

### Bonds of Fire

By

Sophie Duncan

Smashwords Edition

This publication is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

An imprint of Wittegen Press

http://www.wittegenpress.com

Copyright 2011 by Sophie Duncan

<http://www.wiitegenpress.com/sophieduncan>

Cover art by Tasha D-Drake

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

ISBN: 978-1-908333-09-4

~*~

Dedication

Thank you to Tasha for all your help.

~*~

Contents

Bonds of Fire

Afterword

~*~

Bonds of Fire

Drekken drew in a deep lungful of air, gagged and then coughed violently as his mouth filled with dust. His first instinct was to push himself away from the ground, but his muscles strained and he only managed to move his head to the side as weight pinned him to the earth. Momentary panic sliced down Drekken's spine as he remembered the wall collapsing down on top of him, but he stifled it quickly with well-practised discipline and forced himself to still. He took in several more, smaller, but calming breaths and assessed his situation like any good officer.

Rubble was pressing down all over his body, but he could feel his gliders still spread out above him from his hasty landing and their leathery surface was protecting much of his body from direct contact. He tested the implants' response by flicking his shoulder blades and they shifted, although his right shoulder complained, so he guessed he was in one piece, more or less. However, the rubble above him groaned and shifted, pressing his legs down even more, and so he halted his movements.

Heart hammering in his chest, Drekken waited for the shifting to stop, breathing shallowly to minimise his intake of the acrid dust that filled the little space around his head. He didn't like enclosed spaces, he needed the feel of the wind on his skin as he flew high above the trees on Miri's back, and he thought of his dragon as the waiting went on. He had no idea what had happened to her: the battle had been thick and bad, four squadrons of dragons at close quarters with an overwhelming number of strike jets. They had been the more manoeuvrable, natural wings being much more agile than metal skeletons, but the Feras had been developing new weapons that could tear off a dragon's wing and avoiding one such attack had forced Drekken to bail from Miri's saddle. His gliders had saved him from crashing to earth, but then the wall had come down and he had not been able to return to his friend.

However, there was no time to dwell. Miri was alive, otherwise he would have known, so working himself free was the most important concern. Pushing Miri's fate to the back of his mind, Drekken focused on his current predicament. Apart from his shoulder, there was no more overt pain, so Drekken wriggled carefully, aware of the precarious pile of concrete above him, until he had his hands close by the sides of his body. Then, knowing he probably only had one chance, he focused his energy and, with one more breath, pushed up with his arms and legs and flexed his gliders. It felt like his wings were being ripped off his back as broken wall weighed them down and his shoulder screamed at the strain, but Drekken growled out his pain and forced himself upwards.

The weight above him tumbled away and the relief of freedom washed through Drekken's shuddering body. His limbs were trembling too much for him to make it off his knees, so he came to a halt still waist-deep in rubble and blinking away the dust in his eyes. He scanned his immediate area, training kicking in even though he couldn't see clearly, and he only relaxed when he caught no sign of movement. It was quiet now, no sounds of magic or dragon-fire exploding overhead, just the eerie silence of a town destroyed by fighting and Drekken sagged, using his left arm to stop himself collapsing completely. As he moved, it proved the last straw for his helmet and the armour fell off his head, landing in two pieces in front of him, magic arcing wildly out of the circuitry within its layers.

"Dammit," Drekken swore as his only means of communication died.

That was it, he was on his own in some godforsaken mountain village in the most disputed territory of the war: his day could not get any worse.

~

Drekken wasn't sure how long he had been out, but two minutes on his feet in the streets of the small town told him the residents had abandoned their homes. The place had been pretty badly bombarded and the Feras always sent in ground troops with any battle as well. They'd done a thorough job of making sure the villagers could not fight back. Once neat, white buildings in the old style were lying broken across the streets and he'd found two smashed communications' crystals already. Still, many years in Army Draco meant Drekken was too well-trained to assume he was alone, so he moved quietly and quickly, keeping close to cover and on the alert for any hostiles.

He heard them before he saw them.

The sound of pleading was never pleasant. He'd had enemies offer it to him and he'd been witness to his own people begging for their lives, both of which left a bad taste in his mouth, so, when he heard a young voice entreating another with, "Please, no, please, no, he's hurt," he sped up his pace and headed towards its owner. The sound of a Feras laser sliced through his hearing and there was a horrified scream before Drekken rounded a corner and was faced with a scene that made his blood boil. A youth was collapsed over the neck of an old dragon whose eyes were closed, his bright blue tunic covered in the blood of his companion. Another young man was standing, arms stretched out in surrender to the black-armoured hulk of a Feras warrior, whose weapon was still trained on the dragon.

Drekken reacted instantly, he planted his feet, raised his arm and let his magic rise. He felt his dragon-bond flare and a fireball swept down over the scales on his forearm and out from his palm straight at his enemy. The soldier didn't stand a chance as neat dragon-fire hit him and exploded into a thousand tongues of angry flame. Drekken forced his fire in between the plates of thick armour that hid the man from head to foot and he felt the burn start. His enemy dropped the laser and as soon as he heard the soldier cry out, Drekken released the flames to their own devices. They flared, the man convulsed and then what Drekken knew to be an empty hunk of armour collapsed to the ground.

The two youths watched their attacker fall, horror on their faces, but Drekken ignored them for now. His prime concern was the dragon, whose rasping breaths filled the silence that followed the fireball, and he ran to the creature's side. There was a large gash in the dragon's flank from which dark blood was still flowing, but the more concerning injury was a scorch mark on the failing creature's chest. That was damage done by a laser, nothing else could more than superficially hurt a dragon, and Drekken knew without closer inspection that it was bad. Quickly, he leant up against the side of the huge old beast and listened for the slow heartbeat he was expecting. When he heard a rushing sound with it, he stood back and glanced sadly at the youth kneeling at the dragon's neck.

"No," said with anguish told Drekken he had been understood and then he watched as a blond head was lowered to rest against green-blue scales.

The other youth ran over and joined his companion and both were crying. At that, large, yellow eyes opened and, with some effort, the dragon raised his head. Drekken bowed, offering the respect owed such a great old bird, but he remained silent on the periphery as the dying creature turned to his young ones.

'Yakov, Malachi,' the dragon spoke haltingly, but Drekken could hear his thoughts as well and knew the effort the projection had to be taking, so he placed his hand on the creature's hide and opened his mind.

He felt a mental sigh for his assistance and the ancient lizard's influence slid into him as he offered his magic and his strength to support the dragon's thought-speaking.

"Master Besthan, you can't die," one of the youths mourned.

'My time has come, Young Ones,' Besthan soothed. 'I place the hatchlings into your charge now.'

"We aren't fully trained, yet," the other boy objected, his voice small and scared.

The dragon snorted a hot breath over all three humans and replied, 'You are two of the best empaths I have ever trained and Drekken will help you.'

Suddenly Drekken found himself the centre of attention for all three strangers. Through his contact with the dragon, he could feel the need in Besthan and he could see the fear in the youths as they looked to him to reply. When Besthan looked over Drekken's shoulder, Drekken felt the urge to follow the look. Then, with a strength of will Drekken could feel, the dragon lifted his great wing that had been lying apparently limp over the ground. The sound of whimpering reached Drekken's ears before he saw them, five small bodies huddled together in the crook of Besthan's wing, noses buried in each other and eyes tight closed. He'd never seen so many hatchlings before, they were not a common sight at an army camp, and he had no idea what the knot of emotions was that suddenly sunk into his stomach. However, he could not abandon civilians in a battle zone, especially not children, and he knew his life had just become a whole lot harder.

~

Drekken stood at the side of the small courtyard in which he had found his new charges and watched as they all mourned. Besthan had passed almost as soon as the children had been retrieved from his protection and Drekken had withdrawn to keep watch as they paid their respects. He could not allow them long, since the Feras warrior would not have been alone, but a few minutes had been begged of him.

The two youths had their arms around each other and around the small gaggle of hatchlings of different ages and races. Despite the mountains around the valley being old dragon country, Drekken was surprised by the hatchlings' diversity. There was one Blue, stocky and already growing his wide, flat crest, clearly the oldest of the babies. He was gently nuzzling two pale Sandys, as their long, spiny tails flicked in fear and they hid their narrow heads against their human carers. The Sandys were flanking an iridescent River Dragon hatchling, who was whimpering quietly and looking up at Besthan's body. A little female Hawkhead, although standing with her companions, was looking under Malachi's arm at Drekken, her yellow eyes regarding him with suspicion. He gazed evenly back for a moment, reviewing the intelligence he saw there and then inclined his head to her.

His move was received with a frown: it appeared more would be needed to convince the young lizard that he was friendly. Yet, his senses on alert, Drekken was distracted from his silent exchange by a sound coming from the house behind him. The crunching of rock on rock was not enough to be a human footfall, but the Feras had remote units to do their scouting for them and Drekken ducked into the doorway quickly to find the device before it transmitted anything back to base. He paused on entry, letting his eyes adjust to the shadow and cursing the fact his helmet and therefore his scanner were in pieces. It was movement that caught his eye, a shift on the surface of a pile of stones in a box in the corner and, quickly, Drekken crossed to it, arm out ready to fry any hostile find. However, there was no glint of metal in the box and, as the stones crunched again, falling towards the edges of the box, Drekken sank to his knees and took a closer look.

The container was full of small pieces of volcanic rock that, once he was nearer, Drekken could feel giving off heat. The surface moved once more, some stones bouncing over the side of the box, and, this time, Drekken saw something pale appear up through the centre of the dark brown pile. When that something moved on its own, Drekken realised he was looking at a tiny, struggling snout. His reaction was instantaneous, he reached to help and began rapidly clearing stones away from his discovery. His big hands made short work of the light pebbles, and soon he was looking down at the delicate, miniature crest of a baby Grey Wing, broken shell still clinging to her egg-horn. Drekken's heart went out to the small creature as he saw his own dragon reflected back at him and it was pure instinct that meant he scooped the baby out of her nest and cradled her against his chest. He could feel her life, as tiny as her body, and her magic reached out to him, but, as her head fell against him, Drekken felt the baby struggling.

Drekken knew very little about young dragons, but he did know this one needed help, and so he stood quickly and hurried outside.

"Hey!" he called as loudly as he dared, trotting over to the youths.

He held out his find, who fitted neatly into the palms of his hands and told them, "Help her."

The two young men were on their feet quickly and Malachi took the dragon from him. Drekken sat on an illogical instinct to grab the baby back, but he couldn't hold down an anxiety that just wasn't his normal reaction to anything and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe she hatched," Malachi looked surprised and happy at the same time as worried, which didn't make Drekken feel any better.

"We didn't know if the egg was even fertile," Yakov added, gently wiping away bits of yolk and shell from the little creature's body as Malachi examined her.

"She's perfect," Malachi concluded, but then frowned and observed, "but she's very weak. She hasn't had her parents feeding the nest with magic, she needs to bond with a dragon, or she is going to die."

Both youths looked over their shoulders at Besthan, their faces stricken. However, while Malachi lingered on their fallen master, Yakov quickly looked back at Drekken, his eyes widening and running him up and down before he glanced back at the baby. Malachi started as Yakov grabbed the hatchling from his companion and then Drekken was equally surprised when he found the tiny bundle back in his hands and his hands being pushed back against his chest.

"You have to do it," the youth ordered nervously, looking up at Drekken through his long blond bangs.

"I'm not," Drekken began, trying to hand the dragon back to the person who knew how to care for her.

However, Malachi joined Yakov, both of them pushing the child back at him and Malachi told him, "You're the closest we've got. You're part dragon, you have magic."

