Alien Dragon's Baby: A Scifi Alien Romance (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss)

by Miranda Martin

  "Yeah, well like I said, it's dangerous to get and it doesn't last long after you harvest it. I'm not sure how to get enough but give me a little time I think I can figure something out."

  "Time is something we don't have," she says.

  I think about that and I remember the meat that Ladon kept feeding me and how I'd feel a little better when I ate it.

  "Ladon, food," I mime eating then I think I remember the right word. "Gu-s-tur?" I sound it out.

  He makes a gesture that looks like a shrug. "Guster," he repeats.

  Then I say it and get it right because he smiles and nods.

  Rosalind watches the exchange between us but remains quiet.

  "There's a meat from a certain animal, I don't know how, but Ladon fed it to me until he was able to get epis for me. It might help keep everyone alive until I can figure it out."

  "Okay, well then that's that," Rosalind says and wipes sweat from her brow. "We don't have any other viable options. We have to trust this… Ladon. Can you get us to this city?"

  I look at Ladon debating my answer. It's strange but I feel a loyalty to him just as much as I do my people. I just hope he won't mind. I wish desperately that I could talk this over with him. That we could convey such complex ideas to each other but the language barrier makes it impossible.

  "Yes," I say at last nodding.

  "Good, we leave in the morning," she says decisively and outside the crate walls the people explode with noise.

  I look at Ladon and give him a tentative smile. He watches quietly and I have no idea what he's thinking. Dismissed by Rosalind we walk out of her office and immediately we're surrounded by dozens of people. They touch Ladon, push, pull and crowd around us. Ladon looks to me for guidance on how to act but I'm being pulled away from him. The crowd is separating the two of us. Girls crowd around Ladon touching him, running their hands over him, tearing at his clothes.

  Jealousy turns my stomach sour seeing these women touching him, running their hands over his strong body. All my life, anything I want, they've taken from me and they're about to do the same thing with this perfect, caring man.

  Lana steps out of the crowd to stand right in front of Ladon. She looks from him to me and her eyes widen then she smiles from ear to ear.

  "Oh my god, you did him!" she says, pointing at me and the crowd gasps.

  I shake my head side to side unable to speak.

  "You did! You and him did the horizontal tango! The bedroom mambo!" she continues.

  "No… no, it's not like that, it's…" I can't form an entire thought, lying has never come naturally to me.

  "Come on, tell us, we all want to know. What's he like, you know, down there? Is it big? Little?" she keeps teasing me and my skin is burning hot.

  "No, I can't, I'm not going to talk about this," I say.

  "She's not denying it," Lana says.

  She's right I'm not and I can't. Watching these other girls run their hands over him I can't deny how jealous I am. What does that mean? If I'm jealous then, well, I must care about him. I do, I do care about him. Sure he saved my life more than once but I also like the way he is with me. The way he makes me feel when he looks at me like I'm the greatest thing in his life. Even here, with all these other beautiful women touching him his eyes are on me and not them. I swallow hard. The crowd murmurs and I hear several comments being made.

  "You couldn't pay me to fuck him," someone in the crowd says.

  "Hell you wouldn't have to pay me," someone else says.

  "He's probably more man than any of the ones we have," another voice says.

  Jolie pushes through the crowd and takes my arm. I look at her grateful for any excuse to get out of here. Ladon also pushes through to stand at my side. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and then start swishing his tail in an exaggerated manner forcing everyone away from us. He hisses softly and I know it's a warning whether they do or not.

  "Can you get us out of here," I whisper to Jolie.

  "Sure," she says. "I know place we can hide out."

  As Jolie leads us away I glance over my shoulder and see that Rosalind has been watching the entire incident. I have no idea what she's thinking but I hope for whatever reason that she doesn't think less of me.

  18 LADON

  These people are so frustrating. They don't listen, they don't learn, and their curiosity causes more problems than it solves. They are her people though and I will help save them. For her.

