by ML Guida
Daidh pushed more buttons. “Captain, Ualan’s ship seems to be slowing down.”
Taog leaned forward on his chair and clenched his fist. “Good! Keep the tractor beam up.”
Her hands shook violently, and the power slowly dwindled, along with the fuzzy images. Had these been connected? But once again, her mind slammed shut tight, leaving her spent and stunned.
“We’re losing him!” Daidh quickly moved his fingers over the keyboard.
Hera’s arms fell limply to her side, and her crescendo headache diminished into a diminuendo. She sucked in air quickly. She looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed, but no one seemed to be interested in her. Maybe she’d just imagined that her brief surge of energy had anything to do with slowing down Ualan’s ship.
“Increase ultra speed to three,” Taog said.
“Can’t stand…the pain. Save…the…queen,” a voice panted over a speaker.
Hera thought he was struggling to get every word out.
The captain leaned forehead on his chair. “Ualan, is the queen in danger?”
Damon stiffened. “Taog, she’s obviously in trouble.”
The captain glared. “Stay calm, Damon. Your job is to protect your mate. Not the queen.”
“But it’s Cosima.”
Taog twisted his mouth. “I know the queen’s name, Damon. First, we have to save Ualan and find out what the devil is going on.”
Hera looked at Damon’s stricken face. He obviously had strong feelings for the queen–possibly more than a guard should have.
Damon hurried over to Taog. “We’ve got to contact the surface to make sure the queen is safe. We’ve got to save her!”
“We will,” he said calmly.
Damon grabbed his arm. “Now!”
Taog’s steely blue eyes locked with Damon’s. “I suggest you release me.”
Damon was breathing hard, as if he was going into a full panic mood.
“Control yourself.” The captain brushed his fingers off his arm.
Suddenly, a large pair of orange wings flicked out of Damon’s back.
Hera gasped. “Great horny toads!”
The captain tilted his head toward Hera. “You’re making a fool of yourself in front of your mate. Get a hold of yourself. If you can’t, I’ll have you removed from the bridge. Am I clear?”
Damon hung his head. “Aye, sir. I’m sorry.” His wings slowly embedded into his back, not leaving a tear on his shirt.
He bowed at Hera. “Forgive me.”
All the men stared at Hera questionably.
“No problem,” she mumbled, hoping she’d answered correctly.
He stood next to Hera and put his shaking arm around her shoulder. Gratefulness flashed in his eyes. Hera wanted to say that the queen was fine, but based on Ualan’s deadly course, it would be an obvious lie.
Taog shifted in his seat. “Daidhl, increase speed to ultra four. ”
A black-haired man stood next to Taog. “We are getting dangerously close to Blostos, Captain. If we get much closer, we’ll be trapped in its gravity pull.” Despite his gloomy prediction, his deadpan voice reminded Hera of a computer.
“I’m very much aware of that, Padean,” Taog growled.
The Orion shook and jerked. If it hadn’t been for Damon holding her tight against him, she’d have fallen again.
“I’m free! I’m free! It’s dead,” an elated voice cried out on the intercom.
“Ualan! Ualan!” Taog yelled.
Flames flickered from the sun, as if volcanoes were all erupting at once. A blood-curdling scream stopped Hera’s heart. A small explosion exploded on the sun’s surface.
“Captain,” Daidh said softly. “He’s gone.”
Tears blurred in Hera’s eyes. She turned her head into Damon’s chest, not wanting to burst into hysterics on the bridge. She struggled to breathe. She’d never seen or heard anyone die before, and she couldn’t stop shaking. Damon rubbed her back, comforting her.
“Decrease to ultra one,” Taog murmured. “Daidh, go into orbit around Zalara. Iagan, contact Royal Command.”
Buttons pinged and ponged. Iagan frowned. “Captain, I can’t reach Royal Command.”
Damon stiffened. “I told you, Taog.”
Hera turned her head and quickly wiped away the wetness on her cheeks.
“Try again, Iagan,” Taog ordered.
