The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (13 page)

Simon quietly leaned his
staff against the wall next to the door and tiptoed over to the
clothes cabinet. He took off his shoes and left them inside.

“
Kronk,
we don't know when our wizard will return, if ever. You do realize
that people in long-term comas rarely recover, don't you? And if they
do, they are often very much diminished, mentally.”

There was a long pause.

“
Hey!
Why did you throw that?”

“
Never
say that!” Kronk bellowed. “Master will heal. Master will
be fine. He will come home to us and be exactly the same as he was
when he,” another pause, “when he was taken from us. Do
you hear me?”

Simon stood still and felt
a lump form in his throat. The little guy's loyalty was
heart-warming.

“
All
right. All right. Honestly, you need to stay calm. I'm not saying he
won't be back. I'm just looking at all of the possible outcomes of
his condition, that's all.”

“
No,
you are being negative. Again. And that is not useful. Now get that
dusting done. I must finish folding these clothes and then let the
horses out for a run. The filly gets restless when she is locked
inside for too long.”

Simon walked across the
room in his bare feet and found the kettle in one of the lower
kitchen cupboards. He pumped some water into it, trying to be as
quiet as possible, and then set it over the pile of logs in the
fireplace. He concentrated on the wood and felt his power flow easily
through him and ignite the dry tinder.

So the filly must be doing
well, he thought happily. He'd worried about Sunshine's foal many
times since he'd woken up. He knew that Kronk was very fond of the
horses, but bad things did happen on occasion, no matter how much you
cared for something.

The water began to boil
and he found his box of dried chamomile tea leaves and a pot of honey
that looked almost fresh. Kronk had been taking care of everything,
it seemed, even making sure his supplies were changed when they went
bad.

He made his tea, sat down
at the kitchen table and sighed. He was home. Now to inform the odd
couple upstairs. He took a deep breath.

“
Hey
guys?” he yelled gleefully. “Aren't you going to come
down and welcome me back?”

There was a long moment of
silence.

“
Who
is that?” Aeris called down, sounding confused.

“
Oh
come on, Aeris. Surely my voice hasn't changed that much, has it?”

“
Master?”
Kronk said so faintly that Simon could barely hear him. It was
quickly followed by a bellow. “Master!”

The little earthen raced
down the stairs so quickly that he tripped and bounced down the last
few steps. He quickly leaped up and ran across the room so fast that
his short legs were just a blur.

He jumped up on to the
kitchen table, skidded to a halt and just stared.

Aeris flew down the stairs
a little more slowly and floated over to the table, his eyes wide
and, for a change, with nothing to say.

“
Hi,”
Simon said to them both. “How are you doing?”

Kronk hesitantly
tip-tapped across the tabletop and reached out to pick up the
wizard's hand. He stroked it slowly, his shocked expression fading
into a broad grin.

“
Master,
it is you,” he whispered. “You are home.” He looked
closely at Simon's face. “Are you well?”

“
Very
well, my friend,” the wizard replied and patted the earthen's
blocky shoulder. “Very well indeed.” He looked at Aeris.
“And I'm pretty sure that I'm not 'mentally diminished',”
he added with a wry grin.

“
Ah,
so you heard that,” the air elemental said and looked a little
lost for words.

“
What's
this? Nothing to say? That's not like you, Aeris.”

“
No,
it isn't, is it?”

He floated over to join
Kronk and finally smiled at Simon.

“
You
look well. In fact, with your hair grown back, you look exceptional.
What was it like?”

“
What,
staying with the dwarves?”

Aeris nodded and Simon
looked at them both and shrugged.

“
It
was...good. I mean, they healed me and named me dwarf kin. I owe them
a lot. But living underground for months can be a bit depressing. No
sunlight, always surrounded by rock.”

He smiled at Kronk who had
released his hand and was listening closely.

“
I
know it's natural to you, my friend, but for me, after a while it
began to feel like I was locked up in a very comfortable prison.”

The earthen returned his
smile and nodded.

“
I
understand, master. Not everyone is suited to live in the deep
places. And you look like you could use some sun, to be honest.”

He looked Simon up and
down again and sighed contentedly.

“
But
you do look fine, master. Just fine. We owe the dwarves our thanks.
My people admire them and this just confirms our opinion of them. It
is regrettable that they refuse to meet with us.”

Simon sipped his tea and
felt his body relaxing.

“
That
may change. Some of the dwarves seem to admire the earth elementals
too and, who knows, they may initiate contact some day soon.”

“
That
would be wonderful, master.”

“
So,
my dear wizard, you are home again,” Aeris said with
satisfaction. “That is good. It's been quite dull and routine
since you left.”

“
Yeah,
I heard some of the dull when I came in,” Simon said dryly.
“Are you two constantly at each other's throats or what?”

“
Oh
no, master. Hardly ever,” Kronk told him with a quick glance at
Aeris. “Once in a while we, what is the expression? Butt heads?
Yes, that is it. But we both have our duties and life goes on fairly
quietly.”

“
Uh-huh.”

Both elementals looked
suspiciously innocent and Simon worked hard not to smile. He finished
his tea, got up and put the kettle over the fire again. He leaned
back against the counter and looked around the room. He still missed
his old comfy chair in front of the fireplace, and his sofa. The
wooden furniture built by Kronk and the other earthen after the fire
in the tower was functional, but not very comfortable.

