The Dragons of Argent and Silver (Tales from the New Earth #6) by J.J. Thompson

overjoyed not
to be in the desert chasing after the mother of the dragons,
frankly.”
    He looked around with a
satisfied smile and actually sighed softly.
    “ It is good to be
home.”
    “ Glad to hear it.”
    Simon took a sip of his
tea and watched one of the earthen as it clumped along the top of the
outer wall.
    “ I wanted to ask you
a question, if I may,” Aeris said after a few minutes.
    The wizard blinked, drawn
out of his thoughts, and looked at the elemental.
    “ Of course you can.
Anything.”
    “ Okay. Good.”
    Aeris actually looked
uncomfortable, which was unusual for him, and he hesitated.
    “ Well, come on,”
Simon told him with a grin. “You've never been the shy type.”
    “ True. Okay then. Is
the silver dragon available to speak with me as well?”
    The wizard frowned and
closed his eyes for a moment, feeling through his thoughts for the
familiar presence. He opened his eyes again and shook his head.
    “ Nope. Sorry. She's
off doing whatever it is that she does. Weird how she can mentally
come and go but physically is trapped within me. You wanted to speak
to both of us?”
    Aeris shook his head.
    “ No, quite the
opposite actually. I wanted to talk to you about the ceremony and the
ingredients we've retrieved for you.”
    “ Oh?”
    Simon put down his cup,
drew up his knees and rested his forearms on them.
    “ Okay, shoot.”
    The elemental looked into
the wizard's eyes sternly.
    “ All right. What are
you doing?”
    Startled at the question,
Simon stared back and blinked several times.
    “ What?”
    “ You heard me. What
are you doing?” Aeris repeated, almost hissing as his tone
became more intense. “Wizards don't use ingredients in their
spell casting. They don't need them. You are mindlessly following the silver dragon's orders,
apparently without question, never wondering if she might have an
ulterior motive. That isn't like you at all, my dear wizard.”
    He paused and looked Simon
up and down.
    “ And what in the
name of the Four Winds are you wearing ?”
    “ What?” Simon
said again, feeling completely lost and more than a bit stupid.
“What's wrong with my clothes?”
    “ Jeans? A shirt? You
look like an ordinary person!”
    The wizard had to laugh.
    “ And that's a bad
thing?”
    Aeris was almost quivering
with exasperation.
    “ Yes it's a bad
thing! Do you not know why magic-users wear robes? No? It is because
of the flow of their power. Tight clothing interrupts the channels
that magic uses to travel through their bodies. Wearing that,”
he raked Simon's body with a dismissive glance, “constricts
your power. It is not natural for you. And not too long ago, you
seemed to know that subconsciously and always wore robes. Now? Now I
don't know what's gotten into you.”
    Aeris put his hands on his
hips and glared at Simon.
    “ Wow. Really? Is
that why casters wear robes? I never knew that. Makes sense, I
suppose.”
    He looked away from the
elemental and stared across the bright courtyard, thinking hard.
    “ I'm not sure why I
started dressing like this. Sentimentality, I thought. You know,
remembering the old days and all that.”
    Aeris nodded silently, his
expression softening a bit.
    “ But you may have a
point,” the wizard continued. “I ditched the robes right
after I sent you and the others off to find the ingredients for the
ritual. Now why would I do that?”
    He looked sharply at
Aeris.
    “ Do you think
Esmiralla has some other reason for using this kind of magic?”
    The elemental became
thoughtful.
    “ Perhaps, my dear
wizard. Perhaps. My only point here is to make you aware of things
that you might not be. You're too close to it all, obviously, being
merged with the silver dragon. Two kinds of blood? A dragon's egg?
Whatever she is planning, this is dark magic. Very dark.”
    Simon picked up his cup
and finished his tea. It was cold. He stood up and motioned for Aeris
to follow him back inside.
    “ So what do you
suggest I do?” he asked as he