Cloak & Dagger: Book II of The Dragon Mage Trilogy (45 page)

Kazin blasted enemies left and right with his flames. How long he could keep this up he did not know. He had never run out of flame breath before, so he didn’t know his limit. He was sure he would find out before long.

The dragon approached the air elemental and blasted it with flame. As usual, it was protected by a magical shield. He turned over the open water of North Lake and made another attempt. This time, the air elemental blew directly at Kazin, forcing the flames back onto the dragon. Thankfully, Kazin was flying too fast to feel any substantial effect from the flame. He circled and made another attempt at a lower altitude. The elemental blew back at his flame again, but Kazin changed direction and flew straight up. The flames missed him, but surged across the battlefield, wiping out a nearby contingent of orcs. The damage was more than Kazin could have caused on his own, and he realized the extra air gave his flames additional potency. Kazin expanded on his idea. He flew down low and blasted a swath as far as the earth elemental. Then he turned left and flew until he was close to the air elemental. Once within range, Kazin let out his fiercest breath of flame. As predicted, the air elemental blew at the dragon again. Kazin soared straight up, but this time he was a bit too slow. He felt the searing flame on the underside of his belly as he gained altitude. Despite this one drawback, his plan worked perfectly. His flames were amplified and sent roaring across the battlefield toward the earth elemental. All creatures in the path of the flames were burned alive. As the flame struck the shield surrounding the earth elemental, most of it was absorbed. But some of the fire got through because it was enhanced by elemental magic. Some of the lizardmages within were set on fire, and their concentration of the ‘summoning’ and ‘shield’ spell were broken.

Fortunately for Narg, there were still enough lizardmages able to control the earth elemental and maintain the shield, but barely. With nostrils flaring, he commanded the earth elemental to put some distance between it and the air elemental. The elemental complied, moving closer to the left flank. As it walked, the shuddering ground shook the battlement walls, causing cracks to appear in its surface. Narg told the earth elemental to stomp the earth again and the cracks widened. A section of the battlements went down, taking several skink warriors with it.

Narg didn’t have time to improve on that success. A number of soldiers and grey mages, flanked by mini fire elementals, advanced on him. It was then that he noticed that he was exposed on all sides. The dragon had burned everything beyond his shielded area. Then he remembered his shield. The humans wouldn’t get through. The only threat was the mini fire elementals. He gave the earth elemental a command and a number of golems within the shield wandered out to do battle with the mini fire elementals. The human soldiers kept coming. At the edge of the shield, the human attackers and a cyclops began beating at the shield with their weapons. Narg laughed at the futile efforts of the humans. If it wasn’t for the shield, he would have used magic to burn them to a crisp by now.

A small contingent of lizardmen approached from the left and began casting offensive magic at the stupid humans. The grey mages turned and cast their ‘deflection’ spells to counter the offensive magic. As the fireballs and ice bolts reached them, they were deflected back to the casters. The lizardmen were quickly defeated. Jerrin, the grey mage, turned to Narg and looked him straight in the eye. He smiled wickedly and pointed at the lizardmage. “You’re next,” he mouthed.

A tap on Narg’s shoulder made him spin around. He stared into the eyes of a female dwarf. “What? What do you want?”

“Excuse me,” said Rebecca politely. “Are you in charge here?”

Narg took a step back. “Yes. Yes, of course,” he stammered. “How did you -?” He didn’t finish his sentence because the dwarf had already plunged her dagger into his chest. The searing pain was so intense he scarcely let out a scream. His eyes were wide and his nostrils flared as his body was dissolved by the dagger’s magic. Then he fell to the ground in a gory heap.

The earth elemental watched this happen with detached amusement. Some of the other lizardmages who were present reacted by canceling their shield spells so they could combat this new threat.

This allowed Cyril and the other soldiers to penetrate the group of lizardmages. They only had a few moments to attack before Cyril cried out, “Dragon!” He led the humans and dwarf away at a sprint, and the slower lizardmages tried frantically to call up their shield again. It was too late. As Kazin flew over them, he blasted them with his fiery breath. After he passed, many of the lizardmen were ablaze, screaming in agony. Cyril turned around and led the charge back to finish off the lizardmen. The earth elemental felt the release of the summoning magic and was grateful for her freedom. She watched with interest as the last of the lizardmen controlling her was felled. Then Cyril and the other fighters were drawn off to fight some approaching orcs.

