Tugarin shook his head. They didn’t have time for what ifs. They did nothing Fafnir’s attacks would definitely kill her. A slim chance was better than none.
37
Alexis couldn’t do anything but fight to remain conscious. She was vaguely aware that Ladon was carrying her someplace, but she didn’t have the energy to focus on what was going on around here. Fafnir was beating at her mind, trying to pinpoint her location. He was draining energy from her nanos faster that she could boot up new ones. Her mind translated the nano battle as a fortress with a hundred white dragons attacking the walls. Each brick the dragon ripped free the soldiers who were the nanos under her control replaced, but she could see that the stores of bricks were dwindling and her soldiers were moving at a slower pace.
As more and more bricks fell under the claws of the white dragons, Alexis could see more and more of Fafnir’s mind. He wanted her exact location. He wanted to know exactly how many Drakonians he didn’t have under his control. Despite the rage and demands, Alexis could also feel the fear that everything was starting to fall apart. Fafnir was losing his mind to the paranoia that he would suffer the same fate as his predecessors. He was terrified of death.
Ladon set Alexis onto a cold metal exam table. She wanted to protest and tell him to at least warm it up first but she didn’t have the energy to speak up. Her walls were starting to crumble.
She closed her eyes. She needed to rest, but soon a pair of hands were patting her cheeks and a voice was demanding that she open her eyes. Her lids felt so heavy, but at the demand in the voice she slowly forced them open.
Ladon’s golden gaze stared back at her. She must be in really bad shape because she had never seen him look so afraid. She wanted to raise a hand to is cheek and comfort him, but she couldn’t make her body work. She knew then that she was probably dying. Alexis’s only regret was that she hadn’t told Ladon how much she loved him.
Love?! Love is a fantasy. Use or be used. Attachments are weakness. You should give up and die, you weak woman. Your death will be the weapon I need to destroy Ladon for good.
Alexis heard the hissing voice in her mind. The blind rage that surrounded it let her know that it was the voice of Fafnir. She still had enough of her defenses to keep him from taking over her body, but she was fading fast until he threatened Ladon. That became a talisman to Alexis’s heart and soul. She might not have the energy to save herself but she will find the energy to save Ladon.
The soldiers of Alexis’s mind patched every hole in her fortress walls, giving her a brief reprieve from Fafnir. She was finally able to focus on the voices around her.
“I can sever Fafnir’s connection to you, Alexis,” Tugarin stated grimly. “But it is dangerous in your weakened state and will hurt like hell if you are conscious. I’m not Fafnir. I won’t do anything without your consent.”
“Please…this is killing you, Alexis.” Tears flowed down Ladon’s cheek.
Alexis raised a weak and trembling hand to Ladon’s cheek and then turned her eyes towards Tugarin.
In a slurred voice, she said, “Can’t be any worse than that monster in my head.” She took a deep breath and said as she closed her eyes, “Just do it.”
Tugarin wasted no time. He had Ladon lay Alexis flat on the table. He used his nanos to connect to the lab equipment. Consoles and machines flared to life. Soon the sounds of equipment whirring and monitors beeping filled the air.
Ladon and Ryuu stepped away and watched the medical ballet. They felt helpless, but knew that this was one task in which they couldn’t help.
It didn’t take long before a cover descended from the ceiling. It encased Alexis in a metallic coffin with only her face visible through a view screen. In that moment Ladon’s heart stuttered because she looked dead, like she was laid out for a funeral. Ryuu pulled Ladon back as he tried to rush to Alexis’s side.
“Normally I would introduce this virus in small doses, reprogramming the nanos in stages.” Tugarin was speaking to the men as he prepared. “However, he is already starting to drain the life out of her and he is using her as a beacon to find us. So, I am going to try a full system reboot.”
Tugarin stopped and leveled an intense look on Ladon. “I have no idea how this is going to affect her, but I do know that it will be violent on her system.”
Ladon’s voice broke when he spoke, “He’s already killing her. What choice do we have?”
