His sister slid down beside him with a grunt and both of them looked up at Simon. Obviously his image was visible to them.
“I have no intention of blaming him. I'm past that, thanks.”
Both of the siblings were wearing dark robes and boots. Around the clearing, Simon could see several dozen people, all of whom seemed to be carrying bags and packs. Whatever had happened, the townspeople at least had had a chance to grab some of their belongings before they fled.
“We were attacked by the biggest goddamned dragon I have ever seen,” Tamara said as she leaned her head back and rested it against the tree trunk.
“It descended on Nottinghill Castle about an hour ago, but slowly, as if taunting us. I told everyone to grab some essentials and get out through the hidden exit while that monster just circled lower and lower, finally landing on the ramparts and just...squatting there like a broody chicken.”
Simon frowned at her.
“No one was hurt?”
“Nope. It's like the dragon just decided to make a bloody nest of the castle. It would be funny if it wasn't so nightmarish.” She looked around, checking on her people. “We've split up into groups. Malcolm and Aiden took a third of the people each, so that the dragon wouldn't have a single target to attack in case it discovered us.”
She patted her brother on the shoulder and got up with a loud sigh.
“Stay here. I want Simon to see this.”
Sebastian nodded and Tamara cut into the trees, the view of the mirror following along.
“We aren't that deeply into the forest,” she whispered. “Maybe you can figure out what is happening.”
Simon told her about the image of the primal red dragon that he had seen above his tower. The mage was nodding as he spoke.
“Yeah, that definitely sounds like a ruse to me. Obviously you were meant to focus on the illusion while the real primal attacked here.”
“But you said that it didn't actually attack, right?”
The trees thinned out and Tamara ducked down and crawled forward. The view in the mirror did the same and Simon wondered whether his image was on its hands and knees too. It was an odd thought.
The mage cursed under her breath and Simon squinted into the mirror, trying to see what had startled her.
“It's Liliana. Look, she's just standing there. I thought she was with Malcolm's group.”
Simon adjusted the view to look over Tamara's shoulder and he could see Liliana silhouetted just on the edge of the forest. The castle was beyond her, several miles away and the paladin just seemed to be staring at it, statue-like.
Simon forgot about her at the sight of the castle's newest resident.
“What the hell?” he muttered.
It was, without a doubt, the primal red dragon. The creature was actually draped across the battlements of Nottinghill, its massive wings outstretched to cover the castle from one side to the other.
“How big is it?” he wondered in amazement.
“Too big for us to even attempt to fight,” Tamara said bitterly.
Liliana must have heard them because she spun around and saw the mage and Simon's projected image.
“Ah, you are here,” she said to him as she walked back, her armor clanking faintly. “I was hoping we could speak with you.”
“Any clue about what's happening?” Simon asked her as she joined Tamara. He watched the distant spectacle as he spoke.
The primal's head swung back and forth, scanning the lands around the castle constantly. It was almost black against the darkening sky and its huge yellow eyes burned in hellish contrast.
Was it waiting for a counterattack, he wondered.
“None. I waited for everyone to retreat before I followed them out,” Liliana said as she turned back to stare at the distant castle. “Once I did, I decided to skirt the edges of the trees to keep an eye on that monster. I cannot discern its motivation. If it wanted to destroy us, why did it allow the people time to retreat to safety? And why is it now just squatting there like an enormous gargoyle?”
Simon watched the dragon, wracking his brain for some answer. None of the primals he had faced had been anything but hostile and aggressive, but this thing was just lolling there like a lazy house cat.
“Any ideas?” Tamara asked both of them.
“Not from me. Simon?”
He glanced at Aeris, who was looking into the mirror over his shoulder. The elemental shrugged helplessly.
“Nope. But there's one way to find out, I suppose.”
“Which is?” the mage asked doubtfully.
“Ask him.”
“Ask who?”
“Pyrathius, of course. The primal red. I can use the mirror to project my image over there and talk to him.”
“You didn't mention its name before,” Liliana said with surprise.
“That's because I only learned of it when I spoke to Esmiralla.” He hesitated. “You do know about her, don't you?”
“I do. Tamara told me about her. She told all of us in the command group. It is good to know that we have such an ally.”
“Not much of one though, is she?” Tamara said. “All she's done is pass on some information. Big deal.”
“She warned us,” the paladin retorted. “We would have known nothing about the dragon queen being woken up if it hadn't been for her.”
“Yes, but a fat lot of good that does us. Look at that thing over there,” she said pointing at the dragon. “We can't even chance an attack against it. How will we ever deal with the queen? God, it's hopeless.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” Simon told her and when she glared at him, he winked.
Tamara smiled reluctantly.
“Sorry. That was a bit defeatist, wasn't it? So, you think that thing will speak to you?”
“He might, if I tell him who I am. I was involved in the deaths of his siblings, after all. It won't make him like me, but perhaps it will get his attention.”
“Of that, I am sure,” Liliana stated.
Simon stood up at the table and walked across to the door. He left the tower and moved to sit on the steps in the sunlight. Somehow the idea of speaking with the primal red dragon indoors didn't feel right.
