The Dragons of Decay (59 page)

“
Doubtful,”
Liliana said as she held up her bow and examined it. She nodded in
approval. “But it's worth taking the chance. Even if we fall,
Simon and the others might be able to get out while we have the beast
distracted.”

“
That
won't be necessary,” Virginia said firmly. They all looked at
her and she smiled calmly. “What is the point of having these
powers of we don't use them for the good of others? Guys,” she
turned to her friends. “We have to do this, don't we? If we
don't try and Ethmira and Liliana die because of it, will any of you
be able to live with yourselves afterward? Because I won't.”

“
But,
Ginny,” Anna began to say.

Virginia
shook her head.

“
No
buts, sweetie. Time to grow up and do our part. If any of you say no,
then it's no. But think of the consequences before you do.”

Simon and
the others watched while the four friends exchanged uncertain
glances. Eric finally just rolled his eyes.

“
Can
we just get on with this please? That thing out there is going to
sense us eventually and then we'll lose the element of surprise.
Anna, we can do this. All together.”

The slight
woman frowned at him and then let out a long sigh.

“
Fine
then. I still think this is nuts but I trust Virginia.” She
smiled shyly at Simon. “I trust you too. If you think that we
can do this, then maybe we can. Let's get on with it, guys.”

Virginia
gave her a one-armed hug and then looked questioningly at Gerard, who
grinned nervously.

“
Okay,
why not? Who wants to live forever anyway, right?”

Eric gave
him a clout on the shoulder and grinned.

“
That's
my boy,” he said and Gerard managed to chuckle a bit.

“
Before
we do this, Simon,” Ethmira said. Everyone quieted down to
listen. “I'd like to know what happens if this works. Where do
you want to go afterwards?”

“
If
it works,” Simon said grimly, “the dragon will be dead.
The primal brown will know instantly that one of its servants has
been killed. Remember, it thinks that the biggest threats to it have
been eliminated. I would guess that the primal will be shocked, then
enraged. It will come here to find out what happened.”

“
Okay.
And that's a good thing?” Virginia asked, her face suddenly
pale.

“
If
the plan works, yes. Ethmira, is there a weak spot between the worlds
nearby? The one that we came through is too far to reach on foot.”

“
And
it's on the wrong side of the hill anyway,” the elf answered.
“I doubt if we'd be able to cross the main cavern now with the
fumes that must be thick in there.”

She closed
her eyes and bowed her head, her expression one of intense
concentration. After a moment, she looked up at Simon with the ghost
of a smile on her face.

“
Yes,
there is. I sense one several miles,” she pointed ahead and to
the right of the far end of the tunnel, “in that direction.”

“
Several
miles,” Simon muttered. “Well, that's specific. It's
going to be a hell of a run, I'm guessing. Oh well, it is what it
is.”

“
What's
your plan?” Daniel spoke up as he watched his friend intently.

“
My
plan. Yeah well, it's simple enough, I suppose. When the primal brown
arrives, I'm going to lure it to the site of the crossover point.
Ethmira is going to open a portal and I'm going to go through with
the dragon hot on my heels. Ethmira will immediately close the
portal, trapping the primal on Earth while its forces remain stuck in
this realm.”

“
Simon,
that's crazy!” Virginia said, aghast.

He
shrugged.

“
Told
you it was.”

“
But
what are you going to do if that even works? The primal brown is
still an incredibly powerful creature. What are you going to do when
you're stuck with it on Earth?”

Simon's
smile became vicious and Anna actually backed away a few steps.

“
I'm
going to kill it.”

“
I
still don't understand how you're going to kill that monster, if we
even get it here,” Daniel whispered to Simon as they watched
Virginia and her friends getting ready.

Eric
handed his bow and quiver to Ethmira with a tight smile while Anna
and Virginia spoke quietly together for a moment. Gerard was
nervously pacing up and down, looking at the end of the tunnel
constantly.

“
I'd
love to explain it, old friend, but frankly we don't have the time,”
Simon whispered back. “When they start their attack, I'm going
out to lend a hand.”

He gave
Daniel a hard look.

“
You,
mister, will stay in here and out of harm's way. Clear?”

“
Hey,
who's the old guy here anyway?” Daniel protested.

“
Well,
technically I'm older than you are, so me,” Simon replied and
grinned.

His friend
rolled his eyes and then gripped his hand tightly.

“
Be
damned careful out there,” he said even more quietly. “I
don't relish the idea of the elves sealing all of us in this world
with the brown dragons.”

“
You
bet,” the wizard said, squeezing his hand in return. “Okay,
looks like they're ready. Here we go.”

He moved
forward to stand next to Ethmira and Liliana. Virginia caught his
eye, nodded once and then took Anna's hand. The smaller woman clasped
Gerard's hand tightly and he grabbed Eric's.

Eric
smiled at all of them. “Let's get him, guys,” he said
firmly and made a small gesture with his free hand.

A globe of
force sprang into existence, shimmering around the quartet and Eric
nodded in satisfaction.

“
Okay,
sweetie,” he said to a nervous Anna. “Your turn.”

She looked
up at Virginia, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

And then
they faded into invisibility as it they'd been wiped out of
existence.

“
Amazing,”
Ethmira said under her breath. “I've never seen anything like
it.”

