The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (21 page)

“
Just say yes,”
he told him. “Thank you, Kronk. Aeris, my question for you is;
would your people be willing to do it?”

“
Well, certainly.
Why wouldn't they?”

With another quick glance
up at the dragons, Simon waved at the roof.

“
Not exactly the
most exciting assignment, is it, standing on a roof for hours at a
time? I mean, if we could get two air elementals to help, they could
rotate shifts; one to stand watch, the other to go off and do
whatever they wanted to do to keep from getting too bored. But do you
think any of them would go for it?”

“
Oh, my dear
wizard,” Aeris answered with a broad grin. “
All
of them would! Have you forgotten just how boring my realm is to
those of us who have spent ages there? I think that if you summoned
any two air elementals, they would both jump at the chance.”

He paused and stroked his
chin, looking around the roof absently as he thought.

“
In fact, why not
offer the position to the two survivors from that horrible scouting
trip to Mexico?”

“
What? Do you
actually think that they would want to come back to Earth, and work
for me, after what happened? We lost all but those two, Aeris.”

“
I know that. But we
air elementals live for this. We know the risks. And even after the
horrible events of that trip, I believe they would both be eager to
return.”

Simon pushed back his hair
and watched the distant dragons.

“
Your people are
weird, do you know that?”

“
I've heard that
before.”

“
Okay, I'll take
that under advisement. For now, let's focus on the current threat,
shall we?”

The dragons circled
constantly, with little variance, for hours. As the day went on,
Aeris went below and returned with a tray of tea and sandwiches for
Simon, for which he was very grateful.

Finally, as the sky began
to darken, things started to happen.

Simon was sitting on the
floor of the roof, leaning against the wall and trying to stay awake.

Nothing like a long boring
wait to make even the most dangerous situation dull, he thought idly.

Kronk was standing next to
him, staring at the roof blankly. Simon wondered what he was thinking
about.

“
Time to get up, you
two,” Aeris said suddenly. “Our friends are on the move.”

Simon jumped up and
grabbed his staff, while Kronk hopped up on to the wall.

Aeris pointed up and to
the west.

“
There,” he
said and they all looked in that direction.

The six dragons had
stopped circling and were now twisting and weaving, dipping in and
out of formation and generally flying in some sort of weird aerial
dance.

“
Now what are they
up to?” Simon muttered.

The dragons began to
circle again but this time accelerated until they were spinning
faster and faster, their formation tightening until their wings
almost overlapped. And then they broke apart, dipped their wings and
raced away to the south in a long, straight line. In a minute they
had faded from sight and were gone, just as the sun touched the
horizon.

“
Okay, what the hell
was that all about?” the wizard asked, bewildered.

“
Your guess is as
good as mine,” Aeris said, still looking south. “Why
spend hours circling your enemy, making a big show, and then just
leave? It doesn't make sense.”

“
It does not make
sense to
us
,”
Kronk corrected him. “I am quite certain that it makes sense to
the dragons. But no one really knows how they think, do they?”

“
True.”

Simon stretched and rubbed
his butt. It was numb from sitting on the hard roof for too long.

“
Okay then. Aeris,
would you do me a favor and keep watch for a while, just to make sure
that they don't circle back for a sneak attack?”

“
Certainly. They are
tricky beasts.”

“
I agree. Kronk?
Please go down and remind your people to keep watch on the earth
and
the sky. I'm
going to summon some help from the plane of air tomorrow, but for
tonight, I need them to be extra vigilant.”

“
They
will be, master. I promise you.”

The
earthen tip-tapped across the roof and hopped down through the open
trap door.

“
If
you see anything, Aeris, anything at all, call me please.”

The
air elemental began to glow softly as the sky darkened.

“
I
will. Go down and get something more to eat, my dear wizard. You are
still looking peaky.”

“
Thanks
Mom, I'll do that,” Simon replied with a touch of sarcasm, but
he winked at the same time and Aeris chuckled.

It was quiet overnight and
Simon managed to sleep fairly well. But he was up early the next
morning and hurried up to the roof and scanned the sky, looking for
any sign of dragons. But the cloudless expanse was clear and
peaceful.

The wizard went below,
made some breakfast and then, after eating, went out back for his
first swim of the season.

Aeris had been spending
his time since the previous day either on the roof or patrolling the
outer wall. He joined Simon as the wizard went outside with a towel
hanging over his shoulder.

“
Good morning,”
he said as he floated across the front yard. “You're up early.”

“
Couldn't sleep in,”
Simon told him with a shrug. “Still thinking about those damned
dragons and what that whole show was about yesterday.”

“
As am I. I have to
admit, I've gone through every scenario in my mind and it still
doesn't make sense.”

They reached the back gate
and Simon unlocked it and pulled it open.

The field leading down
toward the lake was a verdant green in the morning sunlight and a
gentle wind made the grass ripple like ocean waves. Simon took a
moment to just breathe and enjoy it.

“
Beautiful day,”
Aeris commented as he watched the wizard. He was smiling.

“
Isn't it though?
Maybe it's because of my extended stay underground but I'm just
enjoying every day so much more than I used to. I mean, even if it
was raining constantly I'd still love it. Weird, eh?”

He walked down across the
pasture, dodging a few piles of horse manure as he went.

