by Leslie Chase
Gillian opened her mouth to tell him to shut up automatically, but then she paused. Could he be right? Could there really be something hidden under their ice? They'd scouted it out when they first arrived, of course, but the ice went down for miles. She couldn't rule out the possibility that they'd missed something buried deep under there.
"The dragon attack where you two met, maybe they thought you were getting too close to what they're looking for. That makes sense, doesn't it? More sense than them randomly attacking you."
"Perhaps," Zardan said, frowning. Gillian could feel some deep pain in him as he spoke and wanted to comfort him somehow. She didn't know what was hurting him, but she wanted it to stop. "Perhaps you are right, Harry. The technology of my people interferes with yours, perhaps that's what caused your problem with the robot."
Zardan scraped his chair back and stood, pacing back and forth across the room. The ugly mess of sealant across the wall behind him reminded Gillian of the stakes they were playing for each time he walked past it.
"I've already told you that, before the ice came, this land belonged to my family," he said finally. "Now I'm the last of the House of Herendar, and this estate is mine by Imperial law. There was a lair here, a settlement, family. The ice will have crushed it over the centuries, I'd expect, but perhaps there's something down there that Karaos and Danforth are looking for.
"Ancient dragon ruins?" Harry's eyes lit up as he spoke. "Maybe with a doomsday weapon hidden inside? Or a princess sleeping in stasis? That would do it. Do you think she needs to be woken with a kiss?"
"Harry," Gillian said, a note of warning in her voice. She could see Zardan tensing at her brother's words, and didn't want to antagonize him. It couldn't be easy, thinking about the family he'd lost, and Harry's jokes couldn't be helping.
After a moment Zardan relaxed with a strange noise, almost but not quite a laugh. "No princesses, boy. No one in stasis. My family didn't have anything like the royal stasis chamber that kept the Emperor and his Dragon Guard alive through the centuries. No one else on Mars did, that's why we're the only survivors."
The empty loneliness in his voice was bleak enough to hurt, and Gillian fought down the urge to run to his side and comfort him. He's still trying to claim my family's lands out from under us, she reminded herself. Maybe he's nicer about it than Danforth, but that doesn't change the fact that he wants to take our farm.
For damned sure he's nicer to look at, part of her whispered, and she felt herself flush as she crossed her arms. It was true, but not relevant. She tried to be firm with herself, to look away from him, but it wasn't easy. Maybe it was just that she wanted to distract herself from the danger they were in.
She hoped that was it. It was easier to deal with than the idea that they were fated for each other somehow.
"What else could they want here?" she asked, hurriedly trying to move the conversation onward. Anything to avoid the awkward silence. "Is Harry right for once?"
"Hey," Harry objected. But Zardan took a deep breath and answered.
"It can't be as simple as that," he said, measuring his words as he looked back at the two of them. His violet eyes sparkled as he thought. "There are a lot of untouched ruins on Mars if that's all they're after. No need to risk trouble by killing for the land. But yes, Harry, I think you're right and it has something to do with the Herendar lair. It's too much of a coincidence, otherwise."
Gillian turned to the window, looking out over the frozen wasteland beyond. The ice was too thick to make out anything under it, and for the first time she felt like it might be hiding a mystery. That deep under the valuable drinking water might something else, hidden and dangerous. Is this how Harry feels all the time? Seeing mystery and adventure around every corner?
She wished it was as much fun for her as it seemed to be for her brother. Instead, it just seemed like a dangerous mess, something that would kill them all.
"Do not worry," Zardan said, startling her as he appeared beside her at the window. "I will keep you safe from whoever plans to take this land from you."
"You've said that, but how?" Leaning against the cold glass, she sighed. "I guess I owe you my life again now. Harry's too, this time."
"You owe me nothing." The anger in Zardan's voice startled her, and she looked around to see him looming over her. But his anger wasn't directed at her, Gillian could feel that. She was inside the circle of his rage, and his fury was for those who had tried to harm her.
