by E. A. James
“I understand. I appreciate your honesty.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Nothing. We wait until you change your mind about me.”
“How can we wait? You can’t leave me alone here while you go hunt, and I’ll die without food and water.”
“That is true. I will have to think of something else. Perhaps I could take you back to the caldera.”
“Is that wise? That ship might come back. It could attack us again, and we might not be lucky enough to get away this time.”
“The truth is, I would be taking my life in my hands hunting for you anywhere. Those ships will be surveying the whole planet. They’ll attack any dragon they see, and I can’t hide from them forever.”
“So what choice do we have? You have to take me north.”
“I’m sorry. I can’t run the risk. We have a strict rule that no maiden can come to the stronghold until she gives herself to the dragon that took her. I would be driven out and probably killed if I took you back now.”
“Why? Why such a harsh rule?”
“You know the answer to that if you only think about it. You have to give yourself to me completely, in full awareness of what you’re doing and with your whole heart, without reservation. If you don’t do that, you won’t fit into our society. You won’t embrace the Raveniss as your own people, and you won’t help us fight the humans in this war. You can only be on one side, and we need to know you’re with us all the way. You won’t be allowed in the stronghold until you make that commitment.”
“It seems a little too harsh for my taste. It seems there could be some compromise, especially given the situation we’re in.”
“It is humans who created a situation in which there can be no compromise. You’ve been our enemy all your life. Now you have to decide to join us and make humans your enemies. You make the commitment, not just to me and my people, but to yourself.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Do you really want those villagers as your people? Do you want to cast your lot with them and live hand to mouth for the rest of your life? Do you want ignorant peasantry to be the highest and best you can aspire to? Or do you want to join an advanced race that can compete with the richest and brightest anywhere? Do you want your children to till the soil and slave for their daily bread, or do you want them to read and write and learn and communicate with other sentient races on other planets? Do you want them to take their place in an intergalactic community with a future, or do you want them to sacrifice their children to some barbaric seasonal ritual?”
Margila stiffened. “This is my people you’re talking about.”
He put his head down and closed his eyes. “Exactly. When you can see them the way I see them, then you’ll be ready to go north to the stronghold. Not before.”
She left it at that. What was the sense in arguing? They were too far apart to agree on something so fundamental to them both. The life she left behind in the village, the life she cherished above everything, the life she longed to share with Marcus and in which to bear his children—to Tanak, this was all rude squalor.
She couldn’t stop herself, though, from dreaming of something more. The pictures he wove in her mind of worlds extending beyond the broken fields and Common—how could she resist that? Who wouldn’t want something grand and promising like that for herself and her children?
If only she could have that with a human man, she would grab it with both hands. After all, what could a human man do for her that Tanak couldn’t do? Did it really come down to a few seconds of intimacy? When she looked the unvarnished truth in the face, what argument could she have against giving herself to him? She certainly didn’t have many options.
She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Tanak haunted her dreams, but not in his dragon form. In her dreams, she met an enchanted lover in the shape of a man. He wore glittering green armor and a spiked helmet, and his auburn hair hung down to his shoulders. She met him in a craggy mountain pass, where they flew into each other’s arms in tumultuous passion.
She woke up buzzing with fresh desire, but when she put her hand on the scaly skin under her cheek, her body tensed. He wasn’t that knight in the mountains. He was nothing but a dragon. She couldn’t even touch him without cringing.
She got up to stretch, and he unwound his tail to let her step out on the treacherous rocks by herself. The wind tossed her dress around her body, but the sun warmed her. She lifted her arms to the dawn. How wonderful to be free at last!
She didn’t have time to enjoy her newfound freedom before one of those sky vessels whizzed over the countryside, headed straight toward them. Tanak raised his head to look at it. It hovered over the peak for a moment before a thunderous clap shook the whole sky. At the same moment, dozens of armed men materialized on the mountainsides. The armed men wore the same uniform as Major Bloodkist, but Margila registered that only at a distance.
Battle helmets covered the soldiers’ faces and made them look like giant ants. They rushed up the mountainsides and fired their weapons on Tanak. Energy blasts burst from their weapons and slammed into the rocks. They shattered and sprayed dust and rock in every direction. Tanak unwound his long body, and his tail thrashed through the air toward the men.
Margila darted toward him when another blast ripped past her. It crashed into the rock just inches from her head and sent her scurrying for cover. Tanak bellowed at the men and let out a jet of orange flame from his mouth. It swept across the landscape and cleared ten men in one pass.
