by Leslie Chase
"I've only got a small haul," she warned as she passed over the details. Maxine laughed again.
"Of course you do, honey," she said, flicking through the tablet and taking notes. "I wasn't expecting your farm to have another shipment ready before spring, anyway. So, what's gotten you down here? Still looking for your dad?"
"Yeah." Gillian tried to keep a cheerful smile on her face, but she could feel it slip.
"I'm sorry, honey," Maxine said, her smile fading. "I'd hoped he'd have gotten back to you by now. You know I'd have told you if I heard anything, right?"
"I know, Maxine. But we've not heard from him at all, and I'm starting to wonder if he ever left Fuller."
"He must have. There's hardly anything here worth staying for, 'cept the business. It wouldn't be the first time he fell of the wagon down south in Olympus, though. That city's got itself an underside."
Gillian grimaced. It was still possible, she conceded, that her father had made his way there and gotten lost and drunk. With the year's ice haul money, he could have had a spectacular time... but she didn't dare hope it was as simple as that.
"You didn't see him go or anything?"
"No, but I do know he bought a ticket on a skyship. Had a couple of drinks with me in the Last Stop for old time's sake and told me he was leaving in the morning." Maxine passed the tablet over to Gillian and looked her in the eye. "If you're going to follow him, you might talk to Captain Olsen, for a skyship jockey he's a trustworthy sort. But are you sure you want to find your father like this, honey? Might be better to wait it out."
"I've got to. If he doesn't get back soon, it'll be too late to travel and we won't see him before spring." Gillian didn't want to try and explain the real reasons, especially not if it might drag Maxine into danger. There was too much trouble to go around as it was, and one of her few friends getting sucked in wouldn't make things better.
She looked down at the tablet and blinked. The number on offer was too high by far for the meager amount of ice she had to sell, and she looked up at the other woman to tell her about her mistake.
"Don't argue now," Maxine said. "If you're going looking for your dad, you're going to need some funds to do it. What's the point of being an independent trader if I can't give my friend a good deal?"
"I'll pay you back," Gillian promised, only for Maxine to laugh again.
"Nope, no way. I don't make loans to people I like, that's the best way to ruin a friendship. Just promise you'll look out for your friends when they need you, too, okay?"
Gillian nodded quickly and pressed the 'accept' tab. The tablet chirped as funds appeared in her account, and she resisted the urge to jump the counter to hug Maxine. Running into unexpected kindness like that almost made her cry.
"You need a place to stay?" Maxine asked, but Gillian shook her head.
"No, I'm not going to be here long," she said. More importantly, there are bad men after me. And they can't kill me, but that won't protect you. But she knew if she told her that, Maxine would insist on helping.
"Stop by on your way back then," Maxine told her in a tone that brooked no argument. "I hope you find your dad and that he's okay. He's a good man when he's not drowning his sorrows."
Gillian felt her eyes tear up at that. It had been a long time since she'd been in Fuller Station, and it would be easy to feel lost and overwhelmed. Knowing she had a friend, someone to turn to, made her feel so much safer.
But now it was time to go to work. Time to try to get through to someone who'd believe her about a lost dragon spaceship under the ice. That was something she should have thought about earlier, she realized, but now that the choice was in front of her she didn't know.
A human leader meant speaking to the corporate authorities of Olympus Colony, most likely. But perhaps the Dragon Empire would be a better bet? Certainly that's what Zardan had encouraged her to do, but she had no idea who to speak to at the Imperial capital in Marsport. As a dragon lord, Zardan would have been the better choice to speak with them. Gillian had to laugh at the idea of trying to convince him to make a phone call rather than hunting down and confronting their enemies on his own.
That's not his style, not at all, she thought. And I'm sure I can muddle through. Just as soon as I buy myself a communication pass. Setting her shoulders and waving goodbye to Maxine, she set out to find a terminal.
