27

- Cori'ax -

He was pretty satisfied. He had taken the firebird by surprise and given it a hard slash of his sword across the snout. It had felt like striking a bare mountainside, because the dragon had very tough scales, but his old sword was made by the finest bladesmiths and honed by years and years of combat. It had sliced open a wound that dripped with green blood, and the firebird was clearly much less eager to attack now. As long as it kept its attention on him, that was fine.

He saw Charlotte entering the shuttle. The first part of his plan was complete. Now all he had to do was keep this firebird's attention until the crash start of the engine was complete and Charlotte could hit the autopilot to take her and the baby up and out of danger.

He had only been partly truthful to her. It was true that he had no desire to die here and now. But he also knew that there was no way around it. He had to keep the firebird occupied until Charlotte and their little baby were safe. When the shuttle was away, he would fight the firebirds with all his might until the end came, making sure they were occupied. It was not a bad way to go. Or, when all his strength was gone, he might fall on his sword and deny the firebirds their sport and their victory.

It was okay. It was right. After all, this could all have been avoided if he'd had the courage to abandon old beliefs and realize that Earthlings were friends before now. He was only grateful that it now looked as if his cowardice hadn't killed Charlotte and their baby, too.

He could faintly hear the whine of the shuttle's turbines spinning up, and he grinned. Victory was close.

Then the smile died on his lips when he saw the shadows far away, coming closer fast. There was not just one. There had to be twenty firebirds diving out of the sky, heading for Charlotte's shuttle. Their wings beat the air with deceptive laziness.

They were coming for Charlotte. And for their baby.

He felt all the strength go out of him, and his arms hung limply along his sides.

That was hopeless. Nobody had ever fought that many of them and lived for more than a handful of seconds.

But there was something growing in him now.

He was a father. He was beloved. He was somebody.

Again he felt the little head under his hand, felt the sweet baby smell in his nose and heard Charlotte's soft voice in his ears, the way he'd heard it months ago, something that had resonated in his mind ever since: 'And he's fucking magnificent.'

He would show her how right she had been.

He saw the sleek shapes of the firebirds come closer, and the one he'd injured ignored him and flew to join them.

They would try to get between him and his family.

No.

A cold fire grew in him, an anger so white and so fierce that he had never felt anything remotely like it.

They wanted to hurt his mate and child.

“No,” he said flatly.

And then the anger exploded. “I will not allow it!”

His own voice rang in his ears, and she wounded firebird glanced quickly behind it in a movement of obvious anxiety. It was afraid of him.

A firebird was afraid of him!

The realization gave him wings. He ran towards the shuttle, silently, faster than he'd ever run before.

The firebirds would reach it first. But he would chase them away. After all, they were only birds. And he was an Acerex warrior. And a father. And a beloved. The firebirds had no rights to keep him from his loves. The Spirit was on his side.

The air felt different to him, fresher. The Fire Planet would lose this time. The anger had burned the fear out of his mind, and he let the rage fill him.

Two firebirds sat down beside the shuttle and seemed to be looking inside it. He had to take their attention from it, and he bellowed while he ran. “Victory for Acerex!”

They looked up and peered in his direction with their huge eyes. They were not used to anyone coming towards them. Every being would always run away. Before he could get to them, they slowly took to their wings, a reluctance and a primitive puzzlement in their movements.

He reached the shuttle, noticing that it hadn't quite completed its startup sequence. He leapt onto a wing and from there to the roof, just as the first firebird shot its head forward to peck at the shuttle from above. Its open mouth, with fangs that glittered like steel daggers, only encountered his blade.

The shriek was hellish, but it only made Cori'ax grin. Firebirds weren't used to taking injuries, and he was sure that the pain confused them.

More firebirds came in to try their luck, but they had no passion and were now starting to fear his blade. There were many of them, but they were only adolescents, come to play and amuse themselves. They were not here to fight for their life, their love and their child, like Cori'ax was. At that moment, he would win against anything. It was an uneven match.

He felt a talon rip him, but the pain just gave him more fuel. He taunted them and laughed and sneered, holding them off like they were only a pack of curious sheep, slashing and jabbing and thrusting. Sometimes he hit, sometimes not. He would probably not kill any of them.

But he didn't need to.