The Dragons of Decay (32 page)

The wizard looked from face to face.
Eric and Gerard looked grim and determined, Anna was obviously afraid
but holding up well and Virginia, as always, exuded an aura of quiet
calm. Simon approved. She was the natural leader of the quartet and
the others took their cues from her. As long as Virginia was in
control of her emotions, he had no fears that anyone would buckle
under the pressure of the situation.

“
Good for you. Aeris, would you
stay with them, please? Keep an eye on the weather. I'd like you to
head out to the wall and, if possible, warn our friends if you see
any hint of an attack.”

“
Yes, I'll do that. Be as quick
as you can, my dear wizard. Time is ticking away.”

“
Yeah thanks. No pressure.”

Simon grounded his staff in his left
hand, rested his right on the top of the chest of drawers and spoke
the incantation for the Gate spell.

“
Back in a few minutes,”
he told them all and invoked the spell.

The blast of warmth that greeted him
as he emerged from the void into the center of the new settlement was
so delicious that Simon's knees became weak and he had to lean
against the chest of drawers for a moment to regain his strength. He
had warned Clara and the others to stay clear of the central section
of the town. He didn't want to flatten anyone as he transported the
goods down from Nottinghill.

He looked around, enjoying the
morning sunlight and the sounds of birds and saw the cleric hurrying
toward him, Malcolm and Aiden in tow.

“
Good morning, my friend,”
she said warmly as she approached. She looked at the hulking piece of
furniture and rolled her eyes.

“
I'm glad you brought this
monstrosity first. Frankly, I don't like it, but we shoved a lot of
clothing into it so at least it's useful for something.”

Simon nodded at the guardsmen who
were grinning at him. Both had removed their armor and were wearing
light tunics and leather trousers. He didn't return their smiles and
Malcolm frowned at his expression.

“
What's wrong, sir wizard?”
he asked abruptly. “You don't look very happy.”

“
I'm not, guys. The storm is
about to slam into Nottinghill a day early, so I have to move this
along.”

Clara put a hand to her mouth in
shock, her eyes widening.

“
It's too soon,” she
whispered.

“
Yeah, I know. Look, Malcolm?
Aiden? Would you move this damned thing out of the way?” Simon
asked as he slapped the chest of drawers. “I'm going to pop
back into this exact spot every time I Gate. It will save me a minute
or two. Otherwise I'd have to move my target location each time and
things are getting a bit too tight to have to do that.”

“
Of course we will,”
Aiden averred and looked at Malcolm, who nodded once.

“
Go, sir wizard. This spot will
be cleared before you return, have no fear of that.”

“
Good. Okay, I'll be back in a
few minutes.”

Simon began chanting again and, as he
faded away, he saw the two big men pick up the chest with identical
grunts of effort and begin to carry it away.

The morning then turned into a blur
for Simon. He had to concentrate harder each time he Gated, as his
mind began to feel foggy from all of the energy he was losing each
time he cast the transportation spell.

He lost count of the number of trips
he made, but Malcolm and Aiden were as good as their word, and the
target area was clear each time he returned to the new settlement.

A crowd had gathered around the spot,
far enough away to be safe, and every time he appeared they rushed in
to carry away bags, crates and bales of hay. A large cage with the
town's livestock, four sheep and a half-dozen chickens, had to be
transported by itself and even though he was getting more and more
tired, Simon had to laugh at the sounds of bafflement from the sheep
when they appeared in their new home.

On his second to last trip back to
Nottinghill, Virginia took him firmly by the hand, made him sit down
and handed him a cup of hot chocolate. There was a kettle over the
fire in the fireplace and she had boiled some water for him.

“
Thanks,” he said with a
weak smile. “But do we have time for this?”

“
I don't know and I don't
care,” she said seriously. “You're a lovely shade of
gray, Simon, and you need a shot of energy. The honey in the
chocolate should help a bit. Plus, you need to take a minute to catch
your breath. In case you hadn't noticed, you're shaking like a leaf.”

“
I am?”

Simon lifted the cup to his lips and
watched as his hand shook so hard that the liquid slopped over the
rim. He hissed as the hot chocolate burned his fingers and quickly
shifted the cup to his other hand.

“
Huh, I guess I am. Thanks. Any
word from Aeris?”

Eric was standing by the door to the
building, leaning a shoulder against the frame with his arms folded.
He shook his head.

“
Nothing yet. I'd say that's a
good sign.”

Simon looked at the two heaps of
goods that were left to transport. One pile was mostly farm equipment
and the blacksmith's gear. The other consisted of several crates of
dried food, the box of powdered chocolate that the townspeople had
discovered and was, to Simon's mind, more precious than gold, plus a
couple of canvas bags filled with utensils and, oddly enough, towels.

“
Well, this last bit shouldn't
be too bad. I'll take the tools first and come back for the rest. If
you guys have any personal stuff you want to bring along, get it
ready. I want you all ready to get the hell out of here on my last
trip.”

“
Don't worry about that,”
Gerard spoke up. He was peering out of one of the frosted windows,
but all that could be seen was a wall of white. The blizzard had
begun in earnest and the entire group was becoming twitchy.
“Everything of ours that we wanted is already down in Florida.
If we have to leave in a hurry, then we leave. Period.”

“
Good. Okay.”

Simon finished his drink and stood up
slowly. His legs felt less wobbly and he took a moment to breathe
deeply.

“
Thanks, Virginia. I actually
needed that.”

“
I know,” she said and
smiled. “One last push now and you can get some real rest,
Simon.”

“
Yup. Time to go.”

