“You talk too much!” Simon shouted in fury.
He meshed the power that he had gathered around him into a single bolt and pointed Mortis de Draconis at the huge maw above him.
“Ice Spear!” he bellowed and unleashed the spell.
A razor-sharp missile of bitter ice coalesced and screamed upward. Pyrathius, caught completely off-guard, pulled back and brought up his wings to block the spear. The missile slammed into the thick red skin of his wings and ripped through it, leaving ragged holes in both that spewed green blood. It showered down to the ground, smoking and burning as it landed.
The primal dragon screamed in pain and flung back his wings. He glared at Simon and sucked in an enormous breath, preparing to unleash a tremendous blast of fire at the wizard.
From out of the concealing smoke and fumes of the right side of the crater, a howling line of bolts, burning white, appeared and smashed into the side of Pyrathius' head, knocking him off balance. He choked and lost his focus, whipping his head around to search for his attacker.
Tamara, Simon thought with relief. Great timing!
The dragon was still glaring at the ground, trying to find his assailant, when lightning blasted into the back of his head, sizzling up from the opposite side of the volcano.
Pyrathius howled again and spun around, his enormous tail whipping through the air so close to Simon that he had to duck and roll to avoid being smashed to mush. His shield took the brunt of the blow and was shattered in the process.
“Gnats!” the dragon roared furiously. “Insects! I shall crush you beneath my feet.”
He glared this way and that but the concealing smoke hid the mages even from him.
“You think to hide from me? Fools!”
Pyrathius began to beat his enormous wings and violent gusts of wind shot across the crater. Simon was lifted off of his feet and flew back a dozen yards.
“Diamond Skin,” he managed to wheeze breathlessly just before he slammed into the sharp rocks and jagged ground.
His skin tightened and he abruptly looked like a man carved out of crystal. He skidded across the rocks harmlessly and ended up on his back staring up at the distant red sky.
“Aha! Now I have you!” the dragon cried as the smoke that had hidden Simon's friends blew away.
He began sucking in another great breath, getting ready for a fiery blast, and then the sky that the wizard was staring up at suddenly turned black. Hundreds of arrows arched out over the rim of the volcano and rained down on Pyrathius, slicing into his head and neck and making him howl in agony.
The dragon spun again and Simon cowered against the wall of the crater, trying to avoid the massive tail.
How can anything that big move so fast, he wondered. He could only hope that Tamara and the others weren't being squashed flat as the dragon stomped around in pain.
The wizard pushed himself to his feet and watched, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The primal's head was tinged a sickly green with a sheen of blood, but the wounds from the arrows were obviously just a minor irritant. Another flight of missiles followed the first and this time the dragon protected his head with his enormous wings. The arrows dug in and caused him some pain, but there was little damage.
We need some help, Simon thought. Where the hell is Kassus and his elementals?
As if in answer to his thought, the ground beneath Pyrathius suddenly changed color and hardened, the red glow disappearing.
“What is this?” the dragon roared in confusion as he stared at the crater floor.
And then the hardened lava grew up and over his huge paws like a living thing. It locked the dragon in place and stopped him from avoiding the steady rain of arrows from the elves.
When the rock had encased the dragon's body up to his belly, it stopped. Simon watched, waiting for Pyrathius to begin roaring in anger again. What happened instead surprised him.
The primal began to laugh, an evil chuckle that made the wizard shudder.
“Is that the best you can do?” the dragon said as he twisted his long neck to look down at Simon. “The same trick you used on my brother? Pathetic!”
The dragon narrowed his eyes and his red scales began to glow. Waves of heat blasted outward and the stone that held him turned white hot and burst, spewing molten rock in all directions.
“Arrows? Elementals? Mages? None of these things can truly harm me.” Pyrathius laughed again. “Are you done? If not, make your last attempt a good one or prepare to face your end. You are beginning to bore me.”
Smoke had risen again to obscure the floor of the crater and more magic missiles slammed into the dragon, distracting him.
“Incendus, I need you,” Simon said quickly.
A flash of red light appeared that was lost in the blaze of the dragon, and then the fire elemental was standing a few feet from the wizard.
A living flame, six feet tall or more, Incendus altered his shape to look like a man, with burning eyes and molten skin.
“What is your wish, sir wizard?” he asked politely. He looked over his shoulder at the raging dragon. “Do you think that I can harm something like that?”
“Not really, no,” Simon replied. “But bring in your fellows and try to keep him distracted for a few minutes if you could. When you see the rain, leave. I wouldn't want any of you to get hurt.”
Incendus' eyes narrowed and he glanced up at the sky.
“Rain? No rain will fall here. And if it did, it would do little harm to myself or that beast. What are you talking about?”
“No time for discussion, my friend. I need that distraction right now!”
The fire elemental bowed.
“As you wish. We will do what we can.”
Incendus became a living flame again and shot upward toward the dragon's head far above them. As he flew, he split in two. And the two split again and then once more until eight balls of incandescent fire streaked across the volcano to slam into Pyrathius.
