Chapter 12 Separation Anxiety #2
“Speak for yourself! I want to go back. If Caden doesn’t then that’s his choice,” Jasper said, eyes alighting with eagerness at the thought of returning to Earth.
“We’re not leaving without Caden!” Landry snapped at him.
“Ross? Harvey? What do you guys think? Want to go home where we’ll be safe or stay here?” Jasper challenged.
“We’ll--”
“So help me God if you take Jasper’s side again,” Landry began.
But Ross said, “We’ll stay here with our sister and Caden. She’s right. We leave together or not at all.”
“What?! That’s insane and--”
“Shut up, Jasper!” Harvey glowered at him. He was big and he hulked over Jasper. Jasper actually took a step back. “No more talking! You agreed to not be a leader anymore. You are supposed to follow Caden!”
Jasper shook his head at the “stupidity” of the two brothers.
“Landry, you should go now. I’m not sure if--if there will be a chance later,” Caden said.
But she was shaking her head. “Why are you staying here then?”
He gritted his teeth before saying, “Iolaire’s in trouble. I think it’s in the crater with the Behemoth. The Behemoth is going to absorb it. If I leave the Spirit Realm now then my link with Iolaire will break and… and really there won’t be any safe place after that.”
That was the truth, he realized. Even if he sent them all back to Earth, it was just delaying the inevitable.
Once Iolaire was absorbed then it would be Raziel and then the other Dragons would fall one by one before the Behemoth turned the world into a graveyard.
In a way, they were actually safer here until the end.
“The Behemoth is nearby?” Jasper had turned white as chalk and had backed up against the mountainside again.
“Where is it? Where?” Ross’ head jerked up skywards as he looked for the Behemoth in the clouds above them even though Caden had said it was in the crater.
Harvey had his arms over his head as if to protect himself from a blow though if the Behemoth attacked, he’d simply be made into paste and smeared across the mountainside. Landry looked a little unsteady on her legs. Her eyes were wide and her lips parted.
“Uhm, can--can Raziel defeat the Behemoth?” she asked.
“Yeah, but Raziel can’t leave the lair without putting Valerius in danger. The lair is their bond. I’m guessing if Raziel leaves it then the protection it gives Valerius is attenuated at best or maybe… maybe even gone until Raziel returns,” Caden explained.
“But if Valerius is somewhere safe--like tucked up in High Reach--what does that matter?” Landry asked. “Raziel goes, smashes the Behemoth, saves Iolaire and then we all go home!”
Caden turned to look at the Black Dragon. Landry’s plan sounded good. Okay, maybe it didn’t sound good, but it did sound possible. And really wasn’t that what they needed right now? But maybe there was something he didn’t know.
“Well? Could we do that?” Caden asked the Black Dragon. "Can you tell Valerius to get someplace safe and then--”
He is already in danger. Vozyth is mere feet from him, Raziel growled.
“Vozyth?! Who--”
Vozyth the Ruby Dragon. Mistress of Plasma, Raziel explained. Valerius has only Mephous to protect him and that is not enough.
“Wait… Valerius and Illarion are together? Well, that’s good--”
Mephous is not strong enough! Raziel tossed its head, but instead of taking that as a statement of fact, Caden wondered if it was still Raziel holding onto old hurts regarding the Green Dragon.
“But, Raziel, if we don’t save Iolaire and it is taken over by the Behemoth then…” Caden couldn’t say the words himself.
Then I will fall, Raziel admitted and its massive head drooped.
Caden dug his fingernails into his palms. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave Valerius defenseless when facing another dragon. But Mephous was there. Mephous was the second strongest under Raziel. Mephous could defeat this other dragon and keep Valerius safe, couldn’t it?
“Raziel, I would rather die than put Valerius in danger,” Caden said quietly but with every ounce of his love for the Black Dragon King in his voice. “But the only way to save him is to do just that. So I want you to ask him if you can leave the lair.”
The Black Dragon’s eyes widened in terror. He will be alone! He will be--
“I know. But imagine what will happen if the Behemoth does to you and him what it has done to me and Iolaire,” Caden pressed. “Then there will be no one strong enough to stop the Behemoth and we’ll be parted from you and Iolaire forever.”
The Black Dragon’s head rose and it tipped its mouth skyward before letting out a roar of rage and pain. The mountain shook. Caden grabbed a hold of Landry to stop her from being vibrated right off the ledge. Her brothers hit the deck. Jasper was suction-cupped to the mountain’s side.
Raziel?! Valerius’ voice, soft, but definitely his, came out of the lair. Raziel?! What’s wrong? Speak to me!
“Valerius?! Valerius, can you hear me?!” Caden cried, shocked to hear the Black Dragon King’s voice, but Raziel’s massive cry must have reached Valerius in the real world.
Caden did not think. He ran into the opening for the lair, underneath Raziel’s belly and into the cavern that he already knew so well.
Inside the huge, rocky space, there was a mirror, much like the one in Valerius’ throne room, except this one was floating and made up of hexagonal sections of “mirror” that shifted as if caught in invisible breezes.
In the mirror, he could see Valerius and Illarion in a dimly lit tunnel.
Beyond them was a huge pool where something moved.