He couldn’t fight them all at once, though. No sooner had he scorched those men than their comrades moved in behind him. They fired their weapons on him and one of them hit him in the back.
Tanak reared up on his hind legs. His wings beat the air, and he let out a piercing screech that stood Margila’s hair on end. All thought of crouching in fear evaporated from her mind. She rushed forward, straight into the path of those guns.
Tanak saw her first and called out, “Margila, no!” but he couldn’t stop her. She ran between him and soldiers in the very act of firing on him.
The soldiers hesitated. Some lowered their guns to avoid hitting her. In that fraction of a second reprieve, Tanak wheeled to face his foes. He swept the mountainside with his fiery breath and vaporized a dozen soldiers closest to him.
The others reacted instantly. They shouldered their guns and fired on him with everything they had. Tanak drove his pointed head to block Margila from their fire, but he couldn’t move fast enough. One of the shots landed next to her with such force that it knocked her back against his solid flank. She slid down his leg to crumple on the ground at his feet.
Another three shots ripped across his side. He bellowed to the skies, but the soldiers advanced with their weapons at the ready. He couldn’t stand against so many enemies.
He pivoted right and left to keep as many of them in sight at a time as possible, but the battle was hopeless. He bent down and picked up Margila’s lifeless form in his mouth. He extended his wings and flapped. The rush of air blasted the soldiers backward and gave him just enough time to take to the air. In a moment, he rose from the ground and soared into the widening sky.
Margila dangled from his mouth. The soldiers recovered and fired on him from the ground, but he put more distance between himself and them and left the battle scene far behind.
In the distance, one of the flying vehicles banked and headed toward the spot. Tanak went the other way and soon disappeared among trackless mountain peaks.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Margila came to herself in darkness, but warmth surrounded her on all sides. She sat up, instantly alert, but her hand touched Tanak’s scaly side. Fear and uncertainty melted away. She was safe, as long as she was with him.
She rested her head against his side and closed her eyes when her hand touched the stone floor under her. Heat radiated up from it the way it had in the caldera. Were they back there? Why would Tanak return there when he knew the dan
ger?
She didn’t have to think about that. She could trust him with her life. He wanted nothing more than to protect her. He wouldn’t bring her anywhere he didn’t believe was safe.
She let out a deep sigh. Her chest still hurt from the blast. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but at least she was alive. Had Tanak been so lucky? Was he mortally wounded, even now when he kept her warm and protected?
She traced the outline of his long, scaly body with her hands in the dark. She touched some rough patches, and he growled under his breath. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”
She settled back down. He had flown away from those soldiers, far enough away that they couldn’t follow. “Where are we? It’s warm here. Are we back in the caldera?”
“We’re in a cave in the side of the same mountain. The caldera was too exposed, but they can’t see us here.”
“They’ll find us when we come out.”
“Yes, they will.”
“What will we do?”
“I really don’t know.”
“Tanak?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. Thank you for saving my life.”
“It is I who should be thanking you. I didn’t think you would do it.”
“Why not?”
“Those were your people, fighting me out there. If you had let them kill me, they would have taken you home to your village, and there is nothing our people could have done to stop it. Why did you do it? What changed your mind?”
“Those aren’t my people. They’re Axis soldiers.”
“But they fight for the humans on this planet. They plan to wipe out the Raveniss to make the galaxy safe for human beings.”
“Maybe that’s why I did it. I couldn’t stand by and watch them kill you. There are already so few of you left. There must be a way we can bring Raveniss and humans to some peaceful accord.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Either way, I’ll do what I can to protect you from them. They’ll tell the village I’m still alive. Maybe they’ll get the message you aren’t as dangerous as they think.”
“They’ll get the message you threw yourself in front of those guns to save me. They’ll get the message you’re helping the Raveniss against them. They’ll treat you as an enemy, and the Axis won’t hesitate to shoot you next time.”
“Then I’ll die defending you. I have to do what I think is right.”
He lapsed into silence. Had he gone to sleep? She rested, too. Her whole body ached, and dreadful hunger and thirst plagued her. She dared not tell him that, though. She couldn’t let him risk his life by going out into the open. She would numb the hunger and thirst by going to sleep.
She dozed off and woke to gray morning light shining in through the cave mouth. She looked around. The cave extended back into the mountainside. She couldn’t see the back of it, especially not with Tanak’s bulk in the way.
