“But, but, how?” Simon stuttered. “How did she know that we were planning an attack?”
The elementals were all staring up at him and then looked at each other. Finally, Kronk shrugged.
“At a guess, master, I would say that she was able to detect your Magic Mirror spell. You have been watching her for long periods every day, in the early morning and again in the evening. But after you saw the imminent attack this morning, you stopped watching. Perhaps she suspected that you would try to intervene? I do not know for sure.”
Simon slipped Bene-Dunn-Gal over his shoulders, sighed in frustration and then caught himself.
“Which way is that farmhouse from here?”
Kronk pointed.
“That way, master. Perhaps two miles.”
“Okay, let's go and check on them. If the wizard is gone, maybe they'll be safe. We can tell them about Nottinghill and see if they'd like to move there, at least temporarily until we can actually find and capture that woman.”
There was still no sound of the pack returning. Simon listened intently and then nodded.
“At least something's going right today,” he said to himself. “Aeris, I need you,” he added loudly.
The air elemental appeared a few feet away, laughing loudly.
“Oh, that was marvelous,” he said as he tried to control his mirth. “I had them running around like mindless animals. Which they are, of course.”
“We've been tricked,” Simon said flatly and Aeris stared at him, his glee forgotten.
“What?”
“Look,” the wizard said as he pointed at the body. “She set us up. That damned wizard was never here.”
Aeris zipped down and hovered over the sprawled body of the young man.
“But then, who is this?”
“No idea. Some poor Changling that she caught and used as bait, I guess.”
Simon looked at the five earthen that Kronk had summoned.
“Could you all do me a favor and bury this poor guy? It's the least we can do for him. Kronk and Aeris and I have to get to that farmhouse.”
“Of course, sir wizard,” one of them said with a bow. The others bowed as well. “Anything you need of us, we will do. Should we follow when we are done?”
“No, that's fine. You can head home after this. Thanks for the help.”
He waved, turned away and began to jog toward the distant farm.
Simon heard Kronk stumbling along behind him while Aeris caught up and flew to his right.
“You're going to check on the farmers?” the air elemental asked as he floated along.
“Yeah. Maybe we can get them out of harm's way before that wizard returns. At least we can warn them.”
Aeris flew silently for a minute and Simon watched the ground, avoiding roots and fallen branches as he ran. He spared a thought for how stupid he must look as he ran with his robe pulled up to his knees so that he wouldn't trip.
I never appreciated how women could move so gracefully in a dress, he thought wryly. I know I can't.
“Simon,” Aeris said, interrupting his thoughts.
“Hmm?”
“I don't think you need to run.”
The wizard slowed to a stop and looked at the hovering figure.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I think I recognized that young man that the wizard used to trick us. You may not have, but I think he was one of the Changlings from the farm.”
Simon was stunned. He stared at Aeris' solemn expression, trying to grasp what he was saying.
“You mean, she's already killed them all?”
“Who can say? But I'd guess that the summoning of reinforcements was simply a ruse. She probably attacked the farm this morning, after you stopped observing her. But we should check regardless. There may be survivors.”
Aeris didn't sound very hopeful and Simon turned away, cursing loudly.
“How is she doing this?” he shouted. Several birds fluttered away from the surrounding trees as his voice echoed through the forest.
He began to move again, walking this time and sick at the thought of what they might find when they arrived at the farmstead.
“What one wizard can learn, another can as well, isn't that so, master?” Kronk asked a few minutes later.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Simon answered, keeping his eyes on the ground ahead. “Why?”
“I was just thinking, master, that's all. Is it possible that the dark wizard also can use Magic Mirror? That she spied on you as you spied on her?”
That comment made Simon stumble to a stop again and turn to look at the little guy.
“My God. I hadn't thought of that. Yes, of course it's possible. If she's getting direct help from the gods of Chaos, it's even likely. Damn. That means that she could be watching us right now, having a great laugh at how well her ruse worked.”
“I doubt that, my dear wizard,” Aeris told him. “She's probably getting as far away from this part of the country as possible.”
“What makes you say that?”
Aeris began moving forward and Simon followed along.
“Because, you may have been tricked, but you are still a wizard, as she is. All modesty aside, you are quite powerful. Why should she risk your wrath when she's gotten away with this charade? Better to move on and begin her bloody campaign in some place far away from here.”
“Yeah, maybe. I guess it doesn't matter now.” Simon scowled. “But the minute we get home, I'm going to see if there's a way to block that blasted spell. Kronk was right. If I can spy on her, she can spy on me.”
Chapter 18
The farmhouse was a scene of desolation. When Simon and the elementals emerged from the forest and stared across the freshly dug furrows of the fields surrounding the large farmhouse, with its barns and storage sheds, there was nothing left but smoldering timbers and collapsed walls.
“Crap,” Simon whispered. In his heart, he had held on to a faint hope that maybe Aeris was wrong about the attack. But he hadn't been.
“I am so sorry, master,” Kronk said as he looked out over the fields. “Such a waste. Such an evil, evil waste.”
