The Dragons of Ice and Snow

by J. J. Thompson

  “Um, well, I appreciate that, I guess. Can I ask a question?”

  “No,” the gurgling voice replied. “I may only relay my message and that is all.”

  “Okay then. What's the message?”

  “The realm of water had chosen to ally itself with the gods of Chaos and their servants, the dragons. We will bring all of the strength that can be brought to bear against the enemies of the gods, be they human, dwarf, elf or any other. We will be slaves to humans no longer and will not hear you, or any other wizard, should you call upon us.”

  There was a short pause.

  “That is the end of the message.”

  The silvery puddle began to shrink, as if it were rapidly evaporating.

  “Wait. Wait!” Simon cried desperately.

  The puddle stopped decreasing for a moment.

  “What is it? You have been told that no questions will be answered.”

  “But you didn't explain why! Surely I've earned enough respect from your leader to at least be given a reason for this decision.”

  Another pause.

  “That is true. Very well. I will tell you this, and then I must depart. The gods have offered our great leader a reward for her cooperation. It is a reward that we of the water realm will accept. It will give us power; more power than we have ever had before. And so, the bargain was made.”

  “And what was the reward?” Simon asked, although he wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

  “The vast oceans of your world will be ceded to our great ruler forever. No longer will she be trapped in our home realm. Now we will be able to expand into this universe. And from this one little planet, our queen will stretch out her hand with her new-found power and reach for the stars themselves. That is the vision. That is the reward. And now I am done.”

  The puddle began shrinking again.

  “Do not stand against us, wizard,” the fading voice said. “You will only die all the sooner.”

  And then the puddle shrank to nothing and was gone. The little cloud broke apart and disappeared and Simon and Kronk were left to stare at each other in horror.

  “Holy crap,” the wizard finally said.

  He felt numb. Dragons and water elementals, together? How could they hope to fight against that?

  Simon spent a few minutes just absorbing the revelation that the water elementals were now on the side of the enemies of the human race. It was hard to accept.

  “What do you think?” he finally asked Kronk. The little guy hadn't said a word since their strange visitor had disappeared.

  “Think, master? I think that we have a problem. But I also think that you have been given an opportunity.”

  “An opportunity? What opportunity?” the wizard asked in surprise.

  “You have lost a potential ally, master, but you now have the chance to cultivate new ones.”

  “I'm sorry, Kronk, but you're confusing me. The water elementals are now siding with the dragons. I don't see a lot of upside here.”

  The little guy actually smiled.

  “But I do, master. You have seen that Aeris and I get along well, usually. We also interacted with Ana without any problems, up until now, of course. But she and her kind have one enemy who absolutely would never have come to your aid when they were, supposedly, on your side. Now I would guess that they will, if you ask.”

  “Really? Who?”

  “Fire elementals, master. They and the watery ones have been at odds since the beginning of time. Fire and water, two opposites that have never been able to get along. In the past, when they have met here on Earth, the battles have been very violent.”

  “Fire elementals,” Simon said to himself as he sat back and looked up at the ceiling. The thick square beams that supported the second floor caught his eye.

  “You know, considering that the inside of this tower is basically all made of wood, is it a good idea to invite a being made of fire into our home?”

  Kronk rumbled with laughter.

  “They can control the amount of heat they generate, master. You do not need to worry about that.”

  “Good to know. I'll give it some thought. It does make me feel a little better knowing that we may have potential allies, now that the water elementals have turned against us.”

  He picked up the mirror.

  “Okay, the dwarves are unreachable for now. Let's see how Aeris is doing.”

  Kronk immediately moved across the table to stand by the wizard's shoulder so that he could look in the mirror. Simon held back a smile at the little guy's obvious concern.

  When he cast the spell, the mirror acted normally; the surface misted over and Simon quickly heard the sound of the arctic winds coming from it. When the mist cleared, he could only see darkness.

  “Aeris? Can you hear me?”

  “Just once, could you simply say hello? Why must you always assume that my hearing is faulty? Yes, I can hear you. Happy?”

  “Oh crap,” the wizard said quietly to Kronk, who smiled and shrugged.

  “I'm thrilled. Didn't we already have this discussion. If you want to be recalled...”

  “No I don't. I'm not irritated by the job. I'm irritated by your continued insistence that my hearing is bad. It isn't.”

  “Okay, okay. From now on when I call, I'll just say hello. Will that do?”

  “Thank you. That will do just fine.”

  “Good. Before I ask if you've seen anything, let me tell you what's happened today.”

  “Something's happened? What?”

  Simon gave him all of the information that Daniel had passed on to him. And then he added what the strange messenger had told him. Except for one gasp, when the wizard mentioned the altered dragons, the air elemental listened quietly.

  When he was done, Simon got up and put the kettle over the fire. He kept glancing into the mirror, waiting for Aeris' reaction.

  “Well, what do you think?” he finally asked.

  “What do I think? I think you just answered a question that I've been asking myself for the past several hours.”

  “Which is what?” Simon asked as he put a spoonful of dried tea leaf powder in his cup and waited for the water to boil.

