Chapter Nine #2
I continued scanning the camp, cataloging everything from their weapons cache to their supply tents. Enough resources to keep us afloat for a long time.
I inched a little higher, then spotted something that stole my breath.
There at the back of the camp, closest to the wall below us, sat two gigantic cages. One was empty. The other held a dragon.
“Shit,” I muttered.
So Lucifer had bred more than one then. Not surprising. But I didn’t appreciate the sight.
“Well,” Calyx muttered next to me, his gaze also locked on the dragon. "That's inconvenient.”
I didn’t answer, too busy taking stock of the outpost. I wanted to know what we were facing. Was this dragon identical to the one we’d just faced, or had my father taken creative liberties and designed them differently?
Calyx shifted his weight, his wing bumping my side. “So. Care to chat about what happened back there?”
“Nope,” was all I said.
He, of course, ignored me. “Well, too bad. Listen, I get it, you’re pissed. And I completely understand why. You fucked up.”
I shot him a blistering glare. One that only had him grinning.
“But don’t you think you were a bit hard on ole Rath?”
“I call him Rath. You don’t,” I muttered.
“Ah, possessiveness. A good sign. For a second there, I thought you were planning to break the old demon’s heart.”
“This really isn’t any of your business, Calyx,” I warned.
“Well, see, that’s where you’re wrong. Here’s the thing. You’re the leader of our group, a title you so humbly appointed yourself earlier. And if you’re the leader, that means anything that involves you is the business of everyone who follows you.”
I simply sighed.
“See, when people follow you, it opens you up to scrutiny and opinions, and all that not-so-fun stuff. We get to analyze everything you do, pick it apart to make sure you’re the right leader for us. It sucks, I know. But it’s just what happens when someone is the leader.”
“Do you have a point to make?” I hissed.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s somewhere.” He hummed under his breath for a moment, then said, “Aha!” Like he was freaking Thomas Edison discovering the lightbulb. “I remember now. Your relationship is all of our business. That’s a fact. Accept it. And that also means I get to give unsolicited advice.”
“Yay me,” I drawled.
Calyx chuckled. “You know, I like you better when we’re alone. I get to see the real you a bit more. She’s…fun.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Anyway, my advice is to ease up on Rathiel. As much as it disgusts me to even think about you two doing the nasty deed”—he faked a choking sound—“you two care for each other.
That tends to lead to moments like last night.
You didn't abandon anyone. We're all capable fighters and can take care of ourselves. It was just a shitty situation, one we were wholly unprepared for. And Rathiel was right, we have no way of knowing how things would have gone down if you had stayed behind. It could have resulted in even more death. Losing Sable is a tragedy. Mourn her. But don’t destroy your relationships with everyone else in the meantime.”
I finally turned my head to glare at him. I couldn’t remember ever hearing him talk so much before, and I had no inclination to experience it again.
Calyx offered a toothy grin. “There she is. I was starting to miss your sunny disposition.”
“Why are you even talking to me about this?” I asked. “You don’t give a damn about anyone but yourself.”
His grin faltered for a second, then came back even sharper.
“Normally, you’d be right. And while I usually enjoy watching—and causing—people’s misery, even I’m not enjoying watching you shame-spiral.
” He flicked a finger toward the camp. “You think chewing out Rathiel and flying off with yours truly was a great plan? Sure, I’m flattered.
But he looked like you’d just ripped out his spine and handed it to him. ”
Okay, that made me wince.
“He loves you”—Calyx made another disgusted noise—“ugh, can’t believe I said that out loud. And yes, I know you have a saviour complex. But don’t push him away. Lean into him. He’ll be there to support you in any way he can.”
“Are you done?” I asked dryly.
“Hmm.” He tapped his mouth with his index finger.
“Almost. We have an overwhelmingly impossible goal set out in front of us. If you want to win this war and kill your father, then you have to stay alive to accomplish that. If you keep bottling your anger and lashing out at your allies, soon, you’ll be, well, ally-less.
And then you’ll be dead. Unfortunate fact of life. ”
“Oh, just stop talking already.”
“Nah, I love the sound of my voice far too much for that. Just think about what I’m saying, alright? Maybe give him a little kiss when you get back.” Calyx forced a shudder. “To show him you still care. And on that note, I will proceed to shut up.”
“Hallelujah,” I quipped.
I turned my attention back to the outpost. My gaze drifted over what supplies I could see from our position.
At first glance, there were more than enough materials down there to keep our paltry group fed, armed, and patched up for weeks, if not months.
With my army’s numbers added in, though, I wasn’t quite sure.
Levi would be able to give me a better estimate.
“Well, Leader of the Group? Think we can take it?”
“Not with just the seven of us. Rathiel's blood magic and my hellfire and shadows could do some real damage, but they outnumber us by a lot. Plus they have that dragon down there.” I nodded toward the cage.
Calyx followed my line of sight and nodded. “Yeah, that’s a bit of a problem. Maybe you could kill it like you did the last one. You barely needed us. Might even give you a chance to blow off a little steam.”
“Sounds good in theory, except those hellspawn down there aren’t going to sit back and just let me storm their outpost and murder their pet. If we're gonna do this, then we need to level the playing field.”
“Oh? And how do you plan to do that?”
I glanced back at the camp, at the caged dragon banging its horned head against the iron door. Then I turned to Calyx and grinned for the first time today. “I guess it’s time I finally resurrected my army.”