The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (37 page)

I'd
better wrap this up in less than twenty minutes or I'm done for, he
thought.

“
You
having a good snack?” he muttered to his staff as he watched a
small rivulet of blood wind its way across his wrist and down his
arm. Bene-Dunn-Gal always took its payment.

The
staff didn't respond.

“
Well,
if I don't make it through this, try to at least give some of them
splinters when they start chewing on you,” he told it.

This
time the staff turned in his hands and Simon heard a small, angry
murmur. He chuckled grimly.

“
I
knew that would get your attention.”

He
looked at the shield and then at the pack beyond. The entire group
had begun circling him, stalking around and around his position.

They're
waiting for the shield to fail, he thought. I wonder just how much of
the human intelligence they used to have is still in there?

One
of the mutants that looked like an over-sized wolf covered with
feathers snapped at the shield and then yelped as sparks flew from
the contact.

Not
that much, he concluded. Good. Just ugly-ass animals then. Okay.

The
shield had about two minutes left until it failed. Simon raised
Bene-Dunn-Gal cross-ways over his head and then brought it down in
one motion, as if slamming an invisible car trunk closed.

“
Ice
Storm!” he shouted.

Bene-Dunn-Gal
bit deeply into his palm and he winced at the pain. But the results
were worth it.

Clouds
formed twenty feet above his head. The mutant pack stopped moving and
looked up as one at the dark, gray mass gathering over them. And
then, with a sizzling sound like falling hail, but much, much louder,
daggers of solid ice shot straight downward into the ground.

The
deadly missiles slammed into the shield but shattered with a sound
like breaking glass, and Simon drew in a ragged gasp of relief. He'd
only learned to cast through his Shield spell a short time ago, but
fortunately it worked. Unfortunately for the monstrous pack, they had
no such protection.

The
daggers impaled them. Screams, howls of rage and fear, whining
murmurs of death; the sound was overwhelming and Simon flinched as it
washed over him. He held Bene-Dunn-Gal steadily though as the ice
fell. If his grip loosened, the spell would be canceled too soon.

Several
of the creatures had been circling further out and scrambled to get
out of the range of the spell. All of the rest died. The spell only
lasted for a minute, but that was enough.

When
it was done, the clouds faded away and bright sunlight shone down on
the twitching remains heaped just outside of the shield.

Simon
swallowed dryly. The smell of death and the lingering whimpers from
the dying were hard to take. But he just had to look beyond the
creatures at the smoldering remains of the farm to harden his heart
against any feelings of pity.

There
were four monsters left from the original two packs that had attacked
him. One, humanoid-shaped but covered in gray scales with inch long
talons and demonic horns, snarled at him when their eyes met.

But
it was clear that the lust to fight had left them. The scaled
creature roared defiantly one last time and then limped away toward
the trees, followed slowly by its dispirited companions.

Well,
what do you know, Simon thought. I won, I guess.

The
shield began to flicker and he let it fade away. The shards of ice
had melted into a cool mist as the sunlight touched them and all that
was left of the attack were the remains of the pack.

Simon
gingerly stepped over several bodies and began to walk toward the
house. He still felt the need to check for survivors before he Gated
home. This time, though, he was more cautious and cast a Stoneskin
spell on himself before he reached the burned-out buildings.

The barns and sheds had
been reduced to rubble and he saw no sign of bodies in any of them.
The swirling smoke made his eyes water and he coughed and blinked
away tears as he searched.

When he reached the
farmhouse, the wizard had to steel himself before he began his
search. The walls were still standing but the roof had collapsed. The
front door was missing and Simon stepped carefully through the
opening and into the wreckage-strewn building.

He had only taken a
cautious step into the main room, littered with burned timbers and
destroyed furniture, when the wizard stopped and stared, gasping in
shock.

There was a heap of bodies
lying in the center of what he guessed had been the living room. They
were burnt almost beyond recognition and Simon tried not to look at
them too closely. He guessed that all of the Changlings were gathered
in one spot and he couldn't figure out how a dozen people could have
been trapped in a raging inferno without at least a couple getting
out of the house in time.

Simon swallowed again and
stepped closer. There was a mystery here and he needed to know what
had happened to these people.

He scanned the room and
felt his heart ache as he saw some personal items that were still
almost intact.

There were some shattered
dishes with a leaf pattern that looked homey and familiar. He thought
maybe his mother had had some similar dishes back in his childhood.
There was a small carving of some sort of bird. He stepped forward
and picked it up and turned it over in his hands.

It was crude but Simon
imagined someone lovingly working on it at the end of a long day of
working in the fields. With a sigh, he put it down again gently and
then his eyes widened and he caught his breath.

Near the remains of the
farmers, next to an outstretched arm that emerged from under the pile
of bodies, was a stuffed animal. Partly burnt and missing most of its
fur, the teddy bear was staring blankly at him with one button eye.
It seemed to be accusing him and Simon had to turn away, a wave of
guilt bubbling though his stomach.

Oh God, he thought. That's
why they had all been bunched up together. They had been protecting a
child, maybe the first one born since they'd all Changed.

He had to go. There were
no survivors and he could not handle being among the belongings of
these poor farmers any longer.

When he got outside, Simon
walked away from the house slowly, his mind blank and his heart
aching. He stopped and turned back when he was about twenty paces
away. He couldn't just leave the remains lying there, unremembered
and unmourned.

