Chapter 13 Human #2
“A plan! A strategy! Why wouldn’t I?” Illarion looked at him imperiously with his hands on his hips.
“I had a plan once. During the war. And if I recall, no matter what I suggested you just did what you wanted. And in this case, I have no doubt that you will burst in there, shift into Dragon form, and try to crush Vozyth with your superior weight and blow poison in her face to overcome her,” Valerius told him.
Illarion pursed his lips then grinned. He slapped Valerius’ shoulder and announced, “That sounds like a good plan to me!” He turned towards the tunnel’s exit, but then stopped and turned back to Valerius.
He pointed at Valerius’ chest. “You should keep out of the way so that you, pitiful human, don’t get crushed or melted or gassed. ”
“I will do my best, but I intend to slink around the pond while Vozyth is distracted by you and get to Caden,” Valerius told him.
“And the Behemoth’s humans that you will find along with Caden’s body? They were enough to take down Caden and Anwar. You think you can deal with them?” Illarion lifted an eyebrow.
“I--well, I--”
“You should hunker here until the others arrive. Don’t want you to get hurt. Imagine a Dragon King with some bruises and cuts. It would shake everyone’s confidence in us!”
Valerius felt weak. He felt fragile. Brittle.
Breakable. Waiting for the others was the smart thing to do.
The prudent thing. Caden and Anwar had been overcome by the horde.
They had all their Dragon powers when that had happened.
He had none. His inner eye went to the lair.
No Raziel. No Caden. But there was just Jasper Hawes. He grimaced.
“I’ll be fine. I don’t intend to fight. I will get Caden’s body by stealth,” Valerius said.
Illarion lifted that same eyebrow again. “You know how you think I have one mode? Well, you have half a mode, which is storming in and giving a look before you ash everyone.”
“I do not ash everyone.” Valerius scowled. “I normally don’t have to. My look is enough.”
“True! Let’s hope that’s enough and people don’t require you ashing them this time. None but me and Caden know about your humanity,” Illarion said. “Maybe you can bluff them if you get into trouble.”
“True. The Behemoth does not know yet.” That was a point potentially in his favor.
He straightened fully. Even that small act was exhausting.
Had being mortal always felt like this? How had he stood it?
How did anyone stand it? And then there was that missing void in his soul. “Go do your thing. Distract the lady.”
Illarion puffed out his chest. “She will like Mephous, I think. He is a mighty dragon and she looks rather petite.”
“You said something like that about Caden and remember what happened with him. He took away your power to shift,” Valerius cautioned.
“Ach, Caden and Iolaire are special. This Vozyth… she might be pretty but I can handle her,” Illarion said. “She is on her own. Not with a group. One Dragon to another.”
Valerius truly hoped that these would not be Illarion’s last words.
The Green Dragon King turned on his heel for a second time and strode out of the tunnel without turning back. As he did so, he called, “Vozyth! Oh, Vozyth! Mephous would like you to come out and play!”
Valerius hung back, almost hunkering down in the tunnel, making himself as small and inconspicuous as possible.
He told himself he’d done much the same when Raziel was with him when they’d spied on the Humans First meeting that blew up.
This was the smart thing to do now, just like it had been the smart thing to do then.
It had nothing to do with him being human.
He watched as a massive ruby Dragon head surfaced from beneath the water.
Vozyth had purple eyes with slitted pupils rather like a cat’s.
She blinked them slowly at Illarion, also cat-like.
But whatever personality she truly had was not reflected in them, Valerius realized.
It was all the Behemoth. Evidently, even though this Dragon was not physically attached to the main hydra body at that point, her mind was.
She was utterly under the Behemoth’s control.
Hatred rolled across those purple eyes. Vozyth’s jaws cracked open and purple light flickered between her scythe-like teeth.
Illarion’s six-foot, four-inch human frame didn’t even reach the base of her chin.
Valerius had never truly noticed any longer just how small humans were compared to Dragons.
How small he was now. She could have leaned down and snapped Illarion up whole in her mouth and swallowed him.
She wouldn’t have even needed to chew. And if she decided to let loose a bolt of plasma at that moment, after it blew past Illarion, some of it would fill the tunnel and disintegrate Valerius.
For a very terrible moment, Valerius remembered what it was like to be mortal again.
Not now. Do not let me die now, Valerius pleaded with gods he had not believed in in a very long time. Caden needs me. Raziel needs me. The world needs me.
That last statement would have been born out of arrogance from any other Dragon, but Valerius had never wanted the world to need him.
He found such a need an insufferable burden.
Or, at least, he had thought that. But not now.
Now, he wanted to save this world and its people and try to heal it.
With Caden by his side, and Iolaire and Raziel within their souls, they could do this. He would change things.
Let me have a chance to change things, Valerius prayed.
Vozyth’s jaws opened further. He could see that the purple light was like flames that boiled up her esophagus and bathed the interior of her mouth and limned her teeth. She was going to kill him.
Illarion! Do something! Valerius internally screamed.
The purple plasma erupted from between her jaws. Time slowed. Illarion’s human form would not block the plasma from hitting him and flash-frying the flesh from his bones. Except in less than a second it wasn’t Illarion’s human form between him and Vozyth, but Mephous.
Mephous’ exceedingly large butt was blocking the tunnel exit entirely.
No plasma got past it. No light did either.
Valerius was in complete and total darkness.
Even if he’d had night vision any longer, he wouldn’t have been able to see anything.
But he did hear the Dragons roar. They shook the earth.
Rocks and dirt sifted down on top of Valerius’ head as he crouched there, waiting for the butt to clear. There was a peculiar odor then.
Please tell me that Mephous does not issue gas out of both openings.
Suddenly, there was a crack of light and then a mighty splash.
A wall of water washed back into the tunnel, soaking Valerius as Mephous decided on the crushing Vozyth part of the plan.
There wasn’t just one wave, but many as the titanic Dragon wrestled with the smaller one.
But Vozyth seemed to be holding her own.
Valerius shook water out of his eyes and crept towards the tunnel’s exit.
Water slapped against his legs and pushed him back a time or two and nearly sucked him into the pool once.
That had him gripping the wall with his fingernails and just barely keeping his feet.
There was only a thin path around the edge of the pool that led to another opening on the far wall. He would have to traverse close to half a mile before he got back under cover. He would have been sweating, but the water from the pool had already drenched him.
I can do this. Mephous is keeping her busy.
Valerius kept low and started crouch-walking along the path.
He kept half an eye on the water as the two dragons spun together.
There were roars and splashes. There was once even the belch of green gas that escaped the water when a large bubble of it broke the surface.
Valerius slapped a hand over his nose and mouth, but, truthfully, if it had drifted over to him, he would have been dead regardless.
The cloud headed in the opposite direction.
Valerius increased the speed of his crouch-walk.
A ball of plasma erupted from the water and streaked towards the cavern’s ceiling above their heads.
That roof was also the floor of the city up above.
Valerius froze as he waited to see if the roof disappeared and people and homes came falling down.
But the ball hadn’t been aimed properly and it just glanced the ceiling before performing a graceful arc and…
It was coming right for him.
The ball of plasma was twice as large as he was. It would land upon him. He couldn’t get out of its way by going forwards or back. There was only one direction he could go.
Valerius dove into the water with the Dragons.