Aries

by Kim Faulks

  A low growl rippled through the cavern. I stilled at the warning and turned my head. This was the first emotion other than hate Zadoc had shown. It’d taken me weeks to sit beside the bars, days to reach into his cell…and it was only hours he’d allowed me to touch him.

  It was a brush of the fingers at first, a skim across his tail. He never moved, never flinched and so I kept touching him, kept the connection in any way he’d allow.

  I watched Zadoc carefully and reached out. “Give me your hand, Nick.”

  “I don’t want to,” he muttered.

  I turned to him, but it wasn’t the Dragon he feared. He stared at my stomach wide-eyed and pasty-skinned. He was scared…not of the beast in the cell next to ours…he was scared of his own flesh and blood. Fucking coward.

  But this wasn’t just about a connection between us now, not with the infected Wretched at our backs. If I could break through to Zadoc…then maybe it was worth it.

  Nick’s fingers trembled, hovering in the air.

  I shuffled closer, “Your son isn’t going to hurt you. He’s going to know who you are.”

  I caught the twist of a nerve in the corner of his eye. “I want you to have a connection with him. I want you to be part of his life, in any way you want. We won't shut you out.”

  He jerked his head up as his fingers touched my stomach. Agony twisted his features. He wrenched his hand away. The tips of his fingers sizzling…and the smell of burning meat filled the air.

  “Fuck!” He gripped his hand with the other. His face burned red. “We? What the fuck do you mean, we?”

  “Zadoc and I. We are mated.”

  His hand dropped away. He took one look at my Dragon and sneered. “You haven’t changed, have you? You always have been a stupid fucking slut. There's no you and him. He was never getting out of this unbroken…none of you were.”

  I flinched. It was all he needed. The same disgust. The same cruelty surfaced. He took one look at my stomach. “That’s not my kid in there. If it was I’d cut its throat. You think you can trick me? You think I’m that fucking dumb?”

  I shook my head, tears blurred. He closed the distance between us and grabbed my arm. His fingers ground muscle against bone.

  I bit the insides of my mouth as tears fell. “I wasn’t trying to trick you.”

  “I told you I’d be seeing you again, and the one thing I always do is keep my promises.”

  Movement blurred in the corner of my eye. His fist hit my cheek. Bones crunched, grinding deep, shoving me backwards. I cried out and stumbled. I hit the bars with a brutal crack. Stars exploded behind my eyes. I clawed for the steel, and clung tight, stopping my fall.

  I opened my mouth. Agony flared…not broken…but hurt.

  “We’re not here to watch you beat up some pregnant woman,” one of the soldiers snarled. “We’re here for her and the Dragon.”

  Tears fell down my cheeks. I lifted my gaze as Nick answered and found the endless night in the eyes of my Dragon. Deep down there was a flicker of a flame, it was faint, but it was there—alive—burning as he fought.

  He exhaled blowing fetid air into my face and then straightened, craning his head until he hit the roof. Rocks fell, smacking against the ground at my feet. He swung that gaze to Nick, opened his mouth and roared.

  The sound rattled the bars in my grip. Larger rocks fell, boulders the size of my head. The cavern was filled with a cry as the soldiers lunged, trying to take cover. I covered my stomach and curled as the beast dropped his head and charged. Slow, heavy steps echoed like thunder. The beast curled his wing as he hit the bars.

  Stone cracked, running fissures from his cell into mine. The beast drew away, taking slow steps to the back of his cell.

  “He’s breaking out!” A soldier screamed. “He’s breaking out of his cell!”

  Nick spun, the whites of his eyes were neon as he screamed. “Get him into the truck!”

  His nostrils flared as the beast swung that gaze to me. He was trying to say something. I spun, searching and then back to the Dragon I loved. He shifted that gaze to the middle of the cell…to one wolf, as though he needed my permission.

  I hugged the bars and swallowed a whimper. “Do it.”

  My tears were hot against my icy skin. I stumbled for the far corner, taking one panicked glance at the stony ceiling above and prayed it’d hold.

