The elemental looked at the list.
“Why do you think that only some of them are real, master?”
“Well, because, you know. I've never heard of some of these. Invisibility? Really? Featherfall? What the heck is that?”
Kronk chuckled, a deep rumbling in his chest and Simon looked at him with surprise.
“Wait a second,” he said. “You're saying that they're all real?”
“I'm not sure about all of them, master. That is why you need to speak to Aeris. He knows much more about magic than I do. But I have heard of an Invisibility spell. And I have seen the Featherfall spell used. It was useful but was also used as a practice spell for young wizards.”
Simon leaned forward on his forearms and frowned down at the open book.
“So what does it do?”
“Just as it sounds, master,” Kronk answered with a shrug. “It protects the caster if they should fall from a great height. It was also a favorite for those young trainee wizards for getting from the top of a tall building to the ground.”
He smiled a bit wistfully.
“It was something of a bother to their parents, as I recall.”
Simon laughed, delighted.
“Yeah, I can see how it could be. So all of these spells,” he paused and counted the list, “all twenty of these spells may be the real thing? Amazing.”
“We won't really know until Aeris returns, master,” the little guy said.
“Good point. It's a bit early to call him, but I've been worried that he might get himself into trouble out there. I might as well go ahead and contact him now.”
Simon picked up the book and headed for the door. He preferred being outside as much as possible now that the weather was more comfortable.
The wizard opened the door, walked out and sat on the front steps. He easily recalled the Magic Mouth spell, chanted it steadily and invoked the spell.
“Aeris? Are you there?”
There was a long silence. Simon felt a twinge of concern but cleared his throat and spoke again.
“Hey Aeris! Are you ignoring me now?” he said in a joking manner.
No answer.
“Damn it, Aeris. Talk to me! What's happening?”
A tapping sound from behind him announced Kronk's arrival.
“Is something wrong, master?”
Simon looked at the little guy standing next to his right knee.
“He's not answering. Either the spell's failed or there's a problem.”
“Or he can't answer at the moment. If he's in a dangerous situation, he wouldn't answer, would he?” Kronk stated practically.
“Hmm, good point.”
Simon stood up abruptly.
“It doesn't matter though. I want him back here now. If he's mad about being recalled too soon, well, that's tough.”
He canceled the Magic Mouth spell, walked down the steps and stared at a spot on the grass a few feet away.
“Aeris,” he said in a commanding voice, “I need you!”
There was a momentary pause and then a blast of wind, accompanied by a loud crack, slammed into Simon and he staggered back, almost tripping on the steps behind him.
“What the...?” he exclaimed.
The spot where he had pictured Aeris appearing was suddenly stripped bare of grass. Dirt flew up in all directions.
What followed was an eerie silence and then Simon heard an almost inaudible groan. He dropped his book and rushed forward with Kronk on his heels and found Aeris lying sprawled on the ground.
He had never seen the elemental actually lying down before. The small figure looked flattened, as if he'd been crushed by something large and heavy and, when Simon fell to his knees and tried to touch him, his fingers went right though the transparent little body and touched the smoking ground underneath.
“Aeris? Can you hear me?” Simon asked frantically.
There was another painful groan, but the elemental didn't move or speak.
Simon looked desperately at Kronk.
“What can we do?” he blurted out.
The earthen stood next to Aeris and extended his hand, Like the wizard, Kronk couldn't touch his fellow elemental. He stared up at Simon.
“He is gravely injured, master. There is nothing that we can do to help him. He needs another airy one to lend him aid. One more powerful than himself.”
“Another air elemental?”
Kronk nodded rapidly.
“Fine, I can do that,” Simon said and jumped to his feet. He opened his mouth and was interrupted by his little friend.
“Wait, master! If you are about to do what I think you are, remember; we small ones are not considered important to our larger brethren. Summoning help may not do any good.”
Simon glared at Kronk.
“I don't care what his elders think. If they won't help willingly, then I'll have to do something that I'll probably regret.”
“Master?”
“I'll order them to help him, something I've never wanted to do.” He looked despairingly at the crumpled figure of Aeris. “But for him, I will.”
The wizard threw back his head.
“Aethos, I summon you! Come to me now,” he shouted.
A distant rumble of thunder echoed across the field in front of the tower. A wind gust blew Simon's hair into his eyes and he shoved it aside, wiping them with his sleeve in an abrupt gesture.
“I hope you have a good reason for summoning me, wizard. I have told you that I am not to be taken lightly, have I not?”
The voice, like a distant gale given speech, came from all around them.
Simon looked this way and that, trying to find its source.
“Yes, I have a good reason,” he cried out. He pointed at the broken body of Aeris. “My friend, one of your own people, has been injured. He needs help and I can't give it to him. Can you?”
A flash of dirty gray light announced the arrival of a cloudy, man-shaped figure, muscular and larger than the wizard. It was hovering just above Aeris' body.
Whatever fears that Simon had had about asking for aid from the powerful elemental were quickly assuaged as Aethos made a gesture and Aeris rose from the ground, looking like a deflated balloon and flopping in the disturbed air around the large humanoid figure.
