The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (15 page)

Simon looked at Aeris.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
All of them
bear several scars and Chief has lost part of one horn. I'd say that
they've had to fight to survive more than once.”

“
Then we
have to get them back here, right now!” Simon said sharply.

He sprang to his feet and Aeris flew
back a few feet. The elemental made a calming gesture.

“
Easy there,
my dear wizard. They are already on their way home.”

“
They are?
How?”

“
Their
Change affected more than their appearances; you know that. They are
all much more intelligent than normal horses were back in the old
days. The three of them knew me immediately when I found them. I
explained that you were back, just as we are speaking now, and they
headed for home straight away. They should be back sometime this
afternoon.”

“
Will they
get back alright?” Simon asked anxiously. “You said
they've had to fight out there.”

“
Not to
worry. I found nothing between the tower and the horses in my
scouting that could threaten a beast like Chief. They will be fine.”

He looked at the surrounding fog and
shook his semi-translucent head.

“
Although
they will make better time if this blasted fog lifts soon.”

Simon took a deep breath to try to
calm himself. Aeris' news was a lot to digest in a short amount of
time.

“
Will it?
Lift soon, I mean?”

Aeris only shrugged.

“
I may be
able to feel a storm approaching, my dear wizard, but this sort of
phenomena is beyond me. However, the sun is out above us and should
help to burn off the mist fairly quickly.”

“
Good. Let's
head inside; my robe is getting damp from all of this humidity, and
it's cold.”

Back inside, the two of them went
downstairs and Simon hung the kettle over the fire. He told Aeris
about summoning his fellow air elementals and the job he had given
them.

“
You
couldn't have waited until I returned?” Aeris asked, sounding a
little offended. “I could have helped them search.”

“
Don't get
your feathers all ruffled,” Simon told him as he made his tea.
“I wanted you here with me. Brethia and the others may be gone
for several months, you know.”

“
Well, I'm
touched, I suppose,” Aeris admitted grudgingly. “But
still, I hate to miss out on such an adventure.”

The wizard sat down at the table and
smiled at him.

“
I think
we'll have more than a few adventures of our own before they return.
And not all good ones either.”

Aeris floated above the table and
watched Simon sip his tea.

“
You have a
point there. Have you tried to contact any of the people from
Nottinghill Castle?”

“
Tried and
failed. The dwarven cities are warded against magic, as you well
know, and that hasn't changed. Unless Shandon allows me a direct line
somehow, the only way that I'll be able to talk to any of them is to
go down there for a visit.”

“
Are you
going to do that?” Aeris asked with an intrigued look.

Simon sipped his tea silently for a
moment, thinking about it.

His several trips below ground had
never been anything but frightening and dangerous. The dwarves loved
their caves, but he could live the rest of his life quite happily on
the surface.

Unfortunately, his friends were all
down there now. Somewhere. And if they were to begin to fight back
against the Chaos lords and their servants, the wizard would need to
coordinate with the rest of his people. It definitely wasn't
something that he could do on his own.

“
I think
so,” Simon replied reluctantly. “I hate it down there,
but I don't see that I have a lot of choices.”

“
Maybe you
should wait until my fellow air elementals return from their
scouting?” Aeris suggested. “There may be other
Changlings on the surface that you can ask for help.”

“
Yeah,
maybe. But I'll still have to talk to Tamara and Liliana and the rest
of the human leaders. And Shandon, of course. He may be willing to
help us, now that we know his people are on the dark gods' hit list
after they 'dispose' of us.”

The front door opened with a loud
bang and Kronk hopped into the room. He slammed the door closed
behind him, making Simon wince, and tip-tapped across the room to
jump up on to the table.

“
Welcome
back,” he said to Aeris.

“
Thanks.
How's the garden looking?”

“
Very well.
I have finished weeding and replanting all of the crops now.”
He smiled up at Simon. “You will have some fresh vegetables
very soon, master.”

“
Thanks,
Kronk. I'm looking forward to it. Do you need some help? I don't mind
working in the garden.”

“
Oh no,
master. You have too much on your mind right now. If I need an extra
hand, I will just ask one of my brethren to help me. They enjoy a
break from patrolling the perimeter occasionally.”

“
Hmm. Okay
then. But don't hesitate to ask if you need help. And speaking of
help, I'd like to ask for yours.”

Kronk's eyes glowed an even brighter
red and he smiled broadly.

“
Anything I
can do, master. You need only ask.”

Aeris rolled his eyes at the
earthen's eagerness and Simon gave him a sharp look.

“
Thanks.
We've been discussing how to get in touch with the humans who are now
living in the dwarven cities and I was wondering if you could think
of a way that didn't involve me actually having to go there in
person.”

The little guy frowned and tapped his
chin.

“
I do not
think so, master. If the dwarves have sealed their cities against
magical attack, those wards will affect your ability to contact your
fellow humans as well. I fear that you will have to descend into the
great underground tunnels again and travel there yourself.”

Simon drained his cup, sat back and
nodded.

