The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (41 page)

“
It
is along the same lines as the Quicksand spell but, well, quicker. It
can turn ground instantly into deep, sticky mud. Sheila considered it
more of a party trick than an important spell, but I heard over the
years that many wizards used it to good effect in battle.”

Simon
wrote down Mud and circled it, putting the word 'investigate' next to
it.

“
What
else?” he asked.

“
Oh,
many things, my lord. I could speak of Sheila for hours. Perhaps if
you asked me specific questions about her? I do not want to bore
you.”

“
You
could never do that,” the wizard assured her. “I find the
memories of you and Aeris, and Kronk too, fascinating. You're all
like walking, talking,” Aeris did a flip in midair and Simon
rolled his eyes, “flying encyclopedias. Every time you pass
along a new fact or tell me another tale from the old days, I'm
intrigued. So trust me, boring is the last thing you could be to me.”

“
That
is lovely of you to say, sir wizard,” Brethia told him
politely. “But if I ramble on about Sheila, believe me, you
will become bored eventually. What did you really want to know?”

“
Okay,
that's a fair question.”

Simon
thought about what was most important to him about Brethia's
memories.

“
What
I really would like to know is, did Sheila ever battle monsters the
way that I'm going to have to? And if she did, how did she cope? What
did she do exactly?”

Brethia
looked down at the desktop silently for a few moments and then
nodded.

“
Battles.
Yes, she did have to deal with threats on occasion.”

She
looked up at Simon and smiled.

“
But
the world back then was much tamer than the one that you have
inherited, sir wizard. Monsters were contained, restricted to certain
corners of the globe by magical barriers. Those barriers were
constantly monitored by mages whose single purpose was to safeguard
the population. There were, however, times when gaps appeared in the
barriers and then a wizard would be called in to deal with any
creatures that had escaped. Sheila was summoned to such tasks several
times over the years.”

“
Brethia,
I think your memories of the old days are a little rosier than they
should be,” Aeris said gently.

“
Are
they?” she asked in surprise. “How so? We didn't have
roaming hordes of monsters creating havoc all over the place, unlike
the undead armies that exist today.”

“
No,
that's true. But what about the goblin wars? Or the giant invasion
during the Years of Strife? And surely you haven't forgotten about
the Red Dawn revolt? All of these and more happened during Sheila's
lifetime, didn't they?”

Simon
listened silently to the two elementals, fascinated.

They
know so much history that the world has forgotten, he thought.
Because they were there.

He
shook his head and Brethia looked at him curiously.

“
Is
something wrong, my lord?” she asked.

“
No,
nothing. It's just that sometimes I have to remind myself that this
isn't some dream I'm in; this is real life. I am sitting here
listening to two beings who have lived for thousands of years talk
about the past. I find it a bit surreal on occasion, that's all.”

Both
of the elementals laughed.

“
I
suppose that's a normal reaction,” Aeris said with a smile. “I
mean, your old world knew nothing of magic or ancient civilizations;
or at least civilizations as old as the ones we remember. And you did
live almost sixty years as a mundane human before the gods began
allowing magic into the world again.”

“
That
I did. But you know, that old Simon is like some distant memory now;
like remembering a person I knew from my youth. He's grown hazy and
indistinct.” He sighed. “Probably just as well. Fewer
memories, fewer regrets.”

He
looked inquiringly at Brethia.

“
About
Sheila?”

“
Oh
yes, of course. Well, Aeris is correct; I didn't bring up the various
wars and clashes with goblins because Sheila held herself apart from
them. She was a lover of peace and contemplation, my lord. Rather
like yourself. She wished to spend her days in research or
communicating with a few well-chosen friends. And when she did go
into battle, it was with the greatest reluctance.”

“
So
as far as tactics go, you really can't tell me much?” Simon
asked, disappointed.

“
I'm
afraid not, my lord. Except that she did have two things that I think
combined to keep her safe throughout her life.”

“
Which
were?”

“
First,
she was a natural spell-caster. She had a grasp of magic that was
subtle and almost elegant.”

Brethia
bowed slightly to Simon.

“
Talents
that you share with her, sir wizard. And secondly, she believed that
misdirection was an underused skill when it came to magical
conflicts. She always said that if you kept your enemies confused,
your battle was already half won.”

Simon
wrote that down and then stared at the line as he tapped his pencil
against his chin.

“
What
is it?” Aeris asked at the wizard's silent contemplation.

“
Keep
your enemies confused,” Simon muttered. “Of course. That
makes perfect sense.” He smiled at Brethia. “Thank you. I
think I have a few ideas on how to do exactly that.”

“
Care
to share them with the rest of us?” Aeris asked pertly.

