Chapter 32.1

The door opened and Scott walked in quickly. He had a bit of a problem, but he did not want to show it. The truth was, that in a moment of absurd hope he had made amends with his mother and now she was going to be moving in with the group. It was ridiculous.

She would be safer with them, as there was no doubt in his mind that she would be targeted at some point soon. However, his cynical mind wondered if his group would be safe with her around. There was no way to know if she could keep a secret of such importance. She could certainly ignore things that were obvious… But that was hardly the same thing.

Scott had moved his mother to a temporary location, one of her few remaining friends took her in for the moment while he went home to discuss the situation with the girls.

As he wandered through the building, he found that both Ashton and Shara were asleep. He was curious about how long the latter of the two intended to stay in bed, but he was certain that she had a reason.

Given the fact that both of the girls were unconscious, the only one he could speak to was Sonja. Up to the roof he went to get her impression on the situation.

Sonja smiled warmly at him when he arrived then turned her head back to her vigilant scan of the horizon. Unlike Ashton, Sonja stood and probably would stand for the entire time that she was on duty.

“Did things go well? I did not expect you back for some time, master.” she said.

Scott moved to stand by her side and looked out to the edge of the area with her. “Yes, and decidedly no.”

“Oh?” she asked without turning her head.

“I wanted to talk to you girls about something, but I’m uncertain where to start and two of you are unconscious.” he said.

“The beginning is usually a good point.” said Sonja.

“Ha. Ha. Ha…” he replied.

Sonja smiled again then waited for him to continue. She knew that he would in his own time.

Scott sighed. “As it turns out, I did find my mother.”

Sonja stopped smiling and glanced toward him. She did not speak, but she did wait to see what he would say.

A slight shake of his head was followed by a decisive statement. “I might have screwed up.”

“Oh?” asked Sonja.

“When I found her, she was clearly showing remorse for all the mistakes she had made in life. I listened to the things she said then after a while I revealed myself.”

“This sounds like a good thing.” said Sonja gently.

Scott nodded his head. “It is a starting point at least. I doubt either of us will be comfortable around the other for quite some time. Yet…”

Sonja reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, just tell me.”

“I was concerned about her staying at her home alone and invited her to come stay with me.”

“Yes, and?” she asked.

Scott looked askance at her. “We’re in the middle of a serious situation ourselves and I suggested it without running it by you girls.”

“She is the mother who bore you into the world. Her presence here might be a problem, but the fact that you are showing concern for her is a wonderful thing.”

“You really think so?”

“Certainly. If I thought that they would come, I’d ask my own friends and family to move here. It is a wonderful place.”

“Are you serious?” asked Scott.

Sonja nodded to him. “Finely crafted buildings that can be upgraded, a source of clean water, many animals in the forests, and the wonders of your technology. What is not to be loved about this place?”

“Does television and toilet paper make you that happy?” asked Scott.

“Haven’t you mentioned a desire for the latter a few times when we were hunting in my world?” she asked with a smile.

Scott laughed. “Absolutely! You know, bringing your people here doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“They could certainly find opportunities in this world that are not available in my own. Besides that, since we are discussing the situation…” she said.

“Yes?”

Sonja turned toward him completely then slipped her arms around his waist. She tugged him lightly toward her then kissed him sweetly on the lips. “Don’t you think that you should meet my mother as well?”

Scott laughed then hugged her gently. “Sure… Think she’ll like me?”

“Yes, but hopefully not enough to try to claim you.” she replied with a smile.

He stared at her for a moment then asked, “Is that really a possibility?”

She merely continued to smile. Not for the first time did he wonder at the nature of her people.

He turned his thoughts from her people to the true problem at hand not long after. His mother moving in was one thing, but what he was truly concerned about was the one called Boss King. Whatever he was doing, it was bound to not be anything good. He was not that concerned about his direct threat, but those under his command were a different situation. Melisandre was far beyond him in power. There was no way to know who else he had to deal with among his group.

A thought had occurred to him regarding that, but he was not certain that it would be a good idea. It was yet another thing to run past the girls.

While Scott spent time thinking about the future, the man he was most concerned with at present was in fine form deep within his underground installation. The island fortress of Boss King had undergone many upgrades since the dream had started. One of his favorite new additions was his master bedroom.

The joy of Boss King did not come from the silk sheets or the exquisite artwork. It came from the fact that it was his true seat of power. It was there where he showed his dominance over his strongest slave. It was there in that room that boss king draped his body languidly across his bed and beckoned toward Melisandre.

The beautiful storm dragon made a disgusted face and turned her head away. This was her least favorite part of being Boss King’s slave, and there were no parts that she actually enjoyed in that forced arrangement.

“Turn your nose up at me? Such a silly dragon.” said the perennially shadow-clad man in a petulant tone of voice. He gazed upon the sight of her spectacularly naked form and slowly ran his tongue along his upper lip.

Melisandre’s nostrils flared and she crossed her arms over her chest. Why did he not just get on with it?

Boss King casually moved his upper thigh back and revealed himself to his enslaved dragon. “Now, now. Don’t be like that pet. I did you a service, now you’ll service me.” He could compel her to do what he wanted, but Boss King much preferred forcing the proud dragon to do what he wanted through her own will.

She hesitated for a moment and he spoke up again. “You know, I recently acquired a brand new stock of ember crystals and mystic ink…”

Melisandre glared hatefully at him and he laughed at her in a slow, cruel manner. “Come now, don’t make that face. If you won’t do your part for my part, then one of the little ones might do. I wonder how much a fairy dragon will go for in the Middle East?”

Her wings flared outward and she roared at him. In response he did nothing but smile. She could roar and hesitate all she wanted. In the end, they both knew she had no choice in the matter. He did this solely to torment her. It made him stronger after all.

Beneath his expensive silk sheets a strange wriggling motion caught Melisandre’s attention. Boss King smiled at her, he smiled a smile so wide that it went well beyond what a normal human mouth could accomplish. “Oh no, seems you’ve awakened the beast…”

Melisandre took a step back, but he pointed to her and casually commanded, “Come here, now.”

A bright crackling energy current raced through her body as she tried to fight the compulsion, but as always she had no choice. Even though her mind screamed no, her body moved forward against her will. The specialized slave seal she existed under could punish her with pain, or take control of her body and force her to obey.

If she attacked or killed Boss King, she too would die. Her own life was not something she cherished any longer, but for the sake of her brother and for the little ones, she had to endure this hell.

Boss King had left them alone due solely to the fact that she did what he asked. He did not even have to afford her that much comfort, but he did so to give her the illusion of choice. It was so much more satisfying for him when they thought that they had a choice. He smiled his insane smile once more as the proud dragon fell to her knees before the bed. The wriggling under the sheets increased several fold. Today was quite promising.