He crossed the room and touched the
pile of equipment with his free hand. Then he leaned against his
staff, chanted the Gate spell and invoked it. As the room faded, he
saw Aeris pop into view and zip over to begin speaking frantically to
Virginia. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear what was said as he slipped
into the void.

Simon staggered away from the pile of
equipment, already beginning to cast another Gate spell.

Clara walked over quickly and stared
at him.

“
Whoa there, my friend. Take a
minute to catch your breath.”

“
Can't,” the wizard
gasped as he finished the incantation. “As I was leaving, I saw
Aeris enter the barracks. He looked frightened. I think something's
wrong. I have to get back right away!”

There was a tug on his robe and he
looked down to see Kronk staring up at him.

“
What?” he asked in
confusion.

“
Nothing, master. Let's go.”

The little guy's voice was
matter-of-fact and firm and Simon knew that look. It would be a waste
of time trying to argue with Kronk and there was no time to lose.

“
Fine,” he said and
raised his staff, concentrating as much as his fuzzy thoughts would
allow on the barracks. Then he invoked the spell and Gated.

Simon and Kronk reappeared a moment
later into pandemonium. Virginia and her friends were standing in a
circle, all of them holding hands, heads bowed as the building
shuddered and shook around them. Dust was drifting down from the
ceiling and the noise was indescribable.

“
What the hell is going on?”
Simon yelled over the deafening booms and crashes. The wall were
shaking and cracks had appeared in the bricks.

None of the four answered him, but
Aeris flew across the room from the far side of the circle.

“
Wights,” he said
shortly. “Hundreds of them. They came in a solid wave and hit
the wall like a sledgehammer.”

“
They broke through the wall?”
Simon asked, stunned.

“
No, of course not. The wards
repelled them, but the gate was destroyed in an instant. They
actually climbed over each other and smashed into it. It took less
than a minute.” He looked at the wizard with an expression of
disbelief. “I swear it was coordinated effort, which I always
believed was impossible for such creatures.”

“
Yeah well, we're learning new
things all the time, aren't we?”

Simon looked at the silent circle of
friends.

“
What are they doing?”

“
They're reinforcing the walls
and ceiling, keeping those devils back for now. But one small break
in their concentration and the building will collapse. Listen to them
out there.”

The wizard couldn't help but listen.
The sound of the monsters tearing at the barracks was ear-numbing.

“
My God, how many of them are
there?”

“
Hundreds, my dear wizard.
Hundreds. It's so much worse than the first attack. I cannot
understand where they came from or how there are so many of them.”

“
Doesn't matter,” Simon
said as he walked over to look at the four young people.

All of their eyes were closed, each
gripped the hand of the person on either side of them so hard that
their knuckles were white and their hands shaking with effort. Sweat
was running down their faces and Eric and Gerard's lips were pulled
back in identical snarls of fury.

“
You can't interrupt them,”
Aeris told him, “or you're all dead.”

“
I know that,” Simon
hissed at him, trying to jog his mind into thinking coherently. “Give
me a second, would you?”

The air elemental opened his mouth to
respond and Kronk interrupted him.

“
Stay quiet,” he rumbled,
his little red eyes blazing. “Let our master think this
through.”

Aeris subsided with a stiff nod and
Simon looked around the room, frantically searching for a solution.

His eyes fell on the last pile of
boxes and crates, a few feet to the right of Virginia's circle and he
was hit with sudden inspiration.

“
Okay, guys, I have an idea,”
he said loudly over the din. “I know you can't lose focus, but
you can hear me. So this is what I want you to do. The last bit of
the supplies is about four feet behind Eric. I need you to all move,
as slowly as you have to, until Eric is touching the closest box. I
won't need to break your connection by touching anyone; all I need to
do is grab one of the pieces of the pile and Gate out with it and
you'll be brought along with it.”

Aeris gasped and stared at the
wizard.

“
That's...that's brilliant,”
he stuttered.

“
No it isn't,” Simon
replied as he watched the group. “But it's logical and it
should work.”

He waited for a few moments but the
four friends didn't move. They were all shaking now and the strain on
their faces was painful to see.

“
Why aren't they moving?”
Simon finally said with desperation in his voice.

“
They cannot, master,”
Kronk told him as he watched keenly. “Even moving now will
break their bond. The attack on the building is simply too great.
They are balanced on the edge of a sword and cannot move, even to
save themselves.”

Simon nodded, despair beginning to
creep into his thoughts. It was obvious that the little guy was
right. Even the four of them together couldn't hold back the tide of
undead that ravaged outside.

“
I don't know what to do,”
he whispered hopelessly.

“
I do, master,” Kronk
said firmly. He tip-tapped across the room to the nearest wall and
laid his small palms flat against its surface. In an instant, the
little guy began to glow red-hot, as if he was made of molten lava.
The section of the wall that he was touching took on the same fiery
glow and with a loud whooshing sound, the red quickly expanded,
racing from brick to brick, up to the ceiling and along both sides of
the building until they were surrounded by the hellish red of a
furnace.

Simon gaped at the walls. He couldn't
feel any heat from the burning red stones, but the heat was
definitely going somewhere. Through the stone, sudden shrieks and
roars split the air as the wights stopped pounding on the building
and retreated from the searing, semi-molten walls. Virginia and her
friends opened their eyes as one and looked around in confusion.

“
What's going on?” she
asked in a daze. “Why has the attack stopped?”

“
Thank my friend there,”
Simon said and pointed at Kronk.

Everyone watched the earthen in awe
for a few seconds.