The Dragons Revenge (Tales from the New Earth #2) (5 page)

Before
he tried to sleep, the wizard secured all of the windows on the
second floor and then lay in bed, listening to the winter wind
singing its lonely song as it whipped around the tower. And he
finally acknowledged something in his own mind.

You
were the best friends I ever had, guys, he said to the departed
elementals. I'll never forget you. I hope you don't forget me either.

And
on that sad note, Simon drifted into a fitful sleep, thinking of the
empty days to come.

Two days passed. Two days
that Simon spent doing chores that Kronk used to take care of. He
didn't really mind. It took his mind off of other concerns. But
finally, on the morning of the third day, he decided to ride to
Nottinghill, Clara's village, and pay her a visit.

The weather was a bit
milder than it had been, but still clear and chilly. He bundled
himself up in his winter coat, thick mittens and a long scarf and, as
he rode a frisky Chief toward the forest across the clearing from the
tower, glanced back once and hoped his home would be okay in his
absence.

Without magic, he'd been
unable to lock his door or the gates from the outside. So he'd left
the main gate closed and exited from the small rear gate, hoping that
if anything or anyone approached, they'd assume the place was sealed
tight. It was the best he could do.

Chief crunched through the
three feet of snow with ease, throwing up his head and snorting
happily to himself. The horses only got exercise when Simon let them
out to run in the snow along the frozen lake behind the tower, and
the stallion had boundless reserves that he needed to work off.

The trip through the
forest was easier than the wizard had feared. The wind had scoured
paths between the trees where the ground was almost clear and Simon
let Chief pick his own way through, just keeping him headed in the
proper direction.

It still took twice as
long to ride to Nottinghill as it normally would in the summer and,
by the time Simon rode out of the forest and stopped on the low hill
looking down on the town, his fingers and toes were tingling
uncomfortably and the tip of his nose, deep inside his hood, was
numb.

I hate the cold, he
grumbled to himself and then smiled as he caught sight of the small
town below.

The wall that Kronk and
the other elementals had constructed for Clara and her people
gleaming brightly in the late morning sunlight. Dozens of chimneys
sent plumes of smoke straight up through the still air, their roofs
covered with snow.

It looks like a Christmas
postcard, he thought poignantly. For some reason, the sight of the
idyllic-looking little town saddened him for a moment.

Simon finally nudged Chief
and they slowly made their way down the hill, the snow squeaking
under the horse's hooves.

At the front gate, open
during the day, a lone guard stood watch. He, or she, was bundled in
furs and carried a spear on their back. As Simon approached, the
guard pushed back their hood and the wizard saw a woman's face that
he didn't recognize.

Apparently it wasn't
mutual though, and the guard's eyes widened as he slipped his hood
off of his head.

“
Good morning,”
Simon said as he got within speaking distance.

The guard nodded and
smiled slightly.

“
Good morning, sir
wizard,” she said respectfully. “Clara didn't tell us
that you would be visiting today.”

“
I'm sure she
didn't. I just decided to drop by. It's been a long winter and I felt
the urge for some...human companionship.”

She grinned and nodded her
understanding.

“
Yes, I suppose even
a wizard gets tired of solitude occasionally.”

She waved at the gate.

“
Go ahead in. I
believe that Clara is in the main hall at this time of day. She'll be
pleased to see you, I'm sure.”

“
Thanks very much.”

He noticed that the guard
was shivering slightly and gave her a sympathetic look.

“
I hope that you'll
be relieved soon. The cold does get to a person after a while.”

The guard laughed.

“
Oh, I don't mind.
It gives me an excuse to get outside. But thanks. My relief will be
along shortly. Enjoy your visit.”

“
Thank you,”
he said and urged Chief through the gate.

There were only a few
people moving through the narrow streets of Nottinghill. Like the
guard and Simon, they were wrapped in heavy clothing and kept their
heads down as they scurried on their way.

In the center of town, on
a little rise, the main hall stood covered in blazing snow and ringed
with icicles. Simon dismounted when he reached the main door and then
stood for a moment to stretch his legs after the long ride.

Chief nuzzled the back of
his neck and he patted the big horse gratefully.

As he tied the reins to a
post near the door, Simon explained to the stallion that he shouldn't
be too long.

“
Don't worry, big
guy,” he said quietly. “We'll be heading home in a few
hours. Can't leave your girlfriends alone overnight, now can we?”

Chief snorted and
whickered in seeming agreement and Simon chuckled as he opened the
door of the hall and ducked inside.

The hall was about a
hundred feet long on each side. In the rear were Clara's private
quarters, while the main hall held rows of benches and an open area
in the center. A fire pit that Simon didn't remember seeing on his
last visit had been dug out and lined with stone in the middle of the
hall and was blazing merrily, smoke rising to a hole in the roof
directly above it.

Seeing no one in the hall,
Simon put his mittens into his pocket, made his way to the rear and
knocked on the door to Clara's rooms.

“
Come in,” he
heard her call. He opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was bright and
cheerful. There were several wide windows covered with flowery
curtains, colorful throw rugs scattered about and many candles
burning warmly.

Clara was sitting in a
long couch to the left as Simon entered, frowning down at a book on
her lap and holding a steaming cup in her hand.

As he entered, she glanced
up and stared at him in obvious shock for a moment. Then she put the
book aside, set the cup on an end table and quickly stood up.

“
Simon!” she
exclaimed and hurried over to take both of his hands. She peered at
him closely.

