Heat rushed out of him, and it flowed into the dried branches, catching fire. The flames burst upward, tearing through the kindling, and within a few minutes, he had a warm and glowing fire.
Jason sat back, staring at it. He didn’t have enough knowledge of how to control fire like this. It was possible he might lose control, but out here where he was, as long as he kept the flame confined within the snow, he thought he would be able to prevent anything worse from happening.
Heat built, crackling through the branches, and he sat in front of it, enjoying that warmth. There was something comforting about it, in a way that he had rarely known comfort, and Jason relaxed.
He started to drift, letting that warmth caress him. There was no reason he couldn’t sleep. He hadn’t seen anyone in Varmin, and once coming to the forest, he hadn’t encountered anyone here either, so he didn’t think he would be disturbed.
As he drifted, he heard a rumbling again.
This forced Jason to sit up. He looked around. It was closer than it had been. When he had detected the rumbling before, he hadn’t known where it was or what it indicated, but now that he was here, he couldn’t help but think the rumbling came from something nearby.
Getting to his feet, he held on to the dragon pearl, glancing over at the fire. It had burned down a little bit but was still blazing quite brightly, smoke drifting from it and spiraling up into the night sky before disappearing on the wind gusting over the treetops.
Jason backed up, getting near the border of the trees, and he focused on everything around him. He wasn’t sure what he might be able to uncover, only that there seemed to be a sense of energy, though that might just be him.
As he focused, he couldn’t help but think there was more to it. There was power.
The rumbling came again.
As soon as it did, the power disappeared.
What was he detecting?
Maybe it was nothing, but he couldn’t help but feel as if the rumbling were similar to the cannons fired off at the festival—or similar to a dragon.
He had come here looking for evidence of the dragons, and of hatch mates, but he hadn’t really expected to find something so soon.
He focused on the sense of power. Now that it was gone, he wasn’t sure there would be any way to locate its origin, but he tried to think through it, concentrating on what he could uncover. There had to be some aspect to it he could detect and trail after.
Slowly, that sense of power began to build again.
This time, Jason closed his eyes, and he drew on a trickle of energy through the dragon pearl. He used the warmth, thinking the cold summons might be a different way of calling to the dragon. And he had used the cold summons before; that had been when the dragon responded, and at this point, he didn’t want the dragon to appear. It was possible that whatever was out there, whatever power existed, might be dangerous.
It was even possible it was Dragon Souls.
Jason froze.
Could that be it? He hadn’t given it much thought before, but now that he made the connection, he couldn’t help but think that the Dragon Souls might be out in the night, searching, and he couldn’t help but think they might be responsible for the energy he felt building.
If that were the case, he would need to be much more careful.
He closed his eyes, focusing on that energy again, and let the sense of it continue to build around him. There was a distinct signature to it. That power was there, radiating, but Jason couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.
He drew upon more energy through the dragon pearl, using his own heat, but that wasn’t enough. What if he could use the energy he detected?
There was no reason he shouldn’t be able to draw upon that. He could feel it, and it pressed outward upon him, and the more that he felt, the more certain he was that there was something there for him to pick up on. He focused his mind, using as much as he could to reach for the awareness out there. It had to be there, but what was it?
Taking a deep breath, Jason pulled in that power.
At first, there was no change.
But gradually, the sense of energy he detected began to stir around him.
As he focused on it, it began to draw toward him.
And then the rumbling exploded.
It wasn’t far from him.
He veered off the path and headed down the slope, making his way carefully. He held on to the dragon pearl, maintaining a connection to it, using his sense of warmth and channeling it through the pearl. All he needed was a possibility of power, though he wasn’t entirely sure he would be able to use it in anything other than a destructive sense.
When he’d used the dragon pearl before, he’d destroyed, attacked. The only time he’d done anything differently was when he had connected to the energy within the pearl to repair his bow.
There had to be another way. As he focused on it, he could feel that energy rising.
He brushed past a pair of pine trees and ignored the needles as they pressed against him. Jason took a deep breath and focused on the energy building. If he could pull that and borrow from it, then he could use it again. What he wanted was to pinpoint the location of the energy rising around him.
Whatever was out there was important.
Jason turned toward the sense of it and had started to draw upon that power when it exploded again.
This time there was a definite rumbling, and it was only a few paces from him.
He started running.
A distant part of his mind knew he should be more careful, knew he should be running away from power like that, not toward it. Whatever power was out there, whatever energy was causing this rumbling, was dangerous to him; and yet, he couldn’t help but head toward it, knowing that whatever power he was detecting was something he needed to be a part of.
He wasn’t sure whether it was another dragon or whether it was something else entirely. The longer that he ran, the more certain he was that he was going to find something. Dragon Souls or dragon, either would be beneficial to discover.
