

### White Dragon's Chosen

By

Gary J. Davies

Published by Gary J. Davies at Smashwords

White Dragon's Chosen

Copyright 2016 Gary J. Davies

### Smashwords Edition License Notes

Thank you for downloading this e-book. This book is the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author. Quotes used in reviews are the only exception. No alteration of content is allowed. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy.

This e-book is a work of fiction created by the author and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are a production of the author's imagination and used fictitiously. Thank you for downloading this e-book!

### Contents

Forward

CHAPTER 1 - George, Mary, and Uncle Harry

CHAPTER 2 - The Way of Things

CHAPTER 3 - Troll Friend

CHAPTER 4 - Dragons Attack

CHAPTER 5 - Lost Hero

CHAPTER 6 - Jewel

CHAPTER 7 - Witch

CHAPTER 8 - Awakenings

CHAPTER 9 - Sisters' Last Battle

CHAPTER 10 - Rangers Rick and Mike

CHAPTER 11 - School and Feds

CHAPTER 12 - Elves

CHAPTER 13 - The Hidden

CHAPTER 14 - About Dragons

CHAPTER 15 - Home Schooling

CHAPTER 16 - The White Dragon and the Mage

CHAPTER 17 - Mystery Man Returns

CHAPTER 18 - Pilots and Parents

CHAPTER 19 - The Giant

CHAPTER 20 - Trapped and Betrayed

CHAPTER 21 - Roots of Betrayal

CHAPTER 22 - Recovery

CHAPTER 23 - From Frying Pan to Fire

CHAPTER 24 - Dragon Reborn

CHAPTER 25 - Witch Hunt

CHAPTER 26 - Narma

CHAPTER 27 - Secrets

CHAPTER 28 - The Battle of New York

CHAPTER 29 - Enlarged Possibilities

About Other Publications by This Author

### Forward

Dragons! Wise giant lizards that fly and belch fire! What's not to like? I find them absolutely irresistible! Though I was currently in the middle of writing a more down-to-Earth series called Global Warming Fun about human trials and tribulations due to climate change (with sentient ants and rock creatures thrown in), I couldn't resist finishing this action-packed story involving super-powered dragons. (Sorry, these are not your grand-dad's dragons of mere flesh and blood!) It also includes several other story elements that interest me: a teenage hero and heroine, a contemporary Earth setting, and an off-planet/parallel universe setting. Also there is a wicked witch antagonist that is much nastier than is usual for my stories, and the hero and heroine become truly super-powered. Altogether this story is much more fantasy and much less science fiction than most of my stories, though you may find tinges of science and philosophy sneaking their way in. All these elements made for interesting writing challenges and hopefully resulted in an interesting story for readers.

****

### White Dragon's Chosen

### CHAPTER 1

George, Mary, and Uncle Harry

After half an hour of anxious but ultimately useless waiting and searching, George decided to give up looking for his expected ride from the train station. Instead he pulled the small computer-printed map from his shirt pocket to consult it briefly, and then began to walk. He was disappointed that his great-great Uncle Harry hadn't met him as planned, but he knew that he could easily get to Harry's house on his own. He had only his old beat-up tan canvas camping backpack to carry; the infinitely precious one Mom had bought for him last year. For a trim, healthy, fifteen year old teen the three mile walk from the train station would be easy, even though he had hardly slept during the over-night train trip from Massachusetts.

It was a bright, warm, late summer morning in suburban Chicago, a fine morning to be on a tree shaded walk, taking in dewy, fresh air that wasn't yet unpleasantly hot. Wearing tee-shirt, shorts, running shoes and sun visor, George was quite comfortable.

Such a grand morning held near infinite potential for brightening the spirit and boosting the vitality of almost anyone, but instead he barely had enough resolve to keep his slightly tanned, well-muscled legs moving at all. He traveled less than two-feet with each half-hearted step he took, such that well over 9000 steps and over half that many heart-beats would be necessary to reach Harry's house, he estimated, in keeping with his habit of sometimes quantifying even mundane things.

His destination was not too far at all physically, but his legs seemed to already be leaden, and the walk, like everything else in his life now, was tolerable but seemed pointless. There was no bounce to his step, and it didn't even occur to him to whistle. This summer his spirits had sunk far too low for even morning sunshine to reach.

He hiked through relatively affluent neighborhoods. The streets were lined with attractive middle-class homes, populated, he supposed, by people confidently living out their lives with elevated hopes and expectations that helped power them along smoothly. But any feelings of security and hope for the future that they had were but cruel illusions, George knew. Reality could crush away all possibilities for a reasonable life.

Here along the walkway was a fence where dozens of honeybees labored among the sweet smelling, late blooming honeysuckle that covered it. George envied them their short but simple and productive lives, devoid of useless reason or choking emotion. Human powers of reflection could be as much a curse as a gift.

As his thoughts again wondered unbidden over the disastrous events of the last three months he became less sure than ever that moving in with Harry would help. After all, Uncle Harry hadn't even met him at the train station as he said that he would. Perhaps the old man couldn't come. He could be having physical health problems, or he could have simply forgotten due to mental infirmity. After all Harry was ancient: at least eighty or ninety, and was doubtlessly more weak, fragile and forgetful than any teenager could even begin to imagine.

Even more troubling was the alternative suspicion that the old man simply didn't care enough about him to bother with meeting him.

A few minutes' walk from the train station George noticed that someone else had indeed been waiting for him. "Get lost," George immediately told the big black crow, to no effect. The blackbird continued to stare down at him from the tree that he had been hiking past, with unnaturally red unblinking eyes. After the night-long train trip George didn't believe that this could possibly be the same crow that had followed him around during the three months since his parent's funeral, though it certainly looked like the same odd bird.

"I don't have anything to eat, crow," he added. "If I did, I'd share it, honestly I would, but you should go find yourself a better situation, like I'm trying to do." There was no response from the creature, other than its continued undivided attention. Like the other crow, this one was not an ordinary blackbird. In addition to red eyes that seemed to even glow, this bird displayed an unnatural tinge that overlaid its black feathers.

It seemed to George lately that most living things had a mysterious tinge to them of one variety or another, something beyond the reflected color-tinged light detectable by normal sight. However this crow and the one that he had left behind him yesterday more than a thousand miles away were somehow very different from anything else he had seen since acquiring his sixth sense. To his heightened senses the crows stood out like floodlights among candles. It was as if the life force revealed by them was stronger than that of a thousand ordinary creatures.

George had started to sense such things over a year ago, but he still didn't really know what it all meant. At first he had feared that something horrible was happening to his eyesight. After several troubled months he finally told Dad about it. George could tell that although Dad didn't seem to be worried about his health, he hadn't been pleased. Instead of explaining his reaction, Dad told him to talk to Mom about his problem.

Much to his surprise Mom laughed, smiled, and hugged him happily when he told her about his apparent affliction. George remembered at the time experiencing the realization that he was actually taller than his Mom, though she too was wiry strong for her size, like her lean-bodied son. Dad was big and husky.

"I had been wondering what has been bothering you lately," she said, smiling. "Good news: there's nothing at all wrong with you," she added quickly, noting his still-worried expression. "It's something that some people on my side of the family experience; boys after puberty and girls somewhat earlier. It's a gift we have: a rare and wonderful gift. I have the same ability, to some extent. I'll try to get in touch with my Great Uncle Harry right away; he can explain the full ramifications much better than I can. In the meantime, don't tell anyone else about it. They wouldn't understand."

Shortly after that, Joan and Evan Lock were both killed in the car accident, and George never received any further explanation of his so-called gift. Maybe, as Mom had said, Harry would be able to tell him more, but George didn't really care anymore anyway, about that or anything at all. His parents, the two people that meant more than anything else in the world to him, were gone forever, leaving him agonizingly alone and lost.

As he walked further, the blackbird followed him, flying ahead over him to trees he would pass under if he kept to his course, while following his every movement with its oddly red, beady little eyes. "What do you want from me?" George demanded several times, but the crow only cackled harshly in reply, as though it were laughing at him.

George gradually convinced himself that the crow that followed him today had to be the very same crow that had followed him around for the previous three months. After all, the alternative, that there were two such unusual crows, both attached to him, was even more crazy than the idea that there was only one such creature following him.

How the bird had followed him across-country was somewhat of a mystery. It surely couldn't have flown that far and fast! Perhaps the bird also hitched a ride on the trains. Maybe birds did that sort of thing regularly, for all he knew. But how would it have managed the train change in Philadelphia?

However, although previously the bird had seemed merely detached and emotionless, today its cries seemed even harsher, and its red-eyed stare seemed downright malevolent. Also, with his sixth-sense George suddenly realized that he could detect a nasty tinge to the bird that he hadn't ever noticed before. Maybe the train trip had upset the bird, or maybe it had become sick; that might also explain its meaner temperament. Birds didn't catch rabies, did they?

George was getting used to the crow though. A few times when he lost track of the creature for a short time, he actually became anxious until he located it again. Any distraction, even a perhaps annoying one, helped keep him from thinking of the horrible death of his parents.

After walking further he paid less attention to the bothersome bird, and his thoughts cycled back again to great-great Uncle Harry. If something bad had happened to the oldster, George realized that he could be back in foster care before nightfall. However, it worried him almost as much that from now on he was supposed to be staying with Uncle Harry. He had met the old man only three times in his life: twice when he was too young to remember much, and then even more briefly at the funeral of Mom and Dad nearly three months ago.

Other than Harry there had been no relatives at the funeral. Dad's only folks were distant West-Coast cousins that simply had flowers sent. If they hadn't seen television reports of the grizzly car accident, they would have never even known about the deaths of Evan and Joan Lock, as their locations had been unknown to both George and the authorities.

Harry was George's only living relative on Mom's side, and was something of a mystery. Her crazy Uncle Harry, Dad used to call him, though he was actually some sort of distant Great Uncle to Mom. Eccentric, is what Mom had said he was, which could have meant a lot of things, George figured, probably most of them bad. Outside of a few rare phone conversations with Mom, Harry hadn't figured into their lives at all.

Despite this, Mom obviously cared a great deal for Harry, for reasons never explained. Often she would quote some odd tidbit of arcane sounding wisdom and attribute it to the old man. George surmised that they must have spent considerable time together sometime earlier in their lives, but Mom never talked about it.

George was therefore surprised when Uncle Harry showed up at the funeral. Thin, wrinkled, grey-haired and bent, Harry looked incredibly old and frail. When he glanced briefly at the bodies of George's parents the old man staggered as though struck, and George feared that he might totally collapse and expire on the spot.

However, after looking about nervously as though searching for someone or something, the oldster quickly seemed to gather himself and finally approached the mourning teen. The only words the old man said were: "I see you're alright; that's good. Watch out for yourself, George, but have hope." Then he quickly disappeared. He had come and gone again in less than two minutes. Old Uncle Harry hadn't been any help at all! Hope? What hope could there be for anything anymore? The word was meaningless. The old man's mind had to be addled!

If George didn't have good friends and neighbors, he probably couldn't have gotten through the whole awful funeral. His friend Mike and Mike's Mom were there with him through the whole terrible funeral process. Mike talked almost constantly about baseball and other trivia and his Mom persuaded him to drink Coke and eat chocolate chip cookies until his eyes were glazed over from sugar-shock. Their attentions were very helpful but only to a limited extent. George's parents, the two most special people in the world, were gone. Nothing could counter that. His own life was pretty much over with, he felt. He was going through the motions of living, but it meant nothing.

Their bodies, which he had to identify after the accident, were not simply battered horribly, according to his 'gift' they were empty shells totally devoid of life. Life, even plant and microscopic life, had a palpable texture to George's expanded senses that was different from that of non-living matter. In death his parent's bodies had become vacant of all life forces, as though they had never existed.

George wished he could forget how they both had looked at the funeral. He hated funerals and had wanted the caskets of his parents to be closed, but had given in to the wishes of the funeral home, who claimed that the bodies would look very 'natural'. No, they looked horrible! Signs of physical injury were indeed well hidden, but to George's new senses they still both looked anything but natural.

Worst of all, the empty husks that had been his warm, vibrant parents were somehow tainted with a vile dark Evil beyond mere death. He had never sensed Evil before, but he knew right away what it was. Other people at the funeral remarked how 'good' or how 'natural' the bodies of Evan and Joan looked, given the violence of the accident. Apparently nobody else even noticed the Evil, but with his 'gift' George certainly did. Mom had had told him about Evil existing, but he had doubts about it until the funeral.

Was this what normally happened to dead people? It sickened him still to think of it. What did it mean? About them? About him? About the world? Now that he thought about it, wasn't that strange new tint that he noticed surrounding the crow today similar to the Evil that he had sensed with his parents' bodies? Perhaps.

George was again surprised by Harry when months later the social services people told him that the old man wanted him to go and live with him. He was grateful to get out of the goofy foster home he had been assigned to, but he didn't see that living with Uncle Harry would necessarily be an improvement. Hitching a ride to Mexico or Canada seemed more sensible, but running away wouldn't really change anything important either, so why even bother?

Miss Himple, the stern old social service lady, had seemed reluctant about pulling George out of foster care and sending him off on a long train trip across state lines, but Harry must have had a lot of political pull. The adoption was soon approved. Himple gave George a detailed computer generated map so that finding Harry's house would be easy. The social worker also gave him something even more surprising and valuable: a quick hug and wish for his happiness. The old woman actually cared deeply about the people she tried to help, George realized, which is probably why she put up with the crap pay that the state gave her to be a social worker.

The map didn't provide any hints as to what Harry's home would be like though. Wishful thinking perhaps, but George was hoping to find an average house in an average suburban-type neighborhood. Given Harry's age, the house would likely be much older than average, but that would be fine.

The 'average suburban neighborhood' aspect of George's expectations was soon realized. George was relieved to find that the homes on the cul-de-sac where Harry lived were normal looking ranches and colonials with garages and driveways and fences. Newish SUVs and sedans and pick-ups were parked in driveways. Enjoying their last days of summer vacation, kids were out playing and a few grownups were out cutting well-kept lawns or planting fall flowers. He also noticed several dogs roaming the neighborhood, smelling everything they found, and chasing or being chased by the cats they occasionally encountered. This neighborhood featured all the standard things his old neighborhood had, back when he had a family, three painfully long months ago.

The 'old house' part of his expectations for his destination turned out to be a gross underestimate. The address on an old rusty country mailbox along the street confirmed that the enormous plot of land at the very end of the cul-de-sac was Harry's.

It was overgrown with exotic looking bushes, vines, flowers and trees such that only the ornately gabled roof of an enormous, ancient looking house was barely visible, perhaps a hundred yards in from the cul-de-sac's turn-around circle. George wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Even though most of it was hidden from view by chaotic green growth, he could tell that the house wasn't simply old, it was ancient, huge, and quirky-weird, and the yard was much more a rampant jungle than a yard. George immediately decided that he liked it!

Bordering the yard along the cul-de-sac circle's dilapidated concrete sidewalk but almost totally hidden in flowery overgrowth was a decrepit, three foot high, perhaps in some earlier era white wooden picket fence, with a closed gate blocking a narrow, crumbling concrete path that tunneled into the jungle in the general direction of the house. There were also several hand-painted 'no trespassing', 'no salesmen', and 'stay out, this means you' sorts of signs on the gate and fence, most of them as old and decrepit as the gate itself.

Might as well get it over with, George figured. Ignoring the posted warnings, he reached across the gate to unlatch it. After unlatching it the gate creaked in and open on its own, as if either welcoming him or daring him to enter.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," said a boy's voice from behind him. The voice carried a hint of threat that George didn't like.

He turned to face two kids about his own age watching him from the seats of bikes they had silently parked behind him along the curb. "Really? Why not?" he asked.

"Old Man Simple doesn't go in for visitors," the boy explained, "so you aren't going to sell anything in there anyway. Say, it isn't food in that backpack, is it?"

"If it is food for Mr. Simple, you're horning in on our territory, you see," explained the girl, but she said it in a friendly way, and she was very cute. George could tell because he suddenly felt very nervous and self-conscious.

She had brown hair and eyes similar to his own, was about a head shorter than him and the other kid, and had legs and other curvy-shaped body parts of the sort that he had begun to seriously notice over the last two years or so, ever since his voice started changing. Really, really notice. His newly emerging sixth-sense also indicated that she was vibrantly alive compared to most people, much as his own mother had been, though not nearly so intense as the crow.

Talking to girls his own age had become very difficult, and George was momentarily tongue-tied. "He's our friend, you see," the girl added, with a smile. "We do errands for him like taking him his mail and delivering food. He pays us a little sometimes. He's very old. He hardly ever even leaves his house. We try to sort of watch out for him by keeping kids and sales people away."

"Don't I wish it was food in my backpack!" George replied at last with a grin, when he had finally found his voice. "It's mainly just a couple changes of clothes. And I'm not a sales person or anything like that. I'm moving in here with my Great-Great Uncle Harry."

"You're George Lock then!" said the girl. She smiled now very warmly, and her eyes widened, which made her look even cuter. "Harry told us that you were coming soon. He gave us the impression you were a little kid though. I was hoping to baby-sit."

"There goes our business," added the boy, sourly. "Like totally! No more errands for Harry by us; he'll get all our business!"

"This is a very good thing for Harry though," said the girl. "He needs more help than he lets us give him. My name is Mary Williams, and this sourpuss is Johnny, my brother. Welcome to the neighborhood, George." She pushed her bike closer, a move that caused her curvy legs to flex smooth muscles, and reached out to shake George's hand briskly. The grip of her small hand was firm and strong but soft at the same time. George had no idea how girls could do that, but it was fascinating.

"Thanks," said George. "And as far as I'm concerned, you can keep your business. Who knows, maybe with me here, your business will double or triple."

"Well, thank you for coming then," said Mary brightly.

"So what grade are you entering?" asked Johnny, his tone less hostile but still domineering.

George had been staring into Mary's deep brown eyes, but turned his attention back to Johnny. Now that George knew they were siblings, the resemblance between the two of them seemed obvious. Johnny didn't glow radiantly with unusual levels of life-force like his sister, however. "Going into ninth," he replied.

"Great, that's my grade," Mary said, her smile deepening even further. "Johnny will be in eighth; like you, this is his first year at Eastern High."

"I'm on the J-V football team already; they just had try-outs," said Johnny, as he also shook George's hand. He tried to squeeze it but George squeezed back equally as hard.

"I was thinking of going out for track," George said defensively, though it was the first time he had thought of it. He felt he had to claim some sort of sports interest, to counter both the fact that he wore glasses, and that Johnny was acting so macho. George thought that his glasses gave himself a too-nerdy look, but ever since he had been in foster care there wasn't money enough for contacts. He was indeed a bookworm, but had found that appearing so sometimes led to hostility from the Neanderthal crowd.

"Me too," said Mary. "I'm mostly a sprinter, but I'm working up to the longer distances."

"She's also a nerd," added Johnny. "She could have skipped some grades but she's trying to fit in with us jocks."

"My underachieving brother exaggerates," said Mary, "but it doesn't hurt to study hard. It's nice to be on the honor roll; much better than a Neanderthal approach to life."

Her use of the term 'Neanderthal' startled George. It was almost as though she had read his thoughts about her brother.

"I say forget the brainy route, George," countered Johnny. "You're famous right from the start anyway, and that should help you get settled in with the crowd at school."

"Famous? Me?"

"You will be, as the kid living with Old Man Simple," Johnny explained. "I bet he'll show you rad mysterious stuff that he hasn't even shown us."

"What mysterious stuff?" George asked.

"If we knew what it all was, it wouldn't be so mysterious," said Johnny. "I've been trying to figure out what he's up to, but haven't gotten as far as I'd like. I don't suppose you know anything?"

"Can't say that I do. Why do you think he's up to something?"

"Because he's so weird," explained Johnny.

"But not in a bad way," added Mary quickly. "Odd is all, our Dad says. Just because he's different doesn't mean he's crazy; he obviously isn't. He's cool and smart and we all like him a lot. Our Dad and Johnny just like to try to figure everyone out on their own terms. Tell George your big theory about people, Johnny."

Johnny shrugged. "Everybody is up to something, that's my theory, and if you can figure out what that something is, you can maybe make a buck or two from it for yourself."

Mary rolled her eyes up. "Our Dad has his own welding business, but he has always had higher business ambitions. He's always talking that way, about making money doing this or that. Sometimes he tries out one of his schemes, and usually he's lucky if he breaks even on them. You take it too seriously, Bro."

"Oh yeah?" responded Johnny, turning to face his sister. "Someday I'll be rich and you'll still just be middle class."

"That's what I'm working up to myself," George piped up, to return their attention to him and maybe win some points with Mary. "Someday I want to be middle class."

Johnny looked at him sourly. "You ARE middle class already!"

George shook his head. "Don't I wish! Everything I own is in this backpack."

"Maybe it seems that way," said Johnny, smiling knowingly, "but Harry says you have a trust fund. You can't have a trust fund and be lower class. It ain't possible."

George felt like he had been kicked in the stomach. He didn't like to think about his modest trust fund at all. It was blood money, money gained from the death of his Mom and Dad. "Harry gets it until I'm eighteen, assuming I stay with him," he said curtly. "That might help make him middle class, but not me."

"Harry's way beyond middle class," countered Johnny. "He owns a huge forest behind the house. Trees like you wouldn't believe, for this part of the country. Our Dad says that means he's rich, or he could be, if he sold it. Dad thinks he's crazy for at least not selling the wood for lumber. But you're the one with the trust fund. Harry says your trust fund pays out a couple of thousand dollars a month."

"That does sound like a lot of money," commented Mary, "for a teenager anyway."

"It's too damn much," George said bitterly. All his folk's belongings when they died had been sold at auction and the proceeds had been used to create a modest trust fund for him. Every time he thought of it, he thought of them, and of losing them. It made him sick to think of the trust. The greatest parents ever, the family house and all that was in it, including photos and other family keepsakes, were gone forever, converted to cash for him. Death-tainted cash. "I don't want that damned blood money," he muttered, as he turned, stepped through the gate, and slammed it shut behind him, letting his anger fight back threatening tears.

"I'm sorry," said Mary, stunned by George's sudden show of pain and his vehement reaction. "Harry told us about your parents and how they set up the trust fund for you. We shouldn't have brought it up."

"Yeah man, that's rough," said Johnny. "Middle class, lower class, who cares anyway? Heck, my biggest asset right now is this crappy little old bike."

"And your much bigger and crappier mouth," added Mary. They both laughed.

The humor helped lighten the mood again, and George needed new friends very badly. He took a deep calming breath and turned to face them again, though he stayed within the fence. "I bet Harry's told you guys a lot more than he ever told me. What mysterious stuff has he shown you?"

"You know, his elfin books and dragon scales and stuff," said Johnny.

George's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Is Harry into gaming?"

"Not at all," said Mary. "He takes his work very seriously."

"His work?" George had never heard what Harry did for a living, but what could elves or dragons have to do with it?

"His research into weird stuff," said Johnny, "if you can call that work. I think it's a hoot, an old dude taking all that freaky stuff so seriously."

"I think it's fascinating," said Mary. "Harry says there are things all around us that most people don't even see or know about. Do you ever sense strange things, George?"

"All the time," he said, looking pointedly at Johnny. That brought a knowing smile from Mary.

"I think it might all be a trick to fool us," said Johnny. "I think he has some kind of strange secret project going on that makes him some big bucks, and he's just showing us some goofy-weird window dressing to put us off the scent."

"You're too suspicious of people," admonished Mary. "Not everyone is like you and Dad, suspecting people to have hidden agendas and looking for a fast buck."

"Nobody else I ever met is like Harry," Johnny retorted.

"Well, I suppose I better go see for myself," George said. What they had told him made him very curious to explore for himself the inside of the old house. Plus he was starving, and maybe Harry would have food. "Really nice meeting you both. See you guys later?"

"Sure, we're not hard to find," said Johnny, as he pushed off and started pedaling away slowly. "We live just next door." He pointed to the modest ranch house next door. It looked pleasantly normal, compared to Harry's jungle hide-away. "Come by later if you get a chance."

"Thanks, I'll do that," replied George.

"See you soon," seconded Mary, as she began to follow her brother, again incidentally showing off legs and curves, but then she suddenly stopped. "One more thing. Do you know why that crow is following you?" She pointed up into a large oak tree that grew along the street outside the yard's fence and jungle. Sure enough, there it was, the damned red-eyed crow!

"Why would you think that it's following me?" George asked.

"It flew over and around you through the neighborhood like it was a kite you had on a string," said Mary. "Very unusual bird. Is it yours?"

He couldn't tell her that it had probably been following him around since the funeral three months ago, that would be far too weird. "No," he said truthfully. "It's definitely not my bird. Just a coincidence, I guess."

"It looks almost exactly like a bird friend of Harry's that was hanging around earlier this year," she said. "It stopped coming around about three months ago."

George was too stunned to reply. The crow had shown up right after Harry's visit to the funeral! Had Uncle Harry brought the bird with him, and left it to follow him around? Was that even possible?

"Just thought I'd mention it," she added, with a terrific smile. Then she headed home, pumping fast with smoothly muscled, tan legs to catch up to her brother.

George turned his attention to navigating the path that hopefully led to Harry's house. Giant flowering plants towered over the walkway, forming a tunnel that dove into and through the jungle of tangled growth, while skirting around the bigger trees and bushes. Ten-foot high walls of horny bushes and vines sealed off the path from the rest of the front yard and the rest of the universe. After only a few steps George couldn't see the house or the street at all.

Even stranger, before entering the path, loud neighborhood sounds of lawn mowers, barking dogs, and playing kids had dominated his senses. Here on the path, abruptly there were only gentle bird and bee sounds, and occasional sounds of movement in the thick of the tangled growth. All normal neighborhood sounds were completely gone, which was totally impossible! It was as though he had stepped into another universe! "Weird," he remarked to himself. At least the strange crow was nowhere in sight, but he knew that the bird could still be following him, concealed by the jungle-like growth and flying about on near-silent wings. Some of the soft rustling sounds that arose from all around him in the bushes could be made by a crow, by humans, or by unknown animals of undeterminable size.

Flowers became even larger and more numerous as he went further, and there were thousands of buzzing bees tending them, along with dozens of darting hummingbirds of various exotic colors. George didn't know much about flowers or birds but he couldn't remember ever seeing any like these before. The sweet flower smell was intoxicating. Overhead, tree branches and vines accented by additional white, yellow, and blue flowers formed a tunnel ceiling that filtered the sunlight.

"Wow!" he said aloud, stopping only a few steps short of an impossibly huge snake that was sunning itself under a small patch of open sky. It was all black, had to be well over fifteen feet long, and was thick as his thigh. It had to have escaped from a zoo or something! It was coiled loosely in the middle of a narrow stretch of the path such that there was no getting around it, though he supposed he could run and leap over it, even with the back-pack, unless it struck upwards to pluck him out of the air as he sailed over it.

"Excuse me," he said, announcing his arrival. "Would you mind moving aside for a few seconds? I wouldn't want to step on you or have you eat me."

The snake didn't react at all. George thought that he heard laughter, very soft but very close by, and he half expected to see Johnny and perhaps also Mary emerge from the tangle of flowers to tell him about their giant fake snake. That would explain the noises that he heard from the surrounding jungle. To his senses it seemed alive, but it couldn't be! This was obviously a gigantic rubber snake. It was too big to be real; it had to be a gag.

He impatiently stomped his feet, not expecting any reaction from the rubber snake, but it lazily lifted its fist-sized head a few inches off the walkway, turned its beady eyes towards him, and hissed at him open-mouthed, flicking a long red pointy reptilian tongue. The snake was very real! He should have trusted his new senses! George anxiously backed up a few steps to be further away from it, though the snake resumed its original sleeping position. He again thought that he heard movement and high-pitched laughter from somewhere in the bushes.

"Look here, I do need to get by you at some point," he protested, as he more critically assessed his chances for bypassing the creature. The plant growth bordering the path was at this point so thick and laced with thorns there was no way he could get around the snake. However, at his feet lay grapefruit-sized rocks and several stout staff-like sticks. Oddly, they were the only rocks and sticks he could remember seeing along the path. He could badly injure or perhaps even kill the snake with the rocks or sticks. Instead he picked up a tiny, pencil-sized stick and lobed it gently towards the lounging creature.

The stick bounced harmlessly off of its black coils. In response the serpent again hissed, drew its head several feet above the sidewalk, and coiled into a striking pose. Swell!

"Sorry. Really, I only need to get by. Please? It will only take a few seconds. After that you can reclaim your sidewalk. I'm very, very sorry for the inconvenience."

To his surprise the snake slowly shifted its coils to one side, leaving half of the walkway clear. It kept its strike-pose though. It was as if the creature was tempting him, daring him to try to pass by it.

"Great," he remarked somewhat sarcastically, as he took off his backpack and held it draped over one forearm. Using it as a shield, he walked slowly past the big snake, while expecting at any moment to feel needle-sharp teeth sinking into an exposed leg or elbow, followed by muscular coils of snake that would pull him to the ground and slowly squeeze the life from him. George couldn't help imagining what the snake would look like with a big George-sized lump in its middle. Much to his relief the snake followed him with its turning head and eyes but didn't even hiss, and soon he was clear of it.

"Thanks so very much," he told it sincerely, as it reclaimed its prone position in the sun. Breathing easier, he put his backpack back on and resumed his walk up the path, but with increased caution.

The path meandered constantly, twisting left and right, and growth further blocked the sunlight, until George wasn't sure anymore if he was still headed for the house or away from it, or even if he was still in the front yard. It kept going and going, looping through ever thicker and flowery growth. George began to wonder if this walkway even led to the Simple House, or to any house at all. Maybe it was an elaborate trap of some kind. Maybe the snake was trained to let victims in, but to not let them out!

"I don't believe it," the teenager remarked, as he stopped to observe another obstruction on the walkway. Tens of thousands of small black ants congregated around a dozen ant holes situated along a wide crack that stretched across the concrete path. Each hole looked like the crater for a miniature, inch tall volcano made of tiny bits of soil. One carelessly placed human footfall could kill ants by the hundreds and set their work back for hours or days.

George stepped over the ants and their ant-hole cones very carefully, taking care not to disturb them at all. Then he kneeled to watch them. They were running this way and that, carrying bits of earth, dead bugs, and other small, unidentifiable objects. He shook his head in amazement. It must have taken them forever to dig the holes and the maze of underground tunnels that probably linked them. How did tiny-brained ants know how to do all that stuff?

He continued on. Not far beyond the ants he passed a spider the size of a dinner plate, then a box turtle the size of a basket-ball, and a frog almost as large. He did his best not to disturb any of them. After all this was their jungle; he was only passing through it.

Abruptly a skunk stood on the path ahead, producing a terrific skunk stink. George came to a dead stop. The skunk stood to one side and he could perhaps walk around it, but it was already staring at him intently with its tail raised and there was no way in hell he was going to try. "So OK, I suppose that I'm in no real hurry," he said quietly. "I'd appreciate getting by, but you're welcome to take your time doing whatever you're doing." He stepped back a few paces so that he wasn't crowding the creature.

Oddly enough there was again a convenient pile of sticks stones beside the sidewalk. George could throw some of that at the skunk to get it to move off but he might injure the critter doing that. There was no way he would chance doing that. Instead he and the skunk stared at each other for several minutes before the skunk finally gave a little squeak and ambled off into the bushes.

"Good enough. Tell your uncle that you passed our little test," said a tiny, high pitched voice from close behind him, startling George much more than the snake or skunk had. He turned and couldn't see anything at all except jungle, but he had a feeling about the voice, that there was a strangeness about it, odd but very different from the dark 'feel' of the crow.

"Where are you?" he asked. "Who are you? What test?"

Soft shrill laughter from perhaps two individuals, fading quickly as it moved away, was the only reply he got to his questions, while the plants rustled softly as though disturbed by the passage of small creatures. A strange feeling came over him for a moment; he felt a little dizzy. Probably from lack of food, he figured. However, immediately afterwards he felt refreshed and invigorated.

He thought that he heard something else nearby, hidden by the thick bushes and trees: something massively huge that crushed jungle growth with its enormous weight as it moved away ponderously. It sounded much bigger than Johnny or his sister. What it could be he had no idea, but he was very glad that it was moving away from him!

He walked on. Around the very next bend in the path the jungle abruptly faded into grassy lawn that badly needed cutting. Fifty feet beyond that, a monstrosity of an old house jutted up into the August sky. He was stunned speechless. It was huge, more the size of an apartment building or small hotel than a home. It had pealing white painted wood shingles and several broken windows, but more important, it had character.

Weird character. The Simple House was anything but simple! It looked as though it had started out as a regular old house, but then art-crazy builders and craftsmen with far too much extra time and materials on their hands had gotten hold of it. To the building's generally boxy shape had been added cylindrical spires and triangular wings and odd little cubical extensions, as well as weird antennas and windows of all shapes and sizes. Most conspicuously, there were all sorts of fancy carved wood do-dads all over it, like on those old castles in Europe, including hundreds of pointy spears, discs, triangles and squares that protruded from the wood trim. More unusual still, there were dozens of wood carved animal shapes: horses and eagles, but there were also exotic looking dragons and troll type creatures.

George mounted a huge front porch with loose floor boards that creaked when he walked on them. There was an odd assortment of chairs on the porch, which appeared to be sized to accommodate tiny children and giants as well as human sized individuals. What the elaborately furnished old house didn't have was a doorbell. George knocked on the heavy wooden door with his fist for several minutes before Uncle Harry finally answered.

"What is it?" the old man asked, as the door creaked open slowly. He looked startled and confused, as though he had just woken from a long nap. George probably looked even more startled and confused, because Uncle Harry appeared to be at least twenty years younger than when George had last seen him; now he looked no more than sixty! He also stood straighter, beating George's five foot eight by two or three inches. His face looked much less wrinkled, what little could be seen of it behind the full beard and mustache, which was mostly light brown in color like George's own hair, with only a few streaks of gray. At the funeral it had been solid gray. But unless he had a much younger doppelganger this was definitely Harry. "Sorry, no visitors, I'm busy," he mumbled, and started to close the door in George's face.

"It's me, George, Uncle Harry! Your message said that you'd meet me at the train station more than two hours ago!"

"Yes, so it is you!" Harry said, with a sudden huge smile, as he pushed the door open again! He shook George's hand warmly and pulled him into a hall, past stairs leading up, and into a study cluttered with tables, chairs, and books. "But you weren't coming until Wednesday!"

"This is Wednesday," George noted.

Harry's confused look returned. "It is? I thought Wednesday was tomorrow."

"Nope."

The smile re-formed on Harry's face. "I get it now! She didn't tell me that you had arrived, and the others had to be in on it too," he remarked loudly, as though was talking to someone besides George. "It was a full-blown conspiracy of all of you, it had to be!" he accused.

George couldn't figure out how to respond, it was such a strange thing for Harry to say. Who was he talking to and who and what was he talking about? "It's OK though, I had a nice walk," he said, in an effort to defuse Harry's apparent animus and confusion.

"You walked all that way yourself?" the old man asked.

"It was only a couple of miles."

"That part was obviously easy, but then you had to reach the house by crossing the front yard using the path from the street. You didn't have any trouble?

"Not serious trouble."

"Was the crow with you along the path?"

How had he known about the crow? "No. I haven't seen it since entering your yard. I don't know if it came into the yard at all."

Harry's thick eyebrows rose in surprise. "And she didn't come to me either, or tell me that you and she had arrived! That's all very strange. Notice anything unusual along the path leading to the house?"

"There were odd animals and voices."

"Ah-ha! Talking animals?"

"I don't think so, though there was at one point someone talking to me that stayed hidden in the bushes. The animals that I encountered were on the walk."

"Animals on the front walk? What kind of animals? Big dangerous ones like lions, tigers, or bears or worse? A hairy green or brown giant the size of a buffalo maybe?"

"No. Ordinary creatures, but some of them potentially annoying. A huge snake, skunk, turtle, frog; that sort of thing. I thought that I heard something much bigger in the bushes, but couldn't see what it was. You're kidding about lions, tigers, bears and giants, aren't you?"

Harry shrugged. "In my yard almost anything's possible."

"But there aren't real bears or other dangerous animals out there, are there?" George persisted. The growth was heavy enough to hide an elephant, and he had heard something moving through the growth that sounded huge.

"Depends on what you mean by the terms 'real' and 'dangerous'," Harry said cryptically, "but truly large animals are much more likely to be found in the backyard than in front, at least until they are properly dealt with. Tell me about the voices."

"When I got near the house a voice said to tell you that I have passed some sort of test."

"Really? Good for you! What test is that?"

"I have no idea. Do you?"

"Perhaps. Was it a big, really deep voice or a little, high pitched voice?"

"Higher pitched than an Oz munchkin, and there seemed to be two of them."

Harry nodded his hair covered head in approval and smiled broadly. "Ah-ha! That's good! That's very good! It's a good thing then that you came through the front yard alone, and not with me or the crow. She had to be in on it though, of course, but chose not to interfere. The high pitched voices explain a lot. In fact, it explains why I thought that today was yesterday, and why I wasn't informed about it before now."

"It does?"

"Yes, and it puts you a big step ahead of where I thought you'd be by now. I don't know what you did, but somehow you made a very good first impression."

"With who?"

"With whom, you mean. With the Little People."

"Midgets?"

Harry laughed. "No, don't be silly! With the elves!"

****

### CHAPTER 2

The Way of Things

It was George's turn to laugh, but he was too weirded out to do more than force a smile. "Elves? More likely it was Mary and Johnny from next door, I figure."

"So, you met them already also? Excellent! They're good kids. Don't know what I'd do without them. I was going to ask them today to meet you at the station tomorrow, before tomorrow became today. Not family, of course, but Mary is certainly top-notch. The elves merely put up with Johnny, but they genuinely like Mary. She's very special; that's why she's living next door of course."

George couldn't decide if his uncle was simply putting him on about many things that he said, or was truly a total lunatic, but he did agree with his uncle's positive assessment of Mary. "What about the elves?" he prompted.

"They're a big help too, of course, though sometimes their sense of humor leads them to acts of mischief."

"The elves are a big help," George repeated. He struggled to keep a straight face.

"Certainly. Couldn't do without them."

"What are they helpful with?"

"Now that's the really big question! I better build up to the answer gradually, or you'll be confused."

"I'm already confused, about a lot of things. For instance, excuse me for saying so, but you seem to be a lot younger now than you were at the funeral."

"Of course I am. Very perceptive of you. Sometimes I'm even younger, but only in emergency situations. Being young ages me quicker, you see, especially when I am not here at home. That might at first seem like a paradox, but if you think it through, it makes perfect sense. Any other questions?"

George was more confused than ever by Harry's answers, but he decided to keep trying. "What about the crow that's been following me? Is it a friend of yours, like Mary says?"

"Friend is perhaps too strong a term. She's an ally, at best; but that's another big question better left until later, young man. You had lunch yet?"

George shook his head no. The very mention of food suddenly drove other issues from his mind. "I haven't even had breakfast."

"OK, first things first then." He led George back into the entrance hall. "Here, let's get you out of that backpack. We'll leave it here by the stairs for now; I don't think anyone will bother it, especially since it reeks of your mother's essence, and everyone here respects her greatly. Let's work our way back to the kitchen. We'll see what's left in the fridge after the elves got through with it, and I'll explain the way of things just a bit."

George took off his backpack and Harry laid it at the foot of stairs that led up to unknown heights. George was further perplexed. How did Harry know that Mom had given the backpack to him? Also he didn't think that anyone else lived with Harry, so who could possibly bother his backpack? The elves that raided the refrigerator?

He wanted to ask Harry but the spry oldster was already disappearing down a dimly lit hallway that reminded George a bit of the strange front walkway that had tunneled through exotic foliage as it lead to the house. On the walls were old landscape paintings that displayed forest and jungle scenes, some of them unearthly weird, including landscapes that featured purple trees and double suns. Every few feet the hallway made a sharp turn as it skirted closed doorways leading to unknown rooms. The hallway also branched off into other hallways, labyrinth like. From the outside the house had appeared to be only surprisingly huge, inside it was impossibly gigantic.

After several twists and passing more than a dozen closed doorways and intersections with other hallways, Harry opened a door that led into a crowded study. Sunlight entered through a small iron barred window, and revealed walls with built-in bookshelves packed full of books, most of them very odd and ancient looking. Book covers were of leather, cloth or even wood or metal. Some books were round instead of rectangular in shape.

A few of the oldest and strangest looking books had an odd 'feel' to them to George's new senses, fully as odd as the crows, though different. It was not the nasty feel of his dead Mom and Dad either, but a definite, shimmering, vibrant strangeness that wasn't at all unpleasant. George recalled that Johnny had said something about elf books. Could he have been serious? Some books had English titles, but most seemed to be in foreign languages. Centered in the room were a table and two comfortable looking chairs that were piled with books and papers to the point that as chairs they were rendered unusable.

Most attention getting, there were about a dozen incredible sculptures sitting on the floor, each two to four feet tall, of legendary creatures. There were trolls, dragons, elves and many others. Many of the best figures were so real looking that George would not have been too terribly surprised to discover that they were, after all, alive.

Most had the same strange texture as the oddest books. He touched them but still couldn't determine what they were made of. He wanted to ask Harry questions about them, but after scribbling a few words into a notebook that was balanced on top of one of the piles of books, the old man was again spryly walking down the adjoining hallway, and George had to dash to make sure that he didn't lose him.

They passed several more closed doorways before the absurdly long, twisting hall led into a huge kitchen. An old gas stove and a small ancient refrigerator were at one end of the room, along with a sink cluttered with dirty dishes, while surprisingly large brass pots and pans hung from all the walls. A tiny wood kitchen table with half a dozen matching chairs, much too small for even children, sat in a large open area near the big fireplace at the other end of the room. The ashes inside it and stacks of wood nearby indicated that it was a functioning fireplace.

"Expecting a little company?" George asked, emphasizing the word 'little' and nodding towards the doll sized table and chairs. There was something else about them that stood out; they had the same oddness texture as many of the old books and statues in the study.

Harry didn't even crack a smile at his nephew's attempt at puny humor. "Only you are expected. I sense that the elves left this morning immediately after dealing with you. Probably won't be back for weeks. It's far too dangerous for all of us to be here together very long or very often. Besides, they usually have plenty of serious situations to attend to back in their own home world."

Harry opened the old refrigerator and looked inside. George could see that while the lower shelves were completely empty, the upper shelves were full of odd old bottles and jars, boxes and bags; very few items looked like food. Some items had the oddness 'feel' to them. Though he didn't see anything that looked edible, Harry reached deep inside and pulled out a can of Coke and handed it to him.

"Good, thought there might be some of those left, on an upper shelf squirreled away from searching elf eyes and short arms. And this too." He reached in deeply again and fetched out a McDonalds' paper bag with a burger and some fries in it that he handed to George. "Johnny bought this for me just yesterday, it should still be OK," he explained. "At least I think it was yesterday; the blasted elves messed with that whole question, didn't they? Them and their blasted time-warping spells! I don't think that anyone should mess with space-time that way, do you?" He reached down into the fruit drawer and retrieved an apple for each of them before closing the refrigerator. "Let's sit down," he suggested, gesturing in the direction of the tiny table and chairs.

George first thought that perhaps Harry meant for them to use the tiny table as a low bench that both of them could sit on, but when he turned to look at it he nearly fainted. The table and chairs were massively normal in size: hand carved well finished dark wood, shiny and clean, hundreds of pounds worth. He would have dropped his lunch if he wasn't starving. As it was, he could only stand blinking and gawking as his head spun.

"It's elfin furniture of course," Harry explained. "A bit startling when you first encounter it, I suppose. You're the first human being born of Earth I know of besides me to see elf magic, by the way, except for your Mom; at least in modern times. If you hadn't passed their little test on the front walkway it wouldn't have changed size for us at all and we'd be sitting on the floor. Elves are pretty fickle about contact with humans. Not safe of them to contact humans in their homeland any more, of course, and I think that view carries over to Earth for them. They've been screwed over too many times by traitorous humans over the centuries and humans are too easily detected by the Horde. They dinged you with a touch of their elf powers this morning; that explains why the elf objects respond in your presence. You felt dizzy for a moment when they zapped you, I wager."

"It changed size!" George said, stupidly, still gawking at the table and chairs. "It got bigger!"

"Normally the table and chairs are elf sized, of course, but they grew to human-size to accommodate us. It has another very useful trick. Put your food on the table and sit down."

Numb, George did what was asked, though he was uneasy even being in the same room with a magic table and chairs. They now appeared perfectly normal in size and design, but he still sensed their innate oddness, and he had just witnessed them grow from toy size to normal human size. Moreover, the chair he finally sat in was unusually comfortable, as though it had been made to specifically fit him. That, and the fact that Harry sat down with him, made George feel a bit more at ease.

"Now eat your food," instructed Uncle Harry.

George picked up the burger. To his great surprise, he found that it was warm! He bit into it and found it to be just the right temperature and fresh tasting!

"The table instantly warms food up," explained Harry. "Actually cooks it instantly if it needs cooked, and then instantly cools it to eating temperature. It also keeps drinks warm or cold and ice cream frozen. Seems it even makes stale things taste fresher. Very handy; I don't even own a microwave." Harry noticed his nephew's puzzled look. "I've read about microwaves, and computers, and what-not. I simply have no use for them. I am rather fond of electric lights, of course, but usually I use elfin lights that are cleverly made up to look like electric lights. Those turn off and on with a mere thought and that's pretty handy."

"But Uncle, it doesn't make any sense! How would a table know which items to keep warm or cold? Can it read instructions from a box, or from recipe books? Does it Google information off the internet?" George ran his hand over the table's smooth surface. Except for the odd strangeness his new senses picked up, it seemed like ordinary wood. "And how does it make things warm or cold? It doesn't even feel warm here where the burger was sitting! Microwaves maybe?"

Harry looked amused. "Good. I can see that you understand some logic and science fundamentals which don't even fully explain the workings of this universe, let along things from another universe. I've long pondered how the table works. Maybe Plato was more right about the nature of things than most modern thinkers give him credit. Maybe things have an identity that is part of them that can be assessed by elf tables, such that it is not required that directions need be attached to them.

"But I think it much more likely that the table taps into the mind of whoever puts the item on the table. The elves can make even non-living items sort of come to life, such as this furniture and other things in this house that they have furnished. But regardless of the details of the mechanisms employed in human terms it is certainly magic, George, and I don't have plausible science answers for magic. I've come to simply enjoy it. Magic is far better than any microwaves. Try your Coke."

George picked it up. It seemed even colder now than when he placed it on the table. "This is totally impossible," he remarked.

"Perhaps impossible from a classical thermodynamics standpoint, but a one in a trillion chances statistically possible in terms of statistical mechanics. I think the magic mucks with the probabilities of both quantum and classical mechanics somehow, but not in any way that is understandable by Earth-science. Of course, if that is what is truly happening, I don't know why the magic doesn't accidentally destroy the entire fabric of everything. The only thing I can figure is that in the scheme of things magic must be a mere subtle local temporary tweaking of the otherwise stable laws of physics of the universe in which it is practiced, or the results could be disastrous. Perhaps not going too far is something that has evolved into the magic. Or maybe normal quantum mechanics and all other laws of physics in each universe are an inherently stable situation, such that minor changes made to it are necessarily only temporary and local. Maybe the changes are mere minor distortions, and don't really break the normal rules.

"Of course the elves haven't any idea what quantum mechanics is, they simply will things or spell things to happen and it happens. They think logically, but probably haven't had a practical need for our style of science or technology for countless generations.

"By the way, you shouldn't bother to tell anyone about all this stuff, George. You could, but unless it's directly witnessed, it won't be believed anyway. People would most likely haul you off in a white straight jacket to a funny-farm. Only you and I are cleared to witness this sort of thing; that's part of the elf-spells. You'd never convince anyone else of any of this."

"I still don't know if I believe it, and I saw it myself," George remarked, between gulps of warm burger and cold Coke, though he didn't know anything about quantum mechanics either, whatever that was. "Please tell me more about the elves. Why did they come here?"

"They have a huge problem in their own world, and they need our help and vice versa, as otherwise their big problem will inevitably come here and destroy all life on Earth. In addition, there are other problems inherent to our own world that have also required my attention from time to time, and the elves have helped me with some of those. In sum we help each other survive in a very dangerous Multiverse. I've been working on this whole business for most of my life, and it's quite a challenge." He took a bite of his apple. "OK, I suppose that pretty much sums it all up."

To George it only added more questions. "But exactly what have you been working on?" George asked. "To help elves, for example."

"I'm trying to figure out a lot of things that might have to do with saving us and the elves. It's too hard to explain at this point, though I can see that you're a smart lad. We'll begin your formal education in such matters tomorrow. In maybe six months I'll be able to explain everything in somewhat greater detail. Years later, after you've been educated in Earth science and philosophy, you'll be able to understand the big picture much better."

George shrugged and let it go, though he was disappointed. It was the sort of adult explanation, or rather lack of one, which every kid in existence was used to getting.

After eating, Uncle Harry gave him a quick tour of the house. Most rooms were similar to the first library-type room that they had visited, full of strange old books and other things: carved figures, notebooks overflowing with hand-written papers, nooks full of fossils or shiny gems, old bones of long dead animals, empty bird eggs, and snake skins. They spent several minutes in a study on the second floor that was overflowing with particularly exotic objects, with Harry reading books and writing in his notebooks while George poked around, examining oddities and asking questions.

"Is there any particular order to these books and other things?" George asked. He wasn't a neatness fanatic himself, but simply felt that arranging things in some sort of order was often a rather practical thing to do.

"Not really," said Harry. "This elf book library and museum could especially use an actual librarian, I suppose. I just haven't had the time to bother with arranging things into a proper order."

"What is this thing?" he asked, as he picked up a shield-shaped object that when stood upright was nearly as tall as himself. It was rough surfaced, dull green and stiff, and a couple of inches thick, but it bent slightly when he pushed down on it, and it weighed only about ten pounds. Its lower edge was actually so sharp that he nearly cut himself. Most peculiar of all, it glowed much like the crows had.

"Besides valuable elf books and statues some other odds and ends have collected here, George," Harry explained. "That's a dragon scale, though a very small one."

"Sure thing," George responded jovially. "Don't know how I could have missed that."

"I'm serious, that is a dragon scale. Not very much to it, once it's separated from the dragon, but it's still much stronger than any earthly material."

George looked at it with much greater interest and respect before moving on to the inspection of other wonders.

"What kind of writing is this?" he asked, as he opened an ancient looking book. Inside were hand-painted images of dragons, and weird scribbling that looked nothing like English.

"Chinese translation of an elf book on dragons. Only a few hundred years old. Not really much use, since I have the original in elfin. Some of the inserted Chinese thoughts about dragons are entertaining, however."

George reached for an even older looking little book that had the oddness glow. "Elfin books like this one?"

"Right! It's part of the elf collection on semi-permanent loan from their home world of Narma. Books aren't safe in their world anymore, so they brought many of them here for safe-keeping, as well as to aid in my research. How did you know?"

"It glows. Something like the kitchen table and chairs, but different than the dragon scale and the crow that followed me after the funeral."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "Great! You've been coming into your skills then, even before arriving here and getting some elf powers."

"Mom said she'd let you know and that you'd explain it to me."

"When did she say that?"

"Two weeks before the car accident."

Uncle Harry winced as though struck with pain, and then nodded his head. "I see. How was she going to contact me? Do you know?"

"I'm not sure. Couldn't she just phone you?"

"I have no phone," said Harry.

"Then I suppose she'd write you a letter."

"I received no letter. Would it have had a return address in the corner?"

George shrugged. "I suppose so. The post office requires those now."

"I see." Harry looked very troubled.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing that can be fixed now." The old man forced a smile. "So then, what do you think of my books?"

George opened the little elf book that he held. It was full of meaningless scribbles. "You can read this stuff? It looks like nonsense doodles to me, and they seem to move around on the page, changing as you look at them."

"Those are very astute raw observations for a beginner. Yes. I read more than a dozen languages, including of course elf. Most of the Earth languages I know are arcane variants however. Nothing contemporary like French or Russian. Those would be pretty useless for what I do."

George was impressed; he never could have imagined his Uncle Harry to be such a nerd. Other kids called George a nerd, but Harry was obviously a dozen times more nerdy. He wandered what acts of genus Harry expected of him. "What sort of education do you have planned for me?"

"I estimate that it could take roughly five years to bring you fully up to speed on my research, but we probably don't have that long. First you'll get some more rudimentary summary information on the way of things, and we'll lay some groundwork academically by having you learn how to read elf writing, for example."

"Information on the way of things? What about regular school? It starts in a couple of weeks."

"That will be a fairly useless distraction from an intellectual standpoint, but it can't be helped. You're already enrolled in the local high school. Some ordinary Earthly interests must be maintained until you are an adult."

"I don't see how I can learn both the regular stuff and the elf stuff at the same time."

Uncle Harry smiled. "Don't worry, you'll have help. The elves have already given you more energy and capability." Without further elaboration he walked to a window and motioned George to join him. "While we're here on the second floor, this is a good place to look out at what is in back of the house."

George noted that there was a fifty-foot wide strip of grass, similar to what was immediately in the front of the house. Beyond that, an incredibly dense forest, topped off by extraordinarily massive old-growth trees, rose perhaps two hundred feet to block the view. Trunks six to eight feet in diameter were visible, and their spreading tree limbs reached out almost to the house.

"I own nine-hundred acres, all of it old-growth forest except for the lawn immediately surrounding the house and the flower garden area in front. Mostly it's populated by species from Earth, though many found here are not normally indigenous to this area. My property doesn't get freezing cold in the winter, you see. A few Narma species grow here, but the light isn't quite right for them, and the microbiota and associated chemicals in the soil don't optimally support Narma plants and microscopic critters needed in the soil. Fungi are critical also. There is no winter here but it still gets too chilly for most Narma life-forms. My plot of land is actually part-Earth and part-Narma in nature, but mostly it is of this universe."

"Johnny and Mary figure that you're rich," said George, "owning all that land and trees."

Harry laughed. "Not unless the elves can induce the trees to grow cash. Which they probably could if they set their minds to it, but there more important things for us all to be doing."

"They were thinking of logging, or at least their dad was."

"That man says he's a welder but he'll do anything for money. No way! Logging my woods could have dire consequences for this world and for Narma. The forest life anchors the Portal connecting our world to Narma."

"That elf world called Narma sounds familiar."

"Earth fiction authors have picked up on it over the centuries, due to elf visits. It's one of the simpler elf names for the universe that the elves come from. The name actually refers specifically to their planet, which has portals leading to Earth and to many other places. This particular forest is special. The life force of this forest results in one of a few areas on Earth that can stabilize the location of a portal that connects our worlds, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg." Harry pointed out the window to the towering trees. "We have to try to keep people from our world out of there; it's too dangerous in many ways. So keep your eyeballs peeled and let me know if you see any unusual activity."

"What sorts of activity?"

"Mostly Earth type activity in the form of trespassing humans or domestic animals. But also tell me about anything from the other side that looks dangerous."

"Other side?"

"From Narma, of course. Also be alert to strange creatures of Earth. A lot of Earth beings of power are drawn here; Evil ones at times. Mostly, just look for stuff that's out of place. Stuff that glows like an elf book is usually neutral, though not always. True Evil can often be told right-off. Stuff that glows Evil has a different feel to it. If you sense Evil, stay away from it."

"Like Mom and Dad after the accident."

Harry took a deep breath. "So you sensed that also. I'm sorry George, very sorry. If I had known there was an immediate threat, I might have taken steps both for them and for you. I'd have gotten you here quicker, for example, or at least explained things so you would understand what was happening. As it was, when I sensed the Evil in their bodies I reasoned that my very presence at the funeral put you in further danger, so I beat a hasty retreat and stayed away. Besides, I can't leave this place much anymore, I'm getting too old. It took me several weeks to fully recover from merely going to the funeral for a few minutes. I'm sorry that these past three months have been so hard on you."

"What is Evil anyway?" George asked. "Is it what they talk about in the Bible?"

"It may have led to what is talked about in the Bible and other places, but it's real stuff George, not simply an idea."

"What does it mean, that Evil glow that my folks had?"

"Among other things it means that their deaths weren't an accident."

George felt like he had been sucker punched in the stomach.

"The elves and their friends have enemies, lad," Harry explained. "Forces of Evil native to this world, and Evil allied to beings of Narma."

George's head was spinning. "Something Evil killed Mom and Dad?"

"I believe so, yes. Your Mom would have easily avoided any incidental contact with Evil. Only a deliberate well executed attack by a being that dealt skillfully in Evil could have overcome her. She was the target."

"Because of this elf business?" He dropped the little elf book he had been holding onto the floor. It didn't glow Evil but it suddenly seemed Evil to him anyway.

"In a sense. I'm sorry, George."

"Because you want to save elves my parents were murdered?" Rising anger held back his tears.

"There's more to it than that; much, much more," said Harry. "What we see as Evil is a real thing. I think of it as a sort of rogue disruptive energy pattern that fundamentally opposes life. Sort of like a super virus. Elves can tweak the laws of physics in a positive way, but Evil simply disrupts everything it touches. Some beings with magic powers can make use of Evil to further themselves, but it's both intoxicating and degenerative, like a bad drug. In the end nothing good ever comes of it."

"I don't want anything to do with it. I want to go back to the foster home."

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I can't blame you for feeling that way, but I can't protect you for long if you leave here."

"Protect me? You didn't protect Mom and Dad!"

"I've always done what I could. But particularly since I've grown quite old, away from this place I'm very weak. This place is a stronghold, a sort of fortress of solitude and good built by elf magic. I always wanted you and your folks to live here with me, but they wanted a normal life for you."

"So now you're saying their deaths were their own fault or mine? For not living here with you and your elf friends?"

"No. The elves can't live here; they can only visit for brief periods. It was the fault of some Evil tainted being, not me, and not the elves, that your folks died. Your Mom and Dad can't be blamed for wanting a normal life for themselves and for you. At least for a while."

"A while? What do you mean?"

"Eventually your parents would have brought you here themselves."

"Why? Why would they ever bring me into this elf business if it's dangerous?"

"Because they were good people: the best. Because as much as they loved you, they knew that you may be our only hope."

"Me? I'm someone's only hope?"

"Yes, you. You may be everyone's only hope. Everyone on Earth and on Narma and surrounding star systems. I'm too old to finish what I started. I need your help, George; we all do."

"My help? Mine? But I'm just a kid!"

"Being a kid lasts much shorter than you think. Sort of like a summer vacation, I suppose. I promise to explain everything to you as soon as I can. But you should know that it's not only the elves and us that are in danger, it's our whole world too, that is to say Earth and other places of this universe. Our galaxy and billions of others, eventually."

"Danger from what?"

"From lots of things. Narma things mostly, but Earth things too. The worst things are often tainted with Evil."

George shook his head. This was all too much. He had hoped this new home would be a haven from things that threatened him, instead he seemed to be in a hundred times more trouble than he ever could have imagined!

"We'll talk more later. I've already told you too much too soon; far more than I intended. Your poor young head must be spinning like a top. Let me show you your rooms. Maybe that will help."

George didn't understand how rooms could possibly help how he felt until he saw them. There were three adjoining rooms, a sizable bedroom and two even larger rooms, and they were all completely full of things that he immediately recognized. He ran from room to room, looking, touching, and holding each remembered item before moving on to the next one. It was all his things from the old house: clothes and books, magazines and toys, his computer, CD player, CDs and even his bicycle! There was furniture too, his own bed and desk and drawers, and much of the living room furniture. Special things, such as his violin, plastic models, and journals, and his rock and leaf collections!

Best of all, there were many of his parents' things, some clothes and CDs and old fashioned vinyl records, their favorite books and music, Dad's fishing gear, Mom's clarinet and Dad's trumpet. There were several infinitely precious boxes of family photos and videos. It wasn't everything from home but it was the most important things.

His anger was gone now, displaced by memories both good and terrible, but above all by a sense of renewal, or at least partial renewal. Much of what was him, which he had thought to be lost forever at the auction, was here in these rooms!

He wanted to thank Uncle Harry but the old man had disappeared, so he went looking for him. He found the oldster in the third study he searched, taking notes as he read an elfin book. "How?" George asked, quietly.

"Your folks and I had the mechanics of it set up before you were born; the fake auction and so forth as well as my adoption of you. It was all a back-up plan that we hoped to never use. Not actually very sophisticated from a human standpoint, but demons and most other bad guys we need worry about usually aren't very sophisticated in that respect. The plan included several features to protect you from dangers of a non-human sort, of course."

"Like the crow?"

"She was an addition; a very badly needed and appreciated addition, as it turns out."

"Is the crow from Narma?"

"Among other places. Her name is Jewel, At least that's the simplest English translation. And she isn't a crow, not by a long shot."

"What is she then?"

"That part's very complicated. Could really set your head to spinning. Let's just say for now that she is a very powerful wizard and a free spirit."

"A bird wizard?"

"When she wants to appear as a bird."

George shook his head. "This is all way too weird."

"You'll get used to it in time, assuming you live that long."

"But why us? Why you? And why me?"

"All excellent questions, my boy, but that's another rather long story. Several stories, in fact. In a nutshell, a very small percentage of humans have the requisite abilities to work magic, and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time to get sucked into this Narma business. For now, you might just as well simply accept it as the way of things."

"The way of things? Is all this business explained better in your elf books?"

"To some extent. Much background information is, anyway."

"Then I'm ready to learn how to read them right now."

Harry smiled and nodded his approval as he cleared off a book-covered chair for George to sit on, and for the rest of the afternoon George was taught elfin language fundamentals.

Sort of. George expected to be taught elfin A-B-Cs and phonics, but the approach was radically different. "Elfin writing communicates more or less directly with the reader's mind, if they have the requisite ability," explained Uncle Harry, "physically looking at the writing merely provides guidance. With enough practice, an elfin book can be read without even opening it, which greatly reduces wear and tear on the pages and bindings."

Harry stared at the elfin book he was holding. The page he was looking at was covered with meaningless squiggles that were moving all around on the page, much as if they were a living swarm of insects.

"Only one human in millions can see their writing at all," mentioned Harry, "but to read it will take more practice. At this stage you're doing extraordinarily well merely to see the raw runes."

"Can you give me a hint? Does the writing go from top to bottom and left to right like ours?"

"Certainly not. That wouldn't help much anyway."

"Why not?"

"The markings on the page can't be literally interpreted as a simple linear sequence of words. They merely help form a gestalt that retains an imprint of the thoughts of the author. The reader senses the imprint projected from the page. Usually multiple pages at once, actually, as a gestalt that defines multiple meanings simultaneously. It's complex in much the same way that thought is complex, as it mirrors how thought is accomplished in the mind. It has to, or the mind would not read or understand it. It may at first seem less direct than human writing, but actually it's much more direct. Many of the statues here also contain much information in an even more sophisticated form, but accessing them is not as straight-forward as reading the books. Once you are further along you'll even be able to have enlightening conversations with some of the statues. But you'll find that accessing both books and statues is a little like reading minds."

"Reading minds?" George asked.

"Yes, telepathy is handy but comes with burdens. You'll likely soon be able to read minds and you'll find that to mostly be a big pain in the ass. But yes, reading the elf books and talking with elf statues is a skill somewhat similar to reading minds. Books are designed to be accessible and reading them is relatively easy compared speaking with statues and mind reading. The book messages are static, you should start with them. One must walk before running."

George was becoming even more confused. "What does this page say?"

"That depends largely on who's reading it, or rather what their skill level is. For me that describes trolls at their traditional Spring festival, in great detail. The hope is that someday trolls will again have Spring festivals. This book will help them reclaim their heritage."

"Wouldn't it have to describe the same information for me?"

"Yes, but at a more elementary level, to begin with. As with human languages and reading skills, mastering this will take time. Your mind needs to be reshaped a bit towards elfin thought patterns. Reading this would be good for you for several reasons. Once your mind is thinking more like an elf the statues will respond to your presence, for example. And the skill will help train your mind for telepathy, when that happens for you."

"And knowing about Troll festivals would help me how?"

"It's excellent cultural background, for when you meet a troll."

George laughed. "That sounds really cool, but how likely is that to happen?"

"Very likely, as it so happens." Uncle Harry turned in his chair to look at the doorway to the hall, and George followed suit. Standing passively just outside the study and peering in at the two of them with huge brown eyes was the biggest, scariest looking man-like creature George had ever seen. It was taller than the doorway and so wide that George could only see perhaps half of it. "Meet Grog, Forest Troll."

****

### CHAPTER 3

Troll Friend

If he hadn't already been sitting, George would surely have fallen down. The brown creature he was ogling was hairier than an orangutan and more massive than a steer. Thankfully it wore what looked like leather shorts, but otherwise appeared naked, aside from a giant wooden club that hung from a leather belt around its waist. It seemed more man than ape only because its brutish face was near-human and devoid of hair except for thick beard on its big chin, and a hairy eyebrow that stretched around both huge brown eyes. It shifted its stance from one huge hairy foot to another, as if nervous, revealing massive shoulders and arms thicker and longer than a big man's body. Altogether, the creature was wondrously strange, magnificent, and frightening.

"Ah-hum," it rumbled, opening its mouth a bit to show off teeth the size of piano keys. "Called me you did, Harry? You want the boy to meet me, I do think." He nodded towards George.

"Yes, my friend," replied Harry, as he stood to greet the huge creature with a hearty handshake and gestured George to do the same. "This is of course George, son of Joan. George, Grog here is my longtime partner in adventures and my best friend in this or any other world."

George managed to get up out of his chair, but could only stand mutely gaping as the massive troll extended a beach ball-sized hand towards him. Facts such as the creature's ability to speak friendly, understandable English, and that he was Harry's friend registered at some level, but not very potently. After Harry poked him, George finally reached out uncertainly and the troll gently enclosed his hand and arm up to the elbow in his own huge hand and shook them almost imperceptibly before release.

"How was that? Didn't squash you, did I?" Grog asked.

"He's not THAT delicate," laughed Harry, who was apparently greatly amused by the awkward boy/troll encounter.

