Free The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) by J.J. Thompson Page B

Perhaps.”
    She glanced at one of the
frosted windows.
    “ We have a few hours
of daylight left. Let's make the best of them, shall we?”
    “ Sounds good. How do
you want to do this?”
    She thought a moment.
    “ I think we should
take both of the things to the roof. Then we can drop one off, see
where it lands and make that spot our target.”
    Simon's eyes lit up.
    “ Hey, good idea!”
    He put on his coat and
gloves and picked up one heart while Ethmira wrapped up the second
one in the length of cloth she had.
    Simon led the way to the
stairs and they climbed up toward the roof.
    It took a few minutes to
force the trapdoor open again. It had frozen shut and was covered
with about a foot of snow.
    But finally they stood in
the blowing wind, the air cutting through Simon's coat and making him
shudder.
    “ Which side should
we use?” he asked the elf.
    She turned toward the
west. The sun was descending toward the horizon, but darkness was
still a good two hours away.
    “ The wind is coming
from that direction,” Ethmira said, “so let's use the
opposite side of the tower. That way the drop shouldn't be affected
by it.”
    “ Sounds good,”
Simon replied and walked over to stand by the eastern edge of the
parapet. He looked over and down to the ground and could see the path
he'd worn in the snow where he walked around the building to the
stables each day.
    “ Shall I?” he
asked her and nodded downward.
    “ Go ahead. Just try
to let it fall naturally instead of throwing it. Probably the best
way to get a consistent result.”
    “ Got it.”
    Simon held the heart over
the edge of the parapet, its weight making his arms tremble with
effort. Then he held his breath and released it.
    Both of them watched the
flashing crystal drop like a stone, spinning slightly as it fell. It
landed on the soft snow beside the path and disappeared from sight.
It didn't bounce.
    “ Perfect, Simon,”
Ethmira said as she stared downward. “That is our spot. Here.”
    She handed him the second
heart in its wrapping.
    “ I'll go down and
clear away the snow from the one below. Then you can make your first
attempt.”
    Simon looked at her
solemnly.
    “ Let's hope it's our
first and last attempt.”
    She laughed.
    “ Doubtful, my
friend. But I don't mind running up and down stairs.”
    She pulled open the
trapdoor, gave Simon a little wave and slipped inside, closing the
door after her.
    The wizard waited
impatiently for Ethmira to get to the ground floor and around the
base of the tower. While he waited, he unwrapped the ovoid and tucked
the cloth into an inside coat pocket.
    It took the elf a
remarkably short time to appear below and he watched as she brushed
away the snow from the heart.
    It seemed to have impaled
itself into the frozen ground and Simon's guess was confirmed when he
saw his friend give the crystal a prod with the toe of her shoe. It
didn't move.
    “ It's stuck into the
ground,” she yelled up at him. Simon nodded.
    “ I noticed,”
he called back. “At least it won't move between attempts.”
    “ Good point.”
    Ethmira backed several
yards away from the heart and then waved up at Simon.
    “ Any time you're
ready.”
    “ Okay,” he
shouted. “Here goes.”
    He stood in the same
footsteps he'd left when he dropped the first heart, and held the
second one out over the edge.
    I think it was about here,
he thought, then with a quick wish for luck, he opened his hands and
dropped the crystal.
    He leaned over the parapet
quickly and watched at the heart tumbled and flashed as it fell.
    Maybe the gods of Justice
were watching, or perhaps fate decided to cut him a break for once,
but the heart smashed into its counterpart with an ear-shattering
crash.
    Ethmira flung herself to
the ground and covered her head as shards of crystal flew in all
directions. At the point of impact, an intense pulse of light shot
outward, momentarily blinding Simon who had been watching closely.
    “ Damn it!” he
said as he staggered