The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (14 page)

“
Never
again,” he murmured. “I swear to God, I will never do
that again.”

“
Are you not
well, my lord?” Orriss asked anxiously as he peered down at the
wizard.

Simon had sat down heavily on the
parapet when he was done with the summoning, too sore and exhausted
to stand anymore.

“
Give him a
moment,” Brethia said sharply. “Our overly loud entrance
display is very hard on the wizard.”

“
Is it? Hmm,
I never knew that. Someone should tell the great Astrandamus,
shouldn't they?”

She rolled her eyes and Simon laughed
a bit through his pain.

“
Many
already have, Orriss, and I will pass along the wizard's request that
we dispense with such theatrics in the future.”

“
He won't
listen, you know,” one of the other elementals said. “Our
leader is notoriously stubborn about such things.”

All nine of the elementals were
bobbing and weaving in the late morning breeze that flowed across the
roof. It was actually soothing to Simon's painful head even as it
slapped his hair across his face.

“
We shall
see. Should I pass along your request to them now, my lord?”
Brethia asked as she watched the wizard push back his hair wearily.

“
Would you,
please? I'm having a hard time thinking with this headache.”

Simon pulled out a slip of paper from
his pocket and the stub of a pencil and, with an effort, wrote down
the names of all of the elementals that he had summoned before he
forgot them. That way he could quickly recall them should the need
arise.

“
I would be
happy to. Very well, everyone, listen closely. Our wizard has a task
for us; a very important task.”

Her fellow elementals gathered
around, eager expressions on all of their faces.

Brethia had been correct. Each air
elemental was thrilled to be asked to help find any human survivors.
And since they were the experts, Simon let them work out the details
on who would search where and what they were to do if they found any
settlements.

He listened quietly, impressed by how
organized the group was. All he added to the discussion was to give
permission for all of them to return to the tower immediately when
they needed to, instead of having to fly back the long way.

All of the elementals were suitably
impressed by this expression of trust and there was much bowing and
thank-you's, until Brethia broke it up and sent them all on their
way.

In the ensuing quiet, she descended
to look Simon in the eye.

“
Are you
well, my lord?” she asked quietly.

He grinned at her and pushed himself
to his feet.

“
Quite well,
Brethia. Thanks. The head's almost back to normal again. But as I've
always said, let the experts do what you hire them to do. That maxim
applied here as well. You did an excellent job of organization.”

She bowed gracefully.

“
Thank you.
I hope that when we return, we will have good news for you.”

“
So do I.
Good luck.”

She gave him a last nod and a smile
and shot off over the edge of the roof toward the west, disappearing
into the distance.

“
So they are
gone,” a voice rumbled from the direction of the trapdoor.

Simon looked over and watched Kronk
hop out of the opening and on to the roof.

“
You were
listening?”

“
Yes master.
I did not want to interrupt, so I waited for them to leave. How are
you?”

His anxious expression made Simon
smile.

“
No worries,
my friend. I'm fine. I could use a nap though. Funny how not casting
spells for a few months makes you forget how draining it is.”

He moved his reluctant legs toward
the trapdoor, using his staff for added support.

“
Master, you
just summoned nine elementals. Even back when you were using your
powers every day, you would have been drained by that.”

“
I suppose
that's true,” the wizard answered thickly. “Do me a
favor, would you? Wake me if I sleep more than a couple of hours; if
I oversleep, I'll be up all night.”

“
Certainly,
master. I will make you something to eat when you get up; you will
need fuel from using so much energy.”

Simon stepped on to the ladder and
smiled crookedly at Kronk.

“
I sound
like a battery. Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“
Get some
sleep, master. You did well today.”

The wizard chuckled as he climbed
down into the tower.

Once a mother hen, always a mother
hen, he supposed.

It took Simon a surprisingly short
time to regain his confidence and control when using his magic again.
Several days after sending the air elementals out on their search for
survivors, he mentioned this to Kronk.

“
How is it
that after not casting spells for months, or years in Earth time,
that I can just casually use magic as if my life had never been
interrupted?”

“
You are not
just a simple spell-caster now, master,” Kronk told him.

The two of them were walking along
the shore of the lake behind the tower. Simon had found renewed
delight in being out in the sunlight and enjoying the simple
pleasures of nature since he'd returned from the elven realm.

“
Your powers
are a part of you as much as breathing is. That is another difference
between a wizard and a mage. Or a witch, I suppose.”

Simon pulled the hem of his robe off
of a snag on the ground and looked down at the little guy. Kronk was
hopping over weeds and dodging clumps of tall grass as they walked
and talked.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
It is hard
to explain, master,” the earthen replied.

They stopped at the water's edge and
Simon sat down carefully to avoid sitting on any rocks.

“
Take your
time,” he said to Kronk. “I'm curious. I've actually
always wondered why mages can't do some of the things that I can and
vice-versa.”

Kronk moved around to sit next to
Simon and he stared out at the sparkling ripples that danced across
the lake.

