The Dragons of Decay (60 page)

“
What?”
Virginia said in confusion. “Why would we do that?”

“
Because
your part is done. None of you can help me with the primal, so I want
all of you, except for Ethmira, to get back in the cave, keep your
heads down and wait.”

Just as he
had expected, the entire group began protesting at once.

“
What
are you talking about?” Eric roared. “We can help you! We
just killed a frigging dragon, for God's sake!”

The others
were saying essentially the same thing, except for Daniel, who was
watching him with an understanding smile, and Liliana, who looked
grim and forbidding.

I won't be
able to stop her from coming along, Simon thought uneasily. She'll do
it whether I like it or not.

“
Everyone,
please, calm down,” Ethmira said loudly, holding up her hands.

The
shouting quieted down to a dull rumble and the four friends stared at
Simon darkly.

“
The
wizard is correct,” she continued in the uneasy silence. “You
will not be able to face a primal dragon, even with your gifts. Simon
says he has a plan, and so far his plans have gone well, so trust
him. I know that it's hard to swallow, but the odds of you surviving
an encounter with that monster are exactly zero.”

She looked
at them compassionately.

“
I
understand how you feel, believe me. And I know the only reason that
Simon wants me with him is to open a portal. I too would be useless
in such a confrontation, although I hate to admit it. So please, for
your sake and for our peace of mind; stay here. Daniel will be with
you. If we succeed, I will come back and take you to the portal
myself and send you through.”

She looked
at the paladin.

“
Liliana,”
she began but the woman held up a hand to stop her from speaking.

“
I
am going,” she said firmly and then looked at the others as
they began to protest again.

“
Be
silent!” she snapped and all four of them stopped talking at
once.

“
Good.
Now listen closely. I am going because it is my calling. I must
confront this creature; it is my destiny to do so. But also I only
risk myself in this. If I die, I die. So be it. But tell me, all of
you, would you like to be responsible for each other's deaths? Would
you risk watching your friends die one by one, horribly, as you just
saw, because you were stubborn or prideful? Is it worth so much to
you?”

Virginia
looked at her friends one by one and they did the same. Eric's
stubborn expression faded and he looked down at the floor. He slowly
shook his head.

“
No,”
he said quietly. “I wouldn't want that. If we could do some
good,” he looked up at Simon as he spoke, “then I would
risk it. We all would, I think. But if it means everyone's death just
so I can prove I'm brave, then no. I can't do that.”

The others
murmured in chastened agreement and Virginia stepped forward and took
Simon's hand. He leaned on his staff and waited for her to speak.

“
I
think...we just wanted you to know that we wouldn't abandon you when
things got really bad,” she told him softly. “We don't
let our friends face danger alone.”

“
I
know that. All of you, I know that. But you must know how I feel as
well. Letting you face a hopeless battle just to die in the end is
not something I can do. It's just not right, you know?”

Anna wiped
away a tear and nodded her understanding.

“
Okay,
Simon,” Virginia said and squeezed his hand. “We'll stay
here with Daniel. You go and do what you have to do. Just be careful,
all right? We all want to see you again.”

“
I
will. Thanks, guys. Daniel? Take care of them, okay?”

“
I'll
do what I can,” his friend said. “And I echo their
sentiments. Watch your ass.”

Everyone
laughed a bit in relief and Simon grinned at his oldest friend.

“
You
know me. I always do.”

He turned
to Ethmira.

“
Are
you ready?”

“
I
am.”

Liliana
nodded when Simon glanced at her.

“
Then
let's do this,” he said.

The three
of them stepped out of the tunnel, paused in the sunlight to wave
back at their friends and then began walking. Before they got too far
from the cave, Liliana looked at Simon curiously.

“
How
exactly do you plan to get the primal to follow you to the portal
site? Set up signs? Put down a trail of breadcrumbs?”

He
chuckled.

“
Something
like that. Do either of you have a knife?”

Ethmira
reached around and pulled a small knife from a sheathe on the back of
her belt.

“
Careful,
it's very sharp.”

“
Good,”
Simon said and rolled up his sleeve. Before he could continue, the
elf made a movement too quick for his eyes to follow and was suddenly
holding the knife again.

“
Are
you about to do what I think you are?” she asked sharply.

“
The
dragon is going to want to know who or what killed its servant. It
will want evidence and answers. If I leave a blood trail, it will
easily smell it and follow us.”

“
Clever,”
Liliana muttered.

“
Yes,
clever,” Ethmira agreed. “But foolish. You will need all
of your strength to deal with the primal, whatever you intend to do,
and draining your blood will quickly diminish it.”

“
Then
what do you suggest...” Simon started to say and then watched,
amazed, as the elf neatly slashed open a cut in her forearm and then
slipped the knife back into its sheathe.

“
Since
I'm not going to be involved in any upcoming battle, I may as well
shed my blood in some other useful way. Besides,” she added as
she began walking away, “the primal brown hates elves. It will
follow my blood trail eagerly.”

Simon and
Liliana exchanged glances and the paladin just shrugged.

“
She's
right,” she said and hurried after the elf.

Simon
sighed heavily and began following them.

