Laura Jo Phillips (47 page)

When Slater was sure that Magoa was looking up at the sugea circling overhead he tilted his head back and roared a great gout of flame into the sky.  Then he circled once more and descended slowly, making a show of it, using his wings in a way he had not thought possible so that he almost floated down to the ground.  Slater knew that the sugea itself was in charge of that, and he didn’t mind since it didn’t seem inclined at the moment to burn everyone into cinders. 

As Slater’s huge clawed feet touched the ground he folded his wings gracefully, arched his neck and yawned widely to display both his fangs, and his contempt for the group of exterminators gathering nearby with their crude stone axes.  He eyed them balefully for a moment, pleased when they all took a small step backward.  Then he turned his gaze on Magoa. 

This meeting was the crux of everything.  If it did not go well, he would have to be sure that they did not kill Xi-Kung as the Xanti ship was Slater’s only means of escaping Onddo.  On the other hand, if it went well, Slater’s feet would be firmly set upon the path of his dreams and true glory.

Chapter
37

Darleen was very reluctant to open her eyes.  From the moment she had begun to awaken she knew that things were not as they should be.  She was not lying in her own soft bed with its silk sheets and feather pillows.  In fact, she was not even lying down. 

There was an odd metallic taste in her mouth, and her skin felt strangely tight.  She focused on sound, trying to identify where she was.  She heard the low, soft humming of electronics, the distant sound of air blowing through vents, and a faint jumble of background noises that she could not separate enough to identify. 

“Open eyes.” 

Darleen’s eyes popped open without her permission at the sound of Lio’s voice.  She found herself staring straight at him, and the expression on his face made her heart begin to pound with fear.  He looked very much like a cat with a rodent’s twitching tail hanging out of its mouth.  Darleen felt her body try to shudder, but for some reason, it did not move the tiniest bit. 

She frowned.  Rather, she meant to frown, but didn’t.  She tried to frown, but couldn’t. 

She realized that she was standing up, her arms held uncomfortably straight out on either side of her.  She tried to lower them but they refused to obey her.  She felt no bonds on her body, nothing restraining her.  Besides, even if there were restraints, she should still be able to flex her muscles.  Shouldn’t she?

“I know this is very confusing for you, Darleen,” Lio said, still smiling that scary smile.  “However, that is the fun of it.  The more confused you are, the more fun it is for me as I watch you try to understand it all.  But, I will tell you a few things.  First, you are mentally able to remember who you are, what you want, like, need, feel, hate, all of that. If I wish to take your memories from you, I can.  But it pleases me greatly to know that within this body that I own and control, you still exist and are endlessly horrified by your new existence.  Your body is no longer in your control, and never will be again.  It is now mine to control, with some help from the prime controller installed in your brain. 

“I like toys, you see.  Full sized, real life, flesh and blood toys that do as I say, when I say, and never ever argue, complain or resist.  I do hope you enjoy the color silver, Darleen.”

Lio stepped aside and Darleen found herself staring at her reflection in a large mirror.  Her skin was silver.  Shiny, metallic silver from her toes to the top of her shiny, bald head.  Darleen wanted to shriek, yell, scream.  But she could not.  She could not even take a deep breath.

“I will continue to call you Darleen for now,” Lio said.  “I may take it from you later, or change it to something demeaning, as it pleases me.  But for now, I want you to remember every moment who and what you are.”  Lio frowned. 

“Because of you, the women escaped, and Za-Queg has been recalled.  I do not really understand it, but I do know that he sent me this prime controller just for you, along with a spare.  They are gifts beyond your limited ability to understand.  However, in thanks for them, I intend to do to you everything he requested.  Which means that you will spend some time suffering quite severely.  That you
will
understand, I assure you.”

Darleen was so angry, so scared, so confused that she did not know what emotion to react to first.  Not that it mattered.  She could not express her emotions in any way.

“The first thing we need to do is take some of the shine off that perfect skin of yours,” Lio was saying, talking more to himself than to her.  “I do not like toys that look brand new.  They are so boring.  It will take years, I think, to get you to look as I want, but that’s all right.  You have the time.”  Lio laughed and Darleen tried to cringe at the sound. 

“Where to begin?” he wondered aloud as he circled around her.  “Hmm...lets start with the piercings, shall we?” he asked.

Darleen was horrified.  Piercings? she thought.  He would not dare!  She did not want holes poked into her perfect body. 

Lio picked up a long, thick needle and held it before her eyes.  This will do nicely for your nipples I think,” he said thoughtfully.  “Oh yes, before I forget, controller, feel the steel,” he added with another one of those grins that Darleen was rapidly coming to loathe.  And fear.

He then lowered the needle and proceeded to do as he wished.  The controller, whatever that was, obeyed.  Darleen felt the steel most intensely.

Chapter
38

Saige was happier than she had ever been.  Happier than she had ever imagined being.  She gazed around herself in awe at the beautiful Hidden City of Jasan.  There were houses, shops and streets carved from the living rock of the mountain itself, dotted with gardens, parks and trees.  The ceiling was so high that even with her sharp, loboenca eyes she could not see it.  If she hadn’t known she was inside of a rock mountain, she would not have guessed such a thing were possible.  In fact, that was the one thing that was bothering her about all of this.

“Are you
sure
this mountain won’t fall down on us?”
she asked Faron again.

“
Amada
, would we bring you here if there was the slightest chance of such a thing
?” Faron sent back.

Saige did not get a sense of impatience with Faron’s answer, but she was worried about it anyway.  She had asked that question several times since the air transport carrying herself, the Lobos, and the entire Dracon family had approached the massive range of white rock mountains earlier that morning.  She had gazed out the window with wonder at the sight until she realized that the air transport was slowing down as it headed straight for them.  When a huge chunk of what appeared to be solid rock slid back and the ship began to fly into it she had become just a little nervous. 

