Simon knew that he should feel more upset about what he was hearing, particularly the part about him being dead, but he didn't. His emotions seemed packed in wool and he felt as calm and even-keeled as he ever had.
“I seem to be taking this whole thing better than I would have expected,” he ventured to say.
The goddess indicated the night around them.
“It is this place. You are on the border between life and death. The human soul does feel a sense of peace here. It makes the transition easier.”
“Does it? And what comes next, Lady? What lies beyond the veil?”
“Eternity, my child. Endless seas of time and space. Love, adventure, new experiences. There are no words to describe the worlds that await you.”
He nodded.
“That doesn't sound so bad,” he admitted to her and she smiled.
“It doesn't, does it? Come along, child. Walk with me. We have time, in this place, and I wish to show you something.”
She turned and began to walk away slowly. Simon followed along passively.
The goddess motioned for him to join her on her right side and they moved through the tall grass toward the horizon crowded with stars.
“Tell me something, if it isn't too impertinent, Lady; what happens to you and the other gods of Light if you lose this war against the darkness?”
She put a hand on her sword and paced forward, looking neither right nor left. Her expression darkened slightly and, even though his emotions were muted, Simon could feel a touch of something penetrating his mind. Sadness perhaps, or maybe grief.
“We will fade away, as the light fades before the dark when evening comes to the world. Love, joy, happiness in all of its forms will leech away from your universe and wither, like a plant covered over with impenetrable weeds, choking slowly to death. First on Earth and then, like a cancer, it will spread outward until nothing remains but horror and despair.”
She shook her glorious head but her expression remained proud, her shoulders unbent.
“Light cannot exist in such a vacuum, young one. My kin and I have always strived for a balance between the light and the dark, between good and evil. We know that each must exist in harmony for creation to flow as it should and for people to climb to the heights and achieve greatness. But those who champion Chaos, who seek strife and suffering, those ones do not understand this and they never have. They do not realize that when we were created, before time itself began, it was as counter-weights to each other. In a way, both sides compliment the other. No, instead they have always sought to conquer, to make their way dominant. Well, I suppose that they finally have.”
They continued to walk for a time. Perhaps what the goddess had said was starting to penetrate his fogged thoughts or maybe it was simply the old Simon reasserting himself, but the wizard began to get flashes of memories from the recent past.
“Lady,” he said tentatively. “I don't quite remember what happened before I showed up...here, but is something wrong with Kronk? I have an image in my mind of him being in distress.”
His companion remained silent and Simon was about to repeat his question when she stopped and nodded toward something in front of them.
The wizard turned to look and gasped at the vista ahead.
The grasses ended abruptly and the land dipped into a large, bowl-shaped depression. In the center of this perfect circle there was a small lake, its black waters mirroring the stars above them.
The goddess began to walk down the gentle slope, the grass now short and fine and he moved to follow her.
They reached the edge of the lake with its perfectly still surface and she looked at Simon.
“I know you have questions. Here you will find the answers, or at least some of them. Before you move on, I felt that your service to us had earned you the right to set your mind at ease, here on the edge of the Void.”
The wizard frowned as he stared at the black water.
“What do I do, Lady?” he asked her.
“Simply ask your questions in your mind and the water will respond as it sees fit. I have no hand in this; the Maker of us all controls the Waters of Destiny, not us. Ask. Or do not and continue up that slope,” she pointed across the lake, “and embrace the next stage of your great journey. The choice is yours, child.”
And the goddess stepped back and out of Simon's view. He was left staring in confusion at the water, wondering what he should do, what questions he needed to ask.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, he thought irreverently. What the heck do I want to know? Or rather, what do I need to know?
Kronk. Yes. That was important. I want to see my friend, if this is the last time I can do so.
In response to his wishes, the waters of the lake shuddered. A splash, loud but unseen, drew Simon's eyes to the center of the lake and he saw an image forming there; vague and blurry at first and then snapping into focus. It filled his vision and he watched in rapt attention.
He was suddenly seeing...himself. He was seeing himself as if he was another person, or a video camera that was recording the scene for posterity. It was surreal and frightening at the same time.
He was standing with Virginia, Anna and the others in the old barracks building in Nottinghill. And the memory of that moment crashed into his consciousness with an impact that made him stagger.
Of course! How could he have forgotten? The wights had been attacking and Kronk...
Simon looked frantically at the image and then sagged with relief. There he was.
The little guy had his hands on the stone wall of the building and was glowing fiercely, molten rock that lived and moved. He was telling Simon to go, that he had to hold the monsters back.
The wizard saw his own face twisted with grief and rage as he accepted his friend's plea. He watched helplessly as the group faded from sight just as Kronk collapsed in exhaustion. And he felt the horror of the moment as the wights tore through the walls of the barracks, grabbed the earthen before he could escape underground...and ripped him apart.
“Oh God,” Simon muttered and turned away from the lake. He'd never thought to wonder if the soul could cry after death, but now he learned that it could.
“Stay your tears, child, and turn back,” the goddess said, her voice echoing eerily around the little vale.
