by S. E. Smith
“We should be there in another thirty minutes,” Creon said.
JD, Carmen’s informant that she was supposed to have met months ago hadn’t let her down. He was an undercover agent with the DEA. He had been close friends with her former boss, Kevin. He had worried when she didn’t show up months ago that Javier had found out she was after him and had put a hit out on her, especially when Kevin couldn’t tell him where she was either. Carmen had told him a story about being hurt in a kidnapping. She stayed as close to the truth as possible without mentioning her unexpected meeting with aliens and being on another planet.
JD had sent her a complete map of the compound in Colombia where Javier was currently hiding. He could only tell her that Javier would be at the compound in two days’ time. He didn’t know how long he would stay as the government was cracking down on the cartel. The governor he had tried to kill was now the president of the country and was not a forgiving man when it came to someone trying to kill his family, especially his son.
“After we land in the compound, I want both of you to cover Carmen. They have weapons that can shoot long range. I’ve given you some of Ha’ven’s toys. The shields will protect us from their weapons. Kill any who fire on you,” Creon said grimly. “Carmen, you will stay behind me. They will not see Harvey until he shifts into a different form. Jaguin and Gunner’s symbiots will take out most of the guards. Hopefully, we will enter before Cuello is aware we are there.”
“Why didn’t we just beam in?” She asked quietly, rubbing her stomach which was knotted with nerves.
You not like beaming, her dragon growled out, annoyed that she was even doing this. You let me out if you get trapped. I make bad guys crispy.
You are so bad, Carmen replied softly. After this is over, how about I talk Creon into going flying when we get back home. Paul showed me some nice secluded places we could have some fun in.
You promise? Her dragon rumbled in delight. I have my mate? All me?
All you! I promise, Carmen swore with a giggle.
I still want to burn bad guys, her dragon grumbled.
“No,” Creon’s voice was deeper than it normally was as his dragon answered his mate. “I know what she wants. It is too dangerous. Do not let her out,” he said fiercely.
“I won’t,” Carmen responded. “At least, not here.”
Creon’s eyes shifted to her at the sound of the slight purr in her voice. Black scales rippled on his arms in response to his mate’s teasing suggestion. He was about to answer when he felt a slap on the back of his head.
“What?” He snarled at Gunner who was sitting back in his seat.
“You pulled me away from that stubborn ass…. my mate, so the least you can do is have a little sympathy on me,” he grumbled out in a pout. “I was almost to the point I think she was going to talk to me instead of trying to kill me.”
“Yeah well, you are still ahead of me. At least you found your mate,” Jaguin bit out as he turned to look at the brightly lit compound coming into view. “Do you think he has enough lights on? This place could be seen from the Horizon,” he complained.
No sooner had the words escaped from his mouth that the lights flickered and went out. Jaguin and Gunner grinned. Their symbiots had arrived ahead of them and prepared a landing party. Harvey floated unseen above the ground. A doorway dissolved and Jaguin and Gunner stood. They nodded their head and dove out the doorway, shifting as they fell into their dragons. They moved in silence through the compound, helping to take out any armed guard. Gunner breathed a glowing blue fire ring that faded quickly to show it was safe to land.
Harvey set down in the center of the burned ring. The doorway appeared again and Creon helped Carmen down. Jaguin and Gunner were waiting for her and quickly took up a stance on each side of her as Creon lead the way. Harvey shifted into a huge Werecat. An invisible shield protected the small group as they moved toward the house situated in the middle of the compound. Creon waved his hand and the door disintegrated. He quickly pocketed the device Ha’ven had given him.
“Cool toy,” Gunner murmured. “I hope that damn thing doesn’t work on us.”
Creon grinned and shook his head. “No, only wood,” he said, nodding to the pieces of metal hanging from the door and the pieces on the ground.
A young slender girl came out of a side room. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened to scream but no sound came out. She looked at the door further down the hallway then back to the small group of strange beings coming in through a door that was no longer there. Her dark eyes looked hopeful as she glanced back to the door.
