by Nina Croft
Could he take out Kronus now? He reached inside himself, and the fires awoke.
The dragon appeared unconcerned. “You would destroy your friends as well.”
Shit. “I could send them off in the shuttle and then fucking kill you.”
Candy rested a hand on his arm. “Kronus,” she interrupted, “isn’t there any other way we can do this? They’ll never give you Saffira. I told you that.”
“Then they must take the consequences.”
She stamped her foot. “You are so goddamned stubborn. Just tell me why.”
“I want the power my people once had.”
At last. The truth. She thought for a moment. “You want to go back in time and find a female. You killed them all, and now Saffira is your only hope of getting one back. You want her to take you back in time and find a female dragon. That’s sort of sweet, but a little scary.”
The dragon didn’t agree or disagree. “You have two days to hand over the time-mancer, and then we will raze the planet to oblivion. First this one, and then any other where your people live.”
“I told you,” Thorne growled, “I don’t have any fucking people.”
The dragon spread his wings and rose into the sky. He gave a flick of his tail and then he was gone.
“Well, that went well,” Rico said. He turned to Candy. “Nice fucking friends you’ve got.”
Candy scowled. “So, what do we do now? Where is Saffira, anyway?”
“Not here,” Thorne said. “We couldn’t hand her over even if we wanted to. She’s gone back in time, and she won’t return for a while.”
“So, what—we sit back and watch the world burn?”
“Unless we can come up with a better idea, I don’t see that we have a lot of choice.”
“Well, someone had better come up with that better idea,” Rico said. “Because I, for one, do not plan on burning.”
Thorne remembered the sound of his people dying. The screams as they burned. Was that to be the fate of all humanity? Perhaps it was better than the slow death from the poisoning. “Let’s get back to the Blood Hunter and spread the good news.”
“And come up with a plan,” Candy added.
He liked her optimism, but really, what could they do? The weight of his years dragged him down, pressing on his mind.
Candy slipped her hand into his. “We’ll find a way. There’s always a way.”
No, sometimes you had to accept the inevitable.
But no reason why he couldn’t enjoy himself while he waited for that inevitable end. He pulled her against him and kissed her.
“Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Thorne came awake slowly, pleasure drowning him.
For a moment, he was lost, had no clue where he was or what was happening. Soft lips trailed down over his belly. He slipped his hand under the sheet and stroked her hair, just as she reached the important bit, and her warm mouth engulfed his cock.
He closed his eyes, gave himself over to the sensations that tugged at his cock and his balls. As the pleasure rose, he flung the sheet aside, dragged her up, rolled her over, and plunged into her. She stared up at him, her eyes glowing violet. As he dipped into her mind, he found no rational thoughts, just a single-minded focus on the sensation of his body inside her. He wiped the thoughts from his own mind and gave himself over to the feel of her wrapped tight around him, her legs about his waist.
Afterward, they lay entwined as he stroked her hair. They’d come here as soon as they’d gotten back, straight to bed, and they’d made love over and over again. She was insatiable. So was he, he’d found. How had he gone so long without this? But maybe he only burned for one woman.
He didn’t want to think, but slowly his brain started going over the possibilities. Or rather the lack of them.
How much time did they have?
Not much, he was thinking.
And what were his choices?
Very limited.
Really, the only way they could ensure their own safety was for Saffira to take them to a time before all this happened. Maybe a long time before. But would that change the future? Would they cease to exist? And what did that even mean? Shit, it did his head in. Would going forward be better? But Saffira had said that could be risky. At least you knew the past, or rather, that the place you were going to in the past existed at that point. But the future…well, they could plan to go somewhere and that somewhere could no longer exist, or could have been replaced by a black hole, or…
But really, it was academic, because there was no way Saffira would knowingly leave the rest of mankind to pay, while she saved herself and her friends. Clearly, that wasn’t a viable option. So what instead?
It was as obvious as it seemed impossible.
He had to somehow destroy the dragons before they could destroy his world.
Yeah, right. Easy.
What did he have in his favor? He could blow them up, but to get close enough, he put himself in danger of being sucked into the black hole that their death produced. But then, so would any other dragons nearby. Could he lure them all to the same place? Then they’d all be sucked in. He might survive. Or he might not. If he did, he could come back through the black hole at Trakis One—but then, so could the dragons, and they’d be back where they started.
He was going around in circles.
One thing was sure, whatever he did, it would not involve Candy. This wasn’t her fight. It was down to him. And Saffira.
Could he use Saffira to lure them to one place, but still ensure that she escaped to safety? Devlin might help. He loved her, and if it came to a toss-up, Devlin would choose Saffira over humanity. Saffira wasn’t so altruistic, so he would have to rely on Devlin to make the right decisions.
Thorne also believed Saffira more important than humanity as a whole. When had he changed? In the past, he’d always believed the good of the masses outweighed the needs of individuals. He no longer believed that.
He’d sacrifice himself maybe—but then, he’d had a long life, more than his share—but there were people he wouldn’t sacrifice for the whole world. Saffira. And Candace.
