Someone had a hold of his ankles. They were dragging him across the street. He was going in and out of consciousness as more foul breath was passing over his mouth and nose. He saw the threshold of the doors into the tunnels. They were taking him somewhere deep inside of Reach. The doors clanged shut behind him and the boy blew more gas into his face.
Consciousness left Caden and Iolaire.
Through White To Black
Valerius was fully on his back, on the bedroom’s carpet, arching in agony. Out of the corner of his eye he saw fluffy slippers under the bed and rolling dust bunnies as his body felt like it was being slammed by dozens of sledgehammers. Pain like this was not familiar any longer. Only when he and Illarion had tussled in the past had he felt anything like this. Raziel let out a roar that shook the “cavern” where it dwelled as it, too, experienced pain.
V-Valerius, i-in trouble! Caden’s voice came faintly to Valerius as he was rocked by the unexpected pain.
“What? What is it? What is wrong with you, Valerius?” Illarion was down on his haunches beside him, looking anxious and ill-equipped to handle this.
They were rarely injured. Only another of their kind could truly hurt them. This fresh, raw Hell was breath stealing and Valerius couldn’t speak for a long moment. Illarion was down on his haunches, patting Valerius’ bare chest as if to inspect for wounds.
“What the Hell is going on here?” Illarion shouted.
The Behemoth spoke as one from Harvey and Ross’ lips, “We are taking back what is ours. You shall all know the oneness. You will take your place as part of us.”
Illarion jumped up and slammed his forearms against the brothers’ throats. Normal humans would have had their necks crushed by this. Even other Shifters would have. But the Behemoth was not like other Shifters. It was a Hydra with the power of eight. So all it did was let out a disturbing, slightly choked laugh.
“You shall be one. You shall be one,” they chanted.
“We will never be a part of you! You are a parasite! You need others to create your strength!” Illarion hissed. “Tell me what you are doing to him or, so help me, I will turn you into paste!”
“Not him,” the brothers said with giggles that Illarion snuffed by pushing harder against their throats.
“Then what is wrong with him?” Illarion glanced back over his shoulder at Valerius.
It was only then that Valerius gritted out, “C-Caden! He and Iolaire are being attacked by--by the Behemoth! T-taken!”
“That one girl he couldn’t handle? I don’t believe it! He shouldn’t be let out of the castle if that’s true!” Illarion shook his head.
“It’s the Behemoth! Seven Dragons and one Hydra against just Caden!” Valerius gasped. “Kaila’s bruised your ribs plenty of times. Mei’s had you on your ass as well. Caden isn’t a trained fighter. He isn’t a warrior like us!”
“Damnit! We shouldn’t have let him go!” Illarion sent a fist through the wall near Ross’ head.
Valerius agreed. Oh, how he agreed! But it had made sense at the time. Catching Landry had been important to Caden, to all of them really. His lover would not have had trouble against one human part of the Behemoth. But dozens?
“Could have happened--happened to any of us,” Valerius got out. “Shouldn’t have underestimated this creature.”
He rolled onto his side and forced himself to try and stand. Illarion offered him a hand up. Valerius almost knocked it away, but this was Caden who needed his help. He couldn’t let his pride get in the way. And he had just spoken of brotherhood, hadn’t he? But old prejudices held on unless one consciously beat them back. He grasped Illarion’s hand and let the Green Dragon King help him to his feet.
“If it is Caden who they have captured, what is wrong with you?” Illarion asked.
“We’re mated, Illarion. At least partially. I feel what he feels and vice versa,” Valerius said. “Didn’t Mephous tell you about that?”
Illarion’s forehead furrowed. “But he is a little Dragon! All would go after him to get to you!”
“Yes, Illarion, that is the catch in mating. More power, more happiness, more everything, including weakness,” Valerius stated.
Little or not, Caden’s hide was thick as theirs. As he had considered earlier, Valerius had no fears about Caden going after a single possessed human. But something terrible had gone wrong.
“Then it is madness to mate!” Illarion cried, looking horrified.
Valerius felt a hole open up in his chest as he thought of Caden not being connected to him, of Iolaire and Raziel not sharing the same lair, of being alone once more.
“No, it is wonderful and so worth it.” Valerius stared at the two brothers. Anger, titanic and powerful, filled him. “I will make you pay for this, Behemoth. I will destroy you this time. Raziel will turn you into nothingness.”
“You know what happens if you attack us.” A bloody smile appeared across both brothers’ lips. “The world will burn and your territories will be destroyed. You will become one to save the humans.”
