The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (28 page)

Simon smiled at them both
in appreciation as he began to spread jam on his bread.

When he was done, he
carried his impromptu snack back to the table and sat down. The
elementals rejoined him.

“
So now that we're
all together,” Simon said around a mouthful of bread and jam,
“I have to tell you two something.”

He swallowed noisily and
drank some tea.

“
Actually, if I
don't tell you, I feel like I might burst.”

“
Well, we can't have
that, now can we?” Aeris said in a mocking tone. But he looked
intrigued.

“
What is it, master?
Are you unwell?” Kronk asked anxiously. “Oh, I knew we
should not have gone out into that damp air. It cannot be good for
your fragile lungs.”

Aeris grimaced and seemed
about to say something sarcastic, which was bound to start an
argument, but Simon cut him off with a sharp look.

“
I'm fine, Kronk.
Please don't worry so much. And it isn't about me. It's about
something else entirely.”

Both of the elementals
waited for him to begin and Simon suddenly felt a bit nervous,
although he wasn't quite sure why.

“
Okay, now before I
tell you, and I know that this really isn't necessary, I need both of
you to swear to keep the information to yourselves.”

Kronk nodded silently but
Aeris looked offended.

“
Hang on,” the
wizard told him quickly. “Before you get angry, I want you to
know that I trust both of you totally. Okay? But this knowledge, this
secret, isn't mine. It's someone else's. They told me that I could
share it with you, but because it comes from elsewhere, I need your
assurances for that person, not for myself.”

Aeris shook his head with
a dramatic sigh.

“
That was very
convoluted, do you know that? But you have my word, my dear wizard,
for what it is worth.”

“
It's worth a lot,
to me,” Simon assured him and the air elemental looked a little
less irritated by his statement.

“
I give you my word
as well, master. But I would never discuss your business outside of
the tower regardless.”

“
Meaning I would?”
Aeris asked him sharply.

“
Well...”

“
Hang on a second.
Are you saying I have a big mouth?”

“
Well...”

“
What? Why you...”

“
Whoa, whoa, you
two,” Simon cut in. “I have no interest in listening to
you guys bicker at the moment, all right? Gees. I want to share
something with you and you start fighting?”

“
He started it,”
Aeris muttered sulkily.

Kronk opened his mouth and
Simon pointed at him sternly.

“
Enough, from both
of you. You know, maybe I should just keep this to myself. Obviously
you guys don't think it's all that important that I want to share a
deep, dark secret with you, so...”

“
No, no! We care.
Honestly we do,” Aeris said hastily. He looked at Kronk “Don't
we?”

“
Yes, master.
Absolutely. I apologize for arguing and interrupting you. It won't
happen again.”

Simon looked at both of
them intently and was met by wide-eyed, innocent stares.

Yeah right, he thought,
but he was amused nonetheless. Sometime the elementals were less like
immortal beings and more like a couple of bickering teenagers.

“
Okay then, let's
start again. First, I'd like to remind you both of that cache of
strange magical items we discovered back in Russia. Do you remember
it?”

“
How could we
forget?” Aeris told him. “Mysterious relics are a
possible danger to anyone exposed to them.”

“
Yes, I suppose
that's true,” Simon said uncomfortably. “So anyway, I was
drawn to that crystal ball that we saw among the other items and sort
of, um, took it.”

“
What? Are you
deranged?”

“
Master, what were
you thinking? No disrespect intended, but that was a very dangerous
thing to do.”

Yup, Simon thought with a
wince. Both reacting exactly as I figured they would.

“
Yeah, I know. I
know, all right? But I was curious about it and it, I don't know, was
almost irresistible to me. So I snuck it back to the tower.”

Aeris stared at him
aghast.

“
It's here? Now?
Where? We must get rid of it before you are cursed. Or we are. Or the
tower is.”

“
Aeris, you're
babbling,” Simon told him sharply. “I've already used it.
That's why we're having this delightful little discussion.” He
rubbed his temple. “Which is already starting to give me a
headache, by the way.”

“
Be quiet and let
master speak, Aeris,” Kronk said with a glare.

The air elemental folded
his arms silently and just waited.

“
Good. Anyway, I
used the crystal ball. And I got in touch with someone that I did not
expect.”

“
Who was it,
master?”

Simon sipped his tea, and
then took a deep breath.

“
Okay, brace
yourselves. This may freak you out a little.”

And so he slowly went
through his entire encounter with the silver dragon. Neither of his
friends interrupted him during his story, mainly because they seemed
stunned by his revelation.

When he was done, Simon
finished his tea, got up to make another cup and then watched the
elementals as he waited for the water to boil.

“
Well? Don't hold
back; just tell me what you think.”

Neither of his friends
seemed to know what to say. Aeris was staring blankly off into space
with his arms folded, bobbing silently. Kronk was tapping his right
foot, the sound against the wooden table was reminiscent of a
woodpecker hammering on a tree.

“
Guys? Anything to
say?”

“
A silver dragon,”
Kronk whispered. “A silver dragon.”

He blinked his red eyes
several times and seemed to snap out of his shock. He looked at Simon
with an awestruck expression.

“
That is amazing,
master! We believed that all of the dragons of Light were slaughtered
thousands of years ago. To know that one has survived is...almost
miraculous.”

“
That's a good word
for it,” Aeris agreed in a dazed tone. He looked like someone
had hit him with a brick and, as he met Simon's eyes with his own, he
broke into a wide smile.

