Qurilixen was a beautiful planet. The air was clear, with no dark trails of smoke like she’d seen on Rayvik, whose industrial sectors forced everyone to wear filters over their faces. It also lacked the overpopulated streets of Quazer and the constant sound of pampered voices. If she could choose a place to stay, this would have been high on her list. The red clay would make for fine pots if she were to take up the family business…and if the clay deposits were manageable. She’d have to build a kiln. Though strange with their rounded bark that looked as if it had bubbled up over the trunks, there were plenty of trees. She had seen bonfires burning so it could be done.
Why was she even thinking about it?
You have to wake up now, Salena.
“I know, Fiora, I know,” she whispered. “I miss you.”
After what felt like an eternity, Grier slowed and hovered in place. She had a hard time sitting up. Her limbs shook as she saw more of the land below. Shelter City covered the valley like a speck in the distance, so small she could conceal it from view with her hand. The Federation had not brought her by the tower, nor down the cliff stretching beyond the tower. From this angle, she could tell they had not passed too close to the city. She would have known it. And, since they hadn’t climbed too far uphill, she could only guess they came from the trees stretching behind the structure with strange arches on the roof that overlooked the city.
A darker dragon than Grier’s brown came up from the watchtower as if to see what they were doing. She assumed it was Jaxx waiting on them.
Her hand shook as she forced herself to let go. With her numb fingers, Salena tried tapping Grier on the shoulder. The experience had reduced her to a ragdoll. Stretching her arm out fully, Salena pointed in the direction of the Federation stronghold.
As he turned them in the sky, she saw Jaxx dive from the watchtower in the direction they had come.
He dropped out of sight. Moments later, he reemerged and soared through the air toward them, only to come to fly beside Grier.
Salena gasped to see his speed, and it occurred to her then that Grier had not been flying fast at all.
Jaxx’s eyes found her and he nodded his head slightly as if to say hello. She tried to smile but was sure the look was as frozen as she felt.
Grier avoided flying over the city as he took her in the direction she had indicated. He hovered again, and she pushed up to look around. Pointing away from the arch-covered fortress, she leaned back down. He followed her direction, moving past the city. This time, when he stopped, she tapped her knee against him. He continued to hover, so she struck harder.
Grier made a small crackling noise, communicating what he was doing to Jaxx. He stayed parallel to the ground. She leaned to the side while keeping her body pressed down to see where they went. He slowly lowered them toward a clearing.
Jaxx dove back the way he’d come, and she could only guess he was telling the cat-shifters where to go. He disappeared from view, only to return, flying ahead of them to dive at the ground, rotating at the last minute to land.
Salena rocked as they touched down. Her legs were weak, and she slid more than climbed from his back. She landed with a stumble and moved toward his face. Lifting her hands, she felt his warm breath against them. He could set her on fire right now and she would be grateful.
As the feeling gradually came back, she dropped her hands and turned to see Jaxx standing naked. He’d covered his manhood with his hands to hide it from view. Smiling, he asked, “Mind throwing me my clothes?”
Grier had released the bag. His body trembled and contracted as he shifted.
Salena opened the bag and dug through it. Grier’s shirt unrolled, and she saw a soft glow. It was the crystal he’d been wearing.
She glanced at him to see his limbs lengthening. The transformation process looked like it hurt, and yet neither dragon acted as if it bothered them. She couldn’t imagine her bones breaking and her body expanding to create a new form.
She quickly rewrapped the crystal. A feeling of regret filled her. He clearly hadn’t wanted anyone to know he carried it.
Salena found Jaxx’s clothes and tossed them toward him while keeping her eyes averted. She picked up Grier’s shirt, careful to keep it rolled, and the rest of his clothing and carried it to him.
She couldn’t meet his eyes as she handed him the clothing.
“They must be landing in Var territory and crossing the border,” Jaxx said, looking around. “There is nothing in this direction but trees and marsh farmers. That’s why no one reported anything or took it seriously if they did. Marsh farmers are a strange lot, passed out drunk around their stills more often than not.”