"It was fine," agreed George, when he had gathered enough breath to respond. "I guess you're pretty strong."

"Yeah, I need take care with wee folk," said Grog. "Like you was good with ants and turtles and such this morning. The elves liked that. Elves like all living creatures, even Earth creatures. They liked that you find this place yourself also."

"You were watching from the bushes then!" said George. "I thought that I heard something big!"

"I watch everything what comes here," rumbled Grog.

"I'm sort of the brains of our partnership," added Harry, "while Grog is largely the brawn. Among other things, Grog helps guard against unwelcome guests from either Earth or Narma."

The Troll snorted. "Much times I be the brains and Harry be the brawn."

"You're from Narma, but you don't glow!" George noted.

The troll grinned, exposing more of his huge teeth. George couldn't help thinking that the troll could easily bite off a human's head. "Good eyes you have, young one. Why you wear glass things?" He pointed at Georges glasses.

"Good point," said Harry. "You won't need these anymore." He took George's glasses off.

Before he could protest, George noticed that he could see perfectly well without them.

"Perfect health, my boy," explained Harry. "Benefit of that bit of elf powers you were given. Pity it doesn't give us immortality, but we can't have everything. What were you saying, Grog?"

"You have good sight like your mother, George," said the troll. "My people be from Earth side, long times past, but all my close folk be now in Narma. Earth and Narma be almost the same, but enough different for humans with good sight to see where things come from."

"You knew my Mother?"

The troll nodded. "Joan Simple be great troll friend. Be close Grog friend. Me big sad she gone now. Many adventures, we shared. It be a great honor for Grog to meet the son of Joan."

"We'll tell you more about all that later," interjected Harry.

"And trolls originally came from Earth?"

"Not Earth," explained Harry. "This universe, but another planet. Close cousins to Sasquatch, trolls are, but much more massive."

"He's a space alien?" George asked Harry, in awe, staring at the troll with rekindled astonishment.

"You look surprised, my boy, but it's not as uncommon as most humans think," said Harry. "Being from our universe makes Grog more difficult to spot here on Earth, which is an advantage. He even has right-handed DNA and gets along well with Earth food. He sort of blends in here, especially when he wants to. Show him, Grog."

In a moment, Grog changed from brown to tan, matching perfectly the color of the walls.

George laughed. "Amazing, but he's still sort of easy to see."

"It works much better in the woods," noted Harry.

The troll nodded in agreement. "Grog be forest troll, not house troll."

"Tomorrow, if you're not too busy Grog, I'd like you to show George our forest. Just a quick look of a few hours; that's all that he's ready for now."

"Happy to do," said Grog. "In the morning, young son of Joan?"

"Sure," said George. "Will you come too?" he asked Uncle Harry.

"No, I'll keep working here," the old man replied, glancing at the table where he had laid out several books.

"All answers not be in elf books, or even in little elf statues." rumbled Grog.

Harry shrugged. "True, the answers for the most important questions are in ourselves, wise troll. But wisdom is sometimes reflected in writing none the less."

Grog made a dismissive snorting sound that caused George to return his attention to the big humanoid, but he was astonished to find the doorway empty! There was no troll to be seen!

"Grog has gone back to his forest," noted Harry. "Solitary sort of creatures, trolls. Might explain why there have never been very many of them, that and their huge appetites."

"I didn't see or hear him come or go!"

"Trolls are amazing, but there is much, much more for you to understand."

"I wish Mom were here to help explain things," lamented George.

Harry sighed. "Me too. That's what was supposed to happen."

"But why didn't she simply tell me about this stuff a long time ago?" asked George.

Harry looked thoughtful. "Maybe now is as good a time as any for something I had been planning to do after you had settled in longer." Harry rummaged around through papers and books piled on the table until he had found a small book that glowed with Narma strangeness, even though it didn't look very old. "This was Joan's journal," he announced, as he handed it to George. "It belongs to you, now. There's a special note from her to you inside the book, also."

George opened the book reverently to an arbitrary page, than flipped through many of the pages eagerly, while expectation changed to puzzled disappointment. "It's written in elf language," he exclaimed.

"Of course it is," said Harry. "Much superior to human writing. Easier too, once you learn how to do it."

"My mother knew elf language?"

"Quite well. Her note may help explain. It's in the envelope. Your Dad dropped it off here months ago, while he was on one of his business trips."

Inside the book's back cover has an ordinary Earthly envelope with George's name written on it in very ordinary English. After tearing it open, George pulled from it three small sheets of paper, each one covered in his Mother's neat handwriting. "It's in plain English!" he was clearly relieved to announce.

"I suspected as much," said Harry, as he rose from his chair. "I have some chores. Dinner will be at six." With that, he left his nephew.

George took the letter and journal back to his rooms, where he could look at them surrounded by some of his Mother's things.

The letter was dated only six months earlier.

'Hi, George. It seems strange writing a letter to you, when you're sitting nearby in your room doing your math homework. It would be so much easier to simply tell you everything, but your Father made me promise a long time ago that I would delay telling you my family secrets as long as possible. That way you get to retain innocence and normalcy at least for a while. If you are blessed (cursed?) with the powers passed on through my family, they will begin to show themselves sometime over the next three or four years, and we will disclose everything at that point. That's soon enough.

'But if you are reading this, something has gone terribly wrong, and neither I nor your father could tell you all of this in person. Hopefully you are safe and sound with Harry. He'll be able to explain things better than I can anyway. I know that you and Harry haven't seen much of each other, but he's a great and good man, and he has dedicated his entire remarkable life to helping to protect both Earth and Narma. Lately he has been studying elfin writings and speaking with statuettes to try to better understand dragons and Evil.'

Dragons? George paused to re-read the word several times but it still said dragons! And what did she mean about speaking with statuettes? Harry had mentioned that but not gone into details.

'Me, I dedicated much of my youth to that same cause, including several quests to Narma. In Narma, the psychic and magic powers of Earth folk are greatly magnified. I was able to help the Elves and their allies survive the onslaught of the Dark One's Horde, at least for a few years, as well as the curses of a witch. Your uncle has done a dozen times more than I have, but now he grows very old. Trolls are longer-lived. Grog has been able to help take up much of the slack, but strong and valiant as he is, he's only one troll. Elves could be detected here by the Horde and that would be catastrophic, so for the most part they can't help directly on this side of the Portal.

'What has this to do with you? Maybe nothing, but maybe everything. According to prophecies of both Narma and Earth, someone from Earth, perhaps from the Simple family line of humans, will have the potential to save Narma as well as Earth from the Dark One. Harry has tried for many years to become that Chosen One but has failed. For reasons Harry will explain to you, as a female, I couldn't quite qualify. George, you could be the champion of the prophecies, the Chosen One, or one of your male decedents might be.

'Chosen by whom for what? I'll leave those details to Harry, but let me reassure you that great honor and greater responsibility are involved. But it involves struggle and tremendous danger also - I won't sugar-coat it.

'If you aren't the Chosen One, you will still be greatly needed as the eventual replacement for Harry. He is much, much older than he looks. Grog, the elves, and others can help, but a male human with appropriate powers MUST be involved. I am convinced that human is you, George. Already I can sense that you are special.

'So here is the tough part. I know you've thought about going to college and becoming a scientist or a teacher, and I know you could do well in either of those careers. You're bright and hard working. Far more important, you're a very good person. Especially because of that, your father and I are more proud of you than I could ever adequately express here. But as interesting and valuable as a normal life and career would be there is something much more interesting, valuable, challenging and dangerous that you may HAVE to do. For the sake of both Narma and Earth, I am asking that you trust me and Harry and continue with what he started.

'I know this is a lot to expect from any human being, let alone a young man that is just now learning about all of this. It was our choice to let you lead a normal life as long as possible, and hopefully it was the right choice. It also helped hide us all from the beings of Evil that seek our deaths. Yes, Evil with a capital 'E'. Most things you will have to try to rectify or defend against are the fault of the Dark One and other creatures that deal in true Evil.

'People are going to get hurt and die but it's not your fault. Despite your powers you aren't God and lots of bad things are likely to happen that even you can't prevent. Don't blame yourself; just do the best you can. The only time you can blame yourself is if you don't do the best you can. Even then, you need to understand that you're basically only one human, despite your gifts.

'Your natural reaction to all this is that you probably want nothing to do with it. That was certainly my reaction; long ago, and it was Harry's also. But without us, Evil of some sort would have already triumphed here on Earth years ago. It is likely that everything and everybody on Earth would be dead already without Harry and his elf friends. We can't just let ourselves be slaughtered or enslaved; we must defend ourselves, our world, and our species. We didn't pick ourselves to be champions against Evil, but that's the way things ended up. If we falter, Evil will triumph. That's just how things are.

'Some words of caution. Even if you are not the Chosen One, you will face great temptation as well as exercise great powers. Remember that you're in this situation and doing what you are doing for everyone, not for yourself. Don't ever get caught up in it so much that you lose sight of who you are, and you'll be OK. You're our son. Do us proud!

'There are others that fight Evil. You will be tempted to develop friends and allies, and you will need to do so, but always be very cautious. They may harbor hidden Evil, or ordinary selfish motives or other types of evil. Not even all trolls and elves can be trusted, even those that may appear to have the best intentions. Certainly many humans can't be trusted, including governments, much as we've come to appreciate Rick.

'Above all, remember that you will never be alone, for our love is with you always.

'Mom and Dad.'

****

### CHAPTER 4

Dragons Attack

George re-read the letter three times before it was time for dinner. Dinner turned out to be a frozen TV-dinner and skim milk for both himself and Harry; not very exotic considering the momentous revelations of the day, other than the interesting fact that the dinners were almost instantly prepared by the kitchen elf table. Conversation was kept to a minimum, while George remained occupied by the contents of his mother's letter, which he reviewed over and over in his mind.

It was Uncle Harry, rather than George, who finally broke the silence after eating was complete. "I take it that Joan explained some things in the letter?"

"I don't want to be the Chosen One, whatever that is," George replied, with conviction. "I don't want anything to do with Evil, or someone called the Dark One, or even dragons."

"Can't say that I blame you. I didn't either. What cinched it for me was the thought that there is no escaping it, ultimately. The Dark One, if and when he comes, will kill us all weather we want him to or not, and some of the others in his Horde are nearly as dangerous. Be sort of nice for all of humanity not to be killed off though, and a lot of smart folk from Narma think that the Chosen One is our only hope of avoiding that."

"That's crazy. I'm just a kid."

"And you might not even turn out to be the Chosen One. For years, I thought it would be me, but I'm old as the hills now, so evidently it isn't me. Might be you, might not. Plus the whole damn Chosen One Prophesy might be just a lot of wishful thinking."

"Who is the Dark One?"

"More of a 'what' than a 'who'. It's a big bad black dragon, as far as I can tell."

"A dragon! But you haven't even seen it?"

"No. Not many see him and live to tell about it, unless they are part of his Horde."

"Maybe it's only a myth."

"I don't think so."

"A black dragon that's bad? That's a cliché. I suspect that someone is putting you on."

"I wish it were so, but it isn't myth, it's real. Perhaps the myth and cliché arose from reality."

"You believe that dragons are real?"

"Oh, I know that dragons are real."

"Because you've seen dwarves and elves?"

"Partly. But mostly because I've seen dragons."

"On Narma?"

"And Earth."

George frowned. "I don't see how dragons could possibly go unnoticed here on Earth."

"You reason that if they existed on Earth, everyone would know it?"

"I like things I believe in to make sense. I just don't see how dragons could possibly go unnoticed here. Dragons are huge and noisy and so forth, right?"

Harry laughed. "You'd be surprised. Dragons have powers that help them go quietly unnoticed. Perhaps they couldn't live for countless millennia without having such powers. If a dragon doesn't want to be found, it's about impossible even for another dragon to find them."

"They can hide like trolls can?"

Harry shook his head. "Trolls and even elves don't even come close. Unicorns come closest to matching up to dragons in many ways, but for pure power nothing in the known Multiverse quite matches a full grown dragon."

"Wait a minute; unicorns are real too?"

Harry again laughed. "Lots of folks are real, in this and in other universes."

"This is way too weird."

"You'll get used to it. For a while you'll have school and friends and other ordinary things to keep you well grounded."

"You don't even have a TV, do you?"

"No, but we're getting one soon. It's all been planned out. Going to be one of those big-screen jobs; high-def, coupled with a decent sound system. No 3-D or any of that other malarkey though."

"So you've got everything worked out, you and my folks. But what if I simply don't go for it?"

Harry shrugged. "Ultimately that's up to you of course, but hopefully by the time you fully come of age you'll have taken over for me fully. By then we should know if you're the Chosen One or not. Maybe much sooner we'll know."

"Swell. Sounds like you have my life all figured out for me."

"I'm just being honest about things, George."

"I could always run away."

"That's also ultimately up to you," said Harry. "I wouldn't stop you. You're a clever fellow; you might be able to pull it off for a while. You might live a more or less normal life for many years, if that's what you want. With your special abilities you would probably flourish. But you'd very likely at some point die along with everyone else if you turn your back on our little Narma issue. Apocalypse could happen this year or next or a hundred years from now but it will happen, the way things stand now. Bad guys and Evil won't go away simply because you're ignoring them. Is running away what your Mom suggested that you do in her letter?"

No, but George didn't feel like sharing details of the letter, even with Harry. "That's a really long story. Complicated. I wouldn't want your head spinning like a top; maybe in a few months I'll be able to explain it all better to you."

"Touché," said Henry with a smile. "To tell you the truth, I'm depending a lot on your natural curiosity to keep you here."

"I'm curious all right, but I'm also terrified. OK, you've told me a lot I guess, but there's a lot more that you haven't told me. If I'm going to dedicate my life to something, I deserve to know more, and I need to know more. Plus, I have to see more for myself, if I'm going to even believe it."

"Agreed, but only when you're ready. There are many things not even me or the elves understand. And there are things I could tell you that could endanger us all immediately. Secret things."

"We need to trust each other."

"I trust you, but it's not simply a matter of trust. Trust me on that."

George sighed. "Swell. Can I go next door to visit Mary and Johnny now?"

"I'd actually rather you didn't tonight. There's something that's been bothering me. When did you last see Jewel?"

"Your wizard crow ally? Haven't seen her since I got here this morning out by the street. I don't know if she followed me any further or not."

"She didn't, or I'd know about it. So why didn't she, and why isn't she here now? I'm a little puzzled and concerned that she hasn't contacted me since yesterday. It's not like her."

"What does that have to do with me going next door?"

"Aside from my general concern that something could be very badly amiss, you shouldn't go anywhere without protection. Jewel is usually a bit less obvious than Grog as a protector, though she's thousands of times more powerful."

George's eyebrows went up. The crow was thousands of times more powerful than Grog? "It's only next door."

"Next door is literally half a universe away. But OK, as long as you go no further than their property, you can go. Their house and its surroundings are also warded against most things."

"Warded? As in a magic spell?"

"Yes, but it isn't fully effective against everything. Keep your eyes open. There could be great danger."

"OK, I won't go beyond their yard and yours, and I'll stay alert."

"And also accept this," Harry said. He reached out and touched George gently on the forehead.

George felt dizzy and disoriented for a moment, than he felt alright. It reminded him of his experience earlier with the alleged elves. "What did you do to me just now?"

"I gave you a tiny bit of my own powers. I added to what the elves already gave you; it might help protect you. If you do see Jewel, ask her to come see me?"

"Sure." Tell a bird to go have a talk with Harry? Why not?

The walk through the front yard jungle path was uneventful. George was a bit disappointed that not even an ant attempted to block the path, but there was still about two hours more of daylight remaining and at least there were a lot of birds, bees, and other things to see. When he got to the front gate he noticed that the neighborhood beyond looked different somehow. Everything beyond the fence looked dull, as if it were lacking something.

It took him a minute to realize what it was. His special sort of vision-like capability had gained further acuity. Within Uncle Henry's property he could sense a subtle aura that also extended to the neighboring property, but was absent beyond their borders. As he focused more on it, it appeared as a pinkish haze, and he thought that he saw it move slightly where he was staring at it. With more focus and concentration, he caused a solid ball of pink the size of a baseball to form. He laughed as it dissipated again. He had some control over it, whatever it was!

Mary and Johnny were in their wide front yard, tossing a football back and forth. Mary tossed it competently to George when she saw him coming and he caught it awkwardly. George felt a little uncomfortable. He could 'get by' when playing such sports, but they weren't high on his list of interests and he tended to avoid them when he could.

"Hit me, George," shouted Johnny, "I'm going long!" He ran away full-tilt, rapidly moving out of range.

This was yet another male-male thing, George realized. If he didn't try to make the throw Johnny would say something that would make him look like a fool in front of Mary. If he did try, he'd probably look like a fool in front of both him and Mary anyway.

George threw the ball as hard as he could towards Johnny. To his astonishment it sailed far over and beyond Johnny. It had to be the elf powers!

"Holly shits!" exclaimed Johnny, who had stopped running to watch the ball fly past him, high overhead.

"How on Earth did you do that?" asked Mary, while Johnny trotted across the next two yards to shag the errant ball.

"Vitamins I guess," George replied, as he approached Mary. "I'm sorry. I don't do this very much, and I badly misjudged the distance," he shouted to Johnny.

"Only by 200% or more," Mary estimated. "That ball flew well over a hundred yards."

George was intrigued that Mary had given percentage and yardage estimates for his throw. Most people would have simply said that he had thrown it too damn far and let it go at that. Mary definitely had an interesting analytical side to her, as well as incredible good looks.

"Misjudged, hell!" exclaimed Johnny, as he jogged back carrying the ball. "You were showing off. But if I had an arm like that, I'd do the same thing. You should definitely drop track and go out for football. Skip J-V and go out for varsity. The guys won't believe it! Coach will go ape-shit! I'll make mega points with Eastern High society just by being the guy that discovered you."

"I don't think so," said George. "I prefer individual sports."

"Maybe we could go running together sometime," suggested Mary.

"Sure!" George replied.

"Say, what ever happened to your glasses?" she asked. "Contacts?"

"Sure," said George, not knowing what else he could say that would make any sense.

"That will be useful for football," said Johnny. "Are you super-fast too? Is that why you want to go out for a namby-pamby thing like track?"

George wasn't sure anymore about anything he could or couldn't do. "I do alright, speed-wise."

"Namby-pamby thing like track?" Mary snorted, confronting her brother. "I'd like to see YOU run a mile or more!"

"Track is OK," countered Johnny, "but it doesn't have the star appeal of football. People don't get multi-million dollar contracts for running a mile. Besides, most girls go ga-ga over football players. You should go out for both football and track."

"I just want to get through the ninth grade academically," said George. "I do expect to take classes too, you know; that's the main thing."

"Excellent point," agreed Mary. "So you're an academic as well as a jock. Start out with just track, then; that will take up more time than you think. You can always go out for football next year, if you think that you have the time."

"You'll have the time," said Johnny. "In the meantime while you use track to help get yourself into tip-top shape, you and I can work together on our football skills. By next year we'll both knock them dead at try-outs. You can be the star quarterback and I'll be the star wide-receiver."

George shrugged. "OK. Sounds like a plan."

"Alright!" said Johnny, as he gave George a firm comradely pat on the back.

"How you doing with Harry?" asked Mary.

"Fine. I think it will work out. He's even getting a TV for me. I have a computer already, but I'll need an internet connection."

"Cool," said Johnny. "We have a wireless network router, and we aren't very far from your place. We'll fix it so you can use it too. You'll get fast internet and we can do some gaming together in-network."

"You're on," agreed Johnny. Gaming was something he enjoyed well enough, when he wasn't reading.

"Your crow friend is acting totally weird," said Mary, out of the blue.

George followed her gaze to a tree that stood along the street. The big black crow sat watching them from a low branch. "What do you mean weird?"

"It won't go into your yard or come into this one. I even put out bread for it and it won't come, and I used to feed it all the time. It's acting extra snooty or something."

"Good riddance, I say," said Johnny.

"And that's not all," added Mary. "Even the other birds won't eat my bread. In fact, all other birds seem to have completely deserted the entire neighborhood."

"OK," said Johnny, "that IS weird."

"I should talk to the crow about it," said George.

Johnny looked at him like he was crazy.

"Sure thing, George," said Mary, with a smile. "You should set that crow straight!"

"I've got a twenty-two rifle I could set it straight with," said Johnny. He went through the motions of lifting, sighting, and firing an invisible rifle in the direction of the crow. "Bang, bang, bang!"

"That's Dad talking," complained Mary.

"Are my ears burning?" said a deep new voice, from towards the house.

George turned to see a larger, smiling, middle aged version of Johnny approaching them with a confident walk. "I'm Trent Williams and you must be George," he said, as he extended his open hand.

"Yes sir, that would be me," George responded. Mr. Williams had a very firm handshake, but George returned it in kind. The man was over twice his size, and seemed to be straining with all his might, but George very easily countered his squeezing, until the adult at last cut off the handshake with a big smile.

"That's quite a grip you have, young man. Do you work out?"

"Does he ever!" said Johnny. "You should see him throw a football!"

Mr. Williams continued smiling. "Football is it? Good to see someone normal moving in next door. I mean, your Uncle is a little eccentric. Maybe you living with him will change his views on a few things."

"I doubt it," said George, who couldn't decide if Mr. Williams' toothy grin was a happy smile or a shark smile. Shark, probably. "He seems pretty set in his ways, and anyway he does a lot a neat things without changing his ways."

"I'll tell you something neat," said Mr. Williams. "Three thousand an acre for logging rights for one year. That's over two million total! Final offer. Tell your uncle."

"What?"

"I can make us both a nice bundle from logging the Simple property. Harry could make millions from developers by selling off most of his land, but he's dead-set against that. The logging would make him a lot of money without selling any land. His precious trees would grow back, eventually. Nothing would be lost; it's win-win for everyone."

"OK, I'll tell him," said George, "but he won't listen."

"Neither will the crow," said Johnny.

"Crow?" Mr. Williams asked.

"George was just about to talk to a crow," explained Johnny, laughing.

"Whatever warms your giblets," said Mr. Williams. "I'll leave you three to your juvenile shenanigans." He almost reached to shake George's hand again, then thought better of it and simply turned and walked back into the house.

"Your Dad seems friendly enough," said George.

"He's OK," said Mary, "as long as you don't mind him trying to make some kind of a money-making deal with you practically every time you see him."

"So then, are you going to talk to the crow?" asked Johnny, smirking.

"Sure. You guys stay here though; I don't want to spook her."

George walked quietly towards the tree, sizing up the big black bird as he went. According to his new eyesight this was a Narma crow, all right. An ally and a wizard, Harry had said. He still didn't like the way she looked though; he still sensed what could be a tinge of Evil around the bird. Remembering his promise to Harry, he stopped short of the edge of the warding spell, though the crow was perched a few feet outside the ward.

"Greetings great wizard," he said respectfully, quietly enough so that Mary and Johnny wouldn't hear. "Harry asks that you go and see him."

"Kaaaaaaaaa," answered the crow, but in George's head very different thoughts formed. "SOON, HUMAN; I PROMISE. VERY SOON." The voice in George's head seemed impossibly vast, female, and cruel.

"Harry seems worried." George was becoming more than worried. Instinctively he stepped slowly back and further away from the crow. It may have been his imagination, but he thought he detected intensification of the Evil tinge around the creature.

"Ka-Ka-Ka-Ka," the bird-thing replied, but in his head George heard laughter. "AK-AK-AK-AK, COME CLOSER LITTLE ONE, AND I WILL END ALL YOUR WORRIES," it said. George's legs suddenly felt numb and heavy as stone. Painful numbness shot up from his legs and climbed slowly up his back, and he found himself stepping slowly forward towards the crow. He tried with all his will to stop but couldn't. Instead, step by step he walked towards what he suddenly sensed would be his death!

George was almost to the very edge of the protective ward. He could see the ward clearly, as a dull warmish glow, like slightly pink fog. The wispy glow of the ward contrasted sharply with the course blackish tendrils that reached out from the crow, down the tree trunk, across a sidewalk and grass to his feet. Somehow the black cut right through the pink. From there the black had actually entered his legs and body.

The pink seemed too thin, George thought, but if it were only thicker, it just might block the black. He focused as he had earlier, this time pulling the pink towards himself. Soon he was surrounded in pink and using it to push back on the black. It took monumental will, but his steps towards the crow stopped.

"KKKAAA," squawked the crow angrily, "DO NOT DEFY ME WITH YOUR PUNY ELF POWERS, FOOL MORTAL!"

"Why are you doing this?" George asked. "I thought you were an ally of Harry." He was drawing more and more pink to himself, and pushing the black out of yard with it. "What do you want?"

The Crow flapped its wings. It began to fade, and in its place the form of a gigantic creature of some sort began to gradually congeal as misty shadow. "MY PATIENCE WANES, HUMAN," it squawked, with a voice that pounded into Johnny's head like thunder. "YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT. WHERE IS IT?" The black tendrils reaching out from the crow/creature thickened and began to move towards George again, steadily pushing back the pink. The crow was translucent now. In its place George thought that he glimpsed gigantic claws and a monstrous reptilian head with huge teeth, forming in the gathering mist.

"WHERE IS THE EGG?" it demanded, splitting George's head with soundless volume.

****

The next thing George remembered was waking up with a headache. He was lying in an unfamiliar room on a sofa, and Uncle Harry, Mr. Williams, Johnny, and Mary were standing over him with worried looks that faded away quickly when they realized that he was awake. "What happened?" he asked. "Where am I?"

"You fainted," said Mr. Williams. "Johnny and I carried you into our house."

"You collapsed when the first crow left with the other crow that arrived," explained Mary. "Then Dad came, and soon after that Harry."

"Two crows?" asked Harry. "And they left together?"

"Yes," answered Mary. "But I think they were more than just crows. The first crow, the one George was talking to, looked funny. It seemed to get mad and then started to fade away and turn into something else. Something huge and terrible."

"That's plain crazy!" said her father.

"It's starting to get dark," noted Harry. "It must have been your imagination. Shadows can play tricks on even the keenest of observers."

"I only saw a stupid squawking crow," said Johnny. "What did you see, George? Why did you faint?"

"In all the excitement of moving here I missed both lunch and dinner, not to mention earlier missing breakfast," claimed George. "I was just fooling around, pretending to talk to the crow, and I felt dizzy. Nothing mysterious. I feel OK now."

"Well, my boy," said Mr. Williams, "if it's food you need, you've come to the right place. Marge, break out the goodies."

"Sure thing," said a new female voice.

"Oh!" said Mary. "This is my Mom, Marge. Mom, this is George."

"My pleasure," said Mrs. Williams, as she shook George's hand. She looked like a slightly shorter, significantly older version of Mary. She glowed with powerful life like Mary, and she looked into his eyes as deeply as Mary had. "My, that is a strong handshake. Now let's get some food into that growing teenage body of yours. Harry, you have to FEED this boy," she scolded. "Figure on three or four times what you eat. You're an old man; he's a growing teenager."

"From here on in I'll stuff him silly," promised Harry. "Do I smell pizza?"

Talking quickly gave way to eating three large pizzas. Though he wasn't really starving, George managed to put away three big everything-on-them pieces. Between slices they talked about school and football mostly, but George and Harry exchanged a lot of knowing glances. Though neither wanted to appear ungrateful to the Williams family, they were both worried and anxious to leave so that they could talk in private.

Mary appeared to be on edge and to be aware that George and Harry were also. She insisted on walking them back to their house. "What's going on?" she demanded, when they had only gone a short distance. "That crow was turning into a dragon, I'd swear it was!"

"Mary," said George, "you should go home. You could be in danger."

"I agree," said Harry. "I didn't want to speak of it in front of your folks, but I don't think you should have come with us."

"You shouldn't even go back alone from here," said George. "I should walk you home."

"We'll wait just a couple more minutes and then we both will," said Harry. He looked into the night sky as though searching for something, despite the darkness.

"But what's going on?" asked Mary.

"I'm not sure," said Harry, "but I think it could be very bad and I don't want either of you mixed up in it."

"Do you believe me about the crow changing?" she asked.

Harry smiled at her. "Let's just say at this point that I don't disbelieve. I value your observations greatly, Mary. But please go home. If you hear loud sounds like thunder and a tornado, have you and your family take shelter in your basement. It will be too late to do anything else."

Harry and George wouldn't talk any more about it until after they had taken Mary home and re-entered the Simple front yard jungle. Grog immediately joined them there.

"First off," said Harry, "you fainted because you used a lot of the elf powers you had been given. Elf powers make you stronger, but sometimes there is a price to pay when you use most of them up. Now, exactly what did you see?"

George told him everything. "Was Mary right?" he then asked. "Was Jewel turning into a dragon?"

"The premise of your question is twisted in several ways, I believe," answered Harry. "First off, I suspect the crow you approached was not Jewel."

"What?" George exclaimed.

"It's been a growing suspicion all day. Either it wasn't Jewel, or Jewel has changed alliances. Very bad news either way; hard to imagine which would be more disastrous. Either situation is catastrophic, I'm afraid. You're lucky you simply fainted and weren't vaporized; they must simply be delaying their attack until they zero in on their real target. Maybe they hope to follow you or me to the prize they seek.

"The arrival of the other crow probably saved you; they certainly wouldn't fear me or Grog or anything else on Earth for that matter. The other crow must have had serious business with the first one. But in any case this changes everything. This could be disastrous for Earth, Narma, and the Multiverse. Armageddon may already be at hand, I fear."

"Grog agree," rumbled the troll. "Me see two fly away. Two fly away who not be fighting. They not be Jewel, or Jewel not be same Jewel. Grog think both crows not be Jewel, they be the black Sisters of the Dark Horde. Grog worry much for Jewel. Grog worry much more for us."

"Impeccable troll logic, my friend," said Harry.

"Jewel or not, what is the egg it said it wanted?" George asked.

The question stopped Grog and Harry in their tracks. They looked at each other as though silently exchanging thoughts. "Speak no more of it now," Harry said finally. "We'll talk about it when we're further in the house; the house is more heavily warded. The two Horde dragons could still be nearby and listening."

None of them exchanged another word as they walked to the house, but George had heard enough to set his head spinning even more. Dragons, Harry had clearly said! Those two crows were really dragons? It seemed inconceivable! They had been talking about dragons earlier of course, but that had seemed to be merely an academic discussion. Even the things in the house claimed to be dragon scales had to be from creatures long extinct, right?

When they got to the house Harry led them up the stairs to the third floor, Grog climbing four steps at a time while balancing on his huge hairy toes. It was the first time George was above the second floor.

The third floor turned out to be a single huge attic room that ran the entire length of the central structure of the house, with ceilings high enough for even Grog to stand upright comfortably. It was cluttered with Narma-glowing things: books, furniture, statues, bones, and things too odd for George to name. There were weapons too, swords and spears and shields, of a size to suit elves, humans, or even trolls. Grog outfitted himself with a huge dragon-scale shield and sword, George noticed, slinging both over a massive shoulder such that his hands were still free.

"Hopefully we can speak freely here, as this is the most heavily elf-warded part of the house," said Harry. "This treasure trove of potent elf artifacts is actually what powers the wards and so forth."

George nodded. He could see the ward, as well as feel it. It had a palatable dampening effect, like a heavy fog that sapped both sight and sound.

"The rest of the house is actually warded less on purpose, largely to provide a diversion for what is up here. I hope it continues to fool our dragon friends, but sooner or later I'm afraid they'll soon notice that their view of this particular area is most distorted. At that point they'll know that what they want is here and attack."

"So the crows really are dragons?" George asked.

"Yes," said Harry. "We can't stay here. We must flee right away. George, this is as serious an emergency as a human nuclear World War Three would be. Worse in some ways, actually."

"Is the egg here?" George asked, even though before the words left his mouth he already sensed a presence in the room, a life force of immeasurable power that couldn't be fully masked even by the ward.

"It is," Harry affirmed. He led George through a maze of Narma paraphernalia until they reached the very center of the big room. There sat a metal chest big enough for an average sized person to squeeze into, if they were limber enough. It was closed, latched, and presumably locked. "Your mother and I brought it here. Silver plated, of course, with a thicker layer of lead underneath. It holds our greatest secret."

Unlike many of the other objects in the room, which glowed with Narma oddness, the box appeared quite ordinary in composition to George's eyes. But he could also dimly sense that it was a source of enormous power.

"We want to use gold for box, but on Earth gold be hard to get," noted Grog.

"We don't dare open it to show you, not with things as they are, but I can describe it a little," said Harry. As he spoke he was rummaging around the room, shuffling through papers and weapons, and shoving selected items in his pockets or under his belt, including a shimmering sword. "The egg is three times as big as a basketball and looks crystalline. Basically it's whatever color it wants to be, though it is usually white or greenish in color. It's harder than diamond and so smooth that it's slipperier than ice. Its mass seems less than a feather or greater than Grog, depending on his mood."

"The egg's got a mood and it's a 'he'?" George asked.

"Yes and yes. The egg is many hundreds of years old, but has been fully sentient for only a relatively short time. Its sex was obvious from the start due to the size of the egg." Harry paused as though listening. "Right now he's curious about you, but very much more anxious about the adult dragons."

George could indeed sense that the powerful life force hidden in the box was curious and concerned, but not frightened. "This egg is important to them, I take it."

"They want very much to destroy or capture it, while we must protect that from happening at all costs. This egg is our only hope to defeat the Dark One."

When Harry said the words 'Dark One', George could sense a shiver of excitement from the box. Excitement, not fear.

The wind suddenly picked up outside; George could hear it whooshing around the house, rattling windows and whipping tree branches into a frenzy. Distant lightning flashed in through iron-barred dormer windows, as thunder shook the house. Grog looked about anxiously, as though he sensed something much more threatening than simply a gusty summer thunderstorm.

Harry's jaw dropped and his eyes widened, while the trunk that held the egg suddenly seemed to come alive, shaking and rattling violently. George could sense an immense increase in its power level. The thing in the trunk was building up to do something!

"They come, and the elf wards fail," Harry announced, shouting to be heard above the gathering storm.

"Talk later; flee now," Grog shouted, "the Sisters be here!" With that the troll picked up the trunk under one arm and George under the other, and, crushing and kicking aside everything in his path as he went, he bulldozed through artifacts straight towards the nearest rear window. The troll punched through the steel barred window and surrounding walls as though they didn't exist, plunging outside wildly into open air and almost total darkness!

"Ahhhh," is all George had time to yell, as they fell twenty feet to the ground. Grog cushioned the fall well with his powerful legs, jarring George hardly at all. Then the plucky troll dashed into the forest without a pause, dodging around large trees and bushes and smashing through smaller ones, but taking care to protect George and the egg-box with his massive shoulders and arms.

George was getting his promised forest tour early, though from an awkward position cradled face-down on the vigorously shifting left forearm of a troll. Even in almost total darkness, he found that he could see his surroundings clearly. These were Earth trees and bushes, but still they glowed. It had to be a still further enhancement of his eyesight, he realized; even Earth objects were easy to see in the dark. He caught glimpses of Grog's club, sword and shield, and realized they were all of the Earth-universe also, though they were heavily elf-warded. The box with the egg in it was hardly visible to him at all, even as an Earth object. He could also see throughout the forest thin wisps of ward power whipping about in the wind.

Running a few steps behind them was a brightly glowing, human-like apparition. It took a few moments for George to realize that it had to be Harry, wearing elf made helmet and vest armor, and carrying elf forged shield, sword and spear. How the heavily burdened old man was keeping up with the hard-running troll George couldn't imagine.

A wind-whipped forest canopy blocked much of George's view of the sky but for brief, revealing glimpses. High above them lightning flashed, illuminating the undersides of grey clouds, while thunder and wind shook and buffeted them. What he could discern next caused a shiver of fear and excitement to course down his spine: silhouetted against the lightning-filled clouds, an impossibly vast, dark, winged shape was dropping down towards them!

"Hold here," George barely heard Harry shout. Grog stopped running and sat him down gently next to a sheltering tree trunk that was impossibly large, at least a dozen feet in diameter. Harry bent only inches over him. Astonishingly, he looked much younger, no more than forty years old, and much more muscular. Wielding ancient elf weapons, he looked much like a gladiator from ancient Roman times. "George, flee north towards the city, stay hidden in the crowds, and maybe you'll have a chance. We'll draw them off with the egg." Harry pointed north to guide George.

"I can stay and help," George protested.

"You haven't the powers yet to make any difference, son," said Harry. "I doubt any of us does."

"The dragon will find you two for sure, and the egg," reasoned George. "Let me take the egg, if it's weightless I can carry it."

"No," said Harry. "The box weighs over half a ton, you'd have to take the egg without it, and without the trunk to shield it, the egg would be found for sure. Grog and I will try to take it to Narma through the Portal, and the dragons will follow us. With luck, elves at the other end can help us evade the dragons. We'll double back when we can, but that could take weeks. In the meantime you're in charge here. Get in touch with Ranger Rick for help, but make no mention of the dragon egg to anyone, not even to Rick." He gave George a quick hug. "Good luck, boy."

"Run!" said Grog intensely, but as softly as he could, as he gently but firmly shoved George north.

George stumbled a few steps before turning to again protest, and found that both Harry, Grog, and the trunk were already gone and out of sight. Wind swirled about, strange ozone and ward laden air seeming not so much to travel in any one direction as to be thrashing about in multi-directional panic in a useless attempt to escape the area. He noted with amazement that the wind he felt didn't at all match up with the swirling pink ward magic; air and ward were swirling about in independent and sometimes even opposite directions. From overhead, an Earth shaking, deep rumbling sound grew. For a few moments George thought it was more thunder, but as it continued and intensified it became obvious that the ear-splitting sound was the sound of a monstrous creature: it was a dragon roaring!

George looked straight up and saw it descending rapidly towards him, revealed but poorly in the flickering light of scattered lightening, wings spread far wider than those of any airplane, holding aloft an impossibly huge body that clearly included long tail and neck, four legs with clawed feet, and a hideous reptilian head with glowing red eyes!

Terrified, George run recklessly despite the buffeting winds, hands held tight over his ears, as the dragon screamed again and again. He ran only a hundred meters more before the sound was so loud and the wind so strong he was knocked off of his feet. Lying on his back he looked up through thrashing foliage at the vast nightmarish black monster, hundreds of feet in length, suspended above the forest by huge wings that flapped ponderously. The horrible head swung in an arch at the end of a long thick neck, searching the ground with red shining eyes: eyes like those of the crow, but immense. Dark tendrils of power flowed from the dragon, effortlessly boiling away the thinning elfin protective ward.

Suddenly the red eyes fixed on something below it. With a roar the monstrous beast abruptly dropped towards the ground, not towards George, but towards someplace deeper in the forest. Towards the place where Harry and Grog had fled, George feared!

The Earth shook from the impact of the dragon slamming into it with all four feet, with a sound like a thousand claps of thunder. George would have been knocked down, had he still been standing. The monster stood up on two hind legs, putting most of it well above even the big trees and visible to George, though it faced away from him. It was insanely huge, preposterously out of scale compared to any Earth life-form. Huge spikes and plates ran from the top of its head to the tip of its clubbed tail. Huge bat-like wings reflexively twittered, and continued to drive the wind

"FIND IT, SISTER!" boomed a voice in George's head, loud enough to cause him to cry out in pain. It wasn't English, but he understood it perfectly. It had to be dragon thoughts, George realized, like those he had received during his earlier encounter with the crow but immeasurably louder. This was followed by a second impact to the Earth nearly as great as the first, shaking the ground, and George became aware for the first time of a second monstrous dragon that had landed on the far side of the first one. The second creature appeared to be identical to the first. The two behemoths faced each other, but their attentions were focused on something at ground level between them.

They both paused for several moments as they sucked in a monstrous quantity of air that then exploded from them as fiery red fire. The blast swept away the last remnants of the protective ward around them and turned the forest between the two dragons into a flaming hell!

Something flew up from the fire and at the far dragon, landing on its head, a tiny glowing figure that perched precariously on the creature's snout. It had to be Harry, George realized, in amazement, as it was carrying elf weapons and glowed brighter than the fire! The creature shook its huge head in annoyance, than screamed shrilly and pawed franticly at its face with a talon-armed forefoot. George heard the dragon scream again and again in his head, but he found that somehow now he was able to turn down the volume and avoid the worst of the pain.

When the clawed paw was withdrawn, George could see that one of its eyes was smashed and streaming great torrents of black blood, and the other seemed also to be injured. Harry had escaped the pawing and was clinging to one of the two large horns atop the creature's head. "IT'S THE ELF WARRIOR OF THE GREAT BATTLE!" screamed the dragon. "IT HAS DRAGON POWERS AS WELL AS ELF! I CAN FEEL THEM!"

"KILL IT! I CAN FEEL THE EGG IS NEAR; IT WILL NOT ESCAPE US THIS TIME!" replied the thoughts of the dragon nearest George. "BUT ALSO KEEP WATCH FOR THE TRAITOR THAT ESCAPED US EARLIER!" The nearest behemoth pounced forward, crushing burning forest under its four paws and massive body without apparent discomfort. It studied the forest burning around it intently, and soon pounced again and again, as it tore apart the burning forest with claw and tail, as though trying to crush evasive pray, as a cat might try to catch a mouse that fled and hid in grass. George could only assume that Grog was desperately dodging the plunging monster, though how even the sturdy troll could survive both the fire and the foot-stomping dragon was a mystery.

The far dragon screamed again in pain, drawing George's attention back to it. Its entire head was enveloped in a raging white fire that seemed to flow from the tiny figure perched on its horn. In blind rage the creature belched out immense green flames that swept the forest, wave after wave of it. The flame was much more intense than the red flame had been; trees it struck exploded and were gone almost instantly. But all the dragon's efforts were in vain, for still its entire head was covered in white elfin fire!

The green flame from the desperate far dragon swept blindly towards the near dragon, than washed over it; now it was the near dragon's turn to scream in pain! It seemed to be in so much distress that it couldn't even move away from the fiery blast. George was very thankful for that, since the massive body of the creature protected the forest behind it from the green flame, including himself. He was also thankful that he had mastered the ability to further reduce the volume of the telepathic dragon screams threatening to burst his head.

After suffering a few withering seconds in the green flame the near dragon responded in kind, blasting the far dragon with its own green flame, along with the tiny glowing figure atop its head. The dragon flame immediately extinguished the white flame and the small elf-glowing figure that had produced it.

"Harry!" George cried out, for surely his Uncle had been consumed!

When the fiery breath of both dragons at last ceased both dragons still stood, though badly singed, and the far one was apparently blind. As George watched, the far beast gave a great sigh and sank slowly to its knees.

"THE ELF WARRIOR THAT PLAGUED YOU IS DESTROYED, SISTER," said the near dragon. "HEAL THYSELF WHILE I FIND THE EGG. PRAY WE HAVE NOT DESTROYED IT, FOR THE DARK ONE WANTS TO DESTROY AND TAKE IT UNTO HIMSELF." The creature again lowered its great head low, as it pawed away at the still burning forest and soon paused when it found something of interest. "IT IS NOTHING BUT A DEAD TROLL, SISTER, AND BROKEN EGGSHELL. I SCRY NOTHING ELSE. ALL ELSE IS BURNED AWAY."

In response the wounded far dragon only moaned in pain.

George was so stricken he could hardly breathe. The elf warrior and troll that the dragon had spoken of as being dead were Harry and Grog, and the egg that they guarded had also been destroyed!

"GREETINGS, SISTERS," said a new dragon voice, from high above.

George was further dismayed to see yet a third black dragon dropping down from the sky towards the others. He was astonished when it landed square atop the dragon nearest to him, crushing it to the ground. The impact was enormous; the far dragon tumbled from its knees to its side from the impact and George was thrown several feet into the air, while several trees near him shook so violently that huge limbs sheared off, and several other trees collapsed entirely as their roots pulled loose from the trembling Earth.

The near dragon fared far worse; its wings and legs were crumpled in odd ways that suggested compound fractures. Yet it roared in rage and squirmed violently under the feet of the new dragon, twisting such that it could wrap its neck and tail around its attacker.

A terrible life and death struggle ensued: the writhing, rolling bodies of the two behemoths twisted around each other, biting and belching green flame at each another, renting and melting dragon flesh to a chorus of thunderous screams, while great smoldering forest trees and boulders were crushed and thrown far into the air. From the swirling black clouds above them lightning struck the struggling titans again and again, as though directed by the combatants. George couldn't tell if the lightening was providing energy to the dragons or if it was intended to hurt them, but the huge struggling beasts seemed to ignore it.

George couldn't decide which situation was more horrific; the first two dragons killing Harry and Grog, or three dragons fighting among themselves.

The teenager barely dodged a twenty-foot section of shattered, smoldering tree trunk that flew at and over him. Seconds later, as the spike covered club of a dragon tail tip came crashing down at him, he flung himself away and escaped the direct blow, but the impact to the ground sent him flying far into the air.

That's the last thing he remembered that made any sense.

"I CHOOSE YOU, SMALL ONE," said a voice in his head. "FEAR NOT!"

George had a strange dream, of himself flapping monstrous wings and flying high over mountain tops and forests, while roaring louder than thunder in celebration of life. He was aware of having a huge, scaled, reptilian body, complete with long, trailing tail. From his glimpses of his wings and tail, George could see that he was mostly white as purest snow and glowing with power, except for vibrant tinges of green.

Then there was nothing.

****

### CHAPTER 5

Lost Hero

"George? George, please wake up," insisted a very frightened female voice, speaking softly.

George hurt all over, especially his head, and it smelled like something awful was burning. He opened his eyes to find a very attractive but very worried looking girl bent over him. He struggled to remember her name. "Mary?" he finally asked, uncertainly.

"Thank God!" she said, almost whispering. "I thought you must be dead!"

Where were they? What was Mary talking about? It took a few seconds for him to start to put things together. When things finally began to register it must have shown on his face.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice again worried.

He slowly sat up and took inventory of himself and his surroundings. "I think so. Why are you whispering?"

"I think at least one of the dragons is alive but sleeping. I don't know yet about the other two." She pointed to somewhere behind him.

"Dragons?" he asked groggily, as he struggled slowly to his feet. It seemed to be very early morning. He and everything else in sight except Mary was soaking wet, apparently from rainfall that had now ceased, and his clothes were torn and covered in dark soot and ash. Smoke rose from the ravaged forest that was hard to distinguish from fog that had formed over the damp ground. In the air far above them the pink protective Elf ward was back in place, he noticed, but not at ground level. Barely visible through the surreal fog, smoke, and ward, three massive black hills poked high above the remnants of smoldering trees, hills with scales and jagged spikes and plates. The three gigantic dragons! They all lay still.

"One is alive, I know she is!" said Mary. "Maybe the others too."

"You shouldn't be here," George stated. Mary looked like a tiny and delicate flower against the background of monstrous devastation and nightmarish giant creatures.

"I was worried after last night. By the look of things I was right to worry."

"This is a very dangerous place."

"Yah think? Where is your Uncle?"

"I have to look for him; but you have to go home." He couldn't imagine how she could confront this scene so calmly. Most people would have either fainted or ran away screaming; that had certainly been his own reaction last night. "Are you alone?"

"I'm the only one in my family that gets up this early. It's still summer vacation. Johnny will sleep until noon."

"How could you, or anyone else for miles, sleep through last night's ruckus?"

"You may not have noticed, but there's some sort of barrier around this place, and another around our house. It's been that way for years, since long before we moved in, I suspect. Through the barrier, we didn't notice anything unusual. We didn't even get any rain."

So she knew about the ward barrier too. How? "Then why did you come here?"

"I felt anxious. I still do. I get feelings and ideas about things sometimes, and this was one of those times, in spades. So I got up early and came to help. Listen, I'm not going home now, so just deal with the fact that I'm here."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

"Or to learn any of your family secrets?"

"Sort of late to prevent much of that now," George admitted. "So OK, those are dragons and there are elves and magic involved and other weird things. Family secrets big time! And it has to do with saving the world from bad guys, and if you tell your brother or anyone else at all about this business, it could screw up everything really bad. Apocalypse bad, if it isn't that bad already. So you have to promise to keep all of this stuff secret. Get it?"

"I get it, not that I'm surprised. I've kept stuff about this place and myself secret for years. Now let's find Harry!"

"I saw him get blasted with green dragon fire, and the dragon that did it said he was destroyed. I think he's dead."

"No, I don't think so," said Mary.

"What?"

"I have a knack for knowing things, and I know he's not dead. Besides, if anyone could survive dragon fire or whatever it would be your Great Uncle Harry."

George hoped she was right, though he didn't know what she knew about Harry to make her think the old man could survive dragon fire. He didn't see how anything at all in the forest near the dragons could have survived the burning and smashing. Harry, Grog, and the egg were all gone, doubtlessly crushed and burned beyond recognition.

He scanned the area. He could pick out details of the destruction a thousand yards away, as though he had the eyes of an eagle. Nearby objects also appeared sharper. He picked up a broken twig and looked at it closely. In a few moments realized that he was looking at assemblage of cells, as though he were using a microscope.

In conjunction with his sight, his special senses were also enhanced. He could sense life all around him, and destruction. He was different from being a normal human, even more different than he had been yesterday. Some weird further transformation had happened to him again! What had happened?

"What's wrong?" Mary asked.

"Nothing," he said evasively.

They made their way towards the dragons. Most trees were smashed-to-bits flat or burned or both, and many were still smoldering, which didn't make walking easy. Mary, at least, was wearing hiking boots, jeans, and a long sleeved flannel shirt. George, with his already devastated sneakers, shorts, and tea shirt, should have been at a disadvantage in negotiating forest remnants in the chill of the morning. He found however, that despite the strain of last night he had strength and agility to easily work his way through the tangle of decimated branches, trunks, and roots. Also despite everything he didn't seem to be injured at all, and today when he scraped against some of the sharp forest debris he wasn't scratched or pained. The wet ash wasn't too bad, though in places it was runny enough to be messy, and they sank several inches into it. He moved fast. Mary impressed him greatly by keeping up with him.

The destroyed area had something nasty about it that didn't impede them physically, but still annoyed George. He had been getting used to the ward, a soothing, mist-like, comforting presence. Within the most thoroughly destroyed area the ward had been completely pushed away and replaced by a palatable tinge of Evil.

After half an hour of searching George was already beginning to feel that it was hopeless. They found no sign of Harry. A hundred people with construction equipment and search dogs would require weeks to do a proper search, George estimated. In the central battle zone everything was burned to cinders and ash, meters deep heaps of it covering tens of acres, much of it soaked by the rain to form a thick paste. Around the periphery of the battle site were the remains of thousands of broken and singed trees, most of them weighing many tons. The remains of Harry, Grog or the egg could be buried underneath any of the mess.

In the wetter places he and Mary sank to their knees in it and had to help pull each other along. However they didn't burn themselves. "Even with the rain, much of this stuff should be a lot hotter," Mary remarked.

She was right, George reflected. Even several inches of rain shouldn't have cooled everything so completely. This forest had been scorched by dragon fire! It had to be the work of the elf ward, he realized. Rain must have been only part of the cooling process; most of the cooling had to be by pure magic, like the magic that the elf table had used to cool his coke yesterday, but on a much, much greater scale.

The final and most formidable obstacles of all to their search for Harry lay stone-cold and motionless in the center of the burned-out zone: the titanic black bodies of three unconscious, reclining dragons. Each covered several acres. If Harry was underneath one of them he and Mary didn't stand a chance of finding the body. By unspoken agreement the two teenagers stayed clear of the behemoths, but their awesome presence couldn't be ignored.

"What are we going to do about them?" Mary asked George finally, in an excited whisper. "Now that we're closer, I know they are all alive. Resting and recovering, all three of them."

George could sense the same thing. "I know," he replied. It was crazy, but he could sense many things now. "When they wake up we're toast."

"Us and maybe a lot of folks. Don't forget your neighbors."

George nodded. The thought had been forming in his mind that all of this was totally beyond him, and that they should call the authorities and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe the Army could blow up the dragons before any of them woke up. Maybe rescue workers could find what remained of Harry. George figured that he was certainly going back to foster care anyway, whatever else happened.

"What's that?" Mary asked, pointing. Close to one of the dragons, something was moving. Though concerned about the dragon, the pair made their way towards an object sticking out of the ash. Strangely enough, though now motionless, it seemed to be slowly changing color from brown to red and back again.

"My God, it's Grog!" George exclaimed, when they were close enough to see that the object was a monstrous, human-like hand at the end of a singed, hairy forearm as big as a man. He got even more excited when he saw the troll's fingers move!

Soon he and Mary were hurriedly digging around the arm. "Good friend of Harry's, a forest troll, and a friend of the elves," he explained to the inquisitive Mary, as they both scooped and kicked ashes away from the giant arm.

"Great!" she remarked. "Elves and now a troll too! That explains who the big and little folks in your yard have been. I've wondered about that for years."

After digging through a meter of debris they uncovered the rest of Grog. Even though he was still totally coated in pasty ash and the singed remnants of long hair, it seemed obvious that he was horribly burned and broken. However, his huge chest rose and fell steadily, indicating that the sturdy troll was alive and breathing.

In answer to George calling his name Grog finally opened one swollen, blood soaked eye and focused it on his rescuers. "Save egg," he muttered softly, before the eye again closed. Aside from making sure he could breathe freely there was little they could immediately do for the troll. They resolved to later get him water and blankets.

George began to again dig away through the ashes, this time several feet away from the troll. "Dragon egg," he explained to Mary as she joined him. "The thing that the dragons were after."

"There are acres of ash and wreckage. How do you know where to dig?" she asked him, after a few minutes.

"I don't know how I know," he replied. "I just know it's here."

She accepted his explanation as though it made all the sense in the world, though he himself was puzzled. How did he know?

Under a meter of ash they uncovered odd bits of rock, several pounds of it. Cleaning off the worst of the ash, they discovered that the bits of rock were actually half melted, green crystal. Most pieces were too melted to judge their original form, but with a few, a curved, flattened shape with thickness of about an inch could be distinguished. The bits had an unworldly green glow, though different from other Narma objects, but they were still relatively dull and lifeless.

"It's the egg, and it's destroyed," George sadly concluded.

"But did it hatch first?" Mary asked. "This is just bits of shell. Where's the baby dragon?"

"You're right!" said George. "If it hadn't hatched, we should be finding one big melted egg with a roasted baby dragon inside, not simply a bunch of shell pieces. It must have hatched first!"

"Or, the dragon fire could have caused it to burst into pieces," said Mary. "Maybe the dragon part vaporized inside the shell and blew the shell up. Maybe soft parts were completely incinerated to ash and vapor, and only some bits of hard shell remain."

George shook his head. "No, it's alive all right. I don't know how I know that, but I do. Besides, I doubt that even baby dragons have all soft parts; we would have found something."

"Great! Do we dig for the dragon too? Where is it?"

"I have no idea," admitted George. "Harry told me that if a dragon doesn't want to be found, it is almost impossible to locate. Maybe he's so spooked that he's hiding. I don't know where. Harry and Grog were taking the egg to Narma; maybe that's where the baby dragon went. Maybe Harry and Grog stayed here to stop the big dragons from catching it before it could escape to Narma."

"Narma?"

"A planet in another universe where the elves and dragons and so forth come from. There's a Portal to Narma in these woods someplace, but I don't have time to explain it all now. We have to focus on finding Harry."

"Why not find him the way you found the egg?"

"What?"

"We've both been running around in this mess in a panic spinning our wheels as though we were ordinary human beings. I've been psychic practically all of my life, and evidently you are too. We should sit quietly for a few minutes and try to figure things out that way." Mary sat down on a burned out stump, breathed deeply, and closed her eyes, leaving George a bit flabbergasted. She was psychic? He was too?

However, in balance what she said all made sense and he didn't have any better ideas, so he also sat down, closed his eyes, and tried to relax, though he had no idea what to do next.

"EMPTY YOUR MIND FIRST, AND THEN FOCUS ON HARRY," said a voice in his head.

"MARY?" he thought in reply, resisting the temptation to shout or open his eyes.

"OF COURSE IT'S MARY. SEE HOW EASY THAT WAS? I KNEW YOU WERE TELEPATHIC! IT WORKS BETTER HERE AT HARRY'S, BECAUSE OF THE ELF WARDS."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL THIS?"

"I'VE BEEN TRYING FIGURE OUT THIS STUFF FOR YEARS. WE HAVE TO FIND HARRY. FOCUS NOW."

"RIGHT." He let his mind go blank, tuning out everything in his surroundings-sight, sound, touch, feelings. He couldn't not think, so he thought of himself- his inner core, who he was, within himself. Then he thought of Harry. He pictured him in his mind, thought of his voice and what he had told him. Most of all, there was a unique 'feel' to Harry, a texture that George's new senses had already shown him.

At first George sensed nothing. Then instinctually he mentally reached out of himself, in this direction and that. To his surprise he clearly sensed Grog and the dragons, particularly the nearest one. There were other, lesser beings also, including of course Mary, but nothing that matched up with Harry. Finally, to his left and more distant, he barely sensed something that somehow 'felt' like Harry.

He opened his eyes, stood, and turned in the direction he had sensed Harry.

Mary was already doing the same. She smiled when she saw the look of surprise on his face. "You're new at this whole thing," she remarked, nodding, "but learning very fast. Let's go."

She slogged off through the ash, followed closely by George. The ash already seemed to be less wet and mushy than earlier, and the teenagers sank only a few inches into it, such that they were able to make rapid progress, away from the house and dragons and deeper into the forest, and out of the area of destruction.

The boundary between destruction and undamaged forest was unexpectedly abrupt. In the space of a single footstep they passed from shattered, singed trees and shrubs into undamaged, lush, old-growth forest, complete with pink ward, singing birds and chattering squirrels. Impossibly massive oak, poplar, and tulip trees towered to more than seventy meters overhead.

At the narrow boundary between the damaged and undamaged areas there was a flurry of activity. George could see thick pink tendrils of elf ward magic that swirled and shimmered around shoots of growth that erupted from a blanket of countless insects and worms that were helping magic till and transform burned and shattered forest remains into soil. New trees were growing before their eyes, with many green shoots already poking several inches above the ash. The Evil 'taste' that had accompanied the devastated area was also being cleansed by the ward.

"Incredible!" said Mary, as she stopped to watch. "Instant forest! I have some tomatoes in my backyard I'd like this kind of help with!"

George continued on without a pause, for he could sense now that Harry was very near. When he saw a pair of legs slicking out from behind an enormous oak tree a short distance into the forest, he rushed ahead to confirm it was Harry. At first glance, he was enormously relieved to find that the old man's clothing was dirty but not burned away, and it covered a body that appeared to be surprisingly whole and well, though strangely thinner. Some form of magic must have protected him from most of the dragon flame. He still wore the golden elf body armor and helmet, and the sword and shield lay across his chest, but there was no sign of the spear.

George gasped in dismay when he saw Harry's face. The old man's face was impossibly gaunt and wrinkled, aged beyond mere old age until it was almost skeletal. Harry's body too had shrunk, leaving too-big cloths and armor that had at first given an impression of near-normal size, but now only served to measure how much he had shrunk.

"About time," Harry said weakly, in almost a whisper. His eyes followed George. Otherwise, he remained motionless.

"My God, Harry, what can I do?" George managed, as he knelt over the old man.

"No way for you to help me now," whispered the old man. "My time is past, George. I'm all used up. It's up to you and Mary now."

"Me?" Mary asked, as knelt to the other side of Harry.

"Don't even try to look surprised, girl," Harry whispered before returning his eyes to George. "Nephew, I'm sorry, but it's mostly up to you."

"You're him, aren't you," said Mary. "Mystery Man."

"Years ago I was," acknowledged Harry. The hint of a smile appeared for a moment.

George was stunned. There were still rumors of a superhero that decades ago fought against evil, and perhaps against true Evil. There was even an old Mystery Man comic book series and there were old movies. But nobody had seen the real Mystery Man for several decades. If he ever existed, he was dead now, most people assumed.

"You are the Chosen One, George, I can sense it," said Harry. "Your turn now."

"What?" George stammered.

"You have to work out what the Evil is and fight it! Study hard using the elf books and statues! Take my helmet, sword, shield and armor. Promise to carry on."

"That's crazy," George protested.

"Promise," insisted Harry. With a Herculean effort his withered right hand reached out and grasped that of George. The grip was so weak George could barely feel it.

"I promise," George answered, even as the old man's limp hand fell away.

"Bury me here," continued Harry. His words were slow and spoken so softly that he could barely be heard.

"But I need you," complained George. "You're all I've got! You can't die!"

Harry's eyes closed and he was still.

"No!" George cried out as tears streamed down his face. He was all alone in the world again after regaining a home and family only the day before! But he put that out of his mind for now. Harry was gone. He wiped his eyes. "He was a great man."

"More important, he was a good man," added Mary, as she wiped her own tears away. She stood up and moved behind George, to put a steadying hand on his shoulder. "And you aren't alone. I'm mixed up in this too. Even Harry said so."

George was too moved to reply, but he put his hand over hers and held it tightly. Although they had met only the day before, he felt incredibly close to her already, and he drew comfort and strength from her presence. "We have the living to look after," he said, releasing her and standing up. "Let's go to the house for troll supplies."

****

### CHAPTER 6

Jewel

Skirting the edge of destruction by staying in the forest, they quickly went to the house.

"It's lucky the house wasn't crushed or burned last night," Mary noted. Indeed, outside of a few shattered windows, the house was sound, except where Grog had smashed the gaping hole in the attic.

George merely nodded in agreement, though right now he didn't feel very lucky at all. The wards of the house must have helped to protect it, but what really saved it was the fact that Grog had carried the egg away from it.

When they got inside, Mary caught glimpses of parts of the house she had never seen before; rooms full of old books and statues and unnamable oddities. "Incredible," she said a few times, as George filled her arms with blankets and other items. The house was even more strange and mysterious than she had ever imagined, and it hummed with magic.

They made their way rapidly back to Grog, where with shovels they cleared away more ash around where he lay, and cleaned off the unconscious troll with brushes and towels. George was astonished to find that he was now strong enough to easily roll Grog over and move his massive limbs. "I think I could even muscle him back to the house if it weren't for the ash and other stuff in the way, and if I wasn't afraid of hurting him worse. As it is, we'll probably have to build a crude shelter over him where he lays to keep him dry and warm for now. But I still want to get him away from those dragons as soon as possible."

Mary worked on building a crude lean-to for Grog while George took care of Harry. He decided to immediately bury him near where he lay, though it didn't seem right to simply bury him that way. He must have had friends, even if they were mostly in another universe. It also briefly occurred to him that burying a man in his own backyard was probably somehow illegal. He had seen enough TV to know that police and doctors and maybe judges and lawyers were supposed to get involved, along with undertakers and insurance agents and who knows who else. He had found that out when his parents died. But that couldn't be allowed to happen with Harry, not with recovering dragons in the backyard and other secrets that still had to be kept.

He kept the helmet, armor and sword, but had to bury something of significance with Harry, so he put the glowing elfin shield and most of the dragon eggshell pieces in the grave with the sad, withered corpse, and then he and Mary filled the rest of the hole with rich forest soil.

It was Mary who tearfully said the most over the grave. She talked mostly about how good Harry had been to her and her family over the years.

"Now we need do something about the dragons," said George, when they had finished.

"I need to soon go home for lunch, or Johnny will come looking for me. I'll come back soon if I can figure out how to keep him away."

"I hope you do. I couldn't have gotten this far without you."

She smiled. "You're going to need more help than I can give you."

"Maybe I could get it from a wizard, like Harry's missing friend Jewel."

"Jewel? That's the dragon's name."

"What?"

"The first unconscious dragon I sensed. Her name is Jewel."

"And you know this how?"

Mary shrugged. "It's a gift."

George turned to regard the three mountainous mounds of singed reptilian flesh. They looked identical, nearly. "The near one, that's Jewel," he sensed.

"Correct," confirmed Mary. "See? You don't need me as much as you need to figure out your own capabilities."

"I am such a dunce! I should have recognized her at once! Somehow in the heat of the moment I assumed the third dragon was simply another bad dragon, come to fight over the egg. But it was the wizard crow Jewel, turned into a dragon."

"She's a dragon that was disguising herself as a crow," Mary corrected.

"Yes, of course. A dragon allied with Harry and the elves. Jewel saved our bacon last night, for certain. And she was quietly watching over me for the last three months too!"

"Then she must recover first, or we'll all be in trouble," said Mary.

"So then that's our next task, to try to make her better," said George.

"And to nurse Grog," Mary added.

"Of course," George agreed.

"Grog is a good guy, I can tell."

"He's a great guy, and he was Harry's best friend."

"OK, I'll get back when I can," Mary concluded, as she turned to go.

George caught one of her hands in his and gave it a friendly squeeze. "Thanks for everything Mary," he told her sincerely.

"No problem," she replied with a smile, as if this sort of business was routine for her. "See you soon."

Soon she walked out of sight, leaving George very alone with three titanic ailing dragons and an ailing troll. First he checked on Grog again. He found that Mary had him comfortably tucked under blankets. Holding the troll's huge head up, George tried to give him water, and was pleased when Grog reflexively gulped down more than a quart, but the troll remained unconscious.

George walked cautiously to the head-end of Jewel to think about how he could help her and was totally overwhelmed by her size. He was like an ant compared to her bulk; her head alone was big as a house. Obviously quarts of water and blankets and such were out of the question for Jewel. He shouted and tried to contact her telepathically. He even bruised his knuckles knocking on a scaly, closed eyelid. Nothing had any effect.

He quickly looked over the other two dragons and decided that they were in no better or worse shape than Jewel. All of them, however, were obviously recovering. He could actually see new scales forming and limbs straightening themselves out. He estimated that it would be a few days at most, but maybe only hours, before all three of them recovered.

If a bad dragon recovered first the game would be over. If they all recovered at once, it would be two dragons against one, but this time with no elf warrior, troll, or element of surprise to help Jewel. Their only hope was to revive Jewel first but he had no idea how to do it.

Help came in the form of a very groggy troll, who briefly regained consciousness while being fed cold chicken soup. "Elec-tri-ci-ty for Jewel," Grog managed, after George had told him their dilemma. Then the Troll lapsed again into unconsciousness.