Carmen locked eyes with the young girl whose eyes moved to Carmen’s rounded waist before they rose to stare at her in silent understanding. The girl pointed at the door and raise four fingers, then two more and the shape of a woman. The girl pointed to the four fingers and nodded. Then pointed to the two and shook her head vigorously in denial. Carmen raised her finger to her lips and nodded her understanding. The girl moved aside as the group walked silently down the hallway.
Creon reached for the device before realizing it would not work as the door was solid metal. He looked to Harvey who snorted and moved forward rapidly. In seconds, the door was lying flat on the floor and gold tentacles wove around the room holding three men in place where they were sitting and the fourth by his ankles in the air. Creon moved to stop Carmen from entering the room when he saw what the men were doing but she pushed past him. Her eyes darkened in distress as she saw one young girl around Melina’s age stretched out on a T-shaped rack. Her shirt was pulled down around her waist. Bloody stripes crisscrossed her back where the man standing had been whipping her. Her head hung down, a long pale braid of blonde hair was hanging down in front of her.
“Cut her down,” Carmen demanded immediately as her eyes went to the other girl.
She stared at the other girl who was tied up in a kneeling position. She had blonde hair, as well. Her hair was shorter but not by much. She had dark bruises across one side of her face and her eyes were dazed as if she might have a concussion.
“Who are you?” Javier demanded in Spanish from where he was trapped in his seat.
Carmen stepped out from around Creon’s left side so she could be seen by Javier. She knew he recognized her the minute he saw her. She turned to face him. She felt frozen inside until the moment her eyes locked on his. The fire of rage began burning uncontrollably inside her as hatred, pain, and grief rose. Memories of Scott looking at her before Javier shot him, the months of pain from recovering from her own wounds, and dealing with the loss of her husband and child.
“You!” He snarled fighting to break free. “I have looked for you for the past four years!”
“You should have looked harder because I wanted you to find me,” Carmen said in a voice devoid of all emotion.
She looked at the two women. Jaguin was gently holding the body of the girl who had been whipped. His symbiot was circling her in distress, trying to wrap around her. Jaguin cradled her bloody body, trying to be careful of her ravaged back.
“Why?” She asked as Gunner gently lifted the other girl up when she couldn’t stand.
“She looked enough like you that I could make her pay for what you did to me!” He bit out in rage. He looked at the gold threads holding him. “What is this? What type of weapon is this? I have never seen anything like it before,” he said, suddenly realizing that he was in a perilous position.
“You hurt her because she looked like me?” Carmen asked swaying slightly. “You hurt an innocent girl because she reminded you of me?”
Creon wrapped his arm around Carmen’s waist. “Gunner, take Carmen with you and return to the Horizon.”
“No!” Carmen said sharply. She pulled away from Creon and stared at Javier. “What I did to you?” She bit out harshly, taking a step toward Javier. “What did I do to you?”
“Let me go and I will show you,” Javier demanded coldly.
Carmen waved her hand. Creon bit back a curse an
d told Harvey to release the man but to be cautious. Javier pulled a cane that was leaning against the desk toward him. He stood awkwardly and moved slowly around the desk. Once he was on the other side, he pulled his pant leg up enough for Carmen to see he was wearing a prosthetic leg.
“You took my leg when you stabbed me,” he bit out harshly. “You disfigured me for life!”
Carmen looked at him with cold eyes. “You killed my husband and baby. You left me for dead. Do you really think I give a damn that you lost a leg? You took everything I cared about in this world away from me!”
“You seem to have found something in this world to replace the man and child you declare was taken from you,” Javier snarled out nodding his head toward her rounded belly.
Carmen smiled coldly. “Yes, but there is one big difference,” she said quietly.
“And what is that?” Javier asked with a sneer.
“They are not from this world,” she said as she let the wave of change sweep over her. Brilliant shades of white, red, pink, and purple scales rippled over her as she let her dragon have her way.
