Iron Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 2)

by D. K. Holmberg

  The heat from the iron dragon persisted, like a furnace radiating heat, and his entire body glowed, though Jason wasn’t pushed back by it the same way the others were.

  “I will do what I can,” Jason said.

  “And then we will stop the Dragon Souls. And then…” Sarah started.

  Jason locked eyes with Henry. “And then you can decide what you will do next.”

  “Just us?” Sarah asked.

  Jason inhaled deeply. He had come here, thinking he would offer some protection to the dragons, and yet, now that he was here, he no longer knew what he needed to do.

  “You get to decide,” he said.

  Sarah watched him a moment, and then she nodded.

  18

  Five dragons surrounded Jason, all of different colors, though they seemed to be the same five that had joined them in the sky when he had first arrived in Dragon Haven. He had pushed through each of them, using the power of the ice dragon and letting it guide him as he tried to layer a protection on each of the dragons. He thought he was successful but wasn’t sure.

  “Is it done?” Henry asked.

  Jason looked around the clearing. The crowd had thinned a little bit. At first, Jason worried it was because they didn’t want to know what he was doing, but the more that he thought about it, the more certain he was that they weren’t sure whether he was going to be successful.

  When he had first approached the dragons, letting them know what he was going to do, they had been hesitant, but then the iron dragon had done something—or said something—that had changed their minds.

  “It’s done.”

  “How will we know?”

  David shook his head and strode forward. He held his hands up and muttered something under his breath. Henry dove toward him and David flicked his wrist. Henry went flying.

  Jason stood frozen, unable to even react.

  Power washed away from David.

  It struck the yellow dragon in front of him. The creature lowered his head, blinking pale golden eyes, and breathed out a streamer of steam.

  “Have I influenced you?” David asked the dragon.

  “No,” came a deep voice.

  Henry pulled himself off the ground, dusting himself off, and approached. “Don’t try that again.”

  “If you aren’t willing to test it, I am. And I am unable to do anything.” He turned to Jason. “And you see, I don’t need a dragon pearl in order to summon power.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “There is much you could learn, if only you believed.”

  “I believe you have power, but I don’t know what it was that you were doing.”

  “I was using what I learned as an Auran on them.”

  “That’s what it means to be an Auran?”

  “It means we’re willing to explore a different side of power. We’re willing to work with what we have within us. I have seen something similar in you.”

  Henry regarded Jason for a moment before turning his attention back to the dragons. He squeezed on something in his hand, and a sense of energy radiated from him, washing over the nearest dragon. The pale yellow dragon lowered his head and looked into Henry’s eyes, studying him.

  “You did it,” Henry said.

  “I told you I did.”

  “Can you repeat it?”

  Jason thought the question was for him, but it seemed that he was directing it at the dragon.

  “We cannot. We don’t have the same type of power.”

  “Is it him, then?”

  “I don’t know,” the dragon said.

  Jason didn’t think it was him. The power had come from the ice dragon, not from him. And yet, if it was not from the ice dragon, if it was from him, then why would he be different?

  He looked over at David, but David said nothing.

  Something about all of this troubled him. The Auran was hiding something, and the more that Jason learned, the more certain he was that David wasn’t quite who he wanted others to believe he was.

  Why would he conceal that?

  If he had no interest in harming the dragons, and Jason felt increasingly certain that was the case, then why not come out and say it?

  Henry went from dragon to dragon, testing each of them. When he was done, he turned back to Sarah. “I can’t influence any of them. Whatever he did seems to work. We won’t know for certain until we encounter Dragon Souls, but…”

  “You think it worked,” she said.

  “I think it worked,” he said.

  Jason turned away. He wasn’t going to remain here, not now that the dragons had been protected. Which meant it was time to go and do what he had intended to do all along. It was time to return and protect the dragons.

  He stopped in front of the iron dragon. He nodded to the creature, who lowered his head, allowing Jason to climb on. David followed him, but waited before mounting.

  “You can come as well,” Jason said.

  “That’s it?”

  “For now.”

  “What about them?”

  Jason looked over at Henry and Sarah. “If they’re going to come with us, they will make that decision. Now, I can’t wait any longer. I need to get to the forest dragon.”

  He didn’t know what Henry and Sarah were going to do, and, as far as he was concerned, it didn’t matter. They could choose for themselves, and if it involved coming with him, working to help protect the misfits, then he was glad of the help.

  “Jason,” Sarah said, approaching carefully.

  “What is it?”

  “We aren’t ready to go. The others need more time.”

  “There is danger.”

  It came from the ice dragon, as if he were speaking within Jason’s mind. The dragon was high overhead, circling and waiting for them.

  “What danger?”

  “They come.”

  Immediately, he knew the danger. Dragon Souls.

  If they waited, the forest dragon would suffer.

