The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) (39 page)

“
Circling, watching,
being all ugly and stuff. The usual.”

Aeris' bantering tone
changed and he became serious.

“
What is happening
at Nottinghill Castle?”

“
They're under
attack as well. The castle's walls are holding back the horde for
now, but they have their own airborne threats. Undead wyverns, if you
can believe that. Tamara and her forces are fending them off and dawn
is breaking there, but they've lost some people. Damn it.”

“
So this is a
coordinated attack on both you and Nottinghill?” Aeris asked in
surprise. “But that means that the necromancers are in contact
with each other. Oh, that's bad.”

“
Worse than this?”
Kronk asked as he hopped up on to the parapet and pointed at the
circling monster.

“
I'd say so.
Remember, we've seen at least a dozen groups of undead gathered in
cities around the world. If the necromancers from Ottawa and London
are on the attack, that might mean that the others are as well.”

“
Maybe so, but
attacking whom?”

“
Ah, now that's the
real question, isn't it?”

Aeris moved closer to
Simon and hovered near his right shoulder.

“
You've always
suspected that there were pockets of humanity left on Earth, haven't
you? Maybe small towns and villages where survivors had gathered to
try to rebuild and carry on with their lives after the dragons
returned?”

Simon watched the
dracolich as he nodded.

“
Of course. It's a
big planet. And there were seven billion of us at the end. Logically
they couldn't all have been slaughtered on the Night of Burning or
when the drakes were sent in to clean up any people who were missed
in the original attack.”

“
Exactly. Well, I
very much fear that the dark gods are well aware of how many
survivors there are, and where they are holed up. I hope I'm wrong,
but it's possible that the necromancers around the world are moving
en masse to wipe out the last of your species.”

A lump of ice seemed to
form in Simon's belly and he looked at the air elemental's solemn
face in horror.

“
You really believe
that?” he whispered.

“
I'm afraid I do.
But I've been wrong before. Perhaps I am now. Let us hope so.”

Simon began pacing back
and forth from one side of the roof to the other, not realizing how
much he was mimicking Tamara when she became upset. He kept an eye on
the undead dragon, but for the moment its presence was almost
secondary.

What can I do, he asked
himself frantically. What the hell can I do? If Aeris is right, my
people are about to be wiped out. How many can use magic to defend
themselves? Nottinghill Castle and the Defiant may be aberrations.
What if most settlements have no mages or other spell-casters?
They'll be helpless in the face of hundreds of undead monsters
directed by a malevolent necromancer.

He walked back to the
elementals, wrapped both hands around his staff and leaned on it,
staring out into the night.

“
I think that this
is the end of the human race,” he said hopelessly. “If
we're even human anymore, which I highly doubt. I'm trapped here by
that,” he glowered at the circling dracolich, “thing. And
even if I wasn't, I have no idea where the rest of the necromancers
are going. We may survive here, and the people in Nottinghill Castle
and on the Defiant, but that could be it.”

The dracolich bellowed its
horrific roar again and Simon scowled at it.

“
But whatever
happens, I'm going to send you back to Hell if it's the last thing I
do!”

“
How long until
dawn?” Simon asked Aeris as he watched the undead dragon
gliding around the tower.

The air elemental looked
intently toward the east.

“
A little over three
hours, give or take. You will be gasping for air inside the wards
long before that.”

“
Thanks. I know.”

The wizard looked down at
the outer wall where the shield around the tower ended. Undead
monsters, mostly skeletons and rotting corpses, were waiting just
outside of the magical barrier and staring up at him balefully. He
could actually feel their malevolent gaze on him even from the roof.

Simon looked to the left
and right and saw that the monsters were beginning to encircle the
entire tower. And the animated corpses were still coming, climbing
stiffly out of the hole in the field and staggering forward to join
the others.

“
Where the hell is
that necromancer?” he wondered aloud. “Shouldn't he be
here directing his troops?”

“
Not necessarily,”
Aeris answered as he bobbed up and down above the parapet. “He
has his wraiths to follow whatever his battle plan is. And the
less...rotted undead have at least a modicum of intelligence. Only
the skeletons must be constantly controlled.”

“
But if he is not
here, where could he be?” Kronk asked.

“
Perhaps he took a
contingent of his troops to the old town of Nottinghill to wipe out
the bear people. Who knows? But if he did, there is very little our
dear wizard here can do while we're trapped inside the wards.”

“
Oh crap, I hope
not. I like those guys.”

Simon frowned in thought
as his eyes continued to track the dracolich.

“
They do have a
shaman; maybe that will help them defend against the undead. Damn it,
I was hoping to face that necromancer here and deal with him right
away.”

Aeris stared at him
doubtfully.

“
Really? You think
you are a match for an evil wizard who can control something like
that?”

He pointed at the undead
dragon.

Simon glowered at him and
returned to watching the circling monster.

“
How should I know?
But those casters have to be stopped, don't they? At least if he was
here, I'd be fighting from my home base and not out in the field
somewhere.”

“
Well, you'll have
to deal with him another day. In the meantime, what about that flying
monstrosity?”

Simon hung his staff over
his shoulder by its leather strap, then leaned forward over the
parapet and stared down at the mass of attackers below.

“
If I drop the wards
to attack the dracolich, the horde will be pounding against the wall
in an instant. Do you think the wards down there are strong enough to
hold them back for a few minutes?”

