The Dragons of Ice and Snow (16 page)

Before
Kronk could volunteer, Aeris floated toward the door.

“
I'll
get it,” he said and left the room.

Simon
and Kronk looked at each other in surprise. It wasn't like the air
elemental to be so quick to volunteer.

“
Once
I write down the altered spell,” Anaposus said to the wizard,
“you can add it to your spell-book at your leisure. If I might
ask, have you managed to permanently memorize any spells, Simon?”

“
More
all the time,” he answered with some pride. “The more I
practice, the more my memory for spells seems to increase.”

“
Yes,
that is how it works. Then if you will allow me this impertinence, I
would suggest that you attempt to lock this spell into your mind as
soon as possible, if you are going to use it against the white
dragons. An area effect spell is imprecise. If you do miss your
target, at least you can recast the spell more quickly if it is
permanently available.”

Aeris
was right, Simon thought. She is very clever.

“
Agreed.
Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait until I feel a bit better.”

He
massaged his temples gently. The pulses of pain shooting through his
skull were beginning to blur his vision.

“
Oh
dear, I had no idea that you were ill,” Anaposus said with some
dismay. “Perhaps we should wait until you are well again before
doing this?”

Aeris
flew back into the room, paper and pencil in hand. He offered them to
the water elemental, who accepted with a warm smile.

“
My
being ill shouldn't matter in this case. You're the one altering the
spell, aren't you?” Simon asked shortly.

“
Please
forgive our dear wizard,” Aeris said to Anaposus. “He's
cranky when he's sick.”

Simon
sighed loudly and leaned back against the pillows.

“
He's
right. Sorry about that. But please, go ahead and create the new
spell. I'll study it when I can focus again.”

“
Yes,
sir wizard. If you're sure.”

She
sounded a bit dubious, but Anaposus put the blank paper down on the
book, beside the Fire Blast spell, and began to write.

The
room grew quiet as the water elemental slowly inscribed the new
spell. Both Kronk and Aeris were surreptitiously looking over her
shoulder while Simon closed his eyes, trying to will his headache
away. No such luck. It just seemed to make it worse.

“
And
what would you like to name this new spell, Simon?” Anaposus
asked as she was writing.

He
opened his eyes and shrugged.

“
Well,
if it does what we hope it does, how about Blizzard?”

She
looked up from the paper and smiled widely.

“
Very
apt, sir wizard. I believe that that is exactly what it will look
like. It will, however, be a lot more deadly.”

She
picked up the paper and handed it to Simon.

“
As
promised, your new spell.”

He
took it with shaking fingers and wiped his eyes so that he could
focus on the writing.

As
always, he had no idea how he could read what was clearly no language
that he'd ever learned in his life, but he could.

Magic,
Simon thought with resignation. Go figure.

The
spell was simple, short and to the point. At the top, Anaposus had
actually titled it 'Blizzard' and the wizard smiled a bit.

“
Can
you see what it does in your mind, Simon?” she asked
diffidently. “Is it clear?”

As he read the spell
again, the wizard did seem to grasp the shape of the magic. It was a
swirling, twisting violent mass of bitter cold and he shivered as he
felt it in his head.

“
Yes, I can. Nasty
and chaotic, exactly what I needed.”

He put the sheet down
beside him and smiled crookedly at the water elemental.

“
Thank you for this.
I'm pleased that you could find a way to help me without revealing
anything you shouldn't.”

She bowed gracefully.

“
It was my pleasure,
I assure you.”

Simon wiped a shaky hand
across his brow.

“
I hate to sound
impolite, but I wonder if you could all give me some quiet time. I
think I'm about to pass out. Sorry.”

Aeris hurriedly picked up
the spell-book, the new spell and the pencil.

“
I'll leave these on
your desk in the study,” he said and zipped out of the room.

Kronk jumped on to the
night table, grabbed the tea cup and looked at Simon worriedly.

“
Will you be all
right, master? Can I get you anything?”

Touched by his concern,
the wizard could barely shake his head. The pain was a steady stab at
the base of his skull now.

“
I just need rest,
my friend, I'm sure. But thanks.”

Kronk looked at him
dubiously but nodded and hopped down to the floor holding the cup
over his head.

“
Call me if you need
anything, master,” he said as he left the room.

Alone with Anaposus, Simon
lifted a hand at her anxious expression.

“
Before you ask,
I'll be fine. But I wanted you to know that you are free to leave at
any time now.”

“
Leave? But why?
Have I done something wrong?”

“
Of course not. It's
not that. It's just that you don't have to stay here if you don't
want to. You have helped me with the spell. Certainly I didn't summon
you because I was looking for a new servant. Kronk and Aeris are all
the help I need.”

The water elemental's
expression was unreadable.

“
And if I wish to
stay? Is there nothing I could aid you with? Have you no use for one
like myself?”

Simon almost rolled his
eyes but caught himself. He didn't want to insult her.

“
Look, I'm really
not focusing too well right now. Tell you what; if you don't want to
leave, let's discuss it when I'm feeling better. In the meantime, you
are very welcome to stay.”

Anaposus smiled broadly.

“
Thank you, sir
wizard. I appreciate that. Get some rest and we will speak later.”

She gave him a small wave
and glided off of the bed and out of the room.

Elementals, Simon thought,
a bit exasperated.

Then he slid deeper under
the covers, punched his pillows a few times to get them shaped just
right and sank into a fevered sleep.