Iagan hit several buttons. “Still no answer.”
Taog rubbed his chin. “Padean, scan for any life forms on Zalara.”
“Scanners report that our people are alive, but not out in the open. The kingdom is strangely quiet.”
“Taog,” Damon said. “Try to contact the Royal Guard. They would never leave their post.”
“Ualan did,” Anonghos said dryly.
“Taog?” Damon unwound his arms from Hera, and her body immediately felt cold.
“Iagan,” Taog nodded. “Contact the Royal Guard.”
Iagan shook his head. “I’m sorry, Captain. No answer.”
Damon paced back and forth like a nervous, expectant father. “Then, we have to go down and investigate.”
Taog leaned back in his chair. “Not yet. For all we know the Kamtrinians could have led another attack. Iagan, can you at least tell if they are reading us down there?”
“Affirmative, Captain. They are reading us but not answering us.”
“What do you think of that Padean?” Taog asked.
Padean put his hands behind his back and lifted an eyebrow. “I believe it could be a trap. Something or someone has them down there. Ualan must have been suffering from some kind of madness. Why else would he fly into Blostos?”
“Ualan was loyal to the queen,” Damon said. “He must have had a good reason for abandoning his post.”
Taog nodded. “Or he wasn’t in right his mind. We need to find out what happened.”
Damon stood at attention. “I volunteer to go, Taog.”
“No, your place is with your mate.”
Damon flashed a disgusted look at Hera, as if she was a brat in need of a babysitter.
She stuck out her chin. “I can take care of myself.”
Taog didn’t even acknowledge her.
He stood and pulled on his shirt. “Anonghos, Padean, and I will go. Daidhl, you’ll have command of the ship.”
Damon blocked Taos’s path. “No, Captain. You can’t do this to me.”
Taog’s eyes glowed like two red-hot coals. “Are you defying a direct order?”
Hera shrank, hoping his menacing gaze didn’t fall on her.
Damon didn’t back down from the menace in his voice. “I’m of the Royal Guard.”
“Step aside, Damon,” Taog growled. “Before I have you thrown in the brig.”
Damon grabbed Taog’s massive shoulders. “You know how I feel about the queen. You can’t do this to me.”
“You have a duty, Damon. Our race depends on it.”
“But I don’t want this. I’m a Bravian dragon. You’re a Dominan. The Fates should have chosen you.”
Hera winced. He might as well have thrown a freezing cup of water in her face. Refusing to show how much pain rippled through her, she held her head up.
Taog glanced warily at Hera. “You have your orders, Damon. I suggest you follow them.”
“My duty is to protect the queen. I swore an oath. I refuse to let her die.”
Taog looked between Hera and Damon. “Very well. Obviously, the queen needs to tell you that your duty lies with your mate.”
“She’ll not deny me.” He looked longingly at Zalara.
“I think the king will have something to say about that,” Anonghos muttered.
Damon stormed out of the room without saying good-bye, leaving Hera alone in a strange place with strange people.
Oh, hell’s bell’s, the man was in love with the queen. She lowered her head and stared at feet, wishing she could disappear into the floor and fall back to Earth.
4
Da
mon followed Taog, Padean, and Anonghos to the shuttle Excalibur and climbed inside. All he could think about was the queen. The Fates never should have chosen him. His heart belonged to the queen and would always belong to her.
But then he remembered how Hera’s lower lip trembled, and an enormous pound of guilt rooted in his gut. He shouldn’t have said he hadn’t wanted to be mated to her. He’d acted shamefully, not once thinking of her feelings.
“Set a course for right outside the palace, Padean,” Taog ordered.
“Aye, Captain.”
The doors slid apart to sparkling stars and a slowly rotating Zalara. Normally, he was excited to return each time, but the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up. Uneasiness chilled his skin–a sign that was something was wrong, deadly wrong.
The engines ignited and roared, then Excalibur lifted and slightly vibrated. Padean flew it into space, then descended toward Zalara. The queen waited for him, but all he could think about was his dreaded duty to save his people. If he failed to mate with Hera, then he’d put his race in jeopardy. Whether he liked it or not, he was a creature of honor and duty and would not let his people down. But the mating would be with a heavy heart.