18
Zardan
The Last Stop looked no different from the last time he'd visited, but Zardan saw it with fresh eyes. On his first visit he hadn't cared much about anything, now he paid attention to his surroundings. The peeling paint, the faint smell of old booze and decay, the torn and patched padding on the chairs, all of that told a story of a failing business.
The barman looked up at him, shrugged, and turned away. Other humans had a harder time disguising their interest, and conversations stopped as Zardan entered. But he wasn't here for any of them.
He made his way through the nearly-empty bar, meeting the eyes of those who looked up at him. Most looked away nervously, some tried to hold his gaze for a moment before breaking eye contact. None of the humans wanted trouble with a dragon shifter, and he was just as glad. Tearing his way through them would have worked off some of his frustrations, but he had no time to spare.
This was a time to focus on his real prey, though if none of the shifters were present he'd have to find a way of attracting their attention. Someone here would know how to reach them, Zardan was certain, and if he had to beat it out of the humans he would.
Fortunately, that wasn't necessary. At the back, in the booth he'd seen Karaos at before, sat a single dragon shifter, someone Zardan didn't immediately recognize. Working on a holographic map, the other dragon didn't look up until Zardan slipped into the booth across from him. Then his eyes went wide and he shut down the map to glare across the table.
"You're not supposed to be here." It was the voice, low and rough, that triggered Zardan's memory. This was Graxon, one of the lowest-ranking of the Dragon Guard. And one of the more technically skilled, too. He'd always kept to himself, out of the way of the others, which was why Zardan hadn't recognized him.
But he'd always been close to Karaos.
"I'm supposed to be relaxing with my mate," Zardan answered in a growl. "But some bastards keep trying to kill her and steal her land. Maybe you can shed some light on that, Graxon?"
The two of them glared at each other, Graxon's wings spreading in an unmistakable threat display. Zardan just bared his teeth, growling menacingly.
Eventually, Graxon broke the standoff. Looking down, he hissed his answer. "We didn't plan on anyone getting killed, Zardan. And we certainly didn't know she was your mate."
"That's not what it looked like when you were attacking her," Zardan said, remembering his first sight of Gillian out on the ice. Graxon looked up again, anger burning in his eyes.
"Don't blame us for that," he snapped. "That was your fault! We tried to guide her out of the way. When that damned robot of hers got too close to where we were digging, I carried it away, so the humans wouldn't find us.
"But then you turned up out of nowhere, and we had to keep an eye on you. Once she'd seen us, well, Sarax decided to make sure she didn't tell anyone about seeing dragons out there. What were we supposed to do?"
"You could try not being murderous scum," Zardan said. "Not trying to steal their farm would be good, too — then there wouldn't have been anything for her to see."
He tried to hide how much Graxon's accusation hurt. Could it be true that Gillian's life was in danger because of his actions? That would be more guilt than he could bear.
But he knew what Gillian would say to that. It wasn't his fault that Karaos and the others were trying to steal the Grace of Herendar, and it wasn't his fault that they'd attacked Gillian or her family. She'd place the blame squarely where it belonged, on Karaos, Danforth, and their companions.
"Come on, Zardan," Graxon said. "They're only humans, how many did we kill just t
o pass the time in the old days? Battling knights was a fun day out, remember?"
Zardan winced. That wasn't entirely unfair, he had to admit. More than a few dragons had made the trip to Earth to fight human knights for sport — which rarely ended well for the humans. The difference is that those humans were looking for a dragon to fight, for glory and for gold, he told himself. Gillian and her family were minding their own business.
"We killed in battle," he said aloud. "You and Karaos were willing to ruin the Willis family and let them starve to death if you didn't murder them outright. There's no honor in those kills and I'd stop you even if she wasn't my mate. Count yourself lucky I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself."
That got a snarl from Graxon. "This is the chance of a lifetime, Zardan. We're not going to give it up just for your hurt feelings. Do you know how much the Grace is worth to a human consortium? The Dragon Empire's dead and the best we can do is live well off its corpse."
"You're selling out our heritage to the highest bidder?" Zardan leaned across the table, meeting Graxon's snarl. "That's low, even for you."
