The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (35 page)

His
sleeves were snagged on tree bark and several times he tripped on
extruding roots. Finally he heard Kronk speak quietly from behind him
in apparent exasperation.

“
Master,
if you want to be captured, perhaps you should wave a flag and blow a
horn as you go?”

Simon
stopped abruptly and spun around.

“
What?”

Kronk's
tone had been so snarky that for a moment he'd sounded a lot like
Aeris. When the wizard looked, he saw that the earthen was glaring at
him.

“
You
are going to give yourself away, master!” the little guy
whispered. “Please watch where you are going. You are trying to
rush and instead are slowing yourself down.”

Kronk's
anger told Simon how worried the elemental was for him and he
realized that his friend was right. He'd begun almost running through
the brush without even realizing it, eager to save the farmers from
the pack of monsters ahead.

The
wizard paused and caught his breath, trying to slow down his
heartbeat. He nodded his thanks to Kronk as he wiped a shaking hand
across his face and then on his robe. He adjusted the staff across
his back and seated it more comfortably.

“
Sorry,
bud. I'm worried that we'll arrive too late.”

Kronk's
expression softened.

“
I
know, master. I am as well. But we either get there in time or we do
not. If you are discovered prematurely, it may guarantee that those
people are killed.”

“
You're
right. Okay, let's try this again.”

Simon
took another breath, looked around and then back at Kronk.

“
Which
way?”

Fortunately
the little guy couldn't roll his burning red eyes and he simply
pointed to Simon's right.

“
Got
it.”

They
set off again, but this time Simon moved slower, and carefully
slipped around bushes and avoided the trees.

As
he snuck forward, the wizard began listening closely. After about a
hundred yards, he heard a mutter of sound trickling through the trees
ahead.

It
sounded like the errant noises you would hear during a visit to a
zoo. Yelps, barking and a blood-curdling howl broke the silence of
the woods and Simon felt a lump of ice form in his stomach.

My
God, he thought, it sounds like a meeting of wild animals.

Finally,
the trees began to thin out and he crouched down as he moved forward,
creeping from tree to tree and keeping the undergrowth between
himself and whatever lay ahead.

“
Psst.
Master!” Kronk whispered.

Simon
turned and saw the little guy pointing above them. The wizard looked
up and saw Aeris descending quickly and quietly from the treetops.

“
We've
arrived in time,” he told them as he reached the ground and
hovered near Kronk. “It looks like the wizard's reinforcements
haven't gotten here yet. This part of the forest is clear of those
creatures so far, but we have to move fast.”

“
Well,
that's a relief.” Simon listened to the howls and roars in the
distance. “It sounds like they're fighting. What's going on?”

Aeris
looked over his shoulder.

“
No,
that's just what that group of monsters sounds like when they get
together,” he said with disgust. He glanced at Simon and Kronk.
“Follow me. We have to get to the edge of the trees so that I
can show you where the wizard is.”

Simon
nodded and clenched his hands, trying to stop them from shaking.

“
Lead
on,” he said and he began to creep along behind Aeris as the
air elemental glided forward. Kronk followed behind them.

At
the forest's edge, the three of them hunkered down behind the trunk
of an old maple tree. Aeris faded until he was almost invisible and
moved around the tree until he was looking at the open field beyond.

“
Come
and look, Simon,” he whispered. “Stay low and move
slowly.”

The
wizard crept forward on his hands and knees, hitching up his robe to
free up his legs somewhat. He adjusted his staff to make sure it
didn't get caught on the tree.

Simon
stared, appalled, as the open field came into view. Kronk, on his
right, rumbled with disgust.

About
fifty yards ahead, gathered in a group that hopped and slithered and
growled, he saw the mutant Changlings. He had seen them with the
Magic Mirror spell, but seeing them close up and personal was a
different experience entirely.

There
were perhaps twenty creatures in sight. Some stood on two legs, some
on four and one looked like a giant snake, with a humanoid face and
vestigial arms. Some were covered with scales, others with long hair.
Some even wore a few sad pieces of ragged clothing. They were fanged
and clawed and altogether horrible to see.

And
the stench of them made Simon gag. It was a mixture of wet fur, sweat
and excrement that threatened to make him vomit.

He
tore his eyes away from the pack and looked at Aeris.

“
Where's
the leader?” he murmured.

Aeris
was on the ground next to the wizard's head and his distaste was just
as evident as Simon's.

“
Look
there,” he said, pointing. “To the left, just beyond the
mutants.”

Simon
squinted and then saw someone standing on a tree stump almost
screened by the hopping, churning group of monsters. He hadn't seen
her at first because she was wearing stained brown robes that blended
in with the trees on the far side of the field.

The
wizard was wearing his own usual dark gray which was also hard to see
in the shadows of the forest.

Just
lucky, I guess, he thought vaguely as he watched the enemy wizard
intently.

She
was simply standing on the large stump, head bowed inside her hood.
Her long hair hung down almost to her waist and hid her face. The
streaks of white, so much like his own, caught Simon's eye.

She's
been using a lot of magic lately, he thought with trepidation. This
could go sideways so easily.

He
looked at the elementals.

“
Is
there any reason to wait, or are we ready?”

The
two little figures exchanged looks.

“
We're
ready, Simon,” Aeris said for them both.

