The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (9 page)

“
Now I understand
the Elders' interest,” she said. “As an ally, and the
only known wizard on this New Earth, they would want your powers
restored as soon as possible.”

“
That's good of
them,” Simon said a bit dryly.

“
Well, it does serve
their interests, Simon, but it serves yours as well, doesn't it?”

“
True that. And I'm
far from ungrateful.”

He swung his arms from
side to side, trying to warm up.

“
So if you can help,
could we get started? I'm getting a bit stiff from the cold.”

Ethmira actually looked
startled and then seemed to notice his constant movements.

“
Oh, forgive me! I'm
still not used to being around humans, even Changlings like yourself.
Of course you're uncomfortable.”

She looked toward the
west.

“
You say that it
fell from the sky in that direction?”

“
Yes, somewhere over
there,” he said, pointing vaguely. “I wish I'd been
paying closer attention at the time, but the other dragon was
barreling straight at the tower after it won that fight and I was
more concerned with the immediate threat.”

“
Naturally.”

Ethmira stood silently,
obviously thinking deeply.

“
Before we start,
I'd like to see that first heart if I could. It might help me locate
its mate.”

“
Really?”
Simon asked dubiously. “Well sure, if you think it could help.
Come inside. I can make you some tea if you like.”

He squeezed back through
the gate and the elf followed gracefully.

“
That sounds
lovely,” she said as they walked up to the front door. “Your
tea is always excellent.”

“
Thanks.”

Simon opened the door and
felt instant relief as he entered the warm room. He hadn't been gone
long enough for the cold to seep into the tower and he took off his
gloves and coat gratefully.

“
It's over there,”
he said to Ethmira and pointed to the heart resting in the corner.

She hurried over to the
crystalline object and knelt down next to it.

Simon hung up his coat and
added a log to the fire before he filled the kettle. Then he hung it
over the fire and got cups out of the cupboard. All the while, he
watched Ethmira surreptitiously as she stared deeply at the heart but
didn't touch it.

“
So what do you
think?” he asked finally as he walked across the room and
offered her a cup of tea.

“
Hmm? Oh, thank you,
Simon.” She sipped and smiled appreciatively. “Lovely, as
usual. What do I think?”

She looked down at the
heart and her lips tightened.

“
I think that this
is a cursed piece of filth, to be quite honest with you.”

Her tone was one of
disgust and Simon looked at her in surprise.

“
Really? Why? I
mean, I know that the dragons are evil but...”

The elf stood up, walked
over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. She sat down and
glowered at the heart.

“
It's more than
that.”

Simon sat down next to her
and listened attentively.

“
This...thing is
still alive, in its own foul way. It is sucking magic from the very
air around it and storing it for use by a dragon that no longer even
exists.”

She shook her head in a
quick gesture.

“
It goes against the
laws of nature. It is an abomination to me and would be to my people
as well. It must be destroyed.”

“
Yeah, well, that's
the plan,” Simon said quietly. “But I wanted to wait
until I had both in hand before doing that.”

“
Because your magic
will not return until both are destroyed?”

He nodded solemnly.

“
Hmm, yes. That
makes sense, I suppose.”

Ethmira finished her tea
and stood up abruptly.

“
Very well. The
sooner I find that second heart, the sooner we can destroy these
accursed things.”

As Simon stood up, she
waved at him to be seated again.

“
I mean no offense,
my friend. But I travel over snow much faster than you travel through
it. I will find the heart more quickly alone. Wait here in the
warmth. I won't be long.”

“
But how can you
find it by yourself?” Simon objected as he sat down again.
“Won't you need my help?”

“
Again, no offense
meant, but no. I will feel the heart drawing magic into itself when I
am in its proximity. You've pointed me in the right direction. That
is all the help I will need.”

She walked to the front
door and opened it.

“
While I am gone,
give some thought on how we are supposed to smash these things. I'd
guess that that will be much more challenging than finding them was.”

She left and closed the
door firmly behind her.

Simon sat staring at the
door for a minute, both grateful that he wouldn't have to slog
through miles of snow and freezing temperatures, and a bit
embarrassed that he was so useless.

Still, Ethmira was right.
Finding the hearts was all well and good, but if he couldn't destroy
them, it would be a waste of time.

He grabbed his winter
gloves, went over and carried the heart back to the table. Then he
sat down and contemplated the pulsing crystal.

He picked up the spoon he
used to stir his tea and tentatively tapped one of the spikes. To his
surprise, the crystal rang like a glass bell. He tapped a second
spike and another tone rang out, but a different note this time.

Huh, he thought. If I
practiced, maybe I could learn to play a song on the bloody thing.

With a snort, he dropped
the spoon and stood up.

Time to get that hammer
and chisel from the basement, he decided and headed for the stairs.

It couldn't have been more
than an hour later when Ethmira pushed open the front door, followed
by a blast of frigid air and walked into the room.

Simon had been tapping the
heart at different spots with the hammer and jumped up with surprise,
as if he'd been caught doing something naughty.

Ethmira grinned at his
reaction as she slammed the door closed and then held up a package
wrapped in thick cloth. Where she'd gotten the material, he had no
idea.

