The Dragons of Bone and Dust (Tales from the New Earth Book 7) (16 page)

Aeris turned and flew to the open
gate.

“
Come on
in,” he called out. “Your home is waiting for you.”

Simon felt a rush of excitement and
barely had time to brace himself as Chief, Tammy and Sunshine raced
through the gate in a rush, raising dust and flinging grass in all
directions.

The three horses crowded around him
and the wizard hugged each one in turn. Chief carefully kept his head
raised to keep his keen-edged horns from accidentally goring Simon.

The wizard noticed with a pang of
regret that the horn on the left had been broken off about halfway
down its length.

Must have been a hell of a fight, he
thought in passing.

The horses were in better shape than
he'd feared but all bore signs of their years roaming free. Chief had
the broken horn and a tear in one ear. Tammy's chest was
criss-crossed with several wide scars. And Sunshine...

Simon ran a hand down from between
her ears to her chin. He knew the horses were more intelligent since
their Change and he stroked her chin as he spoke quietly to her.

“
I'm so
sorry that you lost your little girl,” he said with a catch in
his voice. “I'm sure you all fought bravely against whatever
took her away from you.”

Aeris hadn't mentioned that one of
Sunshine's eyes was cloudy with blindness. A scar crossed her face
diagonally and had pierced the eye. It had long healed but she would
obviously be half-blind for the rest of her life.

The mare rested her chin on his
shoulder and let out a long, slow sigh. She closed her eyes and
almost looked content.

Simon wrapped his arms around her
neck and squeezed as hard as he dared. Then he slowly let her go and
looked at all three animals.

“
Welcome
home, all of you. Your stable is clean and ready for you. There's
water inside, and Kronk somehow managed to find a bag of oats that
wasn't ruined, so there's food as well. We'll leave the gate open so
you can come and go as you please.”

He looked directly into Chief's deep
brown eyes.

“
I'm sorry
that I left you. I didn't have any choice, but that's no excuse.
Thank you all for coming back. It wouldn't be home without you.”

The stallion held his gaze for a
moment and whickered quietly. Then he glanced at the mares and led
them into the stable.

Simon pushed back his hair with
trembling fingers and wiped off his forehead.

“
Thank you,
Aeris, for a job well done. It really does almost feel like things
are back to normal now.”

The air elemental flew closer and
folded his arms.

“
That's it?
That's the best you can do for a compliment? I must admit, I'm a bit
underwhelmed.”

He grinned as he said it though and
the three of them shared a laugh.

“
You are
correct, master,” Kronk said happily. “We are all truly
home again.”

When there are no calendars to keep
track of the days and no clocks to mark the time, weeks can pass in
the blink of an eye. Or at least that was how it seemed to Simon as
he settled back into the routine of his old life.

Once the tower was cleaned up and all
the little repairs were done, and once the horses had adjusted to
being home again, it was time to add the final touches to his life.
The first one being a replacement for his couch and chair.

“
I know it
seems a bit silly,” he told Kronk and Aeris as he got dressed
one morning. “But I just can't get comfortable in my own home
until I have everything back the way it was before. Is that petty?”

Before Aeris could jump in with what
would probably have been a snarky comment, Kronk cut him off.

“
Of course
not, master. Home can be an intangible concept sometimes. If that is
what it takes for you to feel well and allows you to refocus on the
battles ahead, then that is what matters.”

He glowered at Aeris.

“
Correct?”
he rumbled.

“
Who are you
and what have you done with Kronk?” the air elemental said,
wide-eyed. “Intangible concept? That's pretty deep for you. But
yes, I agree. The human body is fairly fragile and a wizard must be
able to meet its needs so that he can concentrate on what is
important. So if either of you thought that I was going to say
something else, you were mistaken.”

Simon pulled on a second sock,
adjusted his simple brown robe and looked at both elementals.

“
Good. I'm
glad we're in agreement. Let's get this party started then, shall
we?”

Downstairs, the wizard put on his
shoes, grabbed his staff and looked around one last time, wondering
if he'd forgotten anything.

“
You guys
ready?” he asked.

Kronk hurried to his side and grabbed
the bottom of his robe.

“
Ready,
master,” he said eagerly.

Aeris glided over and laid a hand on
Simon's left arm.

“
As am I. Do
you remember what the place looked like?”

“
More or
less. Let's find out.”

“
Now wait a
minute,” Aeris gasped. “If you aren't one hundred percent
sure...”

“
Gate!”

The hidden bunker was as dark and
smelled even more musty than it had when Simon had explored it
several years earlier.

The Void faded around the three of
them and they stood still in complete darkness for a moment.

“
A little
light, I think,” the wizard said.

A mage light appeared over his palm
and began to glow brightly as it rose to hover overhead.

“
That's
better. Aeris, start poking around and see what you can find. Kronk,
whenever you're ready, see if you can feel any hidden spaces beyond
the walls.”

“
Yes master,
I will do that.”

The trio split up and began
searching. Aeris' body began to glow with its own light as he flew
around the main room.

Kronk disappeared into the darkness
of the hallway that led to some storage rooms and the entrance sealed
by a massive steel door.

