Storm Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 4)

by D. K. Holmberg

  “With finding the others,” Gordon said.

  “The others?” Sarah took a step forward, and she looked at Henry. “We’re going to Lorach. Jason is going to help free the other dragons.”

  “I don’t think we can do that quite yet,” Gordon said.

  “Why not?”

  “During our runs, we’ve seen other strange dragons out there.”

  “Jason isn’t the only one who’s known strange dragons,” Henry said.

  “That one is gone,” Gordon said.

  “Who?” Jason asked.

  Henry shook his head.

  Jason looked at Sarah, confusion filling him. There were other misfits?

  “You mean Lorren?” Sarah said.

  “As I said, that one is gone,” Henry said. “We’ve seen nothing from him in years.”

  “If there are other strange dragons—”

  “We think this the work of Therin, not Lorren,” Gordon said. “Worse, now we have word the king intends to find them.”

  There was something he didn’t fully understand, but that would be for later. “He won’t be able to find them,” Jason said. “If they have any abilities like these dragons do, there would be no way for him to be able to.”

  “Much like you weren’t able to find them?”

  He’d found the dragons, but it wasn’t because he was necessarily special. He’d found the ice dragon because it lived in his homeland, and he had found the iron dragon because of luck. The forest dragon had allowed him to find her, but that had only been possible because he had by that point connected to the other dragons.

  He couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps there was something else. Maybe there was something special about him. It wasn’t just about dragon sight. He had the ability to use the dragon pearls.

  “I don’t know that the king would be able to find them.”

  “Well, we have word he’s spending significant resources in search of them. Given how powerful the three dragons you have discovered are, we’re determined to get to them before he does.”

  “And you want Jason to go after them,” Sarah said.

  “We wanted to make sure that he was the right person, but we think he needs to.”

  “And what about the other dragons? I’ve been talking to my mother about it,” Sarah said. “If we can get to them, if we can free them, then we don’t have to worry—”

  “We need to do that, as well, but we need to take one task at a time. Cherise understands that. If we don’t do this, and if the Dragon Souls get to these dragons first, we’ll be in danger. Who knows what abilities these other dragons have. Think about how we were nearly defeated by a single dragon. What if someone else has an ability like what you can do with the illusion?”

  The others were right. If it were possible for them to use an illusion the same way he could, and considering the way Therin had proven he had that ability, how was he going to be able to ensure that anyone was safe?

  What he needed was to make sure the dragons were protected. The ice dragon had wanted to fly to the other hatch mates, but they hadn’t been able to uncover where they might be. As far as the ice dragon thought, there were at least two more, though there might be even more than that.

  Perhaps they should have asked Therin before killing him. He would’ve been the one to know how many dragon eggs were out there, and yet Jason wondered how much he would even have shared with him, and how honest any response would have been.

  “I will do whatever it takes,” he said. “If it helps the rebellion and the dragons, I’ll do it.”

  Henry watched him a moment. “See?”

  “Yes. He is everything you promised,” Gordon said.

  Sarah looked over at him, and Jason could practically feel her disappointment. Going after the dragons and Lorach, as valuable as that might be, was not something that they were going to be able to do quickly—or easily. There was always the possibility that they would fail at it.

  But if he could find these other dragons, if he could find the other misfits, then perhaps they would have other resources. He’d seen how beneficial it was to find these three dragons, but if he were somehow able to connect to the others, then perhaps he could ensure their safety too, and they could do even more than they had so far.

  “It doesn’t change that we need to go after the other dragons,” he whispered to Sarah.

  She shook her head. “There’s always a reason not to go to Lorach.”

  “Sarah—”

  She turned, heading out the door, leaving Jason staring after her.

  The others waited, and when Jason turned his attention back to them, Henry watched him.

  “Here is our plan,” Gordon said.

  As the other man spoke, Jason couldn’t help but feel as if he were letting Sarah down. Of all the people in Dragon Haven, she was the one he least wanted to let down. He wanted to ensure that he did everything she asked of him, but he worried that he wasn’t going to be able to do so.

  Especially if he did this. Going after these other dragons, changing his focus of attack, would mean that they were not going to Lorach. If that happened, then how long would it be before they could?

  He needed to talk with Sarah, but as he listened to Gordon, only half of his mind paying attention, he realized that what they planned involved leaving soon.

  Henry continued to study Jason, and he forced a smile. If nothing else, he would let them believe he was paying attention the way that he should be.

  “You understand what we’re asking?” Gordon asked.

  Jason nodded. “I think so.”

  “Good. Because we’re going to need both you and your dragons to help in this. And if it works… well, if it works, then we have prevented the Dragon Souls from acquiring something of power. Then the rebellion can really begin.”

  9

  Sarah caught up to him in the hall as he made his way through the building and out toward the clearing where the dragons gathered, grabbing him by the arm. “Are you really going to go with them rather than come with me to see if we can’t free more of the dragons in Lorach?”

