Ha’ven’s Song

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ha’ven maneuvered the transport ship through the thick clouds almost ten kilometers from the royal palace on Valdier. He had left Ceran-Pax several days before with Adalard as his only companion. Only a select few on the planet knew he and Adalard were arriving. He had made the decision after talking extensively with Creon Reykill. Both men had decided it would be prudent if as few people as possible knew of his and Adalard’s presence.

Normally, he preferred traveling alone when he could, but Adalard had insisted on traveling with him. Ha’ven knew that his brother wanted to make sure for himself that Mandra had recovered from the wounds he had suffered while fighting Raffvin and his forces not long ago. His younger brother had taken a shine to the human woman Mandra Reykill had taken as his mate.

Personally, Ha’ven was beginning to think it best to avoid the species. When he had first heard about the females and had met Carmen, Creon’s mate, he had been curious. After all, it wasn’t often that he found himself hanging upside down from a female dragon’s tail, or trapped under a pile of bodies with her sitting on top of him and taking a nice size slice of his hair as a prize.

It was just, the more he was around them, the more he saw the pull they had on the other species and it worried him. He liked his freedom, and while he wouldn’t mind playing with one for a night or two, he had no desire to become entrapped by whatever spell they cast.

He honestly didn’t know what it was about them, but every single one of the Reykill brothers had fallen for one of them. If what Creon told him the other night was true, it wasn’t just the female of the species either.

Ha’ven had been shocked when Creon had informed him that his mother had been claimed by the father of the human female called Trisha. Ha’ven just hoped there weren’t any more of the species running around. If there were, he planned on avoiding them at all possible cost.

“I want to see how Ariel and Mandra are doing,” Adalard commented, breaking into his reverie as he switched on the landing gears. “You should have seen Bahadur trying to sweet talk Ariel away from Mandra.”

“Bahadur?” Ha’ven repeated in surprise, looking at his brother in shock. “That cold bastard wanted Mandra’s human mate for himself?”

Adalard chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I think he is making plans to take a break when all this is over. He was fascinated by her and has been asking me to find out the location of her planet.”

What Adalard didn’t tell his older brother was that Ariel had mentioned a female back on her planet that she thought would be perfect for him as well. He wasn’t interested in anything permanent, like a life mate, but he wasn’t opposed to having a little fun. If this Samara that Ariel was talking about was half as interesting as Ariel, he wouldn’t mind meeting her and exploring the differences between her species and his own for a short period of time.

“Well, tell Bahadur no. I know I mentioned it might be interesting to play with one or two, but I’ve changed my mind about wanting to meet any of them,” Ha’ven said with a shudder. “The last thing we need is a bunch of this human species on our planet. You’ve seen how fast they have brought the Valdier royals to their knees – literally. Creon told me his mate beat him up and Mandra’s knocked him out!”

Adalard’s husky laughter filled the cockpit of the transport at the thought of the tiny females beating up males over twice their size. He joked with Ha’ven about some of the other stories he heard from members of the crew traveling with Mandra. He related tales from Ariel’s collection of pets to his own observations of watching her beat up the traders in the bar on the Spaceport where they had picked him up.

Ha’ven listened with half an ear, wondering what had happened to the huge dragon shifters that could change them. From what Adalard was telling him and from the little that he had seen, there was definitely something about the species that played havoc with his friends and their symbiots.

Hell, even Vox had fallen head over heels for a human female the Antrox had! The damn cat-shifter was as deadly as any of them and known to like having his women hard and fast. The human female had his furry friend so mixed up the Sarafin King was practically chasing his own tail the last time he had talked to him!

“If that is not enough, now they have younglings to worry about,” Adalard was saying as he finished the landing procedure as Ha’ven guided them to a clearing just large enough for the transport. “I know they are worried Raffvin or those working with him might try to attack them.”

Ha’ven looked sharply at Adalard before he turned his attention back to the final approach. Hovering over the thick grass, he set the transport down in the center of the small meadow. He turned off the engines with a wave of his hands, pulling the swirling bands of energy back into his body. Another benefit of traveling in the transport was he could use his own energy to power it, thus reducing the chance of a repeat of the other night.

