The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (29 page)

“
Perhaps
they are, lad. That paladin, Liliana, and the mage, Tamara, seem to
think so. Or at least they've hinted that they have a plan of sorts.
But I believe that they have been waiting for you to appear to flesh
it out.”

The king grinned roguishly and winked
at Simon.

“
I don't
believe I've ever seen two women so eager to see a man before. You
might have an in there, my friend.”

Simon felt his ears getting hot.

“
It's not
like that,” he protested. “We're just friends, Shandon.
But how did they even know I was coming? I couldn't reach anyone when
I tried before I started down here. In fact, that's basically the
reason I'm here in the first place.”

The king drained his tankard and put
it down on a table. He kicked an ember back into the fireplace and
then sat down across from Simon again.

“
I gathered
as much,” he said. “And they didn't know you were coming,
at least not until I informed them that you had entered the city.
Perhaps I should have said that they were waiting for additional
magical support before pursuing whatever mad scheme they may have
hatched. You would seem to qualify.”

Simon nodded and finished his tea.

“
I suppose I
do. Not down here though. I'm as powerless under all of this rock as
I was before my Change.”

“
It will
come back quickly once you return to the surface, laddie,”
Shandon assured him. “Too bad you don't have any dwarvish blood
in you; our magic-users aren't affected by the weight of the
underground around them.”

He scratched the back of his neck and
frowned in thought.

“
Not that we
give them many opportunities to exercise their powers. But they still
have them nonetheless.”

“
Do they?
That's interesting. I wonder why? Is it their dwarven physiology
or...”

The king yawned hugely and waved off
the question, clearly disinterested.

“
That's a
question for wizards, not rulers. Now, I'd say it's time for you to
get some sleep. When you wake up, you will meet with the human
leaders and make whatever plans you see fit.”

He waggled at cautionary finger at
Simon.

“
Just
remember, while I will support whatever decision you all make, if you
choose to leave, I cannot guarantee your safety beyond the city
walls. We may have cleansed the place of traitorous scum, but evil
stalks the darkness out in the deep and on the surface above. Think
long and hard before you make any choices you may come to regret.”

The king stood up and Simon joined
him. They walked to the door and opened it. The seneschal was leaning
against the opposite wall, arms folded. As the door opened, he stood
up straight and waited for Shandon to speak.

“
Ragar,
please take our guest to his room. He is to be guarded closely while
he is here.”

Shandon looked at Simon wryly.

“
We don't
want to risk any more 'mishaps', now do we?”

“
Of course
not, my lord,” the seneschal replied. “Although I believe
that all of the traitors were captured.”

“
So do I.
But one can never be too careful. Simon, sleep well. We'll speak
again in the morning.”

Shandon extended his hand and the
wizard shook it warmly.

“
I owe you
my life,” he stammered.

“
Nay, I am
still in your debt for what you did for me and my people,” the
king told him. “That is a lifelong debt that can never be
repaid. Now, be off with you. I still have several tasks to attend
to, not least of which is having a conversation with the leader of
our captured rebels.”

He waved and turned away, marching
off quickly. His bodyguard followed closely and Simon watched them
all disappear around a far corner.

Simon was left along with Ragar, a
female servant and two royal guardsmen.

“
Please
follow me,” the seneschal told him. “I've had a
bedchamber made up for you while you met with the king. I hope that
you will find it comfortable.”

“
Thanks,”
the wizard said as he covered up a yawn. “I feel like I could
sleep on a bed of stone.”

“
Oh, I think
that we can do better than that,” Ragar answered, sounding a
little amused for the first time. “Nothing but the best for a
friend of my lord.”

After sleeping like a rock, Simon
woke up the next morning anxious to see his friends again. He had
only the king's word that Tamara, Liliana and the others were well
and, while he trusted Shandon, he felt the need to see for himself.
Besides, he missed them very much.

A new pale yellow robe was laid out
for him, as well as socks and underwear, when he came out of the
washroom after a bath. Servants seemed to come and go like ghosts in
the castle and they had also laid out a hearty breakfast. He was
disturbed that he'd heard nothing when they had entered his room, but
his hunger overcame his concerns and he ate with gusto.

When he was finished, two warriors
who were waiting for him outside of his apartments led him back to
the small library which was apparently one of the king's favorite
places in the castle.

Shandon was sitting by the fireplace,
frowning at a scroll as he read it. The curtains on the window were
open and rays of artificial bluish light lit up the room.

“
Ah, here
you are,” the king said as Simon walked in.

He rolled up the scroll and tucked it
into a pouch as he stood up, armor ringing musically.

“
How did you
sleep?”

“
Very well,
thanks,” Simon replied with a grin. “And breakfast was
great.”

The king looked pleased and waved the
wizard out into the hallway.

“
Good. I'm
happy that you were well taken care of. I like that color on you as
well; yellow suits you. Now, let's reunite you and your friends,
hmm?”

They set off down the hallway,
retracing the route that they had taken the night before. A
contingent of a dozen guards surrounded them but Shandon spoke easily
with Simon as if they weren't even there.

