COBALT: The Red Phantom (Book One)

Chapter 26: Friendly Threatening (Part 1/3)

          Káel watched Ray pull something out of his pocket, smooth, rectangular and incredibly earthy for a guy from Lumi. He turned the phone to Phantom, the iconic audible snap of a picture sounding off multiple times.

         "What's he doing?" Phantom muttered, rigidly poised with his arms folded for Ray's mini photo-shoot.

          Káel couldn't let his panic show, trying with all his might to wear a facade of confusion for Ray as he finished up. With a slow and dramatic side glance he thrusted his thumb at the wall. "Why are you taking pictures of an empty corner?"

          "Empty?"Ray's lips curved into a devious smirk. "You think its empty?"

          Káel forced himself to look at the corner with Phantom again, feeling the sweat collecting on his skin as he turned to Ray with a stiff frown. "Yeah? I mean... do you see anything?"

          "It doesn't matter," Ray replied, slipping the phone back in his pocket with a wink. "Samanthra will handle it."

          "How about we all just talk about this?" Phantom chimed, his shoulders dipping with disappointment as Ray completely ignored the request. "Blondie? Over here you weird golem!"  He sighed at the lack of attention. "Aaaand he can't hear me."

          Ray gave Káel's shoulder a small pat, pulling a small sack of medicine out of his bag to toss on Káel's lap. "That'll get rid of the headache and keep the swelling down in your lungs. Get some rest while I fix this."

          No.

          "Wait," Káel croaked, his throat still stiff with pain if he tried anything above a normal volume. "Stop."

          But Ray kept to his route towards the door, his hand just brushing the handle.

          "Ray, stop!"

          Káel rolled off the couch, shakily standing and ready to try his best attempt at running in his current state.

          But Ray had finally stopped, although his expression certainly didn't reflect someone that had suddenly changed their mind. He was rigid, brow scrunched in extreme concentration as he stared at his outstretched hand. "What did you do?" 

          Káel froze, the spite grating in Ray's voice keeping Káel on his side of the room. "What do you mean?"

          Ray gritted his teeth, his face reddening with strain as his hand shook ever so slightly. 

          He couldn't move.

          Káel took a few steps closer to the frozen elite. "You can't tell Samanthra."

          "Oh, this spell is going to wear out eventually," Ray spat, letting out a sigh of frustration when he couldn't get his limbs past a stiff shake. "For now, you're going to listen to me loud and clear. That thing isn't your friend, it's a monster. You'll see that as soon as you give it what it wants."

          Káel choked out a laughing scoff. "You mean like you?" 

          "Me?" Ray's eyes darkened, his voice growling with a near murderous depth. "All I've ever done is keep your scrawny butt safe. Like I did with those Chirops, that stupid room, those unicorns." He jerked his arm back, Káel feeling the spell he'd subconsciously cast shattering as Ray's imposing shadow turned to engulf him. "You would have been a mauled corpse left in the woods."

          "You know. I don't remember much about that night, aside from suffocating on my blood, but I do remember saving you from the Queen." Káel took a couple stumbling steps back as Ray changed his direction. "You're welcome by the way."