The dragon landed nearby and transformed into a human black mage. He put his hands up as a sign that he was not going to harm the elemental. Kazin slowly approached the elemental and reached it the same time as Rebecca.

“Kazin?!” exclaimed Rebecca when he was close enough to recognize. Kazin smiled. “Hi, Rebecca. It’s nice to see you again.”

“You were dying -.” Her voice broke off as she absorbed the fact that Kazin was alive and well.

Kazin directed his attention to the elemental. “Are you alright?” he asked the gigantic creature.

The elemental blinked at the mage. “Of course.”

“I was afraid I might hurt you with my flames,” stammered Kazin. “I wasn’t sure I could help you get free without hurting you.”

“Was that your intention?” asked the elemental. “To free me?”

“Yes,” said Rebecca suddenly.

The elemental turned to the dwarf. “How did you manage to penetrate the shield, dwarf?”

“My name is Rebecca Mapmaker,” said the dwarf. She hated being called ‘dwarf’. “I discovered my magical dagger allows me to walk through magical shields like they aren’t even there.” She held up her dagger so the elemental could see it. “Don’t ask me how it works.”

The elemental nodded. “Well done. You should be rewarded for freeing me.”

Enemies were now approaching the mage, dwarf and elemental. The elemental held up a hand and the earth around them opened up, revealing an infinitely deep crevice. The first few enemies tumbled headlong into the hole and fell screaming to their deaths.

“There,” said the elemental. “That should keep them away so we can talk in peace.”

“Can you help us fight the lizardmen?” asked Rebecca.

The elemental shook her head. “It is too dangerous. I could fight for you for a while, but the lizardmen here are plentiful. They could easily summon me if they regroup and combine forces with their magic. Then I would be fighting for them once again. Do you want to take that chance?”

Rebecca sighed. “I guess not.”

“I have spent too much time in this plane,” said the elemental. “My powers grow weak. I have enough energy for one more major thing before I go, but for you I will offer a small gift.” She reached down and gently touched Rebecca’s head. “From now on, you will have an increased ability to sense mineral deposits and gems as you travel the tunnels in the mountains. You shall change your name to Rebecca Gemfinder.”

Rebecca’s jaw dropped. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Suddenly, a voice inside Kazin’s head called his name. Kazin recognized his familiar’s voice and looked across the battlefield to see the unicorn staring at him, a st
ark white figure amidst a throng of enemies. The unicorn fought alongside General Larsen. Everything seemed to be in suspended animation. Nothing moved.

“What is it?” asked Kazin mentally.

“See if the elemental can open a pass through the mountains in the north. Sherman waits with an army to aid us.”

“Are you sure?” asked Kazin. Sherman was queen Milena’s brother and guardian, and the last thing Kazin had heard was that Sherman was supposed to have gone on a quest.

“Yes,” said Frosty. “It is also a perfect opportunity for our realms to join for trade.”

Kazin turned to the elemental. “Can you open a pass through the mountains north of here? We have reinforcements waiting there to assist us.” Rebecca gave Kazin a curious glance but said nothing.

The elemental paused before answering Kazin. “It is a tall order,” she said at last, “but I will do it.”

“Thank you, earth elemental,” said Kazin, bowing slightly. As he did so, the orb atop his staff caught the elemental’s attention.

The elemental’s eyes widened. “Your staff has an enchantment upon it!”

Kazin nodded. “Yes. The water elemental put it there.”

The elemental’s eyes stared at Kazin as though seeing into him. “The enchantment is a powerful one, and it won’t be complete until each elemental has cast his or her own enchantment upon it. The water elemental has deemed you worthy of such magic. After your bravery in trying to free me, I believe that trust is not misplaced.” The elemental placed her hand on Kazin’s staff and hummed in a deep, mesmerizing voice. Then she removed her hand. “There. Now seek out the other elementals. They are both still on this battlefield. When you are away from me, I will open the pass as you requested. Now hurry. Even as we speak, the lizardmen are trying to summon me.”

