“I understand,” the wizard said quickly. “An elegant system.”
“Oh, thank you,” Sylvie said with a wide smile. “It is rare for others to appreciate our connection. I believe I quite like you, Simon O'Toole.”
“I agree,” Veronique said firmly. “We are by necessity cautious when meeting new people, especially magic-users. But you are different. I can feel your goodness, Simon, and how much you truly care about others.”
Simon shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
“I'm hardly filled with goodness, I assure you. I'm just a guy trying to do the right thing in this crazy world of ours.”
“Exactly. What else can one do, really? Now, it's been a busy day, so I really do not want to impose upon you any longer. But if you could return and teach me something about these wards of yours, we would be eternally grateful.”
Simon happily agreed.
“I'll take the time to actually write out exactly how to use them and which runes do what,” he promised. “That way you'll have reference material to go on when you need it.”
“Wonderful,” Sylvie said happily.
She reached out across the table and Simon took her hand.
“Thank you,” she said simply. “Not only for your future aid with these wards of yours but for saving our Defiant today. She's a lovely lady and we hope to live on her for many years to come.”
“Any time,” the wizard replied.
He shook her hand warmly, said goodbye and stood up.
Veronique led him to the door.
“Come back when you can,” she said quietly. “I won't try to rush you; obviously you know what our situation is.”
“I do. And I will be back in a week or less, I promise you.”
They shook hands and Simon left the room.
Out in the hallway, Barnaby was leaning against a wall and flipping a small mage light from one hand to the other. He looked quite bored and smiled with relief when Simon appeared.
“Ah, there you are,” the mage said happily.
The light disappeared and he stepped forward.
“Hi. Sorry about the wait,” Simon said as he joined Barnaby.
“No problem. What did you think of Veronique and Sylvie?”
They began walking back up the corridor.
“I thought they were amazing. Very impressive.”
“They are, aren't they? I'm glad you liked them; they can be a bit fussy when it comes to warming up to new people.”
They began chatting about magical wards as they made their way back up to the main deck. Simon was amazed again to learn that Barnaby was also unaware of wards and what they could do.
Back outside, Simon found the three elementals waiting for him.
“Hey guys. You okay?”
“We are fine, master,” Kronk told him with some relief. “Are you all right? We were beginning to worry.”
“I'm good. I just met the leaders among the mages.”
Barnaby said goodbye and headed below, telling Simon that he was looking forward to seeing him soon.
“We're coming back?” Aeris asked as he watched the mage leave.
“Yeah. I'm going to write up a guide on runes and wards and how to use them. It's weird but apparently they don't have this ship magically protected. Strange, don't you think?”
Aeris looked puzzled and spun around, as if searching for warding stones.
“That is odd. Wards are basic magic for most spell-casters.”
“Anyway, I thought that it might keep them safer if they warded the Defiant. So where's Vepolas?”
“She is up ahead, my lord,” Ana said and pointed. “Over there.”
Simon looked in that direction and saw the water elemental towering over the crew members who were moving around, going about their duties. He began walking toward her and the others tagged along behind.
“Ah, sir wizard,” Vepolas exclaimed in a surprisingly friendly tone as he approached.
She was standing next to the captain and both looked quite cheerful.
“Good to see you again. Deborah and I were just discussing a way to alter this vessel to make it harder for sea monsters to detect.”
Deborah is it, Simon thought to himself. That was fast.
“Were you? Any ideas?”
“Actually yes,” Captain Martelli told him.
She pointed up to the decks that rose above the deck.
“Apparently the superstructure of the ship looks a lot like the silhouette of several monsters from a distance. This can set off other creatures, like the turtles, sending them into a frenzy and causing them to attack. Vepolas has suggested that we paint the ship with a specific pattern of stripes to confuse the senses of sea beasts. We're going to try it and see if it helps.”
“It will,” the elemental said confidently. “Your ship will be a much less tempting target after we are done, I'm sure.”
“Glad to hear it. I've agreed to teach Veronique and the other mages about wards and how to use them to protect the Defiant, so that will help as well.”
“Ah, wonderful idea,” Vepolas told him. “I wish that I had thought of that.”
“Well, you can't think of everything, my dear,” Ana told her with a quick grin at Simon.
“True. True. At any rate, until the new paint scheme is implemented, I shall remain aboard the Defiant and help to defend it, just in case.”
She glanced around at the ship and ended up staring at Deborah.
“I like it here and it is a nice change from the water realm. I could be useful.”
Simon was surprised but kept it to himself. The water elemental was touchy and he'd rather leave her here in a good mood.
“That's great, Vepolas,” he said. “I'm sure that the captain and crew are grateful for the help.”
She smiled expansively and looked at the busy crew.
“Yes, of course they are. Thank you for summoning me, wizard. I must admit that I am enjoying myself immensely.”
“And thanks from me as well,” the captain said. “If not for you and Vepolas here, I think this old ship might have met her end today.”
