“I'm hoping that one will destroy the other,” he said as he looked back at the battle.
“Doubtful, Simon. They are blasting each other with fire, which does no damage to a red dragon. Unless they grapple and use their fangs and claws, I'm guessing that eventually they will exhaust themselves and return to harass us again.”
Simon sighed and nodded. He stooped to pick up the staff and then continued to watch the fight.
“Good job of distracting them, by the way,” Aeris told him and Simon smiled a bit.
“Thanks. High praise from you. But you're right. This is a respite. Now I have to figure out a more permanent solution.”
He turned to look directly at the air elemental.
“Any ideas?”
“You're asking me?” Aeris looked surprised. At Simon's nod, the little guy looked up at the dragons speculatively.
“Hmm, if they were full-sized dragons, like the black, you would have no chance. However, I think I might have an idea, especially if only one of them survives this fight. And now, I think that is likely.”
He pointed upward.
“Look, the fools have allowed their battle to escalate.”
Simon snapped his gaze up at the distant flapping shapes. Aeris was right! They had stopped flinging fire at each other and were grappling, beating their wings frantically as they tore at each other.
“My God, they're vicious,” he said.
“They are that,” Aeris agreed. “Now, while they're busy, here is my thought.”
Simon looked at him hopefully.
“You used the Ice Storm spell against the servants of the black, those damnable drakes, to great effect. I remember a spell, called Ice Spear, that was similar to that spell, but in a more concentrated form.”
“Ice Spear?” Simon went through the spells in his mind and then shook his head.
“Nothing like that in my memory. I thought the gods of Light had given me every master-class wizard spell there was.”
Aeris snorted, a small puff of wind.
“They may have, my dear wizard, but Ice Spear is an adaptation of the original Ice Storm spell. As I understand it, a wizard can chant the spell, mold it to what he wants it to be in his head, and then invoke it.”
“Really? Wow, that could be very useful.”
Simon began to imagine what he could do with some other spells using the same method when Aeris cleared his throat rather loudly.
“Um, have you forgotten our immediate problem?” he asked pointedly and glanced upward.
With a deep blush, Simon quickly looked up to locate the fighting dragons.
There they were, west of the tower and rising as they fought. It was impossible to tell which one was winning from that distance, but they were still slashing and tearing at each other and it looked like the battle would last for some time.
“I'm heading for the roof,” he told Aeris and hurried toward the front door.
“Very well,” the elemental replied as he began to rise. “I'll meet you there.”
Simon raced into the tower and, when he reached the stairs, called down to the basement.
“Kronk? How are you guys holding up?”
“We're fine, master,” the earth elemental's voice drifted up from below. “How goes the battle?”
“I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know.”
And Simon hurried up the stairs without waiting for Kronk's reply.
When he reached the trapdoor leading up to the roof, Simon had to brace it with his shoulders and push with all of his strength. The door was obviously frozen tight in the frigid winter air. The dragons' fire must have melted the snow on the roof into ice and it took all he had to force it open.
Finally, with a shattering sound like breaking glass, the trapdoor let go and flew upward, allowing the wizard to climb up and outside.
He closed the door and stood up to search for the dragons.
The icy-blue winter sky was cloudless, but he had trouble seeing anything with the sun reflecting off of the several inches of snow and ice that had built up on the roof. He scanned the horizon frantically, hoping briefly that the monsters might have killed each other.
“And we have a winner, I believe,” Aeris said and Simon turned to look at him where he floated atop the parapet.
The elemental pointed up and over the wizard's shoulder and he turned to look in that direction.
“Oh my God,” he said in disbelief.
The dragons had risen so high that they were the size of flies in the distance. As Simon watched, one of them began to tumble toward the ground, a trail of sooty black smoke marking its path downward. It picked up speed as it fell and then with a flash of red and yellow, burst into flames, becoming a meteor streaking to its doom.
“I think we may be in more trouble now than we were before,” Aeris observed nervously.
“What do you mean?” Simon asked as he watched the surviving dragon flapping its wings as it hovered, its hideous head dipping down to observe its fallen foe.
“I mean that the beast is flush with victory and filled with rage. Instead of circling the tower and breathing fire at it, the dragon may attack the structure directly. And I doubt if Kronk and the others will be able to hold it together under that onslaught.”
“Oh great,” the wizard muttered. His breath caught in his throat then as the dragon spun around and began to beat its wings strongly as it raced back toward the tower.
“Here it comes,” Aeris commented unnecessarily.
“Yeah, thanks, I can see that.”
Simon found the Ice Storm spell in his list of incantations and hurriedly spoke the words. Bene-Dunn-Gal took its payment and the wizard grimaced at the pain of the new wound in his palm.
“Don't get greedy,” he told the staff and gave it a hard shake. A sound, almost like a snicker, came from the weapon.
“Whatever you're going to do, I suggest you hurry.”
Aeris sounded frightened and Simon couldn't blame him.
The dragon had gone from fly-sized to seagull-sized in a matter of seconds. It was bearing down on them like a runaway freight train and Simon could picture it slamming into the tower at that speed and smashing the building to pieces.