“
This is an
unexpected pleasure. After we were cut off the other day, I was
worried sick. Unfortunately, we've had a rash of illnesses lately.
The flu, some rather bad colds, things like that.”

As she spoke, Clara led
Simon to the couch and sat him down firmly, first taking his coat and
hanging it next to the door.

“
I wanted to send
someone to check on you, but we've yet to find any horses out in the
wild and slogging for hours to your place is a challenge in winter.”

Simon had to smile at her
chatter. It was good to speak to someone who knew him, after being
alone for a few days.

“
I'm glad you didn't
send anyone,” he told her. “The cold has been pretty bad
and I'd hate for someone to get injured on my account. Besides, I'm
fine.”

Clara had poured him some
tea from a pot on a sideboard but stopped at the sudden change of
tone in his voice.

“
Really? I mean, you
look fine. But you don't sound fine.”

She offered him the tea,
took her own cup and sat down at the other end of the couch.

“
What's wrong?”
she asked as she watched him closely. “Considering how cold
your hands are, I'm guessing you didn't just Gate here.”

The wizard took a few sips
of tea and sighed. The chamomile was a gift from himself and Kronk,
who'd had a special touch when it came to growing things.

“
You're very
perceptive, as usual,” he said with a tight smile. “And
you're right. I didn't Gate here. The truth is...”

He hesitated and stared
down into his cup.

“
The truth, Clara,
is that I can't Gate anymore. In fact, I can't cast any spells at
all. My magic is gone.”

The cleric stared at him
in disbelief.

“
What do you mean,
gone?”

“
Just that. It's
gone. All the spells I learned from the gods of Justice have been
erased from my mind. And even the spells that I discovered on my own
are useless. I memorize them just fine, but when I try to cast them,
nothing happens.”

He flinched at what he
thought was a whiny edge in his voice.

“
Look, I'm not
complaining. Not really. It's just that after more than three years,
magic had become second nature to me, like my physical strength was
back in the old days. To lose it, just like that, well...” He
paused and tried to smile. “I'm feeling a bit lost and scared,
to be honest.”

Clara smiled in sympathy,
reaching out to pat his hand as she listened.

“
I didn't think such
a thing was possible, Simon,” she told him. “The magic
that you and I and some of the others use is a gift from the gods, as
you know. They've slipped it into the stream of power that their evil
brethren are pumping into the world. It sounds as if the evil ones
found that power and, I don't know, blocked it somehow.”

Simon nodded dejectedly.

“
My thought
exactly,” he said. “And if that's true, then I'm done as
a wizard.”

The cleric stared at him
for a long moment and then snorted.

“
Nonsense,”
she said firmly.

The wizard looked at her
in confusion.

“
What?”

“
I said nonsense.”

Clara stood up abruptly
and went to fill her cup. She spoke as she poured.

“
Simon, my powers
are still intact, as are the powers of Eric and the others.”
She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “The ones you
call the Fantastic Foursome.”

The wizard smiled in spite
of himself. Four of the Changlings; Eric, Virginia, Gerard and Anna,
used magic as a group. Singly, their powers were practically
nonexistent. But together, they were very powerful indeed.

“
Which means,”
Clara continued, ”that the flow of magic from the Void, from
the gods of Light and Justice, continues.”

She sat down again.

“
So whatever has
happened to you, has been achieved through some other means.
Something specifically aimed at you.”

Simon felt a spark of hope
at that thought. He'd been sure the magic itself had been cut off. If
it hadn't, maybe there was a way to regain his powers.

“
Tell me what
happened after we lost contact,” she asked. “You had
repelled the dragons attacking the tower and all was well. Then the
Magic Mouth spell failed.”

“
Right, that's
true.” He took a deep breath. “Well, right after we
spoke, I...lost Kronk and Aeris.”

He spoke flatly but Clara
looked alarmed.

“
Lost them? You mean
they're..?”

“
No, no. Nothing
like that. I think they were drawn back into the elemental realms. It
was a shock, to say the least. I tried calling them back but nothing
happened. The spells I used to know were gone from my memory. My
staff wouldn't channel magic anymore and, when I tried to cast one of
my own spells, absolutely nothing happened.”

He looked away and blinked
rapidly. Losing the elementals still hurt and he felt a sense of loss
that was almost painful.

Clara put a gentle hand on
his shoulder and squeezed.

“
You miss them,
don't you?” she asked softly.

“
More than the
magic, actually,” he said with a shrug. “Kronk
especially. He's been with me almost from the beginning, after the
old world was destroyed. He wasn't a servant; he was a friend.”

“
Yes, I understand
that.”

Clara rose again and began
to pace the room slowly, frowning in thought.

“
I have no idea how
to reverse what has happened to you, Simon,” she said and he
felt a rush of despair.

“
But,” she
stopped abruptly and looked at him, ”I'm guessing that the gods
I serve might. Now normally I have to wait for them to contact me in
dreams to know their will. But in this case, I'm going to try to
speak to them directly. It's a bit presumptuous on my part, I know,
but they've taken an interest in you and I'm hoping that will
encourage them to listen to my petition.”

Simon allowed himself a
tiny degree of hope.

“
What do you need to
do?” he asked.

“
Pray,” the
cleric said with a little shrug. “How else do you speak with a
god, after all? I wonder if I could ask you to step out into the main
hall for a little while. I need privacy for this.”