“
Have
you spoken with any of the people from Nottinghill?” he asked
the elementals.

Both shook their heads in
unison.

“
I'm
afraid not,” Aeris answered him. “Your lodestones were
destroyed when you fell to that red dragon, so there was no way for
them to contact us. I believe those two mages from London have
learned to use the Magic Mirror spell, but they haven't used it to
call us here.”

“
Perhaps
they do not wish to speak to servants,” Kronk told him. “Not
all humans care for elementals like our master does.”

“
I'm
sure it's not that, guys,” Simon insisted. “Tamara and
Sebastian aren't like that. They've probably been too busy, settling
in to their new home.”

He made another cup of tea
and sat down again.

“
I
wonder what the place is like?” he said wistfully. “Imagine,
living in a castle! That must be pretty cool.”

“
But
master,” Kronk said with a perplexed look. He waved at the room
around them. “You live in the next best thing. As servants to
old wizards back in ancient times, both Aeris and I have dwelt in
castles and they are very similar to this tower.”

“
Hmm,
good point. Well, the castle would be a lot bigger, that's for sure.
The dwarves told me that most of the surviving Changlings have moved
in together. I wonder if it feels crowded?”

“
I
would imagine it does,” Aeris commented thoughtfully. “If
you've lived with only a handful of people for years and then find
yourself surrounded by scores, it could feel stifling.” He
shrugged. “I suppose it must feel safer though.”

“
I
hope so. I'm going to have to call them soon. Tomorrow probably. I
want to take the day to settle in and reconnect with my home again.
By the way, thank you,” Simon told them with an affectionate
smile.

They both looked puzzled.

“
For
what, master?”

“
For
taking care of the place, watching over the horses...you know, for
everything. The place looks exactly the way it did when I left.”

Kronk gave Aeris a smug
look.

“
Told
you so,” he muttered and the air elemental rolled his eyes.

“
You
are welcome, my dear wizard, but after all it is our home too. I for
one have become quite fond of the old place.”

“
As
have I, master. There is no need to thank us for doing our duty.”

“
Maybe
not, but I thank you anyway. Now,” Simon said as he stood up.
“I want to walk around, get a feel for the place again. Kronk,
I heard you say that you were going to let the horses out. I'll come
along. I want to see them again.”

“
A
wonderful idea, master!” the little guy said enthusiastically.
“They have missed you, I'm sure.”

The wizard finished his
tea and then went over to the clothes cabinet. He poked around and
found a pair of soft leather shoes to wear. The dwarven shoes were
serviceable but not all that comfortable. He sighed with pleasure as
he put them on.

“
Aeris,
do you want to join us?” Simon asked as he followed Kronk to
the door.

“
Thank
you, no. I have to finish my dusting first, according to the
taskmaster,” he said with a withering look at the earthen.

Kronk just shook his head
silently, opened the door and went outside.

“
Be
nice,” Simon said quietly after the little guy had left the
room. “He does what he does because he cares.”

The air elemental hovered
silently for a moment and then nodded reluctantly.

“
I
know that, my dear wizard. But someone has to poke him occasionally.
Keeps him on his toes.”

Simon chuckled, shook a
finger at him and then followed Kronk out the door.

He'll never change, he
thought to himself. And I wouldn't want him to.

Simon walked down the
front steps and turned left. He wandered slowly around the tower,
taking in every detail. He actually stopped several times to pat the
weathered stone. It felt warm and familiar to the touch and he felt
more at home with every passing minute.

Kronk had gone on ahead
but was waiting for him outside of the stable. At Simon's inquiring
look, the little guy smiled.

“
I
wanted you to go in first, master. They will be very surprised to see
you.”

“
If
they remember me at all,” Simon said a bit nervously.

“
Oh,
I think they will, master. They really are quite intelligent.”

“
That's
true.”

The wizard took a deep
breath and opened the stable door. The smell of horses and sweet hay
wafted over him. He smiled with pleasure and walked in.

The aisle between the box
stalls was clean and the windows let in the bright sunlight. Kronk
kept a tidy stable. Four heads were thrust over the doors to the
stalls, three large ones including Chief's, with his two long,
razor-sharp horns, and one smaller one, the filly, Sunbeam.

She was in the same stall
as Sunshine, her mother, and both of them were looking at the door
curiously.

Chief was the first one to
recognize Simon and he let out a blast of sound that shook the air
inside the stable. Dust floated down from the ceiling and Simon
clapped his hands over his ears.

The other three were quick
to join in, adding their neighs to the cacophony of sound until the
wizard thought he would be deafened.

“
Easy,
guys, easy!” he shouted over the din. “You're going to
bust my eardrums. Relax now. Easy.”

He hurried forward to the
closest stall, Tammy's, and began stroking her dark face. She
whickered frantically and rubbed her head against him, her deep brown
eyes wide with excitement.

“
Hey,
old girl,” Simon said softly as he stroked her ears and then
scratched under her chin. She calmed down slowly and then closed her
eyes, sighing loudly with contentment.

“
I've
missed you too,” he told her. “We're going to let you all
out in a minute for a run, but first I have to say hello to the
others.”