by S. E. Smith
Morian stared up into the insane eyes of Jalo’s brother and thanked the Gods that the elders had seen back then what she and Jalo missed for so long. Raffvin was truly insane. His greed had turned his blood black with the sickness of it. She jerked when she heard her symbiot cry out in pain. Struggling against the hold on her, she tried to get to it.
“No!” She cried out in horror as Raffvin’s black symbiot whipped out a long, black tentacle and ran it along the smooth, golden side leaving a blistering trail along it. “Please, I’ll do anything. You know if you harm my symbiot I cannot survive,” she said desperately.
“Just like your son and his mate intended to leave me,” Raffvin responded harshly. “I was too smart for them. I kept a part of my symbiot hidden so no other could find it.”
“Your symbiot is hurting,” she whispered feeling the agony running through it. “This is not its normal state. You are destroying it.”
“Then it is good that I am about to get more, isn’t it?” Raffvin said softly against her throat. “So soft, so silky. Once the stench of the other male is replaced with mine you will belong to me at last.”
Morian whimpered and closed her eyes as she felt his teeth lengthen and scrape against her neck. She could not let him mark her. It was more than she could bear.
*.*.*
Paul cursed as he pressed the accelerator as far as it would go on the skimmer. He could see the palace in the distance. His heart had frozen as the purple alien related what he had overheard. Paul could see the sky filled with dragons battling the invading force. He would let the boys handle it. He knew the children were safe. All he wanted to do was make sure the women, namely Morian, was safe inside the palace.
He flew over the walls of the palace swerving around Abby, Cara and Trisha who were blowing streams of heated blue flames at the few skimmers that had broken formation and were attacking the palace walls. He jumped off the skimmer before it had even shut down and was running through the courtyard. One of the guards pulled the door open and he rolled through it just as laser fire cut a dark path where he had been. The guard had shifted and his roar echoed as he and his symbiot were hit. Paul turned his head in time to see the skimmer who had fired on him exploding as Creon burst out of the clouds and ripped it apart with his claws. The sight was magnificent as the solid black dragon turned and disappeared into the smoke of the destroyed vehicle.
“Morian?” Paul said rising as he saw Ariel and Carmen hurrying toward him. Each held a newborn protectively against their body.
“I saw her heading for the atrium earlier but I haven’t seen her since the fighting began,” Ariel gasped out as the doors shook from another explosion. “How did they get through the palace defenses?”
“There is a traitor inside the palace,” Paul grunted as he pulled both women and babes toward a staircase. “Take cover under the stairwell,” he ordered them. He raised his hand to stop their protest. “There is a passageway at the bottom of it. Tap the fifth, eighth, and fifteenth stone in that order and a door will open. I need you to be with the other babies. Bio has them in a cave hidden beneath the palace.”
Carmen drew in a deep breath and nodded. “We’ll protect the little ones. Go find Morian. I have a feeling there is more to this attack than what meets the eye,” she replied before she turned. “Come on, Ariel.”
“Paul,” Ariel said quietly. Balancing Spring against her breast, she laid her hand on his arm as he turned. “Be careful.”
Paul’s eyes softened as he saw the worry in her eyes. “I will. Take care of the little ones,” he said again before he looked at Carmen’s retreating back. “And your sister.”
“Always,” Ariel said with a smile before she hurried down the steps after her sister.
Paul watched for a fraction of a second before he took off at a loping run through the long corridors. He slid around the corners, took the stairs three at a time, and kept his eyes sharp as he finally reached the level leading to the narrow staircase leading up to the secluded atrium. It was because of his awareness that he was able to dive into a roll when he reached the last step to the long corridor leading to the entrance to the atrium. The laser fire tore through his sleeve and sliced along his arm but he refused to acknowledge the pain. He continued rolling until he came up behind one of the huge planters lining the walls. Another blast shattered the huge curved container. Paul used the distraction of flowing dirt and plants to run for the shallow alcove near the window. He fired as he went and was rewarded with a low grunt.