  He turned to Sarah. “I can’t wait any longer.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “The ice dragon does, and we have to go. Please help.”

  She frowned at him, and he hoped that she’d come, but she backed away.

  Shaking his head, he tapped the iron dragon on the side. With a surge of heat, the dragon blasted into the air.

  They circled for a moment, parting the clouds, and as they did, he looked up to see the ice dragon high overhead. Spikes protruded from his body, and it seemed as if snow drifted around him, swirling in a cloud.

  It was enough to make Jason smile.

  “You are an interesting man,” David said.

  “Why?”

  “Because you really do care about them.”

  “I didn’t,” he said. He turned so that he could meet David’s eyes. “I feared dragons. My entire life, I was taught to hate them, to be afraid of them, to know they could destroy my village. And then I met a dragon. And then I met another. I came to understand they aren’t at all what I believed.”

  They were something so much more than what he’d ever imagined.

  “If you learned from Dragon Haven, then why aren’t you staying with them?”

  “Because they revere the dragons, almost to the point where they feel as if they need to serve the dragons, but that’s not been my sense at all.”

  “What is your sense?”

  “That we’re equals in a way. Different, and yet, I think the dragons need us as much as we need them.”

  He turned, wrapping his arms around the dragon, and held on tightly as they surged forward.

  “Others are coming,” David said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I can feel them.”

  Jason slipped off to the side. “You said that before. How do you feel them? How are you so connected?”

  David shrugged. “You believe you are only connected to the dragons. And yet, your power is different. I see it within you. I know you may not be
lieve it, but I understand the nature of what it takes to be an Auran, and I understand just how similar you are to us.”

  “I don’t even know what an Auran does.”

  “No, but you could.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Why not?”

  “I want to return to my village. I want to help my mother. I want to save my sister.” He trailed off at the end and inhaled deeply, looking back behind him. As David had said, there were dragons now following them, but it wasn’t the dragons he expected. The five dragons he’d helped weren’t there. The maroon and the black dragon were instead.

  “Did you know they were here?” Jason asked David.

  David stared into the distance. “I did not. When you healed them, what did you do?”

  “I tried to free them from what had been done to them, but I don’t know that I did anything else.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Why?”

  “We’ve always believed that once freed, the dragons would roam, and they would hunt and potentially harm others. That’s part of the reason we have felt they needed to be protected. They needed it as much as we do. But if they are free”—he studied Jason for a long moment, almost as if uncertain—“and if what you did has ensured they can’t be controlled, then there should be no reason for them to come after us.”

  Jason glanced over as the two dragons took up positions on either side of them. The black dragon roared and the maroon dragon swished her tail. Somehow, Jason was aware that she was a female.

  How would they have known?

  “They felt me using the dragon pearl,” he said.

  “Possibly,” David said.

  “And if they felt it, they didn’t have to come, but they chose to.”

  “I believe that is true,” David said.

  Jason smiled to himself. If he could free dragons, and if he could ensure that they were safe…

  No. That wasn’t his task.

  He turned his attention back in front of him, and they flew, gliding toward the distant mountains.

  As they went, every so often, Jason would look behind him, searching for any sign of those from Dragon Haven, but there were none.

  Whatever was going to happen would have to be up to him. And perhaps it wouldn’t even matter. If it was a matter of freeing the dragons, he could do that. He could ensure they were protected. He could take away any influence these others might have on them. And if he could manage that, he wouldn’t have to worry about the dragons being used.

  The only challenge would be in doing so in a way that wouldn’t cause danger to the dragons. If they crashed from a height, they would die the same as he would.

  The longer they flew, the more a sense of energy began to build around him. Jason thought that might come from their proximity to the dragons, but he wasn’t sure. He started to scan the sky, looking for signs of anything, but there was nothing.

  “I think we need to—”

  He never got a chance to finish. A blast of fire exploded, catching the side of the dragon.

  It did nothing to harm the dragon. Fire wouldn’t hurt it, but it did startle him.

  And there was something more.

  He looked over to see that the ice dragon struggled.

  Heat was a challenge for the ice dragon.

  Other blasts struck, coming close, and surprisingly, the black dragon swooped in front of the ice dragon, blocking and protecting it. The heat rolled through the black dragon and then disappeared.

  David pressed his lips together in a tight frown. “I have never seen anything like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “They recognized his need.”

  “In that he can’t tolerate the heat?”

  “The ice dragon should return,” David said.

  “I don’t know that he would.”

  “If Lorach brought power to bear, they would be able to tear through him.”

  “I thought they wanted to understand and train the dragons.”

  “They do, but if it is a matter of understanding and controlling versus losing the dragon altogether, they would lose the dragon if it came down to it. Have him go.”

  Jason looked over at the ice dragon. A thick layer of ice surrounded him, though it glistened. It was almost as if the heat of this place was too much, and Jason realized it seemed to be growing hotter.

