Dragon King's Alien Queen

Chapter 3

Kiera looked around trying to find the creature. It had to be close. Something large swooped down just past the tree line and flew back up. She didn’t believe it. There was no way she could have seen what she thought she had. They were on an alien planet so, yeah, it was possible. But never in her life would she have said that this was the first alien life they would have come into contact with. Glancing at the others, they wore expressions of different stages of awe and disbelief.

The creature circled back around. It soared over the beach twice like it was searching for something before it landed heavily at the edge of the water. The girth of the creature had it sinking slightly into the sand.

A dragon! An honest to God dragon!

It was sky blue with silver on the tips of its scales. The large leathery looking wings had small feathers spread across them, making them look velvety. It reminded Kiera of the little hairs that covered the human body. But the feathers only covered the wings of the large animal. They stood out, spread slightly as if ready to take off again at a moment’s notice. Lethal-looking spikes lined its back all the way down to the tail that swished around in the air like a whip. Large horns sat atop it’s wedged shaped head that bent down toward the ground like it was examining something. Its webbed ears twitched as though it were listening for something. Even though it was obviously searching, the dragon was on high alert.

Looking down at the sand, Kiera realized what the beast was looking at. Footprints. They had left a trail leading right to where they were hiding. Of all the stupid, amateur things to do. Glancing at the others, she could tell they realized it too.

As Commander, it was up to her to decide if they should stay and fight or slip into the forest behind them. Neither was appealing. The five of them fighting this dragon was a risk that she wasn’t sure was worth it. It had to be three stories tall. All they had were flare guns and laser pistols. They may be able to slow it down but not completely disable it. Until they were able to make more weapons, several of them could get seriously hurt fighting it. Honestly, it would be almost comical.

Running was almost just as bad. If they left their gear, they definitely had the skills to disappear, but the beast might destroy the packs and they would be left on an unknown planet with only their two hands for survival. It was doable but not wise when they had no idea what else lay in wait for them. If nothing else they needed the water filtration systems. And there could be something worse than this dragon that could end up hunting them. They could run with the equipment, but Kiera had a feeling that this dragon’s senses were far more heightened than any other creature they had ever come against.

A roar sounded from the dragon again and had them covering their ears. Amazingly, blue sparks started to surround the dragon. They swirled in a mini cyclone. A second later, a man was standing where the dragon had once been. He was tall, broad shouldered, and had a tail! He was dressed in leather pants and what looked like a leather vest. His large muscled arms were bare and his skin appeared to be the same pale blue as the dragon had been. Silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail at his nape. He turned in their direction.

Lifting his wrist, he seemed to be speaking into the band he had on it. To Kiera, it just sounded like grunts and growls. They weren’t close enough to determine any words, just the guttural sounds. He lowered his wrist and turned to look right at where they were hiding. It was almost like he could see them through their hiding places. Was it possible that he could? Was it possible that he kept the vision of his dragon when he was in this form? Heat signatures maybe?

Getting her first look at him, Kiera could admit that he was attractive in a strange alien sort of way. His skin was a pretty pale blue. He had ears that stretched to three webbed points just as his dragons had. They weren’t rounded as their human ones were. Purple eyes that matched the ocean behind him still looked in their direction, but they were slanted downward slightly on the inside. They glistened in the sun like amethysts. His nose looked like a human’s, with the exception that, instead of his nostrils being round, they were elongated up the sides of his nose. He had a full mouth but his lips were compressed into a tight line. If Kiera had to guess, he seemed to be resigning himself to something.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just watched their hiding place. His muscled arms lifted and he beaconed for us to come out of hiding. When we didn’t move after several minutes, he repeated the gesture.

Kiera looked toward the others. They all motioned ‘no’. To her way of thinking, they had two options. They could ignore this dragon man creature and slip away into the mountains. There was no way of telling how long it would be before they encountered another of his kind. They were already at the disadvantage of him already knowing they were there, though he had no idea what they looked like. She had a feeling that losing him once he was in hunting mode would not be easy.

