JOSH GRASPED THE woman's shoulder and wrenched her away from him. She dug her nails into his neck, but he got her far enough off him to kick. She hopped out of range, not stopping until she put about fifty feet between them.

"Is that how you should treat a lady?" the possessed woman asked.

Josh raised his blade. "Doesn't matter when you're not a lady. Now get out of that woman before we have to do this the hard way." Even as he spoke, sweat built on his palms. He tightened his grip on the sword.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "So you know what I'm doing? I knew that word would spread fast, but I didn't think someone so..." She looked him up and down, a smirk playing on her lips. "So young in their bond would recognize it when they saw it."

"Not my first showdown with you cowards," he said. And as she didn't show any desire to do this the easy way, he channeled energy to his shield arm.

"Strategic, not cowardly. Like how you're slowly putting energy into your hand. A failed attempt to try to hide what you're doing, but strategic."

Josh gritted his teeth and directed his palm at the woman. The pent up energy exploded out as a large beam. Maybe he couldn't figure out his element, but he had gotten light blasts down.

To your left!

He glanced over as Boomer's voice sounded in his mind. The woman knelt on the ground just out of the beam's range, her hand enveloped by black energy. It condensed into a ball she flung at him. Josh canceled out the blast and jerked his shield between him and the energy ball. He winced, the impact stinging his arm.

Thanks, Josh said as he lowered the shield. I didn't notice her dodge.

Maybe try to get closer? Boomer suggested.

Was just thinking that. This would have been way easier if he had blasted her instead of flinging her away, but hindsight didn't change the present.

The woman stood. Her eyebrows creased, and although her dragonic eyes were directed his way, she only seemed to half see him.

Her loss if she underestimates me, Josh thought. He charged forward, focusing light toward his hand once more. He wouldn't miss a second time—

A roar seemed to explode from the forest itself, followed by crashing trees. Josh jerked to a stop, tremors working their way up his legs. He didn't know which caused the tremors—the earth's shaking or that roar. The sound still sawed through him, grating against his bones as it replayed over and over in his head.

Josh... Josh, you need to... Boomer stuttered to a stop, terror coming through the bond in waves.

Josh's insides were a storm of unease as he glanced in the direction he'd heard the sound. Birds screeched and fled into the air, something he should do, but his legs remained frozen.

Boomer, why are you so afraid? Josh asked. What is it?

There was a tug at his gut, originating from somewhere deep within him. Darkness danced along the edges of his vision.

No, not darkness. His eyes widened, itching and burning from what he saw. But it couldn't possibly be there. Nothing was burning to produce smoke.

It's a... a...

Another roar ripped through the forest. Much closer this time. Too close. Josh's head spun as Boomer's fear flooded his senses, then a sharp yank at his gut—

No. No. No, this couldn't be happening.

But even through the smoke, he couldn't deny what he saw. Two familiar lumps sprawled out on the ground. Still. So sickeningly still. Not a wing twitch or a chest rise.

Move, he mentally pleaded regardless. His heart constricted as water filled his eyes. Shadowed figures shifted, but he couldn't focus on them. All that mattered were those unmoving figures. Mother, Father, move.

But they didn't budge. Never would again. His mouth fell open as a roar tore itself from deep within his being. Lightning surged, shooting out of his mouth and toward the figures around his parents.

Shouts, curses, then growls. He had just snapped his jaw shut when something rammed into his side. Pain throbbed despite the protection of his scales as he flew through the air. He slammed against the ground, a soft whimper escaping him.

Ignoring the pain, he rolled onto his feet and crouched, turning toward the new threat.

He froze beneath the glares of the five large creatures.

"Kill him!" a human shouted in the distance.

The creatures lunged all at once—

A crashing tree ripped Josh from the vision. Sweat dripped down his face while tears stung his eyes. He clenched his jaw against the constant tug that tried to resubmerge him in that burning forest.

Boomer... Nobody had ever told Josh, but he'd had a growing suspicion that the visions of the forest were connected to Boomer somehow. This time while taken by the visions—no, memories—he felt Boomer's now familiar presence the entire time.

Meaning he had just watched Boomer discover his dead parents, and as he continued to stare in the direction of the roar, one of the very creatures from Boomer's memories stepped into the clearing.

Ogre.

Josh had read about them in one of his classes, but the fearful word came from somewhere else—that deep place where he and Boomer were inseparably bonded.

Even without having seen five ogres circling Boomer in the memory, Josh wouldn't have blamed him for the fear. The ogre towered over Josh, looming at least ten feet in the air. Where the orcs had been lean, the ogre had a hulking, broad body that looked like it could chuck a smaller tree through the air with ease. It snarled, revealing jagged, yellow teeth that matched the long tusks protruding from its square jaw.

Although it looked much like a large orc—the same underbite, horns, claws, all of it—the ogre somehow held itself more like... like a human. A monstrous, barbarian human about to rip into its prey.

And Josh had never felt more like prey than at that moment.

His arms and legs shook as he pointed his sword at the ogre and took a step back. He probably couldn't defeat an orc alone, much less an ogre. His heartbeat thrummed in his ears as he tried to gulp. Either he got back to Akachi or he was dead. He glanced at the ogre's long legs. Would he even be able to outrun it?

A step back. The ogre snarled, leaned toward him, but didn't move otherwise. Another step. How many more before he had to turn his back on the monster—

"I wouldn't try to run if I were you."

Josh jerked. His gaze darted toward the possessed woman for only a moment before locking on the ogre again. He mentally kicked himself. The woman had completely slipped his mind. She could have attacked, and he would have been none the wiser until he was hit.

"Because you're totally worried about my wellbeing." He winced. His voice shook almost as much as his legs.

"Perhaps not, but you want to keep this woman safe. And if you're gone... Well, I don't really have a need to stick around."

The dangerous, promising edge in her words bit into Josh and froze him in place. He turned back to her—to the woman who had been dragged unwillingly into this situation by the Phoenix Dragon possessing her.

She smirked. "That's right. I can just go, leaving this woman at the mercy of the ogre. But no, please, be on your merry way."

His stomach sank at the same time bile crept up his throat. She'd pulled his strings perfectly, and now he was trapped unless he ditched the woman.

The thought made him sicker than his situation.

The woman's smirk shifted into a pleasant smile as she lifted her hand. "That's what I thought," she said, and then she snapped her fingers.

The ogre snarled. Josh only had a moment to meet its murderous gaze before its entire body bunched up, and then, as if released from an unseen leash, it launched straight at him.

Fun Fact: The ogre attack used to be a completely separate event from the burning forest and his parent's death. Decided they would work better as the same event.

Josh really did try to keep his promise of not fighting, but it seems like the fight found him... Granted while he was trying to play hero, but still! xD Seems Boomer has an intense fear of ogres, and for a very good reason :/ Well, for those who hadn't realized, hopefully now you can see what the visions from the beginning were and perhaps why Josh would have had them.  Ya know, memories through the bond and all that.

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!