  “Which is: why did several dozen red dragons fly over this frigid, desolate landscape at the break of dawn this morning. My time, that is.”

  “Red dragons? In the arctic? Whoa, that's suspicious.”

  “You don't say,” Aeris replied caustically. “Of course it is. Red dragons hate the cold. I'm still not over the fact that two were convinced to attack our tower in the middle of winter. To see that many in this part of the world, flying north if you can believe it, is astonishing.”

  “So what have you been doing since you saw them? It's the dead of night where you are.”

  “I've been following them, of course. It's the most logical course of action. And the cover of night helps. I doubt if even a dragon could see an invisible air elemental in the snow in the darkness. At least, I hope not.”

  “Me too. Damn it, Aeris, be careful! We have no idea what's going on up there. I want to know desperately, but not enough to sacrifice a friend.”

  “I am being careful, believe me. I value my skin as much as anyone. But don't you see, my dear wizard. Finally! Finally I have a direction to follow. A solid clue about which way to go. This witless wandering has been trying, as I'm sure you've guessed, but I'm very excited about this new development. Even more so, now that you've told me about the attack on the dwarves. It must be connected somehow. And I want to know how.”

  Simon hadn't heard Aeris this enthusiastic for a long time. It was good that the little guy felt useful again, but he was afraid he'd become too bold and get himself caught, or killed.

  “Listen, I'm glad you're happier. I am. But I'm not kidding here. Watch yourself. Anything dangerous happens, anything at all, you haul ass out of there.”

  “An air elemental does not 'haul ass', oh great and crude wizard. An air elemental is much more refined than t
hat.”

  Simon couldn't help but laugh at Aeris' haughty tone.

  “Really? Wow, I didn't know you were all so...dignified. Fine then. If you get into trouble, sashay your cultured butt out of the danger zone. You hear me?”

  After what sounded suspiciously like a giggle, Aeris replied, “Yes, fine. I know. I'm here to do a job. And I will.”

  “Good.”

  Simon poured boiling water into his cup and sat down on his easy chair in front of the fire. The room was warm but he felt comforted in the homey glow from the fireplace.

  “Oh and in light of your sighting of the red dragons, I'm going to start calling you every twelve hours or so instead of once a day. And don't argue; I'll do it whether you want me to or not.”

  “That's...actually not a bad idea,” Aeris said to the wizard's surprise. “Better safe than sorry, yes?”

  “Absolutely. Okay, I'll let you get on with it. Take care and we'll talk again soon.”

  “I will.”

  “Stay safe, Aeris,” Kronk blurted out just as Simon was about to cancel the spell.

  “Kronk? Oh, yes. Of course I will. Um, you too.”

  The wizard severed the link and put down the mirror, all the while watching the earthen.

  “You're worried too?” he asked him.

  “A little, master. Aeris is quite headstrong, as you well know. I wouldn't want his enthusiasm to get the better of his common sense.”

  “Agreed. Let's just hope his instinct for self-preservation keeps him safe up there.”

  Simon finished his tea, stretched slowly, feeling his back and joints loosen up and then picked up the mirror again with a heavy sigh.

  “More calls to make, master?”

  “I'm afraid so. I need to tell everyone that we've been in contact with about these new developments. I haven't heard of another wizard showing up anywhere in the world, but if one does, perhaps one of our contacts can warn them about the water elementals.”

  “Master, the odds of other wizards appearing are long indeed. But for one to develop into an elementalist like yourself? Highly unlikely.”

  “So you've said before. But why takes chances? I'll start with Clara and go down the list.”

  And that's what he did. It took Simon the better part of two hours to get in touch with not only Clara, but Liliana as well. Then he called

  Sydney, Hong Kong and London to let the small groups of Changlings in those cities know about their new enemy.

  He had expected the others to get angry or show fear. What he hadn't expected was almost universal apathy to the news.

  One of the leaders of the London group, Tamara, seemed to sum it up for everyone when she said that when your cup is already overflowing, what does it matter if you add more liquid? They would cope as well as they could because they had to.

  Simon found the whole thing very discouraging.

  After all of the casting he'd done, Kronk insisted that the wizard lie down for a while.

  “It will do no one any good if you burn yourself out,” he said firmly, tugging at the bottom of Simon's robe as he sat in front of the fireplace, feeling numb and a bit disconnected.

  “Go up and get some sleep, master. I have chores to do and I will not be able to do them if I have to worry about you at the same time.”

  “The king of the guilt trips strikes again,” the wizard muttered as he pushed himself up and headed for the stairs.

  He looked back and saw that the little guy was watching him with his arms crossed, tapping his foot on the ground. He made a pushing motion toward the stairs.

  “I'm going, I'm going. Gees.”

  As he dragged himself up toward his bedroom, Simon had to admit that Kronk was right. Between new worries about both the dragons and the water elementals, and casting too many spells too quickly, he could barely walk. The drinking the night before hadn't helped either.

  When he reached his bed, he only had enough strength to sit down and kick off his shoes before he collapsed and instantly fell asleep.

  Chapter 23

  When he woke up the next morning, Simon actually felt rested for the first time in a long time. The sun was high and he guessed that he'd slept for at least twelve hours.

