“Viper,” Vox warned, straightening when he heard the snarl.
Viper ignored the sound of admonishment in his brother’s warning and turned to cross the room of his quarters. Laying his palm over the sensor next to the panel in the wall, he impatiently waited for it to open. Pulling out his weapons belt, he quickly slid a wide variety of blades and small explosives into it. He didn’t care what Vox said, he wasn’t going to an unknown planet unarmed. Especially when one of his targets had a tendency to 'shoot first and ask questions later', at least according to the information that Riley shared between telling him how to pack.
“The art of getting everything in and not having it impossibly wrinkled is in the folding,” Riley replied, rolling her big, blue eyes at him and shaking out the black, silky shirt she had picked up. “This is really nice material,” she added in surprise, rubbing the soft fabric lovingly between her fingers. “Where did you get it?”
“One of the Spaceports I visited,” Viper replied in exasperation before he cast a pained look at Vox before sliding several more weapons into the belt. "I am a Prince of the Sarafin, a proven warrior among our people, and you send me on a fool's mission to deliver papers and bring back two females. This is low, even for you, Vox."
"They aren't just any papers," Riley retorted, glancing worriedly at Vox before biting her lip and turning her eyes back to Viper. "They document the murder of several men, including a missing federal agent, and the names and the places where Dudley Dipshit and Daddy Dumbest transferred drugs and weapons they were receiving from the Cartel. Also, those 'two females' are my Grandmother and my sister! If you ask me, that is going to be the toughest part of your 'mission' and I'm not so sure you can handle it."
Viper's eyes flashed again, this time with anger. "You are mocking me, aren't you?" He asked suspiciously, taking a step closer to Riley. "Do you really think bringing back an old woman and your sister will be difficult?"
Riley flashed him an insincere smile as she tucked his shirt into the bag. "Oh, I would never mock someone as big and bad as you," she replied in a saccharine-filled voice. "After all, you’re a Prince. Lord knows, that automatically makes you a perfect….”
“Riley,” Vox interrupted with a grunt of exasperation.
Viper stared down at the wide, innocent-looking blue eyes staring up at him. Riley had an equally sweet smile on her plump lips, causing a rush of unease to sweep up his spine. Maybe he should have listened a little closer to her when she was explaining her sister and Grandmother.
His eyes jerked to his brother’s face. The look of worry and the slight touch of apprehension increased internal alarm inside him. He ruthlessly pushed it down and took a step closer to the bed. Pulling his bag out of Riley’s reach, he stuffed a few extra weapons inside it before he snapped it close.
Picking up the pack, he slung it over his right shoulder. “I’ll deliver the papers to your sister and return with her and your Grandmother as I have been ordered to do,” Viper muttered under his breath, turning and stepping toward the door of his cabin.
“Viper,” Vox interrupted in a low voice, touching Viper’s arm as he started to walk past him.
Viper cast Vox a heated glance. “What now?” He demanded in a suspicious voice.
“Zebulon, Adalard, and Bahadur are going as well,” Vox mumbled under his breath. “I know you, Adalard, and Bahadur have had a few run-ins before. Try not to kill anyone if you can.” Vox paused and ran his hand down over his face. “I just hope the damn planet can handle it. Oh, and Creon has already warned me he’ll leave all your asses on Earth if any of you screw up.”
Viper grimaced and shrugged his brother’s hand off his arm. “Adalard and I have reached an agreement not to kill each other. We are both working to find the traitors involved in inciting the war between our people. As far as Bahadur is concerned, I give no promises. Ha’ven or Adalard should have killed that arrogant bastard a long time ago.”
“I agree, but Creon insisted that all of you behave,” Vox growled under his breath. “Just… deliver the papers, bring back the women, and don’t kill anyone.”
“I promise to do the first two,” Viper retorted with a flash of his sharp teeth in warning. “I refuse to promise the last.”
