The Dragons of Decay (28 page)

Simon raised an eyebrow.

“
New
wards, my friend. Don't
you
remember? The rules of magic dictate that you cannot cross my wards
unless I expressly allow you to.”

Aeris gaped at him and the wizard burst out laughing. It
felt good.

“
Well,
I'll be... You are correct, my dear wizard. Thank you for that. It's
quite depressing traveling through the dead winter forest, especially
at night. I'd rather not have to do it twice.”

“
Not
dead,” Simon said, shaking a finger at him. “Sleeping. I
find it less gloomy if I think of it like that.”

“
Semantics,”
Aeris said with a shrug. “But I'll accept it. See you soon.”

And with that, he disappeared with the usual pop of
disturbed air.

Simon sat back and settled himself comfortably in his
chair. He spun around and stared at the dark window behind his desk,
lost in thought.

Some time later, Kronk tip-tapped
into the room and found the wizard still staring at nothing. He
hopped up on the desk and looked at Simon quizzically.

“
Are you all right, master?”
he asked.

The wizard turned his chair around
and looked at the earthen in surprise.

“
That was fast,” he said.

“
Was it? I think it took me
about an hour, master. Is something wrong?”

Simon stood up, walked across to one
of his bookshelves and pulled out the atlas. He returned to the desk
and sat down, laying the large book down in front of him and resting
his hands on it. He looked at Kronk blankly for a moment.

“
Wrong? Nothing more than
usual. I'm worried about moving the folks of Nottinghill, but I was
also thinking that this might be an opportunity.”

The little guy brushed a little piece
of ice from his arm.

“
Opportunity for what, master?”

“
For Liliana and her people.
You know how bad the winter is getting here, but it will be even
worse in Moscow. She's only managed to round up a handful of
Changlings from the area and, while they are doing their best, it has
to be a hard existence. They live on whatever they can find. They
harvest wild crops in the short summer and they've managed to
discover a few intact caches of tinned goods and dried food. But that
can't last forever. I was thinking that they might consider moving
south to join the people of Nottinghill.”

“
An interesting idea, master,”
Kronk said dubiously. “The paladin and her people are deeply
attached to their home city. And, unlike Ottawa, it is not totally
destroyed. The people were eliminated, yes, but as you said, some
supplies remain. Why would they want to leave now?”

Simon flipped through the atlas until
he found the map of old Russia. He tapped on the round spot labeled
'Moscow'.

“
Because they are vulnerable.
They are dug in under an old government building, kind of like the
bomb shelter they used before the drakes found them. And we both know
what happened that time,” he added grimly.

“
All were used for the primal
white dragon's horrible magic,” the earthen said with a nod.
“Yes.”

“
Yes. The primal is dead, but
if wights attack during a hard storm, like they did here, I doubt
that thick metal doors will stop them. Now, if I tell Liliana about
Clara and the others moving south, away from the cold and the danger
that comes with it, that may actually convince them that it's time to
leave their city for a warmer, more secure home.”

Kronk was looking at the map
thoughtfully, frowning in concentration.

“
That is a good argument,
master. Certainly it would not do any harm to ask, would it?”

“
Exactly. It's late there now,
but I'm going to call Liliana first thing in the morning, before we
leave and lay it out for her.”

He placed a hand flat on the atlas,
covering most of the map.

“
Russia and its cities are
lost. It's time to acknowledge that and move on.” He sighed
tiredly. “If the paladin isn't too pigheaded, that is.”

“
I would not mention that term
to her, master,” Kronk told him with a touch of disapproval and
Simon chuckled ruefully.

“
Don't worry. I won't. Now,
let's find some coordinates for the Gating I'll be doing tomorrow.”

Simon wrote down several sets of
numbers as he explored the detailed map of Florida. There were no
specific spots recommended by the scouts, only areas of interest and
the wizard simply chose the center of each area as his targets. When
he was done, he had a half-dozen coordinates to Gate to.

The wizard sat back, closed the atlas
and rubbed his face. He was very tired now.

“
Master, you should go to bed,”
Kronk told him.

He looked at the little guy and
nodded wearily.

“
I know. Between you and me,
the next two days are shaping up to be a bit crazy.”

“
Exactly, master.”

Kronk pinched out one of the candles
on the desk and looked pointedly at Simon.

With a short laugh, the wizard stood
up with a groan and blew out the other candle. He summoned a magic
ball of light with a flick of power and it bobbed a foot over his
head as he walked to the door.

“
I'm going, I'm going,”
he said. “Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning.”

“
Yes master. Sleep well.”

The next day began early. Simon had
had a restless night, his mind flitting from one thought to the next
and not settling on any of them for long. When he crawled out of bed
just after dawn, a glance in the long mirror of his bureau showed
dark streaks like bruises under his mismatched eyes.

“
Well buddy, you look beat,”
he said out loud and gave himself a tired grin.

He got dressed slowly, choosing to
wear long underwear, heavy socks and a thick, dark blue robe. It
would be warm down south but it looked just as cold as it had the day
before and he'd rather be too warm than the alternative.

As he made his fuzzy way downstairs,
Simon heard dishes clinking together. He turned at the bottom of the
stairs to see Aeris puttering around at the kitchen counter, making
tea. Several pieces of toast were stacked on a plate on the table
with a jar of Nottinghill jam, strawberry, next to them. The air
elemental was actually humming tunelessly to himself and Simon
stifled a giggle at the sight of Aeris looking so domestic.