Or they could take the chance and make contact now. There was a chance that he could just kill them or turn them over to someone else who would do something even worse. But there was also the chance that he would give them shelter and help them acclimate to life on the planet. The real question was whether she was willing to risk the lives of the other team members. This came with the job though. Exploring new planets and making new discoveries always came with risks. And she had total confidence in her team. It was her job to make the hard decisions.

Something in her gut was telling her that she could trust this dragon man. She didn’t know where it was coming from. She was good at trusting her instincts. It had never failed her before. It was one of the reasons her team trusted her so much. They knew that every decision she made was in their best interest. Even if it wasn’t in hers.

Slowly standing, she motioned for the others to hang back. As Commander she had to take the front line. She would protect her crew just in case her instincts were wrong. They knew that if she fell, they were to disappear into the forest. They could make it if they stayed together.

Guardedly, she slowly walked toward the man. She kept her eye on her surroundings as well as keeping an eye on the man in front of her. The skies, the trees, both sides of the beach, the sea. She knew someone else was coming. The man had been talking on some kind of communication device. The only advantage she had was that he had no idea who or what she was. He didn’t know what she was capable of. As long as he was in this form, she had a fighting chance to at least disable him so her team could survive.

Kiera stopped several feet away from the tall man. She was satisfied that whomever he had called wasn’t here yet. It was just him, her, and her team in the trees behind her. There wasn’t much time, though. There was no telling how many he called to come to him. She would need to make a fast assessment and determine the best course of action before a potential army showed up. Finally, she turned her full attention to him and his very intelligent purple eyes.

~~~~~~~~

Glacian landed on the beach, taking care not to disturb any of the tracks that he could see in the sand. He knew he wasn’t wrong. The sensors surrounding his land had shown something falling from the sky in this quadrant. He could sense them just beyond the tree line. The dragon inside him, ever the curious creature, was demanding he go investigate. He held him back so that he could make sure he processed everything that was to be found first.

Studying the water, he caught just a glimpse of a tentacle sliding just beneath the surface. The sea beast usually only came out at night. Something had disturbed it. A large something.

Pushing his dragon down, Glacian forced the change, sensing that there was no immediate danger. Whoever the aliens were, they were no threat to him. Yet. Settling back into his own skin, he gazed again into the ocean where he could sense the large sea beast was cradling his new treasure. There was the faintest hint of something large grasped in the monster’s arms under the water. There would be no retrieving that until after it had lost interest in its prize. He hoped there was no one trapped in it. There would be no getting them out.

Lifting his wrist, Glacian activated his comm link. “Rokk.”

“Yes, my King.” The deep voice responded immediately.

“Meet me on the east shore. Bring several communication devices with you,” he commanded.

“Be there in fifteen clicks, Sire.”

Deactivating the link, he looked around the sand. There were five judging from the tracks. They seemed to walk on two legs. Three were heavier. Two were so small they were almost childlike. A family maybe? There was nothing indicating any of them were injured. Scenting the air, there was no whiff of blood. He assumed the sea monster hadn’t gotten to them then. He also couldn’t sense fear wafting from the group. Maybe they had made it to shore before the sea beast had claimed his treasure? Most survivors who combated the beast had fear emanating from them for a long time after. There was nothing from this group.

He turned toward the tree line where he knew they were hiding. Using his dragon senses, he could see small heat images. If it wasn’t for that, he would never have found them with his eyes. They had hidden themselves well. He gestured for them to come out, not bothering to try to speak. This had happened before. The asteroid field near the planet was unforgiving. Every once in a while, it had a way of gifting them with space travelers. They all ended up staying, having no way off the planet. All of them spoke different languages. Without the communication devices, talking would be unachievable.

Giving them a few moments, he gestured again. Patience was something he had in abundance, which completely confused his three brothers. They had no patience for any of the survivors that usually crashed onto the planet. Whenever they found them, his brothers always sent the terrified people to him.

Finally, there was movement from the bushes. One lone figure stood. The shadows covered most of the details. It was small, so it had to be one of the childlike creatures. It was holding up a limb, obviously telling the others to hold back. As the creature cautiously came into the sunlight, Glacian double blinked in amazement.