by ML Guida
Clayton immediately hid behind Scarlett. She could feel him trembling.
She put her arm around his slender shoulders. “Clayton, this is Topaz. He’s one of the dragons I told you about. He’s the captain of the Orion.”
He peeked around her. “Really? He’s a dragon?”
Topaz’s stony expression softened, and a smile erased the grimness he usually wore. He was actually handsome. He got down on one knee. “Yes, I’m a dragon. Did I hear Scarlett right? You’re Clayton.” His warm voice coaxed Clayton from his hiding place.
“Do you think you can help my people? And save my sister?” He hung his head. “She couldn’t get out.” His misery erased Topaz’s smile.
“Clayton, I can save your sister, but I need to know where the mine is. Can you take me there?”
A loud shriek made Clayton jump.
Hoss and Padean whizzed past them. Agnes rode Hoss, but her laughter was gone. She held a police special in her hand. Scarlett thought Agnes would only piss off a Gog with that thing.
Scarlett pointed toward Agnes. “You see how that woman is riding that dragon?”
Clayton nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s what we’re going to do.”
He looked up at her. “But there’s three of us. Is there enough room?”
Topaz stood and put his hands on his hips. He laughed. “I’m a dragon, Clayton. I’m strong enough to carry twenty Arians without a single sweat.”
Clayton smiled for the first time. “Really?”
His smile lit up his dirty face and Scarlett wanted that boy to have more than just riding a dragon to grin about.
“I’m going to shift, Clayton,” Topaz said. “Just do what Tash’s tells you to do, okay?”
Clayton nodded, but Scarlett could see the fear in the whites of his eyes.
Topaz did a swan dive off the ledge. Scarlett gasped and her tummy dropped to her knees. Clayton immediately clung to her.
Tash shook his head. “Show off.”
In mid-air, Topaz shifted into a yellow-orange dragon. He shrieked and glided back to the ledge.
“I can’t get on him.” Clayton buried his face into Scarlett’s shirt.
Scarlett played with his hair. “Honey, it’s perfectly safe.”
Tash knelt. “Clayton, look at me. We can’t do this without you. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” His little voice tore at Scarlett’s heart strings.
“I need you trust me,” Tash said. “Will you do this?”
“My dad said you were a good man.”
Tash frowned. “Why would he say that?”
“Because of the people you saved. Your crew said you would figure out that the Master had tricked you.”
Scarlett rubbed Clayton’s back. “What crew was your father from?”
“He said his commander was Finbar.”
“What happened?” Tash put his hands on Clayton’s shoulders.
“The Master captured half of Finbar’s crew. He promised not to feed them to the Gogs if Finbar left them. But if Finbar returned, he said he’d murder his crew.”
A muscle in Tash’s cheek quivered. “The Master lied, didn’t he?”
“Yes.” Tears slid down Clayton’s dirty cheeks.
Tash looked up at Scarlett. Hate and fury flared in his deep green eyes. “I think we need to pay The Master a visit.”
Scarlett hugged Clayton’s shoulders. “Shall we ride Topaz? I promise I’ll be right behind you.”
He looked up with tears glistening in his green eyes. “Promise?”
“I promise.” She crossed her heart. “And hope to die.”
“Okay.”
Tash winked at Scarlett. “Let’s go.”
Scarlett’s chest tightened and her breathing accelerated as if the air were thinning. Scarlett tried to take a deep breath, but her lungs wouldn’t cooperate. Finding Clayton had been relatively easy, but discovering the cave and battling monsters was a different matter. She looked at Tash, Topaz, Padean, and Hoss. Would three dragons, an Arian bear, and two psychics be enough? Unfortunately, her visions hadn’t given her an answer.
Maybe there was a reason.
16
The wind whizzed over Tash as Topaz followed young Clayton’s directions. Tash held onto Scarlett’s waist as she held onto the frightened boy. Once again, Padean was on the left and Hoss and Agnes were on the right.
The time had come. It was show down.
The terrain was the same since the Intrepid had crashed here over a year ago. Tash and his crew had narrowly escaped annihilation. He’d no idea that some of the crew members captured were dragged away to be slaves. He never would have left them behind.
