the now, back to my pain.

  A shadow darts out of the city below.

  I move back from the fire then crouch in the shadows outside its ring of light. The figure heads right for the fire, making a beeline. I wait.

  Calista steps into the ring of light and looks around. She's a pretty enough girl, though no comparison to Jolie. Though it's obvious they are of the same species, there are so many differences between them. Jolie is tiny and has a yellow tint to her skin when she's not being burned by the harsh sun. Calista is paler and her eyes are shaped differently. Her nose is bigger as well and there is the swell of her stomach. I wonder if she's pregnant? If she is and she's with Ladon, which she claims, is it his? She looks around not spotting me. I've noticed Jolie's night vision is poor as well.

  "Hello," Calista says as I step into the ring of light.

  "Greetings," I say keeping the distance between us. "How is Jolie?"

  "Upset," she answers honestly which I appreciate. "But she understands and is on board with my plan."

  "Good," I say, holding back my thoughts of what I will do if I discover she is not telling me the truth. Threats are petty and unnecessary.

  "Can you explain this… bijass… to me?" She stumbles over the word but gets the pronunciation right.

  I motion for her to take a seat then do the same, moving close to the fire so we can see each other clearly. I offer her some of my dried meat which she passes on. The needs of hospitality met I now feel I can talk to her in earnest.

  "It's in our genetics," I say. "You are familiar with this concept? The way creatures are made up?"

  "Yes, Jolie and I are both scientists ourselves. We study plants and the evolution of life."

  "Good," I say smiling. I knew my Jolie was smart but hearing Calista say it fills me with pride. "Ladon may not be familiar with it. He is a warrior and this was hidden from our people. No one wants to know where you come from, what you are made of, so we kept it hidden."

  "How do you know he's a warrior?" she asks, resting her hands on her swollen belly.

  "His markings, his build, it's obvious."

  "I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue," she says.

  "First, how is it you speak my language?" I ask. "You're fluent in it. Why can Jolie not speak it?"

  She smiles and looks down at her stomach rubbing her hands along it.

  "There's a machine in the pyramid building that we call City Hall," she says. "I accidentally got it to work but haven't been able to figure out how to do it again. Somehow it taught me your language. I don't understand it, it's not a technology my people have but I've been trying to figure it out."

  I nod thinking back and memory of the machine returns. "I think I can activate it, I remember it from before. You know of the devastation?"

  "Yes, I've seen videos of from before, though I don't understand all of it. You can activate the machine?"

  I nod but that line of thought is leading me into the fog of memories I don't want to deal with right now so I change direction.

  "The bijass," I say, redirecting the conversation. "It's a genetic flaw that has only come to the fore because of the devastation. After it was over those of us who survived found each other. I don't remember how or why but we separated. It was the choice we made at the time. I'm sure it seemed wise but it acerbated the flaw. The more time we spend alone the more primal we become, it's a regression. It's subtle and you don't even realize it's happening to you. Territory comes first. Afterwards it's a fight for survival over the necessary things to live. It seems reasonable to keep others out of what you claim is yours. Then you start collecting treasures. Things that are useful at first but that grows too and you collect things that have value only to you. Memories fade and that's the curse and the bliss of it. The further it takes hold of you the more the fog covers over the past."

  "That sounds awful," she says, sadness heavy in her voice.

  "No, it's perfect," I stare into her eyes.

  "Why?" she asks.

  "Memories are pain. We're a doomed race. Do you want to be reminded of that every day of your very long life?"

  She shakes her head and moisture falls down her cheek just like Jolie. The comparison returns the throbbing ache of missing her in my chest.

  "I understand," she says. "Is that why you and Ladon fought?"

  "Yes," I say.

  "I heard you arguing with him as I ran up."

  "Yes, I was trying to get him to see reason. To break him free of the grip of the bijass," I say.

  "So it's possible?" she asks.

  "I believe so," I say. "I was able to resist it until he drew blood then I lost it, to my shame."

  She nods biting her l
ower lip. "Okay, let me talk to him. Maybe if he knows you're coming that would help. We could find some way to create a gradient, let him fight it a piece at a time."

  I nod my agreement. "There's something more, something that might, if he remembers, help."

  "What is it?" she asks.

  "Zzlo," I say.

  "What's a Zzlo?"

  "Slavers. They're here, not far away. A lot of them, too many for even a mighty warrior like Ladon to take alone."

  "Slavers? What do they look like?"

  As I describe them she turns pale then one hand covers her mouth as she gasps.

  "You know them?" I ask.

  "They were the monsters that attacked our ship, they caused us to crash. There's more of them here? We found some remains of a crashed ship. I thought they'd mostly died."

  "These didn't crash, their ship is intact."

  "Damn," she says.

  "I agree. Tell Ladon, make him understand we have to join forces. He should know there will be others coming too."

  "Others?"

  "Yes, other Zmaj. When your ship came down there was a huge blast in the sky. I'm sure at least half the planet could see it. My territory is close to his so I arrived first but don't make the mistake of thinking I'm the only one coming. There will be others."

  She frowns. We sit in silence while she thinks and I wait.

  "Okay," she says at last.

  She struggles to rise to her feet, her swollen belly throwing her off balance. I help her then step back as she smiles and puts a hand on her back, twisting.

  "May I ask a question?"

  "Of course," she says.

  "Are you pregnant?"

  Her smile broadens as she nods and laughs. "Yeah, I'm not just fat."

  "Ah," I reply, debating whether I have the right to ask my next question.

  She steps closer to me and places a hand on my chest, just like Jolie does. We stare into each others eyes and I feel like she's searching for something. I meet her gaze and wait, letting her decide for herself if she finds what she wants.

  "You love her?" she asks at last.