Strong
women, he thought ruefully. Gotta love strong women.

The
journey to the weak spot between worlds wasn't too taxing for the
wizard, at least at first. He knew that his magical energy wasn't at
its maximum level, but he thought that it would be adequate. He hoped
it would be anyway.

Ethmira
led them with assurance, twisting and winding her way through the
massive trees and ducking around the undergrowth.

Her blood
trail was easy enough to see, even for Simon, and when her wound
began to close, she matter-of-factly cut her arm at another spot and
kept going.

He guessed
that they had been walking for about an hour when the elf stopped
abruptly.

Simon and
Liliana pulled up short behind her and the wizard took the
opportunity to lean against his staff and catch his breath.

The day
was warm but not hot; however he had to wipe his forehead off with
his sleeve as he breathed deeply.

“
What's
wrong?” the paladin asked.

Ethmira
looked puzzled and frowned in concentration. She cocked her head and
listened intently.

“
What...”
Liliana began to say again but the elf held up a hand.

“
Wait.
There's something...”

From
behind them, a long way away, a faint shivering cry rolled through
the forest. A sprinkle of leaves cascaded down on them from above and
all three looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“
Primal?”
the elf asked, her face suddenly pale.

“
Primal,”
Simon replied bleakly.

They
hesitated a moment, as if frozen in time.

“
Let's
move!” the wizard barked and Ethmira spun on her heels and
began to run.

The race
had begun. Simon had no idea how far the portal location was and
didn't have the breath to ask. All he could do was try to move fast
enough to keep the elf in sight as she ran lightly through the forest
and, at the same time, try to listen for pursuit through the pounding
of the blood in his ears.

How long
they ran, the wizard never knew. But as they stumbled into a small
clearing, dazzlingly bright after the comparative darkness of the
ancient forest floor, Ethmira slid to a halt and waved her hand at
the open area around them.

“
Here,”
she gasped, sounding almost as winded as Simon felt. “It's
here.”

He leaned
on his staff and bent over, watching sweat droplets hitting the
knee-high ferns and grasses that grew thickly in the glade.

When his
vision had finally stopped pulsing red, he stood up painfully, wiped
off his face and finally had a chance to look around.

The
clearing was perhaps fifty feet across and almost circular. To one
side, the gnarled roots of an ancient tree poked skyward and he
realized that the fallen tree had opened up this section of the
forest and allowed small bushes, leafy ferns and thick grass to get a
foothold. If they hadn't been in fear for their lives, it would
probably have seemed pretty. Now it just made him feel exposed.

“
Where
is it?” he asked, speaking slowly as he tried to catch his
breath.

Ethmira
walked to the exact center of the glade, turned and pointed at the
ground.

“
Right
here. I can feel the veil, like thin strands of webbing, overlapping
here. The worlds are close together, meshed and intertwined.”

“
How
long will it take you to open a portal?” he asked. “And
how long can you hold it open?”

“
Hold
it open?” she replied quizzically. “Why would I want to
do that?”

“
Because,”
Simon said, “I want you on the far side of it when the primal
arrives. I need him to follow me through and I'd rather you weren't
between the dragon and the portal. If you open it now and stand
behind it, how long can you hold it open?”

She shook
her head.

“
Not
long. It takes its energy directly from me, you see. And it's an
enormous drain on my strength. At a guess I'd say, perhaps, two
minutes.”

“
Oh
damn. So how long to open it?”

“
A
minute, no more.”

Simon
looked at Liliana, who looked almost fresh after their run, even in
full armor. He reminded himself that the paladin healed herself
automatically, giving her a huge advantage over most other humans,
himself included.

“
Liliana,
have you heard any sounds of pursuit?”

She shook
her head. She was staring off into space, obviously straining to hear
any suspicious noises.

“
Nothing
since that first cry and that was perhaps thirty minutes ago. Maybe
the damned thing lost the trail? Or it decided to attack the others
in the cave instead?”

“
Oh
God, I hope not,” Simon muttered. “Okay, look. If and
when the primal arrives, we'll need to give Ethmira the time to open
the portal, so we might have to distract the beast. Can you do that?”

The
paladin snorted and slipped her shield off of her back. The plain
wooden buckler suddenly began to glow with a clear silvery sheen and,
when she drew her sword, it matched the shield's intense light.

“
Of
course I can. I've been waiting for this moment,” she said with
an unpleasant smile.

Simon
looked at her dubiously and wondered if her lust for vengeance would
override her common sense.

“
Easy,”
he said. “We just need to keep the beast away from Ethmira long
enough to allow her to open the portal.”

“
And
then?” the elf asked. “You really haven't said what you
intend to do after you pass through the doorway.”

“
As
I told you, it's crazy, and a bit complicated. I'm kind of
improvising as I go.”

“
You're
improvising?” Ethmira said, aghast. “Are you joking?
Simon, you're luring that monster back into your own world! You can't
just...make it up as you go!”

“
Well,
it's worked for me so far,” he replied with a shrug.

“
You
are joking about that, aren't you?” Liliana asked as she stared
at him.

“
Which
part?”