“Who has done this?” Aethos thundered. “How dare they attack one of mine!”
His eyes blazed as he carried Aeris toward Simon, his expression demanding answers.
“We don't know, Aethos,” the wizard told him hurriedly. “When he didn't answer my call, I summoned him home and he appeared...like this.”
The air elemental stared keenly at Simon and then nodded.
“Very well. I shall get my information after this little one is healed.”
He nodded once more and then vanished with a loud crack of imploding air.
“Hey, wait a...” Simon started to say, but the two elementals were gone. He stared at the naked earth where Aeris had been lying and then sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“Rest easy, master,” Kronk said reassuringly. “Aeris will be all right. In his own realm, he will receive the proper care, I'm sure.”
Simon moved to the steps, picking up the book he had dropped, and sat down heavily. His little friend walked over quickly and stood next to him.
“Thanks, bud. I know he will. It's just, well, that all happened so quickly. I'm in a bit of shock.”
Kronk patted him gently on the arm.
“I know, master. I am pleased that Aethos was so eager to help Aeris. I'm not sure that one of my elders would be as quick to aid me.”
Simon looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“Other earth elementals wouldn't help you?”
The little shoulders moved once in a small shrug.
“I doubt it, master. They never have before. I was wrong to believe that Aeris' people would treat him the same way. And I am happy to be wrong in this case. He's lucky to have them,” he added with a touch of sadness.
Chapter 14
The wizard found it hard to get anything done while worrying about Aeris. But going through the new spells he had discovered kept him a little distracted. Two new spells excited him the most: Magic Mirror and the Invisibility spell that he hadn't believed was real.
“Why does Magic Mirror interest you so much, master?” Kronk asked him as he stood on the desk in the wizard's study.
Simon sat with his chin resting on his hands as he read through what he had begun to think of as his new spell-book.
“A couple of reasons, I guess,” he told the little guy. “According to the description, the spell lets me talk to people at a distance, just like Magic Mouth. But I'll be able to see them at the same time. I find that it's a bit frustrating to be speaking to thin air when you're holding a conversation. So that's one thing. But apparently, I will be able to see places that I've never been before. That holds some interesting implications.”
Kronk read through the page that Simon was staring at.
“Really, master? I didn't know that the spell could do that. How does it work?”
The wizard got up, went to his bookshelf and found his atlas. He returned and sat down again.
“Supposedly, you can use a map, like the ones in here, to find coordinates. You know, longitude and latitude. Once you have them, the spell will do the rest, zooming in on that location.” He tapped the book with a doubtful smile. “Maybe.”
“And you want to try the spell,” Kronk said wisely as he watched Simon's face.
“Well...yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't I?”
The elemental was looking at him closely.
“I'm sure I don't have to remind you about not overexerting yourself, do I, master?”
“Kronk, that ship has sailed,” Simon replied impatiently. “This spell is no more taxing than Magic Mouth. Besides, I'm much stronger, magically speaking, than I have been for months.”
His little friend hesitated before answering and then slumped a bit, accepting Simon's statement.
“True enough, master. So what do you need for the spell?”
“A reflective surface.”
Simon looked around the study, but the only thing reflective was the window.
“Hmm. I don't want to have to use the full-length mirror in my bedroom all the time. Don't I have a hand mirror somewhere around the place?”
Kronk's face lit up.
“You do, master! Down in the storage area, among your clothes and things, there's a lovely hand mirror. I noticed it ages ago when tidying up. It has a black frame and a silver handle.”
“It does?”
Simon tried to remember where and when he'd picked up such a thing. Certainly he'd never liked looking at his own reflection back in the old days. He had been far from attractive. And now that he was, in an awkward, skinny teenaged way, he couldn't be bothered.
And then a memory popped into his head; a very old one.
“Ah yes. That's where I got it,” he said, his eyes dimming a little.
“Master? Why does this make you sad?”
“Sad? No, not sad, my friend. Well, maybe a little. It was my mother's mirror. We've never really talked about her, have we?”
“No, master. We have not. Were you very close to her?”
Simon settled into his chair and stared off into space.
“I was, actually. Maybe being an only child was part of that. But she was beautiful. Truly beautiful. I know everyone thinks their mother is like that, but mine really was. Dad told me once that he had to compete with several other men to get her attention.” Simon chuckled at the memory. “He always sounded a bit surprised that he had come out on top. Anyway, I remember that mirror on her night table. She liked to apply her makeup using it, rather than a big one. She's hold it with her left hand and touch up her eyebrows and put on her lipstick. I loved watching her do that. She was so graceful.”
“Were they taken in the Night of Flames, master?” Kronk asked gently.
Simon snapped back to the present and looked at the stony little face.
“Oh no. My father died of cancer many years ago. Mom was gone long before him, unfortunately. She died when I was just ten. Aneurysm, they said.” He smiled a bit wistfully. “So she'll always be young and beautiful in my memories. Perhaps it's best that way.”
“Well then, I think that she would approve of you using her mirror, master,” Kronk said firmly and hurried across the desk. He hopped on to the floor and made for the exit.