Crispy? Her dragon asked hopefully.
Extra! Carmen said firmly.
Creon’s muttered oath followed his orders for Jaguin, Gunner, and their symbiots to return with the two injured women to the Horizon while he took care of the men and his mate. Creon shifted, breathing fire at the same time as Carmen did. Their combined fire engulfed Javier, freezing the look of horror and terror on his face for the briefest moment in time before ash floated down where he had once stood. Creon turned to the other men as Harvey released them one at a time. Small mounds of ash were the only testament to their existence.
He turned to his mate who had raised her head and roared out as the last of her grief poured out of her. Gently, he moved his black body closer to hers. He snarled out to Harvey to create an opening large enough for them to fly through. In seconds, a huge hole opened the back wall out into the dark. Creon pushed his mate with his wings and tail, nipping at her to force her to follow him. He knew she was trapped in the past. He needed to bring her away from this place and take her into her new future. Slowly she responded, moving toward the opening. The closer she got, the faster she went, as if she was ready to face the new beginning that awaited her outside of the walls of the compound. Her wings swept the ash of the men up and away until nothing remained of their existence. Soon they were both airborne, followed closely by Harvey. He would let her fly as far and as fast as she wanted. When she tired, he would hold her and guide her. He would never let her fall or flounder again.
Neither one of them saw the young girl standing in the remains of the compound alone. A look of wonder and a small smile of relief on her face. Miracles really did exist she thought as she crossed herself. She was free!
Chapter 23Carmen flew into the night, her wings stretched wide as she soared. She raced the winds, touched the clouds, kissed the moon as she flew up as high as she could before exhaustion began to set in. She had reached the Yucatan Peninsula before she began to slow down. As she floated along the coastline, sandy beaches called to her. She moved away from the lighted towns to a small dark cove. The waters were calm as she glided inches above them. The stars and moonlight reflecting like diamonds on the surface. She could make out the glowing multicolor shades of her scales against the brilliant white light of the full moon. She let the tips of one of her front claws touch the surface, making ripples behind her as she flew.
You are beautiful, mi elila, Creon said as he swooped protectively down next to her.
He hurt those women because of me, Carmen mourned softly. How many has he hurt over the past four years?
Hush, my little warrior kitten, Creon said as he followed her down to the satin white beach below.
Carmen touched down first, folding her wings against her side as she turned to stare up at the full moon. It looked close enough to touch. She raised her head and let out a mournful cry at the thought that others were harmed because of her. Creon’s midnight black shape touched down. In the darkness of night, it was impossible to see him except for the glow of his golden eyes.
Do not blame yourself, Carmen. You have no control over what that man did. He was evil. Do not take his deeds as your own. You are the light to the darkness, he said as his larger shape moved closer to her. Look, he whispered. Look how your brightness shines, lighting up the darkness of my soul.
Carmen looked down as he gently touched his front claw to hers. His scales shimmered for a moment before the color darkened and began to reflect the stars from the sky. She looked up into his flaming gold eyes.
Together we are one, he whispered. It is time for my phoenix to rise up from the ashes and to embrace our life together. Will you do this with me? Will you do this for our daughters that you carry?
Carmen laid her slender head against Creon’s massive chest briefly before she drew back enough to look into his eyes again. It was time to finally say goodbye. She would never forget her old life, it would always be a part of her but it was time to accept her new life. She had changed just as the phoenix had until only the ashes of her old life remained. Out of those ashes, she had a choice as to how she wanted to live her new life. She wanted one with no regrets.
I want to go home, Carmen said quietly.
To Wyoming? Creon asked hesitantly.
Carmen looked up at the moon and the stars again. No, she said softly into the wind. To Valdier. She looked at him with flaming golden brown eyes. To my new life with you and our children.
You are mine, Carmen, forever, Creon whispered.
