“Look, the crystals,” Liliana whispered. She was crouched just in front of the three men, looking around intently.
On each side of the portal was a crystal as tall as a man. This was the source of the bright light. Both crystals were almost blindingly white and streams of magical energy connected them to the pulsing Gate.
A scrabbling sound behind them made everyone turn to see Tamara and Sebastian creeping up behind them.
The woman took Simon by the arm and leaned in to speak as quietly as possible.
“Wizard, the primal dragon isn't the source of the nullifying magic up here,” she stated urgently. “It's that Gate.”
“What? How do you know?” he asked in confusion.
“I can feel it. Can't you? The Gate or most likely those crystals, is draining the magic from me. Stay still and just allow yourself to feel for a moment.”
While everyone watched, Simon looked at Tamara dubiously, shrugged and closed his eyes.
He could always feel his power, filling his body like a jar is filled with water. He knew when it was low, the times he had overexerted himself and cast too many spells. But the last few days of rest had allowed him to become re-energized.
He crouched unmoving and just listened to his body. He felt a...pulling? A drawing sensation. It was like some sort of vacuum or an invisible black hole, hungrily trying to suck all of the magic into itself. And it was coming from the portal.
He opened his eyes and nodded at the mage.
“You're right. It's draining me. And not just me, but every thing and every one who has an ounce of magic in their system.”
“Exactly. The dragons and the elves are probably immune. They don't use magic, they are magic. But for me, you, my brother and Liliana, we are being stripped of our powers. We have to get that Gate down now, before we can even think of taking the fight to the primal dragon.”
“Um, guys?” Aiden interjected. “Speaking of which, where exactly is the primal anyway?”
“What?”
Everyone looked around the plateau. The view to the Gate was clear enough, but the large bodies of the dragons were blocking their line of sight to the eastern part of the mesa, where the primal white had been standing.
“Damn it, I can't see past those cursed dragons,” Liliana said angrily. She turned to look at Malcolm. “Give me a boost, would you? I'll have a better view from the top of the boulder.”
“No problem, but let's move around to the other side, where those dragons can't see us.”
“Right.”
The two of them stayed low and circled back around the boulder while the others kept watch.
“How long before the earthen and the air elementals attack?” Tamara asked as she continued to stare at the Gate.
“When I tell them to,” Simon said simply. “My little friend here will pass on the message for me.”
“Your little..?”
A flicker in the air next to Simon's head became opaque and then they saw Aeris sitting on the wizard's shoulder.
Aiden stifled a laugh, while Sebastian grinned in approval.
“Good idea,” Tamara said. “You don't need to use magic to pass along your message.”
“Exactly. I made Kronk wait below. He's not happy about that, but he can't help us with this. On the other hand, my friend here can. So, how are you doing, Aeris?”
“I feel like a parrot, that's how I'm doing,” the elemental said crossly. “And no, I don't want a cracker, thanks.”
Even Tamara clapped a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter at Aeris' comment and Simon smiled at him.
“Cute. Now stop making us laugh or we'll end up as dragon chow.”
That comment killed everyone's mood and the elemental nodded.
“Simon!” Liliana hissed down at him.
He looked up and saw her lying on the edge of the boulder, looking across the plateau.
“What is it? Can you see the primal?” he whispered.
“No. The bloody thing is gone.”
A stunned silence followed the paladin's words.
“What are you talking about?” Tamara said angrily. “It can't be gone.”
“I'm telling you that monster is not there. The only thing on that side of the mesa is its servant, the one that Aeris mentioned. And that's it.”
“Come back down and join us,” Simon said quietly and he watched as Liliana slowly backed out of sight.
“How can it be gone?” Aiden asked faintly. “Where would it go? And why?”
They waited until Malcolm and Liliana rejoined the group and then they huddled together.
“I don't get it,” Sebastian said. “That thing has been here for weeks or months working its foul alchemy and suddenly it decides to leave. Why?”
“If I might make a suggestion? Perhaps it sensed your imminent attack?”
They all looked at Aeris.
“But how?” Liliana asked. “We saw no dragons when we assembled below. And those ones there seem to have no idea that we are present.”
“Exactly,” Simon said. “Aeris, I know that dragons can sense magic, but we haven't cast any spells up here. And down on the plains below, I summoned the elementals by name, not with a spell. Besides, at that distance, I doubt that a dragon could feel any magic anyway.”
“I agree, my dear wizard. Any normal dragon. But this is a primal we're talking about. Its powers are much more powerful than those of a lesser dragon.”
He hesitated.
“And you did use magic below. You Gated all of us to that location.”
“Oh. Oh crap. So you think that monster sensed that?”
“Possibly. It doesn't really matter though, does it? For whatever reason, the primal white is gone.”
“Maybe it retreated through the Gate,” Tamara mused. “It could crawl through that portal if it had to, I'm sure.”
Simon sat down and rested against the boulder. The others did the same. Liliana was on his left and Aiden sat down with a creak of metal on his right.
“So now what?” he asked.
“We stick to the plan,” Tamara whispered forcefully. “We save the captives, break those eggs, destroy the Gate and kill the dragons. That's what we're here for, isn't it?”
“Yes, but we're also here to kill that primal dragon!” Liliana said, glaring at the mage. “If it gets away, what's to stop it from starting the whole thing all over again somewhere else?”
Tamara glared right back.
“So what would you prefer? That we retreat, leave those poor souls to their fate? Let the dragons go free?”
