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After staring at the where he wanted to go and simply wishing himself there several times without success, it suddenly became obvious to George what he had to do. He scryed in detail the place where he wanted to go, until he had an intimate knowledge of it. He also focused on every aspect of what and where he was presently, including his clothes, elf armor and weapons. He would preserve and transport all of it as part of himself. The added step of imagining himself in the new place was relatively simple.
Travel seemed to be instantaneous. He materialized only ten thousand miles above the Sun’s surface. He had prepared a shield of sorts around himself that was instantly obliterated, but it didn’t matter. He was soon absorbing sun energy thousands of times as intense as at the Earth’s surface. He had a few difficult moments, in which he felt he was falling apart, followed by certainty that he was rapidly growing in strength as he plunged towards an energy source so intense that he couldn’t scry it fully. As to looking at it with what remained of his human-like eyes, that was hopeless. There was only blinding white, and he couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or closed.
For long minutes he fell freely, until a plume of blazing plasma larger than Jupiter shot up, engulfed him, and swept him thousands of miles further away from the Sun with the energy of thousands of nuclear weapons. He absorbed the plume's energy rapidly, cooling it by thousands of degrees, until it no longer sustained his appetite for yet more.
He was so strengthened by now that he could look at and scry the Sun itself without any problem. What he observed was a vast chaotic cauldron of seething energy, most of it held at bay only by incredible gravitation. It was virtually the antithesis of the order and self-purpose that characterized life, including his own. Yet it was ordinary matter and energy in a form that he could master. He could control and use it. He studied the Sun’s interior for several seconds, fascinated. It did, he soon found, have vast structures that he could exploit, places within the Sun itself where he could absorb much more energy.
He almost effortlessly teleported himself a second time, deep into the Sun’s interior, where rampant fusion of hydrogen occurred. In a few minutes he could sense that his structure would be less stable if he absorbed more, so he stopped. He was at his full potential. He was, after all, only a small part of a young dragon.
The energy he had absorbed would perhaps have taken thousands of years to migrate to the star’s surface to where it could escape into space. He took a sizable amount of it with him out of the Sun much more quickly when he teleported a few million miles out into space, where he got his bearings before teleporting to a position a few hundred miles above Africa. He teleported one last time, then flew the last mile down to KraKara and Freedom.
It was nearly midnight when George landed next to the mound of the primitive monster that still surrounded Freedom, feeding on him. The dragon Chosen didn’t take the time to attack the monster, but simply walked through it as though it were nothing, searing away its structure as he went, before placing his right hand atop the barely cohesive head of Freedom.
The Dragon was comatose and close to total collapse. George had to first use his own structure as a template to restore Freedom to the point where the dragon was again capable of absorbing large amounts of energy.
Feeding the dragon was quicker and easier than absorbing the energy had been, for the reconstituted dragon was as much an extension of himself as he was of it. They were both more energy than matter, with material structure playing only the role of a familiar, well designed focusing aid.
“YOU HAVE DONE WELL, SMALL ONE,” Freedom acknowledged, at last. With a mental shrug the dragon grew rapidly to his new optimal size, which was gigantic!
Sensing the new danger KraKara withdrew and reformed as a long-legged biped that began to walk away rapidly, but it had gone only a few steps before the dragon, now twice its size and glowing white, pounced upon it. The monster roared in anger and attempted to envelop the dragon in tentacles, but those were immediately absorbed wherever they came into contact with the dragon. Realizing its mistake, KraKara tried to squirm away and down into the Earth, but found it could not free itself from the dragon. More and more of it disappeared into the dragon.
In minutes Freedom had absorbed the monster totally, obliterating its structure to the last molecule and making it part of his own. The dragon raised its massive head and roared in triumph, shooting a plume of green flame a thousand feet into the air.
“ABSORBING AN ELEMENTAL IS A VERY SIMPLE THING TO DO,” pathed Freedom, “IF YOU ENJOY OVERWHELMING STRENGTH AND PURPOSE. EVIL TINGES ARE ALSO OBLITERATED. ONLY DRAGONS AND UNICORNS CAN DESTROY EVIL.”
“So I see,” replied George, who had watched the process with interest from his perch atop Freedom’s head. Scrying the area of destruction around the final battle, he was glad to find no additional dead humans, though there were some serious injuries among the surrounding security and emergency forces. “I have one more task to complete here before leaving.”
He dropped down to ground level to free solders trapped by debris and to heal their wounds. Dozens of Nigerians cheered when they saw him coming, but many were too occupied by caring for the wounded to pay much attention to him or even note the gigantic glowing White Dragon that had replaced KraKara. Those that did notice George were in awe of the light-skinned teenaged boy in glowing elf armor, blue jeans, and tea-shirt that flew around what had been the battle zone, retrieving the injured and healing even their most serious injuries almost instantly.
