The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6)

by J. J. Thompson

  Aeris floated upward and his face brightened.

  “Ah, I like that. Very well, my dear wizard. I shall do just that. Enjoy your rest and we'll see you in the morning.”

  Chapter 9

  The next few days passed in a flurry of activity. Subconsciously, Simon seemed to be trying to make up for all of the time lost while he was acting as a host for Esmiralla's consciousness.

  He actually began to think back on her during that time as more of a parasite than some noble creature. It seemed to make what she did to him easier to accept and put behind him.

  He got in touch with Tamara and Sebastian and found that they had been worried sick about him. It was touching and Simon was gratified to see their reactions when he told them what had happened.

  “Let's kill her,” Tamara responded in typical fashion when she heard of the silver dragon's treachery.

  “Tammy!” her brother gasped. “Are you nuts? We can't do that.”

  Simon held back his laughter and agreed with Sebastian.

  “She's been punished by Argentium,” he told them. “And I'm guessing that he's keeping her on a very short leash. We need her, Tamara, and that's the truth of it. Let's shelve that for now. Why don't you both tell me what's been happening these last few months. I've sort of been out of the loop.”

  They had a long, informative chat and Simon thoroughly enjoyed hearing all of the news about the people of Nottinghill Castle.

  There had been a birth since he'd last been in touch as well as, sadly, an accidental death. Someone had fallen from the ramparts while on night patrol. So the population had remained exactly the same.

  There had been dragon sightings but only at a distance. For whatever reason, the dragons were avoiding contact with humans, at least for the time being.

  “I wonder why?” Simon had said.

  “My guess? Because a human wizard,” Tamara's image winked at him from the surface of the mirror, ”slaughtered their primal. I think they're a bit gun-shy.”

  Sebastian had looked skeptical but stayed silent.

  Simon finally said goodbye with a promise to visit his friends soon. He asked the siblings to say hello to Aiden, Malcolm and the others and to let them know that he was safe and sound. And that he apologized for staying away for so long.

  “Don't be sorry,” Tamara had told him. “You didn't choose to remain isolated. It was that damned silver dragon.”

  After speaking with the mages, Simon turned his attention to his oldest friend, Daniel. It had been far too long since they had spoken and he was very worried.

  Daniel was now an old man living in the elven realm. Time moved differently there, sometimes faster, sometimes slower than time on Earth. So the wizard didn't know how long it had been since they had been in touch, from Daniel's perspective.

  Simon made a fresh cup of tea and took it upstairs to his study. Both Kronk and Aeris had left the tower to allow him some privacy and he was grateful to them. They had listened in on his conversation with Tamara and Sebastian, adding their own comments to the discussion, but his contact with Daniel was more personal and they seemed to understand that.

  Simon sat down at his desk, picked up his mirror and stared into it.

  “Daniel,” he murmured after he cast the Magic Mirror spell and watched as the glass fogged over.

  He sipped his tea while he waited for the magic to make contact with his old friend. He was feeling a mixture of nervousness and anticipation and noticed with wry amusement that his hand was shaking a bit as he held the mirror.

  How much time had passed for Daniel since they had last spoken? Days? Months? Damn that dragon!

  The glass began to clear and Simon hunched forward and stared intently into the depths of the mirror, unconsciously holding his breath.

  A room appeared, bright with sunlight. The sounds of birds and an unearthly singing mixed sweetly and gave the wizard a thrill of emotion. It was beautiful.

  A large four-poster bed covered with a beautiful quilt, intricately stitched in a rainbow of colors, took up most of the mirror's view. A man lay there, propped up with many pillows, his skinny, wrinkled hands resting on top of the quilt.

  The old man's long silver hair was gleaming in the light from an open window. His lined face was peaceful in sleep and Simon felt a wave of affection as he recognized his oldest friend.

  Around Daniel, standing or sitting on wooden chairs and watching him intently, were a small group of people. Elves. Simon knew only one of them. It was his first elvish friend and the leader of the elves, Ethmira.