  Jason looked over at the Dragon Guard. “If there are other misfits, I need to be there. I saw what happened before. I can’t be too late again.”

  “Too late? What about these other dragons? What if they need our help before it’s too late?”

  “We don’t know that they do. I freed a dozen dragons, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “You freed a dozen dragons in Lorach. That’s different than anything that’s been done before. They will know that something is off. Now that you did that, they are going to be on edge. They are going to be searching for reasons to attack.”

  “Which is why we can’t do it. We can’t give them another reason. Not until we know what’s going on with the other misfits.” Jason sighed. It might be true, but he felt as if he had to understand whether or not the Guard had located a dragon misfit.

  “This won’t take very long, and then I can come back and help.”

  “You don’t have any idea how long this is going to take. That’s the problem. And if something happens to you while you’re gone…”

  He frowned. Was that what this was about?

  “Are you concerned about me, or are you concerned about my ability with the dragons?”

  “Can’t it be both?”

  “It can, but it still feels like you are more concerned about what I mean to the dragons.”

  “I’m more concerned about what you mean to a majority of the dragons rather than looking for just one.”

  “One that I can help,” Jason said.

  “Many that you could save.”

  She held his gaze before storming off.

  Jason wished there was something more that he could do, but he didn’t know what it was.

  And it was time to go and see what he could do for the misfit dragons.

  Reaching the clearing and the iron dragon, he paused and rested with his hand on the iron dragon’s s
ide. He wasn’t able to determine anything from the Dragon Guard, but there was a sense of power about them.

  Henry believed in them. He believed in Henry, trusted the other man didn’t want to harm the dragons, but he couldn’t shake the sense that perhaps there was something else he needed to know about the Guard.

  Jason watched, but the other Dragon Guard said nothing. They left him alone. He couldn’t help but feel as if even as he accompanied them, he was somehow separated.

  Other than Henry, Jason didn’t know any of the others who would be coming with them. Knowing them wouldn’t change anything.

  Henry rested near a massive dragon, saying nothing. The dragon had deep blue scales and heat radiated off its side, but there was the sense Henry didn’t know this dragon nearly as well as he knew some of them. What reason would Henry have for bonding with another dragon?

  Jason made his way over to Henry. “How many are we expecting to come with us?”

  “The Dragon Guard will send as many as they can risk,” Henry said.

  “And how many is that?”

  “I don’t know. It might be only a few, but it’s also possible they’ll want enough strength to deal with any threat the Dragon Souls might pose.”

  “What do you think Sarah will do?”

  “Sarah will be disappointed she isn’t going along.”

  Jason glanced away from the clearing, toward the rest of Dragon Haven. “I know she’ll be disappointed, but do you think she’ll do anything?”

  What he worried about was whether Sarah would try to go to Lorach on her own.

  Gordon strode along the roadway, leading five other Dragon Guards with him. All were dressed in dragonskin clothing.

  “Sarah said the Dragon Guard don’t fight very often anymore,” Jason said.

  Henry shook his head. “Very often? They’re responsible for keeping up attacks. Making Lorach believe the rebellion is active. That’s why they are so invested in making this work.”

  “Do you think they are too invested?” Henry cocked an eye at him and Jason looked toward Gordon. “There are some people who are too eager to fight.”

  He had seen it before. There were even people within the village who were too eager for a fight. He didn’t need the Dragon Guard to be like that.

  “They aren’t like that.” Henry didn’t speak with the same confidence, his voice trailing off toward the end.

  “This is your dragon?” Gordon called from near the iron dragon. Jason headed toward him, noticing that Gordon seemed larger out in the daylight, and the heat of the iron dragon radiated off the dragonskin he wore, making him glow.

  “This is one of them,” Jason said.

  “An impressive creature. Why does he glow like that?”

  “I’m not really sure. I’ve never really asked him why. He just does.”

  “Interesting.” Gordon stretched out his hand, running it along the surface of the dragon. He smiled as he did, and power built from the other man. It came from one of the dragons—a black one standing off to the side.

  The iron dragon turned toward him, the heat exploding from him, and he snorted.

  Jason smiled to himself. “I don’t think the iron dragon cares for that too much.”

  “You’re telling me the dragon doesn’t care for me using the dragon pearl of my pairing?”

  “That’s what I’m saying,” Jason said.

  “And why would your dragon care?”

  “You keep calling him my dragon, but you would do well to think of him in a different way. He isn’t necessarily my dragon. We’re connected, and we share a sense of power, but that is it.”

  It was more than that, and they were bonded in a certain way. Yet even with the dragon pearl having flowed over his hand, forming a glove and somehow better linking him to the iron dragon, he still would not claim the iron dragon as his. He knew better than to do so. The iron dragon didn’t want that.

  “Are we going to stand here, or do you plan on sharing with us where we need to go?” Henry asked.

  “We have to go north,” Gordon said.

  North meant to the mountains, though they’d searched there already. In the time that Jason had been out with the ice dragon, they had looked for evidence of the other dragons. As he thought about it, he decided that maybe he should have the ice dragon looking now.

