Wind Beneath His Wings

by Maggie Walsh

  “I want to live again, Sutton. I want to step out… I think with you I can. I just might need some nudging here and there,” Casimir said, just as quietly.

  “Casimir, I want to believe you... I do… but… I…” Sutton sighed, then said, “I don’t know what to do. You really hurt me. What if I let you back in and you change your mind? I can’t tell you the future, Cas. I’m sorry for all your hurt and pain, but you have to open a door before you can even step out.”

  Casimir was quiet a moment, then replied, “I can’t tell you what to do, Sutton. I can only say that I’m willing to walk out that door if you are willing to take my hand and help me with the first couple of steps.”

  Sutton felt something trickle down his cheek and realized he was crying. Wiping the tears away, Sutton was struggling internally. He was so afraid of being hurt again, but he also wanted his mate.

  “I want you too,” Casimir whispered.

  “Oh shit, did I say that out loud?” Sutton asked, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment.

  Chuckling lightly, Casimir replied, “Yes you did.”

  Sutton tossed his head back and closed his eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “What if we started over? I mean, what if we did this like humans? No sex involved at all. We date, get to know each other. I give you my word, I won’t even kiss you if you don’t want me to. It will be hard, but I will,” Casimir practically begged.

  “Cas, I d…”

  “My favorite color is burnt umber because it’s the color of your eyes. I really don’t have a favorite song, because I don’t listen to much music, except for all those musicals Tobias likes like Beaches, Evita, Mama Mia… things like that, but I’m willing to listen to what you like and see what I can come up with. My favorite kind of food is Mexican. I love the spice. My favorite book is Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, because even though I would get down to the last two I still wouldn’t know who the killer was, so I would go back to the beginning and start all over hoping I could find clues I missed, but I never figured out who did it and finally had to finish it off.”

  Sutton couldn’t believe everything Casimir was saying. He had just learned more about his mate in those few seconds than he did in all the time they had been meeting secretly.

  Casimir cleared his throat. “Sutton will you go to dinner with me?”

  “What?” Sutton asked in shock.

  “Dinner. Will you go out to dinner with me? We can sit and talk and get to really know each other. I promise I will be the perfect gentleman,” Casimir vowed.

  “I…” Sutton stopped talking when a sound caught his attention. “What’s that?”

  “What’s what?” Casimir quickly asked.

  Sutton stood up, saying, “I hear something. I need to check this out.”

  “Sutton! Sutton!”

  Sutton hung up and started towards the door.

  CHAPTER 9

  “That’s it. Perfect. Just a little more. I can see an opening behind it,” Illan said, as he watched the pixies, fairies, and elves work together to remove all the large boulders.

  Huge rocks moved through the air, hovering momentarily before gliding back over their heads to a pile a few yards away. Just as the last boulder was moved, Illan could see clearly down the underground tube. There was still some debris inside, but it didn’t look like anything too big to handle.

  Once the entrance was revealed, the machines were all turned off and everyone came to join Illan, Justice, and Destrain who all stood on the edge of the now cleared tunnel, peering down.

  “I know it looks kind of clear, but I’m sure there’s still some blockage,” Clint said, as he squatted down to look into the tunnel. “I can see quite a few boulders still in there.”

  “My elves, along with the fairies and the pixies can keep sliding them out,” Kerrick offered.

  Clint shook his head as he straightened and brushed his hands together. “I’m not sure if we should try it in such close quarters. We don’t want to cause a leak. From what I can see from this vantage point, everything looks stable in there, but if the wrong thing is moved, it could shift something and before we know it we have another cave-in, or worse.”

  “What could be worse?” Wyn questioned, his brows drawn down.

  “A uranium leak of some kind,” Clint replied. “Plus, I think some of those larger boulders I see may be holding up the roof of the tunnel, and if the wrong one is moved…”

  “What if we do a firemen’s bucket brigade, but with the rocks? It’ll be slower than having the magic users do their thing again, but at least we can check each boulder, or wooden beam to make sure of its stability before we move it,” Day suggested.

  Clint smiled as he nodded his agreement. “I think that will work.”

  Illan looked to his son, pride swelling inside him. “I think that’s a perfect idea, Day. Okay, everyone listen up, you heard what Day said. Everyone grab a partner, we work in pairs and hand, or roll things back to the others. Pixies, fairies, and elves, if we can have all of you at the mouth of the cave, so you can move everything away as it clears the tunnel. That will keep everything moving smoothly.”

  He then turned to look at Destrain and Clove. “I know neither of you will like this idea, but it is part of Tobias’s job. I need him for search and rescue on this.”

  Destrain did not look happy, but he didn’t say anything, he just looked to Tobias who stood close to Clove looking on and gave one nod. Tobias smiled and looked to Clove. He too remained silent, but he brushed a lock of hair from Tobias’s eye, then kissed him gently. Tobias went to Destrain and the pixie king hugged his mate tight, then gave him a quick kiss.

  Tobias pulled away and looked at Illan and nodded, then he immediately shifted into his ferret. His clothes swallowed him up and the small lump inside wiggled around a bit, then slid up and out of the neck hole of the shirt. Once Tobias was free, his gaze met Illan’s again.