“
I think it's a
natural reaction, my dear wizard. Humans are not cave dwellers. It
only makes sense that you would be grateful to be above ground
again.”

“
Yeah, I guess.”

Simon pulled out a bar of
soap from his pocket, wrapped in a washcloth, put it down on the
shore of the lake next to his towel and got undressed.

“
Are you sure that
the water isn't too cold?” he asked Aeris a bit nervously. The
sun was warm on his bare skin but that didn't mean that the lake
would be.”

“
I think so. Dip a
toe in there and find out,” the elemental replied with a
teasing grin.

“
Nah, I'll take your
word for it.”

Taking a deep breath,
Simon walked slowly forward into the lake. The water was cool but not
cold and felt delightful. He looked back at Aeris with a grateful
smile.

“
You were right,”
he said as he turned back to grab his soap and washcloth.

“
I usually am,”
Aeris said smugly.

Simon rolled his eyes
silently and then walked far enough in to dive underwater. The small
lake was just deep enough in the middle to be over his head and he
swam around for a few minutes to loosen up his muscles and clear his
head before returning to the shallow water near Aeris to get washed
up. There were a few fish in the lake and they darted away as Simon
swam past.

He soaped himself
thoroughly, swam again to rinse off and then just floated for a while
in the center of the lake, watching the sky brighten as the morning
went on.

When he felt that he was
completely waterlogged, Simon slowly swam back to shore, feeling
completely clean for the first time since he'd returned home. It felt
great.

Kronk had let the horses
out to graze while the wizard was swimming and Chief trotted up to
meet him as he emerged from the lake.

“
Whoa, careful
there, big guy,” Simon said as the stallion snuffled him.
“Don't knock me over or I'll have to get washed again.”

Chief settled for a
cursory examination and then raced off to join the others, chasing
each one in turn. The filly was obviously in the throes of joy as the
stallion pretended to chase her and she squealed and ran away.

Simon dried off and
watched their antics with a deep affection. Was there anything more
delightful, he wondered. He didn't think so.

After he was dressed, the
wizard and Aeris joined Kronk and the three headed back into the
tower. The horses would spend most of the day outside.

While the elementals moved
to stand on the kitchen table, Simon put on the kettle and made some
tea.

“
So, any ideas about
that weird visit yesterday?” he asked the earthen. “Aeris
and I are stumped.”

Kronk shook his head,
looking puzzled.

“
No master. I have
discussed it with my people but none of us can explain it. Dragons
are not known for such behavior. We are at a loss.”

“
Yeah, join the
club.”

Simon poured hot water
into his cup and sat down at the table.

“
Aeris, do you
remember the names of your two fellow air elementals? The ones that
survived the scouting trip to Mexico? I wrote them down but I'll have
to dig around to find the list, if I can.”

“
You're going to
recall them?”

“
Yep. I'll ask them
if they'd like to stay for a while and go from there. If they don't,
then I'll have to actually cast the summoning spell a few times to
find some volunteers.”

“
Their names are
Brethia and Orriss, I believe,” Aeris told him after a moment
of thought. “And I doubt that you need to worry. They will
agree to stay.”

“
Don't assume,”
Simon said with a frown. “They are free to say no, after all.”

He sipped his tea for a
minute, put down the cup and took a deep breath.

“
Okay guys, could
you give me some room? We might as well do this now and get it done.”

Kronk and Aeris moved to
stand, and hover, beside the wizard. He nodded his thanks and then
focused on the blank space in the center of the kitchen table.

“
Brethia, I need
you,” he stated firmly and then hunched his narrow shoulders in
anticipation.

A flash of blinding light
was followed by a crash of thunder that made his ears ring.

Damn it, he thought
painfully. Air elements always have to make a frigging big entrance.

A hazy figure appeared
several inches above the table and its features slowly came into
focus.

“
Sir wizard?”
Brethia said in surprise. She was the only female air elemental that
Simon had ever met and had a lovely contralto voice.

“
Hello Brethia,”
the wizard said with a smile. “Welcome back. How are you
today?”

“
I'm fine, thank
you.”

She spun in a circle,
waved at Kronk and Aeris and then looked up at Simon again.

“
You called for me
specifically, sir wizard?” she asked in amazement.

“
I did, yes. I have
a job for you, and for your friend, Orriss, if you'd like to do it.
Could you come over here and give me some room to summon him please?”

“
Certainly,”
she said and flew quickly over to join them.

“
Thanks. Okay.”
He cleared his throat. “Orriss, I need you.”

The flash and bang
accompanied the summoning again and Simon rubbed his temples, feeling
a headache coming on.

“
I wish you guys
wouldn't do that,” he complained as he blinked his watery eyes.
“None of the other elementals have to make a show when they
answer a summons.”

“
Forgive us, sir
wizard,” Brethia said contritely. “Our lord demands it.
It pleases him to make our presence known when we are called upon to
serve.”

“
Yeah? Well, I hate
it. No offense.”

Simon's vision cleared and
he saw the figure floating in the middle of the table.

“
Hello Orriss,”
he said with a smile. “Welcome. You look well. Better than you
did the last time we saw you.”

The elemental bowed
deeply.

“
Thanks to you, sir
wizard,” he said in his gentle voice. “I am quite well.
Did you need my service?”