“Creon told me of his daughters,” Ha’ven admitted. “I will do everything in my power to protect them and his mate.”

Adalard just nodded. He knew his own powers were considerable, but they paled in comparison to his older brother. Adalard and his twin had always looked up to Ha’ven who had protected them against Ben’qumain when they were still young and vulnerable. He had encouraged them to work together to develop the power held inside them. Since his captivity on the asteroid prison known as Hell, Ha’ven’s powers had grown until both he and Arrow worried about its effect on him.

“Ha’ven,” Adalard said, turning to look at his older brother as he started to rise. “Are you alright? The other night I felt…” Adalard’s voice faded as he studied the huge male across from him.

Ha’ven saw the concern on his younger brother’s face. His eyes swept over the long scar marring Adalard’s cheek. His brother refused to have it removed, stating it reminded him of the dangers around him.

“I’m fine,” Ha’ven said with a short nod. “Let’s see what plans have been set up. Raffvin is not the only danger. We still have traitors of our own to deal with.”

Adalard nodded and stood up. He followed his brother down the corridor and out through the small hatch located under the belly of the spacecraft. Once Adalard was clear of the transport, Ha’ven pressed a button on the belt wrapped low around his hips. The transport shimmered for a moment before disappearing.

The Curizans used a combination of technology and ‘magic’ as some of the worlds called it. In reality, they were able to gather energy from the world around them and harness it within their bodies. Once there, they could manipulate it to do whatever they desired.

Each Curizan was born with a different ability and level of control. Some used it for healing, some became better pilots, some better warriors. Those that ruled in the Royal House of Curizan could contain and manipulate it in ways beyond the limited abilities of most of the citizens of Ceran-Pax.

The Ha’darra family had ruled for centuries. Their power was boundless as Ha’ven was discovering. Never had the full extent of what they could do been explored as there had been a fear that, if unleashed, it could destroy not only the one who wielded it but the world itself.

Ha’ven had always thought it was a myth passed down through the centuries to warn those that followed of the dangers of absolute power. After all, a dead man could not rule a dead planet. Now, he knew the warnings were real. If he was unable to find a way of controlling the power building inside him soon, there would be no other choice but to eliminate the threat to his world.

“Ha’ven, are you ready?” Adalard asked, touching his arm. “The transporter room is ready when you are.”

“Give them the go,” Ha’ven said as he jerked and muttered a low curse as he realized that Adalard was still looking at him with concern.

Seconds later, he and Adalard were in the central transport room inside the palace. If he had been on one of the larger Curizan warships, he would have just materialized down to the room, but there was no way they could leave the transport in space uninhabited. It contained new technology that he and Adalard had recently developed.

The small, yet sleek, transport was perfect for missions like this. It was designed so a small crew of two or three could travel for months in it quite comfortably if necessary or for stealth missions like this one. They had designed it to work specifically with the power they could manipulate. The weapons, navigation, and shields were enhanced as they fed their powers directly into it.

He mostly used the transport for short trips such as this, preferring to travel alone when possible. At first, he planned to travel by warship with Bahadur and Adalard, but after a lengthy discussion with Melek and his brothers, they had decided to send several of their trusted generals, including Bahadur, to deal with some of the rebel bases that Arrow had recently discovered.

Arrow would lead the effort while Adalard and he worked with the Valdier. Raffvin was one of the key instigators behind the rebellion and one of the most deadly. He needed to be stopped once and for all.

He breathed deeply as he felt the energy surrounding him as the controller locked onto his position. His eyes narrowed as he felt the energy of the transporter beam meld with the energy inside him. He did not feel the disorientation that many others complained about at first. He could see and feel his body breaking into the smallest form and reveled in the sense of freedom it gave him. He almost groaned as he felt his body rematerialize on the platform.

I really need to figure out how to do that on my own, he thought before his eyes met the dark golden ones of Creon Reykill.