“Then trust me now,” the wizard urged. “It wasn't out of fear that I agreed to adopt a 'wait and see attitude', as you call it, toward the young dragons. It was because, recent actions notwithstanding, the argent dragon is an honorable creature. He believes that his charges are going to grow into good people, and I think that they should be given that chance. And to be quite frank about it, I don't know that I could have killed children for even the most altruistic of reasons, whether they were dragons or not. Could you?”
The mage slumped back in her chair.
“Probably not. All right, Simon, we'll do it your way. But I pray that you're right. Your battles with the original five primals will have been for nothing if these new dragons become a threat in the future.”
“I know, Tamara. Thanks for understanding. I don't have all the answers, God knows, but I'm hoping that I'm right in this case. Talk to you all again soon.”
Simon broke the connection and set down his mirror. Kronk and Aeris were standing on the desk in front of him and had watched quietly during the meeting.
“That went better than I had expected,” Aeris said with some surprise. “Tamara was the one most upset by your deal with the devil.”
“Will you stop calling it that?” Kronk asked him. “Master and I get it; you don't agree with him. Fine. Now move on, would you?”
Aeris sniffed and ignored him.
“If this comes back to literally bite you on the ass, I hope that I'm there to say I told you so before we are all burned alive,” he told both Simon and Kronk.
“Before you and I are burned alive,” the wizard responded wearily. “Kronk is fireproof, remember? And why are you so against this anyway? Would you prefer a battle that I'm fairly sure we'd lose?”
The air elemental ascended to eye level and frowned at Simon.
“Certainly not. But after the wild goose chases that you sent me and the others of my kind on, it turns out that our efforts were all for nothing.”
“Oh, I get it,” Simon said in surprise. “You think that you wasted your time. But isn't that one of the hazards of scouting? Not finding what you're looking for?”
“Of course. But now what? With this new wait and see attitude of yours, what am I supposed to do with myself? Poke around this tower all day and dust the corners?”
“He hates being bored, master,” Kronk observed wisely.
“Well then, you're in luck,” the wizard told Aeris. “I have another scouting job for you. And you can take Brethia and Orriss with you for good measure.”
“You do?” the elemental asked excitedly. “Fantastic! Hey, wait a minute. Is this just a make-work project to keep me busy?”
Simon stood up and stretched, his back stiff from too much sitting.
“I think I'm going to have small aches and pains for the rest of my life from being shackled by those damned goblins. Lovely. And no, Aeris, it isn't a fake assignment.”
He sat on the window ledge behind the desk and folded his arms, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight on his back.
“We need to find the dragon queen, before she finds us. I know that she's insane, but that just makes her even more unpredictable and dangerous. You and the others know where you last saw her. Go down there and try to track her down. If you do, report back to me and we'll schedule a rotation between the three of you to keep a permanent watch on her. It will reassure the folks over in Nottinghill, at least. And me too, actually.”
“Ah, now that is a good idea,” Aeris replied enthusiastically. “I'll go up and tell the others. Are you sure that you don't want one of them to stay on the roof as a lookout? Dangerous times and all that.”
“No, it's fine. Kronk? Ask one of your friends from the perimeter patrol to head up there later and keep watch, would you? Tell them that it's just a temporary assignment.”
“Yes master, I will do that.”
Aeris seemed reassured.
“Okay then, I'm off. Call me back if you need me.”
He disappeared with a little pop and Kronk looked at the wizard quizzically.
“Is it a make-work project, master?” he asked curiously.
Simon just grinned.
Chapter 28
Memories were funny things, Simon thought to himself. No matter how horrible they were, time dulled their sharp edges and made them almost bearable.
He was standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, several weeks after he had sent Aeris and the others to search for the queen. Even though it was the site of the worst pain that he had ever endured, the wizard had decided that he wanted to look at the goblin mound one last time; from the outside and at a safe distance though.
The air elementals kept reporting on their progress, or lack of it, and were still scouring the world for their quarry. It wasn't going to be easy to find her.
Kronk had been appalled at the idea of returning to the canyon, but had volunteered to come along as 'protection'.
So there they were, the wizard and the earthen, looking down at the home of the goblins. Or rather the former home. The huge mound wasn't there any more.
“Good grief,” Simon muttered as he stared into the depths of the canyon. “It's been completely leveled!”
Leveled didn't even begin to describe it. The mound, which had climbed almost to the rim of the canyon itself, was now nothing more than a huge depression in the ground. The river had rushed in to fill up the hole and now there was a lake where the mound had been.
“Incendus and Kassus seem to have had a good time teaching the goblins a lesson, master,” Kronk said dispassionately as he looked down at the lake.
“I'd say so,” Simon agreed. “But I didn't expect them to totally destroy the place. Aeris told me that they were going to let a few of the goblins escape, to spread the word about what had happened here. I wonder if they actually did though?”
“I would take them at their word, master,” the earthen replied. “Such powerful elementals always mean exactly what they say. They are not as, what is the word, flighty? As flighty as Aeris can be.”