“
Damn it.
That's what I was afraid of. Okay then, I guess we have something to
look forward to. Sort of.”

He glanced out of the window at the
wall of gray fog that blanketed the tower.

“
But not
today or for some time to come. I need to practice and get used to
using my powers again. Aeris, do me a favor and find the horses,
would you? I know that Chief can take care of himself and the mares,
but I'd like you to keep an eye on them until they make it back.”

The air elemental chuckled and gave
Simon a casual salute.

“
Happy to.
I'm sure they're fine but it will give me something to do. We should
be back in a few hours.”

“
Good.
Hopefully this damned fog will have lifted by then.”

Aeris nodded and disappeared with a
small pop.

“
I have
cleaned out the stable, master,” Kronk said as Simon got up to
rinse out his cup. “It was quite dusty and filled with cobwebs
after being unused for so long.”

“
Ah, thanks
Kronk. I should have thought of that myself. I doubt that the horses
will want to spend much time inside during the summer anyway, but
it's good to know that they can retreat to it during bad weather or
whatever.”

“
That was my
thought as well, master.”

Simon left his cup in the sink and
walked to the stairs.

“
Time for
some reading and practicing,” he told the earthen. “If
you need me, I'll be in the study.”

“
Yes master.
Have fun.”

Several hours later, after pouring
through old books of stories and fables about magic and monsters,
Simon made his way downstairs. He pulled a kitchen chair over and sat
in front of the fireplace, dearly missing his old comfy chair.

The fire had died to embers; there
was no real need to keep it burning all of the time during the summer
months unless the night got really cold. The wizard carefully added a
log from the neat pile beside it, waited for it to begin burning, and
then sat back and stared deeply into the flames.

If I want to begin to strike back and
turn the tide on the dark gods, he thought, I'll have to go after
their most powerful servants. Fighting through hordes of undead
monsters would be a waste of time and energy. I need to destroy the
necromancers who raised them in the first place.

The front door opened with a muffled
squeal.

“
Oh dear,
I'll have to oil that straight away,” Kronk said from behind
him.

Simon smiled but didn't take his eyes
off of the dancing flames.

“
Are you
well, master?” the little guy said as he clattered across the
floor to peer up at the wizard. “Do you need anything?”

“
You mean
besides a more comfortable chair for my skinny ass?” Simon
asked as he adjusted himself on the hard wooden seat. “Not
really. I just find that I sometimes think better when I'm sitting
here and watching the fire.”

Kronk stepped into the fireplace and
pushed the burning log into a more balanced position. He ignored the
flames licking at his body and Simon watched him, amazed as always by
the earthen's casual attitude toward such intense heat.

“
Yes master,
I have noticed that.”

He stepped out on to the stone
flooring in front of the fireplace and waited for his body to cool
off.

“
I hope that
you are thinking great thoughts, master.”

The wizard laughed and wriggled on
the chair. It got really uncomfortable after a while.

“
I don't
know about great thoughts, but one thing has occurred to me. There
was more furniture in that underground bunker in Russia where we got
the couch and chair. So I intend to go back there in the very near
future and see if I can find any replacements for what we lost.”

The little guy's face lit up.

“
That is a
wonderful idea, master. Perhaps there were other chambers that we did
not see. I should have searched the stone around that sanctuary more
carefully while we were there.”

Simon got up with a wince and carried
the chair back to the kitchen table.

“
I never
thought of that. Do you think we missed something?”

“
It is quite
possible, master. Whoever had that place built was obviously worried
about their own security and safety. Perhaps to the point of
paranoia. They could have had secret rooms tucked away off of the
main shelter.”

“
Huh.
Secrets inside of secrets, eh? Yeah, that's a possibility. Okay,
we'll check on that when we head back. Any sign of Aeris and the
horses yet?”

He pumped some water into the kettle
and hung it over the fire.

“
No master,
not yet. But the fog has lifted, so that will help them travel more
easily.”

Simon looked out of the nearest
window in surprise.

“
Well, what
do you know? I hadn't noticed. Excellent. We can head outside once I
make my tea, and take a walk around the tower. I'd like to see how
the garden is doing.”

A short time later, the pair was
standing on the edge of the very large garden behind the tower. Kronk
was beaming proudly after Simon had exclaimed at how well everything
was organized.

“
Every plant
in its place and all of them growing well. You've done wonders in
only a few days, my friend.”

“
Oh, I
cannot take much of the credit, master,” the little guy said
modestly. “I only moved a few of the plants and trimmed some
others. And weeded, of course. The crops grew on their own. And the
work that you and I did together, back before you had to leave,
allowed them to keep growing well over the years.”

“
Well, I
still think that you're a genius.”

“
Why do you
insist on inflating his ego? Especially over weeds?”

Simon and Kronk both looked toward
the back gate, which was standing open. Aeris had flown through and
was hovering just inside of it, watching them with a smirk on his
face.

“
I'm
complimenting him because he deserves it,” Simon replied. “I'd
do the same for you if you earned it.”

“
Would you
now? Well then, allow me to 'earn' this glorious compliment of
yours.”