But if he was going to exploit the monster's weaknesses, he had to get the damned thing out of the sky. Surely something with such puny legs and long body would be more awkward and clumsy on the ground.
Simon ran his eyes along the sinewy, two hundred foot length of the dragon. It seemed to almost swim in the air currents.
Clumsy, he said to himself with a snort. Yeah, right.
He jumped off of the rock and moved to stand in the center of the field. Then he planted the end of Bene-Dunn-Gal firmly in the ground and whispered to it.
“Okay, my wooden friend, I'm about to do something really, really stupid. I'm going to try to piss off a dragon. Wish me luck.”
The staff quivered in his hand.
“If you're calling me an idiot, I have to agree,” Simon said to it. “Okay, here goes.”
He sucked in a deep breath and looked up at the green dragon.
“Hey! Ugly! Are you just going to hang around all day or are you going to get on with this? I just slaughtered your little friends. Now it's your turn!”
The massive head ducked down below the body and the dragon glared at him.
“Are you that eager to die, little human? I was just enjoying the cooling winds up here. So refreshing after the sticky heat of my jungle home. You should be making the most of your last moments of life, should you not?”
“And this is where I push the crazy button all the way in,” Simon muttered to himself. He jerked his staff straight up, pointed it at the green and shouted: “Fireball!”
A blazing orb of flame streaked down from above the dragon and slammed into its left wing, knocking it to one side. It almost flipped over and, with a bellow of rage, adjusted its wings quickly to right itself again before it tumbled from the sky.
“You dare!” it roared at him. “After all of my courtesy, you dare attack me? Very well then. Feel my wrath!”
The green dragon flapped its huge wings faster, gaining height with tremendous speed and Simon guessed what it would do next.
It was going to arrow down on him like a comet and smash him flat, probably breathing poisonous chlorine gas just to make sure he was dead.
Okay, I have to keep it unbalanced, he thought frantically. He stood and watched helplessly as the dragon rose higher and higher above him. It was too far away for him to cast any spells at it.
Thinking furiously, Simon had the germ of an idea. A crazy idea, but an idea all the same.
He turned and ran toward the edge of the field, to the part of the now-dead barrier that he had entered through earlier. He pointed Bene-Dunn-Gal at it.
“Magic Missile!” he yelled and searing bolts of light shot from the staff and slammed into the dried-out remains of the thorny vines.
The missiles blasted a path through the brittle plants and bits of twigs and dust shot in all directions. Simon squinted and raised an arm to protect his eyes as he ran through the former barricade. He was covered with brown leaves and dirt as he ran, but ignored it.
“Chief! Chief, where are you?” he shouted as he reached the far end of the destroyed barrier.
A high-pitched neigh drew Simon to the left and, in a flurry of hooves, the stallion raced toward him, eyes bright and horns gleaming like twin daggers.
The wizard jumped on to Chief's back and spun him around. He spared a glance up at the dragon and felt his stomach twist into knots.
The distant green shape was descending, growing alarmingly as it shot down toward him.
“Okay, buddy, we've gotta move!” he yelled at Chief and the stallion leapt forward, racing into the forest in the general direction of the tower.
Simon slipped his staff over his shoulders, leaned over Chief's neck and held on for dear life.
“I think you're smart enough to know what's going on, old friend,” he said to the horse. Chief swiveled one ear back and listened closely as he ran.
“We need to get that bloody dragon on the ground, without being flattened first. Stay amongst the trees and keep running. It can't hit what it can't see.”
Chief snorted and shook his head, increasing his speed as he twisted and dodged around the mature trees of the forest.
I was right, Simon thought with a kind of grateful joy. The big guy is smarter since his Change. Now let's see how fast he is.
Somewhere above the cover of the trees, a tremendous roar shook the air, sending a torrent of leaves fluttering across their path. The meager sunlight filtering through the thick branches was blocked out for a moment and Simon knew that the green was right above them.
Over the pounding sound of Chief's racing hooves, the wizard heard a terrifying sound; the sound of huge lungs taking in a vast quantity of air.
He yanked the reins hard the left and the stallion skidded violently to the side and shot off in a new direction.
Simon reached over his shoulder and grabbed Bene-Dunn-Gal.
“Shield,” he muttered quickly and he and the horse were surrounded by the translucent barricade.
Just in time. A blast of withering green gas shot down from above and Simon watched in horror as the growth around him sagged and collapsed at the mere touch of the deadly substance.
That's not ordinary chlorine gas, he thought as he urged Chief on. I think just letting it touch me would be fatal.
The realization of how deadly the green dragon's breath weapon was made Simon rethink his plan. He had to do something even more desperate.
“Okay, lad,” he said to Chief. “Change of plans. Head for home. You understand? Back to Tammy and Sunshine, as fast as you can run.”
The stallion's ears perked up at the sound of his stable-mate's names. He threw up his head, whinnied loudly and turned to the right so abruptly that Simon almost flew off of his back.
The wizard clamped his thighs as tightly as he could to Chief's body, crouched down in the saddle and let the big horse have his head. He trusted the stallion to find the fastest way home.
