“Seven hours.”
Simon looked at Aeris.
“You sure?” he asked the elemental.
“Quite sure.”
“Tamara, Aeris tells me that there's a seven hour difference between your time and Beijing's.”
“Ah excellent. Thank him for me, would you?”
Simon winked at the elemental.
“Consider it done. Okay, I'll check back in next week. If you need anything until then, don't hesitate to give me a shout.”
“Will do. Thanks Simon, and thank you for the good news. Those elemental scouts of yours are the gift that just keeps on giving.”
The wizard laughed at that comment and waved at the siblings before canceling his spell. Then he sat back with long sigh and looked at Aeris.
“That went well,” he said as he rubbed his bleary eyes.
“Not surprising. Your people need all of the survivors that they can get. And these brothers sound like they will be very useful.”
“Maybe. But we know nothing of their temperament or anything else about them. After it just being the two of them for so long, will they have trouble living with other people? It could take some adjustment on their part.”
The wizard got up and stretched.
“Come on, I want to sit outside and get some sun. I think I'll make some tea and drink it out on the front steps.”
The day was getting hot when Simon and Aeris moved outside. It was either late spring or early summer, the wizard couldn't decide which. But it didn't matter. After a long and fairly brutal winter, it was good to enjoy the more temperate weather.
The two of them were chatting about Nottinghill Castle and guessing at how long it would be before Kronk and the other earthen completed the project, when a deafening blast of sound shook the tower to its foundations.
Simon's cup went flying and shattered on the steps as he clapped his hands over his ears with a bellow of agony.
A burning flash of white light followed, blinding him, and he squinted his eyes against it, frantically trying to see what was attacking them.
“Wizard!” something bellowed. “Attend me!”
“What the hell is that?” Simon exclaimed, trying to see through his watering eyes.
His ears were throbbing and he wondered whether they were actually bleeding.
“Stand up, my dear wizard. Quickly!” Aeris hissed. “He is unforgiving of disrespect.”
Who is he talking about, the wizard wondered as he unsteadily pushed himself to his feet.
Simon wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his robe and blinked a dozen times, trying to focus on his surroundings. Once his vision had cleared, he almost fell back against the steps as he gaped upward.
A giant stood there, filling the courtyard from the stairs to the front gate. It looked like an immense version of Aeris, but was even more finely formed.
Noble features frowned down at him and the translucent body of the giant was muscled and sculpted like that of a Greek god.
The being was over thirty feet tall, the top of his head just below the level of the tower's roof, and he was surrounded by an aura of power that sparked and sizzled as if made of living lightning.
Simon looked at Aeris and was surprised to see him on the ground, kneeling with his head lowered.
“Aeris? What's going on?” he asked urgently. “Who is this?”
The elemental remained silent and unmoving and the wizard was forced to peer up at the frightening form looming over him.
“Simon O'Toole,” it rumbled with a voice like thunder. “We meet in person at last.”
“I suppose we do,” Simon replied weakly. “And you are?”
Aeris kept his head down but spluttered in indignation at the wizard's question.
“I am Astrandamus,” the giant told him, his voice heavy with derision. “Have you lost your wits or are you being intentionally insulting?”
Oh crap, Simon thought numbly. The ruler of the air elementals! And I think I just irritated him. Not good.
“Forgive me,” he said quickly with a low bow. “I did not know that you ever traveled to Earth. To be honest, I wasn't even aware that you could.”
“When absolutely necessary,” Astrandamus said haughtily. “It displeases me to have to do so, but the matter is urgent.”
Simon looked up again to check the elemental's expression. He looked slightly less annoyed. Perhaps the wizard's gesture of respect had mollified the giant somewhat.
“Urgent? In what way?”
“One of mine has been destroyed. Corriss, I believe was his name.”
Aeris gasped but kept looking at the ground.
“He's dead, lord Astrandamus? Do you know how it happened?” Simon asked, shocked by the news.
“I do. It is the reason that I've come to your realm. I have lost people before, but never like this. That abomination, the so-called queen of the dragons, consumed him.”
The huge elemental held up a heavy fist that flared with power.
“Consumed! One of mine!” he roared, forcing Simon to cover his ears again.
“She dared do this! Oh, that monster shall suffer for this outrage, have no doubt of that.”
“Great one, may I speak?” Aeris asked humbly in a trembling voice.
Astrandamus frowned down at the cowering figure.
“Look at me, Aeris,” the great elemental commanded. “And stand up. I dislike groveling, no matter what my courtiers may say. Speak your peace.”
“Yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord. I only wished to ask if you knew why the queen would do such a thing? Surely one of my stature would not be considered a threat to a creature as large and powerful as she?”
The lord of the realm of Air deigned to give Aeris a nod of approval.
“That is a good question.” He looked at Simon. “The queen of snakes has somehow managed to regain some of her sanity. Perhaps your destruction of her primal children did this, wizard. Or perhaps it was the Chaos lords' attempts to regain their control over her that was the cause. It matters not. What does matter is that she has apparently decided to create new primals, new evil children to do her bidding. She has laid five eggs, one for each draconian race. When they hatch, I have no doubt that they will have the ability to spawn more monsters and repopulate their race.”
