The Knight of Her Dreams (Dragons and Dreamphasers) (13 page)

“Yeah, that should work,” he decided.  Tossing
the gun to Landers, he reached out to modify the other weapons that the stunned
crewmen held.  It took the same short amount of time to complete the task. 
“Take these to the bridge and stop the Rengar, so you can save the ship and its
crew.  If you play your cards right, Kyron will not only think kinder of your
science projects, but you might even get promoted for services rendered.”

Landers smiled broadly.  “We’ll do that.  But
what of you and the lady?  Won’t you be coming with us?”

“Actually, the lady and I are in need of an
immediate transfer.  I got the feeling Kyron would like nothing better than to
throw us in a brig.”

“Understood.”  Landers gestured to the right. 
“That ship was newly fueled before the boarding party arrived.  It should get
you away, although you’ll still have the Warp Zone to contend with.”

“We’ll have to take our chances, though we
appreciate the advice.”

Shaking his hand briefly, Landers nodded and
turned to leave with the others.  “Fare well, flying strangers.”

As Dominick turned, Julianna reached out to hug
him, but he winced, holding her back gently.  “Easy there,” he told her.

“Oh, your arm.”

Smiling, he reached out to embrace her with his
good arm.  “It’s all right.  There’ll be plenty of time for that after this
heals.”  Casting a side-glance at the wound he’d sustained on his left arm, he
wasn’t concerned.  It was a bit painful, but at least it was minor and not his
shooting arm.  Something he could remedy shortly.  “Now, let’s get out of
here.”

Heading to the recommended ship, he helped
Julianna climb its nearby ladder and followed after her, moments before a
regular ship crewman came running into the room.  The man noticed the bodies of
the Rengar, but his curiosity soon focused on the fleeing pair.

“Hey, do you have security clearance for that?”
he yelled.

“Seeing as we’re the repair crew, I would think
so!” Dominick replied in kind.  “Unless of course you want this thing to
continue leaking fuel.”

“Leaking fuel?  We just checked that this morn…” 
The man’s brief confusion didn’t last long as the pair disappeared within the
ship, and rational logic took over.  “Hey, I’ll need to see some I.D. numbers!”

“He can I.D.
this
,” chuckled
Dominick, punching a few lighted buttons.  The entry hatch snapped shut and the
ship lifted slowly, just before lurching forward into space, leaving the
crewman behind.

As soon as they were safely away from the larger
ship, Julianna turned to her companion with amazement.  “I didn’t know you
could fly one of these things.”

“Who says I can?” he mumbled, just as a wave of
laser fire from the greater ship jolted them.  “Great.  That guy can do more
than just complain.  That’s the thanks you get for trying to help.”  As he
attempted to turn the craft, another blast hit them, earning a frustrated
grimace.  “Just what I’ve always wanted.  To be stuck a million miles away in
outer space and about to be barbecued by Mr. Trigger-Happy.”  He gave a
withering look to Julianna.  “Couldn’t you read something a little less
dangerous the next time?”

Before she could question him, a loud growl was
heard behind them.  Julianna looked back and her eyes widened.

“Dominick, there’s something...”

He brushed aside her grasping hand, shaking his
head.  “Whatever it is will have to wait.  I’m still trying to figure out how
to fly this thing.”  Another louder growl caused Julianna to scream as the
‘something’ in question attached itself to the back of their seats, one talon
extended menacingly, forcing Dominick’s attention this time.  “What the blazes
is that?” he exclaimed.

“An unwelcome stowaway?” she gasped, as another
blast of laser fire hit their ship, shaking the alien free.  It gurgled in fury
as it landed on its scaled back, its multiple taloned arms flailing to right
itself.

“Would you still rather be captured by aliens?”
he laughed.

“Well, not
that
type!”  Suddenly a
beeping noise, accompanied by flashing red lights, filled the ship.  “What’s
that?” she nearly yelled.

