Rion (29 page)

When she could finally draw a breath and looked up, his gray eyes had gone dark, serious with a gleam of fire. He gazed down
at her, his face alight with pleasure. “Listen.”

“I don’t hear anything.”

His grin widened. “Exactly.”

“The dragons’ pain… it’s gone?”

“You did it.”

He sounded excited, but she sighed. “The pain-free minutes won’t last. I should try to send a message.”

“Tell them we need to find my father.”

Marisa tried. Opened her mind. No pain entered, allowing her to focus on the message.
Where is the king?

No one answered. She dragonshaped.

Where is the king?

Still, no one answered and she quickly humanshaped.

“It’s not working. I’m not getting through.” Her heart thudded against his, and she wanted to weep.

She’d failed. “Every time I try to send the message, it slips away. The dragons can’t hear me.”

Rion cuddled her against him. “At least you’ve given the dragons a few pain-free minutes. Even the dragons I can see in the
distance are flying with a new strength. And your efforts didn’t harm you, either, thank the Goddess.”

“But there’s a problem. I can’t send emotions and a message at the same time. At least not the heavy-duty emotions needed
to break through the pain.”

Not even his arms around her could soothe her frustration. She’d so badly wanted to help, but for now, she saw no solution.
She couldn’t help Rion. She couldn’t help the dragons. And until she did, she couldn’t help Earth.

Use your anger… for the greater good.

—L
ADY OF THE
L
AKE

L
ex had returned with Mendle, then gone back for Darian. While Marisa gave the man water, another flash hit Rion.

A shining golden machine that reminded him of a computer motherboard, with its circuits and wires embedded with glowing crystals,
squatted on a platform.

The Tyrannizer?

Space itself seemed to ripple in a golden glow around the machine.

The scene broadened in scope until Rion could see high rock walls shaped in an octagon. On one wall was a countdown clock,
with a date. Two days and two hours left.

But it was a countdown until what? Until the Unari finished the structure? Until the Grail arrived?

Eight dragons stood chained to the walls, and next to each dragon stood a Unari guard holding a whip.

Blood ran from the dragons’ every orifice. The dragons were so weak they could barely hold up their heads. Still, they bellowed,
throats raw with pain.

Rion’s gut roiled. And then he gasped. Sweet Goddess.

One dragon’s eyes blazed in fury. Just as he’d feared, the Unari had captured his father.

The countdown clock blinked a new time but added a sinister tagline:

“Two days and two hours until your death.”

Rion came out of the flash to find Marisa, Darian, Mendel, and Lex watching him. He felt like the Unari had ripped out his
own heart. He’d doubled over from the pain. Crushed by the horror.

Sweet Goddess.

Fighting to control his breathing, he shoved to his feet, squared his shoulders, and began to pace. “The Unari are holding
my father and seven other dragonshapers around the Tyrannizer in the palace.”

“You’re certain?” Lex asked.

“The room had octagon walls, and there are three rooms like that in the palace. I saw a clock ticking down. We have two days
to free them. My father has only two days to live.”

Rion stared at the rebels. As badly as he wanted to mount an attack right then, they needed more help. The last few days of
captivity, on top of years of little sustenance, had taken a toll. Through their shirts, ribs were visible beneath their skin.
All the men had gaunt cheekbones. Darian swayed on his feet. When Mendle tried to steady him, both almost toppled over.

They needed more than rest and human food. They needed platinum to strengthen their malnourished bodies.

A cawing Cuttee soared over the wall and drew Rion’s gaze to the sky. He shaded his eyes. Beyond the Cuttee, Unari skimmers
in fighting formation flew straight at them.

Rion sharpened his voice. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Run. Run. Run!” Lex shouted.

Rion grabbed Marisa’s hand, and together they raced toward the tunnel. The rebels sprinted into the opening and quickly climbed
onto the makeshift transport device. Darian fired up the antigravs. And Lex shot them down the tunnel.

Marisa held her hair back with one hand, but tendrils escaped and whipped around her face. “Do you think the Unari saw us?”

“Perhaps it was just a scouting mission,” Darian suggested.

Rion and Marisa exchanged a look. Clearly she didn’t believe Darian’s speculation, either, but both of them said nothing.

Lex frowned and hunched over his door. “This tunnel forms a Y. When we get to the fork, we should split up. Lessen our chances
of being spotted.”

Rion shook his head. “No. We stay together.”

Marisa cocked her head and eyed him. “What are you thinking?”

“We aren’t going straight back to camp. We can’t risk leading the Unari there.”

“What do you suggest?” Lex asked. “A more circuitous route could take days.”

“We climb into the mountains and bring back platinum.” Despite the flash that had warned him of danger in the mountains, they
had to go for food. His people were little more than skin hanging on bones. “To fight the Unari we need to keep up our strength.”

“The babies could use nourishment, too,” Marisa added. She squeezed Rion’s hand and lowered her voice so only he could hear.
“I’m sorry about your father. But he’s alive.”

Rion squeezed her hand back but said nothing. He didn’t want to speak of it. Didn’t want to think about it. He had to stay
focused on a rescue plan.

“Don’t you think we’ve tried to forage for food?” Lex stared at the ground speeding by. “We’ve sent men into those mountains
many times. No one ever comes back.”

“Why not?” Rion asked.

Lex shrugged. “The Unari have cut off access to the mountains.”

“Oh, God.” Marisa tugged on Rion’s arm. “Look.”

Rion’s gut tightened. A Unari skimmer craft barreled down the tunnel, its guns aiming right at them.

“Jump,” Rion yelled, leaping off the makeshift train and pulling Marisa with him. His men did the same.

