Dragon's Hope (Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book 4) Read online

  Electricity crackles through the air and my back explodes into pain but I don't stop. I have to save my treasure. Somewhere distant Lana is screaming my name but I can't stop. He touched her, I must destroy him.

  Pain. More pain. My back and legs are numb. Darkness edges the red rage of my view, closing in, but I can't let go. My hands are on his throat, squeezing. Flesh gives way, thumbs dig in as light fades. Gray fades to black.

  "Astarot, no!" Lana screams as black claims me.

  12

  Lana

  I can't stop the tears falling down my face. Astarot lies in a huddled pile on the floor, not moving. I can't even see if he's breathing. This isn't the way it's supposed to be. He has to be okay.

  Nausea grips my stomach, doubling me over. It passes in a shuddering wave leaving me feeling even emptier. It's hard to breathe. I have to know he's okay.

  Rising, I look over at the pirate who stares at me but doesn't react. Okay, deep breath, walk forward. The floor vibrates hard, with the occasional jump as if they're driving over any obstacle that gets in their way. Putting a hand on the ceiling to steady myself, I make a tentative step towards Astarot, keeping an eye on the pirate.

  One step then another but he doesn't stop me. When I reach Astarot, I kneel beside him, taking my eyes off the pirate for the first time. Though I'm not looking at him I'm paying attention with my other senses. I won't let him take me by surprise again. Astarot taught me better. I shouldn't have let my guard down the first time.

  My hand shakes as I reach for Astarot. Clenching it into a fist I try to steady it before I touch his brow. He's cool, but that's not unusual. He's always cool to the touch, no matter how hot it is. Sliding my hand along his cheek I bring it to rest on his neck, hoping that he has an artery where I can feel his pulse in somewhere close to the place it would be if he were human.

  Stopping and closing my eyes I feel for it, but nothing. No, no, no, he's okay. He has to be. This isn't how it ends for us. I slide my hand forward and wait, feeling for the pulse that has to be there. Nothing, damn it. Biting my lip hard enough to taste blood I move my hand along his neck again and feel. There! It's slow, steady, but, but a pulse. He's alive.

  Relief floods through me causing my tears to flow even more. My head is pounding, my mouth is dry, and crying isn't helping anything. Knowing he's alive though, that's enough. It means there's hope. The pirate grunts, stomping his foot on the floor. Glancing over my shoulder, he motions me away from Astarot.

  Reluctantly I crawl backwards, trailing my fingers across him until my outstretched arm won't reach him any longer. Back on my side of the space I lean against the wall and let the vibrations of the transport lull me into a fitful sleep.

  I wake, thankful to leave behind the nightmares that chase me through sleep. Every part of my body aches, deep down to the bones. Stretching doesn't touch it. My head pounds, my throat is dry, and my stomach feels like a ball of acid boiling over. Random waves of nausea grip me then pass. Something is wrong, way wrong, and I don't know what, but I feel like shit.

  The guard, I assume it's the same one as they all look alike, stares at me then grunts or maybe he says something. Shame burns for an instant as I consider how racist my thoughts are but what do I know of space pirates? They all look orange, leathery, and have the same hair style.

  Pulling my feet under me, I rise, but the nausea hits hard then the room is spinning and I drop back onto my butt. Okay, that was a bad idea. Shaking my head to clear it does no good. Hell with it. I crawl over to Astarot. His eyelids flutter when I touch his cheek then open.

  "Astarot," I plead.

  "Lana?" he asks, his voice cracking.

  Moving closer, I want to kiss him, but a sharp grunt accented by the slam of a boot on the floor stops me in my tracks. Looking over my shoulder, the pirate grunts several times in a row then raises his gun which makes his intentions clear. I pull back, unwilling to risk it.

  "Are you okay?" I ask.

  He closes his eyes, his nostrils flare, then he opens his eyes and nods.

  "I'll be fine," he answers. "Are you okay?"

