Emerald DARE Read online

  Her mother had a point, dammit. She just didn't want to have to deal with males at all. Any males. And especially not the one who dared to lay a hand on her. She should stun him just for that.

  If you attempt to stun him with that, it will only make him angry. If I were you, I would listen to your mother. She gives you sound advice.

  Emerald glared at Aegon. If he was any kind of a gentleman, he would stop reading her mind, but what could she expect of a dragon male? They probably had no concept of gentlemanly behavior.

  "I don't care how you two handle your situation, but I have a job to do." She stubbornly raised her chin. "The humans here need to return home. When the scientists sent them to this place, they used a machine that punched a hole in the dimensional fibers and they must return in order to repair that hole. Haven't you noticed tremors in your worlds? The humans must return to repair the holes and keep the entire dimensional universe safe." She turned to the door and prepared to knock. "Duke it out any way you want. Just leave me out of it."

  The door opened almost immediately when she knocked. A woman stood on the other side, her eyes full of tears. "Yes."

  "Amy Allen?"

  The pretty woman nodded. "Yes. I'm Amy."

  "I'm Emerald from the Dimensional, Arrest, Retrieval and Extraction team. I have been sent to bring you home."

  "Thank God. I was just sitting here praying that I could leave." She turned, ran back into the house and began to throw things into a backpack. "I don't even want most of the things I brought here, but some of these things would be worth money if I take them home. Goodness knows I'm going to need it." She grabbed every precious stone in the house and a light stone. "I'm ready to go and the more time you can put between my leaving and that jerk Jolen, the better. I'd like the time to find a good divorce lawyer."

  Emerald stood in the doorway stunned. This may be the easiest retrieval she had ever experienced.

  "Okay, I'm ready. When do we go?"

  "We don't go, you do and the time is now."

  "Now?" The woman glanced around. "Where's the portal generator?"

  "Right here," Emerald said as she waved a hand down her body. Waving her arms, she concentrated on Earth and opened a portal. "There you are, ma'am. I can't make any promises, but according to the distance I have to travel to catch up to him, it will be at least a few hours."

  "Wait here and he'll come to you in ten hours. He always comes home for at least one meal a day. His mistress can't cook." She grinned. "He'll go hungry tonight. He's going to be plenty ticked off and I'll have some time to file for divorce if you'll wait." She gave Emerald a quick hug and almost skipped through the portal with a smile on her face.

  Ms. Allen's experience with her husband was another reason for Emerald to stay off the emotional rollercoaster with men. After closing the gate behind the hapless woman, whose husband apparently spent his time and energy elsewhere, Emerald turned to face the males who harassed her earlier. Only one of the two remained. The silver dragon. Not that she minded. The other man just plain gave her the creeps.

  Aegon stood watching her. His expression was blank. It wasn't fair that he knew her thoughts, but she knew nothing of him.

  "Ask me and you shall be rewarded with the answer."

  "Will you stop reading my mind?"

  "It's not something I'm trying to do, your thoughts just pop into my head." He held out his arm. "Will you walk with me, lady?"

  Emerald hesitated. Should she? She glanced down at her scanner. Amy said her husband would be back in ten hours. She didn't ask about the other two. Drat those two dragon males and their posturing. They screwed up her game and she didn't like it.

  Sighing, she took his arm. "Well the woman said I had ten hours to wait for her wandering husband to return. I guess I can afford to take a stroll."

  Chapter Three

  The endless twilight was a strange constant, but it matched Emerald's mood. Aegon was prettier than she was and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. If Mother said that he might be her destiny, she would give it consideration, but she didn't have to like it.

  The humming that had started in her bloodstream was another matter. She needed to get back as soon as she could and have the doctors check her out. She felt feverish.

  A strange smile was hovering around the edges of Aegon's lips. It both intrigued and infuriated her.

  "Why did you come to this planet?" She put as much casual query into it as possible.

  He chuckled. "Since a rumor that a clutch of dragon swans was running about unclaimed and without protection has spread, many of us have taken to the skies. Leirt and I are but two of hundreds out there looking for a female of our own kind."

  A peculiar hope started spreading through her system. "What kind of a rumor?"

  "Oh, that two of our kind already have the joy of a mate who stumbled through a portal looking for humans to return to earth."

  Emerald dragged him to a halt. "Explain."

  His hypnotic face seemed surprised. "There are two dragons who have wooed and won your sisters' affections."

  "They are alive? They are safe?" Her heart was pounding in her chest. Mother, why didn't you tell us?

  I didn't want you to act differently in front of the lab techs, dearling. If they knew your sisters were alive and well, they would demand that they be returned to the lab and you would have to do it. That is not something I wanted you to face. Your grief had to be genuine.

  "They are alive and safe. Their men care for them and are teaching them the ways of our kind." Aegon nodded.

  "Our kind have ways?" The phrase made her smile even while her mind grappled with the enormity of what she had learned. Her sisters were alive and her other sisters were being hunted. It was a lot to deal with.

