“I don't know about that,” Liliana said thoughtfully. “But I do know that their loyalty is absolute and that they will never stop searching for him.”
She made idle designs on the tabletop with her forefinger as she spoke.
“Their greatest talent may be their tenacity and the fact that they do not need to rest. I have no doubt that the handful of elementals that exist on Earth at the moment will not stop looking until they find Simon.” She hesitated a moment. “Or until he is dead. If that happens, they will all be banished back to their own realms. I pray that it is the former.”
“And what about us?” Malcolm spoke up roughly. “Are we just going to sit here on our asses and do nothing? We failed, people, and all this wishful thinking and hoping isn't going to change that.”
Before Tamara could reply, Veronique interjected.
“But what would you have us do, my friend?” she asked curiously. “It is a big planet and we are only a small group of people. We want to find Simon, yes, but we are also in the process of resettling our people back into this castle. We can only do what we can do. Unlike those elementals, we are limited by our frail human bodies.”
Her practical question obviously didn't sit well with the big man, but he made no reply. After all, what could he say?
“Excuse me, but may I say something?” Chao spoke up, breaking into the gloomy silence.
“Yes, of course,” Tamara said, smiling down the table at the conjurer. “What is it, my friend?”
“I may be able to help those elementals in their search, at least a little bit.”
Malcolm perked up and stared at the small man.
“Really? Excellent!” he exclaimed with a broad grin. “Um...how?”
Lei smiled at the warrior's confused question and gestured at his brother.
“He is full of surprises,” he said proudly.
“Hush, Lei. No boasting, please,” Chao chided him gently. “It is just a thought.”
He looked around the table at the expectant expressions and appeared a little uncomfortable.
“My idea is this,” he told them hesitantly. “I have summoned creatures before who are, unlike Ellas, very happy to lend me their aid. They are curious and delight in completing tasks that I set them. These creatures are fairly intelligent and could execute their own search for your missing wizard.”
“What kind of creatures are we talking about?” Liliana asked, watching the man through narrowed eyes. His strange reluctance made her uneasy.
“It is rather hard to describe them. I have no name for their species and only summoned one of them by accident. But they can fly, which helps a lot, and they will do what I ask them to do.”
Lei seemed to notice his fellow paladin's doubtful expression and spoke up.
“Liliana, these creatures that my brother speaks of are not evil. I would not allow him to deal with such things, as you should know well.”
She gave him a cool look.
“I know that,” she replied. “But we sometimes make allowances for the things that our loved ones do, do we not?”
“Some might,” he told her stiffly. “But I do not. My calling prevents me from abiding any evil within my presence, as does yours.”
He looked at the others around the table, all of whom were listening closely to the discussion.
“Chao's creatures are not pretty to look at, at least not in my eyes; that is why he is being delicate in speaking of them. Personally I think they look like winged snakes, but they are intelligent and quite gentle, appearances to the contrary.”
“Winged snakes?” Veronique blurted out, looking revolted. “Ugh, I hate snakes.”
“Still?” Sylvie asked her sister in surprise. “My goodness, I haven't heard you mention that since we were children.”
“The revulsion is still there,” Veronique assured her and shivered. “But don't let my phobia stop you from summoning aid, Chao,” she told him. “If I start to get too upset by these things, whatever they are, I will simply leave the room.”
“I do not wish to cause you discomfort, lady,” he said politely. “I can go back to my quarters and summon the creatures, if we all decide to use them to search for Simon O'Toole.”
“That won't be necessary,” Tamara assured him. “I don't like snakes either, but I can put up with them if it means getting more help in the search. Is there anyone here who objects to Chao summoning aid?”
Everyone looked around and there was a general shaking of heads.
“Good. Go ahead, Chao, if you wish.”
The small man stood up and bowed at the group.
“I shall attempt the ritual then,” he told them softly. “As is the case in all such efforts, however, I am not always successful. We shall see how I fare today.”
He moved to the clear area of the room between the conference table and the large fireplace and began to chant.
Like his previous conjuring of Ellas, Chao used his fan and moved in an intricate, stately dance as he chanted in ancient Chinese. The others watched, just as fascinated as they had been before.
“Do these snaky things actually communicate?” Malcolm asked Lei in a low voice, leaning across the table so that he wouldn't interrupt the ritual.
“Not to me they don't,” Lei replied in a low mutter. “But Chao seems to speak with them easily enough.”
He stole a quick glance at his brother and then grinned at Veronique.
“Just between us, I don't like snakes any more than you do. But sometimes we have to get over things that can benefit us in the long run, don't you think?”
The mage swallowed and gave him a nervous smile, but didn't say anything.
A strange sound began to grow in the distance, coming from some undefined place. Was it hissing? Or was it the dry sound of scales being dragged over stone? Whatever it was, it grew louder as Chao continued his chanting.
Veronique put her hands over her ears and ducked her head as the disturbing noises grew in volume. Sylvie put her arm around her and whispered a question to her.
The woman shook her head and sat still, shivering fearfully.