Viper didn’t wait for Vox to make any more demands or give any additional orders. He was done with both. Resentment burned in his gut, causing his cat inside him to snarl and rake at him.
Quiet! He ordered harshly. We do this for our king.
Kill, his cat snarled back as it paced back and forth inside him. Kill Curizan, take mate.
We cannot kill the Curizans, Viper snapped in aggravation. And where do you think to find a mate? He demanded as he strode down the long, curving corridor to the lift that would take him to his Starfighter.
Human mate, his cat retorted, sending the image of it stretching its front paws out and extending its claws as if it was about to rake his insides. Like Riley.
A shudder of distaste ripped down Viper’s muscular frame. He was slightly shorter than Vox, just over six and a half feet tall. Like the others of his species, he was lithe and muscular. His hair was black and cut short. His eyes were a rich brown, tinted with the yellow-gold of his cat. Unlike his brother, his cat was solid black. Where Vox made sure anyone who crossed him saw him coming, Viper liked to be less obvious. When he attacked, his prey seldom saw him until they were drawing their last breath.
He nodded to the three warriors that stepped out of the lift. Each stood to the side with their fist held to their chest in respect of his position as not only the commander of the Shifter, but as a member of the royal family of Sarafin. Stepping into the lift, he turned and scowled when he saw Riley hurrying toward it.
“Viper,” Riley called out breathlessly as she and Vox stepped in behind him. “I forgot to tell you one more thing.”
Viper scowled down at Riley’s worried face. What else? He knew that her Grandmother Pearl liked to carry around a weapon called a shotgun. Fortunately, she filled it with something called ‘Rock Salt’ so that it didn’t hurt anyone. He knew about Craig, aka Tiny, the male who guarded the bar her Grandmother Pearl owned, and he knew that her sister was the more serious of the two of them. What else did he need to know?
“You have to be careful with Tina,” Riley continued in a low, urgent voice. “Tina… Well, she doesn’t like guys. I mean, she likes them, but she doesn’t.”
Viper’s scowl deepened as a wave of confusion swept through him. “What do you mean ‘She likes them, but she doesn’t’?” He asked in a clipped tone. “That makes no sense.”
Riley frowned back at him. Crossing her arms, she pursed her lips together. It was obvious she was getting tired of his attitude, but personally, Viper didn’t give a damn.
“It makes perfect sense,” she retorted. “She had a bad experience in high school when some gang members cornered her. If Grandma Pearl hadn’t decided to pick her up, Tina would have….” Riley paused, pulling in a deep breath before she raised one slender hand and poked him in the chest with her extended finger. “Just, be careful with her or I’ll rip your balls off if Grandma Pearl doesn’t, got it?”
Viper opened his mouth to cut Riley down for daring to threaten him, but quickly snapped it shut when he saw the worry and fear in them. Instead, he gave her a sharp nod to let her know he understood. Her sister was to be treated as if she were a fragile piece of glass. If anything, this just re-enforced his belief that human women were to be avoided at all cost despite some of the incredible tales he had heard of their daring and resourcefulness.
“I will protect your sister and your vicious Grandmother with my life,” Viper promised stiffly. “Now, if that is all, I need to check my Starship over before my departure.”
Riley rolled her eyes at him, but nodded, as he stepped past her onto the Launch Level of the Shifter. He started to turn around when he heard her faint words to Vox. The perpetual frown that had formed between his eyes returned as he glanced over his shoul
der just in time to see his brother wrap his arms protectively around Riley as the doors to the lift closed behind him.
“His ass is going to be so totally toasted!” Riley whispered in a fierce voice.
Her soft words echoed through his mind for several long seconds before he refocused on the technician that was approaching him. He would deal with this mission like he did all his missions; Get in, get out, don’t be seen, and kill anyone that gets in his way.
“My Lord, your Starship is prepared. Lord Reykill’s Warship, the Horizon, has been notified of your impending arrival,” the Technician instructed.
