The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (49 page)

The rogue stood up with a grunt,
holding his light over the sketch, and looked at her.

“
If you want my opinion, lady
mage, I would suggest avoiding them altogether. Unless the patrols
are taken out quickly, it is quite possible that the casters will be
able to signal those inside the tower. And that would be bad. If it
was just the undead, we could dispose of them quickly and fairly
quietly. Unfortunately, it isn't.”

“
I agree,” Malcolm said
as he stepped closer to the map and peered down at it. “There
are probably hundreds of undead monsters inside that building and we
are only a handful of people. We have to be cautious.”

There was a general murmur of
agreement and Tamara nodded.

“
That's what we'll do then.
Hallic, can you lead us past the patrols?”

“
With the help of the wizard's
friend, yes,” the rogue said confidently, throwing a quick
glance at Simon. “I left little Aeris near the tower to fine
tune the timing of the patrols' pattern. When you're all ready, I'll
take you to him.”

He slipped his glowing stone into a
pouch on his belt and the darkness descended once more.

“
Go ahead, Hallic. Everyone,
same order in line as before. Move as quietly as you can.”

The rogue led the way, barely
visible. Behind him, Tamara followed, with Liliana directly at her
back. Then the line stretched out from there, snaking its way through
the night.

Simon was behind Malcolm again and,
as he watched his footing and tried to avoid slipping on loose rock
and sand, he thought about how bizarre the entire venture was.

I'm literally part of a conga line,
fifteen people long, creeping through the night and trying to avoid
animated corpses. This has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever
done.

Well, there was that time in college
where... No, better to let that memory go. Besides, I was a lot more
innocent and a hell of a lot younger back then. And the world didn't
have dragons, magic and monsters in it.

Simon grunted softly as he ran into
the very solid form of Malcolm. He bounced off of the warrior's armor
and was saved from falling over by Aiden behind him.

“
Mind on the job, my friend,”
the man whispered as he steadied him.

Glad that the darkness hid his red
face, Simon thanked him.

“
Sorry,” he added softly.
“Random thoughts.”

“
Not to worry. That big oaf
didn't even realize that you'd bumped into him.”

Aiden nodded at his partner and Simon
grinned as he watched Malcolm continue to walk ahead slowly.

“
Thick as a brick sometimes,”
Aiden whispered affectionately. “Let's keep moving.”

A minute later, they all stopped and
waited. Simon saw the vague shape of Hallic move ahead of the party
and gesture skyward. Everyone looked up at the same time and there
was a chorus of muffled gasps.

The tower blotted out the stars like
an immense horn, but at the pinnacle, the distant points of light
were winking and being blotted out by something circling the
fortress.

“
What is that?” Tamara
asked Hallic.

“
Dracoliches, I believe. Two of
them. I've never observed the monsters myself, but I've read books
and seen drawings of them. Remarkably accurate, now that I can seen
the beasties for myself.”

“
Damn it,” Simon said
under his breath. “They're still there. Can you tell how big
they are?”

“
Impossible to say, sir wizard.
Considering the size of the tower, I'd say they are gigantic; much
larger than your average dragon.”

“
The primals, master?”
Kronk asked from somewhere near his feet.

“
Without question. Crap, this
makes things a bit more complicated.”

“
Why?” Liliana spoke for
the first time. “They are just undead creatures, nothing more.
We will deal with them as we will deal with all such abominations; by
destroying them.”

“
Works for me,” Malcolm
said softly.

Simon wanted to say more but what
could he add? Everyone knew what the undead dragons were and the team
was here to get the job done, no matter what. Retreating was not an
option.

“
Okay then, you guys know
what's at stake. So now I assume we're just waiting for Aeris?”

“
Where is he?” Tamara
asked impatiently.

“
Here, lady,” a voice
said a few inches from Simon's head.

He jumped back and stumbled, managing
to stay on his feet this time without anyone's help.

“
Damn it, Aeris!” he
hissed. “Don't do that!”

“
Sorry, oh great one,”
the elemental replied in low voice with just a hint of his usual
sarcasm. “I wasn't attempting to startle you; one of the
patrols is close, so please everyone, remain silent for a moment.”

The entire group became still and
waited. Simon could feel the tension spike sharply and he listened to
the night, waiting for any sound of the guards.

It didn't take more than a few
seconds to hear the shuffling and creaking of the undead patrol.
Hallic motioned for everyone to crouch down and he knelt down himself
at the same time.

Simon quickly dropped to one knee and
saw Kronk standing a few feet away, watching him with his ruby eyes.
The little guy nodded once and the wizard smiled faintly. He knew
that the earthen could see in the dark as well as a dwarf, or better.

The patrol shuffled and dragged their
reanimated legs through the dirt, moving from left to right at a
painfully slow pace. Aeris floated over to hover next to Simon's ear.

“
We will have two minutes to
cross the open space from here to the entrance on this side. We will
be within sight of the next patrol before we can enter the tower, but
they should not detect us as long as we remain invisible and make
very little sound. Could you pass that along to Virginia and her
friends? We must be ready to move as soon as the patrol is out of
earshot.”

“
Right.”

Simon crept forward, looking for
Virginia among the shadowy figures around him. Once he'd spotted her,
he got as close as he could and motioned at her.

“
Aeris says that we move as
soon as the patrol can't be heard,” he whispered.

It was so quiet that, even with the
shuffling and dragging sounds of the passing patrol, several others
heard him and began passing the word along.

