Then again, if he made a commitment, if he spoke the words of the flame, then perhaps Henry and others here would believe him.
“Have him do it publicly,” Jason said.
“Publicly?”
“In front of the dragons.”
Henry frowned, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said.
“I don’t, but I think you need to risk it.”
“Why?”
“Because we might need him for this.”
“We can’t trust him.”
“Did the people of Dragon Haven say the same about you?”
Henry held his gaze for a long moment. “Yes.”
“Then it’s even more reason for you to do this. You know what it’s like. You know how hard it is to gain the trust of someone who believes you have no interest in what is important to them. I’m not saying David is reformed and I’m not saying that he’s going to work on behalf of the dragons, but I do think he can be useful. And he was helping me.”
More than anything, that thought stuck with Jason.
Henry let out a loud sigh and turned toward the door, twisting the keys in it and unlocking it. When he pulled it open, David stood on the other side.
“I know you,” David said.
“If you know me, then you know what I’m willing to do.”
David glanced beyond Henry to Jason, locking eyes with him. There was a question there, though Jason wasn’t sure what David was thinking. Was he upset he’d freed him from the cell?
“I know how you betrayed our people,” David said to Henry.
“Not my people. Not anymore.”
“And yet you still betrayed them.”
“Did I? What if those people betrayed me?”
“You were trained. You were given power. And you betrayed it.”
“I was betrayed. The lessons taught to me were wrong. And everything we believed was wrong.”
“Is that what you think to teach him?” David nodded to Jason. “And yet you don’t give him the other side. You don’t allow him to know what his power can do.”
“I haven’t done anything to his power.”
Henry grabbed David and jerked on his back, thrusting him in front of him. Henry was considerably larger than David, larger than Jason, and he forced David forward. “Get moving.”
“Is this how it’s going to be? Are you going to bring me out here and destroy me?”
“I’m not going to bring you out and do anything. And you have Jason to thank for this.”
“For what?” David asked, studying Jason. He crossed his hands over his arms, watching him.
“For your new vow.”
“What new vow?”
“You’re going to make a vow in front of the dragons. You are going to speak the words of the flame. And you are going to commit to protecting them.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“I know you think you can’t, but you will. And if you don’t, you’ll be returned to the cell and that will be the end of it.”
David laughed bitterly. “Is this how you treat all of us? Do you force all of us to make a vow in front of the dragons? Do you think such a thing will change anything?”
Henry shook his head. “We haven’t made anyone do this before. This will be the first time.”
“Will it? Then why me?”
“Ask Jason.”
Henry started off and David regarded Jason for a long moment, saying nothing. There was heat in his gaze, and something burned within his eyes, but he remained silent.
Jason followed Henry to the end of the hall, to the stairs, and back up to the main level. Once there, Henry guided them outside. Jason focused on his connection to the dragons, the power within him, and found no resistance to it.
There was more activity out here today than he remembered from the other time he had been here. He caught sight of movement along the street, and though it was distant, he could tell there were a dozen people marching. All of them were dressed in dragonskin, and all were heading toward the field where he had left the dragons.
Jason looked up at Henry. “What’s going on?”
“You are what’s going on,” Henry said.
“Me?”
Henry smiled. “When you brought the dragons here. By bringing something we’ve never seen before to Dragon Haven.”
They wound along the street, where more and more people were gathering. Jason counted dozens upon dozens of people, though not all of them headed in the same direction. He glanced over at Henry, watching to see what Henry might do or say, but he showed no reaction.
As they reached the edge of the city, Jason looked around, focusing on the energy coming from the dragons. He could practically feel that energy, and as he did, he looked for the ice dragon. Where was he?
There was no sign of the ice dragon. Had they done something to him?
The iron dragon was here. There was heat radiating from the center of the clearing, an incredible amount of heat. It wasn’t just the heat, but the way the iron dragon glowed, the metal pulsing along his sides, the undulating, molten nature of his scales.
“What did you do to the ice dragon?” Jason asked.
“When you didn’t return, he disappeared,” Henry said.
“Disappeared?”
Henry glanced toward the sky. “Disappeared. We haven’t been able to track him.”
“Is that unusual?”
“We are familiar with dragons, and we should be able to track all of them, and yet… he has evaded us.”
“You realize how you sound,” David said.
“How do we sound, Dragon’s Bane?”
David ignored the barb and looked toward the sky. “You blame the Dragon Souls for behavior you carry out. Do you really think you are so different?”
“I know we’re different,” Henry said.
He continued into the clearing, heat rising all around, and Jason approached the iron dragon. He realized that a circle of people surrounded the dragon, though none of them got too close.
Even David slowed as they neared, turning away.
Jason cautiously approached. He held his hand out, looking into the iron dragon’s orange eyes. “Did they hurt you?”
