Night Dragon An Epic Fantasy Adventure - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,1

step.

There came a bulging of energy, a quick reaction, almost a terrified sense, but Jason held on. He took a quick step forward and exploded power and light around him.

Suddenly, the forest was awash in bright orange light, the energy of the iron dragon. It radiated all around, filling the space between the trees. A shadowed form loomed near him, trapped within a bubble of energy Jason had created.

He hurried toward the dragon, squeezing a moment longer.

The dragon struggled within that barrier, continuing to try to break free, but Jason held tightly, maintaining his connection to the dragon as long as he could. He wanted to ensure he had that dragon wrapped up with that energy. It was a test, as much for Jason as it was for the dragon.

He paused in front of the night dragon, the energy swirling within the barrier he held. “I got you this time,” he said.

The struggling continued, tendrils of darkness that attempted to swirl out, slamming into the barrier, but the energy Jason maintained through his connection to the other dragons allowed him to keep the night dragon inside.

“You don’t have to struggle quite so much,” he said.

The dragon settled.

Finally, the dragon came fully into view.

He was small. Smaller than the other dragons, little more than the size of a large dog. His wings stretched off to either side, and though he allowed Jason to see him more clearly now, his wings took on some of the shadowed form as well, stretching out in a way that left it looking as if there were shadows streaking away from them.

The dragon rubbed up against the barrier, testing it. Wings slashed at it.

Jason had long ago learned that they were sharp and could damage his barriers. It required he hold more firmly to his barriers, clinging to them tightly enough that he would ensure the night dragon was unable shatter them and break free.

Jason crouched down in front of the dragon.

The dragon turned its face toward him. Everything was dark. It was impossibly black. The only light was a faint flicker of light within his eyes.

“You aren’t going to be able to break free this time,” Jason said.

The dragon started again and shadows streamed off him, slamming toward Jason. Jason held onto the barrier, solidifying it for a moment to ensure that it held, but the dragon didn’t attempt to break free again.

Jason grinned. “What else do you want to try?”

The dragon turned toward him and lowered his head.

“That’s it?”

“You have succeeded,” the dragon said. Even his voice was wispy, little more than a faint tremoring.

“I expected you to try more than this,” Jason said.

“Why should I try more when you succeeded in holding me?”

“You can see if you can break free again.”

That was the game. He would try to find the dragon, trapping him within one of the barriers, and the dragon would either try to hide or break free. Feeling the pressure from the dragon now, the way that he was no longer attempting to shatter the barrier, Jason recognized that he no longer attempted to surge free.

“The game is done,” the dragon said.

Jason released his hold around the dragon. There was no point in maintaining it, as he didn’t want to harm the dragon, and he certainly didn’t want to scare him. He needed to maintain that hold so that he could continue to work with the dragon, trying to get a better understanding of him.

Even though he had spent time like this with the dragon, Jason still couldn’t use his energy. That was the next step, a part of his desire to bond with him, to gain an understanding of the power within the night dragon. He hadn’t succeeded, not yet, but he was optimistic he would do so.

“What’s wrong?”

The night dragon turned away, slipping between the trees.

Now that Jason held onto the power of the iron dragon, illuminating all of the forest, he no longer struggled to see the dragon disappearing. It wasn’t as if the dragon were doing anything to try to mask his disappearance, either. Though he slipped off, he didn’t disappear in a way that made it difficult for Jason to see him.

Jason followed.

The dragon headed deeper into the forest, and as they went, Jason knew exactly where the dragon intended to go. He’d been here before, and knew it well.

He shifted the illusion all around him, creating another layer, making it so that there wasn’t anything to be concerned about. He didn’t want anyone else, even