The Dragons of Ice and Snow

by J. J. Thompson

  When he was finished the story, he sipped his tea and watched Daniel digest the information he'd passed on.

  “So you think this paladin lied to you, and you think that it has something to do with a dragon? That doesn't make sense, Simon.”

  “I'm aware of that. And I don't think she lied, I know she did. It was confirmed by my friend Clara.”

  “Ah, yes. The cleric. Well, I can't help you with that, at least not yet. I will do some digging though, on paladins. See what I can turn up.”

  “Thanks, Daniel. That would be helpful.”

  “If I might make a suggestion?”

  “Of course.”

  “I know that your earth elemental friend can make lodestones. Perhaps he could create one for me and leave it near one of the entrances to the elvish realm? I can ask Ethmira or some other elf to retrieve it for me. That way, I can call you when I have any information.”

  Simon's eyes lit up.

  “Now that's a great idea! I'll mention it to him later. When he finds one, I'll give you a call and you can give him directions to where you want it delivered.”

  “Perfect.”

  Daniel rubbed a hand tiredly over his face.

  “And now I'll have to let you go. This old body of mine doesn't have the reserves that it used to, I'm afraid. I need to rest up.”

  “Are you okay?” Simon asked in sudden concern.

  His friend waved away his question.

  “Of course I am. Seeing you again, talking to you. I'm re-energized, believe me.” His smiled was tired but warm. “It is so good to have you back in my life, you know. I wanted to tell you that.”

  Simon's eyes misted over while Daniel cleared his throat, his voice thick with emotion.

  “Anyway, before I get too maudlin, let's wrap this up.”

  “Okay. Thank you for all your help,” Simon told him. “I'll talk to you soon.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  The wizard smiled one last time at his oldest friend and broke the spell.

  And then he sat back and stretched, his spine cracking like a bundle of old twigs.

  “You've learned quite a lot, sir wizard,” Ana told him as she moved back to the center of the table, Aeris floating along beside her.

  “That's for sure,” he replied and stared thoughtfully at the back of the mirror lying in front of him. He looked at the two elementals and smiled, feeling drained.

  “I can't tell you how happy talking to Daniel has made me. Not that I don't enjoy speaking with you guys,” he added hastily.

  Ana simply smiled while Aeris laughed lightly.

  “He is your friend, my dear wizard. Plus, he is directly responsible for saving your life, is he not?”

  Simon nodded.

  “Well then, why wouldn't you enjoy seeing him again? I also found his insights quite valuable.”

  “As did I,” the water elemental said.

  “Did you?”

  Simon got up, rinsed out his cup and put the kettle over the fire.

  “What did you hear that you found so interesting?” he asked them.

  “You mean, besides the fact that the amulet you found can track primal dragons?” Aeris asked archly with a sly grin.

  The wizard laughed quietly.

  “Yes, besides that.”

  “The fact that he was as mystified as we are about the paladin, Liliana, and her actions.”

  Aeris became somber and glanced at Ana.

  “We have spoken of it, you know. And Kronk, of course. I don't trust her, which you already know, but I, we, also have come to the conclusion that she isn't evil.”

  Simon poured hot water into his cup and made his tea. He nodded reflectively.

  “Yeah, me too. Her hatred for the dragons is too real. I think I'm focusing too much on the fact that she lied to me, when the important thing is that she is an ally against the darkness.”

  He sat down and sipped his tea.

  “It is possible that her powers are more like those of that amulet you found,” Ana said slowly as she watched him.

  He stared at her with some surprise.

  “Explain.”

  “She claimed to be a paladin when you met her, but what if her ability to heal and her fighting prowess are gifts that were bestowed by the magic to be used as she sees fit? Rather like your powers, sir wizard. You are good, this we know, but you could just as easily have turned your magic to evil purposes if you'd chosen to do that. Liliana may be like that.”

  “Really? I never thought of that,” Simon said with interest. “But wouldn't the gods of Light cut off my powers if I turned to evil?”

  “Not possible,” she stated flatly. “The magic flows from them, as it does from the dark gods. They cannot just stop it. You have always been free to use it as you've seen fit.”

  “Huh. I didn't know that. So if Liliana's powers are not clerical, but magical, then she could mimic a paladin and we'd never even know it.”

  “It's just a theory,” Aeris told him. “But yes, that is possible.”

  “I'll have to think that one over,” Simon said.

  He finished his tea and stood up.

  “I'm going out to the stables and talk to Kronk. I want him to find a lodestone as soon as he can. Now that I have a direct line of communication to Daniel, I want him to be able to contact me whenever he needs to.”

  Kronk was happy to search out a lodestone for Simon and left when he was done cleaning the stable. It took him an entire day to discover one and return and then Simon called his friend and made arrangements for the earthen to drop off half of the stone at a spot where the elven realm approached the Earth.

  And then there was nothing to do but wait. Things became quiet for Simon and his allies. He contacted the groups of Changlings around the world and found that they were doing well. There were no dragon attacks, no problems that required his help.

  Clara and her people were busy in their daily chores and living their lives and had nothing to report.

