The creatures flew around her until they surrounded her. A small group of six landed on the moss not far from where she was sitting while the others continued to fly around, circling her from a distance. She let her eyes follow the tallest of the creatures. It stood about twelve inches tall and walked with a flowing grace that made Ariel smile.

"h.e.l.lo," Ariel said softly with a smile.

The creature stopped at the sound of her voice. It looked uneasily at her for a moment. One of the creatures behind the tall figure moved forward and said something to it. Ariel couldn't hear what they were saying but it seemed as if the second one was arguing with the first. Ariel remained still, waiting.

Finally, the first one nodded to the second one which came toward her. Ariel kept her hands on her thighs and waited not wanting to startle the small creatures. She watched as the small, green creature moved closer and closer to her. When it stopped, Ariel fought back a sigh.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Ariel said quietly. "You can come closer. I promise I won't hurt you."

Tia stopped at the sound of the huge creature her brother had captured. Her tiny ears twitched as she listened to the soft sound. Her brother thought to kill the creature who invaded their world but she had protested. She was the Keeper of the Stories. When she saw the pale white-gold wave flowing from the creature she knew it was the creature the ancient stories talked about. This creature was to be treated with reverence.

Tia moved closer. She reached out and touched the large being with the tip of her long green fingers. When the creature remained still, she moved a little closer. The creature moved slowly raising one large appendage. Tia waited, frozen in fear as her little heart beat frantically. As much as she was confident this was the creature the stories pa.s.sed down through her people talked about, she was still unprepared for the size of it. The creature laid its pale limb down on the soft moss with the palm facing up. Tia looked at it before looking up into the creature's eyes. The color was a soft warm brown and did not appear to hold any danger in them. Tia took a tentative step forward, stopping when her brother hissed out in alarm. She turned her head and shook it at him. Reaching out again, she touched the warm limb. It was soft and smooth. Tia glanced up again. The creature nodded. Tia climbed onto the limb and waited. The creature moved cautiously, as if aware of Tia's fear. Tia looked around her as the creature lifted her up into the air. She stood up looking around her as her people slowly knelt down. Only when her brother knelt as well did Tia turn to face the G.o.ddesses who came from above.

Ariel studied the slender, green figure she held gently in her hand. Now that it was closer, she could tell it was a female. Large, brown eyes dominated the face. Her nose consisted of two small slits. Her mouth was small and filled with tiny, sharp pointed teeth. Her arms and legs were very long for her body. She had three fingers on each hand. She was wearing a colorful tunic made of plant fibers. The patterns on it were so small, it was hard for Ariel to see the details but she knew it would be breathtaking.

The tiny creature studied her as she studied it. Ariel smiled again. "You are so beautiful," Ariel whispered gently. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ariel."

Tia tilted her head to the side and listened. The G.o.ddess' voice was soothing, gentle as if she knew Tia was afraid. Tia couldn't understand what she was saying but knew she was speaking to her. She turned and raised her hand. With a flick of her wrist, her brother and two of the warriors flew up to her. She quickly spoke to them. Tamblin started to argue but one look at his sister's face and he knew she would not be deterred. He looked at the creature holding his sister so carefully in her hand before he nodded to his sister. With a sharp command, they flew away.

Tia turned and bowed to Ariel before she sank down to sit in the palm of her hand. Ariel had the feeling something important just happened but she didn't have a clue what it was. The creature in her hand appeared to be waiting for something. Ariel looked around her as thousands of creatures stood watching her with opening curiosity. She let her eyes wander over the cavern again. Each time she looked a new detail seemed to come into focus. She noticed several large waterfalls flowing from the rock into a miniature river that flowed into a larger basin or lake. A gleaming, clear structure was carved into one of the walls not far from the largest waterfall. That was where the three men on the flying creatures went to. Ariel looked down startled when she felt a tap on her palm. The tiny female in her palm was checking her hand out as carefully as she was checking out its world.

Ariel's eyes jerked up when the three men returned. Two of the creatures held a large sack between their flying creatures. They flew up to the creature in her palm that stood to one side as they lowered it down until it rested in the center of her hand. Once it was safely deposited, they flew down to the soft mossy ground again. The creature in her palm carefully released the top of the strings holding the cloth closed and stood back as it fell open.

