Dragon in the Dark (Kindred Tales)

The door slid open and Iyanna gave a little gasp before she could stop herself. The biggest male she had ever seen was standing there—he had to be nine feet tall at least. And she did have to say “male” and not “man” because it was clear he was in no way human.

Though he did have human-looking hands and feet and facial features, his entire body—or at least, all the exposed skin that she could see—was completely covered in golden red scales. But they weren’t like fish scales or snake scales or any other kind of scales Iyanna had ever seen. They were closely fitted interlocking half-moons about as big as her thumbnail and they shimmered in the light. When he moved they seemed to turn from gold to scarlet and then back again to gold.

The scales were clear to see because, while he was wearing the tight black uniform trousers and high black boots all Kindred preferred, his broad chest was bare. Did they not have a shirt big enough to fit him, or was it common for Monstrum to go half dressed, Iyanna wondered? She’d seen some of the furry type ones going around without many clothes, but their fur hid everything. She had an idea that this Monstrum’s scales didn’t hide a bit and the enormous, long ridge running down the inside of his right leg seemed to back up her theory.

But as big as his package was and as beautiful and strange as his scales were, they couldn’t hold her attention for long. What captured her most was his face. He had high cheekbones and a sharp nose with full, sensuous lips below. The lips didn’t seem to have scales—they were smooth and soft-looking, like the palms of his hands.

Aquiline features, she thought. Hawk-like, almost.

But it wasn’t just his face that drew her—with a little start, she saw that he had horns—long ones that added another foot to his height and swept back from his forehead dramatically on either side. They were pure black with ivory spirals ringing around them, all the way to their sharp tips.

Iyanna’s hands clenched into fists as she remembered touching horns that had felt like that the night before, on the Dark Side of the ship. Could he be the one? Could he be the Drake Monstrum who had sucked her nipples and sent her the packet of leaves? Surely not, but then…then he raised his eyes, which had been directed at the floor, as though he had been waiting for her to finish looking at him.

Yellow gold with vertical slits for pupils—like a cat’s eyes, Iyanna remembered. Those eyes, and the horns—it has to be him. It HAS to be!

“You,” she whispered, not realizing she was speaking aloud.

“I’m sorry, do the two of you already know each other?” Commander Rarev looked at them both sharply, a frown on his leonine features.

The huge Monstrum scowled, his eyes flashing in apparent irritation.

“Of course not, Chief Commander. I’m certain this little female has never seen me in her life before.”

Iyanna was not so sure, but the Monstrum commander only nodded, as though satisfied.

“In that case, let me make some formal introductions. Dr. Iyanna Washington, please meet Commander Dra’vik—he’s one of the rare few Drake Monstrum we have left aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship. He’s also a physician and something of an expert in the plants of the Mother Ship, which is why I thought of him when I first conceived of this mission. Commander Dra’vik, meet Dr. Iyanna Washington—she has an advanced degree in Earth botany with a specialty in exotic plants and flowers.”

“Er, did you say mission?” Iyanna yanked her eyes away from the big Monstrum—whom she was certain was the same one she’d met on the Dark Side—and looked back at Rarev.

“Yes, I did,” the Monstrum commander said gravely. “Please, Dra’vik, have a seat and I’ll explain it to both of you,” he added, indicating the enormous chair beside Iyanna’s.

“Thank you,” Dra’vik rumbled, his deep voice seeming to vibrate the air between them. Iyanna felt her cheeks getting hot when she remembered what that voice had done for her the night before—exactly how she’d used the voice recording he’d sent her. But then the Monstrum commander started talking and she had to turn her attention to what he was saying.

“As you both know,” Chief Commander Rarev said, “The pleasure blooms aboard the Mother Ship are dying.”

“They certainly are,” Dra’vik rumbled. “We only have two or three bunches left on the Dark Side of the ship and even those are growing sickly and weak.” He shook his head. “I think there’s something about this ‘verse that doesn’t agree with them.”

“A great tragedy,” Rarev murmured. “Not just for our warriors, who use the female blooms for release, but for the entire ship.”

“But the ones in my bathing chamber are doing just fine,” Iyanna protested. She cleared her throat, shooting a sidelong look at the huge Drake Monstrum beside her. “Better than fine, in fact. As a Viridi Femma, couldn’t I go around the ship and try healing the ones you have left?”