Aeris joined him and watched quietly.
“Okay then,” he said to Tamara and Liliana. “Here I go. Wish me luck.”
He focused on the distant image of the dragon and willed himself toward it. Suddenly Simon had a weird sensation of bilocation. He knew that he was sitting outside of his home far away but at the same time seemed to be floating above the ground shooting straight at the waiting dragon.
The distance zoomed by in a blur and in seconds the wizard was hovering above the ground at the height of the castle walls. The primal must have seen him approaching because its blazing eyes pinned him like twin spotlights out of the darkness.
Simon stopped about fifty yards from the monster. Any closer and he couldn't have seen its entire head. He regarded the dragon and it, in turn, examined him.
“So, is it the dragon killer?” the creature said, its voice a hollow boom of sound. “Simon O'Toole?”
“Pyrathius,” Simon acknowledged loudly.
“Ah, you know my name? How unexpected. How ever did you learn it, I wonder.”
The wizard had no intention of telling the primal about Esmiralla's existence and remained silent.
The dragon raised his head a few dozen feet and narrowed his blazing eyes.
“I knew that if I took possession of this place, you would appear. How did you enjoy my little deception?”
“Your illusion? Very convincing.”
Pyrathius bared his hideous fangs and seemed pleased with himself.
“Was it? Good. Good. It has been many a year since I have used my skills in such a way. Not since our battles against the lawful dragons. Now there was a conflict worthy of songs.”
Simon listened with surprise. The red dragon seemed almost lyrical as he reminisced. What an odd creature.
&
nbsp; “So why are you here?” he asked.
“Why? Because I wished to speak with you, of course.” Those twin beams of light widened. “Why else? This hovel holds no interest for me. I could level it and destroy the insects who dwell here if I chose to, but I do not.”
Pyrathius grinned evilly.
“Not today, at least. No, you and I must parlay.”
“Parlay?”
Simon was at a loss. He had spoken with some of the primals but none had done anything but boast and threaten. They hadn't actually wanted to talk. What was going on?
“About what?”
“My queen,” the primal said with a heavy hiss of fury. “The mother of my species.”
“The yellow dragon?” Simon blurted out.
The massive head shot forward, filling his vision and causing the wizard to fly backwards in surprise.
“How do you know of her?” the dragon snarled. “Where are you getting your information?”
Simon watched him cautiously from a safe distance. He assumed that Pyrathius couldn't actually harm him, but it almost felt like he was there with the dragon and his heart was racing with fear.
“We humans know a lot more about you and your kind than you think we do,” he said with bravado. “You underestimate us, just as your siblings did before you.” He paused and added. “Your dead siblings.”
The primal didn't rise to the bait, something else that surprised Simon.
“Perhaps we do,” Pyrathius mused. “After all, my four brothers are dead. And you live. There must be a reason for this.”
The dragon rose up and lifted his immense wings. He shook them with a sound like thunder and settled down again.
“But enough of that. We may not have much time. She may discover this meeting and, if she does, I do not know how she will respond.”
“She? You mean the queen?”
“The queen, yes. She has risen.” He narrowed his eyes and focused on Simon with laser-like precision. “The gods who created us have gone mad, wizard. Mad! They have reached down into the depths of the world, deeper than even the dwarven folk would dare to go, and pulled her to the surface. She had been awakened! In their fear, they have doomed this world and perhaps themselves as well.”
Chapter 25
“I don't understand you,” Simon told the primal red dragon. “You didn't wake her?”
“I? Wake that monstrosity?”
Pyrathius laughed, a harsh grating sound like massive fingernails on a blackboard.
“I have not got that kind of power, and if I did, I would not use it to awaken an unstoppable force like the queen. The Chaos lords have truly lost their minds.”
“But why? Why would they do that?”
“Come forward, Simon O'Toole and meet me here on the battlements. We must speak more privately.”
Simon stared at the primal in confusion. There wasn't enough room to move to the walls of the castle with that tremendous body resting there. What was the dragon talking about?
And then, in the blink of an eye, the primal had disappeared.
“What?” the wizard gasped and looked around frantically.
How could something that gigantic suddenly vanish.
A movement from the castle walls caught his attention and Simon moved forward. Someone was standing on the battlements and motioned for him to join them.
He flew forward and landed on the wall. Standing nearby was a man-shaped creature. Man-shaped but not a man.
Eight feet tall and covered in blood-red plate armor, a pale face glared down at him with yellow eyes.
“Pyrathius?” Simon asked hesitantly.
“Indeed,” the primal said. The voice had the same savage tone, but was now at a normal volume. “We can speak quietly now.”
“How did you do that?” the wizard asked, gesturing at the primal's body.
“I have more powers than you know, human. This is one I rarely choose to exercise.” He looked down at himself and sneered. “For good reason. Now let us be quick. I can feel the queen searching for me. I cannot remain here much longer.”
“Why is she looking for you?”
The primal stepped forward and glared down at him.
