Page 39 of Prison Moon
Toren threaded his fingers through her hair, kissed her hard, then pulled from her with a hiss. With another quick kiss, he fixed his pants and slid to the floor, crossing the cavern to their supplies. Stringing the water skins together when they left the first cave they bedded down in had been a good idea. It would make them easier to carry now. He threaded the thin strips of material back through all the holes near the rim of the skins and stood once they were all fastened together.
The skies looked clear today. He’d not seen any wyvern or the small orbs that chased him last time he’d been out. Sarra touched his hand and was smiling up at him when he turned to look at her. She said something, her smile brightening before tugging him down for another kiss.
“I will be back soon,” he said.
She nodded and let go of his hand. When he ran for the entrance and jumped into the sky, he heard her sharp intake of breath before he fell, shifting in mid-air.
* * *
For a split second, she forgot what he was. Seeing him jump into thin air was something she didn’t think she’d ever get used to.
Nor would she be able to calm whatever fear had been plaguing him.
Toren had been watching her for days—when he wasn’t screwing her boneless—and she knew without asking that there was something bothering him. He was acting odd.
She watched him from the cave entrance swoop down over the trees. The first time she’d seen that big blue dragon, she’d been scared out of her mind and thought it was stalking her. Now, knowing it had been Toren the entire time? She grinned. She’d been scared for nothing. With a giant dragon bodyguard, nothing would hurt her now. Nothing had.
Spaceships, aliens and shape-shifting men who turned into dragons. Less than two months and her entire life had turned into a science fiction novel.
Turning away she headed back to the pile of material she’d been painstakingly trying to make suitable clothes out of. The lack of needle and thread made it hard but braided belts, wrap around skirts and bandeau tops were better than too-big shirts worn as shabby shift dresses. She might not be fashion chic but she at least she felt like a girl now. The fact Toren noticed didn’t hurt either. His hungry gaze was on her more often than not, roaming over her body as if there wasn’t anything else he’d rather look at than her. That carnal look she always saw in his eyes did wonders for her self-esteem. So did all that naughty bed-play he treated her to multiple times a day. He made her feel—exquisite. Desired. She’d had boyfriends in the past but not one of them had made her feel the way Toren did.
Sara finished braiding the belt she was making, then sorted through the remaining bits of clothing, folding her handmade clothes and putting them to the side. She tidied everything else, tried scooping out the ashes from the fire pit, and ignored the voice in the back of her head that whispered if Toren ran into trouble, she was going to die up here.
She braced her hands on her knees, staring at the grey ash pit. “Please, let everything be all right.” The sky outside more blue today than pink with very few clouds. Maybe he’ll blend in and they won’t see him.
Her stomach started to cramp, the worse-case scenarios she could think of filling her head until she was up and pacing the cavern. Starving to death and dying up here would suck but surely it would be a better death than falling hundreds of feet to the ground. The impact would probably kill her instantly—she hoped—but what if it didn’t? What if she lingered in excruciating pain and died slowly? That reason alone was why she’d chosen to stay but it didn’t make the thoughts of her death up here anymore comforting.
She counted her steps as she made laps to keep her mind occupied and when that grew monotonous, she resorted to standing at the cave entrance, staring out across the mountain while scanning the skies. Thin tendrils of smoke climbed into the air a short distance away. Seeing it made her think of Marcy. Those worst-case scenarios she’d had at being captured by one of the other aliens played inside her head again when she thought of her. More gruesome what-ifs flashed in her mind’s eye when she thought of Emma. To have been so forlorn and filled with doom and gloom, that girl hadn’t been panicking. She’d looked as if she accepted it which made Sara wonder if she still lived. She hoped so. The thought of any of those girls dying made her ill, even though she knew a lot of them probably had.
She stood staring out at the world outside the lair until her legs grew tired and she started to worry that Toren had been gone too long. She’d gnawed the last of her fingernails off when she saw movement on the horizon, a small speck of something in the sky. Her pulse was racing by the time it grew large enough for her to realize it was getting closer. When she was able to make out the distinct shape of a dragon, she bit her lip, trying to see if it was blue or the black-gray of the wyvern. It seemed to take forever for it to get close enough. The moment she saw blue scales, she sighed in relief.
A sound similar to hissing air caught her attention as something flashed in her peripheral. Scanning the sky, she saw another flash of light. A ship similar to the one the Big Heads had brought them here in hovered not far from the mountain. It was moving slow, heading toward the barren wastes and Sara knew they were bringing more girls. How many were about to lose their life here this time?
She was watching the spaceship so hard she didn’t see the orbs until they were right in front of the cave entrance. She gasped when one came close enough she heard the mechanical whirr of moving parts inside of it. Three hovered near her face, another darting inside the cavern. Seeing them meant the ones who ran the prison and made the rules, knew she was here. It meant they knew Toren was here. How else would she have gotten this far up the mountain? Their hiding place had been discovered.
Sara ran to the back of the cavern but realized hiding was useless. They’d already seen her. Scanning the cave, she spotted the few remaining pieces of wood next to the fire pit and grabbed one, lifting it like a bat. Stalking over to where the orb was flying, she swung. It broke apart in a spray of tinkling glass.
The other three orbs circled high above her head, the buzzing like a faint hum of bees. They turned and darted and the fact she knew they were watching her, that possibly aliens across the galaxy were watching her, pissed her off. She hadn’t signed up for this reality freak show. If they wanted something to see, she’d give it to them.
She started swinging. The first of the three to get close enough crashed against the wall and shattered much like the first one she hit did. The other two were a bit more evasive and managed to dart away before she could connect with them. It made her wonder what controlled them. Was it some sort of artificial intelligence or were they controlled by someone somewhere else, like a hand-held drone controller? Not that it mattered. They were still in her cave and she wanted them gone. “Okay, motherfuckers, you want a show? I’m about to give you one. Bring it.” When they flew toward her head, she screamed and swung.