The Dragon Circle (14 page)

She struggled to remain upright, wrapping the shreds of her courage around her.

If she had nothing else, she had her dignity. If she died in the next moment, she would not quail before the Stargod. She was Tracker and had fulfilled her duty.

“I know,” Konner said to the dragon. “Dalleena spotted them before I did.”

So they discussed the invaders. Dalleena took her next step with a little more firmness than the last.
She
had served the god better than his dragon messenger did.

Then the beast turned one of its multicolored eyes upon her. Red glinted on the eyelid, echoing the color outlining its horns and wing veins.

Her stomach tied itself into a knot.

The red spiraled inward, drawing her attention, her consciousness, her soul. . . .

“Irythros, release her!” Stargod Konner shouted and slapped the muzzle of the creature.

The sound of his voice seemed to sever a physical tie between Dalleena and the dragon. She shook her head to clear it.

(
Apologies. I do not wish to offend.
) The dragon's eyes dimmed and it ducked its muzzle.

Dalleena shook her head again. “Did I truly hear him speak?” For half a heartbeat she shared a sense of deep shame with the beast. How could that be?

“Probably,” Konner replied. He rubbed the knuckles of his left hand with his right palm.

“Apology accepted.” She resisted a near compulsion to move closer and touch the place where Konner's fist had connected with its muzzle, just below the right eye. Hard to tell if the skin beneath the crystal fur bruised or not.

“Dalleena is under my protection, Irythros,” Konner said. “Keep your hypnotic powers to yourself.”

Dalleena tasted the strange new word. Hypnotic. It meant nothing to her.

(
Dragon dreams reveal a true nature,
) the dragon replied in a defensive tone.

“Unnecessary.” Konner continued to stare at the huge creature with authority. “If you want to delve into the secrets of a human, go find the merchant who calls himself Sam Eyeam. He carries a second beacon that must be destroyed.”

A niggle of pride ran down Dalleena's spine. This handsome man, this
god,
defended her before the most awesome being in her world.

”The news of the intruders is momentous, Irythros.

I appreciate you bringing the news yourself. I have need of a favor, if you are willing.” Finally Konner stroked the place on the dragon's muzzle that had begun to darken. The dragon leaned into the touch as it would a healer's caress.

(
Name your favor,
) the dragon nearly cooed.

Dalleena had to stifle a grin. This monster behaved as any steed, or dog, or cat, given adoring attention by its master.

“I have to drop this beacon into the volcano to destroy it. I would like to leave the shuttle hidden in the crater. The magnetic forces of the mountain will mask its presence from the intruders. Will you carry Dalleena and me back to the village from there?”

(
We cannot. The transition place of Hanassa is sacred. We may not go there.
)

The mighty wings of the dragon unfurled. He raised and dropped them once. Dust swirled into Dalleena's face. She threw up her arm to protect her eyes. With her other hand she groped for Konner. His hand entwined with hers.

The dust increased. The roar of the wind from pulsing dragon wings drowned out all other sound. All other thought.

Wind buffeted her, forcing her back and back again. She clung to Konner. She bumped against the solid hide of the white dragon
Rover
. And still the wind pressed against her, stole the breath from her, tried to crush her chest.

And then Konner was between her and the wind, sheltering her with his body. She risked looking up at him. His eyes darkened. Barely a breath separated their lips. A strange stillness washed through her, replacing the terrible pressure of the wind.

Then the wind died. The agitated dirt settled on her clothing, in her hair, and on her face.

“He left,” she said.

“In a huff,” Konner replied, averting his gaze from her mouth. He heaved himself back, away from the shuttle and close proximity to her.

“Now what do we do?”

“We destroy the beacon.”

“How? Do we return to the village of the Stargods?”

“I will leave you there before I go to the volcano.”

“How will you return?”

“I must walk for many days, or trust my luck to the dragongate.”

Dalleena crossed herself, swallowed her fears, and looked him straight in the eye. “So be it. I go with you.”

“Captain?” Ensign Englebert sounded hesitant.

Kat stole a moment of attention from the helm to watch the communications officer's face. He looked puzzled.

“Watch it!” Kohler warned her quietly.

Kat jerked her attention back to her own screens and interfaces. She barely veered to port fast enough to avoid scraping
Jupiter
on a mid-sized boulder in a crowded asteroid belt.

