The Dragons of Ice and Snow (62 page)

'We're
okay, Simon,” Tamara answered weakly. “You?”

“
Better
than I expected, to be honest. I half thought I'd be digested by
now.”

The
three of them turned and walked toward the body of the primal dragon.

The
smell of burnt flesh and bone was revolting and Tamara pulled out a
handkerchief and held it over her mouth.

Simon
stopped several yards away and just looked at what was left of the
dragon. Behind him, he heard the light footsteps of the elves and the
heavy tread of an earth elemental.

Ethmira
appeared on his left and smiled at him.

“
I
was so happy when the mage told me you were alive,” she said
warmly.

“
Thanks.
I'm glad it worked. Did you lose anyone?”

“
Thankfully,
no. A few broken limbs, some cuts and bruises, but nothing more. Our
healers will repair the damage in no time. What about you and the
mages?”

“
We're
good. Bumps and bruises, but that's all.”

He
nodded at the shattered body of the primal. Its white flesh was torn
open in a dozen places and its yellow eyes glared sightlessly at the
purple sky.

“
This
was a close one,” he said somberly and she nodded.

“
It
was that.”

Ethmira
looked slowly along the length of the dragon, her brow furrowed.

“
What?
What are you thinking?” Simon asked quietly.

“
I'm
thinking that if the primal white dragon was this powerful, how much
stronger are the brown and red? And what about their queen?”

“
I
know,” he said as Tamara and Sebastian moved forward and stood
next to them. “I don't know how we're going to defeat dragons
that are even stronger than this bastard was.”

“
You'll
think of something, sir wizard,” Sebastian said with a
lop-sided grin. “After all, you always have.”

“
Yeah?
I think my bag of tricks is pretty much empty at this point.”

He
leaned over to shake the dust out of his hair and then whipped it
back out of his face.

“
Your
hair has more white in it after this battle, my friend,”
Ethmira told him with a teasing smile.

“
I
kind of like it,” Tamara said. “It's sort of...cutting
edge.”

“
Yeah,
that's me. An icon of fashion.”

They
all laughed and then caught their breaths as a flame appeared on
their left and a second shape made of mist appeared beside it.

“
That
was well done, guys,” Simon said heartily to the elementals.

“
Wait
a second here,” Tamara said. “You mean these two are
responsible for killing that monster?”

“
Credit
where credit is due,” Simon said with a nod. “They
combined their powers and took it out from the inside.”

Aethos
bowed slightly while Incendus just burned a little brighter.

“
That
amazing!” Sebastian said. “Great job!”

Ethmira
and Tamara added their congratulations and Aethos looked very
pleased.

“
We
appreciate the accolades, but thank the wizard. It was his idea to
combine our strengths. It has never been done before and we certainly
would never have thought of it.”

“
Aethos
speaks the truth,” Incendus added in his crackling voice. “The
wizard has earned your gratitude. And ours. Call on us again if you
need us, sir wizard. We are now your allies.”

“
As
am I and mine,” the air elemental said firmly. “If you
require our aid, simply call us by name.”

“
Thank
you both for that. And for what you did. Hopefully though we'll get a
long respite before we have to tackle the next primal dragon.”

The
elementals said farewell and then both faded and were gone.

“
You've
earned the respect of the elementals, Simon,” Ethmira said.
“Not an easy thing to do.”

“
Well,
it's good to know that we have allies in our fight. We're going to
need them.”

He
stretched painfully and looked around.

“
But
not tonight. Are you heading back now?” he asked the elf.

Ethmira
nodded and looked toward her archers. Next to them, several earth
elementals waited quietly.

“
Yes.
The earthen have agreed to take us down to the plain before they
return to their own realms.”

She
took Simon's hand and squeezed it gently.

“
Take
care. Hopefully we'll see each other again soon.”

“
Under
better circumstances,” he added with a smile.

She
laughed lightly, shook hands with Tamara and Sebastian and went back
to her people.

“
So
what about you two?” Simon asked. “Can you make it home
all right or do you need a lift?”

“
Oh
no, we're fine,” Tamara answered for them both. “I'm a
bit knackered, to be honest, so Bastion is going to Gate us back to
London. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“
You've
earned it. Listen, I wanted to thank you for coming back tonight. You
obviously guessed that the primal hadn't actually left the area. Good
call. And your willingness to join in the battle was, well, awesome.”

“
Hey,
did you hear that, Bastion?” Tamara said, winking at the
wizard. “We're awesome.”

“
Well,
I know I am. Can't really speak for you, big sister.”

“
Watch
it, kid,” she growled and punched him on the shoulder.

Her
brother just snickered.

Tamara
extended a hand to Simon, who shook it firmly.

“
If
you need us, you know where we are, right?” she asked.

“
I
do.”

Simon
shook Sebastian's hand as well and thanked them both again.

He
watched as they clasped hands and then their Gate pulled them into
the void.

“
You
can come out now,” Simon said as he rolled his eyes.

The
mesa was empty, except for the enormous carcass of the primal, parts
of it still smoldering, and Simon felt exhaustion start to creep up
on him.