“
Okay.
Kronk, how long until you're set?”

The
earthen stared across the clearing at the dark wizard.

“
Five
minutes to get in place and bring in the others, master. Then I will
move.” He looked at Aeris. “Does that give you enough
time?”

“
It
should,” the air elemental replied. He turned to the wizard.
“Simon, once I draw them away, or as many as I can, and Kronk
makes his move, you
must
strike. Do not hesitate. There is no telling how long the earthen can
hold her.”

“
I'll
be ready,” Simon said grimly, his voice shaking a bit. “Can
you get back to me in time? I'll be Gating as soon as I get to her.”

“
Don't
worry about me. If I can't reach you in time, I know where the
rendezvous is. I'll be there either way.”

Simon
slipped Bene-Dunn-Gal off of his back and laid it on the ground
beside him. He pushed himself up until he was kneeling in the shadow
of the tree. The sky had clouded over and the air had become slightly
chilly.

“
Okay,
Kronk. Aeris will wait three minutes and then begin his diversion. Be
careful. We don't know the extent of this woman's powers.”

Kronk
sighed.

“
Yes
master, I know. We've been all through this.”

“
Okay
then. Go! And good luck.”

Kronk
gave him a tight smile and then sank into the earth.

Simon
began counting under his breath.

One-one
thousand. Two-one thousand. Three-one thousand.

He
kept his eyes on the wizard and her unruly pack as he waited but she
never moved and the monsters continued to snap and growl at each
other, their calls and hoots a continuous muted roar. He had almost
gotten used to the stench that wafted over him, or else he was just
too focused to care about it anymore.

He
reached the three minute mark and looked at Aeris.

“
Now!”
he whispered. “Good luck!”

Aeris
nodded and gave him a small salute. He hesitated and moved to within
inches of Simon's face.

“
Remember,
my dear wizard, that these are not true Changlings. They have been
twisted into monsters by the dark gods. If any die, it will be a
mercy killing, like putting down a rabid dog.”

Simon
swallowed noisily. He nodded his understanding and Aeris returned it.
Then he disappeared with a quiet pop and the wizard snuck back behind
the tree and stood up, Bene-Dunn-Gal firmly in hand.

The
plan was for Aeris to make as much noise as possible to create a
diversion and draw off the pack, or most of it. Simon would then wait
for Kronk to make his move and then it would be his turn.

He
gripped the staff with sweaty palms and stared at its length, looking
at the tiny writing that rose from its bottom tip about a foot. He
had imbued the metal with dozens of spells, so many that he'd
collapsed into exhausted sleep every night for almost two weeks. But
hopefully it will have been worth it, because he certainly didn't
have the time to start memorizing spells now.

Simon
peeked out to watch the pack and, at that moment, a tremendous crack
of thunder rolled across the field, making the air vibrate. Several
leaves drifted down from the trees and the wizard was almost deafened
by the sound.

“
Wow.
Good one, Aeris,” he muttered in admiration.

The
monsters that had been fighting and cavorting in the middle of the
clearing leaped apart as if they had actually been struck by
lightning. Bestial heads swung this way and that, looking for the
source of the apparent attack.

“
I'm
over here, you pathetic mongrels!” came a shout from the far
side of the field. Simon was taken aback. He hadn't realized that
Aeris could actually yell that loudly.

Must
be an air elemental thing, he thought. You're a tricky one, my
friend.

As
one, like mindless beasts, the pack flung themselves toward the
mocking voice. They bayed and howled and slavered as they raced
across the field and into the forest on the other side.

The
wizard was suddenly standing alone on the tree stump, her head still
tilted forward, unmoving.

Simon
looked at the distant figure suspiciously. What was she doing? Hadn't
she seen her minions leave? She was on her own without any guards.

Something's
not right, the wizard thought with a stab of panic. We'll have to
wait. I'll summon Kronk back and...

The
ground around the stump exploded and Simon gaped at the sight of a
half-dozen earth elementals, including Kronk, leaping straight up
from underground. They swarmed over the figure of the immobile
wizard, knocking her off of the stump into a crumpled heap on the
ground.

Without
any hesitation, Simon jumped out from behind the tree and raced
across the field, looking frantically around to see if any of the
wizard's minions were in sight. But the area was still clear and the
howling of the chasing pack was barely audible.

He
slid to a stop next to the elementals and looked down at the body,
still shrouded and hidden by its robe and hood.

“
Did
you guys knock her out?” Simon asked as he stared at the still
figure, panting loudly.

Kronk
had been peering underneath the hood of the body and now looked up at
the wizard with wide eyes.

“
No
master. This person was already dead.”

“
Dead?
What...”

The
little guy pushed back the hood and Simon found himself looking into
the face, not of the wizard, who's appearance he knew well, but that
of a young man.

As
the elemental finished removing the hood, the long white-streaked
hair slipped off and fell to one side. Underneath was a mass of
blood-stained blond hair. The young man's eyes were half-open,
staring dully at nothing.

“
We've
been tricked, master,” Kronk said angrily. “The wizard
was never here.”

“
But,
but, how?” Simon stuttered. “How did she know that we
were planning an attack?”

The
elementals were all staring up at him and then looked at each other.
Finally, Kronk shrugged.