"Grow up." This time Graxon didn't back down, and the two of them glared at each other across the table. "You aren't clinging to the Empire either, or you wouldn't be out here. You've given up on it, so what do you care? You're just hurt because we knew about the Grace of Herendar and you didn't. Well, guess what, maybe you should have taken the posting in orbital control and done some actual work — then you might have known where your precious ship was."
Zardan growled. "You could have told me."
"And how would that have helped me? Don't tell me you'd have cut me in for an equal share like Karaos and Sarax did. No, you'd have said 'thank you' and then maybe you'd have given the Grace to the Emperor, or maybe you'd just have gone out there to die. I found it. Me! I spent months tracking it down, just from what Karaos remembered of the logs. No one else could have done it! Do you know how much work it was, how many false starts we had? But we actually damned well found it. I deserve a reward."
Sitting back, Zardan felt some of his anger drain as he looked at the desperate dragon shifter. It was an impressive piece of work, that much was fair. Unfortunately, Graxon was so keen to be acknowledged for his expertise that he'd abandoned any sense of right and wrong. Zardan almost pitied him for that.
"So instead you kill and cheat to let a human company steal our secrets, and you threaten my mate with death and ruin." He shook his head. "You're smart, and you did a great job of tracking down one of the most valuable things on the planet. Maybe you do deserve a reward for that, but it doesn't make the damned thing yours to sell or give away."
Graxon sat back, raising his hands. "Look, maybe we can cut you in on the deal, okay? There's plenty to go around, and you can live comfortably on Earth with your share of the profit. Bring your human with you, if you care about her so much."
"This isn't your property to divide up, Graxon," Zardan said, baring his teeth. "You're trying to steal from my mate, from me, and from my family — and then you want to offer me a quarter of what you stole? After you tried to kill her?"
The last words came out as a roar, and Graxon flinched. Zardan lunged across the table, grabbing the other shifter's throat and slamming him back against the wall behind him. His patience for this conversation had run out. "You'll return Gillian's family to her, get your humans to leave their debt alone, and get out of our lives. That's the kindest offer you'll get from me."
Fear sparked on Graxon's face, and for a moment Zardan thought he'd listen. But the other shifter’s pride was too strong and he wasn't about to let his prize get away without a fight. Swinging an arm up to knock Zardan's aside, Graxon managed to pull free and stumble out of the booth. Zardan followed, bracing himself for the fight that was now inevitable.
The rest of the Last Stop's patrons backed away, sensing the coming fight. Someone tried to intervene, stepping forward only to be hauled back by a friend. Lucky for him, Zardan thought. A human getting between two dragons wasn't going to last long.
"Last chance to buy in," Graxon snarled. "Take the money and an easy life."
And betray my mate? Zardan didn't need to consider his answer. Launching himself forward, he hauled off a punch that could have broken a human's neck. Graxon ducked back, turning with the blow, but it was still enough to stagger him and Zardan followed it up with a series of brutal punches to the ribs.
But Graxon wasn't going down that easily. Retreating under Zardan's assault, he managed to slip to the side and his return punch was hard enough to make Zardan see stars. He crashed into a table, sending glasses flying, and Graxon pounced to follow up his attack.
Zardan barely managed to twist out of the way, and Graxon's fist split the table where his head had been a moment before. With a roar, Zardan kicked out and knocked his opponent back into the bar.
Got to finish this, he thought. With the injuries he was still carrying, he couldn't keep up the pace of a fight for long.
Pulling himself up, he just managed to duck a thrown beer glass and brace himself for the following charge. At the last moment he ducked aside, caught Graxon by the wing, and twisted. The shifter cried out in agony and tried to pull away, but Zardan didn't give him the chance, slamming him into the wall repeatedly. Graxon shuddered and struggled weakly.
"Take that outside," a human shouted from behind the bar, and Zardan looked back to see the barman brandishing some kind of weapon. It wasn't enough to intimidate a dragon warrior, but Zardan saw no reason to cause the humans here more trouble than he had to. He nodded, pulling Graxon by the wing and throwing him through the bar's door.