  The beast charged again, shuddering the ground as he used those thick haunches of pure muscle to drive his body into the steel.

  The bars cracked as they broke apart. Metal tangled in his deformed horn. He thrashed his head, tearing the gate and panels free. Screams filled the space as rocks rained down.

  I mashed my lips closed and took a step.

  “Joslyn!” Nick screamed as the beast narrowed in on his prey. “Joslyn…help me! Joslyn.”

  “Like I said,” I murmured and headed for the yawning bars. “Zadoc and I are mated.”

  The beast lunged, severing Nick’s screams mid octave. I stepped through the gaps, taking one look at the panicked soldiers and headed for X. “She comes with me, or I leave the Dragon here with you.”

  There was not a whisper, not a moan. I held out my hand as X stepped from the ruins and we walked out of the shattered cavern.

  The rear door of a semi-trailer was open, a steel ramp in place. I stepped onto the checker-plate steel and climbed inside. The white glare of the trailer lights burned. I wrenched my hand to cover my eyes and blinked through the blur.

  “Where are we going?” X whispered.

  Her hand tightened around mine. I breathed and blinked, waiting for my eyes to adjust. Steel girders ran from one end to the other and crisscrossed over the massive cages. Five young girls stood at the corner of the far cage. The couldn’t have been older than fourteen. They were filthy, and far too skinny. I stilled at the sight.

  “Please, get us out of here,” one whimpered and reached through.

  It hurt me to climb into that trailer. Pain tore through my chest as I answered. “I’m sorry…I’m so damn sorry.”

  A heavy thud tore through the air behind me, and screams followed. The young girls growled and stepped to the rear of the cage as X and I stepped into the cell next to theirs. The walls were equipped with a bed, a seat and a basin. Thick blankets covered the mattress.

  X dropped my hand to yank the blanket free. “You need to rest.” She turned to look over her shoulder and then turned back and winced. “Do you think he’ll eat them all?”

  I shrugged and eased down on the cushioned chair. “Let’s hope not. I’m not getting younger, and sooner or later this baby’s going to come…I’d rather it not be in the back of a truck.”

  Khaki green spilled out of the mouth of the cave as the soldiers ran for their lives. Most rounded the sides of the trailer, but a few scurried up the ramp. The fronts of their uniforms were splattered with blood. One swiped his forehead and straightened, finding us in the cage and jerked his thumb toward the cave. “You want to ride in the back with that?”

  “That is the father of my child,” I snapped and then winced, reaching for my jaw. “Show some goddamn respect.”

  The throb spread down my neck. A boom was followed by another. I rose from my seat and stepped outside the cage as the truck shuddered. Zadoc swung his head, slamming the sides of the cavern as he tore free. He raised his head and found me.

  “Joslyn. You can’t trust him,” X warned and moved to my side.

  But I knew different. I’d seen what lay in the dark pit of his gaze. I saw the man and the Dragon I loved.

  He drove those haunches into the ground and climbed the ramp. The truck sagged, steel squealed as the Dragon moved closer. I lifted my hand and pointed to the open cage. He shifted his head and took one look at the bars.

  “You don’t want to hurt me or the baby if there’s an accident, do you?”

  He expelled a breath and moved, cramming his body into the gates. Two soldiers moved in behind him. One shook as he walked and lifted his h
ead, staring at me with a shell-shocked gaze. “He just ate them. Just ate them…”

  Those who were left climbed in after them, filling the back of the truck.

  “He doesn’t like being caged.” I stepped close and reached through the bars. “So I suggest you get us to wherever it is you’re taking us as fast as possible.”

  He nodded and stepped back gripping the cage door and swinging it shut. Electronic locks snapped into place. I retreated into my cage and this time headed for the bed. “X and I are hungry.” I looked at Zadoc as he swung around and back until he hit the sides. “We need food and water and more blankets.”

  The soldier nodded and turned. He barked commands at the others. I eased onto the bed as the shudders took hold. I felt strange, like my body wasn’t my own. My teeth chattered as X covered me with the blanket. But this had nothing to do with the cold…

  I pressed a hand to my stomach and felt a stillness I’d never felt before. My baby was far too quiet.

