The Dragons of Ice and Snow (14 page)

“
Invectis
,”
he said steadily. And then he waited.

A
whisper of wind slipped through the partly-open window, a humid
breeze smelling of rain. It swirled around the study, ruffling the
wizard's hair and stirring loose papers on his desk. And then it
settled and there was a long, drawn-out moment of silence.

A
puddle bubbled up in the center of the work table, a tiny spring of
clear water that spread out in a circle. It began to swirl like a
small whirlpool, churning and spinning faster and faster.

Simon
watched in fascination. When he had contacted Aquamastis, before his
battle with the black dragon, he had summoned him at the river. He
had never seen the great elemental until the actual battle, so this
process was riveting.

Kronk
and Aeris were waiting side by side, watching the summoning with
interest. They exchanged several whispers and Simon wondered what
they were talking about. The fact that they were speaking without
arguing was gratifying and he let them have their secrets.

A
figure began to rise from the center of the small pool, absorbing the
water as it grew. Finally, a man-shaped being made of water stood on
the table, the same twelve inch height as the other two elementals.

Its
face was finely detailed and human-like, the features attractive but
hard to see because it was as clear as glass. Its body rippled and
moved constantly, as if it was holding its shape with some effort.
Unlike Aeris, who also looked like a small replica of the human form,
the water elemental had long locks flowing from its head, literally
looking like a small stream of water pouring down and disappearing
before it hit the ground.

The
elemental slowly turned and took in its surroundings. When it spotted
Kronk and Aeris, it nodded once and they returned the greeting. The
watery expression showed both interest and curiosity as it scanned
the room and, when it had turned full circle, the elemental finally
stopped and faced Simon, bowing low.

“
You
summoned me, sir wizard. I am honored. Word of your deeds has reached
even to the realm of water. I am very pleased to be called to your
aid. What would you have of me?”

Simon
sat down at the table and smiled at the elemental. Its voice was very
smooth and high-pitched and he wondered if this being identified
itself as male or female.

“
Thank
you for coming. Before we begin, let me introduce everyone. My name
is Simon. This is Kronk and Aeris.”

The
water elemental bowed again to the wizard and smiled at the others.

“
You
honor me with your names. I am Anaposus. I have heard of your
interaction with Aquamastis. He is one of our great ones, a legend to
us. Your reputation shines like the Sun glittering on the wide sea.
Tell me, what can I do to serve you?”

The
wizard shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“
Um,
yeah, about that. As I always do before working with new elementals,
I wanted you to understand the terms of our relationship.”

“
Ah,
of course,” Anaposus said equably.

Simon
decided that the water elemental was female. Her voice and graceful
movements were simply too feminine compared to Kronk's and Aeris'.

“
I
don't want servants. Nor do I want to be anyone's master. I summoned
you because I need some help, yes, but you are free to leave at any
time. Whether it's right now, after you hear what I want, or down the
road, it is your choice. Do you understand?”

Anaposus'
eyes widened and she looked shocked. She turned to the other two
elementals as if for confirmation and they both nodded, smiling
broadly at her reaction.

“
Our
dear wizard is being quite honest,” Aeris said lightly. “He
refuses to accept servitude from anyone. Kronk here can't seem to get
out of the habit of calling him 'master', but we both know that we
are his friends, not his slaves.”

“
But,
that is extraordinary!” the water elemental gasped. She looked
up at Simon. “I've never heard of the like before.”

“
So
my friends here have said.” Simon looked out the window
pensively. “You know, the more I hear about those ancient
wizards and how they treated those they summoned, the less I like
them. Bunch of arrogant... Anyway, that's not me. So those are my
terms, Anaposus. Please don't call me master. Kronk will never
change,” and he smiled gently at the little earthen, who gave
him a subtle wink, “but my name is Simon and I'd prefer it if
you called me that. So, what do you say? Will you stay or do you want
to leave?”

The
water elemental opened her mouth, hesitated and then stood silently,
rippling with tiny currents as she frowned down at the tabletop.

“
I
am intrigued,” she said a minute later. “Your respect for
our kind,” she swept Kronk and Aeris with a quick look, “is
unprecedented. Now I see why Aquamastis holds you in such high
regard.”

“
Does
he? I'm surprised.”

She
smiled up at him.

“
Do
you think that one such as he would bargain with a wizard who
attempted to shackle him? No, that would end badly for the summoner.
There has never been a wizard who could enslave an elemental as
powerful as he.”

She
stared at Simon searchingly. He wondered what she was trying to see
in him, and what she was thinking.

“
I
want to stay...Simon?”

He
smiled widely.

“
That's
my name,” he replied and Anaposus laughed, a high tinkling
sound, like bells.

“
I
want to stay,” she repeated. “I have not served a wizard
for thousands of years and I find that I am intrigued by you. So yes,
I agree to your terms, although I must say that we elementals seem to
be getting the better part of the bargain.”

“
I
need friends and partners, not servants, Anaposus. I trust my
friends, and I like to think they trust me. I prefer it that way. I
hope in time you will as well. Just remember, any time you want to
leave, you are free to do so.”

Before
the water elemental could answer, Aeris spoke up.