“Because, you fool, she wants to destroy me. For one who claims to know so much about my kind, you do not know as much as you think. We, the five first-born, turned on our mother ages ago. She wanted to purge this world of all life and rebuild it in her own twisted image. We could not allow that. So we joined with the dark gods to imprison her for all eternity, or so we thought, and leave her to rot in the center of the world. Now she seeks retribution on me before she turns her wrath on you and your kind.”
He took another menacing step forward and Simon backed away quickly.
“If you had not killed my brothers, we might have been able to contain her ourselves. But now, I alone cannot.”
The wizard was reeling. Too much information, too fast. He couldn't seem to grasp what he was hearing.
“But then, why would the gods of Chaos unleash her?”
“As I said, they are afraid. They are losing their grip on this plane. You have managed to delay their entrance into this world for so long that they are weakening from the strain of maintaining the connection. They are being drawn back into the Void. Should that happen, they will never have the strength to return to the physical world and will be trapped out in the great darkness forever. Even worse, from their point of view, is that the lords of Light will be able to return to your universe and will exist here unopposed. That is something that the dark gods will never allow and so they have raised the queen. The fools! They may have doomed us all.”
“I'm finding all of this hard to believe,” Simon told him cautiously. “But let's say that it is true. What do you want from me?”
“Your aid, of course. We must join forces and stop the queen while she is still gathering her strength. She is comparatively weak right now and so she is vulnerable. If we strike hard and fast, we might be able to imprison her again and save this world.”
“Really? And afterwards?”
“Afterwards?”
The primal smiled, his mouth a horror of glistening fangs.
“Well, afterwards we can, perhaps, come to some sort of arrangement. It is a big world, is it not? We could divide it. Your people could take a portion and mine could as well. An honest and equitable agreement. What could be fairer than that?”
Simon watched the primal intently. He didn't trust this creature, at all. The dragon could be telling the truth about the queen; in fact, the wizard was inclined to believe that he was. But even if they could work together, there wasn't a chance in hell that Pyrathius would keep any bargain they made.
“What is your answer?” the dragon said impatiently. “We are running out of time.”
“Unlike you, I don't rule over my people,” Simon told him, desperately playing for time. “I can't just arbitrarily make this allegiance for them. I'll have to present your offer to them and let them decide for themselves.”
Pyrathius snorted and a flicker of flames shot from his nostrils.
“That is absurd. You are the most powerful spell-caster among the humans. Your word should be law.”
“Well, it isn't. Nor would I want it to be. The best I can do is tell them what you want and see what they say.”
The dragon growled and clenched his fists at his sides, his armor creaking loudly.
“Very well. I must leave. I have stayed in one place for too long. When you have your answer, contact me with your magic. I will answer. Until then, I intend to stay on the move.”
He made a motion for Simon to back off and the wizard rose above the castle wall and back to his original position.
There was a shimmer in the air, like heat waves rising from the castle itself and then the massive body of the primal appeared on the battlements again. The entire structure shuddered and moaned in protest.
“Do not take too long to decide, wizard,” the beast rumbled. “If
I fall, you and your world are doomed.”
And with that, the dragon raised his wings and with one enormous downward flap became airborne. He rose rapidly into the sky and disappeared into the night.
Simon watched the primal vanish like a puff of smoke, or a bad dream, and then turned and hurried back to where he'd left Tamara and Liliana.
They are not going to believe this, he thought.
Sebastian, Malcolm and Aiden had joined the two women by the time Simon returned, which was a relief. He really didn't want to have to tell his story multiple times; once was enough. Keiko appeared like a ghost out of the shadows just seconds before he returned.
“Hey guys,” he said as he arrived. “How are your people doing?”
“They're scared,” Malcolm told him.
He was standing next to Aiden and the two men were watching Simon anxiously.
“The few kids that we have are getting tired and hungry.” The big man's lips twitched in an almost smile. “They're cranky and want to go home. Can they?”
Simon looked at each person in turn and ended with Tamara.
“They can. You can start leading everyone back any time now. The primal is gone.”
“We saw that,” Liliana said. “What happened?”
“It's going to take some explaining, folks. Why don't we wait until the people are back inside where it's safe, okay?”
Tamara frowned and looked like she'd object and he added, “The children should be in bed by now.”
“You're right,” the mage agreed at once. “Everyone get back to your groups and guide them home. You won't need to take the tunnel this time. I'll teleport back and open the front gates. Simon? Could you join us in the flesh and stay with them until everyone is safely back inside the castle walls?”
“I'd be happy to.”
“Excellent. Let's go, people.”
Simon canceled his Magic Mirror spell and hurried back inside. He put the mirror on the kitchen table, grabbed his staff and looked at Aeris.
“Want to tag along?”
“Of course. Should I tell Kronk?”
“No time for that. Touch my arm. We have to go.”
It took about an hour to round everyone up and lead them back to Nottinghill. The townspeople were tired and white-faced with fear and the children, those who weren't sleeping in their parent's arms, were petulant. Simon walked with Liliana behind the last group to keep an eye out for stragglers and any dangers. Aeris followed them and listened quietly.
The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) Page 33