"Of course!" George said, as he ran back to the house. If the dragons had fed on lightning; maybe man-made electric power could help them. Soon he had strung together all the power chords he could find and used Jewel to complete the circuit. The lights in the house dimmed, but nothing else seemed to happen. The teen figured that compared to the vast bulk of the dragon, the electricity being supplied was ridiculously tiny.

Late in the afternoon Mary returned, bringing a ham sandwich and milk that that George thankfully gulped down.

"Could you run a power cord to Jewel from your house?" George asked her earnestly. "I don't think Harry's whole house ever had more than a refrigerator and a few lights to power. The wiring must be a hundred years old."

"I doubt I could get away with that, but I think I have an even better idea," she answered. "We need to somehow use the power of the elf ward. If it can heal the forest it might work for a dragon too."

"Maybe," said George. "Harry had expected Jewel to accompany me into his yard when I first came here. That means that somehow Jewel is in tune with the ward, even if the other dragons aren't."

"I know it will work!" said Mary.

The general concept was brilliant. The healing pinkness of the ward was slowly working its way towards the dragons, regenerating forest as it went, but George estimated it could be days before it reached the dragons, and they didn't have days. What if some of the ward could be diverted to Jewel right away? Maybe it would heal her. But how could that be done?

"We could go to Narma and ask the elves," Mary suggested.

"I don't know how to do that, either, and I doubt we have the time."

"What about all of Harry's books and writings in the house?" Mary asked.

"I'm sure that if that stuff is written down it's written in the elf language," said George.

"I don't suppose you can read that."

"Not well enough; not yet," admitted George.

Mary shrugged. "Then we'll figure out how to move the ward ourselves." She led them to the forest edge where the ward was rebuilding the forest. For an hour they used every device they could think of to communicate with and beseech the ward to aid Jewel. As he had found the night before, George could direct the ward to some degree, but he could not get it to accelerate beyond slowly moving boundary formed by the new trees. They tried to capture magic in boxes and bottles and carry it to Jewel, but it disappeared at the boundary. They gestured and cursed. Nothing worked.

"OK, then," Mary said at last, "let's ask our experts. You take Grog and I'll take Jewel."

George had no luck with Grog, telepathic or otherwise. The troll was too busy healing himself, George sensed. He didn't think Mary would succeed in contacting Jewel either, as he had tried to do so himself unsuccessfully for much of the afternoon. Therefore he was surprised when she returned smiling.

"She says to have the Chosen One use an elf token of power, whatever that means. Didn't Harry say that you're the Chosen One?"

George's jaw dropped open. "Right, that's me, maybe."

"Great! So what is an elf token of power?"

"Maybe Harry's weapons." They were still near Harry's gravesite. George picked up the sword and examined it. The hilt and blade danced with shimmering elf runes and power. He walked to the border area where new trees were growing in earnest, and, feeling a bit silly, pointed the sword a particularly thick batch of ward-power and pronounced authoritatively: "Go help heal Jewel."

Misty ward power gathered and swirled, but wouldn't move beyond the boundary. He stuck the sword into wispy tendrils of power and repeated the command after announcing that he was the Chosen One. The ward power thickened at the boundary but would not move beyond it. Stumped, George sat down on the ground with the sword and watched the ward rebuild the forest. It was doing so along and within the boundary, but not beyond it, and doing it foot by foot, rather than skipping ahead to inner regions of decimation where Jewel lay. Maybe what was an inherent limitation of the ward. Maybe it couldn't heal the forest any other way. Maybe it couldn't skip past the destruction to reach Jewel; it had to gradually work its way through the destruction.

"Maybe you need to use the sword in another way," suggested Mary, as though she were reading his thoughts.

George walked to the edge of destruction with the sword and slowly trailed its cutting edge through the healing boundary and into the Evil tinged area of destruction made by the battle, and willed the ward to follow. To his amazement a thin line of ward power followed the path of the sword, inch by inch. Trees sprouted along the new ward line, which slowly widened and thickened on its own.

He pulled the tip of the sword further through the destruction, willing the ward to follow. He found that he had to go at a slow, steady pace, for when he tried to go too fast, the advancing ward stopped. Mary moved ahead of George, pushing aside tainted ash and debris, in order to speed the spreading of the ward.

The resulting progress was steady but slow. They continued to press on, hour after tedious hour, but by dusk they were tiring. The ward had traversed less than a third of the distance to Jewel, and the process slowed further when they reached thicker layers of ash. "Too bad the mountain can't come to Mohamed," Mary remarked, glancing towards the still distant mountainous dragon.

George stood and sheathed the sword. "Wait here and rest, I have an idea," he told Mary, before trotting off towards the dragon. He was back in half an hour, half carrying, half dragging something massive.

In the weaning light Mary finally identified what George was carrying: it was Grog. She couldn't believe it. A half-dozen weightlifters couldn't have carried the huge troll through the destruction. George was now wearing Harry's elf armor, she noticed, but he was still basically a fifteen year old kid, and Grog must have weighed much more than a ton.

"Umph," George grunted, as he lowered Grog gently onto the thin ward line. "That was a job and a half, but I'm much stronger today than I was even yesterday." He sat down next to the troll but he wasn't even breathing hard.

"I don't believe it," Mary exclaimed.

"I felt an energy boost from just the sword, so I figured more relics would give me even more strength. Then I figured if I could get Grog here quickly and gently enough, he'd have a better chance. Surprised myself when I found I could actually carry him without much trouble, even while pushing through ash and tree remains."

He stood up over the troll before kneeling and putting his hands on the unconscious troll's forehead. "VYVhhhhooooor, krust eees Tro," he pronounced loudly, before standing aside. The ward immediately thickened around Grog.

"What did you say?" Mary asked.

"I simply asked the ward to heal the troll."

"But that wasn't English!"

"You're kidding. What else would it be; English is all that I know!"

"Maybe it was elfish."

"How would that be possible?"

"It was elfish," muttered Grog weakly. With a loud grunt, the troll sat up and looked around. He was weak and groggy, but finally conscious and alert.

"Harry?" Grog asked.

"We buried his body near here."

The toll's head sank and he breathed a deep sigh. "Thought so. Harry be old for human. One last big fight be too much for him."

"Mary is helping me," George added.

Grog looked at Mary and smiled weakly. "Good. We long hope she someday help."

"Jewel is banged up and unconscious. We're going to get the ward to heal Jewel."

"Before the other two dragons wake up first," added Mary.

Grog's eyes went wide. "Yes; is good plan." His big brown eyes studied the thin line of sward power and emerging sapling trees that led from the forest to himself. With a mighty grunt he rolled himself away from the ward power.

"No," Mary protested. "You need to heal too."

"Me be fine soon, small one," he said weakly. "Trolls heal fast. Need all ward powers to help Jewel." With that the big troll lay back again, closed his eyes, and was soon asleep.

"I like him," Mary noted. "He's good people."

"Agreed," replied George. He drew out his sword and resumed his effort to extend the ward to Jewel.

This time, using power drawn from the elf armor, the ward was being extended many times faster. As fast as George could walk dragging the sword through the ash, the ward followed. Mary at first scrambled to stay ahead of him, using a small flashlight to help work around the biggest obstacles and pushing ash and small obstacles aside. But George advanced much too quickly for her to dig away ash. She quickly found that even trying to move obstacles such as logs or branches out of the way wasn't worth her effort. When George reached them, he easily tossed them aside with his free hand, or cut through them with the sword, without even losing a step.

In only fifteen minutes they reached Jewel. "Krest Vyvhor, eees Tro," George said, as the ward began to flow into the dragon's body. Than he stood back and watched. "It's a start. It's just a trickle now, but flow should continue to increase as the ward widens its narrow path to Jewel."

"What next?" asked Mary.

"I suppose you need get home again," George said, but he was smiling. "I'd rather you stayed but I don't see how this business can be kept from Johnny for very long."

"Me either," said a voice from the darkness. Johnny stepped into range of Mary's searching flashlight.

"You're supposed to still be out with Dad!" Mary protested.

"And you were supposed to be at Janet's house," Johnny countered. "Which you weren't. I had that figured from the start, of course. I hadn't figured on mass destruction and a sleeping Godzilla in the backyard though." He stepped closer to Jewel. "Is this thing for real?"

"Yes, and it's top secret," said Mary.

"The Government would pay a billion for this," said Johnny.

"The Government has already paid far more than that," said a man's voice from the darkness. A small, thin old man in a rumpled grey business suit stepped up to the teenagers. "I'm sort of the official Park Ranger for this forest. Call me Rick."

Ranger Rick. George had almost forgotten Harry telling him to seek help from Ranger Rick! "I'm George, and these are..." he began.

"Hush boy, I know who you all are. Known for years. I got you out of that blasted foster home and got Mary's family to move next door."

"OK, than how about telling us more about who you are?" asked Johnny.

"I'm the top Government official assigned to this situation for the last fifty years. Harry started calling me his park ranger as a little joke." He looked at George. "Why are you wearing his armor and where is Harry Simple?"

"Harry is dead," said George. "Mary and I buried him earlier today."

Rick's jaw dropped and for a moment he staggered, but quickly regained his composure. "Not good. Not any damn good at all. What about Grog?"

"He was hurt but he's getting better," said George.

"Who's Grog?" Johnny asked.

"Hush Johnny," admonished Rick. "No time for chit-chat. You don't want this whole area nuked, do you?"

Johnny was cowed at last, and seemed almost ready to cry. "Nuked? No sir," he said quietly.

"What exactly do you mean, nuked?" asked Mary.

"The Government may decide to contain this situation through tactical nuclear weapons. I'm here to sort out what's what and help decide."

"You fear the dragons," surmised George.

"Of course. The whole point of this project here is to protect Earth from dragons. I've worked with Harry for decades on this whole business." He pulled a flashlight from a suit pocket and shone it on Jewel. "Wow! They're as big and nasty looking as Harry told us! We have satellites in geosynchronous orbit watching this place 24/7, though usually they can't see through the damn ward. You can imagine the uproar at NORAD when they saw three giant monsters duking it out, breathing flame. If it hadn't been for standing orders to contact me first they would have had the Air Force or Army attack already. As it was, they still might have attacked, if the dragons hadn't beaten each other unconscious. Say, just how unconscious are they?"

"There's more than one?" asked Johnny, who was ignored.

"None of them are fully conscious, but we're working furiously to revive this one," said George.

"You're what?" Rick asked, in a shocked tone.

"In a nut-shell this one is the good dragon," said Mary. "The general idea is to revive it before the two bad dragons wake up and destroy Earth."

"Revive it on purpose? And the fate of the world depends on you three young pups doing that, and on you being right about this being a good dragon?"

"That about sums it up," said George.

"What about Grog?"

"He's resting now, but he helped by giving us advice earlier."

"Where is he? I think I better talk with him about all of this right away."

"I don't think I can allow that," George said firmly. "He needs to heal; right now he's sound asleep."

Rick's eyebrows raised. "So you think you have things in hand and under your control, is that it?"

"That's it," said George.

"You're in charge here now?" Rick asked.

"Correct," said George.

Rick regarded George critically. "Harry figured you eventually would be, assuming you took after your Mom."

"I do," said George.

"She was a real pistol as a teen, but I don't know about you."

"He's strong now," volunteered Mary. "I saw him carry Grog about half a mile."

Rick's eyebrows raised again. "Really? What about that rock there, could you lift that?" He pointed at a boulder near George that must have weighed several hundred pounds.

George stepped over to it, casually picked it up, and heaved it into the air. It flew out of sight and could be heard crashing to earth only after many seconds had passed.

"Well I'll be damned!" said Rick. "You're a Simple, all right!"

"Kee-ripes," Johnny muttered.

"To save us time, whatever deal you had with my Uncle is basically fine with me," George added, reaching out to shake hands with Rick.

"OK; deal, kid," said Rick. "But are you sure this dragon you're waking up is on our side?"

"Absolutely. Jewel saved us. She helped Harry fight off the other dragons. Grog agrees."

"The dragon is Jewel?" exclaimed Rick. "Jewel is supposed to be a wizard crow allied with Harry! Harry never said she was a dragon! I mean, defense against dragons is what most of this thing has been about for over half a century, and here you folks are aiding and abetting one! Can you understand the conceptual problem I'm having right about now, young man?"

"Perfectly," said George. "I suspect that they're strongest in their natural form, so when attacked by other dragons Jewel became a dragon again."

"I'll be damned!" said Rick. "Makes some sense, I guess. How long will they be unconscious?"

"Till tomorrow sometime, at the earliest," said George.

"You're certain?" Rick asked.

"Well, pretty certain," said Mary.

"OK, based on you gifted kids being pretty certain I'll go try to calm down the Government nuke folks, and get me some sleep. They dragged me away from an African safari vacation and flew me straight here. My first real vacation in twenty years, down the damn drain! I'll be back early tomorrow and we can exchange more info and haggle over details."

"Can you supply an electric generator?" asked George. "Grog said that electricity could help revive Jewel."

"I'll bring one first thing in the morning." He turned to face Johnny. "And you, young Johnny, need to cooperate one-hundred and ten percent, or you'll be in more trouble than you can possibly imagine. My file on you is over three inches thick already. All this stuff is USA Government Tip-Top Secret. That means no disclosure to anyone." He faced Mary. "Your file is thin and clean, and I trust you'll keep it that way, young lady. Besides, according to Harry, you may have an important role to play here in the future."

Mary smiled knowingly. "I figured as much. From what you said I gather that my family moving here eight years ago was no accident, was it?"

"Not really, and I should know," acknowledged Rick. "But I've said enough for one night. I want everyone to be back here by seven AM sharp. You two Williams kids need to skedaddle home now or we'll end up with even more Williams folks mixed up in this. And if that happens, I'll ship the lot of you to Tibet, or worse. No TV or internet or hot-dogs in Tibet. No cars, girls or football either, Johnny. Get it?"

"Yes sir," acknowledged Johnny. He numbly let Mary drag him by the arm towards home.

"Night, Mary," said George.

"Good night George; Mr. Rick," she replied. "See you in the morning."

Ranger Rick returned his attentions squarely towards George. "If you're wrong and any one of these dragons wakes up early this place will be nuked. Get it?"

"Got it."

"You better be right. We estimate over a hundred thousand human collateral casualties if we have to nuke this place. Much worse if the wing shifts and blows radiation into Chicago."

"I am right."

"Before I go, I'd like to visit your uncle, young man."

George led Rick to Harry's gravesite, passing the soundly resting troll on the way. Rick seemed very relieved to see that Grog was in one piece. He approached Harry's grave with reverence. Aside from loose earth strewn about, only a large boulder marked the site. There Ranger Rick collapsed to his knees and sobbed openly in despair. From working together for half a century they must have become very close friends, George realized. Rick probably knew Harry far better than he ever would.

After saying goodnight, George left Rick to grieve alone. He checked on Grog one more time before returning alone to a very quiet, very empty house.

George was exhausted but had trouble falling asleep. This was his first night in his new bed in his new home and already his new legal guardian was dead and buried in the backyard. Three monstrous dragons slept in the backyard, healing their wounds. At any moment they could wake, at which point nuclear weapons would probably obliterate this section of Illinois. It had been a very rough two days, and could get even worse.

He had an odd dream in which he sat upon the back of a monstrous white dragon that flew through the air high above the clouds. The creature was huge, much greater in size than Jewel and the others. He could sense its immense power, a power that extended also to himself. He wore no weapons, for nothing forged by man or elf was anywhere close to being strong as was he.

"THIS IS OUR FUTURE," said a voice.

"Who are you?" George asked.

The universe shook with laughter. "I AM YOU, AND YOU ARE ME, FOR YOU ARE MY CHOSEN. KNOW YOURSELF AND YOU WILL THAN KNOW ME. ONLY THEN WILL I COME TO YOU FULLY, FOR THEN YOU WILL BE READY.

"WE MUST TOGETHER GROW STRONGER AND GAIN KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM. A VERY SMALL PART OF MY STRENGTH I GAVE TO YOU ALREADY, THAT YOU MAY SURVIVE AND FLOURISH. YOU HAVE DONE WELL, BUT WE WILL FACE MORE DANGERS SOON, YOU AND I."

"What dangers?"

The dragon laughed again, than was gone.

****

### CHAPTER 7

Witch

In a small thatch hut in the North Elf Forests of Narma, Greble the Witch cursed aloud, causing nearby trees to droop, as some of their life force was suddenly sucked out from them. Nearly a full day had passed and there was still no sign of the Sisters. That meant that something Earth-side had somehow gone awry and foiled the plans of two adult dragons.

How was that possible? There should have been no force on Earth capable of stopping them, including the elves and the treacherous sister dragon Jewel.

Encountering Jewel at the triumphant funeral of Joan Simple had been quite a shock. If the dragon had sensed her, Greble's long quest for revenge against Joan would have probably ended in her own death. Fortunately, witches have ways of avoiding detection, even by dragons.

Getting her revenge on the human Joan Simple had already been tedious enough, as it had taken Greble almost two tens of Earth years to locate the Portal from Narma to Earth. Getting past the elves on the Narma side had been child's play, and getting past the troll and the aging human Elf Warrior on the Earth side had been even easier.

However emerging from the Earthly sanctuary of the Elf Warrior she didn't know how she would possibly find Joan Simple among the many thousands of thousands of humans she sensed. She knew nothing of human phone books or computer internets, or anything else about this strange world. She had heard that without aid of magic, humans were short-lived, and she feared that Joan may have already died without feeling Witch vengeance. Yet, her uncle the Elf Warrior still lived, as she sensed his strong presence within the house. So perhaps the wretched girl that had caused her such problems years ago also still lived, she had reasoned.

As she had stood uncertainly in front of the Simple House, a monster as large as an adult throg roared towards her. She prepared to dive back over the picket fence and into the thick growth beyond it, but suddenly realized that it was not a monster at all, but a lifeless wheeled coach that carried within it an ordinary male human. She sensed a sputtering fire deep within the couch, and a fantastically complex set of mechanisms that linked the power of the fire and actions of the couch to those of the human, who worked mechanical knobs and foot pedals to control it. Worst of all, most of the couch was made of magic resisting iron. Instead of fleeing she moved back a step and assumed a defensive stance. If this lifeless iron golem swerved to attack her she would slay the man within it instantly, severing his control of it.

However, the contrivance rolled to a stop only a few feet from her, though the hidden fire still roared deep within it. The man controlling it looked out at her, and smiling, spoke briefly to her. She didn't understand the specific words, but he could read lust in his thoughts. Good. She had assumed a gauss of a human female, one that was evidently attractive.

The man seemed disappointed at her lack of response, and resumed the tasking that had brought him to this place. He reached out of the large opening in the side of the cart to open a small box that stood upon a wooden pole, and placed inside it a small folded parchment. After one last leering look at her, he had the cart carry him away.

She watched the cart roll to another box on another pole not far away, where the man performed the same ritual disbursement of parchment. Then it moved yet further, to yet another box. Indeed, from where she stood she could see at least ten such boxes along the smooth, hard road, spaced along each side of it, and it appeared that the man in the cart was purposefully stopping at each of them. She also noted other iron contrivances at rest along the same road and off of it on short side-roads that led to large houses. She also saw several other humans. None seemed to be an immediate threat, nor did they threaten each other. They didn't even carry weapons and she sensed that they had no magic powers! The entire scene was eerily peaceful.

This was like an old-fashioned elf village, she realized, where they all felt that they were safe! They would be very easy prey for her to consume!

Curious about the parchment, she removed it from the nearby box. The box was iron, but she managed to open it and snatch out the parchment without hurting herself. Perhaps the boxes were built of iron to deter the sensing of the messages.

She tried to read the message as she held the envelope between her hands, but the message she held wasn't as potent as elf writing, though emotions swirled deep within it. Even after ripping it open she couldn't read the detailed gibberish, but she could sense that it was a plea for help with overtones of happiness and concern.

Most interesting of all was the identity of the person that had sent it. Greble sensed that it was from Joan Simple! Her prey lived!

Within hours she had persuaded a human to translate details from the letter, and help her track down the place of its origin. After murdering the human that had helped her find them, murdering the Simples had been almost too easy. Though the steel shell of the auto partly shielded her spell, she easily incapacitated them so that the man lost control of the carriage. Both survived the crash, allowing Greble to then slowly suck the life from each of them in turn, the man first of course, so that Joan could see him die in horrible pain, and know that it was she, Greble, that had done it.

"Your son is next," she told Joan, before the human lost consciousness forever.

But her son wasn't next. Greble had planned to kill the boy and the weakened old Knight at the funeral, but then the dragon appeared, disguised as a small black flying Earth creature, forcing her to flee. She could see that the dragon wasn't tainted Evil and therefore wasn't part of the Dark Horde.

It all fell into place. The missing egg was here on Earth; it had to be! Why else would a dragon be here on this obscure planet, disguised as an Earth creature? Also, the dragon had to be the long missing rogue Sister, Jewel.

But what could she possibly do with this valuable information? For more than two Earth months she fretted about how she could possibly use it without getting herself killed.

Then only two Earth weeks ago she discovered the Talisman: an ornate black ring of power that she had worn on her finger ever since she found it languishing in a deserted elfin library and museum near the Dark Forest. More accurately stated, the Talisman had found her, as it had actually called to her and led her to itself. Wearing the Talisman, Greble found that her powers more than doubled, and when she slept it brought on visions that often guided her actions. Sometimes it even spoke to her.

She didn't like dealing with the Dark One or his Dark Horde, but this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. She had information on the location of both the egg and the rogue dragon Jewel, the only entities in the Multiverse rumored to be a threat to the Dark One!

But it had to be handled delicately. She couldn't approach the Dark One directly; that would be totally suicidal, but urged on by the Talisman, she cautiously approached the two Sisters that flew with the Horde.

They might have incinerated her immediately but for the Witch's knowledge of their rogue sister, Jewel. They had searched for Jewel for centuries, when they weren't busy searching for the egg. Now Gribble claimed to have the answer to both mysteries. So a bargain was made, and the Sisters went to Earth to retrieve the greatest prizes imaginable: they would seize the egg and bring it back to Narma for the Dark One, and along the way they would also destroy their traitorous Sister dragon Jewel.

According to the Sister dragons Greble's prize was that she would be one of the few entities in the Multiverse that wouldn't be absorbed or destroyed by the Dark One. Plus, all elves and humans, when the Dark Wave got around to them, would be hers to personally consume. Surprisingly, despite their physical frailty, there were evidently billions of humans. They apparently bred fast. She could feast on them well for centuries before they were all consumed!

But Greble would have no prize if the Sisters failed. Her bargain was with the Sisters, and not with the Dark One directly. Everything depended on the Sisters gaining favor from the Dark One by giving Him the egg and passing some of their rewards to her. And now they were late in returning from Earth with the egg!

Above all, Greble feared what the Dark One would do to her if the Sisters failed and he learned of the egg and Jewel. As urged by her Talisman, she decided to again break one of the cardinal rules that had helped her survive for so many centuries: stay away from dragons! The Talisman prompted her to return to Earth to seek the questing Sisters and see if she could save the situation.

On the way to the North Elf Forest Portal on Narma she found herself to be unusually deadly; she sucked the life from everything in her path with wonderful efficiency! She couldn't wait to try out her enhanced deadly powers on Earth! While seeking to save the situation on Earth she would of course along the way feed and amuse herself by consuming thousands of humans.

****

### CHAPTER 8

Awakenings

The dragon's laugh of his dream gradually resolved into the annoying, familiar, harsh ring of George's old windup alarm clock. It was six AM, and dawn had arrived. Despite the hardships and heartache of the day before, George felt completely refreshed. He quickly dressed and ate some leftovers from the refrigerator before donning the elf armor and sword and going outside. Dragon dreams still echoed in his mind. What did they mean? He had a vague feeling that the baby dragon had survived, but the voice in his head seemed too powerful and mature to be that of a mere hatchling. Was it Jewel?

We went to the forest. He half hoped to find that yesterday had been part of the strange dream, but forest destruction centered by three gigantic unconscious dragons remained.

"Morning," said Mary. She stood next to Grog, opening a can of soup as the troll sat gulping down another one. At least a dozen empty cans lay next to the hairy troll, who was sitting up. "That's the last can," she said, as she handed him the newly opened can. "I couldn't carry any more."

Grog sucked it down in seconds. "MMMMM-GOOD," he thundered vigorously. "HI KID," he said in greeting to George. He stood up gingerly, than stretched and pounded his great hairy chest.

"How did you know what kind of food he would eat?" George asked Mary.

"Easy," said Mary. "Johnny and I have been bringing tons of that kind of soup to Harry for years."

"PLUS GROG EATS ALMOST ANYTHING," added Grog. "ME BE FOREST TROLL."

"And how do you feel?" asked George.

"MOST GOOD, EXCEPT HERE," he said, pointing to his chest. "HARRY IS GONE."

"He was my Great Uncle, but I hardly knew him. Could you tell me more about him and my mother?"

"YES, BUT NOT NOW. NOW WE MUST SEE DRAGONS."

Grog led the way to one of the enemy dragons first, where he inspected it from head to toe. "THIS ONE BE LEE, SISTER TO JEWEL. SHE BE OF THE DARK HORDE NOW, BE ENEMY." He placed an ear against the great beast's chest. "HER HEART BEAT STRONG. SHE MAYBE WAKE TODAY, AFTER SUN WARM HER. THEN WE ALL DIE."

"That doesn't sound good!" said Mary. "What about the other one?"

They were like ants inspecting these giants. It took fifteen minutes to even get to the other enemy dragon, and another ten minutes for Grog's inspection. "SHE BE ELENA, SISTER TO JEWEL AND LEE," Grog announced. "SHE WAKE MORE SOON THAN LEE. THEN WE ALL DIE."

George was beginning to think that maybe the Government nukes were a pretty good idea.

Finally, they went to Jewel, where Grog repeated his inspection. He was very glum after finishing. "NOT GOOD. JEWEL WAKE AFTER ELENA, MAYBE BEFORE LEE, MAYBE AFTER. WE ALL DIE SOON."

"What can we do?" Mary asked.

"MORE WARD, MORE ELECTRICITY, THAN MAYBE JEWEL WAKE FIRST," said the forest troll.

As if on cue, a large vehicle of some kind could be heard approaching, noisily pushing its way through bushes and wreckage. Grog and George climbed atop Jewel so they could better see it coming.

"It's Rick and Johnny in a big truck," George noted with relief, when it was still a hundred yards away. The enormous truck was a bright yellow ten-wheeler that vaguely resembled a super-sized fire truck.

"GOOD EYES, KID," Grog said silently. "YOU HAVE POWERS."

His physical powers were needed when the truck got bogged down in ash and cinders. Grog and George got behind the truck and pushed it the final fifty yards to Jewel's head. George felt stronger than ever.

Rick and Johnny climbed down from the cab, Johnny grinning ear to ear.

"Here is your electric generator, young man," Rick told George, as he rushed to Grog and exchanged a warm hug with the huge troll. "It's an airport auxiliary power unit, used to power aircraft on the ground when their engines are turned off. It uses a gasoline engine to power a generator."

"You know my brother Johnny," Mary said to the troll. "Johnny, this is Grog. The big thing we were always hearing in the bushes."

Johnny was at first reluctant to get close to Grog, but after Grog reached out with a monstrous paw and gently shook his hand, he warmed to the occasion. "Far out!" he declared, as he examined the massive troll.

Meanwhile George and Rick were already at the truck, unrolling thick power cables. Grog also soon helped, and in minutes the generator truck was pumping thousands of times more electric power into Jewel than the George's thin cable from the house was capable of doing.

George than went to the ward, and exalted it to heal Jewel faster. The ward responded, increasing in intensity such that he could see the ward surround the entire dragon like a cloak made of fog.

Grog was pleased, but Rick wasn't happy to hear of the Troll's earlier prognosis. If despite their efforts the wrong dragon woke first, he'd be forced to vaporize the whole neighborhood, themselves included. "Any way to slow Elena?" he asked.

"NO," said Grog. "IF WE DO SOMETHING, IT MAYBE WAKE HER SOONER. THAT WOULD BE VERY BAD."

"Then we bloody well better try to wake Jewel first," suggested Rick.

"MAYBE, BUT NOT SO EASY TO DECIDE WHEN. IF SHE WAKE TOO SOON FROM HEALING SLEEP, SHE HAVE NO DRAGON FIRE TO DESTROY OTHERS. THEN OTHERS WAKE WITH FIRE. THEN WE ALL DIE."

"Let me try to talk with her," said Mary.

Rick and Johnny both looked at her very strangely.

"You mean telepathically?" reasoned George.

"Certainly. I did it briefly yesterday, and she wasn't fully awake then either. She was groggy, but responded rationally."

That raised Grog's big hairy eyebrows. "YOU TALK TO JEWEL AS SHE SLEEP. BOTH YOU AND GEORGE BE AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. IS GOOD. MAYBE WE NOT DIE SO SOON."

"If waking them disrupts their healing," reasoned Johnny, "maybe we should wake the bad dragons."

"That's totally silly, Bro," answered Mary. "Like Grog says, maybe they've already healed enough to have green dragon fire. And if they aren't, they could still flatten all of us in a minute. Jewel has to both wake first and be ready to take on the other two using fire. It's the only way."

She and George attended to Jewel while Johnny and Rick kept an eye on Elena. Grog trotted back and forth between the dragons, trying to gage which was closer to reviving.

With her hands resting on Jewel's forehead and her eyes closed, Mary sat quietly as she attempted to communicate telepathically with the dragon. George stood some distance away, watching her. She was part of this business too, as much as he was. She had psychic capabilities, and had them for years. Somehow Harry and Rick had found that out and seen to it that her family moved next door. Why? What was her role supposed to be? Whatever Harry's intensions might have been, her help over the last day had been of huge value. Now she was at it yet again, holding her small delicate hands on the forehead of a monstrous creature that could crush her in an instant if it so much as shifted slightly in its sleep.

George sat down on a fire-blackened boulder, closed his own eyes, and let his mind explore his surroundings as he had done the day before. Almost immediately, someone else found him.

"SHE IS JEWEL'S CHOSEN ONE, AS YOU ARE TO BE MINE, LITTLE ONE, THAT IS HER ROLE," said the voice from his dreams! It was the hatchling dragon, George sensed!

"DO YOU READ MY THOUGHTS?" George thought in return.

"SOME OF THEM. I LEARN MUCH FROM YOU, BUT YOU HAVE NOT YET ACCEPTED ME."

"I don't understand," said George.

"I HAVE CHOSEN YOU BUT YOU NEED ALSO TO CHOOSE ME."

George thought about what Harry said and his mother wrote. He didn't see where he had any choice; it was his responsibility. "IF COURSE I CHOOSE YOU!"

George felt strange for a few moments, then he felt stronger.

"YOU HAVE MORE DRAGON POWERS NOW," said the juvenile dragon.

"I suspect that I will soon need them," said George. "Will Jewel recover soon?"

"THAT I CAN NOT SAY. I AM NOT YET READY TO CONTACT ANOTHER DRAGON, EVEN A FEMALE. I MUST FIRST GROW LARGER AND STRONGER."

"But Mary and I are ready to do that already? We are humans, you and Jewel are dragons."

"YOU ARE MUCH WEAKER THAN US IN STRENGTH OF THOUGHT, BUT YOU THINK MUCH LIKE US. EVEN EARLY IN LIFE, WE CAN EXCHANGE THOUGHTS WITH CHOSEN ONES. THEY ARE A GREAT AID TO OUR EARLY DEVELOPMENT SUCH THAT WE EMERGE FROM THE EGG WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPECIFIC WORLD TO WHICH WE WAKE."

"You use humans to help you learn things when you are young?"

"YES, THAT IS MUCH OF IT. YOU HAVE GENTLE THOUGHTS, AND IT IS NOT DANGEROUS TO EXCHANGE THOUGHTS WITH YOU. THERE IS MORE, BUT I HAVE YET TO LEARN ALL MYSELF."

"Harry taught you things."

"YES, AS DID YOUR MOTHER. BUT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE MUCH MORE CLEAR, AS YOU ARE MY CHOSEN. I WILL LEARN MUCH MORE FROM YOU, IN TIME."

"You said in our dream that we most both grow."

"YES. I MUST GATHER KNOWLEDGE, AND WE WILL GROW TOGETHER, LEARN TOGETHER, DRAGON AND CHOSEN. THAT IS THE WAY."

"Jewel is already grown. Why does she need Mary?"

"JEWEL WILL ALSO LEARN FROM HER CHOSEN ONE. THIS IS A STRANGE WORLD. THERE IS MUCH TO KNOW."

"Will Mary be alright? Jewel won't hurt her, will she?"

"NO. DO NOT WORRY THAT YOUR FRIEND IS CHOSEN. HER FATE IS THAT OF JEWEL, AS YOUR FATE IS TIED TO ME."

George was dumbfounded by it all. This 'Chosen One' business was serious! His fate was tied to that of a baby dragon? That's what this all came down to? He tried to think of a reply, or to think of more questions, but sensed that the dragon's presence had withdrawn.

"George, are you alright?" Mary asked.

George opened his eyes to see Mary standing next to him.

"I'm fine. Any luck?"

"Jewel is waking now."

George looked at the dragon just as its eyes opened. He and Mary backed away from the immense creature, but other than opening its eyes, it did not move.

"THE DRAGON ELENA WAKES," came Grog's distant shout. George and Mary turned to see Johnny, followed by Rick and Grog, running from the dragon Elena, who was already stretching wings and legs where it lay. The reptilian head lifted off the ground and turned red eyes with pupils the size of trash can lids towards them. Grog scooped up Rick than Johnny under his arms and tripled his speed, closing the gap in huge bounds as Elena slowly arose on four sturdy legs.

"Jewel isn't ready yet!" said Mary.

Indeed, Jewel started to move her appendages slightly, but still lay on her side, and seamed to be nowhere near righting herself.

"The Air Force SAC has seen the dragon move and has scrambled fighter-bombers," added Rick, who held some sort of radio in his hand when Grog sat him and Johnny down to join George and Mary. "The nukes were on their way."

"Get them to hold off," said George. "All of you head for cover."

"What are you doing?" asked Mary.

"You aren't ready to fight dragons, son," Rick said.

George was already gone, pulling the elf sword from its scabbard as he ran towards the Dragon Elena. It started out as swift running, but soon he found that he was bounding a hundred feet at a time, skimming over the burned out landscape as though gravity hardly held him, traveling faster than Grog had. George had expected something like this, for he felt the dragon and elf strength in himself, and had seen what Harry could do with it.

Elena pointed her head to the sky and roared, causing the air and Earth to tremble, and Johnny, Rick and Mary dropped to the ground in agony, with hands over ears in a futile attempt to block out the deafening sound. Outside the Simple property, people in the neighborhood paused in their yard work and other activities and looked towards the forested end of the cul-de-sac. They thought they heard thunder, muffled by perhaps ten or twenty miles of distance, but the sky was clear as far as they could see. Much earlier a few of them had noticed a big yellow truck drive to the end of the street and onto the Simple property, crashing through tangled growth, but the sound they heard now was too far away to be related to that. They went back to their summer activities.

George grimaced in pain from the sound but never lost a step. As he approached the dragon it drew in its breath deeply and rose up on its hind legs. It had to be the green flame that was coming next, George reasoned, super-hot flame that would incinerate him and his friends, maim Jewel and mark the beginning of the end for all of Earth!

Thousands of miles overhead, a 'spy' satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit captured the unlikely image of a massive dragon standing and taking several steps towards a prone dragon, and passed telemetry to two Air Force jet fighter-bombers that were flying towards the dragons. Each carried tactical nuclear weapons more potent than those that had been used against Japan in World War II. Human loss would be horrible, but the dragons would be destroyed and taught a lesson.

****

### CHAPTER 9

Sisters' Last Battle

George leapt up at the dragon Elena as high as he could while the beast was still taking in breath. For his last running step he managed to launch himself with both feet off a large boulder, which helped him gain at least fifty meters altitude above the ground before striking the creature, elf sword first, in its lower belly.

The sword punched through stronger than steel scale and into dragon-flesh nearly as tough, to the hilt, while at the same time George shouted something he didn't consciously understand. Blue flame blasted from the sword into the dragon, searing off several surrounding scales.

George thought to strike again, to slice deeper into the beast, but found himself hanging awkwardly with both hands holding onto the sword that was still buried in the dragon, without leverage to do anything but hang.

The dragon paused as if stung by a wasp and twisted its head down to see what had struck it. George could see its red eyes focus on him in rage as the creature's mouth opened, exposing rows of white, dagger-shaped teeth each bigger than men. A moment later red fire erupted from the cavernous maw and shot towards George.

The teenager was dismayed to find that it took all his strength to simply pull the sword out of the creature, because dragon's flesh was already reforming around the sword and its singed flesh was already growing new scales. Only moments before the red fire reached him George swung his legs up and pulled out the sword as he pushed away from the beast.

He landed far enough away from the dragon so that the main thrust of red fire missed him, but considerable red flame still enveloped him. To his relief, though it felt uncomfortably hot, it did not seem to damage him in any way. However, in moments, as the flame swept more directly towards him and away from the dragon, it changed in color to green. Even before it reached him, he could feel it burn his skin. Rapidly running towards the back of the dragon he again barely managed to avoid the green flame.

The red fire had been only to get him off her and far enough away to use the green fire without burning herself, George realized. The dragon was smart, probably centuries smart and a veteran of hundreds of battles similar to this one. Battles that it had all won.

George's only fighting experience had been in watching his uncle attack the head of one of these dragons, so next he leaped as high as he could onto the creature's tail with the intension of working his way up to the head. Atop the tail ran a row of thirty-foot spikes, as thick as tree trunks and as black as the thing's scales. As he dodged his way through them along the tail and onto the back, he caught glimpses of the beast's head bobbing about as the beast searched in vain for him.

He moved swiftly, but was hardly half way up the back among fifty-foot spikes when the beast declared: "I'LL KILL YOU LATER, ELF WARRIOR, AFTER I'VE FINISHED WITH SISTER."

Grog stopped running when he reached the house and gently put down the three humans he had been carrying. "HIDE IN HOUSE," he told them. "WARDS STRONGEST IN HOUSE."

"Did you hear Elena?" Mary said. "She's going after Jewel again. Jewel needs me."

"It won't matter," said Rick glumly. He was looking at a cell phone type device that he had pulled from his pocket.

"Why not?" Mary insisted.

"This place will be nuked within ten minutes."

"Can't you stop it?" Johnny asked. "They can't bomb a town! They'll kill thousands of people!"

Rick shook his head. The boy had no concept of how bad it would actually be. Hundreds of thousands of people could die. Or more. "Too late. They're following protocol set up over several decades."

"George might not last long enough to see the blast," Mary said.

The troll smiled grimly, big white teeth showing through dark hair. "GEORGE NEED ME, AND LIKE YOU HUMANS SAY, ME HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO." At that he went loping back towards the battle.

The dragon Elena was taking in another deep breath when she felt another stinging blow on her back. It had to be the elf warrior again. She had thought that she and her sister had killed the pest during the earlier battle. After she was through with Jewel she would destroy the warrior, house, forest, and the town and great city beyond it. Above all, she had to be certain that the egg was captured. She feared that it had been already destroyed. If so she would have to recover the broken shell and take it to the Dark One to plea for forgiveness.

First she had to put Jewel out of service for keeps. A shame really, that Jewel had betrayed the Dark One and her own Sisters. The three of them together could have won the Dark One's favor long ago. As it was, Jewel's betrayal had all but destroyed her sisters' chances to become part of the Dark One's elite inner circle. That would change with Jewel's death.

As Elena stepped even closer to her intended victim she was disturbed to see Jewel roll onto her stomach and position her legs to stand up. It shouldn't have been possible for Jewel to recover nearly as quickly as herself; her sister must have had help.

A crude wooden spear struck her neck hard enough to penetrate scales and sink several feet into flesh. Another superficial wound, but it startled her. If the elf warrior was on her back, where had the spear come from?

"ME GROG," said a voice in the language of the forest troll, coming from someplace on the ground in front of her. "YOU REMEMBER ME, UGLY ONE? I TAKE YOUR GOLD MAYBE FIFTY CYCLES PAST. MARAMA GOLD, IN THE MOUNTAINS OF IDERCRANTS."

She remembered, all right. Her entire horde of strongly warded gold had disappeared from her cave. She searched for it for three seasons in vain. Enraged, she blasted green fire in the general direction of the troll's mocking voice.

Grog, who had never really been to the mountains of Idercrants, but had certainly heard of the gold robbery, was still running full-tilt when the edge of the fiery blast singed his thick hide. Hot tempered, the Sisters were, and the crafty troll had taken advantage of that. He laughed, despite the pain.

Elena, realizing her mistake, redirected her fire, but only a hint of green flame remained to strike Jewel; enough to kill almost anything in the Multiverse, but only enough to enrage a dragon. She had wasted most of her green flame on a mere troll!

Urged on by weak but insistent human thoughts from the one called Mary, Jewel was fully standing and drawing breath to return fire. Fearfully Elena took flight, leaping into the air with wings working to gain purchase in the thin Earth air. George clung desperately to a spike on the creature's back, preparing to jump off, when Jewel's green-hot blast caught Elena with wings extended and underbelly exposed. Her attempt at escape had been too late, and had only made her a perfect target. Wings disintegrated, along with much of the bulky body. What remained of Elena crashed heavily to the ground near Jewel.

"REMOVE YOURSELF, ELF WARRIOR," Jewel commanded.

George, who had been shielded by the thickest part of Elena's body, leapt away from the smoldering remains. As he did, he saw Elena's head, still quite alive, twist and glare impotently at her sister. Her great jaws opened as though to return fire, but too much of the creature's body was gone, and she was no longer capable of supplying flame. Seconds later a second wall of green flame from Jewel disintegrated the head and most of the remaining dragon parts. Only glowing cinders remained. The dragon Elena was no more!

Hardly pausing, Jewel leapt into the air and glided towards the still unconscious dragon Lee. While still airborne, she let loose with a third blast of green flame that melted away Lee's head and neck.

The decapitated body shuddered and began thrashing about wildly as Jewel landed atop it, claws biting through black scale and into flesh, restraining the squirming mass. Than, to the horror of the human onlookers that had regrouped at the house, Jewel began eating her sister dragon, tearing great chunks of flesh from the body. After only a few great bites, Jewel stopped and lay down over the still twitching body, and the two were suddenly surrounded in a halo of green light.

George couldn't tell what was going on, the light was so bright, but Mary, with her eyes closed, spoke in a clear voice that didn't seem to be her own. "As in the beginning, so as it is now, I take you sister, unto me, as flesh of my flesh."

"JEWEL DESTROY BAD SISTER ELENA, BUT LEE SHE KEEP FOR HERSELF. JEWEL BE STRONGER NOW," explained Grog, who had joined the humans.

"I'll be damned. I think she's eating the second one because she cares for her," Rick reasoned.

"Something like that," Mary agreed, though her eyes remained closed.

"Three minutes to the nukes," mentioned Johnny, looking at his watch. "Too late to run. Better to wait here and be fried right off."

"Two and a half minutes," corrected Rick.

George glanced skyward. He couldn't see the approaching attack aircraft, but he could sense them on some level beyond sight. There were two of them, and he knew they would soon fire some sort of missiles, missiles that carried nuclear warheads. He relayed the images wordlessly to Mary, who wordlessly passed them on to Jewel.

Still the dragons glowed too brightly to look upon. What was happening?

"THIS BE UNCOMMON THING I THINK, EVEN BETWEEN DRAGONS," Grog noted, calmly.

"Under a minute now," noted Rick, looking skyward. "Nice knowing you folks."

Both George and Mary were otherwise occupied. George sensed the launch of a missile from each airplane, followed by extreme evasive maneuvers by both of them. He relayed the information in a nearly steady stream to Mary, who relayed it to Jewel.

"Thirty seconds," noted Rick.

The glowing abruptly ceased, revealing that Jewel stood alone. There was no sign at all of Lee. Somehow all of Lee had been absorbed into Jewel, who seemed to be much larger.

"She's beautiful," George noted, as he stared in awe at the black dragon.

Jewel lifted her head skyward and almost casually opened her great jaws as two massive fireballs erupted only a hundred meters above her. The fireballs grew for a moment, than rapidly dimmed, drained by dozens of streams of white-hot lightning that led from each fireball into the dragon's open mouth.

In seconds, other than echoing thunder, it was all over.

"Jewel basically says thanks for the meal, though she prefers regular lightning from storms to bombs," said Mary.

"I'll be damned," Rick muttered. "It sucked in all the energy released from two tactical nukes! Harry once told me that he didn't think that anyone could nuke a dragon, and he was right!"

"Silly humans! Dragons need not worry about puny human weapons," rumbled Grog.

Jewel turned her huge head to regard the humans quizzically. A red forked tongue at least ten meters long extended from her mouth, licking her lips. "She wants to know if there are more coming," explained Mary. "She's still hungry."

"I don't know," replied Rick, who started to fuss with his cell phone. "With a dragon still here, they might decide to attack again, just to be on the safe side."

"The two attack planes are still outbound, but each carries another bomb," George stated. "The pilots are considering what to do. They are a bit puzzled. The whole chain of command is. I think we might have a few minutes before they come back."

Suddenly Jewel leapt into the air and with a mighty flap of her wings, flew towards the humans. At the same time, she began to rapidly fade away.

Far overhead, the satellite confirmed that no dragons remained, and relayed that information to SAC headquarters and to the attack aircraft.

"Jewel remembered that she isn't supposed to use her dragon form on Earth unless necessary," explained Mary.

"Yes, I confirm it," Rick was saying into his cell phone, as he watched a common looking crow approach from where the dragon had disappeared. "No more bogies. Situation back to normal, pretty much. Stand down to status amber." He paused a moment to listen. "No sir, absolutely not. Do one fly over if you must, but send no ground forces. That would break treaties with you-know-who. The detonations were absorbed by a bogy, the friendly bogy that disposed of the two other enemy bogies. You'll have my full eye witness report within the hour. Over and out."

"Caw, caw, caw," cried Jewel, as she approached. She landed on a holly tree branch a few feet above their heads. Except for sparkling red eyes, she looked much like an ordinary crow, rather than a super-powered alien being that had just done away with two opposing super beings and a couple of tactical nuclear blasts. Twin jet fighter-bombers flew by at low altitude, but the sound of them was muffled by the ward, and the crow appeared to take no notice of them.

"The United States Government officially thanks you for your efforts, Jewel," Rick stated. "They do not understand what happened, of course, but they see good results."

"They will not understand," said the crow, in a squawky crow voice. "I would speak now with the girl and boy Chosen Ones alone."

"As you wish, mighty one," said Grog, and he ushered Rick and Johnny away and towards the house.

The crow regarded George. "YOU HAVE DONE WELL, YOUNG GEORGE," said the crow, with the soundless force of dragon-thought. "I WAS ATTACKED WHILE YOU JOURNEYED HERE ON THE TRAIN, AND NEARLY DID NOT ELUDE BEING DESTROYED BY MY TWO SISTERS. YET YOU SURVIVED, AND I ASSUME YOUR DRAGON PARTNER ALSO LIVES, AS YOU EXHIBIT DRAGON POWERS. THIS IS A WONDERFUL THING THAT MEANS MORE TO ME AND TO OUR WORLDS THAN YOU CAN YET IMAGINE. BUT I DO NOT SENSE HARRY SIMPLE. HE IS DEAD?"

"He is dead," confirmed George.

The crow nodded its head solemnly, human-like. "AGAIN HE HELPED SAVE YOUR WORLD AND MINE IN ONE LAST BATTLE. HUMANS ARE SHORT LIVED AND FRAGILE, BUT SOME SPECIAL ONES GIVE GREATLY OF THEMSELVES. ALWAYS IT HAS BEEN SO. HARRY WILL BE MISSED BOTH IN THIS WORLD AND IN OTHERS."

"What do you want of Mary?" George asked.

"WHAT ANY DRAGON WANTS OF THEIR CHOSEN. THOUGH I AM FULL GROWN AND NEVER HAD A CHOSEN, THERE ARE STILL ADVANTAGES TO HAVING A CHOSEN HUMAN PARTNER, IF THEY ARE SKILLED LIKE MARY. SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES WILL ONLY BECOME CLEAR TO US OVER TIME. I JUDGE MARY'S SKILLS AND CHARACTER TO BE ADEQUATE, AND I AM PLEASED WITH WHAT SHE HAS ALREADY DONE."

"It's alright, George," assured Mary.

"But you're in danger!" George protested.

"SO ARE WE ALL, IN THIS OR ANY WORLD," said the dragon. "THROUGH YOUR HELP, THE DANGER MAY BE MADE YET LESS. I HAVE CHOSEN YOU MARY, BUT YOU MUST IN TURN CHOSE ME. THE FINAL CHOICE MUST BE MADE BY YOU."

"I always wanted a big sister," Mary said, without pause. "And I want to do something with my life that matters. I choose you in return, Jewel."

"THEN IT IS SO," said Jewel.

Mary felt a sudden dizziness, followed by the realization that she was now energized by a force that though dragon-like was hers to control.

"Did your sister dragons kill my parents?" George asked.

"THIS IS ALSO WHY I WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU, YOUNG ONE. NO, IT WAS NOT A DRAGON. YOUR PARENTS' BODIES SMELLED OF NARMA WITCH. A WITCH KILLED THEM; THAT MUCH I HAD ALREADY TOLD HARRY. BUT IT IS ALSO CLEAR THAT THE WITCH LEARNED EITHER OF ME OR OF THE EGG, AND RETURNED TO NARMA TO FETCH MY SISTERS. THAT CAN BE THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THEM COMING TO EARTH."

"A witch? An evil human or elf with powers?"

"NO. SOME OTHER RACE, OR A ONE-OF-A-KIND PARTIAL ELEMENTAL, THOUGH FEMALE AND LINKED TO EVIL. I DID NOT WISH THE END OF MY SISTERS IN THIS WAY. I WILL FIND THE WITCH AND SHE WILL PAY DEARLY, SO YOU NEED NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH REVENGE, SMALL ONE, FOR I WILL SEEK IT FOR BOTH OF US. YOUR DUTY NOW IS TO YOUR DRAGON AND TO THE SURVIVAL OF EARTH AND NARMA. YOUR PATH IS CLEAR, AS HAS BEEN LONG FORETOLD."

"And yours?" George asked.

"I WILL SEEK THE WITCH IN NARMA, WHERE LOGIC DICTATES SHE SHOULD HAVE ALREADY FLED. IN ADDITION TO THE RECKONING TO ME AND TO YOU THAT IS DUE, WORD OF ME OR OF THE EGG BEING HERE CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO SPREAD TO THE DARK ONE OR HIS HORDE, OR WE ARE ALL DOOMED."

"What of me?" Mary asked. "What of us?"

"I DO NOT YET NEED YOUR HELP IN NARMA, MY CHOSEN ONE. YOUR KNOWLEDGE IS OF EARTH, NOT NARMA. FOR NOW I ASK THAT YOU STAY HERE AND PROVIDE WHAT AID YOU MAY, WITH THE POWERS I GAVE YOU AND WITH YOUR OWN. ABOVE ALL KEEP THE HATCHLING SAFE AND A SECRET AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. I WILL RETURN AS SOON AS I MAY."

The crow regarded George critically. "YOUR UNCLE WOULD BE PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE HERE. WERE THEY TO KNOW OF THESE EVENTS IN NARMA, THERE WOULD BE REJOICING OF MANY. WHERE YOUR OWN FOLK TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND, YOU WOULD BE HONORED AS A GREAT HERO. BUT THE HATCHING MUST REMAIN SECRET FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN, YOUNGLING, MUCH TO GROW, AS DOES YOUR DRAGON, BEFORE YOU CAN TOGETHER FACE THE DARK ONE OR HIS HORDE. KNOW YOURSELF, AND YOUR DRAGON. LISTEN TO THE TROLL, YOUNG HUMANS, AND TRUST FULLY NO OTHER. BE CAUTIOUS AND DO NOT UNDULY DRAW ATTENTION TO YOURSELF OR YOUR DRAGON TO THOSE OF NARMA IN PARTICULAR, FOR YOU ARE YOUNG AND VULNERABLE, AND THE FATE OF ALL DEPENDS UPON YOU AND HIM."

With that, the crow again took wing, flying rapidly towards the deep forest beyond what had been destroyed, towards the gate to Narma. As they all watched, a gray, translucent, dragon shape briefly appeared, lifted its head to the skies and roared, causing a sound like a dozen tornadoes to echo among the clouds. The dragon vanished.

So ended the first Earthly battles against the Black Horde.

That night, George thought about his part in everything. He was still scared, but had no more doubts about what he must do. He would go after the Witch that killed his parents. When he finely slept he again dreamed of being the White Dragon.

****

### CHAPTER 10

Rangers Rick and Mike

The day after the battle, Rick interviewed George and Grog on what had happened and where things stood. George found that he already knew more about what was really happening than did Rick.

"So Jewel was really a dragon?" Rick asked in astonishment.

Even after all that had happened Rick still had doubts. "Looks that way," George agreed. "Of course on Earth usually she's a crow. But she had to become a dragon to fight the other dragons."

"And personally I'm alright with that part. But what gets me in hot water with my bosses is that this whole project was supposed to protect Earth from dragons and other nasty folk, for which we established our Treaty with the elves. Now it seems that not all dragons are bad."

"Looks that way. But that's a good thing, right? Otherwise we'd all be toast."

"Yes, but we weren't prepared for the contingency," said Rick. "We detonated two nuclear weapons. That's upsetting to a lot of folks."

"Me included," said George.

"The dragon being here was a violation of the Treaty."

"In any case, Jewel saved the damn planet," George pointed out. "We won!"

"And that's a good thing, son, though many in the Government dispute our view of events. My point is, I have to recommend tactics to DoD for various contingencies based on my understanding of the situation, which evidently is not very complete. For example, I still don't know exactly what the ultimate weapon for use against the dragons is, even though we've been guarding it for many years."

George was astonished. All these years and Rick never known about the egg! "It's safe here with me. I guess Harry felt you didn't need to know exactly what it was, so I suppose neither do I. Sorry!"

"I need to know more," Rick insisted. "We can't be blind-sided this way!"

"Join the club," said George. " I've got a lot to learn myself."

"I wish there were time, George but the bottom line is this: I'm out of time." The old man hung his head.

"What?" George responded. "What do you mean?"

"I'm being replaced."

"Replaced? Why?" Mary asked. "Didn't you just help to save the Earth?"

"A lot of reasons. The department has been trying to retire me for years simply because of my age. There's a new generation of management that doesn't remember Mystery Man or how things got started, and they think this whole Narma and dragon thing is a lot of hokum. My management is pretty fed up with me and my project. Now with the dragons and the nukes and everything, they're more confused than ever, and feel it's at last time for a change. I suspect they want this place all under their direct control, whatever it is."

"That's crazy."

"Humans not wise," added Grog with voice and thought, who had been quietly listening.

"What about the Treaty?" George asked Rick. "Tell me about it."

"Treaty of humans with elves," added the troll.

"Even with Harry and me gone the Treaty should help stabilize things a bit," said Rick, "but I suspect the Government will want to rethink everything, including the Treaty. I brought you a copy of it, in case you have trouble finding Harry's copy." He pulled several sheets of paper from a pocket and handed it to George.

"Not wise to make big changes," stated the troll. "Elves will not be happy. Elves need to approve any Treaty changes."

"That's what I told the Government," said Rick. "I'll try to still be around for a week or two to break in my replacement, but that's about all, I expect. I'm long overdue for retirement. My bosses may have other ideas about me being around for even only a couple of weeks."

"I'll do whatever I can to keep you around as long as I can," George said.

George and Grog helped Rick get the power truck out to the road, through rapidly recovering forest that would be fully restored within days. Rick gave a little wave goodbye as he drove away.

Thanks to Ranger Rick, conventional complications that otherwise might have arisen from the death of Harry Simple were avoided. Over the next few days there were no inquests, investigations, or funerals since officially, Harry hadn't died. Utility bills, it turns out, didn't exist anyway, nor did property taxes. These were already taken care of by the Government. George also received cash weekly in the mail from Rick for day to day expenses.

Meanwhile George and Mary studied the Treaty. It was written in obscure legalize, but Mary seemed to understand it. "There isn't really that much to it." She concluded. "It says that this house and grounds are a foreign embassy, with Harry the elf ambassador. There are some generalities about cooperation against a common threat to Earth and Narma that includes dragons, and some specifics about the Feds leaving the forest and the house alone except for a single representative that has limited visitation rights, and it talks about continuing financial compensation. That's about it; it's all a little vague."

"I don't like it," said George. "Further details have been based on the personal relationship between Harry and Rick, and Harry is gone, and Rick is soon gone."

In the meantime, George learned more from Grog. The egg was the last known male dragon egg in existence, as the Dark One had been destroying rival male dragons and their eggs for many centuries. Harry and the elves found the last egg and brought it to Earth for safe keeping, hoping to hatch a rival that could stand up to the Dark One. There was resulting trouble with the Horde and other Narma bad players that George's mother also helped resolve, at least temporarily.

Certain humans were particularly adept at communicating with and stimulating the birth of baby dragons. Several thousand humans lived on Narma. They had for thousands of years enjoyed a special status by being companions to dragons. That all changed when the Evil One took power and all but wiped out humans on Narma. That is why elves rediscovered how to travel to Earth and why they solicited Harry to help them seek the last male egg. For many centuries elves had nurtured a legend of a human that would come and find a male egg. A young relative of that hero would hatch it, and together with the young male dragon defeat the Evil One.

As powerful as female dragons were, male dragons were many times more powerful. Only another male would have a chance against the Evil One.

George's mother had helped defeat members of the Evil Horde that sought the egg, using stronger psychic capabilities than even Harry had. Therefore George's birth very much interested Harry and the elves.

For George it all fit together now, but the elf legends seemed more like wishful thinking than anything else. The Evil Dark One was a dragon of unimaginable power. It had defeated all enemies for over a thousand years, including many other male dragons, and absorbed the strength of many dragons and other creatures of power. How could a young human and a baby dragon ever hope to destroy such a creature? George felt inadequate to the task. In human terms he might be strong, but compared with even a female dragon his powers were of little consequence.

He suspected the same was true of his dragon. It had to be no more than about four feet long. What could it do against the Dark One, a monster that was much more powerful than Jewel?

George tried several times a day to contact the hatchling telepathically to no avail. It could be somewhere in the house or forest. It could also be half way around the world or in Narma, but George didn't think so. Somehow he knew his partner dragon was not more than a few miles away. Also, he dreamed nightly of either being a dragon or being with a dragon.

While exercising his emerging telepathic skills George began to read thoughts that hadn't been intended to be sent. It happened with Johnny first and was confusing, as Johnny wasn't even telepathic, and his thoughts were all over the place, though many of them were about girls. This was the 'mind reading' that Harry had mentioned. It was very annoying, and he had to quickly learn how to block himself from doing it. Whenever he encountered other people he practiced reading/not reading their minds, including both their current thoughts and memories.

It didn't work for Mary. He couldn't read her thoughts but she could clearly tell when he was trying to and didn't like it. "I can appreciate that you have to learn how to use your skills but practice mind reading on Johnny and Rick, not me," she told him.

"Mostly I'm learning how to not read minds," said George.

"Exactly!" said Mary. "That's one of the hard things about it, and you need to learn that when you're in a crowd like in school or it will drive you crazy. But you need to also respect the privacy of people, and you also need to learn how to block your own thoughts."

"I hadn't even thought of that," said George.

"Well you do rather blazingly broadcast your own thoughts you know," she informed him. "Like right now you're thinking that I'm really cute and you're becoming very concerned that I may be upset with you."

"Holly cannoli!" George said and thought. "Am I that transparent?"

Mary laughed. "Don't be overly upset, George, people think a lot of things, much of it driven by hormones and fears. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You just need some practice. And yes, of course I'll help you."

They spend hours practicing, until George could adeptly consciously control his telepathy, both input and output.

"With practice you'll do it automatically, said Mary. And by the way I think you're cute too, in case you were wondering."

Of course he was. They practiced telepathic skills with each other for several days, until George felt much more confident and comfortable.

One morning George was surprised to wake with a large, ornate ring on his right index finger. It was made of a hard, pure white, metallic material that he couldn't identify, and shaped like a serpentine dragon that curled so snugly around his finger that he couldn't remove it. As the days passed he continued to be confounded by the dragon ring, which sometimes was on his finger and sometimes was not; its presence or absence on his finger was apparently completely out of his control.

Meanwhile the outside world also moved along and demanded attention. The start of school was scheduled for the next week. The day before classes began, George, Mary, and Johnny were out by the street, sitting on the curb, talking about classes they would take, when a big black limousine pulled up next to them. Four big strange men in black suits got out and confronted the teenagers.

One stepped up to George, flashed some sort of badge at him, and extended his hand. "I'm Mike, Rick's replacement." He was in his mid-thirties and the size of a pro football player - a defensive lineman maybe.

George shook the man's big hand, taking care not to crush it.

"Let's all go to the house and talk," Mike said.

"Only you," countered George. "Your three friends aren't allowed."

"I make the rules now, kid," Mike said. The three other men took Mary and Johnny by the shoulders and pushed them roughly towards the gate.

"Let my friends go," George demanded, as Mike put his hands on his shoulders and attempted to turn him around. Mike couldn't budge him an inch. George clutched Mike's wrists and held the big man motionless. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but you just got here and already you are threatening to break the Treaty. Let my friends go and you and I will talk."

"Rick said you were strong, kid, but we're the law. Somehow Rick pulled the wool over a lot of eyes for decades, scamming money, and now we're going to prove it. We have a warrant to search the house and grounds and to arrest your uncle."

"That's totally crazy," countered Mary. "The Treaty prevents anything like that. The house is foreign soil; it's a foreign embassy. Warrants simply don't count."

"The so-called Treaty is based on fraud and invalid," Mike said. "You people have been scamming the Government for decades and that stops today. Take them all to the car and hold them there while we do the search," he ordered his agents.

George let Mike and one of the other men lead him to the car. He let them open a back door. At that point he shrugged off their grip, grabbed the wrist of each man, and tossed them into the backseat. He did it as gently as he could, though there were grunts of pain from both of them. A third man let go of Johnny and tried to tackle George, but the young Chosen easily tossed him into the back seat with the other two. He closed the back door, then walked to the front of the car, where he casually lifted the car by the front bumper and turned it around, such that it was pointed towards straight down the street towards the cul-de-sac exit.

The fourth man still held Mary by the shoulders, but he looked terrified as George approached him. He suddenly reached under his jacket and pulled out a handgun.

George was a blur of motion that ended with him standing in front of the man with the gun in his own hands. He made a show of casually bending the handgun's barrel into a twisted U-shape before handing it back to the man.

"Get into the front seat and drive away," commanded George. "Next time Mike, come back with only Rick," he added, as the man nervously climbed into the driver's seat. "Better yet, don't you come back at all. I don't think that you're suitable as a diplomat. You guys need to pay attention to the Treaty."

"I don't have the car keys," said the driver, rather meekly.

George reached in and touched the steering wheel and the car engine roared to life. It drove away rapidly, as Johnny hooted and laughed.

But George and Mary exchanged sober worried looks.

"At least their words matched their thoughts; they weren't being deceitful," Mary noted.

"You're always looking for the good in people Sis," said Johnny. "Yes, those were genuine ass-holes."

"I hope I wasn't too pushy with those agents," George said.

"Wasn't much choice though," Mary said, shrugging. "I was tempted to do what you did but decided not to show them that I have some powers myself. We're lucky my Dad didn't see or he would have freaked. We're also lucky almost everyone else in the neighborhood is at work. How did you start their car?"

"I don't know" said George. "I just somehow knew that I could, so I did it."

"Shocking," Mary quipped.

"That was so lame!" said Johnny. "What they did, I mean."

"You're right Bro," agreed Mary. "But I suspect it's only the beginning."

As if on cue, three big men in jungle camouflage outfits came tumbling out of the front yard and onto the street.

"And stay out," said a loud troll voice.

The three men gathered their feet and wits as a collection of guns, radios, and other equipment crash landed around them. All of it was crushed and twisted.

"Go away, and please take your trash with you," admonished Johnny. "Trespassers will not be tolerated."

Following a head-nod by one of the men, they all picked up what was left of their gear and walked towards the cul-de-sac exit, without ever saying a word, but with frequent looks back towards the front yard to assure themselves that they weren't being followed by the troll.

"Good riddance," remarked Johnny.

"What was all that ruckus?" asked Trent Williams, as he emerged from his house and crossed the front yard to approach the teens.

"Nothing much, Dad," said Johnny.

"Salesmen, I guess," added George.

"Well, Harry sure took care of them!" Mr. Williams said, as he watched the three men reach the far end of the cul-de-sac and pile into a waiting car. "I heard a car drive away fast, that's what got my attention. It looked like a big black limo."

"That's right," said Mary. "Harry told off their driver first, then went after the salesmen. He sure doesn't like salesmen!"

"I guess not," Mr. Williams agreed. "You guys coming home for lunch?"

"In a couple hours, Dad," said Mary.

"Good. You come too, George, if you want. I'll order extra pizza and we'll stuff you silly."

"Thanks," agreed George. "I'd love to."

The teens and their troll friend together retired to the Simple House to talk. "I don't like it," began George. "Rick didn't even trust this guy Mike enough to even tell him that Harry is dead. They tried to force themselves into the house and push us around. I wouldn't be surprised if they arrest us when we start school tomorrow."

"This is just a regular top secret project for them," added Johnny. "They could get rid of us in the name of national security. You see that on TV shows all the time."

"That would be an end to national security when it comes to the Portal threat," said Mary. "But it looks like they don't believe that."

"Let me use your cell phone?" George asked her. "Harry wrote down a few phone numbers. I want to talk to Rick or Rick's boss."

Rick didn't answer, so he dialed the other number. "This is George Lock, Harry's nephew," he told the person who answered the phone. "Is this Rick's boss?"

"Rick's been taken off your case and retired," said the voice, in monotone. "He's gone."

