The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6)

by J. J. Thompson

  He shook his head and his expression darkened.

  “A fairly grim prospect, don't you think?”

  “Damn. I hadn't actually done the numbers in my head,” Simon told him, appalled. “If we don't find a way to thin out their ranks, we'll be ass-deep in dragons soon.”

  “I agree. Well, let us cross that bridge when the need arises.”

  Incendus bowed with a flourish.

  “Do call when you need me again, Simon O'Toole. I enjoy the little jobs you give me.”

  Before the wizard could reply, the elemental disappeared like a snuffed flame, leaving the smell of ashes and soot behind him.

  “So this is a dragon egg, master,” Kronk muttered as he approached the ovoid.

  He put his small hands against the side of the egg and Simon almost warned him off; the object was still radiating heat. But he remembered that Kronk wasn't affected by fire and watched with interest as the earthen ran his hands across the egg.

  “What do you think?” the wizard asked when the little guy was finished and stepped back.

  “Think, master? I think that it is disgusting and evil and I think that if you did not need it for this ritual of yours, I would crush it and stomp on it and bury it deep.”

  Simon stared at Kronk in open-mouthed surprise. The earthen was the most gentle of souls, most of the time. His reply had caught the wizard off-guard.

  “Really? That's so unlike you,” he said hesitantly to the little guy.

  “No, master. Forgive me for correcting you, but it is not. My people hate evil in all of its forms and this?” Kronk pointed at the egg, his blocky face twisted with distaste. “This is potentially a servant of the gods of Chaos. Pure evil in every way. One day, if allowed to hatch and mature, it could be a threat to you, master. So I would willingly destroy it and all of its kind if I could.”

  “Um, okay then. Good to know. Anyway, I guess when it's cooled down enough, we can put it downstairs with the vial of drake's blood. Now all we need is the blood from the dragon queen and we're good to go.”

  'That is correct,' Esmiralla's internal voice told him faintly.

  “I will take it to the cellar for you, master,” Kronk said stoutly, overcoming his obvious aversion to the egg. “Once it is no longer hot.”

  “Thanks a lot. Now if only Aeris and the others could get back from their excursion, we could get on with this.”

  “Hopefully soon, master. Aeris is stubborn, if nothing else, and he loves a challenge.”

  “That's what I'm afraid of,” Simon told him as he pushed back his hair. “Sometimes that makes him reckless. Let's hope this isn't one of those times.”

  Chapter 5

  “She's gaining on us!” Orriss yelled frantically.

  He didn't bother looking over his shoulder. He fancied that he could feel the dragon queen's hot breath on his back; certainly he could hear her deafening roars of insane rage.

  “Just keep flying!” Aeris called back. “Brethia may only get one chance at this, so don't panic and disappear.”

  “I won't, I won't. But she's getting too close!”

  The pair of elementals were racing across the dunes, twisting and diving from hill to hill. Aeris had finally gotten sick of stalking the dragon and had decided to lure her into a spot where one of them could get a dram of her blood. It might not have been the smartest of ideas.

  He was aiming for a line of scrub brush that marked an arroyo ahead. The ground there dipped suddenly and led to a narrow, high-walled canyon that he hoped would funnel the worm-like queen in the direction they wanted her to go. At least, that was the plan.

  “Damn it, Orriss, keep up!” he shouted angrily over his shoulder. “What kind of an air elemental are you? You're going to get your slow ass killed if you don't get moving.”

  Although he would never admit it, Aeris was afraid that the younger elemental would be destroyed by the mad dragon queen. And if he was, it would be Aeris' fault as his senior and leader. He couldn't allow that to happen.

  He risked a quick look behind them. The queen was slithering over the sand like a huge snake, her yellow, crusty scales rasping across the ground with an ear-splitting squealing sound. Combined with her constant bellows of rage, the air shivered with noise.

  She was about fifty yards back now and gaining, as Aeris had had to lower his speed to allow Orriss to keep up. Her enormous red eyes were locked on both of them and she chased them with a focus that was foreign to the insane creature. In a way, the elementals had given her a purpose, if only temporarily.

