Caveman Alien’s Enemy (Caverman Aliens Book 10)

by Calista Skye

  “Your wings are burned through!”

  I inspect them, not too interested. There are indeed some holes. Flying is overrated.

  She puts a small hand on my neck. “Seriously, Kyandros: how bad is it?”

  I can’t lie to the woman who just agreed to be my wife. It’s bad.

  “Will you die?”

  - Even dragons die.

  “I mean, now?”

  I consider my charred scales and burned wings and various cuts and gashes. I don’t know. Let’s go and get your healing gel that is poison to me.

  “It can wait. These wounds aren’t deep. Just punctures, really. But she was about to hurt me really badly.”

  I shudder at the thought. Then I’m glad I used all my speed.

  “Me, too. Where were you, anyway?”

  - I was at your tribe.

  She frowns “At my tribe? The village? Are they still…”

  - Alive? Yes. But I left in a hurry and I don’t think they like me. I suddenly Changed while I was there. Not on purpose. It’s just that some things became clear to me.

  “What things?”

  - That I love you and that I want to be with you forever. It is an unusual and difficult thing for a dragon to grasp. Your friend Delyah helped me understand. I think we all have it in us. Somewhere. It gave me unknown strength. The strength to Change, to be a dragon in full.

  “You came there and they just talked to you?”

  - Yes.

  “From their own free will?”

  - Yes!

  Mia strokes my neck. “Did you get the strength to leave the planet?”

  - No. I’m stuck here, just like you.

  She stiffens. “What do you mean?”

  I chuckle. My beloved, I know that you are from another planet, a very rich one. You’re stranded here. And so am I. But I’m fine with that. I don’t want your planet. I just want you.

  She carefully puts her arms around my long dragon neck and squeezes herself to me. “And I want you.”

  - Ah, I say, not knowing what to do with myself. I recognize this. This is what experts call a ’hug’.

  “It is,” she sniffles. “I think there will be many of them in your future.”

  - Squeeze again.

  She does, and I can feel a little bit of extra strength flowing through my veins.

  - I will not die now, I conclude. Stay close to me for a while and squeeze when you can. Wait.

  I adjust my position, trying not to notice the burned smell from my scales and the coal-like creaking they give off when I move.

  I coil up so that Mia is sitting in the middle, with my body all around her and my head on the ground, close to her. Lean back on me.

  She does, and the physical contact strengthens me further.

  - Let’s stay like this for a little while, I suggest.

  Mia makes herself comfortable. “Am I your hoard?”

  - No. You are much more. You’re my beloved and the woman I’ll marry.

  “Your fiancée,” she corrects. “And you’re my fiancé.”

  - Ah.

  “You okay with getting married at my village?”

  - If the slayers will accept that.

  She chuckles. “I think they will.”

  - Then let’s get it done soonest.

  “Definitely.”

  She takes hold of one of my legs. “You’re clutching something in here. Is it the gold?”

  - Check for yourself. I open the talons.

  She takes out the little ball of leaves and carefully unwraps them. “I’ll be careful so I don’t spill any of it… oh my! Kyandros! There’s nothing in here!”

  - Look closer.

  She squints. “This?” She takes it out with two fingertips.

  - That’s it.

  She pulls the single, long strand of dark hair taught between her fingers. “Mine?”

  - Yours. I found it on your white fur. And after that, it gave me strength. It was the final thing I needed to almost understand. You know how obsessed dragons are with objects. I needed that object to hang the rest on, for it to crystallize around.

  “Okay,” she says simply. “Where’s the gold?”

  - Probably at the cave. I haven’t given it a second thought since. You saved my life when you brought me that gold. Nothing else could have brought me back to health. Not even your presence, which had made me much stronger and made me resist the poisonous gel much longer than I would otherwise have been able to.

  Mia puts her head back and rests it on my skin. The trust she displays heals me further.

