Madness Unleashed (Dragons of Zalara Book 1)

by ML Guida

  Tears filled the captain’s eyes. “Get him off me,” he choked.

  Padean and Anonghos both grabbed Damon’s arms.

  “Captain,” Anonghos gritted his teeth. “We can’t. It’s as if they’re frozen.”

  Padean frowned. “It’s as if he’s paralyzed. This isn’t Damon’s normal behavior.”

  Taog released a strangled breath. His eyes rolled back into his head, and his hands went slack.

  Hot fear shot through Damon’s heart. He drew on all his dragon strength to let go, but it was as if he’d lost all control of his hands. Each time he jerked them, another fireball of pain plunged through him.

  “Padean, release him!” Anonghos yelled. He let go of Damon’s arm. “We’re losing the captain!”

  Padean immediately followed his order.

  Taog slumped completely over Damon. His heart and breath had completely slowed. What had he done? He pulled on his arms, but they failed to obey him. He was killing his friend and captain.

  “Stand back!” Anonghos yelled.

  An electric charge shot through Damon’s body. He went into uncontrollable convulsions. Spittle dribbled down the side of his mouth. His arms fell to his side, and the captain slid off him.

  Then darkness overshadowed Damon, and he remembered no more.

  “Damon, Damon, can you hear me?”

  Through the fog clouding his brain, Damon slowly recognized the voice.

  Kill him.

  The ugly command returned, followed by the rapid pain. Damon’s heartbeat thwacked into ultra speed, blood surging through him. His arms jerked like they had before.

  He turned his head side-to-side. “No,” he moaned. “Stay away from me.”

  “You’re restrained, Damon. You’re in sickbay. You can’t hurt anyone.”

  Pings and beeps echoed around him. He inhaled the odor of antiseptic. He pulled on his arms and legs but couldn’t move. He was strapped tight to a comfortable bed. Thank the Fates he couldn’t hurt anyone. He took a deep breath and exhaled. His wound-up muscles unraveled.

  But not for long.

  Pain mushroomed inside his arms, then pulsed down his body as if something was stinging him from the inside. He yanked as hard as he could to break free and kill, but he couldn’t move.

  A strong hand patted his cheek. “Damon, look at me.”

  Damon fought to breathe and open his eyes, but the pain was everywhere. He tossed his head back and forth and gritted his teeth.

  Hurt. Maim. Kill. The strange voice inside him repeated again.

  He resisted it, trying to call upon his own will. “No, I won’t,” he whispered.

  Agony ruptured inside him, and he arched his back, screaming.

  Someone gripped his shoulders. “Damon, Damon.”

  “Captain, release my patient. Shaking him to death isn’t going to get you any answers sooner,” Dr. Tryker said.

  If Damon wasn’t in so much pain, he would have smiled. Tryker had been the medical doctor for the last six months, replacing old Doc Hazlt. Unlike Hazlt, Tryker didn’t jump whenever Taog wanted something–not if it meant tangling with his patients.

  “I need answers, doctor,” Taog snapped. “I need to know what’s happening with Damon to know what’s going down on the planet.”

  “You see the sensors, Captain. He’s in more pain than a Zalarian can take. It’s probably what happened to Ualan and why he drove his ship into Blostos.”

  “No, doctor. Ualan sounded sane. There was something about the sun that made Ualan say it’s gone. I want to know what it is. I can’t risk sending any more men down onto the surface until I know what happened to Damon.”

  “Look at him, Captain. Does it look like he’s in any shape to answer questions?”

  “Give him a sedative.”

  “But, Captain, you don’t know what it will do to him.”

  “That’s an order, Doctor,” Taog growled.

  “I’m sorry, Damon,” Tryker muttered. “But I don’t have a choice.”

  Damon braced himself. He tried to open his eyes, but they refused to obey. Something sharp pricked his skin, slowly entering his muscles. Liquid pumped through his veins, turning his flesh ice cold.

  Hissing between his teeth, he bunched up the sheets tight.

