Twin Dragons: Dragon Lords of Valdier Book 7 (4 page)

“Now I’m really shaking,” Ha’ven said,
raising an eyebrow. “An old man with a shovel? You should have
brought your mate.”

“Shut up, Ha’ven, before I tell Carmen on
you,” Creon muttered.

*.*.*

Cal gripped the shovel firmly between his
hands. These creatures were different from any of the others he had
seen before. The Antrox had dealt with a wide variety of slave
labor, but these looked like they could snap most of the ones
working in the mines in half.

He swallowed. They would kill him or they
would help. Either way, he was committed now. He had to find a way
to save Melina.

“Who are you?” He called out, wincing when
his voice echoed loudly in the near empty bay. His eyes darted to
the dark figures moving up on either side of him. He turned and
swung the shovel out in warning for them to stay back. “What are
you?”

He heard the one that had punched the other
man sigh loudly as if he was bored. His eyes flickered to the huge
male with the gold eyes. The dark haired male was staring back at
him with a calm, concerned expression.

“I am Creon Reykill, of the Valdier,” the
male responded.

“Prince of the Valdier,” the male beside him
corrected, dryly.

“This is Ha’ven Ha’darra,
Prince
of
the Curizan,” the male named Creon added with a smirk. “Ignore him.
He is a pain in the ass, as my mate likes to say. What are you
called, human?”

“Cal, Cal Turner. How the hell did you know
I was human?” Cal asked suspiciously.

Creon grinned. “My mate is the same species
as you.”

“You kidnapped her and forced her?” Cal bit
out as rage burned through him. “You sorry ass son-of-a-bitch.”

“No, no,” Creon said quickly, raising his
hands up so that Cal could see that he meant no harm as he walked
slowly toward him. “I did not kidnap her.”

“His brother did,” Ha’ven offered behind
him.

Creon threw Ha’ven a pained expression as he
turned back to the old man. He shook his head when he saw the man
raise the shovel that he had started to lower. He was seriously
going to kick Ha’ven’s ass when they got back on board the
Horizon
.

“You are not helping matters, Ha’ven,” Creon
growled under his breath.

“I know,” Ha’ven grinned. “But you have to
admit, Zoran did kidnap Carmen.”

Creon turned and glared back at Ha’ven. “He
did not! She had been stabbed by the human lawman. She would have
died if Zoran hadn’t demanded she be brought back to the warship,”
Creon hissed.

“What about the other women? They were not
hurt,” Ha’ven pointed out, enjoying watching Creon’s frustration.
He hadn’t had this much fun in a while. “Although, you have to
admit that your brothers might be regretting that. I think I heard
Kelan mention something about beating Zoran’s ass. Or was that
Trelon?”

Creon turned back to Cal and ran his hand
down over his face. “Remind me to challenge him when we get back on
board the
Horizon
,” Creon said with an exasperated look.
“Once you meet my mate, you will see that she was not forced.
Ha’ven is just mad because she kicked his ass.”

“She did not,” Ha’ven protested, folding his
arms across his broad chest.

“Who is missing a chunk of hair?” Creon
replied with a grin at Cal. “She sat on him and took a piece of his
hair in victory.”

Cal glanced back and forth between the two
men, trying to keep up with the conversation. The playful banter
and obvious friendship between the men, both confused and amused
him. His eyes went back to the huge male with the brilliant violet
eyes before moving to his hair. Sure enough, there was a length on
the side that was shorter than the rest.

He slowly lowered the shovel again. Mixed
feelings poured through him as he glanced behind him toward the
dark tunnel where he knew Melina stood. Resolution swept through
him.

For the last four years, he had been able to
convince the Antrox that Melina was a mute boy with limited mental
capability. If he could convince these men of the same thing, maybe
they could live long enough to find a way home. He didn’t really
have any other choice.

“Can you help us?” Cal asked suddenly. “My
grandson and I, we are the only ones left here.”

Both men’s expressions suddenly changed and
they studied him with a serious, intense frown. Cal swallowed
again. He refused to show just how scared he was about admitting he
and Mel were alone.

“Did you see any others like us?” Creon
asked quietly.

