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

by D. K. Holmberg

  Find Jessica. She was out there. Could he use what he knew of her to track her?

  He knew about the heat and power from the palace that filled her. He had drawn upon that heat and used it himself. He should be able to find it.

  He focused on the other dragons, and they were there, still safe. The iron dragon raged, heat exploding off him, mingling with that of the storm. The ice dragon fought, but with less violence and intensity. The ice dragon was determined to keep the two people on his back safe, and was not able to fight with the same fury the iron dragon could.

  Jason focused on the connection he shared with the distant sense of the other dragon, which Jessica drew upon. As he focused on it, he could feel her.

  He motioned for the forest dragon to follow that sense.

  They strained, fighting against the storm, against the power raging against them, but it seemed as if the storm continued to chase them, threatening to swallow them. The lightning and thunder pounded all around, slamming into Jason, into the dragon, forcing them from side to side, the dragon banking as she tried to twist away from the overwhelming power. Each time she did, there was another attack and another onslaught.

  Maybe there was something else he could try. He shifted, drawing not from the dragons, but from that power he detected far below in the city. He reached for it and created a shield around them.

  It did little more than offer them protection from the power of the storm. The forest dragon was able to stabilize and began to fly with more confidence. She headed out of the storm.

  As soon as they were free, Jason’s breath caught.

  The dragons arranged around them were numerous, more than he could count. The dragons concentrated their power on the storm cloud. That was what was influencing the storm dragon.

  He saw Jessica.

  She was the one leading this, and if he could get to her and stop the attack, then it might finally end.

  Jason started toward her.

  Riding atop the forest dragon, he shifted her, using an illusion, making her larger and larger, drawing upon the power that flowed through her, through him. With that power, the illusion formed, creating an enormous dragon that blotted out the sun.

  Dragons in front of him scattered, shrieking. Dragon Souls were tossed, and Jason made no attempt to try to save either Dragon Souls or the dragon. That would come later.

  He held on to the illusion, and the sense of power radiated away from him. He had to use that.

  Jessica turned her attention to him, the heat and power exploding off her, the intensity of her attack driving toward him. He held on to his connection to the illusion, to what she was doing. Even as he did so, she redirected the focus of her attack on him.

  She shifted it so it targeted the forest dragon. It began to peel away the illusion, stripping it free. There was anger and violence on her face, her expression one of rage. It terrified him.

  She was connected in a different way than he was. Her power came from that of hundreds of dragons, funneled through the city, through a connection that was something more and greater than what he was able to achieve when he reached for the three dragons.

  She turned that force upon him, the rage flowing toward him.

  He targeted her using the power of the illusion. Maybe he could toss her free from the dragon.

  Jessica deflected everything he did. She continued to draw power from all of the dragons. She watched him, a knowing smirk on her face.

  Power exploded into the forest dragon. The illusion collapsed. The dragon began to drop.

  Jason called upon the power of the forest dragon, the ice dragon, the iron dragon, and let it mingle, empowering the forest dragon.

  They were able to stabilize, but for how much longer? He focused his power, trying to wrap Jessica in an illusion, but she obliterated it with a surge of power.

  “Thank you for bringing them to me,” she said from a distance. Her voice carried, somehow bringing the satisfied smirk with it.

  He tried to draw more power, but could feel the ice and the iron dragon beginning to struggle within the storm.

  He focused on the ice dragon. “Go.”

  The ice dragon raged, drawing upon the cold, but the storm wailing around him was too much. He sent the same message to the iron dragon.

  And then he turned toward Jessica.

  He was prepared for failure, but he wasn’t prepared for what came next.

  A deep blue dragon suddenly appeared, streaking toward them.

  It broke free of the line of the other dragons and came hurtling toward Jessica.

  David.

  The dragon slammed into Jessica’s dragon and David launched himself free, crashing into Jessica.

  The moment he did, the power swirling around Jason changed.

  The energy everywhere shifted.

  He turned away, focusing on the other dragons, and began to send power through them. He drew upon the ice dragon, the iron dragon, and even from the forest dragon, mingling those powers as he healed them. Dozens and dozens of dragons were altered, restored as he called upon that power.

  The attack shifted.

  He didn’t have enough strength to help all of the dragons, but it was enough to change the nature of the attack. It was enough to divert the focus. The power circling the storm dragon changed, disappearing.

  Jessica and David battled sitting astride the black dragon, and power blasted from one to the other, slamming into each other. They were evenly matched.

  Jason turned his attention away and headed toward the storm dragon.

  As soon as they plunged into the storm, he called through the forest dragon, creating a sense of calm. Blue skies surrounded them. There was only the forest dragon and the storm dragon. And then the ice dragon and the iron dragon appeared, flying alongside.

  All of them turned toward the storm dragon.