Kazin didn’t need any urging. He changed into a dragon and let Rebecca climb onto his back. She was hesitant at first, never having ridden on a dragon’s back before, but she wanted to get away from there to let the elemental do her thing. The dragon soared into the air. Kazin blasted the enemy with fire on his way back to the tower to drop off his passenger.

The earth elemental raised her arms into the air and a deep rumbling noise filled the earth and the air above it. Cracks spread out to the north from the place where the elemental stood. Creatures and humans alike fell to the ground as the earth shook. The cracks widened and vast numbers of enemies fell into them to disappear forever. As if by a miracle, the Tower of Hope and its battlements were immune to the earthquake. A loud crack sounded out of the north, and a large crashing noise followed. The earth elemental sank into the ground, and as she disappeared, the rumbling ceased. All was still except the rush of air surrounding the air elemental. The forces on both sides took up arms, and soon the din of battle resumed once again.

By now it was getting dark, but the light generated by Tyris and his mini elementals provided plenty of light for the defenders. The fire elemental had worked his way to the aid of the sailors. With the dragon’s absence, the air elemental was once again disabling the ships that had repositioned themselves to fire their cannons at the attackers. But the sailors were seriously outnumbered. The remaining ground forces were scrambling to get on board the last of the docked ships to safety. A group of sailors was cut off from the ships by a gang of ogres, so Tyris ran into their midst and created an inferno. The ogres became flaming torches and ran into the lake to quench their burning hair. Mermaids made short work of them. This gave the sailors the opportunity they needed to retreat to the ships. When the last of the sailors was safely aboard, the ships cast off and utilized the air elemental’s wind to establish a suitable distance between themselves and land.

With this accomplished, Tyris ran with incredible speed back to the tower. He had expended a great deal of magical energy and needed rest. He had to move quickly, wary of magic users who could summon him on sight. He reached the battlements and slipped over the section that had collapsed. Then he was behind the wall out of sight.

General Slong saw the gap left by the earth elemental and directed his troops to the middle of the battlefield. The battle on the left against the inadequate cavalry was holding its own and the shoreline was now being secured. Now the siege against the tower could begin. He had lost a lot of fighters when the earth elemental had created the crevices, but they were still more numerous by far. Slong nodded to the lizardmen in reserve. It was time to use their ‘shield eating’ spell to weaken the tower’s defenses. The lizardmen weren’t very effective until now because they couldn’t concentrate their magic. Now they could inflict maximum damage with a majority of defenders holed up in one spot. The dragon was still a threat, but with enough lizardmen combining forces, he was sure they could combat the annoying creature. There were more of them than one dragon could handle.

Even as Slong schemed, the dragon was blasting another swath through the attackers.

Within the confines of the tower’s battlements, Vera was scrambling to heal poisoned people. Some of the other clerics watched the level one cleric closely and learned the spell as she went. Then they began to use the spell themselves to expand her work. Most of the other clerics had their hands full with injured soldiers and civilians.

The wall in the rear section of the battlements suddenly opened and the cavalry forces came galloping in. Their numbers were depleted significantly since the start of the war. Each time they galloped back out to do battle, it seemed like they were starting from scratch. The enemy had such overwhelming numbers.

General Larsen dismounted and led his horse to a trough to drink. The others did the same.

Frosty wandered over to Vera. He didn’t even seem out of breath after the intense fighting. “How’s it going?”

Vera finished healing a poisoned soldier, who got up and shook her hand in gratitude. “I’m feeling better than I can remember. Thank you.”

Vera smiled wanly and turned to Frosty. “Things are coming along alright. But I don’t see how it will be enough to prevent the lizardmen from defeating us.”

“Don’t worry about that part,” said Frosty. “Just concentrate on healing people. Let the fighters deal with the war.”

Vera nodded and turned to her next patient. It was an old woman with a wrinkled expression. She leaned on her spear while the cleric healed her bloody arm and then cured her of the poison. Then she thanked the cleric and headed back to the portcullis.