He raised Bene-Dunn-Gal
and pointed it at the farmhouse.

“
Fireball!” he
said huskily, tears streaming down his face.

A brilliant missile of
flame shot down from the heavens and slammed into the house, directly
into the heart of the structure. The magical fire engulfed it and
roared as it eagerly consumed the former home of the Changlings.

“
I never knew you,”
Simon said thickly. “But I will never forget you. I'm so sorry
I wasn't here in time.”

He began to turn away
again and then glanced back one last time.

“
Rest,” he
whispered and then, shoulders hunched and consumed with guilt and
grief, he walked away.

Simon appeared in the yard
in front of his tower. He stumbled with exhaustion and waited until
he'd caught his balance before climbing the steps and opening the
door.

“
Master! You're
back!” Kronk exclaimed the wizard walked in.

Simon nodded mutely and,
leaving Bene-Dunn-Gal resting against the wall, collapsed into the
chair in front of the fireplace.

Aeris, who had been adding
a log to the fire, flew up and looked closely at him. He opened his
mouth and then shook his head.

“
I was going to
scold you for ordering us home, my dear wizard, but I think you've
had enough for one day.”

The air elemental flew to
the kitchen counter, picked up the kettle, flew back to the fireplace
and hung it there.

“
I think I'll make
you some tea instead,” Aeris said gently.

Simon shook his hair back
from his face and some ash trickled past his eyes. He ignored it.

“
Thanks,” he
muttered.

“
You look tired,
master. You should wash up and change your clothes. You will feel
better.”

The wizard glared down at
Kronk, ready to say something biting about at least being alive, when
he realized that the little guy was staring, not at him, but at the
floor.

Confused, Simon looked at
Aeris and saw the air elemental watching him from the corner of his
eye as he waited for the water to boil.

The wizard's mood changed
instantly and he felt a twinge of guilt as he understood what was
going on.

“
Guys, look...”
He leaned forward and lowered his head, running his fingers through
it. A cloud of dust floated to the ground.

Simon sat back and closed
his eyes tightly. It had been a hell of a day, he thought wearily.

“
I want to apologize
for ordering you to leave me back there,” he said.

Kronk looked up, wide-eyed
and Aeris turned from the fire and watched warily.

“
That's why I took
so long to Gate back. If that wizard was watching, I wanted to keep
her attention focused on me until I was sure the two of you were
safely back home.”

He tried to smile but only
managed to twitch his lips.

“
I had already
failed to save those farmers. I was tricked and I lost them. I
couldn't lose you too. So I'm sorry. I wish I could promise that I'll
never do anything like that again, but when it comes to keeping you
safe, well, I can't.”

The elementals looked at
each other and shared a nod.

“
We understand,
master. Aeris and I discussed your reasoning while we waited for you
to return. But,” Kronk hopped up on the arm of the chair and
put a small hand on Simon's shoulder, “we are in this together.
I am not as fragile as my size indicates, and Aeris has powers as
well. If we are truly your friends, and not just servants, we want to
help in these battles. There will be others in the future, probably
many. Will you send us off to cower here in this tower each time?
What use is that to you, or to us?”

Simon listened in
amazement. Kronk wasn't exactly known for his eloquence, but his
point was well taken.

Aeris spoke up before the
wizard could answer.

“
In this, Kronk and
I agree, Simon. We are not helpless. I was damaged by that dark
wizard because she surprised me, not because I cannot fight. We want
to help and, no offense, but I think we've earned that right.”

Simon nodded blearily.

“
You're right, both
of you. I was afraid for you and I was afraid that I'd be distracted
trying to keep you safe. But you aren't children. In fact, you are
both so old that I can't really conceive of it.”

He stood up and almost
managed a real grin this time.

“
Okay, from now on,
I'll try to do better. Meanwhile, I think I'll get cleaned up before
I have that tea.”

The next day, Simon slept
in. He was still saddened by the loss of the Changling farmers, but
he also realized that dwelling on it was the wrong way to fix his
mistake. He had to do better and prepare to face that wizard again,
as soon as she popped up.

In the meantime, he had to
tell Clara the bad news. It wasn't something he was looking forward
to.

When he walked downstairs,
Simon saw that Aeris had, yet again, made him tea without being
asked. And he had toasted some bread and added a generous dollop of
blueberry jam to each slice. The air elemental smiled at Simon's
delighted surprise.

“
Don't let it go to
your head, my dear wizard,” he said as Simon sat down at the
kitchen table. Sunlight streamed in through the windows and lit the
room brightly. The fire was banked and the front door open to let in
the warm morning air.

“
You earned this
favor after yesterday. And,” Aeris became serious, “I
know that you have to contact our friend the cleric and tell her what
happened to those farmers.”

Simon's mood became somber
and he chewed his toast reflectively.

“
You're exactly
right. And I have to warn her again too. We don't know where that
blasted wizard has gone, but if she's aware of me, she probably knows
about Nottinghill as well.”

“
Sound reasoning,”
Aeris said with an approving nod. “And speaking of protection,
I did some research last night after you went to bed, and I think I
found a way to block that evil woman from spying on us, and from
possibly Gating into the tower itself.”

Simon swallowed the last
bit of toast and stared at the air elemental.

“
I hadn't thought of
that. God, if she could do that and maybe bring some of those mutated
Changlings with her, it might be all over.”