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

by J. J. Thompson

  And he loved it, he thought with a sudden smile. The mystery of what creatures walked, flew or swam across the face of the New Earth now was thrilling to him. He wanted to start exploring it again, see the sights, learn all there was to know about the world around him.

  He wanted to develop his own powers to their fullest potential, whatever that might be. The gods of Light had given him his gifts to strike back at the lords of Chaos and their minions. He wanted to battle the dragons again and whatever other evils threatened his people. In the end, it really was what he lived for.

  Well, I can't do it with Esmiralla hovering in the back of my mind and distracting me, he told himself. So let's hope she's being truthful about this process and that I can get back to living my own life and she can get on with living hers.

  “We've got all of it, master,” Kronk said from behind him.

  Simon turned around and saw the little guy carrying the dragon egg. He stifled a laugh. The pale ovoid was bigger than Kronk was.

  Aeris floated several feet above him, a vial of blood in each hand. Both were greenish but the liquid in the right-hand vial was glowing with a fluorescent, putrid color that was stomach-churning to look at.

  “I'm assuming that is the queen's blood?” the wizard asked and pointed at the glowing vial.

  “Good guess. Disgusting stuff, isn't it? Well, shall we head out to the center of the clearing? The moon is getting higher by the minute.”

  Simon looked up and was surprised to see that the bright disc had risen substantially since he'd last checked it. He nodded at the others and the three of them moved forward into the darkness.

  The firewood in the pit at the center of the meadow had been stacked up in a pyramid-like shape and was almost six feet high. Kronk had dug the pit deep and wide enough to ensure that the fire would be contained once the wood was burning.

  “Good job,” the wizard complimented him.

  “Thank you, master. I hope that it will suit the silver dragon.”

  'It does.'

  Simon shuddered as Esmiralla's voice resounded through his skull once again.

  “She says it does,” he told the earthen

  Both of the elementals looked cautious and Aeris nodded his understanding. They should watch what they said from now on.

  'The moon is almost in the proper position and I see that you have brought out the items needed for the ceremony. Excellent. Tell your air elemental servant to light the wood and we can begin.'

  Simon winced at the word 'servant' but chose to ignore it.

  “Aeris, could you get a light from the fireplace and bring it back? She wants to get the bonfire going.”

  “Certainly. Won't be a minute.”

  He set down the two vials of blood next to the fire pit and disappeared with a soft popping sound.

  Kronk put the egg beside the vials and stood back, watching Simon expectantly.

  “So what exactly is going to happen?” the wizard asked, staring at the unlit wood pile. “And please, no more beating around the bush; just tell me.”

  'Very well. The time has come, after all. Once the moon is in full ascension, you will pour the blood over the egg; first the blood of the drake and then the queen's blood. While you are doing this, I shall be chanting the proper incantation.'

  “Okay, got it so far.”

  'And then, when I give you the signal, you will place the egg in the center of the fire; your earthen servant can do this safely.'

  “Stop calling them servants!” Simon snapped irritably. “They are my friends.”

  'As you say. Whatever they are, the egg must be placed in the hottest part of the fire.'

  “What happens after that?”

  'We wait for the magic to take hold. How long that will take is unknown. This is the first time I have ever gone through this ritual.'

  Simon looked worriedly at Kronk.

  Are you sure it will work? he asked the dragon silently.

  'It should.'

  He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair; his usual nervous gesture.

  “What is wrong, master?”

  “Nothing, Kronk. Nothing. Esmiralla is a tad unsure about the results of this...”

  Simon caught himself just as he was about to curse.

  “Err, this ceremony. But it'll be fine. I think.”

  Kronk looked dubious but didn't say anything. Instead, he pointed back at the tower and Simon looked around in time to see Aeris, looking like a small comet, shooting across the field. He was carrying a lit torch.

  “Here you go,” he said when he arrived.

  'He may light the fire.'

  “Go ahead and light it, Aeris. Thanks.”