The huge male moved behind the smaller female. He would take her again tonight. He would claim her under the stars and the moon of her planet, on a sandy beach. He would roar for all to hear that a Valdier Dragon Prince had found his mate in the most unlikely place with the most beautiful female he had ever seen. She was delicate, fragile, strong and brave. She was stubborn and loyal and compassionate. She was the light to his darkness. She was his perfect mate and he loved her more than life itself.
The slender female dragon lowered her head in submission until the larger male nudged her with his head. Look to the stars as I take you, my beautiful phoenix. Look to the stars and home, he murmured as he slowly mounted her from behind.
When she raised her head to the stars, Creon bent over her biting down and breathing the dragon’s fire of his male into her. He embraced the fire as it burned through them both. He welcomed the fire that would ignite in both of them as they came together as one again and again.
Carmen’s hoarse cry shattered the silence as the huge male caged her within his wings, holding her and taking her with long, strong strokes. She rocked back against him as he gripped her wings at the shoulders with his front claws, rising up on his hind legs and wrapping his tail tightly around hers to hold his balance as he pushed deeply into her over and over. He released her neck as her jagged coughs broke along with the waves on the surface. Her body milked his over and over, pulling him deeper into her and holding him trapped as she swelled around him.
The loud roar of the male as he climaxed shook the trees, scaring the native birds and animals living along the isolated coast. His roar could be heard for miles and many residents along the coast would swear they saw and heard the ancient god, Quetzalcoatl, as he roared his claim for all to hear that night.
*.*.*
Carmen fell into an exhausted sleep wrapped in her mate’s strong wings; the sounds of the waves her lullaby, the warm breeze her fan, and an endless sky of stars her nightlight. She was finally at peace. She vaguely remembered Creon coaxing her to transform back into her two-legged form before dawn. She quickly fell back into a deep, deep sleep brought on from being pregnant and too many years of stress. Creon carried her wrapped just as tightly in his arms as he held her in his wings to Harvey who was waiting patiently for them further down the beach.
“Thank you, my friend,” Creon said quietly as he laid Carmen down on the contoured bed that f
ormed under her. “Take us back to Paul’s home. We have one thing left to do before we can leave for home.”
Harvey shimmered, changing colors to match the early morning light. A fisherman, coming around the cove, would later tell of the magnificent creature that had disappeared right before his eyes but not before he saw it rise up off the beach. He would later bring several of his friends and one scientist with him to show them the footprints the gods left in the sand before the waves and wind washed them away.
*.*.*
Later that day, Carmen and Creon stood in the small graveyard outside of the town of Casper Mountain, Wyoming. Scott’s grave lay near his mother’s and her parents. Carmen walked forward and laid several red roses on the grave and one small teddy bear. She let her fingers brush over the words:
More than a husband, more than a friend, the love of my life. He rests here protecting our unborn child forever in his arms. You will forever be in my heart.
Carmen smiled thankfully as Creon helped her to stand up. He held her tenderly, giving her time to say goodbye. She squeezed his hand before turning and taking a deep breath as she looked up into the brilliant blue sky.
“I’m ready to go home,” she said calmly. “I’m ready to live again.”
Creon didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to. He could see the sense of peace in her as she let go of her past. He wrapped his arm around her and turned toward Harvey who was waiting for them. They would be leaving this afternoon for Valdier. Carmen wanted their children to be born in their home there, if possible. It would be close if they were to make it back in time but she was determined that their girls would know their home world.
Creon had talked with Trelon. He told him about using the symbiots with the crystals plus the sound waves Cara had perfected. He cautioned that it had to be done in the right order and at the right frequency otherwise it made the symbiots act like a bunch of Valdier warriors having a drinking contest. He had given the task to the Marastin Dow females of all people to set up. They were both amazing in the engineering department. His chief of engineering would oversee them. He had received word as they were coming here that Cree and Calo had returned to the warship. Nothing was said about whether Melina was with them or not. He figured he would find out soon enough. He couldn’t imagine them leaving without her but if she absolutely refused, they might not have had a choice as he had sent word to them that they were departing today.