“Or a huge ass male with spots and a bad
attitude?” Ha’ven added.

Cal shook his head. “No, most of the miners
were Tiliqua. The Mining Manager liked to have smaller inmates. He
said that they were easier to manage and ate less. The Bastard was
cheap. He worked the two-headed creatures until they dropped. Then…
then he fed their remains to the Pactors. There were a few other
species, but none any bigger than me.”

“You said there was just you and a boy
left?” Creon asked, glancing toward the dark tunnel behind Cal.

“Yeah. Listen, if what you say is true, you
know about my planet. I… I want to take the boy back. He… he’s
young. This is no place for him,” Cal said, waving his right hand
out. “We just want to go home to our farm and forget all this ever
happened.”

Creon heard the slightly desperate plea in
the old man’s voice. His thoughts turned to Carmen. He had a better
understanding and appreciation for the man’s desire to protect and
care for his family now that he had one to call his own.

“I will do what I can to return you and the
boy to your world, but I can make no promises right now. You
understand that if I do, you cannot mention anything about what has
happened,” Creon said. He held up his hand to stop the old man when
he started to speak. “It will also be a short time before I can
consider it. We are on a mission that must be completed first.”

“I don’t care as long as you think about
taking us back home,” Cal muttered. “Neither Mel nor I would say a
word. The folks back home would think we were crazy if we did. We
just want to be left alone to live our lives in peace.”

*.*.*

Melina pressed back against the rough stone
running along the sides of the tunnel and gently rubbed the small
Pactor’s nose as she waited in the darkness. She closed her eyes
and embraced the inky atmosphere. The young Pactor seemed to sense
her fear and nibbled on the rough, threadbare material of her
shirt.

“It’s okay,” she whispered as she rested her
forehead against the animal. “I won’t let anything happen to
you.”

A tremor ran through her as the cooler air
in the shaft and the rock behind her back easily absorbed through
the thin fabric of her clothing. She was wearing the ‘newest’
discards from some of the other prisoners. She refused to think
about what might have happened to the previous owner.

Tears burned her eyes when she thought of
everything that had happened over the past four years. Drawing in a
silent, calming breath, she pushed back the tears. They were a
waste of time and precious energy.

If whoever had landed on the asteroid didn’t
kill her and her grandfather, starvation and lack of water would in
a few weeks. Hopelessness swept through her as she leaned her head
back against the rocky surface behind her. The only ones left on
the asteroid were her, her grandfather, and the lame Pactor. The
six other prisoners that had been left had died over the past two
months from a combination of killing each other and illness.

She straightened when she heard voices
echoing further down the tunnel. Her grandfather was talking to
someone. Melina was torn between going to his side and following
his directions. The Pactor must have sensed her indecision because
it pushed her back against the wall and moved between her and the
direction of her grandfather.

She didn’t care what horrible things all the
prisoners said about the creatures, they were intelligent and very
loyal if treated right. She had learned a lot about the strange,
alien equivalent of a workhorse over the last few years. The
Pactors she cared for and her grandfather had been her only
companions since they were taken from their farm back on Earth. She
jerked when she heard her grandfather’s voice call out to her.

“Mel! Come here, boy,” Cal yelled. “It’s
safe.”

Melina shivered again as she straightened.
‘Safe’ was a matter of opinion. The fact that her grandfather
called her a boy was enough to warn her that all was not as it
seemed, or at least her grandfather was still being cautious.

“The boy don’t speak,” Cal said loudly.
“He’s not all there in the head. He stays with me at all times. No
one touches him.”

“I have assured you that we will not let any
harm come to you or the boy,” a deep male voice replied.

“There’s one more thing,” her grandfather
said in his gritty voice. “He don’t go nowhere without the
beast.”

“The beast?” The voice asked.

Melina blinked several times as the light
from the landing bay blinded her dilated eyes. She kept her chin
tucked so that it was more difficult to see her face. Her fingers
tightened around the long metal pipe she held in her hand as she
and the Pactor stepped out of the dark tunnel.

