Cornering Carmen

by S. E. Smith

  Carmen shook her head and focused when she heard Trelon tell the man behind the transporter to beam them down. She needed to learn all she could if she was going to escape. It was best to keep her memories where they belonged for right now, in the past. Everything lit up around her and she felt a sense of disorientation before everything blurred.

  Chapter 2Creon Reykill was not in a good mood. In fact, he was in a really foul mood as his older brother gripped his arm turning him in the direction of the transporter room located in one of the wings of the palace. It was the absolute last place he wanted to go. He hated weepy females. He hated whiny, crying, clinging, fragile females. Give him a sturdy Sarafin or Curizan female any day. Not that there weren’t a few Valdier women who could compete for his attention but at least he didn’t have to chance running into a Sarafin or Curizan female he had bedded again unless he wanted to. The Valdier females all wanted something from him; namely a high position, the comfort of the palace, and him waiting on them hand and foot.

  Clarmisa was a perfect example of everything he hated about weak females. He ended up having to leave the planet before she would return to her clan. She had driven him out of his mind with her whining: the food was too cold, the rooms too small, the servants too rude. Then, she started on her clinging. She was too weak to walk without him holding her hand or she was frightened by the shadows in the corridors. He didn’t know why she had targeted him. He finally had enough the night she snuck into his living quarters. She had broken down in a torrent of tears after he ordered her out of his rooms. She was damn lucky his symbiot hadn’t killed her. The only thing that saved her was probably its distaste of even touching her.

  Creon felt his dragon shudder at the thought of touching the beautiful but empty Valdier princess. He could feel his own skin crawl as he remembered her touching his chest with her soft fingers. He had taken a long, hot shower before he packed his bags and took off again for the Sarafin star system. He had only returned a few days ago. He had been searching for information on his oldest brother Zoran’s kidnapping. He knew the Curizan weren’t behind it. He was best friends with Ha’ven, the Curizan leader. One of his informants had mentioned a possibility that Vox, the leader of the Sarafin, might know something. Creon was friends with the huge cat-shifter. They were a wily species that were as fierce as they were cunning. He had saved the big son-of-a-bitch during one of the battles in the Great Wars. While Vox was recovering, Creon and he had talked. They learned there was more behind the wars than they had been led to believe but certain factions within their governments were feeding them false information. A friendship was formed and they had worked together behind the scenes with Ha’ven to expose the plot to bring down each of their respective governments.

  “I still do not understand why I need to be there,” Creon muttered to Mandra as he walked next to him. “Isn’t it bad enough I had to deal with Clarmisa sneaking into my bed? Why do I have to deal with this weak species Zoran is bringing back? Surely you can handle it?” He groaned.

  Mandra glared at his youngest brother. “You owe me! After you left I had to deal with her and her father. He wanted to demand you claim her as your mate. I had to finally threaten to challenge him if he didn’t get the hell back to his clan,” he growled back. “I can deal with one whiny, weepy female but not two. Trelon said he needed help with the two sisters. We talked yesterday about how delicate and fragile they were. As soon as we get them settled, we will have mother and the healers take over their care.”

  Creon groaned silently. He hated dealing with situations like this. Give him a good fight, some undercover work, even an assassination attempt on his life but never, ever a needy female. He sighed as he followed Mandra into the transporter room. He paused to look around, hoping the females had already arrived and by some miracle they had missed them.

  He walked over to a small group of warriors he recognized from being on his brother Kelan’s warship. They must have come down earlier. He was surprised that they were still here. Usually once the warriors arrived they disappeared to find a willing female or two.

  “Welcome home,” Creon said easily. “I am surprised you are still here. I thought for sure you would have hurried to one of the pleasure houses by now,” he joked, slapping Jurden on the shoulder.

  If there was one thing he excelled at, it was putting others at ease and getting information. Trelon had been tight lipped when they had talked to him. Creon liked to deal with all the information he could get. If the females needed a healer right away, he wanted one on hand to take care of them as soon as possible.

  Jurden grinned at Creon. “It is good to be back, Lord Creon. We are waiting for the human females to transport down. I keep hoping to see if I can be the one to capture the short-haired one. She is unbelievable!”

  Creon frowned. Why would a warrior as fierce as Jurden want a weak, alien female? He listened as the men joked about being the one strong enough to capture the alien female’s heart. They laughed about how Tammit still bragged about his encounter with her.

  What in the god’s name were they talking about? Creon wondered with a shake of his head. He looked at Mandra with a confused shrug. Surely they must be talking about someone else.

  There was no way they could be talking about the females from the planet his brother had landed on. He had seen and talked to Zoran’s mate. She was as gentle and delicate as his mother’s flowers. She looked like a gentle breeze would knock her over.

  Creon turned to say something to Mandra when the body of his brother, Trelon, and three females appeared on the transporter platform. Creon looked on in disappointment as three small figures appeared next to Trelon. The one closest to him looked like a child. The other two females were similar in color but that was about all they had in common from what he could tell with a quick glance. He started in surprise when he heard Trelon bellow out for him and Mandra to grab the females. Trelon had grabbed the smallest one up over his shoulder and taken off at a run for the door. Creon turned in time to see the female with the long white hair planting her booted foot in his brother’s face.