  If my dear wizard could see us now, he'd have a few choice words for me, Aeris thought with a wince. I cannot let this situation end in disaster.

  Somehow Orriss managed a burst of speed and shot by Aeris, who barked several words of encouragement at him.

  “Now keep going,” he added loudly. “Get through those bushes and go invisible. I'll do the rest.”

  Orriss waved at him silently, saving his energy for the race and Aeris lagged a bit more to give the young one his chance to get clear.

  A wave of heat suddenly engulfed him and Aeris cursed under his breath as he realized that the queen had gotten close enough to belch fire at him. Her fiery breath was even deadlier than a normal dragon's would be. Plus, the line of erect quills that sprang up between her eyes and ran all the way down her spine were hollow and filled with a murderous poison. Fortunately, air elementals were immune to any poison or disease, but the queen's flames could still kill him.

  He accelerated to keep ahead of her and watched with some relief as Orriss disappeared through the scrub brush ahead. Finally. Now it was up to him to keep the mad dragon's attention while Brethia did her job. He hoped this scheme worked because the thought of repeating all of this made him feel almost physically ill.

  He looked back again, afraid that the queen might be losing interest in the chase, but he need not have worried. Her gaze was chillingly locked on him, her eternal rage given a target.

  Now for the final push, he said to himself and reached for the last of his strength. He crested the low hill ahead, burst through the dry brittle plants and dropped down into the arroyo. A hollow to his left appeared empty as he shot by it, but he knew that Brethia was in there, invisibly waiting for the queen to pass.

  The deep, narrow canyon ran a long way, at least a mile. It was an anomaly that Aeris couldn't explain, but it had given him his idea when they had stumbled upon it two days earlier as they'd followed the queen.

  “Wait. You want me to what?” Brethia had asked in surprise.

  The three had been hovering over the arroyo, the queen a distant blur on the horizon.

  “Take her blood. Look, it's pretty straightforward. Orriss and I can get her angry and lead her to this canyon, ditch, whatever you want to call it. It's deep and narrow enough to funnel her in a straight line along its length, so she won't stray off-course, which is what has been defeating our efforts to get some blood up until now, right? All you have to do is hide off to one side,” he pointed to one end of the arroyo, “that small depression near the entrance will do nicely. Take a sample as she passes and that will be that. She won't even feel it.”

  Both Brethia and Orriss had listened dubiously but had agreed to the plan. Neither had any better ideas and they had been stalking the queen for far too long as it was.

  Please let this work, Aeris muttered as he zoomed down the narrow canyon. Please, please let this work.

  He waited until he was several dozen yards into the ancient waterway, if that's what it was, before looking back. He was just in time to see the massive, scarred body of the dragon queen surge into the canyon, actually becoming airborne for a few seconds due to her tremendous speed. It was a magnificent, horrific sight and Aeris felt a rush of fear as he tried to increase his own velocity and stay out of the reach of the monster.

  She landed with an earth-shaking crash, dirt and debris flying in all directions and sending a cloud of dust shooting down the canyon. The cloud engulfed A
eris and he was blinded in an instant.

  He had no choice. Without his sense of sight and with an enraged giant wyrm on his tail, Aeris knew that he wouldn't survive more than a few seconds if he became disoriented. So he did the only thing he could do; he turned invisible and shot straight up out of the arroyo to safety.

  It was very close though. He actually felt the searing, magical breath of the queen on his back and heard her immense stomach gurgling as he flew out of range. It was one of the most terrifying situations he'd ever been through and not something he intended to repeat.

  When he was about two hundred feet above the ground, Aeris became visible again and looked down.

  The mad queen had already traversed the arroyo and was racing off mindlessly toward the horizon, probably still unaware that her prey had escaped. Aeris felt a momentary pang of sympathy for her endless plight and then looked around for Brethia and Orriss.