  Simon was left to practice his spells, work in his garden and try to be patient. It made him twitchy and a little short-tempered.

  The elementals, including Ana, began avoiding him whenever he was particularly cranky and eventually Kronk took him aside and mentioned it as diplomatically as possible.

  The wizard was embarrassed. He hadn't been aware of the black cloud that followed him everywhere and made a point of apologizing to each of the elementals in turn and did his best to stay upbeat and positive. It wasn't easy.

  The weather turned warm and bright and spring became more like summer, even though Simon was sure that it was no more than late April. But it improved his mood and made things around the tower more cheerful in general.

  The trees burst into new leaves, bright green grass covered the fields around the tower and birds filled the air with their song.

  Simon stood on the wall one early morning, looking out at the forest and breathed deeply. How could anyone not love this time of year, he thought.

  He was standing on the parapet that ran along the inside of the barrier and rested his elbows on top of the wall. He stared vaguely off into the distance, unaware that he was smiling contently.

  “You are looking happy this morning, master,” a voice from his left said.

  He glanced down at Kronk, who was looking up at him with an affectionate grin.

  “Am I? Yes, I suppose I am happy, my friend.”

  The earthen hopped up to the top of the wall and looked out over the bright green field. Simon followed his gaze and they stood in companionable silence for a time.

  “I'm guessing that this is the calm before the storm,” Simon said quietly as a gentle breeze blew his hair back behind him.

  Kronk just nodded silently.

  “The problem is, I think I've gone as far as I can go with my studies,” the wizard continued. “I've crammed my skull with as many spells as I possibly can. I've had no more 'divine hints' in my dreams that might lead me to new spells, so I
have nothing new to learn. And somehow, I think that my magic skills won't increase unless I'm actually using spells in battle. Casting a Fireball spell is easy if you aren't being threatened. It's only when you cast it in a fight, where you're moving and using tactics, that you learn more of the nuances of using magic.”

  “That is very true, master,” Kronk told him as he watched birds dip and weave above the forest. “I remember hearing something like that more than once, when apprentices were being trained.”

  He frowned as Simon watched him, looking like he was chasing a distant memory.

  “I was summoned by a young wizard once and, while I was in the practice room, his tutor took him to task about some boasting he had apparently been doing about his skill as a caster.”

  Kronk smiled a bit and glanced at the wizard.

  “The tutor stood there, hands on her hips, and glared at the young man. She said something about being untested in battle and that target dummies don't fight back.” He lighted lightly. “The apprentice became quite red, as I recall.”

  Simon grinned at him.

  “I can imagine. But that just confirms what I've been thinking. I can cast that Blizzard spell and kill all kinds of innocent grass and weeds but until I confront a dragon and use it for real, it doesn't really matter.”

  They became silent and spent some time just enjoying the day.

  Things changed later that afternoon. Simon was in the basement, picking out some potatoes that he'd stored there in the autumn, when a vibration in his pocket caused him to drop the handful he'd chosen.

  The potatoes rolled in all directions and he muttered a curse as he groped for the offending lodestone. He assumed that Clara was getting in touch for a chat, which immediately changed his mood. He always enjoyed their talks.

  But when he pulled out the lodestone, from the three that he always carried with him now, he was in for a surprise.

  All of the lodestones were the size and shape of small eggs, flat on one side where Kronk had split them in two. Clara's stone was light blue with veins of silver. Daniel's lodestone was a beautiful clear crystal; it looked like a frozen teardrop.

  But it was the last lodestone that was vibrating and suddenly warm to the touch. It was a deep red, roughly cut and shot through with veins of yellow. Liliana's stone.

  Simon felt his stomach clench with surprise and some fear. It had been weeks since he'd left Moscow. He'd thought about the paladin many times since then, but had increasingly begun to believe that she might never get in touch again.

  Perhaps she'd been killed. Or maybe her vengeance was so all-consuming that she would never ask for help now, no matter what.

  But here she was, signaling him that she wanted to talk, and Simon found himself unnerved.

  The wizard hastily picked up the scattered spuds and raced up the stairs. He dumped them into the kitchen sink, wiped off his hands and then sat down at the table.

  He picked up the mirror and waited a minute for his heart to slow down. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself. It wouldn't do any good to speak with the paladin when he was flustered and out of breath.

  As he sat there, working up the nerve to make the call, Aeris floated into the room from outside, crossed to the table and stared at him curiously.

  “Calling someone?” he asked casually and nodded at the mirror.

  “Yeah. Liliana. Her lodestone just started vibrating.”

  Aeris gasped, his eyes wide.

  “She's finally made contact? Oh my.”

  “Oh my indeed.” Simon swallowed, cleared his throat and chanted the Magic Mirror spell.

  He exchanged a nervous look with the elemental, who smiled thinly at him, and then invoked the spell.

  The mirror fogged over and Aeris quickly floated around to watch from beside Simon's shoulder.

  The mist lifted and a scene came into focus that made Simon sit up and lean forward, staring in horror.

  Liliana was propped up against a broken wall. Her legs were splayed out in front of her and she held her sword in both hands. The end had been snapped off, leaving a jagged point of metal that gleamed dully.