“Roderic mentioned something once about off-world nef trade picking up.” Grier had dressed and was pulling on his boots. “He said they’ve been getting a lot more space traffic than usual. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Federation lands at the same time as trade ships to mask their entry. No one would detect the extra ship if they weren’t paying close attention.”
“Or if they were paid not to notice.” Salena averted her eyes as she observed the bulge of the bracelet in his pocket. What wasn’t noticeable before was glaringly obvious now. “What’s nef? Another ore?”
“No, nef is a specialized drink the cat-shifter marsh farmers make. It has a calming effect,” Grier said.
“I hear rustling,” Jaxx said. “That must be Payton and Roderic. I’ll see if I can find them. Stay here.”
When his cousin left, Grier moved in front of Salena. He stood close, forcing her to look at him. “I scared you.”
“No,” she answered, only to tell the truth. “Well, a little.”
“I am sorry for that.” Heat radiated off him, causing her to shiver. Pheromones seemed to drift from him, real or imagined it didn’t matter. Her skin tingled. Seeing his many powerful forms had an effect on her.
“I thought you were going super-fast until I saw Jaxx whiz by.” She gave a nervous laugh, trying not to think of his crystal. Or his eyes. Or the warmth drawing her in. Or the memory of his kiss. Or… “Now I must thank you for taking it slow.”
Her eyes dipped again to his pocket and then away. She’d meant flying slowly, but the words seemed to have a different connotation.
“What do we have here, boys? I’d call this a jackpot.” A raspy laugh followed the words.
Grier grabbed Salena and flung her behind him so fast that she nearly fell.
“Why don’t you shift for us, animal?” the raspy man continued. “We don’t eat human.”
Salena gagged. She leaned to the side to see what they were up against. Three men in tattered clothing spread out before them. It looked as if it had been a while since they’d had access to a decontaminator. The natural discoloration that came down their temples in stripes gave away that they were from Cysgod. Two carried a long, curved knife each and the third a bow and arrow.
“Put the kukris and bow down, and leave,” Grier ordered. “I don’t want to shift and hurt you.”
The men laughed. “All right, shifter, we’ll go, but only if you show us what you’re hiding behind your back.”
“No,” Grier denied.
Salena stepped out and lifted her hands to the side, hoping she had been close enough to force them to speak the truth. She doubted it. At a distance it could take a moment for the ability to take effect. But it was worth a try. “You’ve seen me. Now go.”
“We lied,” the man answered, his eyes fixed on her. His two buddies didn’t speak. “We’re going to kill your friends and take you home with us. There’s money in both prospects, and we aim to collect.”
And there it was. Sometimes she really hated her ability.
“Friends?” Salena asked.
“Salena, go.” Grier didn’t give them time to answer as he tried to jerk her out of harm’s way. He tossed her behind him. “Run!”
An arrow buzzed her arm. She ran into the woods but stopped when she realized Grier wasn’t running with her. The thud of lo
ud contact caused her to look back. She’d gone too far and couldn’t see him.
Seeing a large branch hanging by a sliver of wood from an old tree, she kicked at it several times until it broke free. Lifting it like a club, she returned to the fray. Two of the men surrounded Grier in his dragon-man form. They wielded the knives, striking at him, the blades hitting the armor of his dragon skin.
“Get him,” the raspy man ordered when it became clear that they were not going to win against the dragon. He swung his weapon, but Grier deflected the blow. “Shoot him.”
The attacker with the arrow drew back the bow and took aim. Grier struck the silent knife wielder with his arm, sending the man flying across the clearing into a cluster of low branches. His head and limbs became lodged in the tree at a strange angle. If he was dead, Salena thought it an appropriate ending for such an unsavory character.