The wizard laughed as he sat down on the rough ground and stretched out his legs. He laid his staff down next to him.
“Don't let Aeris hear you call him that. But you're probably correct. I wonder where the closest mound is from here? And just how many of those creatures there are in the world?”
“Goblins breed like rabbits, master. I fear that their number could run into the thousands by now and will only increase as time goes on.”
Simon nodded glumly.
“Great. And we humans certainly don't have the manpower to deal with them. I guess that all we can do is take precautions.”
Kronk moved around to stand in front of the wizard. He looked up at him and smiled reassuringly.
“Humans were always better magic-users than goblins, master. You were caught by them when you were asleep and vulnerable, but I assure you that had the goblins attacked you while you were on your guard, they would never have been able to touch you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, my friend. I'm not at all sure that it's warranted, but I'll take it.”
Together they sat and watched the river flow through the canyon for a while. Already there were many birds and large numbers of aquatic creatures using the new lake. Simon couldn't tell what kind of animals they were from such a great distance, but they moved less like fish and more like small whales.
“Nature adapts,” he said quietly as he looked at the lake. “One thing is destroyed and another thing is created. It's a lovely balancing act, don't you think?”
“Oh yes, master. It is quite wonderful. But tell me, if you would; why did you want to come back here, really?”
“Why? I'm not exactly sure. I suppose that I wanted some closure. That goblin wizard hurt me, Kronk, in ways that I didn't know were possible. I mean, I've faced a lot of pain in my life, both before and after I Changed. But I never dreamed that anyone could endure the things that I did and not die, or at least be scarred fo
r life; if not physically then mentally.”
“And are you scarred, master?” the little guy asked gently.
“Oh yes. Yes, I think so. I don't know if you know this, but I never sleep the full night through anymore. I'll wake up several times, not knowing where I am. Most of the time I think, just for a moment, that I'm back in that horrible cell; chained, helpless, doomed. And then I realize that I'm home, safe and sound, and I fall back to sleep again, only to wake up an hour or two later, to go through the same thing all over again.”
Kronk stood and looked up at Simon's face.
“I did not know, master. That is terrible. What can I do?”
“Do?”
Simon patted him gently on the shoulder.
“There's nothing to do. At least, not any more. Back in the old days, I probably would have sought treatment, seen a shrink or something. But now, in this new world? Now I'll do whatever I can to cope with it. It's just as well that I'm not a hard-core drinker, I suppose. Drowning my sorrows in booze would be a sad path to take.”
A few minutes later, Simon decided that he had had enough. He picked up Mortis and pushed himself to his feet.
“Let's go home,” he told the earthen. “I'm reassured that at least these goblins won't be hurting any more people but, pretty or not, this place is depressing.”
“As you say, master.”
Kronk grabbed the hem of his robe and Simon raised his staff and invoked the Gate spell.
They reappeared in the front yard of the tower and were greeted by the sight of Aeris, Brethia and Orriss, all three of whom were floating above the steps leading into the tower.
“Hey everyone,” Simon said with a smile. “You're back, I see.”
“A keen observer, as always,” Aeris said tartly. “Yes, my dear wizard, we are back. And we bring news. Come have a seat on the steps and I'll fetch you some tea before we tell you what it is.”
The air elemental shot through the open door followed closely by the others.
“Uh-oh,” Simon said as he looked down at Kronk. “Aeris hardly ever volunteers to make me tea. It must be bad news.”
“Perhaps this time he is just being kind, master,” the earthen said as they walked over to the steps.
The wizard sat down at the top of the stairs and looked at the little guy.
“Do you honestly believe that?”
Kronk sat do next to him with a quiet thud and shook his head.
“No master, I do not. But we can always hope, can we not?”
Simon chuckled and looked around the yard at the surrounding wall. He caught sight of one of the patrolling earthen and felt some reassurance. At least the perimeter was secure.
“You are an optimist, my friend. Please never change; we need optimists in times like these, to help us look on the brighter side of life.”
“I do try, master.”
Aeris returned with the tea and handed it to Simon.
“Thanks, I needed this.”
“You're welcome. Where did you two take off to?”
The three air elementals flew past the wizard to float in front of the steps at eye level, their bodies glowing in the sunlight.
Simon took off his shoes and dumped out some sand.
“We went back to the scene of the crime, so to speak,” he told Aeris. “I wanted to see the goblin mound from the outside, so Kronk and I went down to the Grand Canyon.”
Brethia and Orriss both looked shocked at the news, while Aeris scowled at Simon.
“Are you insane? You went back to the place where you were tortured and almost died?”
He turned his attention to Kronk.
“And you let him go? What happened, did you fall on your head from a great height and lose your wits?”
The earthen looked up at him from where he sat next to Simon.
“Do not be silly,” he replied. “Master wanted to go and I went along to watch over him. We did not approach the mound and were never in any danger.”
Simon sipped his tea and sighed with pleasure.
