A flash of light blinded the field.

Unlike the other times that Alex had seen the red dragon, this time he was in dragon form. Zeus was a huge serpent dragon. His body was longer than two cars, with a tail that was almost as long. He was as wide as any of the cars as well. He flapped his massive wings as Kark leaped onto his back.

“I’ve got Stilas!” Kark yelled as Zeus took to the air, “Mop up the Elementals!”

Alex watched Zeus grab an air elemental and rip it apart as he flew after Stilas and the blue dragon. He looked down at the lawn. There were hundreds of Elementals. Larger bodies were falling onto smaller ones and absorbing them. Quickly they were merging into larger Elementals that were beginning to tower over them.

“Agh!” Paige screamed. A fire Elemental had thrown a fireball in her direction.

Caleb stepped in front of her. A rock tore through the ground to intercept the flames.

Andrew moved around the rock and tossed the man-sized fire Elemental back into the chaos in front of them.

“What do we do?” Alex demanded. There were too many Elementals to fight.

Mettan looked at Feletis, “Can you make an Anti-Elemental field around them?”

Feletis shook his head as he wove a shield in front of them. The bubble closed with a pop, “The Field will only make them disperse. Once they reach the edge of the field they will be able to reform.”

Mettan looked at the group, “We have to get them to fight themselves.” He pointed at a ten-foot-tall water blob. Part of the top tore off and smashed into a fifteen-foot fire Elemental. The water sizzled and evaporated, pulling a chalkboard and nails scream from the fire Elemental.

“Stop!” Paige crammed her fingers in her ears, “You’re hurting them!”

Feletis grabbed her hair. Her knees buckled as she was bent backward, “They want to kill you and take your Elemental.” His voice came out in a dark hiss.

“Hey!” Andrew barked

Caleb moved behind Feletis, both guys were pulling for their powers.

“Let her go,” Caleb ordered

Feletis let go of Paige’s hair. Without the support, she fell on her rear.

“If she won’t fight then they will take her Elemental!” Feletis pointed at the dwindling crowd of Elementals that was getting bigger. “Better to kill her now and deal with the Elemental quickly.”

Andrew and Caleb bent down and helped Paige up.

“She’ll fight.” Alex locked stares with Feletis

“With you.” Feletis spat, “The Triftion can watch my back.”

Feletis moved to the right and motioned for Andrew to follow him.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Alex watched his brother follow the grouchy mage. Something was up with Feletis, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

A boulder smashing into the shield brought him out of his musing. Spider webs spread across the shield under the impact.

“Stay behind me so I can cover you,” Mettan said,

Alex nodded and moved forward. There were just over a dozen Elementals left. Most were water or earth. Two air Elementals buzzed overhead and a lone fire Elemental towered over the rest of the Elementals. He grabbed some water off of a Water Elemental’s leg. He ducked around the water fist and threw the stolen water at an air Elemental. The water turned into a froth as it bubbled around inside the sentient column of air.

Alex felt the water moving and realized that he had unbalanced the water Elemental. The fifteen-foot-tall mass of water began falling down.

“Oh, elf-“ Alex swore

He broke into a dead run. His hands began to get cold as he pumped them. He wasn’t going to outrun the water.

He was considering turning around and dueling willpower with the water. He could feel something in the water, it wasn’t like Mettan’s will. It was wild, cold, and foreign.

The ground rose in front of him. Alex slid under dirt. His feet caught on the lip on the other side, stopping his motion. The dirt closed behind him. Andrew was standing twenty feet away with both hands pointed above the crevice.

Alex waved at Andrew. His brother’s powers had come in handy. The water crashed on the crevice and ran off. Alex could feel the water reforming. He started to get up to help bleed off more water when he saw Feletis to his right. The old mage had his staff pointed over the crevice.

Alex grinned, Now the old mage would put the hurt on that Elemental. Elation turned into fear as the staff moved to point at his brother’s back. There was no mistaking the look in Feletis’ eyes. The eyes were feral, eager for the hunt.

Alex thought about yelling, but he knew Andrew wouldn’t be able to react fast enough. His blood ran cold as he saw magic charge around the tip of the staff. He had just reconnected with his brother. They hadn’t gotten a chance to talk yet. There was so much to say. So much stupid stuff that they had let come between them that didn’t mean anything at that moment. At that moment all that mattered was that he was about to watch his brother die.

Fear flooded through Alex’s veins. Instead of freezing him in place it propelled him. He was running faster than he had ever ran before towards his brother. He wasn’t processing what he was doing. He wasn’t calculating the risks. All that mattered was reaching his brother before the bolt did.

Alex could see the bolt moving in slow motion. Everything was moving too slow. Andrew was starting to turn. Confusion on his face.

Sweat was dripping into Alex’s eyes. Or maybe it was tears leaving them. He couldn’t tell. The bolt was beating him. He wasn’t going to make it. He wasn’t moving fast enough.

Rage, desperation, fear, and every emotion that Alex could summon fed his motion. His heart was thumping in his ears. It seemed to be the only thing moving at a normal pace. Or maybe it was beating so fast that it seemed to be moving at normal pace.

The bolt was in front of him now. He wasn’t going to make it. He wanted, no he needed, to beat that bolt of certain death to his brother. He willed every fiber of his body to move faster. He wasn’t going to let something that small, that beautiful take his brother from him.

Alex squeezed his eyes tight. He wasn’t going to watch Andrew die. He couldn’t. He had to beat the bolt and knock Andrew out of the way. His feet dug into the ground. He knew he could beat the bolt.

He felt Andrew’s arm’s wrap around him. He opened his eyes. Somehow he had made it. He tried to push Andrew over, but he was numb. His back itched.

He tried to take a breath, but no air would come into his lungs. Air would come out. He coughed and blood squirted over his lips. He managed a smirk as his legs buckled and he fell to his knees. It really was cold.

Andrew was screaming something, but he couldn’t hear anymore. Smells were gone. Somehow he had fallen face first onto the ground, but he couldn’t feel the dirt on his face.

Alex did feel warm fingers press against his neck, but just for a moment. He closed his eyes. He had kept his brother safe. There was so much that he wanted to say, but it was alright. They could talk later. After Andrew won.

One last tear escaped from under his eyelid. Then he was gone.