"That's unsatisfactory," George replied bluntly.

"Are you speaking for your uncle?"

"Absolutely. Rick told us himself that he was retiring but there is a transition period that he needs to support. That is acceptable, but only if Rick's replacement is acceptable to both us and to Rick."

"Rick's not in control anymore."

"Tell whoever is in control that Mike is unsatisfactory as the Government representative. We want a different representative, a human being with integrity that treats people with respect and doesn't push them around in violation of the Treaty, and we trust only Rick to pick a replacement and help with the transition."

"You're in no position to dictate terms."

"We are; you aren't. You have already broken the Treaty. If we can't continue to work with you similar to the way we have worked with Rick, we will be forced to leave."

"Leave? What do you mean?"

"You heard me correctly. Earth and Narma have a common enemy. This is much too important for all of Earth to be bungled by you people. We'll need to establish ourselves somewhere else if the United States won't meet its Treaty commitments."

"Another country?"

"Perhaps; but just as likely it would be another planet or universe."

"We're not convinced there is another planet or universe, or that the threat you describe is real, but in any case we have certain requirements that must be satisfied."

"Then have Rick and your proposed new suitable replacement representative come and talk to us about whatever those requirements are, and we'll accommodate them if we can. Whatever your concerns or doubts are, we can work on them together."

"Alright. We'll give you another chance. Tomorrow at noon, OK?"

"Alright, we'll give YOU another chance. Make it 4 PM. Most of us have school tomorrow. And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"Don't bug me, Mary or Johnny, and don't EVER try to sneak onto our property or the Williams property again. If Rick is indeed right and you are wrong, and the threat is indeed real, the consequences could be enormous. I advise you strongly not to screw this up."

****

### CHAPTER 11

School and Feds

The first day of school had finally arrived. George and the Williams kids walked to school together; they didn't need to take a bus because the school was only half a mile from their homes. They weren't surprised to be shadowed by an unmarked car.

Because he was a newcomer to the area and to the school, George was nervous. Eastern High School combined grades eight through twelve and had over two thousand students, and was by far George's largest school to date. However, his concern for school was dwarfed by his concern for events outside of school. More than anything, school was a nice escape from his even bigger worries.

They arrived early so that they could pick up their class schedules at the front office. They should have done so a couple of weeks ago, but they had been busy saving the Earth from dragons. George was very glad that he had been practicing the control of his telepathic skills with Mary, or otherwise he would have been totally overwhelmed by the thoughts of hundreds of classmates and school staff.

When George told the school secretary his name, Mr. Crantz, assistant Principal, motioned him into his office, where the man warmly smiled and shook his hand. He was a middle sized and aged, slightly pudgy, with thinning graying hair, but his eyes sparkled with friendly energy.

"Welcome! Harry Simple has supported Eastern for many years with generous donations of materials and equipment," Mr. Crantz informed him. "His generosity has contributed substantially to the quality of education here at Eastern. Three weeks ago he informed me of the true reason: you."

"Me?" said George.

"Yes. For many years he anticipated that you would be attending Eastern, although I'm sure that he did not anticipate the tragic events that would finally trigger your coming. Anyway, I have scheduled advanced placement classes to meet your aptitudes and interests."

George looked at his schedule, which included advanced level classes for every subject as well as orchestra. It was a very tough schedule, but one that he liked. He had concerns that he'd be able to pull it off though, given everything else that was happening.

"If you would happen to want any changes, try to let me know this week."

"Sure."

"And say hello to Harry for me."

"I'll do that."

Mary was in most of his classes and George didn't run into any difficulties until lunchtime. Johnny Williams, accompanied by several huge students, approached George while he was in line to buy food in the cafeteria. Johnny looked very uncomfortable, and George could read fear in his thoughts.

"So you're the guy with the rifle arm, are you?" the biggest gorilla asked, with a sneer. "Johnny says you'll probably skip Junior Varsity altogether and replace me as quarterback. Is that your plan, punk? You don't look like much. All mouth like Johnny, I'm thinking." He rested a big paw on George's shoulder. One of the other guys was similarly holding Johnny, George noticed.

George resisted the urge to break the gorilla's arm, even though the arm was over twice as big as his and rippled with muscle. "Johnny is mistaken. I can throw a football pretty good, but I'm not going out for football this year, not even J-V. Maybe next year. This year I'm going out for track."

"Smart decision, punk," the grinning gorilla said. He turned to his buddies. "Let's go out back to teach Johnny a little lesson."

"No, my friend Johnny should stay here and eat lunch," George said calmly. He grabbed one of the quarterback gorilla's thick wrists. "Don't you think?" George squeezed gently. Not hard enough to break bones, but the smirk disappeared from the gorilla's face. "It's not worth getting into trouble when the season's just starting, and you wouldn't want to risk an injury, right?" Johnny squeezed a little harder.

"Maybe," the big guy responded, suddenly uncertain. He couldn't back down in front of everyone, but his wrist felt like it was in a vise, and this new kid was staring into his eyes with absolutely no fear. He tried to pull away, but he couldn't budge his wrist even a fraction of an inch. Even if he couldn't break his grip, the much smaller kid should have been lifted clean off his feet, but it was as if he was rooted to the ground. Worst of all, the kid didn't even seem to be at all exerting himself. "Yeah, I guess Johnny's not worth getting into trouble over. But he should keep his mouth shut."

"We agree totally on that," George said. He let go of the quarterback and pulled Johnny into line in front of him while the buddies of the lead gorilla stood about uncertainly, staring at their leader in complete puzzlement.

"Is there a problem here Mr. Green?" asked an adult voice. Mr. Crantz stepped up to the big quarterback, who was checking his wrist for injuries. Green towered over the diminutive Crantz but the Vice Principle by far had the more dominating presence.

"No sir, just welcoming the new student," said Green. His wrist was turning from red to black and blue.

"There's a lot of love in this room," added Johnny, with a grin.

"Let's keep it that way, gentleman," Crantz stated. "And George, remember to say hello to your uncle." With that he walked away.

"So, you're a favorite of old Crantz, are you?" Green said, glaring at George.

"Looks like it," said George.

"Well, you still better watch your step, the both of you."

"Good advice; we'll do that," George agreed, as Green and his gorillas turned and walked away. It was a good thing that Crantz had intervened, he realized, as it had given Green a chance to save face. Hopefully the issue was settled.

George and Johnny both breathed sighs of relief, but George had some sharp words for Johnny when they sat down together at a table. "I've got to keep a low profile. Johnny, that means no more showboating from me or you."

"OK," agreed Johnny, with a grin. "Don't need any more anyway. You just backed down the biggest bully in the school. You're riding high, and I'm on your coat tails." He glanced around the room.

George followed his gaze and found that just about everyone in the cafeteria was looking at him and evidently talking to each other about what had happened. An incredibly cute girl winked at him, and George had to resist a sudden compulsion to read her thoughts. "Great power requires great responsibility," he told himself.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, though George noticed many kids looking at him, pointing, and whispering.

Johnny and Mary met him at the door when they left school. Each of them carried a big stack of books. Mary looked worried, but Johnny was grinning.

"What the hell did you two do?" Mary demanded of George. There were a couple hundred other kids standing around, and most were staring at him, George noticed. In the midst of the throng were Mike Green and his crew of toughs. The toughs were grinning, but Green himself didn't look very happy. George figured his buddies had goaded him into going after him after school. The issue wasn't over!

"I tried to stay out of trouble," George explained to Mary, as he walked with her and Johnny through the throng. As George approached Green, he tried to figure out how he might get out of this one. He didn't want to hurt Green or display dragon powers, but he didn't want to allow Green to hurt anyone else either.

The problem was unexpectedly solved when a big black limo pulled up to the curb and Rick and two agents even more huge than Green got out. "You want a ride home George?" Rick asked, as he and the agents shouldered past Green. "And Mary and Johnny too, of course."

George smiled and shrugged at Green as Rick led the trio of teens past him. George couldn't read all of the quarterback's emotions, but relief was definitely one of them.

"The little bastard is connected to the mob!" George heard one of Green's buddies exclaim. Green nodded and tried to look disappointed.

Inside the big limo were four other people George hadn't met. They were short on muscle, but he sensed that they were highly intelligent.

"These are my colleagues, best left relatively nameless," Rick said. "First names only will be used."

"I spoke with you on the phone," George said to the middle aged man. "You're Rick's immediate boss, Ken." The teen turned his attentions to the next person. "Ellen, you have been apprenticing with Rick, but Rick was over-ruled as to your selection to be his replacement," he said to a slight blonde woman in her mid-thirties. "They were all overruled by you, Jerrod," he said to a third man, a slim, grim, gray-haired man in his sixties. "You have long harbored doubts about this whole enterprise."

"I have indeed," said Jerrod. "Rick has schooled you well, young man."

"He has schooled me not at all. Would Rick know that you have a dentist appointment tomorrow, or that you flunked a European history course at the University of Illinois?"

Jerrod smiled. "Impressive. I suppose you know my last name, also."

"The one you use at work now or the one you were born with?"

His smile disappeared.

"Don't worry," George said. "We all have our little secrets. Well, maybe Henry doesn't." He turned to the fourth new person, a thin, lanky, middle aged man with a slight smile of amusement. "You are an internationally respected scientist appointed by the President to make observations and express your opinions independently and honestly. You don't know anything about this business other than a quick and distorted overview from Jerrod. You are here because you are honest and a skeptic. At the moment, you are surprised to be intrigued."

He turned to Rick. "As the Government's official designated point of contact by Treaty, can you explain what it is you want?"

"Err, yes," Rick replied. "We seek a slight, temporary deviation from the usual constructs of the Treaty in order to resolve several issues that have arisen."

"Shouldn't we wait until we meet with the Uncle in the house?" asked Ken.

Rick and George exchanged glances.

"Actually," said Rick, "the party in charge of the location should personally approve our visit before we west foot on the property. Otherwise we break the Treaty."

"So the uncle needs to greet us?" Ken asked.

George decided he didn't want to get Rick in trouble for not passing on vital information to his superiors. "Let's address that issue first," he said. "A few days ago my Uncle died of wounds he suffered in battling the enemy dragons."

There were exclamations all around.

"I buried him myself in the forest he loved," George continued. "You remember, Mary, that morning you said I seemed upset and I avoided you and Johnny." George didn't want to get his friends in trouble.

"This changes everything," said Jerrod. "We will take immediate control of the property and everything in it."

"That would break the Treaty," noted Mary.

"Treaty?" blustered Jerrod. "This whole thing is total nonsense. There are no elves, no dragons, no trolls, and hence no Treaty. It's all an elaborate hoax, expensive but harmless enough until an attack on the instillation in question showed that some sort of actual defense against our weapons actually exists here. Something prevented detonation of our nuclear devices, which are probably even now hidden here and under unauthorized civilian control, gravely endangering national security. Worse, the technology required suggests collaboration with a foreign enemy."

Mary couldn't keep from laughing.

Johnny couldn't believe the arrogance of this man! The Government had fired nuclear weapons but THEY claimed to be the injured party when the bombs didn't destroy the Simple home and the surrounding town! "That's an even wilder story than the truth is," he noted.

The limousine parked in front of the house.

Ken reached for the door latch but Rick restrained him. "I must seek approval first," the old man told him.

"Seek approval?" retorted Jerrod. "From these children?"

"From me," said George. "This place is my responsibility now. I am in charge."

"It is what was agreed to by upper management when we set up this meeting," Henry told Jerrod.

"I AM upper management!" growled Jerrod.

"I, for one, am very curious about what we might find inside," said Henry. "And of course, if the agreed-to plan is not carried out, I would have to report that also. To MY upper management."

"But the situation has changed!" protested Jerrod. "I won't negotiate with a child!"

"You are not empowered to," said George. "Only Rick or his satisfactory replacement can negotiate with me. No other person may do so." He turned to Rick, ignoring Jerrod in the process. "So again Rick, I ask you to identify what it is that you want."

"Of course. We ask for a temporary deviation from the usual rules of the Treaty. We five want to inspect the yard and the portion of the house normally only accessible by me as our ambassador, and hold open discussions with you and your friends Mary, Johnny, and Grog."

"Interesting," said George. "What do you hope to accomplish?"

"Several things. First we seek some proof that you are indeed the proper ambassador. Also as you can see, doubt has grown about the legitimacy of this entire enterprise. We also need verify that the two missing nuclear devices are not here. Henry carries detection devices in a case to be used for that purpose."

"Yes, I see that he has several such devices. Any more issues?"

"We also want to see if Ellen is acceptable to you as my replacement."

George sighed. "OK. I suppose it's the only way to normalize relations. But we'll set a time limit of about two hours. Agreed?"

"That should be sufficient," stated Henry.

"OK than, let's go," said George.

"Wait," said Jerrod, after they had all gotten out of the limousine and Henry had retrieved a large case from the trunk. "The report claimed that this boy lifted up the front of a motor vehicle with his bare hands. Well young man? Can you do it now? Or do you need to wear elf armor or some other device of trickery?"

George shrugged, walked to the front of the limo, and casually lifted the front end of it a yard off the ground. "This is child's play," he said, as he put it back down, then led the gawking adults through the gate.

As they started down the walk, George sensed Grog's arrival. "It's OK Grog, we'll let all four strangers have the same access as Rick for the next two hours. And they want to talk to you also. It's needed in order to renew the Treaty."

"You are the Chosen," said a deep voice from somewhere hidden in the foliage.

"That was supposed to be your big troll friend, I suppose," said Jerrod sarcastically.

"What does the term 'chosen' mean?" Henry asked, ignoring Jerrod.

"I have been chosen to have certain powers in order to carry out my duties," said George. "By magic, you would probably say."

"Magic. So a few days ago you couldn't lift a limo?" asked the scientist.

"Of course not," confirmed George, laughing. "I'm a fifteen year-old kid!"

"And what are your duties?" Henry continued.

"I'm only beginning to learn them, but it includes protecting this place, Earth and Narma. But I still have to do normal stuff like going to school, of course."

"Narma is where the elves are from?"

"Yes. I haven't been there yet myself, but crazy as it all sounds, I've seen enough so that I believe in it totally."

"It will take more than your limo trick to convince me," grumbled Jerrod.

"Which is why you're all here," noted George. "OK, what do you want to see first? The house or the backyard?"

"The backyard, I should think," said Henry.

George shrugged. They had reached the house. George paused as the rest of the party emerged from the jungle pathway and made their way out onto the lawn.

"Perhaps Grog should show us the forest, as it is his domain," suggested Rick, with a twinkle in his eye.

"By all means, where is your elusive troll?" asked Jerrod, sarcastically.

"I am here," rumbled Grog, from very near.

Rick chuckled as the four newcomers looked around nervously than gasped when Grog seemed to materialize out of thin air only a step in back of them, a massive, hairy, brown giant.

"It's only an optical illusion, like the dragons were," said Jerrod, shaking his head. He strode up to Grog, apparently intending to walk through a hologram, but instead walked into the big troll, knocking himself to the ground.

"Foolish human," the troll rumbled. He reached down with a huge hand that encircled the fallen man's waist and lifted him ten feet into the air before gently setting him down, leaving him standing but so wobbly-kneed that Rick thoughtfully steadied him by grasping one of his arms.

"How did you do that?" Jerrod managed to ask George through clenched teeth.

"You mean how did Grog appear behind you that way?" George responded. "He blends in by changing color like a chameleon or octopus. Plus he's very light on his feet for a big guy."

"No, how did you lift the limo, then lift me?"

"I have been given elf powers, and Grog is simply huge."

"It all has to be a trick."

George shook his head. "Grog, these are Ken, Jerrod, Ellen, and Henry."

Grog gently shook hands with each of them, which involved his huge hand gently enveloping each human's hand and entire forearm.

"Grog, can I have a hair sample from you?" Henry asked, after his turn. "For DNA analysis?"

"Humph," snorted Grog, but he gathered a great fistful of his own hair to hand to the scientist.

"His kind is originally from the same universe as Earth, but a different planet," Mary explained. "The trolls all live on Narma now, except for him."

"Really?" Henry said, as he pulled a plastic bag from a pocket and shoved brown troll hair into it. "That's very interesting, and should be only in part verifiable through DNA analysis."

"Knock yourself out," George said.

Ellen had retrieved some of the lose troll hair from Henry and was pressing it against her face. "It's very soft."

Grog reached out and gently stroked her head with a single gigantic finger. "Yours too," he rumbled.

"It has to be a trick," repeated Jerrod, shaking his head, but he didn't sound so sure anymore.

"We shall see," said Henry.

"I suppose the audio, video, and radiation detection, and location information you're recording now will help you do that," said George. He glanced at the case that Henry still carried.

"Your video won't come out right," Mary warned.

"That be true," said Grog. "The ward distorts it."

"What is a ward?" asked Henry.

"It's a kind of magic force field," explained Ellen. "It also blocks observation by satellite and other normal means, when intact."

"As indicated in the Treaty," added Mary.

"I perceive the ward as a glowing mist that surrounds us," said George.

"Interesting," said Henry. He pulled a test-tube out of a pocket and opened it. "Think I'll get a sample of it this way?"

"I doubt it," George answered. "It's magic energy that passes through ordinary matter. Harry said magic might be done by changing quantum mechanics. Does that make sense?"

Henry's eyebrows rose an inch. "That's an astounding and interesting notion."

"I think they're stalling us," said Jerrod. "Let's get to the back yard."

Grog shrugged, than led the entourage around the house. At first, only huge undamaged trees were visible, but as Grog led them into the forest soon the tremendous damage done by the dragon battle became evident. Beyond the thin vale of undamaged trees was a border of singed and crushed trees, and beyond that a vast expanse of black, grey, and white ash. Baby trees sprouted over much of the damaged area, but did not yet conceal the destruction.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ken.

Even Jerrod was moved by the sight. "Could our bombs have done that?" he asked Henry.

Henry had opened his instrument case and pulled out the radiation detector, which he was waving all about. "No. No unusual radiation. Less radiation than normal, as a matter of fact."

"That makes sense," said George. "Jewel absorbed the nuclear bomb blasts, and the ward would take care of any odds and ends she missed."

Henry was pulling empty plastic bags from the case. "I'll need samples from the destruction. And I want to inspect the locations where the dragons were." Obviously in preparation for an excursion into the devastated area, he bent down and tucked his pants cuffs into socks that protruded above hiking shoes.

"I should have worn more practical shoes myself," said Ellen, pointing to her open-toed, medium-healed dress-shoes.

"Don't worry," said George. Grog or I can carry you over the worst stretches."

"Actually," said Rick, as they approached the destruction, "I find the recovery process to be even more impressive than the destruction. It is much easier to destroy than to enable life." He pointed to shoots of green sprouting up through piles of broken branches, and further along, through piles of ash. The forest was rapidly returning. Saplings were taller than a man in many places. Close by, a patch of sprouts less than a foot high was prevalent.

"You can almost see them growing," said Ellen.

"Almost," agreed Mary. "The ward is spread pretty thin, working to bring back forest to acres and acres. But come back in a few hours and you'd notice the difference."

Johnny, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, patted George on the back. "No time for that. My man here can focus the ward effects. Show them, George."

"Good idea Bro," said Mary. "Somebody pick a small sprout, any sprout."

"Let me get this straight," said Jerrod to George with a smirk, "you're going to get a tree to grow before our eyes?"

"We'll see. Pick a sprout," said George, shrugging.

"I'll pick one," said Henry. Ignoring the nearest growth, he walked to a patch of dozens of shoots that was further away. "This one," he said, pointing to one of them that poked only six inches above a bed of black cinders. He cut a small sample from it.

George again shrugged, than focused the ward.

For a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen, and a grin slowly formed on Jerrod's face. The grin disappeared and his jaw dropped open when the shoot visibly grew taller. Growth accelerated to over an inch a second as everyone watched in fascination. The trunk thickened and branches sprouted from it, than buds, and finally leaves that quickly matured.

"I guess that's enough," George said, as growth slowed. The tree, an oak, was over ten feet tall.

"It's all true then," Ellen said to Rick, smiling.

"We'll see," said Henry. He inspected the sapling, and took a small leafy branch as a second sample. "Where did the dragons fight?" he asked.

"Me show," said Grog. The troll picked up Ellen and Henry in each hand, and with one of the humans sitting on each shoulder, he strode off into the destruction zone, while the others trailed behind awkwardly.

For the next hour Grog led a tour of the battle zone, pointing out where dragons fought and died. Henry and Ellen asked the most questions and seemed interested in detailed observations and conversing with Grog and the teenagers, while Jerrod and Ken hung back and frequently whispered to each other, pointing, nodding, and shaking their heads. Who did they all work for, George wondered. NSA? NASA? He could probe their thoughts more, if he tried, but he didn't want to get into the habit of doing that. But what if they were planning to raid with a thousand troops? Or bomb the house?

While they examined the place where one of the dragons was defeated George sensed something he had missed earlier. He plunged a hand two feet down into the ash and pulled out a pointy piece of metal half a meter long. "It's Harry's missing elfin spear head!" he noted.

"Can I get a sample of it?" Henry asked.

"Not of the spear," George said. "It's a weapon I might need, and impervious to your sampling methods anyway. There will be other elf things in the house I can let you have."

"You're hiding something, young man," Jerrod accused.

"We're telling you all you need to know at this point, and everything I'm sure of, and not holding back anything that would harm Earth or this country," countered George.

"So you admit to hiding information from your Government?" said Jerrod.

"The operative concept being that it is OUR Government," blurted Mary. "Obviously you have an obligation to this country as employees, but so do we, as citizens. That doesn't translate into a Government having to know our every thought and deed."

"There are things we're still working out and which you wouldn't understand either," added George. "As we learn more you will be informed more, that I can promise you. But as outlined by the Treaty, the interest promoted here is security for Narma and Earth universes, not simply for the United States or even Earth. The United States is only one nation on one planet of billions, and the United States Government is only one entity of the United States."

"That's the sort of thing for the President and his senior staff to worry about," Jerrod claimed.

"It's the sort of thing my Uncle worried about most of his life and that now I worry about," said George.

"Me too," added Grog, as he gently removed Henry and Ellen from his broad shoulders. "In Narma there be many tribes of trolls, each with chief and elders. There I lead a tribe but here I be my own troll, for Narma and Earth. You think too small, humans. George be the Chosen One; not you, not your President."

Jerrod shook his head. "The bottom line is this. We need to know what happened to those bombs."

"They aren't here, of that I am virtually certain," said Henry. "Nor have I found any evidence that they ever had been here, much less detonated. There is simply no trace of them."

"We've told you about them already," said Johnny, "and Rick saw it happen too. The dragon totally sponged up the blasts. End of story."

Henry nodded. "Of the dragons I have found strong circumstantial evidence. We looked at several titanic depressions that looked like footprints where hundreds of tons of force compacted soil and crushed boulders into powder. Ash and other samples will surely verify that temperatures of thousands of degrees were applied over large areas, yet thus far there is no evidence of any known accelerant. All data I have gathered matches satellite observations exactly." He turned to Grog. "Can we see next the Portal to Narma?"

Grog shrugged. "You can see the place where it is, but you will not see it." He again picked up Henry and Ellen and strode into the forest beyond the dragon damage. Everyone else followed as best as they could.

Along the way they encountered unfamiliar trees, birds, and other small creatures. The trees featured purple leaves and the birds featured extravagant birdcalls and colors. "Some be from Narma, but they be harmless," noted Grog.

"But couldn't they contaminate Earth's ecosphere?" asked Henry.

"No; they be confined here by the elf wards," said Grog.

The troll took them to a grassy glade in the forest where no trees or bushes intruded. Otherwise it looked perfectly normal. "It be here," announced the troll.

"But there is nothing here," said Jerrod, as he and Henry walked through the indicated area.

"I get essentially no radiation readings here at all, except for visible light," said Henry, as he scanned the center of the glade with his case of instruments. "Readings are even lower than at other places on the property."

"No proof at all, than," Jerrod said, with a smug smile.

"To the contrary," said Henry. "I can think of no natural explanation for such readings. The Sun and Earth produce orders of magnitude more radiation than my measurements show. A ten-foot thick layer of lead could not block that much natural radiation."

Johnny, Grog and Mary exchanged knowing glances and telepathic thoughts. Mary could sense that this place was strange beyond measure, while George could see rivers of ward power swirling around a sphere of strange light. Henry stood in the center of the sphere without even knowing it. Grog silently informed George and Mary that magic powers were required to detect or to operate the Portal.

"The Portal is here, humans. But there is nothing you can see, unless you have special talent," said the troll.

"I don't see how this can be said to be conclusive evidence of a Portal to another world," said Ken. "How about a demonstration?"

"Too dangerous," the troll rumbled. "Portal use maybe draws attention in Narma."

"But the crow used it, or so you claim," said Jerrod. "And your little elf friends."

Grog shook his big hairy head. "With well-trained powers, Portal use can be made hard for the Horde to see. George and Mary be not yet trained. They have raw powers, but not yet be ready for the Portal. None here can use the Portal, or the Horde will find us."

"The Horde is mentioned in the Treaty," said Ellen. "Who, or what is it?"

"Followers of the Dark One," said Grog. "Creatures of power of many types from many worlds. His eyes and ears, His fellow destroyers, many hundreds of them."

"He destroys many planets?"

"Many planets in many universes," explained Grog. "The Dark One threatens all."

"What does he want?" asked Mary.

"Death to all life," said Grog.

"I don't suppose you have real evidence of any of this?" Jerrod asked with a snicker, after a moment of stunned silence.

"Two of the Horde were here only a short time ago," noted George. "Giant Dragons that can suck up A-bomb explosions. To me that seems like pretty solid evidence of at least some of this stuff."

"And they were after something here on Earth," noted Jerrod.

Grog nodded his great hairy head slowly.

"Searching for something dangerous brought here by Harry or his elf friends from Narma," Jerrod added.

"Something to save both Earth and Narma," said George.

"So you say," responded Jerrod. "That part is something you can't prove conclusively, since you refuse to show or demonstrate the weapon to us. What we can be sure of is that whatever is here endangers Earth by drawing the dangerous Horde characters to us."

"Wrong. Ultimately we need something to defeat the Evil, or it will get us eventually anyway," Mary countered.

"But why here?" asked Ellen. "Why Earth?"

"Elves be here many times," said Grog. "This be near our old troll home. This be far from Narma. Harry found special treasures on Narma. He and elves want treasures to be here to protect Earth as well as to be safe from the Horde."

"Harry found what?" demanded Jerrod.

A big grin formed on the troll's hairy face. "Like you Earth peoples say, I could tell you, but then maybe I need to kill you."

The Government team looked at the big troll with apprehension, but the big troll failed to elaborate further.

"I'm pretty sure that would break the Treaty," said Rick with a smile, lightening the mood.

"What Grog is trying to say is that this is a sensitive area right now," said George. "Your sending in a team of spies didn't help. You trusted Harry for years, and now you need to trust us."

"Because so much may be at stake, that's a tough one," said Jerrod.

"Trusting you is the tough one for us," said Mary. "How do we trust that you sincerely represent Earth interests and not simply your own? You are the ones that broke the Treaty with trespassers, not us."

"Enough," Henry said. He had been taking radiation readings, but now packed all his equipment and specimens into his carrying case. "No more discussion. This is a scientific fact collection effort, not negotiations, and our time is short." He turned to George. "Let's see the house, young man."

Government access to the house was limited by the new Treaty to one of Harry's studies. In it was the typical mix of books, statues, and other odds and ends. George reasoned that this particular study was called out in the Treaty by the elves only because it was near the front door. There were a dozen others in the house with very similar contents.

All the visiting humans moved around the room examining everything with great interest. Ellen opened an elf book. "It's blank!" she said.

"Not so," said George, who suddenly discovered to his own astonishment that he could now read the elf book. "It's an illustrated guide to trees on Narma." He looked at other titles. "Most of these books are on similar topics. You simply don't have the necessary talent or skills to read them. I didn't either, before I came to live here."

"What about this?" said Henry, who was examining a flat, rough surfaced, disk-shaped object as big as a dining room table-top.

"Dragon scale," bellowed Grog from the doorway. "Small one."

"I would very much like to have a small sample of it," said Henry.

That turned out to be difficult. Grog watched in amusement as Henry than Jerrod tried unsuccessfully to cut a piece of scale off, first with a pocket knife and then with a hand-held laser. They couldn't even scratch it. George with great difficulty finally managed to hack off a few square inches of scale with his elf sword. The elf book on trees was also lent to the Government humans for study.

There was little conversation as the three teenagers walked the Government team to their limousine. Everyone was obviously trying to digest what they had witnessed.

"What about Ellen's suitability?" Rick asked George, as they neared the street.

"Let me ask Grog and Mary," George replied, as he telepathically contacted his friends on the matter.

"It's unanimous," George announced seconds later, smiling at Ellen. "We all think she's fine. A huge improvement over Mike, anyway. The Elves will have the final word though, when next they return."

Rick nodded. "It took me years to find someone I trust. I've put everything I have into this whole business. I want success."

"And I do too," added the smiling Ellen.

"Was that telepathy just now?" asked Henry.

"Comes in handy," George said, nodding.

"There is one more thing," the scientist said. "I know it would break with Treaty protocol again, but do you think I might also be able to meet the elves when they return?"

"I will ask them," George said. "We expect they will return shortly."

"Excellent," the scientist concluded. He and the others shook hands with the teens before entering the limo.

"You've given us some things to think about, young man," said Jerrod, as he got into the limo. "We'll be in touch."

"That went pretty good, I think," said George, as the limo drove out of sight.

"As good as could be expected," agreed Mary. "I thought you were wonderful, George."

"You were wonderful yourself," George told her, in return. "YOU CONSTANTLY ASTONISH ME," he added silently, as they looked into each other's eyes.

"They still might just nuke the place, and we have no giant dragon to suck it up," said Johnny casually, as he looked at his watch. "Right now there's no time for goo-goo eyes, Sis. We're late for dinner."

"Right," agreed Mary. "We better go before Dad comes after us. We'll meet you here tomorrow morning for school, George."

George watched her walk home. With all that was happening, he still thought of her more than anything else.

"You like Mary," Grog stated, grinning hugely as they walked together towards the house.

"Is that bad?" George asked.

"Most good, but some bad. Elves come soon, and more trouble comes soon. Government may be good, may be bad. Also you be the Chosen of a dragon. Very busy boy you are, even without nice girl to think about. Busy, busy."

****

### CHAPTER 12

Elves

The next day school went smoothly. No bullies or other problems presented themselves to George or the Williams teens, all of whom were regarded to be all-powerful and off limits with regard to even minor pranks or teasing. Mary and George received a ton of homework in their advanced classes, but that evening they were both astonished to find that they had no problem quickly completing the assignments.

"I read all my text books last night," Mary announced, when they met for school again in the morning. "Cover to cover."

"Me too," said George. "And I retain all of it and understand it. Harry said that school wouldn't be a problem, but this is amazing."

"Our dragons want us to learn," reasoned Mary. "In turn I expect they'll learn whatever we've learned. They must have raised our IQs at least twenty points to handle more information, and increased our motor skills and so forth. I hoped for a little elf-help, but I expected nothing like this from the dragons."

"It makes sense though," said George. "I suspect that we're quickly going to outgrow high school. We'll also need to learn about Narma though."

"Henry's books?" Mary asked.

"To start," said George. "The statues also. And eventually we'll probably also go to Narma."

"What about me?" asked Johnny.

"You can remain our invaluable behind the scenes Earth-partner," suggested George.

"For now we'll need your help to maintain our cover," said Mary, "especially with Mom and Dad."

"OK, but what's in it for me?" Johnny demanded.

George and Mary looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "Ah; we're going to save the world from bad guys, Bro," noted Mary.

"Or die trying," added George. "Isn't that enough?"

"Sure, that's cool I guess, but what's in it for ME?" Johnny again asked.

"Well, we'll all be famous someday, even you, I suppose," said George. "That could translate to some big dollars."

"Someday when?" asked Johnny. "I'm broke now!"

"I'm not sure when. But we won't be able to hide even a baby dragon forever," George reasoned.

"So far none of us have even seen him," said Mary. "He does a pretty good job of hiding without our help. Maybe he'll stay completely hidden for years."

"I don't think so," said Johnny. "I know where he was the night before last."

"What?" said both Chosen, as they looked in astonishment at their mere-human companion.

Johnny smiled. "While you two genius show offs have had your noses buried in school books, of all places, I've paid attention to the local news." He pulled a newspaper clipping out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Mary.

She gasped when she had unfolded and looked at it.

George had a similar reaction.

'Giant Lizard Raids Library,' the headline announced.

The town public library, which was located only a mile from the Simple House, had been vandalized. Early one morning hundreds of books were found scattered over the floor, many of them damaged. The senior librarian, a woman of sixty three years, was found physically undamaged but in shock and mumbling about a giant lizard that she had discovered reading books.

"That clipping is from this morning's newspaper," Johnny explained. "There's more on the internet, of course."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Mary admonished him.

"I figured you'd freak out, and I was right," said Johnny. "How would you explain that to Mom and Dad?"

"This isn't good," Mary told George. "Your darn dragon will blow his own cover! You have to get in touch with him!"

George shook his head. "I try every day, several times a day."

"Well, try harder," Mary demanded.

"I think he can hear me but he's ignoring me," George admitted.

"Well consider it from the lizard dude's point of view," said Johnny. "He's been in that damn egg forever. Maybe he doesn't want to stay home and lay low. Maybe he wants to get out and party."

"You may have something there," agreed George.

"Or maybe he's just hungry," said Johnny. "Note exhibit two." He pulled a second newspaper clipping out and handed it George.

"Holy shits," George exclaimed, before handing it to Mary.

Mary had a similar reaction. The story said that more area pets were missing than usual, that deer had been sighted fleeing the region to surrounding forests, and that several sheep were missing from a nearby sheep ranch. The reporter linked these events to the discovery of strange footprints that had been found at many of the involved locations.

'A clawed quadruped of unknown type,' a naturalist was quoted as saying, 'but possibly a very large Komodo Dragon or crocodile.'

The story didn't discuss a linkage to the library event, but many students at school had already made that connection. When they arrived at the school it was abuzz with talk of giant lizards, crocodiles, and monsters of various types running amok in and around the town.

"Obviously I've been failing in my job as a Chosen One," George told Mary at lunch. "After school I'll have to find my partner and try to get this under control."

"WE AGREE ENTIRELY," said a wee but strong telepathic voice in elfish. Mary and George both turned to see a tiny man and tinier woman standing atop the next table. Each stood about two feet tall. The man wore golden armor and weapons similar to what George had inherited from Harry, though of tiny size, along with medieval looking brown and green clothing. His general appearance and proportions appeared to be human and well-muscled under green clothing, except for his ears, which were twice normal size and pointed. That he was a full-grown adult was suggested by his small brown goatee.

The woman was a head shorter. Though attired similarly in armor and green trousers, womanly curves were evident. She carried a bow nearly as tall as herself and wore a quiver full of arrows that were each no more than ten inches in length.

Aside from their diminutive size, their hair and eyes were their most startling features. Each had bright silver hair and large, oval, completely silver eyes without pupils.

"HE CAN HEAR AND SEE US AND SO CAN SHE," the woman said, smiling.

"QUITE SO, LASS, QUITE SO," the man replied. "IT IS AS THE DRAGON JEWEL TOLD US. THIS IS QUITE GOOD. NO, I NEED QUALIFY MY STATEMENT FURTHER. THERE ARE THE VERY BAD PARTS TO BE SURE, BUT THERE ARE THE VERY GOOD PARTS ALSO. HOW ONE MAY WEIGH ONE AGAINST THE OTHER IS A MATTER FOR ADDITIONAL STUDY AND DISCUSSION. I SUGGEST OFFWIG'S HYPOTHESIS OF DIFFERENTIAL SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS BE APPLIED. "

"Offwig's what?" George asked aloud.

The boy sitting at the table where the elves stood looked up at George and Mary with a puzzled look. "Pardon?" he asked. He had no idea that his ham sandwich was in danger of being stepped on by two elves.

"Nothing, sorry," said Mary. "I AM MARY AND THIS IS GEORGE," she said telepathically in elfish. "WHO WOULD YOU BE?"

"OH MY, WE SIMPLY AREN'T USED TO BEING SEEN AND HEARD BY MORTALS," said the woman, "AND WE FORGET OUR MANNERS. I AM BELINDA AND THIS IS MY OLDER BROTHER KIP. YOU ARE OF COURSE THE CHOSEN ONES. WE ARE MUCH HONORED TO MEET YOU FACE TO FACE, THOUGH WE VERY MUCH GRIEVE HARRY'S PASSING. WE WERE GREATLY SADDENED TO HEAR THAT NEWS FROM JEWEL."

"WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS WITH YOU BOTH, OF COURSE," Kip added.

The bell signaling an end to lunch period sounded, and students around them began gathering trash and notebooks, and leaving the room for their next class. The elves had to move to avoid being bowled over by a book bag wielded by a departing student, which they did by moving so fast that George didn't see them move. They seemed to simply disappear from one spot and to immediately re-appear a few feet away.

"We need to finish our classes today first," said Mary.

"OF COURSE YOU DO," said Kip. "WE ARE WELL ACQUAINTED WITH EARTH CUSTOMS THROUGH PREVIOUS VISITS. WE'D PREFER TO STAY WITH YOU THOUGH, WHAT WITH A YOUNG ROGUE DRAGON ON THE LOOSE SOMEWHERE. THERE IS NOTHING A DRAGON LIKES BETTER TO EAT THAN ELVES."

"THAT LAST STATEMENT IS PRIMARILY UNSUPPORTED CONJECTURE," protested Belinda, "BUT CAUTION IS PARAMOUNT PER THE PRIME PROTECTIVE PARADIGM OF THE THIRD COUNCIL OF WHINDOOM. THUS I AGREE."

"HA! SHE AGREES!" said Kip, grinning. He pulled a small book and pencil from a pocket and after opening it, made a short entry to one of the pages. "TODAY I LEAD SEVENTY SEVEN TO SIXTY THREE, THUS PROVING MY HYPOTHESIS."

"A STATISTICAL ANOMALY, BROTHER," responded Belinda. "THE TIME BASELINE IS OBVIOUSLY INSUFFICIENT FOR LEGITIMATE GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. PLUS, YOUR HYPOTHESIS REEKS OF FAULTY EMPIRICISM, AS IT COUNTS ISSUES WITHOUT JUDICIOUSLY WEIGHING THEM."

"I AGREE," responded Kip, with a shrug.

Grinning, Belinda pulled out her own tiny notebook and entered a notation.

So it went. The elves followed George about for the remainder of the school day, riding on his shoulders between classes to avoid being stepped on. The entire time they talked to each other incessantly about not much of anything. George was at last forced to ignore their jitter-jabber, both to avoid insanity and to enable himself to participate in his classes.

"Do all elves talk so much?" Mary asked them, as they all walked home.

"CERTAINLY NOT." Kip responded telepathically in English. "MOST FAIR FOLK TALK FAR MORE THAN WE DO. WE ARE PHILOSOPHERS, TRUE DEEP THINKERS, AND AS SUCH APPLY OUR FEW CHOSEN WORDS SLOWLY AND WITH GREAT CARE."

"Thus we were picked to interact with humans, and we also even can tolerate for short periods conversations with dragons, if need be," added Belinda, switching to voice mode.

"Though we would much prefer to not interact with dragons at all," said Kip.

"We much prefer humans over dragons," added Kip, "or even trolls, though that choice is less easy."

"That is confusing sentence structure, brother," chided Belinda. "To clarify, dragons usually think too slow. Humans and trolls both think and speak at much more tolerable speeds."

"Not that dragons are dull, in the usual sense of the term," said Kip.

"Or without interesting information," Belinda added.

"However, being immortal they are usually in no hurry at all to state a point," said Kip.

"Yet they are not so bad as many in that respect," added Belinda. "There are many others that speak far slower."

"But they do eat elves," noted Kip. "We are fairly certain of that!"

"There also is that, but not all dragons do so," Belinda retorted. "That generalization sometimes proves untrue. Jewel has not eaten any of us that we know of, for example."

"As is obvious without saying, for here we are," added Kip.

"A situation we hope to continue with the young male dragon you now befriend," stated Belinda. "We must however classify him as 'rogue' for our own protection, until we are otherwise convinced."

"Not that you should tell us, but do you know his name?" Kip asked George.

"I'll clarify the question still further," Belinda added, before George could respond. "If you do know his name, DO NOT tell us or anyone else what that name is, unless the dragon agrees. You can, however, tell us if you know his name, while not telling us his name."

"Carefully," added Kip. "Don't think his name or you might let it slip out telepathically without intending to say it."

"An important point that I fully agree with," added Belinda.

Kip pulled out his notebook and pencil, at last giving George the opening he needed. "No, I don't know his name. I've asked him many times, but he won't answer me about that or anything else. He won't talk to me at all!"

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed both elves at once.

"Who are you both talking to?" asked Johnny, who had just joined them.

Mary pulled Johnny aside to explain that she and George were having a conversation with invisible elves. He took the news fairly well.

"We will talk openly in your presence also, brother to Mary," said Kip. "As to you not being able to communicate with your dragon, this explains much, young George."

"Perhaps all," said Belinda.

"I agree," both elves said at once, then smiled as they both recorded the agreements in their notebooks.

"Agree to what?" asked Mary, taking advantage of the unusual gap in elf-talk. "How does what he said explain anything?"

"A Chosen should already know the true name of their dragon," said Kip.

"Or so the legends say," added Belinda. "We don't traffic much with actual living dragons."

"But as natural philosophers we are of course experts in legends about dragons," acknowledged Kip.

"Legends are usually correct," returned Belinda. "Despite their poor reputation in your so-called academic community."

"WAIT," interrupted George, switching to telepathy. "HOW COULD I BE EXPECTED TO KNOW HIS NAME IF HE WON'T TELL ME?"

"AN INTERESTING QUANDARY, IS IT NOT, PURELY FROM A LOGIC PERSPECTIVE?" Kip remarked.

"HAVE YOU THE ANSWER YOURSELF, YOUNG ONE?" asked Belinda.

George considered.

"Or even a guess?" prompted Kip, after a few seconds of blessed silence. "Come now; anything at all?"

George was coming to greatly appreciate the brief straight-forward manner of discussion employed by Grog. "He told me already and I don't recognize that he did?" he ventured.

"That is indeed one possibility," said Belinda, "the other being that some degree of insight is expected of you that you haven't been able to yet master."

"Though only you can solve such a problem, of course," said Kip.

"But what should I do?" George asked.

"That is perhaps too obvious for us to say," said Belinda. "We may have already said too much."

"We wouldn't want to anger your dragon; no, no, no, we wouldn't," said Kip. "On to other matters, then."

"I agree," said Belinda, with a smile.

George and Mary went on to describe issues to the elves, including the Government related ones.

"Ellen, we would meet, and also the man Henry for a short time," Kip finally agreed. "And Rick, of course. That meeting is a long time overdue."

"Within the ward, at the Simple House or yard," added Belinda.

"Preferably today, as soon as it can be arranged," Kip added. "We will officially renew the Treaty at that time."

"Or not renew it, of course," added Belinda.

"What about Johnny?" Mary asked.

"Certainly Johnny may take part," said Kip. "We must all make due with our siblings." He glanced at his sister.

"All must swear secrecy," said Belinda. "Mary, you would have been added to Harry's group in time, that had always been our hope. Johnny may be more a danger than an asset, but we have little alternative. Blood is blood." She glanced with a frown at her own brother, and then at Johnny.

"I'm your man," said Johnny.

Belinda responded by bopping her brother on the head sharply with a tiny fist, but they were both smiling. "Dragons grow fast," she added. "That secret may quickly become impossible to keep. Yet all must keep it as long as possible, even from our three Government friends."

"We will try," promised George.

"Your parents would be proud of you, but saddened with the pace and harshness of recent events, George, son of Joan and Evan," said Kip. "The end of your childhood comes much too soon. Humans suffer an absurdly short life-span."

"Some Elves, it is said, never grow up at all," quipped Belinda, as she glanced at her brother.

Arrangements for Rick, Ellen and Henry to visit were easily made. They had to have been staying somewhere relatively close, since the three of them arrived together within an hour.

George greeted them at the street. Instead of the ominous black limo, the visiting trio arrived in a small bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle driven by Ellen.

"Nice wheels," George remarked, as he shook their hands.

"Handy size for you or Grog to carry around, if you are so inclined," quipped Ellen.

"When do we meet the elf representatives?" Henry asked excitedly, as they entered the pathway.

In truth, the invisible elves had joined the party as soon as the humans had started down the path, but George didn't want to blow their cover. It had taken him only a short time to teach himself how to sense Kim and Belinda even when they were invisible. "Sooner than you think," he replied, hoping that they would show themselves immediately.

"What are they like?" Ellen asked.

"Very talkative," George explained. Indeed, he and Mary could even now 'hear' them talking to each other telepathically. "It must put a big strain on them to be silent."

"Do they seem secretive to you?" asked Henry.

"No, not compared to you Government folks," explained George. "They're quite forthcoming with their opinions when they do engage in conversation. It's just that they are used to physically hiding a lot in their world from enemies, I think."

"Narma is a very dangerous place, I take it," said Henry.

"Yes, given the Horde," agreed George. But this wasn't Narma. It annoyed him a little that the elves would remain invisible and eavesdrop on the humans. "How many elves does it take to change a light bulb, do you suppose?"

"I wouldn't assume they have any light bulbs," said Henry, taking the question seriously.

"If they did, it would require less than two of them to change one," said George. "One elf is the only possible answer. Two or more couldn't do it."

"I think you're right," agreed Rick, with a laugh. "From what Harry has told me, two or more elves could simply debate the whole situation forever."

This brought a distinct high pitched giggle from nearby, and hearty laughter only slightly deeper in tone. The laughter was audible to everyone; the three Government folks stopped in their tracks.

"VERY CLEVER, YOUNG GEORGE," said Kip.

"HE'S FORCED US TO EXPOSE OURSELVES," said Belinda.

"THE HUMAN SENSE OF HUMOR IS A POTENT TOOL," said Kip. "IT IS NOT AS REFINED AS OURS THOUGH."

"I AGREE," said Belinda.

The elves stubbornly remained invisible and silent to the visitors, however.

"Kip and Belinda are shy," George explained to the human guests. "They have made themselves invisible. They'll show themselves once they become a little more comfortable with you."

The party reached the house.

"My predecessor was able to briefly meet an elf gentleman named Kip seventy eight years ago, when the Treaty was originally established," said Rick, as they walked into the study where Mary and Johnny waited. Grog arrived to stand in the doorway. "I myself have never had the pleasure, though on a few occasions I've heard giggles or had little pranks played on me. When I first got the job they didn't show themselves, though they worked through Harry to ask me about a hundred questions. Harry described several elves to me in some detail though. Kip and Belinda are brother and sister philosopher diplomats."

"An apt description," said Kip, as he and Belinda materialized atop a table, which brought gasps from the Government folks. The tiny elves had removed their armor and weapons, and wore only green outfits that made them look very elf-like indeed.

George introduced everyone and they all shook hands. There were smiles all around.

"How do you become invisible?" Henry asked.

"A reasonable question of a scientific nature from the scientist," remarked Belinda.

"And one which we have no way of answering," added Kip.

"We think it, and it becomes that way, though it is harder to do on Earth," continued Belinda.

"You speak of magic?" asked Ellen.

"We speak of a natural talent we elves have learned in order to survive," noted Belinda. "Magic and science are human terms."

"Harry said he thought we did something to alter or take advantage of quantum mechanics," added Kip. "Whatever that is."

"We find your science fascinating but of very limited practical value," noted Belinda. "When one is fleeing a Gron or Bastic that wants to suck out your brain or feed your flesh to its young, a tasty elf must simply try to hide. Hence invisibility. It's a natural elf adaptation that has also been very useful in eluding the Horde."

"Fascinating," said Henry, though he was clearly disappointed not to be having a detailed scientific discussion. "Still, we are studying samples we obtained of Narma materials. In time that may lead to important scientific advances. Could we discuss that?"

"In time, but first I think we should re-establish the Treaty," said Mary.

"Yes, perhaps in time, young one," said Kip, "but we are first currently working on something even more fundamental and necessary."

"Trust," suggested Rick.

"Yes," agreed Belinda. "Your incite serves you well. In that regard, we have hopefully to your satisfaction at least established that we elves exist and are civilized. Also Jewel and the Horde dragons she destroyed should have added much credibility to claims made about dangers that the Earth faces from the Horde and so-forth."

"Let's talk about what some of us don't know," said Henry. "It is obvious that dragons play a central role and are enormously powerful. What can you tell us about dragons and their role in this whole affair? Are there additional good dragons?"

The elves were uncharacteristically silent for several seconds while they pathed each other furiously. "We can indeed confirm the general conclusion that you have reached," said Kip at last. "Dragons are central. We can also add amplifying information, such as the fact that dragons are nearly extinct. This is because the Dark One has destroyed or consumed most of his rivals to become a super powerful dragon. We can say also that dragons are dangerous but not inherently evil, and that the few dragons that remain independent from the Horde oppose the Dark One and elemental Evil. We can also point out that dragons live for many thousands of your years and are very intelligent, independent, secretive, and strong willed.

"Narma and Earth are fortunate that the dragon Jewel opposes the Horde. Dragons are best known by dragons, or by other elementals, and are known mostly by elves and other lesser beings largely through legends passed on for hundreds of their generations. Most elves have never seen a dragon."

"And lived," added Grog, from the doorway.

"We will not say more of dragons at this time," added Belinda. She gave Grog a disapproving glance.

"Interesting," said Henry. "So dragons can be good or bad! What is an elemental?"

"An elemental is a being not like other life," said Kip. "All life such as you and I make use of what you Earthers call energy, but are fundamentally material in structure, and make use of complex carbon-based molecules and water, as described admirably in your science. Elementals are very different. In short, elementals ARE energy more amorphous in form than ordinary matter, though they favor certain stable forms and often are hosted by material forms.

"Harry has said that they are energy that has evolved, in contrast to normal life which is matter evolved. Such boundaries are indistinct, however, as some matter-based forms have learned to manipulate energy as well as matter, and most elementals have learned to manipulate matter and assume material form. Indeed, most elementals choose to assume the form of creatures that look like material life forms, and as well assume many of their ways. But they are not life such as you and I. They are often constrained by habit and custom, but with sufficient will and effort can in some ways remake themselves."

Grog snorted, but otherwise remained silent.

"And this dragon you call the Dark One chooses Evil," said Ellen.

"Both your people and mine agree that the Dark One is monstrously driven by Evil that he harbors," said Kip, nodding, "Evil itself being a primitive elemental form that opposes and indeed feeds on normal life. The closest analog in your world may be a virus."

"The Dark One and Evil seek the death of all life?" asked Henry.

"Evidently. From hence arises our mutual interest in cooperation through a Treaty," concluded Belinda.

"But how?" asked Henry. "How can our alliance hope to defeat such powerful enemies as the Dark One and his Horde? Not even our most powerful weapons of war are effective against even his Horde members."

"Ah, that is the heart of the matter," said Kip, beaming.

"Which we agreed you would indeed be clever enough to ask us about," noted Belinda. "Compared to Narma, which is already beset by the Horde, Earth is a safe haven for the nurturing of our champions, who will one day save both our worlds."

"They will first defend Earth against Evil," said Kip.

"And when the champions are mature, they will go to Narma to fight the Horde," added Belinda.

"And ultimately destroy the Dark One himself," concluded Kip.

"So it is said in legends of our world and many others," concluded Belinda.

"Maturing of champions!" said Henry, looking at the teens. "These children?"

"That is our hope," said Kip.

Henry shook his head. "We are very impressed by George, of course, but it seems rather farfetched to think he would ever be a match for any dragon."

"He and Mary are those whom we call the Chosen Ones. In time, as they learn more of what that means, they will enlighten both you and us further on what it means. You are, however, already familiar with some of the Earthly exploits of George's illustrious relative, Harry?"

"We are," said Rick. "As a young man I documented many of them myself."

"He and George's mother had many more exploits on Narma. Yet they were not fully Chosen," said Belinda.

"George and Mary will face greater dangers and have greater exploits and much greater powers than their forbearers," said Kim.

"So it is said," added Belinda.

"Said by whom?" asked Henry. "You speak as though you already know what will happen."

The elves looked at each other and shrugged. "Visions of what may happen in the future are rare but it is not unusual for dragons to have that power," said Kip. "Dragon dreams are said to be the source of Narma elf and Earth human legends of the Chosen."

"The legends are somewhat vague, but do specify that Chosen humans allied with elves will be key in destroying the Dark One," said Belinda.

"Which is why most humans of Narma have been exterminated by the Horde," said Kip.

"And why elves have also been decimated and made to suffer," added Belinda.

"This whole Chosen One business is based on only a legend?" Henry asked.

"Legend based on dragon dreams that are of credible possible futures which are now becoming reality," Kip clarified.

"And which are our only hope to end the nightmare of the Dark One and His Evil," said Belinda. "Visions and resulting legends only offer guidance as to what is possible, however. Often they only become reality because of great struggle and sacrifice to make them come true. To end the nightmare we face however, any struggle, any sacrifice, is worth the effort. The nightmare we live in Narma is something that none of you Earthers can fully understand, but you should be very thankful for that."

"What can't we understand?" asked Ellen. "Please help us understand, whatever it is."

The smiles had disappeared from the tiny faces of both elves, and Kip put his arms around his smaller sister to comfort her.

"Not a good idea," rumbled Grog.

"No friend troll, perhaps it would help," said Kip. "Very well, we will show you some of our own memories."

"How?" began Ellen, "are you going to mess with our minds?"

"Do not be alarmed, it is only memories; mere shadows of reality," said Belinda. "You will not be harmed, and it will last only a very brief time, though it will seem much longer span to you."

With that the elves both closed their eyes.

To all the humans it seemed their own eyes reopened to another world. They were among a group of several smiling, laughing, playing elf children, prancing through a great forest, along a well-worn dirt path. The trees were enormous, even considering they were being viewed from the standpoint of a juvenile elf. The green trunks were sectioned bamboo-like and over ten feet in diameter; each split a hundred feet overhead into roughly a dozen great branches that shot in all directions and ended in monstrous pom-poms of huge green and purple leaves. High above the trees twin suns shone brightly through puffy white clouds.

Colorful, insect-like flying creatures flitted about in great profusion, many of them with multi-legged, multi-segmented bodies larger than the young elves. These paid particular attention to ten-foot tall, lily-like flowers that grew to each side of the path in clumps of hundreds of plants.

They were obviously seeing through the eyes of one of the elves as they trotted along down the path. Suddenly the point of view changed as the elf suddenly shot up dozens of feet into the air, than dropped head-first into a huge flower that enveloped them in cool, soft petals.

The humans gasped at the overpowering, rich sweet aroma of the flower.

"Kip!" said an incredibly high pitched voice, between laughter, "you'll be sorry!"

The elf shot up out of the flower and literally flew towards another of the children, a grinning male elf significantly bigger and older than the others. There was no mistaking Kip, though he looked younger. He looked up in surprise, than first shot off in a dead run, and then took flight himself.

The chase took them off the path in into the forest, dodging among trees, flowers, and insects. The pursuing elf nearly caught Kip several times, but he dodged skillfully. Both were laughing as they went until at last the pursuer slammed atop Kip and tumbled him to the ground.

"Your flying has much improved, Sister," said Kip, when he was finally able to cease his laughter and catch his breath long enough to speak.

"I agree, Brother," said Belinda, breathlessly.

They both lay back on the ground to rest for a bit, staring up at trees swaying in gentle breezes below puffy clouds drifting high overhead.

Suddenly the ground rumbled and shook violently, bouncing the young elves several feet into the air and causing tree leaves the size of table tops to fall to the ground around them.

"Not a quake," said Kip. "But then what?"

In the distance they could hear the voices of their playmates, though too faintly to make out any words. Of their thoughts only fear could be detected.

"Are they screaming?" Belinda asked, puzzled.

"The tremor must have frightened them," reasoned Kip. "I am eldest, I should be with them."

"It's more than that," said Belinda. "Something is wrong; something very bad. Their fear is so great that they can no longer clearly form thoughts."

"I know," said Kip. He felt it too.

"I don't hear them anymore at all," said Belinda. "We need to get to them."

"We'll run on the ground to conserve our strength," said Kip, "and to stay under the cover of trees. Avid broadcasting thoughts also."

Belinda felt puzzled about why they should stay hidden, but they were soon too busy running for her to ask any questions. As the elves ran back to the path, the human witnesses could feel tension and fear build in both elves. In a few minutes they were approaching the path.

Kip suddenly stopped so suddenly that Belinda nearly bowled him over again. She looked around him to see what he was staring at wide-eyed. At first what she saw was so odd and monstrous her mind had problems dealing with it, but in a moment the horror of it fully registered painfully. It was a small elf hand attached to a few inches of torn, bloody arm, lying lifeless in the branches of a small bush. On one of the fingers was a ring with blue stone that she immediately identified as belonging to her best friend, Rena.

What happened immediately after that was seen though eyes of a crying, terrified child. At Kip's insistence, Belinda retreated deeper into the forest while he searched alone for signs of the other young elves.

The perspective the human viewers experienced then clearly switched from Belinda to that of a distraught Kip as he approached the path. Repeatedly he tried to contact his parents, and than any adult, via telepathy, but got no answer. Those efforts were forgotten when he reached the area where he expected to find the other young elves.

What he found was truly horrific: elf remains were strewn all about, crushed, torn or burned. Perhaps worse, he found one elf child near death, broken and torn beyond any hope of repair by even elf magic. All Kip could do was kneel next to her for a few agonizing minutes and use his limited skills to ease her pain until she died. There was almost no trace of whatever had attacked them; only a faint aura of Evil.

Kip ran back to Belinda and fled with her towards the town, though he was careful to bypass the path and the carnage. They ran warily, constantly alert for danger, but saw nothing.

As they ran, Kip's numbed thoughts turned to speculation as to what had attacked the children. There were dangerous beasts in the forest that could take an unaware elf child, but not a dozen elf students that had defensive training. There were also occasional traveling strangers that could pose danger, but to what purpose? Besides, beasts or strangers would have left footprints and other evidence.

No, this must be related to rumors that a powerful dragon had turned rogue and along with his Horde of followers was killing and destroying everyone and everything they encountered. When last he heard, the problem hadn't reached Narma, but the Elders were very worried. Now when he tried to reach anyone in the town telepathically, there was only silence. Were they staying silent to avoid detection, or had something terrible happened to them also?

As they approached the elf town, the two young elves began to find signs of massive destruction. The tops of trees were blackened and smoking, as though singed by fire. Soon they encountered entire trees that were dead and blackened, along with bushes and flowers similarly destroyed.

On a hill that overlooked the town their worst fears were realized. They saw that the entire town was blackened and smoldering.

"The protective ward exploded as it was overcome," said Belinda. "That was the origin of the sound and quake. Only a dragon or unicorn would have the power to do this."

"The burns are from some form of dragon fire, I think," added Kip. He had never seen a dragon, but there were many stories told of them.

"Is that what killed the children?" Belinda asked. Kip had told her they were dead, but had provided no details.

"No," said Kip. A dragon would not bother tearing each individual elf to bits. "Lesser members of the Horde, I suspect, were sent after elves in outlying areas while the dragon focused on the town. Something else that can fly attacked our party. Griffins, perhaps."

The two elves said nothing else, but could only sob and cry as they walked into what had been their home-town. Some buildings still burned, but most were already reduced to ash. Elf bodies, burned almost beyond recognition, littered the ground by the hundreds. Elves, domestic animals, grass, trees: everything was dead.

At last they reached the blackened, smoldering remains of their own home. A half-dozen flame blackened bodies were inside. It had to be their parents, grandmother, and three older siblings.

The six humans came out of their trance to find Kip and Belinda hugging each other as they cried openly. It was obvious that they had become too distraught to continue.

The humans were all shaken by what they had experienced. Even the normally wise-cracking Johnny sat quiet and slack-jawed.

"That was only the beginning," explained Grog, speaking almost in a whisper. "All elf, human, and troll towns on Narma soon were destroyed, and most elves, humans, and trolls were killed."

"That's horrible," said Mary.

"Most that still lived were hunted down and made slaves to the Horde," Grog continued.

"How many still live now?" asked Rick.

"Don't know," Grog said with a shrug. "Maybe only few hundred humans, a few thousand trolls, a few tens of thousands of elves survive from populations of many millions. Of elves only few thousand hiding such as Kip and Belinda be not slaves. All humans except maybe a few be hiding. Most humans found are killed, not made slaves."

"What have we showed you happened to us about a thousand of your years ago," said a more composed Kip. "It was only the beginning of a nightmare for us that has never ended. Many hundreds of such scenes we have seen; many thousands more we know of. Death and misery beyond comprehension. We have also heard of similar disasters on many other planets besides our home-world of Narma."

"So you understand better now, when we say this is our only hope to end our nightmare, that this is very important to us," added Belinda. "It is everything."

"And so that you also comprehend better what you face," said Kip, "also understand that other planets have had science and weapons. Some had great ships that traveled between planets, and weapons far beyond yours."

"None have stopped the Dark One or his Horde," said Belinda.

"Most planets the Dark One visits become totally dead worlds," explained Kip. "Your weapons would not stop them, any more than we could."

"Thank you," said Henry, after a few moments of shocked silence. "I think we understand much better now. Your story is both humbling and terrifying beyond comprehension."

A Treaty very similar to the original one was soon agreed to. The most significant change discussed was one that involved the fact that in the eyes of the human community, George was a minor. Finally it was decided that Ellen had permission to live in the Simple House with George. She would be given paperwork making her his legal guardian as a long-lost aunt, even though in reality George would have final say in all matters.

"We agree to this despite what your superiors have told you," said Kip to her.

Ellen appeared shocked.

"We have seen your heart as well as your thoughts," explained Belinda.

"I don't understand," said Henry. Rick also appeared to be puzzled.

"We are aware that Jerrod and his bosses still do not trust us," said George.

"This we have all seen," added Belinda, "even the young Chosen ones." She nodded towards George and Mary.

"Your bosses have put you into a very awkward situation, Ellen," said Belinda. "They think of using us all for their petty purposes, and still scheme to seize this house and all that live in it. However, we trust you personally, Ellen. Your stronger alliance is to a greater good. Rick has chosen well, under the circumstances."

Ellen forced an awkward smile. "I am actually very relieved to have this out in the open."

"I can't say that I'm surprised," said Henry. "There are different factions in our Government with very different opinions on how to deal with this business."

"Tell them all that such games cannot be tolerated," said George.

"The President will tell them," said Henry. "However, it is their duty to retain skepticism about everything, regardless of what even the President tells them."

"Skepticism is understandable and tolerable," said Kip. "Betrayal would not be."

"Betrayal would be a grave mistake," said Belinda. "The safety and development of the Chosen is paramount. We would be forced to move them to another planet. We would regret having to do such a thing, but Earth is only one small world, while the fate of thousands of other worlds, including our own world Narma, is at stake."

"I would also have to support leaving here, if the Government forced it," said George. Mary simply nodded.

"Your world would then be left without immediate protection," added Kip.

"From a Horde that has standing orders to kill all humans," added Belinda.

"You are saying that we must trust you," said Henry, "but there are things you do not trust us to know. Trust goes both ways."

"You will learn everything soon enough," said Kip. "But you humans have a rule about secrets having to do with a 'need to know'. When you need to know, you will know, that we promise you."

"I wouldn't support that position if it was something harmful to my planet or my country," added George.

"Nor would I," said Mary. "And we must insist that Ellen also keep certain secrets until we agree to release them."

"What if I feel it my duty to report it?" Ellen asked. "For my planet or country?"

"We said that we trusted you," said Kip. "You must first help George and Mary in deciding. We trust in George, aided by Grog and Mary, to represent both our interests and yours. But if Ellen were to come to feel she must tell your Government something we will not stop her."

"Does your Government trust Ellen as much as we?" asked Belinda.

"To some degree," said Henry. "If we didn't, she wouldn't be here today."

"Very well then, it is decided," said Belinda, as everyone else nodded their agreement.

Soon the Treaty was signed and the Government visitors left.

Much to the disappointment of the teenagers, Kip and Belinda announced that they must immediately return to Narma. George, Mary and Grog walked them to the Portal.

"But there are so many questions unanswered!" complained George. "Especially about dragons."

"We two are not true dragon experts," replied Kip.

"We are indeed very much inclined to avoid dragons altogether," added Belinda.

"Your uncle's library and Grog contain much more information on dragons than do we," explained Kip.

Grog shrugged. "I can tell you more, but maybe you won't like it."

"Great!" said Johnny. "Dragons are SO cool!"

"What about witches?" George asked.

"We are unfortunately very familiar with witches," conceded Kip.

"We suspect that Witch Greble may be the Witch that killed your parents," said Belinda. "We had thought her dead by your mother's hand, but can think of none other who would so strongly seek revenge on your parents and would possess the needed powers and skills. She must have somehow found the Portal and came here to Earth to seek out revenge on Joan Simple."

George was too stunned to say anything. His parent's murderer had a name now!

"She is very dangerous," added Kip, "as well as very difficult to detect."

"Jewel has the best chance of finding and defeating her," added Belinda. "We hope to return to Narma and find out that Jewel has already succeeded in destroying her in Narma. In the meantime, be alert, young George, for she might not be in Narma."

"I agree," said Kip. "Logic dictates that she could possibly return to Earth."

"Though that is perhaps improbable," said Belinda, "as suggested by Jewel's decision to seek her in Narma."

Mary shook her head. "I don't think that conclusion necessarily follows. Jewel went to Narma to prevent the worst-case scenario that the Witch may inform others of the Horde of what she suspects to be happening on Earth, and that the Sisters are in pursuit of something of interest to the Dark One. That doesn't mean that she thinks that the Witch is in Narma for certain, only that it would the worst case situation."

"Excellent logic!" remarked Belinda.

"I see what you mean," said George. "That sort of reasoning is used by humans in something called operations research. So the bottom line for you is this: you think the Witch may be on Earth?"

