Echoes of the Past

Chapter Twenty One

Evan readied his sword and ran from behind the dragon. Not knowing what else to do, James charged towards the dragon. He wouldn't let them fight alone.

"Hey! James called out. "Hey! I am James Island."

Regebrass's head immediately turned to him. He leaned forward and bellowed, "Target!"

The dragon faced James full-on and raised an arm to attack. James kept running towards it, knowing that hesitating would get him killed. Adrenaline rushed through James, giving him strength despite his fatigue. Regebrass's large hand came down on him with a great rush of air. James dove forward and just cleared the hand that crashed into the ground behind him. He scrambled away, dust and dirt rising around him, and found himself underneath the dragon's legs. Beside his sword.

James grabbed the hilt and pushed the sword deeper in. He slid the blade along the fleshy wound, spilling out blood, before releasing the sword. Regebrass howled and tried to step back. He faltered and fell to a knee, shaking the ground and causing James to stumble back.

Evan rushed forward with his sword raised. The dragon roared, reaching forward and slammed his fist down over him. A rush of wind blew over Evan and the force shifted him to the side, his boots sliding along the earth. Evan continued his charge, though expending his magic was clearly taking a toll on him, as his face gleamed with sweat and his movements looked slower to James.

The dragon growled loudly and his tail swung up and crashed into the ground, before flicking up and down again. The reverberations shook Evan and caused him to tumble backward. He rolled onto his back and tried to rise. The tail slammed down and flattened him with a loud thud. When the tail moved away, James saw Evan lying with his eyes closed, blood smeared over his nose and mouth.

"No!" James cried out.

"Two left," Regebrass grumbled, and approached James. He winced with each step of his bloodied foot but kept going relentlessly.

James frantically searched for Sam, and saw him approaching from behind the dragon. Relief washed over James, seeing Sam had recovered enough to still be in the fight.

Sam launched himself into the air and readied his sword for another attack.

Regebrass spun and swung an arm out with startling speed. The thick arm-brace caught Sam in the air and sent him hurtling through the sky. He crashing into the ground and tumbled through the dirt, becoming still.

Regebrass leered at James with an upturned smirk. "One little one left."

A numbing chill ran over James, now faced with the dragon alone. He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the pain shooting through him. His peripheral vision saw Castan with the mousslos farther away, but he knew they could not help him.

"Come here, little one," Regebrass said as he stomped towards James.

A shadow fell over James as a giant hand came down. He dove to the side but thick, fleshy fingers curled around him. James's breath left him as he was lifted off the ground. He slammed his fists down and pushed against the clawed fingers, but the hand squeezed harder and sent crippling pain through him. The air rushed over him as he was brought up to the dragon's face. Exhaustion overwhelmed him and the sudden increase in height caused his head to spin.

"No match for Regebrass," the dragon growled, bringing James closer. Hot, sweaty breath hit James as it spoke. "Maybe I will keep you as a toy for the journey back. Space can be very pretty."

The suggestion caused James's stomach to lurch, and his breath left him for several seconds.

Over Regebrass's armoured shoulder, something in the sky caught James's attention. A dark spot, slowly moving. At first he thought it was just a craft in the atmosphere. Then his heart jumped when he considered that it was another space dragon.