  Their alpha female in white walks beside Calista and I as we lead her people across the desert to my home. They move so slowly it will probably take us three days to herd them all. I'd almost rather be responsible for a dozen bivo than trying to get this group moving.

  We climb to the top of a dune and the three of us turn to look back. Calista's people are spread out almost to the horizon. It's stupid and dangerous to be spread so far out and it's only blind luck that's kept us from attracting a zemlja.

  "Too much," I say to Calista motioning at the line of people behind us.

  She nods and I can only hope she actually understands. She turns to the female in white and speaks rapidly who shakes her head and my irritation grows. Stupid. Calista shrugs then speaks rapidly and motions emphatically. She at least understands the danger.

  We travel all day until night falls. They carry supplies with them in some kind of a cloth shelter that pops up when they lay it down. Calista wants me to join her in one but I shake my head and pull her arm away from them. A shelter like that would be entirely too restricting if we were to be attacked which is highly likely with this many people making noise. They share their food with me which has a disgusting metallic taste. I accept it not wanting to appear ungracious but once the majority of them settle down into their little shelters I set up my own camp a distance away and Calista stays with me. I get out some bivo meat and cook it for Calista and I.

  She looks at me gratefully.

  I stare at her unable to form words that I think she'll understand. We finish our food and lie down together. She doesn't cuddle up next to me like she has every other night. I lay still waiting but she doesn't move. She's lying on her side with her back to me and I don't understand. I scoot across the cloth closer to her until our bodies are touching and she stiffens.

  I place my hand on her leg and trace my way up to her hip. She grabs my hand and stops it then takes it off of her and sets it back on my leg. I'm confused and hurt. Ever since we've returned to her friends she's been different. I don't like it and it makes me not like them even more. As I think about it it makes me angry. I put my hand back on her leg and hiss softly in her ear.

  "Mine," I say.

  "No," she says more words but I can't follow them.

  She said no. No what? What does she mean no? Why is she pushing me away?

  "Understand?" I ask.

  She rolls over until she's on her side facing me. She meets my gaze then frowns and looks away. She shakes her head and my frustration grows. It's no different than any other night except she's being different. It has to be something to do with these others. I wish they would all go away. Let a zemlja eat them for all I care. They're nothing but trouble anyway.

  "No, friends," she says something else and taps at her ears.

  I frown as understanding dawns on me. She doesn't want her friends to hear us in our pleasure. I repeat the last word she said and she nods. Alright fine but that doesn't mean we can't sleep close like we always do. I hold my hands palm out and try to show her I understand. I slowly reach out and stroke her hair, then her face and ease myself down so that her back is to my chest. I pull her in tight and continue to stroke her head until she relaxes and falls asleep.

  ***

  I wake early in the morning to hunt. The humans are slow and weak and only getting worse. Their inefficient and poorly designed bodies can't handle the heat. The only way they're going to make the city is with guster meat and I don't have enough to share.

  After a successful hunt I return to Cal
ista's people with my harvest. I can hear voices arguing even before the camp comes into view. When I hear Calista yelp, rage floods through me and I break into a run.

  I come over the hill and see Calista surrounded by other humans. One of the males with white in his dark hair is waving his arms angrily and pointing. Calista is on the ground looking up at him and I see fear in her face. Blind rage fills me. No one and no thing harms my treasure. I drop my bag and run faster. I'm almost on them before they see me. As I leap into the air rearing my fist back my prey turns and sees me. His eyes go wide, his mouth drops open, and he screams like a girl. He stumbles backwards and then falls on the ground causing me to miss my punch as I land. I stalk towards him and he scrambles backwards on the ground.

  "Ladon!" Calista screams but her voice comes to me down a long tunnel.

  She's far away on the other side of the pounding rage that is making my hearts beat in double time. I open and close my fists preparing to destroy my enemy. I will make an example of him and they will all know that she is under my protection. They will not dare stand against me or try to harm what is mine again. They are to be my guests in my home then they will show respect.

