“Shouldn't one of us remain behind, to keep an eye on her?” Brethia asked.
“If our wizard wants us to continue to track her, he'll send someone back,” Aeris replied, still watching the distant queen. “Personally, I agree with Orriss; I'm sick of this place.”
“In some ways, she is a tragic creature, isn't she?” Brethia commented sympathetically, nodding at the smudge on the horizon.
“She is indeed. But she's also one of the most dangerous monsters in the world. Either way though, she is no longer our concern and hopefully never will be again. Let's head back.”
Brethia nodded and vanished.
Aeris waited a final moment, looking around at the bleak landscape.
By the Four Winds I hate the desert, was his last thought as he left for home with an enormous sense of relief.
It was after sunset when a distant rumble of sound shook the tower lightly. Simon was sitting in front of the fireplace on the main floor, staring pensively into the flames. The evening wasn't cold but he found it easier to think while he watched the fire leap and snap as it burned.
He sat up at the vibration that rippled through the building and listened carefully. Kronk, who had been pushing the logs around in the fireplace to get a better flame, jerked upright and looked at Simon.
“Did you hear that, master?”
“Felt it, actually. I think our wayward group of elementals is coming home.”
Simon clenched his teeth and stuck his forefingers into his ears. He knew what was coming.
Three flashes and three bangs of thunderous sound followed seconds later and he blinked back tears as his eyes throbbed from the blinding lights.
He looked around and saw Aeris, Brethia and Orriss floating above the kitchen table.
“We're back!” Aeris said cheerfully as Simon stood up and walked over to sit at the table.
“You don't say,” he muttered as he wiped his eyes. “Could you not tone down that damned entrance once in a while? It's a bit overdone, don't you think?”
“Please forgive us, lord,” Orriss said quickly. “It is not our choice. It's...”
“Your ruler. Yeah, I know. Don't sweat it, guys. I'm just a bit cranky these days.”
He managed to smile at Orriss and shook a finger at him.
“And there's no need for that 'lord' stuff. Simon will do or, if you insist, sir wizard. Okay?”
The elemental bowed while Aeris rolled his eyes and Brethia grinned.
“Of course, sir wizard. I forgot.”
“No problem. So I'm assuming you guys have good news?”
Both of the male elementals turned and looked at Brethia, who smiled even more widely.
“We do, sir wizard,” she replied and made an odd, hand-wringing motion.
An orb about the size of an orange appeared between her hands, glowing with a greenish tinge that made it look diseased.
“That's it?” Simon asked in a hushed voice.
“It is. Frozen from our return trip, but that was the best way to transport it anyway.” She looked around. “Do you have some sort of container that I can put it into before it begins to thaw?”
Simon stood up quickly and stepped over to the cupboards. He rummaged around for a few seconds and pulled out a large glass.
“Here you go. Drop it in this,” he said as he put the glass on the table.
Brethia lifted the frozen globule of blood a little higher and let it drop into the glass. It tinkled and bounced once, then settled to the bottom and began to slowly melt.
Simon sat down again and stared at the glass for a moment, then looked at the elementals with a grin.
“Guys, that was an amazing accomplishment. Really amazing.”
The three of them seemed very pleased with themselves.
“Thanks,” Aeris said. “Are we the first ones back?” he added hopefully.
“I'm afraid not,” Simon told them and watched the three translucent faces fall.
“Hey, come on, guys. Your job was so much harder than the others were. Incendus and Aethos had tough targets but the dragon queen is both incredibly powerful and insane. I'm actually surprised that you're back already, both with her blood and in one piece. Really remarkable.”
His pep talk worked and the elementals cheered up immediately. Kronk, who had hopped up on to the table and was watching quietly, gave Simon a discreet wink.
“We were happy to serve, sir wizard,” Brethia said. “May we now resume our post on the roof?”
Simon looked at her and Orriss curiously.
“Don't you two want some time off? Head home for a while maybe or whatever?”
“Oh no, not at all,” Orriss told him quickly. “We enjoy keeping watch over your tower, sir wizard. And we will get a break because we share the duty.” He hesitated. “Unless you would like one of us to return to the desert keep track of the queen?”
His distaste for that option was obvious and Simon had to laugh.
“No, you've gone above and beyond the call on this mission. I'll summon another one of your people to take over that job.” The wizard grinned at their pleased expressions. “I'll feel more secure with your keen eyes up on the roof watching over my home.”
Both of the elementals bowed and disappeared with twin pops. Aeris looked amused.
“What are you grinning about?” Simon asked him as he picked up the glass and watched in disgusted fascination as the green blood continued to melt.
“Just their enthusiasm. They love doing what they do.”
“And you do not?” Kronk asked absently as he tapped over to Simon and examined the frozen blood.
“Of course I do. But I prefer scouting or doing what I do now to standing watch day and night on the roof of this tower.”
Simon turned the glass this way and that and then put it down on the table and wiped his hand unconsciously on his shirt, even though he hadn't actually touched the blood.
“Can you imagine how old this stuff is?” he asked the others as he nodded at the green, viscous liquid. The blood had melted quickly.
