“We cannot.”
“Do you think we should let him have his dragonskin back?” Jason asked.
The ice dragon rumbled softly, and Jason understood.
Grabbing the folded pack off the ice dragon’s back, he handed over his bearskin clothing. “Put it on.”
“What is this?”
“Put it on,” Jason said.
The Dragon Soul stared at it, and then nodded to his leg. “I’m going to find it difficult to do anything in this shape. You can change that, though.”
Jason muttered under his breath. He might be able to change it, but he didn’t know if he wanted to. It involved healing the Dragon Soul, but if he didn’t, then bringing David with him wouldn’t be all that useful. They needed to have him in good enough shape so he could travel. Unless they did something to help him, they wouldn’t be able to use his knowledge. He would slow them down.
Clutching the dragon pearl close, Jason pulled on power from the ice dragon, funneling it through the pearl. He pushed it out, letting the power wash over the Dragon Soul. As before, the energy seemed guided by the ice dragon, and it flowed out from him and into David.
David gasped, and when the power rolled through him, he sat upright, holding his leg. He looked around and gradually, the leg began to straighten.
Jason released his hold on the energy within the dragon pearl and the ice dragon turned away from him, heading down the tunnel. It left him and David alone.
The Dragon Soul got to his feet, testing his once broken leg.
“That was… interesting,” the Dragon Soul said.
“You aren’t going to attack now.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said.
“Why was it interesting?”
“The nature of the healing was different than what I’m accustomed to.”
“How is that?”
“Typically, there is a warmth, but then with that dragon, I can understand there would be no warmth.”
“The warmth comes from the type of dragon or from the dragon pearl?”
The Dragon Soul stared at him. “The power comes from the dragon, but it comes through the Dragon Soul. When you begin to understand the nature of your power, you will be better equipped to funnel it. Then again, I thought that’s what you were doing there.”
Jason said nothing.
The Dragon Soul smiled. “You aren’t controlling it. The dragon was guiding it. Interesting. That indicates the dragon has far more knowledge than what one would expect of it.” The Dragon Soul pushed past Jason, staring toward the distant sight of the ice dragon. “I hadn’t expected to find one so powerful here.”
“Why would it have to be powerful?”
Despite himself, Jason found he could learn something from this Dragon Soul. And if the man was going to answer, then perhaps that was a reason to continue to speak to him. He had no idea how much David would share, and yet, he wanted to know the answers to these questions. He wanted to learn how much the Dragon Soul would know about his abilities, and if there was any way to gain an increased control over them.
For what they might be facing, Jason understood that he might need that knowledge.
“Not all dragons have the ability to heal. We treat those that do with a different measure of respect.”
Jason laughed bitterly. “Respect? You abuse the dragons.”
“You will find none of my dragons are abused. They are trained. Taught. And kept from violence. All that is true. But none of them are abused.”
Jason shook his head, glancing down the hallway. He held on to the dragon pearl, holding a hint of power through it. If the Dragon Soul attempted to attack, he was ready to respond. “You don’t understand anything about the dragon. You think you do, but everything that you believe you know is wrong.”
“I doubt it,” David said. He glanced down at the pile of bearskin clothing. “I don’t think I can wear that.”
“You will wear it.”
“It’s unlikely to fit.”
Jason shrugged. “It fit me just fine.”
The Dragon Soul looked up at him, regarding him for a long moment. “You? The rebellion wouldn’t…” He turned his attention back down to the pile of clothing. After a moment, he leaned down, grabbed the clothing, and lifted the bearskin pants. He shook them, and then tentatively slipped them on. There was a part of Jason that didn’t want David to wear his clothing, but he thought it was beneficial for him to continue to wear the dragonskin. At least with dragonskin, Jason would be able to withstand the warmth of the iron dragon much better than he had while wearing the bearskin.
“Where is your home?” the Dragon Soul asked as he was slipping on the jacket. He tested it, ensuring that it fit, and when he had it all the way on, he shook his head. He muttered something softly, but Jason wasn’t able to hear what he said.
“No place that matters,” Jason said.
The Dragon Soul looked up. “I believe it matters quite a bit. You have the look of… well, you have the look. And yet, here you are, dressed like this,” he said, sweeping his hand across the bearskin, “and with dragons like those. I am quite curious as to where you are from and how you came to be here.”
“You’re going to have to remain curious,” Jason said.
“And you speak of Therin.”
“I did,” Jason said.
“Therin has not been seen for many months.”
“He’s either frozen and dead or he’s hiding from you.”
At least that answered something. Jason hadn’t been sure what Therin might’ve been doing. It was possible that he had managed to survive, and if so, he could have returned to Lorach, though Jason had expected if that were the case, he would have marshaled the dragons and brought Dragon Souls to bear on the village. That they hadn’t seen anyone left him with the sliver of hope that Therin hadn’t survived the fall.
Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure. It was possible this Dragon Soul was misleading him. He had to be careful of what he told him, and had to expect the Dragon Soul would lie to him. He had no reason to believe the man would speak the truth, but he could be cautious. He could anticipate that David would try to lie to him, to betray him, and he could be ready to respond.
The only problem was that he wasn’t entirely sure what he would need to do.
“Are you ready?”
The Dragon Soul grunted. “Dressed like this? I suppose I’m as ready as I can be.”
Jason let David get in front of him, and they headed out of the cave. At the entrance, he found the ice dragon and the iron dragon flying, circling outside. The iron dragon was turning, spiraling in the air much more efficiently than he had been before. He’d been practicing.
“They are unusual,” the Dragon Soul said. “Misfits of a sort.”
“I wouldn’t call them that.”
“What would you call them, then?”
“I would call them dragons.”
“Indeed.”
“Where else were you looking for dragons?”
“Like those? There would be no other dragons like those.”
Jason frowned. “If you aren’t going to be helpful, then you can remain behind. There’s no reason for you to have to come with us.” He focused on the cold, using the dragon, prepared to shatter the man’s leg again. He didn’t like the brutality, but he also wasn’t about to leave this man behind to continue to cause trouble for the dragons.
“There’s only so much I was privy to.”
“Where do you think the others are looking?”
“There is a valley not far from here.”
“Why would they have gone there?”
“Look at them,” the Dragon Soul said.
“What about them?”