  I nod, my throat clenching tight and refusing to allow words out. Tears fall but I wipe them away. I can't cry, not now. Sniffling, I wipe my nose on my sleeve then nod, biting my lip.

  "Yes, I'm fine."

  "I'll get us out of here," he whispers. "Just need time."

  "I know," I say, and I do.

  I don't know how or why, but I know he'll save us. My faith in him is absolute. My belief that no matter what comes, we'll handle it is complete. The transport jerks hard and I'm tossed to the side. Looking around, the guard looks as surprised as we are.

  "What's happening?" I ask.

  The vibration stops, then it feels like we drop to the ground. The door towards the front slides open with a screech of metal on metal and two more pirates walk into the space. One points at me, growling and grunting. The guard answers, puffing his chest out and stepping into him. They argue then the third one puts a hand on each of their chests and pushes them apart.

  The two stop talking and step back. The third one, who seems bigger than the other two, walks towards me. My heart pounds in my chest so loud it's a drum in my ears. I'm light-headed and my vision wavers as my breath comes faster and faster until I realize I'm hyperventilating.

  The larger pirate towers over me, staring down, beady eyes looking me over like a piece of meat. There's no hint of a soul in those dead eyes. His huge hand comes at me and grabs me by my throat, lifting me to my feet. The chains holding Astarot clank as he struggles against them but the new pirate ignores him.

  Setting me on my feet, he let's go of my throat but his hand runs down my chest pushing my torn shirt open and exposing my breasts. He stares as if he's never seen a pair of tits before in his life then grunts, growls, and looks over his shoulder. My chest and face burn hot as I take the chance to cover myself.

  The Zzlo walks away, ignoring me. He slams his hand against the wall next to where I've been sitting. Something whirs and then a crack forms in the wall outlined by a blinding, red-white light. The whirring sound grows louder as the wall lowers. The bright, red suns of Tajss stream through, blinding me. My eyes water as I blink trying to adjust to the new, bright light.

  Shapes move out into the light through my bleary vision, more heard than seen. Wiping the tears from my eyes I blink until at last I can see. The side is a gangplank, the same one they led us in. The three pirates have gone outside leaving no one to watch me.

  Astarot nods. Pursing my lips I take a tentative step towards the door. The red suns make the rolling sand look like it's dotted with sparkling diamonds. Stopping in the opening, I let my eyes adjust once more until my vision clears at last. A massive black shadow dominates the horizon.

  It looks almost like… but it can't be. We've traveled to far for…

  Our crashed ship? Shaking my head, I walk down the ramp feeling numb. The shape is wrong. Something isn't right, it's not the wreck we landed in. That means, no, it can't be...

  Nearby, screams tear me away from the shadow forcing my attention much closer to home. Two people are running with the pirates in close pursuit. One pirate whirls something over his head, it's a flashing blur that flies when he releases it. It takes one of the fleeing figures in the legs, knocking them to the ground.

  The other stops to help the fallen one, and it's over. The pirates surround them, bind them with practiced, brutal efficiency, then drag the bound forms towards the transport. Cold chills run across my skin adding to the overall crap feeling of everything hurting. As I turn to walk back in to Astarot, a wave of nausea clamps my stomach and I drop to my knees, crying out.

  "Lana!" Astarot yells.

  Doubled over in pain, I clench my arms across my stomach until the cramps pass.

  "I'm fine," I lie, panting through the pain.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I don't know," I tell him, gritting my teeth as I push my way back to my feet.


  Moving to my place along the wall, I take my seat and hang my head, hoping to go unnoticed. The metal ramp clangs under their boots. The shouts and screams become clearer now. They drag the new captives in despite their struggles.

  They captives kick and try to fight their way free. Afraid of attention, I stare at my feet, watching out of my peripheral vision as they're dragged in. My heart leaps into my throat and I gasp. Humans. They captured two human women.

  "LET ME GO!" a curvy red head yells.

