by S. E. Smith
If the beast can’t tear someone apart with its teeth and claws, it can change to any number of shapes and kill in a thousand other ways, he thought. He pictured the golden flakes from the entity on his ship.
“I won’t be staying,” he replied, looking around the garden. “Your gardens are beautiful. They remind me of Mother’s gardens back home.”
“Zoran told me about the attack on Narissa and Melek,” she responded.
“Thank you for your kind invitation for them to stay at your mountain residence,” he said.
Morian smiled compassionately and patted his arm. “The healing springs there will help them both recover more quickly, as will having some time alone. Your mother and I have a lot more in common besides having very hard-headed sons. But, I suspect you did not visit just to thank me,” she said as she continued caring for the various plants near the path.
“I need information,” he confessed.
Morian looked at him with a shrewd expression. “Information that only a Hive Priestess can supply,” she inquired?
“Yes,” he replied.
She turned away and was silent. When he didn’t continue, she glanced at him with an inquiring expression. Adalard knew there was a fine balance between saying too much and not enough. Memories of the war between their species briefly flared to the forefront of his mind before he pushed them away.
“Raffvin was able to convert his symbiot into a different type of matter. Do you know how he accomplished that?” he asked.
She nodded. “His soul was filled with hatred and insanity. Our symbiots live off our essence, the energy we give out, much like your own. When that energy is tainted with rage and hatred, it pulls from a source as dark and empty as a black hole. Raffvin learned how to harness that darkness and magnified it until the pureness within the symbiot was suffocated, tortured… and deformed into an anomaly that went against everything that the Goddesses created,” she said.
“Would it be possible to replicate that symbiot?” he asked.
She turned and faced him again. Concern darkened her golden eyes and she stared at the symbiot lying near them. She appeared to be communicating with it. He silently waited until she refocused on him.
“It might be possible… if whoever has a connection to the symbiot can harness that type of darkness. It would be extremely difficult. Even with Raffvin’s connection to his symbiot, it fought against his tainted essence. Raffvin’s imprisonment of the creature was slowly destroying it—and his dragon. Have you… seen another such creature?” she asked.
He nodded. “The first one was more of a mist. It was placed on my transport. Once it was released, it drained my energy. It grew stronger as it devoured the energy from my body. It was only a matter of time before it would kill me,” he explained.
She frowned with concern. “How did you contain it?” she inquired.
“I didn’t. My mate, Samara, was able to repel it. It was terrified of her,” he said.
“Samara? She wouldn’t be the young girl that Paul has told me about, would she? A human woman?” she asked.
Adalard nodded and looked away. “Yes. I’ve sent her back to Earth until I can find and stop those behind the attacks,” he replied.
“I am so sorry, Adalard. I know that had to have been a difficult decision for both of you,” she said. She stepped closer and placed her hand on his arm in comfort.
He shifted from one foot to the other in discomfort. He wasn’t used to someone showing compassion. He cleared his throat and gave her a nod of appreciation.
“Do you have it with you? Perhaps I can connect with it,” Morian said.
He shook his head. “There is nothing left now. We found a lab where the rebels were trying to replicate the original. The replicated mass was different, more violent and draining. My brother, Arrow, was able to use the recovered data and Samara’s assistance to create a device that would protect us from the creature. In the process of testing it, the original entity was destroyed,” he explained.
Morian frowned. “If it was destroyed and you have protection, then I don’t understand how I can help you.”
Adalard breathed out a long sigh. “I… saw something—a vision—a split second before the entity dissolved.”
“What did you see?” she asked.
“A shadowy figure with a hand made of gold giving a woman a vial of liquid that reminded me of your symbiot. It was a male voice. He said—” Adalard paused a moment, his gaze turning back to her symbiot, “… he said… Take my blood. It contains the power you need to defeat the creatures created by the others. Only when they are defeated will I be free,” he replied.
Morian’s dismayed gasp seemed to hang in the air. She looked at him with a troubled expression. He waited for her response. She dusted her hands off and lifted her chin.
“Remain on the planet until I return,” she requested in a quiet but firm voice.
He bowed his head in agreement. She motioned to her symbiot and gracefully strode down the path several yards before she shifted into a stunning white dragon with flakes of gold rimming each scale. Her symbiot companion split in half. The first half transformed around her, shielding her head, neck, and chest with gold armor while the second part shifted into a large bird-like creature.
With a powerful flap of her wings, she took off. He braced himself against the blast of air that hit him from her departure. A sense of awe and admiration struck him. He was seeing the power behind not just Morian Reykill’s dragon, but the woman who was connected to the Goddesses. He turned away, troubled by her concern and her swift departure. He shared a worried glance with Paul Grove.
“Paul,” he greeted.
“Adalard,” Paul responded with a nod.
He noted Paul’s grim expression. “Something tells me that your sudden appearance is about more than just my visit with your mate,” he warily guessed.
Paul bowed his head in agreement. “Yes.”
Adalard sighed. “Samara has returned to Earth,” he said before Paul could ask.