Graxon lay curled against the wall opposite the Last Stop, groaning and glaring up at Zardan. His injured wing flapped weakly and he paled as Zardan loomed over him.
"Where is Mr. Willis?" Zardan demanded. "Tell me that and you can go."
"Fuck you," the other dragon spat. "I think you broke my wing."
"I'll break more than that if you don't talk," Zardan said, contempt mixing with his anger. Karaos, at least, had given him a fight. But he wouldn't let Graxon's weakness stop him from saving his mate's father. Gillian was depending on him.
"I can't, dammit. Karaos will kill me if I tell you anything."
"What do you think I'll do, if you stand between me and my mate?"
Graxon looked around nervously, as though expecting help to appear. Zardan frowned, stepped forward, and grabbed the other dragon by the throat. Lifting him to his feet, he glared into the man's eyes.
"Tell me!"
From behind him, he heard footsteps, and Graxon's eyes flared with hope. Zardan spun, holding his prisoner like a shield.
"Put him down," a human said in firm, authoritative tones. He wasn't alone — half a dozen men in armor faced Zardan, Fuller Station Security stenciled across their chests. Each held an electric stun baton, raised defensively.
Zardan sighed and lowered Graxon. The barman must have called security. I was meant to be attracting attention, he reminded himself. This means the plan is working. The more noise he made, the less likely someone was to notice Gillian. He just wished they'd been a little slower to turn up; he'd been on the verge of breaking Graxon.
"This is dragon business," he said, meeting the leader's eyes. "It doesn't concern you."
That was part of the treaty between humans and dragons, and it didn't look like the guards wanted to get involved in the fight. For a moment, Zardan thought he'd face them down. But the leader shook his head and gestured to Graxon.
"We're being paid to make it our business," he said. "Come quietly and no one needs to get hurt."
Zardan snarled. I'm too close to stop here, he thought. Six on one wasn't good odds, not when he was already hurt, but they were only humans. And Gillian's safety was at stake. He could take them if he had to. He snarled and took a step forward, spreading his wings as wide as he was able and readying himself for another fight.
But their presence emboldened Grax
on again, and the other dragon leaped up to catch Zardan in a bear hug. It wasn't a tight grip and it wouldn't hold for long, but it didn't have to. Before Zardan could respond, the human captain leaped forward, swinging his crackling baton in a short arc that slammed into Zardan's chest.
Sparks flew across his vision and he jerked as an electric shock ran through him. His answering kick sent the captain flying back into his men, but one managed to get close enough to strike. The second shock drove Zardan to his knees, and Graxon shouted with triumph.
"How do you like it, Zardan?" he crowed, holding Zardan as the humans rained blow after blow down on him. "Huh? How do you like being on the losing side?"
With an effort of will, Zardan focused enough to slam his head back into the face of the dragon holding him. Graxon howled in rage and pain, his grip loosening, but it was too late. The series of shocks had left Zardan too weak to do anything but slump to the ground. Gillian. I've failed you.
He could see her in his mind's eye, even as the humans surrounded him, batons swinging. Trying to draw strength from her, he struggled to fight back. It was impossible. His will was still strong, but the electricity running through him made it impossible for him to control his muscles.
Graxon pulled himself up, bleeding from his broken nose but grinning viciously as he walked over to stand above Zardan.
"Fuck you, Zardan," he said, gloating. "Looks like I win."
"Yeah, about that," the human captain said, jamming his baton into Graxon's ribs. The dragon shifter spasmed and fell, and the rest of the guards turned their attention to making him stay down. Zardan tried to roar in defiance — no matter that Graxon was his enemy, the human's casual betrayal enraged him. These humans had no honor at all.
But there was nothing he could do. The human captain crouched in front of him, smiling a nasty smile. "Mr. Danforth said the fewer dragons around, the more money there is for us humans. So congratulations, it looks like you managed to kill him before we reached you."