Tales of a Dragon

Chapter Sixteen

Clara's green eyes widened as she saw Axis's body expand and fly up into the air. He had become a dragon... oh my God, Clara gasped. 

Axis was now white-scaled and his claws were obsidian white. Clara could see his blue eyes shining and then he charged down. He landed next to Helio and roared, his wings fluttering, sending guards everywhere from the gust. He tore away the chains that held Helio and she screeched, flying upwards.

How could Axis do that? He barely had any training, how... Clara heard footsteps behind her and twisted around to block a swing from a guard. She twisted her blade so that she knocked away the guard's blade, and dug her sword into his stomach. 

Clara kept fighting, sweat forming on her forehead. Axis and Helio were attacking swarms of guards, stomping, biting, and fluttering their wings so the wind blew them away.

Then, she heard the master say something.

===

The master didn't carry a sword, but he carried a staff. The staff was just pure, stiff wood, and he slammed it onto the guards' bodies and they grunted and fell as he cast earth spells. Rock speared upwards from the ground and stabbed a man right in the leg. The master of the Crossbones slammed his staff against his head, cracking it and ending him.

"RETREAT!" he said. They needed to leave. If all the Crossbones left, the boy and his dragon could do some work. He knew that the boy was holding back because he didn't want to harm the Crossbones or any of the citizens. So they had to retreat.

He led everyone out of the Colosseum. The Crossbones sheathed their swords as they retreated, focusing on spells to knock the guards backwards. The guards were trying to escape with them, but the Crossbones held them back as they shut the gates with a clank.

The master knew what he was doing by letting Axis escape the Crossbones's base. The boy would grow alongside people he knew, and he wouldn't be able to grow and get stronger in the base. So he let him free, even though he saw those feelings he had for Clarisse. 

And when all of the Crossbones and the citizens of Ceraleum were out and the gates were shut, Axis went wild.

===

Axis and Helio flew up in the air. Axis opened his jaw and felt a hot stream of fire escape his throat. He aimed it at the guards below, knowing that all of the Crossbones and citizens had retreated. He felt wild and angry, fueling the fire coming from him. A harmony of blades falling to the floor echoed all the way up to him.

His anger was dwelling, along with his energy. He felt weaker, but he saw that most of the guards were dead. He felt his wings loosen from his back, and a velvety noise echoed as they closed. He was going back to a human form...

His vision blurred and he was falling. He screamed. It wasn't a dragon roar this time, but a human scream. He was falling to his doom. He shut his eyes.

And then, Helio flew from under him, saving him from the fall. Helio screeched and roared with excitement, but Axis was feeling extremely nauseous and tired. All he heard was cheering, and then there was nothing.

===

"Rastiv?" Axis asked him. They were in the fields once more, and they were genuinely having a great time. They weren't really training, just talking the worries off. It was so relaxing. The clouds were big and poofy, the weather was nice and breezy. 

"Yes, my boy?" Rastiv answered. Axis always liked to people happy, to make people happy. And now that Rastiv was, he felt so joyful. 

"Dargo, I've told you of him, he died in the Tournament. And I'm scared the same will happen to me." Axis was 18, for holy sake! Why was he acting like a toddler, why was he so cowardly? He had to puff his chest out, be brave for once. But he couldn't; the fear was eating away at him.

"I'm always scared, Axis." That answer was unexpected. Axis looked up at his old man. He was more like a father than anyone, even Ashton. Why had this clumsy old man come into his life? Now he was always worried about him. Was that what a father-and-son relationship was? They always talked and looked out for each other? He liked it.

"But being afraid is a good thing. You can't always be the hero. Fear is what makes us human, it's what keeps us alive, really. We need to be afraid to move on, and then we need those moments to put that lion mask on. The strongest ones are the ones that fear the most, in a way."

"Really?"

He nodded, smiling. "Remember, my boy. Fear is what makes us human."