  Creon turned to grab the female with the short hair. Yells of warning from the men behind him came too late. He reached for the female’s arm only to feel his body leaving the ground and going airborne for a brief moment. It was only his years of training that prevented him from landing on his back. He twisted at the last minute, landing on his feet with a snarl.

  The slender figure turned on him and struck out for his throat. Creon fell back a step as he moved away from the blow that would have left him gasping for air if it had landed. He felt his dragon roar out and push against his skin in a fierce battle to break free. Black scales, the color of the darkest night sky, rippled over his arms and up his neck as he fought for control.

  What in the hell is the matter with you? He exploded as he ducked another blow aimed at incapacitating him and spun around to circle the figure.

  Mate! His dragon panted. My mate! I capture my mate.

  Mate? Creon asked confused as he felt a booted foot connect with his stomach as he lost his focus. You think this she-demon who is trying to kill us is your mate? He wheezed as he tried to suck in air as her next foot connected with his groin.

  Creon blocked blow after blow trying to keep from getting his ass kicked while trying to gain control of his dragon. The damn thing was refusing to listen to him as it fought to escape and grab the female who was moving with lightning fast moves. He finally had enough of it and let out a loud, frustrated roar as he finally got his arms around her slender form.

  He was afraid to hold her too tight in case he hurt her. That was his first mistake. She took advantage of the close proximity to inflict more damage. He felt her head connect with his left eye in a blow that brought tears to his eyes. The second mistake was thinking if he pulled her head closer she couldn’t hit him with it again. He yelled out as her small teeth clamped down on his ear in a vicious bite that had him releasing his hold. That was his thir
d mistake. That left him vulnerable to her knee which found its way to his groin before connecting with his mouth.

  Creon saw stars as he let go of the seething white-haired savage. He fell back several steps trying to catch his breath as he put both hands on his knees to steady himself so he wouldn’t fall on his ass. He spit the blood from his busted lip out as he drew in a deep breath, willing away the pain.

  Go! Why you wait? Mate get away. Chase her! Chase her! His dragon bounded around inside him.

  Chase her? I’m going to strangle her! I just don’t know if I’m going to do it before or after I kill Trelon, Creon growled out, painfully straightening up.

  He glared at the men trying to hide their laughter. “I think you need to explain where in the dragon’s balls my brothers got these females and whose stupid idea was it to think they were delicate?” Creon growled out, wiping the blood from his mouth and wincing as he felt first his eye then his ear.

  “That little savage almost emasculated me!” Creon snarled when the men burst out laughing. “Not to mention nearly biting my ear off.”

  Jurden grinned. “Now you know why we were waiting. Aren’t they magnificent?”

  Creon felt his ear again, grimacing at the touch of blood that came away with his fingers. “Just bloody magnificent,” he replied sarcastically. “And will you bloody shut the fuck up! You are not helping my pain level at this moment,” he snarled.

  “My lord?” Jurden asked confused.

  Creon flashed a pained look at the men looking at him like he had lost more than a fight. “Not you,” he grimaced again heading toward the door. “My stupid dragon thinks that she-demon is his mate,” he grumbled as the doors closed behind him.

  *.*.*

  Carmen turned in a circle. She was in some type of long corridor. Floor to ceiling windows reflected the brilliant light of the planet. When she had finally escaped from the man trying to grab her, all she could think about was finding a place to hide and regroup. She had run out of the room like the hounds of hell were after her. In a way, she felt like they still were. The moment that man had touched her something inside of her reacted to him. It… frightened her. Carmen muttered a curse under her breath. This was stupid. The only feelings she had left inside her were for revenge.

  She walked along the corridor until she came to another set of narrow stairs leading upward. She looked behind her briefly to make sure no one was following her before she turned and took a tentative step forward. Soon she was moving up the stairs, staring in wonder at the ceiling murals and the carvings on the walls. She ran one hand along the white stone that glittered with tiny crystals that glowed as her hand moved over them.

  Carmen rounded the corner at the top and stopped in disbelief at the magnificence of the atrium filling the top floor. The ceiling was clear glass reaching almost thirty feet up. Plants of all sizes, shapes, and color grew in wild abandon. Carmen turned trying to see everything at once but there was too much to see. Glowing flowers hung down and vines with pulsing greens, purples, and pinks wound around tall statues of dragons and other creatures Carmen had never seen before.

  She walked along the narrow paths, stooping under the hanging vines, touching flowers and gasping when they suddenly closed. In the center of the atrium was a raised pool. Small fountains in the shape of birds poured water back into the pool. At the end, the huge shape of a dragon lying on his back with water pouring out of his mouth and over his belly formed a small waterfall.

  Carmen walked over to stare down at her reflection in the surface of the water. Grief flooded her as she stared into eyes that used to shine with excitement. Now all she saw was bleakness and pain. She reached out her hand, splashing the surface until she couldn't see her image any longer before she sat down on the edge of the pool. She tilted her head to look up at the ceiling, unwilling to look into her own eyes again. Through the clear glass she could make out the images of real dragons soaring overhead.