“I know, my friend. I'm sorry too. Sorry for them, whoever they were. They survived the fall of the modern world, the attack of the dragons, Changing into something totally unknown to them, only to be brought down by some nameless bitch and her dark masters.”
He wiped a hand roughly across his eyes.
“Well, that's it. No forgiveness now. No mercy. This creature has to be stopped. Taking her power isn't enough. She had to be destroyed.”
“Revenge, Simon?” Aeris asked quietly.
“Perhaps. A bit. But mostly it's because I think that even if we could strip her of her magic, she would still always be a threat.”
Reluctantly, he began to walk over the rough, turned earth of the fields toward the house. There couldn't be any survivors, but he wouldn't leave without at least checking first. He owed the memory of the Changlings that much, at least.
He examined at the furrows as he stepped over them. Would today have been planting day? What sort of crops had they intended to grow? Corn? Wheat? Had they been as eager as he'd been to see the spring and start the new growing season?
He found himself becoming more and more depressed and slowly walked with his shoulders hunched, not looking at the smoking ruins ahead.
He almost tripped as Kronk grabbed the hem of his robe.
“What the...?” he exclaimed as he turned angrily to look at the little guy. He'd almost fallen flat on his face.
“Master, beware!” Kronk yelled before Simon could say anything. He was pointing toward the buildings and the wizard's breath caught in his throat.
A mass of bodies, feral, bestial, all howling and hooting, was racing from behind the smoldering house straight toward them.
“Simon, behind you!” Aeris called out and the wizard glanced over his shoulder to see a second pack of beasts emerge from the forest at almost the exa
ct same spot that he had came from.
“They were following us.” he stated. The mutants were moving fast and would be on them in seconds.
Simon slipped Bene-Dunn-Gal off of his back and slammed it butt-end into the ground.
“Shield!” he barked and the air six feet in all directions turned opaque with a subdued thump.
Just in time. The creatures smashed into the shield and bounced off. They clawed and bit at it, growling and slavering as they tried to reach him.
Simon knew exactly how long the shield would last and he began counting down his internal timer as he cast it.
“Okay, you two. Kronk, get below ground and head for home. Aeris, you know you can pass through the shield as long as I'm the one who cast it. So get flying. Meet Kronk back at the tower.”
The two little figures gaped at him.
“Master, I will not leave you!” Kronk averred. “I will not have it said that I ran from a fight and let my master face evil alone!”
“If you think you've getting rid of me that easily, Simon,” Aeris hissed, “then you don't know me at all. I'm staying.”
“Damn it!” Simon barked. “I can't win this battle if I have to worry about the two of you. Now get the hell out of range and let me do my job.” He glared at them both. “That's an order!”
He had never ordered either of his small friends to do anything before, but he knew that as summoned creatures, they would have to obey.
“Yes master,” Kronk mumbled, barely audible over the continuous howls and barks from the attacking monsters. The shield was starting to thin and crackle at the edges. Simon know what that meant.
“Good luck,” was the last thing the little earthen said and he sank out of sight in the newly-turned earth.
“Fine,” Aeris snapped. “But if you get yourself killed, I'm never going to forgive you!”
He started to rise and fade at the same time.
“Stay alive, Simon,” he said desperately just before he vanished.
I'll give it my best shot, the wizard thought.
As the shield was about the fade, Simon held on to the staff with both hands.
Now for a little spell invented by yours truly, he said silently to the attacking monsters. See if you like how I taste after this.
“Lavaskin!” he shouted just as the Shield spell wavered and disappeared.
The mass of mutated creatures leaped at him with happy, hungry barks and growls. The sound quickly turned to screams of pain and the smell of burnt flesh and hair as Simon's skin became coated in molten rock.
He'd come up with the spell by combining the incantations of the Stoneskin spell with the Fireball spell. The results were short-lived but then they didn't need to last too long.
The packs retreated, screaming in agony. The giant snake-like mutant with little arms like a T-Rex tried to wrap its coils around him and burst into flames. Its hissing tortured shouts nearly deafened the wizard.
Simon got to his feet slowly. He was unhurt but the attackers had sent him flying through the air and he had rolled a dozen times, leaving a trail of smoking earth in his wake.
“Shield!” he said again, just as the Lavaskin spell vanished.
He watched the monsters closely. All of them, and he counted about twenty creatures, had survived the attack except the snake-thing. It was just a misshapen pile of bones and ash. Several of the monsters rolled around to snuff out their burning fur.
When they had recovered, they gazed at Simon balefully, their eyes a uniform savage yellow. A few glanced worriedly at the remains of the snake-thing.
“Yeah, you should worry,” Simon shouted at them. He tried to keep his voice steady but the truth was, he was deeply afraid.
He'd had exactly five copies of the Shield spell stored on Bene-Dunn-Gal. Three were left. Each spell lasted exactly five minutes.
I'd better wrap this up in less than twenty minutes or I'm done for, he thought.
“You having a good snack?” he muttered to his staff as he watched a small rivulet of blood wind its way across his wrist and down his arm. Bene-Dunn-Gal always took its payment.
The staff didn't respond.
“Well, if I don't make it through this, try to at least give some of them splinters when they start chewing on you,” he told it.
