“We’re discussing,” Sally said. “Are you joining the ranks of the producing?”
“Not hardly,” Nic said. “Now I’ve got him completely, I only want him.”
“As is right,” Mycos said.
“Wait, who are you,” Nic said. “It’s been a month since we’ve seen you.”
“It has not,” Lydia said. “We took a couple days.”
“Abraham and Lucas reported in,” Gregor said. “They have enough women and children for another ship.”
“There’s another arriving in less than a month,” Mycos said. “How is the government doing?”
“The new government is settling,” Gregor said. “Rivera has been deposed finally. It was ugly for a time, you know. They got rid of the title Premier and are going with Director instead. Sweeping changes are being made.”
“Let’s talk about it later,” Lydia said as Abby with Maeve came rushing back.
“Hurry,” Abby said.
Hannah pushed through to catch up to Abby. “I want to see our new home too,” she said.
“Manere and Heidi are meeting us there,” Dani said. “They were kissing again.”
“They are promised,” Mycos growled.
“It’s your own fault,” Rachel said. “You introduced them.”
“Stop scowling,” Lydia said laughing. They stepped onto the viewing deck.
“Home,” Gregor said. Outside the ship, they saw the thirteen planets in their home system.
“It has been a long time coming,” Mycos said.
The sisters lined up at the viewscreen. Abby let Maeve down to toddle around. Gregor held Sally close and rubbed her belly. Abby and Hannah pointed to the different worlds, naming them. Manere and Heidi strolled in, her hair mussed and a flush on his face when Mycos gave him a hard stare.
“Home,” Lydia said softly for only Mycos to hear. “A new home, a new life.”
“We hope,” Myco said pressing his hand to her stomach and kissing her.
“Come on,” Abby said. “You get plenty of private time. Look at the worlds! They’re amazing.”
Mycos pulled her in to hug. “What is the first thing you want when we get there,” he asked.
Abby looked at the worlds, turned back to him, “That’s easy,” she said her eyes shining. “A hug from Avia.”
Draconian Peace
Chapter 1 Mated
The Guards’ feet thundered in the swiftly emptying streets. Dewi crouched in the alley between the grocery and tattoo shop. Garbage lined the street, crushed beneath the feet of the marching Guards.
Dewi watched as half the squad, nearly fifty Guards marched in the streets. Up and down the streets in the slums people fled. She needed to get back to the squatters. Slowly she stepped back away from the main road. Her dark coat and cap masked her presence in the deep shadows in the alley. Careful to remain unseen, she sprinted down the alley, through another and raced back to where the squatters resided.
Several squatters’ camps splattered across the capitol city. This encampment resided in an old crumbling factory. The squatters congregated in the hazardous building in small family groups.
“We have to leave,” Dewi gasped out. “Guards are on their way here.”
“Dewi, are you sure,” Mathis asked. “We have to get the children away.”
“What do they want this time,” Alana said.
Dewi shrugged, “Does it matter?” She’d visited other camps and all she knew was they sought someone.
“Lynnie, Alana said. “Take your sisters and go to the bridge.”
“Mama,” Lynnie objected fear bringing tears to her eyes. Draconian Guards killed many humans and part humans. Conflict within the Draconian society displaced these humans and part humans making them squatters.
“Go, my love,” Alana said. “Take as many with you as you and your friends can manage. We’ll meet you if we can.”
“They’re coming from the south,” Dewi said.
Mathis helped an older couple gather their few belongings, chivvied them to hurry. Dewi grabbed up a pipe nearly three foot long. She checked the balance of it. “You get the people out,” Dewi said. “I’ll see what I can do to slow them down.”
Alana said, “Violence is not the answer.”
“I don’t follow your beliefs,” Dewi said striding back towards the entrance. “Get out now, before you have to watch me not follow your beliefs.”
Alana shook her head. “You’re only perpetuating the problem.”
“We can argue philosophy when everyone is safe,” Dewi called as she mounted the stairs. She wanted the high ground. She wanted to see them coming. “Warick, bring your crew,” she called down to the teenage boy who helped enforce in the squatter’s community.
Looking at the camp, she tried to determine the best strategy. Warick, a lanky boy of eighteen, joined her on the roof. Dewi peered down the street, heard the Guards marching nearer. “Warick, send half your people there,” she pointed to the top of one of the connected buildings to the left of their position. “Put one in the tower over there, but make is someone who’s fast. Then put three more in the old office building. Scatter them around so no group gets caught.”
Warick nodded, “You know they’re gonna have stunners and lasers.”
“Yeah and I got a pipe,” Dewi said. “All I want to do is give the families a chance to get out of this area.”
“So we hit and run,” Warick said.
“Yeah,” Dewi said, wishing for equal fire power.
“Meet in the usual place,” Warick said.
Dewi nodded, “Be safe.” Warick and his crew ranged in age from fourteen to seventeen. The girls were tough but tended to keep hidden for fear of being gathered for the brothels. Dewi at twenty was the oldest.