“Have the additional weapons, star charts, and modification to the shields been uploaded?” He asked as he slowly completed his own inspection of the Starship.
“Yes, My Lord, just as you instructed,” the Technician replied.
Viper nodded, skimming his hand over the sleek metal hull. “Good.”
Turning away, he walked back to the loading ramp. The Starship was one he had modified for his own personal use when he was on a mission or just needed to get away from everyone. Right now, the latter was pushing him to just disappear into the inky blackness of space.
Without another word, he climbed the ramp and sealed the door. Breathing a sigh of relief, he rolled his shoulders to ease the tension that was building inside him. He could feel his cat. It was pacing back and forth, as if impatiently waiting for something to happen. Sending another command for it to settle down, he moved to the front of the Starship and began the preparations for departure. He would join the Horizon for the rest of the journey.
A smile curved his lips. Bahadur was going to be on board. Maybe the trip wouldn’t be too much of a waste. He wouldn’t mind turning his cat loose on the Curizan Admiral. It would be a good way to relieve some of the tension, pass the time, and give him an excuse to beat the shit out of the Curizan that he had played cat and ‘mouse’ with during the war.
“No, not a total waste after all,” he murmured as the Starship rose off the departure platform.
Chapter 3
Less than an hour later, Viper was landing his Starship, this time in the landing bay of the Valdier Warship Horizon. Switching off the controls, he released the seat harness and stood. He stretched, rolling his shoulders to ease some of the stiffness in them.
We might need to find that Curizan bastard sooner than I was expecting, my friend, he silently murmured to his cat with a wry grin as he turned and picked up his bag. It will be nice to release some of my frustration.
His cat ignored him, pacing back and forth in a never ending path that added to the feeling of unease inside him. Realizing that snarling at his cat was about as effective as trying to talk to his brother and Riley, he decided to focus on the information he had about the traitors responsible for not only the Great War between the Sarafin, Valdier, and Curizan, but on the newest information he had discovered about his own family.
He had not mentioned anything to Vox about what he had discovered in the ancient archives after it had been broken into just days before he received word that Vox had been found. In fact, he had not told anyone about the scroll he had found on the elderly cleric in charge of the archives. He wanted to make sure that it wasn’t some forgotten tale woven to entertain young cubs’ centuries before.
No, he wanted to know if the written scrolls spoke the truth before he approached anyone with his findings. If they were true, then he would confront Vox and their mother and father to demand why he and his other brothers had not been told of the legend of their people and the subsequent prophetic warning of their downfall. He wanted to discover if the powerful gem known as the Heart of the Cat was real or not. If it was, he needed to find it before the traitors that had broken into the archives just hours before his visit, discovered any clues to its location.
Pressing the control for the door to the Starship, he waited for it to open. The scroll was written in their ancient language. It would take time, but he could interpret it with little difficulty. He simply needed to refresh his memory of the lessons he had received. What confused him was the series of numbers interwoven through it. He needed to figure out why they were there.
He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag when he heard the familiar clang of metal on metal as the ramp of his Starship settled on the deck of the landing bay. Striding down the incline, he nodded absent-mindedly at several of the Curizan members who came to secure his ship. He was almost to the bottom of it when he jerked to a stop.
“Viper!” Creon’s voice called out, jolting him back to the present.
Viper gave Creon a wry smile when he saw that Creon wasn’t alone. The Valdier’s human mate was walking confidently beside him. Viper let his eyes roam over the slender figure. The female looked pathetically fragile. Distaste washed through Viper. He wanted a female that was a match for his cat. He was surprised that Creon, much less his dragon, would tolerate something that looked like it would break at the first breeze, much less a mating.
Viper returned the steady gaze of the female looking back at him with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile on her lips. The contradiction between the look she was giving him and air of delicate beauty confused him.
“Creon, it is good to see you again,” Viper replied. “I would give you my thanks, and the appreciation of my family, for once again coming to the aid of my brother.”
