by S. E. Smith
“This just keeps getting more amazing,” he whispered as he stepped into the Paint House.
*.*.*
Abby tried to open her eyes as she felt warm hands caressing her face. They were larger and rougher than Zohar’s tiny ones. She felt her dragon purr and knew immediately that Zoran had found them.
Mate care for us, her dragon murmured in a sleepy voice.
“Yes,” Abby replied in a voice that was barely audible. “Zoran will take care of us.”
Abby could feel her body being lifted, then cradled in strong arms, before she slipped into a deeper sleep. She could let go and relax now. Zoran would protect them.
*.*.*
Zoran had scanned the room as he entered. His eyes crinkled in amusement as he watched Zohar and Goldie sitting in front of the far wall, putting hand and paw prints all over it. He turned to see where Abby was, knowing instinctively she wouldn’t be far away.
His eyes softened as he took in her slumbering form. Dark shadows under her eyes showed that she was beyond tired. Placing his fingers to his lips when Zohar turned and saw him, he walked over to where Abby was curled up on the padded bench. Kneeling on one knee, he tenderly caressed her cheek.
“Yes,” Abby murmured in a voice that was barely audible. “Zoran will take care of us.”
“I will always take care and protect you,” he whispered in a soft voice. “You are an incredible mate. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I will always thank the Goddess for bringing me into your life.”
Rising up, he gently picked her up in his arms. A satisfied smile brightened his eyes as she snuggled against him. Turning, he sank down onto the bench so that he could watch Zohar play. His head fell back against the wall as he thought of the day he had first woken up in Abby’s mountain home.
She had cared for the wounds on his body, even though she knew he was not from her world. He bowed his head to stare at her relaxed features. She looked so delicate, so fragile, but she had the soul of a warrior.
His fingers trembled ever so slightly when he thought of the times when he almost lost her, first on Earth, then on his own world. His eyes connected with Zohar’s when he felt the tiny hands of their son on his knee.
“Daddy, sleep,” Zohar murmured, yawning.
“Yes, it is time to sleep,” Zoran answered in a quiet voice. “Let Goldie carry you while I carry Mommy.”
“Mommy, night-night?” Zohar asked, looking at Abby.
Zoran’s soft chuckle roused Abby for a moment. “Yes, I think you and I have made Mommy very tired,” he said as he sent a silent message to Goldie. “Let’s go back upstairs.” Zohar giggled as golden bands swept out and lifted him up into a pair of gold claws.
“Play tomorrow,” Zohar demanded as he yawned and snuggled closer to Goldie. “Paint!”
Zoran rose to his feet and walked out of the Paint House. He looked up at the glittering ceiling, still finding it hard to believe that the twinkling lights were not real stars. Turning, he glanced at Zohar. His tired son had already joined his mother in sleep.
“You are so much like your mother,” Zoran murmured, proudly.
Come, my friend, Zoran whispered to his dragon. Let us take our mate and son home.
Soon, a dark green, gold, and red dragon, followed by a golden one, sped across the cavern. From up above, Zoran was able to truly appreciate all the work and love that had gone into creating the magical world below him. He still wasn’t sure what ‘Halloween’ was, but he did know that it was a special time to share with his family.
*.*.*
Creon froze as he stood watching the three figures playing and giggling. A shiver of unease, fear, and anger raced through him. He knew immediately that the golden figure holding his daughters’ hands was not a part of Harvey. In fact, it was not a part of any Symbiot he knew.
“Let them go,” he ordered as he stepped out from behind a set of mirrors. “Now!”
He watched as the figure of the Goddess turned. His body stiffened in an effort to keep the trembling inside him from escaping. He needed to get his daughters away from here and back to the safety of his living quarters.
“Dada,” Spring cried in delight. She pulled away from the golden hand and launched her small body at him.
Creon reached out and scooped Spring up into his arms. Holding her close, his eyes moved to where Phoenix watched him with sad, troubled eyes. Reaching out his left hand, he beckoned for her to come to him.
