The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (53 page)

“
Of course I do. I
could almost taste the evil rising from him as he spoke to me. And
the arrogance? My God. I really do think that he believes we're
stupid. That if he says we'll be the best of friends when his mother
is locked away again, we'll just accept his word on it.
Unbelievable.”

“
But that is good,
master,” Kronk told him. “Arrogance is a weakness. A
large one. Taking your opponent for granted has led to many defeats
throughout history. Perhaps it will again.”

“
Yeah, let's hope.”

Simon pushed himself to
his feet with a grunt.

“
Okay, it's time for
bed. Call me if the world begins to end. Other than that, please let
me sleep.”

“
Good night,
master.”

“
Night,” Aeris
said as he started to rinse out Simon's cup. “Sleep well.”

“
Are you coming down
to breakfast today or should I just feed it to the squirrels?”
came the shout from downstairs.

Simon growled irritably
and pushed the crystal ball away from himself. He stood up and
stretched, feeling the cramped muscles in his back loosen up one at a
time.

“
I'm coming right
now. Hold your horses!” he replied, almost shouting.

Aeris had taken it upon
himself to make a meal for the wizard and the colder it got, the
crankier he became.

“
Fine. I'm sure that
cold porridge and rock-hard toast is quite delicious.”

“
Ah gees,”
Simon muttered as he pushed his hair out of his eyes.

He was in his study. When
he woke up an hour earlier, he'd had an idea and had gone straight to
his desk to put it into action. Now he was starving and in desperate
need of a trip to the outhouse.

He opened a drawer in his
desk, put the crystal ball into it and closed it with a thump. Then
he hurried downstairs, slipped on his shoes and went to the door.

“
Where are you going
now?” Aeris snapped from the kitchen counter.

“
Bathroom. Back in a
second.”

By the time Simon had
gotten back and washed his hands, the elemental had made fresh toast
and porridge and had a few more choice words to say to the wizard.

“
Look, I'm sorry,
okay? I just had to take care of something before it slipped my mind,
that's all.”

“
Take care of what?”
Aeris asked as he handed Simon a full cup of tea. “I heard you
moving around up there over an hour ago.”

“
Thanks for the tea.
Nothing, really. I woke up with an idea, that's all. Guess I'd been
dreaming about it. And the thing is, if I don't act on these weird
dreams right away, they tend to fade from my mind pretty quickly. So
I did and that's that.”

Aeris eyed him
suspiciously.

“
What kind of idea?”

Simon just shrugged and
concentrated on his food. He could feel the elemental watching him
closely.

“
Keeping secrets
again, are we? Fine. Go ahead. I'll find out what it is eventually.”

“
Of course you will,
because I'll tell you myself. And it's not a secret. It's just that
it may not work out, so why even discuss it?”

Aeris flew back to the
counter and wiped it down with a damp dishcloth.

“
So what is it, a
new way to kill a dragon?” he joked.

Simon chewed his toast and
stared at his plate, not answering. He was afraid he'd look guilty if
he caught the elemental's eye.

“
Where's Kronk?”
he asked, trying to change the subject.

It worked.

“
Oh him. We're down
to about six months worth of firewood, so he decided to head out to
the forest and gather some more.”

Aeris folded the dishcloth
and hung it on a rack next to the sink.

“
You know, I think
I've finally discovered what it means when you call someone anal. And
Kronk is the perfect example of it.”

“
Be nice. He just
worries more than most, that's all. He likes to be prepared for any
eventuality. What's wrong with that?”

“
Exactly. Totally
anal.”

“
Oh for...”

Simon got up, put his
dishes into the sink and went over to the clothes cabinet. He
rummaged around inside for a minute and pulled out the bag that he
kept his bathing gear in.

“
Going for a swim?”
Aeris asked as he pumped water into the sink.

“
Getting washed up.
Want to come along?”

“
Hardly. No offense,
my dear wizard, but watching your spindly body thrash around in the
lake as you get clean isn't really one of my favorite pastimes.”

Flinging a towel over his
shoulder, Simon carried his bag to the front door.

“
My, you're in fine
form this morning,” he said as he opened the door.

“
Why, thank you.”

“
That wasn't a
compliment. Be back soon.”

It was a mild early summer
morning and the wizard waved to several of the earthen patrolling the
walls as he walked around the tower to the rear gate. Out in the
field that led down to the lake, Simon stopped and watched the horses
and cows grazing peacefully together. He breathed in the sweet air
and smiled at the sight.

You'd never know that our
little world was about to come to an end, the little voice inside him
said, spoiling the mood.

He frowned and started
down toward the lake.

After his bath and a visit
with Chief and the mares, Simon went back inside the tower, hung up
his wet towel and changed into a light blue robe. He put on a pair of
socks and sturdy shoes and grabbed his staff.

“
Going somewhere?”
Aeris asked as he flew in through the open front door.

“
Where were you?”

“
Up top. Brethia and
I were having an interesting discussion. So what's up?”

“
Nothing. I want to
go for a walk, clear my head. I have a lot to think about after that
meeting with Pyrathius and I need to try to sort things out.”

Aeris followed him outside
and down to the front gate.

“
Good idea. I'll
come with you.”

“
No, that's fine,”
Simon told him. “No offense, but I need some quiet time alone.”

It took a minute to unlock
the gate mechanism and push it open and then the wizard walked out
into the meadow.