His face twisted in an expression of disgust.
“This must not happen! The resurrection of the dragons would destroy what remains of your world, and your people, Simon O'Toole. And it would give the Chaos lords enough power to finally force their way into this realm from the Void. Perhaps in a twisted way we are lucky that Corriss was unfortunate enough to stumble upon her nest before the eggs hatched. He was surprised by the monster and is no more. Doubtless the queen hoped to hide her machinations from both you and me. She has failed.”
Astrandamus' expression darkened again.
“She has now earned my enmity and the enmity of my race,” he stated, his tone deadly. “I may not intervene directly,” he continued, “for the harm it would do to your world would be immense, wizard. But know that I will aid you when and where I can. My servant, Aethos, will be at your command whenever you wish it, as will several of his brothers and sisters. Do not hesitate to call upon them at need.”
The great elemental gazed down at Simon for a long moment.
“Stop her, wizard. Use whatever means you deem necessary, but stop her. Because if you do not, rest assured that I will, gods' strictures to the contrary or no. And your people and this world might not survive the full fury of my wrath.”
And just like that, Astrandamus was gone.
The loud bang of imploding air rocked the courtyard and kicked up bits of dirt and grass. Simon raised a hand in front of his face to protect his eyes and coughed several times at the grit in his throat.
“Well,” he said as quiet descended again. “That was, um, different.”
Aeris looked like he was about to make a biting comment when he glanced up instead, distracted by some
thing.
Simon followed his gaze in time to see Brethia zooming down from the roof, her eyes wide with excitement.
“The great Astrandamus! Here!” she said loudly, almost squealing. “I can't believe it.”
The wizard was reminded of every teenaged girl he'd ever seen at a music concert. Obviously Brethia was a fan of her ruler.
“What did he want? What did he say?” she demanded to know. “I was too afraid to move and I tried not to listen, in case he noticed and thought I was intruding.”
Simon shrugged and nodded at Aeris.
“He'll tell you. I have some thinking to do. Aeris, I'll be up in the study. Join me in about an hour, would you?”
“I will do that.”
The wizard left the pair speaking animatedly about their ruler's visit and hurried back into the tower. He made more tea and went upstairs to sit at his desk. Astrandamus' news had given him a lot to think about.
Chapter 3
When Aeris flew into the study later, he found Simon using his mirror again. This time the wizard looked worried and his voice was strained.
“No, I don't know where the damned eggs are,” he said to whoever was on the other side of the mirror. “Astrandamus didn't say. I don't know whether it slipped his mind or he didn't know; I'd guess the latter. But I do know roughly the area that Corriss was scouting and, if he wants to volunteer, I'm going to send Aeris out to search for the nest.”
“Oh, I definitely want to volunteer,” Aeris said as he zipped over to the desk. “Definitely.”
Simon looked at him with a tired smile and nodded.
“I thought you would. I was just bringing Tamara up to speed on what's happened. I'll try to contact Shandon Ironhand next, just to keep him in the loop. Let's hope he's accepting calls.”
Aeris moved around to float next to the wizard's shoulder and saw the mage's face. She appeared grim.
“Simon, we simply cannot allow that monster to hatch her nightmare brood. If she creates new primals, the entire cycle of death will begin again, only this time there won't be billions of us for them to kill. Just a handful of our people are left now; I believe at last count it was something less than a thousand, if you include that small town we somehow missed in Jamaica.”
“My people missed it, lady mage, not you,” Aeris admitted quickly. “It was built into the wilderness in such a way that our scouts bypassed it at least twice, but that is no excuse. There may be more settlements existing around the world in the deepest jungles, and I hope that our wizard here will send out an expedition in the future specifically to search for them.”
“One day, Aeris. We have more important things to worry about just now.”
Simon pushed his hair out of his eyes while holding the mirror steady in his left hand.
“You need a haircut,” Tamara said pertly with a teasing grin.
The wizard chuckled, easing his mood somewhat.
“Hey, let the former bald guy enjoy his mane, would you?” he protested. “Even streaked with silver, I still like having it. Okay then, I'll let you go for now. When I get some news, I'll call you back.”
“I'll tell the others,” she replied. “While Aeris and whomever else you assign to the task are searching, I think that Bastian and I will try using our Magic Mirror spells to look as well. We might just get lucky.”
“Couldn't hurt, I suppose. Call me right away if you find them.”
“I will.”
They broke the connection and Simon leaned back slowly in his chair. He covered his mouth politely as he yawned and looked at Aeris.
“How many others do you want to take with you?” he asked. “And don't say you're going alone. You aren't.”
Aeris looked at him sourly.
“I'm not a child, oh most powerful one. I can take care of myself.”
“This isn't a discussion, Aeris. You are taking at least one other elemental. Personally I think you should ask Brethia; she's got a good head on her shoulders and doesn't panic in stressful situations. But if you want someone else, or more than one, I'll happily summon others. Your call.”
