The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) (11 page)

“
I don't blame you.”

While Aeris stayed
downstairs and stoked the fire, Simon went up to his bedroom to get
dressed. He was thinking about the ominous night ahead and didn't
really pay attention to what he was doing until he found himself
staring at his reflection in his closet mirror.

“
What the hell?”
he said in surprise.

He was wearing a baggy
pair of black pants and a short-sleeved button-down shirt. He had put
them on automatically.

“
Exactly who are
you?” he asked himself in the full-length mirror. “And
what have you done with Simon O'Toole?”

He undressed again angrily
and flung the clothes back into his bureau. Then he deliberately
chose a dark blue robe from his closet, slipped it off of its hanger
and over his head.

The garment felt very
strange and rough against his skin and for a moment he was consumed
by revulsion, like he'd just stroked a snake. And then the sensation
was gone as quickly as it came and the robe felt familiar and
comfortable again.

Damn, that was creepy, he
thought as he slipped on his indoor shoes and headed for the stairs.

On the main floor, Simon
was happy to find that Aeris had made him coffee for a change,
dipping into his limited supply. Kronk had joined him and both were
talking quietly. The earthen was adjusting the logs in the fireplace
while Aeris watched.

“
Thanks Aeris,”
the wizard said as he took the steaming cup from the counter and sat
down in his comfy chair in front of the fire.

“
You're welcome. I'm
pleased to see you properly dressed for a change.”

“
As am I, master,”
Kronk said approvingly as he finished moving the logs around and
dusted off his hands.

The two elementals moved
to stand in front of the fire. They looked up at Simon and he smiled
back at them.

“
Me too. It was
weird though. I actually put on the wrong clothes at first, without
thinking, then took them off again and put on the robe. And for just
a moment, it felt damned strange.”

He sipped the coffee and
savored the flavor as the elementals exchanged a look.

“
That could be quite
telling,” Aeris said to Kronk.

“
I agree. Just like
we were saying this morning, isn't it? She may be trying to minimize
his power by making him wear those mundane clothes.”

“
Possibly. At least
this time he didn't go along with it though; that's a good sign.”

“
Uh, guys? I'm right
here,” Simon said and tapped on the floor with his heel.

Aeris looked up at him and
cocked his head to one side.

“
We're well aware of
that, my dear wizard. Do you always have to be the center of every
conversation?”

The wizard felt his ears
getting red at the remark.

“
Well no, of course
not. But I hate people talking about me as if I'm not in the same
room with them when I am.”

Kronk gave him a contrite
look while Aeris seemed to consider the remark. He nodded once.

“
Fair enough. What
we were saying was basically what you and I spoke about earlier.
Constricting a spell-caster, clothing-wise, limits their flow of
power. It doesn't stop it, of course, but it does alter it somewhat.
It is possible that the silver dragon is subtly trying to make you
less able to counter whatever it is she is planning. If she's
planning anything, that is.”

“
May I ask a
question, master?”

Simon looked at the
earthen.

“
Kronk, you know you
don't have to ask permission to ask a question. Anything you want to
know, ask away. Always.”

The little guy smiled his
appreciation.

“
Then, master, I
would like to know something; when did you last use your magic?”

“
My magic? You mean,
cast a spell?”

Kronk nodded.

“
Hmm, good question.
Let me think.”

Simon snuggled into his
chair and sipped his coffee, trying to remember.

He hadn't used his power
to light any candles recently. Instead he would light one off of the
fire and use it to light the others.

The wizard frowned to
himself.

That's a weird thing to
do, isn't it, he thought. What else has been happening that I haven't
noticed?

“
When did you last
speak to any other humans?” Aeris asked, cutting into his
confused thoughts.

“
You mean, like in
Nottinghill Castle?”

“
Them or your friend
Daniel in the elven realm, or anyone else for that matter.”

“
Um.”

Simon thought about it
some more. His mind seemed to be fighting him, fogging his memories
and making it hard to focus.

“
Okay, this is some
weird crap that's going on right now,” he blurted out.

“
What is the
problem, master?” Kronk asked anxiously.

“
I can't seem to
remember. It's like everything is blurry, mashed together. I can't
figure out exactly how long it's been since I cast a spell. Is that
strange or what?”

“
Simon!” Aeris
snapped urgently.

The wizard stared at him
in surprise. The air elemental rarely used his name.

“
Stand up, right
now, and cast a spell,” he continued.

“
What? Why?”

“
Must you question
everything I ask? Just do it and I'll explain why later.”

Grudgingly Simon pushed
himself to his feet and walked to the middle of the room.

“
What do you want me
to cast?”

“
Doesn't matter.
Anything. Try...your shield spell.”

The wizard looked at him,
trying to figure out what Aeris was up to. The elemental looked back
at him intently.

Simon sighed and rolled
his eyes.

“
Fine. Whatever.”

He looked around and
noticed his staff leaning against the wall next to the front door.

Might as well do this
right, he thought and walked over to grab it.

“
Hey
Mortis
de Draconis. Long time no see.”

He frowned and wiped off
the staff with his sleeve. It was covered with a thin layer of dust.