Logic told Drekken he was not the right person for this task. He was bonded to a dragon, but that had been a very unique experience controlled by Miri's magic, and he was definitely not parent material. He looked down at the baby in his hands, her eyes were closed and her head rested awkwardly on his thumbs where she did not have the strength to hold it up. He could feel her magic and her life slipping away and sense told him there was nothing he could do. Yet, sometimes in his life, Drekken had found that his magic knew better and he felt his instincts shift. Not knowing what was happening, but knowing he was along for the ride, Drekken cradled the child to him and let the feeling rise.

Magic was something Drekken normally channelled through his implants, it did not often flow free and then only when he was working with Miri. Without his dragon, Drekken felt exposed and vulnerable as his magic slipped out of his control and opened his senses. Self-protection told him to resist, but it was far too late and as his magic drowned out his other senses, the life in his hands became his whole attention. He did not remember the bonding with Miri very clearly, the remains being made up of vague impressions and emotion. Yet, as his magic touched the little Grey Wing, his memories of that time flared and he was back with his dragon in the first few moments of their union. Warmth and confidence flooded him and he wrapped his strength around the weakening child. Her heartbeat sounded in his ears and her mind, a scattering of immature emotions, touched his thoughts.

Senses full of dragon, Drekken had to blink a couple of times before his vision reinstated itself and then he was greeted by the sight of the bluest eyes he had ever seen looking back up at him. He smiled at her, his chest swelling with joy which, just like the magic, he had no hope of controlling. The little dragon moved slowly, she was still weak, Drekken was very aware of that through the new presence of her in his consciousness, but a flood of pride joined his delight when she lifted her head back and chirruped at him.

"Thank you, thank you," Malachi broke the moment and Drekken jumped.

Reality kicked back in and he took a rapid step away from the young man, scanning the area as he realised he had been totally off the grid. His actions had been wholly inappropriate for a trained soldier and the danger they were all in made him hasty as he handed the dragon quickly to Malachi.

"She's alive," he growled, angry with himself at letting his guard down. "Now get the others ready, we have to move out in five."

Drekken quickly turned his back on the continuing chirrups and sat on fear touching him that he knew was not his own. He did not have time for distractions, there were eight lives in his hands and he had to get them to safety. Stalking away, he went to check their exit.

~

A quick scout of the road through the town towards the mountains told Drekken that there were more Feras about, soldiers and drones. It also put a knot in his belly that was making him feel physically sick and it had nothing to do with being in a combat situation. This was not the first, nor the fiftieth time he had been in charge of civilians, that was not his problem, but he knew what was, even if he did not want to give in to it. As he came back into the sheltered little courtyard, his attention focused down on the slender blue-grey head that was peaking out of a sling around Malachi's torso and the knot undid just a little when he heard the baby's excited chirruping at his return.

Only years of discipline in the field stopped him from responding to instincts that were screaming at him to grab the dragon from her holder and the knot wound back up, but getting the group moving was his top priority. In his absence, the youths had grabbed a few supplies: coats, strong shoes and Yakov was carrying a satchel stuffed with what looked like random household items.

They were waiting in a huddled group with the hatchlings, their backs to Besthan and Drekken knew fear when he saw it. Yet, he didn't have the luxury of being sympathetic, so he walked up to them with authority and offered, "Good. Now, are they," he pointed to the hatchlings, "old enough to understand you, to take instruction?"

Yakov nodded and replied, "They just can't mind-talk yet."

"Tell them we are going into the mountains, but we have to be very quiet while we leave the town," Drekken directed.

"They can understand you as well, Drekken," Malachi looked like he was trying to smile, but the worry in his eyes won.

Drekken just nodded in response and started to turn back to the exit. However, his move was greeted by an increase in the volume of the newest hatchling's chattering.

"You need to keep her quiet," Drekken snapped more than he needed to, but mainly because the knot in his stomach was getting worse.

"She wants you," Yakov spoke up this time.

Drekken glared at him: he knew that.

"She needs you," Malachi backed up his friend.

"It's the only way she'll quiet down," Yakov pushed when Drekken said nothing and Malachi began lifting off the sling.

His fingers were itching to reach for the little bundle and his magic was swirling at the prospect of holding her again, but that was dangerous, he couldn't afford to be distracted, and Drekken resisted his urges, forcing them down. However, he didn't have the will power to back off when Malachi lifted the sling to him, and, embarrassed by his weakness, Drekken just stood silently as the improvised carrier was placed over his head and one arm. The chirruping stopped instantly, and as he felt the tiny body settle against his abs, the knot in his belly relaxed, but was replaced with consternation.

"Right, we move out, keep low and stay together. Do what I say when I tell you and we'll make it out of the village alive," Drekken hissed quickly at his charges.

The two young men nodded solemnly and Drekken turned to lead them out. It was a second or two after he did so that he realised his non-fire arm had found a comfortable position cradling the sling over his chest.

~

Drekken squinted at the bridge ahead and, more importantly, the river running underneath it. The construction looked pristine, it had not been blown up, and that is what made him suspicious. It was the only route over the river and the mountains beyond and the Feras had to be watching it. Malachi came to crouch down next to him behind the wall he was using for cover and whispered, "It's not clear, is it?"

Drekken was impressed by the youth's assessment of the situation and he shook his head in agreement.

"Is there another place to cross?"

"There's a ford just down past that bend," Malachi pointed down river, "but with the Spring flood waters, it's not passable at the moment."

"We'll have to see," Drekken decided it was their best option and waved them all down the edge of the village away from the bridge.

It was not far to the ford, but it was hidden completely from the bridge by the bend in the river, which was a good start. However, the fast-flowing water was at least waist deep for a human. Assessing the terrain from their hiding place in what had been someone's back garden, Drekken quickly went to work. He reached for his utility belt and unhooked the end of the cord concealed inside. It was a very fine wire, reminding him of the days he had gone fishing with his friends, but it was much, much stronger, and he attached a small, but equally tough, three-barbed hook to the end. The end of the hook then slid neatly into his very well-designed armour gauntlet and, with a careful aim and a small push of magic, the arrow and its cord went sailing over the river, unwinding from his waist and embedding itself in a tree on the far side. Drekken pulled and the cord held fast, so he pulled out the rest of the length, detached it from his waist and wrapped it around a second tree.

Finally, he turned back to his charges.

Malachi and Yakov were both eyeing the wire and then the hatchlings dubiously. However, Drekken had been considering that.

"The Blue is with me," Drekken began, but was interrupted by Yakov, who told him, "His name is Renar."

"Renar is with me," Drekken corrected tersely. "You two, take off your coats, take two of the others each and tie them to your back with the coats."

The young men did as they were told without complaint, but Drekken could see the fear in their faces.

"Across this river and up into the foothills, then we'll stop for the night," Drekken tried to offer them something to aim at.

From the way Malachi acknowledged the information, Drekken knew his intentions had been understood, but the trauma of the day was clearly affecting Yakov, who was moving slowly, head down. Malachi paused in his own work, turned to his friend and wrapped him in his arms. Yakov moulded instantly to Malachi and the young men held together in silence, faces buried in each other's shoulders. The only person Drekken shared affection with in public was Miri, and only then discretely and, not sure where to put himself, he turned away and rechecked the attachment on the tree.

Wire was not the most interesting of items, but Drekken had adjusted and quadruple checked how it was wrapped around the tree before there was a polite cough and movement behind him. He turned and was greeted with a sheepish glance from Yakov, who immediately apologised, "I am sorry, I have a fear of water, but I am ready now."

Drekken just nodded and then they were moving again. Malachi took the two Sandys, one over each shoulder, their tails entwined tightly together. Yakov chose a different way of carrying his charges, the River Dragon curled herself around his neck while he used his coat to tie the Hawkhead to his chest. All were very quiet as they prepared, the youngsters making only the smallest of noises as they were carefully fixed in place against their carer's bodies. Drekken waited until all the others were in place before he crouched down to Renar. The young Blue had been watching proceedings quietly, but Drekken could see the fear in the child's eyes. Blues were not known for their affinity with water and the hatchling looked from Drekken to the river and back again.

Drekken did not have any experience with children, but he knew how to get the best out his people and so he looked the young dragon in the eyes and told him, "I need you to help me look after the baby. She is going to be scared when we cross the water, can you hold on to my back and keep an eye on her for me?"

Renar blinked at Drekken and, for a moment, he wondered if his ploy had fallen flat. However, then he felt a shift in his senses and he heard a very shaky, 'Yes.'

"Well done, Renar," Yakov praised.

"Well done," Drekken agreed with a smile and then swivelled round so the dragon could climb onto his back.

Renar was heavy, but not a real test for Drekken's augmented body. The implants gave him the strength and speed to keep up with a fully grown dragon, so the toddler was only as issue as far as it came to altering his centre of gravity.

"Alright, cover your hands with your sleeves, otherwise the wire will cut them and, Yakov, behind me, Malachi, bring up the rear and stay close together," Drekken finished the preparations with one last order. Then he took hold of the wire himself and led the way down the steep bank.

Despite the spring afternoon being warm, the water was freezing and Drekken had to take a few steadying breaths as he lowered himself into it. The fast flowing current came up to his waist by the time he was all the way in and Renar whimpered where his back feet were getting wet. Drekken glanced down at his smaller charge, but she was hidden in the folds of the sling and only the butterflies in his stomach that were not quite his own told Drekken that the baby was picking up on his own nerves.

Drekken paused once he was completely in the water, waiting for the others to join him. Yakov was ashen, his jaw set in a firm line, by the time he was nearly chest deep in water and Drekken wondered what had made him afraid of it. However, the look in the young man's eyes was determined and Drekken only gave both youths a professional appraisal before turning back and leading the way across the river.

The current was fast, tugging relentlessly at his body and the rocks under foot were slippery, so Drekken took his time with each step. He also paused frequently and gave the banks a sweep for hostiles. Their progress was therefore slow, but steady and Drekken was relieved when he began to make the ascent out of the water. He sped up just a little, wanting to be out of the chill. However, as he did so, there was as sudden tug on their guide line and he turned to see Yakov slipping sideways, one hand waving wildly in the air. The young man did not make a sound, but his face was stricken as his feet went from under him. Drekken went into automatic, he dropped Renar from his shoulders into the shallows and, holding the wire with one hand, grabbed for Yakov with the other.

His fingers closed around Yakov's collar as he disappeared under the water, and Drekken found a frightened River Dragon clinging to his arm. Very rapidly, Drekken hauled himself backwards and brought the others with him. The water was reluctant to give up its claim, but Drekken was stronger and he staggered backwards, collapsing against a large boulder as Yakov and dragons splashed down at his feet. Malachi waded the last metre or so very rapidly and knelt down to his friend, who was gasping and coughing and trying to comfort the mewing Hawkhead. She was not the only upset dragon: Renar was whimpering; the River Dragon female was hissing and clicking her teeth and, most importantly to Drekken, the baby Grey Wing had emerged from the sling making scared little clicks that set off every defensive instinct he possessed.

Cradling the baby, Drekken looked down and, trying not to sound too accusatory, asked, "What happened?"

"My bag strap broke," Yakov mourned, kneeling up and hugging the Hawkhead to him. "It's all we have, so I tried to reach for it and lost my balance."

Drekken glanced down the river, but the bag was nowhere in sight. He stifled any regret for the few supplies they had had, they were gone, and moved on, "Not a problem. Let's get off this bank and up to the tree line."

Yakov looked up at him then, face haunted and body trembling, and told him sincerely, "Thank you."

