“Well now, look who it is,” Daniel said in a slow, heavy voice. He turned his head and looked directly out of the mirror.
“That's a good trick, by the way, projecting your image. How is it done?”
“No idea,” Simon replied with a shrug. “It just started happening. Maybe I've become better at using the spell or something.”
“Maybe.”
Daniel put down his book and leaned his head against the back of the chair.
“Good to see you, my friend. You're looking well. I like that your hair has grown back so quickly. It suits you. So what can I do for you?”
“Good to see you too. Um, we've got a problem. Well, two problems actually, but one really large one and I need your help.”
The rocking chair stopped abruptly and Daniel leaned forward, peering at the wizard.
“Simon, life on your New Earth will, I think, always be a problem. And things will get worse before they get better as long as the gods of Chaos keep trying to return. So what is it this time?'
“Let me start with some good news first,” Simon told him.
“Yes please. Let us begin on a high note.”
“Okay.”
The wizard cleared his throat and pushed back his hair.
“I was contacted not too long ago by a dragon,” he said bluntly. When Daniel's eyes widened, he added, “A silver dragon.”
His friend gaped at Simon and he tried not to laugh at his comical expression.
“A silver dragon?” Daniel gasped. “But all of the good dragons were destroyed thousands of years ago.”
“So we believed, yes. This one is the last of all of them. She was apparently hidden by the lords of Light and left to sleep safely tucked away when the dark gods pulled their opponents into the Void.”
“A silver dragon,” Daniel murmured thoughtfully. “Amazing. Is she going to join in the fight against the red dragons?”
“Hard to say. She hasn't volunteered to help us yet, but she did pass along some information, which is the main reason I called.”
“Wait a second. You didn't call me after this dragon contacted you? Why is that?”
Daniel was frowning at him and Simon felt his face getting red.
“Well, she told me not to. I mean I would have, absolutely, if it had been my choice, but...”
Simon knew that he sounded defensive but his friend had that effect on him sometimes.
“I see. Yes, well, if that was what she wanted, then of course I understand. So what is this information that's got you in such a tizzy?”
“Are you in a tizzy?” Aeris whispered with a wide grin.
Simon ignored him.
“Esmiralla, that's the dragon's name, contacted me and told me that the primal red dragon has raised his queen, the yellow dragon.”
Daniel had looked surprised when the wizard had mentioned the silver dragon, but he looked absolutely flabbergasted after the second piece of news.
“The dragon queen? Is awake? Oh my God, Simon, how is that even possible? The dark gods kept her unconscious for good reason. She is absolutely uncontrollable.”
“So I've heard,” Simon replied dryly. “But Esmiralla is sure that she has risen. Where she is or what she will do is a mystery and so I called you to see if maybe the elves have a way to track her down.”
Daniel stood up and gripped the edge of the mantle to support himself. His apparent frailness pierced Simon's heart. His friend was failing and even he had to admit it.
The old man hobbled across the room to sit at an enormous desk, beautifully carved from dark wood. He picked up a sheet of thick vellum and began writing.
“I certainly can't help you with your problem, Simon, but I will send a note to Ethmira and the council of elders to ask for their advice. They may have some ideas or perhaps their seers can attempt a scrying.”
“Are you far from wherever they are?” Simon asked as he watched Daniel pen his note.
“Far? No, not really. But I don't walk very well now, so I have a runner that I use to pass notes to the council for me.”
Something must have shown on Simon's face because Daniel smiled impishly at him.
“Do you see shades of my mortality on my face, old friend?” he asked gently.
“I, I just, well, yes. I do. And it's not fair, damn it!”
Simon slammed his fist on the stone steps and then hissed as he split another knuckle.
“You saved my life, Daniel. When the world was ending, you got me out of Ottawa before the dragons attacked. You made it possible for me to become whatever the hell I've become. Here I am, young, powerful, with great potential, and what's your reward? Old age and dying before your time. Cripes, you're younger than I am!”
“No, I used to be younger than you are. Now, not so much. Look Simon, it is what it is. Am I sorry that I will die prematurely? Yes, of course I am. Why lie about it? Watching our race evolve and grow into some new kind of civilization would have been an amazing experience and it breaks my heart that I won't be there to see it. But there is nothing that I can do about it except to be as useful as I can be right to the end.”
He shook his head, his thick white hair bright in the candlelight.
“Now let's not talk about it again, all right? You go ahead and make any plans that you can and I'll get in touch with the council. Call back in a few days and I may have some answers for you by then.”
“Yeah, okay,” Simon said weakly.
“And cheer up!” Daniel exclaimed with a wise smile. “I could totter along for years yet. I'm certainly a hell of a lot safer than you are right now. So watch your back, you hear me?”
“I will. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”
Simon canceled the spell and then he and Aeris stared at each other silently.
“He is not looking well,” the elemental finally said. He sounded worried.
“No he isn't, is he? I didn't know that you cared.”
“He is a great man, my dear wizard. And as you said, he is responsible for your being here now, fighting the good fight against the dragons. I have a great deal of respect for him. It will be a huge loss when he passes.”
