The Dragons of Ice and Snow (61 page)

While
he was thinking, and melting, he looked up at the tube above him. He
could vaguely see several small openings just outside of the stomach
itself.

I
wonder if that's where its fire and ice breath come from, he thought
vaguely.

A
burning sensation below his knees snapped him back to reality. Think,
Simon, think. What spell could do enough damage...

He
grinned as a crazy idea popped into his mind.

Oh,
they're not going to like it, but desperate times and all that.

He
stepped back to the nearest undulating wall of the stomach and stared
at the center of the acidic pool.

“
Aethos,
I need you,” he said firmly.

There
was a momentary pause and then the misty, man-shape of the air
elemental appeared, hovering above the foul liquid.

“
What
the...wizard? Is that you? You've alive!”

“
So
far. Let's see how long that lasts.”

Simon
gestured at the grim scene around them.

“
Welcome
to my nightmare,” he said with a weak grin.

Aethos
spun slowly in place.

“
Are
we actually inside the...”

“
The
dragon. Yes, we are. Is it all that you hoped it would be?”

“
You're
mad,” the elemental said flatly. “I am pleased to see
that you still live, but what are you doing?”

“
Killing
the bastard, hopefully. Listen, I'm starting to get digested here so
I don't have a lot of time. I need you to do enough damage to this
monster to kill it from the inside.”

“
Really?
An interesting idea, but I doubt that my winds can harm such a
powerful creature.”

“
Ah,
but you won't be alone. Hang on a second.”

Simon
looked at the center of the stomach again.

“
Incendus,
I need you,” he said, feeling a bit more nervous this time.

A
burst of fire ignited in the middle of the air above the acid pool
and a living flame grew there, its crackling energy echoing around
the small space.

“
Well,
well, the wizard lives.”

Simon
watched as the flame swirled, apparently looking around, although it
was difficult to really tell. He noted with interest that Aethos
hovered close to the fire elemental and showed no averse reaction to
his heat.

“
So,
we're in the belly of the beast, I take it?”

“
We
are. I'm glad you aren't upset. I was worried you might be a
little...angry.”

“
I
am inside a dragon, wizard. Of course I'm angry. I'm also intrigued.
You are planning something, yes?”

“
Yes.
Look, we aren't getting anywhere attacking this monster from the
outside. What we need to do is kill it from in here. So tell me,
Incendus, could you generate enough heat to do a fatal amount of
damage to our host here.”

The
fire elemental flew close to the wall of the stomach, then rose up to
examine the tube leading upward. He returned to his original position
and his flames died down a bit.

“
No.
No, I do not think so. Oh, I could damage it, doubtless. But kill it
outright? No.”

“
So
now what, wizard?” Aethos asked him. “You can't stay here
much longer. Your magical skin is dissolving.”

“
I
know. Look, I have an idea. I figured that neither of you could do
enough damage to kill this thing...separately. But what if you work
together?”

“
Together?”
Incendus sounded intrigued and Aethos lifted one misty eyebrow.
“How?”

“
A
firestorm,” Simon said simply. “Incendus, you hover in
the center of the stomach, where you are now, and generate the most
intense heat that you can. Aethos, you create a vortex around him.
The high winds will fan the flames and you can increase the amount of
heat and damage the fire does by an incredible amount. It may be
enough to literally fry this thing from the inside out.”

“
Interesting,”
Aethos said. He looked at Incendus. “What do you think?”

“
I
think our young wizard is wiser than he looks.”

“
Um,
thanks. I think. So, do you want to try it? It is your choice to
make.”

“
And
if we say no?” Aethos asked, watching Simon closely.

The
wizard shrugged.

“
Then
I stay here and do as much damage as I can until I either run out of
energy, the dragon expels me or the acid gets me. It may not stop the
monster, but it might wound it badly enough for our people to retreat
and live to fight another day.”

“
Ah,
I see. Well, I for one would like to say that I had a hand in
bringing down a primal dragon.”

Aethos
looked at the flames.

“
What
about you?”

“
I
love a challenge. Of course I will do it. If nothing else, it will
make a good story to tell the lesser elementals when I return home.”

“
That's
fantastic! Thanks, guys,” Simon said gratefully.

“
Thank
us when this monstrosity is dead. Now, I think you'd better leave,
wizard,” Aethos said and nodded at Simon's legs. “You are
about to take significant damage.”

“
I'm
going.”

He
chanted the Gate spell and then paused.

“
Good
luck to you. Here's hoping it works.”

“
Agreed,”
Incendus said. “Now go, quickly!”

Simon
pictured the mesa and the boulder that he had hidden behind earlier
and invoked the spell.

It
was probably the fastest Gate he had ever used. One second he was
inside the dragon and the next he was standing on the flat ground of
the plateau.

His
Steel Skin spell shattered as he appeared, thankfully splattering the
goo he'd been covered with on to the ground.

He
canceled his shield and then crept around the boulder to see what was
happening.

The
primal dragon was once more encased in rock from its knees down, but
it didn't seem to care. It was actually laughing with horrid glee.