  Daniel looked frail and his skin had a translucent quality that Simon didn't like. It looked like a strong wind could blow his beloved friend away.

  The elves were speaking quietly to each other in their own language and obviously trying not to disturb the sleeping man. Simon wanted to say something but was afraid to wake Daniel. Before he could figure out what to do, the decision was taken from him.

  The room went silent as the old man's eyes fluttered and he woke up with a gentle snort. He looked around blearily, his heavy lids making his once-bright eyes look dull and vague.

  “Daniel, did we wake you?” Ethmira asked gently. “I'm sorry about that.”

  “Don't apologize,” he replied with that familiar tone that made Simon smile.

  Old or not, that unique timber would never change.

  “We have a visitor,” Daniel continued, his voice sounding paper-thin.

  “A visitor?”

  Ethmira looked around, as did the other elves in the room. They exchanged knowing glances and the elven maiden patted those claw-like hands.

  “There is no one else here but us, my friend,” she told him.

  Daniel frowned and his eyes flitted from one side of the room to the other.

  “Bah. I may be dying but I'm not a fool, nor have I lost my wits.”

  He tried to raise his voice.

  “Speak up, before they assume I'm hallucinating. It's about time you got in touch anyway. You're almost too late, you know.”

  Simon smiled as his vision blurred with tears.

  “Hello, old friend,” he said and he heard his voice echo around the bedroom.

  The elves jumped as one and looked around again, eyes wide.

  Ethmira was the first to smile. She looked relieved and patted Daniel's hand again reassuringly.

  “We didn't think you were crazy, Daniel. We thought you had been dreaming, that's all.”

  “Hmm. A likely story. Hello Simon. Where the hell have you been?”

  “Cranky as always,” the wizard replied fondly. “Some things never change.”

  “Some things do,” Daniel told him.

  He tried to push himself up higher and the elves hurried to adjust his pillows to help him.

  “All right, all right, don't fuss!” he told them in a cranky voice. “I'm not quite useless yet.”

  “You don't look well,” Simon said worriedly.

  “Of course I don't look well. Father Time has finally caught up with me, old buddy. I'm officially dying. Lovely, isn't it?”

  The wizard sat up in his chair, his heart suddenly pounding in his ears.

  “Dying?”

  “Yes, dying.”

  “How can you know that? What do you mean? Damn it, what's...”

  His friend made an abrupt gesture and cut him off. Then Daniel looked down at himself and hissed irritably.

  “This ridiculous old body has worn out before its time. My elven friends here have done what they could, but immortals don't really know how to deal with aging. It's foreign to them.”

  “We've tried, Daniel. Believe me.”

  He smiled at Ethmira and nodded, his irritation forgotten.

  “I know, my dear. I know. I don't blame you or your people. It's my own fault for returning to Earth and being caught by the time differential.”

  He turned his head and stared straight into Simon's eyes.

  “Ah, there you are. I like that I can see your image. Yo
ur powers have grown.”

  “Maybe they have. But if so, it hasn't been from use. I haven't cast spells for several months now.”

  Daniel's gaze sharpened.

  “Explain.”

  Simon tried to focus on the recent past and ignore Daniel's horrible statement. It was very difficult.

  He told them about the merging with Esmiralla. Ethmira had been part of the attack on the primal red dragon, but hadn't known about his involvement with the silver dragon. She looked shocked as the story unfolded.

  Daniel lay there quietly, watching Simon but saying nothing. A few times he closed his eyes and the wizard wondered if he was drifting into sleep. But each time, his old friend would rally and sit up and listen attentively again.

  When he was finished, no one spoke for a while. The elves just exchanged worried looks and then waited for Daniel to comment.

  He sighed and shook his head weakly.

  “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,” he murmured. “And you can excuse even the worst sins by claiming they were committed in the name of the greater good.”