Salena lifted her club and ran at the man with the bow. She swung as she neared him. He turned at the last moment and his arrow shot wide. The club landed in his side, doubling him over. She lifted it again, and swung downward, screaming as she landed another blow on top of him. She repeated the swing, crying out each time she felt the thud of wood against flesh.
“Let him go,” a voice ordered.
The man lay unconscious beneath her. His bow was broken by her swings. She breathed hard, still clutching the weapon. Grier had the leader by the throat. The Cysgodian kicked in the air as he unsuccessfully clawed at the dragon-man’s hand.
Salena lifted the club and ran to where the third attacker had landed in the trees. By the sounds, he was not dead. He was trying to fight his way out of the thick branches.
“I said let him go!” The sound came from her left. She stopped mid-swing, but kept her club aimed at the man in the branches.
Salena found the fourth man. He had Jaxx before him with a knife to his human throat.
“Did they hurt you?” Jaxx’s eyes shifted color, but he did not change into a dragon. She wondered why. He could have certainly escaped the man’s hold.
Grier growled. He threw the man by his throat toward his fallen comrade struggling in the trees. They made a sickening thud as they crashed into each other and then fell into a tangled mass in the branches.
“Salena?” Jaxx called.
Salena still held the club in mid-air.
“Stop talking,” the attacker ordered Jaxx. He had stringy brown hair and was just as dirty as his fallen friends. Two scars crossed over his cheek to create an X. To Salena, he ordered, “Put down the stick.”
“Jaxx?” Grier asked.
“There are more in the forest,” Jaxx warned.
Salena breathed hard. She forced her hands to open, so the branch fell to the ground. Blood stained the end of it where she’d hit the archer.
“Shift back,” X ordered Grier. “Or I cut him.”
Salena stared at Jaxx, willing him to shift and end this.
When Grier didn’t listen, X pressed the knife to Jaxx’s throat. Blood trailed down his neck to stain his shirt. Grier let the hard armor of his body return to human flesh.
“Raimon, Partha, get out of that tree.” X withdrew his knife slightly, but Jaxx’s wound continued to bleed. “Pick up Bharath.”
Salena flexed her hands. She wished she was fast enough to grab the branch and disarm the man holding Jaxx hostage. She looked toward Grier for a sign of what he was thinking. The trees rustled as Raimon and Partha freed themselves. Red marks that would most likely form into horrible bruises marred their features.
“Why are you doing this?” Salena demanded. “We haven’t done anything to you?”
Raimon and Partha lifted Bharath from the ground and dragged him between them as they moved to stand behind X. They lowered the fallen man to the ground. Salena felt guilty for her part in his injuries, but not for trying to protect Grier from attack.
X made a strange noise, the sound a half laugh, half grumble. “People do what they must to each other. And what we must do is take care of our own. If that means harming others, so be it.”
“If it’s food you want, we can get you food,” Grier said. “There is a better way.”
“We want a lot of things,” X exclaimed, as if he spoke to an entire congregation of invisible people. “To eat, to live, to leave, to be free of this hell that we’re trapped in. We want our planet back, our homes. Not all of us asked to come here to be lorded over by soldiers and taunted by shifters. We want what we were promised. We want what all of you refuse to give us. What we don’t need is more empty assurances. Our families can’t eat promises.”
Raimon and Partha grunted in agreement.
The second X’s knife hand wavered, Jaxx punched his fist back over his shoulder and struck the man’s nose. “Well, we tried.”
The blade sliced through Jaxx’s arm as he pivoted to be free. X Fumbled the knife and instantly dove to pick it back up. Within seconds, the cousins shifted into dragon form, ready to fight. Salena scrambled for her branch and lifted it, prepared if the opportunity provided itself.
The Cysgodians had lost the advantage. They could not fight two dragon-men. Jaxx swept his leg and knocked X off his feet when the man tried to stab him with the blade.
Grier leapt over the heads of the other two, disrupting whatever thoughts had been going on in their heads. He punched both fists at once, hitting Raimon and Partha at the same time. They crumbled to the ground, dazed but not unconscious.
