The Dragons of Decay (40 page)

“
What do you think?” he
asked Aeris, who'd been listening intently.

“
I think that we had better get
you healthy quickly. The elves may have some time to spare, but this
world does not.”

He flew off toward the door.

“
I'm going to make you a
sandwich.”

After he ate, Simon felt strong
enough to cast Magic Mirror again. This time, he decided to get in
touch with Clara. He was very concerned about the former inhabitants
of Nottinghill and he wanted to reassure the cleric that he was alive
and well.

Kronk rejoined them in the study. The
horses were well and the earthen was in a jovial mood, almost gushing
about how adorable the little filly was. Simon and Aeris exchanged
tolerant looks and the wizard tried not to laugh. For a little person
made of stone, Kronk had a big heart.

“
You are calling the lady
cleric, master?” the little guy asked as Simon chanted.

He nodded as he cast the incantation.

“
Yep, I am,” the wizard
said as he finished casting the spell. He held the mirror up so that
both elementals could move around on the desk to watch the surface
with him.

“
That is good, master. She was
very upset when we...lost you. We all were, actually.”

Simon patted his friend gently.

“
I know, Kronk. I know. Trust
me, I'll never put you guys through that again.”

“
See that you don't,”
Aeris said pertly but winked when the wizard glanced at him.

Simon focused on the mirror and
waited nervously while the surface misted over.

Was Clara okay? What about the rest
of the townspeople? If they had had any problems, the cleric wouldn't
have used her lodestone; after all, she thought he was dead.

“
Is this taking longer than
usual?” he asked anxiously to no one in particular.

Aeris just shrugged and Kronk made a
unidentifiable sound deep in his throat as he stared at the mirror.

You two are a lot of help, the wizard
thought irritably.

“
It is clearing, master!”

The little guy was right. The fog on
the surface of the mirror slowly, seemingly reluctantly, rolled back
and the three of them were watching a remarkable scene.

Bright sunlight was beaming down on
the new settlement and Simon felt his tension melt away as he saw the
people of Nottinghill moving around, working, laughing and generally
looking happy and well.

The mirror zoomed in to focus on
Clara, who was holding one of the settlement's three young children
while she spoke to the little girl's mother. Both of the women were
smiling as they spoke and the child was giggling because the cleric
was bouncing her in her arms.

“
They look well, master,”
Kronk said brightly.

“
They do, don't they?”

“
Can you pull the view back?”
Aeris asked and pointed to the left side of the mirror. “I'm
curious about those structures.”

Simon adjusted the picture by moving
the mirror and he saw what Aeris was talking about.

“
Tents,” he said. “Huh.
I wonder where they found tents?”

“
They look very fragile,
master,” Kronk observed dubiously.

“
Temporary shelter, obviously,”
Aeris told him. “The weather down there is fair enough to make
such things viable.”

“
Yeah, and with your wall
around the village, Kronk, they really don't need to build houses
right away for protection, right?”

“
Yes master, I suppose so. But
now that you are back, perhaps we can travel down there soon and I
and some of my brethren can build their homes for them?”

“
I'm sure they'd be grateful. I
just wish I was strong enough to go today.”

“
You aren't,” Aeris told
him quickly. “So don't even think about it.”

Simon glowered at him and the air
elemental returned his look.

“
Don't try to intimidate me, my
dear wizard. We both know I'm right.”

“
Yes, I know. I hate that by
the way.”

Aeris just chuckled and looked back
in the mirror.

Clara was handing the child to her
mother and Simon zoomed the image in to focus on the cleric.

“
Good morning, Clara,” he
said loudly when he was sure that she was alone.

The reaction to his voice was
startling. Clara looked around wildly, her short brown hair whipping
across her face and her eyes wide with surprise.

“
What? Who is that?” she
exclaimed.

“
It's me, Simon. Come on, it
hasn't been that long since we last spoke, has it?”

“
Simon?” She shook her
head again. “What evil sending is this? Who speaks? In the name
of the Light, reveal your true nature, demon!”

“
Well, this is awkward,”
Aeris muttered.

The wizard had to agree. He'd
forgotten for a moment that Clara thought he was dead.

How do I prove I'm me? he wondered.

“
Clara, I swear it's really me.
Look, find something reflective to look into and you'll be able to
see me.”

The cleric was scowling, looking
angrier than Simon had ever seen her. But after a moment's
hesitation, she nodded once and strode off through the scattered
tents to a large pile of boxes and supplies that was sitting in the
center of the community.

She poked around inside one of the
crates and eventually withdrew a hand mirror similar to Simon's own,
except that it was bright pink and looked like something a child
would use.

The cleric looked around, took a deep
breath and stared down into the mirror. There was a loud click and
Simon was staring directly into her eyes.

Clara caught her breath as she saw
the wizard. Her eyes darted from him to both of the elementals and
back again several times.

Kronk waved and smiled, while Aeris
nodded a greeting. When she looked at Simon again, he smiled broadly.

“
Yes, I'm alive and no, you
aren't hallucinating. I hope that Aeris and Kronk being with me will
help to convince you.”

“
By the gods, Simon,” she
whispered, swaying on her feet for a moment.

He watched as she sat down abruptly
on a crate and closed her eyes, breathing heavily.

“
Are you okay?” he asked.
“You look like you've seen a ghost.”

Clara opened her eyes and laughed. It
sounded too high-pitched and brittle but at least it was better than
the anger she had shown a moment before.

