Page 7 of When Dragons Play

“We’ll be dead in six hours if those purple-skinned bastards get their hands on us,” he said.

“They won’t,” he replied.

“I’ll make sure our package is secured. The last thing we want is for the damn cylinder to break if Timber crashes,” Cameo muttered.

“I’m not going to crash! Jeez, have a little faith here, Cam. This is nothing compared to what we just left,” Timber called out.

“Mountain, Tim, look out for the mountain,” Rumor warned, his voice rising as the rocky tip of a mountain suddenly appeared in front of them.

Laser’s body swung like a marionette held by a drunken puppeteer. A crash behind him indicated Timber’s evasive maneuver had sent Cameo sprawling to the deck of the shuttle. Cameo shook his head, his arms wrapped around the small glass and metal cylinder he clutched against his chest. The black entity pulsed and spread as if it were trying to push itself through the glass into Cameo’s body. A shudder ran through Cameo and he looked up at Laser with a disgusted expression.

“I don’t know why the Marastin Dow are so upset about us taking this thing. It gives me the creeps!” Cameo muttered, rolling to his knees while balancing the cylinder.

“The fact they want it so badly is a good enough reason to make sure they don’t get it back,” he retorted.

“I think this little lady has given about all she can give. Let’s hope she glides as well as she has flown,” Timber said, reaching up and flipping several switches. He glanced over his shoulder. “I’d buckle up. Crash landings tend to be a bit bumpy and I don’t know how well a Marastin tin can will handle one.”

“Keep us in one piece, Timber,” he ordered.

“Roger that, Commander.”

Laser slid into one of the bucket seats and pulled the restraining straps over his shoulders and across his chest before buckling the one across his lap. Cameo was doing the same, only he secured the cylinder next to him first. Laser kept his mind focused on the mission and not the danger they were in, nor the genuine possibility that they might not survive the crash.

He wouldn’t allow their first mission to be their last. He wished they had their symbiots, but the mission had been considered too dangerous. His attention turned to the entity swirling in the cylinder that they had stolen from the Marastin Dow ship. According to the intel they had been given by their informant, the entity was a parasite that fed off the energy of whatever it took over. Afraid that it was a by-product of what Raffvin Reykill had created, it was deemed too dangerous to expose something as powerful as a creature made from the Goddess’s blood to the entity.

The fact that Lord Kelan had entrusted such a dangerous and important mission to him and his team meant a lot to the foursome. The last six months had been empowering. Lady Trisha’s game of tag had done more for himself and the other guys than any boot camp.

Disbelief—and a desire never to have Cameo try to kiss them again—had changed from grudging admittance that they weren’t as good as they thought they were to respect and admiration. The experience had changed all their lives, making them not only better warriors, but better Valdier males. He suspected he wasn’t the only one of the misfit team to have fallen in love with Lady Trisha, a fact that had been difficult to hide from her and her mate, Lord Kelan.

Or maybe not, he thought as the shuttle shuddered and began to descend at a rapid rate.

Lord Kelan not want me dead. Maybe you. Not me, his dragon muttered.

I hate to tell you this, my friend, but if I die, so do you.

“Whoopie, boys! I think I might have found a spot where we can crash,” Timber shouted, his voice edged with excitement.

“Just land this blasted thing already,” Rumor groaned.

Laser’s amusement with his dragon’s comments and Tim’s excitement were short-lived when the shuttle clipped the tops of trees. He closed his eyes, hoping the sound of ripping didn’t mean the bottom was about to fall out from under him.

At least air breathable, his dragon reasoned.

Shut up. You aren’t helping, he silently retorted as the world suddenly crashed around them.

Chapter 4

Laser slowly opened his eyes as the sounds of popping and sizzling pierced the haze of fog in his mind. Sparks rained down around them from the exposed panels that had fallen open. He ran his fingers along the straps, fumbling to release the harness holding him to the seat. His anxious glance swept the interior, searching for the others.

The seats where they had been sitting were empty. A low moan of pain escaped his lips, and he instinctively lifted a hand to his throbbing temple. The crunch of boots on metal pulled his attention to the back of the shuttle. Cameo paused in the opening, bending at the waist, his brow furrowed as he carefully examined him.

“Glad to see you’re alive,” Cameo encouraged.

Laser glanced at the empty seat beside him. “The package?” he asked, his voice raw.

“Rumor has it. I was going to give it to Timber, but you know him. He’d probably open the damn thing to see what it does,” Cameo replied.

“Anyone else get knocked out?” he asked.