That was valuable to them, considering they didn’t know how long they would be trapped here and whether there would be others coming.
“There’s another dragon out there I need to get word to.”
The iron dragon looked down at him. “Is this one controlled by those others?”
Jason shook his head and held up the dragon pearl. He pushed as much cold into it as he could. Within the mine, as humid as it was, he found it more difficult to do so, but the longer he tried in places like this, where he shouldn’t otherwise be able to reach the cold, the easier it became. He was connected to that cold, probably the same way that the dragon here was connected to the mine. He was able to use that connection, that power, and because of it, he was able to push through the dragon pearl, using that to summon a sense of cold.
It was barely more than a hint of cold, nothing more than that, and yet as he summoned it, the pearl took on a pale white glow.
“He’s not controlled by the others. The dragon allows me to borrow from his power.”
It was a strange thing to think of, and yet that was the truth. The dragon did allow him to borrow from it. Because of it, Jason couldn’t help but think he should be able to do more with that power.
The dragon knew of him. The dragon knew he had his dragon pearl. If Jason could continue to control that, if he could use that, then he might be able to summon the dragon down here. It would involve somehow showing the dragon where he was, and unless he knew, it was possible that he wouldn’t be able to do so.
“You may bring him here.”
“I don’t know how to show him where this is.”
The dragon breathed a streamer of fire from his nostrils, illuminating one of the tunnels. “Take that shaft. You can use it to reach the surface quickly.”
“How quickly?”
“Quickly.”
“Why didn’t we take that way?”
Jason leaned forward, pushing the dragon pearl in front of him and letting more power flow from him, and as he did, he realized why they hadn’t taken that route. The shaft was far narrower than the other ones. It was possible the iron dragon couldn’t make his way out through the narrow tunnel.
“I would not have fit.”
Jason took a step back, regarding the iron dragon. The iron dragon might not fit down that tunnel, but the ice dragon wasn’t nearly as large, at least not yet. In time, it was possible the iron dragon and the ice dragon would be the same size, and yet, for now, the ice dragon was smaller.
He hurried forward, reaching the tunnel, and he crawled through it.
As the iron dragon had said, the tunnel was narrow, but not so narrow that he couldn’t make his way along it. He hurried forward, and every so often, he glanced back, worrying the dragon was unsafe. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the dragon behind him, not when the Dragon Souls were out, though there were fewer than when they had first been attacked.
How long would it take for them to summon other Dragon Souls here? Once they knew there was an iron dragon in existence, they would bring reinforcements.
It was the same thing that would happen when they realized the ice dragon existed.
And here Jason had thought all he had to worry about was the ice dragon, but now with the iron dragon, he had to be concerned about much more. He had to worry about what the Dragon Souls might do and how much more they might attempt, and yet, he was even more determined to ensure that the dragons remained safe.
The tunnel led up at a sharp angle, and he found himself holding on to the wall as he climbed. There was no sense of movement, but a breeze began to drift along the length of the tunnel.
Jason remained motionless for a long moment, watching, and as he did, he wasn’t sure if there was something there he couldn’t yet see. The longer he remained, the more uncertain he was about what was there.
The tunnel stretched in front of him, far longer than he cared for, and he felt it begin to narrow, leaving him to wonder if the ice dragon would even be able to make it along the tunnel. It was possible it was far too narrow for the ice dragon to be able to get through here safely.
And then it widened again.
As soon as it did, Jason tested to see whether there would be enough room for the dragon to maneuver, and as he stretched his arms apart, he thought that there would be.
He hurried along the length of the tunnel, and when he felt a gust of breeze, he knew he was getting close to the very end of it. He moved faster and focused on the dragon pearl, using the cool breeze it was gusting through here, letting it flow over him, knowing that if he could reach the power within the dragon pearl, he should be able to summon the ice dragon.
And yet, he didn’t want to call the ice dragon too soon. It was possible there was a Dragon Soul out there, and he would need to be careful. He didn’t want to draw their attention to the fact that he had an ice dragon.
Unless they already knew. How many times had he used the dragon pearl in order to rescue the iron dragon? It had been quite a few, and because he’d drawn on the cold flowing through the dragon pearl, he had to think they would be aware of what he had done.
If they knew that, then they might know there was an ice dragon, and that was counting on the fact that Therin hadn’t survived. If he had, then it was even more likely that they were aware of the ice dragon.
Jason stood at the end of the tunnel.
There was nothing more than a drop-off in front of him.
An enormous gorge opened up. Far below, he could hear the sound of rushing water, and he imagined that the stream that originated in his mountain emptied out here, though he didn’t know if that was even possible. He did know the stream wrapped around, winding along the back face of the mountain. As it did, it gained additional power, flowing faster and faster before becoming a waterfall down to the base. As far as he knew, that would be where Therin had ended up, and if he had—and if he had survived—then Therin might know what had happened to him, how he had come to be encased in ice.
Jason looked all around, focusing on the sense of the dragon.
From here, there was enough of a chill to the air that he didn’t feel as if it were unsafe to summon the dragon. He thought that he could call to it, and in doing so, he could alert the dragon to the fact that he still lived.
He pulled on power. He called slowly through the dragon pearl, letting that energy increase, growing in intensity. The more he pulled upon that power, the more he felt it flowing through him, and the more certain he was that there was something to it.
At first, he detected nothing. The energy swirled around him, and Jason was certain something was there for him, but he didn’t know what it was.
Gradually, that energy began to build, and he realized that it represented the dragon.
It was getting closer.
Movement in the sky caught his attention, and it surprised him that the dragon was much closer than he would’ve expected. It was swooping down, darting from high overhead, and it blended in with the gray skies.
Then the dragon appeared before him.
“I found one of your hatch mates,” he said.
The dragon rumbled. “Where?”
“Up near that city. You should know something, though.”
“What should I know?”
“The dragon isn’t anything like you.”
“How is he?”
“Much like you took on features of the ice and the mountains, this dragon took on features of this place.”
“Such as what?”
“He has taken on characteristics of the metal mined here.”