“
You
see how he actually enslaves us?” he said to her, with an
amused glance at Simon. “Through loyalty, perhaps the strongest
fetters of all.”

“
Aeris,
I...”

“
Oh
hush, my dear wizard. You know very well that I'm joking. Sort of.”

Simon
looked at Anaposus and rolled his eyes.

“
You
see what I have to deal with? Honestly.”

She
looked between the two of them and then burst out laughing.

“
Oh,
I think I am going to like it here,” she said through her
giggles. “I will admit that while I love it, my home has become
rather staid and dull these past few centuries.”

“
You
see? You see?” Aeris said to Simon. “I'm not the only one
who relishes the chance to get away from their own realm.”

The
water elemental looked surprised but Simon only shrugged.

“
I
never said that you were. You just seem to hate it more than most,
that's all.”

“
I
hate boredom. I hate the constant cycle of sameness. I don't hate the
realm of air though. Not really.”

“
Well,
now that that is all cleared up,” Kronk interjected, “perhaps
we can discuss why you summoned Anaposus, master?”

Appreciating
the little guy's attempt to refocus the discussion, Simon nodded and
looked at the water elemental intently.

“
Kronk
has a point. And really, I called you here to basically ask for a
favor. I don't want you to think I'm trying to learn any secrets,
mind you, but there is something I'd like to know.”

She
tilted her head slightly and watched the wizard quizzically.

“
Of
course, um, Simon. Anything I can do.”

“
You
may not feel the same way when I ask, but here it is.”

He
took a deep breath.

“
I
am in a battle with the primal dragons.”

Simon
paused and blinked as he realized what he'd just said.

“
My
God, that sounded a bit pompous, didn't it?” he asked weakly.

Both
Kronk and Aeris chuckled and, after waiting an uncertain moment, so
did Anaposus.

“
What
I should have said is the remnants of the human race are in a battle.
As you may know, both of the black and green primals have fallen.”

He
looked at the water elemental and she nodded vigorously.

“
Even
in the water realm, we have heard this, sir wizard,” she told
him.

“
Really?
That's surprising. Anyway, after thinking about how they were killed,
I've come to the conclusion that a dragon's greatest weakness is
itself. Specifically, their main breath attack. The black died after
its own electrical attack shorted it out in deep water. The green
choked to death on its toxic breath.”

“
Is
that true?” Anaposus looked astonished. “I had no idea. I
didn't know that dragons had any weaknesses. How extraordinary!”

“
If
I'm right,” Simon cautioned. “But if I am, then the next
group of dragons I need to find a weakness for are the whites.”

He
leaned forward and rested his arms on the table.

“
There
is a small group of Changlings in Moscow. It's a city on the other
side of the world where...”

“
Yes,
sir wizard, I know of Moscow,” the watery figure said quickly.
“We have extensive knowledge of the Earth in my realm. I should
say the old Earth, I suppose, after the attacks of the dragons
devastated it.”

“
Oh,
okay. So to help these folks, I need an effective way to attack a
white dragon.”

“
I
see. How about fire?”

“
No,
that won't do much good,” Simon told her. “All dragons
use fire as a weapon. I'm sure it would do some damage, but I doubt
if it would deal a lethal blow. No, what I believe is that intense
cold would do far more harm than fire.”

“
Because
the white dragons breathe frost, yes.”

She's
quick, Simon thought with approval.

“
Exactly.”

The
wizard held up his old spell-book.

“
Unfortunately,
except for Ice Spear and Ice Storm, I don't have any spells that can
deliver an extreme jolt of cold damage. Ice Spear is a penetrating
spell, really, and Ice Storm attacks with hail. I don't think it
would even chip their scales.”

“
Oh,
I don't know, my dear wizard,” Aeris said. “It might do
damage to their eyes, if you hit them just right.”

“
Good
point. Maybe. But I need to use deep cold spells and the only people
that I know of that use cold as a weapon are water elementals.”

There,
he'd said it. Now how would she react?

Anaposus
became very still, her shifting form rippling more rapidly, looking
like small storm waves crossing her body. She looked at Simon with a
small frown.

“
You
want me to divulge the secrets of my people?” she asked him
thinly.

“
Only
if you think you should,” he said quickly. “As I said,
you owe me nothing. If this knowledge is out of bounds, then just
tell me and we'll leave it at that.”

The
water elemental began to wander around the tabletop. Simon was almost
mesmerized by her movements. Unlike Kronk's walking gait or Aeris'
floating, Anaposus glided on a layer of water. Her legs never moved
at all and it almost looked like she was sliding across an icy
surface.

She
returned to her original position and appeared to nod to herself.

“
Very
well. As you have dealt with me, so I shall deal with you, Simon.”

Her
tone was firm and business-like.

“
I
will do this much. I will add to an existing spell that you already
know,” she glanced at the spell-book lying on the table, “so
that it is based on intense cold, rather than what it used
originally. I will leave the choice of spell up to you.”

Simon
was more than surprised.

“
You
can do that?”

“
I
can. The air elementals aren't the only ones who learned of spells
from wizards back in the old days of magic.”

She
exchanged a look with Aeris, who smiled amicably, then looked back at
the wizard.