“
I found the horrid
thing,” she said with a touch of pride and, after stomping the
snow off of her feet on the doormat, walked across to the table and
set her prize beside the heart.

She unwrapped it and Simon
stared at the revealed heart with some surprise.

Unlike the first
crystalline ovoid, this dragon heart was almost yellow, with veins of
green shot through it. It had the same spiky appearance as the other,
and was also pulsing with a steady beat.

Once she unwrapped the
heart, Ethmira sat down and stared at them both. She looked tired and
Simon hurried to make her a cup of tea.

“
I find it
interesting to know that dragons actually burn up when they die,”
she said idly as she looked from one heart to the other.

Simon handed her some tea
and sat down.

“
Red
dragons burn up,” he reminded her. “The black actually
exploded when it shorted out in the deep water of the river.”

“
Hmm, good point. I
wonder how the others meet their ends. I'd like to be a part of as
many dragon deaths as possible.”

The wizard was slightly
chilled by her eager tone of voice.

“
You really hate
them, don't you?” he asked quietly.

She turned to look at him
and Simon was surprised to see tears shining in her eyes.

“
Yes, my friend. I
really do. The dragons and their minions destroyed almost all of my
people millennia ago. The remnants only survived because our Elders
found a way to retreat through the veil between worlds to a new
homeland.”

She turned and looked
deeply into the flames in the fireplace, her expression grim.

“
Mortals like the
humans and the dwarves know that they have a set time upon the Earth.
They know that death is inevitable. But for an immortal to die, not
through accident or disease, but through wanton violence, well...the
grief of my people is unending.”

Ethmira looked at Simon
again and smiled at his expression.

“
Why do you think we
are helping you? Your people, these Changlings as you call
yourselves, are doomed by the same powers that almost wiped out my
own race. We cannot, we will not, stand idly by and allow that to
happen. Not again.”

Simon stared at her in
amazement.

So that's why they watch
me so closely, he thought.

He was touched by
Ethmira's concern, and that of her people, and tried to stammer out a
thank you. She just smiled and held up a hand.

“
I just wanted you
to know why we do what we do, Simon. And now that I've explained
that,” she looked at the pair of pulsing hearts, “let's
destroy these damned things, shall we?”

Ethmira stood up and
looked at the hammer and chisel that Simon had brought up from
storage. She raised an eyebrow and stared at the tools.

“
You think you can
break the hearts with those?” she asked doubtfully.

Simon rose as well and
picked up the tools.

“
Well, I don't
know,” he answered a little defensively. “I figured that
it would be a place to start, at least.”

She simply shrugged and
stepped back.

“
Go ahead then.
Let's see if they're as fragile as they appear to be.”

Simon felt a bit
ridiculous as he slipped on his gloves and put the end of the chisel
against the base of one of the spikes. Ethmira obviously didn't think
this was going to work, and he was inclined to agree with her. But
like he'd said, you had to start somewhere.

“
Okay,” he
said as he gritted his teeth. “Here goes nothing.”

He raised the hammer and
slammed it down on the flat end of the chisel. The crystal rang out
like a peal of bells and the chisel shot out of his hand and spun
across the room to land in a corner.

Simon felt the vibration
of his strike shoot up his arm and send painful tingles throughout
his entire body. He held on to the hammer with an effort and waited
for the shaking to subside.

“
Well, that didn't
work,” Ethmira commented, unnecessarily, he thought.

“
No, it didn't, did
it?” he said with a touch of sarcasm.

She shot him a look and he
shrugged, embarrassed.

“
At least we know
it's harder than it looks,” Simon said.

He peered at the spike he
had hit and couldn't find even a scratch.

“
Any other ideas?”
the elf asked. She sounded genuinely curious and Simon could only
shrug again.

“
Not right off hand.
You?”

“
Perhaps,” she
answered thoughtfully, tapping her lower lip with a forefinger.

“
Although it looks
like crystal, it obviously isn't,” she continued. “I'd
guess that it is closer in structure to diamonds.”

Simon put his hands on the
table and leaned in close to the reddish heart.

“
That's a good
guess. The question is, how do you destroy a diamond?”

Ethmira began to pace back
and forth a few steps, frowning at the floor as she walked.

“
I believe there are
two ways to crack a diamond,” she said, still pacing. “One
you just tried; hitting it sharply with an edged tool to break it.
That didn't work. The other way is to strike it with something as
hard as itself.”

“
As hard as itself?”

Simon chuckled and Ethmira
stopped and looked at him curiously.

“
Sorry,” he
said. “But since I don't have any large diamonds just lying
around in a drawer someplace, I think we're out of luck.”

Now it was the elf's turn
to laugh.

“
But Simon, you do
have just such a thing.”

“
I do?”

She nodded at the pulsing
hearts and suddenly he realized what she meant.

“
Of course!”
he exclaimed with a wide grin. “The only thing as strong as one
heart is another one. Why didn't I think of that?”

“
You would have,
Simon,” Ethmira said in a friendly manner. “In time. Now
the bigger question is, how do we smash one heart against the other
with enough force to shatter them both?”

Both of them silently
contemplated the pair of glittering, pulsing hearts for a few
minutes, trying to think of a solution.

How do you use a crystal
that weighs about twenty pounds to shatter another one just like it?