The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (37 page)

“
A useful
skill to have, I think you will agree,” Hallic told them from
the doorway.

Everyone's head turned to look at the
same moment and Simon was reminded of spectators at a tennis match.
He almost burst out laughing.

“
How the
hell did you do that?” Malcolm said, wide-eyed. “Are you
a magician?”

“
Pah, I have
no magic, big man. Only skills that I have honed over decades.”
He looked at Simon. “I can scout ahead of your party and warn
you of any unexpected surprises. I have a knack for finding and
disarming traps, as well as, shall we say, eliminating obstacles.”

“
Such as
guards?” Simon asked him.

“
On
occasion. I'm not much good in a stand up fight against well-armored
foes, but I can strike from the shadows to good effect. You have an
air elemental friend who scouted out this evil tower, did he not?”

Aeris moved around until he could
look into the mirror.

“
That was
me,” he said proudly.

“
Ah, a
wonderful job. Masterfully done.”

“
Oh, thank
you,” the elemental replied, nonplussed.

“
But,
meaning no offense to your friend, sir wizard, I could have done the
same job, without the ability to become invisible.”

Hallic winked at Simon and glided
back to his chair to sit down again.

There followed a moment of silence as
it seemed that everyone was waiting for the wizard's opinion.

For his part, Simon was amazed at
Hallic's skill. He could see how useful the rogue could be, but he
did have a question.

“
Hallic, I
think you'd be very helpful to us,” he said slowly.

Several of the people at the table
nodded at the comment.

“
But I did
want to ask you one thing.”

“
Anything at
all, sir wizard.”

“
Why? I
mean, why would you want to help us? We're human. Our war on the
surface doesn't really affect you or your people. And quite frankly,
friend or not, the king has made it clear that he wants to keep all
of his warriors close to his cities in case they are attacked as my
people have been. So why do you want to get involved?”

Hallic stared at Simon thoughtfully,
pulling on his lower lip.

“
Yes, that
is the question, isn't it? And the answer is fairly simple. Unlike my
king, whom I respect very much, I believe that your war can have a
great impact on the dwarves. If you manage to somehow destroy the
leaders of the evil forces that are getting their orders from the
lord of Chaos, it will take pressure off of my people. You will have
cut the head off of the snake, as it were. The undead that roam the
nights above, as well as those dracolich abominations, only exist as
long at the necromancers who raised them exist. Destroy the caster
and you destroy the creature.”

The rogue looked at the others in the
room.

“
You've
assembled a mighty group here, sir wizard. Brave, talented and
determined. But the dwarves live in this world as well, even if we
live underneath its surface. I think that we should at least be
represented in this venture.” He grinned. “And the king
agrees. After all, if I fail, it will have little impact on the
defense of Kingstone. But then, I have no intention of failing.”

Simon stared at the rogue for another
long moment and then smiled.

“
You make a
very good argument, Hallic. And who am I to disagree with Shandon
Ironhand? If everyone else approves, then I think you should join us
if you wish.”

“
Excellent!
I await your command, Simon. Just tell me when we head out and I will
be ready.”

“
That's in
the hands of Tamara and the others. Folks, I'm ready to go at a
moment's notice. Just get in touch with me and we'll meet wherever
and whenever you wish.”

The group debated for a few minutes
and decided to launch the assault on the dark tower before the end of
England's summer.

“
The
weather's not all that great even at the best of times,” Tamara
said with an affectionate grimace. “But I think it's wise to go
soon, before autumn sets in.”

“
Okay, that
sounds good,” Simon told her. “Any idea of where you will
want to gather? You know the area around Nottinghill Castle a lot
better than I do.”

“
If I may?”
Sebastian interjected.

“
Go ahead,
Bastian,” his sister said. “You have a spot in mind?”

“
I do. Along
the coast, about two miles north of the castle, is a small bay.
There's a flat area just above the shoreline and an easy hike from
there to Nottinghill. Best of all, it's far enough away from our
enemies for us to remain undetected when we arrive. Hopefully.”

Simon looked at Malcolm, who was
nodding in approval. That sealed the deal for him. If the warrior
thought that the idea was sound, then he trusted the man's instincts.

“
Let's call
that our rendezvous site then. Contact me when you're ready; a day
before would be preferable but if you feel rushed for any reason,
don't hesitate to call and tell me. I'll be ready.”

“
Thank you,
Simon,” Veronique said. “I doubt that we'll wait too
long. I for one am eager to strike back at those fiends.”

“
We all
are,” Tamara averred,

Malcolm growled something under his
breath and slammed a fist on the table, making the candlesticks shake
and dance.

Liliana looked stern but remained
silent. In fact, the only person who seemed calm and faintly amused
was Hallic. When Simon caught his eye, the dwarf gave him a sly wink
and a grin.

I'll have to keep an eye on that one,
the wizard told himself. There's more to him than he's letting on.

Simon wished them all well and broke
the connection.

“
So what did
you two think of all that?” he asked the elementals.

Kronk simply shrugged.

“
It went
well, master. Don't you think?”

“
I suppose
so. Aeris?”