"If my family has left something here that endangered your family, then that's my responsibility to put right," he said, voice hard as iron. "Even if you weren't my mate, it would be my duty. Since you are my mate, there is nothing in the universe that would stop me protecting you."
The intensity of his speech rocked her. It wasn't that he meant what he said — she'd already known that. But the emotion that he was expressing, the passionate way he spoke about protecting her, made Gillian feel safe. That was unexpected.
This is ridiculous. He's one dragon, and an injured one at that. You can't rely on him. None of that seemed to matter, though. It was impossible to look up into those eyes and doubt that he would keep her from harm. Her body felt safe, even if her mind was still afraid.
It didn't help that he was calling her his mate. She understood what that meant, roughly — the dragon shifters believed that they had perfect partners waiting for them, ordained by fate or some such. It sounded like nonsense to Gillian, but one look at Zardan's eyes told her that he took it seriously.
He's not just claiming the land, he's claiming me too. Gillian didn't know how she felt about that, but she wasn't in a position to turn down his help. Just as long as the dragon shifter didn't get any ideas.
Sighing, Gillian nodded. "Okay. I'm not admitting that I'm your mate or anything, mind you. Or that you own this land. Or, well, anything."
"I know," Zardan said patiently. "You've made that very clear."
"Then fine, we'll work out what's going on and deal with it together. But you're not in charge, understand?" Gillian glowered up at Zardan, daring him to make something of her tone. It was hard to keep herself focused when he was this close, his powerful arms looking so inviting. She'd be safe in his embrace, protected.
And helpless. I am not giving in. Nope. I'll take his help if he's offering, but that's all I'm doing.
"Very well." Zardan nodded seriously, apparently oblivious to the struggle inside Gillian.
"Dammit, stop being so reasonable," she snapped, and she was sure, just for a second, that the hint of a smile passed over his lips. She flushed, caught in a mix of anger at him and something else. The smile suited him, and she wanted to see more of it. Dammit.
12
Zardan
Exploring the farm was going to take forever, Zardan thought. Even if he'd been able to fly, it was a big area to search, and on foot it was going to be impossibly slow. Walking was, he decided, a stupid way to travel.
"How do you humans put up with this?" he asked as he pulled himself up onto another ridge of ice. "It's so slow."
Harry laughed, his voice tinny over the radio. "I guess we're not used to anything else? I mean, we've got the robots, you can ride one if you're going to stick to flat terrain."
"That would defeat the purpose of this search," Zardan said. If there was something to be found here, it would be somewhere the robots hadn't already surveyed. Or it would be buried deep enough that they wouldn't be able to find it without specialist equipment. Equipment they didn't have and had no way of getting, so it was pointless to worry about it. That didn't stop him, of course.
Perhaps it is futile. Can we really hope to find anything like this? Every landmark he might have recognized was under miles of ice now, useless to him. He could be standing directly above the Herendar lair and he'd have no way of knowing it. Perhaps this whole expedition was a waste of time and energy.
"Are you two done bickering? Because we've got a lot of ground to cover and not much air to waste." Gillian's voic
e took away his doubts in a moment. There was something about it, even over the radio, that gave him purpose. He refused to fail her.
The three of them had set out in different directions around the ice farm, heading out over the unexplored regions in the rough direction the errant robot had traveled. Now they were all out of sight of each other, but with the farm to relay their signals they could stay in touch and coordinate the search. It was the best way to cover ground, but so far there hadn't been much to see.
"I don't think this is going to works, sis," Harry said after another few minutes, static hissing behind his words. "I can't see anything. I don't even know what I'm looking for."
"How else are we going to find what they were here for? If you've got a better idea, I'm listening." Gillian snapped. Zardan could hear the tension in her voice and wished he knew how to comfort her. The best way would be to get her some answers, he thought. It might not be easy, but he couldn't give up.
