Landry smiled broadly. But then, in a flash, for just a second, the Behemoth was back, grinning like a loon, and throwing Landry’s body off of the Emporium. But then it left her and all the protection being a Shifter gave was gone. So when she hit the ground, that would be it. Her skull would crack like an egg. Her organs would splatter inside of her body. The skin would hold, but everything inside would be broken.
NO!
They sent a blast of ice towards her. It solidified behind her in a slide and then it curled to the ground like a water park ride. Landry’s body slid down the slide and was ejected from the bottom into a pile of snow. Caden couldn’t see through the blasts of frost if she was okay. They landed in the back alley where she was. He saw the pile of snow, but no Landry.
Landry?! LANDRY?!
Suddenly, a dark head popped out of the snow. She shook the snow away from her face and eyes.
“Caden?!” she cried.
Oh, my god, Landry! You’re okay! You’re here!
They lowered their head to smell her, to search for wounds. She wrapped her arms around their snout and held onto them with all her might.
“I’m okay! Oh, my god, I can’t believe it! I was in the lair and then--then I was here! Falling and--and that slide! That was incredible!” She twisted around to look at the ice slide that glittered in the moonlight. “We’ve got to do that again!”
Caden shifted into his human form and embraced her. “Maybe later when my heart isn’t in my throat. Iolaire and I are a little freaked out.”
She turned around and blinked. “There you are! Oh, Caden! I don’t know what happened. How did I get free?”
“The Behemoth wanted to… to kill you,” Caden said softly. “It wanted me to feel its failure. By hurting you.”
She pulled back. Her mouth opened in an “O” of horror and surprise. “O-of course, it did. Of course.” She shook herself, still a little stunned that the Behemoth had intended her to die, truly die. “My brothers… are they?” she stopped, not wanting to ask, but still wanting to know.
“They’re okay. Still possessed. But I’ve got them cocooned in ice. They aren’t going anywhere and they can’t hurt anyone,” Caden assured her.
She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Well, that’s a relief. Though I should be grateful we didn’t hurt anyone… we didn’t hurt anyone, did we?”
Alarm had her voice rising up into a higher octave than her usual one.
“No, everyone’s okay.” He didn’t tell her about Chione. He didn’t want to scare her and he didn’t know the situation there anyways. “You can’t go to them, Landry. It’s not safe. They’re not… them.”
“No, I know. Oh, man, they’re probably so freaked out in the lair!” She wrung her hands together.
“I know. But it’ll be over soon,” Caden guessed.
He hoped. But it all was hanging on the Behemoth going back to the crater. What if he was wrong? What if the crater wasn’t the Behemoth’s lair? What if the Dragons waited for the Behemoth that never came? They’d have to go back to their lairs and this all begin again!
“Yeah, before I, uhm, left we could hear Dragons roaring even in the lair,” she said. “Last battle?”
“Last battle,” he agreed. For now, he added silently. “I just need to find Jasper. He’s the last free part of the Horde.”
“Jasper?! Oh, of course, he’s the last part of the Horde standing! God, he would be.” She crossed her arms over her chest. She patted the front of her bare chest and then she blushed. “Oh, my god, I’m naked! Caden, I’m naked!”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was such a relief to hear her, to see her, to feel her. Oh, it was so good!
“Here, let me open the Emporium. Plenty of clothes in there for you to put on," Caden said.
He went over and used his great strength to easily break the lock. The door swung open for Landry. She headed over to the open door eagerly, picking her way carefully on the broken concrete of the alley.
“Landry, stay in the warehouse. Don’t come out. Stay out of sight, okay?” Caden told her.
She nodded. “Go do your hero thing. I’ll be here. I hope Wally left that bag of Cheetos in his desk. I’m starving!”
He watched as she went inside. When he was sure she was safe, he shifted and they rose up into the air with a few, powerful beats of their wings. They rose up behind the Emporium and had a bird’s eye view of the square.
People were still loitering about. But he was pleased to see that many were trying to help the wounded. There were so many crushed and broken bodies though that it hurt to look at. He saw the red and white lights of ambulances and police cars trying to get to the square, but too many people blocked the streets and they couldn’t get through. As they scanned the crowd, looking for a single naked figure, they flew over to the ambulances.
