The Dragons of Decay (48 page)

“
We
were happy to do it,” Simon assured her and the others close
enough to hear him. “But I'll pass on your thanks to Kronk and
the others.”

The rest
of the day passed quickly. The earthen finished what they could
before nightfall and then they volunteered to man the walls overnight
and allow the sentries to get some much-needed rest. The offer was
gratefully accepted.

Simon went
to his assigned tent as darkness fell and dropped into a deep sleep,
feeling satisfied that the day had gone better than he could have
hoped. He could only wish that the following day went as well.

The first thing that Simon did the
following morning was to ask Clara if he could borrow her hand
mirror.

“
My mirror?” she asked
and then grinned. “The pink one?”

“
Sure, I'm manly enough to use
that one,” he responded, flexing his skinny arms in a muscleman
pose. “Welcome to the gun show!”

The cleric burst out laughing.

“
Stick to magic, young wizard,”
she told him. “Since I'm assuming you don't need a mirror to
style your non-existent hair, I'm guessing that you want to make a
call. Not that I'm being nosy!” she hastened to add.

“
Of course not,” Simon
said with a grin of his own. Then he sobered. “Actually I want
to call the mages in London, fill them in on what's been happening.
Neither Tamara nor her brother Sebastian can cast Magic Mirror for
some reason, but they
can
Gate, so I'll let them know where you are in case they need a place
to retreat to, or if they'd just like to visit.”

“
Oh,
that's a wonderful idea! I wonder how they're doing?”

Simon and
Clara were standing just outside of his tent. She had been waiting
for him to wake up and they began walking toward the tables and
chairs they had used yesterday. The wizard was wearing a new robe,
light gray in color, kindly given to him by the cleric to replace the
dirty one from the day before and felt much better after his rest.

“
No
idea. They have a lodestone, just like you and Liliana, but they
haven't used it, up until yesterday at least. I left it at home. I
also want to tell them about my possibly heading into the elven realm
to help in the fight against the brown dragons.”

“
You
may not have to do that,” Clara said quickly.

They
arrived at the chairs and found that someone had put out bowls of
sliced oranges, toasted bread and honey, and a large steaming pot of
hot chocolate.

“
I
know. But I'd like to give them a heads-up anyway, just in case.”

The two of
them served themselves and sat down to eat, watching the comings and
goings of the community while they talked.

“
Where are your little
friends?”

“
Kronk and the earthen headed
off to get more wood for construction. Malcolm told them which
direction to take and I sent Aeris with them as a scout, just in
case.”

Clara looked at him sharply.

“
You're expecting trouble?”

“
No, but haven't we had enough
surprises? I'm not taking any more chances. I lost Kronk once and
that was enough.”

“
I understand.”

They finished their breakfast,
chatting amiably and then the cleric went off to fetch her mirror.
When she returned and handed it to Simon, she was laughing softly to
herself. When he looked at her curiously, she shook her head.

“
A helpful person, who asked
not to be named, left you a basin of hot water, soap and a towel in
your tent so that you can get washed up. They are, um, rather smitten
with you apparently.”

Simon felt his ears getting warm.

“
A secret admirer? Isn't that a
bit...high school?”

She shook a finger at him.

“
I think it's cute, so be nice.
I told this person that you are much too busy to get involved right
now, quoting you by the way, and they understand, so accept the
kindness and don't worry about the rest.”

The wizard got up and took the
mirror.

“
Good advice. Thanks. I'll get
cleaned up and call the mages. And after that,” he fixed her
with a keen look, “I want to have our meeting with Virginia and
the others. If you and Malcolm want to sit in, feel free.”

Clara's smiled disappeared and she
nodded once.

“
Okay. I'll talk to them while
you're taking care of your other business.”

They parted and Simon hurried back to
his tent. It was large enough for him to stand up in and to hold a
cot and a small bureau. When he walked in, a large porcelain basin
filled with steaming water was on top of the bureau, a towel and a
bar of soap resting next to it.

Vaguely wondering who he should thank
for the kindness, Simon closed the tent flap, took off his robe and
got washed up. When he was finished, he got dressed again, sat on the
edge of his cot and cast the Magic Mirror spell.

As he was waiting for the fogged
surface of the mirror to clear, the tent flap rippled and Aeris
popped in and moved to hover beside his left shoulder.

“
Hey, welcome back. That was
quick. How did it go?”

“
It went well,” Aeris
said, sounding pleased. “Kronk and the others are on their way
back right now. I have a feeling that the townspeople are going to be
surprised when several dozen logs pop up in the center of town. And
before you ask, I made sure that the new town hall was cleared of
people. Kronk thought it safest to leave the wood in there, out of
the way.”

“
Ah, good idea.”

“
So who are you calling?”
the elemental asked as he peered at the mirror. “Pretty color.”

“
Thanks. Tamara and her
brother. I want to tell them what's been happening.”

“
And about your 'rebirth'?”
Aeris asked slyly.

“
Uh no. Let's not muddy the
waters here. Maybe one day we can discuss it, but right now I think
it would just lead to more questions and I really don't have the time
for them.”

The fog faded from the mirror and
they both watched as an image appeared. Simon gasped and lurched
backwards, almost dropping the mirror in the process as a huge
fireball momentarily dazzled him.

“
What the hell?” he
spluttered as he steadied the mirror and stared at the picture in
shock.

