Chapter 12 Separation Anxiety
Separation Anxiety
“Can I save Iolaire on my own?” Caden asked Raziel, ready to fly to the crater, even as he remembered how the Werewolf had hurt him relatively easily.
What could the Behemoth do?
But Caden thrust that thought out of his mind. He would not allow fear to paralyze him. Besides, nothing could be worse than losing Iolaire to the Behemoth and then Raziel to it, too.
Not to mention Valerius and then the world… oh, God, there has to be a way!
“Raziel, tell me what to do and I’ll do it!” Caden begged. “If there is anything I can do to save Iolaire--”
The Black Dragon’s eyes closed. No, there is not, Little Dragon. You cannot defeat it. You will be destroyed if you try.
Caden’s arms that were still fastened around Raziel’s nose grew numb. His whole body was numb. This couldn’t be how things ended! No way, no how! And yet...
“But if you can’t leave here and I can’t save Iolaire without you then… then what do we do?” Caden asked, despair imprinted into every word.
Raziel though did not answer. Because there was no answer, Caden realized. Not one that the Black Dragon saw. The numbness spread.
With a slightly hysterical laugh, Caden asked, “Can we get the Behemoth over here? Fight it in your lair?”
It would not fit, Raziel stated simply as it looked over its shoulder to where its big body almost touched the roof and the ground. And it will not come close enough for me to grab it even if you could lure it here.
Caden had, in fact, been considering that very idea. He had imagined flying over to the crater, taunting the Behemoth into chasing him back here where Raziel could take care of it.
“I can fly! I could lead it here! We have to try!” Caden insisted.
Did Raziel really think he would sit here and do nothing while Iolaire was absorbed into the Behemoth?
The Behemoth would destroy you with a single bolt of lightning or fireball, Raziel said almost wearily. You do not have the White Dragon Spirit’s protection. Though your bond is not yet severed… it is tenuous.
Caden swallowed bile that bubbled up his throat and into his mouth. Even though he did not have a stomach, he wanted to retch. The very thought of being cut off from Iolaire forever. He felt dizzy. So sick. He clutched at Raziel to keep himself airborne.
“This can’t be how it ends, Raziel,” Caden whispered.
“What ends? Can we not get back to Earth here?” Jasper asked.
The leader of Humans First pulled himself up onto the ledge outside of the lair.
Caden--who was still holding onto Raziel’s nose--was nearly flung away as the Black Dragon snapped its head towards the unfamiliar voice.
Caden somehow managed to dig his fingernails around some of the scales and just managed to hold on for dear life.
The shock of Raziel’s action shook him out of that numb, despairing state.
Jasper was a problem he could focus on and fix.
Who is this? Raziel hissed as its lips writhed back from those sword-like teeth.
Jasper’s eyes bugged out of his head as soon as the Black Dragon set its sights on him.
He stepped back, but his heel touched air.
He nearly fell back but pinwheeled his arms at the last moment and managed to stay on the ledge but just barely.
The Black Dragon made a low, guttural sound in its throat like a giant ticking, the very beginnings of a roar.
A roar that would likely crush Jasper’s bones and organs like jelly before sending his ruined body flying off the mountain.
“Caden, call it off! For fuck’s sake! It’s going to kill me!” Jasper screamed as he edged himself towards the mountain’s wall.
“Raziel, don’t kill him… not yet anyways,” Caden said.
“Raziel’s got to get in line. We all want to kill Jasper,” Landry’s voice rose up as she crawled up onto the ledge and rolled over onto her back. She breathed deeply. “I didn’t realize how afraid of heights I really am.”
“Landry!” Caden gave Raziel’s nose another hug before he flew over to her, landing beside her before dropping down onto his haunches. “Are you okay?”
“My life flashed before my eyes like umpteen times,” she told him. “And there wasn’t a lot of it. So if we get out of here--”
“When,” he corrected her even as his own heart was in his feet at what Raziel had said.
“When we get out of here, I really want us to do more things than argue philosophy with Wally all day. Don’t get me wrong,” she said, “I love doing that, but I’d like to make some memories with you guys outside of the shop.”
“You never really wanted to hang outside of the shop before,” Caden said softly.
She moved her bangs out of her eyes. “Did I tell you how stupid I was before all of this?”
“Not stupid.” He gave her a watery smile. “Not stupid at all.”
“Well, I disagree but I won’t argue with you. Give me a hand up?” she asked.
Caden helped her up to her feet. Her legs wobbled a little beneath her. She reached down and rubbed them.