Candy had a power and strength of will she was only just realizing. After all this was over, civilization would need rebuilding, and the world would have need of people like Candy.
Someone would have to take control. And he’d known for a long time that no one from the crew of the Blood Hunter would ever aspire to that responsibility. Even Callum Meridian, who had ruled for five hundred years, claimed he’d had enough. They weren’t into order; they were into chaos.
Rico had once suggested that he should take on the role—though the comment had been far from complimentary.
But he didn’t want to lead. While much of the melancholy that had assaulted him after the death of his people had cleared, he had changed. He no longer wanted the responsibility. He wanted…he wanted Candy. Maybe that might change—eternity was a long time. But he still couldn’t shake the suspicion that, for him, at least, if not for the whole of mankind, time was running out.
Besides, he had a feeling that he—
“What are you thinking?”
Candy pulled him out of his thoughts. He rolled onto his side and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her. “I was thinking that once this is over, someone is going to have to take charge.”
“Well, that’s positive. At least you think there’s going to be something left to take charge of. Anyway, that’s you, of course. It’s always been you.”
He didn’t argue with her, despite the fact that she was dead wrong. Instead, he pulled her against his side, close enough that he could feel the beat of her heart, and her warm breath feathering against his skin.
She traced patterns on his chest. “So what are we going to do? How are we going to beat those fuckers? I still think—”
The buzz of the comm unit interrupted her, and she reached past him and pressed the button.
“Meeting on the bridge
in ten,” Rico said.
He exhaled, then pushed himself up. Time to get on with this.
“I’ll meet you there,” Candy said. “I’m going to find some clothes that fit.”
…
Five minutes later, she skidded to a halt in front of Rico’s cabin. Hopefully, he was already on the bridge, giving her a chance to break in and steal some of Skylar’s clothes. Skylar was the closest to her in size. But as she loitered, examining the lock, the door opened and Rico stood there, one eyebrow raised.
She waved a hand down her oversize pants and shirt. “I need clothes.”
Rico cast her an amused glance but waved her into the room. It was decorated in black and silver, with the biggest bed she had ever seen. She did her best to ignore him as he leaned against the door, watching as she rummaged in the wardrobe. She found a black jumpsuit and a pair of boots. One day maybe she would actually get to buy her own things instead of pinching them, but she wasn’t holding her breath. In the bathroom, she stripped off and pulled on the new clothes. Much better.
Rico was still waiting as she came out, his long leather trench coat in his hand. He tossed it to her.
She pulled it on as they made their way to the bridge. God, she loved that coat. “Thanks.”
The others were waiting when they arrived. Fergal glanced up from his console as they entered. “Temperance Hatcher is dead,” he said.
Candy studied his face for some sign of what he was feeling, but could tell nothing. “I’m sorry.” She hated Hatcher as much as the rest of them. But he was Fergal’s father, and someone had to say it.
“Well, I’m sure you’re the only one,” Fergal replied. “But it’s sweet of you to say so. He was a monster, but he died horribly and paid for what he’d done. I’m glad he’s finally gone.”
“It’s like the end of an era,” Rico said. He pulled a flask from inside his shirt and took a deep swallow, then raised it in a salute. “To your father—may he rot in hell.”
Fergal took the whiskey. “I’m sure he will.” He drank and gave it to Candy.
Candy took a deep swallow then handed it to Thorne. “So what else is going on?” she asked, because she was pretty sure there was some other reason for calling the meeting. While Hatcher’s death was of interest, it was hardly unexpected and didn’t really factor into their future plans.
“Well, apparently he informed what remains of his people that they are to follow my orders,” Fergal said. “So at least we shouldn’t get any opposition.”
“That’s good. And…?”
“And we have more visitors.” Fergal swiveled in his seat and the monitor in front of him flashed to life. She recognized the black hole at Trakis One, with the planet close behind, surrounded by swirling rings of red and ochre. A shiver ran through her. The planet had long been a place to avoid, and had once housed the Collective’s high-security prison. A prison no one—except her father—had ever escaped from.
Rico came to stand beside her. “You know, that’s where it all started. If we hadn’t broken your father out of the prison, none of this would have happened. He’d never have met Alex. You wouldn’t have been born. We’d never have come across Callum, and presumably never have visited that other universe and brought our friends, the dragons, back to this one.”
It was strange that one small decision could change the future so drastically. “Would you do things differently if you had the chance?”
“We almost did—we nearly turned down the job. Then I wouldn’t have Skylar.”
“You miss her?”
“Hell, yeah.”
She turned back to the screen.
“There,” Fergal said.
A dragon was silhouetted against the roiling gases surrounding the planet.
“How do they get through? Why aren’t they sucked back in?” Rico asked. “I’ve been there. I felt the pull of that thing. Once you hit the event horizon, you’re going in whether you want to or not.”
Candy hadn’t even thought about it, but he was right. That’s why the planet had made such a successful prison. It was almost impossible to land on Trakis One without being sucked into the black hole. Only at certain stages of the moon’s orbit could a ship slip past.