“
Okay, Simon,” the young
woman replied. “Anna? You ready?”

The small figure swallowed loudly.

“
I'm ready. Take my hand. Eric,
Gerard? Link up, please.”

The sounds from the patrol were
fading and Hallic motioned for them to stand up again.

“
Everyone stay close to us,”
Virginia told them all, just loud enough for the party to hear her.
“The invisibility field only works if you are all in contact
with each other and someone is touching one of us. Okay? Good.
Hallic, say when.”

The rogue extended his hand to her
and Virginia took it firmly. Everyone else joined hands with Malcolm
taking one of Simon's in his massive grip and Aiden taking the other.

They could use me as a wishbone right
now, he thought irreverently.

“
Master? What about me?”

Simon looked down at Kronk.

“
Oh damn. Well, if you don't
mind hitching a ride, just hop up on my boot and grab an ankle. That
should work.”

Aeris snickered and the earthen
glared at him.

“
It isn't funny,” he
rumbled as he stepped gingerly on top of Simon's right foot and
hugged his leg.

“
Whoa, not quite so tight,
Kronk,” the wizard muttered. “You're cutting off my
circulation.”

“
Oh! Sorry master, I will be
more careful.”

“
We're going on the count of
three,” Hallic told them. “As fast as we can go without
running. Keep the noise to a minimum. Aeris, turn invisible and bring
up the rear, please.”

“
I will.”

“
And one...two...three!”

“
Invisibility cloak on...now,”
Anna said in a trembling voice.

The group moved off with Hallic in
the lead. Simon noticed absolutely no difference in the world around
them, but then it was still very dark; he wondered if it would be a
different experience in daylight.

The rogue led them over several piles
of debris and around a few scrub trees and then the tower was right
there in front of them, like a hulking giant. It's mouth-like
entrance looked eager for them to slide inside so that it could
consume them.

The shuffling, dragging sound of the
next patrol could clearly be heard as they reached the building.
Without hesitation, Hallic entered the tower and the group, still
linked hand to hand, followed him reluctantly.

Simon took one final look up at the
sky and caught a quick blur of movement. Yep, the dracoliches were
still there. Damn it.

Inside, the air immediately became
cold and dry, biting the lungs and causing several of the party to
choke back coughs. The rough stone walls were spotted with clumps of
lichen that glowed with a sickly purple hue and Simon could finally
see a bit. It was a relief to be able to pick out details around him
and tell one member of the party from the next. It also worried him.

We won't be sneaking around in total
darkness in this horrible place, he thought. I'm not sure if that's
good or bad. Both probably.

They walked along the deserted
hallway for a few minutes, listening for any sound, until they
reached another archway, this one leading into the central hall.

Hallic stopped and dropped Virginia's
hand.

“
You can cancel your spell
now,” he told her and her friends. “This area is safe, at
least for the moment.”

Both Malcolm and Aiden released their
grip on Simon's hands and Kronk hopped off of his leg.

“
Are you well, master?”
he asked with some concern. “I did not injure you, did I?”

Simon smiled down at him.

“
You could never do that, my
friend. And I'm fine. You?”

“
Good, master. Never better. So
far, things are progressing smoothly.”

“
It won't last,” Aeris
told them as he reappeared and flew over to join them. “There
are dozens of floors above us with who knows how many enemies. The
battles haven't even started yet.”

“
Ah yes, there he is,”
Simon said, giving Kronk a knowing glance . “Our own ray of
sunshine, always looking on the bright side.”

The earthen smiled widely.

“
Just keeping it real, my dear
wizard,” Aeris said with a shrug. “We must all stay
vigilant.”

“
Can't argue with that.”

Tamara was speaking quietly to Hallic
and he was nodding occasionally. When she was finished, she turned to
look at the group.

“
Well, we're in. Safely, so
far. And this is where we say goodbye to Virginia and her friends.”

She looked at the quartet and smiled
warmly at them.

“
Virginia, Anna, Eric and
Gerard; we appreciate your efforts to get us in here. Please take
care on the way out. Listen for any patrols and don't move until the
way is clear.”

“
Tamara, isn't there any way
that...” Virginia began, but the mage cut her off abruptly.

“
I know what you are going to
ask and the answer is still no. The four of you are a danger to
yourselves and others in a enclosed battle. And you know why. We all
know that it isn't your choice, but it's the right thing to do, for
both you four and us. So please, don't argue; this is neither the
time nor the place for it.”

Anna looked relieved but the
expressions on the faces of the others showed how much they wanted to
stay and help.

“
Head back to the pile of stone
and debris where we were earlier and wait for us there,” the
mage told them. “If we don't get back within a reasonable
length of time, head back up the coast to the bay and keep watch. The
king promised to send a drilling machine to the rendezvous point if
he didn't hear anything after seventy-two hours.”

Everyone murmured a farewell and
watched as the four of them waved and disappeared back the way they
had come. Simon felt a mixture of relief and regret, but he agreed
with Tamara; the foursome's offensive powers worked best at a
distance, not in close combat.

“
This is very strange,”
Aeris muttered as he scanned the hall.

In the stillness, the entire group
heard his comment and turned to look at him.

“
What's strange?” Simon
asked quietly.

“
Remember what I said about
this hall when I scouted it before? There were two troops of goblins
patrolling the main floor back then. But now there's no sign of them.
What's going on?”

“
Goblins?” Hallic said
sharply. “Are you sure?”