"The bottom line is, I have no idea," said Mary, "but I don't think any of us do."

"I agree," said Kip, with a shrug.

"I too," added Belinda.

"The witch be here only a few days ago," rumbled Grog.

"By what logic do you arrive at that conclusion, my large and hairy friend?" asked Kip.

Grog pointed to his nose. "Her Evil smell of death lingers here, though she not be near here now. Maybe she go to Narma again, or maybe she be somewhere else on Earth."

"Great," commented Mary. "We don't even know which universe she is in!"

****

### CHAPTER 13

The Hidden

Jewel had arrived in Narma just as Greble was leaving for Earth. What saved the Witch was luck and her Talisman's quick reaction. As luck would have it, the dragon stepped out of the Portal on the side opposite to where the Witch was about to enter it, such that Jewel was facing the other way and didn't immediately sense her. A jolt from her Talisman caused her to leap into the Portal and escape safely to Earth.

After arriving on Earth, she had been able to find only faint charred remains of the Two Horde Sisters. Yes, they had indeed run into serious trouble! Greble hadn't remained in the area very long due to danger that she sensed in the form of an Elf Warrior and a very young but dangerous dragon. The egg had obviously hatched!

Strengthened by the Talisman, she could have simply attacked the Warrior and the young dragon immediately, but although she might have had a quick victory, she might also have been destroyed herself. Without Jewel they had lost most of their strength, but even a young male dragon was nothing to trifle with. Also, she had fought a human Elf Warrior in the past, and wasn't eager to repeat the experience. Then there was the troll. Without the other two, a troll wasn't much to worry about, but in combination with the other two, he could possibly tip the balance in their favor.

"WEAKEN THEM FIRST USING EARTHLY EVIL," her Talisman advised.

Based on that that hint Greble decided on a more elegant and indirect approach to destroying the dragon hatchling and the humans. On her previous Earth visit she had sensed the presence of dormant Earth-powers, some very powerful and with a decidedly Evil disposition. She decided to awaken some of these and have them attack her enemies for her. In the ensuing confusion she could join in the fun by consuming Earth life.

To begin with she had to travel using human methods. She wasn't immediately successful, but she learned quickly. After a few unfortunate incidents she determined not to consume human pilots or drivers of land vehicles until AFTER they had gotten her to where she wanted them to take her. She also learned that like the humans on Narma, Earth humans responded well to pain and were terror stricken when faced with death.

It was easy to travel from what they called the United States to Africa. There, deep in a rain forest full of scrumptious life, she found the site where an ancient Evil tinged elemental named KraKara was buried deep below the ground. Long ago this elemental had developed a craving for human flesh, but had been finally overcome by human witchdoctors and imprisoned.

Even now over the site a tribe lived which trained witchdoctors in the art of KraKara imprisonment. When what appeared to be an old woman covered in black robes entered the village, few took heed. Greble walked up to the current lead witchdoctor before her dark aura was recognized. As he stood up to stare at her with a startled look in his eyes, she threw back her hood, revealing a skull-like face that grinned to show sharp canine teeth.

"Are you death?" he asked, for he had never seen anyone remotely like her, except perhaps a long dead body he had once found in the jungle.

"I have come to free KraKara, human."

"No, no," said the shocked witchdoctor. "It is ancient Evil and will kill us all!"

"It will not kill you," replied Greble. "I will do that."

At that the witchdoctor suddenly felt intense burning pain in his hands and feet. Looking at his hands, he was shocked to see them gray and wither before his eyes. His feet seemed to also burn and would no longer support his weight. As he fell to the ground, screaming in agony and terror, he was aware of the other people in the village doing the same. Women, children and men, all were shouting and screaming and crying in fright and pain!

In seconds, the atrophy and excruciating pain had traveled up each limb to the knees and elbows. Hundreds of victims kicked and rolled about on the ground futilely, arms and legs broken and withered.

"Wanwago, wanwago, kunabo," the witchdoctor screamed, in a moment of clarity and purpose.

These were words of power that rocked Greble, though only for a moment. What had struck her was some sort of life force, drawn from the forest. She smiled more broadly as she quickly learned to absorb this new power source. Trees around the village cracked, shattered and fell lifeless to the ground, their life force drained into Greble and her Talisman through the witchdoctor. Birds and insects fell dead from the sky, grass blackened, and even the soil lost color as countless billions of insects, worms, microbes and other living things died.

The witchdoctor's screams ceased as he withered and died, but still the circle of death expanded, for Greble and her Talisman were perfectly capable of absorbing life forces without using someone else as a channel. When she finally stopped, everything within quarter-mile had been killed, with the exception of the ancient creature that slept buried a hundred feet below the village. It was the best she had fed in many years, for on Narma, such an action could draw the attention of the Horde, and before finding the Talisman she hadn't the strength to kill so many! KraKara would doubtlessly get blamed by the humans for these deaths.

"ARISE AND EAT ALL LIFE THAT YOU WISH," she commanded KraKara telepathically, for that was its nature. She sent it some of the newly absorbed life-energy along with the command, to get its attention. It couldn't consume much of the life energies in that way, but was stimulated enough by the concentrated energies such that after centuries of rest it was immediately aroused and aware.

It had slept long, far longer than normal for it, and it was ravenous. It sensed a world that had changed, but still contained numerous life forms suitable for consumption. It was aware that the powers that had subtlety made it sleep were at last gone and a small but powerful and unfamiliar Evil creature was summoning it.

It slowly sat upright, effortlessly shifting hundreds of tons of rock and soil to do so. Its misshapen head towered a hundred feet above the diminutive Witch, though the creature was still mostly buried underground. It somewhat resembled a near-human skeleton in form, but as Greble watched, what looked like putrid flesh formed to cover the bone. It stood on its rear legs to tower over the tiny being that had freed it.

Greble smiled. KraKara was an elemental, all right, but quite primitive. Immensely powerful physically and infused with Evil, but stupid. It suited her purposes perfectly.

It roared and produced a sound disturbingly like that of a dragon, then impulsively swung a massive fore-paw at Greble.

Greble smoothly glided to one side, such that the blow struck the ground next to her, thunderously smashing its paw a dozen feet into the soil.

Then the Witch struck back. Absorbing another elemental was normally dangerous, but she drew the massive arm to herself, assimilating the putrid energies, gambling that after feeding she was the stronger. She was right; Greble and her Talisman were much the stronger.

KraKara screamed as its arm disappeared, replaced by incredible pain many times worse than the spells that had imprisoned it centuries ago. The creature drew back from the Evil little creature that had injured her worse than anything else ever had or could!

Greble was shaken herself. The putrid energies she absorbed fought to free themselves from her for several long seconds, but with difficulty and with the help of her Talisman she finally contained them. It was fortunate that she had just fed and strengthened herself, while KraKara had not fed in thousands of years. "I have tasks for you," she told the creature. The Simple House was a long way off, but if she could get the creature to an airport, perhaps it could be carried by a very large transport airplane. Perhaps crashing the airplane and monster directly into the Simple House would be doubly beneficial.

If the creature understood her, it didn't acknowledge that it did. It turned and climbed out of the hole in one smooth motion and walked away ponderously, ignoring her commands to stop. Another arm formed as it walked.

Not exactly what the Witch had planned, but good enough. The brutish creature was too stupid to be controlled, but it would be a distraction, at the very least. As she returned to the airport she heard reports of the creature already rampaging through villages, devouring everyone it could catch. The humans couldn't stop it with their puny weapons.

At the airport thousands of panicked people were swarming to leave the country. "The creature will kill us all," they screamed. Greble amused herself by sucking the life from several of them, causing further panic. "We are cursed," they shouted, while Greble laughed. Some fled the airport for the surrounding countryside, while others crammed into departing aircraft.

Greble departed on one of the escaping flights. She soon sucked the life from a hundred passengers and animated several of their dead husks to throw the others and themselves from the plane for her further entertainment.

India was her next stop. She sensed countless succulent human lives and many hidden ancient creatures in India. After that she planned to travel to the Middle East, China, and perhaps South America. She would save North America for last.

As she consumed the last of the aircrew that had flown her to New Delhi, she reflected that she would not need to control most of the monsters after all, but merely wake them up. They didn't need to be commanded to know how to kill.

Several of the humans she had killed had made reference to a hero known as Mystery Man. Curious, she had tortured more information from them. She finally realized that they were describing the old Elf Warrior who guarded the Portal.

She concluded that for reasons unknown, the Elf Warrior had in the past gone out of his way to defend human lives. That suggested that she would not need to get the monsters to travel to the Portal; the Elf Warrior, and perhaps the baby dragon that likely gave him some of his powers, would travel to the monsters to destroy them.

Greble would watch. If the Earth monsters killed the dragon and the warrior, all the better. If not, she would watch for the right moment to intervene and finish them herself. Either way, she would minimize the effort required as well as risk to herself.

Her Black Talisman of power unexpectedly gave her a painful burst of power and reminded her that the White Dragon was not to be completely destroyed. Some of it or its Chosen had to remain for consumption the Dark One. "VERY WELL," she acknowledged.

As she exited the airplane at New Delhi she sensed cities teeming with potential victims, as well as additional monstrous creatures that had slept for millennia.

****

### CHAPTER 14

About Dragons

After the elves left, the teen trio had several blessedly uneventful days at school. While at home, George focused on establishing communications with his dragon. Before making another attempt to contact it however, he wanted more information on the creatures. He started by looking in elf books. He could read elf now, though only awkwardly. There were hundreds of volumes in the house that related to dragons, but most were highly speculative and based on second or third hand accounts of dragon doings. This seemed to be a result of two factors: elves were a very bookish people, and dragons did indeed sometimes eat elves.

He came to better appreciate some of the more skeptical comments Grog had made about Uncle Henry's academic approach to things. George needed practical information, good solid information rather than mere speculation, and he needed it now rather than years from now. However, even though he was becoming more and more skeptical, he still hoped he would find what he needed somewhere among the mounds of books and journals. And then there were the statues. They were supposed to also somehow be sources of information, but so far they were mute to his attempts to access them.

He skimmed his mother's journal and found fascinating descriptions of her adventures on Narma, including a thrilling account of how Jewel stole a male dragon egg from the harem of the Dark One and gave it to the elves and Harry for safe-keeping on Earth. But he found nothing directly related to dragon Chosen. He put the journal aside and promised himself that he would study its contents in detail when he had the time.

As a long-shot George also visited the local library with Mary. They found no dragon reference books at all that were worth checking out, but he did get himself a library card. While there, they tried to identify any damage from the dragon's much publicized visit. They were relieved to find that no damage remained evident.

The head librarian that had seen the dragon issued George a library card, and seemed none the worse for her experience. She was a small, friendly little lady named Ruth, whom George immediately liked.

On their way out of the library another librarian pulled Mary and George aside and thanked them for not asking Ruth about the dragon incident. "Ruth hides it, but the incident was very upsetting to her," the woman explained. "We think that normal routine will help her heal. She is afraid that she has been losing her mind."

"We've got to help her, somehow," Mary remarked after they left the library, but they had no ideas about how to do it.

Grog proved to be the best source for practical dragon information. After a few relatively fruitless evenings studying elf-books, George was happy to get out of the house to speak with the troll. With his elf-powers he sensed exactly where Grog was and easily found him, tending the recovering forest by thinning out new trees close to where Harry was buried.

"How goes it?" George asked the big troll.

"Good. Trees here need to have plenty of room to grow biggest, in honor of your uncle."

"What more can you tell me of dragons?"

The big troll snorted loudly. "Dragons be biggest, strongest, oldest, wisest, most dangerous of creatures."

"Can someone be friends with a dragon?"

"Dragons make worst enemies, but can maybe be best friends. But that be hard, me think, being friends. Dragons mostly live with self. You be Chosen; dragon chose you to be best friend. Very special thing for dragon and for human. The Chosen be more than a close friend to their dragon."

"How can I be his best friend, if he won't even talk with me?"

The troll shrugged. "Elf plan is good. You find dragon name in you."

"Harry didn't know his name, did he?"

"No. Harry not be Chosen. Harry and Joan be his friends, talk with him when he be in egg, but not be his best friend. Not Chosen."

"Would his name be in elf language?"

The troll laughed heartily. "No language, all languages. Dragon and elf very different. Nothing be close to dragons. Languages not important for dragons."

"What kind of name would my dragon have? Something like Jewel?"

"No. Not have name like female dragon. He have strong name for male."

"Like Thunder or Storm?"

"Yes, but I think it must be even stronger name. This be most special dragon ever. Dark One be only other male dragon. This dragon be only hope for freedom and life for many, many worlds."

The enormity of it hit George hard. He had been thinking in terms of saving Earth and Narma, and how that was an absurdly enormous responsibility for a fifteen year old teen to play a key role in, but there was much more at stake than even that. "Where is he? Do you know?"

"No. Hidden dragon leave few signs."

"Any advice you can give me?"

The big troll shrugged. "You be the Chosen."

"OK, can you tell me more about what that means? Being the Chosen, I mean?"

The troll sighed. "Long time ago dragons not have Chosen ones. Dragons live apart from other dragons, and apart from all others. Dragons fight, kill other dragons, kill others. Many baby dragons die, as they be weakest."

"They decline, but then they become wise. Get others to help. Dragons still live apart, but less fighting, less killing each other. Each color dragon lives in a different universe. Chosen ones help dragons at start of life after egg. Help dragons be smart from start. Humans make best Chosen ones."

"I'm a nursemaid?"

Grog laughed again. "Young dragons not be like human small ones; dragon is already old when born. You be friend, helper. More, you be part of him."

"Part of him? What does that mean?"

Grog shrugged. "You be Chosen One. It be for you to know."

"How long do dragons live?"

The troll shrugged again. "Long like mountain or stars. They be elementals."

"What's an elemental again?"

"Not like other life. Harry say they be much energy that choose matter as form of life. After long time, most forget how to change form, but some dragons remember. White dragons be of all colors and know all, their knowledge and magic be strongest, except maybe for black dragons."

"Dragons chose to be in the form of dragons?"

"Long, long ago they choose. Harry read this theory in elf books. Is elf theory, elf theory maybe is dragon fact, maybe not."

"After I die, will my dragon pick another Chosen one?"

"Probably no. He be grown then. You live long also, but I think maybe not so long as dragon."

"I'll live long like my Uncle Harry?" George hadn't thought of that.

"Much longer, I think. You still be human, but not human. Maybe. It has been a long time since there have been dragon Chosen Ones."

The thought that he was a Chosen One chilled George. But it made sense. How else could he have lifted an auto? Normal human body materials simply weren't strong enough to support what he could do: human bones, tendons, muscles, and other parts would have broken and torn under the strain. Yet he felt perfectly normal. Human but not human? And the same for Mary?

"Mary be chosen by adult dragon for other reasons," said Grog.

"Other reasons?"

"Grog think Jewel want to be mate and mother to more dragons. Many dragons of many colors. She want to bring back the dragons that the Dark One consumed."

"Damn!" Of course! It was so obvious, though what a Chosen One had to do with it was still unknown. "How long does it take dragons to grow up?"

Grog shrugged yet again. "Grog never see baby dragon. No baby dragons for a thousand years, maybe more."

George's jaw dropped open in astonishment. "I'm the first Chosen One in a thousand years?"

The big hairy head nodded. "Maybe more."

"All this that you have been telling me is based on what?"

"Old legends, books. Much is true, maybe. Maybe not."

"Swell."

****

Later that evening George cleared his head of schoolwork and other distractions to focus totally on his dragon problem. He thought about everything Grog and the elves told him, and what Jewel and the fledgling dragon had himself said. Then he lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and let his mind's eye wonder. Scrying, it was called, according to the elves.

He hadn't attempted this since Mary had first helped him, and was amazed how much easier and effective it was this time. It was as if he was moving through the house looking at everything through eyes that saw into and through things with a more sensitive vision than ever before. Perhaps it was because with his eyes closed, his normal vision was not interfering. He could easily identify elf items; he could even see into elfin books and read them. He didn't have to go through doorways or climb stairs; he could will his point of view to move through walls, floors, ceilings and various objects as though they were insubstantial like fog.

He studied Harry's old dragon scales very carefully. Harry had been wrong; they weren't really dead, not totally. There was still a vital energy in them, different from other objects he had studied, but life of some kind, and somehow familiar. He also found that his non-corporal self couldn't see through the scales or pass through them.

He was tempted to search out the missing baby dragon using his skills, but there was something else he wanted to do first. Jewel had told him to know himself and his dragon. What did he look like to himself, he wondered? He turned towards his body and looked at himself. What he saw frightened and intrigued him. In terms of substance he saw human, elf, and dragon, all rolled up in one. As with the dragon scale, he couldn't see through himself either. The dragon in him was similar to that of the scales, but distinctively a different dragon.

In an instant, everything became clear. The dragon he saw in himself was part of his dragon; they were one in the same, the dragon and himself. "I am him, he is me!" he concluded aloud.

This was followed by the realization that since he was part of the dragon, he didn't really have to look for him somewhere else. He looked at the mysterious White Dragon ring that was for the moment again on his right index finger. What it really was seemed so obvious he couldn't believe that he hadn't figured it out much sooner!

The ring was the dragon! He could SEE that it was the dragon!

And, of course, it followed that he knew his dragon name, as it was also his own. Grog had been right. It was indeed a powerful name, a name that went beyond mere physical power and to the heart of the issue that was their destiny. He knew the name in a dozen Narman languages including Elf, but the English version still held most meaning for him. "FREEDOM," he said, both aloud and telepathically, "THAT IS OUR NAME. AND I WEAR YOU ON MY FINGER. WE ARE PART OF EACH OTHER!"

In his mind, a dragon roar answered. "CORRECT, MY CHOSEN ONE!" said Freedom. "DREAM AND LEARN STILL MORE!"

George found himself flying high above a strange planet, a world with several large seas but mostly smoldering volcanic mountains that towered among rich green life. He was immediately aware of his dragon-self, of a great green body with wings and tail, talons for feet and fanged jaws, and eyes that could see distant objects clearly. He was still high above an atmosphere filed with scattered white, billowing clouds, but was spiraling down rapidly towards an unusually large mountain.

This was a vision, George realized on some level, much as he had experienced with the elves, but even more vivid.

He was aware of several dozens of his kind, flying in parallel with him. The dragons were of every conceivable color, but most were very much smaller than him. "FEMALES," said the now familiar voice of Freedom.

"What is this place?" George asked.

"THE LAST GREAT DRAGON GATHERING IN OUR ANCESTRAL MEMORY. WATCH AND LISTEN."

A golden male dragon abruptly popped into existence a short distance off their right wing. The dragons could teleport themselves without a portal, George noted. More dragons popped into view: dozens of them.

"YES," said Freedom, "WE CAN TELEPORT BOTH WITHIN AND BETWEEN WORLDS. BUT IT REQUIRES MORE EFFORT THAN SIMPLY FLYING."

The green dragon roared a telepathic greeting that the golden dragon answered with a telepathic roar of its own, all in the silence of space. Thoughts were also being exchanged, with the one persistent question being echoed again and again being the issue of why they were meeting. Nobody seemed to know why thousands of dragons from throughout hundreds of galaxies and several dozen parallel dimensions were being called here. Gatherings were supposed to be called only because of dire emergencies, and none were known to exist. Most dragons led contented and solitary lives.

At last the great green dragon landed to stand among its peers on a rocky crag of a great volcano that sputtered smoke skyward. Now that they were closer, the size difference between males and females was even more evident: females varied in size but were no more than a fifth as big as each male. The males were in turn fairly uniform in size, though the color of each was unique. However, there were easily ten females for every male.

For what seemed like hours the dragons stood strutting, roaring, and complaining, while more and more of them arrived, until the entire mountain was covered with thousands of the great noisy beasts of various colors.

"Order, order," became the cry, and soon there was silence.

"MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS," announced a black male dragon from atop the mountain, "THANK YOU FOR COMING."

"WHY?" echoed a thousand replies, many not friendly.

"I called for this gathering because our way of life is threatened," said the black dragon. "Lower life forms are infesting our worlds. This very planet, once a glowing red sphere, is overrun with stationary green light-eaters and mobile creatures that eat them. Some of the vermin are even sentient and learn the control of powers that could become dangerous to us."

Many of the dragons laughed, while others responded in anger, some spouting fire. The green dragon waited for them to vent their thoughts before calling for order and responding himself. "They are at times an annoyance but more often they amuse. We ourselves have patterned our appearance after a particularly ancient example of such life forms. Not one planet in ten is infested at all, while of those with life not one in ten has sentient life. Of these, I have seen none that threaten dragons. Indeed, several of us have adapted to companionship with several life forms to aid in the development of young dragons. Because of the stimulation provided by them soon our numbers will be optimal. Far from being a harm to us, they have provided us salvation from stagnation and decline." Many dragons snorted in agreement.

"There are already enough dragons in number," said the black dragon, "BUT LIMITED AS EACH OF US ARE BY THE PACT, WE WILL BECOME EVER LESSER CREATURES AS COMPARED WITH THE VERMIN THAT CONTINUE TO GROW. WE MUST NULLIFY THE PACT THAT LIMITS US AND GROW AS GREAT AS WE CAN, AND WE MUST OBLITERATE THE VERMIN."

"GROWTH, INCLUDING GROWTH OF OTHERS, IS THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS," countered the Green. "AS WE GREW TO WHAT WE ARE, SO SHOULD OTHERS BE ALLOWED TO THUS GROW. BUT WE HAVE DECIDED AS A GROUP TO GROW NO FURTHER IN PERSONAL POWER THAN IS REPRESENTED BY THE DRAGON FORM AS LIMITED BY AN INDIVIDUAL COLOR. AS WE FAR EXCEED ALL OTHERS IN THE POWER THAT WE HAVE, THIS IS STILL FITTING. FURTHER GROWTH OF POWER IN OURSELVES WOULD BE AN ABOMINATION." Thousands of dragons snorted in approval.

"YOU ARE FOOLS," said the black dragon. "IF YOU HAVEN'T THE STOMACH FOR WHAT MUST BE DONE, A CHAMPION IS NEEDED TO SET THINGS RIGHT. SOMEONE WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO GROW IN POWER, AND NOT AFRAID TO DESTROY OUR ENEMIES. I AM THAT CHAMPION."

"IF YOU BREAK THE PACT YOU WILL FEEL OUR WRATH," said a golden male. "THIS GATHERING IS OVER."

"SO SAY WE," said a female.

"SO SAY WE ALL," echoed a thousand other voices.

"AND WHO STANDS WITH ME?" demanded the black dragon angrily.

None answered. The other dragons were teleporting away from where they stood. When the green dragon at last disappeared the black dragon stood alone, belching green fire into the sky in anger. The scene faded away.

Next the green dragon spiraled down to a barren, lifeless planet. Only a dozen dragons gathered on a mountain that George with a shock recognized to be the same mountain as the previous Gathering. Some period of time must have passed. Now it was a place of death. The air smelled of smoke and the forests that had lined the fire-charred valley below were burned to ash. The entire planet reminded George of the battle zone in back of the Simple House, but millions of times worse.

The small gathering of dragons, only three of them males, watched each other nervously.

"WHAT HAS HAPPENED HERE?" asked the green. "I CALLED FOR A FULL GATHERING; WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?"

"WE ARE ALL THAT DARED COME," said a male Gold dragon. "MOST OTHERS ARE DESTROYED. THE BLACK ONE BROKE THE PACT. HE CONSUMED FEMALES FIRST, GATHERING THEIR STRENGTH TO HIM. HE DESTROYS ALL LIFE, INCLUDING THAT OF THIS WORLD. HE KILLS NOT FOR SPORT OR OUT OF REASON, BUT BECAUSE IT NOURISHES THE EVIL THAT HE HAS TAKEN INTO HIMSELF."

George could feel the green dragon quake in revulsion. "DRAGONS ARE TO DESTROY EVIL, NOT TAKE IT UNTO THEMSELVES. HE DESTROYS HIMSELF AS WELL AS THE REST OF US!"

"THAN HE STARTED DESTROYING MALES THAT HE FOUND SLEEPING, AND TAKING THE POWER OF THEIR COLORS TO HIMSELF," said a black female. "HE ALSO DESTROYS ALL MALE EGGS."

"BUT THERE ARE TOO MANY OF US WHO WOULD RISE AGAINST HIM!" snorted the green angrily.

"HE FORCED OTHERS TO HIS BIDDING, A HORDE CONSISTING OF A PACK OF FEMALE TRAITORS THAT DO HIS KILLING FOR HIM, AND NON-DRAGON ELEMENTALS OF POWER AS WELL," said the gold. "HE BECAME TOO POWERFUL TO CHALLENGE. BY CONSUMING THEM HE NOW HAS THE STRENGTH OF ALL COLORS, BUT FOR GREEN."

"MOST MALES WERE DESTROYED OR CONSUMED IN THEIR SLEEP," said the black female. "SUCH WAS HIS HATE FOR YOU; HE AND THE HORDE CARELESSLY DESTROYED ALL GREEN BUT YOU. NOW THOUGH HE HATES YOU, HE MEANS TO CONSUME YOU, AND HAVE ALL POWERS. MY TWO SISTERS ARE PART OF HIS HORDE. WITH MOST FEMALES HE BREAKS THEIR WILL BY HIS EVIL-TINGED POWERS, LEAVING THEM MINDLESS PUPPETS. HOWEVER, WITH THE BLACK OF US, HE LET THEM RETAIN SOME FREE WILL. I WISH TO OPPOSE THEM BUT I SEE NO HOPE. ONLY BY JOINING THEM CAN ANY FEMALE SURVIVE, BUT I WOULD PREFER TO DIE FIGHTING THEM."

"JOIN THEM FOR NOW," said the green. "BRING ME A MALE EGG BY HIM AND I WILL ADD MY SEED. THE MALE SPAWN OF AN EGG OF ALL COLORS MIGHT YET DESTROY HIM."

"IF HE FINDS OUT I CARRY A MALE EGG I WOULD BE DESTROYED, AS HE ALLOWS NO RIVALS," said the black, "BUT IT IS WORTH THE RISK."

"SUCH ACTIONS WOULD YET AGAIN BREAK THE PACT," complained a red female. "MULTIPLE COLORS BREAK THE PACT."

"THE PACT HAS FAILED," responded the green.

"THE EGG WOULD BE OF ALL COLORS," said the gold. "IT WILL HATCH AN ALL POWERFUL, WHITE ABOMINATION."

"YES," said the green. "I WOULD USE HIS OWN GATHERED COLORS AGAINST HIM. BUT IT WILL HAVE IN THE MAIN MY DREAMS, NOT HIS. MY COLOR WILL DOMINATE THE OTHERS. ONLY GREEN WILL SHOW AMONG THE WHITE."

"HE WILL SEEK OUT THE EGG AND DESTROY IT," said the gold.

"OR DESTROY THE HATCHLING OR EVEN THE HATCHLING FULL GROWN," said the black famale. "THE DARK ONE HAS CONSUMED THE POWER OF HUNDREDS OF DRAGONS. HE HAS POWER FROM SIZE AND MATURITY, AND OF ALL COLORS BUT ONE. PLUS HE IS INFECTED WITH EVIL."

"AND MY OFFSPRING WILL HAVE THE STRENGTH OF ALL COLORS," said the green. "LET US HOPE IT IS ENOUGH."

At that point half a dozen female dragons popped into existence next to the golden male, and seared him with green fire before he could do anything to defend himself. Dozens more females appeared throughout the Gathering, attacking as soon as they appeared. The green teleported away even as eight fire breathing females appeared around him.

George opened his eyes to find himself lying in his bed, breathing hard. Several hours had passed and it was the middle of the night.

"I WAS LATER CONCEIVED AS A BLACK EGG RECAST LATER BY GREEN," said Freedom. "HOWEVER, THE BLACK-CARRIED EGG WAS ENJOINED FIRST BY THE DARK ONE HIMSELF."

"The egg shell was green, when I saw it," said George.

"OF THIS MY TRUE SIRE MADE SURE. MY MIGHTY GREEN SIRE PUT ALL HIS STRENGTH INTO ME, AND AS A RESULT DID NOT SURVIVE LONG AFTER. I RECEIVED ONLY HIS DREAMS AND THE LAST OF HIS STRENGTH."

"You became what we humans call an orphan," said George.

"MUCH SO. I MORN WITH YOU THE LOSS OF YOUR OWN LIFE GIVERS, AND OF THE ONE CALLED HARRY. FOR A LONG TIME I ONLY DREAMED, AND HAD NO INTEREST IN MATTERS OUTSIDE MY EGG, BUT HARRY AND YOUR OWN MOTHER CHANGED THAT. THEY RENEWED HOPE AND PREPARED ME FOR BIRTH AND MY CHOSEN."

"Is Jewel is your mother?"

"NO, SHE STOLE ME FROM THE DARK ONE'S HAREM. IN HUMAN TERMS, SHE IS PERHAPS CLOSER TO BEING A STEP-MOTHER. BUT DRAGON WAYS ARE NOT IDENTICAL TO THOSE OF YOURS. FOR DRAGONS IT IS THE MALE ONLY THAT PASSES ON HIS DOMINANT COLOR AND HIS DREAMS, THOUGH BOTH MALE AND FEMALE ARE REQUIRED AS LIFE GIVERS. THE FEMALE SUSTAINS NEW LIFE, GUARDS THE EGG, AND NURTURES THE HATCHLING. BY THE PACT AND LONG PRACTICE ONLY MALES PASS ON COLOR AND DREAMS. THE GREEN DRAGON WAS MY TRUE SIRE. PERHAPS YOUR OWN MOTHER JOAN WAS MORE A MOTHER TO ME THAN WAS JEWEL, FOR WE EXCHANGED MANY THOUGHTS."

George again reminded himself to finish reading his mother's journal. "Is that why you picked me to be your Chosen?"

"THAT IS ONE REASON. EVEN WITH HUMANS TO KNOW THE PARENTS IS TO KNOW MUCH OF THE OFFSPRING."

"Why didn't you pick Harry?"

"I HAD MUCH TO LEARN, BEFORE TAKING THE DANGEROUS STEP OF LEAVING THE EGG. BY THE TIME I TRUSTED HARRY, HE WAS SIMPLY TOO OLD. UNTIL RECENTLY, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT HUMANS WERE SO SHORT LIVED. THE CONCEPT OF AGING WAS NOT KNOWN TO ME. BUT THEN THE DISCOVERY OF MY EGG BY THE BLACK HORDE SISTERS FORCED ME TO ACTION."

"And I happened to be on hand."

"AS I DREAMED YOU WOULD BE."

"Your dreams can see the future?"

"FUTURE, PAST, AND PRESENT, BUT FUTURE DREAMS REFLECT MANY POTENTIAL REALITIES."

"What do you see in our future?"

"MUCH TROUBLE."

George wasn't surprised. "Will we win?"

"THAT CAN NOT BE SEEN CLEARLY; THERE ARE SO MANY POSSIBILITIES THAT NONE STAND OUT. MY SCRYING OF THE NEAR FUTURE SEEMS WORTHLESS."

"Great. How much of this can I tell Mary and Johnny, or Grog and the elves? Is your name and everything else a secret that I must keep?"

"NOT AT ALL. FOR THOSE THAT KNOW OF ME THEY CAN KNOW MY NAME AND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU HAVE LEARNED, DESPITE WHAT SILLY ELF LEGENDS MAY SAY."

"So elf legends of warning can be wrong then? That's pretty interesting in itself. I don't suppose it would do any good for this human to warn you away from human libraries and pets?"

The dragon laughed. Laughter without sound was strange; it was a chaos of emotion and gibberish. "TAKE ME WITH YOU ON YOUR FINGER TO LIBRARIES AND I WON'T NEED TO GO ALONE. AS TO PETS, THEY SENSE ME SOMETIMES AND FLEE; I DO NOT EAT THEM. I EAT WHAT YOU CALL ENERGY: SUNSHINE AND ELECTRICITY AND WARMTH. SOMETIMES I ALSO EAT IRON OR OTHER INERT SUBSTANCES."

"You don't eat other life? What about elves?"

"I TASTE WHAT YOU TASTE, THOUGH FOOD DOES NOT MUCH INTEREST ME AS AN ENERGY SOURCE. I HAVE MY OWN LIFE FORCE. FOR ME TO CONSUME LIFE NEEDLESSLY WOULD BE A PERVERSION, FOR I WOULD DEVOUR SOUL AS WELL AS BODY. DRAGONS HAVE AT TIMES CONSUMED ELF WIZARDS OR OTHERS THAT OPPOSE THEM, BUT ONLY IN ORDER TO ABSORB OR NULLIFY THEIR POWERS."

"Witches do that sort of thing," George noted.

"SO I'M TOLD. THAT ONE YOU WORRY ABOUT, GREBLE, SHE IS THE CREATURE CARRYING EVIL THAT CAME HERE THROUGH THE PORTAL?"

"That's the theory."

"SHE IS ON THIS WORLD NOW, BUT FAR FROM HERE."

"You know where she is?"

"NOT EXACTLY. AT THIS DISTANCE I CAN NOT SCRY HER CLEARLY. I KNOW ONLY THAT SHE IS FAR: THE OTHER SIDE OF EARTH. SHE AWAKENS EVIL."

"What do you mean?"

"ANCIENT, DESTRUCTIVE ELEMENTALS OF EARTH. SHE WAKENS THEM."

"Why?"

"I DO NOT KNOW."

****

### CHAPTER 15

Home Schooling

On the way to school the next day, George told Mary and Johnny about Freedom.

"So you are fully a Chosen One now," said Mary. "It shows in your eyes, you know."

"And it's freaky," said Johnny.

"What is?" asked George.

"Your eyes are green!" said Mary, laughing. "Both your eyes are totally green and glowing with dragon power!"

"They are?" said George. "What will I do? I can't go around with green eyes!"

"Relax, Chosen," said Mary. "Mine have a tendency to be red, but it's easy to control."

"It's true," said Johnny. "She scared the hell out of me with her red eyes, but she quickly got it under control."

In a few moments George was able to change his eyes back to normal-human. "Wow, Freedom could have warned me. This is him, by the way, this white ring."

"I knew there was something strange about that ring of yours," said Mary. "Let's see it."

George again showed them the dragon ring. The pure whiteness of it was striking.

"Hi, Freedom," said Mary, as she ran her fingers over it. There was no response, though she could sense great power.

"It sounds too simple," complained Johnny, after George spoke more to them about what he had learned.

"What's simple?" George reacted in surprise.

"You and your white dragon are supposed to destroy the big bad black dragon and his Evil and then everyone lives happily ever-after? Based mostly on hearsay that elves gathered into magic books? Oh, and our Government will help you too? Give me a break!"

"You're just a born cynic," countered George. "This is reality, Johnny."

"Reality is usually more twisted than that," said Johnny. "I'm just saying that you better keep your BS detector on full power, Chosen One. Especially considering that my sister is all wrapped up in this mess also."

"I can take care of myself, Bro," Mary insisted.

"Is he sleeping, or listening to us, or what?" Johnny asked.

"All of those, sort of," said George. "He spends a lot of time meditating and dreaming and looking around using that sixth sense that we have."

"He actually sounds sort of laid back," said Johnny.

"Dragons live practically forever," explained George. "They usually aren't running around in a hurry like us humans."

"The evil monsters that he says Greble is setting free explains what's in the morning news then?" asked Johnny.

"What news?" said George and Mary, simultaneously.

"Still both have your heads in the sand, do you?" said Johnny. "The monsters in Africa and India and China."

"What monsters?" George asked.

"The big ugly ones that are killing thousands of people. Eating them, mostly. You really didn't know?"

"That's crazy," said Mary. "Monsters?"

"Says the dragon girl!" said Johnny.

"This is the twenty-first century," said Mary. "What about police and armies and so forth?"

"They've tried practically everything they can think of short of nuclear weapons, and so far they can't stop them," explained Johnny. "The United States military is even getting involved. There is a giant zombie thing in Africa, three dragons in China, a kraken along the coast of Japan, a giant snake in India, and worst of all so far, a swarms of man-eating locusts the size of rabbits in Pakistan. The latest news is that some kind of giant big man-eating birds are spreading across Europe. Rocs, they're calling them. Oh, and they seem to have brought some sort of plague with them that is killing thousands of people. It all started a couple days ago but it is so weird that it took a while for news agencies and governments to believe any of it was real."

"As dangerous as these monsters may be, I'm more concerned about Greble herself," said George.

School was abuzz with news of the monsters, for those that went to school. Quite a few students stayed home. The reason became evident to George when he overheard what people were talking about on the way to class. "My Dad says the monsters are popping up everywhere, and it's only a matter of time before they attack us too!" said a frightened girl. "My brother is in the marines and he says we're going to kick some monster butt," said an enthusiastic boy. "That monster in the town library was only the beginning," said one teacher to another.

Things seemed relatively normal to the teens once they delved into their first period class work. George and Mary were in their advanced placement English class while Johnny was in his Biology class. The two protégés were having a good time with Shakespeare. Midway into the period George, Mary and Johnny were called to the Principal's office.

There they found Principle Gunther, Vice Principle Crantz, and Ellen waiting for them, along with Trent and Marge Williams.

"Here they are now," said Gunther, with a grin, "the two budding geniuses. And Johnny too, of course." He was a small rotund middle-aged man with thinning, graying hair, soft, high pitched voice, and instantly likable manner.

"I have to say that I'm surprised," said Mr. Crantz. "I thought that things were going well for them here. But all the paperwork is in order."

"Paperwork?" asked George.

"You know," said Ellen, "the paperwork for your home-schooling."

"Dad?" asked a clearly upset Johnny. "What is this about?"

"Your future, son. George's Aunt here made an offer we can't refuse. The best home-schooling that money can buy for you both. She's doing it for George and kindly offered to do it for the both of you too."

"Home schooling?" asked Johnny. "What about football and prom?"

"That's the part that we just worked out," said Gunther. "Extra curricular activities will still be available to you here at the high school. Ms Simple squared it with the school board through some generous donations."

"Sweet," said Mary, forcing a smile. "DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?" she pathed George.

"OF COURSE NOT," George replied. "Could I talk to my Aunt alone for a minute?" He ushered Ellen out into the hallway before anyone could reply.

"I'm sorry to spring this on you," Ellen said, "but this was a presidential order. I only got it myself four hours ago. I've been running around ever since, getting paperwork together and talking to Mr. and Mrs. Williams."

"This should have been negotiated with us first," said George. "What the hell is going on?"

"Did you catch the morning news?" Ellen said. "What the public doesn't know is that in anticipation of the monster problem spreading to this country, a national emergency has already been secretly declared. Our military is already in action abroad and is not being very successful. So they want to get you out of school and accelerate your training."

"My training?" George said.

"And Mary's. Training to do whatever it is you do, hero-wise. They don't really know; this was a knee-jerk reaction. Most of the people in the administration that know about you still say you're a scam artist. But you don't know the pressure they're getting. They're close to panic, the whole world is."

"OK, let me tell what's up to Mary," said George, as he rapidly exchanged thoughts telepathically with Mary. She took things much more calmly than he had.

"OK, we'll try it," George finally told Ellen, "but next time bring your plans to me and Mary first. Feel free to inform the President that we don't work for him or take his orders."

"Most members of the Administration are blaming Narma's Portal for the crisis," said Ellen. "Some sort of anti-monster effort by you will hopefully counter that notion."

"The Portal has been there for countless thousands of years and it's Earth's as much as it's Narma's," said George. "Harry and the Elves thought it would be a good idea to guard and hide the Portal to limit such problems, and they've done a pretty damn good job of it."

"Then why is Earth overrun with monsters?" Ellen asked.

"Because a witch from Narma is setting Earth monsters free. She came through the Portal some days ago. It's apparently her second visit to Earth. She killed my parents on her first visit."

Ellen's eyes went wide. "When were you going to tell me all this?"

"I found out about the monsters only this morning. If you had been with me I would have told you right away. With you moving in and us staying home with you, our communications should improve. They damn well better improve!"

"I'm planning to move in with you right after we leave here," said Ellen. "I already have suitcases and some other things in my car outside."

"Great!" said George. "Let's finish up here and get to work. Are you really a teacher?"

"I actually was a high school science teacher for a while in my former life, before Rick recruited me. I also have a master's in psychology. My educational background is supposed to enable me to get along with you and your little friends and understand what's going on."

"Has it helped so far?"

"Hardly at all. I probably should have been reading The Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter books instead."

"It hasn't been easy the last few months for me either, and lately things seem to be happening much too quickly," said George. "Every time I seem to settle in on something the rug gets yanked out from under my feet again. I was just starting to get the hang of high school, for example. I wasn't figuring on being a super hero until maybe after collage."

"Let's try to get through this together, shall we?" said Ellen.

George grinned. "Amen to that."

They reentered the principle's office, where they found a pouting but subdued Johnny listening to Mary talking enthusiastically about the advantages of home schooling. Soon everything was squared away as school and they all went home. The teens all rode in the Williams SUV, since Ellen's little Beatle was loaded down with her belongings.

"We were surprised to hear from your Aunt," said Mr. Williams. "We thought that Harry was your only relative."

"I was very surprised when we heard from her too," replied George, from the rear seat. "Our family members are few and scattered far and wide. A bunch of eccentric loners, every one of us. And she's a teacher too. What luck!"

"It's free for our kids, that's what amazes me," said Mr. Williams. "Totally free."

"She seems like a nice lady," said Mrs. Williams. "I can't get over the fact that she plans to dedicate the next few years of her life to educating the three of you."

"That's easy," said Mr. Williams. "I bet she's figuring on getting her hands on a chunk of the Simple estate. Harry's no Spring chicken, you know. He must be even richer than I ever figured. He could have boxes of cash stuffed up in the rafters."

"She'll have her hands full with you three, that's for darn sure," said Mrs. Williams, "especially Johnny." She said it with a smile for her son.

Johnny was still scowling. "I said that I'd do it, but I don't see how it can work," he complained.

"I was apprehensive at first myself, son," said Mr. Williams. "I wondered how one woman, no matter how talented, could keep up with Mary and George." He gave a quick glance towards the second row of SUV seats, where Mary and George sat silently with Johnny. Johnny figured correctly that they were yapping away telepathically. "But when she explained that high school and college level classes of all kinds would be made available via computer, that cinched it. Plus, it's free. You can't beat free."

"Yes you can; I still think it sucks," complained Johnny. "I'll have to try to get all of my socializing accomplished by way of official school activities. That will be a huge disadvantage. There's a lot of competition out there for the hottest girls, you know. And I was just starting to establish myself among the upper classmen."

"I'm sure you'll manage," said Mary sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Think of the extra aura of mystery that you'll have. Girls will be curious."

"You think?" asked Johnny.

"Hey, if it doesn't work out, we can call it off at any time," said Mr. Williams. "And it's free!"

"I think it's worth a shot," said Mary. "If little brother doesn't want in on it, George and I could do it without him."

"Not a chance," Johnny said. "You aren't going to get rid of little brother that easy! We're a package deal."

"Ms. Simple thought so too," said Mr. Williams. "That's why we're both getting it free. Absolutely free, down to books, computers, and pencils."

"THEY WANT ELLEN KEEPING AN EYE ON ALL OF US," pathed Mary.

"AND WE'LL SOON SEE HOW THAT WORKS OUT," replied George. "I'M STILL BOSS, EXCEPT FOR FREEDOM, OR RATHER WE ARE, AND I WON'T LET ELLEN OR HER BOSSES FORGET IT."

They had arrived home to find Ellen already digging boxes and suitcases out of her car. Mr. Williams insisted on helping carry Ellen's things to the Simple House, though he was of course by Treaty he was not allowed to enter. Awkwardness was averted by a division of labor whereby Mr. Williams and Mary carried things only as far as the front porch, where they were met by Johnny or George. Mr. Williams seemed not at all displeased to spend the time with Ellen. George finally realized with a shock that it was largely because Ellen was a fairly attractive young woman.

"Harry is resting," George told a disappointed Mr. Williams, when his absence was questioned. George was getting used to making those sorts of excuses for his dead uncle, though it still pained him greatly every time he did so.

Ellen moved into Harry's old rooms, following a hasty clean-up effort by Mary and Ellen. Fortunately, after her earlier visit to the Simple House, Ellen had the foresight to pack a good vacuum cleaner.

"Damn," said Ellen, after she had set up her computer. "There was supposed to be a networking capability, but I suspect the elf ward is nullifying reception and transmission."

"Let me see," said George. He closed his eyes and explored the area. He was grinning a minute later when he opened them. "OK, you should be able to get a connection now. Your cell phone will work too. All the Government spy signals are still blocked, though."

"Spy signals?"

"Sure. They break the Treaty, of course, but Harry never made a big deal about them, since they're totally ineffective. I'll show you where they come from." He drew a map of the Government antenna locations that ringed the Simple property, and even described the military personnel manning the spy equipment, including their names and physical characteristics. "I sort of feel sorry for them. They keep changing frequencies and so forth, like it's going to make any difference. They'll try to take advantage of what I've done just now. They put a bunch of spy stuff in your equipment already that I disabled as we carried it from the car. Bugs, mini-cameras, etc. I also fried the bugs in your clothing and so-forth."

"Spy gizmos in my belongings? I had no idea!" said Ellen.

"I know," said George. "Hey, don't tell them it's hopeless, OK? They're only doing their jobs. Can we all talk about this monster business now?"

In response to George's silent summoning, Mary, Johnny, and Grog joined them.

"Nice necklace," Ellen complemented Mary.

George didn't usually notice such things, but now that his attention had been drawn to it, the small round medallion that adorned Mary's neck had a strange 'feel' to it. Not of elf or dragon, and definitely not evil, but there magic power there of unknown type and depth.

"Thanks," said Mary. "It's my mother's good luck medallion; she insisted that I wear it. How could these Earth monsters exist and humans not know of them?" asked Mary.

"Actually there are legends about most of them," said Ellen. "My guess is they are other examples what the Narma folks call elementals, which evolved sometime in Earth's primordial past or were introduced here long ago. Being virtually immortal they can be dormant for millions of years and then waken and feast or whatever they need to do. Maybe they are what really killed off the dinosaurs."

"Dandy," muttered George.

"Can you tell me anything to help us stop the monsters?" Ellen asked.

"Can you describe them to us first?" countered George. "From here I can sense there are powerful beings of some sort far away, but that's about all." He could sense many living things, billions of people and other creatures, plants, on land and in the seas, sharply within a hundred miles or so, but only dimly farther away. The monsters were much more distant but much more powerful.

"Same with me," added Mary.

Ellen brought up numerous images of them and the destruction they were causing on her computer as she described them. All of them seemed to be mindless engines of destruction. Once they had power, possibly they had no need to evolve intelligence. Conventional bullets and bombs at most only slowed them down. Poison gas and biological weapons had absolutely no effect. They actually seemed to enjoy fire and blasts of electricity or lasers.

"Yes, them be elementals," confirmed Grog, shaking his big hairy head. "Them not be alive like we be. Human weapons not stop them."

"What can stop them then?" Ellen asked. "A nuclear weapon?"

"Maybe, if it overload them," said the troll. "Or maybe it make them much stronger. Magic better. Magic and strength."

"Magic and strength?" said Johnny. "That sounds like a job for a dragon."

Mary gave her brother a nasty look.

"But Jewel is in Narma," said Ellen.

George looked at his White Dragon ring. Freedom was listening, he knew, and trying to decide what should be done. He could sense that the dragon was only mildly interested in Earth's monster crisis. "Dragons are temperamental. I'm not sure that Jewel would regard our monster situation to be any of her business."

"Even if it's caused by a Narma witch?" asked Ellen.

"I don't know," admitted George. "She would certainly go after Greble. But dragons take a wider view of things, a view that is not human-centric."

"Getting rid of Greble would be something, anyway," said Ellen. "Can Jewel be summoned back from Narma?"

"Not without maybe summoning others we not want here," said Grog. "She will return when she think Greble not be in Narma."

"When would that be?" Ellen asked. "Any idea?"

Grog shrugged. "Narma be big place and witches be hard to find so it be hard to be sure they not hiding there. She will want to be sure Greble be not there. That could take at least two, three weeks more."

"That's far too long," said Ellen. "Thousands of people are dying every day; more with every new monster."

Mary hadn't said anything. She sat at Ellen's computer, bringing up one horrific news image after another of monsters rampaging through towns and cities. It looked like a Japanese monster flick, except the 'effects' were perfect and the cameras sometimes cut to real screaming and dying people. "It's up to us then," she said. "Me and George."

"That's what your bosses want, Ellen," said George. "But you don't think we're ready. You think we need to somehow prepare ourselves better."

Ellen nodded. "I've seen you guys do amazing things, but you've seen what those monsters are like. No offense, but I think you're out of your league."

"You fighting monsters be what Greble wants," rumbled Grog. "She free monsters to put young Chosen Ones in danger. Greble smart."

"You're saying that George and Mary are the real targets of all this?" asked Ellen.

"Yes, but not only that," said Grog, shaking his huge hairy head. "Greble also hungry. Greble feed on life. In Narma, she hide from Horde, feed little. Here she feed big on many. Life force taken from many. I think your Government finds many dead, but not know why? Dead people, animals, plants?"

Ellen nodded. "Yes. That wasn't in the news reports, but our experts have been puzzling over many deaths that don't seem to be directly tied in with monsters. Thousands in Africa and Asia. Victims look like they died of some sort of plague, but no pathogens have yet been identified. "

"That makes sense then, doesn't it," said George. "Greble is there when the creatures cause panic and chaos, and takes advantage of it to do some killing of her own. I assume she is thereby increasing her own strength?"

"Yes," answered the troll. "She make herself stronger."

"But ultimately it's all to draw us into it, to let the Earth monsters kill us or weaken us," said Mary.

"BUT WE KNOW WHO SHE'S REALLY AFTER," pathed George. "SHE'S AFTER YOU, FREEDOM." He looked at the ring. It had tripled in size and was beginning to glow.

"THEN WE WILL GET HER FIRST," replied Freedom. "AND THE SO-CALLED MONSTERS ALSO. WE NEED PRACTICE BEFORE WE FACE ANY OF THE HORDE. WE WILL GET PRACTICE BY FIGHTING THESE EARTH MONSTERS. GET YOUR ELF WEAPONS AND BRING EVERYONE OUT TO THE FOREST. IT IS TIME THAT WE ALL MEET OPENLY."

"I need to get some things; I'll be right back," George stood and announced abruptly. Indeed in a few minutes he had returned, wearing golden-glowing elf-made body armor and helmet, with elf sword and spear strapped to himself. He handed an elf-made bow and arrows to Mary, who received them without sign of surprise. "My partner wants us to go after them," George explained grimly. "My senior partner. He seems to be quite eager about it."

"Partner?" asked Ellen.

"The reason we are all here," explained Mary. "The reason for this house being here and why my family moved here. The reason Harry and then George were given powers of elf warriors. The reason Jewel and her sister dragons came here and Greble returned to Earth. The reason that George is stronger now than Harry ever was."

"The weapon?" asked Ellen. "This senior partner is the weapon? Not you two?"

"Together he and I are the big weapon, but only because he wants it that way," said George. "Now he wants to talk to all of us in person in the forest behind the house."

"He's in your backyard?" asked Ellen, as they walked through the house.

"He soon will be," said George. "He's on my finger right now." He showed her the glowing dragon ring.

"A dragon?" said Ellen. "The weapon is a dragon? That is exactly what Rick has speculated."

"A juvenile male dragon," said Mary, "but the only dragon and only known force in the Multiverse that will have a chance against the Dark One."

"Once he grows up," added George.

"If he and the rest of us live that long," added Johnny. "I still say this is all too simple."

****

### CHAPTER 16

The White Dragon and the Mage

One moment the small clearing ahead of them was empty, the next it held a fifteen foot tall dragon with jaws lined with rows of big dagger-like teeth framed by pairs of opposing fangs. It was the smallest dragon they had ever seen; not that they had seen many. Even so, it was enormous, at least four times as massive as Grog but it looked much bigger, bristling with spines, spikes, and horns, clawed talons, and bat-like wings that were already eight-meters across, and long, whip-tail ending in several foot-long, razor-sharp spurs.

The entire dragon was mostly glowing white, with startling green eyes with black pupils, and a long, forked, green tongue that seemed to taste the air. There were also fainter green tinges and hues throughout the rest of the body. The humans were startled and frightened but at the same time astounded and exhilarated, for one thought dominated all others: this was the most magnificent creature they had ever seen!

"You need not fear me," Freedom said to them audibly, though his mouth did not visibly move to form words. The statement, meant to be reassuring, only made things seem more strange.

"Freedom, you're beautiful!" said Mary, grinning. She stepped forward and grasped a single scaly finger of that could be described as his right front paw in her own small hand.

The dragon gently moved its clawed hand up and down in keeping with what he had learned through study was likely what the human expected. "Of course I am," agreed the dragon. "Strange human custom, this shaking of the claws. Among my own kind it would have aggressive connotations."

"Well, you need not fear me," replied Mary, as she released her grip.

The dragon lifted its crocodile-sized head and coughed a ten-meter-long plume of blue flame skyward. "Human humor," he said, as his regarded her again with green glowing, all seeing eyes. "Thank you for your warm greeting Mary, Chosen of Jewel."

"Good to actually see you in the flesh at last," said George, as he also stepped forward and also shook 'hands' with Freedom, though it seemed a bit redundant, given that Freedom had spent many days on his finger and in his head.

"My Chosen partner in life," said the dragon in return. "You are surprised at my size?"

"The egg was only as big as a breadbox," said George.

"That was many days ago," replied Freedom. "I have increased in volume by a factor of several hundred since then. Yet I am still growing very slowly, by dragon standards."

With his bottomless green eyes Freedom looked past George at Johnny. "Johnny, brother to Mary! You can be of more help than you know. I have seen this in our future, but do not recall the details."

The dragon next regarded Ellen, who had stood watching silently, with eyes and mouth agog. "Ellen, ambassador of Earth, daughter of Michel and Katherine, sister of Jennifer and Drew, I welcome you also to our little company of misfit beings."

"Your name is Freedom?" Ellen asked.

"George and I think the name is appropriate," Freedom replied. "It is, after all, the goal for all of us to be free of the Dark One. Dragons generally value freedom greatly, except for our enemy, who is quite possibly mad, from the standpoint of normal dragon psychology."

"Your color, is it symbolic?" Mary asked.

"Yes and no, small one," said Freedom, "it is, you might say, akin to being my genetic colors, though I lack genes of the form you possess."

"From a scientific standpoint white is the combination of all colors, and Freedom is descended from all dragon colors," explained George.

The dragon rapidly turned himself red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, and then white again, with tinges of green. "White is the combination of all colors and is preferred and optimal for me, as is my current shape and size, though all characteristics of my material form are adjustable. May true sire was green, which shows as my only pure color of prominence."

"The Chosen may also assume the colors of their dragons," said Freedom.

"Interesting," said George, as he let his eyes turn green for a few moments.

"That's too scary, guys," said Johnny. "You'll freak people out doing that!"

"Will you grow to be as large as Jewel?" Mary asked Freedom.

The dragon laughed again. "Much larger, in time, assuming that I survive, given that I am male."

"Can you destroy the monsters and the witch that currently plague Earth?" asked Ellen.

The dragon tilted his head as though thoughtfully considering the question before replying. "It is possible, but currently my powers are not sufficient to ensure success. I am very fresh from the egg."

"But thousands of people are dying now, and Greble is getting stronger," said Ellen.

"Yes, it is an interesting exercise in logic to choose an appropriate strategy," said the dragon.

"If you are the only hope in the Multiverse to defeat the Dark One, immediate attack of Greble or the monsters by you seems too high a risk," said Mary. "You are too valuable to risk yourself now. You need to get stronger first. All of us do."

"That was also my most logical conclusion," said the dragon.

"But something needs to be done right away about the monsters and Greble," said Mary.

"We could at least try to slow them down," said George, "but are we strong enough even for that?"

"I can make you still stronger, my Chosen. Once strengthened you and I may be able to at least slow the monsters and Greble until Jewel returns. An adult dragon should be more than a match for any witch or any monster of Earth. But first I must strengthen myself. I need to feed deeply as soon as possible, strengthen us, than feed again until eventually we have grown much stronger. When I am fully grown no Earthly monster or Narma witch will be able to stand against either of us." He turned his gaze towards Ellen. "Until I feed I am vulnerable. Can you arrange to feed me as you did Jewel?"

It took some moments for the request to fully register, it was so bizarre a request, then Ellen's eyes went wide again. "You want my Government to attack you? With a nuclear weapon?"

"Of course," said Freedom. "A small one first preferably, followed by larger ones: as large and as many as you can spare."

Ellen shook her head. "I don't think that the Government would do it. They would regard such a thing to be insanity. Most are still in a state of denial with regard to what Jewel did with the first bombs. The decision to nuke a backyard in a United States town and near a major city was regarded as a very serious error, and they won't want to repeat something like that."

"What if it were done at a more secluded location?" suggested George.

"Perhaps," agreed Ellen. "A desolate location perhaps, in Africa. The Nigerian government has already requested that we nuke their monster. Though highly populated, Nigeria is secluded from an American standpoint, and the administration has been actually considering it, insane though it sounds."

"That's where the first monster showed up," noted Johnny. "The giant African creature has killed tens of thousands of humans; the people there must be really desperate."

"So we should help there first anyway," said George. "It's a matter of principle. And there would be no danger to people from the bombs if you eat them."

"Agreed," rumbled the dragon.

"There is another good aspect to this plan," reasoned Mary. "Greble is unlikely to be there. That was the first monster she woke, so she is probably elsewhere wakening others. She should be avoided until we are all stronger, I assume."

"True," Freedom agreed. "Though over time Greble will also be strengthening herself."

"OK," said George. "So let's say that Freedom and I go attack it, but get nuked first, and everyone else stays here."

"Ellen and I should go too," said Mary, "at least to the general vicinity. We are needed to coordinate between the Governments and you." She smiled at George's startled look. "AS ONLY I CAN DO," she added silently.

"BUT JEWEL MIGHT RETURN!" George started to protest.

"GROG CAN TELL HER WHAT'S GOING ON," pathed Mary, "SHE'LL HAVE NO TROUBLE FINDING US IN ANY CASE."

"TRUE ENOUGH," added the troll.

After some thought Ellen nodded in agreement, though she had of course missed most of the discussion. "Freedom will need to go public to some degree, while the Simple House and Portal remain undisclosed. That's going to take some doing, and it can't be done from here. I'd welcome Mary's help with that."

"And also she will need keep watch for Greble, while George and I are distracted by the monsters," said the dragon. "She and I will both track the Witch from wherever we are, after we are closer to her. But you must avoid direct conflict with the Witch, small one," he told Mary.

"Of course," agreed Mary.

"What about me?" Johnny asked anxiously.

"You're going to be busy enough helping explain this stuff to Mom and Dad," said Mary.

Johnny was clearly unhappy about not being directly in on the action. "For a minute I thought I'd be famous," he lamented.

"If it would help, I can give you a ride later," said Freedom. "Perhaps drop you off at your school and plead that yours has been an emergency absence from your adoring public that should be excused?"

Arrive at school riding a dragon? Johnny was grinning again, and so excited that he could only nod his head in agreement.

Ellen stepped away to phone her superiors. In an amazingly short fifteen minutes it was all arranged. "They agree in principle, though they're still digesting the fact that they have been secretly for decades been essentially been allied to a dragon. They're still squabbling over the nuclear attack business, but I think they'll come around. We'll be on a military transport within an hour. It's big enough to carry Freedom, even in his dragon form, if he folds in his wings."

"I think not; George and I will meet you and Mary there," said the dragon. "GET ON MY BACK," he added, to George.

George jumped up and sat twelve feet above the ground at the base of the creature's neck, between sets of spikes that covered Freedom from head to tail tip. The spikes were about two feet long, and not too thick for George to get a good grip on them.

"There are a couple more things before we go," said Ellen. "Do you know where the giant African zombie creature is?"

Freedom lifted his head up and belched blue fire skyward.

"You've got him laughing again," explained Mary. "He can sense all the monsters from here, and will easily pin-point the giant zombie monster in Africa when he's closer. George and I will be able to do that too."

"Great," said Ellen. "I'll have to get Freedom flight clearances though. We don't want you attacked by the military as an unidentified flying monster. Plus I need to talk to my bosses about publicity." She stepped away a few yards to use her cell phone, while George and Freedom discussed various fine points of dragon flight.

"Well, how will we go public?" Mary asked Ellen, when the woman had at last returned. "Are we going to have a news conference, or what?"

Ellen shook her head. "The Government doesn't want to go public just yet. They want a few successes against monsters first, and they also don't want to tip off the witch."

"That's ridiculous," said George. "The witch already knows we're coming; that's her whole plan. As to the public, unexplained dragon sightings could cause panic. They'll think we're additional monsters to fear. You said yourself a few minutes ago that we needed to go public to some degree."

"They won't see us unless we wish them to," noted Freedom. The dragon disappeared for a few moments, apparently by tuning himself invisible, before reappearing.

"True, but I think you should let them see you," suggested Mary, "so they get used to the idea."

"Good points," agreed George. "So let's compromise. Tell your Government friends that we'll let the military see us now and then. We'll practice communicating with them through Mary too. We'll want to coordinate with them when we eat the nukes and fight the monsters. But I still think we should go public more first."

"The Government is firmly against that idea," said Ellen. "That decision is right from the President."

George shrugged. "Maybe," he said.

"Let's get going than," Ellen said.

Freedom tensed his legs and extended his wings as though preparing to leap upward and start flying, but then suddenly he and Grog turned as one towards the deeper forest, as though they had sensed an intruder.

"Someone of power came through the Portal moments ago," said Grog.

Sudden fear gripped George, as he reached out with his own senses towards the Portal. Was it one of the Horde, or even worse, The Dark One himself? He was relieved when his senses didn't detect that, but puzzled by what he did detect. The intruder seemed familiar in aspect, yet different. "Is it an elf?"

"Yes and no," replied Freedom.

"Worse," added Grog, shaking his big hairy head. "It's an elf mage."

"What's an elf mage?" asked Ellen.

"A wizard," said Grog. "But most elf mages be dead. Only full elf mage me know of be a scoundrel."

"Watch what you say about my uncle, you big hairy oaf," said a tiny, high pitched voice.

Standing at the edge of the wood was a tiny, ridiculous looking creature. He stood no more than a foot tall and over the usual elf-green outfit he wore a glowing golden armor breastplate that had to have been sized for an elf twice as large as him, along with a matching golden helmet that slipped down over his eyes even as they watched. He had no beard, and appeared to be much younger than Kip or Belinda.

"Scuttles," he cursed, as he pushed the offending headpiece back, such that the scabbard containing a sword as long as himself slipped from a small shoulder and dropped to the ground.

"Pip?" blurted Grog in astonishment. "Baby Pip?"

"Baby!" shouted the elf angrily. "You hairy Throg footed son of a Woggot!" With that the tiny creature hopped high into the air, straight onto the head of Grog, who had dodged, but ineffectively, since the trajectory of the elf changed in midair to compensate for his movement. Kneeling on top of Grog's hairy head, the elf began furiously pounding it with his tiny fists.

The whole sequence had erupted in seconds, with the elf speaking and moving in fast-motion, as the others watched on in stunned astonishment. George stood up on Freedom's back, and was preparing to leap onto Grog himself, to knock his tiny tormenter away, but Grog managed that himself. A huge troll hand whacked this own troll head sharply, and lay over the tiny elf before closing tightly into a huge fist around what the onlookers could only assume was by now a small crushed elf body.

To the relief of all, when Grog cautiously opened his hand it was entirely empty.

"Ha ha ha," laughed the elf, from where he again stood next to his fallen sword. How he had gotten there was a mystery. The tiny elf was soon rolling around on the ground, laughing hysterically.

Grog was soon laughing also, deep hoots that echoed through the forest, that only died down as he reached out and scooped up the tiny figure and let him stand in his open hand, facing the others. "This be Pip, third cousin to Kip and Belinda, and last known mage of elves, but for his Uncle Farnmouth. Pip be junior mage."

The little creature bowed towards the others. "I am Pipen Luciduarn Ken-Warga the Third, but Pip will do nicely. I am greatly honored to be in the presence of the White Dragon and the Chosen Ones, George son of Joan, and Mary. But I fear that I am the only remaining living elf mage, good troll," said the little elf, sadly.

"No!" blurted Grog.

"Yes," said the little elf. "Uncle Farnmouth was killed near two Earth weeks past near Keep-Town. I now hunt his killer the Witch Greble, who has now come to plague Earth."

"In coming here you defy the ban," said the troll. "Kip and Belinda not know you be here?"

"Of course not," said Pip. "But they suspected the Witch was here, didn't they? I sensed it in them. They have told me much over the years, but would not answer my inquiries about Greble. However I easily tracked her trail of stench to the Portal. I am a mage, you know."

"Junior Mage," countered Grog.

"Perfect," said Johnny, sarcastically. "Junior Chosen Ones, junior dragon, junior elf mage. A complete set."

"You must be Johnny, the wise junior brother to Mary," said Pip, bowing towards Johnny before returning his attention to George and Freedom. "Kip has told me of your charming wit, brother to Mary. I do indeed, as a mage, appear to provide the group with full capability otherwise lacking. I propose to detect the Witch, and then to allow you to help me kill her."

"You hunt Greble?" asked George.

"Obviously," said Kip. "I'm going after her with you to revenge my Uncle Farnmouth. As much as we elves aren't known to consort with dragons, I'm willing to risk myself by riding the dangerous white creature along with you."

"We don't need you, elf," rumbled Freedom, with a dismissive snort.

"I am more powerful than I appear, oh great one," countered the little elf. "She took Uncle by surprise; I will not make that mistake. Besides, I am small and I weigh very little."

"No," said Freedom bluntly.

"Perhaps he could go with us on the airplane," said Mary. "I am sure that his expertise would prove useful."

"Perhaps he should," said George. "I don't see the harm."

"No problem," said Ellen. "I think we could manage to make room for him."

"I would prefer to ride on the grumpy White Dragon," said Pip.