“
Are you sure?”
Aeris asked a bit anxiously. “The forest is more dangerous than
it used to be, you know. The animals are still Changing in unexpected
ways.”

Simon shrugged and wiggled
his staff.

“
I'm more dangerous
than I used to be too. I'll be fine, Aeris. Keep an eye on the gate
till I get back. Close it if anything happens.”

“
Happens? Like
what?”

“
No idea. Like you
said, things aren't as safe as they used to be. See you later.”

He smiled at the
elemental, who waved back a bit tentatively, and set off across the
field, the thick grass halfway up his shins and pulling on his robe.

Once among the trees,
Simon found a game trail and began to walk. Contrary to Aeris'
obvious suspicions, he really did just need to be alone for a while.
He was struggling to find a way to keep the remnants of humanity safe
and there was no ready answer.

Pyrathius was
overwhelmingly powerful and the wizard couldn't come up with any
truly practical plan to stop him. And then of course there was the
dragon queen.

He stopped at a clearing
in the forest where several paths met and wondered for an instant
what kinds of animals were making these trails.

With my luck they'll be
dinosaurs, he thought dryly.

To one side, an old dead
tree leaned at a drunken angle, its bare trunk a leprous cream color
against the green bushes around it.

“
Ah, the perfect
target,” Simon said to himself with a grin.

Another reason that he was
wandering through the woods was to test out a new spell that he'd
been given that morning. At least he thought it was a spell. When he
woke up, there was an incantation flitting through his mind and he
had raced into the study to write it down. Apparently the lords of
Light were still being kind to him occasionally. Maybe. He still had
to test it out. He'd already merged the magical words with the
spell's name and it gave him a bit of a shiver because it sounded
pretty brutal.

I think we're going to
need some brutal soon, he told himself.

Simon pointed his staff at
the dead tree, going for maximum power and effect. He took a deep
breath and concentrated on his target.

“
Blades!” he
growled as he watched the tree through narrowed eyes.

The result was both
spectacular and frightening.

Spinning blades of pure
force shot from the end of the staff and knocked him back several
steps. They screamed across the clearing and sliced into the dead
tree. The trunk was over a foot thick but the spell shredded it like
paper, wood chips flying in all directions.

“
Cripes,” he
muttered as the dead tree tilted and then fell to the ground with an
echoing crash. The birds around the clearing stopped singing for a
moment and then began their calls again to fill the silence.

“
Well, that was
impressive,” he said breathlessly.

Simon took a last look at
the demolished tree, shook his head in wonder and then walked away
deeper into the forest.

He wasn't aware of any
conscious plan to end up where he did, but after walking for more
than an hour, going through scenarios in his mind of confrontations
with the primal dragon, Simon emerged from the trees and found
himself standing on a low hill overlooking the old town of
Nottinghill.

“
What the hell am I
doing here?”

The sun was high and the
day had become almost hot. The town below was bustling with activity
and Simon found himself watching raptly.

The bear-people were
exactly as Aeris had drawn them. Big, hairy and bear-like, they
walked on their hind legs and wore clothing. The wizard counted at
least forty individuals including almost a dozen cubs. The population
had apparently increased. The kids were racing around the town,
playing, wrestling and generally getting underfoot of the adults, who
took in their antics calmly. Simon was grinning as he watched them.

Could we make contact with
them, he wondered. How clever are they? How aggressive?

The town looked good. The
walls were in good repair and manned with sentries. The houses that
the wizard could see looked neat and clean and the narrow streets
were well kept. All in all a cozy looking place.

Simon turned to his left
and saw the field beyond the town dotted with beehives; tall wooden
structures that looked like tiny replicas of castles. Several of the
bear-people were tending the hives, apparently unconcerned by the
swarms of bees buzzing around their heads.

He watched his odd
neighbors for a few more minutes and then decided that he'd walked
enough for the moment. He painted a picture in his mind, stopped to
consider if what he was doing was wise, and shrugged.

What the hell, he thought.
But let's be a little cautious.

“
Shield,” he
said and the barrier sprang into place around him. Then he swallowed
nervously and took a deep breath.

“
Gate.”

The blackness of the void
no longer frightened Simon. He was more afraid of what would happen
when he arrived at his destination and he tried to prepare himself
for whatever was waiting for him.

And then he was there. In
total blackness.

“
Is there a reason
that the lights are off?” he asked the darkness in a calm
voice.

“
Is there a reason
that you have erected a shield around yourself? That could be
construed as insulting.”

“
Or simply common
sense, when Gating into the unknown.”

“
I see. Very well
then.”

A pale light with no
source that he could locate began to grow around Simon and he could
suddenly see his surroundings.

He was in a great cavern
that stretched out in all directions. The black rock of the ground
shone as if polished and the ceiling and walls were barely
discernible in the distance. A faint scent of jasmine hung in the
cool air and Simon felt the skin tighten on the back of his neck.

He caught a movement out
of the corner of his eye and spun around. Just outside of his shield
was a woman. She was watching him calmly, a serene smile on her lips.

Silver. That was his first
thought. Silver hair that flowed down from her head to hang like a
cape to her waist. Delicate silver eyebrows arched over pale blue
eyes. And a gown that appeared to be made of tiny links of silver
that rustled and tinkled as she moved. She was beautiful in a demure
sort of way, but the sense of force and power that emanated from her
in waves was palpable and Simon's shield began throwing off sparks in
response.