“It seems that things coming from the other side are immune to the pull. It’s a one-way thing,” Fergal replied.
“Sort of like a free pass?” she asked.
“More likely they have some sort of alternate energy field going on from the other universe that offsets the pull of a black hole. And maybe these aren’t really black holes as we always thought of them, just stationary wormholes, probably created by dragons at some point.”
Fergal was so clever. But then, he did have access to all the information in the universe, and he did have a brain like a computer. “Kronus told me that they’d destroyed most of them, but some of the static ones—the ones that didn’t travel between times, only places—they didn’t bother with, as it was the time travel they wanted to prevent.”
As she studied the screen, another dragon came through the hole, a dark green one this time, wings close to his body as he shot out of the darkness, then spreading as he spiraled away toward the planet.
“Can we blow the black hole up?” Thorne asked. “Stop any more coming through?”
She glanced across to where he stood at the back of the room.
He stepped forward, hands in his pockets. “So…is it possible to blow it up?”
Fergal thought for a moment. “I think so. If we set off an explosion inside, then it might implode in on itself.”
“Do we have the materials to do that?”
Devlin answered, “Yeah. We can pull the explosives from some of the shuttles. Raid the Church’s supplies. We can get sufficient together to make a bomb big enough.”
“Well, check out the supplies on the planet first,” Thorne said. “We need to head out in a maximum of six hours for the rendezvous with Saffira.”
Devlin gave him a sharp look, eyes narrowed. “I thought we were going to leave her. The plan was, if we don’t show, then she’ll take everyone away again and turn up for the next rendezvous, and then the next, until we’re sure they’re safe.”
“Tannis and Skylar aren’t targets, so I’m pretty sure they won’t come after them specifically.”
“And Saffira?”
“Chances are we’ll need her, and you know she wants to be part of this.”
Devlin gave a nod. “I know. I promised her we’d come for her if she was needed. But we don’t put her in danger.”
“We’re all in danger,” Rico pointed out.
Candy thought Devlin was going to argue. His spine stiffened, but he gave another nod. “I’ll look for those supplies.”
Once he’d left, she wandered over to Thorne and slipped her hand in his. He looked at her and a slow smile crossed his face. “So do you have a plan?” she asked.
“Not yet.”
“Well, you’d better get working on it.”
“I will.”
“Good. I’m relying on you.” She patted his arm and stepped away. “I’m going for a run with Angel. I’ll be back to give you a little inspiration in a couple of hours.” She wanted to persuade Angel to come with them when they left for the rendezvous. She missed him, and she hadn’t spent much time with him since she’d returned. And she needed to point out that now she was definitely the older of them.
Half an hour later, they were racing through the darkening forest. For a little while she forgot that there were dragons out there and soon they might all be dead.
And that Thorne was hiding something from her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As the ship popped out of the wormhole, Thorne released the breath he was holding. He loved Saffira dearly, but he didn’t have one hundred percent faith in her ability to end up where, or when, she meant to be.
The wormhole lashed its tail and then closed in on itself. He hurried down to the docking bay, Candy close beside him.
Somehow, he needed to meet alone with Saffira, away from Candy, but without making her suspicious. He’d been slowly working on a strategy—or rather, it had been formulating in his mind with little conscious input from him. But the way the plan was playing out right now, he had an idea Candy wouldn’t be too impressed. So, best if she didn’t know.
Glancing around the docking bay, he doubted he was going to get Saffira to himself anytime soon. Devlin was pacing the huge space, tension in every muscle. As soon as Saffira appeared at the top of the ramp, he raced across the floor and dragged her against him. He kissed her as though he hadn’t seen her in years, then hauled her into his arms, and without a word to anyone else, they disappeared into the transporter bubble.
Rico wasn’t far behind as Skylar strolled down the ramp. “We’ll see you later,” he tossed at Thorne as they passed.
Thorne nodded with resignation. He would get nothing sensible out of them for now, but still couldn’t dismiss the worry that they needed to move quickly.
Tannis appeared, with Callum at her side. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Candy. She sauntered down the ramp. “So what’s been going on in my absence? Looks like there have been a few changes.” Candy held her ground and stared back. Tannis raised a brow. “Lots of changes.”
Thorne shrugged. “I killed a dragon, it caused a black hole, Candy got sucked into the other universe, then was saved by another dragon and eventually got back.”
Her gaze flicked back to Candy. “How long?”
“Twenty-two years.”
Callum stepped forward. “The dragon talked to you? You communicated?”
“His name is Kronus, and he wants Saffira,” Thorne said.
“Never going to happen.” Tannis didn’t sound too concerned.
“But you and Skylar are safe for now,” he added. “Apparently as abominations go, you’re not much of a threat. No time-mancer potential.”
“That’s good. I think.”
“I want to hear everything,” Callum said.
“Well, let’s go somewhere a little more comfortable, and then I need a drink.” Tannis ran a hand through her hair and gave Candy another suspicious look. “Do you realize you’re older than me now? Weird.”