  The truck started, sending a growl through the trailer. Moments later, we lurched forward. I closed my eyes, knowing sleep was beyond reach, and while the truck jolted from side to side, I waited for proof of life.

  “Where are you taking us?”

  I kept my eyes closed and listened to X.

  “Hey, you listening to me? Where are we going?”

  “You’ll find out when we get there,” the soldier growled.

  I opened my eyes. He stood at the edge of the cage, one hand on his weapon and the other gripping the girder.

  “Are we going up there? Topside…are we going topside?” X tried her best to engage the human.

  He turned his head and nodded. “Yeah, but don’t get any ideas. You’ll be surrounded by some of the best soldiers I know, and we’ve got back up if we need it.”

  He looked at Zadoc. He meant demons. I turned my head to the beast. The trailer rocked as he climbed to his feet, and then lurched as he moved. Tires squealed.

  “Jesus!” The soldier gripped the bar and hung on. “Keep him still for fucks sake, or we all die!”

  I climbed to my feet, and timed the roll before I stumbled to the side. I hit the cage and held on. “You okay in there?”

  His nostrils flared. His eyes were wide. He looked terrified.

  “You gotta keep still, or we’re going to crash. I could touch you…just your tail. Just like before.”

  The air vibrated with a growl that made the hair on my arms rise.

  “Zadoc, it’s me. You know me. I’m Joslyn… Look at me, over here.”

  The beast sat on his haunches and turned his head.

  “There you go,” I whispered. “I’m right here. Wherever we go, we go together, right?”

  He drew in my scent and then dropped his gaze to my stomach. I could almost read his thoughts.

  “Me too, buddy. Me too. Just a little longer okay? Please don’t make me have our baby here.”

  He seemed to understand and exhaled long and slow. In the harsh glare of the overhead lights, I could see the damage of the demon blood.

  Hard crusted, barnacle-like lumps covered his scales. His wool stuck against his skin with a smear of what looked like slime. He was sick, sicker than what I understood, and yet there was some part of him that worried about me more.

  “We’re going to get through this okay?” I gripped the cage and lowered myself to the floor. “We’re going to be fine.”

  “ETA to the compound is one hour and ten.”

  A voice cracked like a gunshot through the two-way on the soldier’s belt. I inhaled long and hard. One hour…one hour back to the real world. The thought closed in. It’d been so long…so long in the dark, so long in the cold.

  I turned my head. X stood at the rear of the cage. Her fingers were speared through the holes. Her spine stiff. I held out my hand. “X come sit with me.”

  She jerked her gaze toward me and focused. She stumbled a couple of steps and then dropped to the floor, scurrying the rest of the distance on hands and knees.

  “How long has it been?” I whispered.

  She shook her head. “Too long.”

  I gripped her hand and leaned against the wall. One hour until we were in the real world once more. My mind drifted to Mac. Did he send word to Finn? My stomach tightened…Finn would come—with as many guns as he could.

  “Joslyn…you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

  I couldn’t speak…couldn’t move. Desperation filled me…stupid…fucking stupid. The words slipped free. “I think I’ve just sent my brother to his death.”

  I lifted my head and stared at the soldier. There wasn’t anything anyone could say. Finn would come, if he got word in time. I leaned against the wall and prayed with everything I had that Mack had somehow failed.

  Each minute was agony waiting, knowing what I’d done. A life without him took hold and dragged me under. There were only the three of us, Momma was useless without a bottle in her hand, and now I’d gone and destroyed the only good thing we had—the only good person this family had.

  Finn was more than a brother. He was a friend. He was the only one who cared, the only one to fight for us…

  A wet drop ran down my cheek and hit my chest. The truck slowed, swinging the trailer as it turned. I gripped X’s hand as the truck braked hard, throwing us forward.

  The soldier moved and adjusted his strap as the truck lurched, and crawled. My world closed in, every sound, every smell. The engine of the truck shuddered once and shut down. X climbed to her feet and helped haul me to stand.

