The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (55 page)

After another sip, Simon
put down his glass and sat back with a heavy sigh. He rubbed the back
of his neck and tried to loosen his tense muscles. And he thought
about his answer for a few minutes.

“
That depends,”
he told her finally.

“
On what?”

“
On whether we can
count on your support. If my allies and I are to have any chance
against the primal, we'll need your help.”

“
Ah, I see.”

Esmiralla stood up. Her
dress rustled as she moved and her footsteps echoed across the vast
cavern.

She walked away several
steps and then turned to look coolly at the wizard.

“
That is a bold
request, don't you think?” she asked Simon. “You know
nothing about me except that I am a dragon. And you have killed your
fair share of my kind over the last few years, have you not? Isn't it
presumptuous of you to ask for my aid?”

Simon stood up as well. It
didn't feel right to sit while the woman was standing and looking
down at him. She was taller than he had realized and it felt like she
was towering above him.

“
If it is, then I
apologize,” he told her as he picked up his staff. “But
I'm guessing that you contacted me for a reason. I believe the reason
is that you are sick of sitting on the sidelines,” he looked up
at the distant ceiling, “huddled in this place away from the
action. This is end game for the human race and if you did want to
get involved, this is your last chance. The question is, do you?”

Esmiralla clenched her
fists at her side and locked her gaze on his. Simon felt a sense of
menace gather around him like a cloud and he tightened his grip on
his staff. The woman took a single step forward and the cavern echoed
like the inside of a drum.

“
That was quite a
long walk,” Aeris said as Simon approached the front gate. The
elemental was bobbing up and down in the afternoon breeze at the
center of the opening. Kronk was standing nearby and waved happily.

“
Welcome back,
master,” he cried.

“
Thanks Kronk. Yeah,
I guess it was, wasn't it? I had a lot to think about. How is
everything here? All quiet?”

“
Fine, fine. No
change,” Aeris told him.

The two elementals
followed the wizard through the gate and they hurried to close and
lock it before Simon could.

“
Oh, thanks guys.
Let's go inside, shall we? My feet are sore and I want to sit down.”

“
I'll build up the
fire, master,” Kronk told him and hurried ahead.

“
And I will put on
the kettle. Tea or coffee?” Aeris asked.

“
Coffee please. Now
that we have milk, I'm looking forward to a cup.”

“
Coffee it is,”
the air elemental said and zipped off.

Simon stopped and turned
to look up at the walls. Everything looked normal and he took a
moment to compose himself. His little friends hadn't noticed how
badly his hands were shaking or the scratches on his arms and he
didn't want to have to explain himself. At least not yet.

He examined Mortis de
Draconis and cursed under his breath. The staff had streaks of blood
along its shaft and he knelt down, tore up a handful of grass and
rubbed the stains off quickly.

A furtive glance around
showed him that none of the patrolling earthen had seen him and Simon
headed indoors before his wobbly legs collapsed under him. Or before
he thought too much about what he'd done. It would come back to haunt
him soon enough.

Simon had never been to
Japan back in the old days of technology but he'd always wanted to
visit. Being in hi-tech, he'd met several amazing Japanese developers
during his career and a couple had extended a standing invitation for
him to visit them if he ever decided to travel to their country.

If only they could see me
now, he thought as he stared upward at the summit looming several
miles ahead of him.

The wizard was standing on
the lower slopes of a volcano; a rumbling, smoking, terrifying
volcano.

“
What is this thing
called?” Aeris asked. He was hovering next to Simon.

“
Sakurajima.
At least that's what my atlas has it listed as. One of the Earth's
most active, apparently.”

“
Looks
bloody active to me,” Tamara grumbled from behind them.

Simon
turned to look down at her and Sebastian. The mages were carefully
making their way up the slope with Tamara in the lead. They had
hitched up their robes so that the cloth didn't get snagged on the
jagged rocks and Simon was quick to cover his mouth to hide his smile
at the sight. Tamara was already in a foul mood.

But
where she was scowling and already had a smudge of dirt on her cheek,
her brother grinned and winked at Simon, apparently in very high
spirits. The two weeks of recovery time that he'd had since his
imprisonment by the goblins had done wonders for Sebastian and he was
his old self again.

“
And
it's damned hot,” Tamara added petulantly. “I didn't know
that Japan was this hot.”

“
I'm
guessing that it's more the fault of the volcano than the weather,”
Malcolm called up from further down the path. “And I don't know
what you're complaining about,” he said to the mage. “Try
climbing this thing in armor and see how hot you get.”

“
So
take the armor off,” she snapped back at him.

The
big man just rolled his eyes and wisely held his tongue. Aiden,
directly behind him, nodded once in approval.

They
were ascending the southern slope of Sakurajima. Fortunately an old
trail looped back and forth and they were following it. The climb was
slow, not because the volcano was very steep but because the trail
was blocked with humps of solidified lava and loose stone strewn
everywhere by previous eruptions.

Simon
was grateful for his staff and used it to help push himself along.
Kronk was a dozen yards ahead, picking out the easiest parts of the
trail for the group to follow and removing the largest of the
blockages.

“
Aeris,
do me a favor and see how Ethmira and her archers are doing, would
you?”

“
Certainly.
Any message for her?”

