The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) (42 page)

“
You will,
Sebastian. I promise you that,” Simon said forcefully. “We
will see you soon.”

“
Good. Now go away
before they get back.”

The wizard broke the
connection immediately, afraid of the consequences to the mage if the
goblins learned that someone had penetrated their wards and contacted
him.

He gave himself a shake
and walked back to the group.

Tamara stared at him with
faint hope and Simon grinned at her.

“
He's alive,”
he said simply and watched the mage's mouth drop open.

“
Alive? You're
sure?” she asked breathlessly.

“
I am. I spoke to
him briefly. He's been ill-treated but he's lucid and aware.”

Malcolm and Aiden both
cheered and Tamara embraced Simon in a tight hug, something he never
would have expected of her.

“
You are a miracle
worker, my friend,” Liliana told him with an admiring smile.

Keiko remained silent but
her eyes were shining with quiet joy.

“
Not a miracle
worker, just lucky.”

Simon focused on Tamara.

“
He says that he's
being held in a natural cave to the south, so we got the general
direction correct. But now we'll still have to wait for Kronk and
Aeris to report back before we know exactly where he is. Can you
remain patient until they return?”

She stepped back and a
determined look replaced her joyful smile.

“
If it means we can
find him and bring him home, you bet I can.”

“
Good.”

The sounds of the
returning guardsmen distracted them all and they watched the men and
women emerge from the two small buildings where the goblins had holed
up.

“
What did you find?”
Malcolm asked them as they approached.

“
Two neatly dug
holes,” one of the women reported. “Just big enough for a
goblin to worm its way through. A couple of us crawled down them a
few dozen yards but, my God, it's a tight bloody fit. No way to know
how far they go, but I assume they come out somewhere outside of the
castle walls.”

“
Fair assumption.
Simon, when he returns, I wonder if you could ask Kronk to seal those
tunnels for us?”

“
Of course. And when
we've found and rescued Sebastian, I will personally add wards to the
cellars beneath the castle. If I get the placement just right, I
should be able to seal the floors and stop those rats from tunneling
back in here in the future.”

Tamara and the others
nodded and Malcolm slapped the wizard on the arm gratefully, making
him stagger.

“
Oops, sorry about
that,” he said as he caught Simon before he fell. “You
really are a delicate little flower, aren't you?”

Simon gave the big man a
cool look and tapped his staff sharply against the ground.

Malcolm's smile faded and
he took a step back.

“
No offense meant,
of course,” he said quickly.

“
None taken,”
Simon said and grinned. “Just wanted to remind you that this
flower has thorns, that's all.”

“
Consider me
reminded, sir wizard,” the big man said and bowed with a
flourish.

Aiden snorted at the
exchange.

“
One of these days,
Simon is going to singe your smart ass and then maybe you will learn
to treat him with more respect.”

“
Hey, we're
friends,” Malcolm protested. “And friends tease each
other.” He looked at Simon. “Right?”

“
Absolutely. Aiden,
relax. I never take anything the big guy says too seriously, unless
it's related to battle. Okay?”

“
Yeah, I know.
Actually I was just trying to scare him a little,” Aiden
commented while looking at his partner. “Unfortunately he's so
thick-headed that it never really gets through.”

“
Boom! One for your
side,” one of the guardsmen said with a laugh and the others
joined in.

Simon was pleased that the
group was lightening up a bit. Sebastian's situation was dire, but
then they all knew that. Brooding about it wouldn't help.

The large globe of light
above the courtyard continued to fade and several of the warriors
went inside the castle and returned with torches that they set up
around the grounds. Malcolm assigned some of his people to guard the
tunnels and sent the rest back up to patrol the walls. A couple of
men climbed up and cut down the body of Octavian.

As Simon watched them
carry the remains away, Tamara joined him. She had been giving orders
to some of the civilians who'd been allowed to come outside now that
the danger was past. People were beginning to clear away the damage
that the battle had caused and some had scaled the buildings and
tossed down the bodies of the goblins. It was grim work.

“
How are they?”
Simon asked her as he looked at the castle's inhabitants. As a group
they seemed twitchy and pale-faced.

“
Exhausted, nervous,
all of that,” the mage replied. “But determined too. They
are a strong bunch and they know that this settlement could be
humanity's last chance. They won't crumple under the fear of attack;
whether it be by goblins, dragons or anything else. Virginia, Anna
and the two young men, Eric and Gerard, have been amazing, according
to reports. They are turning out to be natural leaders, as a
foursome.”

Simon wrapped his hands
around his staff and leaned on it with a sigh.

“
Good. That's good.
I'll make sure to thank them later. Like you and me, they know that
those of us who can use magic have to keep the others safe, or at
least as safe as possible.”

“
I know.”

He glanced at her and saw
the depths of the woman's compassion as she watched over her people.
For all her hard, gruff exterior, Tamara cared deeply for these
Changlings and he was pleased to see it. If the worst happened and
they lost Sebastian, she would need a reason to go on. Her people
could be that reason.

“
If these goblins
are as treacherous as they seem, considering how they treated
Octavian, I don't see them getting a lot of help from humans in the
future,” Malcolm said as he and Aiden rejoined Simon and
Tamara.

“
I'd guess that that
little arrangement was a one-time deal,” Simon told him. “I
can't even figure out how Octavian met up with those foul creatures,
let alone made a deal with them.”

“
Aiden?” a
woman called out from across the courtyard.

