Dragon’s Secret: Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book Fourteen Read online

  Dragon’s Secret

  Red Planet Dragons of Tajss Book Fourteen

  Miranda Martin

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2019 Miranda Martin

  All rights reserved.

  1

  Nora

  A group of Zmaj approaches and I deliberately turn the other way, not wanting to interact if I don't have to.

  Their gruff manners are exhausting to deal with. Delilah’s earlier advice not to take their attitudes to heart makes sense. After all, they're under a lot of stress and fully on edge, ready to spill blood at a moment's notice because of the threat of the invaders.

  Walking on eggshells is a familiar feeling. I had to on the ship before we crash-landed here on Tajss, and again when I was in the tunnels with Annabel. At least this isn't anywhere as bad as that second one. Towards the end there, Annabel was kind of losing touch with reality. She let her position as our group leader go straight to her head. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred. Then, like now, I fell into the auto-nurturing mode that's kind of second nature to me.

  "Come on guys! Time for bed!" I call out to the dragonlings.

  Zoe, Elneese, and Ganeese are under my care while their parents are out on patrol. They're great kids, but like all children—dragonlings included—they do take some wrangling.

  "Not yet, Nora!"

  "Just a little bit longer!"

  "What if we just played one more game?"

  I chuckle, shaking my head. "I already gave you fifteen more minutes. Remember our deal? It's time for bed now."

  "Can we have a bedtime story?" Zoe pleads, changing tactics as she looks up at me with her big eyes. "Please?"

  "Please?" the twins chime in immediately afterwards.

  I laugh, knowing they've got me wrapped around their chubby little fingers, but not really minding. How can I when they're just so squishable?

  A mix of both their tough Zmaj fathers and their human mothers, all three of them are so adorable I just can't stand it. Their chubby little faces, their tiny horns and tiny wings, they're the cutest things that I've ever seen. Problem is, sometimes I think they know it and take full advantage of the fact.

  "Okay," I say. I give in without much of a fight at all. "If you get into bed, I'll tell you a story."

  It'll help them sleep anyway.

  They all whoop with excitement, running over to their pallets, kicking off their shoes to jump in.

  As I watch them slide under the covers and settle in, giggling and talking among themselves, I can't help but fantasize about perhaps one day becoming a mother to a child just like them.

  Not that I have any real prospect at the moment. I feel a pang at that thought, like I always do these days. None of the gorgeous dragons even noticed me before they mated with the any of the other women.

  It isn't like I can't see why.

  I've always been the shy type, definitely not as bold as a lot of the females who survived the crash. I don't draw a whole lot of attention, and I don't particularly want to either. It's no wonder nobody looked at me. I'm always trying to blend in, fade into the background.

  I know that.

  Maybe the thoughts are self-critical, but the facts are also just what they are.

  And now, the depressing reality is there aren't any Zmaj left for me to mate with, even if they noticed me. All of them have been coupled up. As I sit down with the little munchkins and start telling them the story of Aladdin—one of my favorites on the ship—I think about that.

  It's not that I'm envious of everyone who has found their mate. I'm actually really happy for all of them. It's really good to see so many pairs now, to see how genuinely happy they all are with each other. It gives me hope for the future, hope for our civilization here on this alien planet.

  When our ship crash-landed here years ago now...wow, has it really been that long? The thought kind of boggles the mind.

  I never expected to be where I am today, though I guess I didn't really know what to expect or even hope for after the ship was attacked, after our separate scouting vessel crashed some distance away from the main ship. Our small group was lucky enough to be saved from some of the dangerous beasts here on Tajss by a lone Zmaj, which I'm forever grateful for.

  But the life we lived after that rescue wasn't great. My particular group of women spent so much time underground in those tunnels with Annabel—our leader from our time on the ship—I really didn't have a whole heck of a lot of optimism for the future. We were just trying to survive the oppressive heat, living under Gomul's protection, eating what he hunted and what we could gather down there.

  But things are so different now.

  Looking down at these babies, I have hope, a lot of it, a warmth in my chest that I didn't even realize I was missing until it reinstated itself there.

  But...

  But.

  Lately, I've been battling the feeling that I am going to end my days here on Tajss alone. Playing the role of Mary Poppins. Not that I have anything against Mary Poppins. She was my favorite classic character on the ship, the fun children's movie never failing to bring a smile to my face even as I grew older. I guess I just never anticipated that I would fall into that kind of role in real life.

  I always thought I would end up with someone, that I would have babies, have my own family. The dream was always hazy, nothing pinned down, the man's face blurry, the children simple stand-ins for real ones. I'd had that idea forever, and I never thought it wouldn't at least be a possibility for me.

