Burn With Me (Legend of the Sun Whisperers) (7 page)

Maddelyn gazed up at the sky, trying to gauge the distance as best as she could remember. The familiar haze obscured most of the moon
’s light, and the wind nipped at her clothes like a hyper dog needing attention. A dark shape loomed up ahead, and she recalled seeing it the previous night—an outcropping of rock that she and Serra had to circumvent before Draco appeared.

She raised a hand and pointed ahead, while stealing a glance back at Draco.
“There. Just around that grouping of rocks is where we found you.”

Draco nodded briefly and grimaced as the wind picked up, tangling his hair with Serra
’s.  The little girl coughed and buried her face in his neck. “We’re almost there,” he patted her back awkwardly.

Worry mixed with the annoyance that churned in Maddelyn
’s stomach. They had better not have come out in this dust storm for no reason at all. Not with Serra’s health so fragile. To be safe, they had waited until the sun went low to venture out. That way Draco’s presence would not be so obvious. But that also meant they had to deal with the harsh night winds and the dust that swirled around in the air, slicing like small knives.

The trio approached the rocks and veered to the right to move around the mass. The hope that they might actually find a ship that could take them away from this home turned hell made Maddelyn
’s breath involuntarily catch in her chest. But this hope was short lived, because as they rounded the rock formation, all that was revealed was the same expanse of dirt, dotted with rocks and rubble, which they had already seen.

The disappointment made Maddelyn
’s stomach take a dip. How dare he get their hopes up like that? As if it wasn’t bad enough that their own safety was at risk just by Draco’s mere presence.

She turned and snatched Serra from his arms.
“See? Just like I said. Nothing.” Serra coughed again, which made Maddelyn’s temper flare. “And we’ve dragged Serra out in this for no damn reason, to boot!”

Draco shot her a sharp glance before he stepped forward, away from the rocks. He held his hand up before him, the palm facing out, and closed his eyes.

Serra whimpered as the wind picked up, slashing at their clothes. Maddelyn tightened her arms around the child. “What are you doing? We need to get Serra indoors!”

Draco seemed to ignore her as he continued forward, his arm outstretched, his eyes clamped shut. How foolish of her to believe this man! He obviously had a few screws loose, if he expected to find a ship out in the dark, in the middle of nowhere,
with his eyes closed
. Time to put an end to this.

Serra slid down Maddelyn
’s hip as she set the little girl on the ground. “I’ll be right back.”

Maddelyn stomped forward, fully prepared to confront Draco with this foolishness. She picked up her pace a bit so she could plant herself in front of him. As she started to shift her weight, her right shoulder collided with something hard and the force knocked her back, right on her backside.

“Ow!  What the heck?” Maddelyn sat on the ground, her shoulder throbbing. She squinted in the dark and tried to see what she ran into, but was only greeted by empty space.

Dazed in the dirt, Maddelyn jumped when Serra stepped up beside her.
“You all right, Maddie?”

Nodding, Maddelyn gathered her wits and scrambled to her feet. Draco was to her left, his hand still before him, but now his eyes were open and he was smiling like the cat who
’d found the cream.
Smiling?

Brushing her pants off, Maddelyn walked over to him, Serra in tow.
“What are you doing and why are you so happy about it?”

Draco glanced at the two women as if noticing them for the first time.
“I am happy, dear ladies, because I have found my ship.”

Maddelyn gazed around where they stood, confusion furrowing her brow.
“Um…I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing here, Draco.”

“
Is that so?” Draco took her hand and pulled it out in front of her, just as he had been doing. A few inches, and her hand seemed to rest on something smooth and hard. It pulsed beneath her palm, and she briefly recalled something similar happening the night before.

“
What is it? What is it?” Serra’s light voice was almost drowned out by the wind.

Draco let go of Maddelyn
’s hand and did the same to Serra’s. “It kinda tickles,” she giggled.

Maddelyn let her hand roam over the invisible object, the planes and curves coming to life under her touch. How could something that felt so solid be completely and utterly unseen like this? It was unnerving and intriguing at the same time. So many surprises since this Draco Taralundar
fell
into her life.

“
How?” The open question sprang from Maddelyn’s lips as she turned to look at Draco.

He took a small step backwards and closed his eyes once more. The vibration coming from the invisible ship increased. A whirring, mechanical noise registered just above the howling wind. It appeared as though a hole opened in the landscape, revealing a small set of stairs. The image of the steps surrounded by night sky was not one Maddelyn thought she would likely forget any time soon.

“I didn’t see any stairs last night. Why are there stairs now?”

Draco opened his eyes and smiled. They were glowing again, not as brightly as before, but enough to notice out there in such darkness.
“You see them because I want you to see them.  The ship was kept entirely cloaked last night.” He bowed and swept his hand before him. “Please, step inside.”

In a haze of confusion, Maddelyn felt her feet move her to the stairs, though she was unsure her brain had given the command. As she climbed up slowly, she became barely aware of Serra and Draco following behind. The whir of the panel closing behind them registered in the recess of her brain, but the forefront was purely occupied by what she saw before her.

Maddelyn blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the change in light intensity from outside to inside. Spots danced circles in front of her eyes for a few precious moments before her vision cleared. She stood in a large room, rectangular panels filled with multicolored lights blinking everywhere. The interior was mostly a dark stony gray. A metal walkway ran around the perimeter of the room, enclosing what appeared to be the command post, scattered with buttons, levers, and various data screens. In the very center of that was a cylindrical core that pulsed with the brightest golden glow she’d ever seen. A golden glow a lot like the eyes of the man who brought her here.