A faint chuckle sounded in her mind.  “
A little nervous
?” Dav asked.

“Hey, no fair sneaking around in my mind,”
she responded.

“I would not do such a thing even if I could,”
Dav said. 
“You were projecting.”

Saige sent back a testy “hmmph” and turned her attention to the Dracons in front of her.

As always, her heart melted at the sight of the three beautiful babies.  She grinned inwardly at the sight of them all propped up in their own safety seats, mounted in the small wooden wagon that the ranch hands had made just for them.  Tiny, wearing a pink leather harness with silver fastenings pulled the wagon, his steps slow and even, his head high, eyes alert, and, according to Lariah, fully aware of the importance of his duty. 

Lariah, Garen, Trey and Val walked alongside the wagon which was carrying their children, their faces wreathed in smiles, though Saige detected a trace of nervousness in Lariah’s scent.

The four Lobos, in their loboenca forms, guarded the Dracon family as was their right and privilege.  Faron had point, his gigantic loboenca striding in front of the procession with Dav on the right, Val and on the left, and Saige proudly guarding their backs at the rear.

All along the wide path that ran through the hidden city from its entrance to the royal residence at the back, stood masses of Jasani males.  Only Clan Jasani were allowed to enter the hidden city, which meant until this day, there had never been a female inside.  Saige had been somewhat offended by that on behalf of all of the human women who had mated with Jasani over the centuries and bore them children.  Perhaps not female children, but it was only because of them that they were still a race at all.

However, Faron had explained to her that there were actually two cities carved into the mountains.  This one for the Clan Jasani was reserved for special rituals and functions, and another nearby for the Jasani’s mates and children.

As Saige studied the males who gazed at the infants from the sidelines, she was struck by the fact that nearly every face was streaked with tears.  Many of the Jasani cheered as they watched the Dracons pass by with their infant daughters.  Others bowed, and some knelt on the ground as though in prayer.  Regardless of how they expressed their joy, most had tears.  Only now did Saige begin to truly understand the importance of those three precious girls to the Jasani people.  A race of males for so long, was a race of males no more.

“
Do you know how many Jasani are here
?” Saige asked Faron.

“It looks to me as though every Jasani male on our world who could attend Enclave this year is here,”
he replied.
  “All know of the birth of the Dracon’s daughters, and all wish to see the miracle with their own eyes.  I would say perhaps 100,000.”

“100,000 is most of the Jasani on this world?”
Saige asked, stunned.  She knew that there were few Jasani, but she had no idea how few.

“
Amada
, there are only 112,650 Jasani altogether,”
Faron replied.

“
112,653
,” she retorted.

“
I stand corrected
,” Faron replied with amusement.  “
With the new Dracon babies, 112,653.
”

“Oops,”
Saige replied.  “
Make that 112,656
.”

There was a stunned silence in her mind and Saige glanced up from her charges to see that Faron had stopped walking, causing the procession to straggle to a halt.  For long moments he did not move and Saige wondered if she had made a mistake in making her announcement so public.  It was just that the sight of all of those men so happy and hopeful over three Jasani girls touched her, and she thought they would enjoy being in on the announcement of three more babies to come.

Suddenly Faron, Dav and Ban all spun around and stared directly at her, ignoring everyone between them.  “
You are certain
?” Faron demanded.

Saige backed up a step at his tone. 
“Yes, I am certain
,” she replied hesitantly.  She looked around and saw that the crowds had fallen silent, all eyes trained on the loboencas. 

“We will have our own three daughters in about six months,
” she said.

All three Lobos raised their noses to the roof and howled with joy before racing towards her, ignoring all of the people watching them with varying degrees of puzzlement and surprise.  Just before they reached her they transformed into their human forms, so she transformed as well, just in time for Faron to grab her up and spin her around in the air.

For several moments she was inundated with hugs and kisses and laughter from each of her men.  When they finally settled down she realized everyone was still watching them, though most of the faces were grinning now. 

“Lord Protector,” Garen said, his voice booming so that he could easily be heard by all present.  “Have you, your brothers and your Arima an announcement to make?”

Saige looked up to see a huge grin on Garen’s face.  He had not known, but clearly he had guessed the reason for the impromptu celebration.

“We do indeed, High Prince,” Faron replied in the same, booming voice.  “Our Arima has just informed us that we are to be fathers in six months.”

There was a loud cheer from all of the Jasani on the sidelines, as well as from the Dracons.  When the noise died down Faron held up a hand.

“Perhaps I should be more specific,” he said.  “We will be the proud fathers of three daughters.”

There was a stunned silence, followed by a roar that seemed to shake the very mountain itself. 

Later that evening Saige stood holding the eldest Dracon daughter as Lariah, Garen, Val and Trey stood on a large raised area amidst a sea of expectant Jasani.  On a prearranged signal they all called their dracons, then leapt into the air.  Lariah was much smaller than her male counterparts, but she was perfectly graceful as she flew along with her men, her in the center, the men surrounding her protectively as they circled the large arena, their wings beating in perfect time with each other.  After their third pass they pointed their noses upward and climbed in a spiraling pattern until they were difficult to see.  Then they zoomed back towards the ground, stopping suddenly about 30 feet above the arena where they hovered for a few moments.  Then they all opened their mouths wide and breathed fire into the night as they slowly descended to the ground.  The moment their feet touched earth they shifted back into their human forms, all four of them displaying their lau-lotu, their binding marks, for all to see.