  He babbles as he scrabbles. His hands move and he struggles to bring his stick to bear on me. I reach and grab for him but he rolls to one side avoiding me. He's quick, I'll give him that. I keep stalking the one who would dare lay hands on Calista.

  "Ladonplease!" she cries and her voice is closer, then she's in front of me holding her hands up. "Ladon!"

  I stop and hiss. She steps in close and puts her warm hands on my chest. My hearts beat hard and fast like they want to jump out into her hands. Calm spreads through me from where she touches me. I point at the male where he sits on the ground with moisture running from his eyes.

  "No," I hiss. I step around Calista and stare down, pointing at him then her. "No."

  I repeat again making it as clear as possible that he's to never touch her again. Ever. He nods blabbering words that mean nothing to me. I shake my head then turn my attention to Calista. I run my hands down her arms then cup her face between them.

  "Okay?" I ask trying to see if she's hurt.

  She smiles and nods. "Okay."

  Satisfied I take her hand and walk back up the hill to where I dropped my pack. I pick it up then open it to show her the meat inside.

  "Guster?" she asks smiling.

  "Guster," I agree returning her smile.

  I set up a fire and we cook then make sure all her people are fed. The male avoids me which is fine. I still want to end him but for her sake I'll let him be. I know some of them take him the meat and part of me wants to deny him this, let the planet itself claim him but that is small. I will not be small. If I want to defeat an enemy I will do it openly. As we eat Calista talks. It's becoming easier for us to communicate as we learn more of each others language.

  "He's not bad," she says pointing over at the male.

  I hiss unable to agree with her assessment. I used to know men like him. Men filled with bravado until the time called for action. Men who swagger and control those weaker than them but crumble in the face of a real opponent. I don't have the words to explain this to her though so I remain silent. She shrugs and continues talking.

  19 CALISTA

  "He's not!" I argue, trying to push Ladon out of his silence.

  I don't know if he doesn't understand me or doesn't agree. I don't want him to hate Gershom but I get it. I'm not sure why I care.

  Ladon still doesn't answer me. Maybe it's for the best. I don't want to argue with him especially about something like this. He was only defending me after all, not that the others see it that way. They think he's a threat.

  "You really are my knight in shining armor," I say, swallowing a piece of bivo. "Although it's kind of reversed. I mean a knight in shining armor slays dragons and you're kind of a dragon. Where the hell does that leave me? Am I the Princess? All this is getting too deep."

  "You're the treasure," Jolie says, plopping down beside me.

  "It is kind of like that," I say, thinking it over.

  She laughs and nods. Ladon hisses and shrugs. Lana walks over to us and sits down entirely too close to Ladon for my personal taste. She smiles and runs her fingers down his arm. I'm about to say something when Inga walks up.

  "Can I join you?" she asks timidly.

  "Of course you can," I say to her. "How are you?"

  "This meat seems to help," she says, taking a seat next to Jolie.

  "It will be better soon, I promise," I tell her.

  I haven't told any of them how difficult it will be to harvest the epis. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Amara and Mei come up together.

  "This a private party or can anybody join in?" Amara asks.

  "You're both welcome," I say smiling.

  It's nice to have my friends with me again. Although thinking about that makes me wonder how long Ladon's been alone. I can imagine the loss that he suffered. It makes my heart break just thinking about it.

  "So how much longer to this fabled city of yours?" Amara asks.

  "Probably one more day if we make good time," I answer.

  "Good," she responds. "Some of us have been thinking. You said the city seems to be fairly well advanced. Some high tech stuff. We're hoping we can find a way to get off this planet."

  "God yes," Mei adds. "I hate it here."

  "Oh it's not so bad," Jolie says.

  "I don't like it here either," Inga says. "It's hot and sand is everywhere. I need a shower."

  "Oh, a shower would be heaven," Mei agrees.