Above them, the sound of huge wings faded behind them as the horse's change of direction and burst of speed threw off the attacking green.
Simon looked up and noticed that the light was fading from the sky. Sundown was coming and he wasn't sure if that was going to help or not. His new plan didn't depend on daylight, but more on luck and some educated guesses from the research he had done on dragons and their weaknesses.
Yeah, research that depended on facts invented by fantasy game writers, he thought with some despair. I could be totally wrong about this whole thing.
Well then, you will die, a little voice hissed at him from deep within.
No kidding, he told that dark place that existed somewhere inside his soul. Now shut-up, I'm busy.
Chief showed how magnificent he was that day. His powerful body drove them through the forest so fast that the trees were merely a blur. His horns began to glow with a ghostly nimbus in the darkening woods and several times Simon was sure that they had actually pass though a tree.
The shield spell had faded away but the sounds of the raging dragon were still far behind them.
My God, Simon thought in wonder. How fast are we moving?
No more than twenty minutes after they had escaped into the trees, Simon and Chief burst into the open field that led to the tower.
As they appeared, high above them came a roar of triumph. The primal green dragon had spotted them.
Chief flew across the clearing straight toward the closed gates while Simon looked back over his shoulder.
The dragon was shooting down out of the evening sky, the full moon behind it outlining its writhing snake body. It grew and grew as it descended to attack and the wizard turned back to look at the tower, praying that one of the elementals had seen them coming.
His prayers, for a change, were answered, and the double gates opened wide seconds before Chief smashed through them.
As they barreled into the front yard, the gates slammed shut and a flicker in the air confirmed that the wards had sealed off the tower again.
Simon jumped off of the stallion and almost collapsed as his rubbery legs barely held him up. He leaned on the sweaty flank of Chief who was blowing out great gasps of breath. Foam dripped from his neck and his noble head dipped with exhaustion.
“You were incredible, old buddy,” Simon told him with an affectionate slap on his sweaty neck.
He turned to see Kronk hurrying toward him from the gates.
“Master! You made it!” the elemental exclaimed with relief.
Simon looked up at the green dragon. It had banked away from the tower once the wards had been activated and was now circling high up in the air, its long neck extended as it scanned the ground.
“Not yet,” the wizard told Kronk. “Do me a favor, would you? Take Chief to the stable and unsaddle him? Walk him around until he cools off, give him some water and then get ready to let all three horses out so that they can run to the lake.”
Kronk looked up at him in confusion.
“You want to send them beyond the protective shield, master? The dragon would probably kill them out of spite.”
“I know that. I said to get them ready, not to release them yet. I'll let you know when.”
“As you wish, master,” the earthen said dubiously.
Simon handed him the reins and Chief followed Kronk slowly as he led the horse back toward the stable.
Aeris flew out of the front door and hurried up to Simon.
“You're alive,” he said with some relief. “Good.”
He looked up at the massive outline of the green dragon, malevolently circling the tower, occasionally bellowing in fury.
“You've made it mad, I see. Well done.”
Simon had to grin at the familiar sarcasm.
“And now you've led it back to our home.” Aeris looked at the wizard quizzically. “An act of desperation or some wild scheme?”
Simon bent over, shook his hair to clear out the bits of dirt and bark and then threw back his head to get the hair off of his face. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a sleeve.
“A bit of both, I suppose,” he told the elemental absently, still watching the green dragon. “Obviously our ugly friend up there knows that there's a shield around the tower. Do you think it could smash through if it wanted to?”
Aeris floated next to Simon's shoulder and followed his gaze.
Night was descending in earnest now and the stars began to shine brightly in the purple sky. The dragon shone with its own putrid green light, still trailing a cloud of glowing gas behind it.
“At a guess, I'd say yes. But, large or not, it would be wounded in the attempt, perhaps quite badly. Something I'm sure it is aware of.”
“Ah, so that's why it's biding its time. Good.”
Simon hurried up the front steps and into the tower.
“So what is this crazy plan?” Aeris asked as he followed him inside.
Simon held up a hand and drew a large glass of water from the pump at the kitchen sink. He drank it off in great gulps and then stood leaning on the counter, breathing deeply.
“Ah, I needed that,” he said finally. He splashed some cold water on his face, wiped it off with a dish towel and then crossed to the stairs.
“I'm heading for the roof. Come on and I'll fill you in.”
He ran up the stairs as quickly as his tired legs could carry him, Aeris floating along behind him.
Once he had opened the trapdoor to the roof and climbed out, he looked up until he had spotted the circling green dragon.
“Close the door, would you?” Simon asked the air elemental, and Aeris lowered the trapdoor carefully and joined the wizard in watching the dragon.
“You realize that we are trapped here, don't you?” he asked Simon quietly. “If you try to Gate out and escape, I'm sure that the dragon will know and will attack at once.”
The wizard looked at Aeris and smiled, looking pleased.
“Yes, I know. In fact, I'm counting on it.”
“You're...? Are you mad? That creature is more powerful and much more clever than the primal black dragon. If you are thinking of trying something creative, it could backfire.”