“Try our fuel tank’s been shot,” he murmured,
hitting various switches.  “Come on, come on...  Doesn’t this thing have a
spare gas tank?”  The lights on the control board flashed brilliantly for long
moments, just before they all went dark.  “Okay, guess not.”

“Garunkk!” spouted the alien.

“Would you mind thinking of your stomach later?”
snapped Dominick.  “We’ve got a crisis here!”

The alien’s several golden orbs rolled about as
if considering this, moments before its taloned arms shot out to cling to the
sides of the ship.  Humming a strange haunting melody, its skin took on an
equally eerie glow, growing brighter by the second, until the creature abruptly
vanished.

“What the...?” sputtered Julianna.  “Where did it
go?”

“Another universe hopefully.  Now if we can
just... oh, great.”

Julianna didn’t have to voice a question this
time to ask what was wrong.  The ship’s engines were dying down, slowing the
ship until it merely drifted along.  The larger ship was now farther out of
range, and no longer firing.  At first surprised, a different kind of jolt
shook the ship.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

Dominick sighed matter-of-factly.  “It looks like
the Warp Zone’s gotten hold of us, which would explain the other ship not
pursuing us.”

Completely unexpectedly, he began to laugh, which
prompted her to stare at him with even more curiosity.

“We’re about to pulled into a black hole wannabe,
and you’re laughing like we’re watching a space comedy from a comfortable couch
in the living room.  Am I missing something?”

“No, but this might put a damper on continuing
our evening tonight,” he replied with a smile.  “So before we might become part
of the atomized universe, any last requests?”

“To be safely back home again comes to mind,” she
whispered, rubbing her forehead worriedly.

“Hmmm, I might be able to manage that request.” 
Her gaze flashed back to his, searching for a jest that wasn’t there.  “I am a
man of many talents, Julianna.  Surely you realize that by now.”  Before she
could answer, he put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.  “This hasn’t exactly
been a pleasant evening, and certainly not what I’d counted on,” he said
knowingly, as she found herself leaning against him.  “Despite the most
pleasant company, of course.  Hopefully the next time won’t be fraught with
such difficulties.”

“Difficulties?” she laughed.  “You’re always
talking in riddles, Dominick.  Can’t you just state the clear-cut truth for
once?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Why?  Because you’ve led us onto a path to
destruction?  No, surely that’s not reason enough to doubt your methods.”

His laughter rumbled through her as he kissed her
cheek.  “All right, my dear lady, if you want truth, you’ll have it.  This is a
dream.  A dream you’ll wake up from at any moment.”

“What?” she gasped.  “I don’t believe you.”  At
his ‘I told you so’ stare, she found herself blushing.  “Not to say I don’t
trust you,” she amended, “but how can something this real be a dream?”

“Ah, Julianna... never underestimate the power of
your dreams, especially when they’re combined with your very strong
imagination.”

That can’t be!
she thought inwardly.  And yet, she did have no memory of how she’d
gotten here to begin with.  She also couldn’t account for Dominick’s sudden
reappearance from... a
dream
she’d had the night before?  No,
that was impossible. 
It couldn’t be that simple!

“It is.”

Anger filled her eyes as she pushed his arm
away.  “Will you please stop reading my mind?” she exclaimed, even as she
continued to wonder how he could.

“It’s a part of my special powers actually,” he
told her.  At the glare she shot him, he added, “While in this realm, they
allow me to pick up on some of your surface thoughts.  Just in case you were
wondering.”

“Hmph!  Just in case.  As if you didn’t already
tune
in.”

“It comes in handy sometimes,” Dominick agreed
with mock nonchalance.  “Especially in the case of dealing with dream animals
like your old friend Duchess.”

Dream animals!
she thought, nearly laughing.  This whole thing was totally
unbelievable.

Abruptly, she froze. 
Duchess?

Her expression lost all amusement instantly.

“
Duchess?
” she fairly shouted, her
eyes narrowing.  At the infuriating look of innocence he shot her, she felt
sorely tempted to strangle him.  “Why, you conniving scoundrel.  You
are
the same Dominick I met a few months ago!” she accused, her hands clenching
angrily.