  "Oh, a long and proud history, tens of thousands of years of traditions and battles for the few females produced by our kind." He bowed to her.

  She shook her head and got back to business. "Since I am here, I need to find the humans and send them home. My leash will give me another few days here, but after that I will have to return to the lab."

  He frowned. "Your sisters are currently alive and happy, why would you have to return?"

  "Because they must have found a way around the leash. I don't have that option."

  "What is this leash?"

  "It is an imbedded chip in my thigh that causes a numbing pain if I go past my scheduled time here. Speaking of which, I think I should set out to track my next targets."

  "Would you accept a ride? I can carry you to the dig site. Those biologists have been messing all the natural cycles up with their forced evacuation of the caves."

  "Isn't that against the natural order of things, to have biologists that disturb the environment?" She shook her head.

  "Whether is it proper or not, they are doing it." He had a serious expression.

  "Then we had better get them under control. You said you would give me a lift?"

  "When I shift, climb up my arm and take a seat on my neck. There are ridges to settle between and you can be quite secure if you take the time to get comfortable."

  He stepped away from her and moments later, a glow followed by a huge dragon stood before her. Emerald took the invitation of his raised claw and let him boost her up his arm and onto the thick expanse of his neck.

  His skin was not scaled, but a thick hide that pulsed with warmth under her thighs. When she was settled, she stilled and waited. He took a few steps and then launched skyward.

  The air rushed out of her as she was flattened to his neck with the surge of his takeoff. His wings cupped and scooped air out and down from his body and when he had gained the altitude he wanted, his wings took on a motion that moved them forward. Emerald checked on her scanner and had to admit that they were approaching her targets with tremendous speed.

  This is a much more effective means of transport. Perhaps on your next mission, you could call me to you and we could have a little more time together. In the meantim
e, I will investigate your sisters' ability to remain with their mates without suffering from the effects of the leash.

  How could I call you?

  Like this. Come through the portal and speak to me with your mind. I will be there within the hour.

  You can find me that way?

  If you wish me to. All dragons have a certain frequency for their thoughts and yours is embedded in my mind.

  Emerald had to admit that she was already certain that she would be able to spot the bright silver and black of his mind from a distance as well. Now that she knew what she was looking for, it would be easy to spot.

  Having backup on a retrieval wouldn't be bad either.

  She looked over the landscape lit by the moonlight and wished for a sun to illuminate the sky around her. The feeling of air rushing past her felt right, natural, but she wanted the visual that matched the feeling of movement.

  Is your home a bright place?

  It is. Sunlight for eighteen hours a day, moonlight for eight and then it starts over again.

  Emerald smiled at the image in her mind. She imagined sunning herself on a rock and dozing in the warmth. Life underground had left all of her sisters with a longing to see the sun and she was no different. Her body was designed for action, not a sedentary life beneath the surface.

  It is designed for more than that, but one thing at a time.

  The chuckle in his mental tone was unmistakable, but she didn't have time to work on his meaning. They started to drop from the sky in a rush that caused a panicked noise from the humans below.

  She slid from her perch the moment that they touched down and strode forward. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to return you to Earth."

  A man came forward and puffed his chest out. "We are engaged in important biological investigations here. One day we will return to our planet, but not until they have created a method by which we can be transported with our knowledge."

  "Mr. Allen, I presume? You have been recalled by the very project which sent you away from your world."

  He gestured to her back and she assumed that he was pointing at Aegon. "You have the same markings as them. How do you know what my project director wants?"

  She released her stunner from her thigh and checked the charge. It was completely full, enough for nine humans, not simply three. "Your governments sent exploration teams out all over the place, and the holes that were punched in the dimensional curtains are tearing your planet apart. Your presence here will guarantee a hole will remain open. I cannot allow that to happen."

  She aimed her stunner at him. "I am Emerald of the Dimensional, Arrest, Retrieval and Extraction force, and you are coming with me."

  Her finger pulled the trigger three times and three humans dropped to the ground, asleep for hours.

  Sighing, she holstered her stunner and started gathering their research. "What were they doing here?"

  They were under a canopy, which seemed peculiar in the dim light. When animals screamed from caverns above them, a piece of information dawned. "Those huge fliers…they were trying to defend their territory."

  Aegon went to the mouth of the nearest cave and sniffed. "Explosives. They must have blown the predators out of the cave and their presence drove off their food source."

  "Sabina mentioned dragons hunting."

  "Who was that?"

  "A local woman that I met near where you found me." She filled a duffel bag with small computers and as many notebooks as she could.

  "Ah, the people with the night sight. I tried to pinpoint their details myself once, but nothing quite matched." He smiled.

  "They have a fear of what they call dragons."

  "The predators here resemble us superficially. It could be a natural confusion." He shrugged.

  "It could be, but I will keep it in mind." She laughed. "This was the first batch of humans to point out that I was not one of them. I know that my sisters have run into that before, but this was the first time for me."

  He smiled. "There is always a first time for everything."