“I know we don’t have bodies, but do you think all this exercise will have an effect on my thighs?” she asked hopefully.
Caden snorted and patted her back.
“Help us up, Landry!” Ross called.
“Holy shit, my arms are going to give out!” Harvey whined.
“No bodies, remember, you idiots?” Landry rolled her eyes.
But both she and Caden went over to give her brothers a hand up onto the ledge. Once they were safe, Caden turned back around to face the Black Dragon. Raziel regarded these human spirits with a wary eye. Landry gulped while Ross and Harvey cringed as they really saw Raziel then.
Friends of ours, Little Dragon? Raziel asked.
Raziel saying “of ours” instead of just Caden’s had Caden’s heart squeezing a little.
How far Raziel had come in such a short time!
The misanthropic Dragon still looked like it wanted to blow the humans off the ledge or turn them into charcoal briquets in the case of Jasper but it was not doing any of that.
But it will all end once the Behemoth absorbs Iolaire and then Raziel… all of it will end.
But Caden forced himself to speak and said, “Well, these three are. He’s…” Caden gave Jasper--who was now pressed against the mountain, trying to meld into the rock--a jaundiced look. “He’s someone we should bring back to Earth so he can be tried, convicted and sent to prison.”
I see. That sounds like an awfully long process. I could just reduce him to ashes. Quicker, Raziel remarked as he regarded the leader of Humans First.
“Ah, well…”
“What’s it saying? It wants to kill me! I know it!” Jasper cried.
“If you don’t want it to kill you then shouldn’t you be like worshipping it, Jasper?” Landry suggested with a small smile as she put her hands on her hips.
Jasper shot her a horrified look. “What--”
“Raziel is the king of kings,” Caden said, realizing where Landry was going with this and way onboard with making Jasper kneel.
“But--”
“I think you should be getting down on your knees, Jasper,” Landry said, gesturing to the ground. “And begging for forgiveness.”
Jasper looked like he would rather eat glass than kneel, but the leader of Humans First slowly lowered himself to the ground, regarding the Black Dragon warily. Even he knew that his philosophy would not save him from hellfire.
“You better not tell anyone about this!” Jasper growled.
“Oh, you are going to tell everyone about this, Jasper,” Caden retorted.
He pointed at the man’s chest. “Because right here and right now, you’re going to pledge on your life that you will serve Valerius and Raziel from now on.
You will disband Humans First and you will spend whatever time you have left trying to undo the damage you’ve done. ”
Jasper’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded and opened his mouth, about to speak, but Caden cut him off.
This was too easy. Jasper thought he could play everyone, that he could hold two disparate things in his mind at the same time: still being the leader of Humans First and pledging allegiance to Raziel too.
Well, Caden was not about to let that happen.
“Oh, and Jasper? Don’t think that you can say one thing here and do something else when we’re back on Earth.
” Caden leaned against the side of Raziel’s huge jaws as the Black Dragon lowered its head to give Jasper an evil stare.
“Because Raziel here will have a one free-burn-you-to-crisp ticket if you do.”
Jasper met his eyes, trying to see if Caden was lying.
Caden made his gaze steel and stone. He was not joking.
Jasper would not be allowed to continue his damage.
Seeing he meant it, Jasper kneeled down awkwardly.
The Black Dragon’s breath blew his hair back from his forehead.
Smoky tendrils surrounded the leader of Humans First.
Former leader.
Jasper trembled as he gritted out, “I pledge that I now… now serve Raziel and Valerius--”
“King Valerius,” Caden corrected as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“And King Caden and Iolaire, too!” Landry piped in.
Jasper grimaced, but amended, “I pledge that I now serve Raziel, King Valerius, Iolaire and King Caden from here on out. I abdicate my position as leader of Humans First. I will… will do whatever is necessary to undo the damage my words and actions have caused as its leader. Satisfied?”
“Not really. But it will do for now and it’s binding, Jasper,” Caden reminded him. He turned to Raziel. “Good enough?”
He is foolish meat. I care not for his worship but I enjoy his discomfort, Raziel admitted.
“Now if there was only a way to save Iolaire that was just as easy,” Caden said, feeling the fear for Iolaire overwhelm him again. “There must be a way.”
“What’s going on? Can’t we get back?” Landry asked.
I can send these humans back, but not you, Caden, Raziel said. Your bond with Iolaire would be severed.
“Then send them back. I’ll stay here and we’ll figure something out--”
“Wait! You’ll stay here?! No! That’s not happening! We’re all going together!” Landry cried.