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

crossed the room and hung the
kettle over the fire again.
    Aeris flew to the kitchen
table and stood on it.
    “ Do? I have no idea.
I only wanted to focus your attention on the situation. What you do
now is up to you.”
    Simon sat down at the
table and rested his chin on his hands. He nodded thoughtfully.
    “ I guess so. Oh, by
the way, she's informed me that we must go through the ceremony by
the light of the full moon.”
    Aeris jerked back and his
eyes widened.
    “ The full moon?”
he whispered. “But that's...that's not wizardry. That is
witchcraft, absolutely.”
    “ What the hell is
she up to?” Simon muttered as an icy lump formed in his
stomach.
    What had he gotten himself
into this time?

Chapter
6

    Esmiralla informed Simon
on the day of the full moon to be prepared to start the ritual that
evening. And then her presence faded from his mind again. She had
been popping in and out ever since Aeris and the others had returned
and, while the wizard enjoyed the solitude when she was 'away',
wherever that was, he was becoming more and more suspicious.
    “ It's tonight,”
he told Kronk when the two of them were out back later that day
tending the garden.
    Simon had shared his
worries with the earthen and was a bit surprised to find out that the
little guy actually agreed with Aeris.
    “ Oh dear. Are you
worried, master?” Kronk asked as he pulled up a weed from
between rows of young tomato plants and threw it on a refuse pile.
    “ Yes and no. Yes,
I'm nervous about it, and no, I just want her the hell out of my
head. You know?”
    Simon threw several small
rocks on to the weed pile. No matter how many of the damned things
they dug up, the stones always seemed to return to plague them. Maybe
the stupid things grew back just like the weeds.
    “ No master, but I
understand.”
    Kronk smacked his hands
together and took a critical look at the row of plants.
    “ These look fine,
master. I will dispose of the garbage.”
    The wizard stood up and
leaned back. His spine cracked loudly in several spots and he sighed
in relief.
    The little guy smiled up
at him.
    “ The day is warm,
master. Perhaps a swim to wash off the dirt?”
    “ Brilliant idea, my
friend. I'll go and get my swimming things.”
    Simon turned away, walked
several steps and turned back.
    “ What should I do?”
he asked simply.
    Kronk looked at him and
Simon was warmed by the deep affection he saw in the earthen's eyes.
    “ Be ready, master.
For anything.”
    He looked Simon up and
down and put his small hands on his hips.
    “ And please, in the
name of all the ancient wizards, master; wear a robe tonight.”
    Simon laughed in surprise
as he realized what he was wearing; a threadbare pair of sweat pants
and a gray tank top, both of which were, as usual, miles too big for
him. He'd put them on without thinking. His bare feet were quite
dirty.
    “ I'll do that.
Thanks, Kronk.”
    The little guy waved and
began shifting the pile of refuse.
    Back in the tower, Simon
grabbed his bathing things, stripped down to his loincloth and went
out again. He made his way down to the lake and, after testing the
water and finding it cool but not cold, waded in with a bar of soap.
    He spent a long time after
washing up just floating in the middle of the small lake and blindly
staring up at the deep blue sky. He was trying to think through
various scenarios of what might happen during the ceremony and come
up with ways to counter them, but the variables were too confusing.
He had no way of knowing what Esmiralla was up to, if she was up to
anything at all. And if she was, what exactly could he do to stop her
when she was quite literally inside his head? Blow his own brains
out?
    “ Yeah, there's the
solution, Simon,” he murmured as the water lapped against his
body. “You're an idiot.”
    “ Well, I wouldn't
say that, but don't let me stop you from doing so.”
    Simon rolled his eyes to
the right and saw Aeris hovering just above the surface of the lake,
a few