  Her armor was drenched with greenish blood and slashed in numerous places. She was staring blankly at something beyond Simon's vision and he made a gesture that pulled back the view to show more of the area where she lay.

  A hulk, gray and armored, was sprawled several feet away from the paladin. The wizard recognized it as a drake. Its whitish-gray hide was covered with gaping wounds and its eyes gazed unseeingly at Liliana. The tip of her sword jutted out from its sloping forehead.

  Simon brought the view back tightly on the armored figure and he hissed as he saw the extent of her wounds. If it wasn't for her slow, gasping breaths and the occasional blink of her eyes, he would have assumed that she was dead.

  “Liliana? Can you hear me? It's Simon.”

  For a moment, there was no movement from the paladin. But she finally raised her head slowly and looked around.

  “Ah, sir wizard. You got my signal, I see.”

  “I did. What's happened? Wait, that was a stupid question. Are you in danger? What can I do?”

  The ghost of a smile flickered across her face.

  “Do? Nothing, I think. I am being stalked by another one of these.”

  She nodded once at the body of the drake.

  “They hunt in packs. I made the mistake of miscounting this bunch. I thought there were only four of them. Heh. It turns out that there were a pair following behind the others. They split up and this one jumped me.”

  She paused to take a deep breath and then began coughing. Simon watched in horror as she spit out a mouthful of blood.

  “As you can see, I disposed of this beast,” she said once she'd caught her breath. “Unfortunately, its partner is still out there, searching. It will find me soon enough. If I was given the time, I could heal myself. But I do not believe that I'll be given that opportunity.”

  Simon leaped to his feet.

  “Hang on, Liliana. I'm coming now.”

  She sat up and then gasped in pain.

  “Don't be absurd, wizard. It is too late for me. By the time you get here, I will probably be dead, either from my wounds or that last drake. Or both. I just wanted to speak with someone one last time. It seems such a...waste to die unknown and alone, don't you think? I wanted at least one person to know that I had lived, and how I died.”

  “No! Don't talk like that! I can be there in a few minutes. I can Gate you out and Clara can heal you.”

  “That I will not allow,” the paladin said in a weak but firm voice. “I will not leave my home, even at the cost of my life. Moscow is under my protection, and I will protect her until the end.”

  Simon picked up his spell-book and slipped it into a pocket. Then he strode across the room and grabbed his staff.

  “Fine. Then you'd better be good at healing, because I'm going to give you the time to do that.”

  “What? What are you...”

  “See you soon,” he said and tossed the mirror on to his sofa. Then he quickly chanted the Gate spell.

  “Simon! What are you doing?” Aeris cried.

  “What I have to,” he replied shortly. “Wish me luck.”

  He invoked the spell and the room began to fade.

  “But...” was the last thing he heard from Aeris before the world went black.

  Chapter 14

  As the black of the void faded into the world of sight and sound again, Simon gagged at the stench of rotting, putrid flesh.

  He was standing within a few feet of the body of the drake. For some reason, the corpse was rotting quickly and the open wounds were green and running with sticky fluids. The smell was gut-churning.

  He looked around quickly and spotted Liliana. As he hurried toward her, the paladin raised her sword, as if she had been drifting out of consciousness and was startled by his movement.

  When she recognized him, Liliana let her weapon drop again and looked at him
in pained disbelief.

  “You're here,” she said faintly.

  “Of course I'm here,” he said, trying to smile. “Did you think I'd just leave you to die? I don't do that to my friends.”

  He knelt down next to her and dropped his staff while he examined her wounds.

  They looked bad. The worst was a deep cut across her stomach where the armor had been ripped away. It was still leaking blood and Liliana had her hand pressed tightly against it.

  Simon looked around. The paladin had made her stand in the remnants of a destroyed building. Part of the roof covered her where she lay, while the rest had been burned away. The ground was covered in rubble, pieces of broken cement and pools of melted glass. There was nothing he could use to stop the bleeding and he growled in frustration.

  He bent down and tore a strip of cloth off of the bottom of his robe about six inches wide. He folded it quickly and then held it up so that the paladin could see it.

  “Would you lift your hand for a second? I'll put this over the wound. It should at least slow the bleeding a bit.”

  “Ah, thank you. That will help.”

  She dropped her bloody hand and Simon squatted down next to her and gently covered the injury with the folded-up piece of cloth, trying not to stare at the raw lips of the open wound.

  Liliana put her hand on top of the bandage and sighed with obvious relief.

  “That is much better. Thank you.”

  Simon nodded and then looked at the dead drake.

  “Have you heard anything from the other beast?”

  “Not yet, but I am sure that it's close. Their sense of smell is excellent. It will easily follow the trail of the one that I killed.”

  “No sign of dragons?”

  She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

  “None. The drakes were set loose and left to hunt. As far as the dragons are concerned, I'd guess that they think I'll be taken care of by their servants. They may be right.”

  “They aren't,” Simon said angrily and she opened her eyes in surprise at his vehemence.

  “We need you, Liliana. This city, this world, needs you. I have few enough allies in my fight with the damned dragons and I've lost too many as it is. I'm not losing any more.”