Mist Dragon, page 17
part #5 of Dragon Misfits Series
The iron dragon came up behind him. “Many dragons have been lost,” the iron dragon said. He glowed brightly, heat and energy radiating. It pushed back the growing darkness, illuminating everything.
Jason turned to him. “I know many dragons have been lost over time, but these shouldn’t have been. There should have been some way to protect them. I tried to free them.” And he had. However briefly, he had. If he had only sent them away when he had rescued them, then perhaps they wouldn’t have been destroyed.
“You cannot save all,” the dragon said.
Jason took in a deep breath. Here he thought the worst thing he was going to have to deal with would be fighting Dragon Souls. At least in that case, he could anticipate what they might do and what he would need to do to protect the dragons. This was something else. This was a slaughter.
Not only of the Dragon Souls but of the dragons. This was cruelty.
“All I wanted was to stop the Dragon Souls,” he said.
Sarah joined him, glancing over at the iron dragon. “And you still can.”
Jason shook his head. “I don’t know how we can stop the Dragon Souls while also dealing with Lorren. I thought we could work together to stop the Dragon Souls.” Jason glanced behind him to the clearing. He could still feel the rumbling that had been here, even though it had faded long ago. There was an energy to it, almost a signature, and he wondered, if he were to focus on it for a little while longer, might he be able to track the earth dragons? “If this is how he battles with the Dragon Souls, we can’t work together. I don’t want him to injure any more dragons.”
Sarah reached for him, taking his hand. “Someone needs to stop Jessica. Why not him?”
Jason couldn’t do it that way. Not if it meant sacrificing so many. And that was what it would be. A sacrifice. A slaughter. Not if he could do anything to stop it. “There would have to be another way,” he said.
“Will there? You were there. You were with her inside the palace. You felt her energy and power. You struggled against her. You are connected to the dragons in a way that I have never known, and still you couldn’t do it. How do you think we will stop her?”
He shivered, but she was right. Despite everything he’d been able to do, he hadn’t managed to stop Jessica. He had halted her attack for a little while, but he hadn’t stopped her altogether. To end the fighting, to stop the attacks on dragons, that was what he was going to need to do. Eventually, he was going to need to remove her and her family so they no longer ruled in Lorach.
Turning his attention back to the forest, he let out a long sigh. The iron dragon pressed up behind him. Perhaps Sarah was right, and they needed to use Lorren, regardless of how violent and deadly he might be. The only thing Jason wanted since learning of his connection to the dragons was to ensure they had an opportunity to survive and thrive. They wouldn’t be given such an opportunity with the Dragon Souls. Maybe not even with Lorren.
He turned back to the iron dragon. “We should go back.”
He had to find that strength. There had to be a reason for the sacrifice so that these dragons had died for a purpose. Heat radiated from the iron dragon, leaving his body glowing with a soft orange light that pushed back the growing darkness. There was an energy that mingled with the heat. It took Jason a moment to realize where that came from. It was an undercurrent of rage and anger that burned within the dragon. Jason held out a hand, and the iron dragon swished his tail from side to side.
“They can’t hurt you now,” he said.
The dragon pulsed with more heat before starting forward. Jason and Sarah followed.
“What about William?” Sarah asked.
“He’s probably safer in the air.”
“Should we call him back?”
Jason frowned. Maybe he should.
The iron dragon slowed, and Jason looked up into the sky, focusing on what he felt. There was a faint tracing of energy, and had he not attempted to connect to the dragon before, he wasn’t sure if he would’ve noticed it. He used that and then followed the surge of energy, letting it streak away from him.
“I tried. I don’t have a connection with this dragon like I have with others, so I don’t know if I can call to him the way that I would these others.”
Sarah smiled at him. “The fact that you have some way of connecting at all is impressive enough.”
“It would be even more impressive if I could call them all.” If that were possible, Jason could imagine how he might be able to save them. They might be able to work together, freeing even more dragons. It was possible that were he to find some way of stretching across the distance, reaching for dragons in general, he might find the Dragon Soul dragons. Perhaps that was something he should practice.
“I can’t call to any dragon unless I have spent time with him.”
Jason smiled. “Just him?”
“You know there aren’t that many female dragons, so I suppose just him.”
“We’ve freed some female dragons,” he reminded her.
“Not nearly enough,” she said.
They stood off to the side of the small clearing, and Jason stared at the sky. Distantly, he had a sense of the dragon, and gradually that came closer. A dark shadow circled overhead. It began to descend, and as the dragon landed, Jason waited.
William sat astride the dragon, watching them. “Is it over?”
William climbed off the dragon, holding out his hand. The dragon sniffed at him, and then William rubbed his hand along the underside of the dragon’s head. William leaned close. “You should go.” The dragon snorted, a massive puff of smoke and steam coming from his nostrils. “I can ride back with them. I will find you when I return.”
