The Dragon's Scale [COMPLETE]

19.2 || Unrestful Night

Rain pounded against his back. Lightning flashed in the distance. He roared along with the thunder, relishing the lack of need to worry. No humans for thousands of miles, and no Sanctum to confine his space.

Right now, while the storm hid him, he was free.

He spiraled forward with laughter, willing the rain to spin with him. It obeyed, allowing him to bullet through a batch of dry air with the water making a pinwheel around him.

The increasingly familiar draw pulled at his gut. His focus came undone, and the rain pelted his scales again. He sensed her, however many thousands of miles away.

She was at her grandmother's house once more, dancing in the rain. Not because she loved rain as much as he did, but because it lit up her grandmother's usually worn face. The elderly woman shook with laughter.

A soft smile pulled at his lips. Once, he would have thought that a bond chained him. A prison, just like the Sanctums. Now he struggled to follow the order against contacting her. He had to "let the bond grow naturally" before he attempted contact.

But soon, the next stage of the bond would—

Darkness enveloped everything, and then the world exploded with color. Thousands of moments flashed past Josh. He tumbled through a whirlwind, unable to stop or focus on any specific spot in time. His hands—human hands now, not the talons from before—grasped, but he couldn't find hold on anything.

Light blinded him before leaving him in darkness once more. Except what followed wasn't a wave of color.

A force slammed into him from each side. Invisible, intangible, but able to compress him at the same time as rip his insides apart.

Thysia!

Her voice penetrated the painful haze. He felt her reaching, trying to pull away the full force of what he had taken.

No, he growled. I will not let you.

But it will...

The uncontrolled pain in her voice stabbed into him, but he shoved it away. Shoved away all of the fears and loss trickling in through the bond.

I know. And it doesn't matter. I will protect you—

"Help me!"

Josh wasn't sure what woke him up—the distant cry or Mara shaking his arm.

"Josh. Caleb," she whispered.

At his name, Cale's eyes snapped open. He reached for both of his swords, fully alert and searching the area.

"Help!"

That shout again. It stilled Josh's pulse. Eli made his way to the forefront of his mind despite knowing the young voice he heard didn't belong to his brother.

"A random kid shouldn't be out there," Josh said. "I mean, you guys are hearing that, too, right?"

Cale nodded. He examined the night. Only the stars provided any light, but it didn't deter their enhanced vision. Not that Josh saw anything besides sand, but with the intensity of Cale's stare, it was like he could see something.

"I sense a light out there," he said. "Neither of you saw a child walk through the portal, did you? With or without the Shadow Knights?"

"I didn't," Josh said.

"Me neither." Mara grabbed her bow and created an arrow. "But if there's the light of a soul, it's human."

"And since we didn't have to pin Josh down, it's not his brother," Cale said.