  The air elemental descended and carefully thrust the torch into the base of the pyramid of wood. It took a moment, but the kindling around the logs caught and began to burn.

  'Wait until all of the wood is burning. When it is, begin your part and I will start the incantation.'

  “Okay.”

  Simon and the elementals watched as the fire slowly built up, becoming a raging bonfire after a few minutes. He looked up at the moon and saw that it was directly overhead. A creeping sense of foreboding enveloped him.

  The wizard knelt down next to the fire. The heat from it actually felt good in the chilly night air. He opened the vial with the drake's blood, hesitated a moment and then poured the green liquid over the large ovoid.

  He had expected the blood to flow off of the leathery skin of the egg, but instead the liquid seemed to be absorbed by the light brown ovoid and disappeared quickly, leaving the egg looking exactly the same.

  “Wow, that was a surprise,” he said as he sat back on his heels.

  In his head, he heard Esmiralla muttering in an unknown language. The words felt like worms crawling around inside of his skull, trying to get out. It was horrible. He clenched his teeth and tried to control himself. He began shaking.

  “What's the problem?” Aeris asked anxiously.

  Simon shook his head and forced himself to open the second vial. He wanted to get it over with.

  The dragon queen's blood was still glowing and it poured reluctantly on to the egg; thick, slow and viscous. Like the drake's blood, the egg sucked up the glowing liquid thirstily. When all of the blood had disappeared, the sphere began to glow as well and its surface became shiny and smooth.

  “Oh, I do not like this,” Kronk whispered to Aeris. “This feels wrong.”

  “Shush,” he replied tersely as he watched Simon with narrowed eyes. “Stay alert.”

  The wizard stood up slowly, his legs quivering. He was overcome with a feeling of weakness and planted his feet as firmly as he could. Esmiralla's chanting faded away and there was a moment of absolute silence both inside of his head and around them in the clearing.

  “I've done my part,” he said harshly.

  Simon's voice broke and he cleared his throat.

  “Now what?”

  'Place the egg in the center of the flames. Quickly. Quickly!'

  “Kronk, could you put the egg into the center of the fire, please?”

  “Of course, master,” the little guy said and moved toward the sphere.

  He hesitated and stared at it.

  “It almost looks like it is moving, doesn't it?” he asked Aeris in a hushed voice.

  'It is just the reflection of the flames tricking the eye,' the silver dragon said. 'Hurry, before the spell fails.'

  “Hurry, Kronk!” Simon told him urgently.

  The earthen jumped in surprise and grabbed the egg. He held it over his head and shoved his way into the heart of the bonfire.

  He buried the ovoid in the embers, a shower of sparks billowing up around him, and then pushed out of the ashes and coals to stand smoking in the cool air.

  “Done, master.”

  “Thank you,” Simon said and forced a smile. “Now what?” he asked the dragon.

  'Patience, wizard,' she replied. 'Now we wait for the power to coalesce. Bra
ce yourself, it will be painful.'

  “What a surprise,” he muttered.

  “Now what?” Aeris asked as he stared at the barely visible egg in the heart of the bonfire.

  “Now we wait, she says. Let's hope it isn't too long. I'm feeling really weird right now.”

  “Weird?” the air elemental repeated.

  He rose up and flew over to hover a few feet in front of the wizard's face. He narrowed his eyes as he stared into Simon's.

  “Define weird,” he said suspiciously.

  Simon shrugged.

  “I don't know. Just weird. The backs of my eyeballs are itchy, believe it or not. My stomach is burning. And it feels like snakes are crawling just under the surface of my scalp.”

  He balled his hands into fists and held them tightly to his sides.

  “I'm trying my damnedest not to scratch at my head hard enough to draw blood.”

  Aeris moved forward and flew around the wizard. He made a complete circuit and returned to his original position.

  “You look fine, physically, but you are shaking like a leaf. And you're as white as milk. I don't know...”