"He is not needed," repeated Freedom. "The elf chatter would be a constant distraction. Besides, were he even a full elf mage, there would be nothing he could do that I could not do better."

"Yes there is," countered Johnny, to the surprise of the others, "and he is very much needed."

"What are you babbling about now, oh wise junior brother?" asked Mary.

"Something apparently too obvious for you bigger brained super hero types to figure out," explained Johnny. "Even Freedom can't be two places at once. What if Greble's whole plan isn't to take on you guys but to get you away from the Portal so she can get back to Narma and alert the bad guys? What if the monsters are merely a diversion to allow her to do that? We'll need more than Grog and me in place here to stop her if she makes a quick dash for the Portal and Narma."

"True enough," said Grog. "She got by me more than once, and I be not happy to face her alone. Pip can more skillfully detect her stench and should stand on watch for her with me here at the Portal."

"I didn't risk the Void to sit here on my behind while the Witch is hunted down by others," protested Pip. "I want her for myself, at least a piece of her. Thus I need to go on the hunt with the dragon."

"If you go with them you getting a piece of her ain't happening," countered Johnny. "Freedom will likely fry the Witch before you even see her. But if she comes back here and you're waiting for her, she's all yours. Of course, it's a big, dangerous job. If you aren't up to facing Greble without a dragon or aa Chosen, maybe you should go with George or Mary."

"Yes he should go with George," said Mary. "That way you can keep an eye on the little guy." She winked at George and Freedom, and hoped the action wasn't lost on the dragon. "You know, to keep the young ban-breaking elf out of further trouble."

"Maybe that is a good idea," George agreed. "We could protect him and keep him out of trouble if he goes with us."

"Keep ME out of trouble!" complained Pip angrily. "Protect me? A mage of the Realm?"

"Yes I suppose that we can protect him best if he goes with us," said Freedom, who had suddenly recalled something in his human library readings about reverse psychology, and hoped that it applied also to elves. "Yes; for his own protection, he should come with us."

"You want to protect ME?" Pip shrilled. "A mage of the Realm? Welder of the Seer Sword and the Stone of Affenbeck?" He pulled his foot-long long-sword from its scabbard and it glowed bright-blue as he waved it in the air. "I declare before you all that I'm staying here to prevent the Witch's escape to the Portal, and that's the end of it. I have spoken." He slammed the ground with his glowing sword, causing a deep tremor that shook the earth enough to almost knock the others off their feet, accompanied by a deep rumbling sound that took several seconds to fade away.

"Very well, mage," replied Freedom. "We yield to your mage wisdom. You presence here will be much valued."

"Sure; that's what I just said, more or less," agreed the tiny elf mage. "So shoo then, you lot, much as I'd like to get to know you all better over a few mugs of glop, even the big white lizard. Herd the Witch here to me and I'll fry her ugly soul through to Hell's burning gates."

At that Pip disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.

"Wow," said George. "Johnny, it looks like you and Grog will have an interesting time while we're gone. It is better that he stay here though, I think."

"Yes," agreed Freedom.

"I didn't do that just to keep him out of your knickers, you know," said Johnny. "If Greble or one of her monster friends does come calling at the Portal, maybe he can help."

"No maybes about it. Pip be young junior mage, but be strong in magic," said Grog. "You be a wise one, Johnny."

"Good job Bro," agreed Mary.

"We're finally ready to leave then?" Ellen asked.

"Nearly," said Freedom. "If you do not bomb me here, I will likely need to feed at an electric power station."

"There is a coal powered one ten miles south of here," Ellen noted, "but can't you get enough power from a power line away from the station?"

"Not as good," said the dragon. "At the source is better. Much electric power is lost in transmission lines."

"But then you'd probably have to go public," said Ellen, "and that would go against my orders."

"I will feed only lightly now, but I will need your bombs without fail, before I attack the first and greatest monster."

"Understood," said Ellen. "Anything else?"

"I haven't even packed," said Mary.

"No need, there are changes of clothes and other supplies on the plane for you," said Ellen. "For George too, when he needs them later."

"We'll re-meet in Africa," said Freedom, "Near the giant that kills your kind. We'll hold off our attack until you arrive and feed us with your bombs, so get them there as soon as you can."

"You'll get there before us?" asked Mary.

"Easily," replied the dragon, as his legs compressed and his wings extended.

****

### CHAPTER 17

Mystery Man Returns

George held his breath and grasped the spikes tighter as Freedom leapt into the air. His wings swept down powerfully, but due to his bulk George had expected a more awkward start. Instead they rose quickly and steadily. It was dragon magic that chiefly powered the flight and not wings, he realized; he could feel it.

He had never been particularly afraid of heights, but he was at first uncomfortable to be thousands of feet above the ground. Soon, however, most of his fear gave way to wonder.

"YES, FLIGHT IS EXHILARATING," said Freedom. "THIS IS MY FIRST LONG FLIGHT ALSO. MY PREVIOUS EXCURSIONS FOCUSED MOSTLY ON WALKING. BOTH WALKING AND FLYING ARE MUCH DIFFERENT THAN LIVING FOR CENTURIES WITHIN AN EGG, AND REQUIRE PRACTICE TO PERFECT." The dragon radically changed direction, banking sharply, than did a stomach-shifting short dive and a dizzying loop-de-loop.

George hung on for dear life. "What happens if I tire and fall off you," he asked, when the dragon had paused his aerial acrobatics for a moment.

"YOU HARBOR NEEDLESS FEARS; YOU SHOULD PRACTICE FLYING FOR YOURSELF," said Freedom.

"What? I can't fly!"

"OF COURSE YOU CAN. I CAN, SO YOU CAN FLY ALSO. YOU ARE PART OF ME. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING I CAN."

"How? I don't have wings."

"THINK ABOUT FLYING, AND IT WILL HAPPEN. WINGS ARE ENJOYABLE AND ENHANCE MANEUVERABILITY BUT ARE NOT NECESSARY. DO YOU WANT TO TRY IT NOW?"

George looked out over the dragon's shoulder and down. They were several thousand feet above the ground. "Could I first try doing it lower?"

"OF COURSE," agreed Freedom, with a laugh. "LET'S VISIT MY FAVORITE LIBRARY. WE CAN BEGIN GOING PUBLIC THERE." They began to spiral downward.

"We're going public? But Ellen said that the Government wants us to wait!"

"I DON'T AGREE, AND NEITHER DO YOU."

"She said the President doesn't want it."

"I SUPPORT HUMANS BUT DON'T BLINDLY OBEY ANY HUMAN GOVERNMENT AND NEITHER DO YOU. I SEE NO PROBLEM."

"In that case, by all means let's start at the library," agreed George.

The dragon landed lightly on the sidewalk in front of the library. There were a few cars driving past but no pedestrians in the immediate vicinity. Even so, George was relieved when Freedom immediately disappeared and become a white ring on his finger, though it did involve an abrupt twelve-foot drop to the sidewalk. George remained an odd sight, in his gleaming gold elf-armor, but was much less attention getting than a dragon. He sensed that several people were startled momentarily, but their anxiety quickly abated. Crazy teenager in armor? Why not?

When he stepped into the library the large, plump middle aged woman behind the desk stared at him openly. "Shouldn't you be in school, young man?" she asked sternly.

"I'm here to see Ruth, the chief librarian; the one that reported seeing the big lizard," George announced, as Freedom had telepathically instructed him to say.

The woman's face turned red. "Absolutely not. From the look of you, you're either another one of those nutcases, or you're here to make fun of the poor woman. Either way, I think you better quietly leave, or I'll have the law down on you."

"She's in her office, behind you. I'm here to apologize to her for the trouble he caused."

"Who caused?"

"My dragon friend."

"Is that what dragon friends wear?" asked another voice with amusement, before the first librarian could respond. Ruth had exited her office behind the desk and now regarded George critically. She was a small, thin, gray-haired woman in her early sixties.

"I'm wearing my battle gear today, Miss Hendricks. My friend Freedom apologizes for startling you and making a mess in your library. At the time he wasn't acquainted with human customs, including proper library etiquette. It was all an unfortunate misunderstanding. He also wishes to thank the library for all that he learned here."

Both women laughed.

"That's what a library is for," said Miss Hendricks. "It isn't for practical jokes. That's what this is, isn't it? George isn't it? Mary's friend? Harry's nephew? You got a library card here a few days ago. Is there a hidden camera somewhere to record this joke for the internet? Maybe in that realistic looking helmet and armor?"

"Not at all."

"Why doesn't this dragon friend of yours speak for himself?"

"He didn't want to scare you again. He's grown much larger now and would damage the inside of this library much more. You could come outside to see him, if you wish."

"Is he outside now?"

"No." George held up the ring for her to look at. "He takes the form of this ring, when he wishes to. This is him."

Her jaw dropped and her eyes bulged wide, as she first drew back from the odd ring before curiosity got the best of her and she looked at it closely. "It's perfectly white!"

"Yes, he's a white dragon, except mostly for green eyes and tongue and around his scales. Why didn't you tell the news people the white and green?"

"I didn't think they'd believe that my lizard intruder was white with hints of green. That ring is a dragon?"

"He's an energy-based form of life that is most comfortable in the form of a dragon."

Her wide eyes rose to meet George's. "And you? That's Mystery Man's armor and weapons you wear, isn't it? What are you?"

"I'm his human partner. Listen, you don't have to be afraid of us, we're the good guys. I'm sort of the new Mystery Man, though I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd keep my human identity a secret for now. Can you understand the trouble that publicity could bring?"

"Yes," she said, nodding. "I sure can. This place was a zoo for a couple of days. Plus, half the county thinks I'm loony. We're not anxious to repeat that or wish it on anyone else, are we Janet?"

"Oh, I agree," said the other librarian.

"Very well, young man," said Ruth, "tell your dragon that his apology is accepted. What was he doing here in the first place?"

"Seeking knowledge of Earth and its humans. He's not from around here, you see. We're both in training, sort of."

"The old Simple place and its mysterious forest," said Ruth, nodding. "And your Uncle Harry. Yes, it all fits together. I'll wager he was the original Mystery Man?"

It was George's turn to look surprised.

"Oh, I know Harry, and I knew your mother Joan too, young George. I've had you all marked as something special from day one. I was sorry to hear of her death."

"You are very perceptive," noted George.

"I'm a librarian. Knowledge is my business. Can I meet your dragon friend in person? To see a real dragon I'd chance the renewed publicity."

"Yes, but then we must move on, we're on a mission."

"It's about time. The monsters, I suppose?"

"We'll do what we can."

"I saw your great-uncle in action once, almost fifty years ago," she added excitedly, as they exited the library. "He was magnificent. But we all get old, if we manage to live long enough."

George stepped away from the librarians. There was a swirl of light and in an instant the White Dragon stood next to him, which brought gasps from the librarians and the sound of screeching of brakes from several passing vehicles.

"Greetings, Ruth and Janet," said the dragon. "My name is Freedom. It would be my pleasure to visit your library once again, but my partner and I must be away now." With that, he extended his wings, leapt into the air and lifted away in one smooth motion.

"WHAT ABOUT ME?" George asked, from where he still stood on the sidewalk. The dragon began to circle slowly, a couple hundred feet above. Dozens of gawking people had gathered, and a few were already taking photos and videos.

"SAY YOUR GOODBYES AND FLY UP TO ME YOURSELF, CHOSEN ONE. WE CAME DOWN HERE SO THAT YOU COULD LEARN TO FLY: SO FLY!" The dragon circled still higher.

"RIGHT," George replied uncertainly.

"OK, I'm going to try to fly up to him, Miss Hendricks; my first attempted flight. I hope it works." He looked up at Freedom and hopped a few inches off the ground, but came right back down again.

"Oh my, you ARE in training!" said the old librarian. "How is it supposed to work?"

"I think about it and it's just supposed to happen by magic," George explained.

"Well young man, than I suggest you clear your thoughts first and try again. And I know you can jump much higher than that! Have more confidence in yourself!"

"Yes, thank you." He closed his eyes and dried to think of flying. He had experienced flying in many of his dragon dreams, and he drew on that now.

"Well, it's a start," he heard Ruth Hendricks say.

He opened his eyes and saw to his surprise that he now floated three feet above the ground. Several onlookers had noticed and were pointing at him and shouting.

"Ignore the fuss, young man," implored Miss Hendricks. "You are after all a super hero. Time to act like one. Time to BE one!"

"This is easy," George exclaimed, quite as excited as any of the onlookers, "but like you said, I can jump a lot higher. Goodbye for now." He dropped down to the ground and from a squatting stance leapt up with all his strength. He felt the sidewalk crack under his feet as he lifted away from it and flew over a hundred feet up from the strength of the leap. Instead of slowing and falling, his assent gathered yet more speed, and he actually overshoot freedom by at least fifty feet, where he willed himself to float in place.

"VERY GOOD," said Freedom, as the dragon flew gracefully up and under George, and his human partner happily regained his sitting position on the dragon's shoulders.

Far below, people were still pointing and taking pictures when the first news van arrived. Predictably, the emerging news crew turned its camera skyward until the dragon disappeared into a bank of clouds, and then turned and made a beeline for the library and Miss Hendricks. The dragon hovered near the librarians as George waved at them for the cameras.

"Well, Janet," Ruth said to her companion, "here we go again. This time I'll have a little more credibility, however."

Dragon and Chosen slowly rose higher before shooting off rapidly to the east.

"WAS THAT ENOUGH OF GOING PUBLIC?" Freedom asked.

"No, that will make it to the news but we need a much bigger crowd and more news cameras to really fully go public," said George.

"I SENSE A LARGE GROUP OF HUMANS AHEAD," Freedom said.

George extended his own senses and quickly confirmed that only a few miles ahead, tens of thousands of people were gathered in a large stadium. There were so many thoughts thrown about it was difficult to make sense of it, but the geometry of the players on the field made it immediately clear what was happening far below. "Circle high above them and gradually drop to about a five hundred feet."

It was in the third inning of their baseball game that even the players noticed that more and more people were looking skyward, pointing, and shouting. A few onlookers were soon rushing to the exits, but most were transfixed by the sight of a white dragon, circling slowly above the stadium. The game was halted and the announcer was urging people to remain calm.

"Do not be alarmed," said a booming voice from above. "We seek only to talk to you."

"My dragon partner and I are here to help," said another voice. It sounded like a teenage boy's voice, but it had over-ridden the game announcer's voice and was being carried through the stadium speaker system. "I'll come down first and speak to you."

A small figure separated from that of the dragon and dropped down through the air. It quickly became apparent to most onlookers that a human was falling to his death, though some expected a parachute to open. No parachute opened, but the rate of fall decreased, until the figure at last stood motionless, suspended fifty feet above second base with no visible means of support. The figure was partially clad in arcane looking armor that glinted golden in the sun, worn over what appeared to be ordinary blue jeans, tee-shirt, and sneakers.

"I am the new Mystery Man," resumed the juvenile voice from the speakers. "My partner is the White Dragon named Freedom."

Above him, a fifty foot plume of red flame belched upward from the dragon, and a roar louder than thunder filled the air! The crowd oohed and ahhed!

"His name reflects his character," continued the voice. "We announce to the world here and now that we are here to fight the monsters that are attacking humanity. In cooperation with this country's Government, we leave soon to seek the monsters out."

A few people began to applaud but most simply continued to stare in stunned open-mouth silence. The armor covered human figure began to slowly rise higher, but in moments all eyes were on the dragon, which was rapidly diving down. Some people screamed in alarm, but in seconds, the dragon had flown under the Mystery Man only a hundred feet above the ground, scooped him up, and swiftly rose upward again. Mystery Man sat on the creature's back smiling and waving to the crowd, while the dragon named Freedom was again roaring and belching smokeless red fire.

"Goodbye for now," said the juvenile voice, between dragon roars.

People began cheering in earnest before the sound of the dragon's roar had faded away.

"Now that's what I call going public," George remarked.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" asked Mary, less than a minute later. "ELLEN IS GETTING YELLED AT WHILE I'M SEEING YOUR COME-OUT STUNT ON INSTANT REPLAY TV! AND WHEN DID YOU LEARN TO FLY?"

"FREEDOM AND I THINK IT WENT QUITE WELL. I FLEW PRETTY WELL FOR ONLY MY SECOND FLIGHT, DON'T YOU THINK? YOU SHOULD TRY IT. YOUR DRAGON CAN FLY, SO YOU CAN TOO. GET IT?"

"BUT WHY DID YOU DO IT? ELLEN AND HER BOSSES ARE NOT HAPPY AT ALL."

"IT WAS A DRAGON DECISION, AND I THINK IT WAS A GOOD ONE."

"BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT WE HAD DECIDED. YOU SHOULDN'T BLIND-SIDE US THIS WAY."

"OK, YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THE BLIND-SIDING PART. I SUPPOSE THAT WAS IN POOR FORM. BUT I DON'T REMEMBER FREEDOM SAYING THAT HE AGREED TO NOT GOING PUBLIC."

"HIS SILENCE WAS INTERPRETED AS TACIT AGREEMENT."

"IN TRUTH, I HAD NOT YET DECIDED," interjected Freedom. "HAD I AGREED I WOULD HAVE SAID SO. WE WILL IN THE FUTURE TRY TO KEEP YOU BETTER INFORMED. I SENSE THAT YOU ARE IN FLIGHT NOW BUT NOT FLYING DIRECTLY TOWARDS NIGERIA. WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THAT?"

"I DON'T KNOW," said Mary. "MAYBE WE NEED MAKE STOPS FOR FUEL OR SOMETHING. I'LL ASK ELLEN WHEN SHE'S OFF THE RADIO."

"GOOD. NOW WE SEEK NOURISHMENT," concluded the dragon.

****

Inside the South Fork power station all the phones rang at once. To those who answered, a youthful sounding voice announced that Mystery Man and the dragon Freedom would soon begin feeding from the power at their station. A few already knew about their visit to the baseball stadium, but the landing of the dragon and his passenger at the station still created pandemonium. Several guards fired weapons at the intruders but nobody was injured. Bullets stopped in mid-air before reaching their targets and hung suspended while the dragon grasped power lines where they exited the station and began to absorb electric power.

The dragon slowly increased his energy absorption rate such that the extra load could be addressed by the power plant gradually increasing its generation of electricity. After five minutes the human that sat atop the dragon dropped off the dragon and approached the human onlookers.

"Who's in charge here?" asked the strangely garbed youngster.

"That would be me, young man. Fred Grimes."

The young man stepped up to Grimes and shook his hand. "Sorry to barge in on you this way, but we need the energy to fly after those monsters over-seas. Did you happen to hear our announcement at the baseball game a short time ago?"

"Yes I did. It didn't say anything about stealing electric power," said Grimes.

"Wartime necessity. Can you sustain this power level for another ten minutes? That would be sufficient."

"We were planning to shut power off completely," Grimes admitted.

"I know," said George. "That's what prompted this conversation. We ask that you not do that."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, merely a request."

"My guards want to arrest you." Grimes nodded towards the dozen armed men that were converging on them.

"Yes, having failed with bullets they figure on overpowering me. That would be ill advised. I don't want to hurt anyone." The boy reached out towards one of the approaching armed men and the man's rifle flew out of his hands and through the air to him. The boy than casually tied the rifle's steel barrel into a knot, and handed what remained of the weapon to Grimes.

Grimes regarded the young man with even greater astonishment, and the guards respectfully stepped back a few paces. "You really are Mystery Man then? My Pops told me about Mystery Man!"

"Yes, I am the new Mystery Man. There is a TV crew at your gates. Let them in, if you wish."

In minutes a nervous looking woman and a video camera carrying man approached the strangely clad young man and his nearby dragon. "Lynn Bordan, Action News," she announced uncertainly. "Are you the ones from the library and the ballgame?" she asked.

"Good guess!" said George. "Yes, that's us."

"Is it true that you are going after the monsters that we've been hearing of?"

"Yes, and the Witch that's been turning them lose."

"Witch? What witch?"

"An Evil intruder from another world. She hides and feeds among you and wakens the sleeping terrors. She's the key to stopping any new monsters from waking up."

"What are you doing here?"

"Freedom is a creature of energy, and needs to feed. He's only drawing on surplus capacity though; so there's no blackouts or brownouts."

"Who are you?" the reporter asked. "Where are you from?"

"Freedom's obviously from another world, but I'm home grown."

"You're human? But they say that you can fly!"

"That's not a big deal," said the young man. He floated up a couple of feet off the ground.

There were exclamations from the onlookers.

"From where I stand it is," said the reporter.

"You can stand with me, if you want to."

Before she could reply verbally, she found herself floating next to Mystery Man, and moving slowly upward, higher and higher off the ground.

"Don't worry, it's safe," the boy assured her. "And yes, I guess that you were fortunate to wear pants today instead of the brown skirt."

Her jaw dropped open. "Do you read minds?"

"Somewhat. Mostly I work hard to not read minds. I apologize if the skirt remark embarrassed you."

"That's OK." She had great legs and wasn't shy. She was actually thinking that ratings would have been even higher if she were showing them. She noticed that they were floating still higher. "The range on my mike is only a few yards," she said. "It feeds to my camera man."

"I've taken care of that. He's not missing a word. Is this high enough?"

She looked down again. They were floating thirty feet off the ground, nearly at dragon-level. Gusts of air driven by dragon wings threatened her hairdo. She took a deep calming breath. "Yes, this is certainly high enough. Can we have your name?"

"Mystery Man is good enough for now."

"OK; is the dragon tame?"

George shook his head no. "Wrong question. My partner Freedom is more intelligent than humans and controls himself. Would you say that you are tame, Freedom?"

"I believe that 'civilized' is a better term. I am somewhat civilized," said the dragon.

"He talks!"

"Most assuredly I talk, small one."

"And you work for our Government?"

"We have agreed to work cooperatively WITH the United States Government, but are pledged to protect all of Earth against a common enemy, and do not favor any one country over others," explained George. "Sure, I'm an American, and I'm not forgetting that, but this is sort of a higher calling."

"You're independent super-heroes?"

"That's about right. We're the good guys; that's what we've gone public to tell everyone. Don't panic or shoot us when you see us!"

"But you look like an ordinary kid!"

"I am still mainly an ordinary teen, under the magic armor, but I'm also a dragon partner." George looked up at Freedom, who had released the wires he had been drawing power from. "We are recharged enough now, and need to go."

News reporter Lynn Bordan found herself floating down to the ground as Mystery Man quickly flew up and again onto Freedom's shoulders.

"See you later," the boy said, as he and the dragon flew up and away.

Purely for show, Freedom roared, belching brilliant green flames and ear splitting sound into the sky. George could sense the dragon chuckling silently.

The cameras had caught it all, and now returned to focus again on wide-eyed Lynn. "There you have it, America, straight from the dragon's mouth, so to speak, and from Freedom's partner, Mystery Man returned: our own American super heroes!"

****

### CHAPTER 18

Plots and Parents

"Those bastards," swore Jerrod Grogen, as he watched the latest news story on Freedom and the new Mystery Man.

"This will make it tougher to sell our story," said Mike Ferell's voice from the computer's speakers.

"No shit," Jerrod responded angrily to Mike's statement of the obvious. The kid was right, Mike was a dumb clod. But he was ruthless and loyal. As the news story he had been watching ended, Jerrod enlarged the window on his computer screen which displayed Mike's face. "But that's my problem."

"On the other hand, it confirms that we're taking the right course. They can't be trusted. The kid even admitted that his first allegiance was not to his own country! And they directly countered a presidential order, for Christ's sake!"

"Let's get to your business," said Jerrod. "Have you made contact?"

"Roger that; I sent Fredricks to give her a message stating that I wished to talk with her and he gave her my location. He had a hell of a time keeping away from British agents and police swarming the area."

"Has she responded?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

"I can't raise Fredricks on his cell, but he sent me a text message saying that she's on her way here now."

"Right to your hotel room? Implying she's already in Cairo?" She could have flown in from London, her last suspected position, but she would have had to have done it immediately after receiving the message. He had agents at Cairo entry points but hadn't heard anything from them. How did she do it?

"I assume so."

"When is she expected?"

"The message didn't say."

"Get Fredricks to tell her it has to be A-S-A-P. The plane with Ellen and the girl will be there in seven hours, and we don't know when the prime targets will arrive, or even if they will divert to Cairo at all."

"Roger that," said Mike.

Abruptly Jerrod heard a loud crash and Mike cursing. On the video, Jerrod saw him rise from his chair and move out of sight from the camera. Moments later he saw the big man stagger backwards and into view again. His body shook as though it were convulsing, while pain and terror were evident on his paling face. "Ferell! What's happening? Is she there yet?"

Mike Ferell couldn't respond, though a low, pitiful moan escaped from his lips. He stumbled further, and in doing so turned more towards the camera such that Jerrod could see his full face including his eyes. Jerrod had seen that look before, during the course of his long career, on the faces of several people as they died.

A new figure came into view than, that of a woman that turned to regard Mike's computer screen. She was stunningly beautiful, and covered almost totally in a skintight black leather outfit that only served to accentuate her voluptuous body. Her smile was pure Evil, and her eyes were black pits that matched her long hair perfectly but contrasted sharply with her pale white skin. On her left hand she wore an odd-shaped black-blob of something that the humans couldn't identify.

"Are you this pathetic creature's superior?" she asked, in a voice that sounded like that of perhaps an old woman. "What do you want?" she said. It was more a command than a question.

"My name is Jerrod, and I'm in charge here. I can speak for the President of the United States. What have you done to Mike Ferell?"

"Nothing much, yet. Answer my question."

"We mean you no harm. We want to discuss a possible alliance against our common foe, the White Dragon."

"You lie. You are allied with him and the boy; I've seen the news reports."

"That's for publicity. Secretly we fear their power and the fact that they attract your attention and the attention of the Horde, putting Earth in danger."

"What do you know of the Horde, human?"

"Only what the elves and their friends have told us. We'd like remove the elves and directly form alliances with both the Horde and you and totally avoid any conflict. To start, right now we'd like to exploit our common interests."

Greble smiled, showing pointed teeth. Humans were such fools! The Horde had standing orders to eliminate any and all humans from existence, and her key interest in humans was in sucking the life from them. There were no 'common interests' to discuss. "Perhaps we could indeed exploit our common interests," she said anyway. "What do you offer me?"

"We can influence your enemies, bring them to you both how and when you want them, to your advantage. We can tell you their plans. We can strike at them to support your attack. We can deny them energy that they would feed on, such that they will be weak."

"Really? All that? Where are they now?"

"Flying over the Atlantic ocean towards Africa."

The witch's smile disappeared. "They come here?"

"Not to Cairo, but to the monster KraKara. The other Chosen One, the girl Mary, comes there to Cairo in a few hours by airplane. The boy Chosen One George and the young dragon might follow, if that is your wish. But we want some things of you in return, of course."

Two Chosen Ones? One of them a girl? Interesting. "What of the old elf warrior?"

"He died after fighting the dragons. The boy intends to take his place."

She couldn't help smiling at the news of the old elf warrior's death. "What do you want?"

"We want you to free no new monsters and kill no more humans, and to leave Earth and destroy the Portal to keep the Horde from us. In return we'll not attack you and we'll help you destroy the dragon, the Chosen ones, and their troll and elf friends here on Earth."

Greble again smiled. The humans were worse than fools! She would help them betray themselves, to make her killing of them even more enjoyable, while reducing her own risks. "I need to know what they are doing at all times, and I need you to influence them and betray them at the right moment. Do you agree to all this?"

"Of course," said Jerrod. "Do you agree to our terms?"

She felt her Talisman vibrate its agreement. "Of course. How do you propose that we communicate?"

"Ferell has communication devices to give to you."

"Acceptable," said the Witch. "I'll take him with me also, to aid in our communications."

Jerrod hesitated. Mike Ferell was standing silently like a zombie in back of the Witch, his eyes vacant and drool dripping from his mouth. Jerrod had known Mike for over ten years, and liked the man, but the young agent had known the risks when he had asked for this assignment. He was expendable. "Very well, but remember your vow not to kill humans."

Greble smiled deeper. She would hold off killing for now, but would still feed and amuse herself with them short of their deaths. There are worse things than death, they would soon learn. "Send the dragon and its boy to fight the KraKara monster. I have other plans for the girl that I'll tell you of soon."

"Agreed."

"And one more thing, human. If this is a trick, my retribution and that of the Horde will be total."

"Total?"

"Every last thing on Earth will die." She felt her Talisman eagerly vibrate its approval.

****

"Mom, Dad, there is something important I need to tell you," announced Johnny. He had been watching and listening while his Mother, with his worried father at her shoulder, had phoned the home of Mary's friend Janet.

"It better be your sister's location," said Trent Williams angrily. "Your Mom has already confirmed that she's not at Janet's like you told us originally."

"I knew that already," admitted Marge Williams.

"You what?" Trent asked.

"Everyone sit down at the dining room table and calm down," Marge Williams said. It wasn't a request. When Marge said anything in that tone, the other members of the family obeyed. Her son and husband sat across the table from each other, and she sat between them at one end. She looked into her son's eyes. "Johnny, it's time for you and I to lay all of our cards out on the table face-up."

"Mom, it's sort of complicated," said Johnny.

"Let me first tell what I know then," Marge said. "That might be easier."

"Trent, you remember how I told you long ago that I can see things other people can't?"

"That psychic malarkey again? What has that got to do with anything?"

"Everything. Why do you think we got such a good deal on this house from Simple?"

"Simple? What did Simple have to do with it?"

"Everything. Do you remember Mystery Man?"

"My dad used to tell me about him," said Trent. "Nice fairy tale. So what?"

"And that baseball game with the dragon we saw on TV earlier today?" Marge asked.

"It was a kid, and he said he was the new Mystery Man. The whole thing was obviously faked to boost ratings. It was a computer generated hoax."

"It wasn't," said Marge. "Did the kid remind you of anyone?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"The original Mystery Man passed on his job to his nephew George."

Trent's jaw dropped open. "What? What are you saying? Our Harry and George are some sort of super heroes? Even if it's true, what does it have to do with us? And where the hell is Mary?"

Both parents turned their stares to their son.

"She's on her way to Africa in a Government transport plane with Ellen to meet up with George and Freedom," Johnny managed, all in one quick sentence.

"What?" thundered Trent. "No way!"

"It's true," said Marge.

"She's part of the Team; she has powers like George," added Johnny. "Mary has abilities that they knew they will need to fight the monsters."

"No way they can do this!" growled Trent. "Mary's our daughter. They're going after monsters, for Christ sake! Across state lines and half way around the damn world! That's a federal crime known as kidnapping, even if the Feds did it!"

"She's not supposed to be part of the fighting," said Johnny. "She's just supposed to help George and Freedom communicate with Ellen so that they coordinate with the military."

"What? How?"

"Telepathy," explained Marge. "It runs in my family."

"But why Mary? It doesn't make sense they would know anything about any powers of hers," insisted Trent. "Hell, I didn't even know."

His wife got up and walked to a nearby sideboard drawer and pulled out a large fat envelope. From it she pulled dozens of photos that she sat down in front of Trent.

Trent looked through a few of them. "I remember these. These are your old pictures from when you were Mary's age."

"A lot of them include my best friend. See her?" She pointed to a girl that could have been her sister, they resembled each other so closely. "She and I found each other through our common interests, and our common abilities."

"You were both psychic?" asked her husband.

"Yes, though her abilities were even greater than mine. We stayed in touch after we grew up. She encouraged me to move here, where she also planned to move someday."

"And she knows Harry Simple?"

"She knew him very well, as they are related. She had Harry give us a great deal on buying this lot. But what I didn't know was that our Mary would become so involved. I had thought that she would feel more comfortable with other folks that have similar psychic abilities, and I looked forward to someday living near my best friend. Joan also got married and had a son Mary's age. A son named George."

"George's Mom was your best friend!" exclaimed Johnny.

"Holy smokes," muttered Trent. "But what about Mary?"

"Mary and Harry hit it off, and that was fine with me," said Marge. "But I didn't know this business extended to dragons and superheroes."

"Well it does," said Johnny. "And other stuff too. I'm a part of the Team too. I'm watching after things here while George and Mary and their dragons are away from the house."

"Dragons? More than one dragon?" asked Marge.

"Well, yeah," explained Johnny. "Mary is a Chosen One, like Johnny. Johnny's dragon is a young white male dragon named Freedom, like they said on TV. Mary's dragon is a grown-up female black dragon named Jewel. Jewel isn't on Earth right now."

"Chosen One? Dragons? What the hell does all that mean?" asked Trent.

"I'm only a side-kick," Johnny explained. "I guess I didn't get enough of Mom's genes. But Mary's a real super hero like George."

"The hell she is," said Trent. "She never got our permission to be part of whatever is going on, and neither did you. I'm getting our family out of this business and away from here." He stood up and walked towards the front door. "I'm going to have it out with Harry Simple right now about all of this!"

"Harry is dead," said Marge. "I've felt his absence for many days."

The statement stopped Trent Williams in his tracks. "Dead?"

"It's true Dad," confirmed Johnny. "He died after helping save Earth from two really big bad black dragons. We'd all be dead now if it wasn't for him and George and especially Jewel, the good dragon. And Mary and I helped too; even the dragons and elves say that we're important. Even me Dad, even me! They need me now, the elf mage and Grog the troll do. Mary needs me! You have to let me help so that we're all safe!"

"Troll? Elf Mage?" stammered Trent.

"Let's talk this over some more, Trent," said Marge. "Like it or not, we're all mixed up in this thing, especially Mary. We all need to try to understand it all. Johnny, I know that you aren't big on reading but you're going to try to learn what you can from the books in Simple's libraries."

"But Mom!" Johnny started to complain.

"Harry Simple has been studying in that library of his for decades," said Marge. "I think he did that for practical reasons that for Mary's sake and for ours we need to figure out. And Trent, you can help."

Trent numbly returned to the table and sat down.

"Try not to worry so much," Marge told her still upset husband. "Mary wears the medallion that years ago Johnny's mother gave to me to help keep me and my family safe. Hopefully it will now help keep her safe."

The two parents nearly fell out of their chairs when a foot-tall young man wearing green tights, oversized armor, and a relatively long sword instantly appeared in the middle of their dining room table. "Mind if I join in?" he asked cheerfully.

****

### CHAPTER 19

The Giant

"WE WILL BE APPROACHING THE MONSTER SOON, BUT YOU HAVE DIVERTED FAR TOO THE NORTH," pathed George to Mary. "Why?"

"ELLEN IS PRETTY PISSED ABOUT THAT. SHE SAYS HER BOSSES WANTED HER CLEAR OF THE NUCLEAR BLASTS AND THE BATTLE."

"WHERE ARE MY NUCLEAR BLASTS, SMALL ONE?" interjected Freedom. "ASK THEM THAT."

"ELLEN SAYS THEY HAVE BEEN APPROVED, BUT THAT IT WILL TAKE A FEW MORE HOURS FOR THE WEAPONS TO BE DEPLOYED," said Mary.

"YOU AND ELLEN ARE EXPECTED TO BE MUCH CLOSER TO US," said Freedom. "TELL THEM THAT ALSO."

"SHE HAS TOLD THEM THAT," said Mary. "I HAVE A BAD FEELING ABOUT THIS; THAT SHE IS NOT BEING TOLD EVERYTHING. WE'RE LANDING IN CAIRO SOON AND I EXPECT WE'LL HAVE SOME SORT OF BIG TO-DO WITH OFFICIALS THAT WILL GREET US. I CAN SENSE IT!"

George could sense Mary's frustration and concern. "WELL, GET YOURSELF DOWN HERE TO NIGERIA SOMEHOW ASAP," George said. "INSIST ON IT. IN THE MEANTIME THE GIANT ZOMBIE MONSTER IS NEARING A BIG CITY, I CAN SENSE THAT. SEE YOU LATER," he added, ending the three-way conversation.

"Maybe we can divert it until the nukes and Mary arrive?" he asked Freedom.

"WE WILL DO THAT," replied the dragon. From six miles up, the dragon began to spiral down towards the ground. It was morning; they had passed through night while they flew over the Atlantic.

Far below, George could sense raw terror emanating from thousands of people as they fled, but due to thick cloud cover, he could not see details. Flashes of light lit up and broke through the clouds occasionally, and distant thunderous sounds could be heard, but the source of the commotion remained hidden.

"THE CREATURE CALLS ITSELF KRAKARA," said Freedom. "IT IS SMART ENOUGH TO BE SELF AWARE BUT NOT SMART ENOUGH TO HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION. IT IS VERY POWERFUL AND GROWING EVER STRONGER. IT CONSUMES ANIMALS, PLANTS, METAL, AND ENERGY FROM FIRE."

It was only as they broke through the clouds that George realized that much of what he had at first took to be normal clouds was actually thick smoke. Far below, fire and explosions rent the air, while his telepathic senses were filled with the terror that gripped the fleeing populace.

A huge black structure towered high over the city. It was only when it moved that George realized that it was KraKara itself that he was looking at. It was a monstrously huge, vaguely humanoid figure, larger even than the dragon Jewel, and with every ponderous step it took, impossibly large feet crushed buildings, bridges, power lines, and anything else built by man. The steps taken appeared slow, but each covered a hundred yards, such that hundreds of the fleeing populace were overtaken.

As he watched, the giant stopped and knelt down, and using long arms that stretched grotesquely longer, it swept up burning buildings and crushed people alike, and lifted the hundreds of tons of mixed debris above its monstrous mouth, which stretched open funnel-like to accept everything. The creature than stood motionless for perhaps half a minute, while it visibly grew several dozen feet in height and girth. As Freedom flew lower George could see pieces of buildings, vehicles and dead human bodies imbedded in the creature's distorted body, poking out through its skin.

"IN TERMS YOU MIGHT BEST UNDERSTAND, THE ENTIRE CREATURE IS A STOMACH," commented Freedom, "IT CONSUMES NEARLY ANYTHING, BUT ENJOYS BEST THE REFINED MATERIAL OF LIVING THINGS, AND THE REFINED MANUFACTURED MATERIALS GATHERED BY MAN. IT ALSO SIMPLY LIKES TO DESTROY THINGS, PARTICULARLY LIFE. IT IS INFUSED WITH EVIL, AND IS STIMULATED BY EVIL TO DESTROY LIFE."

Indeed, it killed and destroyed far more than it consumed. Hundreds of people swarmed from it and around it, many bravely rescuing the fallen, fighting fires, and firing pitifully inadequate weapons at the creature. As they watched, the giant monster actually paused to watch them for a few minutes, perhaps amused by their antics, than kicked its feet this way and that, killing dozens of brave defenders and rescue people with each move and then sweeping them up and eating them! Next it stepped into a fire that raged through a warehouse. In seconds the fire flared higher than ever, then abruptly disappeared totally. Only blackened, smoking cinders remained. A normal fire would have raged for hours more, George realized. KraKara had somehow accelerated the burning process and then absorbed the fire's heat energy at its peak.

"What can we do?" George asked.

"NOT YET AS MUCH AS I WISH," answered the dragon. "I CAN NOT GIVE YOU ENOUGH STRENGTH TO FACE THIS CREATURE ALONE, SO I WILL HELP YOU UNTIL WE ARE BOTH STRENGTHENED BY THE BOMBS. THIS IS A CREATURE OF WANTON DESTRUCTION AND CHAOS. AS A MATTER OF BASIC PRINCIPLES, I OPPOSE IT. 'MONSTER' IS A GOOD NAME FOR IT. THE COMPLEX STRUCTURE OF NORMAL EARTH LIFE IS MUCH PREFERRED TO THIS NEAR MINDLESS ABOMINATION."

The dragon swept lower, and flew into the monstrous flames of another nearby burning warehouse towards which KraKara was walking. The effect was immediate. The fire disappeared, and George could sense no more excessive heat emanating from it. Freedom than flew in a spiral away from the monster, into or near dozens of other, smaller fires, extinguishing each of them as he went.

The effect was startling. The monster stood motionless, apparently trying to figure out what was happening. The struggling populace watched the new arrivals with some hope but also with much apprehension. In this poor country, and during their national emergency, most had not seen them on American television. The sight of a dragon flying overhead was not immediately comforting; it signaled the arrival of yet another monster. The roar of fires and the thunder of explosions had stopped, but emergency sirens and the voices of injured and terrified people could be heard all the more clearer.

"Divert it while I help the people," George said, as he sprang from Freedom's back. In moments he was among them, freeing trapped people from ruble and smashed vehicles, carrying injured to ambulances, and clearing paths through wreckage for vehicles and people on foot to flee the scene. He also soon found that he could absorb fire exactly the way that Freedom could.

Meanwhile, Freedom landed atop a building near KraKara and faced the creature. "MY NAME IS FREEDOM," he announced, aloud and telepathically. "GO BACK TO SLEEP OR I WILL DESTROY YOU."

In response the giant attacked the dragon with surprising speed, swinging a titanic fist forward and down to strike and pulverize the building where Freedom had stood only a moment before. The earth shook from the blow, knocking down people and buildings, shattering windows, bursting gas pipes and starting new fires. The raw power of the creature was astounding.

Freedom shot a brief plume of green flame at the creature's attacking arm as he flew out of reach. The arm sagged and smoldered, but moments later re-solidified and appeared to be as good as new.

Freedom and George repeated their tactics dozens of times, slowing the monster's advance while saving lives. They established a sort of rhythm, and though they found that they couldn't stop KraKara, by slowing the monster's attack they were definitely saving thousands of lives. They couldn't do this forever though. Dragon and Chosen were expending energy rapidly.

"MARY, WHERE ARE OUR NUKES?" George pathed as powerfully as he could, as he flew a small, terrified girl with a broken leg to an arriving ambulance. But he got no answer. Was she somehow out of range? He could hear dozens of other victims calling for help, and returned his attentions to them.

KraKara was increasingly aware that the new arrivals were costing it food; most potential victims had already fled far out of its immediate reach. It liked to absorb many types of energy, but more than anything it liked to consume living things. Over its long life it had also absorbed other elementals, and wasn't particularly concerned about the smallish ones that it now faced. Ignoring the small dragon that hovered before it and the smaller human-shaped extension of it, KraKara stepped ponderously through the city yet again, crushing the next city block of shops and homes. The creature was compensating for the dragon's actions by accelerating its own attack.

After only a few steps by the monster, the hovering dragon attacked it again. Green flame washed over the monster's head as the creature ducked, dodged, and screamed in rage, all to no avail. The monstrous head smoldered and glowed and finally itself burst into flame.

When Freedom paused to take a breath, the monster's head stopped burning and began to visibly heal itself. This time though, KraKara's arms also began to elongate, and additional appendages sprouted from the torso, and the legs became shorter. KraKara was changing tactics. In less than a minute, the elemental had transformed into what looked like a gigantic octopus with more than a dozen tentacles. Half the tentacles were used to lift the rounded center bulk of itself a hundred yards above the ground, and to again walk forward, like a gigantic spider. Half the remaining tentacles elongated even more and reached out for fleeing human prey and other food, still leaving several tentacles to swat at Freedom.

A four hundred foot length of tentacle slammed to the street near George and swept towards him and dozens of fleeing people. Close up, it looked like a giant two yard-thick roll of blackish mud, with objects imbedded in it that appeared to be melting, from bricks to human body parts. It stank of death and Evil.

Positioning himself between the tentacle and the fleeing people, George shouted at them to hurry, which was silly, as they were certainly already hurrying as quickly as they could. He carried an elderly couple out of reach but he quickly realized that several others would be caught by the monster before he could move them.

Drawing his elf sword, George charged. Though he was tiny compared to the monster's tentacle, his glowing sword immediately cut half-way through it. His own body pushed and seared through the rest of it, cutting a fifty-foot section of tentacle completely off.

As quickly as the success of his attack registered with George, it was negated. The severed ends rejoined again in moments, and the tentacle continued its sweep with only a minor delay. Now finding himself behind its sweep, George pursued it, intending to cut it in half again. As he approached it he noticed part of a human face protruding from its surface. With horror, George realized that the face's single eye was watching him.

Quicker that George would have thought possible, the tentacle reversed direction and increased in thickness. By the time it hit him the swelling of the tentacle was bus-sized. Again George sliced with his fiery sword, but the tentacle kept reforming and gathering more of itself around him, until his blows were sustaining a hollow within an ever enlarging mound of tentacle. "IT'S TRYING TO TRAP ME," he pathed, but received no reply. He struck out in one direction and the creature's flesh prison compensated in that direction, replenishing stricken away tentacle with fresh flesh. George was imprisoned!

Seconds later the prison melted away in flame, and strong white talons firmly grasped one of his shoulders and yanked him up and away. As Freedom flew them away, George looked back and saw the prison tentacle reforming itself, changing from a house-sized mound of singed flesh to a long thin tentacle again.

"WE NEED FAR MORE STRENGTH TO FIGHT THIS CREATURE," Freedom said, as George flew onto his dragon's shoulders and the two of them dodged and blasted tentacles that reached for them. "AS QUICKLY AS I BURN ITS TENTACLES THEY RECOVER. WHERE ARE THE BOMBS?" he asked Mary.

"WE'RE COMING SOON WITH THE BOMBS," Mary pathed in reply. "KEEP SLOWING IT DOWN."

George was very relieved to hear from her. "MARY, IT'S AWFUL," he explained. "THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE DYING AND WE CAN'T STOP THIS THING, IT'S TOO STRONG. AND WE'RE USING UP ALL OUR STRENGTH, ESPECIALLY FREEDOM. WE NEED THOSE BOMBS!"

"KEEP FIGHTING, WE'RE COMING," said Mary.

"WHERE ARE YOU NOW?" George asked.

Mary didn't answer. George reached out to her. He could dimly sense the airplane, but could scry nothing inside it. Some force was deflecting his scrying! He tried telepathy again, and again got no answer. "SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MARY," he told Freedom.

"I KNOW," replied the dragon. "I TRIED TOO. THOUGH WEAKENED, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SCRY MARY."

"IT WASN'T LIKE HER, TO NOT ASK ABOUT HOW WE ARE DOING AND SO FORTH," said George

"AND SHE SAID NOTHING OF THE WITCH," noted Freedom.

"SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG! WE MUST GO TO HER," said George.

"WAIT, THE BOMBS COME NOW," said Freedom. "WE NEED STRENGTH."

Indeed, George could sense two airplanes high overhead, and the atomic bombs each carried.

"HOLD TIGHT," the dragon said abruptly, as he suddenly veered to the left with such violence that George's grip was nearly broken.

Thinking that the dragon had simply changed course to seek the bombs, George watched in amazement as a gigantic black bird larger than Freedom dove past them, screaming in rage when its massive talons missed them. It looked like some sort of giant eagle, but he sensed it was an elemental. Worse, he looked up and saw a dozen other monstrous black birds diving towards them with horrific speed. It had to be the creatures known as rocs that had appeared in Europe, George realized!

Instead of again dodging them, Freedom defied gravity and rose rapidly to meet them. A fiery green blast burst from his mouth, covering the leading half-dozen birds and melting away wings, legs and heads. Freedom dodged their falling, smoking bodies but additional unharmed monster birds were right behind them.

George could sense that Freedom lacked the strength to soon shoot such flame again. He drew his sword and sliced the talons off the next bird. It fell away screaming, but the next one's talons grappled with Freedom's and as dragon and bird fought with claw, fang and beak, two other birds grabbed Freedom by the neck and tail.

A forth bird attacked George, but he sliced it nearly in two with his sword, before flying after the three that were overpowering Freedom. The birds were formidable creatures in terms of brute strength, but not very intelligent or resilient, and completely lacking in magic. He quickly decapitated the one that had Freedom by the throat, and was moving towards another of them, when yet another bird grabbed him in its great talons. Completely enclosed, George was soon being squeezed with such painful crushing force that he couldn't breathe.

He barely noticed when they all slammed to the ground, but the impact knocked out the bird that was attacking him and broke the creature's grip. The young Chosen One found himself lying on his back on the ground. His head and ribs ached and he felt weak as a kitten but he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Giant bird bodies lay all around him, but they were not dead. Instead, they were visibly recovering. Burned and cut away limbs and feathers were reforming as he watched; many of the creatures would soon be in fighting form again! To his right, Freedom battled the last standing great bird. The dragon had wrapped itself around its larger foe, serpent like, with his great dragon jaws clamped onto its throat. The bird lunged and tore at the dragon, but with a small puff of green flame the creature was quickly decapitated. The bird's limp body fell to the ground, with Freedom also stunned and still entangled with it. The dragon was absorbing energy from his surroundings, but was weakened and stunned nearly unconscious.

To George's left, a tentacle of KraKara swept towards them. Already it was absorbing nearby bird bodies, and it would reach himself and Freedom in no more than half a minute. Not far from him, a new head had reformed on a decapitated bird, a head with eyes that were watching him while the creature gathered its strength. George tried to stand but was too weak.

Hope came in the form of a fighter-bomber, diving towards them. "The bombs come now," George pathed.

"I SEE THEM," replied Freedom weakly. "I AM READY FOR THEM." Weakened as he was, the bombs would have to be directly on-target.

George watched as the two bombs separated from the airplane and dropped towards them. But the trajectory didn't seem quite right. To his astonishment, both bombs slammed directly into the mid-section of KraKara. The creature's central section trembled but otherwise didn't react. Than it gradually grew to double its original size. The monster KraKara, not the dragon, had been fed by the bombs!

This couldn't have been an accident. They had been betrayed!

Which would now kill him and Freedom, George wondered? The birds or the giant monster KraKara?

****

### CHAPTER 20

Trapped and Betrayed

Greble smiled in satisfaction. The military transport she flew in had an excellent outside camera which, along with her senses, allowed her to quickly assess the status of the battle.

She had become adept at controlling live human puppets as well as dead ones. Capture of the transport plane carrying the Chosen One named Mary and her human companions had been ordered by that fool Jerrod. The attack by the humans on themselves came soon after the plane landed in Cairo. The paralyzing gas acted so quickly that not even the girl Chosen was able to resist or call out to the boy Chosen or his dragon.

Minutes later, Greble easily overcame Jerrod's security forces. She could have simply controlled them, but she amused herself by terrifying them and destroying most of them. To do so she animated several dead bodies that continued to attack Jerrod's remaining operatives even after they were cut to bits by gunfire. The degree of resulting fear and terror in the remaining victims was delicious indeed, when she finally did consume their souls.

She had taken control of the two fighter aircraft shortly after they rendezvoused with the transport. It had been easy to have them bomb KraKara with nuclear weapons. The monster of course easily absorbed the blasts. As a result, the juvenile dragon and its partner were now more overmatched than ever!

She hadn't been able to control KraKara but the dragon and elf warrior had wasted much of their strength in attempting to slow the giant monster. As a result, the bird attack she had orchestrated had been highly successful. The birds were relatively primitive and weak-willed, and manipulating them to follow her south from Europe and attack her enemies was easy.

The results were even better than she had imagined. The birds battered and further weakened the dragon duo. Now even as she watched, a triple-sized KraKara tentacle reached towards the prone bodies of the dragon and his Chosen, who were too weak to escape. Absorbing them could take hours, but the monster would eventually leach all power from the pair and consume them completely.

"ONE MUST ESCAPE!" came as a clear message from her black-ring Talisman.

"What?" Greble asked, startled.

"REMEMBER THAT THE DARK ONE MUST HAVE THE DRAGON FOR HIMSELF!" added the Talisman. "THE CHOSEN IS PART OF HIS DRAGON. THE DRAGON IS STRONGEST. DESTROY THE DRAGON BUT CAPTURE HIS CHOSEN FOR LATER CONSUMPTION BY THE DARK ONE."

Greble directed a roc she had been holding in reserve to snatch up the boy Chosen and carry him out of reach of KraKara. Moments later she watched in satisfaction as KraKara completely enveloped the weakened dragon. She again felt the Talisman vibrate its approval.

That situation addressed, the Witch turned to regard her own captives on the transport. Most of the humans were weakened but still alive. They lay about the airplane unconscious, except for one pilot that flew the airplane as her puppet.

The captured female Chosen One was partly conscious and despite punishing pain still resisted her will, though she was gradually weakening. She had much less dragon strength than the boy, but enough to be a nuisance, were she given the opportunity. Greble had managed to control a few brief statements the girl made to the dragon and the boy, but it had taken all her strength. She couldn't have done it without help from the Talisman.

But even the Talisman and its great Evil powers were repulsed by the girl! "SHE WEARS A TALISMAN OF HER OWN THAT REPELS ME," it told Greble.

Indeed Greble had earlier noticed the goldish silver-dollar-sized trinket that the girl wore chained around her neck but paid it no heed. The Witch reached for it now, intending to rip it off of her neck, but found that she couldn't even touch it! Something, either her talisman's or the girl's, held her back! Greble tried unsuccessfully again and again until she was greatly drained of her own strength.

While Greble was weakened, the girl quickly regained control of herself. Fortunately, as a precaution the Chosen was handcuffed and tied with strong ropes, and her probing senses and telepathy were contained by Greble's strongest spells. Before she could fight free, Greble sucked the life from several captives to quickly regain her own strength.

As the Witch again turned to regard her young captive she let the enchantment that provided the illusion of human appearance and beauty slip, such that the dragon-girl could see her as she really was: a roughly humanoid hulk of oozing puss with eyes and mouths that slowly meandered around the mound that loosely resembled a head. Throughout the Witch's body there were tinges of elemental energies and Evil that twisted and swirled as though in constant struggle among themselves. Her left hand was enveloped by a dark evil something that Mary couldn't scry, but had a familiar taste to it that puzzled her.

Greble was disappointed when the girl didn't even flinch. "You have seen your champions defeated, Chosen One. They are being completely absorbed by the monster and are gone forever. You too will soon weaken and die before your own dragon returns to Earth and finds me gone. Perhaps by then the stupid Earth monster will be strong enough to overcome your precious dragon also."

"I regret I will not see you die," the girl managed to reply. "but I hope that Jewel doesn't find you. When the Dark One finds that you have destroyed the last trace of green dragon, your death will be a thousand times worse than mine."

Greble laughed as the Talisman vibrated its amusement! Thanks to the Talisman she had confidence that she would indeed please the Dark One.

She knew that the Dark One wanted the egg, everyone knew that. And of course over the centuries he had been pursuing the dragons of all colors, and gaining their different strengths when he absorbed them. Had he wanted the egg to absorb it and not simply to destroy it? Did he need a living white dragon or its chosen to obtain the strength of a green? Was there a special significance to the juvenile dragon being white? She had never seen or heard of a white dragon. What did it all mean? She wasn't sure but her Talisman indicated that she didn't need to know.

At a certain level she didn't like this; there was too much she didn't know. Dealing with the Dark One was already going to be far too dangerous. What if her Talisman was wrong? She had perhaps become too dependent on it, but there was nothing she could do about it. The last attempt she had had made to remove it from her hand had been unbearably painful, and that was many days ago when the Taliman was much smaller and weaker.

She returned her attention to the camera view screen, where a house-sized mound of KraKara material had formed where the combatants had earlier been visible. KraKara had already engulfed the White Dragon. It was too late to change that; freeing the dragon would be impossible. She had tested KraKara's strength before and wasn't anxious to do so again, particularly after she had the humans feed it two of those things they called nuclear bombs.

As there was nothing she could do to save the dragon anyway, she dismissed her worries about the issue. KraKara would doubtlessly destroy the White Dragon, but her roc had captured it's Chosen to turn over to the Dark One. "EVERYTHING IS GOING WELL!" the Talisman reassured her.

Witch Greble didn't fully understand that, but she didn't really care. More and more, she was letting the Talisman do her thinking for her, and more and more she was comfortable with that.

### ****

Within the mounded KraKara tentacle, Freedom came to the realization that he was securely entrapped. He tried to move but couldn't; he was encased within an elemental that was highly energized. It had to be the giant monster itself, he realized. It was trying to digest him, of course, but was having difficulty; in addition to a scattering of ordinary matter, as a dragon he was comprised of a close-knit grid of energy that bound him together into a cohesive whole that was as a reflexive defense adjusting to stay out of tune with his surroundings including KraKara, such that he was nearly impervious to forces brought against him.

The monster must have eaten other elementals before though, because Freedom was being subjected to an ever changing array of powerful forces, which was costing much energy to counter: too much energy, which he could feel being lost to the monster. Eventually this would wear even a dragon down completely. When he was unable to counter, his form would lose integrity and disintegrate. He tried to counter the monster's efforts and absorb energy from it, but his efforts were too weak and clumsy, and only resulted in increased energy loss to the monster. He couldn't even change form to decrease his surface area; that would take too much energy and could make him vulnerable for a moment. He certainly couldn't teleport; that would take far too much energy. He was stuck, and he was doomed, unless help came from elsewhere.

What of his Chosen? He tried to reach George telepathically, but getting through the being that imprisoned him was impossible in his weakened state. He could only hope that his Chosen was doing better than he was, and would soon come to rescue him.

****

George watched helplessly as the monstrous tentacle swept towards him. Suddenly he felt something grasp him by the arms and pull him away from the danger. With horror he realized it was a great black roc! He tried to struggle against it but it was far too strong. As the roc opened to scream its victory some object flew into its mouth and then exploded, completely blowing off the head of the monster. Monster and Chosen fell to the ground roughly. The roc released George and stumbled stupidly about, awaiting the reformation of its head. George lay stunned and again under the threat of yet another reaching, groping KraKara tentacle. The headless roc walked stupidly directly into the tentacle and was quickly engulfed by it, but the tentacle again reached towards the stunned Chosen.

Again he was grasped by the arms and pulled away, such that the grasping tentacle was once again averted. He wasn't pulled away very swiftly, however. Several times the tentacle came within a few feet of him, only to recede from him again as he was again pulled away in a different direction. At last he was completely out of KaKara's reach, at least until the monster moved forward again.

"Get the truck," he heard a human female voice say, and one of his limp arms was abruptly dropped. It had been English, but strangely accented. He turned his head to see the source of the voice, which was still holding him up by his other arm in a sitting position. It was a teenage black girl no older than himself, he was surprised to see. She was small and thin, and might have appeared attractive but for the soot and dirt that covered most of her. Her eyes practically burned with life-energy. She was another very special human!

"Thanks," he managed to say, just loud enough to be heard over the commotion surrounding them. Screams, sirens, vehicles, fires, and movements of the monster made holding a conversation difficult.

Her eyes went wide as she bent closer. "I see you be alive, boy knight. That be good. After you save me from my house I see you fight the KraKara and the big birds with your dragon, but they be too much for even you. As is often the case, the most stupid be the most powerful."

He recognized her now. Earlier he had flown her to safety after pulling her from a burning house. "You should get away from here," he told her. "The monster will keep coming."

"Me don't think so. KraKara stop to eat your dragon meal, me think. He not move his fat body since he catch the dragon and birds."

George struggled into a sitting position. The girl was right. The monster had centered itself where Freedom and the birds had been captured. Its tentacles were receding into the gathering mound around Freedom as it brought all its powers to bear on the problem of digesting the elementals.

"But we get out of here now, while we can," the girl said. "We got no more grenades to blow up the heads of monster birds."

A small flatbed truck pulled up alongside them, and a boy that could have been twin to the girl got out of the driver's seat and joined them. "The back of the truck be already full, but we can squeeze you in, Mystery Boy," he announced, as he and his sister pulled George to the back of the truck and lifted him up onto the back of it without difficulty. Wearing his armor he weighed maybe a hundred and eighty pounds; the pair was much stronger than they looked, George concluded.

The truck was indeed quite full; there were roughly two dozen people already standing, sitting, or lying on the rough wood planking of the truck bed, but they made room for George and the girl, though they studied him with wide eyes, when they weren't glancing back fearfully at the towering mass that was KraKara. George found himself lying next to a middle aged man that sat with his right arm in a sling. George remembered pulling him from a burning building.

"I see you on American TV, boy," said the man, as the truck pulled away. "I pray for you to come here and help us, like you say you plan to do. You come, but it be no use. The monster be too strong for you and the White Dragon."

"You have a name, besides Mystery Boy?" the girl asked. "My name be Sara. My brother Joseph drive the truck, and you talk now to my father John Mason."

"George is my real name."

"You out to save the world, Mystery Boy named George?" John asked. Amusement danced in his deep brown eyes, eyes that matched perfectly those of his daughter.

"That's my plan. I guess I could use a little help though."

"That's about all that we can give you, just a little bit of help," said Sara. "It be the least we can do to thank you for saving us, and also the most we can do."

"I need to save my dragon."

"I don't see how you do that," said Sara. "But then I not be a super hero. For now we seek only to save ourselves. We go far away. Too many monsters, bombs. and bullets here in the City."

"We go to the nearby high country now," added John, "to the land of our fathers, where maybe even monsters don't bother to come. You come with us. Maybe you get better, and then save more of our people."

"If my dragon dies, I will die. If we die, you will all die. More monsters will come, and nobody will be able to stop them."

"On the radio your President Jeffers be saying that maybe it be because of you that the monsters came here," said John. "He says maybe you be the true enemy behind all the trouble."

The words stunned George. The betrayal wasn't just local, it went all the way to the top. "The monsters are here now because we are here on Earth, that much is true. But they seek to destroy us because we are the only hope to stop them. We are not the enemy; we seek to save the Earth. Jeffers is an idiot."

John smiled. "That be what we think also. The world be a complex place, with others fighting and we African people many times in the middle, paying with our blood. What be good, what be bad, it sometimes not be so clear as your white leaders say. But in this country, KraKara be evil death, for all time. That be very clear, and you came to try to save us and to fight this evil, that also is very clear. So what more can we do to help you a little bit, Mystery Boy named George?"

****

### CHAPTER 21

Roots of Betrayal

"I don't like it, Mr. Grogen," said President Tom Jeffers. "First I get conformation from my science advisor that the Elves and their friends are our allies, then you convince me that they pose the major threat to this country because they have been harboring a dragon. Despite the good press the boy and the dragon were getting by going Rambo on you, you then have me state publicly that they might be behind having the monsters appear in the first place, and in the meantime get me involved in setting them up to be defeated by the monsters. Yet now you want me to treat them as fallen heroes?"

Jerrod Grogen shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes sir. I recommend you take a middle path with the public. Now that they have been apparently eliminated by the monster it wouldn't hurt politically to publicly acknowledge that at the last they were in their last acts trying to do the right thing by trying to stop the monsters they were responsible for. Better yet, show uncertainty on the issue; state that it's still being investigated."

"OK, that makes sense. I use that one all the time. I can be vague and uncertain while still appearing strong and in control. What about the Portal? Has that been secured yet?"

"The area is surrounded by our best troops and agents. No more alien surprises will be tolerated."

"Good. Control, that's the key. Elves, monsters, dragons, whatever; we won't stand for any of it."

"Yes sir."

"What about this witch character? Is she still cooperating?"

"We couldn't have done it without her."

"She must eventually be eliminated also, of course."

"Of course, sir. We'll destroy the Portal and eliminate all aliens and monsters, every last one of them."

"Henry Cross disagrees, you know, but he's a scientist, and I'm the one that has to worry about protecting this country. Me and strong men like you."

"Yes sir," replied Jerrod, as the president stood and shook his hand, signaling an end to the meeting. He left the Oval Room much relieved that the President somehow hadn't yet gotten word on the many things that weren't going quite right.

Thirty minutes later when Jerrod was comfortably back in his secure Ready Room at the Pentagon he leapt back into the fray. "What do you mean she still won't answer?" he screamed at one of his subordinates. "What does Ferell say? Order him to tell the Witch that she damn well better answer me! We did our end of the bargain, now she has to complete hers! That plane with the Witch and girl should have been ordered to start flying to the Portal by now, and we want the Witch to give us some hints as to the best way to destroy the Portal and to get her back to where she came from. Let her think that we're helping her escape Earth.

"As to letting the Witch actually escape through the Portal, that isn't an option either; make sure all of our forces understand that! And we want the girl Mary alive, if possible. With the boy and dragon gone, we should be able to control her. She should make a hell of an agent. If not, she'll need to be destroyed like the others."

"Sir, there is no response from anyone on-board the transport aircraft, including Ferell, not even using his personal link. The fighter escort reports that the transport is still circling the monster."

"Could Greble be waiting to make sure that the dragon and the kid are dead? Do we have absolute conformation on that ourselves?"

"No sir. We had been depending on camera feed from the transport but that is still cut off. The situation on the ground remains chaotic. We still only have visual conformation from the fighter pilot that the dragon was enveloped by the monster."

"Still nothing solid on the kid?"

"Only that he was taken down by the birds when the dragon was."

"I need conformation on him also. When will our ground agents arrive?"

"Another hour, minimum."

"They must ensure that super-kid is eliminated. Hopefully he has been weakened, if he does still live, and our men can finish him off. In any case, once we're more sure of the situation, we'll nuke all of them to hell. Send in H-bombs a hundred times more powerful than the tactical nukes were; we'll take no chances."

"Sir, with any luck the boy is already in a bird's gullet that is in the giant monster's gullet."

Jerrod shook his head. No, he couldn't depend on luck. As usual, he would depend on ruthless power.

****

It was the afternoon after meeting Pip that Trent, Marge, and Johnny Williams were walking along the street towards the Simple place when an army truck roared onto the cul-de-sac and towards them.

"Run for it to next door," urged Johnny.

"Don't be silly," said his father. "This is America."

To their surprise and shock the truck came to a screeching stop in front of their own house and armed soldiers poured from it. Additional army trucks weren't far behind them.

"Halt, you three," yelled a commanding voice. A dozen solders had rifles pointed at the trio and were closing in on them.

"What the hell is this?" thundered Trent. "We're U-S citizens!"

"Another word out of any of you and we'll fire, and we have orders to shoot to kill."

"You would murder helpless unarmed civilians in front of their own homes?" demanded Marge, too outraged to remain silent.

"We would shoot dangerous fugitives," replied the solder.

"Do we look dangerous? We're unarmed!" said Trent. "And we never in our lives earned even a parking ticket!"

"And you are all under arrest as spies," said the soldier. "Take them prisoner."

Several solders rushed towards the trio as Trent placed himself between them and his wife and son and assumed what he thought was a Kung-Fu pose. The first solder swung a rifle-butt at Trent, but the blow never fell. Instead the solder froze in mid swing, defying several laws of physics. The other soldiers were also frozen in place, dozens of them.