"Maybe if we had some clue what it was, we'd have a place to look?" Harry sounded dubious, and bored. The excitement of looking for dragon treasure hadn't even lasted an hour once it turned into work. "Did Number Five stumble on something? But why would it only turn up now?"
"The ice breaks apart every summer, as it warms up," Gillian said slowly, thinking the problem through. "And then it refreezes. Could that have exposed something?"
"The cracks don't usually go all the way to the ground under the ice, though," Harry replied. The static seemed stronger on his end, and it was hard to make out some of the words. "It couldn't have uncovered a secret dragon city, could it?"
"We never built high," Zardan said, trying to remember the estate. He hadn't visited it that often, despite being stationed on the same planet. It's funny how we can take things for granted. I assumed I had all the time in the world to see my family. Now whatever's here is all that's left. He shook himself and continued. "The lair was underground, dragons like caves. But something might have been lifted off the surface, I suppose. If the ice froze around it, that might carry it upward?"
"There was a big rift near where I found Number Five," Gillian said. "I remember being worried that it'd fallen down there, just before I spotted it. So, maybe?"
"It's worth checking out," Zardan agreed, scanning the frozen horizon. There was no sign of anything interesting here and he had no idea what he was looking for. Having a specific area to search might help.
Remembering the map they'd used to divide their search areas, he realized that Harry was the one looking in that area. "How about it, Harry? Can you see that rift?"
A burst of static made Zardan wince and turn down the volume on his headset. Whatever Harry tried to add to the conversation was lost under it. "Try that again, Harry?"
"I said that —skrk—" the signal dissolved into static again, and Zardan turned in the direction Harry had gone. He couldn't see anything.
"What's blocking the signal?" Gillian asked, worry clear in her voice. "Harry? Harry, answer me!"
Zardan's heart hammered as he peered in the direction the human male had gone. He was nowhere to be seen, but the icy surface was uneven enough that it wasn't surprising.
Gillian was shouting into the radio as though volume would cut through the static, and he could hear her gasp for breath as she hurried to her brother's aid.
"He's probably fine," Zardan told her as he turned that way too. Despite his calm words, he broke into a run.
"Then why can't we hear him?" Fear and anger filled Gillian's voice.
"Something's interfering with the radio, that's all," he replied. "Our technology can do that to yours, I think. Perhaps he's close to whatever they were looking for?"
"Or perhaps he's fallen and broken the radio," Gillian said, grimly refusing his attempt to comfort her. "I knew we shouldn't have let him come along."
Telling Harry to stay put would have been pointless, and they both knew it. At best he'd have sulked, and at worst he'd sneak out to 'help' them search. But Zardan knew that Gillian wouldn't want to hear that. Better to save his breath for running.
Harry's trail, when he found it, was clear. The boy seemed to delight in taking the toughest route through the area they'd assigned him, and his spiked boots had scarred the ice where he climbed the strange white surface of the frozen cliffs. He saw Gillian in the distance, making her way towards him. He tried to hail her, but another wave of static made it almost impossible to make out her reply.
At least that implies that Harry didn't damage his radio, Zardan thought with a little relief. Though why the boy didn't turn back when he realized we couldn't hear him I don't know.
The ice rose ahead of him and Zardan pulled himself up only to look down into a sudden, deep drop. This must be the rift they'd been speaking about, and it was impressive, seeming to go down for miles into the ice. He'd seen bigger gaps from the air, but somehow it was different when his feet were on the ground. This must be how humans feel about heights all the time, he thought with a small sympathetic shudder.
It was one thing to look into an abyss like this when he could fly. With his injured wings and inability to shift, the drop would be lethal. It commanded a lot more respect now, and he took a step back before looking to see where Harry's trail led.
He'd followed the edge of the cliff until he'd found a way down, and taken it. Zardan swore to himself. Presumably the human boy wanted his adventure and wasn't going to stop just because of the risk to his life.