  “Shit, that was cool,” Clint whispered low.

  “Okay, Tobias, you stay with the first team. If things get blocked and look like there’s nothing to move, I need you to try to find a small area you can get through to see how far the block is. Maybe we’ll get lucky and you’ll find that safe room just on the other side,” Illan instructed, and Tobias nodded his little head. “Okay, people, pick your partner and let’s get those men out of there!”

  They all moved as one, jumping down into the open part of the tunnel. With Day and Nick in the lead and Tobias beside them, the three led the teams into the tunnel.

  * * * *

  The work was slow and tedious. Once inside they found quite a large amount of boulders, rocks, and even a few support beams blocking their way. Before moving anything, Day turned to Tobias and asked him to check around everything to see what might possibly be holding up the roof of the tunnel.

  Tobias scampered around checking everything out from every angle that he could, then he would run to the object he found could be moved unhindered and Day and Nick began the removal, handing things back to the team behind them.

  Slowly, they moved forward, leaving some things behind to help support the area, but making an opening big enough for them to fit through. After over two hours of this labor-intensive work, they finally broke through to about fifty feet of clear tunnel, and Day spotted the door.

  He turned his head and called back, “We need Clint in here!”

  The team behind him turned and yelled out the message, then the voices grew more distant as it was repeated over and over again. A few minutes later a cautious looking Clint appeared with Illan and Destrain by his side, Destrain soothing the little guy. “I promise if anything shifts I will open a portal for you to get out of here.”

  Day looked to Nick and they shared a smile as they both shook their heads. When Clint reached them, Day pointed out over the last few boulders in their way. “Is that it?”

  Clint leaned over and peered over Day’s shoulder and smiled. “Yes, that’s it. Your
friends should be in there.”

  Illan turned and looked to Wyn. “We need the doc in here now. Have some of the guys bring the stretchers in from the ambulances to make it easier to transport the wounded. And make sure they load the bed with supplies the doc may need.” Wyn immediately turned and headed back out of the tunnel.

  “Okay, let’s get these last few boulders out of here,” Day said, then he and Nick each grabbed for the boulders. As they handed them off, Day could hear the doc coming up behind him.

  “Are we clear to go?” Doc Rob asked, when he joined them. Wyndingo and Jett followed him, each pushing a stretcher with medical bags on top of them. A few of the others came in to join them.

  Day took the lead and carefully walked down the tunnel closing the gap between them and the door. Everyone remained silent, listening to the tunnel around them for any sounds or shifting rocks, but none came.

  Just as Day was within a few feet of the safety room door, the thing slowly opened and Sut stood there looking at them in wide-eyed disbelief.

  * * * *

  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. When Sut had heard a noise outside in the tunnel he had hoped it was someone coming for him, but he never expected to see so many of them. Day and Nick were the first ones he saw, then Illan and Destrain, along with some little guy he didn’t know and Doc Rob was behind them with stretchers. His gaze landed on Jett, and he smiled when he saw his friend smiling at him. He could see the relief in Jett’s gaze.

  Doc Rob quickly came to him and grabbed his wrist, taking his pulse and asking him a ton of questions. Sutton gave him the rundown on his injuries, then an update on the wounded men inside. Doc told him to let the rescuers help him out, but Sut refused to leave until the others were looked at and made it out.

  “Foolish man,” Doc grumbled.

  Sut gave him a smirk and replied, “Yeah, like you would leave if our places were reversed. Don’t fight me, Doc, because on this argument you would lose. Come on, I’ll take you to them.”

  With Sut leading, Rob followed, along with Day, Nick, Wyn, and Destrain. When they made it to the wounded, Sut pointed out the man with the most critical injures first, then Doc went to work with Sut by his side. As they got to each man, Sut gave him a rundown on their injuries as well as everything he had done for the patient. Doc checked vitals as Sut took fresh IV bags from Jett and replaced the old ones.

  Doc changed a few bandages, then had Jett and Wyn put the guy on the stretcher and wheel him out. The next most seriously injured man was stabilized, then placed on the other stretcher and Dallas and Morgan moved that one out quickly.

  The next man wasn’t too bad, so once Doc had him ready for transport, Illan stepped forward and carefully picked the man up, then carried him out. Finally, Nick stepped over, picked Logan up, then walked him from the room and out to a waiting ambulance, and most likely Jensen.

  Doc looked at Sutton, then placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small squeeze, as he smiled. “You did great, Sut. I think they’ll all make a full recovery. Come on, let’s get you out of here, so we can get you to the hospital as well.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” he replied with a smile.

  “And now it’s my turn,” Dallas said, with a smirk, then bent and put one arm under Sut’s knees and the other behind his back and lifted him off his feet causing Sut to squeal a bit.

  He laughed as he looked at his friend, and protested, “I can walk, you know?”

  Dallas shook his head as he spun around and carried Sut from the room. “Nope, not gonna happen, so don’t even think about fighting me. You’ve done and been through enough today. You kept those men alive, now let me help you,” Dallas insisted, as he headed through the tunnel.

