And he had defeated it, and survived. It was the stupidest, bravest thing that Aethos could have ever conceived of. How could he not, out of admiration alone, attempt to help the wizard reverse the spell he now suffered under? How could he not at least try?
Added to that was the fact that the air elementals revered the silver dragons. Of all the draconic races, the silvers were the ones that Aethos and his people had the most in common with. The dragons' powers were similar to those from the air realm and their nobility was admirable. In the end, the elemental was performing his task as much for Esmiralla's benefit as for the wizard's. At least that is what he told himself.
Aethos stopped abruptly, hovering several dozen feet above the ground, and listened intently. The surrounding chatter of the forest was fading quickly and a new sound was taking its place.
Roars and bellows of rage echoed through the trees and the elemental turned in a slow circle, trying to determine the direction they were coming from.
Ah there, he thought, and shot through the trees toward the noise.
It was the sound of battle, of two creatures locked in mortal combat. And the hissing, screeching cacophony of one of the combatants was familiar to Aethos. It was the battle cry of a drake.
He dipped and wove through the branches, avoiding blankets of thick moss and the twisted trunks of massive trees. Finally the elemental saw the forest open up ahead and the bright sunlight warn of an approaching clearing and he slowed and moved forward cautiously.
Peering out at a large meadow choked with small shrubs, wildflowers and tall grasses, Aethos found the source of the sounds of battle and stared in surprise.
He had been right; one of the combatants was a red drake. A dozen feet long from snout to forked tail and covered in blood-red scales, the horned creature was screeching like a steam whistle as it slashed and bit at its foe.
The monster that it was battling was something that Aethos had not seen, and had not missed, for eons. As large as the drake but draped in thick white and yellow feathers; it was a griffon.
Its orange, serrated beak dripping with green blood, the griffon's massive wings flapped and rattled as it mindlessly attacked the drake, feathers flying in all directions.
What could make a griffon, a flying creature, attack a grounded monster like the drake, Aethos wondered. He watched in detached interest as the battle raged on.
A moment later, the elemental nodded invisibility to himself. The griffon's right wing was bent at an awkward angle with no sign of recent injury. The creature must have lost the ability to fly and been attacked by the drake. It didn't really matter to Aethos. Neither monster was anything but vicious and evil and he rather hoped they'd kill each other and save him the trouble.
The elemental looked around the edge of the clearing and spotted others watching the epic battle. He saw several large deer, horns gleaming like wicked daggers. He spotted the black fur of a massive bear and flickering, strange shapes that were monsters of some kind that he couldn't quite make out. Aethos knew that he would have to keep an eye on them when the time came for him to strike.
The combatants were evenly matched. The thick feathers of the griffon protected its body from the drake's attacks almost as well as the red monster's scales. Both were about the same size, although the reptilian drake was the heavier of the two.
Red blood splashed and mingled with green. Scales were torn off and feathers flew in a cloud as both creatures rolled and twisted and tore at each other. It was primeval and savage and even Aethos was repulsed by the simple-minded rage of the battle. If anything was needed to convince him of the lack of intelligence of drakes, it was this.
Neither creature showed any sign of tactics or planning; they simply threw themselves at each other, over and over again. It wasn't long before the combatants were covered in gore and showing signs of weakening. Aethos watched closely and allowed himself a resigned sigh. The griffon was going to lose.
As deeply as its talons gouged the drake and its beak sliced into the red hide, the drake's scales were simply too thick to allow the avian to deal a killing blow. On the other hand, the reptilian was biting deeply into the griffon through its feathers and its lighter weight and awkwardness on the ground worked against it.
I'll have to kill the damnable thing myself, the elemental thought ruefully. And quickly. Once the griffon is dead, the scavengers may work up their nerve and attack the injured drake en masse.
By luck or chance, the fighters had rolled and thrashed across the glade until they were fairly close to the edge of the forest where Aethos floated invisibly. He gathered his power, waiting for the drake to deliver the coup de grâce. It came suddenly.
The griffon leaped on to the drake, which twisted suddenly and flung its opponent a dozen feet away to land on its back. For a brief instant the bird-like creature lay stunned, feebly clawing at the sky, and the drake seized its opportunity, pounced on its helpless foe and disemboweled it.