Ariel's breath caught at the sight of a large, red glowing stone and translucent chain sitting there. The tiny creature moved forward and pointed at Ariel than at the stone. She motioned that Ariel was to put it on.

Ariel nodded in amazement and reached up slowly with her other hand to pick it up. Realizing she would need both hands, she lowered the tiny creature back to the ground and waited as it jumped off her palm. Once she had both hands free, she turned the stone over in her hand. It was the strangest but most beautiful stone she ever saw. Lifting the chain, she saw it glowed with the same glittering light as the sand and walls.

The tiny creature made a noise and motioned for Ariel to put it on again. Ariel nodded and quickly slid the stone over her head lifting her heavy length of hair out of the way so it nestled between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She adjusted the stone, holding it as she stared into the swirling color locked inside the stone.

"Thank you, it is very beautiful," Ariel said softly looking down at the tiny creature with a smile.

"It is our gift to you, G.o.ddess. It was told that you would come for it one day. I consider it a blessing that it happened during my lifetime," the small creature replied in a lilting voice.

Ariel gasped and her face lit up with joy. "I understand you!"

"As we can now understand you, my G.o.ddess. It is the magic of the stone," Tia replied moving closer.

"My name is Ariel," Ariel replied with a twinkle in her eye that these creatures thought she was a G.o.ddess of some sort.

"I am called Tia. I am the Keeper of the Stories. This is my brother, Tamblin. He is our leader," Tia replied.

Ariel looked at Tamblin who was standing back looking at her nervously. He seemed far too young to be the leader of a small kingdom. She watched as he straightened to his full twelve or so inches before he bowed stiffly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, your majesty. I apologize for trespa.s.sing on your world but I have to admit I am very happy to meet you," Ariel said sincerely as she bowed her head in respect.

Tamblin straightened even further if that was possible at Ariel's respectful acknowledgement of his position. He strode forward to stand near his sister who looked at him in amus.e.m.e.nt. She nodded at him to say something.

"My G.o.ddess, the people of Glitter welcome you. We hope you will bless us with your stay," Tamblin stumbled out.

"Oh, thank you but I really need to get back to my people. The others will be worried about me," Ariel said hiding her smile at Tamblin's obvious relief at her not staying.

"The gold creature and several others are at the gateway. They do not seem happy to be separated from you," Tia said with a tilt to her head again as she looked questioning at Ariel.

Ariel chuckled. "No, I imagine they are not very happy. One of them is my mate. He is very protective of me."

Tia looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded. "They are your guards?"

"Something like that," Ariel laughed again at the thought of Mandra's face when he found out what new adventure she had been on. At least she wasn't going to bring any of these little creatures back with her.

"My brother and I will escort you back to the gateway," Tia replied with a bow. "I ask only one thing if you would not be offended, my G.o.ddess Ariel."

Ariel paused as she stood up. "What can I do for you, Tia?"

Tia looked down at her slender fingers before she looked up with a pleading look at Ariel. "Our world was once abundant with a creature that fed the sand crystals. When the creatures disappeared, so did the trees of our world," Tia replied waving a hand to the large mushroom shaped trees. "We were forced to live under the hot sands. Would you... would you grace us with more creatures so our world can again flourish under the stars?"

Ariel knelt back down, thinking. "Do you know what these creatures looked like?"

"Yes!" Tia's face lit up with hope. "We have images of them left to us by our ancestors. Come, we will show them to you before you leave."

Ariel bit her lip and nodded. She laid her palm down so Tia could once again climb onto it. Ariel stood up careful of the other creatures that moved rapidly out of the way. The warriors on the bat-type creatures lifted off and followed her and Tia as she moved carefully over the mossy ground. Once in the corridor she was able to move a little faster. They entered another large cavern were two creatures about the size of a wild boar laid. Their eyes glowed red and they growled when she entered. Tia quickly made a noise and the creatures lay back down but never took their eyes off her. Tia turned and pointed up to the top of the cavern. Ariel's head tilted backwards so she could see what creatures Tia was talking about looked like. When she saw the images it took everything in her not to burst out laughing. She knew exactly which creatures Tia was talking about. Shaking her head at how small the universe really was, she looked down at Tia with a grin.