“Where were you?”
“They decided I was a danger.”
“You are no danger to the dragons,” the iron dragon said.
“I know that. I think you know that. But they…”
He looked behind him. The faces were watching him, but there was only one among them that he had any eyes for. Sarah stood among the circle of people, slightly forward, and she frowned as she watched Jason near the iron dragon.
“How come they aren’t able to approach you?”
“I choose not to let them,” the iron dragon said.
“And me?”
“I choose to let you.”
“Why?”
“You helped when you did not need to.”
“You needed my help,” Jason said. He looked behind him again. “Now it’s time for you to relax. I don’t know if they intend to do anything. I think they’re more curious about you than anything.”
“Why?”
“Because you aren’t anything like the other dragons.”
“That isn’t a reason for them to watch me,” the iron dragon said.
“Perhaps not.” Jason sighed. “We still need to go back and stop the Dragon Souls from reaching your hatch mates.”
“You came here for help.”
“I came for help, but I’m no longer certain there is anything here that will help us with what we need to do. At this point, I think we need to get back to the forest, to ensure the forest dragon isn’t harmed.”
“She is able to hide better than any others.”
“She?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No. She was amazing, but I’ve never seen anything like it before. I worry if the Dragon Souls reach her, they will be able
to control her, the same way they attempted to control you.”
“They won’t be able to control me any longer,” the iron dragon said.
“Is it because of the ice dragon’s healing?”
“What you did has prevented them from reaching me.”
“Did they try?”
“They did, but there is no way for them to reach me. The other decided to test whether they could.”
“The other…” Jason glanced over at David. Had he wanted to test whether or not the healing was enough to protect the dragons?
It was almost too much to believe, and yet, there had been no evidence that the dragon had been harmed by going with David.
“He asked if we could test it,” the iron dragon said.
“And you went along with it?”
“I thought it was appropriate.”
Jason smiled to himself. “The forest dragon seems to have some natural resistance, though I don’t really understand how.”
“Did you free her as well?”
“I didn’t do anything with her. Any resistance she might have is within herself. I didn’t notice any influence on her at all.”
It wasn’t for a lack of testing. Jason had tried to determine if there was anything there, but when he had reached for her mind, he hadn’t come across anything. For now, she remained free, though he wondered how much longer that would be the case. It was possible that something would happen and she would end up captured, and given her ability to camouflage, it would be an even greater challenge if she were.
“Jason?”
He turned and saw Sarah approaching slowly. Her jaw was clenched and sweat shimmered on her brow.
“What?”
“How is it that you can approach the dragon?”
“What do you mean?”
“The rest of us can’t get any closer than this. And yet you’re standing right near him.”
“Because he allows me to.”
“He allows it?”
Jason nodded. “The dragon chooses who gets to approach.”
“That’s not how it works,” Sarah said.
“Maybe not with your dragons, but with him, it is.”
And with the ice dragon, there was a very different sort of protection. Considering the way the ice dragon could form ice spikes and shoot them, he had a different sort of defense mechanism. It didn’t take much for the dragons to use that power, to ensure their safety.
“I’m going to go and prevent the Dragon Souls from capturing the other misfits.”
Family first.
Did it mean he viewed the dragons as family?
They had changed him. Were still changing him. Perhaps they were family now, in a way.
“Misfits?”
Jason smiled at the iron dragon. “That’s what David called them. I think it fits. They are different. They are what they are.”
“You came here for a reason.”
“I thought I did, but it doesn’t seem as if anyone here wants to help. I’m not about to leave the dragons to their fate. I’m going to see if there’s anything I can do to ensure their safety. Whether or not anyone comes with me is a different matter.”
He reached for the iron dragon and climbed on his back. “Will you allow David to come with us?”
“He may come.”
Jason locked eyes with David and nodded.
David approached, making it through the heat to stand near Jason.
Sarah stared for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh. “Let me help,” she said.
“Are you sure? That means attacking the Dragon Souls.”
“I wouldn’t be able to bring any of the dragons with me. It would just be me. Maybe Henry,” she said, glancing at him. “There might be a few others.”
“That’s not going to be enough,” Jason said. He had no idea how many dragons the Dragon Souls might bring, but he had a feeling that however many the people of Dragon Haven brought wouldn’t be enough. With their connection to not only dragons, but the dragon pearls, the Dragon Souls would be formidable.
“We don’t dare risk them. We’ve managed to rescue them from the Dragon Souls, and many of them have been born free, but they won’t stay free if we bring them too near the Souls.”
“I can help with that,” Jason said.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a way of protecting the dragons.”
“You can’t protect them. We’ve tried.”
