Sebastian frowned at his sister and she scowled.
“What? It's hard for me to keep track! We've got how many living here now? Thirty? I can't be expected to remember everyone's face and name.”
“Twenty-seven. A good leader...” Sebastian began to say, but Tamara cut him off.
“I don't need another lecture about leadership, thank you. I know everyone loves you and hates me and, frankly, I don't care. The only reason they expect us to lead is because of our magic. Take that away from us and someone else would run this show, which would be just fine by me.”
“Sorry, folks, don't mean to interrupt or anything,” Simon said, trying to be delicate. “But did you say that you've lost some people?”
Tamara motioned for her brother to speak and he nodded.
“Yes. Five people in the past seven weeks. Two pairs that went out on patrol and never returned and one guy, Andrew I believe his name was, who went scavenging and didn't come back.”
“Did you look for them?”
“Of course! There aren't so many of us that we can afford to lose a single soul. But there was nothing. No blood, no bodies. It's like they were just plucked...”
His voice trailed off and Sebastian looked at Simon with horror.
“Oh no. You don't think...”
“That they were snatched by dragons?” Tamara interjected harshly. “Well, if he doesn't, I sure as hell do.”
She gave her brother a firm push on his shoulder.
“Get out there and warn each of them. No more patrols right now. No more scavenging or wandering. I want everyone to stay close until further notice.”
Sebastian was nodding but he hesitated before leaving.
“They're going to want to know why, Tammy.”
His sister snorted with irritation.
“Fine. Tell them that we've gotten word from our allies,” she nodded toward Simon, “that the dragons have started sending drakes in on the ground, to search the ruined cities. Since that's probably what's happening anyway, you won't have to lie. Just don't tell them the real reason that we're being hunted.”
“Got it. Okay. Take care, Simon. If you need our help, let us know.”
The young man waved and left the wizard's sight.
“Good call,” he told Tamara, who just shrugged.
“I may not enjoy leading or remember their names, but humanity's ranks are getting pretty thin and we can't afford any more losses. Especially if they end up like those up north.”
“Agreed.”
Simon pushed back his hair and looked at each person, one at a time.
Liliana had stopped pacing and was sitting down again, watching and listening with narrowed eyes. Clara had wiped her eyes and now seemed to be waiting to see what was going to happen next.
Tamara was back to staring coldly out of her mirror, while Daniel still appeared to be in shock.
“How you hanging in there, old man?” Simon asked him with a weak smile.
“By a thread, old buddy,” his friend replied in a subdued voice. “Bad enough that the dragons are mutating into humanoid shape, but using Changlings to do it? Well, all I can say is that if anyone thought that the lords of Chaos were anything but evil, this should settle things for them.”
“I never doubted it,” he replied.
Simon leaned forward and tried to watch everyone at once.
“Folks, I called you all at the same time for one reason. I need help. We need help; the human race, or what's left of it. This has got to stop, right now. I think that we've all accepted the fact that we're fighting against gods, and dragons, and monsters, and whatever the hell else this New Earth has to throw at us. We're trying to survive in an insane world where reality keeps changing, where technology is gone and magic rules the day. And I get that. I do. I watch the skies like all of you, waiting for the next attack, trying to strike back when and where I can. And if I die in that fight, well, so be it.”
He hesitated and rubbed his eyes. All he could see was that sad, lost group of people bundled up against the cold and waiting for their fate. Waiting to be turned into monsters.
“But this?” he carried on, his expression bitter and his mismatched eyes glowing. “This...abomination cannot be allowed to continue! So I need ideas, people. Suggestions. A plan of attack. Anything. Because one way or another, I'm going up there to try and stop it.”
He paused again, his shoulders slumping, looking, if he'd known it, as vulnerable as the young teenager he appeared to be.
“I need your help,” he added simply.
There was a long moment of silence.
“Of course we'll help you, Simon,” Daniel said finally. “I've met with the Elders since you and I last spoke of this. There are some elves who want to join the fight, your friend Ethmira among them. I think we can promise you at least fifty archers to aid in your attack.”
He winked as Simon caught his eye.
“You just tell them when and where to meet you and they'll be there, I promise you.”
“Thanks, Daniel. I didn't expect the elves to get involved in this, but I'll gratefully accept their help.”
His old friend nodded and smiled grimly.
“So let me get this straight,” Tamara said stiffly, her expression still cool. “You are going to attack this mutated primal white dragon?”
“I am.”
“And how many dragons are up on that mesa? Dozens? Hundreds? Besides this unholy magic that the primal can use, and that Gate spell, what else can it do? Can it cast other spells? Can it Gate in reinforcements if it's attacked? Does it have any weaknesses?”
“I don't know.”
“Is there a way up to the top of that mesa or do we need to sprout wings? Will the prisoners even be alive once you attack or will they already have been turned into monsters? Or will they be killed the moment you appear to save them?”
“All good questions,” Simon said levelly.
“Look, if you don't have the stomach for this, why not just say so instead of attacking the one person on Earth who has actually killed a primal dragon?” Liliana asked, her voice as sharp as glass. “Two, in fact. If you want to stay in your city and protect your people, that's fine. We'll do this without you.”