  He closed his eyes briefly, focusing on the ice dragon, and tried to reach a connection between them. It was there, as it always was, though it was faint. He pushed through that connection, trying to reach for the ice dragon, and could feel the wind whipping around him. He could feel the cold breeze. He could feel the energy of the air high overhead.

  “Search for your hatch mates,” he whispered, sending it through the connection between them.

  Distantly, Jason thought he heard the dragon rumble. It might be only his imagination, and it might be nothing more than a distant thunder, but it was there.

  He opened his eyes, glancing over at Henry, finding that the man was watching him.

  “What did you do?” Henry asked.

  “What makes you think I did anything?”

  “I could feel something.”

  Jason flashed a smile. “I don’t think there’s anything for you to feel.” He turned his attention to Gordon. “Are we going to go, or do you intend for us to stay here and talk?”

  Gordon laughed, a deep and hearty sound. “Eager for a fight. I like that. We can go.”

  The Dragon Guard each headed toward the dragons. There weren’t enough, but someone whistled, and two more dragons came streaking out of the sky. They parted through the illusion high overhead and landed quickly.

  Gordon climbed onto the black dragon, and once the others had mounted theirs, he motioned for them to take to the air. When they lurched into the sky, Jason looked over at the iron dragon, and he patted his side.

  “Let’s be careful,” he whispered.

  The iron dragon let out a blast of heat, which radiated away from him.

  The dragon took to the sky, using the undulating way he had of sending heat rolling through him. A sense of power filled the dragon.

  They circled slowly, climbing high overhead. Jason looked down at the ground below, and he found someone watching them. He waved to Sarah, but she made no sign that she saw him.

  He breathed out heavily. Maybe this was a mistake. He didn’t like the idea that he would upset her in such a way, and especially not if she was one of his few friends within Dragon Haven. Or maybe more than a friend.

  It was something that he hadn’t given much thought to. With everything they’d been through, there hadn’t been time, but he couldn’t deny he had an attraction to her. He had no idea if it was one she shared, though she’d traveled enough with him that he might simply have been oblivious to it.

  They streaked north. The other dragons flew quickly, and it didn’t seem as if the iron dragon was using much energy in order to keep up with them.

  He’d known the iron dragon was powerful, but feeling how easy it was for him to keep up only made that clearer. There was a definite sense of energy from the iron dragon that continued to build, growing with increasing strength.

  As they flew, Jason took an opportunity to survey the others with him. He looked at the other dragons first. They were all of different colors. Most of the dragons within Dragon Haven were different colors, and unsurprisingly, all of the dragons were male. The gender didn’t seem to make a difference as to their size. The dragons were of varying sizes, and some of them were more powerful than others. Unlike with the iron dragon—or the ice or forest dragon—there was no unique power to them.

  Strangely, Jason found that almost disappointing. The dragons flying with them were all powerful in their own right, but compared to the dragons he worked with, they seemed… less.

  Jason held tightly to the iron dragon’s back, feeling the heat radiating off him.

  He connected to the ice dragon overhead, noticing where he was flying, the way he was searchi
ng, and was able to feel the power within him as he soared high above, streaking farther away from them. It was almost as if the ice dragon were connected to the power of the sky overhead, as if he were using some sort of burst of speed that wasn’t available to the other dragons. It was strange to think that, and even stranger that he could feel it, even from a distance.

  Would he be able to detect something similar from the iron dragon?

  He had already proven that he could look through the iron dragon’s eyes and understand what the iron dragon could see. He had not tested whether he could do that with the forest dragon.

  There was a connection between them. The glowing green working along his arm suggested that bond was there, and was powerful. He couldn’t help but feel there needed to be something more that he could detect from the forest dragon.

  How could she help him?

  In a journey like this, he couldn’t help but think he needed to be able to understand that power of the forest dragon. It might come to a point where he would need to reach for her, to connect more fully to her, to know what she knew.

  As he followed the other dragons, saying nothing, thinking through what was happening around him, he decided that perhaps it was time to test whether he could make such a connection if it came down to it.

  He thought about the sense of what he felt flowing through him. It was different than what he felt from the iron glove, and different than what he sensed from the ice dragon in the back of his mind. Those sensations were there, and the connection to all of those dragons was there, but each of them was unique. As he focused on the forest dragon and what he could feel from her, he thought he could detect a surging sort of power.

  Could he use it?

  He focused on the sensation he had when he’d first detected the forest dragon. It was like that of the breeze blowing near him. He rocked in place atop the dragon, feeling the sway of it, and he let it consume him. It was a wonderful sense of power.

  It was like the fluttering of a breeze. It was the stirring of the wind against her scales. It was the way that she shimmered, the power catching the light. He could use that connection to free the dragons.

  The dragons shifted course. No longer were they heading directly north; now they were veering a little off to the west. The wind whipped around them, a bit colder than it had been. It was a familiar wind, and it came off the mountaintop with hints of snow swirling through it.