The Dragons of Ice and Snow (30 page)

“
Thank you. I'm used
to being self-sufficient, as you have probably figured out by now.
It's hard for me to ask for aid, to rely on anyone but myself. But it
seems that I have no choice in my current situation.”

Simon had to smile.

“
Good. I'm glad to
help.” He stared around at the desolate building. “How
far are we from your new hideout?”

Liliana rested her head
against the wall again and frowned at him.

“
Why? I don't want
to lead that drake to my home.”

“
I meant for after.
I assume you'd rather be comfortable while you heal up than sit here
in this shattered building.”

The paladin actually
laughed lightly and then hissed, clutching the bloody cloth to her
stomach.

“
Well, aren't you
the optimist, sir wizard? I am afraid that my new home is quite a
distance away. I'll have to stay right here for now.”

She let go of her broken
sword and grabbed his wrist convulsively.

“
What is it?”
he asked, startled.

Liliana's voice dropped to
a whisper.

“
It's coming,”
she said under her breath.

Simon lifted his head and
looked around slowly, his eyes darting to the left and right.

“
I don't hear
anything. Are you sure?”

“
I'm sure. I can
feel it.”

“
Where? What
direction?”

She picked up her sword
and pointed it shakily to the left. There was a wide opening there in
the wall, scuffed marks on the ground leading outside.

“
I came in that way
and faced that drake in here. I assume the other one is following its
trail.”

Simon grabbed his staff
and stood up. He crept along the wall until he reached the opening.
He peeked around the edge and found himself looking out at a wide
alley, high walls on either side. It ran at least fifty feet to a
street beyond that was choked with rusted old cars and wreckage.

The day was cool but not
cold and the sky was gray. It was late afternoon in Moscow and he was
struck at how quiet it was. No birds chirping, no wind. Just silence,
oppressive and filled with a sense of menace.

“
I don't see
anything,” he whispered over his shoulder. “Are you
sure...”

A shrill cry echoed down
the alley, a scream of rage and hunger. It sounded like an old rusty
hinge and set Simon's teeth on edge.

“
Yes, I'm sure,”
Liliana said dryly.

She tried to push herself
up but only moved a few inches before collapsing back against the
wall.

Her face twisted in pain
but she bit back a cry.

“
Well, that was a
bad idea,” she said with a grimace.

Simon turned to look down
the alley again.

“
No movement yet.
The drake sounds close but it can't be. These buildings must be
distorting sounds.”

With another quick glance,
Simon pulled out his spell-book and flipped through it.

“
Is this a good time
to do some reading?” Liliana asked in surprise.

The wizard smiled as he
scanned his spells.

“
I've got a lot of
spells locked in my little head,” he said as he read. “But
it never hurts to have a few extras memorized.”

He scanned through a few
spells, quickly memorized them and put the book away.

“
Anything yet?”
the paladin asked anxiously.

“
Nothing.”
Simon frowned. “I don't get it. That thing sounded so close.”

A slight movement drew his
eyes upward and he glanced in that direction, expecting to finally
see a bird or a scudding cloud racing across the sky. Instead he
stood there gaping in shock.

A drake, dirty white and
scaled, was racing down the side of the building on the left side of
the alley, as if it was running along the ground.

“
Whoa!” Simon
shouted and staggered backward toward the paladin.

“
What is it?”

“
Shield!” he
barked as the drake, six feet high and a dozen long, fell the last
few feet to the ground and leapt through the opening into the
building.

A mouthful of dripping
fangs shot out at Simon and Liliana, only to rebound from the shield,
which sparked and sizzled as the drake bounced off of it.

The scaled horror shrieked
in pain and anger and crouched down, ready to spring. It's red-rimmed
yellow eyes were slitted like a cat's and its mouth dripped thick
ropes of saliva.

Simon watched as the drake
reached out a paw with razor-sharp claws and swiped it across the
shield. More sparks and the smell of burning flesh followed and the
monster skittered back, screaming in frustrated rage.

“
How long will your
barrier last?” Liliana asked through her teeth. She was
pointing her sword at the drake, lips drawn back in hatred.

“
I've managed to
extend it to ten minutes,” Simon told her as he kept his eyes
on the beast. “That gives me time to see if my new spell is
effective.”

The paladin spared him a
quick glance.

“
Is now the best
time to experiment?” she muttered.

“
It may be the only
chance I'll get,” he replied. “Is it true that the drakes
share the same weaknesses as the primal that they're a part of?”

“
It is. Why?”

“
Perfect,”
Simon said with satisfaction. “Okay, you ugly... Let's see how
much cold you can handle.”

The drake whipped its tail
from side to side, debris and stones flying in all directions. It
suddenly leaped at the shield again, and again was slammed back, this
time so violently that it actually somersaulted in the air.

It landed on its feet like
a cat and dug furrows in the cracked cement floor with its jagged
claws.

“
Not too bright, are
they?” he said to Liliana, who snorted a bit.

“
They are beasts,
full of malice and hunger, nothing more. Just wind them up and let
them go. The perfect hunter to do the dragons' dirty work.”

Simon chanted an
incantation, keeping his eyes glued on the spot where the drake was
hunkered down. The monster was helpfully staying in place, obviously
frustrated by the shield and apparently trying to figure out what to
do next.

