The Dragons of Ice and Snow (36 page)

“Damn. Sorry about that. Well,
you know what you're doing, so I'll leave you to it. But remember...”

“Yes, yes. Be careful. Run if I
get into trouble. I know the drill, my dear wizard. I'll be fine.”
He paused and then added casually, “How's Kronk doing? And
Ana?”

“Oh, they're fine. I don't see
Ana that often. She likes to roam the local streams and rivers, or so
she says. There isn't much for her to do around here anyway. As for
Kronk, I think he misses you. At least, he was pretty down the whole
week after you left.”

“Was he? Ah well, it was probably
just gas or something.”

Simon barked out a laugh.

“Aeris, you know that he doesn't
eat.”

“Of course. I'll continue as I
have been for now and we'll talk tomorrow, right?”

“Yep. I'll call you around the
same time. Good luck.”

He broke the connection and then cast
the Magic Mirror spell again and got in touch with Clara.

She was thrilled to hear that he'd
found wolf's bane and promised to tell Malcolm and Aiden the good
news right away.

“How are they holding up?”
he asked her, thinking about the two men still caged like animals.

“Surprisingly well, actually. We
dug up a chess board and some playing cards from that destroyed town
to the west of here, so they've spent the time either using those or
working out.”

She grinned and rolled her eyes.

“And singing, if you can believe
it.”

“Singing? Really? Singing what?”

“Oh, don't ask me. Some sort of
rap from the old days. They have fairly decent voices but I remember
calling that stuff 'rap crap' back in the day and I haven't changed
my opinion. Seems to make them happy though, so there's that.”

Simon had to laugh at her description.

“Yeah, I was never a fan myself.
Give me old time rock any day. Oh, when you tell them that I found
wolf's bane, also let them know that, according to Kronk, the full
moon rises in eleven days. I guess that means that they will have to
endure one night as beasts before we can give them the talismans that
we'll make from the flowers.”

“I'll tell them but they're going
to hate that.”

“Better than the alternative
though, isn't it?”

“It is. They requested heavy
chains to bind them when they began changing into werewolves the last
time. I assume they'll do the same again.”

Clara sounded distressed and Simon
looked at her sympathetically.

“It's only this one last time, my
friend,” he said gently. “And it's at their request,
after all.”

“I know. I know that. But
still... Anyway, I'll let them know. Thank you for this. I'm sure
that our friends would say the same.”

The wizard waved away her thanks with
some embarrassment.

“You and the guys would do that
same for me. I'll call back the day before the next full moon. See if
you can find containers for the ground-up flowers. Something that
they can wear around their necks would probably be best.”

“I'm already on it, Simon,”
Clara said with a satisfied grin. “I've given instructions to
our blacksmith. He grumbled a bit about making jewelry instead of
weapons or armor but I think he sees it as a challenge. He assures me
that they will be ready in a week.”

“Excellent! Okay, I'll talk to
you soon then.”

The cleric smiled and waved and Simon
broke the spell.

He sat back in his chair and savored
the moment. Malcolm and Aiden would soon be freed and Aeris was still
okay and scouting. All good. He still wished that he'd received a
signal from Liliana, but she remained silent and he was sure that she
wouldn't allow communications until she had something to talk about.
So that was that.

He got up, stretched and went
downstairs.

Kronk had lit the candles around the
room and put on the kettle. He'd set out Simon's cup along with the
box of dried chamomile tea and a pot of honey. The front door was
open, so the wizard assumed that the little guy was doing his usual
tour of the grounds: checking that both the front and the back gates
were closed and locked and seeing to the horses.

Simon made his tea, sliced up some
dried meat and bread and was eating a sandwich by the time the
earthen returned.

Kronk closed the front door as he
entered and joined Simon at the kitchen table.

“Everything okay out there?”
the wizard asked around a mouthful of food.

“Yes master,” the little
guy replied as he stood in the middle of the table. He cocked his
head a bit and looked puzzled.

“I haven't seen Ana for quite
some time though. I thought she said that she liked it here, but
she's always gone.”

“Well, I told her from the start
that she's free to do as she likes. So if she wants to roam,”
Simon said as he began eating a second sandwich, “then she can
roam.”

“I suppose that is true, master.
I just...”

Kronk's voice trailed off and he stared
at the fire crackling in the fireplace.

“What is it?”

“Nothing, master. Well, nothing
definable. It's about water elementals, that's all.”

He turned to look directly at Simon.

“You probably know that Ana and
her people are closer to nature than other elementals?”

The wizard swallowed the last of his
sandwich and washed it down with some tea before answering.

“No I didn't, but that's hardly a
surprise. Aquamastis was overjoyed at being summoned to Earth and
then being allowed to take possession of the Ottawa River. I know
that in legend, water sprites come up time and time again.”
Simon scoured his memory. “They weren't always benevolent
either, if I'm remembering correctly.”

“Yes, master, precisely. They are
considered...” Kronk seemed to be searching for the proper
word. “Amoral is the term, I believe. Water is where they wish
to be, always. That Ana said she wanted to stay here was a surprise
to me, considering how much her people dislike existing on land.”

Simon toyed with his teacup and looked
at the earthen speculatively.

“So what are you saying exactly?
That I can't trust her? You've said yourself that elementals can't
harm their summoner. So even if she wanted to, Ana couldn't do
anything to hurt me. And why would she?”

“I am not saying she would,
master. All I am saying is that she is spending an increasing amount
of time elsewhere. And as for an elemental not harming the one who
summoned them; master, you have changed the rules! We are swimming in
unknown waters now.”

“Nice metaphor,” Simon
said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't help. “And how did
I change the rules?”

“You set us free, master. That
has never been done in all of the ages that mankind has existed. I
have never known a wizard to free an elemental, and yet you did. Do
you not see what kind of power that gives us?”