“Phoenix, come to daddy,” Creon ordered in a hoarse voice.
Phoenix looked up at the figure of the woman holding her hand before she looked back at Creon. A frown crossed her face as she studied her father’s tense expression. Creon fought the urge to shout at her to come to him.
“Dada, good,” Phoenix said, moving closer to the figure. “Dada, good-good.”
“Phoenix, come to Mommy,” Carmen soft voice whispered behind Creon. “Please, come to Mommy.”
Creon glanced briefly at Carmen before he returned his gaze to his youngest daughter. A sigh of relief escaped him when Phoenix reluctantly released the hand she was holding and toddled over to Carmen who scooped her up. They both stood staring at the bemused face of the Goddess who was watching her.
“Why are you here?” Creon demanded.
The figure tilted her head and smiled in mischief. The surrounding mirrors no longer reflected her form, only that of Creon, Carmen and the girls. It was hard to look at the figure.
“I wanted to play,” Arilla replied in a calm voice. “I enjoy spending time with your offspring.”
“Why?” Creon asked hoarsely. “What do you want from them?”
The goddess before him opened her mouth, but said nothing as another form suddenly appeared next to her. The first goddess winced and looked contrite as the new one arrived. A deep sigh escaped the new Goddess.
“Arilla, find your sister,” Aikaterina ordered in a quiet, but firm voice.
“Yes, Aikaterina,” Arilla mumbled before she disappeared.
Creon watched as the form moved closer to him. He wanted to pull away. He wanted to hand Spring to Carmen and order that she take the girls and run, but his body refused to cooperate with his mind.
“Creon,” Carmen whispered in a frantic voice. “I can’t move.”
Small hands cupped her cheek as she spoke. “It okay, Mommy. Good-good,” Phoenix said.
“Leave my daughters alone,” Creon demanded in a thick voice “Leave… please, leave Phoenix alone.”
*.*.*
Aikaterina sighed as she stepped closer to the two protective parents. She sent a wave of dancing sparkles to Spring who giggled and tried to catch them. This Dragonling was made of light. She would always brighten the world around her.
Her eyes moved to Phoenix who watched her with knowing eyes. This one, she thought, this one would help save the world of another. Her destiny was already written among the stars.
“It is not what we want from Phoenix, but who she is to become,” Aikaterina murmured in a soothing voice.
“What… what do you mean?” Carmen asked in a trembling voice as she watched powerlessly as Aikaterina reached out and touched Phoenix’s cheek. “Why? Why her? She is just a baby.”
“She will not always be so young. She is meant for something greater than you know,” Aikaterina replied with a sigh before she shook her head and glided back a few steps. “It is already written in the stars.”
“What is written?” Creon demanded, shaking with rage at his inability to protect his family.
“I cannot interfere with what is to come,” Aikaterina replied in a solemn voice. “Believe in her.”
“Believe what?” Creon asked in a voice filled with frustration.
“She will rise again,” Aikaterina whispered as she faded.
Creon turned protectively to shield Carmen and Phoenix the moment he could move again. Carmen, shaking so badly she wasn’t sure her legs would hold her, stumbled against him, shivering.
“Wha
t does that mean?” She asked in a low, trembling voice filled with emotion. “What does ‘She will rise again’ mean?”
“I Phoenix,” Phoenix replied with a grin. “I be good-good.”
Uncertainty fought with horror and fear. Creon stared into Carmen’s worried eyes. Phoenix had called the Goddess, Good-Good. He knew the meaning of the Phoenix on Carmen’s world. Did that mean the same thing here?
His eyes swiveled back to Phoenix. He heard Carmen’s gasp at the same time as his own breath caught in his throat. Phoenix’s eyes glowed a dark, dark gold, but deep in the center, where her pupils were, he could swear he saw the images of swirling galaxies.
“Please,” he whispered as he pulled Carmen and Phoenix into his arms so that they were closer to Spring and his body. “Please, she is just a baby.”
Chapter 11
Cara snickered as Amber ran back and forth pushing the button on the water cannons. Jade was in the fort, firing back. A gasp escaped her when a spray of water hit her.
