The Dragons of Decay (19 page)

“
Of
course. We're scouts, not warriors. Just make sure you impress that
on my fellow elementals. Some of them can be a bit...flighty, on
occasion.”

“
You
don't say?” Simon told him with a knowing look.

Aeris just
sniffed and looked away haughtily.

“
Okay,
hang on till I find that list of names.”

The slip of paper was tucked in the
back of one of the desk drawers and, by the time Simon had found it,
Kronk had returned from the stable and jumped up on to the desk. He
watched the proceedings quietly.

The wizard was fascinated when all of
the air elementals were finally recalled and they bobbed and weaved
together on his desk, speaking quietly in their breezy voices that
sounded like mournful gusts of wind. He also had a small headache
from the nine claps of thunder he'd had to endure during the
summonings.

Simon explained the mission to them,
making sure to emphasize to the group that they were to be cautious
and not take any unnecessary chances. Then he let Aeris split them
into two groups, showed each group their specific map and wished them
the best of luck.

The last of the elementals popped out
of the room and left Aeris and Kronk standing near each other. The
earthen looked at his friend and his expression was serious.

“
You be careful down there,”
he said stiffly. “Master and I have no interest in training a
new air elemental to take over your tasks here.”

Aeris looked at him with wide eyes.

“
Why, Kronk, I didn't know you
cared,” he said sarcastically. When the earthen didn't rise to
the bait, the air elemental smiled diffidently. “Don't worry so
much; I'll be fine. And I'll be back before you know it.”

“
Just remember, I've given you
permission to return at any time; no need to wait for me to summon
you,” Simon told him. “I suppose I should have done that
for your fellows too. Damn. Well, too late now.”

“
I know, my dear wizard, but
you do not give that boon to every summoned creature,” Aeris
said seriously. “Stretching the rules is your specialty, but
doing so too often can be pushing your luck. At any rate, I'll return
as soon as I can.”

“
Right. Take care, Aeris.”

The airy figure nodded to them both
and disappeared, leaving the wizard and Kronk to stare at each other
with worried looks.

Simon put the list of names back in
his desk and leaned back in his chair, watching the earthen
curiously.

“
What is it, master?”

“
I was just wondering why Aeris
thinks that allowing all of the elementals I summon permission to
return to the tower is a bad idea.”

Kronk looked a little surprised.

“
Forgive me, master, but is it
not obvious?”

“
Not to me. You seem to agree
with him, but why?”

“
Several reasons, master,”
he replied.

Simon got up and motioned for the
little guy to follow him as he headed downstairs. Kronk kept talking
as he hopped down the steps.

“
One reason, master, is a
cautionary one. You remember that the water elementals have allied
with the dark gods and the dragons?”

“
How could I forget?”
Simon said with an edge to his voice. He was still seething over that
betrayal.

They reached the main floor and
crossed to the kitchen area. Simon filled the kettle and set it over
the fire while Kronk jumped on to the table.

“
Well then, master, can you
imagine the kind of havoc Anaposus could have caused if she had been
given permission to negate your wards and enter the tower whenever
she wished? The results could have been catastrophic.”

The wizard took a cup out of the
kitchen cabinet, added a teaspoon of dried tea to it and leaned back
on the counter, waiting for the water to boil.

“
Ana. Yes. That's a valid
point, for sure. Damn it, I actually really liked her, you know?”

“
As did Aeris and I, master.
And to be fair, she had to obey her leaders. An elemental's loyalty
is always, first and foremost, to their ruler.”

“
I suppose so.”

“
And another reason that
elementals shouldn't be allowed to enter and leave whenever they
choose to is that they could lead danger back to the wizard who
summoned them. That could be very bad, master.”

Simon watched the little guy
intently, fascinated.

“
What kind of danger?”

“
Once there were supernatural
creatures who could track their prey across vast distances. Evil
creatures whose names I never knew, but who could use magic to follow
others. An elemental could, in theory, lure one of these monsters
back to their master. That would be an unforgivable breach of trust
between one of us and his master.” Kronk shook his head
mournfully. “Unforgivable.”

The water was boiling and Simon made
his tea, adding a large dollop of honey. Then he sat down at the
table and took a few sips before continuing his conversation.

“
What kind of creatures are we
talking about here? Dragons?”

“
No master, not dragons. As I
said, I do not recall ever hearing their names. But certain
malevolent monsters could use magic almost as well as wizards,
although not by using spells. They were horrors back in the ancient
world. There have been no signs that these things have emerged into
this new world, but the planet is large and, well, you never know.”

“
Great. That's all we'd need,”
Simon muttered into his cup.

“
Indeed, master. These areas
that Aeris and his compatriots are going to explore are new to us.
Who can say what dangers wait for them. It was wise of you to
admonish them to be cautious as they scout.”

“
Let's hope they all listened.
I don't want any casualties; I just want information.”

“
They listened, master. You are
their summoner, after all.”

Kronk grinned widely.

“
And although I do not believe
that you understand their language, I do, master, and Aeris was quite
firm in reinforcing your orders.”

“
Was he?” Simon drained
his cup and answered the little guy's grin with one of his own.
“Well, what do you know? I think our friend may actually be
growing up.”

Simon had tried to keep track of the
months of the year since the old world had fallen, even though he
knew that his dates were shaky at best. But he'd guessed that it was
late November or early December when he sent off the air elementals
to scout out possible locations for the people of Nottinghill.