~

The cave was small, it was going to be a cramped night, but it had a concealed entrance and with a half a dozen wet and tired children and two shivering carers, Drekken decided it would have to do. They could only have been a mile away from the river, it was risky stopping so close to the village, but the near miss at the river had knocked the stuffing out of Yakov and Drekken led them all into the protected space. There were loose rocks all over the floor and he kicked a few into a pile in the centre. He knelt down then, positioning them more carefully into a balanced heap and held out his arm. His energies were low and it took him a moment to call forward his dragon fire, but when he finally felt it rising to the surface, it brought with it a comforting relief. His flames licked over the soft scales on his wrist and the back of his hand and out into the rocks and quickly the temperature around him increased. He watched as the living magic took hold of the stone, creating a glow that lit the cave and he pushed as much energy as he could manage into the rock. Yet, it had been a tough day, and he had to break off knowing that the heat would not last the whole night.

The civilians shuffled round him, sinking quickly to the floor and becoming a pile of humans and dragons near the new heat source. Drekken gave them a quick appraisal: they were all drained and anxious, but Malachi and Yakov gathered the little ones to them, leaning on each other and offering what comfort they could. Drekken didn't want to deliver more bad news, but it had to be done, so he told them, "We are too close to the village to risk hunting for supper tonight."

Malachi's face fell and Yakov looked guilty. The dragons made varying noises of dissatisfaction. Drekken reached for his belt and unclipped four packs there and held them out to Yakov.

"But, share these out," he offered what solace he could in the form of his field rations. "They won't fill any bellies, but they'll keep your energy up."

Yakov nodded his thanks and then Drekken turned, stood up and moved to the entrance of the cave. The way the rocks had formed, he could lean on the wall and see out to the hillside, but he, and more importantly, the fact that there was a deeper cave was hidden from those who might be looking for refugees. Six hatchlings would be a prize for any Feras division, who bought and sold dragons like animals, and the thought made Drekken's blood run cold. Self-consciously, he hooked his arm under the baby resting against his chest and held her a little more closely as he surveyed the world outside for any hostiles. He felt her snuggle into his body through the sling and his flight suit and her sleepy presence in the back of his mind settled him a little. However, it also reminded him he was missing another presence: Miri was alive, his instincts told him that, but he still needed to know what had happened to her.

"You are worried," Yakov surprised Drekken out of his thoughts and he turned sharply to find the youth standing at his shoulder, holding out one of the small protein discs from the rations.

Drekken took the disc without replying, but the enquiry in Yakov's wide blue eyes stopped him from ignoring the youth entirely. There was anxiety in the look he was being given and he reassured grudgingly, "Not about us, we'll be safe here for the night."

Tired and aching from his fall and damp from the river, Drekken was in no mood to talk, but annoyingly, Yakov did not retreat with the attempted dismissal, in fact, the youth's face went from anxious to thoughtful for a moment. Then Yakov observed, "You are thinking about your dragon."

It wasn't a question and the forwardness of it raised Drekken's hackles. He had never been good at hiding his feelings and with an empath it wasn't even worth trying. Yakov took a step backwards when Drekken fixed him with a look to go with his gut response, but did not back down entirely. Instead, Drekken was given a vaguely frustrated stare and it was obvious that Yakov was on the verge of saying something more. Drekken would have given the youth a more direct dismissal then, but Malachi reacted first, calling, "Yakov, Keril wants you."

The little Hawkhead chattered and, to Drekken's relief, Yakov turned away. Before there was any chance Yakov could reengage with him, Drekken went back to scanning the view out of the doorway.

~

It had been a short and uncomfortable night with his charges sleeping only fitfully. On edge, Drekken had forced himself to remain alert until the sun had risen. Then, he had spoken to the group only enough to explain that they had to keep to the trees up the lower slopes and then he had led them all off. However, the early start took them up into the mountains-proper by the time the sun was over head and Drekken's tension eased off as there was no sign that they were being followed. A quick stop for a lunch of berries and ice apples recharged them all and Drekken was impressed with the babies as they continued to make good time in the afternoon, so much so that Malachi had a chance to practice his hunting skills. When Drekken sought them out a place to shelter for the night, Malachi was carrying enough rabbit to feed them all.

Everyone was in surprisingly good spirits, including Drekken, when they all clambered carefully through a narrow entrance into another cave. This one was huge compared to the one from the previous night, and Drekken smiled to himself as the small ball of flame in his hand reflected off what he had hoped to see when he had noted the stream outside, a gently flowing pool. The afternoon had been warm and close and Drekken's shoulder scales itched as he eyed the clear water. Quickly, he ushered everyone past him onto the small sandy shore of the pool and then he heaved at a boulder that was lying next to the entrance. His already aching shoulder complained, but the rock was not a large one for an augmented human and he slid it across the entrance, mostly blocking the path. A couple of smaller stones on top and no-one outside would know the cave was passable.

Seven pairs of eyes were watching him as he descended down to the shore and Drekken surprised himself as he smiled and told them, "We'll be safe for the night."

The relief was almost palpable. Yakov smiled back and Drekken was still more surprised when that made him even happier. It was a strange and unexpected feeling that rather put him off balance, and so, after a second, he turned away and busied himself making another stone hearth, one that would this time cook their supper. He knew he was being watched as he gathered the small rocks and fed them with his replenished fire, but he concentrated on his task and, eventually, Malachi announced, "I really need a bath."

There was the sound of a sniff and then Yakov agreed with distaste, "We all need baths. Everyone, into the water."

It didn't take long for Drekken to finish his task and his odd reaction had settled by then. However, when he turned to the sound of splashing, it was not only that feeling that leapt up to greet him. He had heard stories about empaths lacking inhibitions, but he had not expected to see two young, athletic, naked bodies entering the water and his libido reacted instantly. As a soldier, he was used to seeing his comrades, both male and female, in states of undress and dragons found the whole concept of clothes rather quaint, which had rubbed off on him somewhat, but what really caught Drekken's attention was the way Yakov's hand was wandering down over Malachi's arse and Drekken had no hope of quashing the rush of heat that ran through his body. He bit his lip, hard, and turned rapidly away again, cursing the fact that it had been far too long since he had enjoyed any company.

Drekken fiddled with the hearth, moving stones around, piling them just so and trying not to remember the flash of pale, slender flesh behind him. The whistles and clicks of young dragons as they too entered the water helped settle his libido somewhat, after all, it was hardly appropriate to be fostering such thoughts in the presence of children. However, his arousal wouldn't disperse completely and he could only listen as Malachi called, "Keril, come on, it's lovely."

Drekken heard a stamp of foot and Keril made a sound of disquiet. There was a short pause and then Malachi's response was, "Oh."

It was a knowing sort of 'oh', and it was faintly amused.

"You want Drekken to come in too," Malachi interpreted.

His face heating up, Drekken swivelled on the spot and found himself Keril's centre of attention. He was not sure when he had gone from being a source of suspicion to one of interest, but the Hawkhead was looking at him expectantly. Drekken glanced up at Yakov and Malachi, who were waist deep in the pool and lazing against each other and a rock, and swallowed hard.

"It's lovely and cool," Yakov announced and, dropping his head onto Malachi's shoulder, winked at Drekken.

Drekken concluded that as well as no inhibitions, empaths in a good mood also had no shame and both of them were very much aware of his reaction. However, Keril was not and she snorted at him, the universal sign of dragon impatience. The water did look very inviting as the scales on Drekken's shoulders continued to itch. Renar was wallowing in the shallows, his eyes closed in bliss and Ghemas, the River Dragon, without a dangerous current to worry her, was slipping through the water as she had been born to do, her head causing barely a ripple when she surfaced. The Sandy twins, Isthy and Misthy, were the only ones who did not look like they intended to enter the pool. They were sitting on a rock together, their tails just flicking the surface of the water and eyeing the liquid with disdain. Thanks to Keril, however, all the dragons turned their attention to Drekken as well and waited.

Drekken mentally kicked himself: he was too old to be embarrassed by a perfectly natural reaction to good looking young men. However, he could still feel the heat on his face as he stood up and began to unstrap his boots. It was such a relief to remove the constrictions on his feet that he sped up as he turned to the rest of his clothing. He dropped his gauntlets and belt onto the sand and then things became more complicated. A flier's uniform was designed for two things, aerodynamics and warmth at altitude, but not necessarily ease of removal. However, the leather-like synthetic fibre fitted him like a second skin and, as he reached up to detach the back panel from the collar, that gave Drekken ideas.

He glanced at Malachi and Yakov, who were watching him a little more than casually, and his embarrassment morphed into bravado. He was not a big man: for a flier, being hefty would just have been impractical, but Drekken knew he had a good, lean, muscled body and he wasn't above showing it off, especially after the tease from Yakov. Carefully, he unhooked his arm from the sling so that it was hanging only around his neck. The back panel that, only being held in place by the fastenings at the collar, enabled his gliders to unfurl, dropped to his waist and he turned his back to his watchers, ostensibly to lift his little charge off of his body and to lay her down on a rock that sat opposite the Sandys' perch on the beach. However, what the move also did was to show off what he had been told was a very impressive collar of iridescent Grey Wing scales over his shoulders. He smiled to himself as he heard the intake of breath from one of his companions.

Yet, his pleasure did not last long, because the baby, who had been sleeping most of the day, lifted her head out of the cloth and clicked her disquiet at no longer being against his chest. Drekken felt a twinge of guilt too as his magic shifted without her tiny presence close to his heart.

"I won't be long," he promised, placing her carefully on the flat boulder, and, all tease gone, he unclipped his collar, took hold of his body suit in both hands and pulled it down.

It peeled off him easily and, following that with his standard-issue briefs, he then strode rapidly into the water and ducked right under the surface. The pool was chilly, but so refreshing after the sticky feel the climb had left him with, that he stayed under and let the current tug gently at his scalp. His aching muscles relaxed in the slow movement of water and he would have groaned if he'd been above the water. However, slowly his contentment was replaced by a nagging anxiety and Drekken surfaced a little frustrated. It was then he heard the urgent chirrups and whines that told him where the anxiety was coming from. Now aware that the emotion was not his own, Drekken waded over to where the rock stood at chest height and reassured his young charge, "It's okay, Baby."

He shook his head and showered the tiny dragon in droplets of water. She screeched, but then shook her head back at him, and, as he leant down and accepted a nuzzle at his cheek, the shots of delight let him know that his tease had had the desired effect. However, tuts from behind him reminded Drekken that he wasn't alone and he turned to see Malachi and Yakov, still lazing against their own rock, shaking their heads and trying to look superior.

"Barely one day and she has the big bad soldier wrapped around her tiny little wing," Malachi disparaged, but ended up smiling broadly.

"No discipline, that's the problem," Yakov agreed gravely, hiding his grin behind his hand.

Drekken turned back to his little charge and told her, "Ignore them, Baby D."

However, after the two difficult days, it was time to let off some steam in the safety of the cave and, dropping his right hand below the water, Drekken let his dragon fire build up in the palm of his hand. His natural control of the magical flame was much smaller than when he used his implants in combination with his gauntlets, but he had trained without them and his fingers tingled as he felt the fire form between them. The water steamed, but under his direction, the fire resisted the natural extinguisher and, with a flick of his wrist, he sent the orb sailing just under the surface, right at his taunters. He turned only when he heard Yakov squeal and he was in time to see the two youths part and dive, one onto the beach and the other into deeper water. Drekken had intended on exploding the orb of fire close enough to make the youths wince, however, since they had vacated the area, he brought the flames back under control and, showing off again, brought it up hissing and sizzling to rest on the surface of the water.

