The Dragons of Decay (58 page)

The wizard
scrambled backwards on his hands and then rolled over and leaped up.
He managed to get his legs under him and staggered back toward the
cavern just as the dragon vomited more acid at him, fortunately
coming up short, but leaving the ground pitted with holes and smoking
craters as the liquid ate its way through the sandy surface.

As he
turned a corner of the tunnel, Simon's shield flickered, spluttered a
bit and then collapsed in a shower of sparks. The acid bath had been
too much for it but it had done its job and saved his life.

Without
his shield, the smoke and stench from the acid attack burned his
lungs and the wizard staggered into the cavern hacking and coughing,
his stomach threatening to spew its contents everywhere.

“
My
God, Simon, what happened?” Virginia cried out.

The group
rushed forward and Gerard and Virginia each took an arm and helped
the wizard to move to the nearest wall and slide down it. He sat on
the sandy ground and leaned forward, coughing violently for a few
minutes while Virginia gently patted his back.

“
Anna,”
Daniel said. “Could you go into that alcove there and get Simon
some water please?”

She looked
at him with wide, frightened eyes but nodded and hurried away,
seemingly happy to have something to do. While she was gone, Simon
finally caught his breath and then leaned back against the wall,
sucking in deep breaths of fresh air.

“
What's
happened?” Ethmira called out as she, Liliana and Gerard
entered the cavern. All three were carrying bows and had quivers of
arrows strapped to their hips.

They
hurried over to join the others standing around Simon, while Anna
reappeared and pushed through the group to offer the wizard a cup of
water.

“
Thanks,”
he gasped and took a few tentative sips, afraid that it might set off
another round of coughing. But the cool liquid soothed his throat and
settled his stomach and he emptied the cup before trying to speak.

“
Dragon
attack,” he was finally able to say in a raspy voice. “At
the entrance. It was waiting in ambush.”

“
In
ambush?” Ethmira repeated in disbelief.

Simon
nodded.

“
But
then, that means they know we're here,” she continued.

“
They
must have followed us, somehow,” Virginia said, shaking her
head. “Damn it.”

“
But
how? We didn't see any dragons on the way,” Anna said
tremulously.

“
They
could easily have been lurking in the trees beneath you as you flew
over,” Daniel told them. “Easily. These brown dragons are
sly, intelligent. And apparently,” he looked down at Simon,
“patient. Instead of trying to break into these caves, they
planned an ambush, made some noise above us to flush us out and
simply waited to spring it. Crafty buggers.”

Simon
leaned back against the wall, braced his hands on it and pushed
himself up. As he staggered, Eric stepped forward and held his arm
until he regained his balance.

“
Thanks,”
he told the tall young man, who only smiled tightly in reply.

“
Sir
wizard, I am beyond pleased that you survived that ambush,”
Liliana told him. “But exactly how did you do that?”

Simon
shrugged and futilely ran a hand through his short hair.

“
Instinct?
Experience? No idea. But for some reason, I cast a Shield spell just
as I reached the exit. Saved my life.”

“
Well,
hang on to that instinct then,” she said with a crooked smile.
“We may need it in the future.”

“
Speaking
of futures,” Virginia said as she looked at the tunnel. “Do
we even have one? I mean, how the hell do we get out of here with a
dragon squatting at the exit?”

“
Ethmira,
is there another way out of here?” Simon asked.

“
Naturally,”
the elf replied. “I would never choose a refuge without an
emergency exit.”

A roar
echoed down from above and Anna shrieked. All of them looked up at
the holes in the ceiling just in time to see fat droplets of dark
liquid begin to rain down into the cavern.

“
Acid!”
Simon bellowed as the sand below the ceiling began to bubble and fuse
into pools of scummy glass.

He turned
to the elf.

“
Let's
get out of here, right now!” he told her.

She didn't
hesitate.

“
Follow
me!” she barked and raced to the opposite end of the cavern and
down the tunnel that led to the meeting room.

The others
followed quickly, Simon lagging behind so that he could stay close to
Daniel in case he needed any help.

His old
friend smiled at him grimly, obviously aware of what the wizard was
doing, and ran as quickly as he could.

The others
got further away and turned a corner, disappearing from view, as the
two friends tried to keep up.

“
Go
on ahead, you idiot,” Daniel gasped as he trotted along
unsteadily.

“
Not
without you, dumb ass,” Simon replied.

The two of
them exchanged broad grins and kept moving gamely along.

Shouts and
screams from up ahead brought them to a stumbling halt and Daniel
leaned against the wall of the corridor, gasping for breath.

“
Go
and see what's happening,” he wheezed. “And don't argue!
I'll be along as soon as I catch my breath.”

Simon
squeezed his thin arm and then took off down the hallway.

At the
end, the tunnel took an abrupt right-handed turn and he literally
bounced off of the wall with his shoulder as he took the corner and
then stopped, skidding on the sandy floor.

Ethmira
and the others were backing down the tunnel toward him, almost
tripping over each other as they scrambled to retreat from a narrow
opening about fifty feet ahead.

Simon
could see the trunks of trees through the gap but a moving shadow
darkened the exit and a low rumbling reverberated in the air.

“
Let
me guess,” he said quietly as the group backed up to his
position. “Dragon?”

