Watching Kayla, seeing the way she looked at their mother, and seeing the relaxation upon her, he thought that perhaps it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were here now. All that mattered was that his sister was able to finally find a measure of peace.
Jason gripped her shoulder, squeezing for a moment before stepping back outside.
Out in the hallway, Sarah waited for him. She was dressed in dragonskin, and she held on to a sense of power, whatever dragon pearls she was holding giving her that ability. She looked at Jason with her deep silver eyes, concern etched within them.
“How is she?”
“Kayla or my mother?”
“Both, I suppose.”
“My mother is about the same.” He told her about how he had found her, and where she’d been. Sarah’s frown continued to deepen, but she said nothing. “And since we returned, my sister has been more relaxed. I know what she’s gone through over the last year, but it’s still hard to see her like that.”
“The people will keep her safe, Jason.”
“I know they will, and I know we’ve been welcomed here.”
Kayla probably knew it better than Jason. She’d been here longer than him, and she had been around others more than him, so she knew more people within Dragon Haven then even he did. Because of that, she was safe when he wasn’t here.
“It’s just… It’s just different,” he said.
“Everything changes. And now, you’ll be changing things.”
“I hope it’s for the better,” he said.
“You don’t think it is?”
“Attacking the Dragon Souls? Taking the fight to Lorach? Risking the dragons?”
Sarah smiled at him. “That’s the rebellion. Had been.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“I suppose I am, a little. For too long, we’ve hidden within Dragon Haven. For too long, we’ve known that we would need to do something different, that we would need to somehow bring the fight beyond our borders, and for too long, we’ve done nothing. And yet, now that we’re here, now that you are here, and now that we understand the nature of the fighting, and what the Dragon Souls have done and are willing to do, we will need to do something more.”
“I just hope it works,” Jason said. He focused on his connections to the ice dragon and the iron dragon, and their energy rolled through him. It was their energy he was going to need to use in order to free the dragons. As he focused on it, he wondered if he would be strong enough. “How many are going to go?” Jason asked.
“Other than you, myself, and Henry?”
Jason nodded. “William wanted to go.”
A look of concern flashed through her eyes briefly. “How long do you intend to wait before taking off? We have to plan.”
Sarah led their way along the halls, winding along a path. Jason glanced at the hallway every so often, taking in the dragon sculptures and some of the other details. The palace was ornate and the decoration within it was impressive, but there was also the warmth within it that pressed upon him. As he felt that warmth, he was reminded again of the power of the dragons that fueled this place. It was overwhelming at times.
Sarah watched him. “What is it?”
“I was just feeling the energy here.”
“What energy?”
“The power within the palace.”
“Some say the palace was built on a place of great power, a nation that once existed in these lands.” She shrugged. “We don’t really know much about it. We’ve been here a long time, and yet we haven’t uncovered anything other than the sculptures. They give us a sense of how the people who came before us revered the dragons, but not much more than that.”
“They did more than revere the dragons.” Jason paused in front of one. It was enormous, towering over his head, with massive wings unfolded, resting forward. There was a look upon the dragon’s face, almost of anger. It was a powerful expression. It seemed to Jason that the dragon itself was almost alive, and yet as he stared at it, feeling the heat radiating from the sculpture, he couldn’t tell why that would be.
He touched its surface. It was smooth and warm, reminding him something of a dragon pearl, and yet it was still different. The dragon pearls had fine lines working through them, striations of something which he had yet to fully understand. Some of the striations, like that of the leaf, reminded him of the dragons themselves, but others were different. Others seemed to be nothing more than just colors.
“We decided it doesn’t really matter to study anything more about the dragons. All that matters is that those who came before us in this place cared for the dragons. That was why we felt it was right for us to settle here.”
“There was no one here when you first settled?”
Jason realized he knew so very little about Dragon Haven, but if he was going to stay here, if this was going to be his new home, he thought that perhaps he needed to know something more about it.
“There was no one here. There were no remains, either. All that was left were the sculptures, and other items that reflected the people who were here before. We saw no signs of burial plots, no bones, nothing.”
“That’s a little strange, isn’t it?”
“Most think that’s a lot strange,” she said, smiling at him. “We suspect they ran off, heading somewhere else.”
“Where did they go?”
“With the dragons, they would have gone somewhere else. Dragons leave us when they’re dying. We’ve never seen where they go.”
“They mourn their lost,” he said softly, thinking of the dragon song.
She watched him. “We think so. There’s likely a massive dragon graveyard somewhere hidden beyond here.”
“And the people?”
She shook her head. “It’s possible the people here were the predecessors to the Dragon Souls.”
Jason arched a brow. “Not if they revered the dragons.”
“Revering the dragons doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t fear them. Most agree it’s fear of the dragons which drives the Dragon Souls.”