A few days later, he and Kronk were
in the study early one morning, talking about the earth elementals
and the possibility of them helping to build a new town for Clara and
her people, when Simon mentioned his guess at the date.

“
I really do think that the
winters are getting worse each year,” he told the little guy,
who was standing on the desk next to him. The wizard nodded at the
windows in the room, both of which were so thick with frost and ice
that the sunlight was broken up into rainbows as it struggled to
penetrate the glass.

“
It's so cold out there that
the snow is like a skating rink. I fell on my ass this morning when I
visited the outhouse.”

He rubbed his hip gently and winced.
There was a bruise there that was rapidly becoming an interesting
shade of purple.

“
I'm sorry to hear that,
master,” Kronk told him gently and Simon smiled at his concern.

“
No big deal. I just have to
watch my step from now on. My point is, I can't remember it being
this cold this early before. Kronk, you're a lot more in touch with
nature than I am. Is it getting worse every year?”

“
I would say yes, master. Back
in the old, old days, the seasons were very extreme. Summers were
quite hot and dry, winters were bitterly cold and often filled with
violent storms. Spring and autumn were the seasons of growth and
decline. It was all very organized.”

“
But what is causing this?”

“
Magic, master,” Kronk
answered simply. “Magic has a profound effect on the natural
world. Since the dragons returned, magical energy has been pouring
into this world from the Void, sent by the gods of Chaos and, to a
lesser extent, by the lords of Light. It continues to do so even now.
That is why the weather is getting more extreme with each passing
season. The world is still not saturated with magic. That will take
many more years.”

“
And the weather will just get
worse and worse?” Simon asked him. Kronk nodded. “Great.
Something else to look forward to.”

“
The good news, master, is that
in regions that have temperate weather all year long, that weather
tends to stay quite gentle with little change. Again it has to do
with the nature of magic.”

“
Huh. That's actually good
news.”

Simon looked at the window again and
grimaced.

“
Too bad I can't just move the
tower to a warmer climate,” he said whimsically. ”I
really do hate the cold, you know.”

“
I know, master. I know.”

Chuckling at the little guy's dry
comment, Simon flipped open the atlas on the desk yet again and
stared down at the detailed map of Florida.

“
I wonder how Aeris is doing?”
he said to himself.

“
You could just call him,
master,” Kronk told him.

“
Yeah, I know. But I don't want
to distract him. If there's trouble, he'll pop back and tell us,
right?”

The earthen stared at him silently.

“
I mean, he would just come
home, wouldn't he?”

“
Probably, master. Yes,
probably.”

They looked at each other for a long
moment and then Simon grabbed the mirror that was lying next to the
atlas. He raced through the Magic Mirror incantation and invoked it.

“
Aeris, can you hear me?”
he said loudly into the clouded glass.

His heart was in his mouth as Simon
waited for a response. Aeris was not one to take orders to heart the
way the other elementals probably would. He was an independent
thinker, which the wizard appreciated. Most of the time.

“
Yes, as usual my hearing is
intact,” came the irritable reply and Simon grinned in relief.
“What's the emergency?”

“
No emergency. I just wanted to
check in and see how you're progressing.”

The mirror cleared and Simon could
see the air elemental floating several feet above a sandy beach.
Behind him, breakers were crashing on to the shore and the waters of
the ocean were a rich mixture of blue and green. The wizard suddenly
longed for the warmth of southern climes.

“
Everything is fine, my dear
wizard. I would have returned if they weren't. Those were your
instructions, were they not?”

The foggy little face was frowning at
him and Simon tilted his head slightly as he returned the look.

“
Aeris, you and I both know
that you tend to deviate from instructions when you feel it is
necessary, right?”

The elemental hesitated and then
nodded slowly with a bit of a sheepish grin.

“
Perhaps. But only when
absolutely necessary, as you said. So far though, things are looking
hopeful. My brethren and I divided this, state was it? Yes, this
state into five equal sections. I am scouting the east coast and, in
fact, I'm almost finished. There are several locations that are
promising and I will draw a detailed map of them when I return.”

“
Any signs of life? Any
humans?”

“
None, I'm afraid. But the
native animals have bounced back nicely. Rabbits, deer, some
squirrels. And I have even seen several packs of wild dogs. So
hunting will be available if the people of Nottinghill decide to move
to this area.”

“
Dogs?” Simon asked with
interest. “Wow, that's great. None of them seem to have
survived up here. If some puppies could be gathered up, they would be
great companions for our people, both for hunting and guarding and
just for their value as friends.”

“
Yes, I thought the same thing.
By the way, I've scouted every small town and village that I've run
across. I even made a pass through the main city. Miami? Nothing. No
sign of Changlings. Also, happily, no dragons darkening the skies. At
a guess, I'd say they swept through this part of the country and
hunted down any survivors, then moved on.”

“
Bastards,” Simon hissed
through gritted teeth. “They're efficient, I'll give them that.
Okay then, I'll let you get back to it. So what, a few more days?”

“
Say two more, barring any
incidents. If I haven't returned by then, feel free to call and
badger me again.”

“
Our master is not badgering
you, Aeris,” Kronk protested as he moved across the desk to
peer into the mirror. “He is concerned. Show some gratitude
once in a while.”