“Give up,” Paul called out. “You’ll never get out of here alive.”
Paul wasn’t too surprised when he didn’t receive a response. It wasn’t like the guy trying to kill him wanted to sit down and enjoy a cup of tea while discussing techniques. Still, he hoped to get an idea if he was facing one or more threats. He laid his head back as he pictured the corridor in his mind. There were planters every ten feet. His target was twenty feet away. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the shiny floor. A grin curved his lips as he remembered the polished floors of his home growing up.
You could slide on them forever, he remembered. Never under-estimate the power of surprise, he thought. Let’s see if I still have it in me.
Paul rocked back and forth on his heels before he jumped out and began running along the long narrow corridor. As he suspected, his target moved out to aim for him. The moment he did, Paul went into a slide reminiscent of his high school baseball days. He slid ten feet, firing rapidly as he went. The look of surprise showed on the face of the male as a large hole opened in the old man’s chest.
Paul curled his leg under him and hopped up as the male collapsed. Keeping his pistol aimed at the dying man, he moved closer to him, his eyes scanning to make sure there were no other threats. Using his foot, he kicked the other man’s weapon away from where it lay by his side where he had slid down the wall.
“Where is Lady Morian?” Paul demanded of the man whose eyes were already beginning to cloud with death.
The male opened his mouth but nothing came out as his eyes grew dim. Paul cursed as he knelt beside the man and felt for a pulse knowing it was hopeless. His frown grew darker as he wondered why the male did not have his symbiot with him. It should have been able to help not only defend him but heal the wound. His eyes fell on the dark band of black that appeared to wither and dissolve before his eyes. A harsh black blister marked the man’s wrist.
Paul’s mind worked through the evidence even as he rose to cautiously climb the stairwell leading to the atrium. The man must have been the traitor in the palace. Whether he was the only one or not, Paul would leave to Zoran and the others to discover. His immediate concern was for his mate.
He shivered as he felt the feeling of something moving inside him again. The feeling had been building inside him until at times he swore he was about to burst. He pushed it aside. He couldn’t afford any distractions right now.
He carefully scanned the entrance of the atrium before he rose up and began searching for the woman who held his heart in her delicate hands. He wanted to shout for her. He wanted to demand that she let him know that she was alright but the hairs standing up on the back of his neck were warning him that everything was not as it appeared.
“Well, well, well,” a dark chuckled echoed from the shadows to his left. “Is this weak alien the one you insist is your mate? How disappointing,” Raffvin murmured sarcastically as he pulled Morian in front of him.
Paul turned calmly and stared at the man he had been studying intensively since he first heard his name. Long, greasy strands of dark hair hung in limp clumps around a face carved with madness. Eyes as black as oil focused on him. The figure was no longer filled out but was a hollow shell of the man he must have been at one time. The only indication that he would be a ruthless opponent was the cruel hold he held on Morian. Dark bruising marred her cheek, chin, and neck.
“Paul,” Morian began fearfully before she whimpered as Raffvin tightened his hold on her. Dark ba
nds similar to those on the old man he had killed wove around her wrists.
“What are you?” Raffvin looked Paul over with disdain. “I at least expected an opponent worthy of my attention.”
Paul’s lip pulled back into a sneer. “By all means, let her go and you can see just how worthy I am. I would hate to disappoint you,” he mocked.
Raffvin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I don’t think so. I will have to satisfy myself with knowing you will not be able to stop my claim of such a beautiful female,” Raffvin said turning his head just enough to run his tongue along Morian’s bent neck. “She will taste all the sweeter when she is screaming my name.”
Paul knew better than to give away his rage. He calmly took a step closer to where Raffvin stood partially in the shadows of the plants hanging down. His eyes took in the thick blackness holding the plants at bay. Every time a vine tried to thread through toward Raffvin, the blackness would touch it and the plant would wither and withdraw. Whatever in the hell that thing was, he needed to get Morian away from it and Raffvin.