Tugarin nodded and returned to his preparations. None of the men spoke. There was nothing more to say. This either worked or they would lose Alexis. With Fafnir’s soldiers in the solar system, they had maybe a day to prepare. It would be simple for them to search for active nanos once they reached orbit. It wasn’t like the days of old when Drakonians roamed all over the Earth.
“Alright.” Tugarin’s hand was poised over the control that would inject the virus into Alexis’s system. The medical chamber he had sealed her in was programmed to force the virus to replicate at an insane rate.
With a nod from Ladon, Tugarin hit the button. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, then Alexis’s body started to convulse wildly. The seizures were so severe that the men were afraid she would injure herself within the medical chamber. Tugarin quickly ordered the chamber to strap her down as the convulsions continued.
Blood trickled out of Alexis’s nose and ears.
“Her nanos can’t handle the damage as Fafnir battles to keep them from being reprogrammed. We are going to lose her without nanos to repair her system.” Tugarin was frantically hitting controls and watching the monitors.
“Lift the medical chamber,” Ladon demanded. Tugarin looked at him confused for a second before the knowledge of Ladon’s intentions dawned.
Quickly Tugarin raised the medical chamber and Ladon ripped open his clothes and tore away Alexi’s clothes until he could expose as much skin as the straps holding her down would allow. He climbed on top of her, touching skin to skin wherever possible. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He sent an army of is nanos out towards his mate. The nanos protested the mass exodus but Ladon forced them to his will.
Soon Alexis’s bleeding stopped and her vitals stabilized. Tugarin caught Ladon as he lost consciousness and fell from the table. He quickly checked to see if the fire dragon was going to be alright and he could already sense the nanos returning to their master, their task completed.
Tugarin sank to the floor with Ladon’s dead weight and he smiled. Then he started laughing. It was a hysterical laugh of relief.
Ryuu stared at the scientist, worried that the experiences of the last few hours had broken his mind.
Tugarin slowly regained his control and gently laid Ladon flat on the ground. Before standing. He checked a few monitors just to confirm what he knew before turning to Ryuu with a grin.
“We did it.”
38
Ladon cracked his eyes open and even the dim light of the med-bed made his head hurt. It took him a moment to clear the fogginess from his mind.
He bolted upright, “Alexis!”
The world spun before his eyes making his stomach lurch. He fell back onto the bed with a groan. He heard a chuckle from the shadows off to his right and turned his head. The chuckle abruptly stopped when Ladon turned green at the movement. Ryuu emerged from the shadows holding a bucket which Ladon promptly used to empty the contents of his stomach into.
“Tugarin said you would probably feel worse for wear after what you did for Alexis.”
Ladon turned his eyes up to Ryuu, the question obvious in them, as he heaved again.
“Alexis is going to be fine, Ladon.” He handed a damp cloth to Ladon. “She’s sleeping in the next room over. Tugarin is monitoring her, just in case; but we severed Fafnir’s connection. But her body needs rest, she was at her limit.”
Ladon fell back against the bed. He felt surprisingly better now. “Have you been able to locate the Drakonians Alexis said were in the solar system?”
Ryuu sighed, “We have discovered a
n ion trail that indicates a ship has passed recently. The mathematical projections of their trajectory have them heading for Earth, but we haven’t been able to pinpoint the ship.”
Ladon struggled to sit up. He had to get out of bed. Ryuu and Tugarin were both intelligent and capable men, but they were scholars not soldiers. Battle was Ladon’s area of expertise.
“How far were you able to trace the ion trail?” Ladon questioned.
“It faded off around the planet the humans refer to as Saturn.”
Ladon stood from the bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s been a few thousand years. I’m sure our tech here is antiquated compared to what Fafnir has available. But I remember a few theories that looked promising that have probably been developed now. See if you can pull up the research of Luo Fuxi. What you are describing sounds similar to something he was working on for the military.”
“What are you going to do?” Ryuu said as he headed for the door.
