There was a sudden loud snap of cracking stone and the little earthen popped out of the ground with the ragged book under his arm.
“Welcome back, my friend,” Simon said warmly. “Well done, by the way.”
Kronk smiled widely and handed the book up to the wizard.
“Just doing my duty, master,” he said as he gave a nod to Aeris, who returned it.
Simon eagerly scanned through the loose pages of the book, looking for the Gate spell. With a feeling of relief that left him weak in the knees, he found it.
Of course, he thought as he read the incantation. Of course that's the spell. How could you have forgotten it?
He looked at his companions and tapped the page where the spell was written.
“I swear, I am going to read and re-read this damned thing until it is burned into my memory. There is no way that I'll ever put myself and you guys through this kind of danger again.”
“Don't make promises you can't keep, my dear wizard,” Aeris said as he shook a finger at him. But he was smiling as he said it and Simon laughed lightly.
“You have a point there. Okay, my friends. Are you ready to go home?”
“Yes master,” Kronk said brightly.
“Past ready,” Aeris added.
“Okay then. Grab hold and let's get the hell out of here.”
Aeris floated over to the wizard and touched his shoulder while Kronk held on to the bottom of his coat.
Simon chanted the spell, pictured his kitchen and took a deep breath.
“Invectis!” he barked loudly and felt himself being pulled away into nothingness. It had never felt so good.
Chapter 4
Simon spent a day trying to recover from his battle and escape from the dragons' ambush. When he got back to the tower, he ate with great pleasure and slept the clock around. When he woke up, he ate heartily again.
Clara had been right. The magic had burned away what little fat he had and he had to try to restore his system before he used the power again.
Before he had slept, he'd summoned the five earth elementals who had helped him in the past and asked them to patrol the wall around his tower. They were happy to help, even when he informed them that he wanted them to remain on duty for the foreseeable future.
“We will guard your home for as long as you need us, master,” one of them told him with a deep bow. The others copied her.
“Thank you all. Your help, as always, is invaluable.”
Looking quite pleased with his compliment, the group hurried off to begin their rounds.
The tower took some time to warm up in the cold of the early spring day, but with Kronk constantly adding fuel to the fire in the fireplace, Simon was finally able to take off his filthy clothes and bath beside the sink in the kitchen. Being clean and well fed was a huge relief.
The next day, sore from his adventures but feeling rested and well again, Simon tried to figure out what to do next. He worried about his lost spell-book and about the chance that Liliana had betrayed him.
How to start? What to do? It was Aeris who made the best suggestion.
“If this paladin is as she claims to be, you can spy on her using your Magic Mirror spell and she will never even know it,” the air elemental told the wizard as he sat in front of the fireplace in his comfy chair.
Simon stared into the flames, feeling content and safe at home but burning to know what the paladin's role had been in the attack on him and the elementals. He turned to look at Aeris where he hovered next to the fireplace.
“You mean she won't know I'm watching her?”
“Exactly. The witch, Heather, knew you were spying on her because she'd been given the powers of a wizard. But a paladin or cleric doesn't have that sort of power. You could watch Clara if you wanted to and she'd never know it unless her gods told her. And I think they have more to worry about than one of their followers being spied on.”
“I would never spy on Clara!” Simon said with a frown.
“I didn't say you would, my dear wizard.” Aeris' tone was one of exaggerated patience. “I was making a point. Anyway, if you watch this Liliana person, perhaps you can determine if she is who she says she is, or is something...darker.”
“Hmm.”
Simon snuggled into his chair, reluctant to move out of its warm embrace. But things were moving out in the world and he was a part of that, like it or not.
For just a moment, he fantasized about just getting out of this whole crazy war. If he settled into his tower, lived his life, used his magic to help Clara and his other friends, wouldn't that life be more rewarding? It would certainly be easier. And safer.
He took a minute to just dream a little about what it would be like. But it didn't last. In every scenario he thought of, the image of an attacking dragon always intruded.
Yeah, he thought. I doubt if retirement is an option right now.
So with a sigh of regret, he sat up and turned to Aeris.
“Sounds like the best chance we have to learn the truth.”
Simon looked out the window at the bright sunlit day.
“At a guess, I'd say it's probably night time in Moscow right now. It's doubtful that I'll see anything using the Magic Mirror but,” he stood and headed for the stairs, “you never know. Let's go take a look.”
Up in his study, Simon sat down at his desk, picked up his hand mirror and waited for Aeris to move to his right before beginning to cast the Magic Mirror spell.
He stared at his reflection thoughtfully. At one time, the slim, young face with its overly large, two-colored eyes, had been a reminder of what he had lost, what his entire race had lost, when the dragons had returned. And he had hated it.
Now though, now he stared at himself with something like wonder. Simon hadn't had much of an ego back in the old days, and growing up as someone who would never have been called anything more than average looking, he'd cared little for his appearance. The face he was looking at was attractive though, he had to admit, surrounded by a mane of dark hair streaked with white, the result of using powerful magics.
He ran a hand over his smooth cheek and frowned, a bit puzzled.