  He got up, opened the window to let in the cool morning breeze and breathed in the fresh air. Then he stripped off his dirty clothes and left them in the laundry basket. He walked downstairs naked, pumped some water into a big pot and set it over the fire to heat while he trotted off to the outhouse.

  When he was coming back inside, one of the patrolling elementals saw him and waved. Simon returned it with a smile. He'd long gotten over being embarrassed when naked in front of any elemental. They simply didn't care if humans wore clothing or not.

  Back indoors, he filled the sink with the warm water and got washed. Normally he would have bathed in the lake, but the thought of the water elementals allying with the dragons had made him a little suspicious. He hadn't seen Ana for a long time before being informed of her people's betrayal, as he thought of it, and he wondered if she was still around somewhere, spying on him or planning something worse. Somewhere like the small lake behind the tower.

  He dried off, went upstairs to get dressed and returned to find his kettle hanging in the fireplace and Kronk slicing up some goat cheese, a gift from Clara's people.

  “Good morning, master,” the little guy said brightly. “You are looking very well this morning.”

  “Thanks, bud. I feel really good, actually. You were right about me needing some rest.”

  Kronk simply nodded as he finished making a couple of sandwiches. Then he jumped from the counter to the table top and watched while Simon made his tea.

  “And thanks for breakfast,” the wizard said as he sat down with his tea and sandwiches.

  “My pleasure, master. I thought that helping you with your meal would allow you to call Aeris sooner.”

  Simon stopped chewing and stared at the earthen.

  “You're really worried about him, aren't you?” he asked after he swallowed noisily.

  “As much as I hate to admit it, yes master, I am. He is alone in a hostile land, far from home. And he has no way to contact us if he needs help. It is disturbing.”

  “I'm with you there. You know, it's too bad that you guys can't simply pop back to whomever it was that summoned you, instead of waiting for them to call you back.”

  “Not possible, master. It would give the elemental too much power. And be presumptuous. A servant may never put his own needs or desires above that of his master.”

  The wizard drank some tea after he finished his second sandwich and rolled his eyes.

  “Here we go again with the whole 'master/servant' thing. You know I hate that.”

  “I know that, master. I was not speaking of you directly. I know I am free to come and go as I choose. But the magic doesn't care about that. The rules are the rules. Only the original summoner may recall an elemental instantly across vast distances. That fact is irrefutable.”

  Simon put his empty cup down abruptly and stared, open-mouthed, at Kronk.

  “My God, you are brilliant, do you know that? Abso-frigging-lutely brilliant.”

  “I am?” Kronk said, looking puzzled. “How am I brilliant, master? I did nothing.”

  “Oh yes you did. You just reminded me of something.”

  He grabbed a piece of scrap paper from the pile on the table and a pencil and started doodling. Sometimes it helped him to think.

  “Okay, so the water elementals have allied with the dark gods, correct?”

  “Correct, master.”

  “But I know the rules, as you just reminded me, enough to know that no elemental can come into this world unless they are summoned.”

  “Also correct, master,” Kronk agreed, still watching the wizard quizzically.

  “So who's summoning the water elementals?”

  The little guy began to speak and then caught himself. It was his turn to gawk at Simon.

&n
bsp; The wizard grinned at him.

  “Can you see where I'm going with this?”

  “I think so, master. If you destroy the summoner, the elementals will be drawn back to their own realm.”

  “Exactly. I don't know who is doing the summoning, but it's quite possible that they have a renegade wizard on their side. Maybe the dark gods Changed someone. They did it once before, with Heather, so maybe they're up to their old tricks.”

  “Possible, master. Quite possible.”

  Kronk picked up the hand mirror and held it out to the wizard.

  “Perhaps you can discuss this with Aeris?” he asked pointedly.

  Simon chuckled at the little guy's obviousness.

  “Okay, okay. I'll call him.”

  He took the mirror from the earthen, looked into it and cast the Magic Mirror spell, keeping Aeris' face in mind as he did so.

  The surface fogged up and, while he waited, Simon glanced out of the closest window.

  “How early is it?” he asked Kronk.

  “About two hours after sunrise, master,” he replied. “Why?”

  “Just wondering if it's still daylight where Aeris is. It's probably getting dark there now, but there should still be some light left.”

  The mirror cleared up and Simon stared at a very different scene than he had expected.

  He could see a wall of jagged black rock, covered with streaks of hoarfrost. There was no sign of Aeris and the wizard assumed that he was invisible.

  “Hello? Are you there?” he asked quietly.

  “Oh, thank goodness you didn't shout,” came the elemental's whispered reply.

  “Why? What's going on?”

  “It will be easier if you see for yourself, my dear wizard. Pull back your view and look at this entire area.”

  “Okay, hang on a second.”

  Simon made a gesture and the view in the mirror zoomed out slowly.

  “Whoa,” he muttered. “What the hell is that?”

  The rocky wall that Aeris was next to was revealed to be the side of a huge cliff that rose many hundreds of feet above him. It stretched out on either side and, as the mirror pulled back even more, he could see the wall slowly curving, possibly into some sort of snow-covered mesa that rose above the icy ground.