“
Got
it in one,” Gerard said under his breath. “We saw it
landing just as we reached the opening, but the noise it made as it
crashed through the trees must have covered our reaction, because it
hasn't attacked. It's just...waiting.”

“
God,
it's like a cat waiting at a mouse hole,” Eric muttered. “What
the hell do we do now?”

Simon
looked at all of their faces, gauging their emotional state.

Virginia
looked calm, as always. She was the rock of her group and he'd never
worried about her ability to face any challenge.

Anna, like
Gerard beside her, was shaking, but she kept glancing at Virginia. It
seemed that she took strength from her friend's calm demeanor and was
staying in control because of it.

Eric
wasn't calm. Instead, he looked furious and scowled darkly at the
distant shadow.

Better
anger than fear, Simon thought. At least I hope so.

Ethmira
and Liliana were both poised and waiting, taking in the situation but
in control of their emotions.

“
I
have an idea,” the wizard said after his assessment.

Everyone
turned to look at him, most of them looking hopeful.

“
But
it's going to be up to you four to decide if you want to go through
with it,” he added.

Virginia
looked at him levelly.

“
Go
ahead, Simon. I've come to realize that you're a fairly decent
tactician, from what you've faced in the past.”

Daniel
limped around the corner at that moment, saw them all standing in a
bunch and looked past them to the end of the tunnel.

“
Ah,
a welcoming party,” he said flatly. “I wish I could say I
was surprised.”

“
I
would like to know how they found this exit,” Ethmira said
angrily. “From outside, it is very hard to spot.”

“
Doesn't
matter,” Simon told her. “We have to deal with the here
and now. And right here and now we have to get out of this place. It
isn't a refuge now; it's a trap.”

“
Agreed.
So what's the plan?” Virginia asked.

“
I
think that it's time for you guys to use your powers the way they
were meant to be used. Eric, your Shield spell is stronger than mine,
which means that it will protect you all from the dragon's acid
attack for at least a few minutes, if necessary. Anna, I don't know
if the dragon can see through your Invisibility spell or not, but I'm
guessing it can't, so we can use that as the element of surprise. And
Gerard, your Force spell is what we need most now. You will use it on
the dragon and turn its own powers against it. All dragons are
vulnerable to their own strengths; I've learned that much over the
past two years. So now, we use that knowledge and kill that thing.”

The four
of them were staring at him, Anna and Gerard open-mouthed. Eric was
actually smiling in anticipation while Virginia looked thoughtful.

“
Do
you actually believe that Gerard's spell can kill a dragon?”
she asked in a level voice.

“
No,
I don't,” Simon answered. “But I do think that it can do
what I said it can, turn the dragon's powers against itself.”

“
How?”
Gerard asked nervously.

“
Like
this. You four link up as usual. Eric casts his shield and then Anna
turns all of you invisible. You exit the tunnel and get as close to
that monster as you can. Hopefully it won't detect you. I recommend
moving as quietly as possible. When you get within range, say ten
yards or so, Anna will drop her spell.”

“
What?”
Anna squealed and then clapped her hands over her mouth as she looked
fearfully down the tunnel. When there was no reaction from the unseen
dragon, she dropped her hands and stared at Simon as if he'd lost his
mind.

“
Are
you kidding me?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “If I
cancel the Invisibility spell, we'll be exposed and that thing will
attack!”

“
Exactly,”
Simon told her with a grim smile. “And when it does, Gerard,
you will send its acidic attack right back at it.”

“
I
like it,” Eric said after a long pause. “Simple, direct,
like all the best plans are.”

“
Oh
yeah?” Anna turned to glare at him and the young man stepped
back warily. “It's also crazy.”

“
Again,
like the best plans,” he said with a gleam in his eye.

Virginia
held up a hand to interrupt the argument and then looked at Simon
closely.

“
And
you're sure this will work?”

“
Honestly?
No. That's why this is all up to you guys. All for one and all that.
If you decide not to try it, I won't think any less of you. Instead,
we'll have to go with option number two,” and he nodded
significantly at the bows that Ethmira, Liliana and Eric were
holding.

“
Oh
gees,” Gerard muttered hopelessly.

“
There
is a third alternative,” Daniel said as he watched Simon.

“
Which
is?” the wizard asked while everyone looked at the older man
hopefully.

“
We
could just Gate out of here, couldn't we?”

There was
a moment of silence and then Simon sighed and shook his head.

“
I'm
afraid not, old friend. I may have enough energy to Gate once, but
then I'll probably collapse. And just where would I Gate to? The only
location I know of in this world is the point where we entered the
elven realm. And the last time we did that, we were attacked
immediately by a dragon. That time I was able to fight it. But the
next time? I won't have enough strength left to do anything.”

There was
a collective sigh from Anna and Gerard and Simon smiled at them in
sympathy.

“
Add
to that the fact that I can only Gate six people at a time, maximum.
Which means I'd have to leave one of you behind. And I'll tell you
all right now; I won't do that. Sorry.”

A rumble
from the end of the tunnel made them all look in that direction
nervously. The shadow of the hidden dragon moved for a moment and
then was still again.

“
It
may be able to smell us,” Daniel whispered as he watched the
distant shadow.

“
Possibly.
I think we need to make some decisions right now,” Ethmira
said. “I'd rather attack while that thing doesn't know we're
here. If we're lucky, we may get a few arrows in its eyes. Might give
us a chance to slip by it.”