“Hey, I’m the captain!” Cara called down to her daughter. “I’m not supposed to get hit.”
“Mommy, pirate!” Jade squealed, pushing the button again.
Cara tried to dodge the huge ball of water, but Jade must have hit the button again to send the big shots out. She hurried over to help Amber, who was pushing the button on her cannon over and over. It took a moment for Cara to realize there was more cannons firing, then Jade could have done alone.
“Ahoy, matey!” Cara yelled. “Who be helping the land lubber?”
Cara’s breath caught in her throat as Trelon slowly rose up on the top level of the fort. A huge grin lit his face and fierce determination glittered in his eyes as he stared back at her. She pulled the patch covering her eye up so that it rested on her head.
“You found us!” Cara grinned with a happy smile.
“I plan to capture you, as well,” Trelon yelled back with a mischievous laugh. “I’ll take you to my dungeon and have my wicked way with you. Jade, fire!”
Cara squealed and ducked as Jade laid on the button, this time sending wave after wave of water at them. Amber, not to be outdone, crawled up on the cannon she was using and sat on the button.
“I think I need to fix that,” Cara muttered as warm water poured over her, soaking her to the skin.
She jumped when a pair of boots landed a few feet from her. Rising up, she drew her fake sword and pointed it at Trelon. Pushing her red hair out of her eyes, she glared at him with suspicion.
“You used your dragon to get up here, didn’t you?” She demanded.
She watched uneasily as Trelon tossed the soft sword he had found between his hands with the experience of a warrior who had spent centuries practicing. Twirling it, he held it out in front of him with a satisfied grin. Her eyes flickered to Amber, who had shifted into her dragon as Jade landed behind her dad.
“That’s not fair,” she grumbled.
“A good warrior never fights fair,” Trelon replied in a husky voice as his eyes took in the soaked white shirt of Cara’s outfit. The water had made it transparent and the dark circles of her areolas were clearly visible. “Especially, when he sees something that he wants.”
Cara glanced down, puzzled by what held Trelon’s interest. Seeing her shirt plastered to her body and her nipples hardened by the colder air of the cavern, she scowled. She felt them harden even more when she looked back into his eyes.
“Never!” She declared defiantly. “I am the Pirate Cara. I will fight to the end or walk the plank.”
Trelon’s eyes brightened at the challenge. “Oh, I really hope you fight and the only plank you’ll be walking is my cock.”
“Trelon,” Cara hissed as her eyes darted to the girls who were wrestling on the netting. “They’ll hear you.”
“Then, perhaps we should take this fight further away if you don’t want them to see more,” Trelon replied. “Symba, you are in charge of the girls.”
The golden symbiot which had been perched up on the Crow’s Nest, glided down to land next to where the girls were now crawling up the netted climbing ropes. Trelon ignored everything, but the small, delicate, intensely amazing woman in front of him. Every time he thought he knew her, she continued to surprise him.
“I want you, Cara,” Trelon declared in a thick voice “I mean to have you.”
Cara’s eyes widened in surprise and nervousness at Trelon’s suddenly rough, possessive tone. Swallowing, she moved backwards as he advanced. Squaring her shoulders, she raised her sword and attacked. The soft thump as the foam swords hit was deceptive. Each opponent wore a look of fierce determination on each of their faces as they circled each other.
Trelon blocked her attacks, paring and returning with an ease that told Cara she was vastly outclassed when it came to sword fighting. She squeaked when he took control of the battle. Turning, she ran down the stairs and opened the door leading down to the lower sections of the ship.
She turned in the narrow corridor heading for the Captain’s cabin. She slammed the door as he followed her. Rushing forward, she turned as the door slammed back against the wall. Gulping at the dangerous glow in his eyes, she put the long table in the center of the room between them.
“Trelon,” she whispered as he came forward with slow, determined steps. “Trelon…”
“Give up, Captain Cara,” Trelon ordered in a low, dangerous tone filled with thick desire. “Give yourself to me.”