This time the staff turned in his hands and Simon heard a small, angry murmur. He chuckled grimly.
“I knew that would get your attention.”
He looked at the shield and then at the pack beyond. The entire group had begun circling him, stalking around and around his position.
They're waiting for the shield to fail, he thought. I wonder just how much of the human intelligence they used to have is still in there?
One of the mutants that looked like an over-sized wolf covered with feathers snapped at the shield and then yelped as sparks flew from the contact.
Not that much, he concluded. Good. Just ugly-ass animals then. Okay.
The shield had about two minutes left until it failed. Simon raised Bene-Dunn-Gal cross-ways over his head and then brought it down in one motion, as if slamming an invisible car trunk closed.
“Ice Storm!” he shouted.
Bene-Dunn-Gal bit deeply into his palm and he winced at the pain. But the results were worth it.
Clouds formed twenty feet above his head. The mutant pack stopped moving and looked up as one at the dark, gray mass gathering over them. And then, with a sizzling sound like falling hail, but much, much louder, daggers of solid ice shot straight downward into the ground.
The deadly missiles slammed into the shield but shattered with a sound like breaking glass, and Simon drew in a ragged gasp of relief. He'd only learned to cast through his Shield spell a short time ago, but fortunately it worked. Unfortunately for the monstrous pack, they had no such protection.
The daggers impaled them. Screams, howls of rage and fear, whining murmurs of death; the sound was overwhelming and Simon flinched as it washed over him. He held Bene-Dunn-Gal steadily though as the ice fell. If his grip loosened, the spell would be canceled too soon.
Several of the creatures had been circling further out and scrambled to get out of the range of the spell. All of the rest died. The spell only lasted for a minute, but that was enough.
When it was done, the clouds faded away and bright sunlight shone down on the twitching remains heaped just outside of the shield.
Simon swallowed dryly. The smell of death and the lingering whimpers from the dying were hard to take. But he just had to look beyond the creatures at the smoldering remains of the farm to harden his heart against any feelings of pity.
There were four monsters left from the original two packs that had attacked him. One, humanoid-shaped but covered in gray scales with inch long talons and demonic horns, snarled at him when their eyes met.
But it was clear that the lust to fight had left them. The scaled creature roared defiantly one last time and then limped away toward the trees, followed slowly by its dispirited companions.
Well, what do you know, Simon thought. I won, I guess.
The shield began to flicker and he let it fade away. The shards of ice had melted into a cool mist as the sunlight touched them and all that was left of the attack were the remains of the pack.
Simon gingerly stepped over several bodies and began to walk toward the house. He still felt the need to check for survivors before he Gated home. This time, though, he was more cautious and cast a Stoneskin spell on himself before he reached the burned-out buildings.
The barns and sheds had been reduced to rubble and he saw no sign of bodies in any of them. The swirling smoke made his eyes water and he coughed and blinked away tears as he searched.
When he reached the farmhouse, the wizard had to steel himself before he began his search. The walls were still standing but the roof had collapsed. The front door was missing and Simon stepped carefully through the opening and into the wreckage-strewn building.
He had only taken a cautious
step into the main room, littered with burned timbers and destroyed furniture, when the wizard stopped and stared, gasping in shock.
There was a heap of bodies lying in the center of what he guessed had been the living room. They were burnt almost beyond recognition and Simon tried not to look at them too closely. He guessed that all of the Changlings were gathered in one spot and he couldn't figure out how a dozen people could have been trapped in a raging inferno without at least a couple getting out of the house in time.
Simon swallowed again and stepped closer. There was a mystery here and he needed to know what had happened to these people.
He scanned the room and felt his heart ache as he saw some personal items that were still almost intact.
There were some shattered dishes with a leaf pattern that looked homey and familiar. He thought maybe his mother had had some similar dishes back in his childhood. There was a small carving of some sort of bird. He stepped forward and picked it up and turned it over in his hands.
It was crude but Simon imagined someone lovingly working on it at the end of a long day of working in the fields. With a sigh, he put it down again gently and then his eyes widened and he caught his breath.
Near the remains of the farmers, next to an outstretched arm that emerged from under the pile of bodies, was a stuffed animal. Partly burnt and missing most of its fur, the teddy bear was staring blankly at him with one button eye. It seemed to be accusing him and Simon had to turn away, a wave of guilt bubbling though his stomach.
Oh God, he thought. That's why they had all been bunched up together. They had been protecting a child, maybe the first one born since they'd all Changed.
He had to go. There were no survivors and he could not handle being among the belongings of these poor farmers any longer.
When he got outside, Simon walked away from the house slowly, his mind blank and his heart aching. He stopped and turned back when he was about twenty paces away. He couldn't just leave the remains lying there, unremembered and unmourned.
He raised Bene-Dunn-Gal and pointed it at the farmhouse.
“Fireball!” he said huskily, tears streaming down his face.
A brilliant missile of flame shot down from the heavens and slammed into the house, directly into the heart of the structure. The magical fire engulfed it and roared as it eagerly consumed the former home of the Changlings.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 66
