The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (57 page)

Kronk
smiled and nodded and then disappeared beneath the earth, leaving a
small pile of dirt behind.

“
So
where's he off to?”

The
wizard stood up as the group climbed up to join him.

“
We're
nearly at the top,” he told them. “So I sent him to let
the elementals know that we're almost ready to begin the assault.”

“
What
about Ethmira and her archers?” Liliana asked. Of all of them,
she was the only one that seemed unaffected by the heat.

Being
a paladin has its perks, Simon thought wryly.

He
pulled a small, egg-shaped crystal from a pocket of his robe.

“
Kronk
made a lodestone for me to use today. I have one half and Ethmira has
the other. When we're ready, I just need to activate it and its other
half will glow. That's the signal for her to begin the attack.”

“
Handy,”
Malcolm said from above him. He towered over the rest of the group.

“
And
undetectable, even by Pyrathius.”

“
Speaking
of whom, shall we get up to the rim of the crater and see where our
'ally' is?” Sebastian said lightly. “I'm sure he's
expecting us.”

“
Just
like that?” Aiden asked in surprise.

“
Just
like that,” Tamara told him. “We aren't creeping up on
that monster, Aiden We are walking up to join him as allies against
the queen. At least, we're hoping he thinks that's why we're here.
After all, no one would be crazy enough to walk openly into the lair
of a primal dragon unless they were there as friends, right?”

“
Except
us,” he replied a bit nervously.

“
Exactly.”
Liliana's grin was fierce. “Be bold, warrior! Stare death in
the face and make it bow before you.”

There
was a moment of utter silence.

“
Did
she really just say that?” Keiko asked in disbelief.

The
paladin looked around at all of them and then the entire group burst
out laughing.

“
Oh
gods, I did say that, didn't I?” she spluttered. “Forgive
me, Aiden. That may have actually been the dumbest sentence that I
have ever uttered.”

Simon
laughed so hard that he had tears in his eyes and he felt the tension
that had been building up inside him drain away somewhat. When he'd
finally managed to calm down, he wiped his face on his sleeve and
leaned on his staff.

“
Ah,
thanks Liliana. I think we needed that chance to relieve our nerves.
Okay folks, let's get up there and see what we can see, shall we?”

“
Lead
on, Simon,” Tamara told him. “We're right behind you.”

The
crater of the volcano stretched out several hundred yards from one
side to the other. As the group scrambled to the top, they saw the
incredible vista open up before them and more that one person gasped
in wonder. It was awe-inspiring.

The
sheer drop from the lip of the crater to the smoking surface below
was at least five hundred feet. Vents on the hardened lava crust
spewed black dust and smoke in choking fumes that obscured their
vision and made seeing the inside of the crater almost impossible.

“
Are
you sure he's down there?” Tamara asked as she cleared her
throat. The smoke was making it hard to breathe. “I can't see a
damned thing.”

“
Oh
he's down there all right,” Simon assured her. “His
malice is rising like the black smoke around him. Can't you feel it?”

“
I
can,” Liliana said as she glared down into the volcano. “We
may not be able to see him, but Pyrathius can see us. And gods, how
he hates us.”

“
Yeah?
Well, it's mutual,” Malcolm growled. “Imagine that
monster thinking that we would actually fight on his side. Is he
delusional or what?”

“
Arrogant,”
Simon said quietly, almost dizzy from the fumes of the place and the
antipathy from the primal dragon. “His arrogance tells him that
he is our superior in every way. Why wouldn't he think we'd be
honored to join him? His pride would allow for nothing less.”

“That is a weakness we may be
able to exploit,” Keiko said. “If an opponent believes he
is more powerful than you, it can make him careless, foolish. That
may be our one advantage.”

“I agree,” Aiden told her
as Malcolm looked at the small woman admiringly.

“As do I,” Liliana said.
“Now the question is, how do we get down there?”

“We'll Gate down,” Simon
told them. “But not as a group. Keiko, I know that Tamara and
Sebastian can cast Gate. Can you?”

“Of course. They were kind enough
to share the spell with me.”

She bowed delicately at the siblings
who smiled in return.

“Good. I don't want Pyrathius to
have a single target to focus on. Tamara, you'll Gate down with
Malcolm. Bastian, you take Aiden please. And Keiko will take Liliana.
I'll go alone with my little friends.”

He looked down at Kronk and winked. The
earthen grinned up at him. He'd quietly reappeared a few minutes
before.

“Sounds good. So when do we go?”
Tamara asked, shifting from one foot to the other. “This damned
air may kill us all before the dragon gets his chance.”

There were a few chuckles at her grim
humor.

“I'm waiting for Aeris to
return,” the wizard told her. “It shouldn't be too long.”

“Not long at all, my dear
wizard,” a voice piped up from behind him.

“Speak of the devil.”

“I hope that was a compliment,”
the air elemental said as he moved to hover next to Simon.

“So what's the word from
Ethmira?”

“She and her forces are on the
northern slope, just below the top of the crater,” Aeris told
them as he pointed across the volcano. “Unfortunately, they
cannot descend inside. Not only do they not have a way to do so, but
they would be exposed and quickly overwhelmed down there. Ethmira
says that you'll have to find a way to draw Pyrathius out and into
range of her archers.”

He shrugged apologetically.

“Sorry, but that's the only way
that they are going to be effective, they say.”

“That's okay. I was expecting
that.”

Simon looked around at the others.

“You all know about the surprises
I have in store for our 'ally' down there. But while they might have
worked on the primal brown dragon, I have my doubts about how well
they'll work on Pyrathius. But I'll try them anyway, just in case.”

“Why wouldn't they work?”
Aiden asked. He looked puzzled. “The earth elementals
immobilized the brown, didn't they?”

