The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (26 page)

The cleric left the room and closed
the door behind her.

Simon threw back the bedclothes and
sat up on the edge of the bed. He took a moment to look down at
himself, checking for any damage.

Naturally he looked fine, thanks to
the cleric's ministrations. He needed a bath rather badly but
physically he was okay.

He staggered into the bathroom, still
a bit dizzy, and checked his head in the mirror. His hair was matted
and had some dried blood caked into it, but there was no wound and no
pain.

The gods really do know their stuff,
he thought gratefully as he ran a bath. If I've ever doubted that
they exist, which I haven't, this would have convinced me otherwise.

He could have spent an hour just
soaking in the hot water, but Simon knew that they were waiting for
him downstairs. He washed up, dried his hair off as best he could and
pushed it all out of his face, and got dressed.

A pale green robe and new leather
boots had been left for him and Mortis de Draconis was still leaning
against the wall in the corner of the room.

Simon put on his clothes, grabbed the
staff with a feeling of relief and headed downstairs.

In the dining room, Orrina had laid
out a meal for him. Hot stew, fresh bread and a pitcher of cold grape
juice was waiting for him and Simon sat down eagerly, feeling emptier
than he had in a long time.

Opheilla sat across from him watching
him eat as Orrina bustled in and out of the kitchen. There were a
half dozen dwarves seated at the other tables in the room; four men
and two women. They were eating and talking quietly to each other.
All were armed and wearing armor.

They had looked up when Simon had
entered the room but no one had said anything and they had gone back
to their meals after he'd sat down.

“
Business is
good?” the wizard asked Orrina as she poured him some more
juice.

The innkeeper looked around and then
winked at him.

“
Because of
you, my friend. These are members of the royal guard. They're here to
escort you to the palace when you're ready. But I insisted they all
have something to eat while they waited.”

She grinned widely.

“
Cook hasn't
been this busy in months; she's ecstatic.”

“
Good thing
these chairs are sturdy,” Simon said quietly to Opheilla. “That
armor looks heavy.”

The cleric looked at the warriors and
smiled.

“
Built for
dwarves by dwarves, so they had best be strong. So tell me, sir
wizard, how are you feeling now?”

He swallowed a mouthful of hot stew
and had to wait a moment before answering.

“
Fine,”
he gasped as he quickly drank some juice to soothe his burning
throat. “Great, actually. You really are a life-saver.”

“
Just as
long as it doesn't become a habit,” she chided him with a shake
of her finger. “Twice is enough. The gods are watching over
you, Simon, but even they can only do so much.”

“
I know,
Opheilla. I know. And I am grateful to them and to you. I mean, if
you hadn't been here, things could have gone very badly for me.”

The cleric shook her head in denial.

“
We have
other clerics, my friend. Someone would have aided you. I'm pleased
that it was me though. And now...”

She stood up and brushed off the
front of her tunic.

“
Now I'm
off. I have several patients under my care at the moment and I'm
holding services later, so I'll have to hurry to catch up. Ah well,
it's always the way, isn't it? Too much to do, too little time to do
it.”

Simon jumped to his feet and extended
a hand. The cleric took it in both of hers and clasped it firmly.

“
Thank you
again for everything,” he stammered. “I know you'll say
that I owe you nothing, but you have my gratitude at least. And if
you ever have need of a bumbling, skinny wizard, you know who to
call.”

Opheilla's laugh echoed throughout
the room and the other dwarves looked at her, wide-eyed. Apparently
clerics were usually less demonstrative in public. She ignored them.

“
I do
indeed. And for the sake of the gods, and me as well, keep your head
down and your wits about you.”

She lowered her voice and leaned
forward.

“
And except
for your friends here, trust no one. Who knows how deep this
cancerous hatred of your race runs in my city? It saddens me to say
it, but it is the truth. Be careful, Simon.”

He thanked her again for her warning
and watched as the cleric bid Orrina farewell and left the room. Then
he say down again to finish his meal.

“
Can I get
you anything else?” the innkeeper asked a few minutes later.
“More stew? Dessert?”

“
Nothing,
thanks. It was amazing. Please give my compliments to your cook.”

“
Oh I will,”
Orrina said with a chuckle. “She'll be thrilled to hear you say
that.”

As the woman walked away and Simon
pushed his chair back, one of the guards stood up and walked over to
the table.

“
Pardon the
interruption, sir wizard,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.
“But if you are finished your meal, the king requests your
presence.”

Simon looked into the warrior's black
eyes. The dwarf was almost as broad as he was tall and his armor was
heavy plate covered in black enamel; the armor of the royal guard.

The wizard wasn't sure of the
significance of the dozens of gold beads woven into the warrior's
beard, but they gave him a wild, almost mystical appearance. And made
him more intimidating.

“
You are
members of the king's personal guard?” he asked as he stood up.

Towering over the dwarf made him no
less imposing and seemed not to bother the guard in the slightest.

“
We are. My
lord is taking no chances with your safety. We will take you to him
and we will defend your person as we would his.”

The other warriors stood up as one
and all six slammed their fists against their armored chests, making
Simon jump in surprise.

“
This we
swear on our lives and our honor,” the guardsman finished.

“
Um,
thanks,” the wizard said weakly. “Might I ask your name?”