  The pirate is dragging her by her bound hands. She's kicking, rolling side to side but to no avail. The pirate tosses her like she's nothing. She flies and lands on the far side of me with a yelp and a whoof of exhaled air. It takes all my will to not react. Stay calm, don't attract attention.

  "I will kick your ever loving ass!" another female voice from outside the transport sounds.

  I hear her long before they get her up the ramp. The sounds of struggle outside the open door echo through the metal box we're in. The pounding in my chest, a pulsing desire to help, to do something engulfs me. No, we can't win, not yet. Glancing at Astarot in his chains I know I'm not strong enough to take out three pirates.

  Outside the pirates grunt and then raise their voices. One of them makes a sound that might be pain or surprise. Go girl, whoever you are, get away! I cheer her on but fear keeps me frozen in place.

  "Damn you space bastards!"

  The sickening thud of flesh on flesh is followed by a yelp of pain then silence. Clomping of boots on steel then the other two pirates walk in carrying a figure between them, one with the shoulders the other holding the legs. Stopping just inside the box they swing her between them like a sack of potatoes then send her flying to the back of the transport.

  She slams hard against the rear wall without a sound, making it obvious she's unconscious. Booted feet appear in my limited vision as I continue staring at the floor between my feet. A loud slap of leather on metal then the open door screeches and grinds shut.

  The three pirates move to the front of the transport, talk for a minute, then two of them go through the sliding door leaving us alone with our guard. Silence engulfs the room, broken only by the soft sobbing of the curvy red-head girl. Swallowing hard, I try to force my heart back down into my chest.

  Humans. Another piece of the ship. Survivors. Other survivors. We're not alone.

  The implications are staggering. My head hurts too much to think it through and the aching of my muscles is just growing worse. I'm hot and dry. So dry. Too dry.

  "Shit," I exhale, realizing what's wrong with me.

  Astarot opens his eyes locking with mine.

  "What?" he asks.

  The guard stomps his foot, making a loud echo that hurts my ears, and then grunts. Astarot's lips tighten and his hand balls into a fist. The muscles of his arms flex then relax. If he was free that guard would be in trouble.

  "Epis," I mouth the word.

  His brow furrows, confusion on his face, then his eyes widen and his mouth opens. I nod to show him I see he got it.

  I'm not just suffering dehydration. I'm going into withdrawal. The negative side of taking epis. It's addictive and, in theory at least, withdrawal is a killer.

  13

  Astarot

  New humans. I don't recognize them, where do they come from?

  My bonds cut into my flesh, tearing, biting through my skin and leaving me chafed. Shifting, I strain until I can see the new additions. One of them is a pretty, curvy girl with a bright red mane. Her face and eyes are pink and swollen with falling moisture.

  The other is dark-skinned, a warm color that reminds me of the eyes of a bivo. She's hurt, lying in a ball not moving, but I see her sides rise and fall so she's not dead. Her hair is short and curly, pretty, different. She fought the slavers the hardest. I heard her screaming though I didn't know what her words were.

  Where did these women come from? They aren't from Drakonov, that much I know, so where?

  The transport hums, vibrates, then it feels like we rise before it jerks into motion. We're off again, to where I don't know. Testing the bonds I stretch and pull, searching for any weakness. They used a rough rope to bind my tail and wings which seems to get looser the more I work it. Chains bind my hands and feet but if I can free my tail, I can be deadly enough.

  Lana pulls my attention. The guard watches as she moves over and sits down next to the red-maned female. They talk in their common tongue. Rapid fire words going back and forth. I should learn it but the sounds are difficult. Shidan did it, so it's not impossible, but I've never needed it before.

  The new girl glances at me and I can only call her look one of fear. Why she seems just as afraid of me as the pirates I don't understand, but humans are strange. They talk for several minutes. I want to know who they are, what they are doing, where they are from, but I can't do anything about that. Instead I focus on what I can do something about. Closing my eyes I inhale as deep as I can then exhale it all, collapsing my chest to its limits. This loosens the bindings on my wings and tail a little. Shifting my tail, the rope adjusts giving me the smallest bit more leeway.