Okay, he thought. I need to reshape the Ice Storm spell before I trigger it.
He reached out in thought and molded the power that hovered around him, the spell that waited only for the word of command to be invoked. He tried to picture a single long shaft with a razor-sharp point at one end.
Crystal, he thought. Think of it as if it was made of crystal.
The image became clear in his mind and he held it, feeling its latent power, and waited for his chance.
“Simon!” Aeris cried suddenly. “What are you waiting for? Cast the spell!”
The dragon was almost upon them. It was as long as two tractor-trailers parked end to end and its massive head, eyes blazing, was aimed straight at the wizard.
“Wait,” he muttered to the elemental. “I only have one shot.”
“Then shoot, damn it!” Aeris yelled.
“Not yet,” Simon said between tight lips. “Not yet. It has to be right on top of us.”
“It is on top of us! What do you plan to do, kiss it? Shoot the beast!”
The dragon was no more that a dozen yards away and Simon could see its gaping maw opening. Down that ragged throat, a bubble of pure red flame was expanding, shooting forward to engulf him.
“Invectis!” he shouted as he pointed the staff directly at that mouth full of six inch fangs.
The scream of the Ice Spear as it shot from the end of Bene-Dunn-Gal toward the dragon was painfully loud and Simon flinched at the sound, his ears going numb.
The spear, glowing even more brightly than the reflected sun off of the surrounding snow, flew across the gulf between the wizard and the dragon, leaving a trail of smokey frost in the air, and shot down the dragon's throat.
The beast suddenly sheered away, its wings flapping frantically as
it screamed in mortal agony. The Ice Spear had shot through its internal organs, ripped through its guts and burst out of its body, melting into a puff of red-tinged steam.
The dragon rolled over on to its back and then somersaulted downward, narrowly missing the tower as it slammed into the wall below. It gave out one final screech of torment and then exploded, melting the snow around it and setting the dead grass beneath it ablaze.
Simon had ducked below the parapet as the beast burst into flames and waited for a few minutes before cautiously raising his head high enough to check on the remains below.
Except for the shattered section of the wall and a depression in the ground that was rapidly filling with water from the melted snow, there was nothing left to indicate that the creature had ever existed.
Simon stared at the destruction and then turned to look at Aeris.
“Is that what normally happens when a dragon dies?” he asked as he pointed a shaking finger at the broken wall.
Aeris flew up and regarded the damage. Then he shrugged.
“I have no idea, my dear wizard. As I've told you before, the dragons had been exiled long before I was summoned by the ancient wizards. I don't recall anyone mentioning them disintegrating when they died but, with all that internal heat, it's not that surprising.”
“Yeah? Maybe not to you.”
Simon leaned the staff against the parapet, wiped the blood from his palm on to his robe and ran his fingers through his hair.
“I think that was even scarier than facing the black,” he said as he dabbed a film of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Even in the bitter cold, he was soaked with it.
“Closer to home,” Aeris said wisely. “And speaking of home, you'd better get back inside before you catch a chill. You aren't as hearty as you were back in the old days.”
“Thanks Mom,” Simon said with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed the staff and then lifted the heavy trapdoor just enough to slip inside.
Aeris flew by as he let it slam shut.
“Could you lock the door, please?” he asked the elemental. “I'm going to tell Kronk about what's happened and see if he and his friends can repair the wall while they're still here.”
“Ah, excellent idea. Go ahead down then. I'll be there in a minute.”
Simon nodded and walked carefully down the steep stairs. His knees were still wobbly from the fight and he didn't want to trip and break his neck.
Chapter 2
The earth elementals were quite happy to have helped brace the tower against the dragons' attack and equally thrilled to repair the damaged wall. Once they had cheerfully gone outside to start working, Simon set his kettle over the fire in the fireplace to boil, made some tea and collapsed on to a kitchen chair.
Aeris popped into sight and flew across the room to stare at him closely. He raised an eyebrow.
“How are you doing, my dear wizard?” he asked curiously.
Simon closed his eyes tiredly.
“I'm beat, to be honest. Suddenly being attacked in the middle of winter will do that to you, I guess. I've been sitting here trying to figure out if you were right, about the gods of Chaos taking revenge on me personally.”
He opened his eyes and looked anxiously at the elemental.
“It's a disturbing thought, having these 'gods' knowing about me. If it's true, then the question is, what's next?”
Aeris nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully.
“Yes, I agree that it is troubling. I think perhaps you should ask for some advice from someone closer to the source than myself.”
“Someone closer to...” Simon's eye's widened. “Clara? Of course. Why didn't I think of that?”
The little misty figure chuckled, not unkindly.
“You've been a bit distracted. But a cleric might have some insights that a wizard would not.”
Simon dug into a pocket of his robe and pulled out a rounded piece of stone, gray in color, with small sparkles of crystal glinting in the candlelight.
“She hasn't used the lodestone to get my attention for a while, so I suppose things are fine at her village, but...”
