The Dragons of Ice and Snow (57 page)

“
The
most vulnerable spot on a dragon.” Simon said grimly. “And
behind the eyes is the brain. Those monsters are already dead, they
just don't know it yet.”

A
high-pitched hissing to the right of the trapped dragons drew their
attention. The drakes, that had been blocked from Simon's view by the
scattered boulders, were racing to the dragons' defense. The wizard
watched them follow the trajectory of the arrows back to their source
and then turn to charge at the elves.

For
a moment, his heart was in his mouth. The mass of drakes would tear
the elves apart.

But
a blast of wind coming from nowhere struck the drakes and Simon
watched, stunned, as the monsters flew through the air, like horrific
scattered leaves and landed in heaps at the far end of the plateau.

The
drakes weren't done though. They staggered to their feet, hissing in
rage and again raced toward the still-shooting elves.

Once
again, a screaming explosion of wind lifted them all off their scaled
feet, but this time, as they spun in the air, they hung suspended,
beginning to spin end over end until they were swirling around each
other in an invisible vortex.

“
The
air elementals?” Sebastian asked in amazement.

“
I
assume so,” Simon said as he stared at the almost humorous
sight of the spinning tornado of drakes. “Although I'm not sure
what they expect to accomplish with this. Make them dizzy?”

His
question was answered a moment later.

The
drakes were abruptly hurled straight up into the dark sky, so far
that they faded from sight.

“
What
the hell...” Tamara muttered as she looked up.

Far
above the plateau, there was a flash, like distant lightning against
the glittering stars and then the drakes, two dozen or more, shot
straight down at tremendous speed and slammed into the ground.

In
the sudden silence that followed, Simon and the mages stared at the
flattened, obviously dead bodies of the drakes. They exchanged
stunned glances and Tamara shook her head.

“
Remind
me never to anger an air elemental,” she said to her brother,
who nodded numbly.

“
No
kidding.”

Several
of the dragons were still writhing in agony but the others were dead,
their gaping jaws and blood-soaked tongues evidence of their final,
agonizing moments of life.

The
elves stopped firing and cautiously came out from behind the boulders
and approached the bodies, checking to make sure that the monsters
were all dead.

On
the far side of the hulking remains of the dragons, the dragonoid
servant of the primal dragon was also dead, riddled with arrows and
looking like some grotesque porcupine.

“
Simon?
Guys? Come over here!”

The
wizard and the mages looked across the plateau and saw Malcolm waving
at them. He was standing next to the Gate.

They
picked their way over the smaller rocks and debris and then hurried
to join him and the others, giving the dead dragons a wide berth.

When
they reached the portal, the six of them stood side by side, staring
at it.

“
Now,
I know you need this thing destroyed,” the big man said. “But
I'm just not sure how to do it.”

“
Smash
the crystals,” Tamara said with a shrug. “Quickest way,
isn't it?”

“
Probably,”
Aiden said. He was standing next to the crystal on the right. It was
eye-searingly bright and as tall as he was.

“
The
question is, will it explode and kill me if I do that?”

“
Oh
right,” the mage said, looking a bit embarrassed.

“
Now
don't get me wrong,” Aiden continued with a smile. “I
don't mind taking one for the team, but,” he glanced around the
mesa, “since the danger seems to have passed, maybe there's a
less, uh, fatal solution here?”

“
Stand
back. We will take care of it,” a deep voice rumbled from
behind them.

Kassus
walked up with one of his fellow elementals.

“
You
are correct. The power enclosed within these crystals is unstable,
violent. Smashing them would result in your death. We have a better
solution.”

“
You
do?” Simon asked. “Then by all means, go ahead.”

“
Thank
you, wizard,” Kassus growled. He nodded at his fellow earthen
and each one approached a crystal. With one single, coordinated
movement, they wrapped their thick arms around a crystal, pulled it
out of the hole it had been resting in and began to walk away.

“
Hey,
where are they going?” Tamara exclaimed. She sounded a little
suspicious.

“
Patience,
lady mage,” Simon told her. “If I trust anyone in this
world outside of my friends, it is the earth elementals. Watch and
see what happens.”

She
gave him a look, shrugged and waited with the rest of them.

The
two elementals walked slowly to the edge of the plateau. They raised
the huge crystals over their heads at the same time and simply flung
them into space. They turned back and Kassus looked at Simon.

“
Problem
solved,” he said simply and then both he and his fellow
elemental sank into the ground and disappeared.

“
Good
grief,” Malcolm exclaimed.

He
and the others ran to the rim of the mesa and looked down.

The
two crystals were still falling, spinning end over end and growing
smaller in the distance. They looked like two shiny Christmas bulbs
as they fell. When they finally hit the ground, there were a pair of
tremendous explosions and the mesa actually trembled for a few
seconds. And then they were gone.

“
Efficient,”
Liliana said with approval.”

“
Always,”
Simon agreed.

“
Now
I'm a bit disappointed,” Malcolm said, pretending to pout. “I
didn't get a chance to hit anything!”

“
Well,
you and Aiden could always go over there and smash those dragon
eggs.”

