by E. A. James
“Don’t blow this,” he said over his shoulder. She was just a pace behind, flanking him instead of walking at his side. Such was life with Mr. Stirling. Hanna would never be seen as an equal.
“We have a few specimens we’re working on and I want you to take the reins on this new project.” Mr. Stirling pushed open double doors. The staff all stood up when his presence spilled into the room. It was like he was king in this little domain.
A man with gray hair and little round glasses on his nose stepped forward and introduced himself as Mr. Doyle. He was friendly-looking. Hannah wondered how he managed to stay that way in a world that had no space for character.
“Please come with me,” he said. Hannah looked at her father. He nodded. Hannah followed Mr. Doyle and the old man started talking. They walked through a metal door into a narrow passage with more doors on either side that resembled the one they’d walked through. Doyle stopped in front of the first and gestured for her to work through.
“What am I looking at?” Hannah asked, speaking for the first time.
“What do you think you’re looking at?” Doyle asked. Hannah looked over her shoulder and realized her father wasn’t there. He’d stayed behind the door. She relaxed, feeling the tension slip out of her body. She turned her attention to the creature and watched it move in a bizarre, jerky fashion. Tentacles. A slippery body. And it hovered.
“No…” It couldn’t be.
“Yes.” There was a smile in Doyle’s voice.
It couldn’t be. Hannah had thought they were still in a speculative stage, but this? This was very real. And impossible.
“Aliens,” she breathed.
When she turned her eyes back to Doyle he had a ghost of a smile on his face.
“I think you’ll come to enjoy your work here with us. There’s a lot to learn. Of course, it’s all classified stuff, and all that implies.”
Right. This meant that if Hannah mentioned a word to anyone outside of the facility – hell, outside of the room – she was going to be in trouble. She nodded. Sure, she could keep a secret.
Doyle walked down toward the next door and motioned for her to follow him. Hannah did as she was told. At the next window, she peered in again, this time with her mind wide open.
The cell was occupied by a gelatinous square that sat right in the middle. It didn’t look like anything special, just a colossal waste of space.
“And this?”
Doyle looked at Hannah. The intensity of his stare made her look at the cell again. She became aware of a very deep sound, a bass drone that vibrate through her core.
“Oh.”
Doyle walked on without saying anything. Hannah followed. Everything she knew about life and what was supposed to be real was changing in front of her eyes. Aliens didn’t exist. The science was still unstable. And yet, everything she saw now proved that she’d been wrong. The world was wrong.
The next cell had a creature in it that would definitely not be mistaken for something inanimate. It resembled a gorilla except it had scales rather than fur. It sat with its back to the door, but even so, Hannah felt like it was watching her. She shuddered and stepped away from the door.
“Your gut is accurate,” Doyle said behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. “Knowledge is great but if you can’t feel it in here,” he put a fist just under his ribs, “then you’re not cut out for this job. It’s the difference between the academics and the heroes.”
It felt like an immense compliment. Hannah tried not to beam and they walked to the next door together. Yellow caution strips was taped across the door in a cross. She peered through the window. A man sat on a bed, his hands in his hair. His cell was a hall compared to the other cells.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“The most dangerous one of them all.”
“A man?”
The moment she said it he looked up. He had ice blue eyes that pierced her soul. She felt him in her head like he was digging around in her mind, and she shivered. The hair at the back of her neck tried to crawl down her spine.
“He’s human,” she whispered, and at the same time she knew it was a lie. Humans didn’t have eyes like that. While she watched him he got up and walked toward her. On the way over his body started changing. A loud pop sounded and it was like something ripped free. A moment later green scales covering a colossal monster was in front of the door instead of the man she’d watched walk closer.
Those same eyes blinked at her from rubbery lids. It blinked, and then fire consumed the creature and shot out like a wave. The glass shattered, fragments of glass spraying across the corridor and the heat of the fire seared Hannah’s face.
There were shouts behind her but they sounded muffled. Everything suddenly felt far away. Hannah felt lightheaded. Her legs became wobbly. The edges of her vision blurred and then darkened until everything was black. The shouts came closer but she was already spiraling down into the blackness.
CHAPTER THREE
When Hannah opened her eyes again she looked into the smiling face of a nurse. The woman had dull brown hair and brown eyes and face that looked like kindness was part of her job description.
“There we are,” she said. Hannah pushed herself up and a wave of dizziness hit her. “Not too fast, miss.”
Hannah lifted her hand to her head. Doyle appeared in front of her.
“You okay?” He looked concerned. What had happened?
