Sarah stared for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh. “Let me help,” she said.
“Are you sure? That means attacking the Dragon Souls.”
“I wouldn’t be able to bring any of the dragons with me. It would just be me. Maybe Henry,” she said, glancing at him. “There might be a few others.”
“That’s not going to be enough,” Jason said. He had no idea how many dragons the Dragon Souls might bring, but he had a feeling that however many the people of Dragon Haven brought wouldn’t be enough. With their connection to not only dragons, but the dragon pearls, the Dragon Souls would be formidable.
“We don’t dare risk them. We’ve managed to rescue them from the Dragon Souls, and many of them have been born free, but they won’t stay free if we bring them too near the Souls.”
“I can help with that,” Jason said.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a way of protecting the dragons.”
“You can’t protect them. We’ve tried.”
“As a matter of fact, he can,” David said. He nodded to the iron dragon. “I went so far as to test whether such a thing were possible, and whatever he has done has protected the dragons. I am unable to influence the dragon.”
“I don’t know that I can believe you.”
David smiled. “You are a Dragon Soul,” he said, looking past Sarah and to Henry. “Or were. Try it.”
“That’s not how we do things here,” Henry said.
“Do you fear that you’re unable to do so?”
“I fear the dragons would be unhappy with me if I tried,” Henry said.
“And yet, Jason has told you he has protected the dragons.”
“I’m sorry, but Jason doesn’t know anything about his abilities. Anything he’s learned has been from—”
“The dragon,” Jason said, glancing from David to Henry. “That’s where I learned it. I might not really understand the nature of using the dragon pearl magic the same way as you do, but I learned from working with the ice dragon. And now from the iron dragon. They helped me understand how to use this power, and I’m able to do so in a way that protects the dragons.”
“Jason—”
“Try it,” he said, looking at Henry.
Henry took a deep breath and focused on the iron dragon. There was a sense of energy radiating from him, and it built steadily, rising in intensity, and the more that it rose, the more intense that pressure became, the more heat he felt radiating from the iron dragon. It was as if the iron dragon were beginning to use his own power, summoning it in order to fight.
Jason touched upon that power, using his connection to the iron pearl, letting his anger and rage flow through him, filling it with his experience. He had been trapped, captured the same way that the iron dragon had been, and he would use that knowledge, and he would ensure that he was able to detect what the iron dragon was experiencing.
Henry continued to target the iron dragon, and power poured out from him. He focused it on the dragon and yet, nothing changed.
Jason waited, watching.
Henry said nothing. He shifted his stance, positioning himself so he could face the iron dragon. Sweat streamed off his brow, mixing into his beard, and Henry ignored it. He continued to focus on the iron dragon, locking eyes with it.
“Am I supposed to feel something?” the dragon asked.
Jason laughed. “I think he wanted you to.”
“There is nothing.”
Henry stood and let out a shaky breath. “How?”
“I used what the ice dragon showed me,” Jason said.
“How?” he asked again.
Jason shrugged. “I don’t know that I could demonstrate it, only that I know how to protect the dragons.”
“We have tried for ages. Some have tried for centuries. In all that time, we haven’t found any way of protecting the dragons from the influence of the Dragon Souls.” He looked over at Sarah. “Do you know what this means?”
“It means we can go ensure the safety of the misfits.”
“It’s more than that, Jason. It means we can rescue the dragons the Dragon Souls have captive. It means we can take the fight to them for the first time.” He fixed David with a hard glare.
“And how do you intend to fight?” David asked.
“Why do you care?”
“I just want you to share with your friend how you intend to fight.”
“It wouldn’t be just us. We would be going with the dragons.”
Jason took in a deep breath, looking around. That was the point David was trying to make about training the dragons, and the Dragon Souls. They existed for a purpose, and though Jason didn’t necessarily like the purpose, and though he didn’t agree with the training methods, the purpose of the Dragon Souls was to ensure that the people of Lorach recognized the dragons were under control.
“You can’t use the dragons to attack,” he said.
“We need to remove the threat of the Dragon Souls,” Henry said.
“At what cost?” Jason glanced from Henry to Sarah before looking at David. “The people in my village are terrified of dragons, and they haven’t even seen a dragon for a generation. Long enough that there should be no fear of them, and yet, the people are terrified of the possibility they might come and attack. What would happen if you did the same thing in Lorach? What do you think the people there might feel?”
“As long as the dragons are freed, it doesn’t matter,” Henry said.
“It does matter. I think it matters even more than you realize. If we free the dragons but end up with them viewed as dangerous, we’ve failed.”
That might be the part he needed to focus on the most. Regardless of anything else, he needed to try to protect the dragons, to allow them to be freed, but he needed to do so in a way that wouldn’t motivate others to destroy them. Not the same way he had been motivated.
He took a deep breath. “I am going to go do what I can to protect the dragons, and then from there, I will…” Jason didn’t know what he would do, only that he would have to do something. The more that he thought about it, the more he had to wonder if there was anything he could do. He might not have the necessary strength.
And because of that, he needed help, but he no longer knew who to seek help from. The people of Dragon Haven left him uncertain.
What Jason thought necessary was for there to be a balance. He wasn’t sure whether he was the person to help achieve that balance, but he did agree with David that if the dragons hunted openly, they would only be perpetuating the challenges for themselves.
“Let us help,” Sarah said. “If you have some way of protecting the dragons, let us help.”
Jason looked around. There were several other larger dragons in the clearing, though they remained near the edge of the forest, near the trees. They were hiding, though Jason didn’t know if they were hiding from the people or from the iron dragon.
The heat from the iron dragon persisted, like a furnace radiating heat, and his entire body glowed, though Jason wasn’t pushed back by it the same way the others were.
“I will do what I can,” Jason said.
“And then we will stop the Dragon Souls. And then…” Sarah started.
Jason locked eyes with Henry. “And then you can decide what you will do next.”
“Just us?” Sarah asked.
Jason inhaled deeply. He had come here, thinking he would offer some protection to the dragons, and yet, now that he was here, he no longer knew what he needed to do.
“You get to decide,” he said.
Sarah watched him a moment, and then she nodded.
18
Five dragons surrounded Jason, all of different colors, though they seemed to be the same five that had joined them in the sky when he had first arrived in Dragon Haven. He had pushed through each of them, using the power of the ice dragon and letting it guide him as he tried to layer a protection on each of the dragons. He thought he was successful but wasn’t sure.