  "There are others!" Lana says, cutting into my breathing exercises.

  "I see that," I say, opening my eyes.

  "No, not just these two, others!"

  Lana's voice lilts up and her smile is bigger than I've ever seen. The girl next to her looks between the two of us then says something. Lana answers her then they engage in another long conversation. I wait, patient, certain she will return to my own questions in time. It gives me time to work on the bonds. When the talking stops, I open my eyes again and arch an eye.

  "You look too logical when you do that," Lana says.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Like Spock, you're all cold and logical," she says.

  "Who is Spock? Do I know this person?"

  Lana shakes her head. "No, forget it. Bad analogy, I never liked those shows, anyway. I will not sit through hours of them just so you can get a joke."

  "Okay," I say. "So, the others?"

  "This is Olivia," Lana says, pointing at the female next to her. "There's another section of the generation ship out there!"

  She turns and points behind her through the wall.

  "Another?" I ask, thinking about this.

  "Yes!" she exclaims.

  "And more survivors,," I say.

  "Yes, she says there are a lot of them," Lana says, speaking rapid fire once more to Olivia. "You're the first Zmaj they've seen. She's afraid you might eat her."

  Lana laughs but I frown. Eat her? Humans can be so strange.

  "How are they surviving?" I ask.

  Lana shrugs then talks with Olivia more.

  "They have supplies from the ship," she says.

  "I see. Is that one okay?" I ask.

  Olivia sees me look at the unconscious female then her eyes widen and she's talking fast and loud. Loud enough the guard growls, stomping his foot on the floor and cutting off all conversation. After a few minutes Lana talks to her, speaking softly to avoid the pirate's ire.

  "What is going on?" I ask, waiting as long as I can.

  "She's scared of you," Lana says.

  "Why?"

  "You're different," Lana answers, as if that says it all.

  "So is she," I observe. "No wings, no scales, no tail, very different."

  Lana laughs before she continues speaking to Olivia.

  "They're surviving on their own," Lana says, surprise in her voice. "No Zmaj, no epis, but they're surviving."

  I understand her surprise, mostly, but right now the only thing that matters is getting free. Four pirates, when they stopped there were still only four. If I plan it right, I can handle four pirates if they don't have those weapons. Get free, take out the one here with us. It needs to be quiet, fast, so I can be in position when they come through that door. The door is a block, only one of them can come in at a time. As soon as it opens, take out the first two then it's one on one. Don't
let them use their weapons.

  "Can you believe this?" Lana asks.

  "What?" I ask.

  I haven't been following their conversation. It sounds like gibberish there are so many hard sounds in the human tongue. It's not rough or guttural like the Zzlo but still difficult for me.

  "No Zmaj," she says. "No epis."

  "Why is this surprising?" I ask, confused.

  "I don't now, it's just, I thought we were the only ones," Lana says.

  She rises and goes to the other girl. Kneeling, Lana touches her face then pushes until she's lying on her back. In a flurry of action the girl jerks, rising fast, and hits Lana in the chest knocking her back. The girl is yelling something as Lana crawls away holding her hands up and talking fast. I lean into my bonds trying to move between Lana and her attacker. I move forward the few inches the chains allow.

  The dark girl looks up at me then screams. It's a wordless, warbling sound, her eyes wide, then follows it with a stream of fast hard sounds as she backs away. The guard stomps forward, Lana is shouting, Olivia shouts, and I hiss at the girl who attacked Lana. Confusion rules the small space.

  The rope holding my tail slips further then blood rushes back with a tingling, painful celebration of its sudden freedom. Holding it close to my body, gritting my teeth against the anguish of it, I remain still. The Zzlo stomps past me, standing between the dark girl and I, holding a hand out towards each of us.

  One chance, this is it. I take it.

  14

  Lana