Her heart pounding, Dewi listened as the pounding feet grew louder and louder. She peeked down into the warehouse, one or two lagged. “Hurry,” she called down to them. The last three people rushed out, heading west away from the building.
The pounding steps stopped, distant voices echoed. “What the hell do they want,” Dewi muttered to herself. “No one’s done anything. They did a brothel sweep three days ago. Why here and why now?”
She knew she wouldn’t get any answers. The Draconians were a strong, fierce race who held the whole sector of space. This planet was their home world but their settlements spread out among hundreds of planets. The clans all migrated to this planet at some point. It housed the largest human population in the sector, which was part of the problem. She didn’t have time to think about the past or what went wrong. She needed to be alert.
The Guards rounded the corner, keeping close to the buildings. “Whoever commanded them has been here before,” she murmured. She stood behind an upright watching for the right time, the moment when the attack should happen. In one hand she held the pipe and in the other a rock the size of her fist. It was crude but the only weapons they had.
The Guards opened doors, swept through the buildings. Instead of running, some of the squatters hid, the Guards found them and dragged them into the street. Pushed to their knees, the commander scanned them. Dewi caught Warick’s eye and pointed to the commander. Warick nodded his understanding.
The Guards released the men without a second look. “Damn,” Dewi said. “Another raid for the brothels.”
The Guards dragged a dozen more squatters out of the buildings. They made their way down the street. Dewi wished for a long range rifle though she had no idea how to fire one. She wasn’t able to help the people below. She wanted to but she possessed neither the people nor the firepower to help them.
A dozen Guards crouched in the street below Warick, Dewi took a deep breath. “Wait,” she told herself. “Patience.”
They dragged Brinna out of the building. “Dammit,” Dewi cursed. “Why didn’t she leave with the others?”
Behind Brinna came three small children. Dewi cursed in every language she knew. She couldn’t identify the kids from this distance b
ut Brinna wouldn’t leave behind kids. If they were taking for the brothels, Brinna’s long blond hair, and curvy body made her a prime candidate. She was a quarter human which made her undesirable but her looks were all Draconian, making her a popular choice for the brothels. Draconian women, depending on the clan, were blond, beautiful. Their skin flawless and their bodies drove most men mindless.
The commander touched Brinna. She jerked away from him. He pulled her close, squeezed her breasts. Dewi couldn’t watch anymore. She tossed the rock in the air and used the pipe to hit it down into the Guards. Warick’s crew bombarded the Guards. The children and Brinna scattered breaking away from the Guards who were now looking up to protect themselves from the falling rocks. The children raced into the building she was in. With no power to harm the Guards, Dewi moved to protect the children. Taking the steps two at a time, she met the children as they rushed through the door. Brinna ran into Dewi. Dewi saw the torn shirt, and the bruises already purpling Brinna’s neck and breasts.
“Take them,” Dewi said. “I’ll keep them off you.”
“We weren’t,” Brinna started to stammer.
“Go,” Dewi said. “They’re coming.”
Brinna picked up the smallest child, grabbed the hand of the second smallest one and raced out of the building heading north. The third child held Brinna’s skirt and ran with her. Dewi rigged the doorway trap. They always set traps. It gave people time to get away. The Guards would encounter more traps in this building as it was the one where the most people stayed. She skirted around the drop in the floor, ducked as laser fire whizzed past her. She dodged left and right, felt a burn where the laser seared across her upper arm.
One of the Guards stepped through the door. A pile of rocks tumbled down, crushing the man and two others. With no time for triumph, Dewi stayed ahead of them. She headed east in order to keep them away from the others. Looking over her shoulder, she saw two men fall down into the drop they’d covered with rotten wood. She slowed to make sure the Guards followed her and not Brinna.
Laser fire sizzled the wall next to her sending chunks of concrete and dust. She heard another trap and the cry of men. She smiled, pleased the traps slowed and damaged the Guards. She raced around a corner, stopped short as she saw another squad of Guards coming at her. Were they cleansing again, she wondered. It was nearly ten years since the race war and any cleansing. She jumped over a pile of rubble and changed directions. She headed towards the north exit, planned to head east from outside.
She made the last room with the Guards behind her still in pursuit but taking more caution as they worked their way through the building. Sprinting across the room, she gave a thought to Warick and his crew, hoped they escaped. She pushed out the door, skidded to a halt. Twenty Guards waited for her, lasers raised. She looked to her right, her left. She couldn’t retreat because of the Guards in the building.
“Drop the pipe,” ordered the commander.
Dewi considered her options. She preferred to go down fighting.
“Drop the pipe, now,” ordered the commander again. This time he stepped out from behind his men with Brinna in tow. She still carried the small child. The commander raised his laser to the child’s head. Brinna covered the girl’s eyes.
Reluctantly, Dewi dropped the pipe. Unlike the commander, she didn’t treat the child’s life as a negotiating tool. Seething, she held her hands up but held her tongue. She might get away with looking like a boy if they didn’t search her too thoroughly.
