Chapter 3
Battle!
“You’re healed, Raziel! And you’re stronger?” Caden hadn’t meant to make that sound like a question, but it was.
I am stronger. Raziel turned its head this way and that as if feeling that strength. My fellow Dragons are with me. My mate is with me.
Iolaire twittered and held its head up proudly. It was the mate of the Black Dragon. The mightiest Dragon. That made it mighty too.
“You’ve always been mighty, Iolaire. You resisted the Behemoth. You didn’t give in,” Caden said.
More proud twittering and a snort of frost of happiness.
Caden, you should return to my lair and rejoin your body, Raziel commanded as it stretched newly recovered wings to either side.
“I… I need to see this!” Caden objected, flying straight up in the air to be even with Raziel’s massive head.
Foolish little dragon, have you not seen enough? We will return to you and share all that occurred once it is done, Raziel told him indulgently.
“But what if you need me?!” The moment those words left Caden’s lips he felt a fool. When Raziel and Iolaire were alone there was great danger. He could offer something. A distraction. But with all nine Dragons? They didn’t need his help at all. “I mean… probably not, but still…”
You protected Iolaire and I, little dragon. We will never forget that, Raziel told him and Caden’s throat felt tight.
“You’re making me cry again!” Caden wiped away the tears. “I hardly did anything.”
We should call you ‘little waterfall’ then! Eldoron cried happily. Little waterfall! Little waterfall! The Golden Dragon sang.
Do not underestimate the power of water, Eldoron, Scylla said dryly.
Indeed! Lana nodded. We will drown the Behemoth! We will boil him in a great sea. You will witness it!
“Now, see, Raziel, I’ve got to witness the Behemoth drown!” Caden cried.
Raziel closed its red eyes and chuckled. Iolaire nuzzled Caden’s chest but then gently pushed him towards the mountain.
“Iolaire! You should have my back here!” Caden frowned.
Iolaire twittered and gently nudged him again. Safe. Want you safe.
“I’m safe with you! With all of you!” Caden crossed his arms over his chest, feeling a bit like a child as he did so.
Iolaire hooted in a gentle, but firm manner that indicated Caden was to go home and be safe and wait for them. It would brook no argument!
“You almost sound like Raziel!” Caden protested.
Iolaire drew itself up to its full height. That only made it half as big as Raziel… on a good day… if Caden were being generous. But the White Dragon did a pretty good imitation of Raziel’s stern expression and narrowed eyes.
“I might be a little bit impressed here by your firmness, but I--”
Home. Safe. Please.
Caden’s shoulders slumped. It was “please” that had deflated his defiance. But not all saw that yet.
Xipil chuckled. You choose him, Iolaire. You must like his stubbornness.
Iolaire twittered softly as it looked at Caden then gazed towards the mountain. Caden’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, fine, I’ll go. Just… hurry, okay? I know how miserable it feels being without you and I’ve only had you for a little while. I can only imagine how the others are feeling.”
There were uneasy glances among all the Dragons.
They clearly thought the same thing. He wondered specifically how Illarion was doing, being mortal and weak again.
This would likely cause the Green Dragon King to have yet another complex.
He truly didn’t need another, but it appeared he’d have earned this one.
We must do this now. No more delay, Raziel said and flapped its mighty wings, lifting its massive form above the ground.
The others did the same with Iolaire rising last. Caden blocked his eyes with his right forearm and squinted as dust and dirt from the crater’s rocky floor was thrown up by the force of those wings. He slowly began to fly backwards towards the mountain.
Seeing he was moving in the right direction--if slowly--the Dragons started off towards the Behemoth.
Caden could glimpse its bulk lying in the far distance.
Some of the heads appeared to be doing something, bobbing up and down, almost like feeding, but on what Caden couldn’t imagine. The whole crater was dead.
His attention quickly switched to the nine Dragons that were flying in a V-formation towards the Behemoth. His mouth opened in awe. This was how they mostly must have looked flying over the skies of Earth. Only Iolaire’s presence was different.
No wonder humanity gave up. I would if I saw that.
Raziel and Iolaire flew together as the point of the V with Mephous on the right and Zephyra on the left.
Each Dragon seemed to glow with a different light.
Red for Raziel. White for Iolaire. Green for Mephous.
Golden orange for Xipil and so on, each color similar to their main power.