“Nev… never,” Cara whispered back as he kept coming toward her.
Jerking to one side, she tried to keep the table between them. It looked like it was going to work until he jumped onto it. Panic set in, and Cara decided retreat was a highly under used plan in most battles.
She dropped her sword and ran for the door. A startled cry escaped her when he reached it before she did. Turning, she trembled when he caught her around the neck and turned her toward him.
“Surrender to me,” he ordered again in a husky voice burning with desire.
“I… I surrender,” Cara said as she stared into his eyes.
Her arms wound around his neck as he dropped his sword and wound his other hand around her waist. The heat of his body seared her as he kissed her with a passion, with a hunger that left her gasping for breath. She ran her lips desperately over his jaw, as her fingers worked the fastenings on his shirt.
“I need you, Trelon,” Cara whispered between kisses.
Trelon broke long enough to glance at the bed. “Is that real?” He demanded, turning to look back at her. “It is that or the table.”
“It’s real,” she said with a laugh. “I tried to keep things authentic.”
Trelon gripped the front of her shirt and ripped it open. “Then, so will I,” he muttered, capturing her lips again as his hands cupped her breasts.
I need to role play more often, Cara thought as pleasure exploded inside her and she felt her body being lifted.
*.*.*
Arosa sat petting Symba as they watched Amber and Jade playing. She sighed as she thought of all the fun they were having. The innocence of the young always made her glow with warmth.
“Sister,” Arilla murmured as she appeared next to Arosa.
“Arilla,” Arosa smiled. “Uh oh, they see us now.”
Jade saw them first and squealed in delight as she half crawled, half rolled down the net. Amber sat up, blinking when Jade suddenly disappeared, before she realized why and followed her.
Arosa opened her arms to Jade while Arilla opened hers for Amber. They hugged and cradled the girls who babbled for several minutes before snuggling closer. In less than five minutes, both girls were sound asleep.
“Once they stop, they sleep,” Arosa chuckled.
Arilla nodded before she sighed. “Aikaterina is back. She asked me to find you.”
“Is she upset?” Arosa asked as she cradled Jade protectively against her.
“No, I am not upset with you,” Aikaterina replied as she suddenly appeared beside them. “
It is hard to remain detached from this species,” she said softly as she brushed a tender hand over Amber’s flushed cheek. “There is something very endearing about them.”
“Yes,” Arilla whispered.
“Even I find it difficult to remain untouched,” Aikaterina added with a small, secretive smile.
“What do you mean?” Arosa asked, looking at Aikaterina with a curious expression.
“Perhaps, every once in a while, we can right a wrong that has been done, or offer guidance,” Aikaterina said, rising.
“Or protection?” Arosa added under her breath as she thought of the young human woman she had left on the unfamiliar moon.
“Or offer protection,” Aikaterina agreed. “As long as that protection is done with minimal impact to the structure that makes up the universe,” she added.
Arosa glanced at Arilla and rolled her eyes. She’d seen Cara, Ariel, and Carmen do that frequently and discovered it said a lot without saying anything. Rising up, as well, she floated over and laid Jade down in the stroller that Symba had formed when the girls fell asleep. Arilla rose with Amber in her arms and reluctantly laid her down beside her sister. Smoothing a hand over the little Dragonlings’ hair, she turned to stare out over the world their mother had created.
“I don’t remember the cavern being this large when we were here,” Arilla commented as she studied it.
“It wasn’t,” Aikaterina replied with a mysterious grin.
Arosa’s light laughter echoed briefly before it faded as she, Arilla, and Aikaterina dissolved into a fine mist of gold. The mist flowed over the side of the pirate ship and into the water below. Following the flow, they traveled outside the palace where dawn was beginning to break. Reforming on the cliffs overlooking the vast ocean, they watched as the sun rose over the planet they called home.
“What happens next?” Arosa asked as she stood next to Aikaterina.
“We watch over them,” Aikaterina replied. “The Dragonlings are a lot like their parents. They are very curious.”