Liliana looked at the sisters and then stood up abruptly.
“This was a mistake,” she said loudly. “Chao will have to perform his ritual privately.”
The conjurer seemed not to hear her as he continued to chant and dance, green sparks streaming from his wavering fan. His brother stared at Liliana.
“What? But he can't stop now! The magic might rebound on him and do him harm.”
The paladin pointed at Veronique and Lei looked down the table at her in surprise. He had been staring at his brother and hadn't seen the woman's reaction.
“It's already harming our friend!” Liliana stated angrily. “To hell with the snakes; stop your brother, Lei, or I will.”
Before the man could answer, they all turned to stare at Chao as he ended his chanting abruptly.
“It is done,” he said, his voice heavy with fatigue. “We must wait to see if anything will respond to my plea.”
He looked at the group vaguely, obviously drained, but then stared wide-eyed as he saw Veronique looking back at him. Her face was white and she was huddled in her sister's arms.
“Lady, what has happened?” he asked in concern. “Are you ill?'
She shook her head and waved vaguely at the room around them.
“It's that sound,” she said, her voice barely audible over the loud hissing of unseen snakes. “It's horrible. Doesn't it bother you?”
He stumbled back to the table and leaned on it, his face almost as pale as Veronique's.
“Not anymore, no. It certainly did once though. I've summoned these creatures several times now and, I suppose, I've just become used to it.”
He cocked his head to the side to listen more closely.
“Disgusting though, isn't it? If it makes you feel better, my friend, the creatures themselves do not make that sound.”
“They don't?” Liliana asked, her ang
er forgotten. “Then what does?”
Chao shrugged helplessly.
“I know not, lady paladin. I have asked but the creatures do not seem to understand the question. It may be the sound of their passage from whatever world they live on. I cannot say. But even if they appear snake-like, they do not sound reptilian, at all.”
“So what do they sound like?” Veronique asked as the hissing noises began to subside.
She looked relieved and gently pushed her sister away to sit up on her own.
“Birds, lady,” Chao replied with a smile. “They twitter like birds. It is quite lovely and I do hope that one or more of them make an appearance so that you can hear them for yourself. Perhaps it will counter that awful hissing that you were subjected to.”
The mage shook her head and appeared to be slightly embarrassed by her earlier reaction.
“The sound is gone now. I apologize for falling apart like that; it's very unlike me, I swear.”
Sylvie laughed lightly at her sister's admission.
“It's true,” she said. “Veronique is usually unfazed by anything.”
A ripple in the air behind Chao cut off conversation and everyone stared as a jagged line of light appeared between the conjurer and the fireplace. It actually looked like there was a tear opening in midair to a world filled with yellow light.
“Ah!” Chao exclaimed in delight. “We are in luck; my summons has been heard and answered.”
There was a moment of silence as the group held its breath and then a swarm of creatures poured out of the bright opening and flew in tight circles around the conjurer.
“Oh, they're beautiful!” Veronique exclaimed in delight.
She exchanged a wide-eyed look with her sister and smiled at Sylvie's childish giggle.
“It's like something out of a fairy tale,” the woman, her voice filled with wonder.
Small snake-like bodies were fluttering around Chao, but that was as close to serpentine as the creatures got. The foot-long animals were covered in fluffy feathers, some red, others blue and one was pure gold. Each creature had wide, puffy wings that flapped so quickly that they were just a blur.
But it was the sound of the flock that made everyone smile. They chirped and whistled like songbirds, their voices intertwining and harmonizing like a choir.
“I can almost sing along,” Aiden told Malcolm with delight.
“Please don't. I wouldn't want you to spoil the moment,” the big man teased.
His partner gave him a sour look and then became enraptured again by the singing.
Chao stood very still as the creatures flew around him. He slowly raised his right hand and held out his folded fan. The golden serpent flew to it, wrapped its lower half around the blades and gently flapped its wings as it stared at the small man through bright green eyes.
“You know, I believe that your little friends might be related to dragons in some way,” Tamara told Chao as she walked around the table toward him.
“At least, they look a little bit like the dragon queen, particularly the one hanging on to your fan.”
“Does it?”
Chao stared at the creature and it trilled at him, its toothless mouth wide. It seemed overjoyed by his attention.
“Well, if they are dragonlings of some kind, I cannot imagine how they were formed,” he added. “They most certainly are not evil; they cannot even bite anyone.”
Tamara got closer to the little creature and it turned its head to watch her curiously, showing absolutely no fear.
“Dragonlings,” the mage repeated. “I like that, Chao. I think I'll call them that, if you don't mind.”
The conjurer laughed and stroked the serpent's golden head with the forefinger of his left hand.
“I do not mind, lady, and neither do they. They are a very equable species and, if they understood you, would probably be delighted by the comparison.”
More than one person laughed at this observation and the dragonlings seemed to enjoy the sound and increased the volume of their singing.
“Now, I was going to ask them if they could search for us,” Chao told Tamara, “but it suddenly occurs to me that we might have a problem.”