The dragon may have been immune to being burned, but the force that the elementals hit him with made the monster stagger back and actually lose his footing. He smashed into the far wall of the volcano and slid down it, making the entire mountain shake and quiver.
Under his feet, Simon both felt and heard a distant rumbling, like a giant clearing its throat. The sound was far away, but as the primal struggled to regain his feet, the noise began to grow.
Oh crap, that can't be good, he thought. I have to hurry.
“Anaposus, I summon you,” he wheezed, coughing a little as the fumes blew over him.
The air shimmered and flexed and a sudden cool dampness filled the air around him, welcome relief in the arid heat of the volcano. As a shape was revealed, Simon canceled his Diamond Skin spell and raised a shield again. It helped to filter out the smoke and stench of rotten eggs.
“Sir wizard, I have come,” a gentle, high-pitched voice said in greeting.
On the ground in front of Simon a humanoid figure appeared. A foot tall, the elemental was made of water that rippled and shimmered in the reflected red light of the primal dragon.
The wizard looked across the volcano but Pyrathius was still trying to get to his feet. The fire elementals were circling around him like satellites, moving in to attack randomly, keeping him confused. Tamara, Keiko and Sebastian were casting lightning and magic missile spells and the elves were still hitting him with their enchanted arrows. It was at least keeping the monster distracted for the moment.
“Welcome, Ana,” he said as he looked at the elemental. “How are you now?”
“Still saddened, to be honest, at what happened between my people and yourself,” she said as she looked at the ground. “I never meant to betray you, sir wizard. I hope you know that. And I never tried to harm you or your allies.”
Simon had to smile. He had liked the water elemental from the start and knew that it was her ruler's greed that had caused her people to ally with the dragons.
“So you've told me already. And I beli
eve you, so don't worry about it. I'm told that you have a new leader?” he asked, still keeping a wary eye on the dragon.
“We do. The most powerful of my kind were shocked by our ruler's move to join with the Chaos lords and the dragons. They rose up and overthrew him; something that has never been done before.” She shook her head and risked a glance up at Simon. “I am told that he was quite...surprised,” she added dryly.
The wizard chuckled.
“I imagine he would have been. Anyway, we can catch up some other time. You've been watching as I asked? You know what's going on and why you are here?”
“Of course, sir wizard. We have been observing your conflict with the dragon. We know what you are doing here today and what kind of help you need.”
She turned and stared at the dragon hundreds of yards away. Even at that distance, he looked huge.
“What is fire's greatest enemy? Water, of course.”
“Exactly.”
Simon hesitated and felt a rush of anxiety. His plan pivoted around a being who was both powerful and fickle. It could all fall apart if that being did not want to help him.
“So, what did he say when you asked for his help?”
Ana looked up at the wizard and gave him a quirky little smile.
“He said, and I quote, 'we'll see'.”
“Oh damn. Okay then. Whenever you're ready, go ahead and give him the signal. If nothing happens in the next few minutes, I'll assume he's decided not to help us and I'll use my final card.”
“What final card, sir wizard?” Ana asked, intrigued.
“Frankly, I'd rather not say. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.”
“Very well then. I shall do what I can. Good luck, my lord.”
“And to you, Ana. I hope to see you when the battle is done.”
She bowed and slipped into the cracked earth, leaving only a hint of dampness behind.
Well, this should be interesting, Simon thought. I'd better help to keep that monster occupied.
He aimed his staff at the primal and gathered his power.
“Magic Missile!” he yelled and braced his arm as dozens of eye-searing bolts shot out of his staff and screamed across the crater to smash into Pyrathius.
Simon smiled in satisfaction as the missiles overbalanced the dragon again and he fell back against the wall, bringing down an avalanche of broken rock and debris on top of himself.
The mages' spells were coming slower now as they began to tire and he knew that they would soon be too exhausted to continue.
“Aeris, I need you,” he said and the elemental appeared inside his shield with the briefest mutter of thunder.
“Ah good, you're still alive,” Aeris exclaimed.
“Yes, I'm still alive. Thanks for the concern. Do me a favor, would you? Get to the mages and tell them to attack one last time and then retreat to Nottinghill Castle. And tell them to take the fighters with them. If they argue, just say that I have a plan and I need them out of harm's way before I implement it.”
Aeris looked at him closely.
“Do you? Have a plan, I mean?” he asked.
Simon summoned up a tired grin.
“Don't I always? Now get going. They're running out of juice.”
The elemental nodded silently, waited for Simon to open his shield and disappeared.
The wizard sighed with relief. At least his friends would survive to fight another day.
He sealed his shield and held up his staff again, picturing Ethmira's face. When he had it firmly in his mind, he Gated.
Chapter 29
Up on the rim of the crater, Simon appeared several feet away from the elf maid. Ethmira was directing her archers and shooting at the same time. The wizard looked at the group of elves and counted at least a hundred of them, all wearing mottled green leather armor and shooting with typical elven grace.
“Simon! Well, this is a surprise,” Ethmira said. She stepped back from the edge of the crater and slipped her bow over her shoulder.
