The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (48 page)

“
Ah, good. Glad to
hear it. So, how are you really doing?”

The mage sighed heavily,
shifted with a wince and then sagged into his cushions.

“
As well as can be
expected, according to Miriam. She says I'll be fit and back to full
health in a couple of days. It's frustrating, but hey, I am alive and
that's more than I expected after those damned goblins grabbed me.”

The three of them spoke
for a few more minutes and Simon told them to call him if they needed
him for any reason. Then he broke the connection and stared at the
elementals.

“
So what did you
think of that?” he asked as he stood up and opened the window
behind his desk. The room was getting stuffy and he needed some fresh
air.

“
The mage was quick
to blame you for our troubles, wasn't she?” Aeris said as he
bobbed above the desktop beside Kronk. “Very volatile woman,
I'd say.”

“
She is simply
worried,” Kronk said diplomatically. “She and her brother
are responsible for the safety of most of what is left of humanity.
That has to be a heavy burden to bear.”

Simon sat down on the
window ledge and looked out across the fields around the tower. The
grasses rippled in a stiff breeze and he watched with delight as a
doe and her fawn wandered out of the trees to begin grazing. The deer
had Changed a little. They were larger now and the females also had
horns that lasted all year long. Gorgeous.

He turned to look into the
study as he realized that Aeris had asked him a question.

“
What? Sorry, I
didn't hear you.”

“
You weren't
listening is what you meant,” the air elemental said, sounding
huffy. “I said shouldn't you have lunch before you contact
Daniel?”

“
Oh. Good idea.”

The wizard stood up and
picked up the hand mirror from the desk.

“
I can call him from
downstairs when I'm done eating. Come on, guys.”

After lunch, Simon took
his mirror outside and sat on the front steps. The day was too
amazing to waste indoors.

Kronk went off to check on
the livestock. The horses and cows got along just fine now, but the
little guy liked to spend time with them anyway.

“
Aeris, I have a
question for you,” the wizard said after Kronk left.

“
A question? Ask
away then.”

Simon wiggled his butt on
the stone steps, wishing he had more padding; the steps pinched after
awhile.

“
It's just this: we
need to know where the dragon queen is. That's basic information that
gives us a starting point when it comes to making plans to defeat
her.”

Aeris nodded his
understanding.

“
So I was thinking;
if Daniel has no ideas on her location, I'd like to summon some of
your people and send them out to scout instead. What do you think?”

The elemental floated next
to Simon and folded his arms, looking off into the distance.

“
I agree about the
need for information, but where would your scouts begin looking? It's
a big planet, you know.”

Simon opened his mouth to
answer and then snapped it shut again. Aeris had a point. Where would
they even start scouting? The queen could be anywhere. She could just
as easily be in the middle of a swamp in Louisiana as in the
Antarctic. Who knew?

“
I hate it when
you're logical,” he said dispiritedly. “But you're right.
We need a starting point.”

“
I'm not shooting
down your idea,” Aeris said quickly. “You know my people
love to scout. But it could literally take years to find her if we
just go off in all directions.”

“
True. Okay, let me
call Daniel and see what he says. The point may be moot, if we're
lucky.”

It took a long moment to
reach the elven realm and Simon was just beginning to worry when the
surface of the mirror cleared and he saw his old friend. He smiled
fondly at the sight.

Daniel was sitting in a
rocking chair, a heavy, brightly-colored shawl wrapped around his
shoulders. He was rocking next to a blazing fireplace, candles
glowing all around him as he read a large book. He looked older than
Simon liked and he focused on the memory of the old friend he once
knew rather than the senior that Daniel had become.

“
Well now, look who
it is,” Daniel said in a slow, heavy voice. He turned his head
and looked directly out of the mirror.

“
That's a good
trick, by the way, projecting your image. How is it done?”

“
No idea,”
Simon replied with a shrug. “It just started happening. Maybe
I've become better at using the spell or something.”

“
Maybe.”

Daniel put down his book
and leaned his head against the back of the chair.

“
Good to see you, my
friend. You're looking well. I like that your hair has grown back so
quickly. It suits you. So what can I do for you?”

“
Good to see you
too. Um, we've got a problem. Well, two problems actually, but one
really large one and I need your help.”

The rocking chair stopped
abruptly and Daniel leaned forward, peering at the wizard.

“
Simon, life on your
New Earth will, I think, always be a problem. And things will get
worse before they get better as long as the gods of Chaos keep trying
to return. So what is it this time?'

“
Let me start with
some good news first,” Simon told him.

“
Yes please. Let us
begin on a high note.”

“
Okay.”

The wizard cleared his
throat and pushed back his hair.

“
I was contacted not
too long ago by a dragon,” he said bluntly. When Daniel's eyes
widened, he added, “A silver dragon.”

His friend gaped at Simon
and he tried not to laugh at his comical expression.

“
A silver dragon?”
Daniel gasped. “But all of the good dragons were destroyed
thousands of years ago.”

“
So we believed,
yes. This one is the last of all of them. She was apparently hidden
by the lords of Light and left to sleep safely tucked away when the
dark gods pulled their opponents into the Void.”

“
A silver dragon,”
Daniel murmured thoughtfully. “Amazing. Is she going to join in
the fight against the red dragons?”

“
Hard to say. She
hasn't volunteered to help us yet, but she did pass along some
information, which is the main reason I called.”

