River began speaking in an animated way.
Luna watched his hands, wishing she could understand.
“Oh,” Maple said. “Oh.”
“What is it?” Luna asked, looking back and forth between them.
“This has given River an idea,” Maple said in wonder. “He thinks he knows why the monsters keep coming back.”
“Why?” Luna asked.
“He thinks this is their springtime home,” Luna said. “He thinks maybe their queen is here, and expecting babies of her own.”
The pieces snapped together in Luna’s head.
The cliff face was pocked with caves, like a honeycomb.
And the giant bees were attacking but not eating anyone.
They were fighting for their family, the same way Luna was fighting for hers.
“What do we do?” she murmured.
“We can’t stay here anymore,” Maple said sadly. “Our people will never find a home.”
“If we can just get through today, maybe we can find another place, someplace safe,” Luna suggested. “Maybe the villagers would allow us to camp on the rocky beach until we figure it out.”
“Maybe,” Maple said.
River began speaking again.
“How are we going to survive today?” his mother translated. “It seems very bad out there.”
“I don’t know,” Luna replied. “We’ll figure it out.”
But the cries outside spoke differently.
They would have to think of something.
And fast.
23
Noxx
Noxx dove from the spacecraft and rocketed toward Clotho’s surface.
The ground rose up to meet him, the trees growing closer until they turned from a fluffy green and blue carpet into individuals, their branches reaching upward as if to catch him.
Please don’t let me be too late, he prayed, his guilt threatened to shatter him.
Then the dragon took over.
He could feel the warmth of radiant wings exploding out of his back, the stretch of flesh and bone as the beast expanded his frame. A thick armor of scales clicked into place over his flesh.
The big wings began to beat, and he was lifted upward once more.
His vision was tunneled in this form, like looking through his magni-scope, and his sense of smell was enhanced exponentially.
The dragon’s consciousness pushed forward in his mind.
Hold on, my mate and child.
In the back of the dragon’s mind, his man-form was stunned at such familiar language. After all, he had not yet claimed the mate, not yet acknowledged that the child was his son in all but biology. Neither of those things were planned and honorable.
But the dragon had no such delicate sensibilities, and it only dealt in truths.
The dragon had appetites for fighting, eating, fucking, and protecting the ones he loved. He had no interest in the strange non-actions not found on that list. And he found his man-form’s obsession with them irritating and suspicious.
No, the dragon had a plan.
From the space craft, his man-form had observed the scene at the cliffside, had felt the tug on the bond that meant his mate was in danger, and finally admitted he did not wish to leave his family.
His brothers in the Invicta had laughed at him, thumped him on the back, and opened the hatch so he could return.
Now the dragon had the reins at last.
And he had a plan:
He would fight off the giant wasp-things they had seen near the cave village.
He would claim his mate properly.
They would eat an enormous meal.
And they would care for their whelp and teach him to be the best man he could be, since he couldn’t be a dragon.
Noxx was so satisfied with this plan that he let out a rapturous roar that echoed through the forest, sending tree monkeys and other animals scurrying before his might.
The screams and buzz of insectoid wings grew near.
He pumped his wings and then drew them close to his body so he could pierce the air like a bullet. He shot into the courtyard of the cliffside village so fast that the wasps didn’t see him coming.
When he pulled up short, there was a cry of happiness among the people of the village.
He hung in the air for a brief moment, allowing his bright wings to catch in the light so that the people might admire him.
Then he dove after one of the creatures.
It tried to escape, but it was like a burden-moose trying to escape a warship.
He slammed into it, crushing it against the rocky wall of the cliff. It let out a horrifying buzzing scream and then fell to the ground.
Another cheer went up.
But he turned to see the sky was full of the buzzing things. There were so many of them…
“Noxx,” his mate screamed from one of the small holes in the cliff.
He followed the sound, sniffing into one or two holes full of frightened people before finding the right one.
Luna gazed out at him with Sol in her arms.
The baby squealed with joy at the sight of him.
Behind them, River wrapped an arm around his frightened mother and used his other hand to reassure her with hand signals.
“You came back,” Luna sighed happily.
He nodded.
Of course he had come back. A dragon would never abandon his mate and child, even if his man-form had been confused.
“Before you try to kill more of those monsters, you should know that this is their home,” she said. “Their queen must be somewhere inside the cave tunnels, birthing their young.”
The caves are their homeland.
The realization instinctively changed his loyalties before he made an outward choice. He would not steal the beasts’ homeland, especially when there was a mate and young in play.
“We can’t stay here and fight,” Luna went on, unconsciously echoing his own thoughts. “We need to get these people out of here and help them find a new home. Do you think you could get them to the rocky beach?”
Pride shot through him.
His mate was wise. She understood.
He lowered himself and lifted his chin to her in a signal he hoped she would understand.
She climbed onto his back, with Sol in her arms.
He waited.
River brought Maple to join them.
“Is this okay, Noxx?” Luna asked worriedly.
But her weight was insignificant to the giant dragon, so he pushed off the cliff face and into the air as his answer.
His passengers screamed, but held on as he rose into the air, above the height of the hovering insects. He carried them out of danger, and then dove down when they reached the rocky beach, his landing sending pebbles flying in his wake.
Lowering himself, he waited for all of them to get off.
River jumped first, and helped his mother down.
“Come on, Luna, we’ve got you,” Maple called to her.
“No,” Luna said. “I’ll help Noxx collect the others and bring them to you.”
“But it’s dangerous,” Maple said.
“It’s what we have to do,” Luna said bravely, making Noxx’s chest puff with pride.
“Let me take Sol until you’re finished,” Maple offered. “We’ll head to the village and find shelter. You can ask for us when you’re finished.”
“Thank you,” Luna said, handing over the infant.