“What about Orriss?” the elemental asked. “He's out there alone looking for his brother right now. I didn't see you insisting that he take along a partner or two.”
“That's because the situation's changed. And thanks for reminding me.”
Simon motioned for Aeris to move to the edge of the table.
“Orriss, come to me,” he said firmly.
A flash of white light and a crash of thunder shook the room but Simon ignored them. After Astrandamus, no air elemental's entrance would ever really bother him again.
The small figure of Orriss was floating over the center of the desk. He looked up at the wizard in confusion.
“My lord? What's happened? I haven't really started flying my search pattern yet.”
Simon smiled at him.
“I know, Orriss. There's been a development. Um...”
The wizard wasn't quite sure what to say and he looked at Aeris helplessly. The elemental returned his look sympathetically and floated over to Orriss.
“We have had a visitation,” he said. “By the great Astrandamus himself.”
“Astrandamus!” Orriss gasped. “Oh no. And I missed it? That's terrible news. In all of my years, I have never seen the great lord in person.”
Then he frowned at Aeris.
“Wait. Why would he come here? I mean, no offense to you, sir wizard, but our lord simply does not leave the realm of Air. Ever.”
“No offense taken, Orriss,” Simon said with a strained smile. “He came to give us some news.”
“News? What kind of news could force the great one to travel to Earth?”
Simon hesitated again and Aeris stepped in.
“The worst kind, my friend. We are both sorry to tell you this, but your brother is no more.”
Orriss stared at Aeris and then looked at the wizard as if for confirmation.
Simon nodded once, struck by the look of grief on the elemental's face. If he had ever doubted that these small beings felt emotions as deeply as humans did, that expression would have convinced him otherwise.
“But how? How is that even possible?” Orriss asked plaintively. “Corriss was older than many of us and he was very quick and clever. Destroying him would have been very difficult for most creatures, even magical ones.”
“This wasn't just any magical creature, Orriss,” Simon told him. “According to Astrandamus, it was the dragon queen herself.”
The grieving elemental gaped up at him.
“The queen? He ran into the queen? But that is not possible. Corriss was nowhere near the desert on the far side of the world where the queen is dwelling.”
“Where she was dwelling,” Aeris corrected him. “Apparently she has moved on, without any of us even being aware of it. Our great lord has informed us that she has produced five eggs that will hatch into a new group of primal dragons. Corriss must have stumbled upon her nest and paid the price. I doubt that he even saw the queen before she struck.”
“Evil monster,” Orriss whispered. “Evil, evil monster.”
“She is that,” Simon agreed. “Orriss, I recalled you to give you the sad news, but also because I didn't want you out there alone. With your brother gone, we need to find the queen's nest before those eggs hatch, and not even Astrandamus knows exactly where it is. Now, Aeris is going to start looking and...”
“I will accompany you,” Orriss stated firmly.
“Well, I was going to ask Brethia,” Aeris began but the other elemental cut him off.
“I will go with you, Aeris,” he said insistently. “If you wish to bring Brethia along, that is your choice. But I am going.”
Simon stared at him, trying to read the expression on that little translucent face.
“Orriss, are you sure?” he asked. “I understand that you are angry and grieving, but it will be very dangerous and a cool head is called for on this mission.”
&n
bsp; The elemental rose up from the desk until he floated at eye level to the wizard.
“My lord, if you order me not to go, I will not. But my only brother has been killed and now this world is threatened yet again by the dragon queen and her brood. I could be useful in the search, and I assure you that my loss will not cloud my judgment.”
They exchanged a long look and then Simon smiled at the intense little being.
“Very well, Orriss. If Aeris wants to take you along, then he is free to do so. Personally I think that you should take Brethia too. The three of you have worked well together before and we need any edge that we can get out there.”
“I will take them both,” Aeris told him. “You're right; the more eyes we have for the search, the better. But the three of us will be enough. Are you okay with leaving the tower without rooftop watchers for a while?”
“It's fine,” Simon told him. “I might summon a couple of your people to fill the gap while Brethia and Orriss are gone, but I'll think about that later.”
He looked at both elementals.
“You two had best get at it; the clock is ticking.”
“Orriss, head up to the roof, would you?” Aeris asked. “I'll meet you and Brethia up there after I have word with the wizard.”
“I will. And thank you, my lord, for this opportunity,” Orriss said to Simon, who shook his head.
“Don't thank me. I'm sending all of you into danger and I don't enjoy having to do that. Just watch your back, Orriss. We've lost your brother; I don't want to lose you as well.”
The elemental bowed and disappeared.
“Is this a good idea?” Aeris asked him frankly, once Orriss was gone.
“What? But it was your choice to take him along, not mine.”
The elemental sighed and landed on the desk. He folded his arms and stared past Simon at the window behind him, looking thoughtful.
“I know that,” he said slowly. “But I'm afraid that Orriss is now driven by grief and a need for revenge. Those emotions could get him killed too.”
Simon rested his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes briefly.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume Two Page 122