Cornering Carmen (3 page)

There was no way they could be talking about the females from the planet his brother had landed on. He had seen and talked to Zoran’s mate. She was as gentle and delicate as his mother’s flowers. She looked like a gentle breeze would knock her over.

Creon turned to say something to Mandra when the body of his brother, Trelon, and three females appeared on the transporter platform. Creon looked on in disappointment as three small figures appeared next to Trelon. The one closest to him looked like a child. The other two females were similar in color but that was about all they had in common from what he could tell with a quick glance. He started in surprise when he heard Trelon bellow out for him and Mandra to grab the females. Trelon had grabbed the smallest one up over his shoulder and taken off at a run for the door. Creon turned in time to see the female with the long white hair planting her booted foot in his brother’s face.

Creon turned to grab the female with the short hair. Yells of warning from the men behind him came too late. He reached for the female’s arm only to feel his body leaving the ground and going airborne for a brief moment. It was only his years of training that prevented him from landing on his back. He twisted at the last minute, landing on his feet with a snarl.

The slender figure turned on him and struck out for his throat. Creon fell back a step as he moved away from the blow that would have left him gasping for air if it had landed. He felt his dragon roar out and push against his skin in a fierce battle to break free. Black scales, the color of the darkest night sky, rippled over his arms and up his neck as he fought for control.

What in the hell is the matter with you?
He exploded as he ducked another blow aimed at incapacitating him and spun around to circle the figure.

Mate!
His dragon panted.
My mate! I capture my mate.

Mate?
Creon asked confused as he felt a booted foot connect with his stomach as he lost his focus.
You think this she-demon who is trying to kill us is your mate?
He wheezed as he tried to suck in air as her next foot connected with his groin.

Creon blocked blow after blow trying to keep from getting his ass kicked while trying to gain control of his dragon. The damn thing was refusing to listen to him as it fought to escape and grab the female who was moving with lightning fast moves. He finally had enough of it and let out a loud, frustrated roar as he finally got his arms around her slender form.

He was afraid to hold her too tight in case he hurt her. That was his first mistake. She took advantage of the close proximity to inflict more damage. He felt her head connect with his left eye in a blow that brought tears to his eyes. The second mistake was thinking if he pulled her head closer she couldn’t hit him with it again. He yelled out as her small teeth clamped down on his ear in a vicious bite that had him releasing his hold. That was his third mistake. That left him vulnerable to her knee which found its way to his groin before connecting with his mouth.

Creon saw stars as he let go of the seething white-haired savage. He fell back several steps trying to catch his breath as he put both hands on his knees to steady himself so he wouldn’t fall on his ass. He spit the blood from his busted lip out as he drew in a deep breath, willing away the pain.

Go! Why you wait? Mate get away. Chase her! Chase her!
His dragon bounded around inside him.

Chase her? I’m going to strangle her!
I just don’t know if I’m going to do it before or after I kill Trelon,
Creon growled out
,
painfully
straightening up.

He glared at the men trying to hide their laughter. “I think you need to explain where in the dragon’s balls my brothers got these females and whose stupid idea was it to think they were delicate?” Creon growled out, wiping the blood from his mouth and wincing as he felt first his eye th
e
n his ear.

“That little savage almost emasculated me!” Creon snarled when the men burst out laughing. “Not to mention nearly biting my ear off.”

Jurden grinned. “Now you know why we were waiting. Aren’t they magnificent?”

Creon felt his ear again, grimacing at the touch of blood that came away with his fingers. “Just bloody magnificent,” he replied sarcastically. “And will you bloody shut the fuck up! You are not helping my pain level at this moment,” he snarled.

“My lord
?
” Jurden asked confused.

Creon flashed a pained look at the men looking at him like he had lost more than a fight. “Not you,” he grimaced again heading toward the door. “My stupid dragon thinks that she-demon is his mate,” he grumbled as the doors closed behind him.

*.*.*

Carmen turned in a circle. She was in some type of long corridor. Floor to ceiling windows reflected the brilliant light of the planet. When she had finally escaped from the man trying to grab her, all she could think about was finding a place to hide and regroup. She had run out of the room like the hounds of hell were after her. In a way, she felt like they still were. The moment that man had touched her something inside of her reacted to him. It… frightened her. Carmen muttered a curse under her breath. This was stupid. The only feelings she had left inside her were for revenge.

She
walked along the corridor until she came to another set of narrow stairs leading upward. She looked behind her briefly to make sure no one was following her before she turned and took a tentative step forward. Soon she was moving up the stairs, staring in wonder at the ceiling murals and the carvings on the walls. She ran one hand along the white stone that glittered with tiny crystals that glowed as her hand moved over them.

Carmen rounded the corner at the top and stopped in disbelief at the magnificence of the atrium filling the top floor. The ceiling was clear glass reaching almost thirty feet up. Plants of all sizes, shapes, and color grew in wild abandon. Carmen turned trying to see everything at once but there was too much to see. Glowing flowers hung down and vines with pulsing greens, purples, and pinks wound around tall statues of dragons and other creatures Carmen had never seen before.

She walked along the narrow paths, stooping under the hanging vines, touching flowers and gasping when they suddenly closed. In the center of the atrium was a raised pool. Small fountains in the shape of birds poured water back into the pool. At the end, the huge shape of a dragon lying on his back with water pouring out of his mouth and over his belly formed a small waterfall.

Carmen walked over to stare down at her reflection in the surface of the water. Grief flooded her as she stared into eyes that used to shine with excitement. Now all she saw was bleakness and pain. She reached out her hand, splashing the surface until she couldn't see her image any longer before she sat down on the edge of the pool. She tilted her head to look up at the ceiling, unwilling to look into her own eyes again. Through the clear glass she could make out the images of real dragons soaring overhead.

