The Sage's Vow

1.2 || Fight and Flight

Josh stared down at the approaching threat, heart racing in preparation for battle. The air around the imps shimmered like a heatwave rising off the pavement. The barrier, gaining a visible form as a force who-knew-where altered it, preparing for the large amounts of energy that would soon pass through. Sensing the change, the imps grew more frenzied, assaulting their prison, oblivious that it was only an entry, not an exit.

In their excitement, they ignored the gigantic, magical lizards until they exploded into their midst.

The cloud of monsters swallowed them, and the chittering skyrocketed as if Josh had found himself in a room of constant nails against chalkboards. He gritted his teeth, charged his sword with electric energy, and attacked.

Most imps burst into energy particles, but those that survived or dodged the blade reached toward Josh. A couple scratched his arm, one snatched his shirt and tore his sleeve, and one gave a small yank at his hair before losing its grip.

The end of the monster cloud came suddenly, and Josh squinted against the returning light. A single imp still clung to his shirt, but a quick jab destroyed it.

Blast them, dragonling, Ezraim instructed.

It was the only warning for Josh to brace himself before Boomer twisted in the air, leaving Josh almost upside down. He clung to the saddle. Boomer's tail swept up, helping to keep Josh from falling.

A thrill of energy traveled through the bond as Boomer took a deep breath, his entire body expanding, and then he roared out a blast of concentrated electricity.

The sky snapped and crackled as Boomer's lightning ripped through the air and barreled into at least a hundred imps. Another large portion fell from a breath of sandstorm created by Ezraim.

Josh's world righted as Boomer started flying in a small arc. Despite trying to hide his exhaustion, Boomer's sides heaved against Josh's legs.

Been a while since I did that, Boomer admitted.

Josh patted Boomer's neck. You did a great job, though. Now it's my turn. Just be sure to fly amazingly.

Now that, Boomer said, a small smirk in his voice, I do all the time. And he shot toward the edges of the still scattered imps.

Now that they weren't one collective mass, Josh could get a clearer view of the little monsters. A group of three turned at his approach. Their heads were humanoid but heavily wrinkled and hairless, and when their thin lips pulled back into snarls, they revealed needle-like fangs. They were only about three feet tall, made shorter by their hunched backs. Sharp claws protruded from their appendages, which curled with harsh angles at the joints.

Unlike all of the imps that Josh had seen in photos, which had mud-brown skin and egg-yellow eyes, these ones were a sickly green with furious stormy grey eyes. Tails whipped through the air, the ends surrounded by swirling wind. Similarly, slicing wind created the wings on their backs.

Every single one of these imps was charged with wind energy, and that energy began to spiral around them as they dove at Josh and Boomer.

Lightning surged along Josh's sword and shield as Boomer dipped below the imp's trajectory. Josh arched the sword over his head. Electrified metal slashed through two of the imps. The third dodged and tried to tackle Josh from the side, but a quick shield bash turned it into particles of energy like its friends.

Josh tracked the energy even when Boomer swerved to avoid a bulleting imp that would have hit his flank. When monsters were killed, they usually faded into the Energy Realm. The vibrant green particles within the barrier gathered as far away from the battle as possible, growing larger by the second.