Drekken liked the feel of magic running under his skin, something that his implants, in their efforts to make things more efficient, sometimes hid. Dragon fire was the oldest gift bestowed by the bonding of human and dragon and Drekken dallied a while in the experience, sinking his senses into the impossible ball of flames licking at the water. The mock attack over, Drekken was vaguely aware of Malachi and Yakov closing in on the spectacle, but it wasn't until he felt the tongues of fire begin to weaken that he let them go and he blinked at two awed faces as his equilibrium expanded back to the real world. His raw magic was something intimate that he normally only shared with Miri and, feeling exposed by his indulgence, Drekken scooped Baby D off her rock and splashed his way out of the pool. He sat down on the far side of the fire from the others and cradled the infant to him.

Silence followed him and he felt foolish, but then Yakov asked quietly from the pool, "Drekken, are you alright?"

Then he felt really foolish and he laughed, but did not have a clear reply for his companions. He was not surprised when Yakov padded out of the water and crouched down on the opposite side of the hearth, arms resting on his knees and expression openly concerned. Drekken didn't have much choice but to look into the youth's blue gaze and eventually he had to say something.

"Blame it on hormones," he threw out flippantly and scratched Baby D's head.

The infant shivered and made a funny little sound at the back of her throat and ripples of pleasure ran through Drekken. He concentrated on the child, expecting a scoff from Yakov. However, there was silence, which made looking up again compulsory, and he was met with the same considering stare.

"You might be right," Yakov finally revealed his thoughts.

"I was joking," Drekken replied quickly, trying to stifle a small shot of anxiety that there was something affecting him.

"Still, it would explain how moody you were yesterday," Yakov shrugged.

That floored Drekken for a few seconds, but then he spotted a twitch at the corner of the youth's mouth and he realised he was being teased for a second, more subtle time.

"Cheeky Ba-," Drekken began, but Yakov held up a hand and waggled a finger at him, interrupting, "Ah, ah, ah, children present."

The youth chuckled then, which was annoyingly endearing and Drekken felt a smile forming on his face without his conscious consent. Keeping Baby D cradled on his lap with one arm, Drekken lifted the other and threatened, "Lightly roasted I think."

However, he kept his palm facing away from Yakov, a precaution drummed into him from his very early training, and let a gentle flame dance over his fingers for a second. Yakov didn't even move, just grinned at him and settled his chin on his arms.

"You've spent too much time around dragons," Drekken observed, relaxing and then wincing as his shoulder complained when he returned his hand to his lap.

"And you're in pain," Yakov returned, amusement falling away and concern coming back to his expressive eyes.

"Just a damaged muscle," Drekken shrugged and regretted it.

Yakov's response was surprisingly positive: he smiled and stood up and announced as he walked around the fire, "Now that I can help with."

"It's okay," Drekken dismissed, a little uncomfortable with letting a relative stranger near.

That did not deter Yakov, and was also the catalyst for Malachi to exit the pool, dragons in tow.

"He's very good with his hands," Malachi offered, sitting down in the position Yakov had vacated, and the smile he sent Drekken was not an innocent one.

The dragons all found their own places round the fire, and, hemmed in, Drekken had nowhere to go when Yakov sunk down behind him. The youth hissed through his teeth and then ran a light finger down the right side of Drekken's spine.

"You have bruising all down here," Yakov told him and Drekken shivered. "Is this where your wings are?"

"One of them," Drekken replied, shifting a little under the scrutiny, "and they're called gliders."

"How do they disappear like that, there's only a faint line?" Yakov was revealing himself to be a curious sort.

"You'd have to ask a tech that; I only use them," Drekken fobbed his helper off, growing more uncomfortable.

"Yakov, help," Malachi interrupted the questioning with an earnest glare at Yakov.

"Sorry, I also talk too much," Yakov responded immediately and then asked, "Do you have any ointment, or oil in your belt?"

"Left front," Drekken replied and then nodded gratefully to Malachi.

Drekken found himself being observed again, by Malachi this time, as Yakov busied himself finding the first aid kit. Malachi was older than Yakov, Drekken judged, and wiser if the considering look in his darker eyes was anything to go by. He had been trained to observe and he had watched the youths all day. Malachi was the clear leader of the pair, a much stronger character, and he cared for Yakov very deeply. The only person Drekken held in that kind of regard was Miri and, his curiosity raised, he asked, "So what led you two into the mountains?"

Malachi blinked at him, apparently surprised by the question and, realising he was intruding, Drekken explained himself quickly, "I mean, I know empaths often look after young dragons because of the use of emotions before they learn to thought-speak, but why in the middle of nowhere?"

Drekken fell silent, having caught himself out for the umpteenth time that evening, and Malachi regarded him with surprise. However, before he could feel even more awkward, Malachi smiled and replied, "After his bond-mate died, Master Besthan came up to the mountains to go wild."

That wasn't the start Drekken had expected, but made sense, many dragons who lost bond-mates, especially early in life, returned to the dragon country to retreat from society.

"But he found an abandoned nest on his second night on the slopes and one of the eggs hatched," Malachi's smile widened at what had to have been an often told story. "He tended the child and brought her down to Willendorf. When people heard about what he had done, they brought other orphans to him and he decided to dedicate his life to helping the children. He couldn't do it alone, so he started training empaths as well."

"And why did you two volunteer?"

"We're orphans too," Yakov replied rather more quickly than Malachi was expecting if the flash of disquiet in the young man's eyes was anything to go by, but Yakov barrelled on before Drekken, or Malachi could respond, "Now, this is going to hurt, but it will feel better soon."

A hand came down on his shoulder and fingers dug into the spot between his shoulderblade and his spine and then Drekken saw stars as pain lanced out from the injury site. He tensed, shuddered and then went embarrassingly weak, falling backwards against Yakov's chest. He fought the collapse, but Yakov tightened the hold on his shoulder and told him, "Stay still, deep breaths, let it happen."

The pain receded in successive waves of trembling and Drekken could do nothing but obey his holder. His muscles were tingling by the time his strength began to return and then Yakov gently pushed him forward and began to massage the same spot he had attacked. It was still sore, but his shoulder relaxed with an ease that had been missing since his fall. The feeling was almost orgasmic and, closing his eyes, Drekken actually groaned.

"I told you he was good," Malachi murmured and sent messages to other parts of Drekken's body as well.

"So you're orphans," Drekken tried to clear his head and avoid any embarrassing reactions, especially with Baby D in his lap.

When he opened his eyes, the vision of Malachi all dark, wet bangs and dark eyes staring at him did not help his concentration, but Yakov, at least, kept on talking.

"We've been together since I was three and Mal was four. My mum couldn't cope with me, not with three other kids, so she gave me up and Mal took me under his wing at the group home. No-one wanted a couple of kids who could read minds, at least that's what they all thought, so we stuck it out until we were sixteen and then we saw an article about Master Besthan and he agreed to train us."

Yakov gave out the information very freely as he continued to massage Drekken's back, but there was more pain in Malachi's eyes, which made Drekken wonder how much he had shielded Yakov from.

"That was nearly three years ago..."

Yakov sounded like he was going to go on, but Malachi stepped in and asked quickly, "And you, how did you land up in our village?"

Drekken laughed to himself and, partly because of the lovely endorphins Yakov had released into his system, and partly because he owed his companions for Yakov's honesty, he admitted, "I fell off my dragon."

"Fell off?" Malachi checked, his face breaking into a grin.

"It happens; wouldn't need gliders otherwise," Drekken shrugged and then groaned again as his movement set off another wave of shivers.

Drekken gave in to the sensations and let his head loll forward. The fire was warming his bones, the massage was relaxing his muscles and the tension that had been keeping him alert began to fail him. He blinked at Baby D, who was nestled in her sling in his lap and she moved in and out of focus. She sniffed at him and then dropped her head over her hind-quarters and closed her eyes and Drekken's next blink took longer than it should have. There was something more at the back of his mind to carry on the conversation, but the last tremble had taken away all his energy and he couldn't bring his thoughts forward. His next blink didn't finish at all and he was left listening to the wispy crackling of the dragon fire over the stones. It was a very soothing sound, and, coupled with the lovely sensations in his body, he let it take over and the world drifted away.

~

Drekken woke up because his nose twitched and his stomach rumbled and his senses focused in on the wonderful scent of cooked rabbit. There was something soft behind his head and he was half propped up and he stretched instinctively. His shoulder ached a little, but it was not the much reduced pain that then woke him more quickly, it was a start of alarm when he realised that his movement met resistance. However, he opened his eyes first and any further reaction came to a stunned and conflicted halt, because it was not Feras binders that were holding him, it was dragon. Baby D was still curled up in his lap fast asleep, but sometime since Drekken had fallen asleep, she had been joined by all five of her fellow orphans.

Ghemas was lying partly on the rock against which Drekken was propped, but her front quarters and head were draped down over his right shoulder. Keril was tucked between his right arm and his hip, lying over his wrist and Renar had the whole left side of his torso pinned with just head and one leg. Isthy and Misthy, the Sandy twins, finished his sleeping restraints draped over his thighs and shins respectively.

His movements so far had not awoken the sleeping children, but Drekken stilled completely, uncomfortable with becoming a human pillow, but at the same time not wanting to wake the hatchlings. Malachi was kneeling at the edge of the fire, slicing up their dinner and Drekken appealed to him in a whisper, "Hey."

The youth looked up and smiled, but continued unhelpfully with his task.

"Sleep well?" breath and sound touched his ear and made Drekken shiver and shift as a mixture of surprise and pleasure skittered out from the contact.

Ghemas grumbled in her sleep at the sudden movement, but did not wake and Drekken relaxed again, gingerly turning his head to find Yakov lying supine over the rock ledge to the left of his head. The young man gave him an upside down smile and, almost cheek to cheek and still a little sleepy, Drekken forgot about the dragons for a moment and lost himself in those blue eyes.

"I seem to be pinned down by dragons," Drekken eventually forced himself to speak, because much more of the teasing that had been going on since he had sealed them in the cave and his reaction would not be suitable for children.

"You give off dragon vibes," Yakov returned in the silkiest voice Drekken had ever heard.

From the dilation in Yakov's pupils, it was clear that, although that comforted the hatchlings, it did something entirely different to his friend.

"Why are you flirting with me?" Drekken decided to be blunt.

Yakov's grin grew wider and Drekken heard Malachi snort a laugh, but he concentrated on Yakov, playing with the nice feelings that the youth's attention generated in him.

"Don't you like it?" Yakov skirted the question, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

"You are spoken for," Drekken retorted quietly, so as not to wake the youngsters, but his tone suggested rather more of what he was feeling than any reproof.

"So?"

It was Malachi who spoke then and caught Drekken's attention. He glanced at the youth, who stood up and walked around the fire to Yakov's ledge, holding Drekken all the way with what Drekken was discovering could be a very sultry set to his features for one so young. It had been a long time since Drekken had been taken in by a handsome face, let alone two of them, and he was close to blaming Baby D's effect on him for his unguarded reactions. Yet, the feeling was nice, if disconcerting.

Drekken followed with his eyes as Malachi, now half dressed in just his tunic trousers, crossed over to Yakov's ledge and sat down on the edge. Yakov was still completely naked and Malachi ran a hand over his companion's stomach, causing Yakov to close his eyes, arch his neck and make the most delicious noise. Drekken couldn't see the whole movement from his position, which made what he could see and hear all the more tantalising as now his reasons for hoping the babies did not wake became less altruistic.

"Don't tell me a worldly flier like you is restricted by pair-thinking," Malachi teased as Yakov continued to rumble his appreciation of the stroking.

Drekken just drew in a very long breath at that and Malachi smiled at him.

"We always come as a pair," Yakov surprised Drekken by turning his head and fixing him with a dilated-pupils stare and the double entendre had the desired effect.

"I'm sure you do," Drekken returned, giving the youths his sexiest smile.