There was a narrow ledge leading down and along the cliff face, and Harry's footprints went that way until the uneven cliff wall blocked his sight. Thousand Suns, why did the boy keep going? This isn't safe.
Behind him, Gillian was moving with reckless speed, and Zardan waved at her to stop. If she saw him, she ignored his gesture. Zardan growled into his mask and braced himself as he stepped into her path. Catching her mid-leap, he swung Gillian up into his arms. Her protest was lost in the static, and he didn't try to answer. Surefooted on the ice, he ignored her struggles as he carried her to the cliff top and let her see the canyon she'd nearly run into.
Gillian's squirming stopped as she stared down into space, and then her arm went around him, holding tight. Zardan lowered his face to hers, letting their glass faceplates touch. Sound carried through the glass, and he could hear her swearing under her breath.
"Calm yourself," he told her. "And next time I tell you to stop, pay attention."
Gillian closed her mouth with a snap, glaring up at him. Good. Angry is better than afraid, he told himself. It felt hollow, though. Having his mate angry at him would never feel like a victory.
"My brother's down there," she said, voice cold. "And you're telling me to calm down? He could have fallen, he could be injured or worse down there."
"And you falling wouldn't help him," he snapped back before he could get control of his words. "We'll find him, but we'll do it quicker if you don't fight me on this."
Gillian didn't answer, just squirmed against his grip. But Zardan had no intention of setting her down. Lifting her over his shoulder, he carefully lowered himself onto the icy path and made his way down the slope.
It took a while for Gillian to stop struggling, and he was fairly sure she hadn't stopped swearing yet. But with their helmets separated he couldn't hear any of what she was saying, and that was a small mercy. Eventually she settled down and he could move faster without worrying about her throwing his balance off. The path was narrow but as he followed it he realized that it was curiously even. As though it had been carved from the ice, perhaps? And, while it was worryingly narrow for him, for a human it would have been comfortably wide.
It seemed unlikely that something like this had formed naturally. And that was a mystery that wouldn't stop preying on his mind. Why would someone have dug a path down like this? It would have been a lot of work.
But there were no answers to be seen, and he pressed on rather than ponder it. Investigating that mystery could wait until they'd made sure that Harry was safe.
He followed the steep path down along the cliff, walking deeper and deeper into the rift. Soon they were well below the surface, a sheer wall on one side and a deep drop on the other.
Fortunately, finding Harry didn't take much longer. Zardan turned the corner to see the young human's flashlight reflecting from the ice up ahead. Another turn, and there he was, standing on a broader part of the ledge and looking at the cliff face. As soon as he saw Zardan approaching he waved him closer, gesturing at the ice wall ahead of him. The radio crackled with static, masking whatever he might be trying to say, but it was easy to see that the human was excited about his discovery.
Seeing what he'd found, Zardan couldn't blame him for being excited. A large opening had been burned into the cliff beside the path they'd followed, and where the path was probably not natural, the cave mouth definitely wasn't. The surface was smooth where the water had refrozen and the tunnel extended deep into the cliff.
Zardan put Gillian down carefully on the ice ahead of him. She shot him a glare, then turned it to Harry, and Zardan knew she was trying to decide who to be furious with first.
Harry wasn't about to wait for her to make up her mind. With an impatient gesture he walked into the artificial cave. Gillian stomped after him and Zardan followed, looking around as they entered the cave. It was easily large enough for him to walk upright, and that was strange in and of itself. There weren't many reasons for someone to take the extra effort to melt the tunnel that big. It had to mean that they'd wanted something big to be able to make its way into the ice.
Or out of it.
Zardan stopped and stared, wondering what in the Thousand Suns could be at the end of that tunnel. It didn't make any sense for Karaos and his allies to be digging here. For all that they'd descended deep into the rift, they still had to be miles above the entrance to the Herendar estate. Could the ice have lifted something from the surface, over all those centuries? He shook his head. It was possible, but he didn't know what might have attracted Karaos's attention.