The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (56 page)

“
What?”
she gasped. Her face had gone white. “You did what with the
silver dragon?”

“
We
exchanged blood,” Simon said, wincing. Her voice was getting
louder and higher-pitched, again.

He
had called her from his study with Kronk and Aeris watching him
closely. Both of their expressions were carbon copies of each other;
total shock.

“And what in the name of sanity
would make you do that? With anyone, let alone a dragon?” she
asked. She was so enraged that she was shaking: either furious or
frightened.

“Yes, please explain yourself, my
dear wizard,” Aeris said loudly.

“Master, what were you thinking?”

Simon looked at Kronk.

“You too?” he asked. “Why
are you all ganging up on me?”

“Oh that's nice. You didn't even
tell your elemental friends? Lovely.”

Tamara was in her sitting room and, as
seemed to be the norm when she was upset, had begun pacing like an
angry lioness.

“Look. Everybody just calm down,
okay? I'll explain but only if you stop yelling.”

“We aren't yelling!” Aeris
yelled. He caught himself and closed his mouth with a snap. Then he
waited a moment and took an audible breath.

“Forgive me. I was yelling. I
won't do that again.”

“Of course you will,” Simon
told him with a weak smile. “Maybe not again today, but you
will. Let me tell you what happened. Tamara, where's your brother? I
think he should hear this.”

She glared at him and then nodded
stiffly.

“Maybe he should. Hang on a
moment.”

When she returned, not only did she
have Sebastian in tow, but Keiko, Malcolm and Aiden as well.

“Oh for God's sake,” Simon
said in exasperation. “Really Tamara? All of them? I'm
surprised that you didn't drag Liliana in on the conversation as
well.”

The door of the room opened again and
the paladin strode into the room.

The wizard sighed and sagged in his
chair while Aeris snickered.

“You can just explain yourself to
all of us, Simon,” Tamara growled at him. Her expression became
a bit kinder as she saw his obvious discomfort. “And this way
you won't have to retell it several times,” she added.

“Yeah, that's true. Hi guys.
Everybody grab a chair; this might take a while.”

The sitting room was crowded with six
people in it and Simon waited until the group moved into the nearby
meeting room. While they were sorting themselves out, Kronk tapped
his arm.

“What is it?”

“Master, why not just Gate to the
castle instead of using Magic Mirror?” the little guy asked
quietly.

Aeris nodded but the wizard shook his
head and tapped the mirror.

“Because there's a chance someone
might do something a little...precipitous when I tell them what they
need to know. And I don't want to get smacked, to be honest.
Besides,” he looked around at the sunlit study, “I'm
comfortable right here.”

He patted the atlas that was open in
front of him reflectively and looked into the mirror again.

Once everyone was seated, he began to
explain.

The wizard told them the story just as
it had happened, more or less; how he had contacted Esmiralla after
his confrontation with Pyrathius because of a feeling of complete
desperation; how he saw the dragon queen for the first time and
finally the silver dragon's offer to share power.

“Hang on a second,” Malcolm
interrupted. “You said you exchanged blood. How? Like when we
were kids and pricked our thumbs to become blood brothers?”

“No, not like that. It was
actually a lot more...violent than that,” Simon said with a
shudder. “Honestly, I'd rather not talk about it.”

The big man nodded slowly.

“If you say so.”

“So what exactly did you mean,
sir wizard? To share power?” Keiko surprised them by asking.

“I'm not completely sure,”
Simon told her reluctantly. “Esmiralla told me that I would be
more, um, sensitive to the presence of dragons, just as she is.”

“Meaning?” Tamara asked
tersely.

“Well, for example I now know
where Pyrathius is, right this minute,” he told them with a
hint of self-satisfaction.

That got their attention.

“Are you serious?” Liliana
asked said. She leaned forward across the table toward Simon's image.

“I am.”

“Where is he then?”

“Japan. Specifically,”
Simon looked down at the atlas, “he is sitting inside a volcano
called
Sakurajima.
Apparently it is, or was, very active.”

“
One
of the most active in the world,” Keiko assured them. “I
remember it from my youth.”

It
was funny to hear someone say that who looked as young as the tiny
woman did, Simon thought, but then the Change had made most of them
young and fit again. The ones it hadn't turned into monsters, that
is.

“
So
you can tell where dragons are. Great,” Tamara said
sarcastically. “But so what? What did the silver dragon get
from you in exchange, hmm?”

Simon
hesitated. This is where things are going to get nasty, he thought
and took a deep breath.

“
She's
able to cast spells now, like the primal white dragon could, but
without mutating into a monster.”

And
that was the last chance he had to speak for quite some time.

It
was Liliana who finally calmed down the others, especially Tamara
and, oddly enough, the usually demure Keiko. Both women made it clear
that giving a dragon more power, even a supposedly good dragon like
Esmiralla, was foolish at best.

“
All
of you, stop it,” the paladin had finally shouted at them. Her
steely demeanor and obvious power had the effect of breaking through
the anger of the others.

“
I
have communed with Esmiralla. I know her, as best as any human can
know a dragon. I sense no evil in her and I assure you that as a
paladin, I would know if she was black in her heart. She is not. If
she is more powerful now, thanks to our friend, then that is a
positive thing.”

She
turned to look at Simon's image.

“
Will
she help us against Pyrathius?”