The wizard leaned forward on his arms,
watching Kronk closely.

“What power?” he asked.

“The power of choice, master! You
think that it only allows us to come and go as we choose, but it does
not. If we were unscrupulous or dangerous to you, it would give us
the choice to do you harm.”

“Wait. Hang on a second. Kronk,
you all pledged yourselves to me. You gave me your word, remember?”

“Of course I did, master. I wish
to serve you in all things. And Aeris, grumpy though he might be,
wishes the same. And as we told you then, if we broke our vows, the
consequences would be fatal. Our leaders would obliterate us in an
instant. They are creatures of honor.”

“But Ana swore to serve me too,”
Simon reminded the earthen.

“Yes master, and therein lies the
problem.”

Kronk stopped and looked around almost
furtively. He stepped closer to the wizard and lowered his voice to a
whisper.

“The ruler of the water realm is
known to be, shall we say, flexible in her interpretation of the
concept of honor.”

“Meaning?” Simon asked
under his breath.

“Meaning that any results that
serve her purposes and those of her people are considered honorable.
If you'd like some proof of that, master, try crossing the river that
Aquamastis now claims for his own without his permission. Even though
you are the one who summoned him, I assure you that the results could
be...unfortunate.”

Simon whistled between his teeth.

“You're serious? Yes, of course
you are. So Ana...”

“Could be pursuing her own
agenda, or that of her ruler. We cannot know for sure.”

“Or she could be completely
innocent and wandering the countryside exactly as she claims to be
doing.”

“Very true, master. I am just
giving you the facts. It is up to you to decide what to do with
them.”

“Yeah, well...”

Simon stood up and put the kettle over
the fire again.

“I'll give it some thought.
Thanks for bringing it up though. God knows I have enough on my
plate, but if something does come from that direction, at least I was
warned.”

The silence that followed was suddenly
broken by a distant gurgle. Simon and Kronk exchanged a confused look
and then both turned and looked at the sink. A faint echo, like the
sound of water draining, burbled for a few seconds and then faded
away.

“Huh. Funny the sounds that wells
make sometimes, isn't it?”

“Yes master. Funny.”

They looked at each other again and
then Kronk jumped off the table.

“I am going to check in with my
friends on the wall, master. I want to make sure that everything is
secure.”

“Good thinking. Oh, by the way,
thanks for staying back to examine the walls in Nottinghill. It's
good to know that their defenses are still secure and intact.”

“My pleasure, master. It's always
wise to take precautions, isn't it?”

Simon stared at him thoughtfully.

“Yes. You can never be too
careful, I suppose.”

Life went back to being
routine around the tower over the next few days. The only break from
normalcy was when Simon Gated to check out the meadow where he'd
found the wolf's bane.

Kronk offered to accompany
him but Simon asked him to stay home and keep an eye on things. He
didn't expect to be away for long.

He memorized the
coordinates of the location, pictured the meadow in his mind and cast
the Gate spell.

Unfortunately, when he
appeared knee-deep in thick, rich grass, he'd forgotten that the
western part of the continent was several hours behind the east, and
the sky was just beginning to glow with early sunrise.

Simon could barely see the
area around him, but instead of summoning a light, he stood there
leaning on his staff and taking in the scene.

He was standing on the
eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and his view of the distant
horizon was clear and unobstructed. The edge of the world was glowing
with pink and gold and the rich scents of the awakening Earth were
thick in his nostrils.

The wizard smiled as the
world woke up. He had never had the chance to travel to western
Canada in his previous life, and Canada no longer even existed, but
now he was sorry that he'd never taken the opportunity. It was quite
simply the most beautiful vista he had ever seen.

Simon never knew how long
he stood there and drank in the view, but eventually he realized that
he could see everything clearly, the grass and flowers bobbing and
waving in the light morning breeze. He turned away from the sunrise
and looked over the meadow, searching for the wolf's bane.

And there it was. Growing
up through the tall grass, the large flowers with their broad
colorful petals seemed to nod at each other, like a gathering of
friends chatting about the good old days. It made him smile to see
them.

The wizard waded through
the grasping brush and grass and stood at a respectful distance to
examine the wolf's bane plant. He hadn't forgotten the warning that
the plant was extremely toxic.

Pretty, he thought, but I
wonder if it does what Aethos said it does? Well, we'll see soon
enough.

After a final look around
and a sniff of the invigorating mountain air, he chanted the Gate
spell and headed for home.

Each evening Simon
contacted Aeris to check on his progress. It was becoming
increasingly obvious that finding the primal white dragon was not
going to be a quick and easy task. It was also getting harder to keep
a straight face every time he spoke to the air elemental.

Aeris was getting bored.
The unending vista of ice and snow was making him restless and Simon
had to endure an increasingly long litany of complaints each time
they spoke. Several times he bit his tongue to keep from reminding
the elemental that he was the one who had wanted to feel useful
again.

It had actually passed the
point where the wizard was irritated by the complaining. He'd begun
to find the whining hysterically funny and had to wait, red-faced,
until the conversation ended before laughing so hard that it brought
tears to his eyes.

Kronk walked in one
evening, a few days before the full moon was due to appear, hopped up
and watched with a surprised expression as Simon sat pounding on the
kitchen table, laughing like a lunatic.

“
What is so funny,
master?” he asked when the wizard had finally finished and was
wiping the tears from his eyes.

“
Oh, it's Aeris,”
he answered with a grin. “I know I should be used to him
complaining by now, but it's becoming so over the top that every time
he starts again it cracks me up.”

“
I see.” Kronk
frowned up at him. “So you find the fact that Aeris is alone in
a frozen wasteland searching for one of the most powerful creatures
on the planet, at great personal danger to himself, funny, master?”