"I think I have exactly what you are looking for!" Ariel said with a huge grin.

Tia turned to her brother and let out a loud cry of joy. The other warriors followed the shrilled call until the entire cavern echoed with the joyful sound. Ariel couldn't resist joining in with a laugh.

Mandra slammed into the force field again before collapsing in fury and fear. They had been trying for the past two hours to break through the force field. Both his and Zebulon's symbiots lay weakly on the sandy floor. They attacked the force field repeatedly but it seemed the more they attacked the stronger the field became as it drained the energy from them. The men then took turns trying to use brunt strength to break through. h.e.l.l, they even tried to tunnel through the rocky walls only to find the field stretched to cover the area they broke away.

"Stop, Mandra. It is no use," Zebulon said as he stopped Mandra's b.l.o.o.d.y hand from hitting the glowing wall again.

Mandra snarled and pushed Zebulon away from him. He would never give up. His mate was in danger. It was his responsibility to protect her and he failed. He failed her. With another roar, he slammed his fist against the shield ignoring the pain radiating down his arm.

"Never! I will never stop," he viciously roared out.

Bahadur grabbed his shoulder and jerked him around. "Then don't, but be smart. We need to find another way to break through."

Adalard jerked up as he stared at the glowing shield. "Look!"

All four men turned as Ariel walked toward them. She had a small frown on her face as her eyes followed the blood on the shield down to Mandra's tightly clenched fists. She bit her lip in worry and hurried forward. As she approached the shield it dissipated as she moved through it before reappearing behind her.

Ariel threw herself into Mandra's arms as he opened them and hugged him fiercely before pulling back to grip his hands in hers. "What have you done to yourself, big guy?"

Mandra pulled his hands out hers and pulled her back against him, burying his face in her long hair. "I couldn't get to you," he muttered hoa.r.s.ely.

Ariel pressed a kiss to his neck, ignoring the other men who were gathered protectively around them. She looked over Mandra's shoulder and saw Bahadur looking at her with hunger, regret, and... understanding? She buried her face against Mandra's neck just wanting to feel his arms around her.

"I'm okay. I was scared at first but the most incredible thing happened. It was amazing," she whispered against his neck. "Can we return to the ship? I have a promise to keep."

"By the G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses," Zebulon whispered looking on the other side of the force field at the tiny creatures staring intently at them. "Will you take a look at that?"

Ariel turned to look at Tia and Tamblin who were watching them with avid curiosity. She smiled as she turned in Mandra's arms. Nodding to them, she watched as Tia raised her hand before they turned and disappeared back to their miniature world.

"Amazing, huh?" Mandra asked watching as the tiny creatures disappeared into the darkness.

"Yes, and utterly cool," Ariel whispered looking up into Mandra's eyes which still held the dark fear deep inside them. "I think you are going to be happy with the end result."

"I already am. I have you back in my arms... safe," Mandra murmured resting his forehead against hers for a moment before picking her up and turning with a nod to the others to move out. He wanted her off this d.a.m.n moon before something else happened.

Chapter 22.

Mandra looked down at his mate who was sleeping peacefully. They returned from the planet to find out that the Tasiers had multiplied... exponentially. The crew aboard the D'stroyer was frantically trying to capture thousands of the things. The d.a.m.n fur b.a.l.l.s were everywhere! They had stepped out of the shuttle to find the things hopping through the landing bay. They were in the corridors, vents, training room, engineering, even on the d.a.m.n bridge. And those were the ones the crew hadn't eaten. By the time they finally rounded them up there was not a single man on board that wanted to ever eat another one again.

Ariel had laughed so hard she could barely talk. It seemed the tiny creatures who took her needed the furry creatures. They had been the creatures that once flourished on the small moon. Tasiers liked the sand and the sand liked their p.o.o.p. The mushroom trees were spread and grew from it. The tiny creatures were forced to seek refuge under the sands when traders captured all the Tasiers. Without the p.o.o.p, the mushrooms died and the moon heated up. It took them three days to finally make sure they had captured all the Tasiers on the D'stroyer and transport them down to the unnamed moon. Almost overnight, small fields of tiny spores popped up through the sandy soil.

