Argentium spun around and blasted one of the dracoliches with a blazing stream of fire. The monster dove away to avoid the attack while the second undead dragon, this one being controlled by the necromancer on its back, belched a roiling cloud of black gas back at the argent dragon.
“What kind of attack is that?” Liliana asked Simon as they reached the top of the mound.
“Poison of some kind. It's deadly. By the way, what makes you think that the spell-caster up there is the leader of the necromancers?”
She smiled at him wryly.
“Who else would have the 'privilege' of riding a dracolich? I'd say that their leader would permit only himself to be the one in the driver's seat, wouldn't you?”
Simon nodded as he watched the battle.
“You're probably right. Arrogant bastard.”
“Master!”
The wizard spun around to see Kronk hopping over loose stones and rocks as he ran toward him. Aeris was flying just over his head.
“Hey guys! Glad to see you're both okay.”
“Thank you, master. Lady paladin,” Kronk bowed to Liliana, “I am afraid that I could only find the argent dragon. The silver dragon is still buried under this pile of rock somewhere. Whether she is alive or dead, I cannot say. I apologize for not finding her.”
“Good grief, my little friend, don't apologize!” the paladin exclaimed. “You did an extraordinary job just finding one of them.”
“I hate to interrupt this charming little chat,” Aeris interjected. “But I believe that your services are needed elsewhere, lady.”
Liliana frowned at him and glanced at Simon, who could only shrug.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I have found the remaining necromancers,” Aeris said with a self-satisfied smile. “They are hidden away on the far side of this mound.”
He pointed to the east where a clump of misshapen trees had just missed being pulverized by the collapsing tower.
“There. I think that they are waiting for their leader,” he looked up at the battle far overhead, “and enjoying the show.”
“Are they now?” the paladin growled as she rested her mailed hand on the pommel of her sword. “Well, I think I'll just head over there and crash their little party. Aeris, could you do me a favor?”
“Anything, lady paladin.”
“Please go to Tamara and tell her what is happening. I'm going to need some magical assistance with this, I think. Lead her and anyone else who wants to help to the hiding spot of the necromancers; I'll wait for them nearby.”
“I will do that. Do you need anything before I go?” he asked Simon. “Back rub? Pedicure?”
The wizard snorted with laughter.
“Oh, just go, for God's sake,” he said as he waved the elemental away.
Aeris grinned and zoomed off.
“Is he always like that?” Liliana asked with a confused smile.
“Pretty much. Do you want me to come with you?”
She shook her head and pointed at the ongoing battle above them.
“I'm guessing that, unlike myself, you may be able to help our ally up there. This other task is earthbound and I can definitely deal with that.”
“Okay, good luck then. And watch your back; those necromancers are treacherous dogs.”
“Tell me about it. See you soon.”
The paladin moved off quickly, watching her footing as she went.
“Master? Can you really help the argent dragon?”
“Hopefully. I was actually waiting for someone else to jump in. Hmm, maybe they went for lunch.”
“Master?” Kronk said, confused.
Simon grounded his staff.
“Incendus! Please join me, if you have the time.”
A burning flash of heat made the wizard stagger back several steps and he held his hand up in front of his face instinctively.
“If I have the time? Of course I have the time. What is the problem, sir wizard?”
Simon looked at the man-sized ball of fire that was floating and bobbing in front of him. He pointed straight up, keeping his eyes on the fire elemental.
“Did you decide to pass on this fight? If not, then what the hell are you and Aethos waiting for?”
“What?”
Incendus changed to a human shape and he craned his neck back to look at the sky.
“By the First Fire, when did that battle start?”
“A while ago. Why? You didn't notice?”
The elemental put a burning hand to his featureless face and shook his head.
“No. We, Aethos and I, were having a discussion about something quite different. I am afraid that we were distracted. I apologize, sir wizard.”
“Do you? Aethos! Come to me, if you please.”
The obligatory crash of thunder and flash of light accompanied the air elemental's appearance and he looked curiously at Simon.
“You called, Simon O'Toole? Ah, Incendus. I was wondering why you left so abruptly. What is going on?”
“That is,” the fire elemental said with disgust as he gestured skyward. “While we were having a chat, we were neglecting the reason that we were summoned by this wizard in the first place.”
“What?”
Simon couldn't tell from the swirling maelstrom that Aethos appeared to be, but he assumed the elemental was looking up at the battle overhead.
“When did that begin?” he asked, apparently mystified.
“It's been going on for some time now,” Simon informed him in exasperation. “Look, I rarely ask for anything from the elementals. I treat all of those who have chosen to serve me with respect and friendship. I expect the same in return. If you two didn't want to help me, you could have just said so and I would have found others who did. Is this about that Lacertus incident? Are you holding a grudge or something?'
A face formed on the head of Incendus, crude but visible. Its expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief.
“I assure you, sir wizard, we would never neglect our duty,” he exclaimed.
“A grudge?” Aethos spluttered. “Never! We hold you in high regard, Simon O'Toole. Please believe us.”
