Incendus was stunned by the attack and tumbled downward, confused and out of control. The magical nature of the dragon allowed it to harm an elemental creature like him and he was wounded by its talons; a sharp lance of pain that he hadn't felt in millennia.
As he fell, Incendus saw the dragon below look up from her eggs, screech in rage and leap into the air to ascend directly at him with her fangs bared.
Well, this isn't going as well as I'd hoped, the elemental thought as he tried to ignore his pain and collect himself.
It took a few seconds, but Incendus was both ancient and powerful, and the veteran of many a battle. He gathered his wits and shot off at right angles before either dragon could reach him to attack again.
All I want is one stupid egg, he felt like shouting at the enraged pair as he raced away with the dragons in hot pursuit. You'll have plenty more, I'm sure.
He doubted that the monsters were in any mood to be reasonable though, so he would have to do things the hard way.
The problem was, red dragons were mostly immune to fire attacks. Incendus could certainly hurt them by slamming into them at high speed, but attacking one would leave him vulnerable to the other. As his aching body reminded him, the dragons could most definitely harm him in return.
He looked back and saw the dragons slowly falling behind. They couldn't match his speed and would probably give up the pursuit fairly quickly to return to protecting their eggs.
Incendus slowed down enough to allow them to get closer; but not too close. If he couldn't win his prize in battle, he'd use his wits instead.
And the other elementals say my people are flighty, he thought with some amusement. Well, perhaps we are, but we can be shrewd when the need arises.
He let the pair of angry dragons close to within a hundred feet or so and then increased his speed to stay just ahead of them. He started to rise, leading them upward into the pale afternoon sky.
“Come on,” he muttered. “Come on. Stay with me.”
The dragons followed him with single-minded ferocity, bent on destroying this perceived threat to their eggs, and this pleased Incendus immensely.
As stupid as they are dangerous, he thought. Without their primal to direct their actions, these lesser dragons were just beasts. Perhaps the war to come wouldn't be quite as hard as he had feared.
Below him, one of the monsters drew back its head and breathed a stream of dragon-fire at him. He dodged effortlessly, unconcerned by the attack, but chastened nonetheless. The dragons could still be formidable opponents, whether they were clever or not. He would have to remember that.
Minutes passed and Incendus estimated that they were several thousand feet above the ground. The dragons were slowing a bit, showing the first signs of fatigue, and he decided that it was time to act.
The elemental switched his direction abruptly and shot straight back at the pursuing dragons, catching them completely off guard. He flew between them and they instinctively turned as well, trying to attack him. What happened instead was that the beasts slammed into each other, tangling up their wings and necks in a mid-air collision.
They roared and screamed in rage and confusion as they immediately began to fall like stones. They tumbled and twisted, trying to disentangle themselves and Incendus laughed to himself as he shot off at full speed back toward the nest.
Dangerous or not, they really were quite stupid, he thought merrily.
The pair would recover quickly and be back in hot pursuit, but the elemental should be long gone by then.
He streaked downward, blazing like a falling star. He spotted the nest and was soon hovering above it, staring at the mottled, leathery eggs.
There were six of them, each as large a human baby. Heat waves rose out of the sand around them and the ovoids baked in the intense desert sun.
Incendus assumed a man-like body of flame, reached down and stroked one of the eggs. He frowned and tapped on it, hearing a dull thud as if he was tapping on some hard mineral.
Damn it, he thought angrily.
He had wanted to destroy the eggs that he didn't need but now he doubted that he would have the time.
A distant scream told him that he was right. The dragons would be on him before he could do much damage to the thick-shelled spheres.
He sighed and shrugged. Oh well, we will meet some other time, he thought as he looked at the eggs. In battle perhaps.
He scooped up the smallest one, held it under one arm and looked up.
The pair of dragons was shooting straight down at him, maws gaping wide and eyes red with fury. Incendus chuckled, gave them a final, cocky wave and vanished like an extinguished flame.
Chapter 4
Simon was sitting on his front steps, moodily staring across the courtyard. His knees were drawn up to his chest and he was resting his chin on them.
He hadn't heard any internal rumblings from Esmiralla for a while and was taking the opportunity to think quietly without interruption. It was a rare, peaceful moment.
Why had he agreed to merge with the silver dragon, he wondered for what seemed like the millionth time. What would make him do something so out of character?
One thing Simon had always prided himself on was his independence. Yes, he liked having the elementals around to help him and keep him company. But if he had to live alone in his tower, he could quite happily do so as long as he had the occasional visit with friends. He liked people but he didn't need them.
And yet, when Esmiralla had proposed this merging, he had practically jumped at the chance. Why? It was so unlike him.
“Your face is all twisted, master.”
Simon looked down at Kronk, who was standing at the bottom of the steps, and smiled wanly.
“Is it? I wonder why?” he replied faintly, feeling as weary as he ever had in his life.
“You are worried, are you not? Master, you should not worry about things you cannot change.”