  He hadn’t expected that.

  “You need to go,” he said to the ice dragon.

  “I can be a part of this,” the dragon said.

  “You can, but I don’t know if you should. Not like this. I’m going to need your help in order to save the rest of the dragons.” He needed the ice dragon, and he needed that connection between them in order to do what he thought was necessary to save the other dragons.

  “What would you propose?”

  “How high can you fly?”

  “Why?”

  “It’s colder up above. You can tolerate it. The other dragons might not.”

  Jason didn’t know if it would work or not, but it seemed reasonable to at least attempt. The ice dragon rumbled, a roar splitting his mouth, and he breathed out a streamer of ice and then streaked straight up.

  Movement on either side caught Jason’s attention.

  “They were waiting for him,” he muttered.

  He focused on the nearest of the dragons. He saw it as little more than a shadow, a smear of darkness, and he drew upon power through the ice dragon pearl, letting it flow from him, and he shot it toward that shadowy form.

  It struck, and Jason felt resistance, and he pushed through it.

  “You’re going to kill the dragon,” David said.

  Jason held on to his connection, ignoring David.

  “I thought your desire was to save them.”

  “I’m not going to let them destroy that dragon.”

  And there was another possibility, but it was one that he didn’t know would work. If he could free the dragon while it was high enough, he had to believe something could change and the dragon would begin to regain control. If that happened, then it seemed to him the dragon should be able to prevent himself from crashing into the ground. Jason continued to push, sending more of the ice dragon’s power through the other dragon, focusing on that energy, and when he met the resistance, he forced even more power through.

  Something struck him.

  It was a jolt, and Jason was thrown forward.

  He almost lost the dragon pearl. He did lose his seat on top of the dragon.

  He went flying forward.

  Something grabbed him, and for a moment, he thought it was the iron dragon, but David held on to him. He pulled, forcing Jason back onto the dragon’s back, and released him.

  “You’re not going to get out of this that easily,” David said.

  Jason redoubled his effort, focusing again on the dragon. As he did, power flowed out of him, and he held on to it while the iron dragon rotated, spiraling in place, twisting through the air. It was a strange feeling, but he held on. As he did, he could feel the heat intensifying. He had no idea what the iron dragon was doing, only that he was somehow using his connection to power in a way that would draw more heat, and from there, Jason knew that the iron dragon would unleash it.

  He ignored that, thinking only of what he was trying to do, the way he was holding on to the power from the ice dragon, letting it flow through him and into the shadowed form of the other dragon. Jason continued to push, sending more and more power across, and he felt the resistance begin to fade. With another surge, it disappeared altogether.

  There came a shriek. A royal blue dragon dropped from the sky and plummeted. Two figures were tossed free, flailing as they plunged to the ground.

  Jason focused his energy on the falling dragon, wishing there was some way he could help the dragon, and yet, he believed that with enough time, the dragon would be able to correct course and free itself.

  “I don’t think it worked,” David said.

 
They were spinning, and Jason fought the urge to vomit. The steady rotation was intense, far more than he had ever experienced before, and the dragon was spiraling in a way he thought should toss them off, but somehow the momentum of it held him to the dragon’s neck. It practically pinned him down, allowing him no choice but to lie there.

  “I thought—”

  A loud roar erupted from far below.

  Jason listened, worried the dragon had perished in the fall. He knew how hard it was for dragon eggs to hatch, and he hated the idea that he was responsible for a death. Maybe David was right that they had to bring the dragon closer to the ground, but if they were going to be attacked up here, he wasn’t sure they would be able to do so.

  Then with another roar, the dragon reappeared.

  He turned his attention to Jason, deep blue eyes that matched his scales surging, catching a glint of gold, and then roaring again.

  “You freed him,” David said.

  “I think we were lucky that worked,” Jason said.

  “It worked, but there are others.” He pointed, and in the distance, Jason noted another red-scaled dragon. This one was enormous, easily twice the size of the maroon one.

  He focused on it. He would need to pick off the largest dragons first, and from up here, he thought there would be enough time to heal the dragon and give it time to recover before it crashed to the ground.

  As he drew power from the ice dragon, sending it across the distance into the other dragon, he felt resistance. It was more than he had detected before. Jason focused, pulling on power from the ice dragon, sending it across that distance, into the other dragon. He strained against that resistance, trying to find some way to overwhelm it.

  He had to pull on more power.

  He needed the ice dragon to help.

  Was there any way to signal to the ice dragon that he couldn’t do this alone? The dragon seemed to know his mind, and in doing so, he should have some way of recognizing what Jason was doing, but how was he to bridge that distance?

  Power exploded.

  He was thrown back, and the iron dragon roared.

  Another explosion struck the side of the dragon, this one ringing out like a bell.