“
I
doubt that there's ever been a group like them,” Liliana said
with admiration. “I just hope it works.”

“
We
all do. Okay, give them a minute to get in position and then we'll
move forward. Just because they're initiating the attack doesn't mean
that we can't give them a hand, right?”

Both women
smiled, Liliana looking almost gleeful.

“
I
absolutely agree,” she said and gripped her bow tightly. “Just
say when.”

Simon
watched the floor and pointed at the movement of the gritty sand.
They could actually see where the four friends were walking forward
as a group.

All four
of them followed the motion of the sand. Simon was holding his breath
and, once the movement reached the opening at the end of the tunnel,
he motioned to the two woman and gave Daniel a quick wave. Then they
began to creep toward the exit, listening tensely for any sign that
the dragon had spotted the invisible foursome.

“
I
think it's working,” Ethmira said under her breath.

Simon just
kept walking, waiting for the quartet to begin their attack.

He stopped
several feet away from the end of the tunnel, listening.

The
breathing of the dragon was a loud rasping sound that made the hair
on the back of his neck stand straight up. It sounded like the
creature was no more than inches away, but the long shadow of the
lurking monster showed that it had to be crouched a dozen feet from
the exit or more.

“
What
are they waiting for?” Liliana breathed, her voice barely
audible.

And then
the shadow was gone. A deep bellow of surprise shattered the air and
in response Anna's shriek of fear sounded almost child-like in
comparison.

Simon
leaped forward, turning to look in the direction of the roaring
dragon.

The brown
dragon, fifty feet in length from snout to tail, with a head as long
as Anna was tall, was rearing up on its hind legs, wings spread out
and entangled in branches from the surrounding trees. Below it,
Virginia and the others were staring up at the monster, hunched down
and waiting for it to attack.

Simon was
relieved to see the sparkle of Eric's shield still pulsing strongly
around them. He'd been afraid that it would drop once the
invisibility spell was cast, but apparently both spells meshed
easily.

Gerard was
gaping up at the immense creature, his eyes wide with fear.

God, I
hope he isn't frozen in shock, Simon thought frantically.

The scaled
jaws opened as if on a hinge and he heard the dragon suck in a
lungful of air.

Here it
comes, he thought. Be ready, Gerard.

Eric
gripped his friend's hand strongly and gave him a little shake. The
smaller man blinked rapidly and then seemed to break through his fear
and scowled up at the monster.

The
dragon's head lurched forward and a blast of black liquid spewed from
its maw. Gerard yelled something that Simon couldn't hear over the
screeching dragon but he saw the results.

An
invisible blast of force slammed into the corrosive liquid and sent
the sticky fluid splashing back directly into the dragon's face. The
results were all that Simon could have hoped for and more.

The
creature screamed in an ear-splitting bellow as its own acid soaked
its entire head. Smoke billowed up from its scales and Simon watched
in horrified amazement as the dragon's eyes literally melted like
jelly and ran down its face. The scales peeled back revealing red
flesh and yellowed bone and the monster reared so violently that it
flipped over and landed with a crash on to its back, thrashing and
screaming in agony.

The four
friends raced back toward the tunnel, their faces white with fear.
Simon and the others moved to the side to let them retreat into the
shelter of the cave but stood and waited to see if the dragon was, in
fact, mortally wounded.

The
monster continued to writhe in torment, slamming into trees, causing
a shower of leaves and branches to rain down on it. The ground around
it smoked and rotted as it spread its acid in its violent death
throes.

And Simon
was sure that it was dying. It raised its head once as if trying to
get back on its feet and all he saw was melting flesh and
disintegrating bone. The dragon had killed itself.

“
I
guess we don't need to help after all,” he said weakly.

“
Now
there's an understatement for you,” Liliana replied dryly.

The wizard
looked at her and saw an expression of immense satisfaction on her
face. Ethmira looked more introspective but nodded when she caught
Simon's eye.

“
A
very satisfying result,” she said and then smiled as the
paladin rolled her eyes.

“
And
yes, that too is an understatement. Now, shall we see how our
victorious young friends are doing?”

They
re-entered the tunnel and found the foursome standing together. Anna
was shaking and was being hugged by Virginia, who was reassuring her
that she'd done a great job.

Eric and
Gerard were both grinning. It looked like a combination of relief and
triumph.

“
That
was very well done, my friends,” Ethmira told them heartily.
“It could not have gone any better.”

“
I
take it the plan was a success?” Daniel asked as he hurried
down the tunnel, limping slightly.

“
Come
and see for yourself,” Simon said and waved toward the exit.
“The dragon's acid was indeed its greatest weakness. Our
friends are safe and the monster is dead. And now things begin to get
really interesting.”

“
Interesting?”
Anna said in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“
Like
I said earlier, the primal will know that one of its lesser dragons
has died. It will want to know how and why, which means that wherever
it is right now, it's coming this way. I doubt that we have a lot of
time.”

Ethmira
handed Eric his bow and quiver, which he accepted with a smile, and
looked at Simon with raised eyebrows.

“
You
want to head to the place where the worlds intersect? Now?”

“
Right
now. It may be hours before the primal arrives, it may be minutes.
Let's not take any chances. Now this is the part where some of you
are going to get angry and start yelling. Please don't. We haven't
got the time for it.”