“
Why didn't
Sylvie speak?” the air elemental wondered. “Or Barnaby or
Virginia? They all seemed rather...subdued, didn't they?”

“
Did they? I
hadn't noticed. In Sylvie's case, I'm guessing that she wishes she
could accompany her sister. And with her senses augmented by magic,
she probably could. But someone has to stay with the people of the
Defiant. Captain Martelli is a fine leader, but the sisters are
actually in charge.”

“
Virginia
didn't look happy,” Aeris told him.

“
Are you
sure? Damn it, I was so busy trying to assess that Hallic character
that I didn't really pay that much attention to anyone else. It has
to be because they are sending her and the others to safety once they
get us inside the tower.”

“
Ah, I
hadn't thought of that. And Barnaby?”

Simon stood up with an exasperated
sigh.

“
I'm going
downstairs to make some tea. Feel free to join me. And I have no idea
why Barnaby didn't speak up. Maybe he just didn't have anything to
say? Not everyone can talk endlessly like you can, Aeris.”

The elemental clutched his hands to
his chest and rose dramatically above the desktop.

“
Ah, a barb!
I'm wounded, wounded! Your wit has cut me to the quick.”

The wizard looked at Kronk.

“
See what I
mean?”

Summer came in early and steamy that
year and, even though he'd never been a fan of intense heat, Simon
loved it. The high-pitched song of the cicadas at mid-afternoon, when
the heat and humidity hit its peak, became his cue to retreat to the
lake to cool off for an hour or two. He began to get some color in
his skin for the first time in his life.

“
I do
believe that you are getting a tan,” Aeris observed one
afternoon, a few weeks after the wizard had spoken to Hallic and the
others. “It's a mere tinge, mind you, but at least you aren't
burning as much anymore.”

Simon was floating on his back in the
middle of the lake with his eyes closed, the still air barely moving
the water. At the elemental's comment he smiled dreamily as he
drifted.

“
I'm
grateful for that,” he replied softly, little ripples tickling
his skin. “The burning and peeling was frustrating.”

“
Fascinating
to watch though. You looked like a patchwork quilt at times, with
your mottled skin.”

The wizard opened one eye and
squinted at the elemental, who was hovering just over the lake a few
feet to his right.

“
Glad I
could amuse you,” Simon told him. “Did you just come over
to mock me or did you want something?”

“
Now, now,
my dear wizard, don't be so sensitive. As a matter of fact, Kronk
wanted me to pass along a message. First, he's picked the first of
the early corn, so you can have corn on the cob for dinner if you
want it. We both know how much you like that.”

Simon flipped forward off of his back
and began treading water.

“
Hey,
excellent. My God, can he grow vegetables or what? There's no way
corn would have ripened by now if this was back in the old world.”

“
An
earthen's talent, as you know. And secondly, Brethia and Orriss have
returned, along with the others. They all met up and came back
together so that you could get their findings all at once.”

The wizard gaped at Aeris and the
elemental laughed.

“
Close your
mouth, oh great one, before you swallow half the lake.”

“
They're
back? Why didn't you tell me?”

Simon began swimming toward the
shoreline closest to the tower. Aeris floated easily along behind
him.

“
I did tell
you, just now. And what's the rush? You've waited months for those
reports; a few more minutes won't make any difference.”

A towel and a pair of shorts lay on
the shore when Simon reached it. He grabbed the thick towel and began
to dry off.

“
I suppose
that's true,” he admitted. “It's just that I haven't
heard anything from them for ages; it feels like an eternity since
they headed off to scout for me. Are they all okay?”

“
As far as I
can tell. I didn't get a lot of news; I wanted you to have that
pleasure, but they all seem eager to report on what they found.”

Simon slipped on his shorts, the only
thing that he could stand to wear in the intense heat, and headed up
the gentle slope toward the tower. He was careful to watch where he
walked; stepping barefoot in a pile of horse manure wasn't really all
that pleasant.

“
Did Kronk
do a clean up recently?”

“
No horse
poop to worry about?” Aeris asked with a quick glance around.
“Then I'd say yes; I don't keep track of such things. Honestly,
he really is a neat freak, isn't he?”

They entered the open rear gate and
Simon stopped to stare at the elemental.

“
Neat freak?
Where did you pick up
that
term?”

“
No
idea,” Aeris said indifferently. “One of your old books,
I suppose. I've read them all, many of them twice. Passes the time.”

“
Huh.
Well, it isn't just neatness. Kronk uses the manure in the garden, so
it keeps the path between the lake and the wall clean and is useful
as well.”

“
If
you say so. He must love rolling in it then, considering that he's
still in there now, pulling up weeds and singing to the plants.”

“
Singing
to the plants? He does that?”

“
You
never noticed?”

Aeris
chuckled as he stared at the mass of well-organized crops on the far
side of the tower.

“
It
sounds more like grunting if you ask me, but Kronk says it's how he
encourages the plants to grow. Seems to work, so who am I to
criticize?”

They began
walking again.

“
They're
waiting in the study, by the way,” Aeris told him. “My
fellow air elementals. If you want to go ahead up, I'll bring you
some juice that Kronk has chilling in the cellar.”