“
Guys?
How long since I used old Mortis here?” he asked the
elementals.

Both of them had moved to
stand on the kitchen table and were watching him closely.

“
Weeks,
master.”

“
Weeks?”
Simon stared at Kronk. “Are you sure?”

“
I
am sure, master. It has been a long time.”

Simon stroked the staff.

“
What
the hell have I been doing? Esmiralla, are you there?” he asked
sharply.

Nothing. No answer.

“
Typical.
The one time I want to talk to her, she's gone. Fine then, let's do
this.”

He raised the staff and
watched as his arm began to shake, as if the length of light metal
suddenly weighed a hundred pounds.

“
What
the hell?” he muttered. “Screw it, I'm not stopping now.”

He slammed the end of
Mortis against the floor and the sound echoed through the entire
tower.

“
Shield!”

A translucent globe
appeared around the wizard extending six feet in all directions. A
smell of ozone hung thick in the air and the shield crackled with
static electricity. At the same time, the air seemed to become
brighter and the room sharpened, objects coming into focus.

“
What?”

Simon looked around
open-mouthed. Why, even the colors were more vibrant and rich.

“
What
is wrong, master?”

“
I
don't know. Nothing, now.”

The wizard looked over at
the elementals.

“
It's
like everything was gray and drab and is now suddenly full of light
and color.”

He took a deep breath.

“
Even
the air smells cleaner and sweeter. Aeris, what the hell just
happened?”

The air elemental looked
quite pleased with himself.

“
It
is what I suspected, my dear wizard. For some reason, the silver
dragon has stifled your powers and muddled the paths of magic that
permeate your body. That in turn made it less likely that you would
want to cast any spells and
that
reinforced the control she has exerted over you. Casting that spell
has cleaned up your pathways, so to speak, and allowed your power to
flow as it should.”

“
You
knew this would happen?” Simon asked him, still amazed at how
clear-headed he suddenly felt.

“
I
only hoped,” Aeris told him. “It was a long shot, but
happily it seems to have had the desired effect.”

Simon
stretched and breathed deeply. He felt...amazing.

“
Well,
good job,” he told the elemental. “If I was paying you,
you would have just earned a raise.”

Aeris
looked at Kronk, who shrugged, and then back at Simon.

“
I
don't know what that means, but you're welcome, I guess. Glad to have
the real wizard back.”

He
frowned then.

“
But
what happens when Esmiralla returns and finds that the old wizard has
returned? Won't she know that you suspect something?”

“
Will
she?”

Simon
canceled his shield and it shimmered, fizzled and faded away. He put
his staff back in its place and gave it an affectionate pat before
walking back to the kitchen counter.

“
Esmiralla
has already told me that she can't read my mind,” he continued
as he hung the kettle over the fire again.

“
If
that's true and I play the part of the befuddled wizard, she won't
know.”

He
glanced down at himself.

“
But
I refuse to go back to the jeans and t-shirt look. The robe stays. If
she doesn't like it, tough.”

Kronk
began shaking his head and Simon paused as he was rinsing out his
cup.

“
What?”

“
Master,
that is a very bad idea. If the silver dragon is plotting something,
you must not tip her off. You should continue to dress as you have
been and play your part.”

The
wizard leaned back against the counter and rubbed his eyes, feeling
desperately tired of his situation.

“
Yeah,
I guess you're right,” he said reluctantly. “How
negatively will it affect my powers?”

“
It
shouldn't be too severe,” Aeris told him thoughtfully. “The
fact that you are aware of what is happening now is what's important.
Plus, just casting that one spell re-energized your magical pathways.
It should be fine.”

“
Let's
hope so.”

A sensation, just an itch in the back
of his mind, made Simon shiver and he quickly looked at the
elementals with wide eyes.

“She's coming back!” he
hissed and raced toward the stairs.

He leaped up the steps and into his
bedroom, yanking off his robe as he went. He tossed the garment into
his cupboard, grabbed a random pair of pants and a shirt and
frantically put them on.

He was walking back out of the room,
breathing slowly to quiet his heart rate, when the silver dragon's
presence returned full force.

'Good morning, wizard. How are you
feeling this day?'

“Fine, thanks. Raring to go,”
Simon replied as he walked down the stairs. “Big day, after
all.”

'It certainly is. The biggest. Before
this coming night passes, we shall be free of each other.'

She paused and the wizard walked across
the main floor to the kitchen counter. Not surprisingly, Aeris and
Kronk had disappeared. Simon didn't blame them.

'I assume you are pleased that you will
finally be rid of me?'

Simon saw that the kettle was steaming
on the counter and made his tea.

“I think we both will be. After
all, you must feel trapped inside of my mind, don't you?”

'Yes and no,' Esmiralla replied. 'I can
project my thoughts out of your body and travel the world, so I am
not totally restricted to what I can see and hear in this state.'

Aha. So that's what she does, Simon
thought. Interesting.

“Good to know.”

He made his tea and settled into his
chair in front of the fire.

“Are you going to tell me what
this whole ritual entails? I should know, shouldn't I?”