Simon's smile faded and his face became grim. A cool breeze stirred his hair and rippled the robe along his body. Bene-Dunn-Gal was in his right hand.
“I know. There is no chance of me destroying it one on one. I hit it with a Fireball spell and it only made it mad. So I have to try to trick it. The one thing that this dragon shares with the black is its arrogance. It waited to attack me back at Heather's place. I thought at first that it might be a little afraid of me.”
He snorted at the idea.
“But it isn't. These creatures are too old and too powerful to fear anything, especially not a human, even if he is a wizard. No, it was disdain. It was toying with me, mocking me. It was playing with me the way a shark will toy with its prey, circling it and nibbling at it until it is ready to strike.”
He nodded toward the dragon.
“That's what it's doing now.”
“So what do you plan to do?” Aeris asked nervously.
Simon looked at him again and tried to smile reassuringly. He didn't think it worked very well.
“First, I'm going to intensify the wards. I want them as powerful as possible.”
“Intensify? But, how? These are the strongest wards that the spell-book contains.”
“Watch,” Simon said and moved to stand in the center of the roof. He held Bene-Dunn-Gal aloft and stared at it intently for a long moment. And then with a cry, he slammed the staff on to the stone in front of him, the end digging slightly into the surface of the roof.
Aeris drew back, wide-eyed, as arcs of power, like lightning, erupted from the jewel at the top of the staff and shot out in four directions, hitting each ward that was embedded into the edges of the roof at the four points of the compass.
A sizzle, like the magnified sound of burning meat, cut through the air and the stench of ozone rose up from the wards.
The effect only lasted a moment and then Simon slumped forward and rested both hands on Bene-Dunn-Gal, using it to stay on his feet.
“Simon? Are you all right?” Aeris asked quickly as he flew toward the wizard.
“Whew. Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay.”
Simon straightened slowly, a crease of strain cutting the skin between his eyebrows.
“That was a little more...intense than I thought it would be.”
The elemental's eyes widened a bit.
“You have another streak of white in your hair, my dear wizard,” he said gently.
“Not surprising, I suppose. I'll be an old man before this body gets through puberty.”
The smell of ozone still hung over the roof and Aeris looked around in confusion.
“What just happened? The wind has faded and I can't hear the sounds of the forest anymore.”
Simon looked up at the green dragon as it slowly swam through the night sky. A blast of green poison shot ahead of it as it roared, apparently in response to the tightening of the wards. But neither the wizard nor Aeris could hear it.
“I've sealed the tower completely. A fly couldn't get in here now. Not even a microbe could slip in, I'd say.”
“But Simon, that's crazy! Kronk and I don't need to breathe, except when we speak, but you'll run out of oxygen in minutes.”
The wizard pushed back his hair and nodded as he watched the green.
“I know. Now, here is what you need to do. Go down to the stable and tell Kronk to get the horses ready. Move them to the back gate and wait. In five minutes, I'm going to drop the shield around the tower. That will be your cue to get them and yourselves out of here.”
He turned and gazed levelly at Aeris.
“Do you understand?”
The air elemental scowled.
“Of course I don't understand. Do you really want to die? The dragon will know instantly when the shield drops and it will attack at once. You won't stand a chance.”
Simon shrugged.
“I know,” he said. “You have five minutes starting now. Go!”
“But...”
“Go! Or do you want me to order you?”
Aeris shook his head in surrender.
“No, I don't. All right, you crazy wizard. I'm going.”
He began to turn away, stopped and shook a finger at Simon.
“But remember, retreating to fight another day is not cowardice. Sometimes it's just wise.”
And with a pop, the air elemental disappeared.
Simon closed his eyes wearily and nodded once to himself.
“And sometimes it isn't an option,” he said quietly.
Slipping Bene-Dunn-Gal over his shoulder, Simon crossed the roof, opened the trapdoor and slipped inside.
He hurried down the stairs, pausing once to pat the sturdy stone wall of the tower.
“Built by men, reinforced by earth elementals. I hope you survive this. I'm rather fond of my home.”
He gave the wall a final affectionate pat and then headed down the stairs to the first floor.
Simon left the tower and closed the door firmly behind him. He tapped it with his staff and heard the bolts lock behind him. Then he went down the steps and moved to stand in the middle of the yard between the tower and the gates.
Faintly, from the rear of the building, he heard a loud whinny.
Good, he thought. The horses are in place.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his robe, slipped the staff off his shoulder and rested it on the ground.
The air was becoming stale and dry. He coughed a bit and cleared his throat and then, from memory, chanted an incantation and left it hanging in the air, uninvoked. It felt like prickles of static electricity against his skin.
“Here we go,” he said to no one in particular and, raising his staff, dropped the ward's shield around the tower.
A slap of wind, held back and feeling almost resentful, blew across the yard and over his body. The smell of the night and the sounds of the surrounding forest returned instantly and Simon felt a measure of gratitude for their familiar presence.
But then the sound of reality got his attention. A roar of triumph and spite shivered down from above and he looked up to see a green arrow of terror dropping out of the sky, straight at him.
The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) Page 35