  “You know,” she says, “I may not be your hoard. But I wonder if maybe you’re mine.”

  41

  - Mia -

  Kyandros stays in his dragon form and rests for a while, healing by some means that I don’t understand, but which have a lot to do with me being close to him. That suits me fine. I’m very comfortable here, half on top of my own dragon. I’m even able to doze off, now that everything has calmed down and I’m safe.

  Except of course, the other dragons might be back at any time. Or maybe they saw the battle from the outside of the ship and they realize that coming back inside might be unhealthy.

  I tap my lips with one finger. That enormous, dragon-shaped hole in the wall might be an issue for me and the girls actually living here. I can see the starry sky outside, and the air leaking in is absolutely colder than the balmy temperature there used to be in here. But we’ll cross that chasm when we get to it. I don’t think the escape ship was damaged, based on Delyah’s description of where it is located.

  I repair the necklace. It’s missing a tooth, but that just makes it better. It has history now.

  After a while Kyandros seems to be getting antsy, and he uncoils and flies a little circuit around the room. Only now do I get a good chance to really look at him.

  He’s large, of course. Larger than in his human form. He’s maybe the length of a bus, tail included. And he’s all muscle and sleek scales and spikes and flowing elegance, a silver meteor when he speeds up and folds his wings in along his body.

  When he passes overhead, I stand up and cheer and jump and just stare in awe. I cannot wait to be married to that.

  But I will wait a little, anyway.

  - - -

  Kyandros reluctantly goes back to his human form.

  “I don’t know if I can Change as easily now,” he admits. “But we’ll see.”

  We make our way to the place in Bune where the magic space gel is being constantly manufactured by automated machinery, and I apply it to my small wounds. They immediately go numb as the blue nanosubstance starts the healing process. I doubt Berilona had poisoned claws, but if so, this should fix everything up just fine.

  Except Kyandros. I’m not putting any more of this on him.

  “I only need you to heal,” he states matter-of-factly. “I think my scales will always have a charred look. But the rest of me is getting better fast.”

  I kiss him. “You want to explore this place? I mean, just one part of it?”

  “Not really. This ship feels tainted.”

  “Because the builders made it specifically to have no value to dragons. In a way, it’s well deserved. Your kind hunted these people to extinction.”

  “I did not.”

  “Because you never reached their planet in time. But you came to this planet ready to kill and steal. From both these aliens and from anyone else you’d meet.”

  He gives me the most boyishly shy smile. “Maybe.”

  I place one hand at his warm cheek. “So, I think it’s only fair that you endure this. And, my love, I may need your help with something.”

  - - -

  “About four airliners is right,” I say as I look around the escape ship. “You could cram about a thousand seats in here. But I guess now there’s seating for only five hundred cavemen.”

  I don’t like what I’m seeing. This is much more alien than I thought it would be. And I have no idea how to t
ake a look at the outside of it, which would be the most important part of my inspection.

  “This is a spaceship, too?” Kyandros looks around.

  “A spaceship within the spaceship,” I explain. “This was supposed to fly by itself and take the slayers to wherever they wanted to go. Now it will take me and the girls back to our planet.”

  He kicks at one of the couches. “Hm. I know what spaceships are, of course. But I have never been inside one until now. Seems weird to get inside something so that you can travel. I always travel alone, freed of everything.”

  “That works for you,” I agree. “But we pure humans can’t handle space without a spaceship around us. Kyandros darling, I have a question.”

  “Then ask, my love.”

  “You told me that you can tell immediately if an object has value for you, just by touching it. You can tell if it’s well made or if the material is good. And you can tell if something is broken.”

  “I can.”

  “So, can you tell me if this small spaceship is broken? Or if it’s not?”

  “This whole thing?”

  “This whole thing.”

  He looks around in disgust. “I can tell immediately that it’s tainted and that it has no value for me. Indeed, I am repelled by it.”

  “Okay. I figured. But can you also tell if it’s broken?”