Jason had some experience with that. When he had been dealing with the Dragon Souls, and particularly with Therin and David, he had a feeling that they feared the dragons, and that concern was what drove them, motivating them to want to train the dragons, trying to force them to serve in whatever way they thought they could.
What purpose did that fear serve? The more Jason thought about it, the more certain he was that fear did nothing for them, other than preventing them from understanding the true nature of the dragons. Jason had a connection to the dragons that Therin hadn’t possessed. There was no fear to the way he worked with them. He recognized their power—and wanted to continue understanding it.
“How long have your people been here?”
“There’ve been people in Dragon Haven for hundreds of years.”
“It’s not that well developed.”
“It isn’t,” she said.
“Why not?”
“We’ve been more focused on the dragons than on creating a people here. And the rebellion seeks to destabilize Lorach itself.” She smiled sadly. “This was never supposed to be our home.”
Jason had seen it himself. There had been so much of a focus on getting to the dragons, trying to help them, and trying to free them that anything they might be doing to build up the people of Dragon Haven had been secondary. Then again, the people were secondary, at least within Dragon Haven.
They stepped out into the sunlight, and warmth shone down from overhead. The sky was blue, and he stared up at it. A certain warmth flowed around him, and though it wasn’t unpleasant, it was different enough that it took some adjusting. If it were up to him, he would continue to wrap the cold around himself. Though he had left his home, he didn’t hate the cold as others did. It was comforting. It was a sense of familiarity and the longer he was away from it, the more he needed to remember it.
He could feel that reflected in the ice dragon. High over
head, the ice dragon circled, drawing power from the upper reaches of the sky, the cold and wind blowing around him, giving him strength he didn’t have down on the ground, at least not here.
Jason wondered if he could borrow from that, but he had hesitated to try to reach across the connection he shared with the ice dragon to do so. He didn’t want to steal any power from the ice dragon, not unless it were needed.
“There you are,” a voice said.
Jason turned and saw Henry approaching. He was marching toward them quickly, power radiating from him. A pair of dragons Jason hadn’t noticed before circled in the sky, and he wondered why he wouldn’t have seen them, but suspected it was because he’d been so focused on his mother and his sister.
“I needed to find you,” Henry said. “There’s been movement.”
Henry motioned for them to follow. They hurried along the street, moving away from the palace and the dragon clearing. It was enough for Jason to glance back, wondering where Henry was taking him, and Sarah fixed Henry with a deep frown.
As they marched, Henry looked over at him. “I heard you went for your mother?”
“I did. She’s with my sister. I held on to an illusion that will make it seem as if she is still back in our home.”
“How long do you think that illusion will last?”
“Why?”
“I think we might need to be gone for a little while.”
“We were planning on being gone for a while,” Jason said. He glanced over at Sarah. “We were talking about going to Lorach and trying to free as many dragons as we could.”
“I don’t know that we have time to do that.” Henry paused in front of a squat, rectangular building. The walls of it were smooth and, much like most buildings within Dragon Haven, dragon sculptures were worked into the surface, though there was writing on this one as well. Vines crawled along its surface, giving it a vibrancy that others didn’t have. “The Dragon Souls are moving.”
The other man pushed the door open, stepping aside.
Inside, lanterns glowed, but they were an unusual type of lantern. They were lit with a flat orange light, and there was no flickering to them that suggested any flame. As far as Jason could tell, they were using dragon pearls in order to illuminate the room, though no one held on to the dragon pearls.
He glanced over at Henry, who marched forward, reaching the door at the other end. When he did, he knocked once before pushing it open.
Sarah grabbed Jason’s arm and shook her head. “This isn’t good. This is the Dragon Guard.”
She reached the door, stepping through to the other side, but Jason hesitated.
Once he stepped through, a strange tingling came over his skin. Everything shimmered, and for a moment, he thought there might be an illusion forming around him. He focused on it and pulled away any sense of power, any sense of an illusion that might have been able to form, stripping it clear. He didn’t want anything to manifest around him. He was the one who was able to create the illusions, and with his connection to the forest dragon, he thought that if they were going to do something like that, they would need to mention it to him, but there was no sense of illusion. It was almost as if whatever he detected was little more than a protection that had cleared.
As that protection cleared, Jason looked around. A long table filled the room. Chairs pushed up against it, and a half dozen men sat in the chairs. Henry stood at one end of the room, leaning on the backrest of one of the chairs.
“This is irregular, Henry,” one of the men said. He had a thick beard and deep silver eyes. His voice matched his appearance, deep and rough.
It was almost as if he would’ve fit right in within Jason’s village.
“I understand that this is irregular, Gordon, but Jason Dreshen is the one who has connected to these other dragons. If we’re going to take any action, we need to involve him in it.”