  He saw both of them ascending to join him and he saw twin expressions of satisfaction on their faces. He felt a swoop of hope as he waited for them; maybe the plan had worked. At least they were all still alive.

  “Did you get it?” he asked Brethia eagerly when she arrived.

  She made a swirling motion with both hands and a glowing globule of green liquid appeared between them.

  “As ordered, a dram of dragon queen blood,” she replied with a wide smile. “She never even noticed the small wound I made between her scales. I had to be quick and precise, but I managed it.”

  Orriss cheered and Aeris congratulated Brethia heartily. She shrugged and shook her head.

  “We did it as a team, my friends,” she told them. “Our wizard will hopefully be pleased.”

  “I think we can be certain that Simon will be ecstatic,” Aeris assured her. “And, as we have been given permission to return when our mission was done, you can both teleport back to the tower as soon as you'd like.”

  “Excellent. I for one am tired of the endless sand of this place,” Orriss said.

  He disappeared with a small pop, leaving Aeris and Brethia to stare at the yellowish smudge in the distance that was the dragon queen.

  “Shouldn't one of us remain behind, to keep an eye on her?” Brethia asked.

  “If our wizard wants us to continue to track her, he'll send someone back,” Aeris replied, still watching the distant queen. “Personally, I agree with Orriss; I'm sick of this place.”

  “In some ways, she is a tragic creature, isn't she?” Brethia commented sympathetically, nodding at the smudge on the horizon.

  “She is indeed. But she's also one of the most dangerous monsters in the world. Either way though, she is no longer our concern and hopefully never will be again. Let's head back.”

  Brethia nodded and vanished.

  Aeris waited a final moment, looking around at the bleak landscape.

  By the Four Winds I hate the desert, was his last thought as he left for home with an enormous sense of relief.

  It was after sunset when a distant rumble of sound shook the tower lightly. Simon was sitting in front of the fireplace on the main floor, staring pensively into the flames. The evening wasn't cold but he found it easier to think while he watched the fire leap and snap as it burned.

  He sat up at the vibration that rippled through the building and listened carefully. Kronk, who had been pushing the logs around in the fireplace to get a better flame, jerked upright and looked at Simon.

  “Did you hear that, master?”

  “Felt it, actually. I think our wayward group of elementals is coming home.”

  Simon clenched his teeth and stuck his forefingers into his ears. He knew what was coming.

  Three flashes and three bangs of thunderous sound followed seconds later and he blinked back tears as his eyes throbbed from the blinding lights.

  He looked around and saw Aeris, Brethia and Orriss floating above the kitchen table.

  “We're back!” Aeris said cheerfully as Simon stood up and walked over to sit at the table.

  “You don't say,” he muttered as he wiped his eyes. “Could you not tone down that damned entrance once in a while? It's a bit overdone, don't you think?”

  “Please forgive us, lord,” Orriss said quickly. “It is not our choice. It's...”

  “Your ruler. Yeah, I know. Don't sweat it, guys. I'm just a bit cranky these days.”

  He managed to smile at Orriss and shook a finger at him.

  “And there's no need for that 'lord' stuff. Simon will do or, if you insist, sir wizard. Okay?”

  The elemental bowed while Aeris rolled his eyes and Brethia grinned.

  “Of course, sir wizard. I forgot.”

  “No problem. So I'm assuming you guys have good news?”

  Both of the male elementals turned and looked at Brethia, who smiled even more widely.

  “We do, sir wizard,” she replied and made an odd, hand-wringing motion.

  An orb about the size of an orange appeared between her hands, glowing with a greenish tinge that made it look diseased.

  “That's it?” Simon asked in a hushed voice.

  “It is. Frozen from our return trip, but that was the best way to transport it anyway.” She looked around. “Do you have some sort of container that I can put it into before it begins to thaw?”

  Simon stood up quickly and stepped over to the cupboards. He rummaged around for a few seconds and pulled out a large glass.

  “Here you go. Drop it in this,” he said as he put the glass on the table.