Liliana had walked over to get a closer look at the animals and one of them, with dark blue feathers, had landed on her armored left arm and was looking up at her inquiringly. The paladin was smiling back at it with delight, but now glanced at the conjurer, frowning.
“Problem? What kind of problem?” she asked.
Chao shrugged.
“I have never met your Simon O'Toole. It is a sad thing, because my brother and I owe him a tremendous debt for finding us in Beijing and telling you about us. We would not be here now if not for him. But I cannot describe him in detail to my friends here and, without a proper reference, I fear that their search would be for nothing.”
“Ah, of course,” the paladin said. “I understand now. Tamara? Any ideas?”
“Well, any of us could describe him to you, Chao,” the mage said doubtfully. “But it wouldn't be that specific, I suppose. Anyone have a suggestion?” she asked the room at large.
No one spoke for a minute.
“Could you show them?” Veronique asked her sister gently.
Sylvie looked at her and then at the others who were suddenly staring at the unassuming young woman.
“Sylvie? Do you have a picture of Simon?” Tamara asked, surprised.
“I doubt that anyone has a picture of our friend,” Veronique answered for her sister. “But Sylvie has a talent, possibly kindled by her recovered eyesight, that allows her to create the image of anyone that she's met. It's quite detailed, actually, and might help in this case.”
“Really? Why haven't you mentioned it before?”
“Because it really isn't of much use,” Sylvie told her with a shrug. “It may be related to the sculpting that I've done all my life. I can't say for certain. I can call up an image in a mirror, it's true, but it is gone as soon as I lose concentration. It is a trick, nothing more.”
“A trick that could help us find Simon,” Veronique chided her. “It certainly isn't useless.”
“Could you show us, lady mage?” Chao asked politely.
Sylvie nodded and stood up, reaching into a pocket for the small mirror that she carried. All of the mages had one, to use when they wanted to cast a Magic Mirror spell.
She moved around the table and walked toward Chao. The cloud of feathered serpents around him began singing even louder, apparently excited by her approach. Sylvie smiled at their gentle display and giggled as several of them swooped and wove around her.
“Oh Chao, they are adorable,” she exclaimed as the dragonlings continued to hover near her as she joined the conjurer.
“I agree,” he said fondly. “Snake-like or not, they are gentle beings.”
The golden creature that remained wrapped around his fan watched Sylvie with bright curiosity and the mage hesitantly reached out toward it.
The dragonling ducked its head and pushed against her palm exactly the way a cat might and she giggled again.
“Now lady, if you would,” Chao said as he watched this interaction. “My friends here have a fairly short attention span, so we had best hurry and show them this image of Simon O'Toole and ask if they would like to search for him.”
“Oh yes! Of course,” Sylvie replied, startled out of her fascination. “Let me see here...”
She raised the small mirror and gazed into it. She frowned in concentration and the bright surface began to ripple and flicker in response to her thoughts.
Chao stepped around her to look down at the mirror and nodded as the image of a man came into view.
“Ah, how remarkable,” he exclaimed. “What an extraordinary looking man. His eyes are two different colors, are they not? And he is very handsome.”
Sylvie smiled at him.
“Simon wouldn't agree,” she told him. “He is very modest and doesn't think of himself as anything special.”
He held up his fan to allow the golden dragonling a better view of the mirror and spoke in a musical, oddly lilting murmur that Sylvie couldn't understand.
The creature unwrapped itself from its perch and extended its shining head toward the pulsing image, until it was almost touching it. It extended a long, thin tongue that fluttered across the flat surface and then turned to look up at Chao.
It sang an obvious inquiry and the conjurer nodded and responded in kind.
The golden dragonling flew upward and whistled loudly, drawing the others to itself. It twittered and warbled a command and all of its fellows swarmed around the mirror, jostling for position as they examined Simon's picture.
“Are they going to help us, Chao?” Tamara asked when the dragonlings began to fly around the conjurer again.
“They are, lady,” he replied. “They will scatter to the four winds and use their powers to try to hone in on your missing friend. Perhaps we will get lucky.”
With a final squawk, the golden leader of the dragonlings gathered the others and all of them swarmed together and flew out of one of the open windows.
The silence that remained after the creatures had left was almost deafening.
“Well, that was rather amazing,” Malcolm said. “I hope that those little guys can help.”
“Another weapon in our arsenal to help find the lost wizard,” Lei told him as he watched his brother return to his seat. “Between them and the elementals, maybe our chances of discovering the location of Simon O'Toole have increased.”
Chao sat down with a tired sigh and smiled wanly.
“Perhaps. It is the best that I could do, so I hope it helps.”
“Me too,” Aiden said. “Because the longer Simon goes missing, the more I imagine dire things happening to him. And the more helpless I feel.”
Chapter 15
“What are you doing?”
Kronk looked around from where he was standing inside the fireplace. Aeris was hovering a few inches above the ground, several feet away, his hands on his hips.
The Queen of Dragons (Tales from the New Earth Book 8) Page 18