It was as if they were gathering their powers to attack.
Caden stopped drifting back towards the mountain. The Dragons looked strong. But Raziel had looked strong before.
If something goes wrong here, I’m the only link they have with the material realm. If I leave, we won’t know...
He felt Iolaire’s mind next to his.
Iolaire? I’m not leaving. Not yet.
An alarmed twitter was his response. The white head swung around towards him.
I know! I’m worried, too, which is why I’m going to stay. Out of the way, but still here, Caden insisted.
Raziel’s head was turning around.
We need someone who can be a link with the material realm and that’s me since all of you are fighting, Caden quickly said.
While he was talking, Caden flew around the edge of the crater, keeping low so that the thrown-up rocks mostly obscured him.
Iolaire sent him an image of Raziel setting his butt on fire, herding Caden towards the mountain.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Raziel is mad. But I’m right about staying. I promise I’ll keep out of sight.
He landed silently behind a large grouping of boulders that was just opposite the Behemoth. He glanced up at the sky. The Dragons were suddenly obscured. It just looked like there was a thundercloud drifting over the crater, casting a dark shadow.
Zephyra’s gift. Cool, Caden thought as he crouched down low. The Behemoth will never see them coming!
Caden grinned but that grin turned to an “O” of horror as he looked at their enemy and caught sight of what the Behemoth was eating.
It’s eating itself! Oh, gross! Caden groaned and covered his mouth as his gorge wanted to rise up.
The heads kept stuffing their heads into the opening that Iolaire had made in the big body and were ripping off hunks of that already split flesh. One head snapped at another head that tried to go in for a second helping before another could feed.
That is… that is just wrong! What is it doing? Caden swallowed thickly.
But it soon was revealed to him. As the Dragon heads ate the “excess” part of its form it started to heal. The massive split began to shrink. The body became smaller--not that much smaller--but smaller.
Oh, man, that explains it then, but still that’s--that’s sickening, Caden grimaced. He sent to Iolaire, Watch out. The Behemoth has healed itself. And it looks pissed.
In fact, the Behemoth’s heads were all looking around the crater and sniffing. A wind started to blow behind him towards the hydra. The nostrils of the main head flared. Those horrible yellow eyes narrowed and the head turned in his direction.
Oh, come on! Caden grimaced and crouched down lower.
But another of the heads let out a roar. It was gazing up at the “cloud” that hovered menacingly above them. The main head’s gaze jerked up and away. Now its eyes narrowed to slits as it glared at the “cloud”. Golden lightning crackled through it.
Evren! Caden’s fingers tightened on the rocks in front of him in excitement.
Rain started to fall from the sky. Not just little bits of it, but great gushes of it.
Waterfalls of it. But it wasn’t hitting Caden, it was just filling the crater.
Caden blinked. The Behemoth let out a roar as it picked up its feet like an angry cat in a bathtub as the water started to fill the crater’s bottom.
The hard, dry soil was not absorbing the water fast enough and the amount of water that Scylla was somehow generating was impressive.
Soon the crater was filled with enough water that it came up to the Behemoth’s shoulders.
The wings were the one part of it that had not fully recovered so it could not yet take flight, so it was stuck on the ground.
But for how long?
Suddenly, the water began to bubble. The Behemoth let out a cry of shocked pain and started moving at speed towards the edge of the crater in Caden’s direction, trying to get out of the water.
Boiling! Lana’s doing her thing! Caden thought, even as he ducked really low and swiftly flew to the right, keeping out of sight until he found another safe spot to watch from.
The water frothed. Waves started to form.
The water was sucked up into high peaks of steaming liquid, causing the Behemoth to flounder as it slammed against dry ground only to have the boiling water slam down over its body.
The water though wasn’t really hot enough to burn it too badly.
But the new skin seemed more sensitive than the old and every time the boiling water washed over it, the Behemoth was maddened.
The heads snapped at the water ineffectually even as the big body tried to surge through the waves to get clear of it.
But Mephous and Zephyra were having none of that.
A green and silvery haze descended from the “cloud” that was streaked with golden lightning.
It was heavier than the air and settled quickly to the bottom of the crater.
Caden covered his mouth as he thought he smelled something bitter and acrid.
His eyes stung and watered. He realized it must be a mixture of Mephous’ poison breath and Zephyra’s scalding one.