“First, I’m going to check on Alexis. I need to see that she is okay with my own eyes. Then I am going to figure out how to keep her safe.”
Ryuu left the room and Ladon was alone trying to get dressed. Several times he had to stop because the world tilted on its axis nearly causing him to fall over. He cursed his weakness. He couldn’t afford to lay in bed recovering.
Best case scenario modern Drakonian ships weren’t much faster than the ships he had once commanded. There was a limit to physics after all. But he was concerned that they hadn’t picked the ships up on their monitors. Cloaking technology had just been an interesting theory when he had been in command. It appeared that it was no longer theory.
On the upside, Ladon knew that each new piece of tech came with advantages or disadvantages. He just needed an idea of this tech’s weakness. Unfortunately, even if the ships weren’t much faster than their predecessors that only gave them about forty-eight hours to prepare for an attack.
Ladon ran through various battle scenarios as he dressed. They would want a strongly defensible position away from the human populations. They needed to minimize not only exposure but collateral casualties as well.
That left their options primarily to be the research facility they were currently in or the Library island. This facility still had Drakonian technology that was functioning. It may be considered an antique now, yet it still was much more advanced than anything the humans had developed. The remote tundra kept humans away and unless Fafnir had sent another fire dragon, there was only one entrance in and out of the facility. In contrast the library, while remote, had no working tech and several points of access. More points than they had individuals to cover them, even if Alexis could fight with them.
Three dragons against a full squad, if Alexis’s vision was correct. It wasn’t completely hopeless, but it was steep odds. Ladon wiped a hand down his face. Defeat wasn’t an option. He would never let Fafnir lay a hand on Alexis.
Ladon finally stood up fully dressed. Unlike the casual human clothes, he had ripped from him to help Alexis, he was now clothed in the typical uniform of a Drakonian soldier. He concentrated and connected his nanos to the tech in the battle suit. The nanos within the suit would now activate as various forms of armor during battle and retract to a small box affixed between his shoulder blades should he need to shift into his dragon form. It felt strange to be back in the role of soldier; but Ladon knew that it wouldn’t take long before it felt natural to him once more.
*****
“How is she?” Ladon walked through the doorway before the door had fully slide out of the way.
He saw Tugarin gently brushing one of Alexis’s stubborn curls from her face. Ladon buried his instinctual possessiveness at another dragon touching Alexis with such an intimate look. He had seen the storm of emotions Alexis had gleaned from Tugarin when he had sent his nanos to help heal her. He knew that the blue dragon had nearly been destroyed at the loss of Zoya. The only thing keeping him in this world was his connection to Alexis. As much as Ladon would love to keep Alexis only to himself, he couldn’t in good conscious do that.
“She is recovering, but her body needs rest.” Tugarin looks up at Ladon, his hand still laid gently on her brow. “Don’t worry. I see her like a daughter, not as a replacement for Zoya.”
Ladon walks into the room and sits in a chair on the other side of Alexis.
“I know,” Ladon sighs.
Tugarin’s lips quirk into a grin that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, “Yeah, that growl must be something entirely different.”
Ladon reaches for Alexis’s hand. He concentrates as the nanos connect them. No nightmares, just a peaceful restorative sleep. He doesn’t have the finesse to diagnose illness the way Tugarin can, but the nanos reassure him that she is indeed safe and recovering. The tension melts from his body finally. She wasn’t going to die. They can sort out the rest later.
“I wouldn’t trust the doctors when Zoya was ill or pregnant either. I always had to make certain myself.” Tugarin looked down at Alexis and sighed. “They are too precious to take for granted.” He leaned back in his chair, taking his hand from Alexis and looking Ladon over thoughtfully. “I’ve known you a long time Ladon and to be honest I wasn’t sure you would be good for Alexis. You were a playboy with a violent streak.” He raised a hand when Ladon stated to protest. “It made you a great soldier. But I saw Alexis’s mind and memories when she reached for me. Her lack of experience and my despair made it a much deeper connection than either one of us was ready for. She needs a man, not a soldier. She needs a commitment that I wasn’t sure you were capable of giving. You know just as well as I do that finding a true mate is intense, our genetics are compatible in an almost perfect harmony; but while our instincts push us to be together and our emotions get involved, a true mate pairing doesn’t guarantee a good match between people.”
