Mist Dragon, page 9
part #5 of Dragon Misfits Series
“My name is Lorren Daven.”
Jason shook his head. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”
“Perhaps you should be.”
When Sarah sucked in a sharp breath, Jason glanced over at her. “Do you recognize him?”
She stared at the man, and it was a measure of her surprise that she pulled a dragon pearl from her pocket. It was a pale yellow dragon pearl, and Jason could practically feel the connection between the dragon pearl stretching from her to its dragon. It was a trail of energy that stretched away from her, out of the throne room, out of the building itself, and to the dragon situated out in the yard not far from them. It would take very little for Jason to reach for that same power, stretching across that distance, and call for the same dragon energy.
“He was supposed to be dead,” Sarah whispered.
Lorren grunted. “As I am not dead, I am here. Lucky for you.”
Jason looked around the room, surveying the others in the room with him. He had seen the three Dragon Guard in the hallways, but there were no Dragon Guard in the room. How many had returned to the city? From what Sarah had said, it must’ve been enough to raise attention. When Jason had returned, riding with the ice dragon, he hadn’t noticed any Dragon Guard. There had been no sign of dragons, nothing that would indicate riders having come through.
“Sit,” Lorren said again.
Jason glanced at Sarah, and she nodded. He shrugged, making his way around the table until he found an empty seat next to Henry. Sarah joined her parents, sitting between them. It created a strange sight. All of them were situated in a way that allowed them to look at Lorren, yet he seemed completely at ease.
“Now that I’m seated, what do you want with me?” Jason asked. “I presume you’re here because of me.”
Lorren watched him. There was a brightness in his eyes that glittered for a moment, and he shifted, leaning forward a bit more. The dragonskin scraped along the table, creating a strange sound. “I understand you’re the one who hunts for dragon misfits.”
Jason’s heart started to pound. “I search for them. Not hunt. They need to be protected.”
Lorren regarded him another moment. “Have you found any recently?”
Other than the river dragon, Jason hadn’t uncovered a misfit dragon in months. It left him worried whether there were any more, and he certainly worried that he had overlooked others. Knowing Therin and his plan, it was entirely possible that he had left other dragon eggs scattered throughout the known lands.
“I’m not sure it matters,” Jason said.
Lorren grunted. “Oh, it matters. And I’ve returned to see if perhaps there is anything you might do to help.”
Jason quickly glanced at the others, pausing a moment to stare at Olar and Cherise before turning his attention back to Lorren. “If you think there’s a dragon misfit, then I’m happy to help.”
He had traveled with the Dragon Guard before, but he began to wonder if Lorren was a part of the Dragon Guard. He flicked his gaze to the back of the room and the hidden figure. Somebody like this would offer them a different way to defeat Jessica. As Jason looked around the chamber, he didn’t see anyone else watching Lorren the same way. It seemed almost as if they were concerned.
Why would they not want to involve Jason?
He needed the light to be a bit brighter and to know who was hiding there.
“I have found activity that leaves me questioning whether or not it is one of these so-called misfits. It’s dangerous. Much as I hear they are dangerous.”
Jason turned his attention back to Lorren. “The dragon misfits are real. And they have been mistreated by Lorach.”
“As I have seen,” Lorren said.
“Seen?”
“The dragons. The misfits. And Lorach. I dispatched a dozen of them recently, leaving them—”
“What do you mean you dispatched them?” Sarah asked.
Could Lorren be responsible for what Jason had detected? The dragons had been there—then gone.
“I removed the threat,” he said, his tone making it clear he would not discuss it any further.
“Which misfit have you seen?” Jason asked.
He found it strange that Cherise and Olar had been silent. That troubled him. Something about Lorren left them uncomfortable. He could see it on their faces. He could see it in the stiffness of their posture. He could even see that same discomfort in Henry, which was unusual in itself. Henry rarely was uncomfortable. Having trained with the Dragon Souls, the only time Henry had been nervous was when he had felt the need to return to Lorach. Even then, Henry had done what was necessary to protect the dragons.
“All of them.”
Jason pulled his gaze back to Lorren. “I don’t think so.” He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Lorren. “If you would’ve said that you had seen the ice dragon, I wouldn’t have been surprised. He tends to be quite visible—when he wants to be. Otherwise, he’s no more visible than a cloud.” Perhaps a fast-moving cloud, but even that would be difficult for anyone to see with the ice dragon flying as high as he could. “If you would have said the iron dragon, perhaps I would have thought you had seen him. He can certainly be noticeable. Made of what appears to be molten metal, when he’s flying at full speed, he glows so brightly that he looks like the sun.” The idea of it made Jason smile even now.
Cherise and Olar sat silently watching him. Sarah was stiff between them, though he noticed that she clutched a dragon pearl tightly in hand. He didn’t think she’d need the dragon pearl but didn’t want her to do anything that would get her into more trouble with her parents.
Jason recognized the uncertainty within Henry. He might look as if he were comfortable, but it was an act. If nothing else, he realized a truth from Henry. This man worried him.