“
Aeris could
explain it better, master. The airy ones were always more involved in
the uses of power than the rest of us.”

He scratched his head, a grating
sound that always made Simon shudder, like nails on a chalkboard.

“
But as I
understand it, no matter how experienced and powerful a mage is, they
will always need to use spells to control magic. The siblings, Tamara
and Sebastian, have been using their powers since the fall of your
old world, master. But even today, although I have not seen either of
them for several years, I can assure you that they must direct their
powers by casting spells.”

Simon pulled up his knees to his
chest and rested his chin on them, fascinated.

“
And me?”

“
You,
master, do not do that anymore. Well, you do for more complicated
magic, I suppose. But for spells that you have used often, you can
now invoke the magic with a word, not an incantation. And when you
need fire, you only use your thoughts. That is a wizard's gift; the
ability to bend elemental magic to his will without ritual or
ceremony.”

“
Huh. I've
never heard it described like that before,” Simon said
thoughtfully. “So we can use the magical energy more directly
than mages can? Interesting.”

“
Yes,
master, that is exactly what you can do.”

Kronk narrowed his burning red eyes
as he looked up at the wizard.

“
I suspect
that in the years to come, master, you may not even need to use
incantations for the most complex of spells. Forgive me for saying
so, but you are very young as wizards go.”

“
Am I?”
Simon said with a laugh. “That's funny, considering that I must
be almost seventy by now, if you count back to when I was actually
born.”

“
Ah, but you
have been reborn, have you not, master? You bear the unlined face and
the energy of a youth now and as a wizard, you will look that way for
a very long time to come.”

Simon stood up slowly and looked down
at Kronk affectionately.

“
If I'm not
destroyed by a dracolich, or a necromancer, or the undead, or...”

“
Yes,
master. If none of those things happen.”

The next morning dawned gray and
gloomy. Fog had rolled in overnight and the tower was surrounded by
thick mist.

Simon couldn't see more than a few
feet out of any window and so, after breakfast, he climbed up to the
roof to get a better view.

“
Okay,”
he said as he turned in a slow circle. “This is creepy.”

The tower rose above the fog as if it
was suddenly floating among the clouds and Simon had a light-headed
moment where he felt like the entire building was drifting across the
sky.

“
Weird. This
must be how Aeris feels when he's flying.”

“
Not
exactly, my dear wizard, but there is definitely a similarity.”

Simon jumped back as the elemental
rose up from the fog and flew over the parapet.

“
Cripes, you
scared the hell out of me,” the wizard spluttered.

Aeris looked at him a puzzled smile.

“
You know,
I've never quite understood that saying. How does one 'scare the
hell' out of someone? What is this hell you keep mentioning anyway?”

“
It's just a
saying, Aeris. I assume you startled me on purpose? And welcome back,
by the way.”

The elemental moved to float by
Simon's right shoulder.

“
Thanks. And
no, I didn't surprise you on purpose. I just got back and looked for
you downstairs. Since you weren't on the main floor and I assumed
you'd be awake by now, I came up here directly. Where's Kronk?”

“
Gardening.
He'd never let something like a little fog stop him from doing his
chores.”

Aeris held a hand over his
nonexistent heart.

“
Ah, such
dedication. It's almost inspiring. Well, not really. Anyway, how have
you been doing? Feeling like your old self again?”

Simon stepped closer to the parapet
and peered into the fog. It was deathly quiet except for the sound of
his and Aeris' voices.

“
I am,
actually. Happy to be home, safe and sound. For now, at least.”

“
Glad to
hear it. And I have some news that will cheer you up even more; I've
found Chief and the mares.”

The wizard felt a thrill of
excitement and smiled broadly.

“
That's
fantastic. Where are they?”

Aeris pointed vaguely out at the fog.

“
West and a
little to the south. In your measurements, about forty miles or so.
The three of them look quite well actually, all things considered.”

“
Wait. What
are you talking about? There are four of them.”

The elemental's expression became
solemn and he shook his head slowly.

“
I'm sorry,
my dear wizard, but there are only three now. Perhaps it was her
youth or inexperience or something else, but the filly, Sunbeam, is
gone.”

Simon couldn't believe what he was
hearing but he knew that even Aeris wouldn't joke about something so
tragic.

“
Are you
sure? You checked everywhere?”

“
Once I
tracked them down, I circled out from the three horses in a spiral
pattern. That is why it took me so long. If I had come back as soon
as I'd found them, I would have returned two days ago. You know how
close the filly was to her mother, Sunshine. And Chief and Tammy as
well. The older horses would never have let her stray. She's gone,
I'm afraid, and I doubt that we'll ever know what truly happened.”

Simon sat down on the parapet and
remembered when the little foal was born. She'd been the color of a
ripe banana and Kronk had named her Sunbeam. Mischievous and
energetic, she'd been a joy to watch and play with. And now...

“
She's
really gone,” he said heavily.

“
I'm afraid
so. And the others have not had an easy time of it either.”