The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (37 page)

“
Hey
now,” Malcolm protested. “How was I to know that wine was
so strong? Gee, a guy sees one pink elephant and he's marked for
life.”

“
I'm
here, Aiden, so you can ease up on Malcolm.”

Simon
was working hard not to laugh; he knew that it would only encourage
both men and the situation was anything but funny.

“
Oh,
there you are,” Aiden said, staring directly at Simon. “Hey
Tamara! What are you doing there? And where are you anyway?”

The
mage looked at the two men, who were smiling sedately at her, and
then at Simon.

“
How
can they see me? See us? Neither of them is holding a mirror!”

“
No
idea. It happened the last time I called Malcolm. First time ever. I
think it's part of what I was saying earlier: the way I'm using magic
has taken a giant leap forward. Handy though.”

“
I
agree,” Malcolm said heartily. “It's nice not having to
talk to thin air. So what's up?”

“
Go
ahead and tell him, Tamara. After all, this affects you and your
brother the most. And your people too.”

“
Fine.”

She
told both warriors about what had happened that morning, keeping her
story brief and to the point. By the time she had finished, Malcolm
was grinding his fist into his palm and Aiden was scowling.

“
Octavian!”
the big man spat. “I've never liked him. In fact, no one I know
does either. But I always thought it was because of his arrogance.
Now I find out it's because he's a snake at heart.”

“
He
may be worse than that,” Simon warned with a sympathetic glance
at Tamara. “If he's harmed Sebastian or worse,” the mage
flinched and he rushed on, “then his heart is as black as a
dragon's. We need to know where he's keeping his prisoner and we need
to know as soon as possible.”

“
Naturally,”
Aiden said, his scowl replaced by a calculating look. “So you
think that Octavian may be waiting to ambush us when we get back?
Heh. Well, I think we can turn the tables on
that
plan.”

He
looked at Malcolm, who grinned darkly.

“
Our
little secret?” the big man asked and Aiden nodded.

“
What
secret?” Tamara said.

“
Oh,
we've found several hidden passages in the castle. Considering how
old it is, I would have been surprised if there hadn't been any. One
of them leads from an old cell in the basement to a low hill to the
west of the castle. Aiden and I have used it several times.”

“
For
what? No, never mind. I don't want to know.”

Malcolm
grinned at the mage and winked roguishly. Aiden actually blushed but
remained silent.

“
Anyway,
we can lead our patrol into the castle through that tunnel and take
Octavian and those idiots who fired on you completely by surprise.”
The man frowned. “And once we do, I intend to have a word with
those dolts and find out what they were thinking. Shooting at a
friend? Gods.”

“
Easy,
Malcolm,” Simon told him. “As one of the leaders of the
group, Octavian had authority over the archers. They were just
following orders. And remember, Tamara was being controlled at the
time and lent her voice to his.”

“
Hmm.
Okay, good point. But those people have got to learn to think for
themselves. 'I was just following orders' has been used to excuse a
lot of misdeeds over the course of human history.”

“
Do
you have a plan for taking down Octavian?” Tamara asked. “He
is a mage, after all. And fairly powerful too. If you give him a
chance, he could do a lot of damage.”

“
We
won't give him that chance, believe me,” Aiden assured them.
“I'm more worried about Keiko. She is always so quiet and
self-contained that we forget how strong she is. Will she fight with
Octavian or against him?”

“
I'd
say neither,” Tamara told him. “She didn't attack Simon,
even though I believe Octavian expected her to, and she stayed out of
the aftermath as well. Unless you threaten her, I think that she will
remain neutral.”

Aiden
looked relieved and Malcolm nodded at the news.

“
Good.
I like Keiko. Now, the sun's going down here so we'd better get
back.”

“
So,
how long is this going to take, at a guess?” Simon asked the
two men.

“
Well,
we're about an hour away from the castle. Add to that at least a
half-hour to get through the secret tunnel and then another half-hour
to position ourselves and take out Octavian...say two hours, give or
take.”

“
That's
the best case scenario,” Aiden told him abruptly. “Let's
not sugarcoat this. If we're spotted or Octavian puts up a fight, it
could take a lot longer than that.”

Before
Malcolm could respond, Simon interjected.

“
Guys,
are you anywhere close to Liliana's place?”

“
The
paladin?”

Both
men looked surprised.

“
Not
really,” Malcolm replied. “She's about, oh, an hour or so
away.” He pointed off to the left. “That way. Why?”

“
We'll
need her when we question Octavian,” Tamara cut in. “To
see if he's answering us truthfully. Plus, in a fight against magic,
she'd be a valuable ally. I think Simon was about to suggest that you
ask her to join you.”

“
Sorry
Tamara, but I wasn't,” Simon said to the mage's surprise. He
smiled at her and explained. “What I was going to say was that
I'll call her myself, save you guys the walk and the wasted time, and
ask her to join you at the castle. You said the secret passage comes
out to the west of Nottinghill? Okay then, I'll tell her that and she
can meet you there, if she wants to. If not, I'll call you back and
let you know.”

“
Sounds
like a plan,” Malcolm told him. “Okay, we're heading out
now. Call us if Liliana won't be coming along. If she is joining us,
call back in two or three hours.”