Wrapping her arms around her waist, she rocked back and forth. “Oh Scott, I wish you could hold me again,” she whispered in a soft voice. Even as softly as she spoke the sound seemed to echo above the sound of the water. “I’m so scared. I don't know what to do.”

She sat for a long time letting one plan after another flow through her mind in an attempt to figure out how she could get back home. She discarded one after another as she realized she had no idea where she was, much less how to fly a spaceship. Her hand moved to the knife she always kept with her. It had been Scott’s hunting knife. It was the knife she was going to use to kill Cuello with when she found him. Her fingers ran over the handle before she wrapped them around it and pulled it out. She kept
the blade as sharp as a surgeon’
s
scalpel
. Raising her hand up, she let the tip cut along her palm just deep enough to draw blood. She needed that small reminder that she was still alive, that she still had a chance to complete the one last task she had set for herself.

Carmen started when she heard the sound of claws rasping against stone. Rising slowly, she sheathed the knife at her waist and looked around. Plants moved to her left so she moved to the right, trying to keep the edge of the pool between her and whatever was coming toward her. She stumbled backwards when the shape of a huge, golden dragon appeared. Colors swirled through the golden body, changing as the light from above reflected on it.

“Get out of here,” Carmen said in a low, stern voice. “Go on! Get out,” she repeated.

She didn’t have the same touch with animals that her sister did. Ariel could look at a mountain lion and the damn thing would start purring and trying to be a lap cat. Carmen would look like lunch to the damn thing. She had seen similar creatures on board the warship. The men referred to them as their symbiots. They seemed to have some type of symbiotic relationship with the living creatures. All she cared about was if that thing was here then that meant its other half might not be far away. As far as she was concerned, that spelled trouble.

“Go on, scat!” Carmen said beginning to feel a little nervous as the creature took another step toward her.

It raised its massive head up in the air and looked as if it was sniffing something. Carmen watched as its head lowered until it stopped at her side. She followed the golden creature’s line of sight and cursed when she saw it was focused on her hand. Blood pooled on the ends of her fingers from where she had cut her palm. Carmen clenched her fist in an effort to keep the blood from dripping but she was too late. A small drop clung stubbornly before falling to the pristine white stone floor.

Carmen’s head jerked up as she felt the shift in the air as the creature responded to the blood. She jerked in surprise when a line of gold shot out from it, winding around her injured hand. She burst into action, fighting to break the hold on her. The more she fought, the more gold swirled around her encasing her in its tentacles until she was held immob
ile by it. She refused to cower
. If this was the way she was meant to die, then so be it. Her eyes glittered fiercely for a moment before she closed them and drew a picture of Scott into her mind.

Memories of his light brown hair curling at the ends after he got out of the shower shimmered and formed. Carmen embraced the memories, pulling them to her until she was wrapped in his warmth and love again. She remembered his dancing green eyes as he teased her out of being mad. She remembered the way he made tender love to her in front of the fireplace at the small house they had purchased in their
hometown
. She remembered him holding her like he would never let her go when she found out her parents had been killed in a car accident. And, she remembered the look of sheer wonder when she told him…. Pain and grief filled her suddenly to the point she wondered if the creature would even have to bother with killing her. She felt like she was dying again right there.

A low keening sound escaped her as the grief became more than she could keep inside. She opened her eyes and stared into the dark, golden flames burning in the creature’s eyes. She looked at it with a silent plea for mercy.

“Please,” Carmen whispered. “Please. I don’t want to live anymore. It hurts too much. Please give me peace,” she begged the creature quietly.

Morian stood back in the shadows with her fists pressed tightly to her lips. Her heart was breaking for the fragile human female. She had known the moment the young girl had entered her sanctuary. The plants reacted differently to the changes in their environment. This was the one place she retreated to when loneliness and pain took hold of her. Working with the plants and soil gave her a sense of peace when she needed it.

She missed her mate. While he had not been her true mate, she had loved him and still grieved for his passing. She had thought to join him in death at first as this was the way of the true mate of their world but something told her it was not her time.

When her oldest son Zoran was kidnapped, she had been frightened she would have to live through the loss of one of her children as well. Instead, his abduction had turned into a blessing from the Gods and Goddesses. He had discovered his true mate with a female from the distant world where he had sought refuge. In addition, it appeared the journey had blessed all her sons with their true mate if Creon’s symbiot was any indication.

She had watched from the small office she kept up on an upper level of the atrium as Mandra’s symbiot played with the female with the long, white hair. She thought of leaving her sanctuary to meet the girl when this one appeared. Even from a distance, she had known instinctively that the girl wanted to be alone. Morian had given her that space but she was curious about these beautiful, fragile creatures that had captured her sons’ hearts. She had snuck down one of the many paths and followed her. Her whispered words had pulled at Morian. The girl tried to appear so tough on the outside but inside she was hurting deeply.

Morian waited to see what Creon’s symbiot would do. If this girl was her son’s true mate, it would do everything in its power to help her. Morian bit her lip as the golden symbiot let out a low sound of anguish at the girl’s pain. Its colors shimmered in a rapidly moving mixture that reflected its distress.

The girl gasped as the sound built until it echoed through the enormous room. The golden form surrounding her shifted again until it was in the shape of a large creature with long, drooping ears. It was an unusual shape for a symbiot, one Morian had never seen before but the girl must have recognized it. Morian watched as the slender figure fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around the shape, clinging to it, and whispering quietly.