“You told Jannike she should expect one child,” Camryn said, aghast at Mogens’s economy with the truth.
“She is nervous and fears she won’t be a good parent to one child. She requires calm, and I didn’t see the point of exciting her nervous system with this news,” Mogens said with quiet dignity.
“Good point,” Kaya said. “She’s apprehensive enough now.”
“She will make a good mother,” Ellard said. “She has a good role model in Camryn and she has the help of all her friends. Plus she is mentally tough, which she needs to be to deal with my brother and Lynx.” He paused and whirled to Mogens. “What about Gweneth?”
“It is too early to tell with your mate,” Mogens replied, and a ripple of black crossed his face to blend with the white, giving his features a dove-gray cast.
“Lie,” Kaya said cheerfully. “You’re having two as well.”
“Twins are not usual amongst our people.” Ellard lost some of his normal color. “Your twins are the first we’ve seen.”
“A phenomenon for study.” Mogens patted Ellard’s arm. “No stress.”
Ellard wavered on his feet and fell back into his seat, clearly in shock.
“Everyone ready?” Ry asked. “I promised Ransom a quick turnaround since they have a special order to fill. Ellard and I need to discuss his requirements then we’ll leave for the mountains, so don’t wander far.”
“Let’s go,” Kaya said. “After our last quick visit I can’t wait to explore a little.”
An Incorporeal shimmered into sight along with a large male, one of the dragon shifters who lived on Narenda.
“Forgive the intrusion,” Ransom said, “but we desperately need those stones. I thought coming to you would save time. Niran has agreed to go with you to point out the general collection area, but he will shimmer back to the town as soon as possible. The force fields the pirates left are powerful and they sap Incorporeal strength very quickly.”
Camryn caught Kaya’s speculative scrutiny of Ransom whenever the dragon shifter wasn’t looking. To her amusement, Ransom returned Kaya’s regard, which made Camryn pay attention. He was a big male, and Camryn could smell the other part of him. The dragon shifter smelled of amber—warm, musky and of honey yet with a hint of burning and earth. Although she hadn’t met him before because she’d been too pregnant to travel, their ferocity during battles was the stuff of legends and Ellard had told her their dragon forms were immense. A black tattoo of a dragon coiled around and down his right arm and a scar went from the corner of his right eye and down his cheek. He wore arrogance around his shoulders like a cloak, which made her grin. More than a match for the feisty Kaya. They would make a good pair. Interesting times ahead, since Kaya had declared her intention not to settle with any one male.
“Okay, let’s move out. Kaya and Camryn, could you prepare the storage area? We’ll need the storage boxes laid out and the containment nets prepared. Ellard and I will check our charted course after speaking with Niran.”
Camryn and Kaya trotted from the bridge and headed along the corridor, past the mess and the crew cabins. At the far end of the corridor, a spiral metal staircase led down to the storage area of the hold. The Indy also had a modern lifter, which they used to raise supplies to the upper level on which they spent the most time. Not necessary this cycle.
“I thought we’d have more time to explore,” Kaya grumbled as they clomped down the staircase. “I want to see one of those dragon shifters flying. Gweneth said they’re huge and look amazing. It would be fun to soar through the air without the use of a ship, feel the wind on your face.”
“You’ll have to work your wiles on one of the dragons. We might have a bit of free time once we’ve harvested the precious stones. I thought this might be a good place to buy my secret Santa present.”
Kaya nodded in approval. “Good thinking. Let’s go together. If we present a united front, Ry might agree to stay a little longer.” She skipped a few steps. “Man, it’s good to be doing something. I was getting bored on Viros. A girl can only do so much shopping and juice drinking. Lynx and Shiloh have everything under control and there isn’t much to do.”
“Me too,” Camryn said and skirted the tender. They wouldn’t require their smaller transpo unit this trip since they’d fly the Indy to the base of the mountain range.
The hold area held many memories for Camryn since they’d stabled their hell-horse and her foal down here when they’d needed to travel. The loose box they’d used had long since been disassembled but she fancied she could smell a whiff of hell-horse.
