“We need to find someplace to disappear,” he said.
The iron dragon rumbled again, and heat exploded from his mouth.
They had reached a denser part of the forest and they bounced between trees, though not nearly as violently as Jason would’ve expected. It was almost as if the dragon were able to slither between them, to avoid most of them, but every so often, they would fully slam into one and Jason would go jostling along the dragon’s back. Thankfully, he’d uncovered a way of holding on to the dragon by gripping the spikes along his neck, but it was almost not enough.
As he gripped the dragon’s back, he squeezed, wrapping his arms and legs around the dragon, clinging as tightly as he could, afraid of being tossed off. If that were to happen, Jason doubted that he would be fast enough to be able to catch up to the dragon again.
“There is a place,” the dragon said.
It came like a hissing sound and the creature jumped forward, getting back to his legs, and then went running. The dragon moved far faster than Jason would’ve expected given his size, and he scrambled within the trees, managing to avoid most of them, and when approaching those that he couldn’t, he lowered his head. Jason learned to drop down, and when the dragon crashed into the trees, he no longer felt them with the same force. He was able to let the dragon absorb most of it.
When the dragon struck the trees, they trembled before falling.
It was amazing how powerful the dragon was. The way the dragon was able to crash into the trees, knocking them down, left him marveling at his strength, but it also left him wondering how much destruction they would leave in their wake.
It would be enough reason for the Dragon Souls to chase the dragon.
“You have to find some way of moving without leaving a trace,” he said.
“Why?”
“These others who are after us will try to use you.”
“They would not be able to use me.”
“They have some way of influencing dragons. Perhaps controlling them. I don’t really understand it, but I do know they will try to take your power. That’s the reason you were brought here.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I’m guessing you were brought here as an egg. The mine influenced you.”
“Why would you think that?”
“You’re different than other dragons.”
“How many dragons do you know?”
“Not enough, but enough to know that you’re different.”
The dragon managed to slither around the trees, and as he looked behind him, Jason didn’t see any sign of their passing. It was almost as if the dragon was doing exactly as he asked, trying to keep from leaving any footprints as they ran through the forest. The trees began to thin out and it was easier for the dragon to work his way around them. He reached a stream and ran alongside it. The dragon avoided stepping into the water, and Jason couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the dragon did go into the stream. Would the water affect him the same way that it affected metal?
It was possible it would, which was reason for the dragon to avoid it. It was different than the ice dragon, a creature that could tolerate the cold in the water, but they would have to explore that distinction later, to try to understand just what everything meant for the dragon. For now, they needed to find a way to get him to safety.
“Where are you going?”
“You suggested a place,” the dragon said.
“No. I suggested you find a place that you know would be safe.”
“A place calls to me.”
“How does it call to you?”
“I feel it.”
Could it be another of the hatch mates? It was unlikely the dragon would be able to detect that so clearly, especially as the ice dragon couldn’t. Then again, what did Jason know about this dragon at all?
The dragon began to run more rapidly.
They were on open ground, and there was no snow on the ground. That was a strange thing, but even stranger was the way the dragon suddenly dropped.
The change was jarring, and he hadn’t expected it, but the dragon swept his wings out and they glided, though they slid along the surface of the ground nonetheless.
Below them was darkness.
Jason wasn’t able to determine what it was, only that it was blackened, and yet, the dragon seemed comfortable, familiar with it in a way that Jason was not. As they descended, he clung to the dragon’s back, thinking that if nothing else, if they were to crash, he would be protected by the dragon.
Then they glided to a stop.
The dragon scrambled forward. Walls surrounded them.
Jason kept his head down, clinging to the dragon’s neck, and when the dragon began to slither forward again, sliding along the surface, he stayed there, afraid to move.
They slithered for an impossibly long period of time, moving deep underground, and then the dragon came to a stop.
Jason lifted his head, looking around, afraid of what he might find. Surprisingly, they were in a massive cavern.
Heat began to build from the dragon and Jason scrambled down, not wanting to get burned, and he looked all around, taking in the sight of the walls and of everything else, and realized what this was.
An iron mine.
He’d never seen one, and even though he’d been near one in Varmin, he wasn’t sure the cell the dragon had been in represented a typical iron mine. This, on the other hand, had to be one.
They were in a massive chamber, and all around were other side tunnels. There was nothing but darkness in them, and yet, he had a sense the dragon knew exactly where they were and whether there was anyone else around them to be worried about.
“How did you know about this place?”
The dragon continued to glow, the heat radiating off his body giving off enough light to illuminate the entirety of the chamber. The walls were artificially made, scraped by pick and hammer, and yet the inside of the space was enormous. In the distance, it seemed as if there was a drop-off, and Jason feared to get too close to it. For all the time that he had lived atop the mountain, he’d never expected to go inside of it.
“I could feel it. It draws me.”
“I don’t understand what that means.”
“This place calls to me.”
Jason looked around. “Are there any others here?”
He studied the walls, the markings that were on them, and wondered how long ago it had been occupied. There had to be others here, and yet he didn’t see anything that signified another presence. The mine itself was completely empty, and because of that, he had to believe they were relatively safe.
Perhaps he could call to the ice dragon.
Then again, he wondered if the ice dragon would be able to tolerate a place like this. He needed snow and cold, and in coming here, the ice dragon might be somehow diminished.
“There are no others here.”
“Are you sure?”
“I would know.”
He nodded. He wasn’t about to challenge the dragon, especially as he suspected that it would know.
How long would they stay here?
It was possible one of these other tunnels would lead back out, and if so, then Jason could use it to explore.
“Is this the only way in?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
He maneuvered so that he could stand right in front of the dragon. He looked up at the massive creature, meeting the dragon’s eyes. “How is it that you know?”
The dragon took in a deep breath, and when he let it out, there was a mixture of steam and a faint orange glow to it. “The knowledge is there. I don’t understand why I should have it, but I do.”
Jason thought he understood. The dragon was born to this place, the same way the ice dragon had been born to the upper mountains. He had an innate knowledge of the tunnels, of the mine, and because of that, he would know all of the ways through here.