“
Why
do you continue to fight?” it roared at the elves who were
shooting wave after wave of arrows at it.

Simon
saw a dozen bright missiles slam into the monster as well as a streak
of lightning and knew that the mages were still in the battle.

“
Your
champion is gone. Your cause is lost. Soon, I will have his power
added to my own and then, I will be truly unstoppable.”

The
wizard snuck from one boulder to the next, keeping out of sight. He
didn't want the dragon to realize that something was wrong.

He
finally reached a position close to where Tamara and Sebastian were
standing. Both of the siblings looked drained and were barely able to
stand. But they kept on attacking. It was heart-breaking.

“
Tamara,
you have to stop,” Sebastian told his sister as she fell to her
knees. She had launched more missiles but then had collapsed with a
weary cry.

“
You're
going to kill yourself! We've done all that we could.”

“
Have
we?” she asked as he pulled her to her feet. “That...that
thing ate Simon! He gave his life to try to save the world. Can we do
any less?”

“
I
know, but...”

Simon
stepped out of the shadows and walked toward them, moving slowly so
that he didn't catch the primal's attention.

“
Yeah,”
he said quietly. “About that...”

Tamara
gave out a little shriek and turned so quickly that her brother had
to grab her arm to keep her from falling again.

“
Simon?
You're alive?”

She
gaped at him in disbelief and he shrugged ruefully.

“
So
far I am. But the night's not over yet, so you never know.”

Sebastian
stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

“
How?
How did you do it? And why?”

Simon
glanced up at the dragon and then motioned for them to move back out
of sight.

“
It
was something Ethmira said to me earlier. Basically, we can't beat
this thing from the outside. It has to be attacked internally.”

“
But
you're here,” Tamara said in confusion. “So you're saying
it didn't work?”

“
No,
I'm saying it may be about to. Sebastian, could you go to the elves,
find Ethmira and tell her to pull her people back? They're wasting
arrows and I don't want any of them getting hurt. If she asks why,
just tell her that I sent you.”

“
Yeah.
Sure, of course. I'll go right now.”

“
Watch
yourself,” Tamara called after him. She looked at Simon.

“
So
now what?”

“
Now
we wait. It shouldn't be too long, one way or another.”

They
stood shoulder to shoulder in the shadows and watched. A few moments
later, they saw the elves pulling back en masse and moving to the
edge of the plateau. The primal laughed mockingly.

“
So,
you listened to my advice. Good. Now scurry home, little rats. When
next we meet, you won't have a hole left to hide in.”

“
I'm
getting really sick of listening to that thing talk,” the mage
said with disgust.

“
Really
loves the sound of its own voice, doesn't it?” Simon commented.
“Maybe the transformation involved merging itself with a
politician?”

She
giggled and poked him sharply with an elbow.

A
distant rumble shook the ground slightly and the primal looked around
with a frown.

“
What
is this? More attackers? Haven't you had enough?”

Another
rumble followed and Simon saw the breastplate on the dragon suddenly
move upwards and then back again.

“
What?”

The
dragon looked down at itself and this time its entire torso seemed to
inflate and press against its armor. It growled and slammed a hand
against its chest.

“
Is
that you, little wizard? What are you doing in there? Just die
already and give me your power.”

There
was a long pause and then the white scaly skin of the primal began to
glow. The luminescence began in its chest and then moved down to its
belly and out to its limbs. The white scales began to sizzle and
darkened to an ominous red color. In minutes, the primal dragon was a
bright yellowish red in color.

Steam
rose from its skin and it began bellowing, first in anger and then in
fear.

“
What
are you doing? You cannot hope to defeat me! I am the strongest. I am
the fiercest!”

Simon
stepped out of the shadows and moved forward. He summoned a light
globe and it rose to dance above his head.

The
primal turned its head and looked down at him. It was now glowing so
brightly that the plateau shone as if from the rising sun.

“
You!
You are alive! What have you done to me?”

“
Me?”
Simon yelled up at it. “Nothing. You did this to yourself. If
you hadn't sacrificed our people, you might have lived for years. So
if you're looking for someone to blame, blame yourself. Oh and say
hello to the black and green primals when you see them again. In
hell.”

“
Why
you...”

The
primal dragon ripped its feet loose and stepped toward Simon. It
raised its arms to smash him to a pulp and then stood there, eyes
wide, frozen in place. It made a small sound of surprise and then the
immense form glowed as brightly as the sun, and exploded.

“
Everybody
down!” Simon shouted as he threw himself flat behind the
closest lump of rock. The shock wave from the explosion sent dust and
rocks flying everywhere.

Simon
was struck painfully several times and he kept his hands covering his
head until the danger had passed.

Finally
the last of the shaking subsided and the winds died down. The wizard
looked around cautiously and then slowly got to his feet. A stab of
pain from his lower back, and one from his thigh had him limping as
he tried to see if everyone was all right.

“
Tamara?
Sebastian? Are you guys okay?”

The
dust began to settle and Simon saw the mages helping each other up,
coughing and brushing the dirt off of their coats.