  “These are your family,” Jason said, his voice appearing out of the ether. He masked himself, not wanting to unsettle the storm dragon any more than he already was. The forest dragon called upon a different sort of power. It washed through the storm dragon.

  As it did, he shook for a moment, and then everything went cold.

  “What did you do?” he whispered to the forest dragon.

  “He needed help,” she said.

  “Did you heal him?”

  “That wasn’t the help he needed. He needed the kind of help only another dragon could provide.”

  The illusion held, and with the blue skies surrounding them, he wondered whether the storm dragon would continue to attack. He could feel that calm and the comfort of the sky, and he thought he understood the rage and tempest that the storm dragon had been going through.

  Jason wasn’t connected to the storm dragon and didn’t want to draw upon his power. That didn’t mean that there might not come a time when he could, but for now…

  “Can you guide him to safety?” he asked the forest dragon.

  She rumbled softly. “What about you?”

  “I have something else I need to do.”

  He turned to the ice dragon and jumped over to him, landing on the other dragon’s back. When he settled in place, the ice dragon veered off.

  “I might need your help, too,” he said to the iron dragon.

  The other dragon rumbled. Heat radiated off him, glowing with a vibrant intensity, filling Jason and surging once more in his hand. They turned, and he looked back, watching as the other two dragons continued off, heading west, into the clear skies, the forest dragon holding on to the illusion, the storm dragon home in a way he hadn’t been before.

  In that moment, Jason had an insight that he understood the needs of the other dragon, but then it faded.

  Then they flew through the illusion.

  22

  The storm clouds formed behind them, but they were rolling away, heading toward the west, the violence within them no longer quite as angry or unsettled. Jason stared for a long moment, watching as the other dragons disappeared
, and hoped he’d done the right thing. The longer he watched, the more unsure he was.

  “Is that it?” Sarah asked.

  “We still have to deal with Jessica,” he said.

  William was slumped over, and it was the first time that Jason realized his friend had been knocked out at some point.

  “What happened?”

  “During the attack. I don’t really know.”

  He called upon the power of the ice dragon and the iron dragon, mixing them together, and as they washed over William, there came a healing sense. He took a deep breath, but he didn’t come around.

  Jason sat up, looking for signs of Jessica. There were still other dragons near. Every so often, the surge of power would explode. When it did, Jason turned toward the dragon, and he sent a healing wave over them. He freed another dozen or so dragons in that way, but he didn’t know what happened to the rest of the dragons he’d healed.

  Worse, he didn’t know how many remained. There were still many. The Dragon Souls had hundreds of dragons, and hundreds of Dragon Souls who were training them. They had power. They had knowledge. And they had a way of using it.

  He looked outward and found the black dragon. He was on the ground, perched almost protectively. The blue dragon was across from him, and the two were staring at each other.

  Jason attempted to push a healing probe through the black dragon, but it met resistance. He called upon more power, and with each surge of energy, he found more and more resistance.

  Whatever Jessica did was strong enough to oppose him.

  “Is there anything you can do?” he asked the ice dragon.

  The dragon roared and power built, cold swirling around, and then with a sudden burst of energy, a lance of ice lightning shot toward the black dragon.

  When it struck, the dragon was stirred to flight and darted off toward the city. Jason was tempted to give chase but decided against it.

  Instead, he motioned for the ice dragon to take them down.

  When they landed near the blue dragon, he realized what had happened.

  The deep blue dragon stood in front of a motionless figure. Jason hurried over and found David lying there. His eyes were closed and blood caked the ground.

  “David?” he whispered.

  The other man didn’t say anything. Jason drew upon the power of the ice and the iron dragons, mingling them, sending them through David, but he didn’t feel anything. There was nothing to heal.

  He was gone.

  He crouched down, holding on to power, trying to push more and more through the other man, letting that energy roll through him. Yet each time he attempted it, there was nothing that he could do.

  Sarah joined him, resting her hand on his shoulder before crouching down next to him and taking his hand.

  “He didn’t deserve this,” Jason said.

  “He helped us,” she said.

  “He did. He didn’t agree with what we were doing. He wanted to destroy the storm dragon, but he was willing to listen.”

  And it was because of him that David had perished.

  He had fought with them until the end, and now he was gone.

  Jason rested his hand on the other man’s chest, and he pushed power outward.

  He tried to heal him again, but even he knew there was no healing death.

  He remained there for long moments, tears streaming from his eyes, and wondered whether there was anything that they could have done differently.

  It was because of David that they had succeeded. It was because of his willingness to fight that they had managed to get to safety, and it was because of him that Jessica was stopped, however briefly.

  “We should get going,” Sarah said.

  “And do what?” Jason asked.

  “I don’t know. Return to Dragon Haven.”

  “It doesn’t feel as if we have accomplished anything.”

  “No? You protected the storm dragon. You freed dozens of these Dragon Soul dragons. And you’ve weakened the people of Lorach. That is quite a bit.”