“
How
did you know I was here?”

“
Where
else would you be, Aeris?” he asked as he turned and saw the
little guy floating toward him. “You're much too curious to
have waited down below with Kronk where it was safe.”

“
You
have an odd definition of safe, my dear wizard. Why, a white dragon
could have swooped down on us at any time. Besides, the paladin was
in good hands. The elvish maiden left one of her people to care for
the woman until the battle was over.”

“
How
is she?” Simon asked anxiously.

“
Resting
comfortably and very cranky that she couldn't rejoin the battle. Hard
to do with broken ribs, is what I told her.”

“
She
has broken ribs? Ouch.”

“
Had
broken ribs. She's almost completely healed now and waiting for you
to transport her home.”

“
Amazing
the way her powers work. Well, we're done here, I suppose. And the
end of the primal means the end to all of the lesser white dragons.
Plus, the water elementals will have been drawn back to their own
realm with the death of the primal dragon. I wonder if it affected
the battle at the dwarven capital? We'll have to find out.”

“
But
not tonight, my dear wizard. You look done in. Worry about that after
you take the paladin home and then head home yourself for some food
and sleep. Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.”

“
You're
starting to sound like Kronk, you know that. One worrywart is all I
can handle, thanks.”

“
Bah,
I wasn't worried,” Aeris said as Simon began to chant the
incantation for the Gate spell. “Well, except for when I
thought you'd been eaten. And then it was only because I knew Kronk
would blame the whole thing on me when I told him.”

“
Thanks
so much. It always makes me feel so warm and fuzzy when you share
your true feelings.”

They
exchanged a long look and then both wizard and elemental burst out
laughing.

“
Okay
then,” Simon said. “Grab hold. We'll head down and pick
up Liliana and Kronk and then head for home. It's been a very long
day.”

Massive wings stirred up
dust and crusty snow as the dragon landed on the flat mesa. It was
almost a third as long as the plateau itself and every step shook the
ground as it moved its immense bulk.

On either side of it, two
lesser dragons landed more gracefully and hung back, allowing their
leader to move forward alone.

The dragon approached the
remains of the primal white dragon. Weeks had passed since it had
been killed and its carcass was covered with thin snow and patches of
ice.

The dragon glared down at
the remains and then lifted its heavy head, yellow eyes blazing and
scanned the rest of the area.

It saw the frozen bodies
of red and white dragons, drakes and the mutated dragonoids. As its
eyes fell on these, it snorted with clear disgust.

“
So the reports were
true,” it rumbled, its thick bass voice making the frigid air
tremble.

“
Yes, great one,”
one of the escorts said respectfully. “No sign of any white
dragons for weeks. No communication between our people and them.”

“
Hmm.”

The dragon stomped forward
several more paces and lowered its head to sniff at something on the
ground. It was a broken arrow, tipped with shining steel that seemed
to glow in the cloudy light of the overcast sky.

The dragon sniffed again
and then reared back, roaring a challenge.

Its escorts unfurled their
wings and rushed forward, seeking an enemy that wasn't there.

“
What is it,
master?” one of them asked timidly as their leader stared at
the ground, its neck arched and its eyes bulging.

“
Elves. I smell
elves here. It is they who attacked my sibling.”

“
But master, we have
reports that humans are responsible for...”

The huge head, as large as
the lesser dragon itself, swung around and slammed into the speaker,
sending it rolling, its wings flailing around it.

“
Humans? Humans are
but rats waiting for their final extermination. They are only
surpassed in stupidity by the lowly dwarves. No, the only race that
has the prowess and weapons to launch an attack on a primal dragon
are the elves. Oh, perhaps they had a few humans along, as servants,
but they are responsible for this.”

The lesser dragon righted
itself and slunk back to huddle near its leader. The massive head
turned to look at it and the dragon shied away. The leader chuckled.

“
There, there.
Forget my anger. You are young, You have never faced elves before.
But I have. It was I who led the attacks that drove the cursed elves
back into their own realm, never to return. But see? The snake
slithers out of its hole, feeling safe and strong once more. Well, we
must teach these snakes a lesson and remind them who the true rulers
of this world really are.”

“
What will you do,
master?” the second dragon asked.

“
I will do what
should have been done those thousands of years ago. I will pursue the
elves into their own realm and wipe them out at the source.”

It looked down at the
shattered body of the primal white dragon.

“
They have dared to
kill a primal. They must also be responsible for the deaths of my
other two siblings. Well, now they shall see what true power is.”

The dragon reared back
again and belched out a torrent of sticky black liquid across the
body of the fallen primal. The carcass collapsed in on itself and
began to melt away until there was nothing left but pools of scummy
liquid.

“
I shall spread my
rot from one end of the elvish lands to the other. And then, then I
shall finally exterminate the last of the humans.”

The dragon spread its
enormous rust-colored wings to the wind and, with a mighty leap, took
to the air. The two lesser brown dragons exchanged a look of evil
glee and followed their master into the sky.

“
This,” one
hissed at the other as they struggled to catch up with their leader,
“ is going to be fun.”