Mandra and Ariel had spent last night on the moon in the large cavern. After Ariel introduced him to Tia, Tamblin and many of the other tiny creatures who journey up from their world to see the replenishment of their much loved fur b.a.l.l.s, they had shifted into their dragons. They flew over the vast sands, made love, flew some more, and loved until heat, exhaustion, and the impatience of Adalard, Zebulon, and even Bahadur forced him to return with his mate to the warship. He took her again and again once he returned, determined to taste every inch of her in an effort to chase the fear of almost losing her away. He knew as he made love to her before she fell into an exhausted sleep the last time they came together that there was no way he take a chance with her life. He would need to find another way to stop his uncle.

Mandra grabbed Ariel's arm as she swatted at him in her sleep when he leaned over and brushed a kiss across her lips. "Sleep little warrior, I have work to do."

Ariel grumbled in her sleep and rolled over pulling his warm pillow against her before she settled back down with a soft snore. Mandra tenderly brushed her long white-gold hair back away from her shoulder. His eyes lit with triumph at the additional dragon's marks on her shoulder. He had given her three additional marks to go with the ones on each side of her neck. She now had his dragon mark on her left shoulder, one on her breast, and one on the inside of her thigh. Her pa.s.sionate cries still echoed in his head as he took her over and over during the night.

Mandra glanced one last time at his mate, feeling a fierce need to protect her sweep through him before he pulled on his clothes and left his quarters. Plans needed to be finalized. He was going after his uncle with a small fleet of fighters consisting of both Curizan and Valdier warriors. He was going to kill his uncle and he was going to make sure he lived through it.

Ten days later, the D'stroyer made its way through the asteroid belt surrounding the small planet housing Raffvin's hidden base. Bahadur had traveled ahead of them for a scheduled delivery of weapons and supplies. He would disable several of the satellites that would warn of their approach and make sure Raffvin was on the planet. Adalard had left four days before to gather his forces. They were in position waiting for the D'stroyer to give the signal before launching their attack. They would need to be careful. The planet was spa.r.s.ely populated but there were numerous small villages scattered throughout the area. Raffvin had set up his base using the population there as slave labor to build it.

Mandra looked up as Ariel came up next to him on the bridge. He had been looking at a holovid of the planet below them. She was dressed in the black vest, leather pants and boots of their warriors. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she had a fierce look on her face. His eyes dropped to her hips where laser pistols rested. The frown on his face turned to a fierce scowl.

"What do you think you are doing?" He growled out in a low, dangerous tone.

Ariel raised her eyebrow and looked at him calmly. "I'm a soldier. If you are going into battle then you will need someone to watch your back. Precious and I will be doing that."

Mandra glanced down to where Precious lay on the floor looking up at Ariel with worship in its golden eyes. "No!" He bit out fiercely.

"Yes," Ariel replied quietly. "I can't let you go alone. I've been trained extensively in military combat, including hand-to-hand. Your uncle has threatened those who I care about, including my own people. I take that as an act of war."

Mandra breathed in deeply before letting it out. Looking down at the map, he shook his head again. "I can't, Ariel. I can't take a chance of anything happening to you. Precious will go with me. I will need my symbiot when I battle my uncle. I explained our suspicions about what happened to the other symbiots that were destroyed. Precious and I may be the only ones strong enough to fight against him. I..." he swallowed down the bile in his throat before continuing, "I cannot take a chance of anything happening to you."

Ariel raised her hand touch Mandra's cheek. She waited until he looked at her. She wanted him to know she felt the same way about him. It was a two way street. She needed to know he would be safe and come back to her.

"You are also planning on leaving a part of Precious with me. This will weaken both of you," she replied. "If you will not let me go with you, at least take all of Precious."

"I can't," he whispered. "If I don't survive and Raffvin is able to destroy a good portion of my symbiot it would be a death sentence for you. At least with a portion of my symbiot you have a slight chance of survival."

Tears filled Ariel's eyes but she refused to let them fall. "We both know if you die then I die as well. If there is a chance at life, or even of death, then we need to be together... all of us... you, me, our dragons, and Precious. We are one now. What happens to one happens to all of us."

