Dagger's Hope

by S. E. Smith

  The second time had been when a large group of human men had attacked her and her sisters in the downtown area of Seattle after they had escaped from the Trivator compound. They had been searching for a way out of the city. Dagger, Hunter, and Saber had come to her and her sisters’ aid after they were surrounded. They would have died that day if not for the Trivator warriors. Dagger had lifted her in his arms and held her protectively against him after saving her life.

  “Hush, little one,” Dagger murmured.

  Jordan didn’t know where he was taking her. At this point, she didn’t care anymore. She was like Taylor, she had just wanted to go home, but unlike her little sister, she didn’t know where home was anymore.

  “I feel so lost,” she whispered in a low, resigned voice. “I don’t know where to go or what to do.”

  The arms around her tightened, but the man carrying her didn’t respond. Unable to do anything else, she laid her head against his shoulder. She kept her eyes diverted from the warriors that stepped to the side and stared at them as they passed them in the hallway.

  After numerous twists and turns, Dagger paused outside of a room. The door slid open and he stepped through. A moment later, it closed behind him. Curious, Jordan lifted her head and gasped in surprise. The room was filled with plants, thousands of colorful plants of all different sizes and varieties. Along a back wall, she saw the top of a waterfall.

  “It isn’t real, but it looks like it is,” he murmured in a soft voice.

  “Are the… Are the plants?” Jordan asked, staring at the brightly colored blooms of one plant as Dagger slowly walked forward.

  “Yes,” he said, gently lowering her to her feet.

  Jordan swallowed when she realized that while he had set her back on her feet, he hadn’t released her. His left arm had slid down and his fingers threaded through hers in a firm grasp. Jordan’s fingers instinctively curled in return when he took a slow step forward.

  “When I need time alone, I come here,” he said, reaching out with his other hand and touching one of the plants.

  “You need time, too?” She asked in surprise, looking up at him with wide eyes.

  He glanced down at her and smiled. “Yes,” he replied in a simple statement filled with meaning. “Watch.”

  Jordan watched in awe as he stroked the leaves of one plant with almost solid black leaves. As he did, lines of brilliant green light began to run in tiny rivers creating rippling waves outward. It was one of the most amazing, beautiful things she had ever seen.

  “Can I touch it?” She asked, looking up at him before gazing down at the plant.

  “Here,” he murmured, taking the hand he was holding tenderly in his, and reaching out until the tips of her fingers were barely touching the leaf. “You have to be very gentle.”

  Jordan smiled in delight as she carefully stroked the leaf. It was mesmerizing watching the colors running through it. It looked almost like….

  “Fairy dust,” she whispered.

  The strong fingers holding her wrist had shifted. A shiver ran through her when she felt the thumb caressing the inside of her wrist. He must have felt the shiver and thought she was cold, because he moved closer, until the heat of his body was pressed along her back.

  Jordan actually felt her pulse jump at the feel of him and the knowledge that she was caged between him and the plant. What surprised her was the fact that instead of feeling panicked by the thought, she actually felt… safe. There was something strange about her reaction to him. When she was around any of the other warriors, she felt a slight sense of panic and the desire to make herself as small and invisible as possible, but with Dagger it was different. With Dagger, she wanted him to see her, to notice that she was there, and to be near him.

  “What is fairy dust?” He asked in curiosity, sliding his other hand around her waist and pulling her closer.

  Jordan released a shaky breath and stilled her hand against the plant. Closing her eyes, she tried to remember why she shouldn’t like this. He was an alien, after all. He, Hunter, and Saber had taken her and her sisters from their world. He had… saved her life and made her feel warm and safe.

  “Fairies sprinkle it over things,” she whispered. “Fairies are small creatures that are magical. They are known to live in the forests and take care of it. They can sprinkle their dust on things and wonderful things happen.”

  Her heart began to pound when he threaded his fingers through hers again and turned her to face him. She tilted her head back and looked up at him. Her lips parted slightly when he pulled her closer to his body with his other hand.

  “I don’t remember seeing any of these creatures while I was on your world,” he replied with a frown. “I spent some time in the forests outside of your city.”

  “They aren’t real,” she explained with a shy laugh. “They are make-believe. Things that little girls dream of when they are young.”

  The frown cleared and he nodded. Jordan swore that his eyes were a darker yellow, almost gold, as he stared down at her. He was gazing down at her as if he wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure. She saw a flash of frustration cross his face before he muttered an expletive in his language. A rosy blush swept up her cheeks when the translator embedded in her ear translated what he had said.

  “I apologize,” he said, releasing her and stepping back. “I should not have said that out loud.”

  “It’s okay,” she replied with a shy smile. “Jesse and I have been known to say a few similar things over the last couple of years. Even Taylor was on a rant just a little while ago.”

  She turned and started to walk down the narrow walkway that had been built to imitate a natural garden. Her fingers brushed along the plants as she walked. She could hear him following close behind her.

  “Have any of the warriors approached you?” He asked.

  Jordan glanced over her shoulder with a frown and shook her head. “No, why would you ask?” She said.