“Perfect,” he said. “Look Aeris, I wanted some closure, that's all. And after what Incendus and Kassus did to that place, it definitely won't ever be a threat again. So all in all, it was a satisfying experience. Now let's move on, shall we? I assume you three have a report to make?”
With a final withering look, Aeris nodded and motioned at Brethia. She moved forward and bowed gracefully to the wizard.
“My lord, I discovered something troubling during our scouting mission. The three of us had split up after we meticulously searched the entirety of Death Valley, to cover more ground. I followed a vague but persistent trail that led generally north. It did meander quite a bit, but seemed to be headed in this direction.”
“What sort of trail was it?” Simon asked.
“Oh, a combination of things, my lord. Destroyed trees, long trenches, extended ditches. It wasn't continuous, of course, but there was always enough to follow after some searching in a generally northern direction.”
“And how far did it extend?”
She glanced at Aeris, who made an encouraging gesture at her.
“The trail disappeared about fifty miles away, my lord.”
“Fifty miles away?” Kronk repeated, sounding puzzled. “Fifty miles away from what?”
“From here,” she replied flatly. “The queen's trail led almost directly toward this tower.”
Simon could feel the blood draining from his face and he stared at Brethia in disbelief.
“Are you serious? She was coming here?”
“It does seem that way, my lord. But then something happened, which is why I searched out Aeris and Orriss and asked them to join me.”
“What happened?”
“Aeris, you can explain this better than I can,” Brethia said and moved back to hover next to Orriss.
When the air elemental hesitated, Simon stared at him curiously.
“What's wrong?” he asked. “You're not usually shy about passing along news, even if it's bad news.”
Aeris grimaced but nodded in agreement.
“True enough. But this time it isn't bad news, exactly. It's more mysterious than anything else.”
“Great. I love a good mystery. Go for it.”
With obvious reluctance, the elemental reached into his chest, his hand vanishing up to the wrist.
Simon shuddered at the sight.
“I hate it when you do that,” he said. “Doesn't it hurt?”
“Of course not. We're not actually digging into our own bodies; it's a fold in space, a sort of pocket that we use to store various items.”
Aeris frowned as he moved his arm up and down.
“Now where did I put it? No, that's not it.” He dug deeper. “No. Wait. What is that? Definitely not what I'm looking for. Hmm.”
Simon looked at Brethia and Orriss.
“Exactly how big is that hole?” he asked them.
Brethia smiled at his expression.
“I don't believe that it has ever been measured, my lord. Certainly you cannot store overly large objects inside of the pockets, but there doesn't seem to be a limit to how many items we can keep in them. Oh, that reminds me; I must clean out my own storage when I get the chance. Things do tend to pile up over time if we aren't careful.”
The wizard looked down at Kronk.
“Do you have anything like that?” he wondered.
“Certainly not, master,” the earthen replied primly. “My people have no need to accumulate things. Quite unnecessary.”
Simon grinned at his tone and looked back at Aeris as the elemental grunted in satisfaction.
“Ah, there you are,” he said happily. “Now to squeeze you out of the hole.”
After watching Aeris tug energetically at whatever he was trying to extract, Simon turned his head away feeling a bit sick. It actually looked like the elemental was trying to rip out his own heart, even thought the wizard was well aware that he didn't actually have one.
“Someone tell me when he's done,” he said weakly and stared determinedly across the yard at the far wall.
“Got it.”
Simon looked back to see Aeris holding up an object that was about twice the size of a man's hand and as thin as a leaf.
“What is that?” the wizard asked as he accepted the strange thing.
He turned it over in his hands and held it up to the light. It was semi-translucent and the color of honey. He could see a tiny network of veins criss-crossing inside of the structure of the object and it was slightly rough to the touch.
“That, my dear wizard, is a dragon scale,” Aeris told him.
Simon almost dropped the scale in revulsion.
“A scale?”
“More specifically, a scale from the dragon queen herself. This is part of what Brethia meant when she mentioned something mysterious happening. The trail of the queen disappeared at the exact site where she discovered these scales.”
Simon looked over at Brethia.
“How many of them were there?” he asked, holding up the scale.
“Thousands, my lord. Perhaps tens of thousands. They were everywhere, littering the ground in a circle at least fifty yards across.”
“And her trail was gone? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Aeris confirmed. “The three of us scoured the countryside for several miles in every direction from the center of this mass of scales and found no sign of where the queen went. It's like she disappeared into thin air.”
“Which is not possible because she can't fly,” Simon muttered as he rotated the scale between his hands.
“Correct. I'm sure that she would love to be able to soar like all of her children could, but we can be thankful that she at least is grounded and must travel from place to place much more slowly than a flying dragon would.”
“Yeah, that's true. But what happened?” Simon held up the scale. “Why were so many of these things just scattered around at that one spot? Did she explode?”
“You wish,” Aeris said with a grim smile. “But I doubt it. The only thing that we can come up with is that she molted.”
Simon stood up and stretched with a loud groan.
“Let's go inside and continue this discussion, shall we? My butt's asleep, and I'd like to make more tea.”
The Queen of Dragons (Tales from the New Earth Book 8) Page 36