The Sage's Vow

2.2 || Soulmerge

"Caleb!"

Mara rushed to Cale's side. Josh followed behind at a slower pace, his ribs twinging painfully with each step. She dropped to the ground by Cale and turned him so that he lay on his back.

He groaned, and his eyes fluttered before his head lolled to the side. Sweat coated his skin. His very pale skin. Other than that, nothing seemed unusual. No injuries, no twisted limbs. Everything looked like he should be fine.

First Boomer, and now Cale. Instead of more fear and pain, a ball of anger exploded from Josh's chest. He spun on Diwa. "What happened to him?"

If there had been another attack or anything, someone in the Sanctuary should have known. But if nothing had happened, only Diwa and the two dragons had been with Cale and Ezraim, placing the blame on them.

Diwa fixed Josh with a level, unamused stare. "Nothing happened after you left. Our journey was peaceful, at least until Cale started to feel weak."

She speaks the truth, Ezraim rumbled, though Josh didn't need the confirmation. Something about the steadiness in Diwa's eyes made it hard to not believe her. Or maybe just made him too uncomfortable to question her.

"Cale will be fine, though he is a matter we will need to handle after this," Hisato said, tone flat and detached. He hadn't moved from his spot near Boomer. It could have been Josh's imagination, but his dragon's shoulder almost appeared normal. "A resonation overload?"

"It would seem that way," Diwa replied.

"Already?" Most ofthe worry had vanished from Mara's voice, and that more than anything easedJosh's own concerns. Something more like awe had taken its place. She turned back to Cale, eyes alight with wonder.

He kneeled besideher. He moved slow and steady, but every muscle that could be sore lethim know they weren't happy about the action. "Am I the only onecompletely lost?" he asked, examining Cale once more, as if some words wouldappear on his skin to explain everything.

"What we mean is—" Mara cut off, frowning. "First, can we get Caleb to a better place? The infirmary isn't far."

"But..." Josh bit his lip and looked over his shoulder.

The orange of Hisato'shands had spread around Boomer, encasing the dragon in a thin veil. FromJosh's new angle, he saw just how many wounds spread across Boomer'sunderbelly. He felt ready to pitch over and barf. No, more thanthat, he felt ready to somehow find the great imp and pummel it into oblivionwith his bare hands.

It would be better for you to go, Josh.

Josh shuddered despite himself. Ezraim wasn't ancient by dragon terms—only a couple centuries, if he wasn't mistaken—but it still felt like some huge, untouchable force had just used his very plain, human name. He shook off the weirdness and focused on the rest of Ezraim's words.

"I can't just leave Boomer," he said.

Hisato will heal your dragonling. Staying here is doing you more harm than good, and he would not wish that upon you.

Boomer's wounds reacted as if perfectly timed to Ezraim's words. Before Josh's eyes, one of the larger wounds began to stitch itself back together. The scales would need to regrow with time, but the healed part of the dark blue flesh looked good as new. At least, it would once the rest of the cut sealed and someone cleaned away the blood.

His healing will feel slower if you watch the entire time, and your body won't heal itself if you focus all your energy on worrying, Ezraim said.

"Ezraim's right," Mara said. "If you stay, I can come back after I get Cale settled, but I think it would be better if you came with me."

Josh sighed, and with his relent, some of the pressure left his shoulders. "Okay, I get it. I'll tag along." He dragged his eyes away from Boomer, turning around to face the others.