Simon was standing in a
field, somewhere. The air was warm and sweet with the smell of
flowers and wild grass. Around his knees, tiny yellow blooms nodded
in a light breeze and thick, reed-like grasses clung to his robe.

The wizard frowned. This
place looks familiar, he thought, mildly puzzled. The edges of his
vision were fuzzy and he felt a little light-headed.

And then Simon looked up
from the plants at his feet and gaped.

A wall of angry gray
circled the small glade he was standing in. He was in the middle of a
funnel of violent winds, trapped in the eye of a hurricane. Looking
up, he saw that the swaying, whirling wall of wind extended up for
hundreds of feet. Just in sight was a small circle of blue; the
distant sky. And yet the winds were eerily silent, as if an invisible
wall cut them off from where the wizard was standing.

“
Why do I feel like
I've been here before?” he said aloud.

“
Perhaps because you
have, child,” someone said from behind him.

Simon spun around and
stepped back involuntarily.

A woman stood there.

She was taller than he
was, clad in brilliantly bright, silver armor, which was etched with
complex symbols inlaid with mother-of-pearl. A long, narrow sword
rested at her hip and a shield, also silver, hung across her back.

Hair so black that it
looked purple draped her like a cape and hung behind her to her hips.
Her skin was pale, her blue eyes huge and commanding and her
expression was one of loving affection.

“
Have you seen
enough?” she asked in a gentle voice. Gentle but touched with
steel. A voice of command.

Simon realized that he'd
been staring and felt himself getting red.

“
Um, sorry.
You...startled me, that's all.” He waved a hand at the
surrounding wall of smoky wind. “Where am I?”

“
You are sleeping,
child. Perhaps you do not remember, but you have been in this special
place before.”

“
I have?” He
stood still, wracking his brain. Slowly the memory returned, bubbling
up from some dark place. “I have. Once. I learned some spells
here, didn't I?”

She smiled sweetly.

“
You did. One of my
brothers gifted you with that knowledge. But like all such gifts, it
may only be given once. It is regrettable that that knowledge was
lost, but such is life, I suppose.”

“
Lost? It wasn't
lost, um, lady. It was stolen by dragons.”

“
Yes, I know.”

She stepped closer to
Simon and he found himself looking up into her eyes, almost
mesmerized. It was like staring into two brilliant sapphires.

“
Who are you?”
he asked her with child-like wonder.

Her laughter was like
crystal bells ringing joyously.

“
Ah, names. All
humans want to name things, do they not? Lady will do well enough.
You may name me that. Now, heed me, child. We do not have much time.
I am visiting you at great risk. I hope those dark gods, my cousins,
do not notice us or the consequences could be unfortunate.”

“
Why would they
care?”

“
They want you dead,
young one. Surely you must know that by now?”

Simon shook his head,
confused.

“
I don't understand
that. I am one person, one little guy who barely knows enough magic
to be a threat to anyone. There have to be thousands of humans still
in the world, maybe more. Why do they care about me at all?”

The lady laughed again and
the wizard found himself smiling in response. He couldn't seem to
help it.

She reached down and
lifted his chin with a finger. Her touch was warm and Simon seemed to
hear distant music, the sound of choirs and songs of joy.

“
A little guy? No
threat? Child, you have destroyed two of our greatest enemies. Two
primal dragons have fallen at your hand. And yet you continue to
insist that you are unimportant.”

She lowered her hand and
stepped back. Her face contracted and she caught and held his eyes in
a look of intense concentration.

“
Simon,” she
said and he was jolted at the use of his name. “You are more
than just human. You are an empty reservoir, a vessel that could one
day be filled with more power than any other wizard in history. Not
now, no. And perhaps never, should you die. You have barely tapped
into your potential. The dark ones know this as well as we do, those
of us who serve the Light. They will continue to try to stop you and
we,” she paused and gave him such a loving look that his breath
caught in his throat. “we will help you as we can, even at
great personal risk.”

“
I appreciate that,
lady, but you will forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical when it comes to
my own importance.”

“
Of course. Modesty
becomes you, child. Now, time is running. Our business here must be
concluded quickly.”

Simon waited, heart
beating fast. What did this woman, no, this deity, want with him
anyway?

“
I cannot share
knowledge of spells with you. That chance has passed.” She
watched him thoughtfully. “But I can give you a small gift,
something that will, perhaps, allow you to more safely strike at your
enemies.”

“
What gift, lady?”

She reached down and drew
her sword in one smooth motion. Simon swallowed nervously and she
smiled at him reassuringly.

“
Step forward, Simon
O'Toole,” she said in a suddenly formal voice.

The wizard slowly moved
toward her. One step. Two. Then he stopped at a gesture from the lady
and she extended her sword, laying its tip on his right shoulder.

A momentary flash of
silver light shot down the sword and engulfed him. Oddly, although he
was sure that he glowed for an instant, Simon felt no pain, or any
sensation at all.

She raised the sword and
slipped it quickly back into its sheath and he looked at her
curiously.

“
What just
happened?” he asked.

“
I
have...interlocked? Meshed? I do not know what term will serve. But I
have given you more skill to cast the spells you have and the spells
you will learn. Now, when you are shielded, you will be able to cast
spells through your shield. You will be able to use your spells even
if you are moving. And you will be able to remember more spells than
before.”