  “Almost there, Damon,” Tryker said calmly. “It will all be over soon.”

  Damon took a deep breath, trying to relax, but pain stimulated his tired muscles constantly, refusing to give him even the tiniest relief. He moaned. Usually a sedative would ease any ailment, but this barely had any effect on him.

  “Damon, I need you to open to your eyes. The queen depends on it.”

  He shook violently, trying to obey the captain. Cosima was in trouble. What if those things had attacked her? God, she could be forced to do anything against her will.

  Damon drew on his dragon strength, but it only made the pain stronger.

  “You can’t fight this, Zalarian. You will kill your captain and take this ship.”

  Damon sucked in his gut at the smug voice.

  Soft footsteps entered. The smell of spice and nuts drifted into sickbay, reminding him of Padean’s strange, flowery, thorny, plant. There was no mistake-Hera was here.

  “I was worried about him,” she said. “Is he going to be all right?”

  “I don’t know,” Tryker said. “He seems to be in a coma.”

  “Hells Bells, he looks so pale. Is he going to die?”

  Hera’s concern strangely comforted him.

  Someone gently squeezed Damon’s foot. It had to be Hera. Warmth spread from his big toe to his ankle to his leg then flooded through him like an energy surge. He moved his head back and forth and fluttered his eyes.

  The voice hissed loudly then retreated deep into his mind.

  He gritted his teeth, then opened his eyes. Sweat stung them, but through the blur, the captain leaned over him. Behind him, he could glimpse Hera.

  She’d changed out of his oversized shirt, into a loose sweater and jeans. Her hair was swooped into a tail. She looked like she was dressed for a hike on one of Zalara’s peaks. She wasn’t a woman who always had to shine. Someone a dragon could be himself with. Her concerned eyes warmed his heart.

  “Damon, do you know where you are?”

  He winced. Black and purple finger marks covered Taog’s neck.

  “Captain,” he whispered. A billion points of pain jammed into his spine, and he arched up, pulling on the restraints that cut into his flesh. “I didn’t…mean…to attack…you.”

  “Padean said you were chased by those creatures. What can you tell me about them?”

  Damon opened his mouth, but stupefying misery gripped him.

  “No,” the unknown voice said. “You will not speak. You will only speak when I tell you.”

  Ignoring the pulsing pain and commanding voice, Damon panted, “Taog…”

  What felt like fiery asteroids slammed against his innards, tearing his organs, ripping his muscles. He arched his back again, shrieking. Hera yanked her hand away, then more misery unleashed inside him.

  “Tryker, what’s wrong with him?” Taog demanded.

  Breathing hard, Damon drew on his last remaining strength. He knew he’d be punished, but the captain had to know. “Captain…those things…are…controlling me.” Hot pain twisted his insides. He couldn’t stand it much longer “Using…pain. A voice…”

  Agony silenced him. He went into convulsions and bounced up and down on the bed.

  “Taog,” Dr. Tryker said. “It’s as if he’s fighting to answer a question. Any time he’s pressed, the medical sensors reveal he’s being stimulated violently.”

  “Please help him.”

  Hera’s sweet voice was the last thing he heard before he passed out.

  5

  Hera’s heart broke for Damon. She’d never seen anyone in so much agony. Or at least she didn’t think so. God, she hated not remembering.

  For the last couple of hours, while Damon was gone,
she’d tried to figure out what the images of adobe homes, roasting chiles, rocky ravines that were all so familiar, especially the beautiful yellow, gold, and red mountains. It was as if she’d been to the mountains and knew where each trail would lead. She could actually feel her feet crunching on the pebbled paths but couldn’t come up with an exact location. Was it her imagination, or was it real? Each time she pondered, her reward was a pounding headache.

  This time was no different. Pain boomeranged between her temples, nearly making her ill.

  Damon moaned. She shoved the pain and her problems away then concentrated on him. Still unconscious, sweat drenched his face. He turned back and forth, as if he were in some kind of battle. She wanted to wipe the perspiration off his brow, but both Taog and Tryker’s large frames crowded her away.