Tugarin stopped and stared down at Alexis. “I wasn’t sure you would be capable of the commitment she would need to be happy. But then you went and did something stupid.” Tugarin barked a laugh, “Love always makes you do something stupid.” He looked up and stared Ladon in the eyes, “You could have died, Ladon. Pushing that many nanos into Alexis’s body from your own could have killed you. If fact, we almost lost you. What were you thinking?”
Ladon looked away from Tugarin and stared at Alexis’s face as if he was trying to memorize every contour. His thumb absently traced circled on the pulse of Alexis’s wrist; it’s steady beat reassuring him that all was well. “I wasn’t thinking. All I knew was Alexis had to live.”
Tugarin nodded and pushed up from his chair. “Then I leave her in your care with my blessing.”
The blue dragon walked towards the door but was stopped by Ladon’s voice. “She still needs you, you know.”
Tugarin ducked his head and sighed, “I won’t join Zoya yet. I have some unfinished business with Fafnir.”
“I think we all do,” Ladon responded. “Good rest, my friend.”
Tugarin slipped out of the room and Ladon turned his gaze back to Alexis. Her curl was once again covering her eyes and he gently brushed it out of the way with a smile. She was so beautiful, and he didn’t mean just physically. She would have sacrificed her life to protect those that she cared about. She reached out to a raging dragon, that she didn’t know, to bring him some comfort. Ladon knew that once she awoke she would do whatever she could to keep Tugarin here in this world and help his heart heal because she couldn’t help bringing him into her circle of care. That was what was beautiful and magical about Alexis, everyone she encountered she would welcome into her care. It didn’t matter if it was family, student, friend, or lover she had room in her heart for them all. Ladon had never known a being more capable of loving than Alexis.
It was his job to make sure that loving spirit stayed in this world and thrived. Tugarin was right about one thing, he was a soldier. He was comfortable with death and violence. As much as he longed for the peaceful life with Alexis, he would resurrect his
skills to protect her if necessary.
The door opened with a swish. Ladon didn’t even look up.
“I found some information on Luo Fuxi.” Ryuu popped his head into Alexis’s medical room.
“Send it to the console in the common room. I’ll be there in a little while.” Ladon stood and placed a loving kiss on Alexis’s forehead. She gave a gentle smile at his touch even in her sleep. “Give me about an hour then you and Tugarin need to meet me. We have a battle to plan.”
39
“Are you sure about this?” Tugarin looked over Ladon’s shoulder to the console display. “Even if you are correct that tech will be at least a few centuries old if not eons.”
Ladon punched a few keys running numbers through the simulator. “There is a limit on physics even if you improve the technology. I’ve run several simulations. Our enemy will be here in within the day.”
“So we are staying here?” Ryuu asked.
“We don’t have a choice. Alexis can’t be moved.” Ladon growled in annoyance. He had to keep reminding himself he wasn’t dealing with soldiers, but the repeated questioning of his battle strategy was wearing on already frayed nerves.
If they didn’t quit discussing and start preparing they were going to get caught with their pants down. They were already working at disadvantage.
“I really think…” Ryuu began.
Scales rippled across Ladon skin. He hadn’t lost control like that since he was an adolescent.
Ladon’s roar echoed across the facility. “Quit thinking and just do. Fuck…we would still be sitting here debating as the enemy crashes through our door.” Ladon grabbed Ryuu by his shirt and pulled him up until they were standing nose to nose. “I will not your scholarly sensibilities endanger my mate. The time for debate has passed. If you want to survive the coming battle soldier up. Follow orders. MY orders.”
Breathing Fire (Drakonian Chronicles Book 1) Page 16