Simon had discovered the first time
they had come to the bunker that whatever oligarch had constructed it
had never used it. Liliana, a native of Moscow, had given him the
clues to find the place, saying that it had been built in case of a
nuclear war. Apparently, the wealthy Russian hadn't counted on a
surprise dragon attack instead.

The main room was lined with
bookshelves and a large fireplace. Unfortunately for Simon, he
couldn't read Russian, so the books were of no use to him. The
sumptuous bathroom at the far end of the room didn't work, of course,
and after a quick search, the wizard ignored it.

The living area was very large, about
fifty feet square and there were still a lot of chairs and several
couches scattered around to examine. All of them were overstuffed and
covered in leather.

The problem was that most of them
were either rotting from the dampness that had seeped in through the
walls or were contaminated with mold. Simon had chosen the best of
the bunch when he'd raided the place the last time, but he hoped that
there might still be some serviceable furniture left to find.

“
I wonder
how deep we are and where this leads?” Aeris said from across
the room.

Simon was examining a decent looking
couch covered in tan leather and he looked over at the elemental.

Aeris was floating inside the
fireplace, looking straight up the chimney curiously.

“
No idea.
Remember, it was built to withstand a nuclear bomb attack, so these
places were built deep.”

“
Hmm. There
must be a rather complicated ventilation system to service it then.
Think I'll take a look.”

And with that, the elemental shot up
the chimney and disappeared from sight.

“
Have fun,”
Simon muttered absently as he lay down on his back and crawled under
the couch.

“
Well now,
this looks promising,” he said to himself. “A little bit
of mold, but that can be cleaned off easily. Leather's thick and
intact.”

He pulled himself out from under the
heavy sofa and stood up.

“
I think
you'll do nicely,” he said to the sturdy piece. “Unfortunately,
I think I'm out of luck finding a decent chair though. Damn.”

The several chairs in the room were
all ruined. Mold had eaten into them and they were beyond repair.

“
Oh well,
maybe we'll find one some other day. It's a big planet, after all.”

Simon walked out of the room and
followed the hallway, looking for Kronk. He wondered whether there
were artisans among the dwarves who built furniture. Surely there
must be. Perhaps a trade?

“
Master? Ah,
there you are.”

Kronk appeared out of the darkness
ahead, his little red eyes glowing in the gloom.

“
Any luck?”
Simon asked him.

“
I am afraid
not, master. There are no hidden areas along this hallway or off of
the main room. I believe that we have found all there is to find.”

Simon sighed and nodded reluctantly.

“
Yeah, I
suspected as much. Oh well, at least I found a serviceable couch. I'd
rather have found a good chair, but beggars can't be choosers.”

“
That is an
interesting thing to say, master. But you are a wizard and far from
being a beggar.”

Simon laughed and led the way back
toward the main room.

“
It is just
a saying, my friend. And it applies. I can't build furniture and
until I find someone who can, I'll have to depend on luck.”

They re-entered the main room just as
Aeris flew out of the fireplace.

“
Did you
have fun in there?” Simon asked him jokingly.

Aeris smirked at him as he rejoin the
group.

“
In a manner
of speaking. Did you know that the owner of this bunker had a
neighbor? And that these two neighbors, perhaps to be economical,
shared a ventilation system?”

“
Are you
serious?”

“
I am. Maybe
they were relatives or something. But whatever. The point is that
over there,” Aeris pointed in the direction of the bathroom,”
about forty yards through the rock, is another shelter almost
identical to this one. Who knows, there may be others as well.”

He looked very satisfied with
himself.

“
In fact, we
could be standing in what might be one section of a series of
underground bunkers.”

Simon was delighted by the news.

“
Aeris, that
is amazing. Great work!”

“
Really? I
mean, yes, of course. Just my usual thoroughness.”

Kronk made a sound of disgust at the
air elemental's smug tone and Simon grinned at them both.

“
Now guys,
let's get along. Kronk, could you check it out please? We need to
find the entrance. I'd rather not Gate blindly into another hidden
room.”

“
Yes, of
course, master. That way, Aeris?”

The air elemental motioned for Kronk
to follow him and led him across the room to the wall to the left of
the bathroom.

“
Straight
through and about ten feet lower than this area,” Aeris told
him. “You will feel it before you see it, I'm sure.”

“
Good. Thank
you.”

The little guy looked over his
shoulder at Simon.

“
I will be
back shortly, master.”

“
No rush.
Take your time. I'm going to Gate back home with the couch I found
and then I'll return.”

Kronk nodded and pushed his way into
the wall, tearing a hole through the wood paneling and the insulation
behind it, leaving behind a small pile of broken rock.

“
Care to
come along?” Simon asked Aeris as the two of them watched the
earthen disappear.

“
Certainly.
Unless you've learned to use magic to levitate objects, you'll need
my help moving that couch.”

Simon walked over to the sofa and
looked at Aeris, intrigued.

“
Is that
possible? Levitation, I mean.”

“
Of course
it is. Frankly, I am surprised that you haven't discovered that spell
by now.”