Paul’s expression hardened with disapproval and concern. “Why?”
“Because it was the only way I knew to keep her safe,” he quietly replied.
He held Paul’s gaze as the seconds lengthened. Paul’s expression softened, and he relaxed his stiff stance. A feeling of discomfort swept through him at the expression of compassion in Paul’s eyes.
“Morian does not usually go to The Hive with such urgency,” Paul stated.
He looked at Paul with a grave expression and gave a sharp nod. “I fear what I have discovered is something every species in the known galaxy should be worried about.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Earth:
Seven Years Later
“Is this where you grew up?” an excited voice asked.
Samara glanced at her six-and-a-half-year-old daughter and nodded. “Yes, this is where I grew up,” she replied.
“Cool,” Adaline replied with a grin.
Samara’s throat tightened when she noticed the curious expression on her daughter’s face. Adaline reminded her so much of Adalard. She had his dark hair and stunning violet eyes framed by thick black lashes. Even as a baby, it had been impossible to take Adaline anywhere without someone commenting on her unusual appearance. Many people commented Adaline reminded them of a young Elizabeth Taylor.
“This is where the house and garage used to be,” she commented, pulling off the highway and into a parking lot.
“It’s a Dollar General store,” Adaline replied in a disappointed voice.
“Yes, your uncles sold it a few years back,” she absently replied as she made a loop through the parking lot and turned onto the highway again.
Adaline wiggled her nose. “Will I get to meet them now?” she asked.
Samara silently groaned. This was a topic that she had hoped Adaline had forgotten. Since her return almost seven years ago, there had been only minimal communications between her, Brit, and Gary. Rob and Jerry had
written her off. Wilson was still MIA, though she had heard rumors he was working overseas for some billionaire.
“Probably not, love,” she finally answered.
“Awwww,” Adaline drawled in disappointment.
“Trust me when I say you aren’t missing much,” she chuckled.
“It’s just weird having family but not having family,” Adaline muttered.
“You’d better not tell Bear that,” she teased.
Adaline giggled. “Bear is pretty awesome.”
“Yes, he is,” she agreed.
Samara’s stomach knotted with anxiety. She had moved away shortly after her return to Earth partly because of Bear. Now, she had no choice but to return. It was the only place where she felt she could protect Adaline.
“Will I have to be careful about using my gifts once we get to Mr. Grove’s ranch?” Adaline anxiously asked.
Samara glanced at her daughter again. “We already talked about this, honey. Only Bear, Mr. Chad, Mr. Mason, and Ms. Ann Marie know about your gifts. You can’t let anyone else see them,” she warned.
“If my daddy comes, will he know to come to Mr. Grove’s ranch?” Adaline asked.
Samara ignored the sharp pain that lanced through her at Adaline’s innocent question. She had been honest with her daughter about her origins. It was impossible not to be. Her connection with Adaline had formed while her daughter was still in the womb. It had been a shock… and a treasured connection to Adalard.
“Yes, he would come to Mr. Grove’s ranch,” she replied in a thick voice.
Adaline nodded, turned her head, and stared out the window of the old truck. Samara made sure that her thoughts were shielded before she pulled up her long-suppressed memories of the first two years after her return. There were some things Adaline didn’t need to know yet… including the very real possibility that Adalard was either dead or had decided he didn’t want to return.
Why should he? He has no idea about Adaline, she thought.
The first couple of years without him had been the most difficult. Adalard’s promise that he would return once his mission was over had kept her going. There had been a communication device left at the main homestead in case she needed to reach him. She thought about using the device the moment she discovered that she was pregnant with Adaline. Logic battled with emotion before she decided it would be best to wait. After all, Adalard was on a dangerous mission, and the last thing he needed at the time was to worry about her.
Her moment of hesitancy would prove unfortunate. The communication device was destroyed when a tree close to the house fell during a severe thunderstorm. The tree tore through the office in the house, taking out the power lines, and causing a fire that destroyed nearly a quarter of the house.
Her joy and excitement slowly changed to despair as the weeks turned into years, and Adalard didn’t return. Mason, Ann Marie, and Bear had been her rock. Deep down, she knew that if she remained at the ranch, she would always be searching for Adalard in the shadows. In the end, she made the decision to move on with her life.
“Are we there?” Adaline asked with excitement as she sat forward.
Samara blinked and nodded. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized that she had turned on the blinker to turn onto the long driveway. Sudden doubts swamped her, and she wondered if she was making a mistake coming back.
“Yes, we’re here. Remember what I said about—” she began.
“I know. I know. Don’t use my gifts in front of anyone,” Adaline interrupted with an impatient wave of her hand. “Do you think Bear will take me riding?”
Samara laughed. “Yes. Bear would love to take you riding.”
“I missed him. He’s funny, and he really likes us,” she said.
“I know, honey,” she murmured.
“He knows about me, too, so I don’t have to pretend to be normal around him,” Adaline continued.
“That’s true, but you still have to be careful,” she insisted.
“He would make a great dad,” Adaline commented.