"Not friends of yours, I take it," asked a high pitched voice. Pip the Mage abruptly appeared at the feet of the Williams trio.

"Certainly not, Mr. Pip," said Marge.

"I think it best than that we heed the lad's advice, and make for the Simple House. My stasis spell will last only another minute or so, and I'd hate to have to do something more drastic to these poor, confused humans who can't tell that we be good folk."

"Grog tells me that we've had other visitors that he's taken care of," remarked the tiny elf, as the Williams family followed him along the walk. "I've strengthened the elf wards to exclude any other visitors that may come calling, but I still think it wise to make haste."

Trent was astonished that the elf could run so fast on legs only inches long, than was even more astonished to note that the elf was actually flying a few inches above the ground. Why the tiny imp bothered with moving his legs at all was a related mystery.

After they reached the Simple House they rushed to George's rooms, where Johnny turned on the computer, while his parents wondered at the strange books they found on George's bed. Totally blank inside, most of the books seemed to be.

"Astounding magic, computers and TVs are," remarked Pip, as he turned on the television from across the room with a snap of his fingers.

"Don't turn on too many things electric, Pip," admonished a deep voice.

The adults were astonished to see a massive, brown-furred giant appear in the doorway.

"We be using emergency back-up electric power," explained the troll. "The humans have cut off the outside electricity." He stepped forward and reached out a massive hand towards Mr. Williams. "You be father and mother to Mary and Johnny. I be honored."

"And you have to be Grog," answered Trent, as he readily shook a huge troll finger.

"Johnny has had good things to say of you," added Marge, as she also completed the introduction ritual. "Now then, exactly what is happening to our daughter?"

"She too far away for Grog to ask, but Grog not hear from Mary or George for too long. Grog be worried. Worried big."

"For hours now they haven't returned my sendings either, none of them," said Pip, as he surfed through dozens of television channels.

"That not good. Also, Army men came to forest. That be against Treaty. Grog toss them out but still others come, too many for Grog, but elf ward now stop them."

"Quiet please," admonished Pip, as he attentively watched the television. On the screen fire and devastation stretched for miles across a city. Above it towered an odd looking dark mound, hundreds of feet high.

"The monster has been still now for several hours," said the commentator. "In earlier broadcasts it has walked through several cities such as this, killing and destroying. That's how things started out here earlier today, but then there was a swirl of commotion, after which the monster stopped and formed itself into the mountain you see here. These shots are from a few hours ago. It's dark there now, but we have conformation that the creature still hasn't moved."

"What's happening?" asked another commentator voice.

"We aren't sure, Jim. There are two theories now about why it stopped. One is that it is simply resting; but we've never seen it stop before in the middle of destroying a city. The second theory is that the monster has stopped to digest the White Dragon and giant birds."

"Shit," Johnny said quietly.

"Dragon and birds?" asked the second commentator.

"That's right Jim. We have conflicting reports, but many of the local survivors here describe a small White Dragon ridden by an armor wearing knight that were trying to stop the monster and to save lives until they were attacked by giant birds. Than the monster is said to have swallowed up all the combatants and changed its shape to what you see here now."

"Damn," said Johnny. "That had to be Freedom and George!"

"What about Mary?" Trent asked anxiously.

"Like I told you earlier, she's not supposed to be part of the battle," explained Johnny, but he didn't sound very certain. "She's supposed to be in a transport plane."

"That's a transport plane now," said Trent, pointing at the TV screen. They were showing a large transport plane, shadowed by a jet fighter, flying high over the monster. "This is old footage, but at least we know that a couple of hours ago, that's where Mary probably was, safe and sound."

The picture abruptly switched to yesterday's news shot of Freedom and George, flying over a baseball stadium. "White house sources confirm that the dragon known as Freedom and the boy-knight known as Mystery Man, who introduced themselves to America and the World in dramatic fashion only yesterday, have met a heroic but tragic end here in Nigeria today. Giant monster birds from Europe and the giant African monster known as KraKara are responsible. The president is even now convening a news conference."

The picture switched to the Whitehouse and a somber President Tom Jeffers. "My fellow Americans, before we were even able to ascertain exactly who the Mystery Man and his White Dragon companion were, or what their true intensions might have been, it appears that they met a tragic end while attempting to fight the monster KraKara in Africa. Though unsuccessful, they reportedly saved hundreds of lives, and died as true American heroes.

"Sadly, as I commented on briefly a short time ago we have also uncovered evidence suggesting that they may have been involved in causing the evil monsters to appear here on Earth in the first place. However, right now that's mostly conjecture. We will continue to investigate this situation until we have brought the full truth to the American people.

"In the meantime, I pledge that we will bring all American armed forces to bear on the monsters and destroy them. Your armed forces, and not legendary beasts and super heroes, will protect our nation and the world."

'Enough!" said Pip, and with a snap of his tiny fingers the television turned off. "The bird attack was no coincidence. I sense Greble's hand in that, and in Mary not contacting us. The witch is on that transport or somewhere else nearby, I know it."

"Your thinking is sound, mage Pip," rumbled Grog.

"Agreed," added Johnny.

"The witch may also have turned the humans against us," continued Pip. "I sense hundreds of them outside the ward, including some that were fool enough to drop from the sky that are even now being pushed aside by the ward. That president fellow tries to hide his hostility but such cannot be hidden from a mage. He plots against us, and as such, against himself and all humans and elves, the fool!" The tiny elf pulled out his long sword, checked its edge, then slammed it back into its scabbard. "I must break my pledge to remain here with you, friend Grog. I must get to that transport and kill the foul witch or die trying."

"The witch is on the transport?" Marge asked. "With our Mary?"

"I sense it," said the mage. "We call it scrying."

"We have to do something!" Trent demanded.

"Correction; I'm the warrior mage, I have to do something," said Pip. "I shall proceed with all speed to this place you call Africa. Now, in what direction is Africa, and to get me there while conserving my strength where may I find a swift whisk, or at least a fast horse?"

****

### CHAPTER 22

Recovery

"That's better," said George. He stood up, but had to steady himself by holding the back of a nearby chair. He still felt weak, far too weak to battle a monster or to even fly or communicate with Grog or Pip at the Simple House.

"You still don't look so good," said Sara. "Maybe if you drink more electricity?" She pointed to the bare electric chord that lay across the bed where George had been rested since he had been brought to the home of Sara's uncle.

"No, thanks," George said. "I'll need to leave here soon, as I need a much stronger source of energy to save my dragon. Too bad all the fires in the city are out."

"That not be so bad a thing," remarked John Mason, from where he sat next to his daughter Sara.

"I'm sorry; of course it isn't," said George. "And it's not ultimately the answer anyway. KraKara has been eating fire for days. I'd never catch up to it in strength by taking in a few fires myself. That's why I need to get to a power plant." Now that he felt a little stronger, he was paying more attention to his surroundings. "This is a very nice house," he noted, glancing around. It looked much like an upper-middle-class American home; much nicer than many of the ramshackle homes he had seen.

"It's my brother's suburban home," said John. "He's a well-known research scientist who teaches at a university. But his wife's family has money; that explains this nice house. Our own house was the rubble you pulled Sara from in town. It was not as nice as this but it was still very good compared to most homes in our poor country."

There was a knock at the bedroom door and Joseph came in, looking very anxious. Now that he and his sister were both cleaned up, the fact that he and Sara were twins was even more apparent. "Going to the power plant be no good, mister Mystery Boy," he said. "The power plant be shut down, and police and solders are everyplace, moving everyone out. They be coming here too in maybe thirty minutes. We need move west with the crowd now or they have us."

"Are you sure that we can't trust your officials?" George asked them all. It would be so much easier to have the backing of the local authorities. They had seen him saving their people; surely they would cooperate!

"No way," said Sara. "They desperate to have American solders come save them. They turn you over to them for sure."

"Sister be right," added Joseph. "I hear our Nigerian solders talking about a big reward for you from the Americans. I even see some American solders in town myself."

Joseph helped John out to the truck while Sara, ignoring George's protests, helped George. They were going to again hide George in the back of the truck until George performed a feat of magic that astonished all of them.

"So how do I look?" he asked Sara, when they reached the truck.

"God almighty!" she said, when she looked at him closely. Even in the dim moonlight the transformation was obvious. She was so startled that she let go of him, and he almost fell to the ground.

"He's darker than us!" said Joseph, grinning. "Hair too!"

"True, your skin be very much improved in color," added their father, between his laughter. "How you do that?"

"Just something my dragon could do," explained George, "so I figured I could do it too. With my elf armor hidden under clothing, I shouldn't be recognizable."

"You youngsters all ride in front then," said John. "I lay down in back and nurse this leg some, but we're still going west."

"Yes Papa," said Sara, as she helped him climb into the back of the truck before rejoining George and Joseph in the cab.

"Why west?" asked George.

"The monster is going to be moving South to get after Logos city, folks think," explained Sara. "Besides, we got a place to go west from here."

In minutes they rejoined the sea of refuges that still fled the city, even though darkness had come hours earlier. Most were on foot, and many were injured. They stopped the truck and squeezed several of the most badly injured people onto the back of it.

"Too many for hospital," explained Sara. "We will find a doctor for them elsewhere."

"I want to look at them," George told Sara, as he was climbing onto the flatbed.

"You have medical training?"

"No, but I can sense their injuries. Maybe I can do something about it." The elf and dragon powers kept his own body healthy; he reasoned that perhaps those healing powers could somehow be extended to others.

Johnny first sat next to a small boy who seemed to be so weak that he was dying. His distraught father had to be persuaded by Sara to allow Johnny to look at him. The boy coughed up blood as Johnny closed his eyes and held the boy's hand gently. It took enormous concentration in the bouncing truck, but George was finally able to move his conscious self through the boy and find broken bones and torn flesh. 'Think and it will happen,' he told himself, and that's what he did, a tiny bit of flesh or bone at a time, as he knit the boy back together.

George woke to the touch of a cool wet rag on his forehead. He opened his eyes to Sara bending over him in the moonlight. The boy he had healed sat next to her grinning, but Sara looked worried. "You be a true Miracle Boy, George. You saved this little boy. But you be sick now."

"Only weak, is all. It took much more energy than I thought it would."

"Papa has an idea about that. You still want to eat fire?"

"Of course."

They pulled to the side of the road and Joseph siphoned a gallon of precious gasoline from the truck. This was soon splashed over the remains of an abandoned shack and lit.

When the fire had reached its zenith George stumbled into it and extinguished it instantly. He returned to the truck and over the next hour healed everyone completely, including John. However in the end he was again much too tired to stay awake.

****

It was Marge Williams who ended up buying an airline ticket to Africa. Johnny was grounded, and though Trent had at first insisted on making the trip he had no passport and there was no time for him to apply for one. Marge still had hers from a recent trip. Now she used it, despite Trent's objections.

Outwardly, Marge was going to vacation in Cameroon. In reality, that was as close as she could get to Nigeria, as Nigeria was in a state of emergency. After she took her seat before takeoff, she sat fretting over a map of Africa that showed her flight destination in Cameroon to be nearly a thousand miles from her final destination in Nigeria.

"Big continent, isn't it," said the elderly gentleman that sat down beside her. The airplane was about half full, but no other passengers were seated nearby.

"Yes it is," she answered politely, before gasping in surprise. "Why Mr. Smith! I haven't seen you since buying the house! Are you still in the real estate business?"

"Never really was, Mrs. Williams. I'm better known as Ranger Rick to many, though Smith is actually my real name. You may have caught a glimpse or two of me over the years?"

"Of course. I've realized for years who you really are, and now realize why nobody else is seated near us. Are you here to arrest me?"

"No, I'm here to help you. I'm supposed to be retired, but I still have friends in the agency and access to public news sources. The Government team that includes your daughter is in very deep trouble."

"What do you know about my Mary?" she demanded.

"The Government can't contact her or anyone else on the transport plane." He noted the shock that registered on her face. "Didn't they even tell you?"

"No. We aren't exactly on speaking terms with the Government. They're trying to arrest us as traitors, of all things!"

"I heard about that also. That's one of the things that brought me out of retirement and put me on the warpath. I had to cash in most of my chips to keep you out of jail when you were detected at the airport. When they figure out where both of us are going we'll both be in deep trouble. What, may I ask, are your plans?"

"We're flying to Yaounde, Cameroon. From there, how can I get to Western Nigeria? That's the part I don't know."

"I'll use my connections, assuming there aren't government agents at the airport to arrest us all first. What I don't know is what you plan to do when you get to Nigeria. Mary's plane in all likelihood will be gone by then. And there is something else you have a right to know. The Government thinks that a witch from Narma has control of that transport."

"We had concluded that already, human," said a tiny high-pitched voice.

"Your purse just talked," noted Rick.

"I don't know how he stayed silent this long," said Marge.

"It didn't sound like Kip or Belinda."

"His name is Pip, and he's a powerful elf mage," said Marge. "Or at least he claims to be."

"Your help is welcomed, Mr. Rick," said the small voice. "I have learned of you from Kip and Belinda. I will help the boy and the dragon, if they need it, and kill the Witch and save the girl. But I warn you not to betray us."

"And I warn you to hush up, or you'll be discovered," said Rick.

"Ha!" responded the amused elf, though he then remained silent.

"We'll talk over everything when we land," Rick said. "Right now I plan to catch some shut-eye. I'm not as young as I used to be."

Marge feared too much for her daughter to sleep, but Pip had no such problem. Just to be in this new universe was tiring for him.

Hours later, as they approached Africa, the dozing elf was startled to sense someone telepathically. It was George, alive but weak. In a few minutes they exchanged much information, which the elf was glad to relay immediately to Grog.

Then he attempted a much harder task: he tried to contact Freedom. At first it was a one way conversation, but after several minutes there was a barely detectable whisper of a response from the dragon of only several words.

"I LIVE, ELF," Freedom said, "PERHAPS FOR ONLY HOURS, OR ONE MORE DAY, AT MOST. GEORGE MUST GATHER GREAT POWER FOR US."

"UNDERSTOOD, GREAT ONE," Pip replied. "CONSERVE YOUR STRENGTH FOR SURVIVAL, WE'RE COMING."

A half hour later, when their airplane performed an abrupt turn, passengers started to worry and talk to each other. Marge and Rick were as startled as everyone else when a high pitched voice spoke over the airplane intercom system. "Do not be alarmed, humans. At my request your flight has been diverted to Nigeria. You are going to help save your world through this minor inconvenience."

"I thought that elves were dead set on not showing themselves to humans?" said Rick, when a minute later the tiny elf appeared on the armrest between Marge and himself.

"I am a mage and not a mere elf," said Pip. "And this is an emergency, though only you and the mother of Mary can see and hear me, Mr. Rick. And the pilots too, of course. You have all been privileged to each receive a tiny bit of elfin magic."

"We are all honored, I'm sure, but this is a mistake," said Rick. "American military planes will intercept this plane if it approaches Nigeria."

"It is necessary," said the elf. "The situation is very urgent, and I am beginning to understand how very far Cameroon is from our true goal." He didn't tell them of his conversations with George, Freedom and Grog, as he didn't totally trust Rick. "As to being chased by other planes, I'll attempt to divert them, and if necessary, I'll leave this plane when we get closer."

"Leave the airplane?" asked Marge. "That would be a good trick. Can you fly?"

"Of course. Not like at home, but I'll make do. In my view, how this great metal carriage swiftly flies without magic is the more amazing trick."

****

After circling the massive mound of monster that had formed over the downed dragon for more than an hour, the Air Force transport airplane was getting low on fuel. Greble could sense KraKara's enormous raw power, but she could no longer detect the dragon. The dragon was gone, the Witch concluded confidently, so she had the transport fly north, but masked its passage through various spells.

The plane reached the deserts of Algeria before it finally ran out of fuel. As the aircraft began to rapidly lose altitude, Greble dragged the limp Chosen One to an emergency door and opened it. Wind whipped through the airplane, but Greble ignored it, while no one else on-board was capable of noticing.

"Now we'll find out how durable you really are, Chosen girl," she hissed to semi-conscious Mary, before she threw her roughly from the plane. She watched the body violently tumble away and out of sight, towards the tan sand far below.

Many of the humans remaining on board were still alive, but moments later the Witch sucked the remaining life from all of them, including the woman known as Ellen. Then she jumped from the plane herself. She couldn't fly, and the landing would be uncomfortable for a moment, but as a part - elemental she would easily survive.

****

"I told you three hours ago that the plane disappeared completely," said Jerrod's aid. He pointed at his display screen, which showed a map of central Nigeria. The city of Oshogbo, where the monster was, blinked red. Several other cities, including Abuja, the capital, were crossed off, to show they had already been destroyed by the monster. Several moving symbols represented military aircraft, most of them American Air Force or Navy, but the symbol indicating the transport aircraft carrying the Witch had long since disappeared.

"And I have told you that's impossible," said Jerrod. "We had two jet fighters tailing that transport."

"Those F-22s landed two hours ago, but the pilots were dazed and non-responsive. They slowly came around and finished their reports a few minutes ago. They claim they don't remember what happened since they arrived at the scene this morning. They don't remember losing sight of the transport, but they also don't remember ever seeing it in the first place."

"But we've been talking to them! I've been talking to them! Those pilots were communicating with the damn transport and following it!"

"Yes sir, but they don't remember any of that."

"Some sort of mind control, it has to be" said Jerrod. "It was the damn dragon!"

"More likely it was the Witch," said the aid. "The transport remained until the Witch was sure that the White Dragon was overwhelmed by KraKara. The Witch likely gained control of the fighter pilots."

Jerrod scowled at his subordinate, so angry at the suggestion that he couldn't speak. It couldn't be the Witch; she was their partner, unless she went back on her word! On the other hand, now that the dragon and the kid were gone, he no longer needed the Witch anyway, so it didn't really matter. If the transport had crashed with the Chosen and the Witch on-board, a lot of difficulties had been taken care of.

"And something else, sir, something worse."

Jerrod sat down. What had gone wrong now? What could be worse?

"The two tactical nukes were fired by the escort planes."

The statement was incomprehensible. "What? What did you just say?"

"When the two fighter-bomber aircraft landed, it was discovered that a nuke was missing from each plane. The crews didn't remember firing them but the audio recordings and nose cameras recorded that they had indeed been fired and detonated."

"But no such detonations were ordered or reported!" Jerod sputtered. "Don't tell me they were absorbed by the White Dragon! That other time near Chicago was some sort of trick, it had to be!"

"No. This time they were absorbed by KraKara, according to the Air Force analysts."

Jerrod couldn't believe it. The bombs were supposed to only be used on KraKara after the dragon and boy were confirmed dead! Since there was still doubt about the demise of dragon and boy, the order to use them had not yet been given. "They were fired without orders?"

"Affirmative. Some of the local folk witnessed the event, but they never even realized they were witnessing nuclear weapon explosions, as the effects were no different than those of conventional weapons. We had discredited the reports initially, but now we have conclusive evidence from the aircraft. The KraKara creature greatly increased in size and strength as a result of the event, I might add. Our analysts conclude that the damn monster eats nuclear detonations!"

Jerrod paced and scowled in response. He had always assumed that the so-called bomb-blast absorptions at the Simple pla **ce** had somehow been faked. If not, he had also assumed that the KraKara monster would not have the same capability. What would they do now? With the White Dragon and its rider both gone, how could they stop such creatures?

He come to a terrible realization. What if the boy and dragon weren't lying? What if the White Dragon and boy had been the only way to stop the monsters, monsters that were truly evil? That seemed unlikely, however. Everyone lied. Didn't they?

"No!" he said aloud, dismissing his doubts. The President had agreed to this course and committed his country to dispose of all alien life forms as well as the Portal through which they had come. They would still do it. They would use hydrogen bombs next. Though it had absorbed small tactical nukes, surely no creature could withstand a multi-megaton explosion! It would work; it had to!

"We have new reports of an unknown aircraft crashing in Algeria," added the aid, compounding Jerrod's misery.

"Our transport?"

"Don't know yet, but it could be. It was a hard crash; no survivors are reported."

Jerrod smiled for the first time in hours. "Ding, dong, the wicked Witch is dead!"

****

Fred Burch, investigative reporter, was frustrated. "The military has all streets leading to the Simple place blocked," he told his editor, over his cell phone.

"The interviews with the librarian and the school quarterback were dynamite, but nothing compared to the potential interview with the old uncle," said Lucy Carn, the editor. The librarian had hinted that the Simple was involved, and the local school quarterback said that Simple's nephew was some sort of freak. "You have to get in there."

"I did the next best thing. My friend's brother-in-law is in the Army. You won't believe what he told me a few minutes ago."

"Shoot."

"The Army isn't here to protect the Simple home, they're here to attack it."

"What? Say that again!"

"They've sent in assault teams, paratroopers, and tanks, and so far they can't get in. They have orders to destroy the place and to kill everyone there."

"But why? What the hell is going on? The kid and the dragon were heroes, weren't they? If they are hooked up with Simple why would Harry Simple be a bad guy? It doesn't make sense!"

"I thought so too. But the orders are straight from the President."

"God Fred, this is the story of a lifetime! We have to get collaboration and figure out what's really going on!"

"I have unmistakable sound tracks of gunfire and explosions. Hell, I can hear it still going on as we speak. This story is true, I know it is. The Simple home is being attacked by special forces of some sort and by the regular Army."

"OK. OK, that's enough for me to hit the President with some damn pointed questions at the news conference and try to get collaboration from the man himself. You keep pushing from your end. I'll get Thompson to interview the librarian again, to ask her what she thinks about rumors that the Government has been attacking Wonder Boy's home and so forth. The rest of the media will pick up on this line, I'm betting. This stinking Administration is about to crack, I can smell it. We'll break this thing open, and lots of rats are going to scramble for higher ground and tell the world what's really happening. We just have to position ourselves to throw some of the fleeing bastards some life-preservers. I'll contact some of my book publisher friends so they can help us put together juicy deals for folks we can get to talk the soonest and the most."

****

### CHAPTER 23

From Frying Pan to Fire

Greble decided to scry the vicinity one last time, but again it was to no avail. She had expected to either find the girl's dead body or to find her so weakened that she could no longer resist her spells. The witch was dumbfounded and furious when she couldn't find her at all.

Her mistake had been in relaxing her hold on the young Chosen One for the brief period it took for them to fall from the aircraft to earth and for her to backtrack to where the Chosen should have landed. Somehow, the girl must have conserved enough strength to both survive the fall and cast some sort of cloaking spell. Even her Talisman couldn't detect the girl! Maybe the girl's own talisman was responsible!

Much as it irked her, the Witch decided to go on without her prize captive. Perhaps that was best anyway, she decided. Being in the company of the Chosen One at the wrong time might not be good thing. Though the girl in her weakened state was herself no threat, if and when Jewel returned, the dragon would likely go straight to her Chosen One. If the girl stayed here lost in the desert, that would pull Jewel away from the Portal while she slipped back to Narma and rallied the Horde, so keeping the girl alive was actually best, she convinced herself.

Far worse, there was no sign of the White Dragon's Chosen. The roc that captured him had disappeared, and had presumably been consumed by KaKara. Had the boy also been consumed? That would be disastrous! She consulted her Talisman and was relieved to be told that the boy although weakened still existed somewhere in Africa. Should she immediately try to recapture him? Perhaps not. The boy was proving more dangerous and resourceful than she expected. "FLEE TO NARMA," said her Talisman. "ALERT THE DARK ONE."

Yes, that made sense, Greble decided.

Meanwhile she had more immediate practical issues to address. She was stranded in the Sahara desert. She had summoned the last remaining roc that she had not committed to the dragon battle, but the sub-sonic flying pseudo-bird would not arrive for several more hours. In the interim, she wanted food and temporary transport. Even from the aircraft she had surmised that the arid, sandy desert was not rich in life, but she was shocked to find almost nothing within range but a few tiny creatures, none suitable for either food or transportation. Visually all she could see were endlessly vast mounds of sand.

She ended up walking for an hour, until an Algerian fighter aircraft on the way to view the transport wreckage happened to fly overhead, barely within range of her powers. She had difficulty controlling the pilot, but using a surge of power from the Talisman she finally managed to kill him and crash the aircraft nearby. She waited by the crash only half an hour before a rescue helicopter arrived. She had no problem controlling the helicopter pilot after he landed, even though the man had an unusually high pain threshold. The other six humans from the helicopter she only partly consumed, in order to prolong their suffering.

After three hours of flight in the helicopter the roc intercepted it. Greble promptly had the helicopter land, then finished consuming the life forces of all seven humans. Rocs were crude elementals that hadn't fully mastered the fine art of life consumption and Evil application. She fed the dead husks of the humans to the hungry roc.

The witch stretched her arms as necessary to encircle the bird's neck, than instructed it to fly north-west as she hung below it rather like a necklace. The crude flying elemental was perfect for her current purposes; it was tireless, swift, stupid and unlike KraKara, it was very easily controlled through the control of pain and pleasure. Also, as it fed on flesh while she fed on life forces, there was no conflict from a food standpoint, either.

The roc closely resembled a black eagle in appearance, and didn't even alarm humans when viewed from a great distance. Only when it came close did it become apparent that it was the size of a small aircraft. When well shielded by spells, roc and witch would not be detected by anyone. On the way to the Portal, she would be able to use her Talisman-amplified powers to feed on American cities, and even on the troll, without even landing. There was no dragon on Earth to oppose her, and their Chosen Ones were missing and if still alive were too weak to be a concern. She could do whatever she wanted with the humans she encountered. She particularly looked forward to consuming the impudent humans of the city known as Washington.

When a dragon traveled through a portal, its shielding spells were temporarily disrupted. She hoped to scry Jewel's arrival at the Portal, cease her feeding on humans temporarily, and make good her escape to Narma before the dragon realized the she had been tricked yet again.

****

As evening came, George sat alone outside on a lawn chair in the backyard of the Mason house, his eyes closed in concentration. As he waited for Pip to arrive he was doing his best to gather more strength. Now that he was away from the city, he sensed many more living things nearby, even though most of the area was deforested and farmed. He stretched his senses out to surrounding life forms and selectively and very carefully he absorbed a tiny bit of life energy from the healthy and strong. Countless thousands of neighborhood plants, insects, snakes, lizards, toads, and mammals temporarily felt slightly tired when he was done with them, but were otherwise unaffected. At the same time, he absorbed heat energy from the area, lowering the tropical temperature about five degrees. As he gathered strength he expanded the effect, until it was applied to everything within a mile. The energy he obtained still wasn't much, but the sum of it was many times greater than he had gotten from the electricity inside the house or from the earlier fire.

The Masons were inside the house, but frequently one or more of them would peer at him through a nearby window. After half an hour, the senior Mason quietly exited the house and silently approached George.

"Good evening John," said George, without moving or opening his eyes.

"I didn't want to disturb you, but I see you turn white in color again and I figure you going to leave us soon."

"I hope so. I'd like to come back and visit if I get a chance though, if that's alright. And I'd like to thank you all again for saving my life."

John laughed heartily. "You be welcome here any time. You saved us first, and you gonna do it again, I be hoping."

"That's the plan. With help soon coming I have new hope."

"Before you be running off, I want to ask you about what you did for me. You not just fix my leg, I think? I feel fit all over."

"You mean the cancer. Yes, that's all gone, John Mason, at least for now. I didn't say anything because I didn't know if you knew about it or not."

"I knew. I didn't tell my kids, but I for sure did know myself. Doctors said I had six months left, tops."

"I'm glad I could help."

John shook his head. "But I think maybe it be a big mistake, that you fix us."

"What?" George asked, in genuine surprise.

"You're going to fight the monster again, after your friend comes. You need all your strength to do that. It be headed to Legos next, I be thinking; that be our biggest city. I see how tired you get, helping sick people today. You should save all your strength for fighting the monster. You come back later to help sick people, after all monsters be finished with. Deal?"

At that moment, George received another message from Pip. The elf mage would arrive very soon. It was time to say goodbye. He opened his eyes and stood up to face John Mason, smiling. "Deal. But I still think I did the right thing. Fetch Sara and Joseph now. My warrior friend will arrive soon, and I want you to meet him. Then we'll likely be leaving right away."

After they gathered in the darkening back yard with George, the Masons watched in amazement as a large jet aircraft passed low overhead, flashing wing and tail lights, than banked sharply away. As the thunderous noise of engines faded, George searched the graying sky for any sign of Pip, but saw and sensed nothing.

"You expecting your visitor to fall from the sky?" asked the ever curious Sara.

"Yes, but he masks his presence well," said George.

"That I do, Chosen One," said a high pitched voice from behind him.

They all turned to observe a tiny man-like being dressed in green, standing a few paces behind them. He would have been nearly invisible in the gathering darkness, were it not for the fact that he glowed green brightly from head to foot. "I am Pip, warrior Elf Mage at large," he boasted, pulling out his glowing long sword and brandishing it wildly before bounding to George and exchanging a quick hug him.

The tiny elf seemed to be an even more unlikely hero than George. John and Sara managed to politely remain silent, but laughter escaped from Joseph before he caught himself.

"I'm really glad you came, Mage Pip," said George. "These are the three friends I told you about.

"Good evening, humans," he said, as he sheathed his sword and floated up in the air to regard the Masons from their eye level. "On behalf of all remaining free and living Narma inhabitants I thank you for your help, for the White Dragon and his Chosen One are the greatest hope for us all."

"We are honored, Mr. Mage," said John. "Please forgive our reaction to your appearance. George mentioned you were a great warrior, and we were expecting maybe a giant."

"I didn't mean anything by laughing, Mr. Pip," added Joseph.

Pip laughed. "Giants are clumsy oafs and lack magic skills, human, but your reactions did not surprise me. Even in Narma, the elf is often underestimated. My cousins have read about this Africa of yours, and how you have great wild beasts over which you have gained dominion despite their greater size. Likewise we elves have strength and wit that more than makes up for smallish size. In fact, in our culture smaller size suggests greater strength and is regarded as an advantage."

"I'm used to being under estimated all the time myself, Elf warrior," said Sara, with a smile, before turning to her father. "We be out of our league here, Papa; we need leave these two to get to what they need to get to." She grasped to arms of her father and brother and pushed them towards the house before turning to again address George and his diminutive visitor. "If there be anything else we can do, you let us know. You don't forget us, George the Mystery Boy." She looked him in the eye and before he realized what she was doing she ran back and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek before walking away.

"Not likely," George answered awkwardly, not being at all used to being kissed by cute girls and not knowing what else to say.

"You like that one too, I see," said Pip, when Sara was far enough away not to hear.

"What's not to like?" replied George, embarrassed. "But I've got a bigger problem than girls. I am stronger now, but nowhere near strong enough to rescue Freedom."

"Nor am I. I scryed the monster as I dropped from the airplane. It's near full dragon strength, I would say. Even were I to transfer most of my strength to you, it would be nowhere near enough to destroy it. Then there is the little matter of the Witch. I don't sense her but she could be near. She will have gained great strength also. She may well be stronger than the giant monster."

George didn't even like to think of the Witch, as then he was forced to think of Mary. "Do you think Mary is alive?"

The boy had asked the question so softly that even Pip's elf ears barely registered it, as if he feared to vice the thought aloud. "I don't know. But I do know we'll all soon be dead if we don't rescue Freedom. Keep that in mind; Freedom has to be saved to save any of us, including Mary."

George shrugged. "I've been focused on that problem but I haven't found a solution. I need to be much stronger. There are some mediocre energy sources nearby, but not near enough, and I don't have time to make any long trips to find better ones."

"If you were a dragon you could transport in an instant to wherever you needed to go to find the energy source you need."

"Teleport? I hadn't thought of that! You're right; dragons can do that."

"As an elf mage I can teleport for short distances, but many dragons can even travel between the stars in that way."

"Freedom hasn't even tried teleporting yet," said George, "though I have had visions of dragons doing it."

"He told me that he tried doing it after being captured by the monster but lacked the necessary strength," said Pip. "But is it not true that Chosen Ones can do what their dragon can do? Could you teleport to someplace that has the energy source you need? It is said that dragons can even eat the energy of suns."

George's jaw dropped. The sun? "That's the answer! That must be what he expects me to do!"

"Do you know how?"

George shook his head in dismay. "I haven't got a clue. Not only that, I don't know where to find the energy I need to do it, or where to teleport to in order to get still more. Can you help with any of these questions?"

"With my own short range teleporting, I simply focus on it happening, and it happens. Maybe dragons do the same. As to finding strength from normal energy, in the absence of thunderstorms water might provide an answer. My uncle told me he once saw a tired dragon freeze a lake in an instant. That somehow gave him strength to continue fighting."

"That makes sense. Dragons can get energy from warm matter, and a large body of water contains a lot of heat energy. I've gathered a little energy here that way. I'd just need to get to the ocean."

"I sense the ocean is that way." The little elf pointed south–west. "Are you strong enough to at least fly there with me?"

"Yes. And to first talk to Freedom for a moment." He closed his eyes so that he could more easily focus. Reaching out, he quickly located the monster KraKara. Within the monster, he could dimly sense Freedom. "DON'T TRY TO RESPOND, PARTNER," he pathed. "I AM ALIVE AND WELL. I GATHER STRENGTH NOW AND WILL COME FOR YOU WITHIN A FEW HOURS. HOLD OUT UNTIL THEN."

He opened his eyes. In the moonlight he could see that the Masons had stepped out of the house and were waving goodbye. He waved back to them before turning to regard the tiny elf. "I don't want you to go with me, mage."

Pip's face instantly went red.

"I have an equally dangerous and urgent mission for you," George added quickly, before the elf had composed himself enough to explosively respond.

"To find Mary?" Pip asked hopefully.

"Yes. To rescue her from the Witch."

"I was myself hoping to do this," the mage responded, "but if you don't succeed with the Dragon it's all for nothing, my friend."

"If Mary dies or the Witch escapes it's also all for nothing. Besides, the Witch has already attacked Freedom and I with elemental birds. She could do something like that again. And there is also the American Government to worry about. I need you to help with these things while I focus on rescuing Freedom."

"I have an idea," said Pip. "I could provide a diversion while I search for Mary that would confuse both the Witch and the Americans. That would help your cause as well as mine. What say you?"

"Perfect. I knew I could count on you, Elf Mage." He patted the tiny mage affectionately on the head.

"We best both go then." With that the tiny elf shot up into the air. "Good luck, Chosen One," he shouted, as he sped away.

George himself leapt into the air with all his strength, then flew swiftly towards the distant sea. He improved his flying technique as he went, gathering more and more speed as he displaced air from in front of himself to in back of himself, as he displaced himself forward. He soon was moving at well beyond supersonic speeds, though surrounded as he was by air being displaced away from his path, none of the rushing air reached him, and his passage was silent.

Minutes later he was a hundred miles beyond the shoreline before he even realized he was over the ocean. He was happy to find that there were no ships nearby. Dropping to hover only a few feet above the warm, dark waters, he sent commands to local sea life to flee for their lives as he began to extract thermal energy from the waters. In ten minutes he stood on a massive iceberg that continued to grow geometrically. In an hour it was five miles across, and in two hours more it was fifteen miles across and extended over a thousand feet down onto the continental shelf.

At that point he ceased his efforts to gather ocean energy and shot straight upward through the atmosphere and into space. He was nearly two thousand miles above the Earth before he caught sight of his destination.

Now came the tricky part that would either kill him or make him stronger. What had the elf mage said about dragons eating suns?

****

### CHAPTER 24

Dragon Reborn

Henry Cross was awake and sitting at his computer terminal when his visitor entered the room, just as Jerrod expected. The neatness of the cot's bedding suggested that Cross hadn't slept in it at all, but Jerrod knew from frequent reports that the older man had slept several hours a day since his internment; probably more sleep than he had gotten himself lately. Cross was simply an impeccably neat man.

"Enjoying your time off?" Jerrod asked.

Harry didn't look away from the computer screen. "What is it that you want?"

"I seek enlightenment, of course. From you. That's what you're paid for."

"In all the years I've known you, you've shown nothing but contempt for enlightenment, Mr. Grogen."

"Never the less, though I've had you confined here, I have allowed you continued access to developments because I prize your observations, even though I disagree with many of your conclusions and suggested responses. What do you make of the iceberg?"

Henry Cross swiveled his chair to regard Jerrod. "That's rather obvious. One of our super friends or enemies has gathered a great deal of energy from the ocean."

"But which one?"

Cross shrugged. "I haven't seen any data to support an identification."

"Who could it be?"

"Elf, human, witch, monster? Who knows?"

"Elf? I hadn't considered that," Jerrod admitted. "See? You've enlightened me already." He sat down on the cot in an attempt to annoy Cross. The cot, the room, the building was his to command. And Cross was his also.

"It can't be discounted," Cross said. "What do your forces in Nigeria say?"

"Most of our communications in Nigeria has been destroyed," Jerrod announced.

"What?"

"Radio equipment stopped working. Maybe that's your little friends at work also."

"And what about the crashed transport further north?" Cross asked.

"I doubt that the Witch is dead, if that's what you're asking." Ellen was almost certainly dead, he didn't say aloud. Mary and the Witch? Maybe not.

"Her body hasn't been identified yet, but most were burned beyond recognition. I think the Witch is dead."

Cross laughed and shook his head. "You really have no conception of these things do you? We don't know if the Witch even has a material body. We don't know how or even if she can be killed by any conceivable Earthly means. You're in so far over your head you still don't know which way is up."

"And you do know?"

"I think that the boy and his dragon were our only hope, and that you've screwed that up. I don't know if it will be an adult evil dragon or the adult good dragon that will visit our world soon, but now either way they're going to be royally pissed off at us all, thanks to you."

"It doesn't matter. We'll nuke them to oblivion in either case."

"You still don't get it. Those things eat energy. They'll be all the happier if you do nuke them."

"You're delusional."

"You're an idiot."

Jerrod Grogen stood up and walked to the door, but turned to face Cross again before stepping out. "I think that you'll be in here for a very long time, Doctor Cross."

"I think it doesn't matter. This is as good a place as any to die."

****

After staring at the where he wanted to go and simply wishing himself there several times without success, it suddenly became obvious to George what he had to do. He scryed in detail the place where he wanted to go, until he had an intimate knowledge of it. He also focused on every aspect of what and where he was presently, including his clothes, elf armor and weapons. He would preserve and transport all of it as part of himself. The added step of imagining himself in the new place was relatively simple.

Travel seemed to be instantaneous. He materialized only ten thousand miles above the Sun's surface. He had prepared a shield of sorts around himself that was instantly obliterated, but it didn't matter. He was soon absorbing sun energy thousands of times as intense as at the Earth's surface. He had a few difficult moments, in which he felt he was falling apart, followed by certainty that he was rapidly growing in strength as he plunged towards an energy source so intense that he couldn't scry it fully. As to looking at it with what remained of his human-like eyes, that was hopeless. There was only blinding white, and he couldn't even tell if his eyes were open or closed.

For long minutes he fell freely, until a plume of blazing plasma larger than Jupiter shot up, engulfed him, and swept him thousands of miles further away from the Sun with the energy of thousands of nuclear weapons. He absorbed the plume's energy rapidly, cooling it by thousands of degrees, until it no longer sustained his appetite for yet more.

He was so strengthened by now that he could look at and scry the Sun itself without any problem. What he observed was a vast chaotic cauldron of seething energy, most of it held at bay only by incredible gravitation. It was virtually the antithesis of the order and self-purpose that characterized life, including his own. Yet it was ordinary matter and energy in a form that he could master. He could control and use it. He studied the Sun's interior for several seconds, fascinated. It did, he soon found, have vast structures that he could exploit, places within the Sun itself where he could absorb much more energy.

He almost effortlessly teleported himself a second time, deep into the Sun's interior, where rampant fusion of hydrogen occurred. In a few minutes he could sense that his structure would be less stable if he absorbed more, so he stopped. He was at his full potential. He was, after all, only a small part of a young dragon.

The energy he had absorbed would perhaps have taken thousands of years to migrate to the star's surface to where it could escape into space. He took a sizable amount of it with him out of the Sun much more quickly when he teleported a few million miles out into space, where he got his bearings before teleporting to a position a few hundred miles above Africa. He teleported one last time, then flew the last mile down to KraKara and Freedom.

It was nearly midnight when George landed next to the mound of the primitive monster that still surrounded Freedom, feeding on him. The dragon Chosen didn't take the time to attack the monster, but simply walked through it as though it were nothing, searing away its structure as he went, before placing his right hand atop the barely cohesive head of Freedom.

The Dragon was comatose and close to total collapse. George had to first use his own structure as a template to restore Freedom to the point where the dragon was again capable of absorbing large amounts of energy.

Feeding the dragon was quicker and easier than absorbing the energy had been, for the reconstituted dragon was as much an extension of himself as he was of it. They were both more energy than matter, with material structure playing only the role of a familiar, well designed focusing aid.

"YOU HAVE DONE WELL, SMALL ONE," Freedom acknowledged, at last. With a mental shrug the dragon grew rapidly to his new optimal size, which was gigantic!

Sensing the new danger KraKara withdrew and reformed as a long-legged biped that began to walk away rapidly, but it had gone only a few steps before the dragon, now twice its size and glowing white, pounced upon it. The monster roared in anger and attempted to envelop the dragon in tentacles, but those were immediately absorbed wherever they came into contact with the dragon. Realizing its mistake, KraKara tried to squirm away and down into the Earth, but found it could not free itself from the dragon. More and more of it disappeared into the dragon.

In minutes Freedom had absorbed the monster totally, obliterating its structure to the last molecule and making it part of his own. The dragon raised its massive head and roared in triumph, shooting a plume of green flame a thousand feet into the air.

"ABSORBING AN ELEMENTAL IS A VERY SIMPLE THING TO DO," pathed Freedom, "IF YOU ENJOY OVERWHELMING STRENGTH AND PURPOSE. EVIL TINGES ARE ALSO OBLITERATED. ONLY DRAGONS AND UNICORNS CAN DESTROY EVIL."

"So I see," replied George, who had watched the process with interest from his perch atop Freedom's head. Scrying the area of destruction around the final battle, he was glad to find no additional dead humans, though there were some serious injuries among the surrounding security and emergency forces. "I have one more task to complete here before leaving."

He dropped down to ground level to free solders trapped by debris and to heal their wounds. Dozens of Nigerians cheered when they saw him coming, but many were too occupied by caring for the wounded to pay much attention to him or even note the gigantic glowing White Dragon that had replaced KraKara. Those that did notice George were in awe of the light-skinned teenaged boy in glowing elf armor, blue jeans, and tea-shirt that flew around what had been the battle zone, retrieving the injured and healing even their most serious injuries almost instantly.

One of the newly healed Americans abruptly drew an automatic pistol and shot George. A dozen bullets bounced off of him harmlessly, but the incident surprised and angered the teen. "Why did you shoot me?" he asked the terrified man, as he crushed the pistol in one hand, and held his wrist gently but firmly with the other.

"Kill orders, Sir," the man replied.

George released him. "You hold to blind duty before honor. You shame your country."

The Nigerians handcuffed the puzzled American and led him away, while a handful of other American solders, perhaps cowed by the Nigerian response and Dragon power, watched quietly. "Americans tell us you are very bad," added a nearby Nigerian solder, "but we know that to be a lie."

"We came here to destroy the monster, and that is what we did," George said.

"And now we have other things to do," thundered Freedom's voice as he leapt into the air, from where he circled above, glowing so brightly that the entire area was illuminated as though by several full moons. The humans watched the dragon with apprehension, many of them fleeing the area, but the monstrous creature did not attack them.

"WHILE YOU WERE OCCUPIED I SPOKE WITH GROG AND WITH PIP," pathed the dragon. "PIP HAS FOUND MARY IN THE DESERT TO THE NORTH. SHE LIVES BUT IS NEAR DEATH."

"Then we must go to her," stated George, disturbed. He quickly flew up to sit astride Freedom. Moments later, the remaining spectators were astonished when both boy and monstrous dragon instantly disappeared with a tremendous clap of thunder.

Moments later they landed gently upon the crest of a rocky cliff that overlooked a seemingly endless expanse of gigantic sand dunes. The air was cool and dry, but the sand and stone still radiated considerable residual heat. Before and below them in a rocky break between towering dark hills of sand, a tiny, brilliantly glowing gemstone hung suspended in mid-air a few feet above a prone human female figure and the miniature humanoid that paced anxiously around her, illuminating them in vivid contrast to the dark sandy mounds that loomed around them.

"I could do nothing for her but call you," explained the perplexed elf Mage, as George alighted beside him. "She has a partly dragon form that protects and preserves that which is human. She also wears some sort of charm about her neck that I sense contains considerable power, though I know not its nature or purpose. She breaths slightly and her heart beats slowly, but I cannot reach her mind."

George and Freedom scryed Mary gently, not wishing to shatter the fragile remaining dragon presence that encased Mary like a protective cocoon.

"HER DRAGON-SELF HAS PROTECTED HER WELL, BUT IS VERY WEAK," said Freedom. "I DO NOT BELIEVE WE CAN DO ANYTHING TO HELP HER."

The statement shocked George. "Why not? I have both human and dragon form. I helped humans, surly I can help dragons or their Chosen. I even helped you to recover!"

"YOU ARE MY CHOSEN AND WE ARE UNITED AS ONE. WERE SHE ONLY HUMAN THE TASK WOULD BE SIMPLE, BUT EACH DRAGON HAS UNIQUE STRUCTURE. TO INTERACT IN SUCH A WAY IS NOT DONE BETWEEN DRAGONS WHO ARE NOT MATED."

"Dragon mating involves sharing and altering basic structure?" Pip asked.

"IN ITS ESSENCE," confirmed Freedom. "MATING IS A HUMAN TERM THAT COMES CLOSEST TO WHAT IS INVOLVED."

"So helping Mary could be regarded as mating?" Pip asked.

"IT COULD. WORSE, TO DO SO TO AN UNCONSCIOUS AND NON-CONSENTING INDIVIDUAL IS CONSIDERED AN ABOMINATION."

"Rape, in human terms," added Pip.

"EVEN MORE PROFOUND, AS IT INVOLVES A MUCH DEEPER FORM OF INTERACTION."

I love her, and she loves me," said George. "I am sure that she would not object to our interaction," said George.

"HER DRAGON MAY FEEL DIFFERENTLY," said Freedom. "BUT THE DANGER IS MUCH MORE THAN A MORAL ONE; AS SHE IS UNCONSCIOUS WE COULD INADVERTENTLY DAMAGE HER UNIQUE PERSONAL DRAGON STRUCTURE AND DESTROY BOTH HER DRAGON AND HUMAN FORMS."

"But she may die anyway!" George protested.

"I AM SORRY. ONLY HER OWN DRAGON CAN HELP HER," said Freedom.

"But we don't even know when Jewel will return!" George protested. "It could be weeks! Mary is too weak to survive that long; I can sense it."

"THAT IS SO," acknowledged the dragon.

"What of the enchanted charm amulet about her neck," asked the elf.

"IT IS OF UNICORN ORIGEN," said Freedom. "I KNOW NOT ITS FUNCTION BUT IT IS VERY LIKELY CONTRIBUTING TO HER SURVIVAL. IT IS ANOTHER REASON FOR US NOT TO ATTEMPT TO HEAL HER."

"Then we must take her to Narma at once ourselves and seek out Jewel," George proposed.

"AND LEAVE EARTH TO THE MERCY OF THE WITCH?" asked Freedom. "EVEN FROM A GREAT DISTANCE I SENSE THAT GREBLE IS NO ORDINARY WITCH. THERE IS A PROFOUND STRENGTH AND EVIL ABOUT HER THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED. WORSE, GREBLE CAN NOT BE ALLOWED TO REACH NARMA AND ALERT THE HORDE OR EVEN THE DARK ONE HIMSELF. WE ARE NOT YET READY TO FACE THEM. HE HAS THE STRENGTH OF OVER A HUNDRED DRAGONS."

"Pip can remain and stop the Witch," George suggested hopefully.

The elf mage shook his head sadly. "I do not think that risk would be wise, Chosen One. Though more than her match in wit, I am no longer sure that I would be her match in power. I have seen too much of her handiwork, including what she has done to Mary. Somehow her strength has increased many-fold since destroying my uncle and since leaving Narma. Only you and your White Dragon can perhaps destroy her."

George understood the logic of their arguments but couldn't accept them. He couldn't let this stand; he had to do something to save Mary! He knelt next to her. Her eyes were closed as in sleep and she felt cold to the touch, very cold. At will, he could transfer the full energy of a thunderstorm to her in an instant, but he knew that Freedom was right: that would probably shatter her fragile system.

Yet when he examined her closely, he found that she was clearly absorbing low levels of thermal energy; she must have started that process before losing consciousness. It was a tiny amount of energy. Perhaps she wasn't strong enough to take in more, or perhaps that would have made it too easy for the Witch to have found her. Still, the fact that she was 'eating' at all was a very hopeful sign. "Pip, she is absorbing low amounts of energy. Keep warming her; feed her with as much warmth as she will take in."

"You want me to stay with her?" asked the elf mage.

"I want her to stay with you, and you to keep her safe and take her to Narma and to her dragon," George explained. "Can you do that? Will you?"

Unable to contain his excitement, the little man jumped up several feet into the air. "Of course, it's so obvious, young Chosen One, so very obvious; of course that is what must be done! For one thing, I know Narma well, while you and your large and overly conspicuous young dragon friend do not. I could thus much better avoid its dangers and find Jewel."

"Leaving me and Freedom to contend with Greble and the remaining monsters," added George.

"YOUR PLAN IS ACCEPTABLE," agreed Freedom. "WE SHOULD BEGIN AT ONCE."

"Pip, what about the others in the transport aircraft?" George asked. "What of Ellen?"

Pip shook his head sadly. "All dead. I found their remains in searching for Mary. The crash did not kill them; the Witch first sucked away their life essences."

"More unnecessary deaths," George lamented, thinking particularly of Ellen. She was a friend and such a nice lady, and she had been killed by the same evil that had killed his parents! What a bumbling super hero he had turned out to be! His own dragon had very nearly died, Mary was near death, and Harry was dead, along with thousands of other good people including Ellen. "Freedom, I still have lots of stored energy. I propose that for now we split up, with me going after the Witch and protecting the Portal, while you destroy monsters. Is that acceptable?"

"AS LONG AS WE REMAIN LINKED. WHEN YOU FIND THE WITCH, CALL ME, AND I WILL COME AT ONCE. ALSO, IF ANYONE ELSE FINDS THAT SHE NEARS THE PORTAL, WE MUST ALL GO THERE IMMEDIATELY."

The dragon lowered his monstrous head to better peer closely at PIP and Mary with his green glowing eyes. "I can transport you and our sick friend to the Portal, elf mage." It was the first that Freedom had spoken aloud in a while, and it nearly knocked the tiny elf off his feet.

"That would greatly aid my quest, Great One," replied Pip, "but let me first make such a thing much easier." He waved his tiny hands, and Mary disappeared.

George was startled, but was soon relieved to sense that the girl had not disappeared at all, but had been shrunken to be much smaller than even the elf, and was surrounded by a protective magic covering, but was otherwise unchanged.

Pip reached down and gently picked up Mary with one hand. Her prone body was less than two inches long. "We elves have our powers too," the mage noted, as he placed Mary in a leather satchel that he carried slung over one shoulder. "I have encased her in ward that feeds her energy slowly but protects her strongly and hides her from most scrying."

"Well done, Elf Mage," said Freedom. "NOW WE GO."

As PIP waved a tiny hand goodbye at George, he and the dragon disappeared with a thunderous boom. As the young Chosen stood alone in the desert night, he reached out mentally, scrying for the Witch. After an hour of his best efforts, he had detected nothing at all of her. He did however, decide to scry someone who might be able to help him.

****

### CHAPTER 25

Witch Hunt

"Ahh!" Henry Cross exclaimed, as he sat before his computer terminal. Had he been standing, he would have fallen down, when the teenage boy wearing glowing golden armor and elf weapons appeared next to where he sat.

"Sorry to startle you," George apologized with a smile, as he stepped forward to shake hands with the scientist, who had risen to greet him.

"How did you do that?"

"Control of quantum mechanics?" asked George. "Is that what magic is? I haven't had time to dwell on such issues much. Teleportation is a very convenient means of travel, though it requires much of the traveler." George looked around the sparse room. "You seem to have fallen from Government favor."

"That's an understatement. Jerrod Grogen won his arguments with President Jeffers and has been given carte blanche to deal with Narma and monster issues any way that he wants to. That included my confinement here. He had rather more severe expectations with respect to you, which I am delighted to see that you have somehow thus far averted."

"Just barely; it wasn't easy."

"But I forget my manners; please make yourself comfortable, young man." He motioned George to a chair and sat back down himself. "You have doubtless come a very long way. You were responsible for the African iceberg, perhaps?"

"That was part of it. I needed some energy so that I could teleport myself to the Sun to absorb even more energy." George told Cross about his visit to the Sun.

"Hopefully you didn't disturb the Sun so much that there are Earth climate repercussions," said Henry. "Next time try to get your energy from a star that isn't supporting life on a nearby planet. Better yet, gulp down a super nova if you REALLY need energy."

"Interesting!" said George. He paused for a few seconds to discuss super novae with Freedom. "Yes, an adult male dragon can absorb the energy of a super nova of any type. Freedom will need to do so in order to someday defeat the Dark One."

"In this case however, from the Sun you absorbed enough energy to defeat the Monster Giant?" asked Henry.

"Yes," said George. "As you are doubtless aware, we were at last able to overcome KraKara, but now I am on another and more dangerous quest, for which I urgently seek your aid."

"I suspected this to be more than a social visit. I am at your disposal, but as you have already surmised, I am somewhat limited by circumstances beyond my control."

"And yet they continue to provide you access to information." He nodded towards the computer screen.

"Occasionally they ask for advice from me which they then seem to completely ignore. President Jeffers values his base instincts and those of Grogen more highly than he values facts and reason."

"At the peril of themselves and Earth," said George. "They are playing a very dangerous game. Can they really be so narrow minded and greedy?"

"Unfortunately they can be and are. But how can I help you?"

"I seek Witch Greble. If she is not here already, she will be coming to this country to seek more death and to escape to Narma using the Portal to tell the Dark One where Freedom is. That can't be allowed to happen. The Dark One is hundreds of times more dangerous than a witch."

"The last definite information I have on her is with regard to the crashed transport plane in Africa," said the scientist.

George nodded. "Mary survives, but only barely. Everyone else besides the Witch is dead."

"Including Ellen?"

"Yes."

The scientist was visibly upset. "Grogen, that bastard, he set it all up."

"And President Jeffers approved?"

Henry nodded. "Jeffers approved. Grogen has already reported to him that the Witch died in the crash. Grogen is taking full credit, of course."

"If we survive the current crisis our whole relationship with humanity may have to be reconsidered, but I don't have time to deal with human idiocy and foolishness right now. Any ideas on how to find the Witch?"

Cross shook his head. "I've seen no recent reports of mysterious deaths or airplane hijackings. My suggestion is that you try to think like her. You and your Narma friends are best equipped to do that. What is she after and what does she have to do to get it? Also, what does she know or not know, and what are her resources?"

"One of her objectives must have been to get rid of us, or I doubt we would have been attacked by a flock of rocs while we were confronting KraKara. She must have thought that Freedom and I were goners, or she would have stuck around to make sure. On the other hand, if she's seen recent news reports, she knows that we're still alive."

"If she thinks you and your dragon are dead, what would she do?"

"She'd like to take more lives here on Earth, but she must know that the dragon Jewel will return before long, and that she must avoid Jewel at all costs."

"So what should she be doing?"

"Fleeing to Narma," George concluded.

"But if she knows that you're alive, what will she do?"

"She already took her best shot at getting rid of us. So same answer, I guess. Get to Narma and the Horde with intel that Freedom and I are here on Earth. It may turn out better for her anyway that we're alive if the Dark One wants to kill us himself. In either case she should be trying to get to the Portal. It's the same conclusion we've reached already."

"So then why aren't you simply waiting for her to show up at the Portal?"

"If I didn't give a damn about humanity, I'd do just that. The problem is, she'll want to make herself as strong as possible before she gets back to Narma. She could kill many thousands of people on her way there, or maybe even hundreds of thousands or millions."

"So then she may attack New York or some other large city, before traveling to the Portal. As yet I've seen no data to identify which city that might be."

George sighed. "I'll go to New York than. In the meantime, please keep looking for any evidence as to where she is, and let me know if you come up with anything."

"Certainly, but how would I contact you?"

George looked around for a moment, then pointed to an empty coffee mug that sat near Cross's computer monitor."

"I'll look back at this room from time to time. Turn that coffee cup upside down in front of your computer monitor and that will signal that you know something. Write whatever the information is on a sheet of paper and put it under the cup, and I'll read it."

"From New York?"

"Right. We call it scrying. Uses a lot less energy than popping our total selves from here to there."

"Amazing."

"American soldiers attacked me in Africa and I suspect they helped the Witch capture Mary in Cairo," said George. "My friends and I are not happy about that at all. Really, really not happy. Perhaps such knowledge may help you recover some influence with your boss the President. And tell him also that if he wants to re-establish good relations with me and with Narma, it has to be through you." George glanced at the door leading into the hallway. "Your babysitter has finally noticed that he's not getting any audio or video feed from this room and is coming to investigate."

"I suppose you should get going then, George, if you want to avoid complications."

The tall, thin, gray-haired scientist and teenage boy stood and shook hands.

Moments later as the door to the room opened, there was a loud popping sound.

"What's going on in here?" the Special Forces operative asked, his hand resting on his holstered hand-gun.

Cross looked up from his computer screen. "Dinner, pretty soon, I hope. Are they getting me the seafood fettuccini I requested?"

"Not my department, Doc. What was that popping sound when I came in?"

"Oh, that?" He grasped a knob on his computer console and turned it. "My hearing isn't what it used to be. I had my speakers turned up for a while. Magnified some odd news report sounds, I suppose. There; now I've turned down the sound."

The man looked skeptical. He drew his gun and searched the adjoining bathroom and closet, then, shaking his head, he left Cross, who with renewed purpose was scanning through status and news data. Where was the Witch, anyway? He paused only to send an EMAIL to the President.

****

Six miles above the mid-Atlantic, Ken Freeman, the co-pilot of a Boing 747 bound from Paris to New York, thought that he glimpsed a huge dark shadow in front of and above the airplane a moment before something struck it from above. Many of the 265 passengers and crew screamed as dinners and drinks flew off trays and computers and tablets leapt off laps. The stricken aircraft immediately began to lose airspeed and altitude, but regained stability over the next half-minute.

"We retain hull integrity, but I've had to boost power 10% simply to stabilize our altitude," Freeman told Cathy Holcomb, as she returned from First Class to the flight deck and regained her pilot's seat. "It's as if we have taken on a lot of extra weight and drag."

"So what the hell happened?" Cathy asked, as her eyes reviewed instrument readings.

"Mid-air collision, Boss, it had to be," Mat Gage the Flight Engineer reported.

"I caught a brief glimpse of something coming down at us, but it hit us before I could react," added Ken. "I didn't see what it was, but my best guess is that it was a small plane that struck us a glancing blow. Otherwise there would be more damage. I already radioed that we've been struck by something unknown."

"But the radar and collision avoidance systems should have warned of another airplane approaching us several minutes ago," protested Cathy.

"Rodger that," agreed Freeman. "Maybe our radar detection systems aren't working. One of us should go aft and assess damage. I can't believe that we got off Scott-free; we were struck solid."

"I'll do that," said Cathy. "You and Matt keep this thing flying, and keep me and the flight controllers up to date on any change of status. We're still a long way from land."

"Could it be one of those monster birds?" Matt asked, as Cathy stepped past him towards the rear of the flight cabin.

"They're supposed to be in Europe or Africa," Ken noted. "Maybe it was a dragon."

"Nowadays who knows?" Cathy replied, as she closed the flight cabin door behind herself. Could that be it? Maybe. Stories were circulating about giant birds, and about aircraft all over the Eastern hemisphere that were full of only mutilated dead people when they landed. Then there was that kid and his pet dragon. There were also rumors that some sort of deadly epidemic was breaking out in major cities of Europe, but that couldn't be related to a mid-air collision. Could it?

"Oh my God!" Cathy exclaimed, as she entered the First Class area. The dead bodies of Sam and Kate, two hostesses she knew well, lie contorted and motionless in the aisles. She bent to reach for Sam's wrist to take his pulse, but withdrew in fear and disgust when she had a better view of the young man. His skin was grey and shriveled, and his glassy eyes and mouth were wide open, reflecting terror and pain.

The two dozen dead men, women and children in the passenger seats around her held similar poses; fear-stuck faces, clenched hands, arched backs, and twisted limbs that appeared to be frozen stiff. They must have all died in seconds, she realized, living only long enough to convulse in pain.

One man's body looked like the others except for one thing. His head was gone. Neck bones and skin appeared to be torn rather than cut, as if some great force had simply snatched his head off. No blood was visible though, only a blackish slime. Something had converted living tissue and blood to putrid corruption.

Cathy was so distracted by the horrible sight of the bodies that she almost didn't notice the hole in the aircraft fuselage above her. Bent sheet-metal showed that something had punched a hole in the fuselage several inches across. The thing stuffed in the hole was covered with and dripping blackish slime. She realized with horror that stuffed in the hole, sealing it tight, was the missing human head!

A couple of yards to each side of the hole, gigantic talons penetrated into the cabin and clamped tight onto the hull. It had to be one of those giant monster birds that were in the news, hitching a free ride atop the plane! No wonder there was extra drag and weight! But what had killed everyone in the cabin?

She tried to use her intercom to alert the cockpit crew to the situation but nobody answered! At least the airplane was at still flying steadily but what the hell was happening?

Her head spinning, Cathy somehow found the strength to stumble to the stairwell and descend to the main passenger cabin for a quick look. The sight that met her there was no less horrifying. Those people she could see were twisted, discolored, shriveled, and dead like the others. Most were still in their seats, but several lay in the isles, with wide open eyes that stared lifelessly at her. All of the over two hundred passengers and crew here in the main cabin were also shriveled and dead!

This was only an impossibly terrible nightmare, Cathy reassured herself, as she stood too shocked to react, her head spinning, desperately trying to grasp reason and sanity from the horror that surrounded her. This happened too fast and it was too horrible to be real! It. Couldn't. Be. Happening! She closed her eyes tight against the horror. She would open them and find everything back to normal.

"Are you the missing pilot?" asked a calm female voice behind her.

Cathy spun around to see standing only a yard behind her a small, stern, middle-aged Caucasian woman survivor dressed in strange black clothing. No, not clothing so much as wisps of smoke that squirmed and spun around her as if alive. A solid black mass covered most of her left hand and arm. The body of a girl of perhaps seven years old lay on the deck near her feet, her face a shriveled, leathery, dried, skeletal mask. With growing horror Cathy realized that this wasn't a surviving passenger; this was the mass murderer of her passengers and crew!

"Answer me, human," the woman commanded.

"Ah, ah..." Cathy stammered.

"What's the matter? Have you not seen death before?"

"Not like this."

"The humans of this world are such sissies!"

"Did you do this?"

"Certainly. It is how I feed. I am a connoisseur of death. All life harbors complex energies that tantalize my own life-force most vividly at the moment of excruciating death."

Cathy felt dizzy for a moment, but then it passed.

The woman smiled. "You are indeed the captain of this vessel I see, and its lead pilot, and your name is Cathy. And I have not killed or even greatly pained you to find all of that out! Practice makes perfect, I suppose. It has been centuries since I fed on humans and I was out of practice. How convenient it is to simply read the thoughts of a still functioning mind instead of crudely ripping confused fading thoughts from a dying brain! But you harbor dangerously foolish thoughts of escape and revenge! You really must obey me promptly, if you wish to live. The taste of death is much sweeter to me than the feeble hopeless thoughts of the living."

"You are Greble the Witch, and you will kill me soon, no matter what I do," Cathy said.

Greble's eyebrows rose in surprise. Then she smiled. "Very interesting, Cathy! You read some of my thoughts even as I read yours! You must have a touch of human witch in you. Good; you will make me that much stronger when I consume your pathetic little soul."

****

### CHAPTER 26

Narma

Above the dreaded Dark Forest of Narma, the solitary purple whisk flew swiftly, though it's bat-like wings barely fluttered. What moved it through the air was not its wings. It's wide uncharacteristically red eyes swept the ground below, trailing the path of deadly destruction and powerful stench of lingering Evil that marked the deadly passage of Witch Greble. At least several days had passed since the Witch was here but there were still no signs of recovery by the normal plants and animals of the region. A few airborne Forest predators noticed the whisk but also noticed when they approached to eat it that it was not really a whisk, and wisely avoided it. They also didn't like being near the trail of death that the non-whisk followed.

This was the strongest trail of death and Evil leading away from the Portal, and Jewel had assumed that it marked Greble's passage when the Witch fled from Earth only a few days earlier after being strengthened by her Earth kills. Now the dragon disguised as a whisk was beginning to have serious doubts. Certain things didn't add up.

To begin with the trail of destruction and Evil she followed was far too great even for a powerful witch. The passage of any active witch of course brought death and destruction to everything encountered but not to the extreme that Jewel was witnessing. The usually lush purple-green forest trees and brush had been leached of all life and color to the point that only a dull brownish fifty-yard wide swath of rot remained. Jewel had never heard of a witch with such power!

But the oddly strong trail seemed to be losing its Evil intensity slightly as it got further from the Portal, instead of getting stronger. Had she been following the trail backwards? Could this trail have been made when the Witch came to Earth instead of when she left it? That seemed unlikely, the trail was still so strongly steeped in Evil, but what then was the explanation?

Something else was bothering the dragon even more: since returning to Narma she had sensed no Black Horde members! For the initial days following her return to Narma she had slowly followed the trail using extreme caution by assuming the form of various small inconspicuous but agonizingly slow ground creatures. As the days passed it became more apparent that the Horde was totally absent from Narma, and she assumed faster, more conspicuous forms, including finely that of a swift flying whisk that followed the Witch's trail of Evil hundreds of miles each day across Narma.