“Any time, captain,” Simon told her. “I'll be back soon to speak to Veronique and Sylvie. I hope to speak with you then.”
“A pleasure. You have an open invitation to visit the Defiant,” she said.
They shook hands firmly and Deborah turned away and began barking orders to her men.
Vepolas nodded absently and drifted off.
“Did you want to come back to the tower with us?” Simon asked Ana.
“If it would not be an imposition, my lord, I would like that.”
“Good. Okay you three; everyone grab hold and let's go home.”
He took a last look around while the three elementals each touched his robe.
The Defiant was a remarkable ship and her people seemed happy to live on her. But personally, Simon couldn't wait to get home. At least his tower didn't keep shifting under his feet. He swallowed down a new wave of nausea and raised Mortis de Draconis.
“Gate,” he said quickly and felt the void take them away.
Chapter 14
“Wake up, master. We have a problem.”
Simon pulled his pillow over his head with a groan. It had only been a few days since he had visited the Defiant and he had been working late nights to write his guide to using wards for the mages.
“Just five more minutes,” he muttered. “It's too early to get up.”
“We have a visitor, oh great and powerful one,” Aeris said with his usual sarcasm. “And we can't open the front gate and let her in without your permission. So do us all a favor and get your butt out of bed.”
Simon sighed heavily and stubbornly kept his eyes closed for another minute. Then Aeris' words sank into his foggy brain and he sat up abruptly.
Kronk was standing on his bedside table and Aeris was floating beside him. Ana was absent. The early morning sunlight was just starting to light up the bedroom and the wizard
sighed again. He was right; it was really early.
“A visitor?” he asked as he stumbled out of bed. “Who?”
“The elven maid, Ethmira,” Kronk told him with obvious excitement. “She is waiting outside of the main gate, master. She is alone.”
“Alone? Uh-oh. What's the problem now?”
He got dressed quickly, ripped a comb through his disheveled hair and blearily made his way downstairs.
The gates of the wall around the tower could no longer be opened without his order; it was a measure he had taken when one of the patrolling earth elementals had opened the main gate once to repair it without permission and had let in a score of monsters. Now none of them could interrupt the magical wards' protection by opening the gates unless Simon was present.
Inconvenient but safer, he thought as he let himself out of the tower into the cool morning air.
Kronk and Aeris followed him to the gate and Simon looked up at the earth elementals who were standing on the arch above the large doors.
“Is our guest still out there?” he called up.
“Yes, my lord. She is alone.”
“Okay, let's open the gates.”
“Allow me,” Aeris said and zipped forward.
He flipped open the bars and locks on the gate and pulled them open with his surprising strength.
Simon walked forward and saw Ethmira, wearing her usual green and brown leathers and armed with a bow. She smiled as they made eye contact and they met just outside of the wall.
“Good morning, my friend,” she said warmly and grasped his hands. “How are you?”
“Morning. I'm fine, thanks. It's good to see you. Please, come in.”
“Thank you.”
They began walking slowly toward the tower and Ethmira greeted both Kronk and Aeris in a friendly manner.
“Still caring for your wizard, I see,” she said to them.
“Yes, lady elf, we are,” Kronk replied politely as he followed Simon.
“We have no choice really,” Aeris added with a dramatic sigh. “Without us, he couldn't even find his socks. It's a burden, but one we bear in dignified silence.”
The elf laughed lightly and glanced at Simon, who rolled his eyes.
“I haven't seen a lot of this silence you mention, Aeris,” he said. “Keep working on that, would you?”
The air elemental made a face and dropped back to follow along behind them while Kronk rumbled a laugh.
As they crossed the yard, Ethmira placed a delicate hand on Simon's arm.
“Now that we are meeting in person, allow me to say how sorry I am for Daniel's loss. Both myself and my people mourned his passing.”
Simon cleared his throat and nodded.
“Thank you. I miss him and I guess I always will. But I know what lies beyond this mortal life now and I am sure that we will see each other again.”
Ethmira smiled gently.
“Of that I have no doubt,” she agreed.
They reached the front door and Simon waved his guest in ahead of him. They entered the tower and crossed the room to sit at the kitchen table.
The elf looked around at the room fondly and watched as Simon began making tea.
“I've missed this place, you know,” she said as she leaned her bow against the table next to her. “I remember the first time I visited. Even then there was a feeling of warmth and home here.”
Simon chuckled at the memory.
“I remember that as well. My shock at meeting an elf for the first time, and then learning that you knew Daniel? It was a lot to take in.”
He hung the kettle in the fireplace and waited at the counter for it to boil.
“So what can I do for you?” he asked Ethmira. “Are you having trouble? Or is this just a social call?”
“It's actually a bit of business and pleasure both,” she replied as she watched Simon take out two cups and a tin box of dried tea.
“Both?”
“Yes. I wanted to see you in person, of course. It has been a while since we're met 'in the flesh'. But also, Daniel gave me a task to perform before he passed; a task that he was very insistent should be done by myself alone.”
Simon added powdered tea to the cups and stepped over to the fireplace to grab the kettle.
