He didn’t know though how powerful his spirit was in comparison to this Werewolf spirit. But, then again, Iolaire had chosen him. He and the Dragon Spirit were meant to bond. So he hoped that meant his spirit was pretty damned strong.
“Gena,” she mumbled, not taking her arms down from her head. “It’s going to kill us.”
“No, it’s not, Gena,” he told her confidently. “We don’t have bodies here. We’re spirits. That means you can run without tiring. You can run as fast as the wind. Maybe faster. Hell, you might be able to simply will yourself from where you are now to the base of the mountain.”
“W-what?” she whispered and then let out a low moan as the werewolf took another step forward. “No, I have asthma!”
It could have just raced towards her and had her in its claws in seconds, but it was watching him carefully. He was an unknown quantity. He wasn’t acting like prey.
Good. That’s right. Be uncertain. Keep your damned distance, Caden thought.
“Gena, you aren’t in your body,” he told her, emphasizing every word. “You don’t have asthma here. You are free of it.”
Her head turned slightly towards him, her lips parting at his words, as if she wanted to believe him, but wasn’t sure she could.
“When I bonded with my Spirit, I thought I was the same as before. But, let me tell you, I can rip a door off its hinges. I can run a marathon without breaking a sweat or even needing to catch my breath,” he told her. “The same is true here. When we bond with our Spirits our bodies change. When you’re here without a body, you’re free of all of its limitations just the same.”
He was now just a few feet from her while the Werewolf was twice that distance. He imagined himself as Indiana Jones and her as that golden idol’s head that he was trying to replace. But instead of replacing the head with a bag of sand that weighed approximately the same, he was going to put himself in her place. He sauntered a few steps closer. The Werewolf bared its fangs.
“That’s rude,” Caden said to it, even as his stomach did a flip and then tried to hide in his feet.
“What are you doing?” Gena asked hoarsely. “You should run.”
“Actually, you’re going to run and I’m going to keep our friend here occupied until you get away with the others,” Caden said.
“I can’t breathe!” she wheezed.
“You only think you can’t breathe, remember? No body here so no asthma,” he stated.
“No body, no asthma?” she repeated.
“That’s right. I want you to keep saying that to yourself and when you’re ready, you’re going to run as fast as Usain Bolt to the mountain,” he told her.
She let out a soft laugh, which he was pleased to note had a lot less wheezing in it. “O-okay.” A pause and then, “You really think I can do this?”
“I know you can, Gena. It’s the power of the mind here. The power of the spirit,” he reminded her. “Now, are you repeating that sentence in your head?”
She nodded.
The Werewolf was now only ten feet away. Caden was even with Gena.
“I’m going to step between you and the Werewolf, Gena,” he said calmly, not taking his eyes off the shaggy beast. “I need you to be ready to run. Are you ready to run?”
“Yeah,” she said.
She’d brought her hands down to her sides. He saw her calf muscles flexing as she prepared to jump to her feet and race towards the mountain. Caden stepped between her and the Werewolf.
“Gena, now!” he cried.
She leaped up and was like a blur, running full out, towards the mountain. The Werewolf made a curious sound. She was supposed to be weak prey. Not strong. Not able to run so fast. But now she was gone. Only a dust trail remained to show her passing.
Caden was alone with the Werewolf.
“It’s just you and me now,” Caden murmured.
The Werewolf’s head shot towards him. Angry, hungry eyes narrowed and more teeth were displayed. A full dental kit of terror. More saliva dripped from the powerful jaws.
“Can you understand me?” Caden asked.