Simon stood up abruptly.
“I don't want to talk about it,” he snapped.
He spun around and re-entered the tower. Aeris wisely remained outside for a few minutes.
The wizard left the mirror on the kitchen table and climbed up the stairs to the roof. He felt the need to clear his head. When he opened the hatch and stepped out, he was met by a surprised-looking Brethia.
“Sir wizard!” she blurted out. “Good day. I did not expect to see you up here.”
“Hi Brethia. How are you?”
Simon joined her at the low wall that circled the roof and sat down on it carefully.
“I am very well, thank you. May I help you with something?”
The wizard smiled at her and shook his head.
“Just wanted a change of perspective,” he told her.
The view from the roof was always beautiful. Few of the trees in the forest surrounding the tower were as high as the building was and Simon could see for miles in all directions. Thin clouds scudded across the sky as the sun rose to midday and the warm wind blew his hair around his face.
He closed his eyes and just breathed for a few minutes, trying not to think. Brethia remained silent, allowing him his quiet time.
I can't just worry about one person, Simon told himself. All of humanity is threatened by the rise of the dragon queen and, let's face it, there is nothing that I can do to help Daniel. But I may be able to save the people here, if only I could figure out how.
He opened his eyes and exhaled loudly. He scrubbed his hands across his face and looked up at the endless sky.
“Why me?” he muttered to no one.
“I'm sorry, sir wizard, did you say something?”
He looked at Brethia, who was floating a foot above the wall.
“Nothing of any importance. So, how are things up here? I'
m assuming Orriss is off on his own?”
“Yes, he finished his shift and is off exploring. We do so enjoy poking around, you know.”
Her tone was so self-deprecating that Simon had to laugh.
“You're saying you're nosy?” he teased her and she smiled in return.
“I suppose I am. But please don't tell Aeris or Orriss that. They would never agree.”
Simon nodded and scanned the skies. The clouds were mere streamers stretched across the blue expanse. The winds up there must have been quite violent.
He squinted up at a smudge of darkness that spoiled the cerulean beauty of the sky. Was it moving?
“What is that?” Simon asked and pointed up at the odd smudge.
“What is what?” Brethia replied and followed his arm upward.
They both strained to make out details and then Simon jumped up and staggered backwards, almost tripping on his robe.
“Oh cripes. It's a red dragon.”
“No, sir wizard, not just a red dragon,” Brethia disagreed. “That creature is huge or we wouldn't be able to see it at the height it is flying.”
“The primal,” Simon gasped.
He had no time to waste and held up his right hand.
“Mortis de Draconis,” he barked and his staff appeared in his hand.
The air elemental pulled back and stared at it.
“Sir wizard. What...”
Simon ignored her. He moved to stand next to the ward on the roof and rested his left hand on it. Closing his eyes, Simon gathered his strength and channeled magic out of the air through his staff and into the ward, stiffening the tower's protections.
When he was done, he felt a little wobbly in the knees but ignored it.
“Is it attacking?” he asked Brethia as he scanned the skies.
She pointed toward the dragon. It was still thousands of feet above them, hovering.
“Not yet. It is just hanging there. I wonder why?”
“Scouting us out before it attacks, I guess.”
Brethia rose up to eye level and looked at Simon.
“Can you stop it, sir wizard?” she asked simply.
“That?”
Simon leaned on his staff and gave it some honest thought. Then he walked quickly across the roof and opened the trapdoor. He shrugged at the air elemental.
“Nope,” he said. “Not without some help.”
He glanced up at the menace above.
“Call me if something changes.”
And he climbed down hurriedly and closed the door behind him.
Back in his study, Simon rested his staff against his desk, opened a drawer and picked up the crystal ball. He sat down, put it on the desk and stared into its depths.
“Esmiralla, can you hear me?”
“Young wizard, you have called me. How interesting.”
The dragon's power could be felt through the crystal and Simon shivered.
“To what do I owe this...intrusion?”
“Uh, forgive me, Esmiralla, but we've got a problem that you might be able to help with, if you choose to.”
“Help? With what?”
Her tone was, at best, neutral and Simon reminded himself that the silver dragon had not declared herself an ally of his or of the human race. She was an independent operator in this conflict and he'd better not offend her.
“The primal red dragon is, at this very moment, hovering several thousand feet above my tower.”
“He is what?” Her shock was evident. “Are you certain that it is the primal?”
“Oh yes, I'm quite certain. He's immense. It's hard to tell from such a great distance, but he is perhaps the largest dragon that I have ever seen. The color of coagulated blood.”
“And he is just hovering in place?”
“Exactly. I can't figure it out. I've strengthened my wards as much as I can, but he could crush this tower like an egg if he dropped directly on to it.”
“I see.”
She said nothing else and the silence stretched on and on.
“Well, can you help me?” he asked finally, almost bouncing in his seat with anxiety. “I don't mean any offense but time is ticking here.”
“Of course, of course. The problem is, I do not have enough information to offer an opinion. But perhaps there is a way to change that. Can you take the crystal ball to the top of your tower?”
