The Dragons of Ice and Snow (39 page)

She leaned her head back on the couch
and looked at him sideways with tired amusement.

“That obvious, am I? Yes, I guess
it is. I've never believed that life was fair, Simon, but when two
people who give of themselves like Malcolm and Aiden are rewarded by
being cursed like this, well, it's hard to take, that's all.”

“I agree.”

The wizard watched as Kronk jumped up
to stand on the arm of the couch.

“It's kind of like the remnants
of the human race, isn't it. Somehow, a handful of us managed to
survive the obliteration of our species and now we're being hunted
down like animals. Not to mention how we've had to start over almost
from scratch.”

Clara nodded dispiritedly.

“And speaking of being hunted,”
Simon said hesitantly, “since we're both in such a good mood
anyway, I wanted to tell you about what Kronk and I saw,” he
glanced quickly at the earthen, “when we were out west
gathering the wolf's bane.”

The cleric sat up slowly and leaned
forward.

“You saw something? What was it?”

The wizard thought for a moment.

“Nope, there's no good way to say
this, so I'll just tell you straight up. Dragons, my friend. Dozens
and dozens of dragons.”

Her eyes widened and Clara gaped at
him.

“Dragons?” she repeated
weakly. “Out there? But...how? The black dragons were
destroyed.”

Simon made a gesture at Kronk as he
slumped in his seat.

“They were red dragons, lady,”
the little guy said calmly. “Many of them. They crossed the sky
from the south to the north. Where they were going, neither my master
nor myself know.”

“By the gods, red dragons,”
she said tautly. “Let me guess; they've taken over the primal
black's territory, haven't they?”

“No idea, Clara. But I'd say
that's probably true.”

She stared at him with narrowed eyes.

“Why do you look even more
distressed than I feel?”

Simon stood up, grabbed his cup of tea
from the table and sat down again. He sipped reflectively and looked
blankly at the colorful area rug at his feet.

“Clara, it was two red dragons
who attacked my tower last year. Remember? Yeah, well, maybe I'm just
projecting my own feelings on them here, but I think they are even
more savage and hate-filled than the other dragons I've dealt with. I
have a feeling that they'll jump into weeding out the remains of
humanity with glee.” He shrugged. “Of course, I could be
wrong.”

“Wonderful,” the cleric
said gloomily. “Just great.” She stood up and took
Simon's empty cup with her as she left the room.

Simon and Kronk sat quietly, lost in
their own thoughts, until she returned with more tea and offered the
wizard his cup.

“Thanks,” he said
appreciatively and sipped the hot liquid carefully.

“Kronk, I have a question for
you,” Clara said as she sat at the end of the couch and tucked
her feet up under her.

“For me, lady? Of course.”

She watched him over the rim of her
teacup.

“I have a feeling that you know
more than Simon or I do about dragons, even if they had long
disappeared back in the old days of magic.”

He shrugged his little shoulders.

“I heard things, lady. Wizards
discussed things like that amongst themselves while I was in their
presence. They took no notice of little ones like myself.”

Simon reached out and gently patted the
earthen's shoulder and was rewarded with a wide smile.

“They were fools then,” the
cleric told him shortly. “But we hopefully are not. So, my
question is, where are all of these dragons coming from? I don't mean
where are they patrolling or what their plans are. I mean, how are
they reproducing? Just how many lesser dragons are there? If the red
dragons have invaded North America, aren't their numbers stretched
quite thin now?”

“Ah, I see. That is an
interesting question.”

Kronk stood quietly, gathering his
thoughts, and Simon and Clara exchanged an amused look. The little
guy was always slow and deliberate when it came to serious answers to
serious questions.

“This is what I remember, lady,”
the little guy finally spoke up. “There is only one female
dragon, their queen. She birthed the five primals and is a conduit
for the dark gods. They pass their wishes through her. Of course, you
already know that.”

Clara nodded encouragingly.