“It will never happen,” Paul said quietly. “I’ll kill you before you get a chance to claim her.”
Raffvin lifted his head and sniffed before he shook his head. “I don’t think so. You are no match for my dragon,” he said before he shifted.
Paul burst forward as the hard claws wrapped around Morian. Her symbiot moved at the same time but was thrown backwards by the dark ribbons snaking out around Raffvin. Paul heard the symbiot hiss in pain and rage but his focus was on preventing Raffvin from taking Morian away. He pulled his hunting knife, ducking when Raffvin blew a stream of blistering heat at him. He swiveled, slicing a clean cut along one thick, scaled thigh. Raffvin’s roar shook the glass enclosure.
Paul jumped to the side as Raffvin swung his tail at him before rolling onto his haunches. “Let her go,” Paul snarled in a deadly voice. “If you want to fight, fight like a man.”
Raffvin’s harsh laugh sent shivers down Paul’s spine. The edge of insanity clearly visible in the sound. There was no reasoning with the other male. His only hope was working on his pride.
“What’s the matter, Raffvin? I thought you were tough. Hiding behind a woman is weak, even for you,” Paul taunted. “Next you’ll be crying like a baby and sucking your fucking thumb.”
Raffvin roared and blew a stream of dragon fire at Paul. His rage expanded when he missed the male. He swung around, shaking Morian as if she was a rag doll. He shifted back into his two-legged form.
“Surrender to me or she dies,” Raffvin hissed out loud.
Paul looked coldly at Raffvin from where he was shielded from the dragon fire by Morian’s symbiot. “You won’t kill her,” he stated confidently. “You need her. She is your only link to the Hive. Your symbiot is dying. Even I can feel it weakening and without it, you and your dragon are dead. It’s only a matter time. If we wait you’ll be dead without us having to lift a hand.”
Raffvin’s furious snarl of rage was enough to let Paul know he had hit the nail on the head. Raffvin’s appearance, the weakened size of the symbiot, and the slowness in his dragon form proved that the other male was fast losing his battle for supremacy.
“You are right. I do need her,” Raffvin replied in a low voice. “But, I only need her alive…. a little. She doesn’t have to be whole either,” he said with an evil smile.
Morian’s agonizing screams suddenly filled the atrium as the black bands wrapped around her wrists began smoking and sizzling. Paul’s eyes widened in horror as he saw cuts open and blood began pouring from under the black bands. His stomach twisted as Morian collapsed against Raffvin, hoarse screams and horrendous sobs escaping her as the bands twisted, cutting deeper.
“Stop!” Paul said stepping around the golden symbiot which was shaking uncontrollably. He threw the hunting knife away from him and raised his hands. “Stop torturing her,” he begged hoarsely.
Raffvin hissed out a command and the bands loosened. Morian collapsed, unconscious as the pressure was released. Dark ribbons of red blood flowed down from her wrists to pool on the floor. Paul choked back helpless rage as Raffvin raised one of Morian’s tattered wrists to his lips and dragged his tongue over the ravaged flesh.
“Delicious,” Raffvin whispered.
“What are you going to do now? There is no escape for you,” Paul asked harshly, his body humming with pinned up rage.
“Yes, Uncle, what are you going to do now?” Creon asked coldly as he stepped off the staircase. “We have captured not only the traitors you had planted in the palace but your ships in orbit have been destroyed and the hidden base in the sands has been taken. You were not as careful as you believed.”
Raffvin looked with hatred at Creon. “You are just as arrogant as your father. I should have ordered Aria to kill you, though the information you gave her proved very rewarding.”
Creon no longer felt the weight of guilt the name of his ex-lover would have brought. His love for Carmen had healed that time in his life when his love for another had caused the death of many of his men. He shrugged his broad shoulders and pulled his laser sword.
“That is a mistake you will not have to worry about for much longer. Release my Dola and fight as a warrior, Uncle. It will be the last opportunity you will have to pretend you were ever one,” Creon said with a nasty smile.