“Just because he’s been involved with the dragons doesn’t mean we should rely upon him. We have limited time.”
“I understand we are limited with time, but—”
“What is this?” Jason said, stepping into the room.
All the eyes turned to him, and Gordon, the leader, focused on him. There was something in his gaze that tore at Jason, a power within it.
“You’re him?”
“I’m Jason Dreshen.”
“You don’t strike me as particularly impressive.”
Jason frowned. It was a strange comment, and considering the usual welcome he received within Dragon Haven, he was surprised they would be so blunt with him.
Then again, perhaps it was best they were forthright.
“How would you expect me to look?”
“Considering what I’ve heard about your connection to the other dragons, I thought you might be taller. Perhaps older. You’re practically a boy.”
Jason debated how much to argue, but decided not to say too much. He didn’t want to anger them, and he didn’t necessarily care if they called him a boy. For his part, he was still something of a boy.
“What have you heard about me?”
“I’ve heard you’re connected to these strange dragons.”
“The misfits.” Gordon frowned at him and Jason nodded. “I am.”
“And are you more connected than anybody who might have a dragon pearl? Perhaps he should teach us how he uses his connection to the dragon pearls, Henry. We wouldn’t need to risk somebody who’s inexperienced on this.”
“Risk?” Jason glanced from Henry to Gordon, wondering what they were getting at.
“It’s okay, Jason,” Henry said.
“What are you planning on doing with the dragons?”
“Nothing, at this point, but if you show us how to use them, then perhaps we can,” Gordon said.
Jason shook his head. “The dragons don’t care for being used.”
“We’re not using them like the Dragon Souls would use them.”
“It sounds to me as if you intended to do just that. And I can tell you the dragons don’t care for it.”
“Will you share with us your connection or not?”
Jason held his hands out. “I can show you this.” He let the illusion fade, and as it did, one hand glowed with the soft heat of the iron dragon, while the other held the greenish hue from the forest dragon. “Both dragons have gifted me.”
The others in the room all stared at Jason, looking at his hands before turning their attention to him.
“And the ice dragon has a connection to me as well.”
“What is this? Are you mocking us?” Gordon asked.
“Gordon,” Henry started.
“Don’t get into this. I know he was working with Thomas, and I know he has some ability with illusion, but—”
Jason glanced over at Sarah, smiling to himself.
If they wanted to know if he had some ability with illusion, he was going to show them. It was easy enough to do. He borrowed the power from the forest dragon, his hand taking on an increased intensity, turning a deeper green, and he shifted the interior of the room.
He brought forth the wind and cold from the north. It was familiar to him, and so it was the easiest illusion for him to form. In doing so, he was able to set it sweeping around him, and as he did that, he focused, letting that wind whip all around him.
It picked up, the snow swirling, biting, and he let it fill the entirety of the room.
There was a hint of resistance but it was subtle, and Jason was able to overpower it quickly. As he did, he realized the source of that resistance, and knew it came from whatever tingling he’d felt when he had entered the room.
He shifted the illusion again, bringing forth the appearance of the forest. His time working with the forest dragon had made that easier. The snow disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving trees rising overhead, the sound of animals chirping around him, and there was something else, but it was difficult to maintain that earthy odor.
And then he released all of his illusions. H
e let them flow back into nothingness, and he looked over at the man.
“I see,” Gordon said. He turned his attention to Henry. “How much control does he have over it?”
“You realize you can ask him,” Henry said.
“I’m asking you.”
“He defeated Therin.”
“I heard the dragons did that.”
“Perhaps,” Henry said.
When they turned their attention to him, Jason didn’t even argue. He’d been involved in the battle with Therin, but Henry was right. He hadn’t been the one to defeat Therin; it had been the iron dragon. Without him and his abilities and his power, Jason doubted he would have been able to do anything to stop Therin.
And yet, he didn’t have to do it alone. With his connection to the dragons, there was no point in doing so. He would rather maintain that bond, thinking about that power, and he used it. There was no shame in it. They were his connection.
As strange as it seemed, the dragons were more friends to him than anyone he had ever bonded to within his village. Within the village, Jason had no real friends. He had no one. Only his sister and his mother. He had family, but nothing more than that.
“What is this about?” Jason asked, turning from Henry to Gordon. “Why did you bring me here if you were going to challenge what I was able to do?”
“We needed to know whether you were what you claimed,” Gordon said. “And what connection you have to these dragons.”
“Have I proven that to you?”
If this was just a test, then he disliked it. There was no point in forcing him to complete a task like this, not when he had proven himself time and again.
“You’ve proven enough to let us know you will be useful.”
“Useful with what?” he asked.
Storm Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 4) Page 10