The warrior's glacial expression
thawed a bit and he actually bowed, albeit very briefly.

“
You honor
me, sir wizard. I am Braiden Stoneblade, captain of the royal guard.”

Simon stared at the dwarf in mute
surprise. The captain of the guard? Good God, Shandon had sent the
best to escort him safely.

“
I am
honored to meet you, captain,” he replied slowly, knowing how
the dwarves loved ceremony and manners. “And your very presence
here has eased my concerns for my own safety.”

There was a murmur of pleasure from
the rest of the troop and Simon knew that he'd said the right thing.

The captain bowed again.

“
Thank you,
sir wizard. And now, shall we go?”

“
Of course.
Just let me say goodbye to my wonderful host and we'll be off.”

Orrina made him promise to come back
to the Diamond Inn one day and Simon swore that he would. She patted
his cheek in a motherly way, bid him farewell and watched as the
guard led him away.

The escort surrounded Simon as they
walked through the streets. He had no idea what time it was in the
city, but the streets were quiet and they saw very few pedestrians.
Those that they did see were quick to make way for the guardsmen and
watched curiously as they went past.

They had walked for about half an
hour when they came to a wide, empty square. The street that they
were on widened and opened up and beyond the square in the distance
were the spires of the central palace.

Row upon row of torches and
artificial lights lit up the enormous castle as it rose almost to the
distant ceiling above them. It radiated power and strength, very much
like the dwarven people themselves, and Simon felt some relief when
he saw it.

Maybe I'll get some answers soon, he
thought. Not about my attackers but about my people.

The troop marched on and at one
point, Captain Stoneblade asked Simon if he wanted to stop for a
moment to rest.

“
Thank you,
captain, but there's no need. I've been asleep for the past two days.
I'm good.”

The dwarf seemed to almost smile at
his answer. He nodded and they all kept walking. The palace was
getting closer by the minute.

A short time later, as they made a
sharp right turn to follow a narrow street, a distant booming sound
shook the ground under their feet.

“
Halt!”
Captain Stoneblade barked.

The troop stopped immediately and
looked around alertly.

“
Guard
positions. Protect the wizard,” the captain ordered and the six
dwarves encircled Simon, far enough away that their weapons wouldn't
hit him if there was an attack.

Everyone waited, listening intensely
for further sounds of conflict.

“
Do you
think that explosion or whatever it was has anything to do with me?”
Simon asked the captain quietly.

“
No way to
know,” Stoneblade growled, his eyes darting along the street
and up at the windows of the buildings above them.

“
But there
is nothing in the city that would make that noise, so we will err on
the side of caution.”

They waited for another five minutes
or so but nothing happened.

“
Very well,”
the captain said to all of them. “Form up and we will advance.
We are too exposed on this street. Better to continue our escort
toward safety for our guest.”

The troop moved in closer to Simon
and the captain led the way forward, much more slowly this time.

The street turned into a four-way
crossing about fifty yards further on and all of them stopped to look
around for any threats.

Captain Stoneblade scanned the intersection and
his eyes narrowed.

“
It may be the middle of
the sleep cycle,” he said as an aside to Simon, “but it's
too quiet. This is the time when most shops are restocked from the
warehouse district, but I have yet to see a single cart loaded with
goods. That is suspicious.”

“
Do you suspect the
merchants of something underhanded?” Simon asked quietly,
looking around as he spoke.

The dwarf rumbled a dry laugh.

“
No, but they do keep
their ears to the ground. Could be they heard of some shady dealings
in the works and decided to stay off of the streets tonight. Well,
better for us, I suppose. No innocents will be caught in the
crossfire, if there is any.”

There had been no additional sounds of conflict or
explosions since the first one, but instead of calming him down, it
was making Simon more nervous. It didn't help that he had no access
to his powers and no weapon other than his staff.

He slipped Mortis off of his shoulder and leaned
on it, more for comfort than because he needed the support. The
captain caught the movement and stared at the staff.

“
Is that not a weapon
presented by the king?” he asked.

“
It is, yes. He made it
for me himself, the last time I was here. It's a marvelous staff.”

“
Aye, it would be. Can
you use it in combat?”

Simon shook his head ruefully.

“
I have no training in
fighting with staves. I use it to bolster my powers, but I can't use
them in the city. Still, I'll do my best to smash someone over the
head if they try to grab me again. Seems only fair.”

Captain Stoneblade chuckled again.

“
I agree with you. But if
it comes down to it, let me and the rest of the troop keep you safe,
hmm?”

After a few more slow minutes had passed, the
group started off again. It was eerily quiet and the iron soles of
the warriors' boots rang off of the stone street and echoed around
them until it sounded like the troop was three times its actual size.

It also gave Simon the nasty feeling that others
were stalking them, unseen footsteps mingling with their own. The
captain stopped them twice and listened, obviously thinking the same
thing, but there were no other sounds.

“
Damn it,” he said
after the second time they halted. “This stopping is not
helping anyone and the palace isn't getting any closer. Everyone,
stay close. We're going to march straight on. If we have to do
battle, so be it. But if not, we'll keep going until we reach our
destination. Now let's go.”

The captain led them off again, picking up the
pace. They passed doorway after empty doorway, most of them shops.
All of them were closed and locked, their windows dark.