Never.
Who the hell was The Master? He was a shifter, obviously. Humans never would have been able to control the Gogs or make an obvious deal with the Kamtrinians.
Tash’s telicator beeped. “Captain Tash, here.”
“Tash, this is the communications officer Iagan. I wasn’t able to reach Captain Topaz.”
“He’s a dragon and can’t answer his telicator right now.”
“I suspected that. I have an urgent message for you from the Intrepid.”
“Put them through.”
“Tash, this is Vaughn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re currently orbiting the planet Zalara.”
“And?”
“Czar Konan insisted on coming on board, and he’s hopping mad.”
Tash cursed under his breath.
“The Czar is threatening to court martial you unless you abandon your mission and return to Zalara. He’s even arguing with King Greum to send out another vessel to retrieve you.”
Tash’s gut twisted into a thousand knots. He stiffened. He knew he’d be risking his command. “Vaughn, you have to give me more time.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Listen to me.” He quickly relied to Vaughn what they’d discovered on Sutois.
“Holy Shades,” Vaughn mumbled. “I’ll do what I can here.”
“Good. Vaughn, I have one more thing I want you to do.”
Vaughn sighed heavily. “What?”
“I want you to follow the money trail. I suspect The Master isn’t in a high paying position. Find out who has a bank account that doesn’t match his pay grade.”
“I will. I’ll relay what you’ve told me to the Czar. He might surprise you.”
Tash hesitated, but he needed someone on his side. King Greum had stuck his neck out. Maybe the Czar would see reason.
“I’ll leave the convincing to you. Tash, out.” He stuffed the telicator back into his belt. He didn’t want to hear his brother tell him to be careful.
All his thoughts and focus were on getting his people out of that mine. If he got them out, they might, just might, make it to Zalara in time for the trial.
Topaz and the other two dragons flew over the jungle. Tash looked down on the remains of the battle he had fought the first time he’d been on this cursed planet. A broken radio tower was now overgrown with vines and weeds. Half the mountain had been blown away, and now had jungle flowers growing in between the busted rocks. Moss covered the boulders that blocked the entrance, which was once the Gogs’ prison.
Tash had thought that was the only facility the Gogs had been using. But obviously, he’d been wrong.
Clayton pointed. “The mine is just beyond that big lake.”
“I didn’t see a lake in my visions,” Scarlett said.
Tash put his head on her shoulder. “You didn’t?”
“No.”
Clayton glanced over his shoulder. “There’s two entrances to the mine. The first one isn’t by any water. That’s where the nitrinium ore is loaded and taken to the Master.” His eyes widened. “You asked me to take you where I escaped, so that’s what I did.” His voice quivered.
“You did fine, Clayton,” Tash said, hoping his low voice would calm the boy’s fears.
Topaz descend
ed into dense trees. Leaves and branches brushed over Tash. He pressed his legs into the dragon’s side and hung on tight to Scarlett who was probably holding on to Clayton for dear life.
The dragon landed in a small clearing, his large wings breaking the branches off trees and shredding leaves. Snaps and cracks behind them meant both Padean and Hoss were following.
Tash slipped off the dragon’s back and helped Scarlett off and then Clayton.
The dragon shifted back into a scowling Topaz. “I heard every word of your conversation.”
Tash lifted an eyebrow.
Topaz shrugged. “What can I say? Dragons have a keen sense of hearing. Do you think your stiff-necked Czar will listen to your brother?”
Tash gritted his teeth. “I don’t know.”
“Daylight is fading, Captain,” Padean said. “The prisoners’ time is running out.”
“Agreed. First let me contact the Orion.” He pulled out his telicator. “Captain Topaz to the Orion.”
“Iagan, here.”
“Any sign of an approaching ship?”
“Negative, Captain. But they could be using a cloaking device.”
“I want you to put the shields and go to code red. Do whatever you have to do, to protect the crew and the ship.”
“Understood, Captain. Iagan, out.” He met Tash’s steady stare.
