Werrin's Voice: Dancing Fire

With Friends Like These...

Max awoke that night to the sounds of people yelling and screaming. He jumped out of bed, not stopping to put a shirt on. He rushed from his room, and saw Knights headed out the Hall's door.
"What's going on?" Max yelled.
A knight turned around and shouted back, "Dragons!"
Max felt a surge of anger. Those damn creatures were just trying to take everything from him. How did they find out he was here?
He followed them outside, and saw the outline of an enormous dragon, bigger than any he'd seen previously. It was even larger than Kynar.
"Trinya!" a man shouted. That must be the dragon's name, Max thought.
The dragon swooped over the city, fire raining down from its mouth. Max saw the lower part of the city burning.
Sam and Alexis.
Max took off down the path, using the wind to help him leap over walls and barriers as he rushed to get to Alexis's house. She and Sam were in danger.
He finally found her house- it was in flames. He tried to peer inside, but the smoke and flames were too thick, he couldn't see. He dove in through the window and rolled to his feet, looking around. He summoned water- enough of it to form a bubble around him so he could breathe.
He dispensed the water a moment later as he kicked in a door. Inside the room, he found Sam holding Alexis, who appeared to be unconscious.
With a surge of rage, Max summoned enough wind to blow down the wall. He grabbed Sam and Alexis and dragged them from the burning home.
"Is she okay?" Max asked as he set them down outside.
"I'm not sure. Where's Maria?"
"I don't know, she didn't leave the castle with me. She might still be up there," Max said.
"Go find her and tell her to get down here, she'll be able to help Alexis," Sam said. "Hurry! I'm not sure if she's gonna be okay!"
Max took off, again using wind to help him. He reached the castle, where the dragon was now landed on the roof, snapping at Knights as they tried to approach him. Maria was there, using magic to shield people from fire.
"Maria!" Max called. She turned, but had to turn back and protect a knight from the flames.
"Maria! Alexis is hurt, she needs help. They're down by her house. Go, now! I'll handle this one!" he said.
"Be careful," she said. She ran to Sam and Alexis.
Max turned to face the dragon. "Come and face me, beast!" he shouted.
The dragon turned, its mouth open, revealing jagged teeth and a forked tongue.
"The Voice," Trinya hissed.
The dragon swooped from his perch and grabbed Max, but Max burned his clawed hands and he was dropped. He used the wind to slow his fall and land safely. He was on the level above his friends- he looked to his left and saw them, huddled around Alexis.
He looked back to his opponent, who had landed in front of him. He was face-to-face with the enormous beast.
"You, Voice, stand no chance against Remapal. Stop your suicidal journey now, and perhaps he will spare you."
"You dragons have been in power for far too long. It's time for a change, and I'm going to bring it around," Max said.
The dragon chuckled. "Foolish. What should I expect from a human?"
Max suddenly lunged at the dragon. As its claws slashed the air, Max appeared a few feet to his right. He jumped onto the dragon's back, and fire from his hands scorched the creature up and down.
The dragon's tail whipped Max in the back, and a barb got caught in his skin. He was taken with the tail, and smashed into the dirt.
He got up slowly, and as the dragon went to charge and head butt Max, a wall of stone appeared between them. The dragon his the rock, smashing it, but it stumbled from disorientation. Max has the remains of the stone wall smash into the dragon's side. It toppled over, falling off their ledge and onto the level of town below- where his friends were gathered.
Max jumped down and landed on his feet beside the beast. The dragon recovered, turning to face Max.
It snapped its jaw at him. Max ducked and shot flames into his mouth. The dragon fell backwards and roared with pain.
Max sprinted up the dragon's tail and up its back, and as he jumped to its head, he held his hand out, and a sword came flying, landing in his palm. Max landed on the dragon's head, plunging the blade down as he did.
He vaulted over the sword and landed on his feet, turning to face the dragon, who was stumbling around and trying to pry the blade from its skull with its enormous hands, but wasn't succeeding.
Finally, as it toppled over, it released one last breath- and a gout of flames erupted towards Maria, Sam, and Alexis.
Max tried to protect them, but he fell to his knees as he attempted to summon a rock wall. He was tired, his mind hurt from all the power he used. The fire smacked into the group, and Max saw Maria raise her hands. A barrier of some sort appeared, but it only seemed to reroute some of the fire. The rest hit the group.
Max managed to get to his feet, and he limped over to his friends. Maria and Sam lay on their backs, holding various parts of their bodies and moaning in pain. Alexis wasn't moving.
Max fell to his knees, his entire body aching. He turned, and saw Trinya getting back to his feet.
Max felt rage and hate overcome him, more than he'd ever experienced. He screamed- his body heated up, and he felt himself rise off the ground.
Fire engulfed his body, and he hovered ten feet above the ground. As Trinya opened his mouth, Max yelled again.
A tube of fire shot at the beast's face. It smashed right into its snout, washing over the rest of his face. The dragon roared with pain and anger, but Max didn't let up. The fire washed over the beast's body until it was wrapped around him entirely. Then, it squeezed inwards- Trinya was entirely vaporized as the fire disappeared into itself.
Max fell to the ground, the fire gone.
He rolled over and saw his friends getting up and huddling around Alexis. A few Knights came running down to them.
As Max drifted in and out of consciousness, he saw Alexis move, which was a relief. He saw Sam crying, holding her hand, but he had a sad smile on his face, which showed Max Alexis was still alive. Maria was sitting off to the side, tending to her wounds. Max dragged himself over to them.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and in the sky appeared a large ball of flame.
After a moment, Max realized the ball of flame was in the shape of a dragon's head.
"Greetings, citizens of Tackka, the great, Independent kingdom," the head spoke. "I am Remapal, Lord of Fire and Ruler of the Western Boundary.
"I have taken notice to the boy you call Werrin's Voice. He has committed many crimes, resisted my servants' attempts to bring him to justice, and killed several of my loyal followers.
"Now, I grant you one chance- hand over the boy, and I will not harm you. If you fail to do so, I will have your kingdom burned to the ground."
Max sat up straight, then managed to his feet.
"You have one hour."
The head disappeared.
A dozen Knights appeared, the king with them.
"Max," the king said. "We won't let them take you. But, we need your help to defend the kingdom. The citizens will take up arms, and all of the guards and Knights will fight, but we can't hope to kill even a single dragon without you."
Max looked to the sky, then to the king.
"I need something to give me my energy back."