The griffon screeched pathetically one last time, a wail of despair and agony and then collapsed and lay still. The forest seemed to hold its breath as the drake raised its hideous, blood-soaked head and bellowed triumphantly. It seemed to be daring the monsters that surrounded the clearing and it licked its muzzle clean of gore as it appeared to wait for another opponent.
There was no immediate response to the drake's challenge and its yellow eyes gleamed in wicked glee, even as its own blood dripped from the open wounds left by the griffon. It stretched its neck skyward and screamed its battle cry.
The howl was suddenly cut off abruptly and the drake's eyes widened with a look of almost comical surprise. This was followed by a grotesque, slopping sound as the misshapen head appeared to tear loose from its serpentine neck and drop to the ground with a meaty thunk. Green blood sprayed from its severed neck and the heavy body collapsed.
A stunned silence gripped the surrounding forest and then a misty outline, vaguely man-shaped, appeared next to the corpse and scooped up the dripping head.
Aethos held the grizzly trophy up by one twisted horn and looked around the edge of the clearing, seeing dozen of glowing sets of eyes watching him with evil intent.
“They're all yours,” he said loudly as he waved a hand at the two bodies. “I just need this. Enjoy.”
And he disappeared with loud crack like thunder while the forest came alive around the meadow and the monsters came out to fight over the remains.
The deserts of the former country of Australia were not all barren and lifeless. Scrub brush, hummock grasses and stunted trees managed to survive in one of the driest, hottest areas on Earth. It was the perfect place to find red dragon nests.
At least that was what Incendus was telling himself as he searched the broken landscape. Truth be told, the fire elemental was bored. He had reluctantly agreed to retrieve a dragon egg for the wizard, Simon O'Toole, and was now regretting his own eagerness.
Not that he didn't want to help the man with his rather unusual problem, Incendus told himself. He had huge respect for the wizard. But those born of fire, by their very nature, were in constant need of stimulation and this country was extremely dull.
When fire elementals traveled long distances, they assumed a form of pure flame. If anyone had spotted Incendus flying high over the arid country, they might have mistaken his blazing form for a meteorite. He moved with incredible speed, as fast as his air elemental cousins, and scanned the ground below for signs of a nesting dragon.
Damn that primal for giving his lesser dragons the ability to mate, Incendus cursed to himself. It was an unbelievable abomination. The world would be buried under the wings of thousands of those twisted monsters.
It was bad enough that their insane queen still lived, although she at least was witless and only a vague threat at the moment. But to allow dragons to mate? It was beyond his comprehension.
But enough of that, the elemental told himself irritably. The battle against the dragons was a task for the future; one he relishe
d. Right now, he had to find an egg for the ritual to tear the wizard and the silver dragon apart.
What had Simon O'Toole been thinking when he'd made that agreement? What was the dragon's thinking? Incendus wondered briefly if the two of them weren't as mad as the dragon queen in their own way.
A movement ahead and below him pulled the elemental out of his gloomy reverie and he halted abruptly and floated on the wind, a crackling, shifting ball of fire hundreds of feet above the ground.
He focused his attention on a patch of sunken ground surrounded by stunted brown trees and what looked like heaps of displaced dirt. Was that a flash of red in the otherwise colorless landscape?
It was, the elemental thought gleefully. It was a dragon, wings spread out, brooding on a crude nest.
The question was, were there eggs down there?
He watched intently, waiting for the creature to move.
“Come on. Come on, you stupid beast,” he muttered, willing her to fold her wings so that he could see the nest beneath her.
After a moment, the nesting mother finally did shift and close her wings slightly and Incendus smiled to himself.
“Got you,” he said with a satisfied chuckle as he saw a handful of shiny pale ovules resting beneath her.
Incendus could perhaps be forgiven for what happened next. He was, after all, seeing a dragon's nest for the first time ever and his attention was focused entirely on it. But for whatever reason, he was caught completely by surprise.
From the blazing sky above him, a red dragon arrowed out of the sun and slammed into the distracted fire elemental. Over fifty feet in length and weighing a dozen tons, the monster bellowed its rage as it attacked its target, obviously defending its mate and offspring.
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 shrugg
ed 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.”
The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) Page 4