The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) (4 page)

“
Before this
escalates, Malcolm and Aiden have a point,” she said.

She looked around at each
person.

“
I was raised in a
society where citizens were only told 'what they needed to know'.
That can only end badly. You,” she pointed at Tamara, her
brother and then Keiko, “have powers that many of your fellows
don't. Virginia and her friends do as well; they may not be as
powerful as you are, but they are gifted. As such, you know things
that others, who are less gifted, do not.”

She glanced at Miriam and
then back at Tamara.

“
Your cleric and I
are blessed by the gods, but it is quite a hit and miss relationship.
We pray, they answer...or they don't. We can't Gate or cast
communication spells, so we are often uninformed of news as well. I
only knew about the Defiant because Sebastian mentioned it a few
weeks ago to me in passing. So, it would not hurt to erect a notice
board in the courtyard and hang a news report on it every few weeks,
would it? Even a notice reassuring people that things were going well
would help.”

Tamara's irritation
evaporated as quickly as it had come and she nodded thoughtfully.

“
You make a good
case. I apologize, Malcolm, for assuming things that I shouldn't
have. It's probably because I've always hated snooty people who were
oh so smug when they knew things that I didn't.” She flushed
and ducked her head. “And now I find that I am one of those
people. It's not a comfortable thought.”

“
You aren't,”
Malcolm told her quickly. “And I'm not angry. I do agree with
Liliana though. Keeping ordinary folks in the dark will sow seeds of
resentment that we certainly don't need. A public notice board sounds
like a great idea.”

The group agreed and it
was decided that the mages would meet and make a list of all the news
that had come in lately. Then they would have it written up and
release it to the castle's inhabitants as soon as possible.

“
Who knows? This
could be the start of the first post-dragon invasion newspaper,”
Eric said brightly.

He looked at the dubious
expressions around him.

“
What? I used to be
the editor of our small-town paper. We printed the local news,
articles of interest, social events, all of that. It was great.”

“
Maybe we should
appoint you editor-in-chief then,” Sebastian said with a grin.
“Everyone in favor say aye.”

Before Eric could protest,
the entire group shouted “Aye!” and then burst into
laughter.

“
There. You're
elected,” Tamara told him with a grin.

“
Fine. I accept,”
Eric replied, laughing himself. “It actually sounds like fun. I
won't have to worry about a printing press when it's just a large
notice tacked up on a board. Maybe I can punch it up a bit with some
human interest stories or something.”

“
Whatever you like,”
Sebastian said, sounding very pleased. “It's your baby now.
Now, as for Simon and this situation...”

The room quieted down
quickly as the mood became solemn again.

“
Yes. Simon,”
Tamara muttered. “What to do, what to do.”

“
I truly do not
think that there is anything
we
can
do,” Keiko said in her small voice. “We cannot approach
the wizard without his permission. His tower is warded against
intrusion and he has earth elementals who act as sentries. If he
blocks our attempts at communication, which he seems to be doing now,
we cannot even speak with him. I think that we must simply practice
patience.”

“
Whoa,
hang on a second. This is news to us,” Virginia said sharply.

Anna,
Eric and Gerard looked at her and at each other.

“
I
agree,” Gerard said. “What's this about Simon blocking
communication?”

Tamara
rubbed her eyes and sighed loudly.

“
Damn.
Something else I forgot to mention. Yes, since we last spoke, I've
called him twice. No answer. Sebastian and Keiko have tried as well
and no luck. We've concluded that Simon is blocking us. As to why, we
don't know.”

“
Oh,
this is just getting better and better,” Malcolm said
sarcastically.

“
Hush,”
Aiden told him. He looked at the mages. “So what, we just wait
for him to make the next move?”

“
Basically,
yes. There really isn't anything else to do,” Tamara told him.
“I'd like to ask all of you to let the rest of us know if he
contacts you. If nothing else, it will be reassuring to know that he
is okay.”

Everyone
agreed and the meeting began to break up. The three mages huddled
together and spoke quietly.

“
What
do they know that we don't?” Malcolm asked Liliana quietly.

He
and Aiden had joined her and the three of them were walking slowly
toward the exit. Virginia and the others were just leaving, chatting
loudly with the cheerful Miriam.

“
Many
things, I'm sure,” the paladin replied. “But they are not
keeping secrets on purpose, of that I am certain. So be at ease, my
friends. The idea of a monthly news release came to me in a dream
last night. Perhaps it was a thought sent by the gods.”

“
Or
maybe it was a stroke of genius,” Aiden told her with a wink.
“Either way, it will go a long way to relieving the minds of
the others living here. I've heard more than a few grumbles about
being kept in the dark from the general population.”

“
Me
too,” Malcolm agreed.

He
waved Liliana through the doorway into the hall and followed her out,
with Aiden bringing up the rear.

“
We
have good people here and they have the right to be kept in the
loop.”

“
Well,
now they will be,” the paladin told them both as they walked
down the corridor. “I'm more concerned about Simon at the
moment. Something is going on with him and it is making me uneasy.”

“
If
you're uneasy, I really am worried,” Aiden told her seriously.
“You know him better than the rest of us.”

“
I
thought I did. Now I'm not so sure. Simon cares about everyone; he
cares a lot. This new attitude is worrying because it truly is not
like the man I thought I knew. Perhaps there is something dark going
on. Keiko was right though; we have no choice but to wait. For now
anyway.”