“
Good morning,” he said
as he walked across the room to his clothes cabinet. He slipped on
his winter jacket and heavy boots.

“
Morning, my dear wizard. Don't
dally out there; the toast will get cold.”

“
Ha. If I 'dally' in the
outhouse, the toast won't be the only thing getting cold. I'll be
right back.”

Once he raced back into the tower,
shivering from the freezing air, Simon took off his outerwear, washed
his hands at the sink and sat down at the kitchen table.

The toast was still warm and the tea
was steaming. The wizard began eating while Aeris added another log
to the fire.

“
So where's Kronk this
morning?” he asked through a mouthful of toast and jam.

“
Sorting out the horses, I'd
imagine,” Aeris replied. He flew up from the fireplace and
hovered above the table.

“
You know how he likes to make
sure things are just so if we are going to be traveling.” The
elemental chuckled. “He's been training the other earthen to
care for them if we're gone for more than a day. I think that if they
weren't earth elementals, a few might have given up in disgust.”

Simon swallowed and watched him
curiously.

“
Meaning?”

“
Meaning that earthen are the
most patient of all of the elementals. And with Kronk acting like a
fussy mother hen, they have had that patience tested.”

The wizard shook his head with a grin
and spread some jam on another piece of toast.

“
Just shows that he cares,”
he said. “Besides, we shouldn't be gone more than two days.
After that, I'll remain here while Kronk and the others help the
townspeople build a new settlement. That should keep him occupied for
a while.”

“
That's true. The earthen do
love to work with stone.”

Simon was washing his dishes when
Kronk burst in the front door with a howling wind behind him. He
slammed the door behind him and hurried over to the table.

“
Good morning, master,”
he said as he leaped to the tabletop. “The horses are fed and
watered. Sunshine is doing fine, but I'm worried that she may go into
labor while we are away.”

The wizard finished drying his cup
and plate and put them away. Then he turned to look sympathetically
at the little guy.

“
I'm worried too,” he
said as he leaned against the counter. “But horses have been
giving birth for a long time, most with no problems at all. Moving
the population of Nottinghill has to take precedence. We have a two
day window before that mega-storm hits and they have to be moved
along with their belongings by then. Unless,” he looked at
Aeris, “the storm has changed course?”

“
I'm afraid not,” Aeris
said regretfully. “I can feel its progress. It is racing down
from the north steadily. By this time, two days from now, this entire
part of the country will be buried in snow.”

Simon pulled a shoelace out of his
robe pocket and tied back his hair. He sighed at the confirmation of
the storm's timing.

“
So there it is, Kronk. We'll
have to trust that if Sunshine does have her foal, that your fellow
earthen will be able to care for her until we return.”

“
I have explained things to
them, master,” the earthen said dubiously. “I suppose
they will be able to help. Somewhat.”

“
Have some faith in your own
people, Kronk,” Aeris told him with a little smile. “They
are reliable. Now, if we're all done here...”

“
Not quite,” Simon told
him. He picked up the mirror from the table and leaned back on the
counter again.

“
I want to talk to Liliana
before we get moving.”

“
The paladin? Why?”

“
You tell him, Kronk. I have to
get things moving.”

While the earthen was explaining the
situation to Aeris, Simon cast the Magic Mirror spell and focused on
Liliana, keeping her face firmly in mind.

“
Liliana, can you hear me?”
he asked the fogged mirror.

The mist rolled back and the wizard
found himself staring at the paladin. She was standing in a
rubble-choked street, looking up at something that he couldn't see.
Without moving her eyes, Liliana answered him.

“
Good day, my friend,”
she said softly. “How are you?”

“
I'm fine, thanks. How are you
doing?”

Liliana was in full armor and gleamed
in the cold Moscow sunlight. A sword hung across her back but her
head was uncovered, her blond hair whipping around her face in the
wind.

“
Surviving, Simon. Surviving.”

She finally looked away from the sky
and began walking.

“
So what can I do for you
today?”

“
Um, well, there are things
happening here that I thought you should know about.”

The paladin stopped abruptly, her
brow furrowed.

“
Things? Wait a moment; I like
to see those to whom I am speaking.”

She looked around the street. Several
twisted, rusted-out hulks that once upon a time had been cars were
scattered haphazardly along the road and Liliana hurried over to one.
Its windows were long gone, but a sheet of shining ice covered the
blackened hood of the vehicle and the paladin peered down at it.

With an odd wrenching sensation,
Simon was suddenly staring at her. She nodded and smiled
perfunctorily.

“
That's better. Now, what is
happening? You sound quite tense.”

“
I do? Well, I never was a very
good poker player. Never could control my emotions enough. Yes, I'm
tense. And worried. Let me explain what's happened over the last few
days.”

As he proceeded to tell Liliana
everything that had passed since the last time they had spoken, he
began to notice subtle changes in the paladin's face.

She looked thinner, her cheeks
pinched as if she was starving. Her eyes, always large and blue,
looked enormous now. And she was, if anything, paler than ever. Simon
wondered if Liliana and her people were getting low on supplies.

The paladin allowed him to speak
uninterrupted, her face set and expressionless. She adjusted her
sword once and shook her head irritably when her hair whipped across
her eyes, but other than that, she stood unmoving, listening closely.
When he was done, the wizard relaxed and waited for her comments.