“As a matter of fact, he can,” David said. He nodded to the iron dragon. “I went so far as to test whether such a thing were possible, and whatever he has done has protected the dragons. I am unable to influence the dragon.”
“I don’t know that I can believe you.”
David smiled. “You are a Dragon Soul,” he said, looking past Sarah and to Henry. “Or were. Try it.”
“That’s not how we do things here,” Henry said.
“Do you fear that you’re unable to do so?”
“I fear the dragons would be unhappy with me if I tried,” Henry said.
“And yet, Jason has told you he has protected the dragons.”
“I’m sorry, but Jason doesn’t know anything about his abilities. Anything he’s learned has been from—”
“The dragon,” Jason said, glancing from David to Henry. “That’s where I learned it. I might not really understand the nature of using the dragon pearl magic the same way as you do, but I learned from working with the ice dragon. And now from the iron dragon. They helped me understand how to use this power, and I’m able to do so in a way that protects the dragons.”
“Jason—”
“Try it,” he said, looking at Henry.
Henry took a deep breath and focused on the iron dragon. There was a sense of energy radiating from him, and it built steadily, rising in intensity, and the more that it rose, the more intense that pressure became, the more heat he felt radiating from the iron dragon. It was as if the iron dragon were beginning to use his own power, summoning it in order to fight.
Jason touched upon that power, using his connection to the iron pearl, letting his anger and rage flow through him, filling it with his experience. He had been trapped, captured the same way that the iron dragon had been, and he would use that knowledge, and he would ensure that he was able to detect what the iron dragon was experiencing.
Henry continued to target the iron dragon, and power poured out from him. He focused it on the dragon and yet, nothing changed.
Jason waited, watching.
Henry said nothing. He shifted his stance, positioning himself so he could face the iron dragon. Sweat streamed off his brow, mixing into his beard, and Henry ignored it. He continued to focus on the iron dragon, locking eyes with it.
“Am I supposed to feel something?” the dragon asked.
Jason laughed. “I think he wanted you to.”
“There is nothing.”
Henry stood and let out a shaky breath. “How?”
“I used what the ice dragon showed me,” Jason said.
“How?” he asked again.
Jason shrugged. “I don’t know that I could demonstrate it, only that I know how to protect the dragons.”
“We have tried for ages. Some have tried for centuries. In all that time, we haven’t found any way of protecting the dragons from the influence of the Dragon Souls.” He looked over at Sarah. “Do you know what this means?”
“It means we can go ensure the safety of the misfits.”
“It’s more than that, Jason. It means we can rescue the dragons the Dragon Souls have captive. It means we can take the fight to them for the first time.” He fixed David with a hard glare.
“And how do you intend to fight?” David asked.
“Why do you care?”
“I just want you to share with your friend how you intend to fight.”
“It wouldn’t be just us. We would be going with the dragons.”
Jason took in a deep breath, looking around. That w
as the point David was trying to make about training the dragons, and the Dragon Souls. They existed for a purpose, and though Jason didn’t necessarily like the purpose, and though he didn’t agree with the training methods, the purpose of the Dragon Souls was to ensure that the people of Lorach recognized the dragons were under control.
“You can’t use the dragons to attack,” he said.
“We need to remove the threat of the Dragon Souls,” Henry said.
“At what cost?” Jason glanced from Henry to Sarah before looking at David. “The people in my village are terrified of dragons, and they haven’t even seen a dragon for a generation. Long enough that there should be no fear of them, and yet, the people are terrified of the possibility they might come and attack. What would happen if you did the same thing in Lorach? What do you think the people there might feel?”
“As long as the dragons are freed, it doesn’t matter,” Henry said.
“It does matter. I think it matters even more than you realize. If we free the dragons but end up with them viewed as dangerous, we’ve failed.”
That might be the part he needed to focus on the most. Regardless of anything else, he needed to try to protect the dragons, to allow them to be freed, but he needed to do so in a way that wouldn’t motivate others to destroy them. Not the same way he had been motivated.
He took a deep breath. “I am going to go do what I can to protect the dragons, and then from there, I will…” Jason didn’t know what he would do, only that he would have to do something. The more that he thought about it, the more he had to wonder if there was anything he could do. He might not have the necessary strength.
And because of that, he needed help, but he no longer knew who to seek help from. The people of Dragon Haven left him uncertain.
What Jason thought necessary was for there to be a balance. He wasn’t sure whether he was the person to help achieve that balance, but he did agree with David that if the dragons hunted openly, they would only be perpetuating the challenges for themselves.
“Let us help,” Sarah said. “If you have some way of protecting the dragons, let us help.”
Jason looked around. There were several other larger dragons in the clearing, though they remained near the edge of the forest, near the trees. They were hiding, though Jason didn’t know if they were hiding from the people or from the iron dragon.
Iron Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 2) Page 23