  When we crash-landed here, that dream got put on the back burner due to circumstances. We didn't have anyone around except for an older Zmaj. The men in our group were all killed during the initial guster attacks when we first landed here, having no idea of the level of danger we would be facing.

  But when Kate finally rebelled against Annabel's tyranny, our lives changed. A bunch of us who were also sick of living under the petty tyrant's thumb jumped on board to leave those dark and miserable tunnels. And we soon found out that there were many more survivors from the ship. And a lot of them were already in relationships with various Zmaj males.

  I remember my initial wonder at that, my joy at seeing babies, seeing children once more. The possibility of having a family was once again a reality.

  But now...

  It seems like it isn't anymore. Like that dream is once again an impossibility for me. This isn't the way I saw my life going, not even little bit. But we're not on the ship anymore, Toto. Gotta roll with the punches. So I try real hard not to let it get me too down.

  I'm alive, and though life isn't perfect, I need to make the best of it. What else can I do? Curl into a ball and wail in lamentation every day? So not my style.

  "...and they live happily ever after," I finish, having gone through that same story so many times that I don't even have to stay focused on it to tell it coherently anymore.

  "Again!" Zoe cries out as soon as
I finish.

  I laugh, shaking my head.

  "I think that's enough for tonight." I lie down next to Zoe to keep her company. "Here—I'll wait until you're asleep."

  Elneese and Ganeese already look like they're having trouble keeping their eyes open, their blinks growing longer each time as they struggle to keep them open. But Zoe is wide awake as usual. She snuggles in close and takes hold of my face in her small, soft hands. I let her turn it so I'm gazing directly into her eyes.

  I'm about to make a joke, but something in those familiar eyes stops me. They're too serious, too knowing in that cherubic face, like she might be able to discern my thoughts, my fear that I am going to be a spinster, alone forever.

  Which is ridiculous. How would she know what I'm thinking? She's just a child.

  I frown, opening my mouth to ask her what's wrong, why she's giving me that look. But before I can, an image appears in my mind’s eye.

  A Zmaj male.

  One I've never seen before. He's tall, over seven feet like all the other Zmaj I've seen. Handsome, with a chiseled face and golden eyes set under level brows. As if that isn't enough of an attraction, he's jacked. Really jacked. Wide shoulders and muscles that tell the story of a more-than-active life.

  When his leathery wings flare out and he turns to the side, I see the flick of his strong tail, the sunlight glinting off the red-orange tint of his scales. The small horns on his head are somewhat obscured by the shoulder length dark hair, messily windblown. His tanned skin and scales gleam under the Tajss suns, his health and vitality clear in the image.

  Gorgeous. That's the word that comes to mind. I only see him for a split second, but it's like every detail about him is burned into my memory immediately.

  Then the image is just...gone.

  Poof.

  And I'm looking into Zoe's eyes again.

  I swallow, taken aback, but doing my best not to let it show. I don't want to scare her. Even though I'm freaking out a little on the inside. I have no idea what that was, but then something pops into mind.

  There’s been gossip that Maeve and Padraig have been developing a weird telepathic connection, and that it's somehow linked to these adorable dragon babies. Maybe this is connected too? I don't know, it sounds crazy but...seeing this after hearing that... it holds more significance, doesn't it?

  I keep my face as neutral as I can while I wait for Zoe's eyes to slowly close despite herself. I can't be sure, but it looks like maybe whatever that was took some energy out of her. When her little hand falls limply off my cheek, I settle it next to her as I carefully stand up from the pallet.

  I take a moment to just watch her innocent, sleeping face. Doesn't look like the face of someone with woo-woo powers, but I guess that doesn't matter. Shaking my head, I make my way out of the room silently.

  I go over the details of the image, the details of the Zmaj I saw as I walk out. I don't want to forget them. It could be important. And it isn't like it's a hardship.

  I head over to the cooking area while I keep that image as firmly in my mind as I can. Penelope is already there. She always has something to write with.

  "Penelope, do you have a notebook on you?"

  Her bright green eyes light up at the question. "Yeah, sure! Hold on one second..." She pats her pockets and pulls out a small notebook from a back one, handing over crude writing utensils too.

  "Thanks so much."

  "Yeah, no worries!"

  I open the book up to a blank page and sit down in the corner. I have to press on the charcoal a little hard to make anything appear on the paper, but I make it work.

  Bringing the image back to mind, I sketch the Zmaj I saw, trying to get everything down on paper before I forget it. I can't help but think there must be some kind of significance to the image I was given.

  And the feeling he gave me. I haven't felt like that upon seeing someone in...well, ever.

  I'm so focused on getting every detail down that I don't realize anyone is approaching until Arawn walks in. I immediately cover the drawing. It looks damn suspicious, but I don't want him to see it, and I'm willing to look weird to accomplish that.