  He looked at Simon.

  “The silver dragon has tarnished herself and her gods by doing what she did. You do realize that, don't you?”

  “Better than anyone else, under the circumstances. I have been violated and I no longer trust her. At all. I'm withholding judgment on Argentium. He seemed appalled by what Esmiralla did. We'll see how things go in the future.”

  “Silver and argent dragons, both returned to the mortal world,” one of the elves, a slim male with long black hair, said in wonder.

  “Will they take the fight to the red dragons and the gods of Chaos?” he asked Simon, wide-eyed.

  “I assume that's why Esmiralla brought Argentium back from the Void,” he replied. “But powerful or not, they are still only two dragons against hundreds, perhaps thousands, of foes. And that's not even counting the evil gods. In the end, they may not have much of an impact on our struggle.”

  “Oh, I think they will,” Daniel said.

  When Simon gave him an inquiring look, he simply smiled mysteriously.

  The smile was replaced by a sudden look of pain and Daniel hissed and clenched his fists.

  A female elf bent over him and muttered several words in elvish. The old face relaxed and Simon watched as his friend closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  “We keep his pain as bearable as we can,” Ethmira told Simon sadly. “But we cannot stop what is coming.”

  “How long?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Soon. Very soon. I am sorry to say that this may be the last time you see him alive, my friend.”

  Simon pushed that thought away.

  “No. I have to see him in person. Ethmira, I need you to open a portal for me to the elven realm. Just tell me where it will appear and I'll meet you there.”

  Before she could answer, the woman who had eased Daniel into sleep interrupted.

  “That is not possible,” she stated flatly, staring at Simon. “If you enter our lands, you will have to remain here. Returning to your world will kill you as surely as it is killing Daniel.”

  “No it won't!” Simon told her roughly. “I did it once and I was fine. My wizard physiology ages much more slowly than any normal human. I'll be okay.”

  “You will not.”

  “Ethmira, who is this?” Simon asked as he glared at the woman.

  “Simon, this is Sybell. She is our greatest healer and one of the eldest of us. If she says that you will die if you come here, then you will die.”

  “But why?” he asked plaintively.

  “It has to do with the time differential,” Sybell told him, speaking in a more reasonable tone. “As you know, it does not flow smoothly. Sometimes it moves more slowly here than in your world and at other times, it moves faster. At this moment, it is moving very swiftly indeed. Your magic allows you to speak with us as if we were all moving at the same speed, time-wise, but we are not. To put it simply, by the time you entered this realm, Daniel would be gone. Years would have passed in the space of a few of your days. We do not notice, as we do not age, but you would age and die while only a few days would have passed on Earth. It would be a waste of your gifts, wizard.”

  Simon sat back in his chair and looked at them all helplessly.

  “Then what do I do?”

  “Say goodbye, Simon,” Ethmira told him softly. “Sybell, would you wake Daniel please? Ease his pain for a few minutes and let him speak with his oldest friend.”

  She looked at the handful of elves that stood around the bed.

  “Please wait outside,” she asked.

  They bowed and left silently. Several looked at Simon compassionately, but he was totally focused on Daniel and the healer, Sybell.

  Ethmira bowed slightly to him and followed them out.

  Sybell placed a gentle hand on Daniel's forehead and his eyes fluttered open. She said something in elvish and looked at Simon.

  “He will be conscious for only a few moments, wizard. That is all the time that I can grant him before the pain returns.”

  She nodded at him and walked out.

  “What? What happened?” Daniel asked as he tried to push himself up on his pillows. He barely moved.

  “Did I fall asleep? Well, that was awkward. Sorry about that.”

  Simon forced a grin.

  “No problem. I've always suspected that my conversation could put you to sleep. Seems I was right.”

  Daniel laughed, a thin, wheezy sound.

  “My secret's out. And why did my audience withdraw, hmm? Not that I mind. Between you and me, they get on my nerves a bit. I know that they care, but...”