“Enough,” one of the men mumbled from the ground. “No more, please, no more.”
“What do you want to do?” Jaxx asked Grier, holding X up by the back of his shirt. That man, too, was dazed.
“Feed them,” Grier stated. “It should have never come to this.”
Salena dropped her branch.
“Leave them where aid can find them,” Grier continued. “These men cannot be blamed for their desperation, and the beating they received will be a fitting lesson. I bet they’ll think twice before taking on dragons in the future.”
“Grab your friend,” Jaxx ordered Raimon and Partha. “Let’s go. March.”
The sound of running feet prompted Salena to retrieve her weapon. Payton and Roderic burst from the trees. Salena sighed in relief to see it wasn’t another threat.
Payton stopped when she saw Jaxx with his prisoner. She roared.
“I’d do what she says,” Jaxx warned.
Raimon and Partha scrambled to grab hold of Bharath.
Payton lowered her tiger head as she stalked behind them. She gave a low growl in the back of her throat as if ordering them to walk.
Bharath came too and mumbled, “Did we win?”
Salena hurried to Grier. He shifted to human form and pulled her close.
“Are you injured?” he asked.
“Are you?” She tried to search him for wounds.
He cupped her cheek, turning her face toward him to focus her attention. “I told you to run.”
“And you stayed behind.” Salena furrowed her brow. “That makes no sense. Either we both run, or we both fight.”
“If I didn’t know better, I would think you were a dragon.” He leaned closer as if to kiss her. Salena’s eyes began to drift closed.
“I’ll just grab my clothes,” Roderic said behind her. “Ignore the naked man. Carry on.”
The interruption ruined the moment. Her body stung with frustration. Grier’s hand dropped from her cheek.
“What was that all about?” Roderic asked. “They couldn’t have gotten here from the city so fast. They had to be in the woods already. What were they doing out here?”
“My best guess? Hunting for food,” Grier said.
Salena kept her back to him, not wanting to turn too early and catch Roderic naked. Her hands shook in the aftermath of what had happened. First flying and then being attacked. She had thought the Federation was the only thing she needed to worry about.
“Why didn’t Jaxx shift and stop them sooner?” she asked. “Why didn’t you? They we
re no match for the dragon.”
Grier sighed. “I wanted you to run, so you’d be safe because neither Jaxx nor I wanted to hurt those men. The fact they are out here and willing to take on a shifter speaks to their desperation. Jaxx knew shifting would only escalate the fight as did I. We wanted a chance to reason with them before we hurt them.”
“Another byproduct of the Federation complications,” Roderic added. “This situation cannot hold much longer. One tilt of this delicate scale and I’m afraid we’ll be at war.”
13
A man who had nothing to lose was a dangerous creature indeed.
Grier had suspected for a long time that the tension building over Shelter City would soon reach a bursting point. This attack appeared to be the first seepage of something bigger. He imagined there to be a giant pustule, throbbing over the city with invisible anger and fear. He had seen the desperation in those men’s faces. They had a wildness to their eyes, the kind of mindless, helpless rage people felt when nothing in life was under their control.
“I always miss the fun. You couldn’t have left one of them for me to play with?” Payton walked ahead of them next to Jaxx and Roderic. Grier knew she joked.
His cousin had a strip torn off the bottom of his tunic. It had been bound around his arm to stop the bleeding. It wasn’t a severe wound and would heal fast. The cut on his neck had already closed. One of the benefits of shifting was fast healing times for external injuries. Shifter bodies were used to changing, and that appeared to speed up recovery times when compared to other humanoids.
“Does any of this look familiar, Salena?” Payton asked.
Salena turned in a slow circle before catching up with Grier. She shook her head. “It’s hard to say. All the trees look the same.”
“You pointed for me to come this way. What made you think this was the place? Start there and work your way back through the trip.” Grier put his hand on her shoulder and locked eyes with her.
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