The images hit her in quick succession, her memory rebooting slower than her body. Her new job, the aliens, the handsome man. The dragon. She could almost feel the flames on her face again. She could feel him in her head again.
“What happened?”
“You fainted. You’re not the first one.” The nurse sounded like she didn’t approve.
“It’s an occupational hazard,” Doyle said dismissively. Hannah looked around the room. There were three other beds like her in the small medical room but she occupied the only one. Her shoes had been removed and her stockinged feet looked out of place in the crisp white room. Her father was nowhere to be seen. Did he know what had happened? Maybe better he didn’t. She would just be a disappointed, passing out first day on the job.
“Are you ready to try it again?” Doyle asked.
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea…” The nurse’s voice trailed off when Doyle waved a hand in her direction and looked at Hanna. His eyes were full of questions. And full of secrets, Hannah realized. Secrets she wanted to know.
“I’m ready.”
The nurse rolled her eyes. Hanna hopped off the bed and found she was stable. Her dress suit was slightly creased and she felt like leaving the shoes off. What had Doyle said? Occupational hazard. Doyle nodded and the corners of his mouth tugged up in a smile that spelled approval. Hannah felt a surge of pride. A little acceptance was all anyone needed.
“Put this on,” he said. He handed her a white coat, the kind everyone else in the building wore – the people that had the titles. It was a compliment. She shrugged into it and decided to put up with the shoes, after all; it wouldn’t be professional to walk around without them and she wanted to be worthy of the coat.
“Come on. I need you to get used to this one so that we can sample him. It’s the most complex one and if we don’t understand it we won’t be able to deal with more of its kind.”
Hannah nodded. More of those dragons? One had seemed more than enough. If it could knock her out with that kind of power… and she was sure she’d been knocked out. Hannah didn’t just faint. That had been power with the fire, power that worked magic in other ways.
When they were back in the corridor Hannah cleared her throat.
“I wanted to apologize for passing out. It’s not the best impression on my first day.”
Doyle waved his hand in much the same way he’d done with the nurse. “Don’t think about it. The first day is usually the worst for everyone.”
Not Mr. Stirling, Hannah though. His first day of anything w
as just as efficient and seamless as any other day. She didn’t say it.
When they reached the door again Hannah took a deep breath and tried to calm the nerves that had knotted in her stomach like an iron fist. She swallowed hard and tried not to show her fear. She had to make her father proud in the end. Fainting was already bad.
When she glanced through the little window again he was back on the bed and back in human form. The man leaned his elbows on his knees, head hanging low. His back muscles bulged where he supported himself and his arms were big, too. He had a spectacular build.
It was deceiving that he looked so human.
The moment she thought it he looked up as if he’d heard what she’d been thinking. His eyes found hers again and she felt an echo of him in her mind. It wasn’t as bad as it had been before – just a remnant, but it was enough to make Hannah think that he really did know what she was thinking.
His eyes were striking. Diamond eyes that threatened to suck her in. She tried to look away but found she couldn’t.
“Careful,” Doyle said, but honestly, it was a little late.
He got up and Hannah realized he was naked. Of course, how else would he shift? The clothes would rip, anyway, and it wasn’t like the lab would keep paying for new outfits if the alien was going to rip – or burn – everything off him.
He walked closer to Hannah and her first reaction was to get out of the way. But he held her there with his eyes. Her second reaction was to let her eyes slide down his body. This wasn’t his doing, and she knew it. She felt her cheeks flush, her ears burn. He was the one that was naked and she was blushing.
“This is specimen four five one,” Doyle said and Hannah finally managed to peel her eyes away from the naked man with the eyes that captivated her body and soul. “We need to get you acquainted with him and able to read his reactions so that you can sample him.”
Doyle started unlocking the door, working with keys and pin pads until it clicked open. Hannah stepped back.
“He won’t bite.” Doyle sounded irritated. Sure, he wouldn’t bite, but he could incinerate her. Or worse. She swallowed her fear and stepped through the door, following her superior. She’d already fainted. It would look terrible if she ran now, too. She forced herself forward even though her body and her mind protested.
“Another one,” he said. Perfect English.
Hannah looked at Doyle.
“He can talk?”
Doyle nodded. “He’s referring to you.”
“And I’m right here,” four five one said.
“You get acquainted and I’ll get the equipment,” Doyle said and locked Hannah in with the specimen. Hannah whipped her head around. Had they not seen what the dragon had done? How could they leave her with him? She wanted to run to the door and pound her fists against it, screaming and shouting until they let her out. She was an employee for God’s sake.
She didn’t do any of that. Instead, she turned her eyes back to the specimen. If he was going to come at her again she wanted to see. She wanted to look into his eyes if her death was going to come.
