Page 2 of The Arrival of the Dragons

“Let us go then,” Valerius said, before turning and running out from under the canopy of trees. In a blurred moment, he turned from man to Dragon.

The Black Dragon flapped its mighty wings and was up into the air. Caden was stunned at the beauty and magnificence that was Valerius and Raziel. His breath caught and he stood there frozen. Valerius turned his head around and looked back at him.

Oh, right, time to shift. Caden closed his eyes.Iolaire, please help me do this without messing up.

Iolaire chirruped and flapped its wings. Caden opened his eyes and ran. He picked up speed and leaped…

Please, please, please shift!

He fell flat on his face. The air left his lungs and he let out an oomph. Dazed and cheeks burning with shame, he gazed up at the Black Dragon looking down at him.

A thought came from Valerius,Stay there, Caden. I will handle this.

No! I can do this!Caden reached for him.

I will keep to the plan. You remain here,Valerius said.

But I--

Valerius though was already flying towards Reach. Caden slammed his hand against the ground.

Damnit, they’re going to fight unless we’re there, Iolaire! I just know it!

The White Dragon Spirit flapped its wings in agreement. Caden got up to his feet, dusted himself off, and looked at where the titanic Black and Green Dragons were about to meet.

Just above the city. Oh, man, Valerius! Keep your temper!

But if his words reached Valerius or Raziel neither of them responded to him. Feeling panicky, Caden looked around for a place to launch himself off. That had worked in the field. The only real hill was over the pool. The water would be a good deterrent for him to fly. It would also be better than landing in the dirt again if he didn’t.

Butterflies were filling Caden’s chest as he glanced back over his shoulder at Valerius and Illarion. The Green Dragon had become aware of the Black Dragon’s presence and had cut a close corner around High Reach. They were going directly at one another. The Black Dragon wasn’t hurrying, but there was a tenseness about it that told Caden neither Valerius nor Raziel was happy.

Okay, we gotta get up there, Iolaire. Not messing up this time, okay?

Iolaire bobbed its head. Caden took a breath and jogged over to the base of the slight rise overlooking the pool. He had a momentary regret that the Green Dragon had shown up like this. He and Valerius could have been cleaning up in the pool. Before getting very dirty again, with Caden paying Valerius back for the “favor” he had given him earlier.

But no. We’re here and Valerius is going to get into a fight.

Caden shook his head, took a breath and then raced up the incline. It wasn’t all that far, and it wasn’t all that high. It was maybe ten feet above the water’s surface, if that. Caden’s right foot hit the very edge of the hill and heleaped…

And he fell.

He belly flopped into the pool. Once more all the air was thrust out of his lungs. His front stung like a son of a bitch. He sank several feet down below the water’s surface before he opened his eyes. Below him looked to be a forest of trees. It was some kind of weed that grew from the bottom and waved lazily in the current. The pool was a blue-green color because of the plants and the light. It was so beautiful that the pain retreated for a moment, but then he realized that he needed to breathe.

Caden scrambled for the surface and took in a great gasping breath. He treaded water, too annoyed with himself to do anything for a moment. What was his problem? Why couldn’t he shift? He needed to do it! Why was he failing at it so spectacularly? He swam around to look back towards Reach. The Black Dragon was hovering while the Green Dragon circled it. Caden gritted his teeth.

Valerius is keeping it together. For now.

Grimacing as his body still hurt from impacting the water, Caden slowly swam to shore. Iolaire mimicked the swimming motion with its arms.

Why is this happening? Why can’t we just shift? You want to shift! I want to shift! But we cannot shift! Now is not the time to have performance anxiety!Caden raged.

Iolaire let out a hoot of sadness. It didn’t know what the problem was either.

We need to be calm.We need to work as one.

Iolaire let out a second hoot in agreement. Caden was sure that this wasn’t Iolaire’s fault. It must be his. Once he got on shore, water sluicing down his body, he looked over again at Valerius and Illarion. The Green Dragon was snapping at Valerius, who remained flapping his wings. It reminded Caden of a cat swiping at a bigger cat to try and start a fight. Eventually, the paw would come down. Caden shook himself.

We need to get up there, Iolaire.

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