The little earthen hopped up the stairs and sat down on the step to Simon's right. He looked up at the wizard with a quizzical expression on his rocky face.
“What worries you today, master?”
Simon sighed and rubbed his temples.
“I'm that obvious, am I?”
Kronk only shrugged and waited patiently.
“It's this whole situation,” Simon said as he leaned back and stretched his legs for a moment. Then he pulled them up tight to his chest again and stared blankly across the front yard to the surrounding wall.
“It just wasn't like me to agree so easily to Esmiralla's proposal that we combine bodies to take on the primal red dragon. I was like, I don't know, a kid being offered candy; I couldn't say yes fast enough.”
He turned to look down at Kronk.
“Does that sound like me?”
“No master, it does not,” Kronk said with a frown. “You can, forgive me, be impulsive occasionally, but to commit to something so momentous without so much as a second thought? No, that is not like you at all.”
“Exactly.”
Simon stood up abruptly, walked down the steps and began pacing back and forth. His drab brown robe swirled around his ankles and he kept pushing his long hair off of his face.
After a few minutes of deep thought, he stopped abruptly and stared at Kronk.
“I think she influenced me somehow,” he said in a hushed voice.
“How, master?”
“How should I know? Esmiralla is ancient. She has powers that I can't even imagine. She could exert her will over me and I doubt that I would even be aware of it.”
Kronk stood up and watched Simon as he began pacing once more.
“Master, why are you whispering? The silver dragon is inside of you, is she not? She can hear everything you are saying.”
Simon stopped again and frowned at the little guy. He slowly shook his head and lowered his voice even more.
“I don't think so. There are times when she seems to be...out. How she does that I don't know, but I can feel
her when she's in residence.”
“Interesting,” Kronk said. “I do not understand this merging, master, but I do not see how the silver dragon could just,” he gestured vaguely, “come and go at will.”
“Me neither. Add that to the list of things I don't understand about this whole situation.”
He began pacing yet again, lost in thought.
“Master, if I am understanding you correctly, you think that Esmiralla may have subtly coerced you into allowing this connection?”
“She might have, yes.”
“Then the most important question has to be...why? What could she possibly hope to gain from this merging?”
Simon stopped again, walked back up the steps and sat down heavily next to Kronk.
“That is the one thing that keeps stopping me from completely accepting that she might have tricked me. What could she gain from being trapped inside this,” he slapped his narrow chest, “skinny, adolescent body? Wouldn't she rather remain as herself? I'll tell you, her draconian body was awesome and powerful. So what has she gotten out of this merging with me?”
“Freedom perhaps?” Kronk mused. “She has been released from her chamber where she was trapped for eons, master. That might have been worth paying any price.”
“No, she already had that,” Simon told him. “She visited Liliana at least once. In fact, I saw her myself that one time in Moscow. I thought I was seeing a white dragon, but it turned out that it was Esmiralla.”
“Was it, master? How do you know?”
The wizard looked at Kronk in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the silver dragon is very old and, as you said, has powers we cannot even guess at. How hard would it be for a being like that to cast illusions to make you believe you are seeing something that you are not? Master, remember the primal red dragon? Remember how it created a copy of itself above this very tower,” Kronk pointed straight up, “to distract you while it took control of Nottinghill Castle? Could not Esmiralla do the same thing?”
There was a long pause as Simon considered this surprising idea.
“Maybe that's it,” he whispered, wide-eyed. “Maybe I was her only way out. Oh my God, Kronk! What have I done?”
“Done, master? You have done nothing. The silver dragons were created by the gods of Justice. They died fighting against the forces of evil. Whether she tricked you or not, Esmiralla is still a good creature and I am sure that she had her reasons.”
Simon looked at the little guy incredulously.
“Did you hear what you just said? There is never a good reason to use people against their will. Never! If we're right, she should have asked me, not tricked me.”
Kronk lowered his head and stroked his chin, making a rasping sound of stone on stone. He began to nod slowly.
“Yes master, you are correct. If the silver dragon was as pure as I would like to think, she would have honestly asked for your help.”
He looked up at Simon.
“But now what, master? If we are right, what could Esmiralla be planning?”
The wizard's irritation drained away and he shrugged.
“I don't know, my friend. I really don't.”
The wizard stared across the yard again, thinking hard.
“You know what makes me even more anxious? It's this rite, ceremony, whatever it is that she's planning. I mean, what's with those ingredients? Blood from the dragon queen and from a drake. A dragon egg. What the hell is that about? That isn't magic, Kronk; that's voodoo. It's primitive and savage and I don't like it one bit.”
He stood up.
“Let's walk, my friend. I'm feeling restless.”
“Certainly, master.”
The two of them left the steps and began to walk around the tower. The warm breeze ruffled Simon's hair and he smiled at the beauty of the day. Worried or not, he loved his life and his home and had a natural optimism that not even the direst of circumstances could completely put aside.
“Still no word from Aeris,” he told the little guy. “I was expecting him to at least check in and tell me how things are going.”