“
Do you know that
the silver dragons were sacred to my people? When my lord Astrandamus
learns of this dragon's survival, he will be overjoyed.”

“
Hang on a second,”
Simon said sharply. “Didn't you just promise not to tell anyone
about this?”

“
Have you forgotten,
oh great elementalist, that anything I know, my ruler knows too?
Don't worry. My oath binds him as well; that's how our loyalty to our
summoner works. He will be delighted nevertheless, even if he can't
speak of it to anyone else.”

“
Hmm. Okay. I'll
take your word for that. So these dragons were important to your
people? Why?”

“
It's hard to
explain actually,” Aeris answered. He began to float in a small
circle in the center of the table.

“
The silver dragons
were the most beautiful of all of the dragon species, good or evil.
They were also the masters of air magic, using lightning and storms
to assault their foes. None of the silver dragons went down easily
when the lords of Chaos turned on them, many killing several foes
before they were defeated.”

His face fell and he
looked very sad suddenly.

“
Near the end,
Astrandamus offered the handful of surviving silvers aid. He was
willing to send some of our most powerful elementals to join in the
battle against the evil dragons, and against the gods themselves.”
He shook his head. “They refused.”

“
I never heard
this!” Kronk exclaimed in surprise. “Why would they do
that?”

“
They didn't want to
drag my people into their fight with the gods,” Aeris replied
heavily. “The great silver dragon, Argentium, told us that if
we helped him and the few surviving silvers, that we would be next to
feel the Chaos lords' wrath. He would not allow that. And as you
know, elementals cannot enter this world unless summoned, so we could
not even force our help upon him.”

He stopped circling and
clasped his hands together, looking distressed.

“
He died, the last
of his people, or so we thought. We watched from our realm.
Argentium's last battle was one for the ages, let me tell you.”
He looked up at Simon fiercely. “A dozen dragons fell to him
before he was pulled down. A dozen, my dear wizard! Truly a tale
worthy of song and story. We have never forgotten this noble being or
his people. And now you tell me that one has survived? I could not be
more pleased.”

Simon nodded and smiled at
him.

“
I'm glad. I had no
idea that the silvers were so dear to your people. Esmiralla is
certainly beautiful. And she seems quite...” he groped for the
proper word, “well, I guess noble is the right way to describe
her. Majestic. I felt nothing but goodness from her.”

“
Ah, she sounds
wonderful,” Aeris said wistfully. “Will I ever get to
meet her, do you think?”

Even Kronk smiled at this
question.

“
I wouldn't be at
all surprised,” Simon told him gently. “I get the feeling
that Esmiralla will want to be part of the battle to come against the
red dragons and their evil masters. Exactly how, I don't know. I
suppose that will be up to her.”

He got up, freshened his
tea and sat down again.

“
She mentioned
contacting someone recently, one of the Changlings. I'd really like
to know who that was.”

“
One of your people,
master? Why would the silver dragon do that?”

“
For information, I
think.” Simon sipped his tea. “She seemed to know quite a
bit about me. She even knew that I had elementals working for me. So
whoever her informant is, she knows me, possibly personally.”

“
She?”

“
Yes, Esmiralla said
she when we spoke. But she wouldn't tell me who.” He shook his
head with a smile. “She did say that it was up to me to find
out who this person was, so obviously she won't mind if I do. But who
could it be?”

Aeris tapped his chin, a
puzzled look on his face.

“
Make a list, I
suppose. How many female Changlings do you know? There was Clara, of
course.”

Simon winced.

“
Sorry,” Aeris
said quickly. “Err, there is Tamara, Liliana, Virginia, Anna.”

“
There are many more
than that, if all we're talking about are women who know about me,”
Simon told him with a shrug. “I mean, it's not exactly a secret
that I work with elementals, is it? Esmiralla didn't say that her
informant was a friend of mine, just that she was a Changling. Could
be anyone.”

“
What about Ethmira,
master?” Kronk spoke up.

“
But she's an elf,”
Aeris told him.

“
The silver dragon
said she'd spoken with a human,” Simon told him with an
affectionate smile.

“
Oh, I see. I am
sorry, master.”

“
Don't be. We might
have to think outside the box on this one. After all, the dragon
could very well have spoken with more than just this one Changling.
And an elf might be an interesting choice. Ethmira would have a
unique point of view on our war with the evil dragons after the
primal brown and its servants attacked the elven realm.”

“
Hmm. That's a good
point,” Aeris agreed. Then he sighed loudly. “It might be
impossible to discover this person unless they come forward and
actually tell you that they've spoken with the silver dragon.”

“
Yeah maybe.”

Simon got up and put his
cup in the sink.

“
Anyway, I wanted to
tell you guys about Esmiralla. I hate keeping secrets from my
friends, always have. And now that you know, I can carry on with the
rest of my day.”

“
Doing what, my dear
wizard?” Aeris asked as Simon walked to the stairs.

“
I think I'll talk
to some of the folks at Nottinghill Castle. I'll ask about trading
with them and see what they say. And who knows,” he added
brightly. “Maybe someone will mention the silver dragon.”

Simon spent the last hours
of the afternoon speaking to his friends in England. Malcolm and
Aiden had been the first on his list of people he wanted to contact
and they were both thrilled when he called.

“
It's great to hear
from you, Simon!” Malcolm exclaimed when the wizard connected
with his Magic Mirror spell.

The big man and his
partner were standing on the wall of the castle, as Liliana had been
when the wizard had spoken with her. It was already nighttime there,
but fortunately the moon was full and he could see both warriors
fairly well by its light.