He didn’t have to say anything. Topaz wouldn’t risk his ship or crew to save the prisoners. Tash sighed. He would have done the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot.
“Everyone pull out your eruptors,” Topaz said. “Make sure they’re set to kill.”
“The dead are speaking to me,” Agnes said. “They say the Kamtrinians have contacted their ship. However, The Master has left the planet.”
Tash saw red, and his blood pressure threatened to explode. He clenched his teeth. “Damn it!”
Hoss lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t think The Master would be seen doing the dirty work, do you?”
Tash’s nostrils flared, and he pulled his lips back into a snarl. His talons lengthened and his bear threatened to jump out.
“Tash, no.” Scarlett clasped his arm. “Hoss isn’t your enemy.”
Her soft touch was like a bucket of water thrown onto his raging fire. He closed his eyes and sucked in deep gulps of air. Blood thumped between his ears and electric energy erupted inside him. He wanted to dig his talons into his enemy.
He opened his eyes. “You’re right. Hoss isn’t my enemy. Let’s find someone who is.”
“Hoss.” Agnes’s voice was barely a whisper. She pulled the trigger on her revolver. “The spirits are telling me that the Kamtrinians are fanning out around us. It’s a trap.”
“How many are there?” Hoss’s tone matched hers.
“Five.”
“I think I’ve found my enemy,” Tash said.
Clayton hugged Scarlett, his face pale.
He handed her his eruptor. “You can do this.”
“If they come near Clayton.” She narrowed her eyes. “They’re dead.”
Agnes stepped closer to Scarlett. “I’ll protect the boy.”
Scarlett nodded, tears flared in her eyes. Tash glanced at Hoss. The boy had opened up the protective mother instinct in both their mates. Just like his mother, they’d both die protecting him.
Topaz looked at each of them. “We’re going to shift on three.”
Tash and the others nodded wordlessly. “One…”
A twig snapped. The Kamtrinians were drawing closer.
“Two.”
Another twig broke.
“Three.”
Topaz, Hoss, and Padean shifted into fire breathing dragons. Tash shifted into an angry bear, hungry for blood. He raced toward where he heard the twig break. A Kamtrinian fired an eruptor at him. He darted to the right. The beam hit a tree splitting it in two.
The Kamtrinian raised it gun to fire, but he didn’t have a chance.
All the fury, all the hate, all the guilt, exploded inside of Tash. His strength grew ten times. He lunged and slammed into the Kamtrinian.
The Kamtrinian fell backward. Tash knocked the weapon out of his hand.
“Get off me…”
Those were the last words the bastard said.
Tash ripped out his throat and tore at the enemy’s flesh with his claws. Kamtrinians are made of calcite. Normally, they were hard to kill. But Tash clawed at his skin, and bits of rock and stones flew into the air. He cracked a tooth, but didn’t care. Revenge was his.
Screams drew his attention away from the Kamtrinian. He snarled and raced back to the burning chaos. Agnes was on the ground, holding her arm. A Gog lay motionless on the ground.
Scarlett held the eruptor in her shaking hand. Her white hair hung in front of her wide eyes. Gogs had surrounded them.
Not caring for his own safety, Tash charged. A Gog turned his head just as Tash slammed his body into the enemy’s back. The Gog fell face first just as he reached for his weapon. Tash bit the back of his neck and ripped. Blood burst into the air.
A Gog drew his weapon and aimed it at Tash, but then it burst into flames.
Tash panted and sniffed. The stench of the Gogs was draining.
“Oh, my God. Tash, you’re bleeding.”
Pain pulsed on his front leg. Metallic swirled in his mouth. He shifted. Blood dripped down the side of his left arm. He spat blood onto the dead Gog.
Scarlett raced over to him and hugged him.
“I’m okay, Scarlett.”
“Sit down while I tend your arm.” She ripped the end of her shirt that exposed her belly.
He glared. “What are you doing?”
She snapped her fingers. “Now sit.”
He reluctantly did as she asked and leaned against a tree. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m binding your arm.”
Clayton sat on the other side of him. He definitely was Scarlett’s shadow.
Topaz walked through the trees. “You look like hell.”
