Page 72 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

Coen slices at the creature’s tail with his sword, as Reed stops it from attacking Coen while he slices the tail. Evander starts to blast water in its face, hoping to force it to let go and move backward away from the cave entrance. The creature yowls in pain as its skin hisses where the water comes in contact, but it still doesn’t let go. It tugs, and Kylen moves closer to the edge. River grabs hold of one of Kylen’s arms, Raiden grabs hold of the other, and I pull Asael from my back.

“Move,” I say to Coen.

It’s a testament to how we’ve worked together before that he doesn’t question me, he just moves. I swing Asael, and he slices through the creature’s tail with ease, causing the creature to scream and launch itself backward. There is no time to breathe a breath of relief though because as soon as the creature drops out of sight another one takes its place.

River and Raiden pull Kylen back further into the cave as Van, Reed, Coen, and Doc, who had been helping them keep the head busy, jump back to avoid the new tail that’s threatening to grab hold of anything that it can. Ransom steps forward and throws his hands up; the now familiar glow of one of his wards blocks the entrance completely. He’s left it so that we can see through it, and I move up to his side as I stare out at the hundreds of creatures flying around in the night sky, only illuminated by the moonlight.

“Fucking hell,” I mutter. “They’re swarming like bats.”

Kylen starts to curse and grumble, spouting a whole load of bullshit about how he had it and didn’t need any help. Everyone ignores him, even the Draconian team, as they all edge closer to see the swarming mass outside. One of the creatures dives toward the ward and then bounces off with a pain filled screech, as another tries to do the same.

They don’t seem to be that intelligent, these creatures.

“We stay in the cave tonight, and move when it’s light,” Evander says firmly, and no one, not even Kylen, tries to argue with him.

“The ward will last until then, but I’m going to have to stay awake to maintain it,” Ransom says. “Especially since they are attacking it. I need to make sure that they don’t make any weak spots.”

Van nods, “That’s fine, we’ll take it in shifts to wait with you, and as soon as the first light hits and they disappear, you can get a couple of hours' sleep before we head out.”

“I don’t fucking think so, we will be leaving at first light,” Kylen starts.

“No,” Reed replies. His voice commanding, and all of the Draconian team hit the floor. Coen falls a moment later than everyone else and lands a lot more comfortably. Reed continues, “Ransom is staying up all night to keep us all safe, we will not be leaving until he has caught up on at least a couple of hours of sleep, so he isn’t putting himself at risk.”

“Need we remind you, again,” River growls, “we have to help each other and get through this together.”

“Trust us, we hate it as much as you fucking do,” Griff adds.

Reed’s power retracts, and everyone slowly sits up, all of them looking nervously at him.

Kylen clears his throat, anger and malice dancing across his expression, “Fine. But don’t expect any of us to help keep watch.”

I roll my eyes, fucking pathetic.

None of us bother to reply because honestly, what is the point. The Draconian team all head to the very back of the cave and settle down. Coen reluctantly sits down near them, but right on the very edge. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when they all start to make beds and close their eyes, but I can’t believe that they aren’t even going to try to help. Especially since we saved their leader, and thanks to Ransom, we’re ensuring that they don’t end up dying in the night.

Van sighs and pinches his nose, “Alright, guys. I’ll be on watch first with Ransom, and then we’ll rotate through the night. We can switch every hour or so, and someone needs to be watching when Ransom goes down as well, just in case.”

“Agreed,” Doc says. “There’s always a chance that one of them could stay awake or something else could become a threat.”

“Exactly,” Van agrees. He looks at Ransom apologetically, “I’m sorry, man, but I’m only going to be able to give you a couple of hours' sleep. We have no idea what is over the top of the cliff, and we can’t risk leaving it too late to find shelter if we need to before it gets dark again. I have a feeling that those creatures hunt for miles around.”

Raiden nods, “From what I can remember, they do. They have huge appetites, so their hunting grounds are vast. I think the realm goes into lockdown at night.”

Van grimaces, “That’s going to make things a lot more difficult. It means that we can’t travel when it gets dark, and although it seems to stay light for a while, the creatures seem to wake up suddenly when it does.”

“It means that we might have to find shelter again before we can get to the portal,” Griff points out gruffly, his arms crossed over his chest.

“The instructions from the Choosing didn’t mention a time frame,” Coen interrupts, proving that he’s listening, and earning a scathing look from Kylen, which he ignores as he continues, “so at least there’s that. Not that it would be ideal to have to find shelter and stay here for another night.”

Doc nods, “That’s a really good point. Although I don’t like the thought of us not having a time frame because it’s so difficult that we don’t need the added pressure of a time limit, too.”

“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out. We have enough skills between us, even if we are missing something,” Ransom replies. “I’m good with only getting a coupleof hours of sleep, I’m feeling pretty revitalized after earlier anyway, a good fight always does that to me.”

I begin to frown and then realize that he’s talking about the magic that I lent him when he was bringing Griff and Reed in to avoid the lava geysers.

“Good,” Evander says without skipping a beat. He turns to the rest of us, “Everyone else needs to get some sleep. Griff, I will wake you in an hour.”

Everyone nods, and he looks pointedly at the guys. I’m unsure what the look means until I find myself lying between Reed and Griff, with River lying above my head, and Doc at my feet. Not only that, but they have made sure that we’re lying on the side of the cave, which also puts Coen between us and the rest of the Draconian team.

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