“Probably millions of years, master,” Kronk replied in obvious awe.
He stroked the side of the glass, his hand clinking loudly against it.
“It's just blood, you know,” Aeris said dismissively. “A dragon is a dragon.”
“No real respect for history, hmm?”
“I have a lot of respect for history, my dear wizard. What I don't have respect for is dragons. And if it wasn't for the queen, we would never have had the damned monsters in this world to begin with.”
Kronk gave him a serious look.
“Don't blame her. It was the lords of Chaos that created her to be the mother of her species. If anyone is to blame, it is them.”
“Kronk's right. If we ever rid the world of the red dragons and the queen, we'll still have to deal with the evil gods.”
“Well, good luck with that,” Aeris told him with his usual sarcasm.
Simon had to smile.
“Yeah, you're right. Good luck with that. Anyway,” he picked up the glass,” I'm going to put this downstairs with the other 'ingredients' and get it out of sight. It's a bit...”
“Gross,” Aeris said with a firm nod.
“Exactly. I'll be back in a minute.”
The wizard walked over to the stairs and disappeared below. The two elementals watched him and then Kronk turned to Aeris.
“Was it difficult?”
Aeris floated off of the table and down to the front of the fireplace. Kronk dropped to the floor and joined him. Both of them sat and stared at the flames.
“Difficult? Yes, I suppose it was. Exciting too, in a way, but that creature is so powerful and unpredictable that we came close to being destroyed more than once.”
“Well, I am glad that you were not.”
Aeris smiled at the earthen.
“Thanks. I appreciate that. So now what? When will our wizard start this ceremony?”
Kronk shrugged, the ligh
t from the fire casting shadows across his suddenly serious expression.
“I do not know. I doubt that he knows either. This is Esmiralla's show, as they say. She will dictate the next move.”
Aeris looked over his shoulder and then lowered his voice.
“I don't trust her, Kronk. This whole thing feels wrong somehow. You know how a wizard's magic works. There's no need for blood or eggs or any other disgusting materials. This feels more like witchcraft.”
Kronk frowned at the flames and then nodded slowly.
“I know. We share the same reservations. I have carefully mentioned my concerns to our master.”
“And?”
“And I believe that he is so eager to end his bond with the silver dragon that he is ignoring any foreboding. He simply wants to be rid of her and will do anything to accomplish that goal.”
“Damn. Well, I don't like it anyway. Should I tell him?”
Kronk looked at Aeris again and their eyes locked.
“Why bother? It won't matter,” the earthen said heavily. “He will not listen.”
“Damn,” Aeris muttered again.
Simon woke up the next morning in better spirits than usual. He was optimistic that his merging with Esmiralla would soon be over and then each of them could both go their own way. He had come to the chilling conclusion that if he had to share his mind with the silver dragon for much longer, he might actually go insane. And that thought was terrifying.
'You are finally awake,' the dragon's voice echoed through his head.
“Obviously,” he replied shortly as he rolled out of bed. He preferred to speak aloud when communicating to Esmiralla. It seemed less crazy for some reason.
'Good. Now that we have the three ingredients we need, the ceremony can soon begin.'
Simon poked through his wardrobe, discovered an old pair of jeans and a belt to hold them up. They were ridiculously big on him but he had no interest in wearing any of his robes.
He found another old t-shirt, this one black with a faded yellow smiley-face on it, and slipped it over his narrow shoulders. It fit like a tent.
“So what's the holdup?” he asked as he got dressed. “I thought that we only needed the two types of blood and the egg and then we could get on with it.”
'That is all that is needed for the ceremony, yes,' the silver dragon answered. 'Now we need the proper setting.'
“Meaning?”
Simon left his room and pattered down the stairs in his bare feet.
'Meaning that the ceremony must be performed at night, under a full moon.'
The wizard walked across the main floor to the sink and filled his kettle. Apparently both of the elementals were out.
“A full moon? Seriously?” he asked derisively as he hung the kettle in the fireplace and added a log to the low-burning embers. “Should I sacrifice a virgin too? Yeah, good luck finding one of those around these parts.”
'Your tone is not appreciated, wizard.'
The dragon sounded irritated but Simon was past caring.
'The rite is the rite,' she continued. 'This is one of the parameters that must be met if we want it to succeed. And we both want that, do we not?'
“Got that right,” Simon said harshly. “So how long until the next full moon? I don't keep track of it for some reason.”
Esmiralla ignored his sarcastic comment.
'Do not fret. Three days are all that you will have to endure. Three days and we are free of each other and can go our separate ways. Patience, wizard. Patience.'
Her presence faded and Simon let out a long breath.
Three days. Yeah, I can wait three days, he thought. At least now I have a time frame. That's a relief.
He made his morning cup of tea and walked outside. The stone steps out front were a bit cool on his feet but not too bad and Simon sat down and listened to the birds singing and the gentle sound of the breeze wafting past his tower. It was going to be a lovely day.
“Good morning, all powerful one,” a voice said from his left.