“
Why
spoil the surprise? After all, I have to test my ideas on someone,
don't I?”

Several
days later, Aeris was flying slowly around the corner of the tower
toward the front door when he noticed that the main gate was wide
open. He stopped and looked around in confusion. The standing rule
was that the gate remained sealed unless Simon had visitors. For
everyday use, the small back gate was employed only.

The
air elemental heard a rustling behind him and turned to see Kronk
bouncing along, almost hidden by the grass that was threatening to
overgrow the path around the tower.

“
I'm
going to have to cut this soon,” the earthen rumbled to
himself. “It does grow so quickly.”

“
Kronk?”

The
earthen spotted Aeris floating in place and waved.

“
What
is it?” he called out.

“
Why
is the front gate open?”

“
What?”

The
little guy increased his speed and grass flew everywhere as if hit by
a tiny hurricane. When he rounded the corner and could see the open
gate, Kronk stopped and frowned at it.

“
Why
is the front gate open?”

Aeris
sighed in exasperation.

“
I
just asked you that. You didn't open it?”

Kronk
moved toward the gate and Aeris floated along just above him.

“
Certainly
not. Master's orders are very clear. No one has permission to open
the gate and interrupt the warding except him. Did he leave or do we
have visitors?”

“
Well,
we certainly don't have visitors,” Aeris told him as he scanned
the open field that stretched out beyond the wall to the dark line of
the forest. “And I just left our dear wizard in his study about
thirty minutes ago to do a routine check on the fences. They're all
fine, by the way,” he added absently.

“
Hmm,
good to know. But then, who opened the gate?”

“
Kronk?”

Both
elementals looked up at the top of the wall and saw an earthen
staring back at them.

“
Did
you open the gate?” he called down to them.

“
No,
of course not. Did you or any of the other guards?”

“
Definitely
not. But it must have just happened. I'm on patrol duty today while
the others are watching from fixed points. I just passed the gate ten
minutes ago and it was locked up tight.”

“
Thank
you. We'll get to the bottom of this,” Kronk reassured him.

The
elemental waved and disappeared from view.

“
Okay,
this is becoming a little disturbing,” Aeris stated. “Who
the hell opened the damned gate?”

“
Wait.
What's that moving?” Kronk asked as he peered across the wide
field.

“
Where?”

The
earthen pointed.

“
To
the left, near the edge of the trees.”

Both
elementals saw a flash of blue. It seemed to fade for a moment and
then come back into focus. It was a man, striding confidently toward
the trees. He was wearing a dark blue robe and carrying a staff in
his right hand.

Neither
elemental could see his face, but his long dark hair hung below his
shoulders and bounced as he walked.

“
Master!”
Kronk exclaimed. “What is he doing? The forest is very
dangerous these days.”

“
No
idea. Another brainstorm perhaps. He was huddled over that journal
that his friend Daniel wrote for him before the dragons returned.
Wouldn't even look up when I asked if he wanted some tea.”

“
Well,
we cannot allow him to enter the wilderness alone,” Kronk
stated.

He
began to hurry toward the distant figure when Aeris stopped him.

“
Hang
on. He's not going into the trees.”

“
He
isn't?”

Kronk
leaped up several times so that he could see above the tall grass.

Aeris
was correct. The man was now walking steadily along the edge of the
forest, heading to the right.

“
What
is he doing?” the air elemental asked. “Isn't it a little
hot for him to be galloping all around this field in the blazing
sun?”

The
day was indeed very hot and, while neither elemental was bothered by
the temperature, they knew how draining it was to Simon.

“
Blast
my short legs in this grass,” Kronk growled. “Aeris, go
and ask him if he needs our aid, would you? It will take me too long
to reach him.”

“
You
could always travel underground,” Aeris teased him.

The
earthen scowled up at him and Aeris held up his hands.

“
All
right, all right. I'll go and find out what he's up to. He certainly
won't do anyone any good if he collapses in this heat.”

The
air elemental shot off across the field and Kronk moved back to stand
at the gate. The ground rose slightly there and he had a better view
of his surroundings.

The
little guy watched as Aeris crossed the open field and approached the
distant figure.

“
Master,
why are you walking so strangely?” Kronk murmured.

The
wizard's strides seemed unusually awkward, as if his legs were a foot
longer than they should be. It was so odd that Kronk felt a chill of
foreboding. Something wasn't right.

He
watched intently as Aeris approached the wizard and then, when he was
less than ten yards away, there was a wavering and flickering of
light and shadow around the figure and the man disappeared.

“
What?”
Kronk gasped. “Where did he go?”

“
Hmm,
that seemed to work fairly well. I don't think I got the legs quite
right though.”