He almost dropped the stone as it suddenly vibrated in his hand, glowing with a ghostly pale light.
“Apparently great minds think alike,” Aeris commented dryly.
“Hmm, maybe.”
Simon put the stone back in his pocket, easily thought of the incantation for Magic Mouth and cast the spell.
“Clara? Are you there?” he asked aloud as he stared vaguely across the room. He took a sip of tea as he waited for her reply.
“Simon? Oh, thank the gods you're okay,” he heard the cleric say.
He frowned at her worried tone.
“Sure, I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?”
“Because I had a vision, just a few moments ago. The gods of Justice warned me that you would be punished for your destruction of the black dragon by the dark gods. I'm actually surprised that it took them two months to react to its death. Apparently it takes some time for news like that to reach them in the Void.”
“Just as well,” Simon muttered. “Anyway, your news is a bit late, Clara. We were attacked earlier today.”
“Attacked?” She sounded surprised. “But that's not...what attacked you?”
“A pair of dragons, believe it or not.”
Simon told the cleric about the assault and, when he was done, she sounded both relieved and confused.
“I'm happy that you and your two companions are safe, my friend, but I'm a little mystified. The warning from the gods didn't mention an attack. It sounds rather petty, doesn't it?”
Simon flicked a glance at Aeris, who was listening to the one-sided conversation with interest.
“Yes, it does. But Aeris has mentioned before that these dark gods are like that; petty, vengeful, almost child-like in their responses.”
“They are indeed. But don't let that lull you into letting your guard down, Simon. They are still ancient and powerful.”
“I won't, believe me. So, if you weren't warned of the attack, what did those gods of Justice say their opponents would do?”
Clara sounded a little amused.
“They are never that specific, my friend. All of these visions are couched in allegory and symbolism. But what I took out of it was that their vengeance would be more personal. The dragon attack seems so, I don't know, random maybe.”
Simon had to laugh.
“Well, it sure seemed personal to me! Anyway, meaning no offense but maybe you misunderstood the vision? Like you said, allegory can be misinterpreted, right?”
“Yes, of course it can.” She sighed. “You're probably right. I hope you are. So, putting that aside for the moment, how are you, Aeris and Kronk doing this winter? Anything you need in the way of supplies or whatever?”
Simon sipped his tea and smiled.
“We're good, thanks. Kronk and Aeris can almost complete an entire conversation now without fighting.”
“Hey, wait a second!” Aeris cut in. “We're quite civil with each other now.”
“That's what I just said,” Simon told him with a grin.
The elemental snorted in disgust but didn't respond.
“They didn't agree?” Clara asked, sounding amused. She could only hear Simon when he spoke using the Magic Mouth spell and he could only hear her.
“Something like that. At any rate, we're fine. I have enough supplies down in the cellar to last the winter and then some. I hope you and your people are doing as well?”
Clara began to speak but her voice started to fade in and out suddenly, as if he was listening to a radio signal that was beginning to lose its strength.
“I'm sorry, Clara, could you repeat that?” he asked, confused. He had never experienced a 'signal loss' using Magic Mouth before.
“Simon? I can barely hear you. What's going...”
Her voice faded out again.
“Clara? Clara, can you hear me?” he asked loudly. There was no response.<
br />
“Well, that's weird,” Simon said to Aeris.
“What's weird?”
“The Magic Mouth spell. It just sort of...lost power. I didn't know that could happen.”
A loud clunk made the wizard look across the room, just in time to see Kronk push the door closed behind him, jump up and slide the bolt into place.
“Didn't know what could happen, master?” he asked as he tip-tapped over to the table and jumped up to stand next to Aeris. “Oh and the wall has been repaired. My friends went back to the earthen realm with my thanks.”
“Good. That's good, Kronk. Thank you.”
Simon finished his tea and got up to make some more.
“I was just saying to Aeris that the Magic Mouth spell I was using to talk to Clara just faded out. Have either of you ever heard of a spell doing that?”
The two elementals exchanged looks and both shook their heads.
“Not me,” Aeris said firmly. “Spells don't fade unless the caster is destroyed. Once their power is removed from the world, any spells they've cast disappear over time.”
“Really?” Simon made his second cup of tea and sat down again. “That's interesting. I didn't realize that could happen.”
Kronk remained silent and Aeris shrugged.
“The power flows through the wizard,” he said. “Take away that conduit and...”
The air elemental stopped speaking and frowned. An almost identical expression crossed Kronk's face.
Simon looked at them.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
“I'm not sure,” Aeris said in confusion. “I feel...strange. It's like...”
His eyes widened in sudden fear and he reached out toward the wizard.
“Simon!” he cried out and abruptly faded away.
The wizard leaped to his feet, staring at Kronk.
“What happened?” he asked frantically.
Kronk stared at the spot where Aeris had been hovering a moment before.
“I don't know, master. Something feels wrong. I..."
The little guy froze in place for a moment and then looked up at Simon with an expression of anguish.
“Master!” he called and then he was gone.
“What the hell is going on!” Simon roared as he looked around the room frantically.
The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) Page 2