“Ah, I cannot fly right now, Marban, and I can’t ride on a wasp’s back,” Valerius reminded him dryly.
“Ah, don’t be so hasty! You very well can,” the old Swarm Shifter said with a way of his finger that was stained red with Chione’s blood.
“Marban, we have no time to debate--”
“Do you trust me?” Marban asked and then as if realizing how insane that question was, he grimaced. “Of course, you don’t--”
“I do,” Valerius interrupted. “I trust you, Marban.”
The old Swarm Shifter blinked. Those words seemed to shock him into silence. Valerius was about to speak to rouse him when Marban shook himself and said, “I’ll need your help, Rose. Between the two of us, he can fly on the backs of insects.”
“Fly him?! I’m with Valerius here. You’re Swarm Shifters not Dragons!” Wally cried.
“Our swarms are as big as Dragons,” Rose said, evidently understanding what Marban intended. “I’ll do it. Of course, I’ll do it.”
“Caden and Iolaire are in the square,” Valerius said, wondering exactly what they had in mind.
“We will get you there,” Marban said.
Valerius went over and tenderly kissed the back of Chione’s hand. It was cold. So cold. But her eyes were open, though glassy, and she stared up at him as if memorizing his face. But she would see it again. She would survive.
“I need you to hold on, Chione,” Valerius begged her. “Iolaire is going to fly you to daylight. You just need to hold on.”
“I want to see the sun rise once more,” she said and then closed her eyes.
For one horrific moment he thought she’d died, but he realized she was just sleeping. Would she wake again though?
Ngoye returned at that moment with a doctor who ran a critical eye over Chione. He directed that she be covered with a light silver blanket that would keep her as warm as a parka. It was clear that the physician thought this was a lost cause but he was professional and kind.
“Go! Go! Get Caden! Don’t worry. Ngoye and I will stay with her and the doc,” Wally assured him.
“Good. Thank you,” Valerius said, wrenching himself from Chione’s side as he, internally, begged and prayed that it would not be for the last time. “All right, I’m ready, Marban, Rose.”
Both Rose and Marban tipped their heads back to the sky and closed their eyes. In a second, they disappeared in a haze of insects taking their places. Wasps and bees in the thousands. Insects that could sting. Insects that were feared. But not this time. He blessed every single one of them.
They surrounded Valerius. He could feel their bodies bumping against his own. Every single inch of him. The air heated, becoming almost hot, and then his feet were leaving the bridge, as if he was floating on a warm cloud.
Valerius nearly opened his mouth in awe, but he kept his lips tightly shut as he didn’t want to swallow any of the insects. He chuckled though--internally--as the thick cloud of insects carried him off the bridge and started to fly him to the square.
Hold on, Chione! He prayed. I will make sure you see the sun again in this life, not the next.
Deja Vu
Caden and Iolaire gently put the humans onto the ground. A young woman with blood on her dark-skinned cheek and deep brown eyes filled with tears gazed up at them with awe and gratefulness.
It’s okay now. Well, mostly. Go on. Go home. They gestured for the young woman to run.
Her friend, a young man with the same deep brown eyes, and also spattered with blood, grasped her forearm. He nodded to them and then he and the girl took off into the crowd, who were also running in all directions.
Shift? Iolaire asked as they watched those they saved disappear.
Last time we did that I got us into a lot of trouble, Caden reminded his Spirit. Besides, we need an aerial view to find the naked people aka the Horde. Or what’s left of it.
His mind flashed back on Chione’s still body on the bridge. Part of him wanted to go back there. Iolaire made a soft wounded sound.
Not in our power, Iolaire murmured.
Caden knew what his Spirit meant. Their powers didn’t run to healing. None of the Dragons had the ability to heal. No matter how great they were, that was beyond them all.
