Dragon Lord's Hope

by Leslie Chase

  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 to 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 wal
l 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 Graxon 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."

  Zardan tried to grab for him. All he could manage was a little twitch, his traitorous muscles unwilling to cooperate. Above him, the human's laughed.

  "What do we do with 'em, boss?" one of the guards asked. "Slit their throats?"

  "Don't be an idiot," the captain snarled at his men. "How'd we explain that? No, I've got a better idea. Bring them, and make sure they're unconscious. They can have a little accident."

  With a tremendous effort Zardan managed to pull himself up, grabbing hold of the captain's wrist and pulling. For a moment he thought he had a chance. Then one of the stun batons cracked him across the skull, sending him convulsing to the floor. Darkness swallowed him as he tried to hold onto the memory of Gillian's face.

  19

  Gillian

  The main hub of Fuller Station was busy in comparison with the crawler docks, but that wasn't saying much. Compared to how active the station had been when the Willises arrived on Mars, it was quiet, lacking the bustling crowds that Gillian remembered. More and more trade went by skyship now, and that meant that a lot of it was simply not stopping here. With the range of a skyship, some traders were going directly to Olympus rather than stopping off here.

  Still, the area around Fuller's skyship port was busy enough that Gillian felt comfortably anonymous. Trying to look as uninteresting as possible she made her way through to the communications booths near the center. From here, she could place a call to anywhere on Mars. At least in theory — after the failure of the comms at the farm, she didn't want to take it for granted.

  She took a seat in one of the rear-most booths, out of the way. With one last, nervous look around, she connected her tablet to the booth and called up the directory. A sense of relief washed over her when her credit was accepted and the system asked for a destination. She looked around again, nervous. No one seemed to be paying her any attention.

  Good. Maybe Zardan's drawn them all off, she thought. Or maybe they wouldn't have tracked me anyway, yet?

  She turned back to the screen, hesitating over who to call. No one really had jurisdiction all the way out on the polar ice cap, and that made it hard to decide who'd be able to help. A quick glance through the directory under 'law enforcement' gave her inspiration. The Piracy Patrol was a joint dragon-human organization, after all, and Karaos was trying to steal a ship. It was sort of like what they were supposed to investigate.

  It might not be perfect, but it was better than calling the Dragon Palace and hoping she could make a case strong enough to get the Emperor's attention.

  Connecting to their offices in Olympus Colony took a long minute, and Gillian sat there with her heart hammering in her chest. Come on, answer, she thought, glancing around again. Her mouth was dry, and it felt like invisible eyes were watching her by the time the screen cleared.

  A tough-looking woman stared out at her, eyes serious.

  "Piracy Patrol," she said. "Captain Laura Martigan speaking. How can we help?"

  Thank God. "My name's Gillian Willis, and I'm calling to report... pirates, I guess? Out at Fuller Station."

  She cursed herself for sounding so uncertain. The last thing she wanted was to look unconvincing, but Captain Martigan nodded and started to take notes.

  "Go on," she urged. "What's happened? That's not
a usual area for pirates."

  "It's not the usual kind of piracy," Gillian admitted. "They found—"

  Before she could launch into an explanation, the screen abruptly went dark. Looking up with a start, Gillian saw that all the displays were out — not even the screen showing her credit was available. Whatever's going on, it's time to leave, she told herself, grabbing her tablet and standing.

  Stepping out of the booth, she practically ran into two men waiting for her. One grabbed her by the arm faster than she could react, and the other held up a station security badge.

  Oh shit.

  The men stood between her and the crowded concourse, blocking everyone's view. Suddenly choosing an out-of-the-way booth to make her call from didn't seem so clever after all — it had just allowed them to isolate her.

  Gillian drew a breath to shout for help, but before she could let it out the man holding her punched her in the stomach. All the breath left her body and she gasped for air as he supported her, tears welling in her eyes.

  "Please come with us, miss," the man with the badge said, loud enough that anyone nearby would catch the authority in his tone. "We've got some questions concerning an ongoing investigation."

  It worked. The few people who'd looked in her direction shrugged and turned away. Struggling to breathe, Gillian wished she'd come up with a better plan for this moment. It was one thing to say she'd wait for Zardan to rescue her, it was another to let herself be taken away by thugs dressed as police.

  Though they probably were real station security officers: Fuller Station didn't have a real police force, after all, just a private security team hired on the cheap. Gillian doubted it had cost Danforth much to buy their cooperation.

  "What—" She coughed, struggling to get her breath back, and tried again. "What are you charging me with?"