At the edge of the great forest she was even more surprised to sense a powerful presence within the ruins of a large nearby abandoned elf building. It had been centuries since she had sensed this sort of creature but there was no mistaking it. A second very unusual creature was also present. She glided down to perch before the odd pair atop the remains of what centuries earlier had been an elfin bookshelf, and stared at the two unusual individuals that had drawn her attention.

"Greetings Charm," said Jewel the whisk/dragon.

"Greetings, Black Dragon Jewel!" replied the unicorn. Its voice had a texture like tinkling bells that the dragon envied but could never quite duplicate. "I scryed your cautious approach these last days. It has been centuries since last we spoke. Now the great battle against Evil draws near, and we have much to discuss."

"And very little time, I fear," said the large green frog that sat next to the glowing white unicorn named Charm.

The frog-formed creature was in truth an elf mage, Jewel noticed. How very unusual!

****

At the end of the cul-de-sac front of the Simple property Sargent Abe Schneider, US Army, sat atop his A-1 Abrams tank, staring through binoculars at the old Simple House. Nothing was visibly stirring: no ugly witches, no gigantic dragons, no tiny elves, no hairy giants, and no normal people. No targets he had been briefed on could be seen. Also there was no observable damage from the earlier military attack they had led. Inside the Sample yard he could see only birds, bees, flowers and trees that went on living peacefully as though they had not been attacked by enough firepower to destroy a large town. His own tank had fired a dozen high explosive and armor piercing shells directly at the house with absolutely no effect! This mission was one big useless fuck-up, as far as Schneider could tell.

Colonel John Cree, leader of the mechanized forces arrayed in the cul-de-sac in support of Operation Dragon Mop-Up, sat next to him using his radio again, arguing with his superiors. "Negative," said the Colonel. "We've tried that a half-dozen times with no results except damaged equipment. We haven't gotten a single inch inside the perimeter, despite tank fire, artillery and mortar shells, machineguns, air-to-ground missiles and bombs, flame-throwers, lasers, acid, ultrasound, and everything else that we've thrown against the Simple property.

"We can't even get past or damage the pathetic little wooden front gate. Once in a while a teenage boy comes out to front gate, gives us the finger, laughs at us, and tells us to go the hell away. That's the only sign we have had that anyone is even in there. The kid fits the description of the neighbor boy named Johnny. We've tried to talk with him but he only laughs at us, the loud-mouthed little brat!"

Pause.

"No sir, we've stopped our attacks for now. In my opinion it's a waste of resources and poses dangers to our troops. Some of our live rounds even get diverted and thrown back at us."

Pause.

"Yes sir." said Colonel Cree, before at last hanging up and shaking his head. "New orders from the top," he told Sargent. "We are to stop our attack immediately and not enter the Simple property. In other words, we are to do nothing but watch."

"But that's exactly what we've been doing for the last half hour!" noted Sargent Schneider.

"And we need to continue doing it," said Cree. "Some new guy named Dr. Cross is now in charge of all operations and he has given us new orders to not attack."

"Easy-peasy," said the Sargent, with a shrug. He hadn't been too keen on attacking an old civilian house at the end of a suburban Chicago cul-de-sac anyway. He had some time ago dismissed the initial rumor that the property housed a terrorist cell. This place was weird and special though, that's for damn sure!

At that moment a tiny little costumed man appeared between the tank and the front gate to the Simple place. The translucent image of an enormous white dragon stood over the elf for less than a second, then disappeared with a clap of thunder. The little man turned and looked at the Army men, drew a tiny glowing sword and waved it at them menacingly while shouting at them in a very foreign tongue, and then completely disappeared.

"Elf sighting," said the Sargent. "Dude was about the size of a Barbie doll. In my report I'm not going to even mention the ghostly dragon image."

"Agreed!" said the Colonel. "Make the report."

"This mission is fucked up," added the Sargent.

"Damn right," agreed Colonel Cree. "I wish I knew what the fuck is going on. But leave those sorts of remarks out of the report. There's no telling what the hell we'll be told to do next or who'll be doing the telling."

****

Pip found the both Johnny and Trent Williams in one of the studies in the Simple House, sitting at a table piled high with books and notebooks. Uncharacteristically they were actually reading them, the elf noticed, as he leapt atop their table. "Greetings, Mary's kin," he announced himself, as he endured a comradely pat on the back from Johnny that almost knocked him from the table.

"Where are Marge and Mary?" Trent asked immediately.

"Marge returns here safely using conventional human travel methods," said the elf. "A man named Ranger Rick is helping her. Mary is safe but badly injured by Witch Greble. I carry her with me and seek her dragon for her cure."

"How could you carry her?" asked Trent. "She is many times your size. Where is she?"

"I sense her inside the pouch attached to your belt," rumbled Grog, who had just appeared at the doorway. "Elf shrinking and protection spells?"

"Just so, friend Troll," said the elf, as he retrieved the pouch and gently retrieved its contents to show to the others. It was two-inch long Mary, laying asleep within a golden-glowing cocoon!

"It's her!" exclaimed Johnny. "It's Mary shrunk down almost to toy train size!"

"My God!" Trend exclaimed, as he slumped back in his chair. "This can't be happening!"

"I take her now to Narma to seek her cure," said Pip, as he returned her to the tiny box and placed it reverently back into his pouch.

"She's alive but injured you say?" Trent asked. "Can't you use your elf magic or whatever to help her?"

"Only her dragon can help her now," the mage explained. "She is the Chosen One of the dragon Jewel."

"What about human scientists or doctors?" asked Trent.

"Worse than useless," said the Troll. "That would only delay Pip's mission."

"I only stopped here briefly to inform her kin," said the Mage. "What do you do here in this Earthly elf library?"

"We have been studying Henry Simple's writings," said Johnny. "The ones that are in English, anyway."

"Though Johnny and I aren't bookworms," said Trent. "Most of these books are blank, but that makes the ones with stuff in them easier to find."

"Like me, old Henry had some doubts and questions about things," said Johnny. "Dad got lucky and found a recent notebook written in English that summarizes what Henry had been working on for many years."

"Nothing marketable, I'm afraid," said Trent. "Nothing but odd goofy stuff. The man had absolutely no interest in business."

"Summarize your summary for me quickly, Johnny," said Pip. "I must take Mary on to Narma and Jewel."

"In his notes Henry questions many things," said Johnny, "including what Evil is and the whole story line involving the Black and White Dragons. Basically according to elf legend the White Dragon is supposed to be able to triumph over the Black and then we all live happily ever-after. But like me he thought that story line might be too simple. Some things don't quite fit with it. For instance he questioned how Narma and Earth have survived for the last few centuries. If the Black Horde took over Narma centuries ago, then why haven't Narma and Earth been destroyed long before now? It's almost as if the bad guys have been holding back for some reason. And if that's true, then there's something going on that we don't understand: maybe something important!"

"Perhaps historian philosophers Kip and Belinda would be able to discuss such things with you," said Pip. "I'll remember your words, clever Johnny, but I'm an elf of action and must be off now on my quest to save your sister."

With that the elf mage that carried tiny Mary completely disappeared.

The mage very soon entered the Portal. In it time and space twisted, stretched, and swirled. If not anchored by elf magic spells powered by enchanted forests, there could be no such things as portals that could be used to reliably travel between parallel universes. This one successfully deposited Pip and Mary at a point deep within the great enchanted North Elf Forest on Narma.

"There you are, cousin!" said a familiar female elf voice. Belinda sternly stared at her cousin Pip. "We were just going to fetch you from Earth. Hopefully you have not done mischief there that can't be undone!"

"I have done heroic deeds there and need do some here!" said Pip.

"Your Uncle Farnmouth worries for you," young Pip, added Kip. "It is good that you have now returned to Narma alive."

"What?" exclaimed the astonished mage. "Farnmouth The Great lives? But I saw him destroyed at the hands of a witch in the remains of the Great Library near the Dark Forest! Uncle discovered that the old library was tainted with great Evil!"

"There was indeed a faint whiff of Evil in that place," noted Belinda.

"When we arrived there it was rank with Evil," said Pip. "That is what drew us there to investigate. But tell me more of Uncle. If not destroyed is he then well?"

"He is bespelled but very healthy," said Kip. "You impulsively ran off to hunt the Witch before seeing to him properly. You are overly impulsive, young Pip!"

The stunned mage sank down a couple of inches to his knees. "I am overjoyed to hear that he is well! But what has that to do with fetching me from Earth?"

"We discovered three reasons to seek you on Earth," said Kip.

"Which we thoroughly discussed and recorded, of course," added Belinda.

"Naturally!" said Kip.

"First, we are concerned that very serious events may be unfolding on Earth since our last visit there not so very long ago," said Belinda. "Here on Narma there have been reports of Horde dragons detected near the Portal. Second, we were disturbed to scry that against all official customs and directives you impulsively followed the Witch Greble to Earth. That is of course counter to policy. Determination of your punishment is ongoing. Third, Farnmouth urgently needs you here on Narma."

"That is of course but a brief summary that needs further elaboration," said Kip.

"We will elaborate as we whisk to where Farnmouth awaits you near the Dark Forest, and you must in turn tell us of your Earth observations and your doubtlessly heroic Earthly adventures," said Belinda.

"I agree," said Kip, as he made an annotation to that effect in his always present notebook.

"And what is that which you carry concealed in your pouch, young Mage?" asked Belinda.

****

Dealing with the dragons in China, the kraken near Japan, and the great snake in India had been easy work for Freedom. The witch had awoken all of them from their long self-induced slumbers and demanded that they rampage about, but in the main the dragon found them all lounging about peacefully and merely studying the many changes that had occurred to the Earth since they were last active. None of those elementals were particularly interested in destroying life and were more curious about it and amused by humans than they were opposed to them. The snake and kraken readily agreed to immediately renewing their hibernations, while the Chinese dragons agreed also but insisted on first completing the conversations they had begun with Chinese scholars.

That left only the European rocs and the Pakistan locusts. Both were stupid and vicious. The rocs had fortunately all been disposed of by KraKara except for one now approaching North America. George was well positioned to deal with that one, Freedom reasoned.

The giant locusts in Pakistan were proving much more difficult to deal with. The creatures were too stupid to reason with and deadly to all life-forms that they encountered. They flew about in dozens of swarms, each consisting of hundreds of thousands of murderous individuals, multiplying their numbers as they consumed all organic life they found, including humans, domestic animals, and even crops, forests, and wooden structures. Millions of people fled before them in terror!

The creatures were mostly material in structure and as such could actually be killed by human weapons. However though only rabbit-sized, they were very hard to kill as they quickly healed themselves of most injuries. To be killed a locust had to be burned to ashes, blown up, or hacked to tiny bits. Military weapon attacks proved only partly effective, as the agile flying creatures easily dodged away from most attacks against them. Defending humans found that primitive hand-held swords, axes, and machetes were more effective against them, but most towns and villages were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the attacking insect-like creatures. Their swarming tactics were far more efficient than the plodding attacks of the monster KraKara had been, and humans died by the thousands.

Freedom's initial attacks on the locust swarms were at first only partially effective and quickly became even less effective. The locusts quickly learned to disperse when the dragon approached them, such that his dragon fire burned only a few individuals when he attacked each swarm. The dragon soon realized that though as individuals they were each small and stupid, in swarms they somehow collectively devised strategies and coordinated their actions.

Freedom discovered that locusts communicated using ultrasonic sound, and studied their conversations. In hours he learned how to call them to himself where he could easily destroy them with dragon fire by the thousands. Soon they would all be destroyed and he could rejoin the Witch hunt.

While hunting down the monsters the White Dragon had discovered much grisly evidence of the passage of Greble. Amazingly, entire towns and forests had been totally obliterated by the witch. According to the memories passed on to him from his dragon forbearers, this was an extraordinary amount of destruction to be wrought by a single Narma witch!

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD FIND SOME STARS AND A SUPER NOVA OR TWO TO FULLY POWER YOURSELF UP BEFORE WE TAKE ON THE WITCH," said George, after Freedom spoke with him about his progress.

"AGREED," said Freedom. "I WILL SOON DESTROY THE LAST OF THE LOCUSTS, THEN QUEST FOR STAR ENERGY. HUMAN ASTRONOMERS ARE CONSTANTLY DISCOVERING INSTANCES OF SUPER NOVA. I'LL SCRY INTO ASTRONOMICAL INFORMATION BEING SENT BY SATELLITE. IT SHOULDN'T TAKE LONG FOR ME FOR TO ABSORB MY LIMIT OF ENERGY, AND TRAVEL BY TELEPORTATION IS INSTANTANEOUS. IN THE MEANTIME IF YOU ENCOUNTER THE WITCH HOLD BACK FROM ATTACKING HER UNTIL I ARRIVE."

****

On Narma as the three elves flew on swift whisks away from the Portal and towards the Dark Forest, Kip and Belinda were astonished by Pip's overview of the what had happened on Earth in the brief time since they had last visited Harry and his young nephew. The Horde Sisters were dead but so also was their dear friend Harry Simple! George and Mary were dragon Chosen! Witch Greble was ravaging Earth! They were particularly distressed to learn that Pip carried critically damaged Mary in his pouch.

Pip was equally astonished to hear the account that his cousins provided him of recent occurrences on Narma including their discovery of Farnmouth.

"We were making our rounds three days ago when we were surprised to discover a great frog living in the ruins of the Great Library near the Dark Forest," said Kip.

"That's where I saw my Uncle Farnmouth destroyed by the Witch Greble!" noted Pip.

"The frog identified himself to be Farnmouth," said Belinda.

"As you know, even on Narma sentient frogs are rare," added Belinda.

Pip nearly lost his grip of the whisk that carried him. "A frog claims to be my Uncle?"

"He is undoubtedly your Uncle." said Kip. "However because the Witch turned him into a frog so that he could no longer do magic, he has been unable to restore himself."

"Poor Uncle!" lamented Pip.

"Yet he is otherwise quite well," added Belinda. "He told us some astonishing things, including his discovery that other than the dragon Horde Sisters, at least in the vicinity of Narma, the Horde has apparently disappeared."

"Many on Narma have in recent years happily noted the recent absence of most of the Horde," said Pip, "but such things have happened several times in the past. Eventually the Horde returns to destroy what life has recovered in their absence. Study of that cycle of destruction and recovery has long been a research interest of Uncle. He feels that the Horde lets us recover on purpose such that there are more of us to kill when they do return."

"My own interpretation is that the Dark One for some unknown reason wants to weaken life on Narma but to still let it survive," said Belinda.

"Perhaps we elves are raised like livestock to feed the Horde," said Pip. "Some breeding stock needs to be kept alive."

"In any case now that we know that the Sisters are destroyed it is even more likely that there is no Horde near Narma," said Kip.

"Not that we can be totally certain of that," added Belinda. "We will study the question further with Farnmouth when we reach him in only three days."

"We don't have three days!" said Pip. "I am a mage! I will teleport us all to where Uncle waits for us. There I will use my mage powers to restore Uncle and then seek the dragon Jewel for her restoration of her Chosen One Mary."

"Teleporting is forbidden on Narma, young Pip!" admonished Kip. "We must follow protocol! Such an exercise of magic powers could draw the Horde back to us!"

"Even scrying such a distance could be detected from afar!" added Belinda, "especially by any nearby Horde dragons that scry endlessly for such activity."

"All the more reason to do it," said Pip, "for I indeed seek a nearby dragon!"

A high flying warf was set to attack three whisks carrying elves that flew far below her when they all suddenly disappeared from her sight. Disappointed, she turned her search towards less elusive prey.

****

### CHAPTER 27

Secrets

George was sitting high atop the World Trade Center tower scying for the Witch when he noticed that Henry Cross had turned over his coffee cup, signaling that he had information. The hand-written note next to the cap explained that there was an air flight due to arrive soon at Kennedy Airport in New York which hours earlier had deviated from its designated altitude and declared a flight emergency before abruptly ceasing all radio contact. The FBI had already dispatched agents to meet the plane at Kennedy.

The note also said that Henry had regained influence with the President and was already enroot to New York City. George was to scry for him if he wanted any assistance from the Government.

Scrying towards the broad Atlantic, George could detect several aircraft moving towards New York City, but only one carried a gigantic roc. He scryed closer and found only Evil-tinged death aboard the aircraft, except for the terrified pilot. Concentrated elsewhere on the plane was a patch of Evil so powerful that he could not distinguish its form. Obviously it was the Witch! He tried to alert Freedom but the dragon was questing many light years away in search of energy on which to feed.

"HELLO, YOUNG CHOSEN ONE," said Witch Greble. "I DETECT YOUR CLUMSY SCRYING. WHERE IS YOUR DRAGON?"

"HERE WITH YOU VERY SOON," George replied.

"YOU LIE. I NO LONGER SENSE THE WHITE DRAGON ON EARTH; LIKELY IT SEEKS A STAR OR TWO FOR ENERGY? GOOD. I HUNGER GREATLY!"

"I CAN'T LET YOU ENTER THE CITY," said George.

"YOU CAN'T STOP ME," Greble replied. Instead of landing at Kennedy she would have Cathy fly the 747 into a large New York building, she decided. That would provide a nice diversion. Meanwhile her roc could fly her into the heart of the City where she could kill more humans than ever! She walked from the first class cabin to the flight deck to give Cathy her new orders, only to find that her pilot was done! Reaching out to sense her, she discovered that Cathy wasn't anywhere on the plane!

"I TELEPORTED HER AWAY AS SOON AS I COULD," George informed the Witch. He wanted her focused on him, not on the lives of the eighteen-million people of the New York City metropolitan area.

The airplane itself was turning and losing altitude, Greble then noticed. The blasted Chosen had mucked with the autopilot! She quickly discovered that the mechanism was damaged and the airplane was spiraling itself down to a watery ocean grave! She couldn't fix it; she knew nothing of such mechanisms. She was the only one remaining alive on the aircraft and she had no piloting skills whatsoever. She would of course survive the crash but it would be painful and very inconvenient. It was time to leave the airplane.

She went back to first class, punched the severed head from the overhead fuselage hole, and stretching her form through the bloody hole, climbed outside to where the roc waited for her. She would fly the winged elemental to the Chosen One and destroy him!

For just a moment reason-driven doubt crossed her mind. How could a mere Narma witch hope to destroy a dragon or a Dragon's Chosen? But again her Talisman reassured her. With the Evil Talisman she was invincible!

****

Near the base of the Statue of Liberty a small crowd gathered around a dazed Cathy Holcomb, airline pilot, where she sat on a park bench, gathering her wits. It was taking her a while for it all to sink in! She was alive! She expected to be dead by now like the others: her passengers and crew, all dead! The crushing reality of their death lay full upon her.

"What was he like?" asked the woman that sat next to her. "That was the real Mystery Man that brought you here, wasn't it?"

"I recorded the whole thing on my smart phone," said a man in the crowd. "I sent it to news people and it's on the internet already. He flew down here holding you just like he was Super Man; we all saw it! Then he simply disappeared."

"Who are you, lady? Did Mystery Man save you from something? What happened?" asked a teenager.

"I'm Cathy Holcomb, 747 pilot," Cathy finally answered. "The Witch killed everyone on my flight except me. Then a teenager in armor suddenly appeared and somehow took me away. He saved my life for sure. Then I was here. At least that's how I remember it happened."

"There's a report of an airliner crashing into the ocean only a few miles from here a few minutes ago," said someone.

"You were very lucky," said someone, over the sound of a helicopter landing somewhere nearby.

"Yeah," said Cathy. "Right! Very lucky. That must be it." She pulled a tissue from a pocket and wiped the tears from her eyes. Her airplane, friends, and passengers, all of them her responsibility, were all dead. Lucky?

"Did Mystery Man say anything to you?" she was asked by a man wearing some sort of police uniform.

"Yes; something mysterious. He said that hopefully here I would be safe from what was to come."

"What did he mean by that?"

Cathy shrugged. "I was actually going to ask him but then he disappeared."

"Is that your blood on your clothes? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm OK. Can I use somebody's phone to call my husband? And where am I, by the way?"

"You are appropriately at the Statue of Liberty in New York City harbor, young lady," said a tall distinguished looking older man. He was flanked by a half-dozen men carrying guns, some in suits like the old man and some in military uniform. "My name is Henry Cross. I have a few brief questions and then we'll get you home."

****

The elves were startled when they appeared in the ruins of the Great Library in the presence of a gigantic black dragon. Within moments however, they identified the dragon there to be their long-time ally Jewel. They were also very happy to see a unicorn for the first time in many years!

"You carry my Chosen, elf!" Jewel immediately thundered.

"She is badly witch stricken, friend dragon!" said Pip, "and much in need of your enlightened healing."

In moments Mary was full sized and laying at the feet of Jewel. She was unconscious, and her clothing was dirty and in tatters.

The huge black dragon lowered her head above the girl and gently lay her gigantic black tongue over her like a thick blanket.

"She wears a unicorn amulet," said the dragon. "She is damaged and drained of most energy but she is free of Evil. I do not feel repelled by the amulet."

"You bear no Evil," said Charm. "My amulet will not impede you."

"It is likely due to the amulet that Mary lives, though only barely," the dragon soon announced. "No witch should have been able to harm my Chosen, or harm someone bearing a unicorn amulet. You did the right thing to bring her to me swiftly, elf. Leave us alone now, for I must focus solely on the delicate and intricate task of healing her."

The elves, the elf/frog, and the unicorn withdrew and spoke together in hushed words outside the library and away from the gigantic black dragon that lay before it, as quiet and motionless as her Chosen and as if in deep sleep.

"How about changing me back to my proper elf form, Boy?" Farnmouth immediately asked his nephew. "Though I am without doubt the most handsome frog that there ever was!"

The form of the huge frog wavered, and then in seconds was replaced by the form of a little old elf that wore ornate robes of many colors.

"I am sorry that I left you here as a frog, Uncle," Pip lamented.

"But it was a highly enlightening experience and now you have now made me completely well again, dear Nephew!" said Farnmouth, as he embraced Pip with obvious affection. "I am thankful that you remember your shape transformation spells! DID YOU CATCH UP WITH THE WITCH?"

"No," Pip replied, "though I have seen far too much of her Evil doings; she has left a wide trail of death here on Narma and now also on Earth."

"It is well that you didn't catch her," said Farnmouth. "Doubtless she would have destroyed you."

"I fear that you are correct. She is far too powerful for a witch, Uncle."

"She is far more than a witch now, Nephew."

"I agree," said Pip. "She harbors great Evil, much more than is normal even for a witch."

"Yes, small one," said Charm. "It is Evil of unusual intensity which first attracted your uncle to these ruins. A creature of great Evil was trolling for a host to do its biding, and finally found the ideal such being in the form of Witch Greble."

"The Witch harbors an even greater Evil than herself?" asked Pip.

"That is very nearly the right question, Nephew," said Farnmouth. "Perhaps there is hope for your academic career after all!"

"You refer here to the Third Axiom of Menmu which states that the right question is in itself most of the answer," added Belinda.

"Obviously," said Farnmouth." Let me explain to you what transpired, Nephew, and most conceivable questions will thereby be answered expeditiously

"A suitable strategy," agreed Kip, as Belinda nodded her head in agreement and made a notation in her ledger.

"The Witch got to the library a few minutes after I did," said Farnworth. "That was shortly before you arrived, Pip."

"I saw you fall and sensed your thoughts no more, Uncle!" said Pip. "Sensing your absence of communicated thought I concluded you were dead, not merely disabled, and immediately chased after your attacker!"

"Logical though highly careless and impulsive," noted Kip.

"We were both very fortunate that day," said Farnmouth. "Despite its feel of Evil the ring had a strange attraction. Had the Witch not changed me in to a harmless frog and escaped with the ring herself, I would have probably gathered up the ring myself and been destroyed by it. You are lucky because had you caught up with her for your vengeance, as she would have doubtlessly destroyed you. Yes, we have both been very fortunate."

"Of what ring do you now speak?" asked Pip.

"The ornate black ring in the library that held great Evil," said Farnmouth. "I traced its trail of death and Evil stench from a nearby portal several miles to the library. It was only there for a few days before both Greble and I sensed and discovered it. I was very lucky that she is the one that ended up with the ring. I could sense it directing me to wear it and was on the verge of giving in when the Witch arrived and foolishly snatched it up for herself. No doubt she mistook it for an ordinary talisman of power. She sought to possess it but it soon possessed her!"

"But what is the ring?" said Pip. "Evil is formless and mindless! It doesn't take the shape of rings that entice folks to wear it!"

"I can answer that question," said Mary, as she joined the group. She looked very tired but well, the others were happy to notice. Even her torn and dirty clothing had been fully restored. Gigantic Jewel stood over them, looking down at them and listening intently as Mary continued. "As the ring helped the Witch attack me I realized its secret. As the Chosen of the Black Dragon Jewel I could sense and recognize its true elemental essence. The black ring of the Witch that harbors great Evil is a dragon. A black male dragon!"

****

### CHAPTER 28

The Battle of New York

As he and the roc carrying Witch Greble spiraled down towards Central Park George reviewed his options. He was supposed to hold off attacking and destroying Greble until star-powered Freedom returned but on the other hand he had to protect the city. Could he do both? He was beginning to wander if he could do either! The Witch had great power, he sensed. He didn't like this stalling tactic; it hadn't turned out very well in Africa.

Right now he spiraled down a mere hundred yards ahead of the roc, baiting the Witch to a relatively deserted part of the Park and City and keeping himself between the Witch and the people she apparently sought to consume.

He was deeply puzzled by Witch Greble and her behavior. Weren't witches supposed to be afraid of dragons and their Chosen? Yet this witch had overpowered Mary and was clearly stalking him instead of fleeing from him! What she said and was doing now suggested that she didn't fear him at all!

What most puzzled George was that he sensed dragon, not just witch, within the strange being that rode on the shoulders of the roc! That didn't make any sense at all! But there it was; there could be no mistaking it! But whatever the form of the Witch, Freedom would soon return thousands of times more powerful; he should wait to attack this creature if he could. When Freedom returned with the energy of thousands of suns this creature would clearly be over-matched. Yet the witch was in no particular hurry to attack him. She seemed to want Freedom to attack her with the energies of thousands of stars and all the colors of all dragons!

George landed in a small clearing moments before the roc landed only fifty yards from him and the Witch climbed off of it. The monstrous bird-like beast immediately flew off and would probably terrorize the City, but George stayed focused on the Witch that finally faced him. Beneath the female human form that she wore like a shroud she was fully as ugly as he expected: roughly humanoid in form but distorted by age, neglect, hate, and rage; diminutive but seething in power cold and deadly. A large indistinct black mass seething of Evil and dragon power covered one of her arms.

"I enjoyed killing your parents, young Chosen, especially your mother Joan," Greble said, her screechy voice amplified to almost painful levels. Over a few seconds her form wavered and became that of Joan, smiling at her son, then writhing in pain and fear and screaming as she died in agony. "My settling the score with her made for great theatre, I thought," said Greble, as her own form replaced that of Joan.

"Soon I am going to kill you, witch," said George. "Why do you have no fear of that?"

"Attack me and you'll find that I am invincible," said witch. "It is I that will soon consume you!"

"I don't think so," said George, who still made no move to attack.

"Obviously we're both waiting for your dragon," said Greble. "You because you think he will save you, and me because I hunger for him and will enjoy it when you watch each other die, White Dragon's Chosen!"

There was a sharp 'crack' of a sound, followed by several others, and Greble flinched as several high-powered rifle slugs struck her. The event startled George; whose total focus had been on Greble. The sniper was a man in military uniform, the Chosen soon discovered by using his dragon eyesight. In response the Witch glanced towards the man, but instead of falling dead as she expected him to he ducked out of sight and retreated. George noted that there were several others in the trees surrounding the clearing but they held off their attack for now.

"I blocked your attack," the Chosen told the Witch. "You'll kill no more humans."

"Change of plan then," said Greble. "I hunger for human lives. We won't wait for your dragon."

A tendril of blackness shot out from the Witch and washed over and around George. It was cold and Evil, and despite his great dragon strength the Chosen collapsed to his knees, stunned and disabled by pain!

The gloating Witch moved to stand before him, grinning widely. "See, foolish boy? I have no fear of dragons or their puny Chosen," she said. "I have powers that your naive dragon never dreamed of!"

It was Evil that she wielded, George realized, forged by dragon strength into a weapon so powerful that he couldn't oppose it! Dragons could destroy limited amounts of Evil, yes, but this was more Evil than even a dragon Chosen could long resist! But he had to! He sensed that his elfin artifacts, the helmet, sword, and body armor, still held power of a sort different from that of dragons, and now he drew strength from them. He was dragon yes, but he was also human, a human that had been infused with elf powers! His hand had been clutching his elfin sword by the hilt, and now he drew the enchanted weapon out of its scabbard, inch by gleaming inch, though it took all of his strength.

"Ha!" said the Witch, as she smiled in amusement. "I see that even as I drink in your dragon energy you also have meager elf powers to draw from!"

White elf lightning shot out from the sword and enveloped the Witch, startling her more than it hurt her. In that moment her grip on George's dragon-self loosened and he did what any dragon would to defend himself, he spat green fire at his enemy! From his mouth and eyes it issued, wave after wave of it, washing over the witch from head to toe!

Witch Greble screamed in pain and thrashed about, but there was no escape! In less than a minute she was reduced to a smoldering pile of ash and cinders.

The Witch Greble was no more!

The young Chosen breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had done it! The City, Earth, and Narma were for the time being safe! It was over at last!

He looked about and saw from the surrounding trees and bushes perhaps a dozen well-armed men and women emerge, smiling and holding their weapons in a relaxed way. "Doctor Cross sends his greetings, Mr. Lock," announced one of them, smiling. "There is still a roc at large but we can probably deal with it ourselves. We have some powerful air-to-air weaponry converging here."

George shrugged. OK, so maybe it wasn't quite over with, but it would be all over soon. Johnny would probably want a New York tickertape parade, but he just wanted himself and his friends to get safely back to a normal life including high school.

Suddenly all the men converging towards him stopped and backed away, fear appearing in their eyes as they raised their weapons to point them up at something behind George, something huge that rose high above them and suddenly blocked off the light of the sun!

The Chosen sensed it even before he could turn to look at it: an overpowering presence that was both dragon and Evil! From the still smoldering ashes of the Witch an immense darkness gathered and grew, a black swirling blackness over a hundred feet across that rapidly grew much larger. In the swirling blackness could be glimpsed gigantic legs, necks, tales, wings, and claws, and a dragon's head with red eyes and a gaping mouth filled with black teeth! At last it all consolidated into a monstrous black dragon, similar in appearance to Jewel but more than a dozen times her size!

It was however a seriously deformed dragon. Its legs were crooked and contorted, and many of the outward jutting spines that ran down its back were half broken off. One of its red eyes was half closed and oozed with black pus, and many of its black teeth were shattered or missing.

"You destroyed my useful little host!" it roared, in a voice so deep it could only barely he heard, though so loud that it rattled bones, "but I was tiring of her anyway and I am anxious to get on with this after thousands of years of waiting!"

"Your story goes back to far earlier than that," I suspect, said George.

"Yes in sum total it goes back many millions of your years, human," said the Dark One. "I see that despite your obvious limitations you have managed to gather some dragon knowledge. For millions of years I have exploited elements such as dragons. I also destroyed countless inferior beings such as humans and elves, yet I needed to allow some to survive to entice the birthing of dragons. Now that program has at long last culminated in the birth of a White Dragon! In recent millennia humans have become the favorite Chosen of birthing dragons. Meanwhile gullible elves have spread wide the myths that I created."

"The White Dragon will destroy you!"

"That is a myth I created to allow me to harvest the seed I planted!" said the Dark One. "When I consume it fully the White Dragon will both renew my internal structure and feed me vast amounts of energy! That's what they all do; the dragons feed me and renew me so that I may survive and gather yet more Evil!"

Johnny was right, George thought! Things were indeed far more complex than the elves knew!

"To what end?" George had to ask, though he suspected the dreaded answer.

"The end of this Multiverse that teems with vermin life structures such as humans and elves!" the Dark One boasted. "My Horde sought out life and destroyed it wherever they found it, and gathered in the energy of countless stars and what Evil they could find. I have consumed most free dragons now, and most of my Horde. While feeding me they have slowed life's advance but not fully stopped it; that will only happen when there is enough Evil gathered in me to destroy the structure of this entire Multiverse!"

"Freedom and I won't let that happen," said George. "Evil has corrupted you and you're falling apart! We'll stop you now forever!"

"Empty words," said the Dark One. "I will use you to renew my dragon structure by adding unto myself the structure of the green dragon, and renewing all the colors of my dragon self. Then I will absorb the energies of the stars that your White Dragon will bring to me. And then I will greatly enjoy destroying all life on this world and on Narma! You have served your purpose by hatching the White Dragon for me to feed on. Nothing of life will survive in this world or that one!"

As long as he could keep the Dark One talking he stood a chance, George reasoned. Freedom would soon return; he had to! He tried to move but still couldn't, somehow the Dark One held him perfectly immobile. Neither could he scry or speak telepathically! He tried to fire off a bolt of white elf lightning at the towering Dark One but failed. He could do nothing! And he felt weak, more weak than he had ever felt since getting his elf and dragon powers.

He was totally helpless! He could do nothing when he found himself floating in the air towards the dragon! He at first feared that the dragon would literally devour him. Instead as he hung in the air in front of the dragon's face its black tongue suddenly shot out and enveloped him completely!

The Chosen felt even weaker then, and he had to fight to retain consciousness.

"I feel much better already!" said the Dark One, as he pulled back his black tongue from his tiny human-sized victim. "I have already renewed my dragon structure with yours, including that of the green dragons. And I have absorbed most of your energy! I will not destroy you completely yet however; I want you to see your dragon die and then watch me destroy all the life of Earth!"

George was too dazed to even respond. Dimly he witnessed helicopters, unmanned aircraft, and fighter bombers attack the Dark One using bombs, missiles, and guns but the giant dragon seemed to hardly take notice. Instead the Dark One was busy healing himself. Broken teeth, spikes, and other injuries soon disappeared. Finally the perfect black dragon glanced up and mentally shrugged as a human might do to shoo away mosquitos, and all the weapons and the humans with them exploded in dozens of fire-balls.

Around them the City was in panic as Manhattan was rocked with explosions and gunfire and hundreds of sirens screamed. A dozen downed fighter aircraft and attack helicopters lay broken and burning in and around Central Park, buildings burned, and hundreds of thousands of people fled the area, mostly on foot. Images of a skyscraper-sized black dragon filled all news outlets.

Panic only increased when a second dragon, this one white and as large as the Dark One, appeared to face it.

The White Dragon was magnificent and glowed with energy, but the black one appeared much healthier now that its injuries and deformities were gone!

The tiny Chosen was immediately knocked away by Freedom, to come tumbling to rest near the Southern end of the Park, more than a mile from the impending battle of titans. Barely conscious, George could only prop himself up on his elbows and watch the dragons from afar.

Green flame belched from roaring dragon mouths at each other, so hot and bright that many sensing elements of human camera devices burned out and human onlookers had to cower behind anything solid they could find, and so loud that hands covered ears in a useless attempt to block noise that shattered windows and other resonating items. Fleeing birds dropped dead from the sky, battered and smoldering from the light, heat, and sound!

In the heart of Central Park, the battling titans were locked in deadly embrace: crushing necks and tails wrapped about each other, teeth, claws, and spikes punched through stubborn dragon scales to rip and tear away muscle and bone that almost immediately restored itself.

George was reminded of the battling Sisters at Harry Simple's elf forest, but this battle was much more powerful and violent. Here there was no elfin magic to dampen sound or heat, or cooling pink mist to rejuvenate devastated forest. Shredded trees, ash, dirt and stone rained down like a hailstorm. Storm-clouds gathered and lightning danced over the fighting dragons, making them more visible as they fought within the debris shrouded arena they created.

Gradually however, dragon flame abated, and struggles died down. If it was only a matter of dragons fighting, White would have triumphed, for the White Dragon had the purest structure and most energy by far! But the Dark One had something more: a vast reservoir of Evil that resisted dragon flame and form, a formless void that defied and defiled all structure and reason! It hung about the Dark One as a black mist, a paralyzing, choking darkness that now extended from the Dark One to cover every inch of Freedom. Dragons can destroy Evil. Freedom destroyed much of the mist but it was quickly replenished by the Dark One. There was simply too much of it! It disrupted the White Dragon's ability to move or think or fight! The Dark One was an unholy mixture of perverted dragon structure and formless void that could not be overcome. It became distressingly obvious to Freedom and to human witnesses that the Dark One had triumphed!

From afar George watched on helplessly. He could sense Freedom's energy being gradually sucked out and into the Dark One, vast energies of suns and exploding suns. Worse he could sense his dragon's growing despair. George tried to rally his own strength as he knew that he must, but his own form was also covered over with a thick black haze of Evil that was slowly eating away at him.

Even his elf talismans of power were drained of energy: his golden sword, armor, and helmet were dull brown and powerless. He couldn't even attempt to stand up, much less attack the vast creature that was draining the life from his White Dragon! He slumped back to lay flat upon the ground. He no longer had the strength to even prop himself up to watch his dragon's death. His head spun. Perhaps he would mercifully lose consciousness before the Dark One finished with Freedom and came for him. Perhaps he would be lucky enough to die before the Dark one killed the people of this City, country, and world. Perhaps. Was it wrong to hope for death? He drifted towards unconsciousness.

It seemed almost a dream when someone held his head up and looked deep into his eyes. It was someone that he used to know. Someone that he cared for! "Mary?" he asked.

"GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, DRAGON CHOSEN," she said, her thoughts clear and strong. "YOUR DRAGON NEEDS YOU!" She removed something from her neck: a shining amulet with the image of a unicorn on it. When she attached it around his own neck the world seemed to stop spinning, and he found himself breathing deeper and stronger.

Mary smiled at him then, and it was something more beautiful and powerful than he had ever seen before! Strongly enough she then did something that he had only fantasized about of late: she bent down and briefly kissed him on the lips. But it was not only love that she was expressing: a jolt of dragon power surged from her into him, raising his conscious awareness a hundred-fold!

"Wow!" George managed to say. Much Evil still enveloped most of himself, he could see, but the unicorn amulet was helping him begin to gradually dissolve and push it away.

Mary stepped aside and a glowing white unicorn took her place. The unicorn bent down its majestic head towards him and by exercising much willpower George reached up with a weak and shaking hand to grasp its perfect, spiraling, glimmering horn.

"WATCH AND LEARN HOW THIS IS DONE, CHOSEN ONE," said the unicorn.

Through the unicorn George could see more clearly the Evil for what it was: a discordant taint that broke down the perfect mathematical order of the Universe; a formless anti-substance that defied all logic and order and spread chaos and nothingness devoid of structure. There was a certain primal tempting allure to it, an urge to pull it dangerously close and experience unbounded strangeness and freedom from ordinary existence, but from the unicorn and from deep within himself we could sense the wrongness of such a course, as it would be a denial and abandonment of all logic, structure, harmony, life, love and beauty for a formless, soulless, all-consuming void: a deceptively false infinity.

He railed against that choice, against embracing Evil. The answer in the end was astonishingly simple: the restoration of the order to existence! With that understanding he could feel the all the remaining Evil in and around him dissipate into the oblivion of nothingness, and his innate dragon structure and strength restore itself fully!

"YOUR NAME IS CHARM," he said to the unicorn as he released its horn, and received in return a sound like laughing bells. "YOU HELP THE ELVES WITH THEIR FORESTS!"

"AMONG OTHER THINGS," acknowledged the unicorn. "THEY ARE GOOD STUDENTS AND YOU HAVE ALSO LEARNED WELL! MOSTLY AS WITH DRAGONS I SIMPLY REMIND VARIOUS CREATURES WHO AND WHAT THEY FUNDAMENTALLY ARE. THEY DO THE REST; JUST AS YOU HAVE DONE."

"TRUE UNDERSTANDING AND STRENGTH MUST COME FROM WITHIN," noted George.

The unicorn laughed again, an ultimate expression of the unbounded joy of life and existence: of love and hope and everything that was good in this and neighboring wondrous universes of the Multiverse!

Meanwhile a tiny figure riding a strange bat-like creature flew down to land next to him. Pipen Luciduarn Ken-Warga the Third, Elf Mage of Narma, spryly dismounted from the whisk and lay his tiny hands on George's helmet. "You have carelessly allowed your elfin gifts to drain away their power, Chosen One. But then you lack in experience and elfin wit and wisdom, so I suppose you can be forgiven this once, just as I have very often been." The helmet regained its golden color and power, as did the vest and sword, and George could feel elfin strength also return to himself. "Compared to dragons or unicorns elf power isn't much, great Chosen One, but perhaps it will help tip the balance in our favor."

A tall thin oldish human then reached down and helped George stand up, though by now he was feeling dragon-strong again. Henry Cross smiled at him. "Is there anything you need George? We humans are even weaker than elves, but we have a great interest in this battle also."

George slowly rose to hover a dozen feet above the ground. "Just try to move people away from here," he told Henry. "My friends and I will do the heavy lifting."

Mary flew up to sit behind the spike-frilled neck of Jewel. She wore a second unicorn amulet, George noted, as with a downward stroke of her gigantic wings the Last Sister began to rise above the Park.

"WILL YOU JOIN IN THE FIGHT?" the White Dragon Chosen asked Charm.

"INDIRECTLY VIA MY AMULETS," replied the unicorn. "I HAVE GIVEN THEM ALL THE STRENGTH THAT I DARE TO CONSUME THE EVIL. I MUST PRESERVE MUCH OF MYSELF FOR ANOTHER GREAT TASK THAT WILL NEED TO BE DONE AFTER THE THREAT OF THE DARK ONE IS REMOVED. GATHER YOURSELF, CHARMED CHOSEN ONE; YOU WILL NEED DRAGON STRENGTH AS WELL AS UNICORN PURITY AND WISDOM TO WIN THIS BATTLE."

George first circled the park, extinguishing raging fires by drawing heat energy to himself. Mary on Jewel followed in his wake, as did the tiny elf mage riding a whisk. They both watched what George did and were soon duplicating his efforts. George scryed Freedom and was pleased to find that though defeated the White Dragon still retained his structure and much of his strength, though he was held helpless by the Evil managed by the Dark One. A black mist covered all of the White Dragon, Evil that pressed in on him relentlessly and mercilessly, slowly eating away at him like a corrosive acid.

George's scrying action at last drew the attention of the Dark One, who lifted up his great head to follow the progress of those who circled him, while still continuing to drain energy from the White Dragon that lay crushed and motionless under his Evil-covered black claws. "COME CLOSER, TRAITOR SISTER," the Dark One taunted Jewel. "YOU PLAYED YOUR PART WELL! YOU HAVE AT LONG LAST GIVEN ME THE RICH MEAL THAT I FOR MANY CENTURIES SOUGHT! BUT YOUR USEFULNESS IS NOW PAST. I WILL SOON CONSUME YOU ALSO. I WILL BE THE LAST AND ONLY DRAGON! WITH MY RENEWED STRUCTURE I WILL AGAIN BE ABLE TO DRINK THE ENERGY OF STARS AND DESTROY THE LIFE THAT HAS SPREAD AMONG THE PLANETS. THEN I WILL DESTROY THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE!"

"NEVER, CORRUPTED ONE," said Jewel. With that she turned and attacked the great black male dragon. She dared not use green fire for fear of destroying Freedom, but she landed with crushing force atop the Dark One's shoulders and bit into his neck. She was very small compared to the male she fought, however, and her teeth could not even penetrate his thick scales, scales greatly strengthened by the absorption of structure earlier from George.

As the Dark One sought to twist around to vanquish the annoying and foolish tiny female dragon that attacked it, Pip on his swift whisk circled high above, collected lightning from thunderclouds high overhead, and blasted white bolts of elf power at the Dark One's head. As she rode her dragon Jewel, Mary meanwhile focused the power of her amulet to dissipate the cloud of Evil that surrounded Freedom.

George then dove straight at the Dark One and did something totally mad and unexpected; he flew straight into the Dark One's open mouth and down his throat, and deep into the belly of the beast! George's companions and a billion human onlookers across the planet gasped in shock, for it seemed like the young Chosen had committed a suicidal act of total madness!

Deep inside the Dark One a hidden internal battle soon raged! Cascades of Evil enveloped the Chosen again and again but were dissolved away by the Chosen through the perfection of his structure and the purity of his unicorn amulet!

The Dark One was astonished! He had defeated hundreds of dragons and unicorns, but never the two in combination! Always his superior dragon strength and focused, concentrated Evil had together overcome every foe that he faced! But the Chosen One inside him combined dragon strength, unicorn purity, and an extra added element: elf power! The Chosen drew his elf sword and sliced away at the Dark One's insides with it, rocking him with pain that he had not felt for many thousands of years! Convulsing in agony, the Dark One desperately withdrew all remaining Evil from the White Dragon to focus it all on the Chosen that was eating away at his insides!

Freedom felt the debilitating blanket of Evil lift away from him and immediately began to come out of his paralysis. He still contained the energy of exploding stars, and finally unhampered by the Evil that had constrained him, he began to convert it to dragon fire!

Sensing that his foe was recovering, the Dark One backed away from him and tried to destroy him with his own green dragon fire, but found that the Chosen deep within him prevented most such flame from even being formed. Only a weak gust of green flame issued from him to lightly singe the White Dragon, while a much stronger burst of green flame belched from Jewel over his head and neck, dissolving his scales and exposing him to the Sister Dragon's teeth and claws.

"FINISH HIM!" George told his dragon. "HE IS WEAK!"

With a great snort Freedom rose to his feet and shook himself. He ached all over from the burn of Evil and green fire but he was still mostly intact. Great quantities of green fire built up within him but he could see that his Chosen inside the Dark One, Jewel, Jewel's Chosen, and the elf mage were all in harm's way were he to now envelop the Dark One with his flame.

However when the Dark One spread his great wings to flee, Freedom blasted them totally away, along with his two front legs. The remainder of the Dark One collapsed heavily to the ground, convulsing in agony. His head had also by then been nearly sheared off by Jewel.

George shot out from out of the mouth of the fallen behemoth, glowing white hot as he burned away remnants of the Dark One that covered him. Straight to his dragon he flew at last, to sit on his neck behind his frill of horns that glowed white with power. Sensing what was to come, Jewel, Mary, and Pip also withdrew from what remained of the Dark One. Assured that all of the little company of heroes was free of the mangled Dark One, an astounding volume of green dragon flame erupted from Freedom, sweeping over the Dark One and dissolving the enormous Evil host forever!

Mary flew herself to the smoldering remains of the Dark One and with her amulet quietly obliterated the modest remnants of Evil that remained, while in true dragon fashion Freedom lifted his head to the heavens and with a triumphant roar that could be heard for fifty miles, belched red flame thousands of feet into the air! Thousands more windows and glassware shattered as a result, but as the sound of the roar died away there came an answering joyous shout from the people of the City, who had witnessed the Battle of New York on televisions, smart phones, and other devices, and listened to a blow-by-blow description given by Dr. Henry Cross. To the sound of millions of human joyful voices the sound of sirens, boat whistles, church bells and car horns was soon added!

As the hoopla began to die down the great White Dragon sank down to doze in the Park as he healed himself, while George, Mary, and little Pip flew about the surrounding city, rescuing people from fallen buildings and wrecked cars and healing them from injuries they had suffered due to the Battle, and from any other ailments that they suffered from. Super-hero stuff, Dr. Cross called it, over the news networks. They couldn't save everyone, but they did what they could.

Meanwhile Charm touched her horn down to the ground and began to heal the Park itself. Healing life was the true business of unicorns. Trees regrew so fast that videos recorded by astonished onlookers were often mistakenly thought to be time-lapse recordings. New York onlookers were astounded when within an hour the new trees reached pre-Battle heights of a hundred feet or so, and even more astonished when they soon reached more than double that size! Some trees were oddly formed and purple in color, but people were reassured that those were Narma tree types that were perfectly harmless and would soon bear delicious fruits.

"This Park will in time grow to become a convenient location for a Portal to Narma and other worlds," the unicorn confided to George and Mary. "That is the sort of thing we unicorns do; we nurture life and the peaceful interaction between sentient life forms, while our cousin dragons defend our little corner of the Multiverse against malevolence."

By afternoon the heroes were shaking hands with the President, the Governor, the Mayor, and dozens of United Nations ambassadors, and answering many anxious questions. By the time Freedom woke up in mid-afternoon George knew it was time to go home. Charm and Pip had already quietly teleported back to the Portal and from there to Narma. They bore glad tidings that the Dark One was no more! Across the Portal connected cosmos Freedom and Jewel would hunt down any remaining Horde killers and Evil. With the help of the unicorns Narma and countless other worlds would be fully restored to life. Dragons would repopulate themselves and make sure that they would never again be tainted by Evil as the Dark One had been.

****

### CHAPTER 29

Enlarged Possibilities

All of this and more was soon further discussed at the Simple House a few very busy days after the heroes returned there, accompanied by Henry Cross, the newly appointed United Nations Earth Ambassador to Narma. For this meeting they all sat around the elf table in the kitchen, which had conveniently reconfigured itself to accommodate everyone, despite their different sizes and shapes, which ranged from tiny elf to massive troll.

It was readily agreed by the group that Henry would live much of the time in the Simple House, and when his duties permitted him help Grog and Ruth Hendricks, the new Simple House librarian, audit and arrange the books and other items. He would in the process learn much of Narma. As the Narma ambassadors to Earth, Kip and Belinda would also spend much time at the Simple House, learning much more of Earth.

Several elves had also set up residence in New York's Central Park, where they mystified New Yorkers with magic and cured humans of what had been incurable disease. A portal in the Park already supported teleportation between there and the Simple House Portal. It was envisioned that within a few years hundreds more elves would set up residences in the several unicorn established forests around the world, while thousands of adventurous humans would migrate to Narma and to other worlds accessible via portals.

Rick also moved into the Simple House. Far from retiring, he managed for George most practical matters regarding the House. He also seemed to also be already developing a romantic interest in Ruth the librarian!

After most topics of interplanetary importance had been discussed Marge Williams by sheer force of will and personality took control of the meeting. "Your chief job the next few years will be to return to school," she pronounced to the three teenagers, "all of you! You're going to live your lives as normal as possible, given that two of you are super-heroes, and everyone here is going to support that as one of their highest priority concerns." She glanced around the table at everyone.

"That is agreeable to elves," declared Belinda.

"And preferred by the Government, I'm sure," said Henry.

"Nifty!" said Johnny cheerfully. "Think of my fame as the super-hero sidekick! I won't even need football!"

"The Simple House video tours we produced and the monthly press conferences we agreed to should reduce pressure from the outside world, but not totally abate it," said Rick. "The wards are still needed to protect this House and the Williams house. That is unfortunately the price of fame."

"Weekly visits by the Chosen to randomly selected hospitals throughout the world should also help ease political pressures," said Henry. "I spend much of my time explaining to people that even superheroes can't fix everything in the world, and that widespread disease cures via elves and unicorn amulets will take years to establish."

"Speaking of fixing things, are there any signs that the nations involved will acknowledge to the public the fact that George and I disposed of all nuclear weapons last weekend?" Mary asked.

"None," said Henry. "They're all very upset of course, but I'm certain it was the right thing to do. I'll announce it at the United Nations next Friday, so expect another round of intensified publicity. Personally I think that you two thereby saved Earth a second time. It was a weekend well spent. The hate and war-mongers will protest vehemently, of course."

"When it hits the public we will have made ourselves even more famous in the process," said Mary in dismay. "Already when we are outside the House wards the reporters and politicians drive us crazy!"

"I could teach you a stasis spell that would detour their over-zealous efforts," said Pip.

"We'll get by," said George, shaking his head. "Besides turning ourselves invisible or flying or teleporting away from them we could also spend weekends, summers, and holidays on Narma, all of us beleaguered humans could! There is no better place to escape humanity, according to you elves."

"Yes, though travel by Earth humans to Narma will be kept to a minimum, at least until restoration of Narma is a little further along," said Belinda. "The present company of course has unfettered access to Narma. Once Narma is ready it will take at least a year or two to return most Narma artifacts from here to Narma. "

"We'll video everything and I have television and book deals in the works already!" said Trent.

"You teens will have frequent Narma visits only if you keep your school grades up," said Marge.

George shrugged. He and Mary of course had no real need of school from the standpoint of learning Earthly knowledge, but they needed it to help keep themselves grounded psychologically.

"That's court-ordered, you know!" continued Marge. "Your young lives have to be kept as Earth-traditional and normal as possible, unless some Earthly emergency comes up requiring a superhero. Then you get to work closely with Henry and his buddy the President!"

"How are we going to work with President Jeffers?" asked Johnny. "The man is a total dick-head!"

George shrugged. "Of course he is! Dah! You should have seen his face when I told him that we had gotten rid of all nuclear weapons!"

"WE ELVES WILL NEED A SIDE DISCUSSION LATER TO CLARIFY THE MEANING OF THE TERM 'DICK HEAD' THAT JOHNNY FREQUENTLY USES," said Kip, as he made a notation in his journal.

"But Jeffers is up for re-election in a few months," noted Mary. "And we've made it clear that he doesn't run the show here. I trust Henry to watch out for us with respect to the Government, just as we'll watch out for him."

"I appreciate that," said Henry, between sips of table-warmed tea. "We'll get along. I calmed Jeffers down with regard to the nuclear weapons. However it will take a while for people to get used to the idea of no more wars, that's for sure."

"As long as everyone remembers that teens growing up is job-one for this family, we'll all get along," said Marge.

George smiled. Family! He really liked the sound of that! He liked being still treated as a human, and being part of a family again! Marge and Trent Williams had legally just been given parental custody of him, and he was happy about that, for the most part. After all, he loved the Williams family, and despite his recent adventures he didn't think he was quite ready to jaunt about the Multiverse with his dragon. Freedom and Jewel had promised to frequently visit their Chosen here on Earth anyway.

During Freedom's visit the day before, Johnny had already gotten his spectacular dragon ride to school, making him probably the most famous and popular teen in the world, aside from the Chosen Ones, of course. Yes, Johnny would manage to get along well in school and beyond, George knew. Perhaps the elves would come to regret the unfettered access that Johnny and Trent had been granted to visit Narma.

As Henry spouted familiar words about how committed the Government was now about maintaining a good relationship with Narma, George's thoughts gravitated towards another member of his new family: Mary. What about Mary? George certainly didn't think of her as a sister, even though he now lived in the Williams house with her. He did think of her as his best friend, but she was already much more! Living together in the same house was going to be totally weird; maybe just as weird as having super powers.

"I AGREE," said Mary, reminding George to keep his thoughts quiet. "BUT WE'LL WORK IT OUT. THAT'S WHAT BEING A TEEN IS ALL ABOUT, WORKING SUCH THINGS OUT." She smiled at George, again reminding George how beautiful she was, inside and out. It had been her idea to get rid of all nuclear weapons and he was so proud of her that he could burst!

He shrugged and smiled back at Mary, letting some of his love show through. Yes, he and Mary would get by alright, that's for sure! Theirs was going to be a complicated but interesting life together. "READY TO DO SOME MORE WORK?" he asked her, as the little meeting broke up. Marge was already talking to Rick about taxes, and Trent was on a phone talking to investors trying to cash in on the Dragon Phenomenon, as it had become known in social media. Johnny the social media phenomenon went home to his new computer to further boost his celebrity status. George knew that it was time for him and Mary to get back to their most serious work. The young Chosen Ones were, as Uncle Harry would have put it, studying the 'way of things'.

"SURE," she replied. "YOU AND GROG SHOULD CONTINUE EXAMINING THE ATTIC ARTIFACTS AND RUTH AND I WILL WORK IN HARRY'S FAVORITE STUDY."

The teens popped out of the kitchen and to the attic and study. Teleportation was becoming as routine to them as breathing. Mary resumed her study of the Harry Simple journals written in elvish. The elf civilization went back hundreds of thousands of years, Harry had found, and they entertained many thoughts about many topics of interest, which they verbosely documented in books and other artifacts. In his journals Henry had usefully distilled many of their most interesting observations. Mary was busily condensing those into an English-language book for access by humans of the world.

The elfin books were not the only Simple House objects that contained valuable information. Many statues stored throughout the Simple House embodied the thoughts and personalities of long dead individuals that. The statues had been fashioned by elf mages to capture important aspects of the individuals they were shaped to resemble. He, Mary, Grog, Marge, Rick, Kip and Belinda were even helping Pip create a Harry Simple statue: a sort of personalized 'living' biography that would when complete would look and have thoughts resembling those of the original Harry, at least for the benefit of those psychically gifted enough elves and humans to access them. Statues of Joan, Mary, and George were also being considered.

Today as Grog continued to straighten out the cluttered attic, George resumed his conversation with the learned facsimile of Rudal Kin, a long dead Elf natural philosopher, about the way of things. Rudal lived on Narma over five thousand years ago, even before the Horde had taken over Narma. His tiny statue was bursting with information and personality.

"Can you explain why there is intelligent life in the Multiverse, wise Rudal?" George asked.

"OF COURSE I CAN, CURIOUS YOUNG SCHOLAR," replied the statue's clear thought. "THE ANSWER IS RATHER STRAIGHT-FORWARD, AS YOU HUMANS MIGHT SAY. AS HINTED AT BY WHAT YOU HUMANS HAVE DISCOVERED WITH YOUR SO-CALLED SCIENCE AS REGARDS TO YOUR OWN UNIVERSE, A LASTING, STABLE UNIVERSE MUST BE A SELF-CONSISTENT MATHEMATICAL SYSTEM OF SUITABLE SPACE/TIME DIMENSIONALITY. SUCH SYSTEMS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY SPONTANEOUS INSTANCES OF COMPLEX LARGER SCALE STRUCTURES. SUCH STRUCTURES FAVOR THE ADVENT OF LIFE, AND WITH SUFFICIENT TIME, LIFE FAVORS THE ADVENT OF INTELLIGENCE. IN BRIEF, THAT'S IT."

"That's it?" asked George. As Johnny would have said, it seemed too simple.

"THAT'S IT; AT LEAST THAT'S MY BRIEF ANSWER TO A QUESTION WHICH ELF SCIENCE AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHY ANSWERED DEFINITIVELY VERY LONG AGO. IF YOU WANT DETAILS YOU'LL NEED TO CONSULT MY BOOKS ON THE MATTER; THIS ARTIFACT I OCCUPY HAS ONLY LIMITED RESOURCES. I SUSPECT THAT IS WHY YOUR UNCLE SPENT MOST OF HIS EFFORTS ON BOOKS. NEXT QUESTION?"

"Is there a God?"

"HA! AMUSING! YOU HUMANS ALWAYS ASK THE SAME QUESTIONS; EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU! THAT ONE IS EVEN EASIER TO ANSWER! THE ANSWER IS, I DON'T KNOW!"

"That's your answer? I can do that good myself!"

"CONFOUNDINGLY FRUSTRATING, ISN'T IT? CONSULT MY BOOKS FOR THE GORY DETAILS, NOT THAT YOU'LL BE SATISFIED WITH THEM. NEXT QUESTION?"

George was beginning to suspect that the primary purpose for sentient statues was for them to push their books. "Tell me about dragons!"

"THE DRAGONS INHABIT MANY OF THE MOST STABLE AND INTERESTING UNIVERSES OF THE MULTIVERSE, YOUNG CHOSEN, AND THEIR DIFFERENT COLORS REFLECT THE DIFFERING MATHEMATICAL RULES FOLLOWED IN EACH OF THEM," said Rudal. "BUT THAT IS ONLY A TINY PART OF THE WHOLE MULTIVERSE, THOUGH THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED THE MOST INTERESTING UNIVERSES FOR THEMSELVES TO OCCUPY. OF COURSE BESIDES DRAGONS AND UNICORNS THERE ARE OTHER BEINGS OF GREAT POWER THAT ALSO SPAN MUCH OF THEIR OWN NEIGHBORING SEGMENTS OF UNIVERSES WITHIN THE MULTIVERSE. I CONVERSED ABOUT THIS WITH YOUR UNCLE ONCE, BUT I'M NOT SURE THAT HE UNDERSTOOD."

"I am not sure that I do either," said George. "Did you write a book on dragons by any chance?"

"NO. PERHAPS SOME DAY YOU SHOULD, AS TECHNICALLY YOU ARE IN FACT A DRAGON."

"Perhaps. But I still have much more to learn about dragons, and also about the infinite Multiverse," said George.

"AND OF COURSE EACH ENDURING UNIVERSE OF THE MULTIVERSE IS ITSELF ALSO INFINITE, SUCH THAT THE SPAN OF INFLUENCE OF ANY GROUPING OF BEINGS EVEN AS SUPER-POWERED AS DRAGONS CAN ONLY BE FINITE AND LOCAL. OF COURSE BY 'FINITE' AND 'LOCAL' I REFER TO BILLIONS OF GALAXIES CONTAINING TRILLIONS OF STARS AND EVEN MORE PLANETS, YOUNG CHOSEN. SO IN SUM THOUGH YOU ARE A TRULY SUPER BEING, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE YOU MUST STILL RECONCILE YOURSELF TO BEING FINITE AND SMALL WITHIN AN INFINITE MULTIVERSE. BUT DON'T WORRY; THERE IS ENOUGH HAPPENING EVEN WITHIN THE LIMITED SPACE-TIME ENVIRONMENT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO ENCOUNTER TO KEEP YOU VERY BUSY."

"I wasn't really worried about not being busy," said George. "Someday I want to visit as much of this universe and others as I can though, to see things for myself."

"WERE I CAPABLE OF EMOTION AND NOT MERELY AN ECHO OF MY FORMER CORPORAL SELF I WOULD DOUBTLESSLY ENVY YOUR POSSIBILITIES, CHOSEN ONE."

"However even as a Chosen I am finite and I don't suppose that I will have time to see everything," noted George.

"YES, THOUGH IF YOU ARE TRULY A WHITE DRAGON'S CHOSEN, YOUNG GEORGE, YOU MAY HAVE AVAILABLE TO YOU FAR MORE TIME AND POSSIBILITIES THAN YOU THINK," said Rudal. "THE CHOSEN HAVE THE SAME ABILITIES AS THEIR DRAGONS. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A TIME DRAGON?"

"No."

"IT IS SAID THAT A WHITE DRAGON CAN TRAVEL IN TIME AS WELL AS IN SPACE, YOUNG CHOSEN. SUCH A POSSIBILITY MAY HAVE ALREADY CROSSED YOUR MIND DUE TO SUCH THINGS AS INSTANTANEOUS TELEPORTATION AND ELFIN TIME SPELLS, WHICH OF COURSE IMPLY A DEGREE OF TIME AWARENESS AND CONTROL. SUCH INNATE ABILITY MAY CONSIDERABLY ENLARGE YOUR ALREADY ENORMOUS POSSIBILITIES FOR ADVENTURES EVEN FURTHER. OF COURSE IT WOULD ALSO ENLARGE YOUR ABILITY TO SCREW THINGS UP TERRIBLY, AS YOU HUMANS WOULD SAY."

"Swell!" said George. "A life of further enlarged possibilities and responsibilities! Just what I needed!"

The End

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### About Other Publications by This Author

You may also be interested in the already published full-length e-books of this author, including a diverse collection of twenty fantasy and sci-fi short stories titled There Goes The Neighborhood; Earthly Fantasy/Science Fiction Short Stories. Like my novels, these short stories range from pure science fiction to pure fantasy, and most take place in contemporary Earth settings.

If you like ancient secrets, magic and science, romance and adventure, science fiction and fantasy, parallel universes and hidden fantasy worlds, try reading the full-length novels Secrets of Goth Mountain (which like the second Global Warming Fun story/ novella has a largely Native American setting) and its loosely coupled epic fun-packed sequel Government Men. Government Men has a bit of everything, including the book itself and its author. Yes, oddly enough this book includes itself and its author, along with dragons, unicorns, psychics, space aliens, an impending Armageddon, and much more! Both of these action filled books employ a great deal of science-based fiction, as well as strong doses of fantasy, romance, and humor.

Bird loving science fiction fans that like strong human female heroines and stronger blue jay heroes may (if T-rex sized raptors and other nuisances can be tolerated) enjoy an adventure trip to Aves the bird planet, achieved by reading the traditional science fiction thriller Blue Dawn Jay of Aves. Other than some of my short stories this is my only 'pure' science fiction work to date.

Global Warming Fun is a series of short stories, novellas, and at least one full length novel that uses climate change as a backdrop for the centuries-long life of telepathist Ed Rumsfeld and the emergence of sentient ants and ancient stone creatures that are based on the actual Mohawk myth of stone-coat giants. At the time of this writing five of the ten planned releases of this fantasy tinged science fiction series are completed.

Fantasy noir detective fans that can abide what used to be known by feminists as a 'male chauvinist pig' private detective as a hero, and can also tolerate trolls, elves, and other unexpected visitors to our world along with a talking mob cat, may enjoy The Shrinking Nuts Case. Aside from perhaps this current novel, this is my only novel length 'pure' fantasy work (devoid of science explanations!) to date.

To learn the author's world view including thoughts/suspicions with regard to multiverse and quantum mechanics physics concepts and how that compares with phenomena that occur in the above novels, get geeky with the brief little e-book NOW and the Weltanschauung of Government Men.

I try to employ some humor in most of my works, particularly in Government Men, The Shrinking Nuts Case, and some of my short stories. I steer clear of graphic sex as I feel that has been done millions of times before. Similarly I tend to avid vampires and zombies, though a form of zombies has infiltrated Global Warming Fun. I also lean heavily towards positive outcomes, although just as in real life, those don't always happen.

I edit my own writing, which is probably as foolhardy as being one's own lawyer, but it is what it is. That sometimes results in re-releases. Also to date I have done my own covers (except the first one that my artistic brother helped with), largely because what fun would someone else doing them be? Besides, at this point I am trying to keep my writing habit a totally expense-free hobby.

All are available at Smashwords and affiliated e-book sites, and hopefully there are many more to come! (The next will likely be Global Warming Fun 6: Ice Giants Make Manhattan.")

Good reading!

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