“We?” Simon looked at the paladin, startled.
“Of course we. These beasts have taken my people, used perverted magic to alter them, changed them into monsters.”
She looked around the empty room she was sitting in. Simon thought it looked like a destroyed shop of some kind. Liliana was sitting on a stool in front of a counter.
“I am alone now,” she said with a suspicious catch in her voice. “I can no longer protect my people, but by the gods, I can avenge them.”
“Thank you, my friend,” Simon said gently. “If nothing else, we'll give them a fight to remember.”
“That we will.”
She stood up stiffly.
“Call me when you are ready, Simon. I want to be alone until then. Thank you for the opportunity to take the fight to the dragons.”
“Thank you for agreeing to help. It will be no more than a few days before we strike. Be ready.”
“I shall be.”
Simon waved a hand across the sheet of mica and watched the paladin's face fade away.
“Clara,” he said, “I called you because I wanted to keep you in the loop. At the moment, Nottinghill is in no danger, as far as we know. If you have any ideas that might help though, I'm all ears.”
The cleric looked at him compassionately and smiled a bit.
“I'm no tactician, as you know. I can't help plan an attack that I honestly think is futile.”
She held up a hand as Simon began to protest.
“I'm not saying that you're going to fail. I would have said the same thing when you took on the primal green dragon. And I certainly thought it when we faced the leader of the black dragons. So perhaps my doubt is a good luck charm.” She winked. “I hope so anyway.”
Simon h
ad to chuckle.
“I do too.”
“But I do have two things to offer. The first is that if you somehow manage to rescue any captives up there, Gate them back here. I will do my best to heal them. I think the gods of Light will be generous with their healing power for victims of draconic torture.”
“Thanks, I appreciate the offer. What's the second thing?”
The cleric looked past Simon and waved at someone. He involuntarily looked over his shoulder and then reddened. Obviously she had been signaling someone on her end of the communication spell.
A moment later, Clara was almost crowded out of the mirror's view by a handsome black face grinning broadly.
“Good day, sir wizard,” Malcolm said heartily. “I hear you're planning a little hunting trip.”
Simon had to laugh at the warrior's choice of words.
“Yes, you could say that. How are you? And how's Aiden?”
“Good as gold, thanks to you and our fearless leader here.”
“Now Malcolm,” Clara said sternly.
“Oh, come on, lady cleric. You are our leader, like it or not. Now accept the term graciously. It's much more lady-like,” he added, giving her a wide-eyed look of admiration.
Clara made a retching sound.
“Lady-like, my butt! I've never been a lady, thank you very much. At any rate, we can discuss this later. You and Simon need to talk.”
“We certainly do,” the big man said, becoming serious.
Simon watched as the cleric handed her mirror over and moved aside to let him speak face-to-face with Malcolm.
“So what can I do for you, my friend?” the wizard asked. He glanced quickly at the other two mirrors. Daniel was writing furiously while Tamara was listening to someone whispering in her ear. He looked back at the big man and nodded.
“Sorry, we're on a four-way conversation here. What's up?”
“We want to join your attack on the dragons,” the man said bluntly. “I've been eavesdropping during your meeting, with Clara's permission by the way, and I think you could use a couple of able warriors.”
Simon looked at him closely.
“Did you hear the part about twelve foot tall dragonoids? And a humanoid primal white dragon? That didn't escape your attention, did it?”
Malcolm grinned.
“That was the best part. Look, sir wizard, you can use all the help you can get, right? Aiden and I wear enchanted armor. It's fireproof, among other things. Our weapons can cut through steel. I'm guessing that they'll have the same effect on dragon scales. And, just in case you've forgotten, unless those dragons are using silver weapons, we can't be killed.”
Simon sat back and held up both hands.
“Whoa there, Malcolm. I suspect that dragon-fire could reduce even lycanthropes to ash if a blast hit your directly.”
“So we'll be sure to duck. Simon, you need us. Now be polite and say yes. Don't make the two of us slog all the way to your tower and camp by the gate until you let us in. I warn you, we'll sing.” He frowned. “I actually like Aiden's singing but he has reduced people to tears and it wasn't because of the love song he was screeching at the time.”
The wizard broke up. He just couldn't help it. He began to laugh and caught a glimpse of Tamara's almost scandalized expression. It only made things worse.
“I'm...I'm sorry, everyone,” he gasped finally, wiping his eyes. “Malcolm, that was just mean.”
The big man grinned.
“Okay, okay. Fine. You can come along. Did you need me to Gate down and get you or...”
“Not at all. I know you need a few days to prepare. We'll get our stuff together and join you two days from now. Is that enough time?”
“It had better be,” Simon told him, the laughter dying in his throat. “Those people may or may not still be alive, but the dragons are probably capturing others as we speak. This has gone on long enough.”
“Good. We'll see you then. Clara's waving goodbye from the other side of the room, so you go ahead and deal with the others. And Simon? Thank you for this.”