Raffvin’s eyes narrowed. “I think not,” he retorted shifting Morian as she regained consciousness.
“Creon, Paul,” she whispered softly. “Kill him. Do not let his threat to me stop you. He cannot be allowed to learn the location of the Hive. Kill him,” she begged.
“Morian, my beautiful, sweet queen,” Raffvin laughed. “So melodramatic. They are Valdier warriors. They cannot kill their queen, their priestess…. or a mother and a true mate. That is their weakness. But I can remedy at least one of those obstacles for them, my dear.”
Before anyone realized what he meant, Raffvin hissed out a command and a long rope of black energy shot out, piercing Paul through the stomach and exiting out his back. Morian screamed in agony as she watched her true mate’s body jerk as the spear of black energy passed through him. Creon’s loud curse echoed as he caught Paul’s body. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Raffvin shifted back into his dragon form, the black symbiot covering him in thin armor and lifted upward on long, leathery wings. Morian’s eyes never left the sight of her youngest son holding her mate in his arms. Even the tears blurring her eyes could not wash away the heartbreaking sight. Glass shattered as Raffvin broke through the ceiling of the atrium. Creon leaned over Paul as it rained down around them, trying to protect his body as best he could.
“Paul,” Morian whispered in agony before she closed her eyes and let the blackness take her once again.
Chapter 13
“Zoran!” Creon yelled out as he rushed down the stairwell with Paul in his arms. “Zoran!”
Zoran looked up from where he was checking over Zohar and Abby to make sure neither one of them had been hurt. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the human male who had become as much of a friend to him and his brothers as a father figure. Over the last several weeks of training, Zoran not only came to appreciate the male’s intelligence in tactical maneuvers but also his compassion, easy humor, and his calm guidance on them all.
“What happened?” Zoran asked just as an anguished cry sounded behind him.
“Daddy!” Trisha cried out horrified, handing Bálint to Kelan so she could rush to his side. “No…. No! Daddy!” She sobbed.
Creon gently lowered Paul down onto the smooth marble flooring. Trisha dropped down next to her father’s left side. Her hands went to circle the seeping hole through his stomach. His breathing was erratic and his blood pressure was dropping due to the amount of blood he had lost. Morian’s symbiot tried to move over him but the traces of black energy still lined the wound, making it unable to heal the injury.
“Kelan, help him,” Trisha begged, turning to gaze up at her mate. �
��Please, you have to save him,” she pleaded desperately as tears coursed down her cheeks.
Zoran knelt next to Trisha and pulled Paul’s hand back so he could see the damage. “Forget about me,” Paul gasped out, gritting his teeth against the pain. “You have to go after that bastard. He has Morian,” he rasped out as his vision began to blur.
“It is too late,” Zoran said sadly, shaking his head as he looked at the mortal wound. “She is lost when you die,” he said, his voice thick with sorrow even as Paul’s head fell limply back as he lost consciousness again.
Zoran’s eyes moved to the mark on Paul’s neck as it began to glow. The gold of the dragon burned brighter. When the mark started to move, Zoran’s symbiot sent him an image. His head jerked around to stare in wonder as each of the symbiots, including those of the guards who had come to surround them, moved closer and began bowing in respect. His eyes shifted back to the mark and he hissed, falling back away from Paul as the mark expanded until Paul’s body began to glow as well. Zoran grabbed Trisha who was sobbing quietly, her head on her father’s chest and her hands wrapped around him. He pulled her roughly away from Paul’s body.
Trisha’s cry of protest died on her lips as a golden mist began swirling around her father. Each symbiot came forward, moving until they surrounded the body of the human male. Rising up from the mist two figures began to form, merging until the forms of twin dragons appeared only to shimmer once again and become the translucent bodies of two women.
“What…. What is that?” Trisha asked, slowly rising as she looked at the golden bodies hovering over her father’s lifeless form.
