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

feet away.
    “ Good morning,”
he said as he flipped around and began treading water. “Where
have you been?”
    “ Oh, here and
there,” Aeris replied vaguely. “Went down to check on our
ursine neighbors. It has been a while. When this is over with, you
really should head down there and try to set up a dialog. They could
be useful allies.”
    The wizard swam slowly
back to shore, grabbed his towel and began drying off. Aeris followed
along.
    “ You think so?”
Simon asked dubiously. “I'm not so sure. I mean, a humanoid
bear is still a bear, which means one good swipe of a paw and I'm
dead.”
    “ I know that, my
dear wizard. Naturally I would make first contact, feel them out, see
if they are hostile or not. We can go from there.”
    “ Let's talk about it
after tonight, okay? It's the full moon, you know.”
    “ I'm an air
elemental. Of course I know.”
    Simon finished drying off,
put on clean underwear and his shoes and began walking up the gentle
slope toward the tower. Chief and the other horses cantered by him
and the big stallion whinnied as he passed. The wizard smiled and
waved.
    “ Anyway, I asked
Kronk this, so now I'm asking you; what should I do?”
    Aeris hurried to catch up
and floated along beside Simon's right shoulder.
    “ Do? If the dragon
turns out to be treacherous, you mean?”
    The wizard nodded.
    “ Hmm. Well now,
that's a hard one to answer. We don't know if she really is planning
something deceitful, do we? And if she is, what is it? The silver
dragons, as I told you once, were incredibly powerful in their day.
On par with the most powerful of the evil dragons. And even though
Esmiralla isn't a primal, she must be considered very close to one in
sheer strength. I would say that if she is going to do something
during or after this ritual of hers, you may have to wait until it is
done to respond.”
    Simon stopped abruptly and
looked at the elemental.
    “ Seriously? That's
your advice; wait and see?”
    “ If you have a
better plan, I'm all ears,” Aeris replied with a shrug.
    The wizard began walking
again, thinking hard.
    It wasn't the fault of
either elemental; they knew as much about the situation as he did,
which was nothing. All three of them could be completely wrong about
Esmiralla and her intentions. She was a dragon, after all, and he was
sure that dragons didn't think like other beings, natural or
supernatural. Aeris was right. He would simply have to wait and see
what happened under the full moon.
    “ You're right, I
guess. I'll have to try to be prepared and play it by ear,” he
said as he entered the tower. “But as a plan, I hate it.”
    “ I don't blame you.”
    While Aeris stayed
downstairs and stoked the fire, Simon went up to his bedroom to get
dressed. He was thinking about the ominous night ahead and didn't
really pay attention to what he was doing until he found himself
staring at his reflection in his closet mirror.
    “ What the hell?”
he said in surprise.
    He was wearing a baggy
pair of black pants and a short-sleeved button-down shirt. He had put
them on automatically.
    “ Exactly who are
you?” he asked himself in the full-length mirror. “And
what have you done with Simon O'Toole?”
    He undressed again angrily
and flung the clothes back into his bureau. Then he deliberately
chose a dark blue robe from his closet, slipped it off of its hanger
and over his head.
    The garment felt very
strange and rough against his skin and for a moment he was consumed
by revulsion, like he'd just stroked a snake. And then the sensation
was gone as quickly as it came and the robe felt familiar and
comfortable again.
    Damn, that was creepy, he
thought as he slipped on his indoor shoes and headed for the stairs.
    On the main floor, Simon
was happy to find that Aeris had made him coffee for a change,
dipping into his limited supply. Kronk had joined him and both were
talking quietly. The earthen was adjusting the logs in the fireplace
while Aeris watched.
    “ Thanks