The dragon lumbered forward, its talons gouging deep trenches in the earth as its glowing amber eyes locked onto Jason. Cannon fire erupted from the nearby battlements, shaking the ground with their thunderous blasts.
Smoke and fire swirled around the beast, momentarily drawing its attention. Yet Jason remained rooted to the spot, paralyzed by fear, his breath coming in shallow gasps.
“Jason!” Grandpa Mark’s firm hand clapped him on the back, shaking him out of his stupor. “You have to focus!”
Jason’s lips trembled as he shook his head. “I can’t do it, Grandpa. I… I can’t.” His voice was a whisper, raw with terror.
Grandpa Mark’s grip tightened, his weathered face fierce with determination. “Yes, you can, my son! You must! The kingdom needs you now more than ever!”
“But you said I wasn’t ready.” Jason stammered, his gaze darting back to the advancing dragon.
Mark’s eyes softened briefly, but his voice remained resolute. “Forget what I said. The truth is, no one is ever truly ready. But you… you are the only one who can stop this beast!”
The old man took Jason’s trembling hands in his own, his gaze burning with unshakable belief. “Listen to me. Everything we’ve trained for, every lesson you’ve learned—it has all led to this moment. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to rise.”
Jason swallowed hard, Mark’s words cutting through the fog of fear clouding his mind. Slowly, he stood, his knees still shaky but his resolve hardening. He nodded at his grandfather.
The dragon roared, a sound that seemed to tear the heavens, as knights desperately unleashed a new volley of explosives. Fire and smoke filled the battlefield, but the beast retaliated with a devastating bolt of lightning that reduced the cannons to molten ruins.
“We’re doomed!” One knight shouted, his voice cracking with despair.
Suddenly, a blur of motion streaked past the knights. Jason, faster than the eye could follow, scooped them out of harm’s way just as another bolt obliterated the spot where they stood. He placed them safely behind the barricades before striding back toward the dragon, his gaze fixed and unyielding.
Jason stopped a few paces away, his eyes locking onto the creature’s. He clenched his fists, flames licking up his forearms. “Let’s try this again, shall we?”
The dragon snarled, a spark of irritation flickering in its gaze. It unleashed a torrent of lightning, the bolts crackling through the air with deadly precision. Jason moved like a phantom, weaving through the attacks effortlessly. Each step he took was faster, more fluid.
Fire erupted from Jason’s palms, a torrent of searing heat that struck the dragon’s back. The beast let out a screech of pain, smoke rising from its scorched scales.
Jason pressed the advantage, darting forward and grabbing its massive tail with both hands. Muscles straining, he heaved the dragon off balance and slammed it into the ground with a deafening crash.
The earth trembled beneath their feet as the dragon scrambled back up, its eyes blazing with fury. It swung its tail at Jason and sent him through more buildings.
Jason struggled to his feet amidst the chaos, dust and ash swirling through the air like a storm. His ears rang with the cries of the wounded and the deafening groan of collapsing buildings. Then, cutting through the noise, a piercing cry reached him.
“Mummy! Mummy!”
Jason’s head snapped toward the sound. A young girl stood frozen in fear, her small hands trembling as tears streamed down her soot-streaked cheeks. Behind her, the remnants of a crumbling building groaned ominously, the structure on the verge of collapse.
YOU ARE READING
The Elementiels
FantasyAfter the death of Stacey Grace, Jason Marquoid discovers a new power in him that can change the world as we know it. He must find a way to harness this new found power in order to prevent the deaths of those he loves and cares about. Season One: Th...