“
Longer than that,
master,” Kronk said stoutly. “The wall is sturdy and the
enchantment will harm every undead creature that comes into contact
with it. They will not be able to cross and the wards in the cellar
will protect us from an underground assault.”

“
I like your
confidence, my friend,” Simon told him with a smile. “And
I'll accept your judgment in this case.”

“
So, what exactly
are you going to do to take out that thing?” Aeris asked,
looking from Simon to the dracolich and back again.

“
Me? Nothing,
actually. I don't even know if any of my spells would make a dent in
it. It has to be, what, a hundred feet from nose to tail?”

“
At least.”

“
Well, if it would
do me a favor and land, I suppose that I could drop a meteor on it,
but barring that, who knows?”

Both elementals looked at
him with wide eyes.

“
Then do not drop
the wards, master!” Kronk urged. “If you cannot stop it,
do not take any chances. Gate to Nottinghill Castle or perhaps the
Defiant until the danger has passed.”

“
Until the danger
has passed? Kronk, if I leave, what will I be returning to? Do you
think that the undead will leave this tower standing if I'm gone?
They will level the place.”

“
My dear wizard,”
Aeris said carefully. “I am fond of this tower too, but in the
end it is just a building. Kronk and his people can build you another
one, or repair this one. Is it worth risking your life for?”

Simon looked at each of
them and wondered if elementals simply couldn't feel sentiment. Maybe
so.

“
Guys, this is my
home. Yes, it is 'just' a building. But I have history here. I'm more
than fond of it. And to be honest, letting that necromancer get his
grimy hands on it, even if it's his walking corpses that take it
apart and not him personally, isn't something I'm prepared to
accept.”

Aeris and Kronk didn't
seem to understand his reasoning and he shook his head at his
inability to explain.

“
I'm not running
away,” he said flatly. “I refuse to turn tail and
retreat. Once I do that, my enemies will know, when push comes to
shove, that I will cave in and scurry away like a little mouse. No.
No way.”

“
Master...”

“
My dear wizard...”

“
You heard me. I
make my stand right here, right now. End of discussion.”

He turned away and walked
across the roof to stare off into the distance, thinking hard.

“
He's a stubborn
one,” Simon heard Aeris murmur.

“
That is our
master,” Kronk replied with a deep sigh. “We cannot fault
his courage.”

“
Courage and
stupidity are often interchangeable, have you noticed that?”
Aeris asked the earthen.

“
Be silent. You are
not helping.”

Simon barely listened to
them. The elementals would support him no matter what, of that he was
sure. But this was his fight. And he was trying to figure out how to
win it.

He watched the undead
dragon circle and circle mindlessly. He wondered if it had any of the
intelligence of the dead primal brown dragon. Its movements seemed
almost mechanical as it waited for an opening to attack.

A robot under command of
the necromancer, that's what it is, Simon realized. A puppet. It will
follow its orders like an automaton.

He smiled coldly.

Which means that it won't
deal well with surprises. So let's throw a few at it and see how that
goes.

He spun around and stared
at the center of the roof.

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

A bolt of flame appeared
in the night sky and shot straight down at the tower. It penetrated
the shielding, dropped to the roof and hovered a few inches above it.

Six feet high and pulsing
with wave after wave of heat, the ball of fire shifted its shape and
condensed into a humanoid figure made of lava.

Two dark spots in the
burning face looked toward Simon and the fire elemental nodded
politely.

“
Sir wizard, how
nice to see you today,” Incendus said in a friendly tone.

His voice crackled and
snapped like burning logs and he lit up the entire roof with a red
glow.

“
You too, Incendus,”
Simon replied. “How have you been?”

“
Oh, fair. Fair. The
realm of fire is quite tame compared to the adventures I have shared
with you. I am pleased that you have called upon me. What can I do
for you?”

Instead of answering,
Simon pointed over the elemental's shoulder at the circling
dracolich.

Incendus turned and looked
at the monster. He put his hands on his hips and cocked his head to
the side.

“
Dracolich, is it?
Interesting. So you are dealing with a necromancer, and a rather
talented one at that.”

“
We are. Have you
faced such a creature before?”

The flying skeleton roared
at them as it flapped its enormous bony wings. Strangely, it didn't
seem to notice the sudden appearance of the fire elemental.

“
No, not personally.
But I've known a few who have. They are powerful but stupid.
Predictable. I wonder if these necromancers create such things to
impress others rather than because they are practical. Because they
aren't.”

Incendus looked around the
roof and Kronk and Aeris bowed to him respectfully. He smiled and
nodded and turned to Simon.

“
You need that thing
dealt with?”

“
If possible, yes. I
could hit it with lightning, or a few fireballs, but I have a feeling
that it will take something more...focused to destroy it. It really
is ridiculously big.”

“
Hmm. True.”

They all watched the
dracolich as it flew its mindless circular route again and again. The
flapping sound it made was particularly chilling. Arcs of purple
energy connecting the bones of its wings seemed to act as the missing
skin it once had, allowing it to fly.

“
Well, I certainly
could not destroy it on my own. Would you allow me to bring in a few
of my kind? I'd say a half dozen or so of us could get the job done.”

He looked up at the shield
pulsing overhead and then grinned knowingly at Simon.

“
Clever wizard,”
he said lightly. “Using elementals means that you don't have to
drop the wards around your tower, does it not?”