The Dragon Circle (42 page)

“Campfire?
Campfire!
” she shouted. “You expect
me
to contaminate myself with smoke, and meat, and . . . and
unscrubbed
air?” Lucinda Baines, daughter of a planetary governor, granddaughter of an Imperial Senator, and great-niece to a previous emperor, shuddered with genuine fear. Her attention wavered and her grip on the needle pistol loosened.

Niveean, the silent warrior, pushed off the bulkhead to his left and slammed into Cyndi. Startled, Cyndi did not begin to struggle until they slid toward the deck.

Loki grabbed the loose pistol and tossed it to Hestiia. “Don't use it unless you have to, to save the crystals. Get the crystals to Kim,” he commanded. He lunged into the fray, heavily and clumsily.

Hestiia, Poolie, and the others grabbed the sleds and disappeared down the last hatch.

Cyndi kicked and tore at Niveean. She twisted herself on top of him. Each movement became slower in the heavier g. The big man kept his arms around her in a wrestler's hug.

Loki fell short of his target. With his head in the middle of Cyndi's back he locked his arms around her legs. She kicked back, connecting hard with his upper thigh. The heel of her fashionable shoes gouged his flesh. He gritted his teeth and hung on. When he knew his grip was firm, he flung his legs wide, encircling hers. They tumbled backward, Niveean on top of both.

She heaved against Loki. He pressed harder.

Niveean scrambled to his knees and then to his feet. He grabbed the jamb around the hatchway. His breath came in short sharp pants.

Then Loki pressed their limbs together in an odd parody of a lovers' embrace.

Loki rolled, keeping his arms around Cyndi. The open hatch downward toward the launch bay was at his elbow. “Duck,” he screamed in her ear and swung his feet into the opening.

She barely obeyed him in time. The top of the hatchway scraped her flying hair close to her scalp. With a little yelp of surprise, or indignation, he couldn't tell which, she complied.

They fell heavily.

Still locked together, they slid down to the lowest level of the ship. The extreme gravity—less than when Loki had left the launch bay an hour ago—grabbed hold of them. They landed heavily on a pile of tarps and rolled.

To their right, Kim was helping his wife and Poolie steer the sleds into the launch bay. The corridor was otherwise empty.

“Loki, we don't have the time or resources to tend a hostage,” Kim warned him.

“This one we have to take extra special care of,” Loki grunted. Slowly, he disentangled himself from Cyndi.

“Who?” Kim asked. Then his eyes widened as he saw Cyndi's face.

“I believe you two have met,” Loki said as he assisted Cyndi to her feet. He kept one hand firmly locked on her wrist. His grip must be painful to her, but she said nothing, only glared at him.

“A few years ago,” Kim admitted. He turned his back on them and pushed Poolie and the second sled ahead of him into the bay.

“You owe that man your life,” Loki reminded her. “Remember that and stay out of trouble.”

“I owe you and your brothers nothing, Mathew Kameron O'Hara. You sabotaged this ship. You endanger my life now. Mine and everyone's aboard this ship.” She hung back, bracing her feet wide.

“I always knew that life with you would never be easy,” he grunted. Before she could reply, he slung her over his shoulder, clamped his arms around her legs, and lurched into the launch bay.

“Put me down, you barbarian.”

“Quiet.” He swatted her bottom. “There was a time when you liked being mauled by this barbarian.”

“Never again!”

He did not care. He had better things to do with his life than cater to this spoiled dome breather.

(
Iianthe,
) the dragon announced his name.

A niggle of disappointment crawled up Konner's spine. He had come to think of Irythros as his personal dragon. Iianthe seemed more attached to Hestiia and Kim. Konner had to remind himself that no one “owned” a dragon. Wild creatures, they belonged only to themselves and to this planet. They assisted and advised humans as their whims and sense of honor dictated. Humans had little if anything to do with the decision.

“Konner.” He bowed slightly to the purple-tipped dragon. “Give him your name, Dalleena. Dragon protocol.”

She wheezed something that approximated her name. Konner did not like her labored breathing or how heavily she leaned against him.

“Sweetheart, we have to leave,” he urged her forward. She shuffled her feet heavily. “It's for the best, Dalleena, no matter how much it hurts. I could not have gotten you away from the IMPs tomorrow.”

She nodded her mute agreement and trudged the few remaining steps to the huge beast who waited for them.

Then the significance of the dragon name penetrated through Konner's worry about Dalleena.

“Iianthe?” Konner peered more closely at the purple-tipped dragon crouched in the middle of the field. “I expected Irythros.” Where was the red-tip? They had planned for him to meet Konner and Dalleena.

(
Elsewhere,
) Iianthe responded to Konner's unspoken question.

“Welcome, Iianthe,” Konner bowed again to the dragon. “May we ride upon your back to the place of safety?” He did not have time to debate with the dragon. He needed help getting Dalleena away
now.

(
Yes.
) The deep bronze bell of Iianthe's voice reverberated on the back of Konner's tongue and at the base of his spine. (
Irythros sends greetings and a warning. You must beware of the one you trust. The one who does not smell correctly; the one who still speaks to the stars.
)

“And who might that be?” Typical cryptic dragon speech. Konner had no more time or patience for it. Why couldn't they just come out and say what was on their minds?

Iianthe did not reply.

Sighing heavily, Konner reverted to the purpose of this meeting. “If you speak of Taneeo, then we know of his betrayal. Pryth deals with him now. My lady is injured. Can you crouch lower to make climbing easier for her?”

(
You must carry her.
) With that pronouncement, Iianthe spread out, bringing his belly into contact with the ground and his left foreleg lower.