The back of Drekken's mind reminded him he was a baby dragon cushion, which kept his reactions in check, but the rest of him sunk into the second tease of the evening where at least his mind could play and he knew how to play with empaths. Drekken didn't consider himself to have an overly dirty mind, not more so than any other male, anyway, but he did not need any more encouragement from his titillating companions to conjure up that innuendo in his head and he let his arousal build. He knew it would not be long before physical followed mental, which would mean an end to the game, but Drekken indulged his libido and was pleased by the way Malachi's position slouched a little and that heavy gaze glazed over and Yakov was open-mouthed with desire.

"Not so restricted then," Malachi managed, but his eyes had become hooded as he soaked up Drekken's potent projection.

"You know nothing about me," Drekken lazily challenged the older youth's opinion.

However, it was Yakov who responded to that, rolling over and then Drekken's vision was full of the blond's upside down face.

"We know that you took on two complete strangers and a bunch of babies when it would have been much easier for you to get over these mountains on your own," Yakov told him earnestly and before Drekken could respond about duty, continued, "and that you made a leap of faith to save the life of a child, and that you gave us all your rations when we were hungry, and..."

It sounded like Yakov was going to go on all night, which, although flattering, was not the moment Drekken wanted to remember. His desire and the practical method for shutting Yakov up coincided when Drekken went with his gut, strained his neck up and pressed his lips hard against Yakov's. Starts of excitement met his action and morphed into a rush of pleasure as Yakov, after an initial freeze, pushed Drekken back down against the rock. It felt strange being upside down, but Yakov's lips were just as vital as Drekken's imagination had been hoping and the helpless moan that broke through the kiss stroked his ego as well as his libido.

De to the fact he was pinned down by dragons, Drekken lost control of the kiss, which was an unusual experience, but Yakov knew how to use his lips, teeth and tongue, so Drekken had no complaints. However, the physical encounter was not localised to his mouth and Drekken felt other parts of his body stirring. If he had not been naked, he would not have been so concerned, but the cloth of Baby D's sling would not conceal his arousal from the children, so, reluctantly and with slightly more force than he was intending, he broke the kiss and, breathing hard, sat forward.

With such a dramatic movement, the inevitable happened, and young eyes began to open. Yakov looked disappointed, Malachi slightly amused, but Drekken shot them an apologetic wink before he began to extricate himself from waking hatchlings.

"Sorry, guys," he told them gently, "it's dinner time."

That caused Renar at least to wake up rather more quickly and, as soon as he could move his arm, Drekken leant over and grabbed his flight suit. Then as Keril also shifted, he scooped up Baby D with his other hand and slid the more substantial material over his lap. Malachi laughed and headed round the fire to the rabbit, but Yakov whined and collapsed onto his back. Drekken didn't dare look to check how much Yakov had been enjoying things, but he guessed from the sounds his companion was making that the answer was, considerably.

~

Drekken stood by the edge of the wood and surveyed the ravine up which they had travelled. Four days since they had set out up into the mountains and no sign of any pursuers did not mean he could let his guard down, but it did mean he was a little happier letting the group relax in the shelter of the trees at the head of the valley. He turned to see Keril tumble over her own feet as she played chase with Renar and he had to smile. The hatchlings were holding up surprisingly well, Renar leading their little group, and Drekken admired their resilience.

Liittle D, as well, was growing stronger each day feeding on Drekken's magic. Cradling the sling with his left arm was now a habitual position and the child's presence in his magic and his mind had become a comfort on the difficult journey. His reactions were still baffling him at times, and he was coming to the conclusion that Yakov had only been half teasing about his hormones, but, hormone influence or not, of one thing he was very sure, the baby in his care had become worth more to him than life itself.

D was restless, turning around in her carrier and clicking to herself from time to time. It was behaviour Malachi had assured him was a good sign, but it also normally signified something and Drekken only realised what it was when Yakov walked over to him, hooked a hand under his arm and, pulling him towards the others, told him, "Lunch time."

He was hungry.

Drekken let himself be led, still also vaguely conflicted by his reaction to Yakov. There had been no safe haven opportunity for a repeat of their encounter in the cavern, but sexual attraction was only part of a developing set of emotions that Drekken harboured for the young empath. Yakov was an open book, his honesty almost verging on naiveté, but it made him endearing and Drekken could understand what had drawn Malachi to protecting him. He caught himself smiling again as Yakov dragged him down in front of their lunch and then leant against him as he reached for some frugelberries.

Malachi raised an eyebrow from the other side of the food he had laid out, but he was smiling and Drekken just rolled his eyes. Yakov remained oblivious to the silent moment the two other men shared and busied himself by passing out food to the dragons and stuffing his own face with the sweet berries.

Malachi had proved himself to be a proficient hunter with Drekken's side arm and there was cold pheasant from the night before as well as nuts and berries for lunch. When his mouth wasn't full, Yakov did enough talking for all of them, and so Drekken just nodded his thanks to Malachi as he took a mixture of the three foods. However, he did not get a chance to pass any of them to his mouth, because D's head appeared from inside her sling and she chirruped at him and then sniffed the air.

"You want some?" he chuckled as the baby strained her neck to see what was in his hand and then lowered his lunch for her inspection, adding, "You won't like it."

A wisp of tongue flicked out at a flugelberry, but very quickly D then reared back and made a hissing noise.

"You don't approve then," Drekken concluded with a snort and, almost as though she were old enough to understand him, Baby D snorted back and then clicked her distaste up at him.

Drekken responded this time by rolling air over his tongue and trilling quietly at the baby. Almost instantly, she lifted her head up and trilled gently back at him and Drekken felt his magic rise. He lowered his face to the little dragon and nuzzled the side of her head, varying the pitch of his sound and enjoying the waves it generated in his connection to his charge. However, when he raised his head again, he found he was being viewed with surprise by his companions.

"Where did you learn to dragon sing?" Malachi asked.

Drekken grinned at the impressed looks in both youths' faces and replied, "My mother taught me, I think she secretly wanted me to follow in her footsteps."

"Your mother?" Malachi checked, clearly dubious. "There are only perfect-bonded Dragon Singers and immortals can't have children."

"I have 3 mothers, two dragons and one human, I was adopted when I was two," Drekken explained, realising he had never mentioned his history before.

"So you're an orphan, like us?" Yakov sounded almost pleased at the connection.

Drekken nodded, tossed some berries into his mouth and then replied a little messily, "My birth mother was a flier and my father was personal assistant to Orin, one of my dragon mothers. She and her bondmates adopted me after my parents were killed in the Tarang Quake."

"But that was only six years ago," Yakov looked confused, "and you're what, thirtyish, not eight."

Alarm sliced down Drekken's spine as he realised there was something else he had not mentioned and he saw Malachi's face go cold with shock.

"He doesn't mean that quake, 'Ako," Malachi replied and Drekken's heart fell at the sound of disquiet in the youth's voice; there was a reason he didn't discuss his past much.

"But the last one was..." Yakov's face went from cheerful to wide-eyed shock and he murmured the last few words, "nearly four hundred years ago."

"You're not 'a' Drekken, you're 'the' Drekken, aren't you?" Malachi almost accused and then revealed he knew his history with, "General of the First Rank, Defeater of the Illosian Empire."

"I don't use those titles," Drekken responded, but his words sounded lame compared to the barriers that had suddenly gone up between him and his new friends and, not for the first time, he hated the baggage that came with the rare perfect dragon bond that, rather than extending his life by decades, had extended it indefinitely.

"Your dragon is Yeni Miri," Malachi continued.

Yet, he did not get a chance to list Miri's titles, because Yakov let out a gasp of horror, stood up and ran for the trees. Malachi immediately moved to stand, but Drekken was faster. He did not want the revelation to destroy the friendships that had been growing and he held up his hand to Malachi and began to move off after Yakov. He hoped Malachi had understood, because the empath did not follow and he concentrated on his fleeing companion.

It would have been dangerous to call out, even with no sign of the Feras nearby, but Drekken discovered that rocky canyon wall had done the job of stopping Yakov in his tracks when he caught up with the youth.

"Yakov, what's wrong?" Drekken began, coming to a cautious halt a few feet away.

The youth looked like a startled rabbit, panic in his eyes and he scanned the area quickly.

"You run, I'll follow you, and I'm faster than you," Drekken warned quickly, not wanting to risk another chase.

Yakov backed up against the rock wall, his distress obvious and Drekken tried again more softly, "Tell me what is wrong, Yakov."

"You're one of The Chosen," Yakov began, his voice trembling.

Silence; Drekken could see more behind Yakov's pained expression and so he waited.

"You deserve respect and honour."

"I've never been much for that," Drekken forced a smile as his own emotions did somersaults in response to Yakov's panic. "That's the reason I lead a squadron now and not an army, couldn't deal with the politics."

"But, but," Yakov stammered, "you're important and revered and I'm a nobody and I, and I..."

Drekken didn't want to hear any more.

"I'm not a god," he snapped, uncomfortable and prickling with embarrassment.

Yakov dropped his gaze then, close to tears and Drekken moved. He shifted Baby D's sling to his side, walked quickly up to Yakov and pulled him into an embrace. Yakov went rigid, but Drekken held him with one arm and lifted his chin with the other until he was looking into the young man's terrified features.

"I shouldn't have been so forward," Yakov sounded like he was trying to apologise and for the first time Drekken could see clearly the insecurities that life had handed the youth.

Yakov tried to look away again and so Drekken took hold of both sides of his face and held him still. Looking directly into Yakov's fear, Drekken found an honest smile this time as he replied, "You are one of the most beautiful people I have ever met."

Yakov stilled then, the flight response draining out of him under Drekken's steady gaze. There was still insecurity left and Drekken wanted to answer that.

"May I kiss you?" he requested.

Yakov opened his mouth, but nothing came out and only when Drekken dropped his hands to the youth's shoulders was he given the ghost of a nod. Slowly then, he pushed Yakov's shoulders back against the rock face and lowered his face in. He brushed his lips lightly against Yakov's, enjoying the start of pleasure the touch sent down his spine and then he brought back the memory of that first kiss to the front of his mind. It was still a heady recollection and he let it run through his body like a physical thing. Yakov shivered, breath tight; Drekken knew he had been sensed and so he waited again. It took only a few seconds and then Yakov pushed back. The youth was shivering and his press of lips felt desperate, so Drekken took the response calmly, forcing his movements to be slow and deliberate.

Drekken rubbed his whole body against Yakov's and ran his palms down Yakov's sides as he opened his mouth and flicked his tongue at the lips touching his own. Yakov's trembles had made the youth feel out of control, but at his invitation, Drekken discovered that Yakov had had himself on a tight rein, because suddenly he was enveloped in his slender companion. Yakov's arms ran round him, pulling him even closer and one leg hooked around his hip and buttocks, practically climbing him. The weight he had to take barely registered for his augmented body, but the need that went with Yakov's touch flooded Drekken with the urge to protect that had been growing in him since meeting the empaths. The feeling was as potent as the sexual attraction Yakov's handsome face and fine body generated in him and Drekken could not control his own shivers.

~

Yakov was watching him again; Drekken could feel the youth's eyes on his back as he led the party through what had turned from the head of a wooded valley into a forested canyon. They had parted after just a few minutes of kissing, but still Yakov's attention on him sent starts of delight out through Drekken and he knew he was more attached to his friend than he had been to any human in a long time. Immortality had made him cautious about relationships, since he had seen too many partners age and die, but he knew denying what Yakov inspired in him was a lost cause.

However, since they had returned to the others, the atmosphere had been strange, in no little way due to the fact that there was still a wall between him and Malachi and a largely silent lunch had not been able to rid them of it. Drekken was therefore not surprised when he found the older empath falling in beside him and he glanced across at Malachi's serious profile.