  “I hear you. Well, they went out so that you and I could have a moment's privacy.”

  Simon suddenly found himself unable to speak. Instead, tears filled his eyes and ran down his face, and he found it hard to even see Daniel.

  The old head nodded and his friend's eyes watched him wisely.

  “Ah, I see. So the hour is nigh, as they say. I'm about to shake off this mortal coil, etcetera. Huh. Now that the time is here, I'm not sure what to say.”

  “It's not that bad,” Simon told him thickly. “I remember passing over. It's rather exciting, actually. The land beyond death is vast and holds endless possibilities and untold adventures. It certainly doesn't scare me anymore.”

  “It holds no fear for me either,” Daniel said with a little smile. “I've lived with pain for quite some time now. It will be a relief to put it behind me. But I will admit that knowing death isn't the end is...liberating.”

  “It isn't fair!” Simon blurted out. “You're younger than I am. We should have had years to enjoy this New Earth. Instead you were trapped in that world and doomed to die long before you should have.”

  “That's the way it goes,” Daniel said with a feeble shrug. “I've lived a hell of a lot longer than most mundanes did after the dragons attacked. I didn't Change, Simon. I knew then that my days were numbered. And living here has actually been amazing. The things I've seen, the books I've read and the people I've met have been a wonder. So don't feel guilty about this and don't regret it. It is what it is.”

  He grimaced and shuddered, his thin body twisting under the heavy quilt.

  “The pain is returning. It's time to say goodbye, old friend.” He smiled fondly at Simon. “It's time to let me go.”

  Simon wiped his eyes on his sleeve and frantically tried to think of something to do, some way to stop the inevitable. But Daniel began to shake and he knew that the healer had to come back in and help him.

  “Oh damn. I...goodbye, Daniel. I've only counted two people as family in my entire life; my mother and you. I'll miss you more than I can say.”

  “Me too, my friend. Me too. But who knows? We may meet again one day, on the other side. Look for me, would you?”

  “I will. You do the same. We'll have a pint together.”

  “It's a date.”

  Daniel writ
hed again and motioned Simon away.

  The wizard smiled one last time and passed his hand across the mirror to cancel the spell.

  He sat alone in his study, staring blindly at nothing and thinking about the friend he had just lost. Then he lurched to his feet and flung the mirror across the room. It smashed against the stone wall and shards of glass flew in all directions.

  “God DAMN it!” he shouted and collapsed into his chair.

  He rested his arms on the desk and lay his head on them. He didn't move for a very long time.

  Chapter 10

  Simon spent several days numbly going through the motions of living as he mourned Daniel's passing. When Kronk and Aeris heard the bad news, they were very supportive. When he wanted to talk, they were there. And when he needed some quiet time to think, they gave it to him. In retrospect, they were probably the best companions he could have had during that difficult time.

  But Daniel wouldn't have wanted his best friend to spend his life grieving and Simon knew that. And so, after he was able to grudgingly accept the painful loss, the wizard knew he had to get back to living in the real world. It was wrenching and hard, but he had a long life ahead of him and there was a lot to do.

  “Good morning, master,” Kronk said brightly a few days after the tragedy.

  Simon was eating porridge and sipping tea while reading an old tome on mythical beasts when the elemental came bounding in the front door carrying a small wicker basket.

  “What have you got there?”

  “Fresh eggs, master. You can have them for lunch. How are you feeling today?” the little guy continued as he tip-tapped across the room and carefully jumped up on the kitchen table. He put the basket down gently.

  “Better, thanks,” Simon told him as he looked up from his book and smiled. “Thank you for your patience with me the past few days.”

  “No thanks are necessary, master,” the earthen said with a dismissive gesture. “Even we elementals mourn the loss of friends. It does not happen often, but we all know grief. It is important for all sentient creatures to accept and move on from such a personal loss.”

  Simon put down his book and stared at the little guy, a bit bemused.