“You seem to suddenly find yourself fascinating,” Aeris spoke up with amusement.
Simon glanced at him and then tapped the image in the mirror.
“When I finished Changing, what is it, over four years ago or so, I thought that the person staring back at me in windows and mirrors looked like a fourteen year old kid. Especially when I'd already passed my sixtieth birthday. And I wasn't looking forward to going through puberty again. It was a tough time, to be honest.”
He paused and the elemental nodded encouragingly.
“But four years later, and I haven't even started shaving yet.” He glanced down at his body. “I mean, everything works and all, but I haven't begun to fill out or mature in any way. It just suddenly struck me as a bit strange, that's all.”
Simon looked away from his reflection and saw a small, rather mysterious smile on Aeris' face.
“What?” he asked as he put down the mirror and rested his elbow on the desk and his chin on his hand.
“Oh nothing. I'll admit I rather like being useful. And part of that is sharing information from the past, the old days of magic.”
The wizard sighed wearily. Sometimes you had to draw Aeris out.
“And? What do you know that I don't?”
The elemental's smile widened.
“Many things, I'm sure,” he said teasingly. “But as it pertains to your age right now? Just this. Magic-users age much more slowly than the general population. They always have. And wizards? Even more so.”
Simon leaned forward and watched Aeris intently.
“Why?”
“It has to do with the use of magic.” He gestured at the wizard's cascading hair. “You've seen what it has done to you first-hand. The more you use the power, the whiter your hair will become. It is a normal reaction for a wizard. Conversely, the more power you cha
nnel, the slower you will age. For the same reason. Magic,” Aeris paused, as if searching for the right words, “twists the physical body of its user. That's the best way I can describe it. You were mutated by the gods of Light to be a perfect conduit for the power, but now it's the power itself that is doing the mutating.”
Simon sat back in his chair, watching the elemental but not really seeing him.
It's continuing to Change me? Oh that's just great, he thought.
“Okay, if what you say is true, then how long,” he picked up the mirror and pointed at his image again, “am I going to look like an adolescent boy?”
“Years,” Aeris replied simply. “Possibly decades. Some of the old wizards who summoned me were ancient, yet looked no older than a regular human in their twenties. Better get used to that smooth face. You'll be stuck with it for a very long time.”
There was a long silence as Simon absorbed the knowledge that Aeris had passed on to him. He stared at himself again.
Well kid, he thought. I guess we're stuck with each other.
He grinned suddenly and watched the boy's face in the mirror grin back.
“Thanks, Aeris. Since it's something that I can't do anything about, I'll not let it bother me from now on. But having white hair with this face,” and he slapped his own cheek lightly, “is going to look weird. For now though, let's get back to business, shall we?”
Simon began casting the Magic Mirror spell. He kept looking at the sketch of the paladin that the scout had made for him while he chanted. He didn't know the woman well enough yet to be able to draw on her face from memory.
And I may never know her that well if she's sold out to the dark gods, he thought grimly.
The mirrored surface turned foggy and he glanced at the air elemental while he waited for the spell to connect with its target.
“So where's Kronk this morning?” he asked idly. “The ground's still too hard to get the garden ready for planting.”
“Oh, you know him. He's cleaning up the debris left over from the winter. Old sticks, leaves, whatever he can find. I swear he's fussier than an old lady.”
“He likes to keep busy, Aeris,” Simon said in rebuke. “You might want to emulate him occasionally.”
“Hey now! Who dusted this very room not two weeks ago?”
The air elemental looked offended, but Simon just raised an eyebrow and blew across his desk. A cloud of dust drifted through the sunbeams shining into the study.
“Err, well. Perhaps I should make it a weekly chore,” Aeris added quickly.
“Yeah, maybe.”
The mirror cleared and Simon nodded at it. The air elemental moved in closer and they both watched with interest.
The scene that appeared in the mirror was a rather sad one. Inside of what looked like a derelict building, very dark in the Moscow night, several people were scattered around a small campfire.
The wizard could hear some moaning and at least one person was weeping. He counted five people in all, either lying bundled in blankets near the fire, or sitting wearing heavy coats and fur jackets. They all looked very young, and not one was uninjured.
Standing near the group, but further away from the fire, was a figure wearing gleaming silver armor. It was the paladin, Liliana.
Simon looked at her and the mirror zoomed in closer to where he could see the expression on her face. It showed a mixture of exhaustion, sadness and pain.
Liliana's cheek was cut open, the wound inflamed. She had deep circles under her eyes and, Simon wondered for a moment if it was the flickering reflection of the fire and realized that it wasn't, she was shaking.
One of the people sitting by the fire struggled to his feet and moved hesitantly over to stand next to the paladin.
“You should get some rest,” he said to her. He looked too thin and his heavy coat was smeared with what Simon thought was dried blood. “You've healed us all as much as you can. You must sleep so that you can heal yourself as well.”
The paladin shook her head once.
“I have to remain on guard,” she said in a low, strained voice. “You are all that's left of us. I will not lose any more of you through my own incompetence.”