At least Ms. Baines had retreated to the comfort of her cabin. Kat didn't have to worry about the woman watching and criticizing every move she made. Nor did she have to smell the cloying perfume.

“This space junk looks tricky,” Kohler continued. “Computer can't find a pattern to the movement. We're going to have to wing it.”

“Captain, can we get weapons on some of these rocks?” Kat asked.

Commander Leonard gestured to a pair of SBs to handle the chore. In three quick blasts, Kat had a clear path before her.

“Captain?” Englebert said again.

“Yes, Ensign.” Commander Leonard did not look up from her screens as she answered.

“Sir, I'm getting an echo from the beacon. It's moving away from the primary.”

“What?” Kat and Commander Leonard exclaimed at the same time. Kat dared not swing her chair around. A rock the size of a moonlet loomed before her. It tumbled fast enough to generate a gravity field.

“It's almost as if there are two beacons, sir,” Englebert said.

“Impossible. Fortesque Industries swore they only built one at that frequency,” Commander Leonard protested.

“I read the memo, sir. You can look for yourself. Something strange is going on down on that planet.”

“If I may, Captain,” Kat said, never taking her eyes or her hands off her screens. “The second beacon could be why we could not lock onto the signal earlier. We were getting echoes of both off the atmosphere.”

”True, Lieutenant. Investigate further, Ensign Englebert. I want to know more about this.

“Uh, Captain . . .”

Leonard shot Englebert an impatient glance.

“Captain, sensors detecting a fireball on the big continent. It's burning hot enough to fry cerama/ metal.”

Kat gulped. What were the O'Haras up to?

“Status of the beacons, Ensign?” the ship's captain demanded.

“Both still beeping.”

“Estimated time to orbit, Lieutenant?”

Kohler answered for Kat. “Five hours, twenty-seven minutes, sir.”

“Providing someone doesn't start throwing these rocks directly at us,” Kat muttered. Another blast from the pulse cannons sent a big one lurking behind the moonlet spinning out of their path. Chips from it splattered a sensor on the rim directly in front of Kat. She cursed.

A tech scrambled to get her a clear view again.

Kat veered sharply to starboard. Everyone on the bridge reached for safety harnesses. “If only I had a joystick,” Kat breathed, “I could jockey around this planetary debris with no problems at all.”

“Joysticks are not standard military equipment,” Commander Leonard reminded her. “This is a Military Police Cruiser, not a cybernetic fighter.”

“I know, Captain. Just wishing out loud.”

“Are you sure you can get us through this safely, Lieutenant?” Leonard asked.

“Yes, sir. I'm rated ace on everything in the fleet. Just keep those cannons working on the little stuff and I'll get us around the big ones.”

Kat let her eyes lose focus a moment while she listened to the crystal drive. She “felt” nearly every electron pulse shooting from the drivers to the directionals. Three arrays, all working off one king stone. She isolated the forward array in her consciousness. Suddenly the scene outside jumped into her awareness clearer than any computer display. She saw in her mind the position of every asteroid, moonlet, and chip. She understood the gravitational pulls from sun and planets upon each. She became a part of the web of transactional gravitons.

Her fingers flew over the computer interfaces on her screen guiding the ship through the obstacle course.

“You're smiling?” Josh Kohler broke into her trance.

“Just meditating on what I'll do with my part of the reward from capturing the O'Hara brothers.”

“Just keep your mind on steering this boat,” Josh grunted.

Kat's smile grew broader. “I am, Josh. I am.”

“The O'Haras may be the most wanted men in the Empire, but they aren't worth the lives of three hundred people and the loss of my ship, Lieutenant,” Commander Leonard said. “Slow and easy. If you don't feel we can get through here safely . . .”

“I've waited too long for this moment to give up now, sir.” Kat firmed her chin and narrowed her eyes. Nothing would keep her from finally confronting the O'Haras and bringing them to justice. Nothing.

Ah, I see now that Sam Eyeam rushes to take refuge in a creature similar to Stargod Konner's
Rover.
This creature is bigger than
Rover.
I loose a little flame to encourage Sam Eyeam to emerge and speak to me.

Kim checked the village center. Two older women he knew only a little stoked the fire and hefted the stewpot onto the iron crane Konner had forged. Both women looked too frail for the heavy work. One had lost an eye, the other the use of her left arm. Both were past childbearing. No other village wanted them.