"You do realise Yakov has you on a pedestal now?" Malachi began quickly, his voice low.

Drekken checked over his shoulder to where Yakov was carrying Keril and talking to the other dragons. Yakov smiled brightly and rolled his eyes before wagging his head at Malachi's back and Drekken winked back. However, he straightened again when returning his attention to Yakov's scowling protector and agreed, "I am aware of that."

"And you've seen how vulnerable he can be."

Drekken nodded again, not wanting to interrupt what Malachi had been working up to.

"He was thrown away when he was a kid, no-one wanted him. If you hurt him, I'll kill you."

Drekken started walking more quickly then and took Malachi by the arm, moving him along with him. He put a little distance between them and the slowly moving youngsters and then stopped, turning to face the hostility in his friend.

"I have no intention of throwing him away, nor you either," he assured.

"We've heard that before," Malachi dismissed immediately and tried to pull his arm out of Drekken's hand.

Yet, Drekken wasn't finished, and he clamped down on the empath's bicep.

"I don't make promises I don't intend to keep," Drekken said, emphasising every word.

Yet, the promise did not have the desired effect, in fact, Malachi's expression darkened and he huffed repeatedly. The strong, defensive stare was gone, and the youth's gazed danced around Drekken's face, but did not look him in the eye. Malachi was still trying to free his arm, but Drekken refused to let go. Eventually his persistence was answered.

"You can't have him," Malachi snarled, his tone low and hurting.

Drekken was slightly stunned by the accusation, since the tease from the two empaths in the cave had been worked in such perfect tandem that he has not even considered pursuing just one of them. He paused, now recognising jealousy when he saw it. Malachi stilled as well, confused by Drekken's silence.

"I don't want him, not without you," Drekken sighed and faced the second of his realisations that day.

Malachi looked so young then, his dark eyes uncertain and confused.

"But you've been flirting with him all the time," Malachi revealed he was the watching kind.

Drekken chuckled and dismissed, "That's because Yakov is easy to flirt with."

"But," Malachi began, hackles rising a little again.

"But you're harder work," Drekken stole his words and risked a tease, before leaning forward and whispering in the youth's ear, "and so worth it."

He let go this time when Malachi pulled away and stepped back, because he caught his friend with a heady look instead.

"You come as a pair," Drekken recalled the innuendo to underline his more serious promise.

Eventually, Malachi nodded.

"Great, all sorted, can we keep going now?" Yakov made them both jump as he walked straight between them and Keril chittered at them over Yakov's shoulder as the youth strode on up the slope.

Renar came to a halt between them and looked up from man to man enquiringly. This caused a tail back of dragons, since Renar filled the space between them and so there were shortly four wondering faces staring at them.

"Are we alright?" Drekken took the bull by the horns, since it didn't look like Malachi was going to speak any time soon.

There was a slight colour to Malachi's cheeks when, much to Drekken's relief, he nodded again. Drekken knew there was more talking to be done, but it would have to wait until they found somewhere safe for the night, so, with his own respectful incline of the head, he then turned and followed Yakov.

~

"What's it like being bonded to a dragon?"

Drekken smiled to himself; Yakov had been walking just behind him for a little while and he had been waiting for a question. Still, he had to think for a moment and he slowed to allow Yakov to catch up properly.

"Probably a lot like you and Malachi," he eventually replied and glanced behind where Malachi was a few not so discrete feet away.

Yakov cocked his head to one side questioningly, but did not ask again. Drekken considered his words carefully and then decided he could kill two birds with one stone.

"Malachi is the most important person in the world to you, you would do anything for him," Drekken did not really ask, he more stated, but then waited.

Yakov nodded earnestly as he had hoped and Drekken responded quickly, "That is how I feel about Miri. She is part of me and I am part of her."

Yakov nodded his understanding again and they fell silent for a few paces. However, there was enquiry in the air, and Drekken wasn't surprised when Yakov struck up again, "So do you share everything?"

The question was asked openly with Yakov's usual lack of inhibitions, but there was something else in his tone that made Drekken glance over again. Yakov had his eyebrows raised in enquiry, which was rather too much of the 'look at me, I asked the question' and so Drekken looked back at Malachi. Drekken had left the two youths to talk together since his exchange with Malachi and now he could see the fruits of that conversation on the colour on Malachi's cheeks.

"Not completely," Drekken replied directly to Malachi, who looked sheepish at what had to have been a primed question and then he returned his attention to Yakov, who still had the over the top expression on his face and added, "but we hide nothing."

"Do you always like the same things?" came the next, even less subtle question and Drekken thought he heard Yakov in that one.

"No," Drekken decided to be honest and since direct was always best with Yakov, he added, "Miri once tried to incinerate one of my lovers."

"Incinerate?" Yakov checked and his eyes widened in concern.

"They came to terms in the end," Drekken shrugged, "and she apologised, but the hair never did grow back."

Yakov put his hand on his head and Drekken didn't have the heart to tell him the hair he was referring to had been much lower down.

"Does she do that a lot, try to incinerate people?" Yakov dug a little more, still looking worried.

"Only if she's really annoyed. She tanned my arse once, couldn't sit down for a week," Drekken laughed, but rubbed his rump in sympathetic memory.

That made Yakov smile, even if it was somewhat nervously and it was Malachi who spoke up next.

"What made you decide to bond?"

There was no simple answer to that and Drekken knew the sound of someone who had thought about it as well. It was not a conversation to be had with his back to Malachi and so Drekken led them all over to a shaded clump of trees and sat down. Malachi and Yakov sunk down opposite him, leaning on each other, and the dragons arranged themselves as they pleased between and around them.

"It was not a quick decision," Drekken began as he cast his mind back centuries. "I knew that if I bonded, it would be a perfect bond."

Malachi looked surprised, but Yakov showed no sign of realising the significance of such a predetermination.

"How did you know?"

"My human mother, Wen, she has a sense for these things," Drekken revealed a secret he hoped his mother would not mind.

"And you still decided to bond?" Malachi revealed he was wiser than his years in recognising the burden of immortality.

Drekken smiled, a little sadly: he had regrets, but not many.

"I didn't go looking for a bond, but when Miri and I met at the Academy, it was instantaneous, we just fitted together. Still, I told her what I knew and we resisted rushing into a bonding. It was so hard," Drekken sighed and shook his head as the turmoil of that time came back to him. "Miri told me her magic would flare every time I came near. In the end, it was bond or go as far away as possible from each other, and we couldn't face that."

"What did it feel like?" Yakov had a wistful expression on his face.

Baby D chose that moment to lift her head out of her sling and Drekken cradled her more closely as he tried to find the words.

"Until her," he nodded down at the little dragon, "I would have said I felt complete."

Yakov looked like he might burst at that admission; Malachi was just thoughtful. It was time to pose his own questions about Malachi's thoughts on bonding and Drekken opened his mouth. However, the pause between speaking was suddenly cut by the crack of wood under pressure and, all thought of conversation was drowned by alarm. Drekken scanned the immediate area, there was no sign of anyone yet, but he knew they had to be close, so, quickly, he stood up and, dragging Malachi and Yakov to their feet, pulled them towards a thicket. Dragons and humans dived behind the cover and Drekken crouched still and watched the direction from which the warning sound had come. What he saw made his heart fall and his magic rise.

Five Feras warriors in full battle armour stalked into view. The helmets were not a good sign, they would have infra-red visors and very shortly, Drekken knew that he and the dragons especially would be glowing for their pursuers.

"Spread out, the trail is still hot, they have to be close. I want the dragons alive, the others: do what you have to," the lead warrior ordered and waved his soldiers in either direction.

It would only take one scan their way and Drekken knew they'd be found, so, with a quick set of hand signals, he indicated to his companions to take one direction while he went the other and then he started to remove Baby D's sling. However, the child clicked at him in alarm and he could feel her fear beginning to form at his urgency. Anymore and she would give them away, so Drekken dropped her back against his chest and, rubbing her belly through the cloth, pulled it over her head. He glanced at Malachi and Yakov, who nodded their understanding to him and then, letting his magic rise, Drekken turned and crept away from his charges.

He kept low, using the shady patches as his cover and aimed for a tree partially behind the Feras leader and the two warriors who were still in sight. Pulling in his magic, he lifted his arm and aimed at his enemy. He did not like ground combat, not having Miri under him made him feel exposed and nervous, but there was no choice but to engage. However, before he could let off a fireball, he heard the ground crunch again behind him and, turning and ducking instinctively, a laser blast slammed into the tree right above his head. He let off a blast of flame in retaliation, but it was not very accurate and his opponent dived away.

Shouts came from several directions then and Drekken took on the role of bait. Hoping to give his friends time to hide, he let off a volley of small fireballs towards the Feras commander and then ran in the opposite direction to his charges. He ran towards sunlight, hoping to pick up as many of the searchers as possible and he heard the breaking of undergrowth from at least two directions as he charged into the clearing ahead. It was bigger than he expected and he cursed at the spread of grasses ahead, but disappearing was not an option, not until Malachi and Yakov had got the little ones away, and so, zigzagging, he started out across the open ground, firing a couple of lines of flames down through the dry meadow behind him to try to distract his pursuers.

However, the distraction was not enough, because Drekken heard the whine of a laser pistol going off and then pain erupted out of his thigh. His leg collapsed under him and he went pitching forward, only a quick twist of his body stopping him from landing on Baby D. He heard her squeal at the sudden descent, but the sling held her safe. The sound of armour crashing through undergrowth behind him meant that Drekken did not have time to consider the pain that was making him see stars, instead, with combat trained stamina, he put one arm over his vulnerable charge, rolled onto his back and aimed his hand at the noise. He froze there, poised to attack, but halted by the fact that a laser was pointing directly at his chest and D, who was cradled there.

Drekken was trapped: he knew he couldn't walk, not with the lancing pain in his leg, and he could do nothing but hold his defensive position as his enemy advanced on him. He couldn't see the soldier's face, it was hidden by an armoured mask, but Drekken knew hostility and the stalk of victory when he saw it. He hoped forlornly that the boys had escaped the search party with the other little ones.

"Surrender," the metalicised command came at him.

Drekken didn't move. He still had his enemy in his sights, he could fry the man before the laser ended it, and so he gritted his teeth and grimaced at his adversary. D whimpered and he tightened his hold on her. The Feras soldier's head titled just slightly at his move.

"Relinquish the beast and you may live," the next offer came.

Drekken's blood boiled at the derision he heard there and he flexed reactively, failing to contain a growl. His enemy retrained the laser on him for that and they both came to a second halt, further fixed in their stalemate. Drekken glared at his adversary, hoping the agony spreading out from his thigh was not showing in his face and trying to stop a trembling that was growing in his muscles. He knew he could not hold his position for very long, but he was damned if he was going to go down before his time, every moment could count. Despite his defiance, however, the stance of his enemy told Drekken the man knew he was weakening and was merely waiting for his strength to fail.

"Don't defy me, Draco," the soldier warned.

"Go to hell," Drekken snarled back, or at least he tried to, but his teeth were gritted so hard that only a mass of sound came out and the world span as he expended energy.

Drekken blinked and steadied himself, but he knew his vitals were being monitored from within the Feras' helmet. However, their temporary stalemate was broken not by his failure, but by yells of anger and fear from their left and, recognising Yakov and Malachi's voices, Drekken glanced their way. Both empaths, in the grips of Feras soldiers, were marched towards him and Drekken sagged. As soon as he showed weakness, he found his hand kicked to the side and he was forced to the ground as the same boot came down heavily on his gauntleted wrist and the laser was pushed into his face.