He began to detect the buildup of energy once again.
This time, he froze, using everything in his being to draw upon that power, feeling the magic surging within him. It flowed through him and he pushed outward with it at the same time, trying to use what he could detect of the magic in order to pinpoint its location.
The rumbling evolved from it, much like it had either time before, and this time, Jason thought he knew where it was.
Below him.
How could that be?
As he focused on it, he couldn’t help but think that it had to be below him, but how was that even possible?
The tunnel. A mine.
While his village had tellum mines, Varmin had iron mines.
Could that be what he detected?
Maybe it wasn’t anything other than mining activity and not anything magical. They could be using the same explosive powders the people of his village used in the festival. He didn’t know enough about the mining process to be sure whether or not that was the case, but it fit.
Jason slowed, looking around, and this time when the power began to build again, he focused on it. Rather than trying to draw upon it, he just listened to it.
It pulled on his senses. It was a strange sensation, almost as if the air became charged with energy. Were his coat off, he suspected the hair on his arms would stand on end. The longer he was here, the more certain he was that the power was continuing to build, and he let it work through him.
He was certain of the source. He had channeled the energy, drawing it through him, and in doing so, he was able to determine the location with much more clarity. What he was looking for was some way to reach the mines.
There was a part of him that worried it was coming from a Dragon Soul. He would need to be careful. He had to keep them from finding the dragon pearl he carried, and he would need to protect the ice dragon as much as he could.
Making a steady circuit, Jason found
the darkness outlined near a hillside. Trees grew up on either side of it, and he approached slowly. As he did, he realized what it was. A cave.
If it was the dragon, then he had to investigate.
Family, then village.
This was the reason that he had come here. If only the dragon was able to help him. Then again, the dragon was able to help him. He had the dragon’s pearl. He had access to that magic.
He focused on the power flowing through him and pushed it outward through the dragon pearl. It began to glow, and he started forward into the cave.
The walls were smooth, leading him to think they might be naturally formed. The ground was slick, though not quite icy. Could this be a stream heading through here? Many caves were formed like that. Not only the cave near his village, but there were the remnants of another that was not nearly as large as the one he had once explored with his father.
He held on to the dragon pearl, holding it up, letting the light flow over everything. In doing so, he could feel the energy that filled him, flowing away from him and into the length of the tunnel.
Power began to build again. This time, Jason paused, waiting. He hadn’t been within the tunnel before when it had exploded, and there was a part of him that worried what might happen, but when the rumbling occurred, he felt it only vaguely.
It was almost as if the tunnel itself served to protect him.
More than ever, he was certain that the power came from underground. He probably should have put out the fire overhead, keeping the forest from burning down, but he didn’t think there was anything to be worried about. The flames had been surrounded by the snow, and they were distant enough from the rest of the forest that there shouldn’t be any danger there.
Jason followed the contours of the tunnel. It angled downward and then veered off to the right. As it did, and as energy continued to build, he hesitated.
That power was near.
Now that it was near, he was certain it wasn’t caused by an explosion. It was almost as if there was an intention behind it.
He started forward, creeping carefully, and when he rounded a curve in the tunnel, light caught his attention. He stuffed the dragon pearl into his pocket, blinking out the light he carried with him.
Someone else was down here.
Jason crept forward, moving slowly, keeping his head and body pressed against the side of the cave. Energy built again and he resisted the urge to pull upon it, to let it flow through him. If he were to do so, it would only run the risk of alerting whoever else was down here, summoning that energy.
That had to be the key. It had to be that someone was summoning it.
Jason reached another branch point. Down one side of the tunnel, it was dark. He tried to peer down the darkness, but his eyes struggled to adjust, even though he had dragon sight. It was almost as if the brightness near him made it more difficult to see. He focused for a moment and then turned his attention away from that tunnel, looking toward the other section. Where the light was coming from.
As he stared, he saw no sign of movement. The only thing he was aware of was the buildup of energy.
He moved carefully.
With every step, he thought he might encounter someone along the tunnel, but there was no sign of anyone.
He noticed the building power again and pushed against it.
It was a strange sensation, partly because the power was rising so quickly, and it began to fill him with an awareness.
He wanted to draw upon it, but he had to ignore it.
When the rumbling occurred, he found it was nearby.
Where, though?
It had to be near enough that he could feel it, but he saw no sign of anything. There was a light somewhere, but even that was faded, so distant that it was difficult for him to determine its location.
There was no one else in the tunnel with him, and Jason began to move more confidently and quickly. As he hurried along the tunnel, a door caught his attention.
He frowned at it. It was made of iron and a swirling pattern of metal created a spiral along the surface, a massive lock hanging on it. He paused, pressing his hand on the door for a moment. Heat radiated from behind it.