  She snorted. It sounded a little like innuendo, but she would need to do some research before she could make an assessment.

  "It never fails to amaze me that they take me at my word." As she spoke, she started to collect the humans, lifting the annoying Mr. Allen over her shoulders and picking up the others under each arm.

  She turned and draped in her targets she smiled at Aegon. "I will call you when I leave the lab again. Goodbye."

  She blinked in surprise when he came toward her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. As soon as he backed away, she licked her lips out of reflex and a hot spiral of silver ran through his eyes.

  A visible shiver ran through him and he straightened. "Until the next meeting, Emerald. Be well."

  With the riot of reaction to his taste, it took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts together to open a portal. It wavered in location until she focused on Earth and then she was walking through to the lab, her arrival pad buzzing with security and medical teams.

  Her dispatch tech, Stitch, was waiting. "You had to knock them out?"

  "Mr. Allen here was trying to tell me that I wasn't a rep from Earth. Since time feels different on worlds without daylight, I didn't want to try and open portals with my leg exploding…again." She dropped her burdens into the arms of the medical team one at a time.

  Stitch nodded. His full name was Edgar Stitchwhile, but his willingness to answer to Stitch was endearing.

  "I am lobbying to have the leashes removed. Several of the dispatchers are in agreement. It is bad enough that you have to face whatever comes your way without the clock ticking on you."

  "Thank you. My family appreciates any efforts on our behalf." Emerald absently rubbed her thigh as she thought of her implant.

  With her burden removed, she stretched and started to step off the platform.

  Stitch stopped her. "Weapons please, Emerald."

  Sighing, she unstrapped her gear of tracker, scanner, stunner and knives. She stood still as a metal detector was waved over her and the tech pronounced her clean.

  Her walk to medical took her past one of her sisters who was on the way out. They high fived each other as they passed. June was out on her way to a strange new world and Emerald was returning. It was nice to cross paths with her sisters now and then.

  A new doctor was on duty. "Hello, Emerald. Glad to see your face again."

  She waved for Emerald to begin removing her clothing.

  The female physician chuckled. "Of course, the first time I saw your face it was Ruby behind those eyes."

  "You are the doctor she brought back from her first assignment, aren't you?" Emerald followed her gesture to disrobe and submitted to the examination.

  Instead of the impersonal exam, she was usually subjected to, the doctor asked questions and did a cerebral scan. She stood and muttered at the results while Emerald got into her lab greys.

  "I think this report is going to go missing." The doc spilled coffee on the report before running it through the shredder and into the garbage.

  As her new physician extracted and destroyed the memory chip from the scanner Emerald had to ask. "Why?"

  "Two reasons. Either you have gone into heat or someone has been traipsing through your mind, but your chemistry is all over the place and your neurons are firing like mad. If I turn in this report as it stands, they will want to investigate you immediately, possibly invasively." Her words were completely casual, but her actions were deliberate.

  "Thank you. I don't even know your name."

  The physician smiled, her bright human eyes carrying her grin within them. "My name is Dr. Archa Shivven. I look forward to seeing you again, Emerald."

  "Thank you, Doctor." Her exercise clothing was comfortable, but it lacked the flare of her leathers. Waiting for her in the hallway was her handler, Becky.

  "Emerald, I wasn't expecting you so soon. How was your assignment?" Becky fell into step beside her, looking up th
rough dark brown eyes.

  "It went well. I managed to retrieve all four and only three had to be stunned." She carefully didn't mention the dragons.

  No one in the lab referred to them as dragons. They were called conduits, agents, or subjects. It made Emerald wonder if anyone on Earth actually knew what they were.

  "Still had to use the stunner, huh? That sucks. What do you want, massage or food?" Becky was chirpy and that meant she was in love, her life and attitude was always morose when she wasn't.

  "Food first. I will fall asleep during the massage." Rations were rations, but a hot meal was always her preferred starter to every return.

  "Your debriefing is set for six hours from now. They have to wait until dawn before the committee arrives."

  Emerald nodded and followed Becky to the commissary. Emerald took her seat and her handler darted across to the single food server who sprang into action.

  The exhausted dragon swan propped her cheek on her fist and watched Becky bustle about through bleary eyes.

  "Wake up, Em. You need to eat something." Becky sat across from her, her own tray ready with desserts of half a dozen varieties.

  "You are having sex with the commissary officer?" Emerald blinked down at the enormous meal she was supposed to consume.

  "We are in love. It is not something to sneer at, Em." Becky lifted her chin and gave her a stern look.

  "I wasn't sneering, merely asking a question. My kind are not allowed social interactions, if you will recall."

  Becky blushed. "Of course. Sorry, Em."

  It was funny to Emerald that only her handler called her by a truncated name. Even her sisters called her Emerald, their names the only thing that was theirs alone and therefore, worthy of respect.

  As her handler caught her up on the gossip of the last few days, Emerald sighed at the nickname that was constant in her address. When it came to names and respect, Becky had not gotten that memo.