  “Doctor, can you help him?” She tried to peer between them, but it was like trying to squeeze in between two stubborn bulls.

  Tryker ignored her. He opened Damon’s eye and flashed a pocketscope. “Taog, his pupil’s aren’t dilated, so he’s not suffering from a concussion.”

  He glanced up at a blinking board with a dozen buttons overhead that seemed to be measuring Damon’s body functions. It was something right out of Star Trek, but much more sophisticated.

  He pressed a button. “He’s unconscious, Captain, but look at the pain magnification. It jumps up to over a hundred. No wonder the poor devil went mad.”

  “Do you think that’s what happened to Ualan?” Taog asked.

  “My hunch is yes, Captain.”

  “I need to know what’s going on inside, Damon,” the captain said.

  “I do, too, but don’t get your hopes up that I’ll be able to do anything.” He stared directly at Hera.

  Her hopes died.

  “I think this is going to be beyond my ability.”

  The captain gripped Tryker’s shoulder. “Do what you can.” He released him. “I’ll be on the bridge.”

  “I’ll prepare him for surgery. I’ll let you know what I find.”

  “Doctor, can I stay with him awhile?”

  “It will take me a few minutes, but then you’ll have to wait outside.”

  “Of course.” Hera moved along Damon’s bedside and cradled his twitching hand in hers. He moaned softly. She gently released his hand, afraid she might have hurt him. His brow was thick with sweat. She picked up a towel and gently dabbed his hot skin. He stopped moaning, and the tension in his stricken face lessened.

  “The doctor’s going to help you, Damon,” she said, as if he could hear her. “You’ll be well soon and will be able to save your queen.”

  Then you can take me home.

  She uttered this last part silently to herself. He didn’t need to be chided for kidnapping her and needing to mate with her, despite being in love with another woman. She might not be a queen, but she had no intention of playing second fiddle.

  His hand flinched. She squeezed it gingerly. “Rest, Damon. You need to relax.”

  “What are you doing?”

  She jumped at Tryker’s harsh voice.

  “He was sweating and looked uncomfortable, so I wiped his brow.”

  “For a minute there, the pain indicator had fallen. I need to know what else you did.” He ran over to the other side of Damon’s bed and checked his vital signs.

  “I, uh, was holding his hand and talking to him.”

  He looked up at the monitor. “Touch him again.”

  Hera hesitated.

  “Now!”

  His golden eyes burned fierce, and his deep scowl made her toes curl. She reluctantly did as she was told, afraid of what might happen.

  “Amazing,” he said. “When you touch him, the pain indicator goes down, while my sedatives barely made a dip.”

  She blinked. “Really? Why?”

  “I don’t know, but it might be because you’re his designated mate. Somehow, your touch has the power to ease whatever’s inside him.”

  “How?”

  “Do you possess any abilities?”

  She laughed. “No, not unless determination to survive is an ability.”

  “You must have something.”

  “Well, I don’t.” Hera avoided his intense look and thought about what happened on the bridge with Ualan’s ship, but that had been a coincidence. She’d never done anything like that. If she possessed a power, it should have revealed itself in the last three months–especially after Desmond and his thugs had attacked her.

  Two more men came into the room, dressed like Tryker in blue shirts and pants. Zalarains had very similar patterns to humans, which is probably why they were seeking human women to repopulate their race.

  “Think, Hera. Damon’s life could depend on it.”

  Her breath quickened at the thought, and her hands turned clammy. She shook her head. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m nothing special. Just a struggling waitress, trying to survive.”

  She hurried for the door, but Tryker grabbed her arm.

  “Hera, I’m sorry. I have to operate to see if there is anything to do.” He sighed. “I just want to help him. If you think of anything, will you tell me? It could mean the difference between life and death.”

  “I will.” She hesitated. She stuck out her thumb. “I’ll just wait outside.”