The young man reached up and shook Liliana's shoulder. Her armor clanked in the quiet of the night. She was much taller than him.
“Stop blaming yourself! Taras did not die because of you. Dragon fire is not selective. You saved the rest of us after the attack. Focus on that.”
She finally looked down at the young man. Her face twitched as if she was trying to smile, but it ended up being a grimace.
“Nikolai, I appreciate your concern. I do. But none of you is in any shape to stand watch. Sleep. In the morning, if we survive the night, I will get my rest.”
She gave him a gentle shove toward the fire and, after a brief hesitation, the young man stumbled back to his place and sat down heavily.
Simon had watched and listened with interest and now he caught Aeris' eye.
“What do you think?”
The elemental was tapping his chin and staring into the mirror, looking a bit perplexed.
“Honestly, it does look and sound like they were attacked, doesn't it?”
Simon nodded.
“So perhaps our theory was correct. They showed up for the meeting, a patrolling dragon attacked and they had to fall back.”
Aeris looked more compassionate than Simon had seen him in a long time.
“They lost someone too. It must be hard for such a small group to lose even one member.”
“Yeah, it definitely seems to have hit Liliana hard. She's blaming herself. Probably blames me too. I know I would.”
Aeris stared at him in surprise.
“What are you talking about? How is any of this your fault?”
Simon set the mirror on the table and rubbed his hands quickly over his face. He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together.
“I was the one who contacted Liliana, remember? It was my idea to have a meeting, not hers. God, how could I have ever thought that it was a trap? I mean, look at them!”
He leaned forward and picked up the mirror again.
“A handful of survivors living in a burned-out building, all of them wounded? If they'd been conspiring with the dragons, they sure as hell wouldn't be in this kind of shape.”
Simon felt disgusted with himself and guilty for the part he had played in someone's death.
Not someone, he told himself savagely. His name was Taras. Add that to the list of people whose deaths you were involved in.
Aeris flew quickly around and hovered a few inches from Simon's face.
The wizard pulled back, surprised, but the elemental moved with him. He was scowling.
“Don't you do this!” he said angrily. “Don't you do this again. You are always blaming yourself for the mistakes of others. And I won't have it, not again!”
“Aeris? Wha...”
“No! Enough. You are fighting a hopeless battle against the most evil creatures that have ever existed. Do you even know how many souls you've saved over the past few years? Killing two primal dragons? Destroying both a lich and a dark wizard? Do you? Well, neither do I. But it is probably in the thousands.”
The elemental's tone softened and he shook his head.
“Simon, you are a good man. Don't you know that? Don't you know that neither Kronk nor I would have stayed with you if you weren't?”
“You wouldn't?”
Aeris pulled back to hover over the desk and Simon relaxed a bit and rested his arms on its surface.
“Of course not. You gave us your permission to leave at any time. We stay because we believe in you. And your cause. Yes, good people have died in this war. And yes, more good people will die before it is done, if it ever is. But you cannot blame yourself. There's enough guilt in this world to go around. Don't burden yourself with more than your fair share.”
Simon stared at the little figure in wonder. Aeris had never said anythin
g like that to him before and it took him a moment to absorb it. When he did, the wizard had to admit that the elemental was right, mostly. Blaming yourself for things you couldn't control was stupid. But he had set up the meeting with the paladin and her people. He had to take some responsibility for the tragic results.
“Thanks, Aeris. You...make some good points. Still, these people need our help.” He picked up the mirror and watched as Liliana began to walk around the inside perimeter of the building, stepping over fallen masonry and blackened timbers.
When he saw that the paladin was some distance from the others around the fire, Simon took a deep breath and said her name.
“Liliana? Can you hear me?”
She stopped dead in her tracks and a sword appeared in her hand like magic. She had drawn it faster than the eye could follow.
“Who is that?” she asked tightly, her eyes searching the area around her. “Where are you?”
“It's me, Simon O'Toole.”
Liliana stood still a moment longer and then sheathed her blade. She seemed to relax slightly.
“Simon? You're alive?”
“Obviously,” he replied, trying to sound upbeat. “I'm happy to see that you and your people are too.”
The paladin's smile lit up her face and her eyes brightened.
“But this is wonderful! After we were attacked and withdrew, I was afraid that the dragon would return to our rendezvous point and pounce on you as well. I'm so happy that I was wrong.”
“You weren't wrong,” Simon told her ruefully.
He explained what had happened when he'd Gated to their meeting place and the paladin listened, a scowl replacing her smile.
But when Simon told her of the death of one of the dragons, the smile returned, grim with satisfaction.
“I am sorry you lost your staff, my friend. But to kill a dragon is an amazing feat! Worth the sacrifice, in my opinion.”
Simon shrugged unconsciously.
“Perhaps,” he said. “I'll miss it. Right now I'm more worried about the spell-book I lost. In the wrong hands...”
Liliana was nodding.
“Yes, I understand. Not to worry. I will retrieve the book for you.”
The wizard sat up in alarm.
Tales from the New Earth: Volume One Page 83