“Yes, well, the primals are all,
what is the term, asexual? Something like that. They have the ability
to renew their own ranks as needed. When one of their lesser dragons
dies, for whatever reason, the primal knows somehow. This sets off
some sort of,” he paused as if groping for the proper word,
“imperative. And the lesser dragon is replaced. I would guess
that if the dark gods have given the primal red dragon this new
territory, then it has produced even more servants to fill its
needs.”

“Yes, I get that, my little
friend,” she told him, sounding a bit exasperated. “What
I want to know is how? How do they increase their numbers?”

“Eggs, lady,” he answered
simply. “They hatch eggs.”

“Wait a second,” Simon
exclaimed. “Eggs? But you said that the primals aren't female.
How is that even possible?”

“They do not lay the eggs,
master. Their queen laid massive amounts of eggs back when she
created the five primals. Every primal received a certain number and
they replace a follower by hatching a new dragon as needed.”

He seemed to ponder that statement for
a moment.

“I wonder if this situation has
ever happened before, where a primal dragon had to increase its
replacement of lesser dragons? Would they eventually run out? I do
not know.”

“Huh. You learn something new
every day, I guess,” Simon said, feeling a little dazed.

“Yes. It's too bad that we are in
no position to take advantage of the primal red's weakness,”
Clara said quietly. “If it actually is weak right now.”

Simon finished his tea and laughed a
little.

“One dragon at a time, my friend.
Aeris is scouting out the location of the primal white dragon. And my
research, such as it is, indicates that the red is much more
powerful. So let's just focus on the task at hand.”

“I agree,” she said as she
stood up. “And look, the sky is beginning to brighten. Dawn is
on its way.”

They both walked to the window and
looked out at the eastern sky. There was a hint of pink making the
few filmy clouds blush with the imminent birth of the new day.

“Any problems with Malcolm or
Aiden?” Simon asked her as they peered outside.

“They calmed down after about an
hour or so. Fortunately the chains held, although I'm told that a few
links snapped before they gave up in exhaustion. I have no doubt
that, had they gotten free, the enclosure might not have held them. I
shudder at the thought of what might have happened afterward.”

The wizard touched her lightly on the
arm.

“But it didn't. And from now on,
that worry will be gone. So let's concentrate on that, okay?”

Clara gave him the ghost of a smile.

“I'm trying, believe me.”

She turned away and indicated the
dining table.

“Have a seat, my friend. We have
another hour or so to wait, so let's have some breakfast while we
can.”

Simon was about to protest that he
wasn't hungry when his stomach croaked loudly. Both he and the cleric
burst out laughing, instantly changing their moods.

“I think I've been overruled,”
the wizard said with a tired chuckle. “I didn't think I could
eat, but my insides have other ideas.”

Still laughing, Clara left the room and
returned shortly with a package wrapped in brown paper. She pulled
off the wrapping to reveal a plate piled high with sandwiches.

She set it on the table, went out and
returned with a jug and two glasses and sat down.

“One of my people was kind enough
to make us some food last night, just in case we got hungry. Sliced
venison. It's quite tender. And apple juice. The last of our stored
apples were used to make it, so enjoy. We won't get any more until
the autumn.”

They ate in silence. Clara had been
right; the venison was delicious. And the tart juice gave Simon a
jolt of energy that he desperately needed.

He tried to hide it from Kronk, because
he knew he'd be scolded, but the night's Gating and his taut nerves
had exhausted him. It was only the thought of presenting Malcolm and
Aiden with the amulets that kept him from sneaking off to a dark
corner and falling asleep.

After their meal, Simon and Clara
wandered outside to watch the sun come up. The early morning birdsong
and the smell of the new day helped to wake the wizard up and he
breathed deeply, savoring the moment.

Kronk stood by quietly and seemed to be
listening to nature's music with childish delight.

“This really is my favorite time
of day,” the wizard murmured, watching the horizon turn from
pink to red to a rich orange. “It's like the world is being
reborn. It gives me a sense of new hope, somehow.”