  He wrinkles his nose. “I would have to touch it.”

  I flutter my eyelids. “Please?”

  “You know that I’m fully aware when you’re trying to manipulate me into doing something?”

  I give him my sweetest smile. “I think most men are. But they choose to be manipulated because the girl is just sooo charming.”

  He scratches his chin. “That does sound like the male gender. Oh, very well.”

  He goes to the wall and puts one large hand on it. Then he walks around to the other wall and puts his hand on that, closing his eyes and concentrating.

  I can’t help but laugh. “You know that I’m fully aware when you’re putting on a show?”

  He opens his eyes. “I think most women are. Fine, I don’t actually need to check it this thoroughly.”

  “You knew at the first touch, like every time.”

  He shrugs. “I wanted it to look more impressive. But yes. I did.”

  I hold my breath. This could determine the entire future for the girls and me. “And?”

  - - -

  I always liked flying on airplanes. But riding on a flying dragon is beyond anything I could ever have dreamed. It’s not just the immense sense of freedom and speed and the breathtaking exhilaration of the living creature under me. It’s also the overwhelming feeling of being invincible, of being at the very apex of creation. Yeah, I can see how Kyandros prefers this form over the human form. Being a fighter pilot must pale in comparison to this.

  He was able to Change very easily the moment we left Bune, and then he just lifted me onto him without even asking. I kind of liked that.

  The jungle is passing below – trees and patches of snow and hills and the huge waterfall. Kyandros takes me on a little tour, and within a few minutes I’ve seen what has to be Aurora’s lake, Caroline’s treehouse, and Phoebe’s island and her various oceans. From way above, with my hair streaming behind me and Kyandros’s warm, impossibly strong body under me.

  I hold on to the spikes on his back, but after a couple of minutes I sense that he will never let me fall and I can let go of my handholds if I want.

  I’m sure we must be seen from below, by many tribes and probably by many dragons. That’s fine with me. They can see us. They can be afraid of us. They can tremble in terror when they see the silver lightning streaking past overhead, so mighty and so powerful, their lives in my hands…

  Shit, now I’m thinking like a dragon. I have to pull myself together.

  “Let’s go to the village,” I yell.

  As usual, Kyandros takes a little while to react to my wish. That’s okay with me. He’s a man and a dragon, not my little bitch. He has a mind of his own. I would want him no other way.

  But at last we fly slowly over the village, not too low because I don’t want to scare the girls and their babies. I wave, and the girls I can see wave back.

  We put down a little distance away so Kyandros can Change back to human form for the meeting with the tribe.

  I’m nervous. He is a dragon. The girls are going to be all kinds of suspicious, and they’re going to say bad, negative things about my relationship with Kyandros.

  Are you sure this is a good idea?

  Marry a dragon? Are you insane?

  You should probably think about this.

  We are met by Dar’ax and Ar’ox. Their hands are on their swords, but the blades are not bare.

  “Mia,” Dar’ax says. “I’m glad to see you.” He shifts his gaze to my fiancé. “Kyandros. You left after only a short time with us.”

  “There was no time to lose,” Kyandros says. “And I am very glad I left when I did.”

  We walk into the village, now with two cavemen in front of us and two behind. I’m not offended – this is a freaking dragon I’m bringing home.

  Phoebe comes right over and hugs me. “Mia! Where have you been?”

  “Here and there,” I sniffle. “Mostly there.”

  Ashlynn is next. “I would never have figured you for the craziest of us all. But I’m so glad you’re back!”

  All the girls come hugging me.

  Except one.

  They sit me down at the campfire, while Kyandros stays nearby. The cavemen are nervous around him, but don’t talk to him. Heck, it’s better than I expected.

  Caroline pushes a mug of not-coffee into my hand. “Here. It’s not Starbucks, but it’s also no worse.”

  I take a sip of the familiar, grassy brew that’s nothing at all like coffee. “Thanks. I missed this. Girls, where is Eleanor?”