“
It's a battle,” Aeris
said tersely.

“
Yeah, I can see that. But
who's fighting whom?”

Simon adjusted the view and the
picture pulled back to reveal the frosted, snow-covered streets of
London. Twisted metal, heaps of ruined buildings and rusted cars made
the old city look like a war zone, and another explosion of fire
reinforced that image.

“
Look, isn't that Tamara and
Sebastian?” Aeris asked and pointed at two small figures racing
across from one side of a street filled with rusting cars to another.

“
It is. Oh thank God, look;
they're both shielded.”

Simon could see the air around each
mage rippling and sparkling as they ran, their dark robes flapping as
they moved. As they ducked into the remains of a storefront, another
blast of orange fire seared his eyes and he blinked rapidly to clear
the after-images.

“
What is going on, damn it!”
Simon asked helplessly.

“
Ask them!” Aeris told
him and nodded at the two mages who were now huddled together, their
shields overlapping and strengthening each other.

The wizard took a moment to admire
how much each sibling's magic enhanced the other's. He was sure that
his own Shield spell would only be repulsed by someone else's. Then
he zoomed in on Tamara's scowling face, streaks of dirt and sweat
making her look much older than she was.

“
Tamara? It's Simon. Can you
hear me?”

She looked around, startled and
nodded.

“
I can. Sebastian?”

Simon moved the view to include her
brother, who looked equally dirty and grim.

“
Yes, I can hear him. How are
you doing?”

“
Bastian, we don't exactly have
time for the niceties here. What do you want, sir wizard? We're a
little busy at the moment.”

Another explosion caused them both to
duck and Tamara rattled off a string of obscenities that would have
done justice to a dock worker.

“
I can see that,” Simon
said loudly, trying to be heard over the sounds of battle. “What
the hell is going on?”

“
Dragons,” the mage said
shortly. “Red dragons to be precise. Two of the bastards. They
appeared just before dawn and caught one of our people out in the
open.”

She hesitated and Sebastian cut in.

“
She was immolated, Simon. It
was horrific. We got everyone else under cover and we're been
fighting them ever since.”

“
Just the two of you?”
the wizard asked in awe. “Against a pair of dragons?”

“
You don't see anyone else
here, do you?” Tamara barked angrily.

“
No. Sorry, stupid question.
What can I do to help?”

“
One's coming in for a strafing
run,” she said to her brother, ignoring Simon's question.
Sebastian nodded as he peered upward. “You ready?” she
asked.

“
Of course,” he answered
calmly.

Simon watched apprehensively,
thinking that the siblings couldn't be more different
personality-wise. Tamara was volatile and quick-tempered while
Sebastian was reserved and seemed to exude an aura of cool
confidence.

Hard to believe they're related, he
thought briefly and then forgot about that as Sebastian stepped out
on to the street, his shield throwing up sparks as it pushed snow and
debris from his path.

He muttered too quietly for Simon to
hear the spell, then raised his arms and waited.

“
You've got to time this just
right,” Tamara called out.

“
I'm aware, sis,” he
replied loudly. “Now please stop distracting me.”

Simon was amused at their constant
banter, even in the midst of a pitched battle.

Sebastian's calm demeanor suddenly
changed and he scowled as he looked up. He jerked his arms forward
and twin streams of dazzling lightning blasted from his fingertips at
his unseen foe.

A deafening screech of pain was
followed by a blast of wind that drove the mage to his knees amid
swirling snow and particles of dust.

The screams continued but faded into
the distance and then were gone. Sebastian stood up, dusted off his
robes and looked back as Tamara walked out of the ruined building to
join him.

“
Well, that was effective,”
she said with some relief. “Simon? You still there?”

“
Right here, Tamara,” he
answered. “Am I right in guessing that you drove one of the
dragons off?”

“
The second one, actually,”
her brother answered with some satisfaction. “Big sister here
hurt the first one so badly with her Magic Missiles that it barely
managed to fly out of the city. Lovely sight.”

“
Thanks,” she told him
with a light punch on the arm. Both of their shields had flickered
and died as soon as the battle was over.

“
Now, what's going on, my
friend?” Tamara asked as she scanned the sky.

Simon was taken aback by the casual
attitude the siblings were showing after successfully fighting off
two red dragons.

“
Um, you guys do this often?”
he asked.

The brother and sister exchanged
glances and then both laughed.

“
Hardly. We haven't seen a
dragon in months; not since we helped you defeat the primal white,”
Tamara answered and then added heavily, “And it's cost us the
life of one of our own. It's a hard price to pay for complacency, let
me tell you.”

“
We weren't complacent,”
Sebastian protested, giving his sister a stern look. “Who would
have believed that a red dragon would venture into the skies over
London in the middle of winter, let alone two?”

“
Well, we know now. And we'll
take precautions. Now, Simon, it's cold and we aren't exactly dressed
for it. So while we head back home, why don't you tell us what's
going on?”

The wizard watched as the pair made
their way down the street, ducking around wrecked cars, jumping over
fallen bricks and weaving in and out of piles of frost-covered
debris.

“
I wanted to tell you what's
been happening over on our side of the ocean lately,” he said
and then proceeded to explain recent events.

He avoided mentioning his death and
rebirth but did tell the siblings about the wight attacks.

“
Any big storms come your way
lately?” he asked as he finished his tale. It had been a long
explanation and the mages had walked several blocks by the time he
was done.