Neither of the two Dragon Shifters was looking at him even as Caden jumped up and down.
The “mirror” was not there for Valerius.
Instead, his gaze went distant as he looked “inside” himself or maybe through the veil to this place in the Spirit Realm.
He smiled suddenly and Caden knew Valerius saw him.
Caden?! Caden???? Oh, thank the Gods! Valerius shouted with utter joy. But joy turned to confusion. How are you there in the lair with Raziel? And… is that Landry? Wait… is that Jasper and Landry’s brothers with you?
The others had run after him, whether because they had heard Valerius’ voice too--unlikely--or because they didn’t want to be anywhere near Raziel without him--more likely--he didn’t know.
But they all stared around the lair and then back towards the mirror.
Raziel, too, had come back inside. The ground shook with every step it took.
“Long story,” Caden told him. “But simply put. The Behemoth has taken Iolaire and has it in the crater where the dragons fought it before. The only way to save Iolaire is for Raziel to leave the lair and defeat the Behemoth--”
Then what are you waiting for? Go! Valerius frowned and spoke to his Spirit, Raziel, go! Defeat that beast! But when Raziel did not move, he asked, Why do you hesitate?
Because if I leave, you can die! Raziel cried and flapped its enormous wings, causing everyone to dive to the ground and cover their heads. You will not have my strength, none of our powers, and you can be killed!
Valerius frowned. I see, but that does not matter. He shook himself. We must save Iolaire and Caden! At all costs! Even if I am--
NO! I cannot be without you! Do not make me be without you! Raziel cried with more wing flaps that caused huge slabs of stone to crumble off the walls and strike the floor.
Caden curled over Landry to keep her safe from the stones. Some small ones hit his back and shoulders. He would have had them seek cover underneath Raziel, but the Black Dragon seemed to have forgotten them and was quite capable of stomping them to death beneath its clawed feet.
You will not be. As soon as you save Iolaire and Caden, you will return to me, Valerius insisted. Calm yourself!
But--
Old friend, you must do this. We cannot be without them, Valerius told the Black Dragon Spirit. He seemed completely at peace with this. There was no fear in Valerius, only what made up his name: valor.
Caden’s throat went tight. Valerius was the bravest person he knew.
Raziel trembled as it regarded Caden and then Valerius with those crimson eyes. Caden reached over and touched Raziel’s chest. He could feel the heat and the mighty heart inside.
“I know we’re asking you the impossible, Raziel,” Caden admitted. “I can’t live without Valerius either, but none of us can live without Iolaire.”
I am not afraid, old friend, Valerius said to his Spirit. There is no greater Dragon Spirit than you. The Behemoth will fall before you.
Raziel went very still, but then it slowly folded its wings and sat up straight. It finally gave a single, slow nod and said in a voice filled with finality, It will be done.
“Valerius, you and Illarion should head out of there. Go someplace safe,” Caden said, coughing in between words due to all the stone dust in the air.
We cannot, Caden, Valerius said grimly. We’re tracking your body. I fear if we do not retrieve it soon that you will have nowhere to return to.
It was Caden’s turn to gulp. He wasn’t sure if the Behemoth needed his body after he had absorbed Iolaire again. Maybe anyone could host the White Dragon Spirit after that. He could easily see the Behemoth killing his body out of spite.
“You must let Illarion take the lead then,” Caden implored him. “No heroics! Mephous must protect you both against Vozyth the Ruby Dragon. It uses plasma.”
Plasma? Interesting. Valerius’ eyebrows rose.
“Valerius, what is wrong with you?” Illarion growled, elbowing him. “I need you to be present. We have a Dragon to deal with.”
Valerius focused on the Green Dragon King. “I am about to lose the ability to Shift. Actually, more than that. Raziel must fight the Behemoth so it must leave me. I will be… human again. But we must continue on to get Caden’s body.”
“What? What the what now?” Illarion looked more than a little alarmed.
Valerius thumped his left shoulder. “You have been telling me for centuries how strong you are, how you don’t need me or Raziel to back you up. Now I need you to prove it.”
Illarion’s mouth opened and shut before he got out, “Yes, but that was--that was not this! Can Raziel not wait until we deal with this dragon--”
“Vozyth the Ruby Dragon, no, Raziel cannot. I have kept it too long already,” Valerius said. “This is all you and Mephous. You need to keep me safe.”
Mephous! MEPHOUS! Raziel’s voice rose up loud and crystal clear.
Illarion’s head jerked towards them as if he heard it, too. In fact, he did as his next words confirmed, “Was that--that Raziel?”
Mephous, you must keep my Valerius safe, Raziel intoned. If you do not, there will be no place safe for you.
Illarion’s eyes went unfocused and then he said in a voice that was and wasn’t his own, “I will show the world my strength and you shall bow to me, Raziel.”
There was a belch of black smoke from Raziel’s jaws. Let us see if you can best Vozyth the Ruby Dragon before you come for me. Then it turned to Caden, You must come with me, little dragon. I fear without the memory of you that Iolaire will succumb before the battle is over. Will you do this?
Caden nodded even as he lifted off the ground and flew to a spot on Raziel’s back where its mighty neck and body met. “Let’s do this, Raziel. Let’s take down the Behemoth!”