“I feel like hell.”
Hoss raced past Topaz and skidded to a halt. “Agnes, you’re hurt.” His voice cracked.
“A Gog clawed me after I shot him. Don’t worry, you big lug, I’m not dead…Not yet anyway.”
Hoss gingerly lifted her arm. Her flesh was ripped from her arm and Tash thought he could see bone.
Tears ran down Scarlett’s cheeks. “I tried to defend her.”
Tash’s eyes widened. “You did?”
“I zapped the Gog who clawed her.”
Tash looked at her with amazement. That was two Gogs for her. For someone who just learned how to use an eruptor, she was vastly becoming an expert.
Or maybe it was just pure dumb luck.
Hoss immediately ripped his shirt and wrapped it around Agnes’s arm.
“Topaz, she could bleed to death.”
Agnes shook her head. “No, I won’t.” She grabbed his arm. “We’ve got a job to do. This is what I do. I’m a cop, remember? We’ve got people to save.”
“Arians.” Wetness glistened in Hoss’s eyes. “I won’t let you die.”
She ran her shaking hand through his hair. “I know.”
“I thought your spirits said it was the Kamtrinians,” Topaz said.
“They did, but at the last minute, they warned me the Gogs were coming.” She shrugged. “Sometimes spirits get their times mixed up.” Her face paled as if she were trying not to faint. Blood had drenched the ground around her. She was in real bad shape.
Tash’s stomach turned rock hard. That could be Scarlett ripped to pieces. He wanted to get her out of here.
“Hoss.” She gripped his arm with a bloody hand. “The spirits…the spirits said the bombs have been placed. This place is about to blow.” Her eyes fluttered shut and her head fell back.
“No!” Hoss gripped her shoulders. “Agnes, Agnes.”
But she had fallen silent. Topaz knelt next to Hoss and put his hand on his shoulder. “Hoss.” He put his hand over Agnes’s
mouth. “I can still feel her breath. She’s still alive.”
Tears fell down Hoss’s cheeks. “I’ve got to get her to the Orion.”
Topaz squeezed his shoulders. “We’ll get her there. I swear. But we’ve a job to do.”
“I can’t leave her.” Hoss’s shaky voice rippled with fear and panic. He was a Dominian Dragon, one of the toughest shifters in the universe, and he was slowly falling apart.
Tash couldn’t blame him. He’d go insane if something happened to Scarlett. He stilled. Shades, he hadn’t even told her that he loved her.
Scarlett finished tying the knot on Tash’s bandage. Blood was determined to leak through, but it would have to do for now.
He had just a scratch compared to Agnes. Hoss cradled her to his chest.
“Hoss, we can’t do this without you,” Topaz said.
Scarlett wiped her palms on her thighs. “I’ll stay with her, Hoss. I promise I won’t leave her.”
Tash grabbed her arm. “Scarlett––”
She gave him a hard look. “We all have a job to do. Mine is to guard Agnes and Clayton.” She tilted her head. “Yours is to save your people.”
She turned to leave, but a burst of energy gripped Tash. His heart raced, spinning out of control. Everything whirled around him, but her. He grabbed her and kissed her. Desperate to taste her one more time, to inhale her sweet scent, to feel her curves against him. It wasn’t just any kiss, but a dominating one, willing her to live. She returned the fervor as if she wanted him to come back to her.
Topaz cleared his throat. “Tash, we’ve got to go.”
Tash ended the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “I just want to say I––”
“No.” She put a shaking finger on his lips. “Don’t say it here, not like a good-bye. Come back to me and say those words.”
He raked his fingers through silky hair. “I will.”
Not waiting for her to respond, he followed Topaz, Padean, and Hoss into the darkness, hoping he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life.
17
Tash shifted into a bear and hurried after the flying dragons. His front wounded leg shook and every time he landed on it, stabbing pain pulsed through him. He fell farther and farther behind. His heart pumped harder, but his lungs screamed for air. Agony gripped him. He lifted his front paw to keep pressure off the wound. He ran-hopped on three shaky legs, but he stumbled and skidded on his face.