He looked up but the armored woman was nowhere to be seen and, if it hadn't been for her voice, he would have thought that she'd left him.
Reluctantly, Simon turned around. The scene had changed again. This time he saw himself kneeling on open ground. Florida, he assumed, but he didn't remember this at all. What was he doing?
Aeris was with him, calling on him to stop doing whatever it was that he was attempting. And he saw himself ignoring the elemental.
He began punching the patch of bare earth in front of him. Why was he doing that? Simon leaned forward, teetering on the brink of the lake, straining to see and hear what was happening.
“Kronk, come back to me!” his other self screamed as he battered the ground with bleeding hands.
And then a wave of crystalline light, silver and pure, blinded Simon. He blinked rapidly, trying to get the image back into focus. He stared in confusion then, because that other wizard was just...gone.
The spot where his other self had been kneeling was empty. Spots and streaks of blood were splattered on the ground but that Simon had vanished. In his place stood Kronk and the wizard gasped at the sight.
The little guy was whole. He looked like his regular self and he was staring around, obviously disoriented.
“Aeris?” he said in his deep voice, so out of character with his size. “What happened? Where am I?”
The air elemental, who had been sent flying by the wave of energy conjured by the missing wizard, stared back at him.
“You're in the new settlement,” he answered, dazed. “Our dear wizard brought you back, somehow.”
“Back?” Kronk rubbed his stony head, the sound like rocks grinding together.
“He brought me back? Wait. Yes, I remember. The wights! They...”
He shook his head.
“They destroyed me, Aeris. Master could not have brought me back. It is not possible.”
“I thought so too. But you are here, so obviously we were wrong.”
“But how? How did he do it? And where is he?”
Kronk looked around, searching for the wizard.
“Master?” he yelled. “Master! Where are you?”
From the right side of the scene, as Simon watched, Clara walked forward slowly, her hands clenched. She stared sadly at the two elementals.
“Lady cleric,” Kronk said with a bow. “Where is my master? He saved me. He must be exhausted now and he will need me to take care of him.”
Aeris said nothing but something in Clara's face spoke to him and he turned away, shoulders slumped in grief. His small, translucent body dipped and bobbed forlornly in the wind.
“He's gone, my friend,” the cleric said softly. “I felt it as it happened, although I was too far away to stop it. I probably couldn't have anyway, I suppose.”
“Gone? Where? Has he returned home? Aeris, come. We must go back to the tower. Master will need us.”
“Oh Kronk,” the air elemental said as he turned back. “Search your inner self. The connection is severed. He's gone.”
The earthen stood still and stared at Aeris. His glowing red eyes dimmed as he frowned and looked beyond the other elemental, seeking something within himself.
Finally he turned back to look at Clara.
“Dead, my lady? My master is dead?”
“I'm afraid so, Kronk. I felt him. He summoned all of the power that remained within himself to call you back. But I think it was his willingness to do whatever he had to, to make any sacrifice, that sealed his fate. In essence, he took your place, stepped into the Void so that you could live. He is...no more.”
“No,” Kronk said abruptly. “No, he cannot do that. He mustn't do that! I am merely a servant. My life is nothing compared to his.”
“He didn't think that was true, my friend,” Clara said. She knelt down so that her head was closer to the earthen's.
“He valued you, Kronk. You weren't his servant; you were his friend. He did for you what you had done for him, and he did it willingly. Do not let your grief make you forget that or his sacrifice will have truly been in vain.”
“I...”
Kronk turned away and moved to stand next to the bare spot of ground that was still marked with bloody fist-prints. He bent over and laid his small hand on one.
“Master,” he said brokenly. “Why?”
“Kronk?”
Aeris flew down to hover next to him.
“We have to go. I can feel the call to return home. We can't stay here any longer.”
“We cannot leave!” Kronk said harshly as he spun to glare at the air elemental. “Master died so that I could live. He wanted to help these people.” He waved at Clara. “We must stay and continue to do what we can for them, in his honor.”
“Don't you think I know that?” Aeris replied, almost shouting. “But you know how magic works. Simon was our tether to this world. Without him we have no anchor, no way to hold on. And there is no other wizard who can summon us back. We can fight it as much as we want to but, like it or not, we are leaving.”
Kronk raised his arms over his head, trembling from head to toe. He looked like he was holding back a bellow of rage but, after a moment, it subsided and he dropped his arms and nodded in resignation.
“I know. You are right.”
He looked at Clara who was still kneeling down and watching him compassionately. He walked over to her and reached up with one of his hands.
The cleric smiled gently and took the small hand in hers.
“Lady, we cannot stay. I want you to know that, if I could, I would remain and help you rebuild your home.”
Aeris joined them and the earthen glanced at him.
“And I know that my friend here would do the same.”
“I would.”
Clara nodded, her face streaked with tears.
“We all know that. You have both done so much for us. And Simon,” her voice broke and she had to clear her throat several times before continuing.