She was as beautiful as the wizard remembered, her long auburn hair tied back in a braid that hung to her waist. She smiled warmly at him.
“What's going on?” she asked.
“First of all, my thanks to you and your people for coming. You've managed to keep the primal distracted and that's been a tremendous help.”
She nodded and cast a grim look at the struggling dragon below.
“I just wish we could do more damage. But that damnable thing is simply too big. Our arrowheads may be penetrating his hide, but then they are being burned off almost immediately.”
“Yeah, I know,” Simon agreed with a sigh. “Anyway, things are about to go a little sideways so I'd like you and your troops to retreat. Head back to the elven realm with my gratitude.”
“What?” Ethmira looked startled. “But we want to remain in the fight! We have plenty of ammunition left and my people,” she glanced at the archers with pride, “are willing to stay as long as it takes to kill that thing!”
“I know that, believe me. But you can't do anything more today. I want you all to live to fight again. If this doesn't work, your own world will need you. Pyrathius will turn to the elven realm eventually, if he manages to defeat us and the dwarves. You will have your chance then to face him again.”
She planted her hands on her hips and frowned at him.
“And what do I tell Daniel when we return with our tails between our legs, leaving you to deal with the primal dragon alone?”
“Tell him the truth. He's pragmatic enough to understand my decision.”
He stepped forward and took her hand.
“Please, Ethmira. I need you all out of harm's way. What is about to happen may destroy this entire mountain and you don't want to be here when that happens.”
She held his gaze for a long moment before finally nodding.
“Fine, we'll go. But I want it understood that it is under protest.”
“Understood,” Simon said with a grin. “Do you need a lift to the portal to your world?”
“Please.”
“Kassus, I need you,” the wizard said loudly as he moved away from the elves.
The ground rumbled and a large figure made of dark rock similar to the hardened lava around them burst out of the ground to stare down at Simon.
“Wizard. I apologize for not holding the dragon longer.” The elemental sounded disgusted with himself. “That creature is too powerful.”
“You did what you could,” Simon assured him. “That's all I asked for. Now, could you and your brethren transport Ethmira and her archers back to the portal? I've asked them to get to a safe distance before my next move against Pyrathius.”
“You have another move?”
“Why do people keep asking me that?” the wizard said and pushed his hair from his eyes irritably.
Kassus laughed in his deep bass voice.
“Habit perhaps. Yes, of course we will be happy to take the elves wherever they wish to go.”
“Thanks. I have to get back down there. Ethmira?”
The elf walked over quickly.
“Thanks again. Take care and say hello to Daniel for me, won't you?”
“I will,” she replied and gave him a brief hug. “Best of luck, my friend.”
“You too.”
Simon waved at her and at the hulking elemental, raised his staff and cast Gate again.
Back inside the crater, the primal was up on his feet again. The fire elementals were still on the attack but the wizard saw with some dismay that there were only six fireballs whizzing around the dragon. As he watched, Pyrathius swung his head around and caught one of the elementals in his deadly maw. He ground his fangs together with a horrible, grating sound and Simon heard a distant wail of despair.
He killed it, the wizard thought, horrified. Oh God.
“Come on, Ana. Come on!” he muttered as he desperately looked around the crater.
There was no sign of any of the mages or warriors and he hoped
that they had all managed to Gate away in time. If his plan worked, this crater would shortly be turned into hell on earth. Maybe.
“Master! I'm back,” he heard from the direction of his feet and he looked down to see Kronk pull himself out of the ground.
“So I see. Thanks for getting Kassus to attack. It helped a lot.”
The little guy stared off at the dragon and shook his blocky head slowly.
“They are losing, master. The primal won't be distracted for much longer.”
“I know. Now I want you to head outside of the volcano, please. Get some distance away from this place. I'll summon you when I'm done here.”
Kronk stared at Simon.
“Will you, master?” he asked, wide-eyed.
“Yes, my dear wizard, will you really? Or are you about to do something suicidal to try to save the world...again?”
Aeris had appeared a few feet away and was bobbing up and down, looking at Simon suspiciously.
“I don't want to die, guys. I really don't. But I want you safe and out of the way so please, both of you, get away from this mountain and wait for me to call you. Okay?”
The elementals exchanged a look. Kronk nodded and Aeris grimaced at him and then sighed loudly.
“Fine. We'll go. Just don't die on us. I've grown rather fond of you.”
The air elemental gave Simon a final piercing look and shot straight up and out of sight.
“What he said, master,” the earthen said with a sad smile.
He bowed and slipped into the ground again.
Good, they would be safe. After seeing the fire elementals being destroyed one by one, Simon couldn't bear the thought of either of his little friends getting killed by the primal.
“Incendus, come to me,” he said hurriedly and the fire elemental popped into existence a few feet away.
“Gather your remaining friends and retreat,” he told the elemental urgently. “You can't hold him back any longer and enough of you have fallen today.”
“We are not cowards, sir wizard. We can hold him for a few more minutes, at least,” Incendus protested.
“No! Get out of here. I know you're brave. After watching you all, everyone who saw you knows it too. Now retreat please. Live to fight another day.”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 39