“Oh, didn’t I already tell you?” he asked
lightly, snapping his fingers before she could reply.  “Damn, I knew I’d
forgotten something.”

Seeing his amused reaction only angered Julianna
more.  “You liar!” she snapped.  “Why didn’t you tell me about this last night,
instead of leading me to believe I was seeing double?”

Dominick folded his arms with a knowing look. 
“Because I knew you’d lose your temper like you are right now.”  Realizing that
any retort would prove his point, she merely glared at him again and sat back
in a huff.

“All right, I’ll tell you the whole reason why I
didn’t mention it,” he continued seriously, slowly earning her attention.  “I
admit that my motives may not have seemed the most honorable the first night we
met, but I’m not the type to persist with an unwilling woman.  You, however,
seemed more than responsive when I kissed you.”  His smile curled into a
sneer.  “Until of course you
had
to pull your little stunt of
crushing my foot and mocking me afterwards!”

“Maybe you deserved it,” she retorted.

“And maybe
you
deserve an acting
award for being able to change from fire to ice in less than thirty seconds.”

“Who’s calling
who
an actor around
here,
Mr. Westbrooke?
” she challenged.

“Before you say another word, let me assure you
that
is
my name, just as much as Dominick is,” he replied.  “But
to continue, after seeing that most unpredictable attitude of yours, you’ve
occupied the better part of my thoughts since then.  I finally decided to exact
a suitable payback for your actions, and thus sought you out again.”

“Hence the dream at the dance last night.”

“Exactly.”

“Which also explains why you tried to embarrass
me on the dance floor in front of everyone else.”

“At first... admittedly, yes.”

Julianna nodded once before giving him a cold
smile.  “I don’t believe any of this.  People can’t just insinuate themselves
into other people’s dreams!”

“They can if they were born with that magic
ability,” he replied quietly.

For a moment, she was silent, and then broke out
laughing.  “There you go talking of magic again.  Dominick, even if this
was
a dream, there is no magic in reality.  Now why don’t you give me the real
truth behind your constantly visiting me each night?”

“In the name of Chaos…” he murmured in frustration,
“I just
told
you the real truth!”

“Right, and all this is just a
dream
,
as you say!” she retorted in disbelief, turning away from him.  “Excuse me if I
don’t want to hear more stories.”

The anger in his eyes seemed to flare like a
stormy ocean for a moment, but then it faded as he shook his head.  “Very well,
Julianna,” he sighed.  “Since you seem so inclined to believe I’m lying, feel
free to sit there and sulk quietly if it’ll make our imminent disintegration
any easier.”  Folding his arms, he leaned back lazily, without the least look
of worry.

Not so in the case of Julianna, who quickly took
in the impact of his last casually spoken words.

Disintegration?
her thoughts echoed.  The full danger came back to her as she sighted
the ominous gas cloud, now much closer than before. 
This had
better
be a dream,
she decided.  Dominick’s peaceful expression seemed to believe
this wholeheartedly, which made up her mind about one thing.  If he wasn’t
going to panic, then she certainly wasn’t.

Copying his manner, she leaned back parallel to
him as before.  He glanced her way with a smile, admiring her sudden bravado,
although inwardly he wasn’t too thrilled that they only had a short time left
together.  Yet after the fiasco this evening, he’d decided long before that he
wasn’t going to continue with any romantic overtures this night.  Julianna had
been duly frightened, and he wasn’t about to take undue advantage of the
situation.

Surprisingly enough, he didn’t mind so much that
their meeting had been mostly platonic this night, even with their recent
dispute still left in the air between them.  He was rapidly coming to notice
that she had a great deal more than just physical appeal, with a most
intriguing spirited nature. A fact that he’d have to be sure to keep from Riff,
lest his brother become curious enough to seek her out for himself.  At the
mere thought, his expression darkened.  After all, it wouldn’t be the first
time Riff had interfered with women he’d known, sparking no end of fights in
the past.