“
She
said that she will, but she also told me that we can't wait any
longer than a few weeks to confront him. If we do, he may suspect
that we have rejected his offer of an alliance. If we approach him
soon, we can take him off-guard and give ourselves a small
advantage.”

“
Not
much of one, though,” Aiden said. He looked weary as he sat
staring down at the table.

Neither
of the warriors were wearing armor, unlike Liliana, and Simon noticed
that both men appeared to be very tired. They obviously had a lot on
their minds as they worried about taking care of the castle and its
people. He wondered if they had been taking on extra patrols and
guard duty. Knowing their dedication, he was sure that they had.

“
Anything
that will help us is welcome,” Malcolm averred and gave his
partner an encouraging clout on the shoulder.

Aiden
smiled a bit and nodded.

“
So
you think we should attack?” Tamara asked the wizard.

“
I
do. And soon. I've contacted my friends Daniel and Ethmira in the
elven realm. She's offered to join us with as many archers as she can
muster.” He looked around at the group. “They are all
grateful for our help against the brown dragons and are eager to
repay us in kind against the primal red and his followers. So at
least we'll have some help there.”

“
That's
excellent news,” Liliana told him. “They will be a
welcome addition. But against Pyrathius we'll need something more.”

“
What
about the dwarves?” Sebastian finally spoke up. “Can you
ask for their aid, Simon?”

The
wizard pushed back his hair and turned his chair so that he could
look out of the window behind his desk.

“
I
can try. The problem is that dwarves and elves simply don't get
along. A few joined me way back when we took on the primal black
dragon, but there were only a handful on either side so it wasn't a
big deal for either group. I think that the elves will be coming to
the battle in force. I'm not sure that Stanis Ironhand and his people
would be...comfortable with that many in one place.”

“
But
that's ridiculous, Simon,” Tamara objected. “If Pyrathius
destroys us, his next target will be the dwarves and then probably
the elves. At least Ethmira and her people know that. What the hell
is wrong with the dwarves?”

“
They
are as hard-headed as the rock they live within, lady,” Kronk
spoke up from behind Simon.

The
wizard spun his chair around and looked at the little guy in
surprise.

“
Forgive
me, master, but it is true. My people revere the dwarven race, but
they will not even speak to us and have not for thousands of years.
And why? Because they are as stubborn as stone.”

“
I
don't care if they're as thick as bricks,” Tamara snapped.
“They need to pull their heads out of their arses and help us
or they will be the next ones on the dragons' hit list.”

“
Well,
I'll try to call Stanis and ask, but don't expect much from that
quarter. I may not even be able to get through their wards. And now
that I've told you guys what's what, we have to make plans. Oh and I
need to take Tamara and Sebastian on a little trip, but that can wait
for a day or two.”

“
A
trip?” Sebastian asked curiously. “To where?”

“
A
hole in the ground in Russia,” Simon told him with a grin.
“I'll explain later.”

Ten
days later and here they were, crawling up the side of a volcano to
confront the primal red dragon. Simon knew that if he stopped to
really think about what they were doing, it would seem insane.

Maybe
it was, he thought. But then, when it came down to a choice between
an insane plan and certain death, insanity would seem the preferable
route.

“
You're
lost in thought,” Tamara said from behind him.

The
wizard looked back over his shoulder and gave her a quick smile.

“
Not
lost exactly. Just going through the many ways that this can go
horribly wrong. My usual pep talk to myself before battle.”

The
mage laughed, the first time Simon had heard her do that in days.

“
And
that's not discouraging at all,” she told him with a crooked
grin. “Look, we've planned this out as well as we can. We've
tried to cover every contingency. But in the end, all we can do is
our best. Luck, or fate if you believe in that sort of thing, will do
the rest.”

She
slipped on a loose stone and caught herself with a growl.

“
And
at least it will be a hell of a fight,” she added and wiped the
sweat off of her forehead again.

“
At
least it will be that,” Simon agreed.

He
turned back to keep an eye on the path ahead. He'd done as much
slipping and sliding as Tamara, or more, and had several oozing
scrapes on his knobby knees to prove it.

Pyrathius
knew that the humans were on their way, of course. The group had seen
several patrolling red dragons pass by high above them since they had
begun their climb. In fact, Simon and the others were making their
approach as obvious as possible in order to keep the dragons'
attentions focused on them in the hopes that they wouldn't become
aware of the humans' allies until it was too late. Whether the ruse
worked or not could make the difference between success and failure.

About
thirty minutes passed before Kronk slid down the trail toward them.
Simon signaled for everyone to stop.

“
What's
wrong?” he asked as he leaned on his staff, panting. He took
the opportunity to drink some water from a flask on his hip and saw
the others doing the same.

“
Nothing,
master, but we are only a few hundred yards from the top of the
crater now. I thought I should warn you.”

“
Ah
great. Okay, thanks Kronk. Could you go below and tell Kassus to
stand ready? I'll be calling on him and the others soon, I think.”

“
Yes,
of course.” The little guy hesitated. “Good luck, master.
Take care of yourself, won't you? I don't...I mean, we don't want to
lose you.”

Simon
went down on one knee and gently put a hand on the earthen's slight
shoulder.

“
You
won't. I'm way too stubborn and thick-headed to fall to a dragon,
even the primal red. Don't worry, I'll see you on the other side.”