The wizard paused,
thinking about the slaughter of innocents that these creatures were
responsible for, not just Liliana's people but the untold millions in
the cities and towns that the dragons had attacked when the world was
consumed. Rage tinged his vision red and he pointed his staff at the
ground beneath the drake.

“
Invectis
!”
he growled, his arm shaking with fury.

There
was a moment of deathly silence and the drake lifted its heavy head
and looked around in confusion. And then, from all directions came
the shrill sound of violent winds converging at one point.

The
drake was slammed into the ground by the pressure of the frigid
winds. The air became white with condensed moisture and flakes of
snow swirled around it. The cement floor snapped and crackled and was
covered with a thick layer of ice.

The
monster only had the chance to utter a dismayed wail that was quickly
cut off and then the air thrummed with deep cold and both Simon and
Liliana watched in amazement as the drake was covered with frost and
then, it froze solid.

“
Wow,”
the wizard said as he stared in shock. “That was, um,
surprising.”

He
turned at the sound of the paladin's laughter.

Liliana
was smiling wickedly as she looked at the frozen beast. Icicles made
of drool hung from its gaping jaw and its eyes looked like two yellow
marbles.

“
Oh,
that was perfect, Simon. Perfect.”

She
winced as she began to stand and the wizard quickly wrapped an arm
around her shoulders to help her up.

“
Are
you sure you should be...”

“
I'm
healing as we speak. Don't worry about me. But I have to see this up
close for myself.”

Simon
nodded and canceled the Shield spell. Then he helped Liliana to
slowly walk across the room to stand next to the frozen drake.

The
air was still cool but the chill was fading quickly. The drake
however was radiating a deep cold and looked like an ugly icy statue
of itself.

The
paladin laughed again, her expression one of satisfaction. Simon
stepped back so that she could stand by herself and watched, both
pleased and a little alarmed by her reaction.

Suddenly
Liliana drew back her arm and smashed her broken sword down on the
head of the drake. It shattered like crystal and frozen flesh, bone
and brains exploded in all directions. It was horrifying and yet
almost comical at the same time. Simon dodged to avoid being hit by
the hideous debris.

The
paladin turned back and looked calmly at Simon, her expression once
again serene and controlled.

“
I
cannot thank you enough, sir wizard,” she said, her voice thick
with emotion. “Not only for destroying this monster but for
coming to the aid of someone you barely know.”

“
That's
what friends do,” Simon said simply and shrugged.

“
Do
they? Well, perhaps I have been alone for too long. My friends have
always been few, both before and since the world changed. My people
were companions but I was not close to any of them.” She looked
away. “Considering how much their deaths affected me, maybe
it's just as well.”

Simon
didn't know how to respond to this bit of personal information, so he
decided to change the subject.

“
What
now?” he asked the paladin. “Are you well enough to make
it back home alone, or would you like me to come along?”

Liliana
lifted the bloody cloth off of her stomach and showed the injury to
Simon. He gasped at the sight.

The
gaping wound was gone. All that was left was a thin red line, still
covered with sticky blood, that looked like an old, almost healed
scar. Simon stared at it in wonder.

“
That
is amazing,” he said finally. “When you said you would
heal, I had no idea that it would happen so quickly.”

“
Blessings
from the gods,” Liliana said with a wry smile. “As you
can see, I'll make it back to my hiding place by myself.”

“
Good.
I'm glad to hear it.”

Simon
hesitated, not sure if it was the right moment to bring up the
paladin's lie. But he took a breath and plunged on.

“
Liliana,”
he said slowly. “I wanted to ask you something.”

She
wiped her sword on the drier side of her bandage and slipped it into
its sheathe. Then she looked at him quizzically.

“
Of
course. Anything.”

The
wizard looked at the stained hilt of her sword and then at the
shattered head of the drake. He swallowed nervously.

“
Well,
this may not be the best time to talk about this, but it's been
bugging me and I'd like to clear the air.”

Liliana
gave him a long searching look and then she smiled slightly.

“
No,
allow me. You found out that I lied to you, didn't you?”

“
Um.”

She
laughed and gave him a clout on the shoulder that almost knocked him
over.

“
Oh,
sorry about that. Yes, I did lie to you, sir wizard. I simply did not
want to be bothered by others after my people's destruction. I needed
to avenge them, to vent my rage in a useful way. Little did I know
that my vengeance would anger the dragons enough for them to send
other drakes after me.”

“
I
think I understand,” Simon said as he rubbed his shoulder. “But
then, how
did
you block my communication spell?”

She
turned away and stared at the drake. Rivulets of water were now
running off of the carcass, creating little pools on the cracked
floor.

“
I
mentioned it already. Rage, my friend. Pure animal rage. I know a
little something of magic, you see. I've studied old books in some of
the city's libraries. I know that there are ways to stop someone from
contacting you with spells. Strong emotion is one way.”

She
looked back at Simon.

“
I
did not intend to block you, not the first time you called. I was
simply too furious for you to reach me. When you told me that you had
called, I knew what had happened. I did not want you to call again,
not until I was ready, so I lied.”

“
But
I was told that a paladin who lies can lose their powers.”

He
gestured at her healed wound.