“Fine. Whatever. Then would the two of you be so kind as to do your jobs? Help Argentium!”
Simon hadn't realized that he was shouting by the end of his sentence until the two elementals backed away from him.
“Of course,” Incendus said as he reverted back into a ball of fire.
“At once,” Aethos told the wizard.
Both of them shot straight up explosively, sending dust and pebbles flying in all directions.
Simon wiped dirt and sweat from his face and shook his head to clear his vision.
“I believe that you got their attention, master,” Kronk said with a rumble of laughter. “Very clever.”
“Thanks. They are two very powerful beings and I can't and won't just try to order them around.” He looked up to try and follow the elementals' progress. “But appealing to their pride? That seems to have worked just fine.”
Simon had gotten the elementals to intervene in the aerial battle just in time. Argentium had been distracted by one dracolich just long enough for its partner to dive down on him and slash him with its claws. A gaping wound, dripping bright blood, now stained the argent dragon's hide.
“Damn it,” the wizard growled. “If those two are going to do something, now would be a good time.”
Both Incendus and Aethos had worked together before, so what they did next shouldn't have surprised Simon too much, but it did.
By the light of the rising sun, he saw the air elemental shoot like a glittering streak across the sky and meet the blazing form of the fire elemental head on. There was a tremendous blast of purple fire that expanded like a corona around the point of impact and Simon gasped as if he was watching a fireworks display.
“Wow,” he said breathlessly. “It's so beautiful.”
“I do not think that their target will agree, master.”
<
br /> Now twice their individual size and burning like a star, the merged elementals didn't hesitate. They blasted down upon the nearest undead dragon, smashed through its exposed rib-cage and exploded. The whomp of sound that followed could be heard for miles.
“Oh my God,” Simon muttered in shock. “They blew themselves up!”
“No, master, they did not,” Kronk disagreed. “They separated, violently, and that was the result.”
Thousands of pieces of shattered bone rained down to the ground below and the wizard hurriedly raised a shield to keep from being hit.
“But where are they?” he wondered as he searched the sky for signs of Incendus or Aethos.
“Gone, master,” the little guy told him. “They are used up, exhausted. Both have returned to their own realms. I felt the surges as they left this world.”
“Oh. Okay. Well, I'm relieved to hear that. It still leaves us with one dracolich and that cursed necromancer on its back.”
“But at least the argent dragon only has one foe now, master.”
“True.”
They watched as Argentium, seemingly strengthened by the destruction of one of the undead dragons, used his special breath attack and sent a storm of lightning bolts slamming into the dracolich.
Simon saw the small figure of the necromancer raise a shield just in time to save himself from being fried to a crisp. Unfortunately, it didn't save him from being smashed off of the back of his undead mount.
He fell, tumbling and rolling through the air while the dracolich continued to do battle with the argent dragon, oblivious to its dislodged passenger. Even though the combatants were over a hundred feet in the air, it still seemed to take the necromancer a very long time to reach the ground.
“I wonder if he knows the Feather Fall spell, master?” Kronk asked as he watched the tumbling body fall.
“Doesn't look like it,” Simon replied dispassionately. “Well, at least his shield is holding. Makes for a prettier show, don't you think?”
As he neared the ground, they could just hear his screams.
So, you are human after all, the wizard thought. Or at least you've just remembered that you are.
The necromancer slammed into the ground with a horrible thud and his shield burst like a balloon.
“Couldn't fly either,” Simon commented. “Pity.”
Maybe it was the death of the one who created it, or some other draconian sense at work, but when the magic-user hit the earth, the dracolich appeared to stagger in the air. It broke off its attack on Argentium and looked down at the ground, its head darting about wildly.
“Master, perhaps we should retreat?” Kronk said urgently.
“Why? So the stupid thing finally realized that its master is dead. So what?”
Simon quickly learned a lesson in taking an enemy for granted, although he told himself later that it was actually a lesson on why you shouldn't be an arrogant jerk. But as he watched, his blasé attitude turned to one of fear.
The undead dragon dropped straight down to where the necromancer's body lay in a broken heap. It landed with such an impact that Simon, about fifty feet away, fell backwards and landed hard on the rocky mound.
He slipped on several loose rocks as he scrambled to stand, all while watching the dracolich.
The monster was nuzzling the body in a strangely gentle fashion with its snout, but the necromancer was obviously dead. Then the dracolich lifted its head and looked around, its empty eye sockets burning with green fire. It spotted Simon instantly and reared back, enraged.
“Look out, master!”
With a shriek so high-pitched that it reminded the wizard of the squealing of rusty car brakes, the dracolich threw its head forward and blasted him with black gas, engulfing him.
“How strong is this poison?” Simon asked nervously, thankful that he had left his shield up after the other dracolich had been destroyed.
“Unknown, master. But it is very virulent, I am sure,” Kronk said.
Luckily the little guy had been standing next to him when he had raised his barrier. Simon wasn't sure that Kronk could be injured by the gas, but he didn't want to take any chances. What if it was corrosive?
“Do not let your shielding fail, master.”
“I don't intend to. Damn it, I can't see anything!”