  “I heard what your sister asked you,” he replied, ducking under a thick red leaf as he followed behind her. “Have any of the other warriors made you feel threatened?”

  Jordan paused for a brief moment, before she shook her head and continued forward. She gasped when he swung her around the moment they had reached the area in front of the waterfall. The path had ended and a short, yellow-type fern covered the area in front of it.

  “Tell me the truth,” he said. “If they have, I will deal with them.”

  Jordan looked up at him in confusion. His face had turned dark with a savage looking scowl, but for some reason, it still didn’t scare her. Raising a hand to touch his cheek, she realized just how tall he was compared to her five and a half foot form.

  “All the warriors have been very considerate,” she swore, blushing and dropping her hand when his expression cleared. “She was just worried they were like…”

  She turned away and stepped over onto the yellow fern. The memories of what had happened back on Earth threatened to choke her again. A part of her couldn’t help but feel thankful that she was away from it. Fascinated by the illusion of the waterfall, complete with a light breeze and mist, she sank down to the ground and drew her legs up under her.

  She glanced at Dagger when he lowered himself down beside her. Closing her eyes, a soft smile curved her lips. This place was just what she had needed.

  A warm hand caressed her cheek. “The healer said the human males had not harmed you or your sisters in that way,” Dagger replied in a gruff voice. “I asked.” Jordan’s face flamed and she would have pulled away if he had not moved his hand down to her chin. “He spoke the truth, did he not?”

  “Yes, he spoke the truth,” Jordan whispered. “You make me feel…. Strange inside.”

  A low groan escaped him and he pulled away. She watched as he rose to his feet and took several steps away from her. He kept his back to her, but she could both see and feel his frustration as he ran his hands through his long white hair. After several long seconds, he turned
and looked down at her again.

  “You are still young,” he said in a voice that reflected his frustration. “It is not right. Hunter is your protector now. I… You are….”

  Jordan rolled onto her hands and knees before standing up. She brushed her damp palms along the pants of the dark green tunic she was wearing. Licking her lips, she took a hesitant step toward him.

  “I am… What?” She asked, stopping in front of him.

  A wave of warmth and excitement rushed through her when he suddenly pulled her into his arms and held her tightly against his body. This time, she wrapped her arms shyly around his waist in returned. She felt the shudder that ran through him at her embrace.

  “You are mine,” he whispered.

  *.*.*

  Jordan’s head jerked up when she heard the footsteps coming down the hallway. She blinked several times to bring her mind back to the present. She knew there was a silly grin on her face. There always was when she thought back to that time on the Star Raider.

  Turning, the smile died when she saw the grim expression on Dagger’s face. Biting her lip, she straightened and waited for him to tell her the bad news. He must have seen the expression on her face because his face relaxed and he opened his arms.

  Jordan dropped the damp cloth onto the table and moved into his arms, wrapping hers around his waist and holding him tightly against her. It couldn’t be all bad, she figured. They still had power.

  “It isn’t as bad as I suspected,” Dagger assured her.

  Jordan tilted her head back and looked at him with a narrow, assessing gaze. “If it isn’t as bad as I think, then why the long face?” She asked.

  Dagger released her and pulled back. He walked over to the same panel he had the night before and pulled out a container of water. Opening it, he took a long drink before wiping the sweat from his brow.

  “There was a reason that I wanted to set down in the cave up in the mountain,” he told her, reaching around to grab another drink out of the panel and bringing it over to her. He motioned for her to have a seat. “We are on a small planet in the Kepler-10 star system. We landed in a hammock area that is surrounded by a shallow river and swamp. The trees you see look like they are part of a forest, but most stand in several feet of water. There is a creature that lives here that is called the Gartaian.”

  “Isn’t that what you fought?” Jordan asked, her eyes darkening with worry. “It was the huge gray creature, wasn’t it?”

  Dagger’s lips compressed into a hard line and a look of disapproval lit in his eyes. “You were there longer than I realized. You shouldn’t have seen such things,” he muttered, glowering at her.

  Jordan reached over and cupped his hand in hers, turning it over so that she could look at his palm. Faint scars and thick calluses lined it. She ran her fingertips over them as she contemplated how to respond to him.

  “You asked me once how I found you,” she finally replied in a quiet voice. “For two years I searched for you. I learned everything I could about the computer language that your people use. I met up with hackers online, and begged them to teach me everything that they could.” A small, distant smile curved her lips as she thought of the endless hours she had spent learning and researching. “I guess there are some on every world. I found you several times, but by the time Trig or another team went after you, you were always gone. Each time they came back without you, I died a little more. This last time there was something that told me that I might not get another chance.”

  She looked up into his eyes, letting him see the tears shimmering in them. He reached up with his other hand and caught one that spilled over and slid down her cheek. She turned her face into his palm and pressed a kiss into it.

  “Everyone else had given up on you, but I never did,” she whispered. “I knew I had to come. If you slipped away, I would find you before they could take you too far. I slipped out of the house and went to your house. I knew that Trig was back. He was supposed to meet up with Hunter the next morning to give him a report. I had slipped out many times over the two years and gone to your house, hoping that you would be there, but you never were. Trig tried to force me to go home, but I refused. I told him that I knew where you were and that if he didn’t take me, I would find someone who would.”