“
Yeah.
Tell her to stay hidden for as long as possible. After that flight of
dragons we saw earlier, I have no doubt that Pyrathius knows we're
here but he can't sense the elves and I'd rather save them as a
surprise if we can.”

“
Got
it. I'll be back soon,” Aeris told him and shot off to the
northeast, fading as he went.

“
Where's
he off to?” Tamara asked as she caught up to Simon.

“
Ethmira.
I want her and her people to stay out of sight until we attack. Their
arrows can penetrate dragon-hide, but they won't do any good if the
archers are incinerated before they get a chance to use them.”

“
Good
point.”

The
mage used a sleeve to wipe the sweat off of her face and touched the
wand on her belt.

“
By
the way, I wanted to thank you again for this. My spells are so much
more powerful now. I can certainly understand why you use a staff to
channel your powers.”

Simon
just shrugged.

“
Don't
thank me. It was Esmiralla's idea. She mentioned that I should take
you and your brother back to that cache in Russia to see if either of
you could use the wand. You're the one who lucked out, that's all.”

He
lowered his voice and glanced down at Sebastian, who had stopped to
chat with Keiko. The small woman was walking in the middle of the
group between Bastian and Malcolm and seemed even tinier out in the
open.

“
Is
your brother okay with it? I mean, the wand didn't work for him, did
it? That might make me a little angry.”

Tamara
looked back at Sebastian and smiled affectionately.

“
He
just isn't like that, Simon. He doesn't have a mean bone in his
body.” Her smile twisted. “Apparently I got them all. So
no, he's not feeling resentful or whatever. Both of us are just
grateful to have another weapon to use against the primal.”

Tamara
watched her brother and the diminutive mage speaking with each other.
She seemed pleased at the sight.

“
And
he did get that talisman from the cache. His Shield spell is almost
impenetrable now, which eases my mind a bit. So it's all good. I hope
it helps in the upcoming battle.” She looked at the wizard.
“Are you feeling optimistic?”

“
If
we follow the plan, I think we have a chance. And considering how
powerful Pyrathius is, I guess that's the best we can hope for.”

“
Yeah,
I guess.”

They
both rested for a moment and Simon looked at each of his companions
to see how they were holding up.

The
mages were both wearing the usual robes but, unlike the plain brown
one that the wizard had worn, Tamara had had a clever idea. She'd had
a pair of robes made of camouflage material to blend in with the
landscape. After initially finding their appearance hilarious, Simon
decided that it had been a stroke of genius and had told them so. His
compliment had improved Tamara's mood quite a bit.

“
Why's
she so cranky?” he had asked Sebastian discreetly before they'd
Gated to Japan that morning. “Usually she's excited about going
into battle.”

“
Besides
being afraid, you mean? Fear makes my sister angry at herself, just
so you know. But she's also having,” Bastian had hesitated and
lowered his voice even more, “women's issues, if you know what
I mean? Um, cramps and stuff.”

It
took Simon a minute to understand what the mage was saying.

“
Oh!
Oh right. Crap, that never occurred to me. Well then, that's
uh...right. Moving on,” he stuttered, causing Sebastian to
break up completely.

Both
of the siblings looked ready now, though. Moodiness aside, Tamara was
one of the strongest, most resolute people that he had ever known and
he felt lucky to have her and her brother with them.

Keiko
was an unknown. Simon watched her speaking demurely with the others,
her head lowered and her voice barely audible. Sebastian had assured
him that the woman was very powerful but he had yet to see her cast a
single spell. He was glad that she had volunteered to come but he
wouldn't depend on her.

Malcolm
and Aiden. The wizard grinned down at the armored duo. He hadn't
asked either man to come along on the expedition but they had
insisted. Malcolm's logic was that if the spell-casters fell,
Nottinghill Castle would basically be defenseless against the dragons
anyway, so why not come with them. Both men were armed with sturdy
bows and carried quivers at their hips stuffed with enchanted arrows.
They also had weapons on their belts; Malcolm had a sword and Aiden
carried his preferred weapon, a mace.

He
spared a thought for Virginia, Anna, Gerard and Eric. The foursome
had been displeased at having to remain at the castle, but Tamara had
been firm. Someone had to remain behind to lead and to mount some
sort of defense if the others failed. And because the four friends'
magic only worked in tandem with each other, they were chosen to
stay. In a battle, if one fell, they were all rendered powerless. No,
they had not been happy, but they had agreed in the end. Simon hoped
that they would be okay.

And
finally there was Liliana, bringing up the rear. Her silver armor
gleamed against the black volcanic rock and her sword and shield
shimmered with holy power. She had braided her blond hair to keep it
out of her face and looked calm and businesslike, as always.

Their
eyes met for a moment and she nodded up at him. Simon returned it and
then began to ascend again. Time to get on with this.

The
group had come together and planned the battle over the past ten
days, not long after the wizard had met with Esmiralla. He had waited
to tell the others about his meeting with the silver dragon until the
wounds on his arms had healed up a bit. The powers that she had given
him in exchange for his blood would take a few days to mesh with his
flesh and he needed rest and quiet while it happened. Well, at least
that was the story he was going to tell the others.

He
wasn't sure why he called Tamara first when he was feeling better.
Get the worst over with, he supposed. He figured the mage would be
furious with him. And he'd been right.