Simon raised Mortis de Draconis and pointed it straight up.
“Wind,” he said forcefully.
A stiff breeze picked up immediately and blew away the poisonous miasma so that they could look around again. Their field of view cleared just in time to see the dracolich raise a forearm, ready to smash it down on the shield.
“Magic Missile!” Simon shouted as he jumped backwards in a vain attempt to avoid the blow.
Luckily the undead dragon was still rearing back on its hind legs as a dozen bolts of blazing energy smashed into its head. The missiles were powerful enough to slam the monster completely over on to its back, where it writhed and shrieked in fury, its skinless wings flailing futilely.
“I'm not sure what else to do,” Simon told Kronk helplessly. “The damned thing is just too big.”
From out of nowhere, it seemed, an enormous silver body slammed into the helpless dracolich with a tremendous roar. The resulting explosion from the impact almost obliterated the huge creature. A hailstorm of bony shrapnel sprayed in all directions and Simon stood gaping.
“Well, that'll work,” he said weakly.
Argentium turned his enormous head in the wizard's direction and gave him a satisfied smile, which on a dragon actually looked terrifying.
“Well done, wizard,” he rumbled. “You have destroyed not only the primal dracoliches but their creator as well. Even now, the undead forces around the world are returning to their slumber, to rest in peace as the gods intended.”
“Are you sure, Argentium?” Simon asked loudly. “There are other necromancers.”
“No, there were others. I believe that your friends have eliminated those twisted creatures. The undead hordes and the dracoliches are no longer a threat.”
Simon dropped his shield and immediately began coughing. Whatever the undead dragon had breathed at him lingered in the air, and it was bitter and foul in his nose and throat.
The argent dragon stepped a little closer to Simon, careful to tread lightly so that his weight didn't knock the wizard off of his feet again.
“And what of Esmiralla?” Simon asked reluctantly. “Did she make it or...?”
The massive silver head dropped and Argentium closed his eyes for a moment.
“No. She died during our attack on the tower. But she gave her life for a noble cause and she will be remembered by me and, I hope, by you.”
Simon thought about the silver dragon. She had taken a piece of him to give Argentium life again, and had done so without his permission. For that, he would never forgive her. But now she had given her life to save his people and for that, he would never forget her. He owed her that much, at least.
“She will be. I promise you that.”
“Good. Well, I think that you can handle affairs here on your own now. I must retreat and rest. My wounds will take some time to heal. I wish you well, Simon O'Toole.”
“I wish you well, Argentium.”
The dragon stepped back several paces, looked around one last time and then leaped into the air. His immense wings swept down once, twice and he was gone, flying off into the sunrise.
“Quite the day, my dear wizard.”
“Aeris! There you are. How did it go?”
The air elemental's expression was smug as he flew up the mound to join Simon and Kronk.
“Very well. The warriors were understandably enraged by the loss of Fergus, as were the mages. The necromancers asked for no quarter nor were they given any. They are all dead. Tamara got a little singed and Malcolm is going to have a lovely scar across his cheek, but those were the only injuries. Aiden commented that the big man only got that cut to look more dashing.”
Simon laughed, the first time he'd truly been amused in a while.
“Sounds plausible, considering that it's Malcolm. So do they need any more help?”
“No. We saw the undead dragons fall, along with the leader of the dark wizards, and Tamara sent me to tell you that you can head home at any time. They're already called for a pickup from the dwarves.”
Simon nodded and leaned on his staff, feeling drained.
“Speaking of dwarves, what happened to Hallic? Was he injured or...”
Aeris chuckled.
“Hardly. When we attacked the necromancers, he appeared as if by magic and took one of them out before the caster could even raise his shield. Apparently he'd just been awaiting his chance. He's fine.”
“Good. I like that rogue. So, are you two ready to go home?”
“More than ready, thanks.”
“Yes master. My chores will pile up if I don't get back soon.”
Aeris rolled his eyes but for a change he didn't make a biting comment.
Must be tired, Simon thought with relief.
He took a moment to look around. The sun was still climbing and setting the world ablaze with color. On top of the mound, the small pieces of bone and gristle, all that remained of the dracoliches, were fading away into smoke as the sunlight touched them, their twisted magic dispersed. Birds were chirping and a light wind blew away the last stench of battle. It was truly over.
He sighed with a mixture of pleasure and exhaustion and prepared to cast his traveling spell.
“Are you well, master?” Kronk asked.
“Fine, my friend. I'm fine. I was just thinking that with the necromancers and the dracoliches gone, we only have one more thing to worry about in this world.”
“Really? Just one?” Aeris asked sarcastically. “You mean besides the countless monsters, unknown spell-casters, and wild magic that now permeates this world? Not to mention the lords of Chaos who are continuing to try to enter your plane?”
“Yes well, besides those things and probably others as well.”
“What is it, master? What worries you?”
“The dragon queen. She's still out there. She's still capable of laying eggs, according to Argentium. If she chooses to. And so she continues to be a threat. One day soon we'll have to deal with her.”
The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) Page 38