  “You just stay right there.” The soldier pointed at the beast. “Do not move.” He lifted his weapon and took aim, pointing the laser at the center of my chest. “No sudden moves, ladies. I do not want to unleash Hell in this damn trailer.”

  With a hiss, the back door opened and the ramp slid down. Stars sparkled in the sky surrounding a full moon. My throat thickened at the sight. We were here…I never wanted to leave…never wanted to go anywhere else, ever again.

  “Those five and you first.” The soldier pointed at X as the trailer was swarmed with the military.

  The lock snapped open. X clenched my hand with the sound.

  “It’s okay,” I murmured. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll see each other soon.”

  The soldier motioned her forward and stepped away as the lock to the first cage disengaged. The five girls clung to each other and stepped out.

  “Move,” one of the other officers growled.

  X followed, stepping free of the cage. She turned her head and took one last look at me before she followed the others down the ramp. I clung to the steel and felt an ache of loneliness. She was more than a violent companion. She was a protector. A warrior, and my friend.

  We waited for what felt like hours before the last lock snapped open. The beast rose in one massive movement. He shook his head, thrashing that curved horn through the air and took a step forward.

  The soldier’s eyes widened. “Whoa…just hold on there, we’re not ready.”

  But there was no stopping the beast. He took a step toward the opening as the soldier grabbed my arm.

  “He’ll do what we say now, won’t he?”

  I stared into his eyes and tried to find the words to explain how ridiculous that sounded. “He’s a three thousand year old Dragon who’s been tortured beyond anything your mind could comprehend, and who’s now infected with demon blood. So if you think dragging me by the arm is going to make him comply, then you’re very much mistaken.”

  The beast swung his head as the soldier shoved me forward into the path of the beast. I tried to time his steps, praying Zadoc was in there somewhere and stepped between his thick monstrous haunches of pure muscle.

  Something hit the ground with a heavy thud behind me. I never stopped moving, focusing on the end of the trailer and the beautiful night sky.

  “This way, Ma’am.”

  I lifted my head and stared at the towering compound. The place looked more like a medical fac
ility…I scanned the ground and the seven foot walls complete with razor wire.

  “Ma’am, please. We don’t have much time,” the soldier urged and motioned me with his rifle.

  I turned sideways and eased down the ramp, bouncing with the heavy steps of the beast.

  A gigantic roller door stood open. White lights beckoned.

  “You can wait in there while we secure the other,” the soldier called from behind the beast.

  I stepped into a makeshift lab…the biggest one I’d ever seen. I took in the expanse and moved deeper inside listening for the heavy steps behind me.

  A bank of computers sat along one of the walls to my left, and medical equipment on my right. A long wall of frosted steel and glass boxed us in, ending with a glass door. The room looked almost identical to the one I’d spent months in.

  Until they shoved me back into the cold cells with Zadoc.

  The monster’s breaths blew against my back as he heaved himself through the door and into the room.

  The garage door rattled and squealed until it closed with a thud, locking me with the beast. The door. I stumbled, focusing on the think chrome handles as the heavy throb of boots filled the air.

  Ghostly outlines marched along the corridor. I stopped, and then pulled away, until a deafening boom rocked the air. The floor shuddered, outside most of the soldiers scattered. Screams cut through, orders were barked filled with panic.

  The sound of my heart thrashed in my ears. I couldn’t hear, couldn’t think.

  Finn.

  He was here…he was coming for me.

  The sound of explosions rocked the night, and the faint clatter of gunfire followed. Panic filled me. I wanted to fight. I wanted to run. I spun, staring at the beast. His nostrils flared, lips curled.

  He lifted a hoof and slammed it to the ground, pawing the concrete with long blows. His hard gaze shifted from me to the glass wall. Another explosion cracked the wall. I spun, searching the room as cracks ripped through the ceiling overhead.

  I was going to die. I was going to be buried here. My son… I closed my eyes, rocked with a blast of my own—a vision, broken, bloody. My baby wouldn’t live…not yet…not yet.