One of the newly healed Americans abruptly drew an automatic pistol and shot George. A dozen bullets bounced off of him harmlessly, but the incident surprised and angered the teen. “Why did you shoot me?” he asked the terrified man, as he crushed the pistol in one hand, and held his wrist gently but firmly with the other.
“Kill orders, Sir,” the man replied.
George released him. “You hold to blind duty before honor. You shame your country.”
The Nigerians handcuffed the puzzled American and led him away, while a handful of other American solders, perhaps cowed by the Nigerian response and Dragon power, watched quietly. “Americans tell us you are very bad,” added a nearby Nigerian solder, “but we know that to be a lie.”
“We came here to destroy the monster, and that is what we did,” George said.
“And now we have other things to do,” thundered Freedom’s voice as he leapt into the air, from where he circled above, glowing so brightly that the entire area was illuminated as though by several full moons. The humans watched the dragon with apprehension, many of them fleeing the area, but the monstrous creature did not attack them.
“WHILE YOU WERE OCCUPIED I SPOKE WITH GROG AND WITH PIP,” pathed the dragon. “PIP HAS FOUND MARY IN THE DESERT TO THE NORTH. SHE LIVES BUT IS NEAR DEATH.”
“Then we must go to her,” stated George, disturbed. He quickly flew up to sit astride Freedom. Moments later, the remaining spectators were astonished when both boy and monstrous dragon instantly disappeared with a tremendous clap of thunder.
Moments later they landed gently upon the crest of a rocky cliff that overlooked a seemingly endless expanse of gigantic sand dunes. The air was cool and dry, but the sand and stone still radiated considerable residual heat. Before and below them in a rocky break between towering dark hills of sand, a tiny, brilliantly glowing gemstone hung suspended in mid-air a few feet above a prone human female figure and the miniature humanoid that paced anxiously around her, illuminating them in vivid contrast to the dark sandy mounds that loomed around them.
“I could do nothing for her but call you,” explained the perplexed elf Mage, as George alighted beside him. “She has a partly dragon form that protects and preserves that which is human. She also wears some sort of charm about her neck that I sense contains considerable power, though I know not its nature or purpose. She breaths slightly and her heart beats slowly, but I cannot reach her mind.”
George and Freedom
scryed Mary gently, not wishing to shatter the fragile remaining dragon presence that encased Mary like a protective cocoon.
“HER DRAGON-SELF HAS PROTECTED HER WELL, BUT IS VERY WEAK,” said Freedom. “I DO NOT BELIEVE WE CAN DO ANYTHING TO HELP HER.”
The statement shocked George. “Why not? I have both human and dragon form. I helped humans, surly I can help dragons or their Chosen. I even helped you to recover!”
“YOU ARE MY CHOSEN AND WE ARE UNITED AS ONE. WERE SHE ONLY HUMAN THE TASK WOULD BE SIMPLE, BUT EACH DRAGON HAS UNIQUE STRUCTURE. TO INTERACT IN SUCH A WAY IS NOT DONE BETWEEN DRAGONS WHO ARE NOT MATED.”
“Dragon mating involves sharing and altering basic structure?” Pip asked.
“IN ITS ESSENCE,” confirmed Freedom. "MATING IS A HUMAN TERM THAT COMES CLOSEST TO WHAT IS INVOLVED."
“So helping Mary could be regarded as mating?” Pip asked.
“IT COULD. WORSE, TO DO SO TO AN UNCONSCIOUS AND NON-CONSENTING INDIVIDUAL IS CONSIDERED AN ABOMINATION.”
“Rape, in human terms,” added Pip.
“EVEN MORE PROFOUND, AS IT INVOLVES A MUCH DEEPER FORM OF INTERACTION."
I love her, and she loves me," said George. "I am sure that she would not object to our interaction," said George.
"HER DRAGON MAY FEEL DIFFERENTLY," said Freedom. "BUT THE DANGER IS MUCH MORE THAN A MORAL ONE; AS SHE IS UNCONSCIOUS WE COULD INADVERTENTLY DAMAGE HER UNIQUE PERSONAL DRAGON STRUCTURE AND DESTROY BOTH HER DRAGON AND HUMAN FORMS.”
“But she may die anyway!” George protested.
“I AM SORRY. ONLY HER OWN DRAGON CAN HELP HER,” said Freedom.
“But we don’t even know when Jewel will return!" George protested. "It could be weeks! Mary is too weak to survive that long; I can sense it.”
“THAT IS SO,” acknowledged the dragon.
"What of the enchanted charm amulet about her neck," asked the elf.
"IT IS OF UNICORN ORIGEN," said Freedom. "I KNOW NOT ITS FUNCTION BUT IT IS VERY LIKELY CONTRIBUTING TO HER SURVIVAL. IT IS ANOTHER REASON FOR US NOT TO ATTEMPT TO HEAL HER."