“
Seen a ghost? Of course I look
like I've seen a ghost. You're supposed to be dead! I felt you die,
my friend, and it's not something I ever want to experience again.”

Now she was examining his face
eagerly. She smiled a real smile as she noticed his extremely short
hair but frowned as her eyes trailed across his features.

“
You are much too skinny,
Simon. And your new haircut makes you look so young. Not sure if
that's good or bad. What on Earth happened to you? How are you back
among the living?”

The wizard had to sigh. He had a
feeling that he was going to have to tell the story again and again
before people accepted his presence as real.

Maybe I can just write it out, make
copies and give one to each person who asks, he thought wryly.

“
You can thank your gods,”
he told her. “They gave me a chance to come back. One chance.
If I die again, then I'm dead and that's it. So, this is what I
remember.”

He recounted what had happened and
Clara listened closely. She stopped him several times to ask
questions, mainly about the goddess, but mostly she just sat quietly
as he told his tale. When he was finished, Simon felt weary again and
settled tiredly into his chair, waiting for her reaction.

“
A remarkable story, my
friend,” she said when he was done. “Remarkable. It is
good to know that the gods still watch over us. I never knew that
souls could avoid joining with a newborn who was doomed to die soon
after birth. And that poor woman, to die alone, not knowing if her
child would survive. How sad and yet, how courageous. She held on
long enough to give you life.”

“
I know. It breaks my heart
that I never got the chance to know her,” Simon said sadly.
“Surviving all this time from the original dragon attack with
only one companion? They must have thought that they were the last
people on Earth.”

“
Tragic,” Clara agreed.
“But you are her legacy, my friend. That has to count for
something.”

The cleric wiped her eyes hurriedly
and stared at him with a fond expression.

“
I can't tell you how good it
is to know that you're alive and well, Simon. We, all of us here,
mourned your passing. After everything that you'd done for us, to die
just as we found a new sanctuary, seemed so cruel, so senseless.”

He shifted uncomfortably, aware that
Aeris was grinning at him.

“
I did what had to be done,”
he said shortly. “You would have done the same. Anyway, I'm
back now and I wanted to make sure that you were all okay. Are you?”

“
Better than we could have
hoped. We found a small town several miles away that wasn't totally
leveled. That's where we dug up these tents and a bunch of tools and
other useful things.” She grinned. “Including this
mirror. I'm not sure who brought it back, but I set it aside for some
reason, not even thinking. Now I'm glad I did.”

“
Me too. So, no sign of goblins
or dragons or God knows what else?”

“
Nothing. Malcolm and Aiden
have gone out exploring several times now. They found several
wonderful groves of oranges, grapefruit and lemon trees not too far
away and the fresh fruit has been a blessing. We've begun tilling
some fields for planting and our blacksmith has set up his shop and
created some farming tools. We left most of ours behind when we
evacuated Nottinghill, so new ones are a priority.”

“
It sounds like things are
going well,” Simon told her. “The idea to use tents was
clever. When I'm feeling a bit stronger, though, Kronk wants to come
down with some friends and build you more permanent housing, if
that's okay?”

She smiled gratefully.

“
That would be much
appreciated. And forgive me for not greeting you both,” she
said to the elementals. “I was so shocked to see Simon in the
flesh that I totally ignored you.”

“
Understandable, lady,”
Kronk said with a bow. “And thank you. We earthen want to help
in any way that we can.”

“
I'm not surprised at your
shock,” Aeris added. “We were, um, rather surprised to be
summoned back by our dear wizard as well.”

“
I can imagine,” Clara
said with a laugh. “Now I'm going to have to call a town
meeting and try to convince twenty people that Simon has come back
from the dead. That should be fun.”

The wizard laughed.

“
I'm sure you're up to the
task,” he said. “And if I'm strong enough, they'll be
able to see me for themselves in about a week or so.”

“
Good. Malcolm and Aiden, along
with Virginia and her friends, were especially devastated by your
death. I'm sure they will be thrilled to know that you've come back.”

She paused for a moment and frowned.

“
You know, when I say it out
loud like that, it still sounds insane, if you see what I mean.”

“
Hell, it sounds nuts to me and
I went through it! Anyway, if you still want them, I'll be calling
Liliana tomorrow about moving from Moscow to join you.”

“
Of course we do. I was worried
about them after you...fell. There is simply no way for anyone to
cross the oceans now without magic.”

“
You're right. At least I won't
have to explain my death and rebirth to her. She has no idea of what
we went through during that last attack by the wights.”

Clara looked at him wisely.

“
Don't be so sure, my friend.
She is a paladin, and has a rather close relationship with her
goddess. I have a feeling that she might have been informed of recent
events.”

“
Huh. Well, in that case, I'll
still get away with not having to tell the story yet again, won't I?”

“
It's inspirational, Simon. Why
are you so reluctant to share it with others?”

“
Honestly? It makes me sound
like a self-important, um, well, fill in the blank. And I'm not. I'm
just a guy who got a break, that's all.”

Clara stared at him with an
inscrutable expression on her face.

“
You really don't know how
special you are, do you?” she asked finally.

Simon pretended to vomit and the
cleric burst out laughing.

“
Okay, fine then,” she
said through her giggles. “Be that way. Now, get some rest and
for the gods' sake, eat! You look like I could hold you up to the
light and see through you.”