  “Master!” Kronk said urgently. “Look. The egg is moving!”

  Both Simon and Aeris looked at the fire simultaneously. The little guy was right; the egg was rocking and jumping like a living thing.

  “Esmiralla, what's happening?” the wizard asked urgently.

  There was no immediate answer.

  “Esmiralla? Are you still there?”

  'It is working,' she said with a note of exultation in her voice. 'I can feel it. I am being drawn back into the physical world. Brace yourself, wizard. Be strong!'

  “I'm trying,” Simon gasped.

  He suddenly felt weak and light-headed and he staggered, the world blurring around him. He stumbled forward, falling toward the fire and he was powerless to stop himself.

  “Oh crap!” he croaked as he realized that he was about to fall headfirst into the blazing pyre.

  A sudden blow against his chest sent him flying backwards and he slammed into the ground and rolled away from the bonfire several times. When he stopped rolling, he was staring up at the purple sky, the stars gazing back at him impassively.

  “What the hell...?” he wheezed in confusion. “How did that happen?”

  “I hit you, my dear wizard,” Aeris said from somewhere out of his sight. His voice was strained and low. “Be careful. Something is happening.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The air became thick with ozone, to the point where Simon could taste it, metallic on his tongue. He wanted to push himself up and look around, but he was too weak. He could barely turn his head from side to side.

  There was a weird feeling inside of his skull, as if something was draining out of it. It wasn't painful, but it was the creepiest thing that the wizard had ever experienced.

  'I am free,' Esmiralla's voice said softly, a final thought as her presence faded away.

  “She's gone,” Simon murmured, his relief so huge that he felt close to tears. “Finally we're separate again.”

  “Don't celebrate too quickly,” Aeris told him, almost in his ear. “Something's wrong.”

  “What? What's going on?”

  Simon tried to get up but his body wouldn't move. He felt like he was paralyzed, but he knew that it was because every ounce of strength had been sucked out of him. It was frightening and frustrating in equal measure.

  “Do not move, master,” Kronk said from his right side. The earthen also sounded like he was inches away.

  “Do not move. Something is approaching. Something dangerous.”

  “Goddamn it!” Simon hissed. “I can't just lie here like a sacrificial offering. I have to get up!”

  “Open your hand, master, and take this,” the little guy whispered.

  “Take what?”

  The wizard had barely enough strength left to open his right hand. He forced his head to turn slightly in that direction as well.

  Kronk was dragging something through the long grass, slowly as if to escape something's notice. He lifted it a bit and placed the end of the long object into the wizard's hand.

  Simon tightened his fingers around it and smiled in spite of the circumstances. It was Mortis de Draconis, his dwarven staff. How the little guy had known to bring it along and leave it hidden in the field, just in case it was needed, was a mystery. But the wizard was extremely grateful.

  The staff wasn't sentient and yet, at its touch, a surge of energy ran up his arm and into his body. It tingled and itched like an electrical current and his muscles sucked it in like a sponge absorbing water. In a matter of seconds, Simon had enough strength to push himself up on his elbows.

  “Stay down,” Aeris told him quickly. “It's not over.”

  “What's not over?” Simon asked, bewildered. “Esmiralla's gone. I can feel it. So that should be that.”

  “It isn't. Look.”

  Aeris pointed at the bonfire, which was blazing impossibly bright, ten foot high flames shooting toward the heavens. The egg, glowing a brilliant orange-red at the heart of the fire, had doubled in size and was rocking violently back and forth.

  “What the hell?”

  It was at that moment that the fire died completely. It almost looked like the egg had sucked the flames into itself. All light was extinguished except for the fiercely glowing red ovoid, now pulsing like a giant heart.

  “Back away, master,” Kronk urged Simon and he began to yank at his shirt.

  “Yeah, not a bad idea,” the wizard replied.