Excalibur steadily descended through Zalara’s atmosphere, then pierced its constant cloud cover. They had to be careful with navigation, or they’d be liable to crash into a pack of flying dragons.
“Strange,” Padean said. “I am detecting no dragons during this busy time of day.”
Taog pulled out his eruptor. “Be on guard.”
Damon’s muscles twisted into tangled kinks. He gripped his armrest so hard that a crack zigzagged down the middle. He forced himself to let go, afraid he’d break the armrest in half. Unfortunately, finger marks had already been embedded in the metal.
Anonghos shook his head, but luckily, didn’t comment. The Excalibur was Padean’s baby, and he’d be less than pleased. It was the only time that Padean’s logical exterior had ever cracked.
Damon looked out the window, hoping Padean’s instruments were wrong, but an unusual, lonely sky stretched out for miles. He swallowed back disappointment.
Taog swirled around in his chair. “Set your eruptors to stun. Be prepared for anything.”
Damon placed his eruptor back into his belt, his twitching hand resting on top. Every instinct told him there was something terribly wrong, despite Padean’s scanners. His scanners were only programmed for known creatures, but there were millions in the galaxy, and beyond that, there were species they’d never encountered. For all they knew, there could be an army of unknown aliens that had either killed their people or were preparing for an attack.
Padean set the Excalibur on the landing pad. Usually, a crew came out to refuel or clean the shuttle craft, but they were greeted by an empty port. Small spaceships were left unattended. No guards peered out the large glass building that was ordinarily packed with military staff ready to man their one-man fighter ships if the city was attacked.
Zalarians were fierce fighters, and the army would never abandon their posts. Yet, if the space station had been attacked, where were the bodies?
His heart pounded so loud he was afraid he’d disturb the eerie silence. But no one was looking at him. The shuttle door slowly opened.
Quick chirps beeped from the shadows of the space station.
Taog maneuvered closer to Padean. “What is that sound?”
Padean shook his head. “I don’t know, Captain. My transrecorder does not register anything unusual. However, Captain, I am picking up Zalarians.”
“Where are they?” the captain asked.
Padean nodded. “Hiding inside the space station.”
Anonghos frowned. “Hiding from what? Our sensors have not picked up any alien ships nearby.”
Damon sniffed, but he couldn’t detect anything strange. “That doesn’t mean anything,” he said grimly. “The last time the Kamtrinians attacked, they launched a dioxide torpedo that we didn’t detect until it was too late.”
No one answered him, but then, what was there to say? The Kamtrinians always seemed to be one step ahead of them and the Confederation.
Taog motioned with his eruptor. “Follow me, but be careful.”
Understatement of the millennium–Damon bit back a retort. He had a suspicion the Kamtrinians were involved. Adrenaline zoomed through him like a whistling meteor. He forced himself not to leave the captain’s party and fly ahead to the palace to make sure Cosima was safe.
They crept silently toward the chirps that set Damon’s nerves on edge. Whether it was machine or animal, he knew it would be deadly to Zalarians.
The four-story space station cast long shadows onto the smooth, granite walkways and runways. Even with his dragon eyes, he couldn’t detect anything usual hiding in the darkness.
“We need to split up,” Taog said. “Anonghos and I will go inside. Padean and Damon you explore outside. If you see anything, report immediately.”
Damon nodded. He and Padean slowly edged into the shadows, their backs against the wall.
Suddenly, the chirps stopped. Damon and Padean glanced at each other. This wasn’t good. Unfortunately, whatever was here knew they were coming.
“Remember,” Padean whispered. “We only shoot if they attack.”
Damon glared. He had no intention of making this a science expedition with the queen’s life in danger. He slipped in front of Padean. He wasn’t going to wait and ask questions later.
“Damon,” Padean growled.
But Damon refused to answer. Padean might be a senior officer, but he hadn’t taken an oath to defend the queen at all costs, either.