Jason leaned forward, looking at Lorren. He truly looked at him.
His gaze darted from the dragonskin to his face and to his overall demeanor. Jason had assumed he was one of the Dragon Guard, there was something different about his dragonskin. Not just the cut of the fabric, but the scales looked different, as if from a creature resembling a dragon but not quite the same.
Who was this person?
Sarah recognized him, and he needed to understand why.
“You’re not with the Dragon Guard,” Jason started.
Lorren shook his head. “No.”
“Then why are you here?”
“As I said, because I came to decide whether I could use your help. But first, there is something I must show you.”
Could he have known about the river dragon? It was possible the river dragon would have moved, and Lorren might have discovered it. If that were the case, then perhaps Jason needed to take it easier with Lorren, though there was something about the man that left Jason unsettled. There was a darkness within him.
There was something that was almost dragonlike about him.
Perhaps that was what troubled Jason the most. It wasn’t anything else about him; it was that inability to be able to interpret what he might do and what his intentions were.
Lorren leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “I have another misfit.”
8
J ason followed Lorren out into the street. In this part of the city, the street was wide. It stretched out toward the courtyard where dragons were trained, at least in the manner that dragons were trained within Dragon Haven. It was a different sort of process than the dragons of Lorach suffered through. Jason could see the dragons in the distance, and he could feel the power coming from them, however faintly. They passed one of the massive dragon sculptures, and Lorren merely glanced over at it. Was that a sneer on his face?
Henry stayed with Jason, and Cherise and Olar trailed a few steps behind, as if they didn’t want to get too close. Sarah maintained her position alongside Jason. Every so often, she would look at him. There was a hint of worry in her eyes.
Jason still hadn’t identified the other Dragon Guard at the back of the room, but he thought that he understood why there would have been one there. If Lorren was not with them, they would be present to ensure Cherise and Olar were safe.
“Who is he?” Jason asked Henry as he followed Lorren. He claimed to have another misfit. That mattered—and was something that Jason hadn’t expected and still didn’t know whether to believe. “And why did you think he was dead?” he asked Sarah.
“We thought Lorach finally caught him,” she said. “He’d been with Dragon Haven, but thought to attack Lorach on his own. They trapped him. Or so we thought.”
It was just what Jason intended as well. At least he better understood her fear for him. She didn’t want Jason to end up captured like Lorren. Would that be how Jason would end up if that were the case?
“Lorren had been outside of the rebellion for a long time, though he fought against Lorach on his own. Even when he was here, he was dangerous. It was before my time, but the Dragon Guard are clear on what he did. Does.” Henry watched him, and Jason had a distinct sense that Henry pulled on power through a dragon pearl as he followed, as if to be prepared for anything.
“Aren’t we all dangerous?”
“He’s dangerous in a different way. Ruthless. He’s been known to slaughter both Dragon Soul and their dragons to prevent them from attacking.”
That was what Lorren meant about dispatching the dozen dragons.
The stiffness he saw from Cherise and Olar made a particular sort of sense. They respected the dragons in the same way Sarah did. That was the entire purpose of Dragon Haven. It was a place where the dragons could be safe, protected, and it was a place where the dragons were revered. Somebody like this, somebody who didn’t view them the same way, who was willing to attack the dragons, to cut them down simply to prevent them from being used, could be no different than the Dragon Souls.
Or from him.
Despite his protestations, when he’d dealt with the storm dragon, Jason had been willing to bring down the dragon if needed to save other dragons. Was that any different than Lorren?
“If he has a dragon misfit…”
“That still doesn’t mean we can welcome him,” Henry said. “When I was in Lorach, there were stories of his brutality. It made it easier to find those willing to fight the rebellion. Who wouldn’t want to stop someone so willing to slaughter both man and dragon?”
Concern began to build in Jason. Who was this man?
“What about the Dragon Guard?”
“They followed him. They didn’t arrive with him,” Henry said. “They realized he was heading to Dragon Haven and attempted to stop him, but he overpowered them. He’s been here before, Jason. Your illusion might prevent someone who doesn’t know where to look from finding us, but someone who does…”
Jason frowned. The illusion should be powerful enough to deter even a determined person, but that was a different issue. “How did one man overpower the Dragon Guard?”
“How did you overpower as many dragons as you have?”
“Are you saying he’s connected to the dragons in the same way?”
If that were the case, then maybe Jason could learn something from Lorren. There might be an opportunity to get answers about the nature of his abilities. There was an element to them that was different than those of a Dragon Soul. He could use the power of the Dragon Souls, and he could connect to the dragons. He could use the dragon pearls, but he had more of that same magic within him. If Lorren had that power, they could use it against the Dragon Souls.
“I see that look in your eye,” Henry said.
“What look is that?” Jason asked, trailing after Lorren.
“The look that says you want to know if you could work with him.”
He looked over at Henry. “If he fights Dragon Souls, how could we not work with him?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said?”