She saw the look of distaste flash across
both men’s faces before the one that had been talking to her
grandfather curled his lip. She automatically moved in front of the
small Pactor. She dropped her left hand so that she could reassure
it that everything would be alright.

“I said we would take you and the boy,” the
male said. “There is no way that… thing can go. It will have to
remain here.”

Melina shook her head furiously when her
grandfather glanced at her. She knew that this might be their only
chance, but the idea of leaving the small defenseless creature to
die of starvation was more than she could bear. She had been there
when Hobbler had been born. She had brought the young Pactor into
the world when the mother struggled during the birth and cared for
it when the mother rejected it.

“Mel,” Cal said, turning and walking over to
her. “Mel, this is our only chance. We’ll die if we don’t get off
this rock. They have another human on board their ship.”

Melina heard the soft plea in her
grandfather’s voice. She had never disobeyed him before, but the
feel of Hobbler nibbling on her fingers suddenly was too much. She
couldn’t just abandon the creature knowing that she was sentencing
her to death. She would be no better than the Antrox.

She glanced up into her grandfather’s
worried eyes and slowly shook her head again. A touch of
exasperation and admiration crinkled the corners of his eyes. He
knew she wouldn’t leave the Pactor behind. He had seen the same
stubborn look in his wife and daughter-in-law’s eyes.

“The creature goes,” Cal stated, looking
down at Melina’s bent head.

“That is not possible,” Creon replied in a
firm voice before turning back toward the shuttle. “There is no
reason to search the mine. Vox is not here. Everyone return to the
shuttle.”

Melina backed up, pressing against Hobbler
when her grandfather turned to argue with the male. She could tell
by the man’s voice that he wouldn’t change his mind. With a wave of
her hand, Hobbler turned and started moving back toward the dark
tunnel they had just left.

“We aren’t going,” Cal called out behind
Creon.

Creon turned in surprise. His eyes widened
when he saw the back of the boy and the Pactor as they headed back
into the tunnel. With a wave of his hand, he barked out a short
order for the two men closest to the young boy to stop him.

“This is not open for debate,” Creon stated
coldly. “You and the boy will come, the beast will stay. My mate
would not be happy if she discovered I left you two to die
here.”

“No, she would probably kill him,” Ha’ven
added.

“Ha’ven! You are not helping the situation,”
Creon growled, glaring at his friend.

The startled shouts of the men had Creon,
Ha’ven, and Cal turning to see what was going on. The boy had
attacked one of the men with the long metal pipe in his hand while
the Pactor rammed the other, knocking the warrior down. Both of the
warriors trying to stop the boy had shifted to their dragon forms
in self-defense.

What surprised Creon was that the men’s
symbiots moved between their dragons and the boy who was waving the
pipe in front of him. It was as if the symbiots realized that the
boy might not be completely aware of the danger he was placing
himself in. By placing their bodies between the two, they could
protect their men and the boy at the same time.

The move gave both Mel and the Pactor time
to disappear into the tunnel. A loud, foul curse echoed through the
landing bay as the old man swung the shovel he was still holding
around, barely missing Ha’ven’s head. Creon jerked back when the
old man swung again as he stepped backwards.

“I don’t know what the hell you are, but
leave us alone,” Cal snarled. “Go on, get out.”

Ha’ven raised his hands and shook his head.
“Sounds good to me,” he said.

“Ha’ven,” Creon muttered.

“This is just like at the bar on Teristan
IV,” Ha’ven commented. “Remember that Octopod that was swinging the
chairs?”

Creon’s eyes lit up when he realized that
Ha’ven wasn’t giving in, but setting up for a move. He would
distract the old man while Ha’ven took the shovel. Adrenaline
flooded him as he nodded.

“Yeah, that was a good fight,” Creon said,
shifting suddenly and striking out with his tail to knock Cal off
his feet.

Ha’ven moved in a blur of speed, catching
Cal while at the same time removing the shovel from his hand. Creon
still didn’t see how Ha’ven did it. It was almost like the shovel
disappeared for a moment before reappearing in Ha’ven’s hand. Creon
knew that wasn’t possible. With a flick of his wrist, the old man
crumbled unconscious in Ha’ven’s arms.