“
That's
not very reassuring,” Malcolm told her.

They
stopped at an intersection, wide hallways leading in four directions.
Old paintings hung every few feet on the dark stone walls.

“
No,
it is not. What I am most concerned about is if the castle is
attacked and we cannot get in touch with him.”

Liliana
looked up at a large painting of a battle scene. Two armies were
clashing in the middle of a muddy field. No one seemed to be winning.

“
If
dragons attack and we can't repel them, without Simon Nottinghill
Castle could be lost.”

“
Way
to cheer me up,” Aiden told her with a crooked grin.

The
three of them laughed lightly and parted, Malcolm and Aiden setting
off for their quarters to get ready for their first shift.

Liliana
stood still and watched them disappear down the corridor, then looked
up at the painting thoughtfully.

“
Where
are you, Simon?” she murmured. “And what is happening?
Have you finally given up on us?”

She
sighed and turned away from the battle scene. It was time to head for
home.

Simon
O'Toole; wizard, teenager, former middle-aged I.T. worker, was at
that very moment rolling out of bed in the predawn light. He moaned
loudly and put both hands to his pounding head.

“
Can
you not shut up for one blasted minute?” he asked weakly. “If
I don't get more than an hour's sleep at a time, eventually I'll go
nuts.”

'Don't
blame me for your weakness, human,' a haughty voice echoed inside of
his head. 'You occasionally hear my thoughts and that is something
that I cannot control. The sooner we separate, the sooner you will be
back to your normal self again.'

“
Can't
argue with that,” Simon groaned. “I wish we could do it
today.”

'As
do I. But your elementals have not returned with the ingredients we
need to perform the ritual and, until they do, we are stuck with each
other.'

The
wizard swayed tiredly as he slipped on a plain gray robe, some socks
and his indoor shoes. Then he left his bedroom, walked downstairs and
stoked the fire. The tower was cool in the early morning and it was
still spring; the days were often cold.

“
Good
morning, master,” a voice said brightly as the front door
opened and then closed with a loud bang.

Simon
winced as he carefully laid a log on the bright embers in the
fireplace.

“
Morning,”
he mumbled and stood up slowly.

He
turned and walked to the counter to fill his kettle. He watched as
Kronk tip-tapped across the room and hopped up on to the kitchen
table. The little elemental was smiling, his blocky face cheerful as
usual.

Simon
pumped some water into the kettle, hung it over the fire and then sat
down heavily, feeling totally exhausted.

Kronk's
face fell and he peered at the wizard.

“
Still
not sleeping well, master?” he asked with concern.

“
Nope.
My tenant,” he tapped his forehead, “won't shut up for
more than a minute at a time. It's like a constant whisper of sound
that you can almost understand, but not quite. She says it's her
stray thoughts and that she can't control them. Probably true, but
it's nagging at me.”

Kronk
nodded solemnly.

“
I
see. Well master, both of you should be back to normal soon. I'm sure
that Aeris and the other air elementals will be back with what is
needed to cast the spell to separate the pair of you.”

“
I'm
not so sure. If I didn't have to stay as far away as possible, I'd do
it myself.”

'You
cannot!' the voice throbbed inside of his head. 'My presence would be
felt immediately and we would both be destroyed.'

“
Ouch!
Don't yell!” Simon said loudly as he pressed his fingertips to
his temples. “I know, okay? I know. Jeez.”

Kronk
had jumped when the wizard raised his voice. Now he watched him
sympathetically.

“
The
lady objected, master?” he asked.

“
She
certainly did. And quite loudly too. God, I should have known this
merging was a mistake when Esmiralla first suggested it. Why the hell
it seemed like a good idea at the time, I'll never understand.”

The
kettle began to boil and he got up and made some chamomile tea.

“
It
saved your life, master,” Kronk reminded him. “When the
volcano exploded and killed the primal red dragon, having the silver
dragon as a part of you saved your life.”

He
scratched his small head with a sound like sandpaper on metal.

“
I
was delighted but confused at the time. I did not think that even
your shield could withstand a blast like that one, master.”

Simon
sat down again and sipped his tea. He rolled his shoulders to try to
ease the pain of the muscles in his neck.

“
It
couldn't have. And I am grateful, really. But she never told me that
we'd have such a challenge separating once the primal was dead. And
she sure as hell never said that we'd need some of the dragon queen's
blood for the ritual. Cripes, it sounds more like voodoo than magic.”

'Power
is power, child,' Esmiralla told him equably.

She
sounded almost as weary as Simon felt.

'The
blood is a conduit for the spell. Nothing else in this world will do.
It is as simple as that. The other ingredients are fairly easy to
acquire compared to that one.'

“
Maybe
so. But I'm worried about Aeris and the others. The queen is insane
but unimaginably powerful. One mistake and they will all be
destroyed.”

Kronk
was watching him closely. Obviously he could only hear one side of
the conversation, but he seemed to be following the gist of it.

“
Aeris
is clever, master. And air elementals are quick. Very quick. They
will await their opportunity, take the sample and be gone before the
queen even detects their presence.”

“
I
hope so, my friend. I really hope so.”

Simon
sipped more tea, sat back in his chair and stared over at the flames
crackling and leaping in the fireplace. He tried to picture Aeris and
the other two elementals stalking the dragon queen. The very idea
made him shudder.