Mandra closed his eyes and turned his lips into her palm pressing a kiss to the center. He knew she was right but it didn't matter. He needed to know she was safe on board the D'stroyer so he could fight without fear of something happening to her. He needed that tie to pull him back from wherever he might go.

When he opened his eyes, they glowed with golden flames of determination. "No," he said firmly before he turned away and nodded to two members of his security team. "Lock her up in one of the detention cells until this is over."

Ariel looked at Mandra in disbelief as the two warriors grabbed her by her arms. Precious jumped up with a furious snarl but a sharp command from Mandra stilled the golden symbiot that shook with rage. Mandra pulled the two laser pistols out of the holsters on her hips and laid them down on the table.

"Take her," he said turning away from the shock and betrayal in his mate's eyes as she fought against the two men holding her.

"No! Mandra, d.a.m.n your stubborn hide! You are so going to regret this when I get my hands on you!" Ariel yelled as she was pulled off the bridge.

Mandra gritted his teeth as she continued screeching threats at him. He looked up at Zebulon who came to stand next to him. He glanced back down when he saw the sympathy in his friend's eyes.

"She will forgive you. Just make sure you bring your sorry a.s.s back to her so she can kick it first," Zebulon said quietly.

Mandra nodded sharply. "Let's go. It's time."

Mandra slipped into the smaller fighter that Precious formed. He left the other portion of his symbiot outside the detention cells where it was ordered to protect their mate. He received clearance and quickly accelerated. Connecting with his symbiot, he and the other warriors began their decent down to the planet. They would be coming in on the far side and move rapidly over the terrain towards the base. Adalard was deploying fighters to come in on the other side. Bahadur had contacted them to let them know Raffvin was on the planet and the satellites were disabled but to hurry. They would only be offline for a fifteen minute window. It was the best he could do without raising any suspicions.

He broke through the atmosphere and ordered his symbiot to stay as low as possible. They were on radio silence until the actual battle began. Mandra cursed as he caught his first visual of the base his uncle had built. It was a domed fortress that was almost the size of the Valdier palace. Lights flared as Adalard began his attack. Bahadur had the shields down and bright lights burst upward as laser cannons mounted on the top of the dome returned fire.

"We've taken out the main cannons. Our ground forces are moving in to secure the outside perimeter," Adalard called out as he broke radio silence.

Mandra gritted his teeth. "Affirmative, we are heading down into the main building. Let us handle any warriors with symbiots."

"Affirmative," Adalard said over the sounds of explosions. "I think most of his men are mercenaries he has hired from other star systems."

"Can you cut through the central line? I see fighters lifting off," Mandra barked out.

"On it," Adalard replied.

Mandra watched as Adalard's fighter and several others turned and began chasing the fighters that had lifted off. He focused on getting inside the dome city and as close to the building Bahadur said his uncle used as a command center. Landing smoothly several hundred feet away, he jumped out of Precious not waiting for his symbiot to change shape. It would meet up with him in seconds. He fired at several mercenaries as they poured out of a building to his left. Rolling, he fired at two more that came out. Precious, in the shape of a huge Werebeast, tackled another warrior, biting down and snapping his neck with a shake of its ma.s.sive head. More men poured out of several nearby buildings as fighters overhead fired at them. Mandra transformed to his dragon and breathed dragon fire at the long line. Screams erupted from the men as flames burst all around them.

Mandra watched as Bahadur came out of another building walking calmly through the chaos while firing his laser pistol. Every once in a while his body shield would flash as someone returned fire. He had to admit the son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h had nerves of steel. Moving forward, he transformed back into his two-legged form and met up with him.

"Your uncle is on level three. There is an emergency shaft leading down to it. Go through the main floor to the far left. A door will take you down there. Be careful, though, he has at least a dozen men with him," Bahadur said as he fired at another group of men swarming toward them. "Go, we'll cover you."

Mandra and Precious took off across the open area covered with dead bodies. Zebulon and several others on his security force followed him firing at the enemy as they made their way through the thick metal doors of the central building. Smoke drifted thickly in the air. Mandra and the other men quickly covered their faces with breathing masks. With a nod of his head, they fanned out and began moving slowly through the debris toward the stairs Bahadur told them about.