  Aurora shifts her ever-present crossbow in her arms. I notice it is pointed in the general direction of Kyandros. “Eleanor is still missing.”

  A lump of ice settles in the pit of my stomach. “And Brank’ox?”

  “Also missing.”

  “And the other guys that we left with?”

  Heidi puts a hand on my wrist. “All are accounted for. Seven returned from Bune. Thirteen died in an attack by dragons right outside Bune.”

  I freeze. “Thirteen?”

  “They say there were four dragons. One was extraordinarily aggressive and ferocious. It killed twelve of them on its own.”

  “Let me guess: the copper-colored one?”

  Emilia leans in. “You know about that one?”

  I glance over at Kyandros. “I do. Before I tell you everything: Girls, this is Kyandros. He’s a dragon. He’s also my fiancé.”

  They all go quiet, but I expected nothing else.

  Of course, Caroline is the first to break the silence. “Congrats! And are you kidding me? Your fiancé is a dragon? How fucking cool is that?”

  Tamara cuffs my shoulder. “You rule, Mia! Damn, that’s crazy and cool and insane and actually just great!”

  The other girls follow suit, so of course their positive reaction has me dissolved in tears right away while they squeeze me and hug me again.

  “I may be crazy,” I finally state, “but I’m nowhere near as cool as you girls are. Seriously, thank you for that. You have no idea now nervous I’ve been.”

  “Hey, we all married caveman aliens,” Delyah points out. “You think we have any high moral ground? I know your dragon. He’s fine. He loves the freaking hell out of you. And I’m sorry there weren’t any warriors to find you at Bune. But as far as we knew, that place was crawling with dragons. We couldn’t take the risk of sending anyone there for a while. Now, let’s hear about your adventures.”

  It takes me hours to tell the full story, and I jump back and forth because being close to Kyandros for days has made my concept of time go haywire. But finally I get to the Berilona battle, and when I’m do
ne with that, I’m shot and the girls are quiet.

  I finish my third cup of not-coffee. “So, I understand Kyandros made an impression on you guys when he came here alone?”

  “He almost shocked us to death,” Delyah says. “A dragon coming that close? And then he started talking about you. I was sure he had captured or even killed you. We were ready to just tie him up more and then toss him into a hole somewhere. Until he said that you had freed him from his wires. And he said ’metal fatigue’, and then we knew that it was true. Because that term just oozes Mia. It’s not something he would have made up. So when I then discovered that he was carrying one of your hairs with him, like a treasure, we were pretty sure he was legit. We were going to set him free after we got just a little bit of confirmation. Which we have now, by the way. The cave exists and is the way Kyandros described. Except,” she turns to the dragon, “you didn’t mention there was a little bundle of gold dust there.”

  He shrugs. “I was done with that gold by then. It poisoned my mind when I got it. But it also healed me.”

  “It’s pretty clear,” Delyah continues, “that a dragon who leaves gold behind and clings to a girl’s hair instead is a dragon in love. But by that time, I already knew that. He just needed a little bit of help putting the pieces together.”

  “You were a great help,” Kyandros rumbles. “I suddenly saw exactly what Mia was to me.”

  “He changed into a dragon on the spot, but he didn’t massacre us or even act in a threatening way. And for a dragon, I think that’s pretty good going. I mean, according to your story, he has never hurt you. Well, not physically. But you have hurt him plenty. Not on purpose, of course. Still, he has only helped you. And us. Brax’tan doesn’t see it quite like that, but he’ll come around. Kyandros, don’t be offended. The men are just very afraid of you.”

  He smiles with satisfaction. “As is only appropriate.”

  Phoebe raises her hand, as if she were in school. “Aren’t you afraid of them?”

  He thinks about it. “They are dragon slayers, I can tell. Some of them have slain. Indeed, you yourself have been close to that.” He fixes Phoebe with a stare.