Was that what it took? Jason didn’t know. While he’d been around the other dragons, he’d not been around the ice dragon when it had first hatched. He’d certainly not been around the iron dragon. Others had surrounded him first, capturing him, which meant that whatever bond he formed to the dragon had been secondary to something else.
Maybe it was secondary to the fact that Jason had been willing to help it, or maybe it was secondary to the fact that he had a different connection to him.
“How many eggs do you have?”
“There are twelve eggs gestating.” David sighed. “If others like Therin have their way, they will be brought elsewhere.”
“Elsewhere as in out to be tested?”
“That is what I mean. Therin would like to know if the other eggs can be used in the same way. If he has succeeded once, twice, or even three times as the case may be, he will use that power. He will try to replicate it. If he does so, how many dragons will we lose?”
Sarah shook her head. “There aren’t that many eggs that hatch to begin with,” she said.
“There are not. You see my concern.”
“But you just want dragons.”
“I want dragons able to reach their full power. And I’ve told you that I don’t want dragons that will make the people of Lorach fear. I know you don’t fully understand, but if you could even think about what we’re trying to do, and could even think about the way the dragons have potential, then you might understand the purpose behind what I do.”
Jason wasn’t going to get into that argument again, as there was no benefit to either of them. “I need to reach my village. You can come with us. You could help.”
“Help?”
“You could help stop him.”
David shook his head. “You don’t understand. Therin isn’t only a part of this.”
“Then help me understand. Help me stop Therin, and then you can—”
David shook his head. “I can’t do what you want me to do. Not with Therin’s plans. They are greater than you know.” David looked at Jason with sadness in his eyes. “Go, return to your village. Return to Dragon Haven if you think you can get there in time, but know that I can’t do anything to help you.”
With that, David turned back to the dragon, hopped on his back, and took off, quickly ascending and then disappearing into the darkening night. Jason watched for as long as he could before turning his attention back to the others.
It was too bad they wouldn’t be able to have his help. He truly did believe David might’ve been able to help them, but he was just one man and one dragon. And he had no idea how many dragons they were going to have to deal with.
Worse, if Therin had some way of controlling illusions, and of controlling the forest dragon, there was a real danger they would encounter something terrifying.
He didn’t know what that might be, but he could imagine the way Therin would use that power, and he could easily imagine how he would feel as that power washed over him. If they got trapped in an illusion again, he might not be able to escape it.
At least now he had both the iron and the ice dragon. And once they got Henry, they could go and see if there was anything that needed to be done.
More than that, he thought that he would have to go to the forest dragon. If he did, if he was able to successfully figure out what had happened and some way to heal her, then would it even make a difference?
“What is it?” Sarah asked.
“Just there’s a lot to do.”
“We should get going, then.”
Jason took a deep breath, focusing on the power of the iron dragon, and they took to the sky. The ice dragon followed, and Jason looked down. Far from where they were, he caught the glowing lights from a city. There came the occasional burst of heat, energy, and he realized that was Lorach.
And here he thought he’d visited, but it was nothing more than his imagination, nothing more than an illusion given to him. At some point, he suspected he would have to come to it, and he would have to understand what was taking place within Lorach, and eventually he was going to have to free those like him who were trapped.
But for now, he needed to return to his village, to find out how much of the damage was real, and he needed to ensure their safety. Once he did, only then could he know what else he might need to accomplish.
17
They streaked high overhead, the wind whistling around them. Henry sat atop the ice dragon while Jason and Sarah rode on the iron dragon. Jason trembled, fear coursing through him, worried about was going to happen when they did reach the people he wanted to help. The farther they traveled, the more uncertain he was as to what they might find.
What if the village had been abducted?
“I’ve waited to say this, but I think we need to go to Dragon Haven first,” Sarah said.
“But my village—”
“If you’re right, then your village is unharmed.”
“What if they’re all trapped in an illusion?”
“If they are, then it won’t matter for now.”
Jason didn’t know if that was true or not. If they were all trapped in an illusion, then it was possible they needed him to help free them from it. And if they were trapped within the illusion, then they wouldn’t have any way of getting free until someone came and rescued them.
Still, perhaps Sarah was right. He needed to stop Therin first. When he did, only then could he take the next step, and only then could he know what needed to be done, to help ensure the safety of the village.
He hated abandoning the village, but he also hated the idea that Therin would get away with attacking others, and might succeed in destroying Dragon Haven.
Worse, his sister was there.
That settled it.
He motioned to the ice dragon and signaled his intent.
The ice dragon flew on without comment. Henry watched, a look on his face, a question written there.
What mattered was that Therin had controlled the power of the forest dragon.
His breath caught. He was wrong about even going to Dragon Haven.
“I have a different idea,” he said.
Sarah frowned. “What idea is that?”
“We need to prevent Therin from succeeding, but if he’s already at Dragon Haven, we might not be strong enough to do so.”
“Then what would you propose?”
He told her what he was thinking of. He had no idea if it would even work, and yet, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he was right. This was what he needed to do.
And he couldn’t do it alone. He would need help. In order to defeat Therin, the kind of help they needed would be something different than what they’d used before.
They streaked into the distance.
When the forest came into view, night had settled in full.
It was probably a mistake heading to the forest this time of night, and even more of a mistake heading here without having the necessary support he thought they might need. As they came to land, Jason hopped off the iron dragon’s back, Sarah and Henry behind him.
They started into the forest, the iron dragon slithering between the trees as he often did. The ice dragon held back, a layer of ice forming around him.
Jason nodded to him. “You should remain in the sky. I can call to you when we need you.”
The ice dragon locked eyes with him and then took to the sky. Within a moment, he was so high above that Jason could only feel his presence.
Then again, he was able to sense the dragon, so he knew that he was there, and because of that, he knew that he would be able to reach for power if he needed to.
He looked up, searching the sky.