Still dazed, Maddelyn could only watch as Draco stepped around her toward one area of the command center. She flinched a little as Serra
’s hand softly slid into hers, she was so engrossed in her surroundings. As Maddelyn gazed around, she noticed several hallways that broke off in various directions from the walkway where she stood, hinting at an infinite number of annexes. There was no telling how large this ship was.

Maddelyn
’s gaze settled back on Draco. He pushed a few buttons, flipped a few levers, then inserted his hand into a palm shaped scanner and closed his eyes. After a few moments, the shock had worn off a bit, and Maddelyn found her voice.

“
Ummm…excuse me?”

Draco was completely immersed in whatever he was doing, and once more seemed oblivious to her and Serra
’s presence.

“
Draco? DRACO?” Maddelyn’s voice rose with impatience as she tried to get his attention.

He winced and opened his eyes, which were still doing that glowy thing, by the way. 
“What?”

Maddelyn cleared her throat.
“Why do you keep closing your eyes like that?”

“
I’m communicating with my ship.” He tilted his head and gave her a look as if to say
what else would I be doing?

“Don’
t most people talk, or type things, or something?”

Draco gave her a grin and nodded.
“Of course. I forgot to tell you. My people have telepathic abilities, so we choose to mind-speak mostly for communication. It’s quicker, and easier for the most part. A lot of our technology works this way, as well.”

“
That’s why you sounded funny when you first talked to us, huh, Mr. Draco?” Serra piped in with her childlike, yet dead-on, observation.

“
That is right, small one. I had to get used to your speech patterns. I think I have done pretty well, actually.” He crossed his arms, looking highly proud of himself.

Maddelyn
’s brain was still in processing overdrive. Was she really standing on a ship?  An
invisible
ship?

Draco furrowed his brow as if he sensed her distress.
“I see I’ve revealed a lot to you all at once. I’m sorry for the information overload, but there wasn’t any way around it. I had to get back to make sure Kate was healing properly.”

Maddelyn felt as though she
’d been kicked in the gut.
Kate? Who the heck is Kate?

The face she made must have really been a doozy, because for a second, Draco
’s own face became panic-stricken as he stared at her.

“
I’m doing this all wrong. Let me explain. Not Kate, but CAIT. It stands for Cloaked Artificial Intelligent Transport. CAIT is my ship. Say hello, CAIT.”

“
Hello, Draco, and honored guests. How may I be of assistance to you?” The disembodied feminine voice filled the cabin around them, slightly seductive, yet mechanical at the same time.

Maddelyn nearly screamed from surprise, but she managed to rein it in and focus her attention on Draco as he continued to speak.

“CAIT and I were both hurt, so she found us a safe place to land in order to heal.” Draco rushed on, as if he was afraid Maddelyn would run away before he explained, which is exactly what she was thinking of doing. “CAIT needed to remain cloaked to avoid detection, so she had to route power from the life support systems, which left me hanging for my own healing needs-”

“If I could have let you remain on board to heal, I would have. Rerouting the power was necessary, and it had to come from somewhere. There was damage to my hull and neural pathways that needed mended as quickly as possible.” The female voice of the ship sounded almost apologetic to Maddelyn.
Since when do space ships get apologetic?

Draco waved CAIT
’s comment away with his hand. “I’m not complaining, CAIT. I’m just explaining the situation to my new friends.” He returned his attention to Maddelyn and Serra. “To make a long story short, I had to leave the ship in order to heal myself and give CAIT the time she needed to heal herself. Lucky you two were there to save me.”

Maddelyn shook her head to clear it. It didn
’t help. She was as confused as ever, her mind reeling. “Don’t ships usually need someone to repair them? How exactly does a ship
repair
itself?”

As Draco opened his mouth to reply, CAIT chimed in.
“I am an inter-galaxy class vessel with an omega core processor serviced by neural pathways. I am a combination of superior technology and organic material. I
think.
I
act.
I
heal.
”

Maddelyn glanced over at Draco, who lowered his head and had the nerve to look a bit sheepish.
“She gets a little touchy when people question her self-awareness. There are very few ships like her around. The technology is too advanced. My people ultimately abandoned the further development, saying it came too close to the creation of life itself—something no race should ever toy with.”

“
But it
would
be interesting to have a proper body someday.” A mechanical wheeze sounded in the room, almost like a sigh. This whole thing was just getting weirder and weirder.

Draco clapped his hands together in front of him.
“So, what do you think?”

Maddelyn stared at him, her heart beating a mile a minute. What
did
she think? Though his eyes had returned to normal, well, as normal as golden eyes could be, Draco still seemed like he was glowing somehow. His blond hair was sparkling in the many lights that flashed around him, no signs of the dirt and dust that had accosted them outside. And Maddelyn noticed with a sudden panic that
all
signs of his injuries were gone. In just one full day he had healed completely from whatever had happened to bring him here. And now she was on the deck of his invisible ship that talked and was also somehow
alive
? It was all a little much.

Thankfully, Serra spoke so Maddelyn didn
’t have to. “I think it’s cool, Mr. Draco.”

“
Of course you do, Serra.” Draco ruffled her hair and stepped back to the control panel, but not before a quick glance back in Maddelyn’s direction. A quick,
wary
glance.

He pushed a few more buttons, and nodded his approval at whatever it was he saw.
“The hull breaches are healed, and eighty-five percent of the damaged neural net is back to normal.  Life support is almost at full capacity.”