“You mean saving his ass again?” Creon chuckled before shaking his head. “I can’t take credit for that. His mate was the one to save his hairy ass.”
Viper frowned. “Yes, so he says,” he replied in a clipped voice. “You are returning to the human’s world?” He asked instead, glancing at Carmen who stood silently next to Creon.
“Yes. There are things that we need to settle,” Creon answered in a soft voice, reaching out and wrapping a strong arm around Carmen’s waist. “Viper, this is my mate, Carmen Walker-Reykill.”
Viper gave Carmen a brief nod, but didn’t address her. Instead, he turned back to Creon. He knew his eyes were probably glowing with anticipation, but he didn’t care.
“I heard Adalard and Bahadur are on board,” he said. “Where are they?"
"Viper," Creon growled in warning, flashing Viper a look of caution. "I will not tolerate my mate being troubled or my warship being disrupted. I expect you to behavior yourself."
Viper grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. "I don't plan on disrupting it. I plan on beating the shit out of Bahadur. Adalard can either help me or I’ll whip his ass as well. My cat wants out."
Creon released an exasperated breath. "I told you..." he started to respond.
"I know," Viper interrupted, casting a disapproving glance at Carmen. "You don't want your mate being upset. I will try to prevent her from seeing any blood."
Carmen's low chuckle echoed in the bay. "I like blood," she said as she stepped closer to Viper and lifted her hand. "Especially when I'm the one drawing it."
Viper watched in disbelief as Creon's human mate ran her fingers down his right arm. As his eyes followed the movement of her pale fingers along the sleeve of his shirt, her hand began to change. Her long fingers grew even longer and sharp claws formed. When he glanced back at her, startled, he found himself staring into the intense brown eyes of a white dragon with shades of red, pink and purple lining each scale.
He jerked back with a muttered curse when the dragon snapped at him, barely missing his chin. The warm air of its breath feathered his cheek before it pulled back with an elegant snort. His eyes narrowed when Creon murmured an endearment under his breath. The female dragon’s head turned toward Creon and she lowered her head to rub her cheek against the palm of his hand. In seconds, Carmen stood once again, staring up at Creon with dark, haunted eyes.
“You are bad,” Creon chuckled in a low voice as he stared down at his mate, his hand cupping her pale cheek.
“You guys make it easy to be that way,” she retorted in a soft whisper.
Viper watched as a small, tender
smile tugged at Creon’s lips before the Valdier glanced up at him, a slight look of resignation on his face. He knew Creon was seeing the confusion in his own. Once again, a human female made him question his preconceived opinion of them.
“They are in the training room,” Creon told him. “Bahadur is expecting you. Level Three, last room on left. Your cabin is on Level Two, third one on the right. Medical is…”
“I know where medical is. I’m not the one who is going to need it,” Viper grunted, stepping away from the couple. “Level Four.” He would drop his bags off and change first before he met up with the others.
Viper didn’t wait for Creon to show him where to go. He already knew the layout of the Horizon. It wasn’t his first time on the warship.
He glanced over his shoulder to gaze once more at the human woman. She was watching him with an intense stare that warned him that she had taken in every detail. His hand immediately went to his side when he saw her raise a familiar looking blade in her right hand and study it. He stumbled when he realized that the reason it looked familiar was because his favorite blade was missing… well, not missing, it had been taken from under his nose by the ‘delicate, fragile’ female who didn’t mind blood… especially when it was someone else’s.
A reluctant smile tugged at his lips when he saw Creon’s look of surprise followed by a shout of laughter. Viper bowed his head in acknowledgement of the prize taken. As he turned back toward the corridor, he couldn’t help but think that maybe he should have paid better attention to Riley when she was telling him about her sister and grandmother.
*.*.*
“Stop!” Creon ordered in disgust, wiping the sweat, and a little blood, off of his face. “If I was smart, I would just let you kill each other and be done with you both,” he added in a disgusted growl.