So he ignored the strange sensation and concentrated on survival. When he felt both her arms around his neck and her full breasts pressed against his broad back, he began pulling them both, hand-over-hand, up the length of the root. Slowly, fighting the current every bit of the way, he got them back to the banks of the river.
Help was already waiting. The huge Drake Monstrum called Dra’vik was leaning over the water, offering a hand. It was his scent that T’zaren had smelled on the other human female—the pregnant one who was crying with worry and distress, tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked for her friend.
“It’s all right—she’s all right,” T’zaren told her, shouting again to make his voice heard over the river. “Come on, little female—can you reach for Dra’vik’s hand?” he asked the blonde who was still clinging to his back.
“I…I th-think so.” Her teeth were chattering and he realized she must be cold. The river on the Dark Side of the Mother Ship never flowed in sunlight, which ensured that it was always icy.
“Carefully then,” he instructed her as she slowly let go of her grip on him and reached for Dra’vik’s outstretched hand. Luckily, being nine feet—or three meters—tall, the Drake Monstrum had an immense reach. With T’zaren holding the female’s ample hips—she was nicely curved everywhere he noted—the Drake was able to take her hand and pull her to safety.
T’zaren crawled out on his own. The bank of the river was steep but he had long legs—he made it back up to the edge of the jungle and collapsed, panting on the grass.
“Oh, Lucy! I was so scared for you!” The other human female grabbed her friend in a hug, heedless of the fact that she was dripping wet.
“I n-never p-picked a worst t-time to be cl-clumsy,” the other human—whose name was apparently “Loosely” or “Loozy” said. To T’zaren’s surprise, she actually tried to laugh as though her near death was some kind of a joke! How could she be so lighthearted about what had nearly happened to her? Truly she lacked gravity, he thought disapprovingly.
But even as he thought it, he could still feel the burning down his back. It was said that the very first time a male’s Sen Stripe was activated, it felt like burning coals had been placed along the flesh that covered his spine and that was how T’zaren felt now.
He couldn’t think what to do. He had kept his head in the river but now he was filled with confusion. His back was burning almost unbearably—he had never heard of such a strong reaction before—especially during a first flaring.
Rising from the riverbank, he shook himself, trying to get the water off his skin. Cold droplets rolled down his body but on his spine, they hissed and evaporated at once, as though they had fallen on hot lava rocks.
Feeling unbalanced—almost dizzy—T’zaren headed for the trees.
“W-wait!” he heard the blonde female calling behind him, her teeth still chattering. “I h-haven’t even th-thanked you yet! I d-don’t even know your n-name!”
He heard other voices calling him as well, but he paid them no mind. He had to get back to his domicile and use the 3-D viewer to look at his spine.
He had to know if the little blonde had—somehow against all odds—activated his Sen Stripe.
THREE
LUCY
“Who was that—the guy who jumped in and rescued me?” Lucy asked, frowning as she belted the warm, fuzzy bathrobe firmly around her waist. She was in Iyanna and Dra’vik’s suite and she’d been dying to ask about her rescuer for ages, but Iyanna had insisted that she take a hot shower and get on some fresh clothes before she would answer any questions.
“Are you feeling better?” she asked now, raising her eyebrows. “Are yousureyou’re all warmed up?”
“My teeth aren’t chattering anymore, right?” Lucy said impatiently as they walked out into the living area of the suite. “So come on, tell me—who is he? I saw him watching us right before I fell in.”
“I don’t know who he is but Dra’vik might.” Iyanna shrugged. “Anyway, it’s a damn good thing he was there—if he hadn’t been, you would have drowned for sure!”
“Or you might have been sucked into the underwater tunnel and been forced to become the bride of a Mer-Monstrum.” The deep voice of Iyanna’s husband came from the overlarge couch in front of their fireplace. The Drake Monstrum’s horns looked long and polished—they gleamed in the firelight and he stroked the arm of the couch he sat on thoughtfully.
The interesting thing about Monstrum furniture, Lucy thought, was that it all seemed to have been grown out of a mat of tiny, flowering vines that were densely packed together. But at the moment, she was more interested in finding out the name of her savior than asking about the furniture.
“Do you know who he is?” she asked the big Drake Monstrum. “I’d like to thank him. He saved my life.”
“Yes, he did. I would have gotten there too late,” Dra’vik agreed, nodding gravely. “But to answer your question, the male who jumped in and saved you is called “T’zaren. He is a Stri’vor Monstrum.”
“A Stri’vor Monstrum?” Lucy frowned. “I haven’t heard of them. Er…what animal are they most like?” she asked, hoping she wasn’t being offensive. Through a strange twist of fate, most of the Monstrum warriors bore at least some resemblance to animals found on Earth—there were even some, like Dra’vik himself, that resembled mythical creatures.
Lucy had heard various theories as to why this might be—many having to do with the fact that the Monstrum universe had been so closely tied to Earth’s own universe before it was overrun with Darklings. But for whatever reason, most Monstrum had at leastsomeanimal characteristics.
“Hmm…” Dra’vik seemed to have some difficulty answering her question.
“He has eyes like a cat,” Iyanna offered. “I noticed that, anyway. Big, golden eyes with vertical pupils.”
“Yes, but he’s not a Felinus Monstrum,” Dra’vik murmured. “I know that the Stri’vor Monstrum used to have scales on their bodies, much like my own.” He stroked one hand down his chest, which was bare since he—like many Monstrum—only wore trousers when they were at home aboard their Mother Ship. “But I think now their kind has skin like yours… “He nodded at Iyanna and Lucy. “Though the patterns of the scales still remains, imprinted on their skin—as do their unusual colorations.”