  Brethia lifted the frozen globule of blood a little higher and let it drop into the glass. It tinkled and bounced once, then settled to the bottom and began to slowly melt.

  Simon sat down again and stared at the glass for a moment, then looked at the elementals with a grin.

  “Guys, that was an amazing accomplishment. Really amazing.”

  The three of them seemed very pleased with themselves.

  “Thanks,” Aeris said. “Are we the first ones back?” he added hopefully.

  “I'm afraid not,” Simon told them and watched the three translucent faces fall.

  “Hey, come on, guys. Your job was so much harder than the others were. Incendus and Aethos had tough targets but the dragon queen is both incredibly powerful and insane. I'm actually surprised that you're back already, both with her blood and in one piece. Really remarkable.”

  His pep talk worked and the elementals cheered up immediately. Kronk, who had hopped up on to the table and was watching quietly, gave Simon a discreet wink.

  “We were happy to serve, sir wizard,” Brethia said. “May we now resume our post on the roof?”

  Simon looked at her and Orriss curiously.

  “Don't you two want some time off? Head home for a while maybe or whatever?”

  “Oh no, not at all,” Orriss told him quickly. “We enjoy keeping watch over your tower, sir wizard. And we will get a break because we share the duty.” He hesitated. “Unless you would like one of us to return to the desert keep track of the queen?”

  His distaste for that option was obvious and Simon had to laugh.

  “No, you've gone above and beyond the call on this mission. I'll summon another one of your people to take over that job.” The wizard grinned at their pleased expressions. “I'll feel more secure with your keen eyes up on the roof watching over my home.”

  Both of the elementals bowed and disappeared with twin pops. Aeris looked amused.

  “What are you grinning about?” Simon asked him as he picked up the glass and watched in disgusted fascination as the green blood continued to melt.

  “Just their enthusiasm. They love doing what they do.”

  “And you do not?” Kronk asked absently as he tapped over to Simon and examined the frozen blood.

  “Of course I do. But I prefer scouting or doing what I do now to standing watch day and night on the roof of this tower.”

  Simon turned the glass this way and that and then put it down on the table and wiped his hand unconscious
ly on his shirt, even though he hadn't actually touched the blood.

  “Can you imagine how old this stuff is?” he asked the others as he nodded at the green, viscous liquid. The blood had melted quickly.

  “Probably millions of years, master,” Kronk replied in obvious awe.

  He stroked the side of the glass, his hand clinking loudly against it.

  “It's just blood, you know,” Aeris said dismissively. “A dragon is a dragon.”

  “No real respect for history, hmm?”

  “I have a lot of respect for history, my dear wizard. What I don't have respect for is dragons. And if it wasn't for the queen, we would never have had the damned monsters in this world to begin with.”

  Kronk gave him a serious look.

  “Don't blame her. It was the lords of Chaos that created her to be the mother of her species. If anyone is to blame, it is them.”

  “Kronk's right. If we ever rid the world of the red dragons and the queen, we'll still have to deal with the evil gods.”

  “Well, good luck with that,” Aeris told him with his usual sarcasm.

  Simon had to smile.

  “Yeah, you're right. Good luck with that. Anyway,” he picked up the glass,” I'm going to put this downstairs with the other 'ingredients' and get it out of sight. It's a bit...”

  “Gross,” Aeris said with a firm nod.

  “Exactly. I'll be back in a minute.”

  The wizard walked over to the stairs and disappeared below. The two elementals watched him and then Kronk turned to Aeris.

  “Was it difficult?”

  Aeris floated off of the table and down to the front of the fireplace. Kronk dropped to the floor and joined him. Both of them sat and stared at the flames.

  “Difficult? Yes, I suppose it was. Exciting too, in a way, but that creature is so powerful and unpredictable that we came close to being destroyed more than once.”

  “Well, I am glad that you were not.”

  Aeris smiled at the earthen.

  “Thanks. I appreciate that. So now what? When will our wizard start this ceremony?”

  Kronk shrugged, the light from the fire casting shadows across his suddenly serious expression.