D screamed as, for the first time, a stab of fear ran through Drekken and he realised he could not protect the little dragon. Fire rose in his belly, he could feel the dragon inside and he wanted to rip apart the monster who was terrifying his child. Yet rational thought had not escaped him completely and a weapon pointed between his eyes meant he stilled where he was held. He was then ignored for a moment as the Feras looked over to his compatriots and demanded, "Where are the other hatchlings?"

"Gavel and Raker are still looking, Sir," the report came back.

"They're worth 90 hegas a piece, kill those two and get out there looking."

"No!" Drekken reacted instantly, bringing his freehand up to swipe the gun away.

He ignored the ripping pain in his leg and kicked as well and his captor went sprawling. He rolled over, scrabbling towards where Yakov and Malachi were struggling with the lasers being lifted towards them. His damaged leg would not work properly, but he pushed up onto his knees and raised his arm, determined to stop such an atrocity. However, it was not his fireball that exploded on the ground between his friends' attackers, sending all four men sprawling, but one that came flying over his head.

'Stand!' the order sliced through his mind and he recognised Miri.

The presence of his dragon destroyed any stamina Drekken had left and, muscles turning to jelly, he collapsed round onto his back in time to see Miri descending onto the confrontation. She was not alone: his whole squadron were hovering above the clearing and relief flooded through Drekken. The pain was reaching his brain and he had to blink hard to stay focused on his Grey Wing, but he reached out instinctively as Miri landed beside him and dropped his hand onto her nearest foot.

'Hello, My Warrior,' Miri spoke only to him through their contact and he smiled, despite everything that was happening around him.

'Hello, My Dragon,' he replied, the warmth of the greeting pushing the burning away for a moment.

Then Miri's direct presence was gone and Drekken winced when her command, louder than any spoken word came, 'Drop your weapons, or die.'

Drekken was glad when he heard the thud of machinery hitting the grass and, as more of the team landed, fliers leapt off the back of their dragons and closed in on the Feras.

"Two more in the woods," Drekken managed, but he heard his own words slurring, and as he opened his mouth to call out for some of the squadron to go find them, Miri did it for him with, 'Jayce, Luke, go collect.'

He patted her foot in gratitude and then let his eyes slide shut. However, a snort right in his face made him start and he came nose to nose with his dragon.

'Stay with me, Drekken,' Miri ordered, this time for everyone to hear and a body slid down next to him almost immediately.

"We let you out of our sight for a few days, Boss, and you get yourself into shit," MK, their medic identified himself. "The techs are gonna be pissed if you've busted their implants."

Drekken would have grumbled at that, but then MK touched his leg and he flexed involuntarily and grunted as the agony piqued.

"Oh yeah, they're gonna be pissed," was MK's unsympathetic observation, but quickly after that, Drekken felt all sensation disappearing, moving out from the wound site, down to his knee and up to his hip. He sighed in relief and relaxed.

Only as the pain receded did his senses have any room for much else and then he felt Baby D's tiny presence in his mind. Instantly guilty that he had forgotten about his young charge, he reached down and cradled the sling that hid her. She whimpered and her delicate head appeared from under the cloth, eyes blinking with disquiet. Miri drew away a little, giving the infant a chance to lift her head and Drekken watched, suddenly nervous, as dragon met dragon. He completely ignored MK, who was working rapidly on his leg, and held his breath as D slowly looked up. Miri's snout was bigger than the hatchling, but she lowered it slowly back down until she was only a scales' breadth away from the egg-horn on D's nose. Then his dragon surprised Drekken by snorting quite violently at his charge.

D's front legs actually lifted off his chest and Drekken reached to catch her in case she fell onto MK, but he did not have to worry, the little creature flexed back into place and the collection of clicks and chatter she made sounded to him much like a child's chuckle. Bouncing off his chest under her own steam this time, D continued to chatter and bumped her horn with Miri's tough lips. The response from Miri was a mess of emotion that Drekken really didn't understand, it was so rapid, and it left his already addled mind somewhat confused.

'So,' Miri began, just for him once more, 'this is our child.'

Addled his brain might have been, but his thoughts came to a complete halt at that and Drekken stared at his dragon, not sure he had interpreted her thought correctly.

'You think I did not sense it when you bonded with her?' Miri replied to his stunned silence.

Drekken felt his heart speed up and ideas began to form then, none finishing before the next hit him as he tried to take in the implications of what Miri was saying. Miri had never minced her words and the possession in her message was more than clear, but what it meant exactly, Drekken did not know.

"I," he began in words, because his mind would not clear long enough to make sense.

"You need to get to the field hospital, A-SAP" MK interrupted the exchange, patting Drekken on the arm and then speaking into his helmet, "Medi-evac needed at these co-ordinates, three H3's and one D1."

"Six D1's," Drekken corrected MK's assessment and, as if to back him up, he heard Malachi and Yakov calling quietly behind him. "We need to find the other five."

Anxiously, Drekken pushed himself up onto his elbows, but then found a snout and a hand pushing him back into a recumbent position.

"Stay still," MK ordered and then looked up.

Miri's attention was also drawn to the location past the top of Drekken's head and he risked a scold by tipping his crown into the grass and viewing the scene upside down. His anxiety receded when cautiously, several heads appeared between the trees. Renar was, of course, first and it was he who stepped out into the open and began leading the small crocodile of hatchlings over to where Malachi and Yakov were both crouching, holding their arms out. Keril was last: she gave a suspicious sniff of the air and glanced at where the Feras were being held on their knees, helmetless and hands behind their heads. Then Drekken was surprised when, instead of following her brethren to their carers, the little creature stopped and looked at him.

Keril sniffed the air again and observed him with her usual care and then he saw her eyes open wider. The cry that came from her mouth was one of alarm and the hatchling bounded towards him. Similar cries then came from some of the other young ones and suddenly Drekken found his head and shoulders surrounded by small dragons nuzzling at him and mewing worriedly.

"I'm alright," Drekken did his best to reassure the distressed creatures, reaching over his head and stroking them in turn.

"Boss," MK knelt back, arms crossed and lips pursed.

'You are crawling with small fry,' Larak, MK's dragon finished for the pair with something between amusement and disdain.

"We really should never leave him on his own," MK observed to Larak, who was standing a little way off behind him and Drekken laughed as medic and dragon both shook their heads disapprovingly.

Keril was less amused, she let out a snort and stamped her foot, her yellow eyes glaring at the large human and the even larger dragon. No-one needed to be an empath to understand the telling off and MK raised his hands to her.

"Peace, little lady," he offered.

Renar stepped in then, nudged Keril and his shaky little mind-voice told them all, 'Peace.'

"Well done, Renar," Yakov scratched the hatchling leader behind his crest as he knelt down and then Drekken found a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. "Are you alright, Drekken?"

"He will be," MK responded confidently for him, so Drekken just covered the worried hand with his own.

'Been collecting more than just a baby then?' Miri asked and she chose not to direct her words just at him.

That caused a lot of laughter from most of the squadron, who, mortifyingly, were all present, since Jayce and Luke were returning with their final two prisoners. Yakov rapidly went a beautiful shade of pink and Drekken felt his own face heat up, but Malachi, who was standing behind Yakov, just smiled, apparently unabashed by what had been so obvious to Miri.

"Yeni Miri, it is an honour to finally meet you, Drekken has told us about you," Malachi greeted formally and bowed his head.

That really didn't help matters and there were wolf whistles from around the clearing, the loudest from Tarel, who had been trying to set him up with her many brothers since she had joined the squadron four years ago. However, Miri, from the way she raised her neck and offered a slight incline of her head in return, was impressed.

'Masters,' Miri paused and Malachi filled in, "Malachi and Yakov," and then Miri continued, 'the honour is mine.'

"Oo, is he going to propose?" Tarel teased, but Miri and Malachi ignored her and Drekken watched as man and dragon finished their exchange with a long look.

The fact that Miri approved made Drekken feel somewhat better about the truly whirlwind way he had become attached to the two empaths. He opened his mouth to try and express some of that sentiment, but he moved just a little too much as the words were forming and a shot of pain the dampener couldn't stop sliced up his leg and chased his thoughts away. He closed his eyes and tensed with a whine. MK's reaction was unsympathetic and he was reminded, "Stay still."

Drekken had to do as he was told, since all his energy was fast draining away and he relaxed under the watchful eye of a dozen dragons, his squadron and his new friends. His senses did not recover from the disorienting stab of pain and everything turned into a blur after that. He felt loss when the dragons were moved away so the medical team could close in and get him onto the transport, but he was comforted by the feel of Miri close by outside the armoured flier and he point blank refused to let the medics remove little D.

During the journey back to the field hospital, Malachi and Yakov were somewhere close by with the babies, but Drekken was surrounded by medics, so he caught only occasional, misty glimpses of their worried faces. When they landed, even those faces went away as he was whisked off to the treatment centre and then the worst happened, they took D away. Drekken complained as the tiny dragon wailed, but he was in no state to fight those who were trying to help him. He resisted with the last of his strength, but then Miri's voice slipped into him mind, 'I will look after her,' and his stamina ran out. Some people spoke to him, some over him, but Drekken lapsed into a half world, and, eventually, an outside influence encouraged him to sleep.

~

Waking should have been a slow process, his bones and his thoughts felt it, but it was a series of chirrups and annoyed whines that woke him and only then because he recognised their owner as Baby D. His body felt heavy and Drekken opened his eyes to vision that was just blobs of colour, but he recognised his Grey Wing and a small, moving, white bundle that had to be her tiny charge among a selection of other human-sized blobs. His tongue was sticking to the roof of a very dry mouth, so he did not try to speak, but he forced one arm to move with some difficulty and reached out towards his dragons with mind and body. D's response was a shrill whistle of delight and Drekken thought he smiled as Miri moved towards him.

D landed on his chest, placed there gently by Miri and he was then nuzzled under his chin by a tiny, spiny head and on his cheek by a large snout. D purred at him, even though he couldn't co-ordinate his arm to bring it up around her, and she settled quickly into the space just under his chin. Miri remained close and, with his reason for waking gone, Drekken felt the heaviness taking over.

'Sleep, My Human,' Miri whispered in his thoughts and Drekken obeyed.

~

Dragon snoring was more like the sound of a rasp being run over wood, and, living around many of the big reptiles, Drekken was familiar with the noise. However, a fast, high-pitched version was new and the rather cute sound accompanied him out of sleep for a second time. His senses were not so heavy this time, and, although tired, he opened his eyes without the exhausted repression of earlier to discover that D's delicate snout was actually resting on his chin and she was snoring because of the way it tipped her head backwards. The little dragon had slipped down into the cosy spot between his shoulder and neck on the pillows, but with the one resting point on his face, she had him pinned to the bed for fear of waking her.

His limbs were leaden and achy and Drekken wanted to stretch badly, but the somnolent contact welled up so much peace in his chest that his instincts were torn.

'She won't wake,' Miri read him perfectly as she shifted from where she had been sitting beside his bed. 'We have moved her twice for the doctors to monitor you and as long as she remains in contact with you, she remains sound asleep.'

As soon as he was given leave, Drekken stretched and then groaned as it felt like every muscle in his body let him know where it was.

'Gently, Dre, you do not get a full upgrade every day.'

The thought-voice made Drekken wake up quite a lot more, not only because the news of a full implant replacement was a shock, but also because the person who delivered it was not Miri, it was one of his mothers, Orin.

"Ma?" he checked, just in case his senses were fooling him, and he looked past Miri.

"We all came as soon as we heard," his human mother, Wen, drew his attention by taking his hand from the opposite side of the bed to Miri.

It took Drekken a few moments to work out what his mother was saying; it wasn't the first time he'd been hurt in combat, and even an upgrade didn't usually mean his whole family trekked out to see him. However, then he saw the cast of Wen's eyes and he realised she was looking at D.