  “But now the Dragon Souls know what we’re capable of. They aren’t going to let that rest.”

  More than anything, Jason was certain of that. The people of Lorach, and the Dragon Souls, would now come after them. There would be an attack. Dragon Haven would need to be ready.

  In order to do so, they would need the help of the freed dragons, if they were willing to participate.

  Of all the dragons Jason had freed, none had arrived in Dragon Haven, though the misfits had shared its location with them. It was almost as if no one wanted to join them, as if they feared being called back into service for the Dragon Souls.

  Perhaps that was what it was, but he thought he had to try.

  Somehow, he had to offer them whatever help he could, even if that meant chasing them down. Dozens and dozens of dragons had been freed during this episode. And because of that, there were dozens and dozens of dragons that could be used to fortify Dragon Haven against the Dragon Souls.

  He scooped David off the ground. As he did, something fell out of David’s hand, and Jason took it. It was a black dragon pearl, larger than many of the dragon pearls that he’d used.

  “Why black?” Sarah looked over at the deep blue dragon. “Why doesn’t he have your dragon pearl?” she asked the dragon

  Jason turned his attention toward the city, and he thought he understood what David had been doing.

  “He had a dragon pearl for his sister’s dragon.”

  “Does that matter?”

  “I don’t know. It might.”

  Jason pocketed the pearl and carried David over to the ice dragon. As he did, he looked at the blue dragon. “Come with us. He would want you to have freedom. He’d want you to be safe.”

  The dragon rumbled and lowered his head.

  William headed toward the dragon and Jason thought about warning him, but what warning did William need? He understood the dragons. He’d been working with them, training them. As he approached, the dragon looked in William’s eyes.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” William said. “But you can help us. We can help you. We can work together.”

  The dragon rumbled, and there came a surge of heat, of energy, and as it radiated from the blue dragon, he took to the air.

  Jason thought the dragon might disappear, but he circled, waiting.

  Carrying David’s body, he climbed on the ice dragon and they took flight. The iron dragon followed, and as they headed toward Dragon Haven, the deep blue dragon circled a few times before joining them.

  No one spoke as they flew. By the time they crossed over the forest, Jason looked down, wondering if the forest dragon had returned with the storm dragon or if she had continued flying elsewhere, bringing that dragon somewhere safe—though he wondered where safety would be.

  And then they continued onward. The forest and the landscape changed. When they neared the illusion around the city, they started through it. After landing, William headed over toward the blue dragon.

  “You go on. I’m going to work with him,” he said.

  Jason carried David, and Sarah joined him. As they headed toward the city, neither of them said anything. It wasn’t until they reached the palace that they spoke.

  “What next?” Sarah asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “They won’t be able to find us with the illusion in place,” she said.

  “I don’t think so, but it won’t take long for them to figure something out. And with Jessica’s desire for revenge, I don’t know how long we will have.”

  “We will gather the Dragon Guard.”

  Jason sighed. It meant fighting. It meant violence. And it meant dragons would battle dragons. After everything he’d experienced, that was one thing he did not want.

  Unfortunately, it was one thing he wasn’t sure he would be able to prevent.

  He carried David into the palace, but he didn’t know why he was doing it. Turning away, he headed back outside, bringing hi
m to the trees. He settled the man down, against one of the trees, and crouched in front of him.

  Jason breathed out. “I’m sorry this happened to you. We didn’t have a chance to become friends, not like we probably could have been. But I will do right by you.”

  He remained there for a moment, staring at him, and then got to his feet. Heading back into the palace, he reached the rooms that he had been given. Once inside, he stopped.

  The illusion he had placed had failed. It looked like the room again, not at all like their home in the north. The walls were all of smooth stone, and a simple bed lined one wall. A trunk at the end of the bed contained most of his belongings. A basin along one corner held filthy water.

  Before he left, all of this had been different. All of this had been an illusion, and all of this had seemed as if it were something else.

  Now it was faded, gone.

  Jason clutched his chest. Ever since the strike from the storm dragon, he felt an occasional tingling. He wasn’t sure whether or not he would suffer any long-term effects from it. He didn’t know. And until he knew, he would have to continue to work with the ice dragon, searching for healing that might be available to him. Occasionally, he felt a sizzle of energy, as if the jolt of the electrical current that had washed through him from the lightning bolt remained within him, bottled up in some way.

  He would have to figure out what that meant later.

  “Jason.”

  He turned and saw a familiar face standing near a door. “Mother?”

  She smiled at him. “Why are you wearing dragonskin?”

  “Where’s Kayla?”

  “Your sister has gone to work with the other dragon trainers,” she said.

  “You know?”

  “Know? I sent her there.”

  She turned to the hearth.

  Jason didn’t know what to do or say. He couldn’t believe that his mother was awake like this, and there was a clarity to her that hadn’t been there before.

  “Mother?”