Two Guards grabbed her. The one on her right cursed her in Draconian. “My brother’s going to medical because of you bastards,” he growled twisting her arm painfully.
She gritted her teeth and smiled at him. He dug his fingers into the laser score on her arm. Refusing to flinch, she’d suffered worse.
At the front of the building, the Guards held captive a dozen people. More than a hundred Guards searched the remaining buildings and held the humans captive. “One of you stain will tell me where we can find Dewi Carrinda,” the commander said. Stain was the slang used for anyone with any human blood in them. Most of the squatters were partly human.
No one spoke. No one looked anywhere but at the ground. Dewi wanted to back away. Why did they want her? She waited to see what the Guards did.
When no one spoke up, the commander grabbed one of the children. “I’m bored,” he said. “I could be enjoying a good meal and woman but instead I have to be here with you filth. Someone start talking or I’ll find a way to entertain myself right here.”
“We need only scan them,” a man dressed in the purple and gold of the Rovelle clan said.
The commander scowled but didn’t release the child. Dewi swallowed hard. It didn’t matter what she looked like if they were scanning. The man went down the row scanning each person. When he got to Brinna, he murmured, “Pity.” Brinna clutched her torn clothes around her.
Dewi kept her head down, but her eyes moved. She needed to get away. She didn’t know why they wanted her but she wasn’t being taken by them. Not again.
The Guards stood too close, she wasn’t able to slip away. Even if she got herself away, she couldn’t leave the others. She knew how horrible it would be for them. The man from Rovelle clan stood in front of her. “Are you Dewi Carrinda,” he asked. “Daughter of Calista Carrinda and Hugh Bradon.”
Technically she wasn’t. “No,” she said.
“This scan says otherwise,” he said.
“Don’t know my parents,” Dewi lied. “Grew up on the streets. One of you bastards probably raped my mother.”
“Restrain her,” he ordered. “Release the others.”
“They attacked us,” the commander objected. “I have injured men.”
“Your men should have realized the difficulties they faced,” the man said. “I was told you were experienced with gathering these people.”
“She should go to the brothels,” the commander said pointing to Brinna. “Two of those younger ones are close enough to go.”
“I said release them,” the man said. He pushed buttons on a devise on his wrist. “Now commander.”
The commander waved his men away from the captives. The squatters didn’t need to be told a second time, they scattered. Dewi watched them go, made sure the commander didn’t send any after them.
A transport with the Rovelle Lord’s crest on it arrived. “Load her into my transport,” the man ordered.
“I’m not who you want,” Dewi said.
“Pity your DNA doesn’t agree,” the man said. “The med transports are on their way. I’ll inform his lordship of your cooperation commander.”
Dewi struggled against the two Guards trying to escape their hard grasps. She stomped on the foot of one. He struck out at her but the man in charge stopped him from hitting her. “His lordship will not be pleased with damaged goods,” he said. He took Dewi’s arm from the man. “If you stomp on my foot, I guarantee it will hurt you more than me.”
A glance down showed he wore warrior boots. The transport door opened, he pushed her in ahead of him. Before she thought of escape, it shut and trapped her inside with this man.
A Note from the Author:
Seven Sisters was going to be seven novels – love stories for each sister. Then I started writing. Lydia, Nic and all the others. They didn’t want to be separated into seven books. They wanted it all told in one. This turned into an epic tale of love – not just romantic love but familial love. I enjoy how the family came together. I hope you enjoyed it!
Thank you!
Eileen Troemel
About the Author:
Author of Moon Affirmations as well as poetry, novels, and short stories, Eileen enjoys telling a good story or expressing a heartfelt emotion. She’s been published in The American Tarot Association's Quarterly Journal, What's Cooking America, Children, Churches and Daddies, and many other publications. In addition to her work, she loves to read, crochet, crafting, research genealogy, and spend time with family. She has th
ree adult daughters and has been married to her husband for 38 years.
Connect with Eileen at:
Website: https://eileentroemel.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/EileenTroemel
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LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-troemel-6667825b/
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Fiction
Defenders of the People Book 1
Magic, swords, and crime, Tof and Bri with their friends stand for those who can’t defend themselves.
https://books2read.com/Defenders-of-the-People
Defenders of the Land Book 2
Rediscovering their connection to magic and the land, the Defenders expand their protection to all those in their province.
https://books2read.com/Defenders-of-the-Land
Defenders of Magic Book 3
Joined to the land, Tof and Liza know where the darkness lies. Through politics, battles, and magic, they must overcome or be lost.
https://books2read.com/Defenders-of-Magic
Draconian Peace
Bias and prejudice have ripped Draconian and human relations apart. Can the mating of Dewi and Lachlan overcome a generation of hate and conflict?
https://books2read.com/Draconian-Peace
Dragon Lord’s Mate
Spring rites connects Dragon Lord Arius with his great love but unbeknownst to them, draws their greatest enemy into the heart of the clan.
https://books2read.com/Dragon-Lords-Mate
Heart of Fire
Seven Sisters Page 39