“The storage boxes are over here,” Kaya said. “I could only get the plain, insulated ones that don’t pop outward on auto.”
“The plain type like the ones on Earth?” At Kaya’s nod Camryn grimaced. “Which is why we’re down here assembling them. Let’s get started.”
With easy competence, they worked as a team and folded the flat boxes into cubes. They’d almost finished when the Indy took off again.
Kaya studied the fifty boxes they’d assembled and set out on the hold floor. “I hope they don’t move around too much.”
“There’s no point fastening down empty boxes. At least they won’t do much damage if they move.”
When they reached the bridge, they took their seats and strapped into safety harnesses.
“All done,” Camryn said, winging a smile at her mate.
The mood on the bridge was upbeat, and it made Camryn realize she and Kaya weren’t alone. All of the Indy crew were chafing at the bit like horses ready to race. They were used to challenges and the way they were currently living seemed quiet after years of action.
“We need to do this more,” Camryn said, speaking for them all. “We should apply for freight contracts and other assignments to stave off the boredom.”
“You’re bored?” Ry asked, his gaze alert, slicing and dicing as he tried to read her.
As they stared at each other, Camryn consciously lowered her mental shields and allowed Ry to read her, something she hadn’t done for some time.
Thoughts winged between them. Confusion. Anger. A myriad other emotions, but uppermost was love for each other and their twins.
“We could take the twins with us. There are no parent rules that say they have to stay on land,” Camryn said. “On Earth parents take their children with them when they travel. I’m not suggesting we undertake dangerous assignments, but we could still do stuff. It’s silly having the Indy docked all the time. If we put our minds to it, I’m sure we could come up with lots of ideas to make money, yet offer us all the challenge we need to be happy.”
Silence reigned on the bridge, apart from the faint hum from the engines and the beep of an incoming message.
“Ransom will require a regular supply of precious stones. Until we work out a way to remove the force fields the region will be out of bounds to my people,” Niran said.
“Almost there,” Nanu said. “I’m with Camryn. We need to do something.”
“Agreed,” Ry said and his smile at her held approval and something else. Was that…was that lust?
Camryn blinked and when she focused on him again, the heat in his gaze had dispersed.
“We’ll discuss it on the way back to Viros,” Ry said.
The Indy bucked, and Nanu cursed. “Hold on. That’s the force field. I thought we’d land and load up. Too easy.”
“Nearest landing area?” Ry barked out.
“On the other side of that mountain range,” Niran informed them. “We haven’t been able to ascertain how big the force field is yet. In the past, we always harvested stone on this side of the mountain range. We haven’t taken stone from the other side.”
Camryn stared at the jagged peaks of the mountains. She strained against her harness in her attempt to lean forward for a better view. “Is that snow?”
“It’s solid ice,” Ellard said.
“It looks almost pink,” Camryn said.
Niran nodded. “Ransom t
old me the color comes from the sheer rock beneath. You’ll see the ice appear blue on some of the mountains.”
The mountain range reminded her of sharp teeth protruding from the undulating terrain. She caught a flash of what appeared a river and vegetation in what she thought of as autumn colors of gold and orange and olive green.
“Any known dangers?” Ry demanded.
“The flesh-eating plants this side or they were,” Ellard said. “I hope they haven’t moved. There are also huge birds of my height, but they kept their distance if they saw us, so I don’t think they’ll be a problem.”
“The pirates must have introduced the plants,” Niran said, gritting his teeth. “There was never anything dangerous—not to us. The resonance from the mountain range upset the dragons and only a few older dragons are able to withstand the siren call for any length of time, but we never experienced any problems during our visits.”
“The other side of the mountain range it is then,” Ry said. “Niran, you’re in pain. Shimmer back to the town before we get any closer to the force fields. We’ll contact Ransom if we run into problems.”
“You won’t be able to,” Niran said. “The forces around here interfere with coms to the town.”