“They did. But this guy is twice
the size of that primal and at least twice as powerful. I mean, look
at that hell down there.”

Simon gestured at the glowing, smoking
cauldron below them.

“Pyrathius sleeps in a volcano!
And I have it on good authority, Esmiralla's, that he can actually
raise the temperature of his skin almost to the same heat level as
molten rock. I doubt if creatures actually made of stone are going to
be much help. Same goes for the fire elementals. The other primals'
weaknesses were all related to their strengths, but this guy? He
seems to thrive on heat. He's different from the others. And frankly,
I don't know what it will take to bring him down.”

“Okay, hang on a second,”
Tamara cut in. She stepped forward and glared into Simon's eyes. “If
you don't think that we can win this battle, just why the hell are we
here?”

“Easy, sis,” Sebastian told
her sharply. “No one made you come. Or any of us for that
matter. If we weren't here, Simon would have come alone.” He
looked at the wizard. “Isn't that so?”

“It is. And I'm here, Tamara,
because this is our one chance to beat him. I'm not being defeatist
or fatalistic, I promise you that. I'm just being honest. Would you
rather I sugarcoat it and lie to you? I will if it will make you feel
better.”

Tamara held his gaze for a long, tense
moment and then let out a ragged breath. She shook her head and
stepped back.

“No, of course not. I appreciate
the truth, even if it's not what I want to hear. But if the
elementals can't help us, how can we defeat him? I know that it's a
long shot, but you must have some ideas, no?”

Simon smiled grimly at her.

“I always have ideas. And I did
put in a call before we left this morning, after I had one of my
crazier notions. But there's no use in talking about that because I
doubt that anything will come of it. But Pyrathius isn't all
powerful. Esmiralla told me that he is still vulnerable to the same
things all dragons are. Spells like Blizzard, Lightning and Magic
Missile will still hurt him. It's just that he's so damned big that
it may not be enough. I'm hoping that between our magical attacks and
Ethmira's archers, we'll do enough damage to kill him. Even wounding
him severely will help.”

He looked at Malcolm, Aiden and
Liliana.

“A sword through the eye into the
brain will kill even a primal, no matter how big he is.”

“Now that's a plan I like!”
Malcolm said with a broad smile. “You get that bastard
earth-bound and the three of us should be able to finish him off.”

“Huh. Maybe,” Tamara said
darkly. “But hey, better a half-assed plan than no plan at all,
I suppose.”

“Thank you for your enthusiastic
support,” Simon said with an elaborate bow.

The mage snorted but managed a weak
smile.

“That's better,” the wizard
said. “Now, since that monster knows we're here, we'd better
not keep him waiting too long or he'll become suspicious.”

“I agree.”

Simon looked at each person one at a
time, ending with Kronk and Aeris.

“Okay then, let's get this show
on the road. Mages, make sure you throw a shield around yourself and
your partner before you Gate. I'll go first to get the beast's
attention. Each of you pick a spot that you can see from here,”
he looked over the edge and pointed out several large humps of
hardened lava that were visible through the smoke. “Any of
those will do. That way you'll be scattered and harder to target. Any
questions?”

“Yes, about a hundred, but
they'll keep,” Tamara said bleakly. She looked around at them
all. “Good luck, guys. And remember, Bastian and Keiko, if
things start to go south, grab your partner and Gate the hell out of
there. Get back to Nottinghill Castle and we'll regroup and come up
with a new strategy.”

“Got it,” Sebastian said.

Keiko bowed in acknowledgment.

Simon looked at the elementals.

“Okay. Kronk, Aeris, grab hold
please. Let's do this.”

Simon found that the smoke was actually
less dense on the floor of the crater. Most of the vents were above
his head and the sooty fumes rose slowly, blocking out the sky but
leaving a clear area below that allowed him to breathe. He took a
moment to murmur a thank you to his fickle luck before looking around
for the primal.

The spot that he'd chosen to Gate to
was as close to the middle of the crater as he could see, but it was
still nowhere near the center. That section had been obscured by the
densest smoke and Simon knew that Pyrathius was in there somewhere.
He could feel him.

The ground under his feet was broken
stone and twisted ropes of solidified lava. It made walking a
challenge.

“Kronk, we're heading in that
direction,” he said, pointing. “Could you lead please?
See if there's a clearer path to use? I'd rather not break my neck
before the dragon has a chance to kill me.”

“You should not speak like that,
master,” the little guy chided him. “And yes, I will take
the lead. Please don't stay back too far or you will lose sight of me
in this smoky air.”

“Got it.”

Kronk set off along a twisting route
and Simon followed as closely as he could. Aeris remained by his
right shoulder, trying to look everywhere at once as they moved.

“I don't like this,” the
elemental muttered after a minute or so.

“No kidding. Me neither. Is
Kassus ready?”

“Kronk says he is. So is
Incendus. He's staying close by the elves; seems to find them
fascinating for some reason. By the way, not to be negative or
anything but he thinks his getting involved is a waste of time.”

Simon coughed and turned his head to
spit out a mouthful of grit. His shield was filtering out most of the
smoke, but there was so much of it that some was seeping through.

“Thanks. I know that. But it
can't hurt to at least have him here as a diversion, can it?”

Aeris shrugged, still looking nervously
from side to side.

“Of course not. I'm just passing
along his message. Oh by the way, he's got a very long list of curse
words that he learned over the years. He employed quite a few of them
when describing how useless he and his fellow fire elementals are
going to be against Pyrathius.”

The wizard was forced to chuckle at
Aeris' rather dry observation.

“I'm not at all surprised. I've
used a few today myself. Now, why has Kronk stopped moving?”