“He did? What sort of task?”
Ethmira waited for him to make the tea, nodded when he asked if she wanted honey in it and then accepted the hot cup gracefully.
“Ah, as delicious as I remember,” she complimented him after her first sip.
“Thanks. Are you hungry? I can make something.”
“No, no. I'm fine, thanks.”
Kronk and Aeris had moved to stand on the table and watched both of them quietly. Ethmira glanced at them several times and the wizard wondered if she was reluctant to speak in front of them.
She sipped some tea and then untied a pouch from her belt and set it down on the table between them.
“Um, what is it?” Simon asked. He was reluctant to touch the bag for some reason.
Ethmira stroked the canvas gently and then pushed it toward him.
“This bag contains,” she hesitated, “Daniel's ashes.”
Simon had been reaching for the pouch. He snatched his hand back and stared at her.
“What?”
“His ashes. His last request was that he be laid to rest in the city he was born in.”
She contemplated the bag for a moment and then patted it one last time.
“My people do not believe in this sort of thing, you know” she said. “When we die, our bodies are consigned to the earth to become one with nature. But Daniel requested this and we could not refuse him. So I have brought his ashes to you, Simon, as he asked me to. Whether you choose to honor his last wish is now up to you.”
Simon looked at the pouch, not quite sure what to say.
The room became somber and silent.
“Master, I mean no offense but returning to the city would be extremely dangerous,” Kronk said, breaking into Simon's thoughts. “Ottawa is a wasteland now. You know that there are rogue Changlings living there. And what sorts of monsters now stalk its deserted streets is anyone's guess. It would be very risky to go back there.”
“Risky? It would be madness,” Aeris said firmly. “I know you respected your friend, my dear wizard, and I hate to sound harsh, but the man is dead. Life is for the living and traveling to that city could mean your death as well.”
“Blunt speech, little ones,” Ethmira said. “But I have to agree. I brought the ashes to you, Simon, because I came to love Daniel as a friend. But I would not think less of you if you buried him here and cherished his memory in your own way.”
“No, I'm sure you wouldn't,” Simon replied in a low voice.
He reached out and picked up the pouch. Did it feel strangely warm? Was there a faint beat, like the pulse of a distant heart? Surely it was just his imagination.
“You wouldn't think less of me, Ethmira, but I would. I am alive today only because of Daniel. I would just be another nameless casualty of the dragon attacks if he hadn't told me to get out of Ottawa before the Night of Burning. Should not his last wish be respected if only because of that? How could I ignore it and still live with myself?”
Ethmira nodded once.
“I knew you would say that,” she told him with a sad smile. “Your loyalty is one of your strengths, and occasionally, one of your weaknesses. The choice, of course, is yours.”
She finished her tea and stood up, picking up her bow and slinging it over her back in one graceful motion.
“You're leaving already?” Simon asked in surprise.
He stood up as well and followed Ethmira to the door.
“I am afraid I must. There are events occurring in the elven realm that require my attention. Leaving even for a short time was risky, and our time runs swiftly now, but I had to honor my word to Daniel.”
She grasped the wizard's hand in both of hers and pressed it tightly.
&nbs
p; “If you are determined to journey to your ravaged city, take great care. We do not want to lose our only wizard ally and I could not bear to lose yet another dear friend.”
Simon was touched by her concern.
“Don't worry about me,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “Cautious is my middle name. Well, actually my middle name is Robert but you know what I mean.”
Ethmira laughed and shook her head as she stepped out into the morning sunlight.
“Ah, my friend. Never change. Now, there is no need to see me to the gate; I must move quickly to get back to the portal. It will not remain open for long.”
She looked around one last time, smiled affectionately and nodded at the wizard.
“Be careful, Simon. And be well.”
He opened his mouth to respond and found himself speaking to empty air. Ethmira had moved so swiftly that she had virtually disappeared.
“I forgot that they could do that,” he said as Kronk and Aeris joined him on the front steps.
“Yes, they don't use that skill very often,” Aeris told him. “It takes a great deal of energy, I believe. She must have really been in a hurry.”
Simon sat down on the top step. Kronk moved to sit to his right and Aeris floated on his left.
“I wonder if there is trouble in the elven lands, master?” the earthen asked. “The lady seemed quite anxious to return.”
“What sort of trouble?”
The little guy twitched his shoulders, his version of a shrug.
“I do not know, master. But even with the dragons purged from their world, the elven realm still holds many dangers. The elves are not the only sentient race that lives there.”
“They aren't?”
That was news to Simon.
“Ethmira has never mentioned that.”
“Why would she?” Aeris said in a reasonable tone. “Her people are proud and independent. The only reason they asked for your help when the dragons invaded was because that was a danger they were not equipped to handle. They would probably consider other dangers a private affair, not to be spoken about with outsiders.”
“Hmm.”
Simon put his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his hands. It was a beautiful day and he just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sunlight and the mild sweet breeze gently wafting by him.
The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) Page 17