“I’m not a monster” he said.
“Right.”
She was being sarcastic with him. Smooth move, Hannah. How to make friends and influence people. Dragons. Whatever.
He stepped forward. Hannah fought the urge to step back. His eyes pierced her again and she expected him to climb into her thoughts, but this time it didn’t happen. Instead, her body heated up. Warmth flushed over her body and pooled between her legs.
“What are you doing?” she asked and took a step back.
He grinned. Dammit, he was gorgeous.
“That’s all you,” he said. He was reading her mind. And her attraction to him was all self-generated. Fantastic.
The door opened behind her. The specimen stepped away. Doyle glanced at her, disapproval behind his eyes. He’d seen him that close. Dammit. She glanced down. He had a silver suitcase in his one hand and a gun with a long silver needle in the other.
“You’re using that?” she asked. “On him?”
Doyle nodded. “Samples.”
Of what? Hannah though, but she didn’t say it. She looked back at the specimen. He was reserved now, his eyes that ice blue it had been before. He glanced at the needle.
“This is what you’re going to do,” Doyle said. “Come on, four five one.”
Bane, the name bounced around in Hannah’s head. Bane. That was his name, she realized. Four five one wasn’t a specimen, he was alive. He had humanity. And this was going to be torture.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I’m sorry I scared you. You’ll understand its not easy being a test subject. The samples hurt every time.”
Bane was alone with this woman in his cell now that the superior had left. He’d shown her the first shot. She looked horrified. This was a good sign – there were humans with sympathy after all. He hadn’t seen anything of the sort since he’d arrived.
“If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn’t do it.”
She still kept her distance. Her hair was honey colored, her eyes were evergreen. The attraction and the fear mixed into a toxic cocktail that pinched Bane’s nose. The fear bothered him but the attraction underneath that? It was interesting.
“They don’t see you as someone who’s alive,” she said. Bane knew that was true but that didn’t make what they were doing any less wrong. “It’s hard not to see you as a threat when you’re a fire breathing dragon.” She shivered as if she remembered what Bane had looked like.
“I wasn’t just talking about me. I was talking about the others. They can handle one dragon but when the rest come it will be war.”
“There are more of you?”
Her fear spiked when he mentioned war. He didn’t like it when the fear overruled her attraction. He liked that her body wanted to be closer to his. He wanted her closer, too.
“What do they want?”
“Peace.”
“How ironic.”
Her voice was stern despite the fear. These humans were complicated, layered creatures. Still, her resolve wavered. She didn’t know what he was saying was the truth. He had to tell someone and so far no one had listened. No one but her.
“You don’t have to believe me. We just need a new home. We’re not here to start a war. But if the humans bring it to us we can defend ourselves. We won’t roll over and die.”
He pinned images of the dragons in her mind, blue and green scales that shimmered like oil. There were more dragons in this picture. Orange and red. Green and red. Brown and black. He pinned them onto her frontal lobe one by one. After a few images, she grabbed at her temples like it was painful. While he was in her mind he searched for something of hers. Something he could hold onto. Hannah. They called her Hannah.
“Stop it,” she cried.
He withdrew them. “Sorry. I needed you to understand.”
She dropped her hands and she was breathing hard like she’d been running. He moved closer to her. Heat radiated from her skin, drawing him further. There was something magnetic about this one. His body stirred in response. She glanced down at his sex. She’d noticed. He expected more of the fear, but the attraction spiked this time.
Very interesting.
“Why don’t you show them, then, if it’s so important?” Hannah asked. She was keeping on track.
“You’re different than them.” Hannah didn’t just see him as a test. She saw him as a person – a person she was attracted to, apparently – and that was why he could show her the things he had. Her mind was the only open one he’d encountered so far. The same heat washed through her again, the attraction.
He raised her hand and touched her cheek with his fingertips. Being in contact with her was like touching a live wire. His body tingled all over. He parted his lips. She looked at his face and blushed.
“It’s hard to persuade those who believe beyond conviction that they are right. Even with images.”
Hannah nodded slowly. H
e hoped she was starting to understand.
“I have to do the rest of the tests,” she said. Her voice was breathy, hoarse like she’d exerted herself. Bane took a deep breath. This was going to hurt, but if she failed she wouldn’t come back. There had been others that hadn’t come back. That had been a blessing.
“Do what you must,” he said, holding out an arm to her and turning his head away. He kept his attention on her even though he wasn’t looking at her. The first shot hurt like hell. He bit his cheeks, closed his eyes, breathed in through his nose. The anger was just under his skin. If he wasn’t careful the dragon would break free again.
