The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (38 page)

“
Thank
you for your time, Brethia,” the wizard said.

“
My
pleasure,” she answered and bowed again.

When
they got back to the main floor, Simon led the way outside and around
toward the rear of the tower. Tamara examined the outer wall as they
walked and spotted several of the earthen who were patrolling along
the top.

“
You
are well guarded, my friend,” she said as she watched one of
the sentries.

“
Yes,
I suppose I am. I trust them. Elementals can't lie and don't
understand disloyalty. I like that.”

Tamara
stopped and Simon was forced to do the same. He looked at her
curiously.

“
What
about the water elementals?” she asked, a hard edge to her
voice. “They seem to understand disloyalty quite well, don't
you think?”

Aeris
actually growled and both casters stared at him, startled.

“
We
do not speak of them, lady mage,” he told her. “They have
shamed not just themselves, but all elementals from all realms.”

“
I
disagree,” Simon told him.

“
You
disagree?” Tamara asked incredulously. “What are you
talking about? The water elementals made a pact with the dragons, our
mortal enemies! And they betrayed you specifically, Simon.”

“
No,
they didn't,” he told her calmly. “Their leader did that,
not the water elementals themselves. I believe, for the most part,
that they were shocked by their lord's actions; possibly even
horrified. The water elemental who served me never betrayed me, and
she had every opportunity to do so.”

“
Anaposus?
Hmm. That is true,” Aeris said, his anger fading as he thought
about it.

“
Her
lord sided with the white dragons but when the white primal fell, the
elementals were yanked back to their own world,” Simon said to
Tamara, who was listening closely. “But you already know that.”

They
continued walking around the tower as they spoke.

“
I
do, yes, but you never mentioned that one of them could have done you
harm and didn't. I find that very interesting.”

“
Ana
was a nice person, no matter what happened with her people and their
leader. I've often thought about getting in touch with her, just to
see how she's doing now.”

“
Could
you do that safely?” the mage asked as they approached the rear
gate. It was wide open and Simon assumed that Kronk was out with the
horses.

“
Oh
yes, there wouldn't be a problem with that. Once a wizard summons an
elemental, we share a kind of bond. I could recall her here with no
trouble and, if she presented any danger, I could banish her again
quite easily.”

“
Huh.”

“
But we have more
important matters to worry about right now,” Simon said. “It's
just something I've considered.”

He walked out of the gate
and into the field. Tamara and Aeris followed and then the three of
them stopped to watch the scene before them.

The horses were grazing
close to the shore of the lake while the cattle were scattered here
and there, also munching on the rich grass. The sun glowed warmly off
of the animals, all of which looked healthy and content.

Chief had accepted the
cows with little concern and so his mares did as well. As for
Sunbeam, the young filly, she and Misty the calf had struck up a
friendship and were now inseparable.

While the trio of visitors
watched, the calf and the filly went racing along the water's edge
with the kind of energy reserved for the very young. The adults of
both species looked on placidly.

“
Ah, so these are
your new cows,” Tamara said as she looked around the pasture.
“We've rounded up some of our own, but not as large as these.
Gods above, they're huge.”

“
They are that. But
their Change seems to have made them more docile, not less,”
Simon told her. “Once I Gated them here and they settled down,
they accepted their new home almost at once. They don't shy away from
me when I approach them and, like the horses, they seem very fond of
Kronk.”

“
I am pleased that
you think so, master,” said a voice from behind them.

The group turned to see
Kronk walking out of the gate, smiling. He bowed briefly to Tamara.

“
I was just cleaning
out the stable, master,” he told them.

“
You don't leave the
horses out all night?” the mage asked as the little guy joined
them.

“
No, lady, I do not.
The protection of the tower does not extend beyond the outer wall. If
a dragon attacked during the night, our horses would be exposed and
vulnerable. So I bring them in each evening.”

“
Ah, I see. I don't
know though. That lad looks like he could deal with almost anything.”

Tamara was staring at the
stallion. His magnificent horns glinted like white metal in the
afternoon light and he stood with his neck proudly arched, surveying
his mares and the field around them. He truly looked like a picture
from a book of fairy tales.

“
Anything on land,
lady,” Kronk agreed. “But dragons attack from the air.
Chief would stand no chance against that. Perhaps I will leave them
out over night later in the season, if things seem safer.”

“
Can I get closer?”
Tamara asked.

“
As close as you
like,” Simon told her with a smile. There was a stump near the
gate and he sat down carefully, mindful of slivers. “Kronk, go
with our guest, won't you? I'll wait here.”

“
With pleasure,
master.”

The wizard watched as the
mage and Kronk wandered off. Aeris stayed with him, floated and
swirling in the warm breeze.

“
Were you serious
earlier?” he asked when Tamara was out of earshot.

“
About what?”
Simon replied absently. He was watching the mage. She'd been through
a lot recently and there was more trouble to come, but for the moment
she was distracted and seemed fairly happy. And he was happy for her.

“
About talking to
Anaposus. You really want to get in touch with her?”

“
Eventually, yes.
Why? Don't you approve?”

“
My approval isn't
necessary, my dear wizard. We both know that. But...”

Aeris was silent for a
long moment and Simon finally looked away from Tamara.

“
What is it? What's
wrong?” he asked.

“
Perhaps nothing. I
mean, if you'd been around six months ago and said you wanted to
communicate with a water elemental again, I would have told you that
you were mad.”