“
Not
exactly glorious combat, is it?” the big man said to his
partner.

“
Yeah,
but it has to be done.”

“
Okay,
fine. Let's go and make a few omelets.”

The
pair headed off toward the row upon row of dragon eggs buried in the
snow, while Simon and the others hurried back to check on the
captives.

Ethmira
and some of her archers were kneeling down, administering aid to the
humans. They were a pitiable looking group. All were under-dressed
and Simon was sure that they were suffering from both malnutrition
and frostbite.

“
How
are they doing?” he asked the elf when they got closer.

“
Not
good, my friend. We must get them out of this cold immediately and
get them medical attention. Several of them may not last much
longer.”

“
We
can do that,” Simon said quickly. He turned to look at the
mages.

“
You
remember what my friend Clara looks like? The cleric?”

“
Yes,
of course.” Tamara said. “Why?”

“
I
was wondering if you and Sebastian could Gate these poor people to
Nottinghill. Clara said she'd be standing by in case anyone needed
healing. Well, these people certainly qualify.”

He
looked over to where the two warriors were smashing the dragon eggs.
They looked like they were almost finished.

“
Malcolm
and Aiden can give you a hand. They live there, after all.”

“
But
what about you?” Sebastian asked. “Aren't you going to
join us?”

“
When
I'm done here. I have a few things I want to talk to the elementals
about and I want to poke around a bit and then I'll be along.”

He
looked around for a small, floating figure but couldn't find him.

“
Aeris,
I need you,” he said and the little elemental popped up a few
feet away.

“
Yes,
oh great and mysterious one?” the elemental said with an
exaggerated bow.

Sebastian
snickered and even Tamara managed a little smile.

“
Stop
that,” Simon said absently. “Could you find Kassus for me
please? I assume the elves are going to want to be transported back
to the bottom of the mesa?”

Ethmira
looked up from where she was kneeling by a young girl and smiled a
thank you.

“
Oh
and ask Aethos to join me at his leisure too. I want to talk to him
about something.”

The
air elemental looked at him with a puzzled expression and Simon gave
him an intense look and nodded once.

“
Ah,
of course. It shouldn't take long,” Aeris said more
respectfully and vanished.

Sebastian
trotted over to the warriors. A few minutes later the three of them
returned. Malcolm looked pleased with himself.

“
Over
two hundred eggs, destroyed. So that's a couple hundred of those
bastards who will never live to harm anyone.”

“
Excellent,”
Simon said. He had removed his jacket and put it around a young boy
who looked to be no more than twelve. He was shaking like a leaf and
was so skinny the wizard thought that he could almost see through
him.

“
Are
we s..s..safe now, sir?” the youngster asked weakly, stuttering
with cold.

“
You're
safe,” Simon told him gently as he tightened the jacket around
the frail body. “We're getting you out of here, to somewhere
that's warm, far away from this horrible place.”

The
boy began to weep and Simon stroked his head.

“
Easy,
easy. Hang on just a little longer, okay?”

“
Okay,”
the boy said in the merest of whispers.

“
Good
man.”

Simon
stood up and looked around at all of his friends and allies.

“
Time
to go, folks. The drakes and dragons are dead. The eggs are destroyed
and that contraption,” he nodded at the empty space where the
Gate had been, “has been neutralized. I wanted to thank you all
for your help. I think that we've dealt the enemy a serious blow
today.”

“
I
agree,” Ethmira said, gazing warmly at all of them. “My
people are happy to have helped and will be pleased to offer our
services again in the future.”

The
ground shook to a ponderous tread and Simon watched as Kassus and his
earthen approached.

“
The
elves need transportation?” he asked in his gravelly voice.

“
If
you wouldn't mind,” Simon told him. “Just to the base of
the mesa.”

“
We
do not mind.”

“
Thanks.
After that, you and your people are free to go. You have our
gratitude for what you did today.”

“
It
was our pleasure, wizard. We will await your call in the future.”
He turned his blazing red eyes to look at Ethmira.

“
Are
you ready, lady elf?”

“
We
are.”

She
gave Simon a brief hug, waved to the others and then the humans
watched as the elves were encased in globes of rock and disappeared
into the ground.

“
You
know, I'll never get used to that,” Malcolm said tightly.

“
Claustrophobic,”
Aiden said wisely to Liliana. His partner glared at him and he just
grinned back.

“
Are
you all set to go?” Simon asked Tamara and Sebastian.

“
We
are. Aiden, you're with my brother. Malcolm, with me please.”

They
had divided the captives into two groups of six each and made sure
that each was touching the other.

Simon
watched as the siblings both chanted the Gate spell.

“
Malcolm,
one hand on my shoulder, the other on that boy's. Aiden, the same
with Sebastian.”

When
they were ready, Tamara nodded at the wizard.

“
We'll
see you back in Nottinghill,” she said, giving him a warm smile
for the first time.

“
You
bet. See you soon.”

And
then there was a brief flash of light and Simon was staring at an
empty space.

“
It
is good that they're out of this place,” Liliana said. She was
standing behind him, staring at the crater in the ground where the
primal white dragon used to sit.