  Once they stepped outside, Sut drew in a deep breath through his nose, loving the smell of fresh air. Someone started clapping and Sut looked around to see what was going on, but suddenly the sound got louder and he noticed the hundreds of people standing in the open tunnel and up on top of the edge, and they were all looking at him and clapping. Sut was stunned. What the hell?

  “A hero’s honor for a true hero, Sut. We’re all proud of you,” Dallas said, as he went to the stairs that looked like someone had cut them out of the earth and carried Sut up to the top.

  When they cleared the ridge, Sut looked around and saw all his friends standing there by the back doors of an ambulance, and they were all waiting for him. Onyx and Neil from Wyn’s station came forward with a stretcher and Dallas placed him on it.

  “I don’t need a bed, guys, I can sit in the back,” Sut protested.

  Onyx smiled as he shook his head. “No can do, man. You get a first class seat in this bus, so lie back and relax. Neil and I will have you to your destination in no time. Doc, you want a ride with us?” Onyx asked Doc Rob, as Neil lifted his arm to start an IV.

  “Yeah, thanks. It’s probably my quickest way to the hospital. I want to meet with your doctors there and go over each of the men’s assessments,” Doc replied.

  Sut flinched when he was stuck with the needle and gave Neil a frown, which only made the man laugh. “Sorry, Sut, but you’re probably more dehydrated than the others. Ready to roll?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “No,” Illan, Wyn, Nick, Destrain, and a few others all said at once.

  Sut relaxed back into the stretcher and looked to Onyx and Neil. “Okay, boys, once around the park, Jeeves.”

  “Great, now we’re driving Miss. Daisy,” Onyx grumbled, then laughed as Doc jumped in the back of the rig and he was rolled inside. Once the doors closed and Neil started to drive away, the events of the day hit him hard and tears burned his eyes as his body began to shake.

  Doc placed a hand on his shoulder and Sut met his gaze. “It’s the adrenaline crash. You’re coming down. Don’t try to fight it, Sutton, just let it come. Trust me, it will only last longer and hit harder if you fight it.”

  Sut swallowed hard as he nodded and let the tears flow.

  CHAPTER 10

  Casimir sat in the waiting area. All he knew was that his mate had been brought in to be examined and treated for any injuries, but he had no idea what those injuries were and no one seemed willing to tell him anything since he wasn’t immediate family. He was so worried, he didn’t hear or scent anyone coming up behind him until a gentle hand squeezed his shoulder. “How are you holding up, brother?”

  Looking up, Casimir replied, “I’m fine, Illan. I just wish I knew how Sutton was doing. No one will tell me shit and I’m really worried about him.”

  “Doc Rob is helping out. It seems that he has a bit of a reputation and the head of ER was thrilled when he offered his services. I have no doubt that Sutton is being well cared for and when they can, someone will come out here and tell us how he’s doing,” Illan stated.

  Nodding, Casimir sat, then leaned back in the chair, bringing his head back as he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “I really fucked up, Illan, and I don’t mean with just my mate. I fucked up with you, my sons… hell, I fucked up with just about everyone.”

  “That’s not true, brother. You’ve had a lot of shit going on and—”

  “I love you, Illan, but you can stop getting ready to make an excuse for my behavior. You and I both know that it would be an exaggeration at best. I’ve been back in this realm for a few years and I have done everything I can to keep to myself. I’ve used one of my closest friends as an excuse to do it and I am ashamed. I didn’t even realize I was doing it until I was talking to Sutton when he was in that mine. We were talking and as I was trying to explain things to him, I realized how I had been keeping so many people at arm’s length,” Casimir softly said, never looking at Illan.

  Illan patted Casimir’s leg saying, “Adjusting to a new life is never easy.”

  “It just makes no sense, Illan. When I watched the veil from the pixie realm close and I knew that there was no way to return, all I could think about was how I would never see you, mother and father, or my Jac
intha again, and how we would never get to have the children we talked about. I would have nightmares about what happened to you all and I wanted so bad to return to fight alongside you and everyone else in our clutch,” Casimir rasped.

  Taking in a deep breath, Casimir continued, “When I did finally get to come back and was told that the dragons and phoenix were no longer there and that everyone had perished, I was devastated. I just accepted his words and thinking that my family and friends were all gone, I returned to the pixie realm without doing any further investigation as to whether the shifter was accurate or not. Then, to discover you were still alive and so were Day, Wyn, and…” Sighing heavily, Casimir admitted, “I was ashamed.”

  “Cas, you had nothing to be ashamed of. Those times were hard on all of us. For a long time we didn’t know how many dragons survived. It took quite some time to pick ourselves up and move forward. I had a lot of tough decisions to make. I knew that the paranormal world would know that we had been seriously weakened, so I decided the best thing we could do was to separate into smaller clutches, and even though I would be the leader, I would have others that would run those clutches. It allowed us to stay out of sight and begin to live once more. I missed you so much, Cas. You were always my sounding board, and when you weren’t there and no one knew what had happened to you, I… I mourned your death. I felt the loss of our family deeply and I shut my feelings down as best I could. I hardened myself against the world,” Illan softly replied as he swallowed hard, then rasped, “So much so, that I almost lost my son as well as my mates.”