“
We
will, Good luck, guys.”

“
From
me as well,” Tamara added. “And watch your backs;
Octavian is a treacherous weasel.”

“
I
watch his back and he watches mine,” Aiden told them with a nod
at his partner. “No worries. Talk to you soon.”

Liliana was more than
happy to help when Simon reached her. She was livid at Octavian's
treachery and set off at once to meet up with Malcolm, Aiden and
their group.

“
Well, now all we
can do is wait,” the wizard told Tamara when he canceled his
Magic Mirror spell. “Since you don't like tea, how about some
coffee?”

The mage had moved to the
couch and lay there with her feet up. The residual effects from the
hostile compulsion spell seemed to have drained her of a lot of
energy, and worrying about her brother didn't help.

She looked across the room
at Simon.

“
Coffee? Are you
serious?”

“
Seriously. We found
a cache of ground coffee in Russia, same place I got that couch
you're lying on. So, want some?”

“
Yes please. My God,
I haven't had coffee in, I don't know, since before the world went to
hell.”

“
Great.”

He began to putter around
the kitchen.

“
Oh, I don't have
any milk yet. I got some cows recently, but the milk cow isn't tame
enough yet to try milking her.”

“
You got cows? You
have been busy, haven't you? And don't worry; I prefer it black
anyway. And no honey, please.”

“
Good. Yeah, I've
been thinking about expanding my territory a bit, clearing more
pasture land, adding to my livestock, all that.”

Tamara sat up and looked
at him speculatively.

“
Interesting. Are
you thinking of taking some people in? Or getting married perhaps?”

Simon almost dropped the
coffee tin and turned to look at the mage incredulously.

“
What? No!”

She grinned at his
reaction and he smiled back uneasily.

“
God no. Actually, I
was coming to terms with the fact that, if we survive this war with
the dragons and the rest of the madness that exists in the world now,
I may live a very long time.”

He glanced at Aeris, who
was watching him silently.

“
My friends inform
me that wizards can live to be very old indeed and, if that's the
case, I want my home to have all of the amenities that it can in this
brave new world that we live in.”

He continued making the
coffee while Tamara nodded approvingly.

“
Very practical of
you, my friend. In my research, such as it is, I've come across the
same sorts of stories; that spell-casters age more slowly than more
mundane humans.”

She made a face as Simon
walked over to her with the coffee.

“
As long as I stay
looking about the same, I'm okay with that.”

She accepted the coffee
with thanks and took a long, slow sip, her eyes closed with pleasure.

“
Wonderful,”
she sighed.

Simon sat down at the end
of the couch and grinned crookedly at her.

“
Well, if we do live
longer than most, you and I and the other casters will be friends for
a long, long time.”

“
Good. Friends are
important. I may come across as rough-edged as sandpaper at times,
but I cherish my friends.”

Tamara scowled as she
stared into he cup.

“
Which is why I'm
even more furious that Octavian used me to attack you. It's
outrageous!”

“
I agree,” the
wizard said as he drank his coffee.

Aeris flew over and
settled gently a few inches above the arm of the couch beside Simon.
He continued to listen quietly and the wizard wondered what he was
thinking. It wasn't like the elemental to stay silent for so long.

They finished their
coffee, each lost in their own thoughts and then Simon invited Tamara
to tour his home.

“
We've got some time
to kill,” he told her.

The mage accepted with
pleasure.

Tamara was delighted with
the layout of the tower. She especially liked the study and took a
few minutes to examine his well-stocked bookshelves.

Simon took her up to the
roof and introduced her to the air elemental on duty, who just
happened to be Brethia.

“
I am honored to
meet you, lady mage,” she said with a deep bow.

She was hovering on top of
the low wall that surrounded the roof.

“
As am I,”
Tamara replied with a gentle smile. She seemed quite taken with the
female elemental.

“
You enjoy helping
to protect my friend's home?” she continued, with a nod at
Simon.

“
Very much, lady. It
is a great honor to work for a wizard. And my master,” she said
and then stopped with a shy grin as Simon frowned.

“
Forgive me, my
employer
is the first wizard in history to treat elementals as people.”
Her smile widened. “I am much envied back home.”

“
Are
you really?” Simon asked and turned to look at Aeris, who had
been following them on their tour. “You never told me that.”

“
Really?
Hmm. Must have slipped my mind,” the air elemental replied with
an indifferent shrug. Then he glared at Brethia.

“
Did
you have to tell them that?” he snapped.

“
What
did I say?” she asked in confusion.

“
Don't
worry about it,” Simon reassured her while Tamara shook with
silent laughter. “Aeris likes letting me think that he's doing
me a massive favor by hanging around here. Makes him feel superior, I
suppose.”

“
It
does not! And I am doing you a favor,” Aeris said loftily.
“Why, if there were any other wizards in the world, they would
be lining up, begging for my services.”

“
Too
bad there aren't, isn't it?” Simon asked teasingly.

Aeris
just sniffed with disdain and turned away.

Brethia
was watching them, completely baffled.

“
Ignore
them,” Tamara told her. “They're just boys being boys.”

“
Ah,”
the air elemental said and nodded wisely. “I understand.”

Aeris
spun around but, before he could say something smart, Simon caught
his eye and he stifled himself.