  She hurried out of sickbay. There was no place to sit, but she didn’t want to leave. Despite him kidnapping her, she needed to know that Damon was going to be okay. The halls were empty, and she decided to sit on the floor opposite the sickbay door. Now, there was nothing to do but wait.

  A couple of crewmen passed her in the hallway and acknowledged her, but none stopped and talked with her. She glanced at her watch. It had been over an hour, and there was no word. Even back on Earth, surgeries could go on for hours, so why would this be any different?

  Her legs cramped. She slowly got off the floor and paced back and forth, wishing Tryker would come out and give her an update, but no such luck.

  She turned around, and Anonghos headed toward her.

  “Any word yet?” he asked.

  “No. Nothing. Is this normal for your species?”

  He raised his eyebrow. “Species?”

  “Great balls of fire, you’re not from Earth.”

  “And you’re not from Zalara, but species wouldn’t be the word I would use to describe you. Maybe Amazon, beauty, or sexy, but definitely not species.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured. Heat washed over her. She didn’t believe him since she wasn’t looking her best in jeans and a sweater. But then, according to Damon, they’d been without females for a long time. So far, they’d not acted like a bunch of horny escaped convicts and took turns raping her.

  “Would you like to get something to eat? I fear Tryker will be in there for some time.”

  She bit her lip. Her stomach growled in eager anticipation, but she wasn’t sure she should leave. “I don’t know if I should go.”

  “Tryker will notify us. You look a little pale and won’t be much good to Damon if you pass out from hunger and thirst.” He stretched out his arm. “We will be back in less than one of your Earth hours.”

  Her stomach released another angry growl. She’d only taken one bite of her hamburger earlier when Taog had sounded the red alert. She’d been too nervous, worrying about Damon and the others when they left to investigate Zalara, to think about eating.

  “Okay, but if Tryker calls…”

  “I promise we will return. You’re not the only one worried about him. He’s my best friend.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Of course.”

  They walked in silence to the lounge. A couple of crewmen were there and murmured greetings to Anonghos. Some of them gave her curious glances, as if she wasn’t supposed to be with him.

  “What would you like to eat?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. What do you have?”

  “The food synthesizer is designed to make food for any species except for Kamtrinians.”

&n
bsp; “Why not the Kamtrinians?”

  “They find humanoids a delicacy.”

  She shuddered. “How horrible.”

  “The Kamtrinians will not be happy until we are all wiped out. The Confederation is the only thing that stands in their way.”

  “Do they only eat humanoids?”

  “No. I think they do it just to terrify us.”

  “It’s working.” She rubbed her hands over the goose bumps breaking out on her trembling arms.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you, Hera, but I think you need to know about the enemy.”

  “I think I’m losing my appetite. I should go back and wait for Tryker.”

  “No, you need to eat.” He cast his gaze over her. “How about I order your favorite comfort food?”

  She grinned. “I bet you can’t guess.”

  “Try me.” He pushed several buttons on the wall that had magically appeared. A small door opened, and a tray popped open with the most delicious smelling creamy macaroni and cheese.

  “Was I right?”

  Her eyes widened. “Great horny toads, how did you know?”

  He laughed. “I can’t lie. I put your profile in the database, and it popped out the information.”

  “You have a database on me?”

  He hit some more buttons, and another small door opened, but this time, it looked like steak and potatoes except the potatoes were bright purple. “Not just you, but all the people on Earth. It’s the way the Confederation can keep track of people to make sure that they don’t fall into enemy hands.”

  She put her hand over her tightened chest. “You mean the Kamtrinians have been on Earth?”

  “Unfortunately, yes, but it was hundreds of years ago. They landed on an island and took all the inhabitants prisoner, and they were never seen again. It was before your country’s revolution.”

  She took the tray and followed Anonghos to a table for two. She’d heard of this. It was a legend. “You mean the Roanoke Colony, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I think that’s what it was called. Padean would know for sure. The Confederation wasn’t able to get there in time to save them.”