I guess you get used to them after a
while, the wizard thought. But I doubt that I ever could.

Unlike the previous evening, the
streets that morning were bustling with dwarves coming and going.
They moved respectfully out of the way of the king and the royal
guard when the party passed, some bowing while others simply nodded.

Simon saw no sign of anger or
resentment on any of the faces of the ordinary citizens; instead,
Shandon seemed to be not just respected but actually liked by his
subjects, with many calling out greetings as they passed by.

The king responded jovially, waving
and smiling to everyone who called out to him and occasionally saying
something back in dwarvish. Simon didn't know what he was saying but
he guessed by people's laughter that some of the king's comments were
jokes.

“
Your people
like you,” he said to Shandon at one point as they passed a
small market.

People were waving and the king
returned the gesture.

“
I don't
know about 'like',” he replied. “But considering the
alternatives, I suppose I'm the lesser of other evils.”

He looked up as Simon with a crooked
grin.

“
I have no
siblings and no children, so if I fell, the throne would end up being
contested by a lot of nobles. It could lead to civil war, which is
the last thing my people need right now. I'd say that most of these
jovial greetings are their way of expressing the hope that I don't
die any time soon.”

Simon had to chuckle at the cynical
comment.

“
I think
you're selling yourself short, my friend,” he replied quietly.
“I'm certainly no expert on your race, but these people look
genuinely happy to see you, the person, not you the 'best alternative
to war'.”

Shandon's smile faded and he looked
around thoughtfully at the crowd beyond his escort's perimeter.

“
Maybe
you're right,” he said after a few moments. “I'd like to
think so, but dwarves, like humans, are a complicated people. Their
motivations are hard to judge sometimes. Ah well, I suppose I'll just
enjoy the fact that they aren't throwing rotten vegetables at me.”

Both of them laughed at that and the
journey continued.

The human section of the city wasn't
that far from the palace. It only took the group about fifteen
minutes to reach it and Shandon had to tell Simon when they had
arrived, because it looked the same as the rest of the city.

They entered a large square with a
fountain splashing merrily in the center of it. They stopped and the
escort spread out warily as the king gestured at the buildings around
them.

“
Here we
are,” he said. “The area of the city reserved for your
people.”

Simon did a slow turn, examining the
neighborhood and looking for any signs of life. But there was no
movement and no people to be seen.

“
Where is
everybody?” he asked Shandon. “The place looks deserted.”

The king chuckled and pointed at
something over Simon's shoulder.

The wizard followed his gesture and
saw a group of people exiting what looked like a small apartment
building.

“
I sent word
that, until we arrived, they should be cautious of any large groups
of dwarves, just in case they were members of the rebel group that
was targeting humans. I suppose they saw us approaching and decided
to play it safe.”

A handful of people walked toward
them and Simon smiled broadly as he recognized some old friends.

“
Simon!”
a large armored man bellowed with a wave.

It was Malcolm. The wizard would know
that handsome black man anywhere. The warrior was literally the
tallest and strongest person that Simon had ever met. He was also one
of the gentlest.

Beside him was his partner, Aiden,
who was almost as large. Born of Korean parents, the warrior was
quite good looking too, but much quieter than Malcolm. They made a
good team.

Both of them were wearing armor and
had weapons on their hips and both were grinning at him.

Behind them were three other humans,
of more average height. Two of them were wearing robes similar to
Simon's and one was clad in glittering silver armor.

“
Hey
everyone!” the wizard called out.

Tamara, Sebastian and the paladin,
Liliana, waved in return and then the groups merged.

Simon spent the next few minutes
speaking to each of his friends in turn. Everyone initially spoke
over each other as they greeted Simon and Shandon and there was a lot
of relieved laughter mingled into the conversations.

Malcolm almost knocked the wizard off
of his feet as he slapped him on the back. As usual, Aiden was able
to save him from a fall and he berated the big man while Simon caught
his breath.

“
How many
times am I going to have to tell you not to do that?” Aiden
snapped. “Spell-casters are fragile, you big lug. And you just
might anger him enough to fry you inside of your armor one day.”

Malcolm looked so remorseful that
Simon began laughing while he was still out of breath. It was painful
and hysterically funny at the same time.

Tamara and her brother both hugged
him as they said hello, a gesture that surprised the wizard.
Sebastian had always been the warmer, more open member of the pair,
while his sister tended to keep people at arm's length. Her embrace
definitely let Simon know how much he'd been missed.

And finally Liliana shook his hand
with both of hers while they exchanged searching glances. They had
fought together against evil more than once and words weren't really
necessary between them.

After a few more minutes of friendly
chatter, the king clapped his steel gauntlets together loudly enough
to get everyone's attention.

“
Sorry to
interrupt this happy reunion,” Shandon told them. “But I
have to get back to the palace. Affairs of state and all that rot.
Simon, when all of you reach a consensus on what you intend to do
next, send word and we'll meet again, all right?”

“
Of course
we will,” the wizard replied.

He and the king shook hands again and
the escort marched off. Shandon waved one last time before they
turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

“
Well, here
we are, together again,” Tamara said in the sudden quiet of the
square.