Clara smiled as she watched the
sunrise.

“I know what you mean. Now, hang
on to that feeling. It's time to see to our two friends.”

Simon dragged his eyes away from the
rising sun and turned to look at the grim enclosure. He frowned as he
began to follow the cleric.

“After this is done, and we're
sure that Malcolm and Aiden can safely rejoin the general population,
I hope that monstrosity is going to be torn down.”

Clara's expression matched his.

“It will be, if I have anything
to say about it. If nothing else, we need the raw materials that we
used to build it, not to mention the room it takes up. Believe it or
not, though, there are a few people who think we should leave it up,
just in case.”

Simon stumbled to a halt.

“Just in case? Just in case what?
You have an outbreak of Lycanthropy?”

“No,” she replied, still
walking slowly toward the building. Simon hurried to catch up.

“Some of them said that we might
need a jail eventually, when the population grows larger.”

“I see. So they're already
thinking about the patterns of law and order from the old world? God,
why would they want to head down that road again? I think we should
go our own way.”

“I quite agree. Why would anyone
want to steal, for instance? If you want jewelry, go to a destroyed
town and you can find some. Money? What for? We all have our assorted
chores and we all share in the bounty of the harvest. At any rate,
don't worry. At the town meeting, the suggestion was overwhelmingly
shouted down. I didn't have to say a word.”

Clara looked rather pleased and Simon
breathed a bit easier.

He hoped that this new world would be a
better one than the last. They'd been given a second chance, if they
survived. Let's see what they could do with it.

“Any problems?” Clara asked
the pair of guards as they reached the locked doors of the enclosure.
They were the same two who had helped wrap the chains around Malcolm
and Aiden the night before.

“None. They haven't even moved in
hours. We've checked every hour or so,” one of them said,
nodding at a slot cut in the door, “but they are just lying
there, panting and growling. Well, they were. They've changed back to
themselves again, about twenty minutes ago. I happened to be watching
when it happened.”

He shuddered and made a face.

“One of the most painful-looking
things I've ever seen. The sound of bones snapping and things
tearing. Ugh, Anyway, they're back to normal again.”

His partner was unsealing the door as
he spoke.

“I asked if they wanted to be
released from the chains, but Malcolm said he wanted to wait for
you,” he added with a shrug.

“Thank you both. I appreciate the
way you treated them last night, with dignity.”

This time the other man shrugged and
they both looked at each other with little smiles.

“They're our friends, lady. They
taught us everything we know about fighting and tactics. Could we do
any less for them than they've done for us?”

“Well said,” Simon told
them warmly.

The second guard pulled open the stiff
door and bowed them through.

“With friends like that, I have
fewer worries about Malcolm and Aiden than I did earlier,” the
wizard told Clara under his breath as they entered.

She nodded once.

“Yes, and there are more people
like that in town than the other kind, believe me.”

Simon stopped and looked back through
the doorway at Kronk.

“Did you want to join us?”

“No master. You and the lady
should have the joy of giving your friends their amulets. I will wait
out here.”

“Well, if you're sure,” he
said. “We won't be long.”

The cleric and the wizard walked
forward toward the two figures still lying in almost the exact same
position they had been the previous evening. The rising sun hadn't
lit the inside of the enclosure very well yet and Simon could only
see the vague outlines of the two men. They were lying so still that
he began to get nervous.

“Malcolm? Aiden? Are you all
right?” he called out hesitantly.

There was a moment of absolute
stillness and the wizard felt cold fingers run up his spine. What has
happened, he thought frantically.

“Could you scratch my nose? It's
driving me frigging crazy.”

It was Malcolm's voice, followed the
faint sound of Aiden giggling.

Simon and Clara looked at each other
for a second and then burst into laughter.

They hurried forward and saw both men
on their backs, staring up at them.

“You two!” Clara exclaimed
with a wide smile. “Why on Earth are you still wrapped up?”

The two big men had been grinning but
now became quite serious.