Simon pulled up a knee and
rested his chin on it as he watched the air elemental.

“
And now?”

“
Now? Well, think
about it for a moment. Our last great enemies, besides the gods of
Chaos, of course, are the red dragons. And the red dragons primary
attack is fire.”

He looked at Simon who
shrugged.

“
So?”

“
So? So fire and
water, my dear wizard! The water elementals are uniquely gifted to
fight an enemy that uses fire as a weapon. More than any of the other
elementals, they could be a valuable asset in the coming battles.”

“
I thought you hated
them?” Simon asked, watching his friend's face.

Aeris seemed to be
experiencing several emotions at once, but finally seemed to settle
on resignation.

“
I did. Part of me
still does, I suppose. But what you said earlier hit home. Like my
people, and Kronk's for that matter, we elementals must obey our
lords in all things. I cannot blame Ana for following her nature; I
would have done the same.”

He sounded almost
embarrassed and Simon smiled sympathetically.

“
I know,” he
said gently.

“
Yes, well, my point
is that they could have a role to play. And things in the water realm
may have changed since the white dragons fell and Ana's people were
recalled home.”

Simon sat up attentively.

“
Changed? How?”

Aeris looked around as if
afraid of being overheard, but Kronk and Tamara were a long way off,
watching the calf and filly chase each other around. Simon could just
hear her faint laughter in the distance.

“
There's been word
of a disruption in the water realm,” the elemental said
quietly. “Powers have been unleashed and lives have been lost.”

“
Lives?”

The wizard stood up and
Aeris flew higher to speak to him face to face.

“
What are you
talking about?” Simon asked in a hushed voice.

“
Revolution, sir
wizard. Revolution. Whispers among my people hint at an overthrow of
the ruler of the water realm.”

He lowered his voice even
further and Simon had to lean in close to hear him.

“
It would not do for
my lord to get wind of the fact that his people know of such things,
but the story goes that the majority of the water elementals rose up
against their leader. There were, of course, many casualties but in
the end, he was destroyed and a new ruler commands that realm now.”

Simon stared at him in
amazement.

“
A revolt?”
Aeris nodded. “Good God, that's incredible. I would never have
imagined that such a thing was even possible.”

“
I wouldn't have
either,” the air elemental agreed. “But there it is. Mind
you, this is still conjecture. The rumors are only rumors. It would
take someone from the inside to confirm them.”

He gave Simon a
significant look.

“
Someone like Ana,
perhaps.”

“
Aha. You want me to
contact her to see if this is true?”

“
No, my dear wizard.
I personally don't care if it's true or not.”

“
What?” Simon
said in confusion. “But then why tell me about it?”

“
Because, while I
may not care, I know that you do. As your servant, and your friend, I
want you to succeed. And you will need as many allies as you can get
in the coming months.”

Aeris sounded a little
exasperated.

“
Can't you see that?
I know that you're a primal-slaying prodigy, but maybe we could use
more help than just you when we face the final primal dragon?”

Simon felt himself
blushing and turned away to watch Tamara and Kronk. They were slowly
making their way back toward the gate, chatting amiably.

“
I'm no prodigy,
Aeris, so knock it off. I've gotten lucky and I do have a bit of a
sneaky streak, I suppose, but that's about it.”

“
I know that,”
the elemental replied and smiled when Simon caught his eye. “I
only said that for shock value. So, can you see how we might want the
water realm's aid in this?”

“
Yes, of course I
can. And thanks for the information. One crisis at a time, but once
this situation with Tamara is sorted out, I'll definitely get in
touch with Ana again and see what's going on with her and her
people.”

“
Excellent,”
Aeris said, seemingly satisfied.

They waited until the mage
rejoined them. She looked a little flushed and was laughing at some
comment of Kronk's when they got back.

“
Your friend has a
lot of very interesting stories to tell,” she said to Simon as
they walked back through the gate. Kronk waved at them and walked
back toward the horses.

“
I think that I
could listen to him for hours.”

“
Well, as I've been
reminded recently, most elementals are quite old, appearances to the
contrary, and have seen and done a lot over time. They are walking
history books and I'm always fascinated to hear what they have to
say.”

“
Always?”
Aeris asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Tamara chuckled as Simon
gave the elemental a wry glance.

“
Okay; most of the
time. Now, I think that we've given Malcolm and the others enough
time to get back to the castle and do whatever it is they planned to
do.”

They walked around the
building, climbed the front steps and reentered the tower.

“
So let's get in
touch with him, shall we?”

“
Sounds good to me,”
Tamara agreed and they both sat down at the kitchen table.

Simon picked up the
mirror, but before he could invoke the magic, the mage touched the
back of his hand, stopping him.

“
What is it?”
he asked.

“
I was just
wondering something. Why didn't you want to join Malcolm, Liliana and
the rest to take on Octavian? I'm well aware that you are probably
not afraid of him.”

The wizard grimaced at the
thought.

“
Quite the opposite
actually. No, I didn't offer because I don't know your castle, at
all. Stumbling around a place like that, searching for enemies and
not knowing friend from foe? Bad idea for a wizard. And before you
ask, I didn't want you back there just in case Octavian could
re-exert his influence over you. We need to know how he did that so
that we can counter it, in case it ever happens again. For now, until
he is captured and contained, you shouldn't be anywhere near him.
Plus, you needed some time to rest and regain your strength.”