"It is only a temporary bond," he stammered irrationally, suddenly feeling cornered by the way his mothers and Miri were all looking at him.

Wen apparently ignored that and, patting his hand, told him, "The doctors have said you must rest for a month to let your implants assimilate and then you'll have to undergo the usual six month training to make sure you're familiar with the new functionality."

That information wasn't news, Drekken had had upgrades before and the long rehab was standard procedure. Still, Wen wasn't finished and continued, "You and Miri will be able to stay with us while you train at the academy."

"Academy?!"

That was not standard procedure.

"Of course, where else could you go if you want her grandparents to be part of your child's upbringing? We have discussed this with Miri, and we are all agreed that you must stay with us until the weaning is complete, then it is only logical that you retrain at the academy, since Orin teaches there and it is so close. Until this dreadful war is over, the child will then need her grandparents when both you and Miri return to the front, and of course, that pair of capable young uncles you have found for her, too."

Drekken hadn't spent any more than a few weeks at his mothers' house for more than fifty years, one of the reasons being that, although he loved them all dearly, they never seemed to remember he was an adult, let alone closing in on four hundred years old and they always tried to organise his life. Yet, this time, he held back from objecting as his need for independence was beaten down by consideration of the needs of the tiny creature still snoring in his ear. Coupled with the fact that Miri was not usually one to agree with his mothers, Drekken had to consider what was being said, and, although a small part of him was annoyed with being organised, he had to admit, it made sense.

He had not thought much beyond getting his charges to safety, everything from his protective instincts towards Baby D and his budding attraction to Malachi and Yakov had very much been in the moment, and it seemed that most of the thinking for the future had been done for him.

~

Implants may have allowed him to keep up with a charging dragon and to channel his magic more directly, but until the upgrade had settled, Drekken's body would be lethargic. However, at the same time, his magic would not stop moving as it sought out the updated technology, so, Drekken found himself tired, but restless.

He had been pleased to see his mothers, but glad when they had finally left, since the person he really wanted to talk to was Miri. She had remained largely silent while his mothers had organised him and Drekken was feeling guilty at having saddled her with his choices. She had seemed content enough, in fact, the way she dealt with everything, 'doting' would have been apt, but that did not change the fact that Drekken wanted to apologise for the rush in which everything had happened. However, Miri had been called away as well, to discuss arrangements for Jayce and dragon, Evax, the squadron's seconds in command, to take over while Drekken and therefore Miri were incapacitated. That meant he had been left unable to really sleep, his mind spinning with the ultimate consequences of his fall and with no-one to discuss it with.

Moodily, he huffed and shifted just a little too much, and then he had another reason to feel guilty, because the snoring that had been his constant companion stopped and there was a small mew. D's head, wobbling as her baby muscles failed to hold her still, appeared at the very edge of his vision and she blinked at him.

"Sorry," he greeted, trying not to sound too grumpy, and put out a finger to stroke her nose.

His daughter purred and butted his touch and Drekken's bad mood slipped away. He reached round and lifted her off the pillow and then sat up, adjusting his position slowly before he put her onto his lap. He was watched all the way and when he was comfortable, he went back to the stroking which D liked. The dragon song came naturally after that and Drekken's chest welled with pride as his child chirruped back at him.

However, the song was short-lived, because a knock at the door interrupted father and daughter. Dragons didn't knock, they didn't have the knuckles for it, so Drekken glanced up at the small human door that was hinged within the larger dragon door to his room and, slightly annoyed, called, "Come in."

For a second time that day, his annoyance dissipated, because Yakov's head appeared around the door jar and he was given an unsure look for what he was sure was his fluctuating emotions.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Yakov checked, revealing that Malachi had to behind him.

Drekken shook his head and waved them in with, "No, please, I'm dying of boredom."

Yakov grinned at that admission and pushed open the door. He crossed straight to the bed and wrapped Drekken in a hug that took him by surprise with its ferocity, and he only slowly reached back as he was told, "We're so glad you're alright, you were in surgery for so long Malachi was pulling me down off the walls. You are alright, aren't you?"

Yakov sat back then, perching on the edge of the bed still holding Drekken's shoulders and face flicking between smiles and concern uncontrollably.

"Yes," Drekken reassured, patting the youth's arm and then giving Malachi, who had more sedately come in, closed the door and moved to the foot of the bed, a welcome smile. "I'm fine. It'll just take me a while to get used to the new implants."

Yakov seemed a little soothed by that. However, then his face flashed with something else and Drekken found himself in a second tight hug and Yakov gabbled, "Congratulations: Miri told us you're officially adopting Baby D. You'll be a wonderful father."

Drekken wrapped Yakov in his arms properly when it appeared his friend was staying there for a while and he looked over Yakov's shoulder at where Malachi was observing and smiling. The older youth rolled his eyes. Yakov's mood was infectious and the newness of his choices caught up with Drekken all at once.

"Thank you," he replied sensibly and then broke all his own rules of self-control when he admitted in a rush, "I'm going to need some help with that."

Yakov sat back for a second time, looked down at D and tickled the dragon under her chin. She purred.

"You can count on us," Yakov offered, looking through the wisps of hair that had fallen round his face as he played with D.

"What Yakov doesn't know about weaning dragons isn't worth knowing," Malachi added and winked as he continued, "Which Yakov has already told your mothers."

"Yeni Margren and I were just discussing techniques," Yakov protested, his cheeks colouring, "I didn't say I knew everything."

Drekken chuckled: Margren was definitely the nurturing one of his three mothers. Not that they hadn't all been loving in their own ways, but Margren was the one who had raised him with the help of the servants and a great deal of patience.

"Yakov managed to audition us for jobs at her school without knowing he was doing it," Malachi also laughed, which meant Yakov was an endearing shade of pink.

"Well, she must be impressed," Drekken decided Yakov needed a little ego brushing. "Ma Margren does not let just anyone work with her kids. You do know you'll have to deal with humans as well as dragons, though?"

Yakov nodded and beamed at him, which made the warm feeling he was getting used to whenever Yakov was around run down through him.

"She asked if we'd join her team at the group home looking after the little ones, and she says there's space for our hatchlings," Yakov was almost bouncing when he spoke.

Malachi walked up behind him and put his hands on Yakov's shoulders, at which Yakov settled instantly back against the other youth. The move gave them all a chance to pause and Drekken could still see the ghost of their experience on the two young men.

"Are you both alright?"

Yakov nodded, although his eyes were a little damp and he reached for Malachi's hand.

"We will be," Malachi was more precise. "Everyone has been so kind."

There was a dissatisfaction behind Malachi's gaze and Drekken thought he knew what it was.

"Don't let my mothers bully you, they can be intimidating en masse," he warned, although he said it with a smile.

"Said like a true survivor," Malachi smiled and Drekken knew he'd been understood.

"When Miri joined in this time, I had no chance," Drekken shook his head and scratched D and vented some light-hearted frustration with, "I woke up and found my life had been organised for the next six months."

'Did I hear my name?' Miri's voice slipped into his head and Drekken relaxed a tension in his shoulders he hadn't really known had been there.

'You did,' he replied in kind, which would probably get him a telling off from him doctors, but it felt too good to not share his thoughts with his dragon and he was smiling at the doorway when she came in.

Yakov shot to his feet and greeted, "Yeni Miri."

'Now what did I say about formalities, Yakov?' Miri teased lightly as she walked up the other side of the bed.

"Sorry, Miri," Yakov looked sheepish.

'That's better,' Miri approved and then dropped her snout to D, who squealed and bounced her egg-horn against her mother's.

Drekken didn't really have much hope of containing the burst of love and joy that generated and he reached out to his dragons, laying a shaking hand on either one. His magic naturally swirled with his emotions and he realised quickly why the doctor's had told him not to use it, since his senses began to spin.

'Gently, Dre,' Miri responded, carefully pushing him back onto the pillows and lowering her brow to him.

"I'm alright," he protested, but not very strongly, and sunk into the intimate contact as he pressed his own forehead against hers.

It took a few moments for him to settle and, while he struggled, Miri's influence wrapped around him, offering stability and comfort. Gradually, his shaking stopped and Miri pulled away.

'Thanks,' he hung on to the intimacy for a little longer with his thought-speaking, but then let his magic go and relaxed.

"Who knew - the big bad warrior is a hopeless romantic," Malachi ribbed lightly and reminded Drekken he was in the presence of empaths.

Drekken tried to fix Malachi with a look for that, but it was difficult when the attractive young man's dark eyes were even darker than usual with dilated pupils from Drekken's emotional rush.

'Age, it gets to all of us eventually,' Miri joined in and drew a laugh from Yakov.

"Remember you're two years older than me," Drekken quipped back.

However Miri lifted her chin and raised her crest in disdain, snorted and replied, 'Dragons carry the years far better than humans.'

Since their aging had gradually slowed down and stopped altogether hundreds of years ago, the argument was not exactly logical, but Drekken had learnt nearly as long ago that trying to win a debate with Miri was not worth the effort, so he decided on a new tack. Much to D's delight, he picked her up and held her against his breast bone so that as she raised her head, he could just see her bright eyes.

"Help me out with your mother, D, she's being mean."

Drekken then blew gently in his daughter's face and she reacted with a happy little snort of her own. That had the desired effect on Miri, whom Drekken knew was just as hormonally challenged as him now that their magics were back in sync. Miri huffed a couple of times, but she couldn't resist her daughter any more than Drekken could and he grinned as her crest flattened back over her neck and she nosed D again. However, Miri wasn't quite done with Drekken and she spoke to D, but made sure the rest of them were included with, 'Don't worry, Darling, you'll learn that mother knows best.'

"Hey!" Drekken protested.

'Left to you, our child would not even have a name,' Miri told him, still playing with D.

Drekken instantly opened his mouth to object again, but then shut it, because Miri was right.

"What are you going to call her?" Yakov asked excitedly and then backed rapidly into Malachi when both Miri and Drekken looked up at him.

It was something that had completely passed Drekken by. His daughter was now D in his mind, but the nickname was not an appropriate moniker a dragon in society.

"Do you have any ideas?" Drekken looked to his dragon for her thoughts, since his own mind was blank.

Miri straightened back up, her eyes half-closed in thought.

'We could name her after one of our mothers,' she suggested, but did not feel too sure.

"Which one?" Drekken pointed out the flaw in that one, since he did not want to saddle his child with five names if they could not choose.

'Good point,' Miri acknowledged and then looked at Malachi and Yakov again and asked, 'How does one normally name a child?'

Malachi and Yakov glanced at each other for a moment, clearly nervous of the way Miri was now regarding them and waiting for an answer. Drekken made a mental note to mention that she could be intimidating to those who didn't know her, but kept silent.

"Um," Malachi began, "well, you could name her after someone significant to her birth."

Silence.

"How about Besthana?" Yakov blurted out and then held his breath when Miri looked down on him.

Remembering the grand old bird who had lost his life to protect his daughter and her fellow orphans was an idea that appealed to Drekken.

"What do you think, D?" he addressed his daughter once more.

For a moment, the tiny dragon blinked back at him as though she really was considering his question and then, she sneezed.

###

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Afterword

About Wittegen Press:

Wittegen Press is a small independent publisher of eBooks based in the UK. We publish on many eBook sites. To see our whole catalogue please visit our website.

http://www.wittegenpress.com

About Sophie

Sophie was born with the writing bug in her blood, boring her primary school teachers with pages of creative writing and killing her first typewriter from over use when she was thirteen. She began publishing her work on line while at university where she discovered the internet and fanfiction. It took another decade for Sophie to realise her long-time dream of releasing her own original fiction.

http://www.wittegenpress.com/sophieduncan

