Page 31 of To Cuddle A Gremlin

Isadore didn’t remember the flight. His thoughts were focused solely on the lightning pain in his leg. Bale was an excellent flyer, lifting himself on the thermals while holding onto Isadore as a precious package. Had he really left Sebastian behind? Hells, the poor man would be going out of his mind, and Isadore wasn’t there to stop him from catastrophizing. He remembered telling Sebastian it wasn’t his fault. Isadore hadn't been watching where he was stepping and hit that fucking rock at the precise angle to send him flying.

“We’ll be meeting Lord Typhon soon. Darius contacted him right after he was done with Sebastian. Lord Typhon saved my wings. He will help you out as well,” Bale said as he circled a clearing. Two men waited on the ground, and both were looking up.

“This wasn’t how I meant to greet the Lord of All.” Isadore grimaced. “Fuck.”

“You never run into your Gods under normal situations.” Bale landed with grace before depositing Isadore gently on the prepared litter. “Would you like me to bring your friend here? He seemed a bit shaky.”

“I would be eternally grateful. You have to remind him he didn’t cause this. He’s got this idea that he’s a curse. But he’s not. Promise me!” Isadore pulled himself into a sitting position and stared deep into Bale’s eyes. Someone had to talk some sense into Sebastian.

“Ahh, one of those fellas. I will do my best.” Bale took a flying leap and disappeared into the stormy weather. Isadore eyed Lord Typhon with some trepidation. His human appearance didn’t make sense. In every image Isadore had seen of the great God, he had a multitude of tentacles and the blackest of eyes. To see him in thick boots and a knit hat confounded him. “My lord?”

“So, your insides are trying to exit your outsides. Well, this’ll be a challenge, but I haven’t had this sort of fun since Bale needed me. Don’t look at me like that. I’m a good person.” Lord Typhon ruffled Isadore’s hair with a kind hand. “Where are your tentacles?” Isadore asked, the pain making his thoughts foggy and his normal filter nonexistent.

“They don’t like the ice. I keep getting stuck, and it hurts. Have you tried putting your tongue on a frozen metal object?”

Isadore blinked at the unexpected question. He’d first come into contact with metal here in Granite. “I have not. Is it something I should do?”

“Absolutely not. The worst pain imaginable,” Typhon cut off Isadore’s pants. “Though I imagine you’d disagree otherwise. What have you done?”

“I slipped on a root,” Isadore explained. He glanced down the untouched path. Where was Sebastian? Why hadn’t he arrived yet? He better not have bailed on Isadore. They’d have words if he abandoned Isadore because of his belief in bad luck and curses.

“Roots are dangerous trip hazards. What I’m going to do is reset your leg. This will hurt. There’s no getting around thediscomfort. You’ll also have a bit of a limp for a while. But I can heal the bone, so you won’t be immobile. How’s that sound?” Typhon’s words were matter-of-fact while he touched Isadore’s leg. Every motion sent shooting pains throughout Isadore’s body, blinding him. His thoughts scattered as he tried to breathe. Isadore could only hold on to Sebastian. He was his hero, his joy. If Sebastian was beside him, this agony would be a pittance.

“Delightful. Just make the pain go away,” Isadore ordered. Though the real worry was not seeing Sebastian here right now. “Where’s Sebastian? Shouldn’t he be here by now?”

“Bale said he would retrieve him. We must be patient with the skittish souls. They require delicate handling. I’m sure you’ve realized if you force their hand, bad things will happen, correct?”

“He should fucking believe me. I am not—” Isadore paused as agony spiked. “He’s my person. He’s the one I’ve been looking for.”

“Then he’ll come around. Keep holding onto that hope.” Typhon patted Isadore’s shoulder before rifling around in a small tote. “I have a few spell components I need to locate before we do healing magic.”

The familiar rumble of Sebastian’s car had Isadore relaxing. He had expected Bale to drop him off, but to hear the motor made some of his anxiety float away. Sebastian had arrived. Sebastian heard him and was willing to be by his side.

“Took a few minutes to convince him, but I managed,” Bale announced as he pushed an almost unwilling Sebastian toward the makeshift operating table.

Isadore recognized the fear in Sebastian’s eyes. The combination of Sebastian’s genuine worry and self-reproach swirled in those hazel beauties. Isadore prayed to all gods that Sebastian would realize the guilt was misplaced. “Bas.”

“I didn’t… I wasn’t. Dammit, Isadore, this is my fault. I should have chosen a better day. You could have died. And I should have told you the trail was slick. It always is.” Sebastian wrung his hands as he remained out of arms’ reach.

“Today was absolutely perfect. You aren’t taking that away. So I fell.”

“You broke your leg. You have a compound fracture. Your fucking bone is peeking out from the skin,” Sebastian’s voice kept raising and becoming higher pitched as he ticked off each description of Isadore’s injury.

“I didn’t need to hear about that last one, thank you.” Isadore’s stomach rolled as he imagined the injury. Combined with the already-there nausea and this new information, Isadore vomited. Sebastian was ready with a towel and his water bottle.

“Oh, God. I didn’t realize you were sick. I should have?—”

“Stop panicking. You are to sit by Isadore until I say you can leave him,” Typhon thundered as he dodged the mess. “If you’re going to take ownership of how he broke his leg, you will watch as I fix the bone. It’s the least you can do.”

“Uh, okay.” Sebastian held tight to Isadore’s hand as Typhon painted a cold concoction over Isadore’s leg. Isadore squeezed Sebastian, comforting him. “Don’t look. It’s not pretty.”

“I hadn’t planned on it.” Isadore stared up at the storm-grey sky. The sleet hadn’t made its way to this house yet. For once, he was grateful for the indecisive weather. “What a day for a walk.”

Sebastian made a grunting noise but kept his opinions to himself. “We won’t be able to go out for Light Up night.”

Isadore struggled to sit up, despite both Bale and Typhon holding him down.

“Really Sebastian? Just as I’m about to use magic? I can see why Isadore questioned your loyalty,” Typhon snapped. Sebastian bleached to a milk-white with cherry cheeks.

---