The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (49 page)

Simon's eyes narrowed.

“
Pollen? You knocked
me out with pollen?”

“
Of course. I was an
herb witch before I was given a wizard's gifts.”

His rage turned to shock
as Simon gaped at her.

“
Heather?” he
muttered in disbelief.

The woman threw back her
head and laughed heartily.

“
Yes, Simon O'Toole.
Heather. Or rather, the former Heather. But that weak, mousy little
witch is gone. In her place stands a treasured servant of the gods of
Chaos.” She gave him an ironic bow. “Pleased to meet
you.”

The wizard could hardly
wrap his mind around the witch's transformation.

“
How is this even
possible? You look nothing like your old self.”

“
The body was
altered to better conduct magic, much like your own. That is why we
bear more than a passing similarity to each other. Apparently this,”
she glanced down at herself, “is the right kind of vessel for
divine power. Besides, it's more attractive than the old me. I like
it.”

Still trying to come to
terms with this information, Simon glared at the woman again.

“
Why are you doing
this? And why have you been killing Changlings? You are one
yourself!”

Heather made a casual
gesture and a chair slid across the room. She sat down in front of
the wizard and tented her fingers together as she watched him.

“
Killing
Changlings?” she repeated with some surprise. “Don't be
absurd. I haven't been killing Changlings. Mutating some, yes, for my
own purposes. They are better off if you ask me. But killing them?
Never.”

“
Don't bother lying
to me,” Simon said in disgust. “I've watched you murder
dozens of innocents, burn down their homes, ravage the land. I'm your
prisoner. At least have the backbone to be honest with me.”

“
Yes, I knew that
you were spying on me,” she told him with a superior smile.
“Considering that you became a wizard sooner than I, it was
surprising that you were so clumsy.”

She sat back in her chair,
her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, as if he was some sort of
fascinating new type of insect.

“
But you did not see
what you thought you saw. Everyone that I...eliminated was simply
human, mundane and useless. They were remnants from the old world,
not Changlings.”

Simon was still trying to
loosen his hands as he spoke, but except for restoring some
circulation and feeling in them, it was useless.

“
That isn't
possible,” he said. “There aren't that many mundanes left
in the world.”

“
There
shouldn't
be that many left, you mean,” Heather replied, her voice
becoming cold and flinty. “But thanks to your interference when
you killed the primal black dragon, humanity's destruction is behind
schedule. The Chaos Lords are furious with you, little wizard. You
are making them wait far longer to return to this world than they
expected to.”

The
former witch looked at him with something like admiration.

“
I
have to admit, for a single person to invoke their wrath as much as
you have done is quite impressive. We are little more than fleas to
them and yet you have caught their attention. Well done.”

“
Have
I? Good. And I'm just getting started.”

Heather
guffawed again and shook her head.

“
Ah,
Simon, Simon. There speaks the eternal hope of the brave, or the
foolish. I'm afraid that your magical career is finished.”

She
stood up and walked across the room to a table covered with heaps of
odd objects and unidentifiable junk and picked something up,
something wrapped in thick cloth.

When
she turned back, Simon's eyes widened. By its length, he knew it had
to be Bene-Dunn-Gal.

“
Where
did you get this relic?” she asked him as she sat down again,
the staff across her knees. Simon noticed that she was careful not to
actually touch it directly.

“
It
is ancient and powerful. I should very much like to discover its
secrets.”

“
Yes,
I'll bet you would,” he told her. “Why don't you unwrap
it and examine it closely. That would be the best way to learn more
about it.”

Heather's
eyes narrowed.

“
Don't
take me for a fool, little wizard. This thing radiates power. It is
attuned only to you, I suspect. Ah well. Once you are gone, it will
be freed of your taint and perhaps I will find a way to make it serve
me. No matter.”

She
put the wrapped staff down beside her and pulled something out of a
pocket of her robes.

“
This,
I think, is a little more important to us now, anyway.”

Simon
squinted at the small piece of metal she was holding up. The green
light in the room was not very bright and it took him a moment to
identify the object. When he did, he sagged in his chair with a
groan.

The
witch cackled at his reaction and grinned widely.

“
Ah,
you recognize it, don't you? Yes, it's your belt buckle.” She
looked down at the piece of rectangular brass and ran a finger along
the back of it. “And what's this? Could it be...your true name?
Why, it is! My, my, how foolish. What a place to inscribe something
so important.”

Her
laughter rang out, her glee so wicked that Simon was almost sickened
by it.

When
she had control of herself again, Heather leaned forward and shook
the buckle at him.

“
I
have you now, Simon. Or should I call you by your true name, hmm?”

“
I'd
rather you didn't,” he said tersely.

“
Yes,
I'm sure. No matter. I have you now. Your power is mine, little
wizard. I have your necklace as well, with its piece of dragon heart.
Oh yes, I know about that. As for that other trinket that you had on
that string, that odd piece of metal, what is it? A magical talisman?
A ward of some sort?”

“
None
of your damned business,” he said with a glare. “You have
me, obviously. Isn't that enough? Whatever you are going to do to me,
get on with it and spare me your crowing.”

“
My,
my, aren't we touchy?”

She
sighed and slipped the buckle back into a pocket.