“Simon gave everything he had for us. Not just the people here, but whatever is left of humanity in this world. He destroyed three primal dragons, defended us from unspeakable monsters, pushed himself to the edge of exhaustion time and time again. And even now, at the end, his last act was to sacrifice himself for a friend.”
Kronk bowed his head.
“We will do our best to continue that fight, my friends,” she said. ”If we are given the time to do so, we will fortify this town, rebuild our strength and train ourselves and, maybe one day, we will take the fight to the dragons ourselves. That way, Simon's legacy and his memory will continue. And who knows?” she added with a strained smile. “We might actually win.”
“Perhaps you will, lady cleric,” Aeris told her. “Perhaps you will.”
“I am glad that you will remember him,” Kronk said quietly. “We will too. Down through the ages, the earth elementals will hold him in our thoughts; the wizard who treated us as people and not just as servants. It will be a glowing tale to be told again and again.”
“My people will do the same,” Aeris averred. “He was...my friend,” he told Clara, his voice tinged with wonder. “The first wizard in all of creation to befriend elementals. How could we not honor him for that?”
Kronk patted the cleric's hand and she smiled down at him. Then he turned away and he and Aeris looked at each other.
“I will remember you too, you know,” the earthen said.
“Well, you'd better!” Aeris told him firmly and then smiled. “Good bye, Kronk. I cannot hold on any longer. And farewell, my lady. It was an honor to have known you.”
“Thank you, Aeris. You were...”
She stopped speaking and covered her eyes. Both elementals were gone.
Chapter 17
The images faded from the water's surface and Simon was left staring at the black lake, his thoughts a confused jumble.
“So that's what happened,” he said to himself. “I took Kronk's place in death.”
“That is what happened, my child,” came the goddess' voice sighing around him like a gentle night breeze. “Now you see why I wished to speak with you one last time before your final journey. Such a sacrifice deserved to be honored.”
“It's a shame that Kronk and Aeris had to go home though,” he said as he turned his gaze skyward. “Clara and the others could have used their help. And I guess Liliana and her group will have to stay in Moscow for now. I know that Tamara and Sebastian in London can cast Gate spells, but I didn't tell them about the move to Florida and they can't cast Magic Mirror spells, so they won't be able to help.”
He sighed and shook his head.
“So many irons in the fire. I hadn't really thought about how much I had going on at once. And now, it's all just...gone.”
“Yes. And perhaps the most egregious thing of all, the elves and their battle against the brown dragons. They are on their own now. You and the others whom you might have brought to the battle will not be there to help them. And without your aid, I believe that eventually the elven realm will fall.”
Simon spun around, staring into the night. The goddess was still nowhere to be seen.
“Fall? But that means Daniel, Ethmira and the others...”
“Will die, yes. And once that happens, the brown and red dragons will ravage the Earth like a plague and soon after, my cousins will be free to enter your universe and claim their prize. We, those on the side of Light, will wither and fade into nothingness.”
“How could you let this happen?” Simon asked in an accusatory tone. The haze of calmness had been ripped away and he was riddled with fear and desperation. “I mean, you're gods! Do something!”
“Let this happen? Child, we did n
ot 'let this happen'. Mortals are the instruments of destiny, not the gods. We did what we could when we slipped a small portion of our power into the stream of magic that our cousins are bathing your world in. We Changed those we could so that humanity would have a chance; a slim one, I will admit, but still, a chance to fight back against the darkness. You, Simon O'Toole, were the pivotal piece; the one human who was able to become a wizard among all of those who accepted the Change. But with you gone, there is no rallying point, no nexus. And so your people are scattered, leaderless. They will fight; of course they will. But I fear that it will be for naught.”
Her voice altered slightly and Simon heard what might have been a touch of sadness.
“It was a worthy effort, I think. We worked with what we had. And if we go down in the end, well, it will be with few regrets.”
“So that's it? I die, you give up and the Light is extinguished?” he asked with disgust. “Wow. I'm surprised that you and the gods of Chaos fought as long as you did, if your side is willing to roll over this easily.”
There was a moment of stillness and Simon felt the air around him chill to the point where he was shivering.
Can the dead feel the cold, he wondered. Maybe it was more mental than physical but it sure felt real.
“Have a care, little one,” the voice said with a touch of steel in it. “Have a care. You know nothing of our endless struggle against all that is black and evil in creation. This one chance remained for us; a chance to tip the balance of power back to an equal footing. And now, unless something unforeseen happens, that chance is gone.”
“Lady, I meant no disrespect. But after everything that I've gone through, everything that we've all gone through, to lose now is, well, is heartbreaking.”
The air stirred around him again and ripples broke the mirrored surface of the lake. The temperature rose and a hint of sweetness, like night-blooming wildflowers, soothed Simon's mind.
“Yes, I understand. And I wish that there was something I could do, child. I do. But even we whom others call gods cannot turn back time. What is, is. Your body is gone, consumed by your sacrifice. If there were some other vessel suitable to hold your soul, perhaps we could use our waning strength to return you to your world but...”
The Dragons of Decay Page 23