  "I don't know. I didn't see anything like that. I just kinda figured we could fix it up and have a home."

  "Why the hell would we want to live here?" Amara asks.

  "I don't know, I kind of like it," I say, staring at Ladon.

  "I know exactly why you like it," Lana says, running her fingers across Ladon's chest.

  My cheeks burn watching her touch him. He looks down at her hand then at me. He grabs her hand stopping its motion then softly places it in her lap. Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. I don't think any male anywhere has ever so blatantly turned her down in her life. I suppress a laugh.

  "Seriously," Amara says. "We don't belong here, we need to get off this planet."

  "I guess," I say hesitating.

  The conversation turns to small talk as we finish eating our breakfast. Then the day is consumed with loading our packs and continuing the journey. We make good time and soon the city looms large on the horizon. Surprisingly we should make it before nightfall. The sight of the city invigorates everyone and we enter it well before dark.

  Everyone stares in wonder as Ladon stands to one side watching. I stay by his side until Rosalind walks up.

  "Thank you," she says to both of us. "Are there any others here?"

  "I don't think so," I say.

  "Some of these look like apartment buildings, like that one over there. Is it okay if we set up there as our home base? Get people shelter for the night at least then see what we can do about fixing this place up?"

  Ladon looks from her to me.

  "Humans," I say pointing at myself. "There?"

  I point at the building that Rosalind had chosen. Ladon frowns then nods sharply.

  "Yes," he says in Common.

  I look at Rosalind and she smiles.

  "Where will you stay?" she asks, looking between Ladon and I.

  My cheeks burn and I can't meet her gaze. "I'll meet you in the morning."

  She nods as if she expected nothing less. "Okay, we'll have a lot of work to do."

  "We'll need to get epis as well. The meat he got for us helps but it's a temporary fix."

  Rosalind nods. "Yes, it's on my list."

  She leaves barking orders and organizing the people. I watch her for a couple of minutes. Ladon puts his arm around my waist and I lean into him. Safe, happy, and together. As they all head into the building that Rosalind chose,
Ladon and I head for his home at the heart of the city.

  The walk gives me time to think. They want to leave. I hadn't thought about it since getting to know Ladon. Would I leave? What about him, us? He won't leave, will he? Do I want to live without him? And leave for what? We were never intended to reach the new home world. That wasn't the purpose of our generation. We would have lived and died on the ship and I would never have met him. I bite my lip thinking it over. I don't know. I don't want to lose my friends but if they do figure a way off the planet I'm not sure I would go.

  We walk into the building that is his home and through to the area where we slept before. I feel withdrawn and more than a bit lost in my thoughts. Ladon doesn't pressure me either. He makes dinner and we eat in a comfortable silence as I watch him and think about the last few days.

  I remember Gershom's argument this morning with Rosalind and I as Ladon came in. It was humiliating.

  "I don't think we should be following this monster," Gershom said.

  "We don't have a choice," Rosalind retorted.

  "He's not a monster," I told them.

  Gershom turned towards me with pure hatred in his eyes and on his face."Of course YOU would say that. You've slept with that… thing!"

  "That has nothing to do with-"

  "I used to think you were special but you're nothing but trash, you're a disgrace."

  "Hey! You can't talk to me that way!" I yelled.

  "Gershom stand down," Rosalind warned him.

  "No! We're all thinking it. That's an animal. It's wrong."

  "Ladon is not an animal!" I screamed, stepping up to him.

  Gershom whirled on me, his hands up, and shoved. I stumbled backwards and fell onto my backside. He stalked towards me and fear blossomed. The look on his face made it clear he was going to hurt me. Then Ladon was there and Gershom was the one on the ground. No one had ever stood up for me before but Ladon was going to hurt him and that would have made everything worse.

  Other people gathered and watched. Some of the men ran off and I saw them return with guns. If Ladon didn't stop they'd never forgive him. I had to stop him.