Something moved out of the corner of Damon’s eye. He took a step.
A loud squeal shot his adrenaline into overdrive. He jumped back and bumped into Padean.
On the ground was a flat, bumpy, round thing.
“What is that thing?” Damon asked.
“It doesn’t register on my transrecorder, but I assure you, it’s alive. We need to alert the captain.” Padean pulled out his teleicator. “Captain, this Padean, do you read me?”
“I read you. Did you and Damon find something?”
“Yes, Captain. It’s some kind of small creature. Damon stepped on it.”
“Did he squash it?”
“No, sir. Watch your step, Captain. There might be more of these creatures inside.”
“Are they dangerous?”
“This one hasn’t made any sudden moves.”
A dark cloud formed about twenty feet in front of them, then a shrill squeaking pierced the shadows. The cloud shot toward them.
“Padean!” Damon lifted his eruptor to fire.
“No!” Padean grabbed his arm and pushed it down. “We don’t know if they’re dangerous.”
The squeaking grew louder. The things had stingers pointed directly at them. Not caring if he was breaking orders, Damon jerked his arm free, then fired. A red beam struck the first few creatures, and they crashed to the ground, screeching. But only more replaced them. They were worse than an angry swarm of scoli.
Damon turned. “Run!”
He drew on dragon speed and literally flew out of there.
Padean was in front of him–obviously not interested in studying the creatures. He pulled out his teleicator. “Captain, we’re being attacked. Eruptors are ineffective.”
“Get out of there!” Taog yelled.
The flapping grew louder, and Damon didn’t dare turn around. He wanted to transform into a dragon, but even a few seconds would be too slow.
“Padean, transform! I’ll try and hold them off.”
“Damon, no!”
Damon didn’t listen. He whirled around and fired short bursts. The creatures fell again, but more took their place. He glanced over his shoulder. Padean had transformed into an orange and yellow dragon. He roared but failed to intimidate them.
Damon fired again. “Fly, damn it!”
Padean exhaled. A blast of fire hit them,
but the creatures flew through it like it was rain.
Damon fired at the creatures that were diving toward them. Any minute, they’d be surrounded.
Eruptor beams blasted into the shadows, giving Damon a chance to transform into a dragon. Taog and Anonghos had arrived in the nick of time. The creatures fell back. Damon and Padean flew toward the captain and Anonghos.
“Damon, look out!” Anonghos fired over Damon’s head.
A tinge of heat whipped over Damon’s flesh, but then something cold stabbed his back, piercing his thick hide like it was butter. He arched his back. Agony surged through him, stunning his heart and squeezing his lungs. He spun around in the air helplessly. His wings were frozen. He hurled out of the shadows and crashed onto the ground.
“Anonghos, get that thing off him!” Taog was over him.
Anonghos grabbed something that was attached to his back and tossed it, but the pain grew wider like a pebble tossed into a pond. The minute he took it off, Damon transformed back into his humanoid form.
“Damon, look at me.”
Damon struggled to look at the captain. Waves and waves of misery pumped through him, as if a million scoli were stinging him.
Kill him. An eerie voice echoed in Damon’s mind.
“What?” he moaned.
“Damon, can you hear me?”
He went to answer, but the voice screamed louder. Kill him.
Damon covered his ears. “No!”
Taog shook him. “Damon, answer me. That’s an order.”
Dizziness swept over Damon, smashing any rational thought. The captain’s stern face went in and out of focus. He tried to open his frozen mouth to tell the captain to run, but as if by magic, his hands moved on their own. His fingers wrapped around the captain’s throat. A boost of pain surged through Damon. He arched his back, and his fingers squeezed tighter and tighter and tighter.
Taog’s face turned purple, his eyes watered. He clutched Damon’s hands and pulled. No matter how much Damon wanted to, he couldn’t release his grip. The captain punched him hard in the jaw. Damon tried to yank his hands back, but he couldn’t budge them. It was as if they were cemented to the captain’s purpling flesh.