Kronk laughed, a low rumble.
“You know him, master. Once he becomes focused on a mission, it sometimes consumes him. He knows how important getting the blood of the dragon queen is and I would guess that he is working very hard to achieve that end.”
Simon waved up at one of the earthen who was patrolling the outer wall. The little figure waved back cheerfully and continued on its way.
“Are you worried about him and his single-mindedness?”
“No master, not really. Aeris also has a rather well developed survival instinct. I doubt that he will put himself or his fellows in harm's way. If fact, that could be why it is taking so long for him to report back; he may be waiting for just the right moment to obtain his prize.”
“Let's hope so.”
They reached the back gate in the outside wall and Simon opened it. The two went out and stood looking across the field toward the little lake behind the tower.
His three horses, Chief, Tammy and Sunshine, along with the foal Sunbeam, were grazing together along the edge of the water. A half-dozen cows ambled contentedly across the pasture, heading for some fresh grass to feed on. The cattle were almost twice the size of the horses but appeared placid and gentle, which they were.
In a far corner, a dozen balls of wool, sheep, were huddled together to munch on the rich grass. The chickens were kept in a coop inside the wall next to the stable, to keep them safe from predators like foxes or hawks.
“The livestock seem quite happy today, master,” Kronk said with genuine affection in his voice. “Are you going to be getting a dog soon?”
The little guy was very fond of all animals and had been asking Simon on an almost daily basis about acquiring a dog, ever since the wizard had first expressed an interest in finding a pet.
“I'm sorry, bud, but until this whole situation with Esmiralla is resolved, I can't even consider searching for a dog. I have to remain focused on the task at hand. I hope you can understand that?”
The little guy sighed but smiled up at Simon.
“Of course, master. I understand what your priorities are at the moment. It is just that...”
The wizard abruptly held up a hand, cutting Kronk off, then quickly touched his lips with a finger.
“I can feel her coming back,” he whispered and the elemental nodded his understanding.
“I have to clean out the stable and the chicken coop, master. I will see you later.”
Simon nodded at the little guy as he headed back through the gate, then continued to watch the animals pensively.
The silver dragon's presence was almost suffocating as she returned from wherever she had been. The wizard couldn't wrap his head around the entire situation and did not intend to ask Esmiralla about her travels, however she managed to leave his mind and return. But the fact that she could do that, and didn't mention it to Simon, made him even more suspicious of her.
Apparently the dragon couldn't hear his thoughts unless he was specifically talking to her, which was a relief. And at the moment he had no wish to speak with her unless she spoke first.
But except for the weight of her presence, Esmiralla made no attempt to communicate with Simon and so he simply moved back to lean against the wall and watch the horses graze, thinking dark thoughts.
Simon's mood hadn't improved very much later that day when he was standing on the roof of his tower, surveying the forest that encircled his home. Usually an air elemental was stationed up there, keeping an eye on the skies in case of a dragon attack, but the wizard had sent off all three of the air elementals who worked for him to try to get a sample of blood from the dragon queen. The earthen on the walls were being extra vigilant to make up for the gap in security and Simon hoped that it would suffice until the others returned.
The tower was higher than any of the surrounding trees and the sun gleamed off of th
e thick sea of green and brown leaves that made Simon feel like he was looking out over a jungle. Strange cries and mysterious scents filled the air, evidence that the world was still Changing and that plants and animals were mutating, thanks to the dark gods.
Simon found the new world ever more exciting and frightening at the same time. His powers were growing as the New Earth evolved, reflecting the changes around him. It added to the frustration caused by his situation because he couldn't focus on exploring his new capabilities while Esmiralla lurked in the depths of his mind. It almost felt like she was a creepy stalker watching his every move and he had grown to hate it. It certainly made using the outhouse and bathing a bit uncomfortable for him.
His gloom was forgotten as a distant rumble of thunder echoed across the sky.
Simon straightened up attentively and listened closely. Was he about to get a visitor?
The tower shook as a second rumble, both louder and closer, confirmed that he was correct and the wizard gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, knowing what was about to happen.
A flash of blinding light and an ear-numbing blast of sound staggered him and Simon shook his head as his ears rang painfully.
Air elementals, he thought irritably. Always going for the big entrance.
A man-shaped figure floated just above the roof, slightly bigger all over than a human, and watched him with an amused smile on his semi-transparent face.
“Wizard, I have returned,” Aethos said in a voice as wild as the north wind.
“Yes, thank you, Aethos,” Simon replied as he rubbed his ears gingerly. “I heard.”
“Ah, I do apologize. The appearance of my kind can be a bit....ostentatious.” The elemental shook his head. “Thank our ruler for that. He does enjoy his dramatics.”
“I've noticed.”
Simon leaned back against the parapet, his head still throbbing a bit.
“So how was your trip? Did you find what you were looking for?”
Aethos' smile widened and he lifted his chin proudly.
“If I had not, I would not have returned, sir wizard.”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 45