Liliana slumped a bit, took off her glove and rubbed her eyes.
“No, of course not. You're right. We have to at least clean up this mess. Taking away those eggs will be a heavy blow in and of itself. And killing the dragons will certainly be satisfying.”
“Now that's what I like to hear,” the mage said with a smile. She clapped a hand on the paladin's armored shoulder and gave her a shake.
“Listen, I'd rather kill that damned primal too, but if that's not an option, we take what we can get.”
“Agreed.”
“Simon? You still with us?” Malcolm asked as he watched the wizard closely. “What's wrong?”
“This,” he said. “This whole thing. Something's off here. I can feel it.”
“Off or not, unless we attack soon, we're going to be discovered,” Aiden told him.
“Okay, you're right. Let's do what we can now and worry about the primal later.”
He looked at Aeris.
“Tell our friends to attack, now.”
“I'm on it,” Aeris said with some relief and zipped off toward the edge of the mesa, fading as he went.
“Okay, guys,” he said to Malcolm and Aiden. “The mages and I need that Gate down as quickly as possible. While it exists, all we can do is stand here and be cheerleaders for the rest of you. So make that your priority.”
“But that sounds lovely, sir wizard,” Malcolm told him w
ith a mischievous grin. “I'm sure you'd look lovely in a skirt, waving pompoms.”
Simon snorted.
“I don't have the legs for it.”
“Since the primal has scurried off, I'll give you gentlemen a hand,” Liliana said to the warriors.
“The more the merrier,” Aiden said, smiling. “Let's crawl along the edge of the mesa. We'll get as close as we can before the elementals attack.”
“Good thinking. Wish us luck,” Malcolm said and the three of them faded into the shadows as they moved back around the boulder.
Simon was looking around, trying to spot Ethmira among the groups of archers that were huddled behind other boulders to his left and right. Unfortunately, the magical orbs of light were concentrated closer to where the primal had been standing originally and he couldn't make out anyone's features.
Those orbs, he mused. What was it about those orbs? Something teased at the back of his mind, but it wasn't getting through. He dismissed it as nothing. If it was important, it would come to him eventually.
He slipped his staff off of his back and gripped it with both hands. Then he looked up to see the two mages watching him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Tamara said. “It's just that both of us would love to be able to augment our powers by channeling them through a staff. Unfortunately, it's apparently against the 'rules'.”
“Yeah, it is handy, I'll give you that. Why mages aren't able to use them is beyond me.”
“Oh well, we do okay without them,” Sebastian said to his sister, who shrugged irritably.
“By the way, can you both cast a Shield spell?” Simon asked them.
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“It's just that I don't know that much about mages. I mean, for whatever reason, I specialize in elemental magic. Do either of you have a specialty?”
Tamara grinned, her irritation forgotten.
“Not like yours, but we both have favorite spells that we cast better than others. Mine is Magic Missile.”
“Really? Cool. And yours?” he looked at Sebastian, who also smiled widely.
“Lightning. I love that spell. And I've loved it even more since you told me about the death of the primal black dragon. As far as I know, none of the other dragons have a lightning attack.”
“True enough.”
Tamara began to add something, but Simon held up a hand. He cocked his head to one side and then took off a glove and put his hand flat on the icy cold ground.
“Do you feel that?” he whispered.
The mages both put a bare hand on the solid rock beneath them. After a few seconds, they looked at Simon.
“Yes. I think your earth elementals are about to bust in through the back door,” Sebastian said eagerly.
“About bloody time,” Tamara added. “It will give Malcolm and the others their chance to smash those crystals.”
The three of them stood up and stayed close to the boulder so that the dragons wouldn't spot them. Simon put his glove back on, tightened his grip on his staff and then, they waited.
And waited some more.
After what seemed an eternity, Tamara looked at Simon, her eyes flashing in the reflected light of the distant Gate.
“What are they waiting for, a bloody invitation?”
At that moment, the ground beneath them convulsed and all three were knocked off their feet.
A tremendous burst of sound rolled across the mesa and Simon saw the ground under the dragons bulge as if from an underground explosion.
The dragons roared and screeched, wings flapping as they tried to get airborne. But as the three magic-users watched, the rock under the creatures flowed up like liquid and encased their feet and legs, becoming solid again in an instant.
“Holy crap,” Tamara muttered.
In mindless rage, the red dragons exhaled blasts of searing fire at the ground, melting the rock around them. But as soon as the ground softened, it would instantly cool and harden again.
The white dragons froze the ground with belches of intense cold and broke the rock, pulling their feet out. But the rock immediately flowed again and they were caught once more.
“They're trapped!” Sebastian said gleefully.
“Archers!”
Simon turned toward the sound of Ethmira's voice. He still couldn't see her, but he watched to see what would happen.
“Ready! Fire a volley...now!”
From several different directions, those watching saw fifty arrows streak across the purple sky, lit up like fireworks from the light of the magical orbs and the glaring crystals.
They fell like rain amongst the dragons and the beasts' roars turned to squeals of anguish. A second volley was in the air before the first had found its targets. And almost every arrow found its mark, the dragons' heads.
“My God,” Tamara said in a hushed voice. “They're aiming for the eyes.”
“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 attacking elves.
Once again, a screaming explosion of wind lifted them all off of 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, exploding in gory splashes of guts and sinew.
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 dest
royed,” 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 deaths. 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 each 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 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.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 115
