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

back and closed his watering eyes. Spots danced
against his eyelids and he wiped away tears and blinked rapidly to
clear away the afterimages.
    “ Simon! Are you all
right?” Ethmira shouted from down below.
    He moved slowly back to
the parapet and squinted down at her, his vision still a bit blurry.
    “ I'm okay. Are you?
Did any of those pieces hit you?”
    She pushed a finger
through a hole in her leather jacket, next to her elbow.
    “ One shot right
through. Didn't hit me though, luckily. Come down, would you? And
bring your shovel with you.”
    Simon turned and walked to
the trapdoor. His vision was back to normal and he heaved the heavy
door open, slipped through and locked it behind him.
    Why does she want a
shovel, he wondered as he hurried down the stairs.
    He grabbed the implement
from where he'd left it beside the front door and then went outside
and around the tower to where Ethmira was waiting.
    She grinned broadly at
him.
    “ You did it, my
friend,” she said with satisfaction.
    Simon shook his head.
    “ We did it, you
mean. Without your help, it might have been spring before I found
that second heart.”
    She waved away his
comment.
    “ Either way, we've
destroyed the infernal things. I'm relieved to know that.”
    She motioned for the
shovel and Simon handed it to her and watched curiously.
    Ethmira used the tip of
the shovel to pushed through the snow and spoke to him as she
searched,
    “ The fragments that
exploded at the moment of impact flew all over the place. You'll have
to gather them up eventually and bury them, or risk injuring yourself
or the horses some day in the future.”
    “ Oh, I see. Good
point. I'll dig around over the next few days and find what I can.
Any I can't find will show themselves come spring.”
    “ True enough,”
she agreed but kept poking and prodding the snow.
    “ Um, so why are you
still looking for them?” Simon asked in confusion.
    “ I'm actually
looking for one in particular, of a certain shape.”
    She found several shards
and handed them to Simon with the shovel. He took each one and put it
in a coat pocket.
    Finally, Ethmira gave a
little exclamation of satisfaction and examined a piece a little
larger than the others.
    “ Yes, this will do
nicely.”
    She extended the shovel
and offered him the shard, its sharp edges making it too dangerous
for her to pick up with her bare hands.
    Simon took it and looked
at it closely.
    It was a piece from the
more yellowish of the hearts. Veins of green swirled within it and
the violent shattering of the structure had snapped a hole through
the center, making it look like a lopsided crystal donut.
    He looked at Ethmira and
raised an eyebrow silently.
    She grinned at his
expression but quickly became serious.
    “ Keep that piece on
your person at all times. If you can find a way to dull its sharp
edges, loop a piece of string or leather through it and wear it
around your neck. But whatever you do, don't leave your tower without
it.”
    Simon had never heard the
elf state something so firmly.
    “ Okay. Why?”
    “ It's a directive I
received from the Elders. You have to wear it like a talisman, in
case the gods of Chaos decide to try to take your magic again. Don't
ask me how it works, because I have no idea. But a piece of a heart
that was imbued with your own magic will block another dragon from
using the same trick again.” She shrugged. “Or so they
say.”
    “ Huh, that almost
makes sense,” Simon said as he stared at the fragment. Then he
slipped it into a pocket and accepted the shovel from Ethmira.
    “ Now, how about some
more of your wonderful tea, my friend?” she asked. “I
think we've earned it.”
    “ Absolutely! Come on
in and I'll make a pot.”
    Back inside, Simon took
off his coat and gloves, changed into simple shoes and made some tea.
    He and Ethmira then sat in
companionable silence and savored the warmth of the fire that the
wizard had built up.
    After some time, Simon
glanced at the elf as