“Adaline,” she rebuked, slowing the truck to a crawl.
Brilliant violet eyes turned toward her with an expression far older than her six years. Samara shook her head and pulled to a stop on the road. She twisted as far as she could with the seat belt on and looked back at Adaline. She opened her mouth, closed it, shook her head, and tried again.
“I love Bear as much as you do, just not in the way… well, just not in the same way two people who get married do. I love him more like a brother,” she tried to explain.
Adaline’s nose wrinkled. “Your brothers aren’t good,” she bluntly stated.
“Some of them are. Your Uncles Brit, Gary, and Wilson aren’t so bad,” Samara defended.
Adaline pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest. “I’ve never met Uncle Wilson. Brit and Gary are cage-rats,” she stubbornly retorted.
Samara frowned. “Cage-rats? Where did you hear that?” she demanded.
“It was on the television and it fits. They were in jail and they were bad, otherwise they wouldn’t have been put in jail,” Adaline pointed out.
“Well, they got out and they have been doing the right thing ever since. It isn’t like people don’t make mistakes. They made a bad one and they paid for it,” she defended.
“Bear’s never been in jail. Neither have Mason or Chad,” Adaline replied.
“I’m not going to argue with you about your uncles’ bad life choices—or about Bear. We are friends, that’s all,” she said.
Adaline sat back and stared out the front window of the truck. Samara didn’t miss the glisten of tears in Adaline’s eyes. It was frustrating because she knew all Adaline wanted was to be normal.
“He’s not coming back, you know. If he was, he would have come already,” Adaline muttered.
“Who’s not coming back?” she asked.
“My real dad,” Adaline responded.
Samara’s heart hurt at the resignation in her daughter’s voice. She leaned over and kissed Adaline’s temple. She didn’t know what to say. All she could do was love Adaline with everything inside her and hope that it would be enough.
“How about after we get everything unloaded, we see if Bear will take us out for some pizza?” she suggested.
Adaline shrugged and stared out of the window. Samara released a sigh and straightened in her seat. The feeling of diving from the frying pan into the fire swept through her again, and she silently groaned.
Adalard, if you ever come back, you’re going to have more than me to answer to, she silently thought.
“Adaline Ha’darra Lee-Stephens!” Samara warned in a low tone from the doorway of her daughter’s bedroom nearly three hours later.
Adaline grimaced and shot her an apologetic smile. Samara fought a smile at her precocious daughter’s expression. Adaline bit her lip and peered back at her with wide, pleading eyes.
“No one’s here,” Adaline defended.
“Yeah, but explaining how you did this in less than two hours is going to be difficult,” Samara retorted.
“The only ones who’ll see it will know,” Adaline reasoned.
Samara shook her head. “It does look pretty spectacular. Here are your last boxes. I think the top one is the one you were looking for,” she said with a grin.
“Thank you! I love you,” Adaline said, her voice muffled as she dug into the box.
Samara shook her head in resignation. She had to admit, the room was amazing. Ann Marie had already gone overboard getting things ready, but Adaline had placed the finishing touches that only a six-year-old with a love for fairy-tales could create. Wispy drapes that looked like a brilliant night sky with twinkling diamond stars hung from the ceiling and floated downward to enclose the full-size bed. A tall dollhouse that hadn’t been part of their meagre possessions was against the wall near the window. Adaline had already decorated it, added lights and a small yard that looked suspiciously like it had real flowers growing from
flower boxes. Adaline’s missing box had been the one with her dolls in it.
For a moment, Samara wondered if she should have given Adaline the larger of the two rooms in the loft over the barn. Shaking her head at the thought, she lowered the remaining box to the floor.
“Don’t forget that we are having dinner with Bear,” she reminded.
“I won’t. I’m glad we moved back here,” Adaline replied, her voice muffled from the box she was halfway draped in.
Samara smiled and turned away. She stepped out of the room, absently listening to Adaline singing as she finished unpacking. Pausing at the end of the hallway, she caught sight of the pile of boxes in the middle of the living room floor and released a loud, tired sigh. The three-day drive from Texas had been brutal, and she was exhausted. The sound of boots on the stairs warned her that she was about to have company.
“Samara?”
She walked over to the door and peered down the steps at Bear. He had his arms full of grocery bags. She raised an eyebrow at the items. He gave her one of his heart-melting grins and lifted them up a little higher.
“I thought I’d fix dinner here tonight. I figured you’d be pretty exhausted,” he said, climbing the stairs.
She stepped back on the landing when he reached the top. Taking a few of the bags, she studied him with an amused expression. A bag of Adaline’s favorite Gummy Bear candy was sticking out of the top of one of them.
“Did you leave anything at the store? You know that Ann Marie has already filled the refrigerator,” she warned.
“Yeah, I know, but I thought she might have missed a few things,” he stated as he walked into the apartment. He paused and looked around with a frown. “I told you that I would help you unload things.”
“We don’t own that much. Why don’t you make yourself at home in the kitchen while I unpack some boxes and get them out of the way?” she suggested.