“Don't thank me,” the wizard said, shaking his head. “The odds are against us and, if anyone falls, it's on me.”
“No it isn't. We're volunteers. Remember that. Take care.”
The wizard cut the connection and looked at Daniel and Tamara.
“Old friend,” he said. “I'll call you in two days, my time. Aeris will give me the coordinates of that mesa and I'll relay them on to you. Hopefully there's an entrance nearby from your world to ours.”
“That sounds good,” Daniel replied. “Get some rest while you can. You're looking a little pale.”
“Thanks, I will. Talk to you soon.”
At Daniel's smile and nod, the wizard canceled the spell.
“And then there was one,” Tamara said dryly.
“True. So as you've heard, I've got some help in the upcoming, what shall we call it? Battle? Rescue mission? Both, I suppose. You and your brother take care. Whether this works or not, the dragons are really going to be pissed. Keep your people undercover for a while until things calm down again.”
Simon raised a hand to cancel the spell and the woman sat up abruptly.
“Hang on a second there, mister wizard! You mean, after this lovely chat between friends that you aren't going to ask for our help?”
The wizard looked at her in confusion.
“I thought I already had?”
“Well, okay, technically maybe. But that paladin spoke before I had a chance to clarify my position. Sir wizard, I brought up the dangers that we are facing because we must go into this venture with our eyes wide open. You've fought dragons, including the two primals that you struck down. Good job, by the way.”
“Um, thanks?”
“You're welcome. Anyway, if you want my input, after hearing about what you saw through you little friend's eyes there,” she smiled a bit at Aeris, who returned it, looking startled, “then here it is. I think that the top of that mesa has been covered with a spell nullifying magic.”
“Nullifying...really?” Simon frowned in thought. “I hadn't thought of that. It's certainly possible, I suppose.”
“More than possible. I know that your powers are geared toward dealing with the elements, and elementals. Mages, on the other hand, do things a bit differently. I can cast a spell to block magic. So can my brother. So we are familiar with such things.”
“And?”
“And, I think that it is quite likely that you won't be able to Gate in and attack those dragonoids, or whatever you call them.”
Simon felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.
“Oh. Oh damn. Well, maybe there's a trail or somewhere we could climb up.”
“There isn't,” Aeris said reluctantly. “And before you jump down my throat, I didn't tell you because it didn't seem important at the time. I circled the entire mountain before you contacted me. It's basic scouting, after all. Besides, I was bored. It is sheer all the way up on all sides. And the sides rise up almost a thousand feet, give or take.”
“You look a little woozy, wizard,” Tamara said, sounding amused. “Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll think of some way to get us up there.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Simon said, thinking hard. “Let's hope it's not misplaced.”
“Let's hope. But supposing you do find a way to reach the top, there is still the matter of the null spell. If it is active, the dragons will still have their breath weapons, not to mention their fangs and claws. And if, as I suspect, that primal dragon is the one who cast the nullifying spell in the first place, it will be able to use its magic against us.”
“Great. This just keeps getting better.”
Tamara leaned forward until her face was almost touching the mirror on her side. The wizard barely noticed as his mind seemed to be going in twenty different directions at once. He felt like a hamster on a wheel, spinning in place.
“Simon!” the mage shouted.
&nb
sp; Simon flung himself back on his chair and almost tipped over, while Aeris actually shot across the room in surprise.
“Holy crap, Tamara! What was that for?” he asked shakily.
“To get your attention. I think you were on the verge of having a panic attack.”
“Is that what that was? I've never had one. Ugh.”
“Okay, are you back with me now?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you.”
“Great. Now then, here is my suggestion. By the way, you're going to hate it.”
“Oh goody. Don't want to get my hopes up, I suppose.”
“I'm glad you're keeping your sense of humor. You'll need it. So, if you do manage to get to the top of that mesa, you're going to have to do something to get the primal's attention. You are going to have to divert it so that the null spell is broken and then you'll have to keep its focus on you until the rest of us arrive.”
“You're right, I hate it. So, let me see if I'm getting this. You want me to go to the top of dragon central, somehow, then do something to get the primal dragon's attention, like, oh maybe juggle some balls or something, and then keep it focused squarely on me until the cavalry arrives. Does that about cover it?”
Tamara folded her arms and stared at him directly.
“That just about does it, yes.”
“And if I can do that, you and your brother will lend us a hand?”
“Precisely.”
Simon looked at Aeris who was floating cautiously back to the table. The elemental was out of Tamara's line of sight and was shaking his head frantically. The wizard smiled at him and looked back at the mage.
“You've got yourself a deal.”
Chapter 25
“Are you out of your mind?”
Simon was sitting in his easy chair in front of the fire, his bare feet on a ragged old ottoman that he'd had for years, since his days before the dragons came. His eyes were closed and he was trying to think. It wasn't easy.
“How many times are you going to ask me that?” he said as he leaned his head back against the chair. “I've already said yes about ten times.”
“I know that. Obviously you aren't taking this plan of yours, to attack the primal white dragon, very seriously.”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 111