“
Simon,
let me explain something to you. You've been a lot more isolated from
the world than you know. Much has happened across the Earth in the
last couple of years and you've only been on the edges of it. The
dragons are clearing out the last of the mundane humans. And when I
am done in this area of the country, I shall have enough Changlings
under my command to send them west and east to sniff out the rest of
humanity in this part of the world.”

She
tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as she watched Simon.

“
There
are others like me out there, you know. Many of them. And do you know
how many wizards oppose us? Wizards imbued with pathetic powers from
your gods of Light? A handful at best. And soon they will all be
gone. Like you, they are even now being captured and destroyed.”
She sighed again. “It's such a waste. So, let me offer you a
way out of this situation.”

She
stood up, pushed her chair back and muttered under her breath.

The
ropes around Simon's arms and legs dropped away and he almost fell
out of his chair as he was suddenly free. He sat still and slowly
rubbed his arms and then his legs, trying to restore his circulation.

Heather
walked back to her table and returned. She tossed his robe at his
feet.

“
Get
dressed. It is demeaning for even a white wizard to be seen in your
state.”

Watching
her closely, waiting for some sort of trick, Simon stood up, picked
up his robe and slipped it over his head.

As
it settled over his shoulders, Heather smiled a little disdainfully.

“
That's
better. Come outside with me and let us discuss your options.”

As
she turned away, Simon looked longingly at the wrapped staff
discarded on the floor.

“
Don't
bother, little wizard,” Heather said as she opened the door of
the cottage. “Without your true name, that weapon would do you
no good at all. And I wouldn't want to have to stop you from touching
it, nor would you.”

Simon
shook his head hopelessly and slowly followed her out.

The
unnatural stillness was heavy over the field outside of the cottage.
Simon looked up and guessed that it was late afternoon, perhaps an
hour before sunset. He'd been unconscious for a long time.

Heather
led him to the middle of the field and then turned and waited until
he caught up. She folded her arms and watched him with a sly smile on
her lips.

“
I
know you hate me for what I've done to the mundanes, Simon. But
consider this. They were doomed from the beginning. The gods of Chaos
demanded their deaths and, if I wasn't the one to obey their command,
someone or something else would. So, putting that aside for the
moment, what harm have I truly done to you, personally?”

Simon
stared at her in disbelief.

“
What
harm? Are you kidding me? You're an evil b...”

She
held up a warning finger.

“
Uh-uh,
little man. Let us not descend to name calling here. Put away your
emotions for the moment and answer me honestly, one wizard to
another.”

Simon
glared at her and then took a deep breath, trying to slow his racing
heart and get himself in hand.

“
Fine
then. Personally, you haven't done a thing to me, yet. Before you
became...this, you were a decent neighbor, quietly going about her
business, whatever that was. So what?”

She
nodded.

“
Exactly.
I haven't hurt you. I don't
want
to hurt you. You have power, Simon. Magic that will only grow if it
is allowed to. But it is nothing compared to the abilities you could
tap into, if you were granted access to true power.”

“
Meaning?”

Heather
laughed lightly.

“
Isn't
it obvious? Join me. Swear allegiance to the dark gods. With their
blessing, just think how high you could rise in this new world. They
don't want to rule the New Earth, Simon; they simply want to conquer
it and move on. The Universe is their ultimate prize. This planet is
only a stepping-stone, a doorway from the Void into our plane. Once
they return, they will select a chosen few to rule in their stead and
leave. You could be part of those few, just as I shall be.”

“
Really?”
Simon tried to keep his voice calm as he listened to the madness that
Heather was spouting. It wasn't easy.

“
Didn't
you tell me that these Chaos Lords of yours hated me? Why would they
give me power when they want to destroy me?”

Heather
cocked her head and narrowed her eyes as she watched him.

“
Oh,
I think I could convince them. They want to return, Simon. If turning
you into a servant and using you against their enemies, the gods of
Light, achieves that goal, so much the better. In fact, I'd say that
they'd find such an outcome quite amusing.”

“
Yeah,
I'll bet they would,” Simon muttered.

“
So
what do you say? Join me. Your cause is lost, my old neighbor. I have
your true name, and so I have your power. Come with me and who knows
what heights we can aspire to.”

Her
eyes were shining and Simon could see the hunger for power and glory
in them. It was sickening.

“
Before
I make such a momentous decision, I'd like to know a few things.”

Heather's
look became suspicious.

“
Oh,
come on now,” he continued. “Surely you can answer some
questions before I make what will possibly be the last decision of my
life?”

The
former witch nodded slowly.

“
Fair
enough. Very well then, ask your questions.”

And
she folded her arms and waited.

“
One
thing that I'm curious about. In that fake note you left me, you
mentioned the green dragon. How did you know that was my next
target?”

Heather
snorted a laugh.

“
That's
one of your questions? Fine then. I knew for two reasons. First, the
next most powerful primal dragon in the hierarchy is the green. I
assumed that you would want to face them from the weakest first,
which was the black, to the strongest. Naturally you would pursue the
green next. And secondly, you foolishly mentioned your plans to that
insipid cleric in that little town, what is its name, Nottinghill?
Yes. Well, I was listening in at the time and you yourself gifted me
with that information.”