“
Wait a second. You
didn't call me after this dragon contacted you? Why is that?”

Daniel was frowning at him
and Simon felt his face getting red.

“
Well, she told me
not to. I mean I would have, absolutely, if it had been my choice,
but...”

Simon knew that he sounded
defensive but his friend had that effect on him sometimes.

“
I see. Yes, well,
if that was what she wanted, then of course I understand. So what is
this information that's got you in such a tizzy?”

“
Are you in a
tizzy?” Aeris whispered with a wide grin.

Simon ignored him.

“
Esmiralla, that's
the dragon's name, contacted me and told me that the primal red
dragon has raised his queen, the yellow dragon.”

Daniel had looked
surprised when the wizard had mentioned the silver dragon, but he
looked absolutely flabbergasted after the second piece of news.

“
The dragon queen?
Is awake? Oh my God, Simon, how is that even possible? The dark gods
kept her unconscious for good reason. She is absolutely
uncontrollable.”

“
So I've heard,”
Simon replied dryly. “But Esmiralla is sure that she has risen.
Where she is or what she will do is a mystery and so I called you to
see if maybe the elves have a way to track her down.”

Daniel stood up and
gripped the edge of the mantle to support himself. His apparent
frailness pierced Simon's heart. His friend was failing and even he
had to admit it.

The old man hobbled across
the room to sit at an enormous desk, beautifully carved from dark
wood. He picked up a sheet of thick vellum and began writing.

“
I certainly can't
help you with your problem, Simon, but I will send a note to Ethmira
and the council of elders to ask for their advice. They may have some
ideas or perhaps their seers can attempt a scrying.”

“
Are you far from
wherever they are?” Simon asked as he watched Daniel pen his
note.

“
Far? No, not
really. But I don't walk very well now, so I have a runner that I use
to pass notes to the council for me.”

Something must have shown
on Simon's face because Daniel smiled impishly at him.

“
Do you see shades
of my mortality on my face, old friend?” he asked gently.

“
I, I just, well,
yes. I do. And it's not fair, damn it!”

Simon slammed his fist on
the stone steps and then hissed as he split another knuckle.

“
You saved my life,
Daniel. When the world was ending, you got me out of Ottawa before
the dragons attacked. You made it possible for me to become whatever
the hell I've become. Here I am, young, powerful, with great
potential, and what's your reward? Old age and dying before your
time. Cripes, you're younger than I am!”

“
No, I
used
to be younger than you are. Now, not so much. Look Simon, it is what
it is. Am I sorry that I will die prematurely? Yes, of course I am.
Why lie about it? Watching our race evolve and grow into some new
kind of civilization would have been an amazing experience and it
breaks my heart that I won't be there to see it. But there is nothing
that I can do about it except to be as useful as I can be right to
the end.”

He shook his head, his
thick white hair bright in the candlelight.

“
Now let's not talk
about it again, all right? You go ahead and make any plans that you
can and I'll get in touch with the council. Call back in a few days
and I may have some answers for you by then.”

“
Yeah, okay,”
Simon said weakly.

“
And cheer up!”
Daniel exclaimed with a wise smile. “I could totter along for
years yet. I'm certainly a hell of a lot safer than you are right
now. So watch your back, you hear me?”

“
I will. Thanks.
Talk to you soon.”

Simon canceled the spell
and then he and Aeris stared at each other silently.

“
He is not looking
well,” the elemental finally said. He sounded worried.

“
No he isn't, is he?
I didn't know that you cared.”

“
He is a great man,
my dear wizard. And as you said, he is responsible for your being
here now, fighting the good fight against the dragons. I have a great
deal of respect for him. It will be a huge loss when he passes.”

Simon stood up abruptly.

“
I don't want to
talk about it,” he snapped.

He spun around and
re-entered the tower. Aeris wisely remained outside for a few
minutes.

The wizard left the mirror
on the kitchen table and climbed up the stairs to the roof. He felt
the need to clear his head. When he opened the hatch and stepped out,
he was met by a surprised-looking Brethia.

“
Sir wizard!”
she blurted out. “Good day. I did not expect to see you up
here.”

“
Hi Brethia. How are
you?”

Simon joined her at the
low wall that circled the roof and sat down on it carefully.

“
I am very well,
thank you. May I help you with something?”

The wizard smiled at her
and shook his head.

“
Just wanted a
change of perspective,” he told her.

The view from the roof was
always beautiful. Few of the trees in the forest surrounding the
tower were as high as the building was and Simon could see for miles
in all directions. Thin clouds scudded across the sky as the sun rose
to midday and the warm wind blew his hair around his face.

He closed his eyes and
just breathed for a few minutes, trying not to think. Brethia
remained silent, allowing him his quiet time.

I can't just worry about
one person, Simon told himself. All of humanity is threatened by the
rise of the dragon queen and, let's face it, there is nothing that I
can do to help Daniel. But I may be able to save the people here, if
only I could figure out how.

He opened his eyes and
exhaled loudly. He scrubbed his hands across his face and looked up
at the endless sky.

“
Why me?” he
muttered to no one.

“
I'm sorry, sir
wizard, did you say something?”

He looked at Brethia, who
was floating a foot above the wall.

“
Nothing of any
importance. So, how are things up here? I'm assuming Orriss is off on
his own?”

“
Yes, he finished
his shift and is off exploring. We do so enjoy poking around, you
know.”