“I worry that our combined weight will damage you.” Konner eyed the makeshift staircase of the dragon's limbs.

(
Do not.
) The dragon made himself flatter yet.

“Easy, love. This is going to hurt, but only for a little.” He scooped Dalleena into his arms.

She groaned and her head fell against his shoulder. Before he could think twice about his actions, he hastened along Iianthe's foreleg to his shoulder. He had to shift Dalleena's weight to grasp a neck horn for balance as he heaved her upward between two spinal horns. She came awake again with a pain-filled gasp. She clutched her middle with crossed arms.

“Hey, you!” an IMP guard hailed them from the village compound. He brought his weapon to bear.

Konner scrambled up behind her. “Now, Iianthe.” He slapped the dragon's side.

Iianthe took five steps, working his wings frantically.

A blast of energy shot from the IMP's weapon.

“Fool, you could kill her!” Lotski, the medic, cried. She clung to the guard's arm, tugging at his rifle.

Iianthe took three more long strides. His wing action seemed slower. He still did not have enough momentum or lift to fly.

Konner tried hunkering lower. Dalleena groaned as he pressed against her back. Her injuries would not allow her to bend.

Another bolt of energy slid past them. Voices rose in disagreement.

At last, after lumbering across three fields, Iianthe lifted in flight. Konner breathed a sigh of relief. Dalleena slumped against him.

And a low moan filtered into the back of Konner's mind.

“Iianthe? How fare you?”

(
Not well. I must land.
) With that pronouncement, he dropped rapidly below the tree line, onto a small knoll beside a tributary river. They had covered less than fifteen klicks' distance from the village

Konner dropped to the moss-covered rock. He let his hands roam over the dragon's hide, seeking the source of injury. He did not get far before he noticed the left wing drooping, only half folded. A little more investigation showed a deep burn where the lower wing bone met the spine.

“How can I help you?” he asked, careful to keep his hand off the injury.

(
Remove your lady from my back, Stargod Konner.
)

“Down is easier than up,” Dalleena attempted a grin. She fell more than climbed down into Konner's arms. The jolt sent her groaning again.

Konner cradled her close to his heart. Tears smarted in his eyes. Disaster piled on complication. He bit back his own cries of frustration and disappointment.

Somehow they must make the best of this awful situation.

Before he could voice his thoughts, a soft silvery light emanated from the dragon's hide.

Konner blinked. The light grew to engulf him. It brightened until he had to close his eyes. Even through closed eyelids, the light nearly blinded him. He turned his back to the dragon's light, still protecting Dalleena in his arms.

With the light there came a hum. Unlike the song of the dragongate, this music tickled his mind with elusive harmonies and tunes.

Finally, the glare around them softened and receded. He opened his eyes and turned back to face the dragon. He nearly dropped Dalleena in surprise.

“Iianthe?” he asked of the black cat that crouched before him. No ordinary cat, this one had wings. One of them drooped.

(
Who else?
)

“You transformed into a flywacket. Never thought I'd live to see it happen.” According to Hestiia, only a purple-tipped dragon could perform this miracle.

(
See and believe.
)

“Oh, I believe. Now what?”

(
We rest. Dalleena and I must huddle together for a time. You should build a fire, fish, bathe, refresh yourself.
)

“Never question a dragon.” Konner shrugged and set Dalleena down beside the black cat. She draped an arm around the solid feline body. They leaned together, supporting each other.

The hum intensified and grew louder.

“Ultrasound,” Konner murmured. “The original ultrasound for healing was a cat's purr.”

No comment from either patient.

Konner set about his chores. Fire. Food. Bath. Sleep. Morning would determine if they could continue their journey. For now they were hidden from the IMPs.

“W
HERE IS EVERYBODY?” Loki asked as he stomped down the ramp from
Rover
. “We need to get started on building our defenses against the IMPs. We need plans and tools and Konner.”

Kim had already disembarked from the stolen lander. He had an arm around Hestiia's waist and seemed oblivious to all else.

“What?” Kim asked, lifting his gaze from his wife.

“Konner. Kat. Where are they?” Loki knew a moment of panic. He suppressed it. If he showed weakness, they'd never get anything done. His people would doubt his wisdom.

All his troops looked about, puzzled by the emptiness of the clearing.

“Someone started to build a fire,” Raaskan offered.

“Probably Kat. Konner knows how to build a better fire than that.” Loki kicked at the pile of branches. It toppled easily. Lights from the two vessels illuminated the clearing but did not penetrate the tree line beyond.

“What do we do with the crystals?” Poolie asked. Like Kim and Hestiia, she and Raaskan clung to each other as if they had been parted for years instead of hours.

“Is this what you brought me to?” Cyndi whined from the hatchway. “There isn't even a building or a road, or other people or . . . or . . .” She bit her lip and turned her head away.

Loki caught a glint of moisture in her eyes.

“Sorry. Life is primitive out here in the bush. We survive by our wits and make what we need.” Loki had no sympathy for her. Why had he ever believed himself in love with this spoiled dome breather?

“Primitive? Primitive implies rudimentary amenities. This is barbaric!” Cyndi's voice became shrill.

Loki blocked out the stream of invective that followed. “Stay aboard the shuttle, Cyndi. You'll only get dirty if you try to interfere.” He might just deck her himself if she kept up her complaints.

Wisely, she retreated with a pout and an angry glint in her eye. The last time Loki had seen that expression on her face, he'd made love to her to soothe her mood. His aggression had excited her and her mood changed rapidly.