The wizard turned his head and watched Aeris fly slowly around the corner of the building. The elemental looked quite happy.
“Morning,” Simon replied. “How's it going?”
“Very well.”
The small semi-transparent figure moved to hover next to the wizard's shoulder and bobbed on the mild wind.
“I'm overjoyed not to be in the desert chasing after the mother of the dragons, frankly.”
He looked around with a satisfied smile and actually sighed softly.
“It is good to be home.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Simon took a sip of his tea and watched one of the earthen as it clumped along the top of the outer wall.
“I wanted to ask you a question, if I may,” Aeris said after a few minutes.
The wizard blinked, drawn out of his thoughts, and looked at the elemental.
“Of course you can. Anything.”
“Okay. Good.”
Aeris actually looked uncomfortable, which was unusual for him, and he hesitated.
“Well, come on,” Simon told him with a grin. “You've never been the shy type.”
“True. Okay then. Is the silver dragon available to speak with me as well?”
The wizard frowned and closed his eyes for a moment, feeling through his thoughts for the familiar presence. He opened his eyes again and shook his head.
“Nope. Sorry. She's off doing whatever it is that she does. Weird how she can mentally come and go but physically is trapped within me. You wanted to speak to both of us?”
Aeris shook his head.
“No, quite the opposite actually. I wanted to talk to you about the ceremony and the ingredients we've retrieved for you.”
“Oh?”
Simon put down his cup, drew up his knees and rested his forearms on them.
“Okay, shoot.”
The elemental looked into the wizard's eyes sternly.
“All right. What are you doing?”
Startled at the question, Simon stared back and blinked several times.
“What?”
“You heard me. What are you doing?” Aeris repeated, almost hissing as his tone became more intense. “Wizards don't use ingredients in their spell casting. They don't need them. You are mindlessly following the silver dragon's orders, apparently without question, never wondering if she might have an ulterior motive. That isn't like you at all, my dear wizard.”
He paused and looked Simon up and down.
“And what in the name of the Four Winds are you wearing?”
“What?” Simon said again, feeling completely lost and more than a bit stupid. “What's wrong with my clothes?”
“Jeans? A shirt? You look like an ordinary person!”
The wizard had to laugh.
“And that's a bad thing?”
Aeris was almost quivering with exasperation.
“Yes it's a bad thing! Do you not know why magic-users wear robes? No? It is because of the flow of their power. Tight clothing interrupts the channels that magic uses to travel through their bodies. Wearing that,” he raked Simon's body with a dismissive glance, “constricts your power. It is not natural for you. And not too long ago, you seemed to know that subconsciously and always wore robes. Now? Now I don't know what's gotten into you.”
Aeris put his hands on his hips and glared at Simon.
“Wow. Really? Is that why casters wear robes? I never knew that. Makes sense, I suppose.”
He looked away from the elemental and stared across the bright courtyard, thinking hard.
“I'm not sure why I started dressing like this. Sentimentality, I thought. You know, remembering the old days and all that.”
Aeris nodded silently, his expression softening a bit.
“But you may have a point,” the wizard continued. “I ditched the robes right after I sent you and the others off to find the ingredients for the ritual. Now why would I do that?”
He l
ooked sharply at Aeris.
“Do you think Esmiralla has some other reason for using this kind of magic?”
The elemental became thoughtful.
“Perhaps, my dear wizard. Perhaps. My only point here is to make you aware of things that you might not be. You're too close to it all, obviously, being merged with the silver dragon. Two kinds of blood? A dragon's egg? Whatever she is planning, this is dark magic. Very dark.”
Simon picked up his cup and finished his tea. It was cold. He stood up and motioned for Aeris to follow him back inside.
“So what do you suggest I do?” he asked as he crossed the room and hung the kettle over the fire again.
Aeris flew to the kitchen table and stood on it.
“Do? I have no idea. I only wanted to focus your attention on the situation. What you do now is up to you.”
Simon sat down at the table and rested his chin on his hands. He nodded thoughtfully.
“I guess so. Oh, by the way, she's informed me that we must go through the ceremony by the light of the full moon.”
Aeris jerked back and his eyes widened.
“The full moon?” he whispered. “But that's...that's not wizardry. That is witchcraft, absolutely.”
“What the hell is she up to?” Simon muttered as an icy lump formed in his stomach.
What had he gotten himself into this time?
Chapter 6
Esmiralla informed Simon on the day of the full moon to be prepared to start the ritual that evening. And then her presence faded from his mind again. She had been popping in and out ever since Aeris and the others had returned and, while the wizard enjoyed the solitude when she was 'away', wherever that was, he was becoming more and more suspicious.
“It's tonight,” he told Kronk when the two of them were out back later that day tending the garden.
Simon had shared his worries with the earthen and was a bit surprised to find out that the little guy actually agreed with Aeris.
“Oh dear. Are you worried, master?” Kronk asked as he pulled up a weed from between rows of young tomato plants and threw it on a refuse pile.
“Yes and no. Yes, I'm nervous about it, and no, I just want her the hell out of my head. You know?”
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 47