The dragon swung his head around and looked at Jason. His eyes blazed with a certain energy. He seemed to regard Jason for a long time, almost as if trying to decide whether or not he could be trusted. Finally, the dragon took off, circling in the sky before heading away. It seemed as if he were heading for Dragon Haven, though Jason didn’t know if the dragon could find it with the illusion over it. Jason focused on the dragon, using the faint connection that he shared with the dragon for a moment, and gave him an image of Dragon Haven, letting it wash over him. The dragon roared quietly before continuing onward.
They reached the entrance to the mine, and Jason was reminded of how he had wandered down it, the ice dragon helping him find this dragon, a fellow hatch mate.
At least, what the ice dragon thought was a fellow hatch mate. Maybe the iron dragon truly was, or perhaps he was something else altogether. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they had bonded. They had come together. And they had grown as more than just dragons. They had become friends. They had become Jason’s family.
“This is where you found the iron dragon?” Sarah asked.
“The ice dragon and I came here trying to find others. He had felt something here,” Jason said.
“How long do you think they held the iron dragon captive?” Sarah asked.
Jason looked at the iron dragon. He sniffed at the entrance to the mine but hadn’t started toward it. “I don’t know. That’s something that he hasn’t shared with me. I don’t even know if he even knows. It’s similar to the ice dragon. I tried to see what he might know about what happened to him and how he ended up in the mountains, but he doesn’t even know that.”
“Lorren must have needed to place the egg deep in the mountain,” Sarah said.
“When we were dealing with Therin, I was mostly concerned about trying to keep myself safe, but also protecting the misfits as much as I could. With him gone, I should have spent more time understanding what he had been up to before. Or if he was responsible for all of this. I thought it him, but now…” He looked around the mountainside. “It shouldn’t have taken Lorren coming to Dragon Haven for me to try to understand their origin.”
“You were more focused on Lorach,” Sarah said.
“I don’t even know if that was the right thing, though,” Jason said. “Until we understand the dragons, and until we know that we can protect those with us, I don’t know if it makes sense to keep threatening Lorach.”
“What are you saying?”
Jason shook his head. “I don’t really know.”
Which was true. All he did know was that he didn’t feel as if they were going to be able to handle Lorren until he fully understood these misfits. He looked at the iron dragon. The dragon turned his attention back to Jason, and the heat radiating off him had shifted a little bit, glowing with a bright light, leaving him squinting into the darkness.
He smiled. It reminded him of when he had come here before. He thought of facing the Dragon Souls, the fear and terror that he had felt at that time. He thought of how the iron dragon had ripped through the forest, his swordlike tail cutting trees down as if they were nothing. He thought of their escape, the way the dragon had slithered down the mountainside, long before he had learned to fly.
They had been through so much together.
“We should go before Lorren finds the others.” Jason didn’t worry about the ice dragon. He flew high enough that no dragon of Lorren’s could reach him. The iron dragon was with Jason. He worried about the storm dragon. Even the forest dragon, though she should be able to protect herself with her illusion. Then there was the river dragon. What would Lorren do with that?
The ground suddenly rumbled. It built rapidly—too rapidly. For a moment, the only thing Jason could think of was that it was an avalanche, but given that there would be no avalanche here, he knew exactly what it was.
Jason grabbed for the iron dragon, sending a burst of energy through their connection, but was too slow. The ground swallowed the dragon.
He jumped, reaching Sarah and William, pushing them backward. The rumbling intensified, violently throwing them back and away from the clearing. They managed to get to stable ground, but there was no sign of the iron dragon.
Jason could only stare.
He focused on his connection to the iron dragon, using the iron dragon glove, feeling for energy within it. That energy began to fade.
16
J ason looked around, trying to clear his mind, his vision, and everything else so he could try to find a way to help the iron dragon. The sudden loss of the glowing light coming from the iron dragon left the mountainside plunged in darkness. It took Jason’s eyes a moment to adjust, and at that moment, he knew that it was too long. He started forward, holding onto the heat of the iron dragon glove, but it was fading, growing cooler.
“What happened?” William asked.
“The earth dragons attacked,” Jason said. “It’s Lorren. He’s trying to claim the misfits.” And here he’d thought he’d left, but he must not have.
He should have known there was a risk. They had been attacked already, and he should have waited. He should have ensured that Lorren had left.
The connection between Jason and the iron dragon continued to fade. He had to find some way to reach through that connection so that he could help. Panic started to set in.
“I need your help,” he said to Sarah. “We have to get into the earth and free the iron dragon.”
“We weren’t able to do that before,” Sarah said.
Jason’s mind raced. He tried to think about what would work, but there didn’t seem to be any answers. When he had dealt with the earth dragons before, he’d had the strength of the iron dragon, and had mixed it with the ice dragon. Without the iron dragon, he didn’t know if he could save him. He had to focus. He had to find some way of helping him.
“I don’t know how long he can survive under there before Lorren does… whatever he intends!”
The strength within the dragon continued to fade. With each passing moment, he knew they were running out of time. He called upon the ice dragon. He channeled that power, pushing it through him. If nothing else, he would help heal the iron dragon, if only for long enough to give Jason a chance to help.