“To the roof? Uh, yeah. Sure.”
“Do it then. I will be able to extend my senses through the crystal and see what is happening directly. Then we shall see what we shall see.”
“Okay then, I'll do that right now.”
Simon picked up the crystal ball, grabbed his staff and ran out of the room. He climbed up to the roof, shoved back the trapdoor and went outside.
“There has been no change, sir wizard,” Brethia told him. “It is still up there, waiting.”
The wizard was surprised to see that Brethia was no longer alone. Aeris had joined her and was watching him closely.
“You saw the dragon?” Simon asked him as he closed the hatch with his foot.
“How could I miss it? In case you hadn't noticed, your cows and horses have panicked and are huddled in a group in a corner of the field. Kronk is with them, trying to keep them calm.”
“They are? Sorry, I've been a bit preoccupied.”
He held out his staff to Aeris.
“Hold Mortis for me, would you?”
“Err, all right.”
Aeris took the staff cautiously, holding it upright as if he was handling a live snake.
Simon held up the crystal ball in the direction of the distant red dragon.
“He's there, Esmiralla,” he stated loudly.
“Yes, I see. Wait a moment.”
The crystal ball with its metal base was heavy and Simon's skinny arms began shaking almost immediately. He bit his lip and did his best to keep it steady.
Minutes passed with agonizing slowness and, just as the wizard thought that he would drop his burden, Brethia shot across the roof and under the crystal, easily bracing it and taking most of the weight.
“Oh, thanks so much,” Simon gasped with relief. His face was dripping with sweat.
“My pleasure,” she replied politely.
“You may lower the crystal, wizard,” Esmiralla voice vibrated through the ball. “I have seen enough.”
Brethia helped Simon as he put the crystal down on the roof. He sat down in front of it, folded his legs and leaned forward.
“You had best get in touch with your allies,” the silver dragon said. There was a sudden urgency in her voice.
“Really? Why? What's happening?”
“What is happening is that you have been tricked. That image above your tower is an illusion. One of the primal red's specialties. It is a diversion, nothing more.”
“What!”
Simon leaped to his feet, grabbed his staff from Aeris and glared upward.
The dragon was still there, but now, perhaps because it had been exposed as a ruse, the huge flapping menace began to break apart like smoke. A minute later nothing remained but a few smudges that floated away in the wind.
“Bastard!” Simon shouted. He whirled around, fell to his knees next to the crystal ball and glared into it.
“Where is he?”
“I do not know, but as I said you should contact your fellow humans. I fear they may be in great danger. Now go. We shall speak again later.”
And Simon felt the connection with the silver dragon fade away.
He scooped up the ball and pushed himself to his feet.
“Brethia, please continue to keep watch. Aeris, come with me.”
Aeris nodded and hurried to open the trapdoor for Simon. Both of them went inside and raced down the stairs.
“Could you put this in the study,” the wizard asked as he handed the crystal ball to Aeris.
“Of course.”
“Good. Meet me downstairs. I have to call Tamara and the others.”
Down in the kitchen, Simon picked up his mirror and cast the communication spell. He sat down at the table and tried to clear his mind. He was becoming a bit frantic at the thought of what might be going on at Nottinghill Castle if Esmiralla's conjecture was correct.
He concentrated on Tamara as he stared into the mirror.
Aeris flew down the stairs and joined him.
“Anything?” he asked.
“Not yet. Give it a minute.”
They waited impatiently for the mist to clear from the mirror's surface.
“Damn it, where is she?” Simon said. “Tamara, can you hear me?”
“Simon? Shh! Be quiet.”
He lowered his voice with a confused look at Aeris.
“Okay,” he murmured. “What's happening?”
The mirror cleared but the picture was blurry and Simon realized that it was because the spell was trying to focus on Tamara and she was moving steadily through what appeared to be underbrush.
It was getting dark where she was in northern England and that didn't help him to see her in the shadows.
“What's happening? We're on the run, that's what's bloody happening!” she spat. “We're in the forest to the south of the castle. Thank God Malcolm found that secret tunnel or we'd all be dead now.”
She said nothing more and he watched her groping through crackling branches and swishing leaves. Simon felt like his brain was stuffed with wool. He couldn't grasp the situation. A few hours ago, Tamara and her people were fine and Sebastian was recovering in his own bed. Now...
“Where's your brother? Why did you leave the castle? Damn it, Tamara, talk to me!”
“Okay, we should be safe enough here for now,” he heard her say to someone he couldn't see. “Just set him down; I'll keep an eye on him.”
“I'm perfectly capable of looking out for myself,” Sebastian protested somewhere out of sight of the mirror. “Now sit down here and speak with Simon. And don't you blame him for this,” he added firmly.
The wizard could finally get a decent view of Tamara and her situation. She and a bunch of people were scattered around a shadowed clearing in the woods. Sebastian was sitting against a tree with his legs stretched out in front of him. His pale face seemed to glow in the darkness.
The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) Page 32