The group turned as one to
see a young woman with short, spiky black hair hurrying across the
grounds. She was wearing a simple white blouse and brown pants. Simon
noticed dark circles under her eyes and thought that she looked worn
out.

“
Miriam?”
Aiden replied loudly. “What is it?”

“
Our new cleric,”
Tamara told Simon under her breath.

He nodded silently and
suddenly understood why the young lady might be looking so wrung out.
She had probably been caring for the inhabitants emotionally during
the attack, reassuring them and praying to the lords of Light. He
wondered vaguely if it had helped.

“
Nothing,” the
cleric said as she joined them. “I just wanted to know if any
of your troops were hurt. I've heard that those goblins might have
poisoned their weapons, so if any of the warriors have even a
scratch, it should be treated right away.”

“
Oh damn, I remember
reading about that,” Simon blurted out.

Miriam looked at him in
surprise.

“
There are books on
goblins?” she asked.

The wizard laughed at her
dubious tone.

“
Not really, no. But
I have a collection of old fantasy books that have been remarkably
accurate about mythical creatures. There are mentions of goblins in
those books and they apparently do like to poison their blades and
arrow tips. Malcolm, you might want to ask around and see if any of
your guards are scratched.”

“
I'll do that right
now,” the big man said and quickly walked away, shouting at the
closest warriors, the ones guarding the goblin tunnels.

“
Miriam, while
you're here,” Aiden said to the young woman, “allow me to
introduce Simon O'Toole, a wizard and a good friend. Simon, this is
Miriam Conway, our resident cleric.”

The two of them shook
hands and exchanged smiles. Her expression changed though and she
stared at him with sudden rapt attention.

“
Something wrong?”
Simon asked, after a quick glance at Aiden.

“
Wrong? Oh no, not
at all. But did you know that you have one brown eye and one blue
eye? It's quite a striking trait, isn't it?”

“
I do?” The
wizard clapped his hands over his eyes. “My God, when did that
happen? I'm cursed!”

He peered through his
fingers and grinned at the cleric, who laughed and blushed.

“
Sorry. That was a
stupid thing to say, wasn't it? It's just that you don't see that
sort of thing too often, do you?”

“
True. And I
apologize as well, for teasing you. So how are your people doing?”

Miriam followed Malcolm's
progress with her eyes as she answered.

“
They're good,
thanks. The children were very scared when we barricaded the doors in
the main hall, but they did fall asleep finally. Now I've just sent
them all back to their own quarters. They'll be fine.”

“
Glad to hear it.
They are our future.”

“
I agree.”

A warrior came toward them
out of the shadows from the far end of the courtyard holding her arm
with one hand.

“
Jenny?”
Miriam exclaimed. “What's wrong? Are you hurt?”

The woman snorted in
disgust.

“
It's just a scratch
but Malcolm told me to report to you and had a few choice words for
me when I tried to argue. So here,” she stuck out her arm.
“Have your fun.”

“
Oh for... Jen, this
is important. Those bloody goblins may have poisoned their weapons.”

The warrior shrugged her
armored shoulders.

“
If they did, then
it's the mildest poison ever. I can't even feel the wound.”

“
Simon,”
Miriam said as she tried to examine the cut on the woman's forearm.
“Are you able to conjure light globes? Oh good. Could you
summon one for me please? I can't see well enough in this
torchlight.”

“
Happy to help,”
he replied and the cleric smiled absently.

A globe of clear white
light appeared over Simon's head and he sent it to hover a few feet
above Miriam and Jenny.

“
Damn it,” the
cleric snapped as she checked the wound. “Of course you can't
feel the wound; it's so infected that the nerves have been deadened.”

“
What?” Jenny
said sharply and looked at her arm. “Oh my God!”

The cut was shallow and
not too long but had turned an angry red. The flesh underneath it was
expanding as they watched, swelling alarmingly and turning from red
to black.

“
Oh damn,”
Tamara exclaimed fearfully. “Miriam, do something!”

“
I am doing
something,” Miriam snapped as she gently prodded the wound.
“Now be quiet please and let me work.”

As she poked the inflamed
bulge on Jenny's arm, the warrior hissed and gritted her teeth.

Miriam shook her head and
frowned down at the injury.

“
Okay, this isn't
good. The weapon that did this wasn't poisoned. It had some sort of
infection on it, like a disease.”

“
A disease?”
Jenny yelped. “But you can treat it, can't you?” she
asked desperately.

“
We'll see. Do you
have a knife?”

“
A knife? Yes, of
course.”

The warrior reached around
behind her back with her free hand and pulled out a long dagger. She
offered it to Miriam, hilt-first.

Simon and the others were
watching closely. He looked up to see Liliana standing back. Her
expression was calm and, unlike the others, she didn't appear to be
worried in the least.

The paladin seemed to feel
the wizard watching her and looked at him. She nodded at the cleric
and gave him a subtle thumbs-up. Simon felt a wave of relief wash
over him and smiled back gratefully.

“
Okay Jen, grit your
teeth and look away,” Miriam said as she pulled out a length of
cloth from a pouch hanging on her belt.

“
Why?” the
warrior asked nervously.

“
Because I can't try
a healing until I drain the infection. And it's going to hurt. Now be
a good girl and do what you're told.”

Jenny gave her a nervous
grin and turned her head to look across the courtyard. She swallowed
loudly and set her jaw.

The cleric raised the
dagger and sliced open the swollen lump on the warrior's arm. A
stream of yellowish pus gushed out and splattered to the ground,
causing Simon to turn away quickly to avoid vomiting.