  “Jordan,” Dagger said thickly, staring at her as she continued to explain how she had searched for him and what his disappearance meant to her.

  “I can be very stubborn,” she said, with a wry smile before it faded from her lips and her eyes hardened. “I started by finding out who was behind the attack on your fighter. I discovered it was led by a mercenary group, and Kelman’s name came up. The problem was I kept running into a roadblock every time I tried to pinpoint his location. He moved frequently and even those in the underground groups wouldn’t talk about him. I started tracking anyone that dealt with him, closing the circle until I finally found Arindoss. I knew that Kelman must be making a move to take over The Hole, either that, or he was planning on working with Arindoss. It was one of the largest fight rings outside of the Alliance’s normal patrol zones.”

  “What you did was very dangerous,” Dagger insisted, gripping her hand in his.

  Jordan shook her head. “No more dangerous than spending four years on the streets of Seattle,” she replied in a sad voice. “I learned a lot during that time. I’m better at blending into a crowd now. Some of my classmates gave me tips on that.”

  Dagger grimaced and released a savage snort. “Remind me to kill your classmates when we return to Rathon,” he grunted, releasing her hand and picking up his drink.

  Jordan chuckled and sat back. “The point I’m trying to make is I’ve seen a lot of bad things and lived,” she replied in a quiet, steady voice. “It is not only the experience that we go through that make us stronger, but how we choose to deal with it. I choose to conquer my fears and to fight for what I believe in. I believe in you, Dagger. I told you that if you didn’t come back, that I would come after you. I’ll do it every time, no matter what.”

  “That appears to be a trait of the women in your family,” Dagger replied in a gruff voice before he released a deep sigh. “I cannot change what has happened, or even what may be to come, but I will be beside you on the journey.”

  Jordan smiled. “I know,” she said. “That is all I could ask for.”

  Dagger picked up his drink and finished it off. Setting the empty container on the table, he rolled it between his hands before he drew in a deep breath of resignation. She waited as he made up his mind whether to tell her what was bothering him.

  “It is going to take me several days to repair the engine,” he began before pausing again.

  “But, that isn’t what is bothering you,” Jordan observed.

  Dagger looked at her grimly and shook his head. “No, what bothers me is that we are in the open in the middle of the Gartaian feeding plain, the Lexamus is sinking into the soft soil, and we are vulnerable if Kelman or the Drethulan discover us before I can fix the engine.”

  “At least we are alive to do it,” Jordan pointed out, leaning forward and cupping his hand again. “We’ll fix it together.”

  Dagger looked at the delicate face across from him. Once again, he realized that Jordan was an amazing woman. She was young, and while she had already lived through so much, her spirit was as strong as any warrior that he had known and fought beside, including that of Hunter, Saber, and his brother, Trig.

  “Have I told you that you are an amazing female?” Dagger murmured in a quiet voice.

  Jordan chuckled and rose out of her seat. “You can show me once we get out of here,” she teased.

  Dagger rose as well, pulling her into his arms as she walked around the narrow table. He bent his head. He paused just a breath away from her lips, mesmerized by the look in her eyes. He saw the glimmer of love, hope, and belief shimmering back at him. They would get out of here. Pressing his lips to hers, the determination grew when her lips parted beneath his and she hu
ngrily returned his kiss.

  Chapter 14

  They spent the rest of the afternoon working on the engine. Dagger glanced over at where Jordan sat on a rock in the shade of the Starship. She had a laser rifle in her hands and was continually scanning the area.

  It helped having her guard while he worked. This way, he could stay focused. He wiped his forehead again as sweat ran down it. His eyes moved back to Jordan.

  Her face was flushed from the heat and humidity and glistened with sweat, but she didn’t complain. She had removed the vest and tied the shirt she was wearing at the waist. His eyes moved appreciatively to her bare legs. She had snorted and said that leather and heat did not mix. She had quickly returned with a pair of Arindoss’ silk bed pants¸ rolled low at her waist and cut off.

  “Dagger,” Jordan quietly called out in warning. “I see movement.”

  Dagger set the torch he was using down and picked up the other rifle. He turned, his eyes scanning across the thick strand of trees from the shallow river. The area was flooded as well, but it would be no problem for the mammoth creatures to move through.

  “Get on the ship,” Dagger ordered when he realized that it was a large herd of the creatures.

  “I’ll cover you,” Jordan replied in a soft voice. “Get the equipment, we can’t lose it. They are almost blind, so if we stay in the shadows and get inside before they come across, we should be fine.”

  Dagger wanted to argue, but he knew that Jordan was right. They couldn’t afford to lose any of the tools they needed for the repairs. Already the ship had sunk almost a foot into the soft ground. They would never get out if the landing gear sunk all the way. The four supports would act like an anchor, tying them to the ground.

  He shouldered the rifle and quickly picked up the torches and other tools he had been using. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon and dusk was upon them. That was when the creatures appeared to move out of the swampy forests and onto the drier land where the tall grass grew.