He uncurled his tail to make room for her to stand up and stretch. She was still very sore, and the hunger and thirst tortured her even more, but at least she was safe. She could move around and work the kinks out of her arms and legs without fear of the soldiers attacking.
She stepped to the mouth of the cave. Nothing surrounded her on all sides but endless mountain ranges. She couldn’t see a tree or hear the tinkle of water. She went back inside. She had to find a way to hide her discomfort from him.
His voice broke in on her thoughts. “You must be hungry and thirsty. I will go out hunting later.”
“Don’t do that. It’s too dangerous. I’m okay.”
“You haven’t eaten or drank any water in two days. I can take the chance if it means tending to your needs.”
“What will happen to me if you get killed out there? Wait a little longer. It’s not worth risking your life.”
He sniffed her. “You’re hungry and thirsty. I can hear your heart racing even now.”
“Maybe there’s water deeper in the cave.”
“I would be able to hear it if there was. Sit down. I’ll go out later when the sun gets higher.”
“Where will you go?”
“Down into the valleys. The sky vessels won’t be able to see me down there, and the hunting is good. I’ll bring you back food and water.”
“Why don’t you go at night? The soldiers wouldn’t be able to see you at all then.”
“The animals I hunt hide at night. It’s easier to find them and catch them during the day.”
Her head swam from thirst. She sat down on a rock near him, but chills swept through her. She had no choice but to lie down among his coils again. He purred under his breath when she laid her head on his shoulder. “Talk to me. Make the time pass.”
“What would you like me to tell you?”
“Tell me about your people. What’s your society like?”
“We live in family citadels in our city in the north. Each family lives together, and everyone helps raise the children. We have vast libraries with information on dozens of planets. We have observatories to monitor the movement of the stars and planets around us. We even have contact with other Raveniss in other parts of the galaxy.”
“Tell me about your family.”
“I live with my father and mother, three brothers and their families. My two sisters went to live with their husbands’ families. We also have my two uncles, my father’s brothers, and their children and grandchildren. In all, I’d say there were more than a hundred people in our citadel alone.”
“So many? How do so many dragons live in one place? The citadels must be enormous.”
“Don’t you even want to know how we communicate with other Raveniss on other planets?”
“Of course. How do you do it?”
“We have technology that sends signals through space.”
“What does ‘technology’ mean?”
“It means certain types of machines that do certain types of work.”
“Do you mean like a water wheel?”
“Something like that, only these machines use the power of the sun and the volcanic heat from the planet to make them work. They can do much more difficult work and much more complicated work than a water wheel. You’ll understand when you see it all.”
“I guess I have a lot to learn before I become one of your people.”
“Everybody has to learn. The other women had to learn, too, and now some of them are the best we have at working them.”
“I wish I could talk to just one of them.”
“Everything will be all right. You’ll fit in there, and you’ll have family and friends of your own.”
“Hearing that from you doesn’t mean as much as if I heard it from another woman who had been where I am now. I’m sorry if that offends you.”
“It doesn’t offend me. It’s a simple truth.”
“You make your world sound so beautiful and appealing.”
“It is. I honestly wonder how people live in those villages, scratching just to put food in their children’s mouths when they could be living like us. If the humans made a lasting peace with us, they could share our technology. They could enjoy our prosperity and our peaceful way of life. Instead, they would rather fight and starve.”
“Do those other women wonder the same thing? Do they wonder how they ever lived like that?”
“Yes, they do. My older brother has a human wife, and sometimes she breaks down in tears when she remembers the way she used to live. She wishes her sisters would get sacrificed so they could come and live with her.”
“Are you sure she’s crying for that, and not for the life she left behind? Are you sure she’s not crying because she wants to go home?”
“No, she told me she would never go home. She cries because her parents and sisters suffer when they don’t have to. They suffer over a misunderstanding between our peoples.”
Margila closed her eyes. “Let’s not argue about it anymore.”
“Are we arguing? You asked m
e to tell you about our people, and that’s what I’m doing.”
She must have drifted off again. When she woke up, neither she nor Tanak had moved, but a bright sparkle took the place of the fog in her head. She didn’t feel her hunger or thirst. She stared up at the interplay of light and shadow on the cave ceiling.
Sublime comfort and peace filled her, body and soul. The despair and confusion of the last days faded. For the first time, perfect clarity brightened her future. She knew what she wanted and how to get it.
She shifted in her place on the ground and rolled over on her back. Tanak stirred under her, and he lifted his head to look at her. “You’re awake.”