“Then we must take her to Narma at once ourselves and seek out Jewel,” George proposed.
“AND LEAVE EARTH TO THE MERCY OF THE WITCH?” asked Freedom. “EVEN FROM A GREAT DISTANCE I SENSE THAT GREBLE IS NO ORDINARY WITCH. THERE IS A PROFOUND STRENGTH AND EVIL ABOUT HER THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED. WORSE, GREBLE CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO REACH NARMA AND ALERT THE HORDE OR EVEN THE DARK ONE HIMSELF. WE ARE NOT YET READY TO FACE THEM. HE HAS THE STRENGTH OF OVER A HUNDRED DRAGONS.”
“Pip can remain and stop the Witch,” George suggested hopefully.
The elf mage shook his head sadly. “I do not think that risk would be wise, Chosen One. Though more than her match in wit, I am no longer sure that I would be her match in power. I have seen too much of her handiwork, including what she has done to Mary. Somehow her strength has increased many-fold since destroying my uncle and since leaving Narma. Only you and your White Dragon can perhaps destroy her.”
George understood the logic of their arguments but couldn’t accept them. He couldn’t let this stand; he had to do something to save Mary! He knelt next to her. Her eyes were closed as in sleep and she felt cold to the touch, very cold. At will, he could transfer the full energy of a thunderstorm to her in an instant, but he knew that Freedom was right: that would probably shatter her fragile system.
Yet when he examined her closely, he found that she was clearly absorbing low levels of thermal energy; she must have started that process before losing consciousness. It was a tiny amount of energy. Perhaps she wasn’t strong enough to take in more, or perhaps that would have made it too easy for the Witch to have found her. Still, the fact that she was ‘eating’ at all was a very hopeful sign. “Pip, she is absorbing low amounts of energy. Keep warming her; feed her with as much warmth as she will take in.”
“You want me to stay with her?” asked the elf mage.
“I want her to stay with you, and you to keep her safe and take her to Narma and to her dragon,” George explained. “Can you do that? Will you?”
Unable to contain his excitement, the little man jumped up several feet into the air. “Of course, it’s so obvious, young Chosen One, so very obvious; of course that is what must be done! For one thing, I know Narma well, while you and your large and overly conspicuous young dragon friend do not. I could thus much better avoid its dangers and find Jewel.”
“Leaving me and Freedom to contend with Greble and the remaining monsters,” added George.
“YOUR PLAN IS ACCEPTABLE,” agreed Freedom. “WE SHOULD BEGIN AT ONCE.”
“Pip, what about the others in the transport aircraft?” George asked. “What of Ellen?”
Pip shook his head sadly. “All dead. I found their remains in searching for Mary. The crash did not kill them; the Witch first sucked away their life essences.”
“More unnecessary deaths,” George lamented, thinking particularly of Ellen. She was a friend and such a nice lady, and she had been killed by the same evil that had killed his parents! What a bumbling super hero he had turned out to be! His own dragon had very nearly died, Mary was near death, and Harry was dead, along with thousands of other good people including Ellen. “Freedom, I still have lots of stored energy. I propose that for now we split up, with me going after the Witch and protecting the Portal, while you destroy monsters. Is that acceptable?”
“AS LONG AS WE REMAIN LINKED. WHEN YOU FIND THE WITCH, CALL ME, AND I WILL COME AT ONCE. ALSO, IF ANYONE ELSE FINDS THAT SHE NEARS THE PORTAL, WE MUST ALL GO THERE IMMEDIATELY.”
The dragon lowered his monstrous head to better peer closely at PIP and Mary with his green glowing eyes. “I can transport you and our sick friend to the Portal, elf mage.” It was the first that Freedom had spoken aloud in a while, and it nearly knocked the tiny elf off his feet.
“That would greatly aid my quest, Great One,” replied Pip, “but let me first make such a thing much easier.” He waved his tiny hands, and Mary disappeared.
George was startled, but was soon relieved to sense that the girl had not disappeared at all, but had been shrunken to be much smaller than even the elf, and was surrounded by a protective magic covering, but was otherwise unchanged.
Pip reached down and gently picked up Mary with one hand. Her prone body was less than two inches long. “We elves have our powers too,” the mage noted, as he placed Mary in a leather satchel that he carried slung over one shoulder. “I have encased her in ward that feeds her energy slowly but protects her strongly and hides her from most scrying.”
“Well done, Elf Mage,” said Freedom. “NOW WE GO.”
As PIP waved a tiny hand goodbye at George, he and the dragon disappeared with a thunderous boom. As the young Chosen stood alone in the desert night, he reached out mentally, scrying for the Witch. After an hour of his best efforts, he had detected nothing at all of her. He did however, decide to scry someone who might be able to help him.
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White Dragon's Chosen Page 49