Something happened.
It came as a shifting of power and an explosion of energy that flowed out from Jason, connecting the iron dragon to the ice dragon. Within that connection, he could use that power. It expanded and then exploded.
A rippling earthquake trembled beneath his feet.
“What was that?” Sarah asked. “Are the earth dragons returning?”
“I think… That was me,” Jason whispered.
“Can you do it again?” Sarah asked.
He thought that he could. “It was a combination of ice and iron,” he said.
“Steam,” William said. “When you add the energy of the ice dragon to the iron dragon, it creates steam. Steam expands. It should be able to press through the space wherever he’s trapped. Maybe enough to get him free. Keep doing it.”
Jason had done something like that before.
And he would not abandon the iron dragon to Lorren.
I will claim him again.
That was what Lorren had said.
Rage filled Jason, and he focused on the dragons, on the energy they possessed, and let that fill him. He was a conduit. He would give the ice dragon the connection to the iron dragon. He let that connection flow through the iron dragon glove, through the iron dragon so he could free himself. Heat and cold mingled. Once again, there came a joining.
As before, it exploded. The ground trembled.
The steam expanded, and it slammed into the space beneath the ground.
A deep roar came with it from the iron dragon. It was distant and muted, almost as if something held onto it.
The earth dragons.
It meant they were there, attempting to constrain the iron dragon. That also meant that Jason had to work harder, and so he mingled the powers of the ice and iron dragons again. As before, there came another explosion.
This time, it burst outward, and Jason and the others went flying. As he got to his feet, he looked over, relieved to see Sarah and William were okay.
He focused on the iron dragon. He had to use the energy within him, and he had to help. He had to grab for power. He continued to pull on energy, using the mixture of the ice and iron dragons, letting it flow through him. It rolled up within him.
He forced it through his connection to the iron dragon. The dragon roared, though it was muted, as before.
He couldn’t save the iron dragon this way. He might be able to mix the two powers and give the iron dragon space, but he didn’t know if it was going to be enough for him to escape.
What would it take?
The earth dragons were potent. Each time that he mingled the powers, the earth dragons seemed to respond.
“I don’t know any way to get to him,” he muttered.
“What about the earth dragon?” William asked.
Jason glanced over at him. The ground continued to tremble, and thankfully though he had a sense of the iron dragon, it wasn’t nearly as faded as it had been before. “Lorren has control over the earth dragons.”
“He might have control over them, but you have a connection to these dragons.”
“Not like that,” Jason said.
“Why can’t it be?” William glanced from Jason to Sarah before nodding toward the ground. “With your connection, you could connect to the dragons.”
Sarah nodded. “Didn’t you say that you have a way of connecting to most dragons?”
Jason focused on the ground. He could feel the rumbling, the energy that was there, a signature to it that he recognized. He could feel it. He hadn’t tried connecting to the dragon misfits Lorren used. He’d simply tried to stop them. What if he did try to connect to them?
He didn’t even know if it would work. He didn’t even know how many earth dragons were there. If he could connect to them, even a little, then maybe he could slow the attack.
“I have to try,” he said, trying to hide the doubt in his voice.
He moved to the center of the clearing, knowing he put himself at risk if the earth dragons were to try to swallow him, and planted himself in place. He held onto the connection to the iron dragon as he sent a surge of energy through it to alert the iron dragon of what he would try. He had to let the iron dragon know help was coming. The iron dragon needed to know Jason wasn’t going to abandon him.
The iron dragon pulsed against him. It was strong. Potent.
He shifted his focus to the trembling beneath him. It was the energy of the earth dragons, their signature. As Jason stood in place, power flowing around him and radiating up through him, he became aware of a rumbling that seemed as if it would force him away. He focused on it.
The energy resisted him.
It was there, though.
He continued to focus on it.
He wasn’t trying to abuse or use these dragons. Only connect to them.
He had to know them. It was the same way that he had to know the ice dragon. The iron dragon. Even the forest dragon. It had taken understanding them to gain that knowledge.
Jason strained, continuing to push power out. What if he added a connection to the forest dragon? He might be able to alter something.
It might even help if he could see them. There was a way for that. He could borrow from the iron dragon and might be able to do something different.
Illusion.
He focused on the iron dragon and looked out through his eyes. Everything around him was dark, but the iron dragon pulsed with a hint of light, illuminating his surroundings. Were dragons around him? The strange darkness of those earth dragons surrounded the iron dragon.
He turned his attention to the forest dragon, feeling for the energy of her fluttering through him the way that it often did. It came washing in waves in his mind, the slow breath of the breeze through the trees. Jason used that energy and let it move him, swirling through him. Power shimmered, and he pushed it out. All he wanted was to shift reality.
Without Lorren opposing him, and without the mist dragons, Jason thought he should be able to overcome this. More than that, there was something he thought he could do that might be more effective. He used his home.