  Wrapping her arms around her waist, she rocked back and forth. “Oh Scott, I wish you could hold me again,” she whispered in a soft voice. Even as softly as she spoke the sound seemed to echo above the sound of the water. “I’m so scared. I don't know what to do.”

  She sat for a long time letting one plan after another flow through her mind in an attempt to figure out how she could get back home. She discarded one after another as she realized she had no idea where she was, much less how to fly a spaceship. Her hand moved to the knife she always kept with her. It had been Scott’s hunting knife. It was the knife she was going to use to kill Cuello with when she found him. Her fingers ran over the handle before she wrapped them around it and pulled it out. She kept the blade as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel. Raising her hand up, she let the tip cut along her palm just deep enough to draw blood. She needed that small reminder that she was still alive, that she still had a chance to complete the one last task she had set for herself.

  Carmen started when she heard the sound of claws rasping against stone. Rising slowly, she sheathed the knife at her waist and looked around. Plants moved to her left so she moved to the right, trying to keep the edge of the pool between her and whatever was coming toward her. She stumbled backwards when the shape of a huge, golden dragon appeared. Colors swirled through the golden body, changing as the light from above reflected on it.

  “Get out of here,” Carmen said in a low, stern voice. “Go on! Get out,” she repeated.

  She didn’t have the same touch with animals that her sister did. Ariel could look at a mountain lion and the damn thing would start purring and trying to be a lap cat. Carmen would look like lunch to the damn thing. She had seen similar creatures on board the warship. The men referred to them as their symbiots. They seemed to have some type of symbiotic relationship with the living creatures. All she cared about was if that thing was here then that meant its other half might not be far away. As far as she was concerned, that spelled trouble.

  “Go on, scat!” Carmen said beginning to feel a little nervous as the creature took another step toward her.

  It raised its massive head up in the air and looked as if it was sniffing something. Carmen watched as its head lowered until it stopped at her side. She followed the golden creature’s line of sight and cursed when she saw it was focused on her hand. Blood pooled on the ends of her fingers from where she had cut her palm. Carmen clenched her fist in an effort to keep the blood from dripping but she was too late. A small drop clung stubbornly before falling to the pristine white stone floor.

  Carmen’s head jerked up as she felt the shift in the air as the creature responded to the blood. She jerked in surprise when a line of gold shot out from it, winding around her injured hand. She burst into action, fighting to break the hold on her. The more she fought, the more gold swirled around her encasing her in its tentacles until she was held immobile by it. She refused to cower. If this was the way she was meant to die, then so be it. Her eyes glittered fiercely for a moment before she closed them and drew a picture of Scott into her mind.

  Memories of his light brown hair curling at the ends after he got out of the shower shimmered and formed. Carmen embraced the memories, pulling them to her until she was wrapped in his warmth and love again. She remembered his dancing green eyes as he teased her out of being mad. She remembered the way he made tender love to her in front of the fireplace at the small house they had purchased in their hometown. She remembered him holding her like he would never let her go when she found out her parents had been killed in a car accident. And, she remembered the look of sheer wonder when she told him…. Pain and grief filled her suddenly to the point she wondered if the creature would even have to bother with killing her. She felt like she was dying again right there.

  A low keening sound escaped her as the grief became more than she could keep inside. She opened her eyes and stared into the dark, golden flames burning in the creature’s eyes. She looked at it with a silent plea for mercy.

  “Please,” Carmen whispered. “Please. I do
n’t want to live anymore. It hurts too much. Please give me peace,” she begged the creature quietly.

  Chapter 3Morian stood back in the shadows with her fists pressed tightly to her lips. Her heart was breaking for the fragile human female. She had known the moment the young girl had entered her sanctuary. The plants reacted differently to the changes in their environment. This was the one place she retreated to when loneliness and pain took hold of her. Working with the plants and soil gave her a sense of peace when she needed it.

  She missed her mate. While he had not been her true mate, she had loved him and still grieved for his passing. She had thought to join him in death at first as this was the way of the true mate of their world but something told her it was not her time.

  When her oldest son Zoran was kidnapped, she had been frightened she would have to live through the loss of one of her children as well. Instead, his abduction had turned into a blessing from the Gods and Goddesses. He had discovered his true mate with a female from the distant world where he had sought refuge. In addition, it appeared the journey had blessed all her sons with their true mate if Creon’s symbiot was any indication.

  She had watched from the small office she kept up on an upper level of the atrium as Mandra’s symbiot played with the female with the long, white hair. She thought of leaving her sanctuary to meet the girl when this one appeared. Even from a distance, she had known instinctively that the girl wanted to be alone. Morian had given her that space but she was curious about these beautiful, fragile creatures that had captured her sons’ hearts. She had snuck down one of the many paths and followed her. Her whispered words had pulled at Morian. The girl tried to appear so tough on the outside but inside she was hurting deeply.