“All right,” Ry said. “If you don’t hear from us in one cycle, send word to Lynx and Shiloh. Don’t worry. Ransom will get his stones. That’s what he’s paying for and we won’t let plants or anything else stop us. We won’t let him down.”
Niran nodded and shimmered out of sight without argument.
“I can feel the buzz from the force field,” Kaya said. “It’s creepy. I’ve never felt anything like it before, the way my skin is itchy.”
“It’s not just the force field.” Swathes of black marbled Mogens’s pale skin, darkening the tone to what Camryn thought of as his disturbed visage. “It’s combined with a force from within the core of the planet.”
“The force that messes with the dragons?” Ry asked.
Another ribbon of black struck his cheeks, highlighting his high cheekbones. “That would be my opinion.”
The Indy started to climb steeply to clear the peaks, and Camryn strained to see the vista. This side of the mountain range appeared drier with less vegetation.
“I see the spot Niran suggested we use for landing.” Nanu peered at his instruments. “It’s a bit uneven.”
“Jannike’s not here. Everyone else has the brains to buckle up,” Kaya said with a grin.
“I’m going to tell Jannike you said that,” Ellard threatened.
Kaya cocked her head, her blue hair swinging to reveal one pointed ear. “And I could tell Gweneth about twins. She’d run and tell Jannike and then—”
Ellard lost some of his color again. “You win.”
“I know,” Kaya said, sharing her smug smile with all of them.
Camryn caught a glimpse of some type of plants before they flashed over what looked like a dry creek bed. Rocks covered the ground. Rocks of all shapes, ranging from car-size to fist-size and the planet’s star made them sparkle in a rainbow of prettiness.
“At least we won’t have trouble finding rocks,” she said, rubbing her hands together. A sense of purpose made all the difference.
“Ransom requested smallish stones, nothing bigger than our hands,” Ellard said. “We’ll have to scout for those. Evidently if they’re too big, the resonance makes the younger dragons training to design jewelry act like idiots. He said he didn’t have enough energy to knock heads together. Too busy.”
“Brace for landing,” Nanu warned.
A sickening crunch sounded and the Indy lurched to the side.
“I thought it was flat,” Camryn said once they came to a halt.
Nanu turned to face them, the beads at the end of his hair clacking with the abrupt motion. “Flattish.” His grin held chagrin. “The loose rocks are deceiving. I’ll do better next time.”
From ground level, the rocks didn’t sparkle with color, each appearing a uniform gray. Camryn released her harness and stood, eager to start rock collecting.
Ry unclipped his safety harness and rose. “Niran told us what to look for and conjured some collection bags for us. Wait. Better check the com units.” He pushed a button on his com and Nanu’s com buzzed. Ry grunted with satisfaction. “We’ll go in pairs and check in every cycle mark without fail. Mogens you go with Kaya. Nanu and Ellard go together, and I’ll work with Camryn. Don’t forget. Check in on the mark. If you don’t reply, the rest of us will come looking for you.”
Outside, Kaya and Mogens headed to the right. After securing the Indy, Nanu and Ellard took a trail to the left.
“I guess that leaves this direction for us. Niran said the dried creek bed would be a good place to search,” Ry said. “We should follow that into the gully.”
Camryn grabbed one of the collection bags and draped it over her shoulder. She grinned at Ry and reached for his hand. She sucked in a huge breath of cool, clean air and repeated the action because it felt so good. “This feels like an adventure.”
“It does. Let’s do this.”
“First one to find a suitable stone gets a kiss from the other.”
“There’s no loser,” Ry said.
“Exactly.” Camryn felt the beam slip across her face. It warmed her soul because she and Ry seemed to have reconnected in a way they hadn’t recently. Her eyes scanned the rocks, partially embedded in the ground before them. She stooped to pluck up one with a faintly blue glitter. Yes! She held up higher in triumphant. “I win.”
Ry stalked across the ground, eyes glittering with heat and passion. “I think I win.”
