Dragon Seekers

Chapter 33

The light faded away once all the darkness was eradicated. Jamie felt incredibly weak. He felt his knees buckle as he fell to the ground. His body felt heavy, and his energy was completely drained. He was surprised at how he was still holding onto his egg like a lifeline. It was like he was a battery that was just on 5% left of power. He could barely lift his head up to see the intruder slumped against the wall, the hood partially down to reveal black hair.

Despite being tired, Jamie felt furious. First, this person tries to kill the unlatched dragon in his arms. Second, they bring all of his fears to life right before his eyes. They probably thought that Jamie would drop the egg in fright or something. And when that didn't work, the intruder took it one step further. They tried to trick Jamie by bringing his dream island to life and impersonating Jasmine. This person had no right to crawl into his head and do all do all of that. Especially trying to be his mum. It was absolutely disgusting that this stranger just poked around his head and put him through all of that. Jamie would be lying if he said that he didn't feel violated as he processed the whole scenario.

"Jamie!" Ash suddenly shouted, stepping onto the balcony. She dashed into the room, racing right over to Jamie. "Are you okay?"

Jamie internally groaned as he looked up at Ash as she knelt beside him. He was still a little uncertain about her, even if he was out of the illusions. He stared at her for a few seconds, determining if she was real or not. The face could've been an illusion, b not the eyes. The concern was genuine. Finally breathing a breath that he unintentionally held, Jamie shakily nodded his head. Ash looked relieved before she suddenly punched Jamie in the shoulder.

"That was for scaring me, you idiot!" she shouted, ignoring Jamie's wincing. She seemed to calm down as he muttered a small apology. "How did you do that?"

"I...I didn't know that I could," Jamie breathed, just able to get the words out. He shifted a little as he started to get some feeling back in his body. As he steadied himself on his feet, Jamie heard rushed footsteps coming to the room. The door burst open, revealing Blaze who was ready for a fight, and Nexus, who seemed to be out of breath. Both grown ups looked around the room, mildly surprised by the intruder still seemingly unconscious and Ash supporting an unsteady Jamie. Nexus's surprise turned to frustration as he spotted the two kids.

"I thought I told you two to stay outside!" he scolded. Jamie almost lost it. If he didn't be this reckless, by time Blaze and Nexus got here, it would've been too late to do anything.

"More to the point!" Ash shouted, thinking the same thing as Jamie it seemed, pointing to the dagger on the ground and the intruder. That was when the intruder finally came around. They finally revealed their face. It was a man that had ghostly grey skin and a scar running across his face. He was wearing a short sleeved leather shirt. This revealed multiple tattoos of weapons on his arms. As soon as he registered his surroundings, he glared at everyone in the room. He was reaching to his arm, his fingers close to touching one of his tattoos.

"Stay there, you two! Don't engage him!" Blaze suddenly shouts, holding his sword in a defensive position.

"Umbra! Don't think about it!" Nexus warns, stamping his staff. The crystal on his staff glowed dangerously as a warning.

"Umbra?" Ash repeated. Umbra glanced around the room again. He was weighing his options on what he should do. He reached for his arm again.

"Go on! I dare you!" Blaze challenged, stepping forward, his sword catching the sun's rays. Umbra seemed to hesitate. "Not so confident now, are you?! Not like last time!"

Jamie glanced back and forth between everyone as his body was screaming warning signs at him. He didn't know why, but he was finding it hard to stay standing. He barely heard much else around him now. Umbra weighed out his options again before he finally touched his arm. The dagger that was still discarded on the ground suddenly disappeared. A trail of black mist burst from Umbra's arm. It rushed right outside. Umbra recovered to his feet, swiftly running past past everyone as he reached the balcony. He leapt from it. The mist turned into a black dragon. Umbra timed his leap perfectly as the dragon completely formed. Blaze and Nexus rushed to the balcony as the dragon flew off.

Jamie thought that he heard Blaze shouting "coward", but he couldn't be sure. He felt like he had grown partially deaf again. His body shook and felt heavier than lead. Black spots started to cloud his vision. He barely made out Ash despite her standing right next to him. All of his sense started to slowly shut down. Whatever energy he believed that he had left was gone almost completely.

"Ash..." Jamie tried to speaker louder, but his voice betrayed him.

"Jamie?" Ash asked, as she finally looked him. Her face was blurry, but he could hear her just about.

"...egg..." Jamie whispered again, barely holding out his egg. He was losing his grip on it fast. After all he had done to save it, he didn't want to lose it now. Ash was fast to grab it, her spear clattering on the ground. The world spun and went black. The last thing that Jamie registered was hitting the old, hard floor.

"Jamie!"