Jason sighed. “I heard you, but I also recognize we might need somebody willing to do what it takes to stop them. With Jessica…”
He didn’t have to finish. They knew what Jessica had been willing to do, the way she’d been willing to attack the dragons, to force them to serve. With her power, and the control she possessed, all dragons were in danger unless Jason managed to free them.
“At what cost?” Sarah asked, turning to him. “You’ve saved the dragons, rescuing them and freeing them. It’s because of you that we finally have an opportunity to save dragons that have been captured and trained for as long as they have. Without you—”
“Because of him, I have a fleet of dragons,” Lorren said. He barely looked over his shoulder, and yet there was a hard edge to his voice.
“What do you mean a fleet of dragons? If you’ve trained them the same way as the Dragon Souls—”
Lorren suddenly turned to him. “What would you do?” He was about the same size as Jason. Slight of build and certainly not imposing by his appearance, but the power that suddenly flowed out from him, an awareness of energy that burst from him, left Jason thinking he needed to be careful with this man. Lorren watched Jason, a hint of amusement lingering in his eyes. “What exactly do you think that you will do, Jason Dreshen?”
If this was somebody who had power the way it seemed he did, then he didn’t want to fight. He might need to use him—and his connection to the dragons. Still, he wasn’t about to allow somebody to harm the dragons.
“Have you attempted to train them like the Dragon Souls?” Jason asked.
“No,” Lorren said.
“That’s all I ask,” Jason said.
“That’s all?” Lorren grinned at him. “Perhaps you should be asking other questions, Jason Dreshen.” He spun and, rather than heading toward the clearing where Jason thought he’d go, he headed into the forest.
Jason frowned, debating for a moment before veering off and following him into the trees. The others stayed with him. Cherise and Olar remained quiet.
“What’s wrong with them?” Jason asked Henry.
“Lorren had been with Dragon Haven long ago. He’s rumored to have killed the dragon Cherise worked with years ago.”
“He killed her dragon?”
“The dragon had been claimed by one of the Dragon Souls. Lorren refused to allow it to be used, and so he slaughtered the dragon.” Henry turned and stared at Lorren. “At least, according to rumor. Who knows if that’s true or not.”
“It’s true enough,” Lorren said. He glanced over at Cherise, and she clenched her jaw, staring at him. “She doesn’t want to admit it, but she failed to adequately prepare her dragon for what it might face. I tried to warn her, but she wouldn’t listen. None of them listened.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Jason asked.
“I’m here because of you,” Lorren said. “I have my sources—especially in Lorach—and have heard of these misfits. That is why I’ve come.”
They continued through the forest. This part of the forest was incredibly dense, and the trees rising up around them created a difficulty in navigating through here. They took a small path, and no one spoke. A little bit of sunlight drifted through, though not so much that it warmed much of the forest itself. The air still had a humidity to it. All in all, it was far more pleasant than Jason’s home.
Sarah stayed alongside him, finally grabbing onto his arm. She leaned close to him. “He makes me uncomfortable.”
“I think that’s his intention,” Jason said.
“I’ve heard stories about him when I was young.” She looked up at her parents and then over at Henry. “They’re the same kind of stories Henry has been telling you, but more than just what he did to my mother’s dragon. He’s taken on Dragon Souls by himself.”
“So have we.”
“Not we. You,” Sarah said. “But you took on Dragon Souls with just a single dragon. He went against an entire squad of dragons. Fifty. With no misfits. And he emerged unscathed.”
“Not unscathed,” Lorren said. He turned and pointed to his cheek. A thick beard covered his jawline, but beneath it, Jason could make out a long scar running along the jawline. “Not at all unscathed.”
Jason frowned. “You were able to take on a squad of dragons all by yourself?”
“With enough training, anyone could have done it.”
“Anyone?”
Lorren glanced over at Cherise and Olar. “Perhaps not anyone.”
They glared at him. They disliked each other, but did that matter?
Jason had been looking or a way to defeat Lorach.
This man had it.
They headed deeper into the forest.
“How?” Jason asked as they walked.
Lorren looked over. “As I said, anyone with half a connection to the dragons could have done it. Lorach uses the same patterns. They are predictable.”
“Maybe they had been. I don’t know if they are anymore.” Especially now that Jessica led them. She had changed tactics on them.
He noticed movement on either side of him. As he peered into the trees, he realized Dragon Guards followed. They were moving in the shadows, trying to avoid being detected, but moving so quickly, they weren’t able to hide their movements.
Jason turned his attention back to Lorren to see him sneer at the Dragon Guards moving in the darkness. He knew they were there. Nothing else about his demeanor changed, though.
“Where are you taking us?” Henry asked.
“You don’t know?” Lorren asked.
“No. Are we supposed to know something?” Cherise’s voice had a sharp edge to it, as if she wanted to shout but feared yelling at him.
“Then you are a fool,” Lorren said.
Jason frowned, but an awareness he hadn’t noticed before started to press upon him. The longer they walked, the more he became aware of it. It was a strange pressure that continued to build around him, leaving him unsettled.
It took a moment to realize what he detected, though he didn’t know why it should trouble him. When he understood what he felt, the sense of it was there, burning within him.