  He raises a brow at me—hard to get much by that one—but he's conveniently distracted by his duties almost right away.

  Bashir walks in directly after he does, taking his attention off me. Phew. Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to sketch this out in a common area like this.

  "Arawn, can I speak with you?"

  "Yes, of course..."

  Bashir leads him away to have a private conversation. Arawn gives me once last lingering look before they're out of sight, but that's it. I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Arawn is so consumed by his duties.

  I rip out the paper and fold it carefully with the drawing on the inside. I’ve learned the hard way that charcoal just rubs off if you’re not careful. I slide my drawing to the very bottom of my pocket for safekeeping before returning the notebook to Penelope. She takes it with a smile, and I turn my focus to cleaning the area.

  There's still food left untouched, so I gather it up and save it for those on patrols. They're bound to be hungry when they come back from their shifts.

  Delilah walks in just as I'm finishing up, the former engineer looking as in control as ever. I always envy her that sense of self possession. Probably because I myself find it so elusive.

  "Want to play some checkers?" she asks, leaning against the wall. "I don't really feel like going to bed yet."

  "Sure," I agree. After getting that image—vision? —I'm definitely not anywhere near sleep yet either.

  "Great. I need something to wind down."

  I nod in agreement, walking out with her to one of the boards that are already set up in this common area.

  The Zmaj took real hard to both checkers and chess, resulting in a bunch of sturdy versions of the games crafted and ready to use in a lot less time than I would have expected. They're always available for all of us to play now. Times like this, I really appreciate it.

  As I settle in across from Delilah, I briefly consider telling her about the Zmaj I saw, but I don't know if I want to reveal that just yet. Maybe it's nothing and I'm making too big a deal out of it. Better just to sit on it for now. So I move on to small talk instead.

  "Zoe is starting to fight bedtime more," I murmur, making a move on the board.

  Delilah snorts.

  "That's what kids do," she remarks. "Now if none of them made a peep when it was time to sleep, then I'd be worried..."

  She goes off on the psychology of children, which I wouldn't have expected, since she was a former engineer on the ship. She’s generally more of a by-the-numbers person, but I guess they aren't mutually exclusive. After talking about the dragonlings for a bit, we move on to the city gossip.

  "Everything always leads right back to the invaders," Delilah admits. "But I did hear about the training with the kedis and some of the tomfoolery they've been up to. Apparently, they've run out onto the street with more than one pair of underwear."

  "What?"

  Delilah starts regaling me with stories of the cute felines embarrassing multiple people with their shenanigans, to the point where I'm doubled over with laughter, holding my stomach. God, I needed this. It's such a nice break from talk of the invaders. A slice of normalcy.

  "Thank you for that," I say sincerely, wiping at my eyes. "I needed that."

  She nods, making another move as her face turns serious.

  "Yeah. I hear you. I'm at the point where I'm trying to grab at any slice of good I can while I can." She looks up at me, meeting my eyes. "Who knows how long we'll be able to have these moments."

  I sober at that thought. She's right. With the threat looming over us at all times, and the possibility of the invaders actually succeeding in kidnapping people for those fighting rings they run...

  Let's just say I'm all for grabbing at any normal moment I can. Realizing that all over again kind of takes the fun out of the game though.
We keep playing for a bit longer, but then we decide to call it.

  "Maybe we can resume tomorrow night," Delilah offers as we stand up to go back to our respective caves.

  "Sure," I agree. "Goodnight."

  She waves at me as she walks away.

  I reach my little corner of the cave system and get ready for bed. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to sleep at all as I slide into the thick pallet. There's so much to think about, so much to worry over. But I'm so tired, even my swirling thoughts can't keep me awake for long.

  I drift off to sleep despite myself, but my brain doesn't just fade to black. Dreams start immediately, an odd conglomeration of the usual. The desert, the children, the people in my life. None of it makes much sense, just a jumbled tapestry of experiences, ideas, and emotions.

  Until suddenly everything goes blank.

  Even in my sleep I find the sudden shift strange. But I barely have a moment to acknowledge that before it changes again.

  As if a television is turned on, a fresh image shows up on screen. I'm looking down from a distance, down at the familiar desert sand dunes on Tajss. There's a man traveling over them.

  That I realize I'm hearing something, something that doesn't really match the visual. When I focus, I realize it's the familiar voices of the dragonlings. They're whispering in a chorus. I strain to hear what they're saying, constrained by the fact that I don't really have any ears here. But I manage to pick out the words. Not that they end up making much sense.

  "The Enforcer is coming to free us all."

  That Enforcer? Is that what they said?

  I try to focus on the man below, trying to see more clearly, but that image cuts off abruptly before I can make out much more than the fact that he's a Zmaj.