That was strange.
He moved on, heading along the tunnel a little farther, and as he did, he came across another door. This one was similar.
It was barred closed and he focused on it, pressing his hands on it as he had the first one, and as before, he could feel the heat radiating from it.
Strange.
He didn’t realize that iron mines were warm, and yet, he hadn’t spent any time in an iron mine and knew nothing about what was involved.
Maybe they were all hot like this.
The energy began to build again.
This time, it was close. It filled him.
As much as he tried to resist, he couldn’t, and the power he detected started to push against him. Jason found himself pushing back, though he worried about doing so.
When the rumbling occurred, it seemed to come from everywhere.
Not just everywhere, but mostly in front of him.
The door.
He had to know what was behind the door.
He might not have a key, and as he looked along the hallway, he found no place where a key might be located. What he had was a dragon pearl, and he knew how to use the energy within it. It was possible he might be able to focus enough power into the lock that he could destroy it. But whatever was on the other side of the door might be dangerous.
If it was, he would have to be prepared to either run or attack.
Jason pressed the dragon pearl up against the lock. He focused on the power within himself and pushed out through the pearl.
It exploded into the lock.
The sound rang out along the tunnel. It was like a bell tolling, the iron ringing, and he covered his ears.
He looked around. There was no one else here, but something like that would draw attention. What was happening on the other side of the door was different, but it wasn’t drawing nearly the same attention that he was.
As Jason pulled on power again, letting it flow through him. He thought there had to be some way to use what he was detecting.
He drew upon that power.
It exploded again.
Once more, the sound of a bell ringing echoed along the length of the tunnel.
At that point, he was tempted to turn around and head back out of the tunnel, but the energy built from the other side of the door. This time, it grew quickly, and when it rumbled, it did so with a violent sort of energy.
It was almost as if that energy were calling to him, demanding he open the door.
There was some intention behind it, and he thought he had to find out why.
Jason pushed the dragon pearl up against the lock again, and he started to pull on his own energy. The power that he detected from the other side of the door began to build once more, and rather than ignoring it or pushing it away, he decided to draw upon it. He would use that power, whatever it was, and he would see if he could summon that in a way that would allow him to unlock this door.
When the power flowed through him, he slammed into the door. It exploded.
The lock snapped.
There came another tolling of a bell, a ringing much like before, but he ignored it as he pushed on the door. It swung open. Heat wafted out, almost more than he could take.
Jason looked around the inside of this room. There was a softly glowing orange light, and it permeated everything.
He was in a narrow hallway. It ran parallel to the hall he had been in, and behind it were rows of bars.
At first, he wasn’t sure what the bars were for. Then the light began to dissipate, enough that he was able to see more clearly, and as he did, he realized what it was and why he was seeing it.
They weren’t just bars. They were cells.
And on the other side of the cell was a dragon.
8
He froze in place
, staring at the dragon. This one looked nothing like the ice dragon, and it looked nothing like the dragons he’d seen with Henry near Dragon Haven. This one was all dark scaled, and there was something off about it.
It turned its head toward Jason, eyes blazing a bright orange, and energy began to build. As it did, the darkness on the dragon faded, becoming a matching orange, glowing with an intense heat.
The dragon exploding power against its cell had been what he’d felt.
There was incredible heat. More than he could bear. When he had been around Henry and his dragon, there had been nothing like that, and when the dragon had taken on heat, it had not become unbearable to be near, but this was something else.
Jason took a step back. “I’m here to help.”
He didn’t know if the dragon was able to understand him, didn’t know if it could read his mind the same way the ice dragon could, but if it could, he wanted the dragon to know that he meant it no harm.
The heat began to fade.
“Can you understand me?”
“Yes,” came a deep, rumbling voice.
“How long have you been held here?”
“Long.”
That didn’t help him. The ice dragon didn’t have a good sense of time, so why should this dragon?
Either way, he knew what he had to do.
Family first…
“Is there any way I can help you get out?”
He didn’t see any sign of a lock or any other way of freeing the dragon. It was almost as if the dragon had been dropped in here, and yet, there had to be something. The bars were all of stone, slatted so narrowly that the dragon wouldn’t be able to escape, and Jason walked along the outer edge, searching for some way to get to the creature, but there wasn’t anything.
There had to have been a way of getting the dragon in, so there had to be some way of getting the dragon out.
He looked at the bars, and yet he couldn’t find anything.
“You can’t escape, can you?”
“I cannot.”
He pulled out the dragon pearl and pressed it against the stone and focused on the heat, pushing it into the stone. It exploded against the bars, but nothing else happened.
Iron Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 2) Page 9