Page 72 of Captured By the Dragon Warlord
This is a new species. It has similarities to the humans in that the skin is pale and almost one color. But there is something about the eyes.
“I think this might be the professor Kerra spoke about, the one she saw when we were all taken by the Veseli,” Scarlett murmurs at my side.
“I won’t be handing over anything, and you are going to get all my pulsar cannons have to offer,” Dante says, with some considerable glee as he gives a nod to a warrior sat to his left.
But instead the face disappears and we get the control center plunged into darkness.
“What’s going on?” I fire at Dante as the auxiliary power comes on, the lights low, thankfully.
Dante doesn’t answer. In fact, no one answers. No one says anything. They’re turning to grey mush as I stare around me. Including Scarlett. I reach out for her, but my hand goes through her body. I’m yelling her name without any sound whatsoever.
All around me, the world dissolves, and I find myself in a pool of light which makes my head ache.
“Whatever it is you want, you won’t get it,” I say loudly.
“I already have it, Dexx. You are the conclusion of all my experiments. I’d have preferred to take the human too, but it wasn’t possible.” There is a long, low intake of breath. “But I’ll settle for you.”
I try to move, but my body is frozen in position, my limbs unresponsive. The darkness slides closer and closer until I feel it creeping up my body, clamping onto me, seeping into my scales, up and up my body until it reaches my head and fills my mouth, my eyes, my nose, and my ears. I cannot breathe, but I am not dying.
I will not let it take me.
I bite, I claw. The resistance lessens, and as I drop to my knees choking out the last of the dark, I feel a hand on my back and scent a familiar scent.
The ship is gone. The threat, for the moment is gone, and I know what I need to do.
“Dexx?” Scarlett says, her voice as choked as I am. “Where did you go?”
Dante glares at me. “Good trick,” he says. “And I thought your mutation was having to stay shifted for twelve nova-hours.”
“Dalox,” I growl under my breath at the fact our former fleet admiral clearly can’t keep his mouth shut. “We need to get back to Vorostor, but not the Central. The other place. You need to arrange a clan meeting. This threat is greater than anything we’ve faced before.”
“As long as I can face it with explosives, I don’t care.” Dante grins.
“This may be beyond explosives.”
“Nothing is beyond explosives,” Dante says quietly, with the air of a Haisarkarnii who believes whole heartedly in his gods.
With him around, I expect this is very true ninety-nine percent of the time. As for what I’ve encountered, it could be the final one percent.
“I will send out a cohort of warriors in flyers to deal with it once and for all,” Dante growls.
“And I will lead them,” I offer rashly, my blood filled with fire, with the desire to destroy everything and anything in my path.
I have my Scarlett to protect. I’m going to take a risk and say anything with a voice, with a physical presence can be killed, preferably by fire.
I take Scarlett’s hand.
“I have to go, my heartsfire. I have to deal with the threat out there, then I will come back for you. You have my bond as a Sarkarnii warlord.”
“Dexx, no. You said you wouldn’t.” Scarlett holds on to me tightly.
“It wants me and it is not getting me without a fight.”
“But I want you and I will fight for you.”
“Until this thing is defeated, there will be no peace and no safety for you, sweet mate.” I half snarl the words because my desire to kill, to rip apart, to destroy is beating a way out of my chest. “I have to deal with it as it is and gain information on anything else to bring back to the clans.”
This creature, or whatever it is, threatened my Scarlett. Did something to my clan and my crew. Has been causing damage and death across Vorostor Central.