“I will find it and return, master. It will only take a few minutes.”
“Thanks, Kronk,” Simon called after him as he heard the little guy bounding down the stairs.
He stood up and went to stand at the open window. The trees in the surrounding forest were filling out. Leaves were unfurling like bright little green flags and birdsong once again filled the air as the birds frantically built their nests.
Simon closed his eyes and just breathed for a minute, savoring the smells of spring. Then he leaned forward and rested his forearms on the windowsill.
“Mom. Dad. Sorry that it's been so long since I thought of you,” he muttered as he watched the waving leaves. “Things have been really crazy lately, but that's no excuse. I wish you could have lived to see all of this. Who knows? Maybe you both would have been remade like me. Young. Healthy. The whole new world ahead of you.”
He heard Kronk tapping up the stairs and stood up abruptly, wiping his eyes hurriedly.
“I'll try not to screw up too bad,” he promised them and then went back to sit at his desk.
Kronk skittered into the room, a hand mirror over his shoulder. He moved around the desk and handed it up to Simon, obviously not willing to jump to the desktop for fear that the mirror would break.
Simon took the mirror gratefully and the little guy jumped up to stand next to the wizard's shoulder; his usual spot.
“Yup, that's it, all right,” Simon said as he examined the silver and black housing. “You know, I thought it was plastic but it isn't, is it?”
“Oh no, master,” Kronk said. He reached out and touched the handle. “It is ceramic, I believe, inlaid with silver. Quite beautiful, isn't it?
“It is indeed, my friend.”
Simon turned the mirror over and looked at the back. A vine, covered in tiny flowers, all made of fine silver, wound around the surface and down the handle.
“I'd forgotten how much detail it has. Amazing.”
“Where did your mother get it, master?” Kronk asked.
“It was a family heirloom. She got it from her grandmother, she told me. So that makes it over a hundred years old. Possibly much older than that.”
“Really?” Kronk's voice was hushed and he stared at the mirror with wide eyes. “I have not seen a human artifact that old since you called me back to this world, master.”
“Yes, well, I'd better not drop it then, right?” Simon asked him with a lop-sided grin. He set the mirror down carefully, with the reflective side up.
“Indeed not, master. Be very careful with it.”
Simon tried not to roll his eyes at his little friend's obvious statement as he picked up the spell-book again.
“Okay, time to give this spell a test drive. Let's see now.”
He memorized the spell easily and then picked up the mirror.
“Don't you need to use a map, master?” Kronk asked as he pointed to the atlas.
“Not this time. I want to talk to Clara and warn her about what Aeris found on his scouting trip.” His voice became grim. “And tell her what happened to him. Something that can harm an air elemental is definitely powerful. She should be told.”
“Of course, master,” the earthen agreed heartily. “It is just too bad that you have to warn them of yet another danger while they are still recovering from that last attack.”
“Yeah, I know, bud. I know.”
Simon locked the cleric's face firmly in his mind as he stared at the mirror and cast the spell. As he uttered the word o
f command, the surface of the mirror misted over, as if he'd suddenly breathed on it.
He watched, fascinated, as the mist faded away slowly and he saw Clara sitting in her quarters on a couch, reading. Before he said anything, it occurred to him that this Magic Mirror spell had to be used carefully. What if he had caught her bathing or getting dressed?
A voyeur's dream, he thought as he felt his face going red.
“Hello Clara,” he said and watched as her head snapped up and she looked around in surprise.
“Relax. It's Simon.”
A smile broke out on her face and she seemed to be looking out of the mirror into his eyes.
“Simon! Hello there. How nice to hear from you.”
“Thanks. I'm using a new spell to contact you,” he said. He explained the Magic Mirror spell and about finding the mysterious spell-book on his bookshelf. She was nodding before he finished.
“I believe that Kronk is correct. That sounds very much like something the gods of Justice would do. As you know, they are limited in how much they can help us in our fight against the darkness and must resort to trickery on occasion. The visitations I receive in my dreams are like that.”
She smiled a bit and Simon was almost convinced that she could see him.
“I suppose it's lucky that I was dressed when you called, isn't it?” she asked archly and Simon knew he was blushing again. Kronk chuckled quietly.
“Um, yeah. I actually only thought of that once I reached you. Sorry. Maybe we can arrange a time of day when you'd be available and, um, decent?”
Her smiled broadened.
“I'm always 'decent', young wizard. But I'm not always dressed.”
“Tell her about Aeris, master,” Kronk urged him.
Simon was about to ask him to be patient when he saw Clara's eyes widen.
“Is that Kronk? I heard him! How can I hear him?”
“Really? That's remarkable,” Simon replied. The Magic Mouth spell only allowed the people using it to hear each other.
The wizard suddenly had an idea.
“Clara, do you have a mirror?”
“A mirror? Well, yes. I have a small one on my night table. Why?”
“Just a hunch. If you can hear other people on this end, maybe you can see them as well. If you could get the mirror, or sit in front of it, we'll see if we can have a face to face conversation.”
The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) Page 19