Her breath emerged, deep and a fraction unsteady as he continued to prowl toward her, languid and lazy, the flare of desire lighting his features. Every one of her carnal fantasies come to life. A tremor of awareness sped through her when his fingers curled around her upper arms and drew her close.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, secs before he angled his mouth over hers.
Camryn sank into his embrace and enjoyed the heck out of his lips, the feeling of his thumb skating against the side of her breast. She rocked against him, craving more.
Ry lifted his head to stare down at her. “We’d better search for these rocks. The dragons are willing to pay us handsomely for them.”
“They said pink, blue and white, right?”
“Yeah, those are the colors,” Ry agreed.
“What do you think about this purple stuff and the black?” Camryn picked up the stone that had caught her eye. “Oh, it’s purple too, but so dark it looks almost black.”
“Shove it in your bag. They realize we’re new at this, which is why we have two cycles of collection. Phrull, what is that smell?”
Since it was different to what the dragons had requested, she shoved the two purple stones in her pocket to ask Ransom about later and concentrated on collecting the colors they’d requested. She spotted a good area and soon her bag rattled and started to bite into her shoulder with the weight.
Ambling onward and collecting stones at the same time, she and Ry walked around the corner in the dry bed and came face-to-face with a wall of plants. They lined the banks, shoulder-high plants with a variety of leaf shapes. Some were spiky with thorns while others sported a white fuzz. Weapons, Camryn thought with an inner shudder. Each plant had a bulbous body in various shades of white and cream and mustard yellow, reminding her of huge rounded funnels. The opening of the funnel was situated at the top of each plant, but at present, each open mouth pointed toward them. Some swayed. Some opened and closed like a fish with gills. Some hissed.
Ellard had told them one had tried to eat him. Creepy.
“They have to be the plants Ellard mentioned.” Ry watched them and wrinkled his nose. “Phrull, they stink.”
“Look. They’re moving, pulling themselves along the ground with those short roots,” Camryn said. “Not too fast, and they’re sticking to the banks rather than entering the dry bed. I think
we could outrun them.”
“If we weren’t weighed down with rocks.”
“True. What do we do? Continue along the creek bed or retreat? Remember Ellard said they seem to stay where they can get water. None of them are in the creek bed but water ran down here once or does if it rains.”
“The water could be subterranean,” Ry said what they were both thinking.
“Yes.”
“Let’s keep going this way for another five mins before we head back to the Indy,” Ry said. “Maybe to that bend. We need to have an idea of the terrain if Ransom offers us a contract to do another collection for him in the future.”
“I’m glad we have weapons. They’re so weird I want to shoot them.”
“Let’s keep an eye on them and save the shooting until they threaten us directly. Even if we do need to return this way, if we stick to the dry bed, we should be safe enough.”
Camryn gave a strangled laugh. “Not much chance I’m gonna turn my back on them.” She stooped to pick up several stones and scraped her nail across the surfaces. Pink. She added them to her bag. “At least it’s easy to collect the stones on this side of the range.”
“Yeah, Ransom said they hadn’t harvested on this side of the mountain range or explored much. Something to do with the resonance from the mountain ranges. He said it’s too strong for most of the dragon shifters to deal with.”
The plants shambled along the banks, keeping to the greener area rather than stepping into the dry dust of the creek bed. The way they moved brought to mind an Earth penguin or a zombie. She knew which creature she’d prefer to meet.
Camryn eyed them warily and placed two white stones in her bag. “My bag is full. I can’t carry much more.”
“I’ll just check to see what is around this corner,” Ry said. “Get an idea of how many stones are lying in the open.” He strode to the bend, and she took the opportunity to watch her mate through new eyes. His gait held a spring that hadn’t been present lately.
God, how could she be so stupid? A talk was long overdue, but not here. She wanted the privacy of their cabin on the Indy, the security of his arms around her naked body and the neutrality of blacklight so his expression didn’t stifle the candid conversation required. Of course, her feline eyesight meant she never truly experienced the blacklight. If necessary, she’d close her eyes because this discussion was too important to wait. She’d tried hiding her head in the desert sand. Epic failure.
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