  He was still too weak to stand so Simon pushed himself backwards through the thick grass with his hands and arms, dragging his staff awkwardly along with him. Aeris pulled him by one shoulder and Kronk by the other and the three moved in a weird, crab-like scuttle. It wasn't fast but it was steady.

  They made it about twenty yards.

  “Stop, guys,” Simon told the elementals. “Stop.”

  “What is it?” Aeris asked and rose up a couple of feet to look back at the pulsing egg.

  It was throbbing faster now, blinking like a red fluorescent strobe light. With each flash, it grew a little larger. It was now as big around as Simon was tall, but cracks had appeared, blazing a brilliant ivory through the red shell. A chalk-like white totally devoid of color.

  “I think it's going to blow. Get close to me!”

  The two small figures moved in closer to Simon, standing next to his arms.

  The wizard didn't know whether he had enough power left to use magic, but it looked like the alternative would be to be ripped apart if the egg shattered violently, so he had no choice.

  “Shield,” he said through gritted teeth, expecting pain.

  Instead a dome of energy, just large enough to protect him and the elementals, appeared around him. He could feel the power flowing, not from himself, but up through his body from the staff.

  “Wow,” he whispered. “Thanks Mortis.”

  And then the egg exploded.

  Chapter 8

  Simon was tossed across the meadow by the force of the explosion along with Aeris and Kronk. The three of them bounced against the inside of his shield but fortunately, except for a few bruises that were caused by the earthen smacking into him, the wizard was unhurt when they stopped rolling.

  “Whoa,” Simon managed to say when he'd caught his breath. “Everyone okay?”

  “We are fine, master. Are you injured?”

  “Bumps and bruises, my friend; nothing more.”

  “Sorry about head-butting you, master,” Kronk said, looking away in embarrassment.

  Simon chuckled.

  “No worries. We were all flung around randomly. Now, what happened to that damned egg?”

  The center of the field was obscured by heavy clouds of smoke. The thick black fog roiled and churned like a living thing. Simon and the others watched intently.

  “I wonder if it did a lot of damage?” Aeris said.


  “To what? It might have blown a hole into the ground, but that's easily mended,” the wizard replied absently as he waited for the smoke to clear.

  A shrill, distant cry made him forget about the explosion. Simon knew that sound.

  “Master,” Kronk said urgently. “Get up. Dragon!”

  “I know.”

  Simon pushed himself shakily to his feet using his staff. His legs were still wobbly but at least he could stand.

  “Where is it? Can either of you see it?” he asked as he scanned the night sky, looking for any sign of a dragon.

  “Not yet,” Aeris said as he rose up to head height. “But it sounded like it was a long way off. It may pass us by.”

  “I doubt it,” Kronk told him.

  The little guy was looking at the cloud of smoke, darker than the night around it.

  “It might have seen the egg exploding,” he continued worriedly. “In the dark, the flash could have caught its attention from a great distance.”

  “Great,” the wizard groaned. He stretched his sore back, leaning on his staff for support. “Just what I don't need, a frigging dragon attack.”

  “Where is Esmiralla?” Aeris wondered, peering at the smoke. Even with the evening breeze, the heavy cloud seemed reluctant to dissipate.

  “You think she's in there?” Simon asked as he tried to watch both the sky and the smoke. “I felt her leave. It seemed like she withdrew a great distance.”

  “Then why did the egg explode, master? I thought it was a metaphor for her breaking out of the merging between the two of you.”

  “Really? Is that how the magic worked?”

  The little guy scratched his rocky head loudly.

  “That was my guess, master. Perhaps not, thought. This magic is new to me.”

  The haunting cry was repeated, but the echoes around the glade frustrated the group's efforts to locate the source.

  “It sounds...weird, don't you think?” Simon asked as he turned in a slow circle, scanning the starry sky.

  Aeris snorted in disgust.

  “It's a dragon, my dear wizard. Isn't that weird enough?”

  “I don't mean that, wise guy. I mean, even for a dragon it sounds strange. Could it be injured maybe?”