Hanging on to Marisa, Rion landed with a hard thud, protecting her from the worst of the blow. He looked up just in time to
watch the skimmer shoot down their makeshift train, which disintegrated in a white flash of light.

The skimmer ripped through the air over their heads. Rion didn’t wait for his ears to stop ringing. Scrambling to his feet,
he tugged Marisa up with him.

Her eyes were wide. She had a scrape on her cheek, but she looked otherwise unhurt. “Are they coming back?”

“Probably. We have to get out of here.” Rion looked at Lex, who had gotten up much more slowly. “How much farther to the fork?”

“Maybe a mile.”

Rion began to run. “I want us there in five minutes.”

It took ten. Lex and his men stumbled the last steps, exhaustion on their faces. Marisa breathed heavily, too. No one complained.

“Good job.” Rion looked around. This part of the tunnel was overgrown with shrubs and dead trees, plus mounds of dirt from
several cave-ins. “Let’s rest.”

“At least a skimmer can’t fly through here,” Darian muttered, settling down with his back against a root.

But the Unari could shoot a missile through. Rion kept that thought to himself. He also kept his father’s weak condition to
himself. No one, not even the Honorian king, would survive such torture for much longer. But neither would these men live
if they didn’t get them some platinum.

Rion had wanted all of them to go for food, but the men’s lack of physical vigor had him reevaluating his position. Lex, Darian,
and Mendle could barely walk. Jogging had sucked out the last of their strength.

Rion changed his mind about their staying together. “Lex, you were right. We should split up.” These were proud men. And they’d
done their best for years under terrible conditions. “After you return to Winhaven, send word for the local rebels to meet
me here in two days.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll take a different route home. But now that the Unari know about this tunnel, we should set the meeting somewhere
else.”

“Good point. Where would you suggest?” Rion asked.

“Where the Unari wall dams the river and turns its course is a good spot.”

“All right. Do what you can to get out word of our plan, and Marisa and I will go for some platinum.”

M
ARISA TRUDGED BESIDE
Rion where the path allowed and dropped behind when it narrowed. She hadn’t spoken in hours. Instead, she’d saved her strength
for walking through the uneven grasslands.

Since the tunnel, she’d seen no sign of pursuit. But Lex had warned them that the Unari had shut down access to platinum in
the mountains.

His words echoed in her mind. No one he’d ever sent had returned.

Merlin had joined them on their journey, sometimes keeping them company, often scouting ahead. Marisa’s legs ached. Her feet
had new calluses. So when Rion halted beside a slow-moving stream, she sat on a boulder, took off her shoes, and checked her
feet for damage.

Rion leaned over the stream and drank. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay.” She rubbed her sore feet. Rion turned and kneeled beside her, took her foot into his hands, and began to knead.

She closed her eyes, tilted back her head to the sun, and enjoyed his strong fingers. “You really are good with your hands.”

“That’s not all I’m good—” Rion dropped her foot and tackled her.

The air whooshed out of her lungs. His big body covered hers. She gasped in a breath. “What?”

“I heard a tree branch crack. Like someone stepped on it,” he whispered.

They were in a grass field. A few shrubs grew along the stream, but she didn’t see a tree anywhere. “But there aren’t any
branches here.”

“I know.”

Something rustled in the grass. Then she heard a series of snaps, very much like someone stepping on dry tree branches. Her
pulse kicked up.

“What is that?” She looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing but sky, grass, and boulders.

Then Merlin dived out of the sky. Straight at the ground. She lost sight of him in the tall grass, but then he soared upward
again, a large snake-like thing dangling from his mouth. “Merlin’s found it.”

Merlin dropped the creature almost right on top of them. It splattered on the rock.

“Don’t move.” Rion crawled away from her, and Marisa was happy to stay put.

She did not want to look at alien creepy-crawly things that made snapping noises and that would give her nightmares. It was
one thing to know it was there, another to have the image of teeth and dripping venom branded into her brain.

Rion peered at the dead creature. “These snappers are not native to Honor. The Unari must have brought them.”

Marisa heard lots more snapping and her stomach clenched. The grass around them swayed with the movements of many creatures.
As fear slithered down her spine, she pulled her feet away from the edge of the boulder. “There’s more of them out there.”

She slipped her shoes back onto her feet. “Should we dragonshape and roast them? Or try to fly away?”

Rion stilled, just for a few seconds, but she recognized that look. He’d just had a flash.

His face hardened, and his eyes filled with shadows. “No dragonshaping. Others have tried. According to Lex, they all failed.”

At his hard tone, her heart skipped a few beats. “Then what do we do?”

Rion put his arms around her and his tone was gentle. “I’m sorry I brought you here.”

That didn’t sound good. Apparently his flash hadn’t told him how to escape the snappers.

But they weren’t giving up. Rion never gave up. And she hadn’t crossed the galaxy to be eaten by alien snakes. Or to let Rion
down. There had to be a way.

Marisa turned into his arms and brought him close. As always, she took comfort from his embrace and his manly scent. His rugged
face with his five-o’clock shadow and circles under his eyes had become so dear to her. “Yeah, you owe me for bringing me
here. But you can make it up to me.”

He raised his eyebrow. “How?”

“Kiss me.”

“Now?”

“Damn it. These stupid snakes are not going to kill us. They are not going to stop us from getting platinum. Or from saving
your people. Kiss me.”

Rion’s lips came down on hers. And as always, a special awareness of him kicked in. But this time she channeled her emotions.

Even as she held on to Rion, it took so little effort to work up her anger. The Unari had no right to enslave the Honorians.
Steal their free will. Destroy the planet.

The bastards didn’t care how many people they killed to secure the Holy Grail. But they weren’t killing Rion. And they weren’t
killing her. She would not let that happen.