The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) by J.J. Thompson
Authors: J.J. Thompson
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never very bright and always a bit chilly. Now that he was
out, he realized how much he'd missed the open air.
Now, I wonder what the tower looks like inside, he
thought with a twinge of concern as he walked up the front steps.
The door wasn't locked and opened smoothly with a simple
push. He waited a moment, took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Chapter
7
“ How
can it be dusty? I dusted it just the other day.”
“ No,
you did not. That was two weeks ago.”
“ Was
it? How quickly the time flies when you're being made to do drudge
work.”
Simon stood just inside
the open door and listened to the argument filtering down from
upstairs. He was laughing as quietly as he could. Apparently Aeris
wasn't thrilled at being stuck doing housework.
“ It
isn't drudgery,” Kronk said loudly. He sounded distinctly
irritable, very unlike his usual placid self.
Simon wondered just how
many of these arguments they'd engaged in over the past six or seven
months.
“ It
is necessary. When master comes home, he must feel a sense of order.
He will want things to be precisely the way they were when he left.”
Simon quietly leaned his
staff against the wall next to the door and tiptoed over to the
clothes cabinet. He took off his shoes and left them inside.
“ Kronk,
we don't know when our wizard will return, if ever. You do realize
that people in long-term comas rarely recover, don't you? And if they
do, they are often very much diminished, mentally.”
There was a long pause.
“ Hey!
Why did you throw that?”
“ Never
say that!” Kronk bellowed. “Master will heal. Master will
be fine. He will come home to us and be exactly the same as he was
when he,” another pause, “when he was taken from us. Do
you hear me?”
Simon stood still and felt
a lump form in his throat. The little guy's loyalty was
heart-warming.
“ All
right. All right. Honestly, you need to stay calm. I'm not saying he
won't be back. I'm just looking at all of the possible outcomes of
his condition, that's all.”
“ No,
you are being negative. Again. And that is not useful. Now get that
dusting done. I must finish folding these clothes and then let the
horses out for a run. The filly gets restless when she is locked
inside for too long.”
Simon walked across the
room in his bare feet and found the kettle in one of the lower
kitchen cupboards. He pumped some water into it, trying to be as
quiet as possible, and then set it over the pile of logs in the
fireplace. He concentrated on the wood and felt his power flow easily
through him and ignite the dry tinder.
So the filly must be doing
well, he thought happily. He'd worried about Sunshine's foal many
times since he'd woken up. He knew that Kronk was very fond of the
horses, but bad things did happen on occasion, no matter how much you
cared for something.
The water began to boil
and he found his box of dried chamomile tea leaves and a pot of honey
that looked almost fresh. Kronk had been taking care of everything,
it seemed, even making sure his supplies were changed when they went
bad.
He made his tea, sat down
at the kitchen table and sighed. He was home. Now to inform the odd
couple upstairs. He took a deep breath.
“ Hey
guys?” he yelled gleefully. “Aren't you going to come
down and welcome me back?”
There was a long moment of
silence.
“ Who
is that?” Aeris called down, sounding confused.
“ Oh
come on, Aeris. Surely my voice hasn't changed that much, has it?”
“ Master?”
Kronk said so faintly that Simon could barely hear him. It was
quickly followed by a bellow. “Master!”
The little earthen raced
down the stairs so quickly that he tripped and bounced down the last
few steps. He quickly leaped up and ran across the room so fast that
his short legs were just a blur.
He jumped up on to the
kitchen table, skidded to a halt and just stared.
Aeris flew down the stairs
a little more slowly and floated over to the table, his eyes wide
and, for a change, with
out, he realized how much he'd missed the open air.
Now, I wonder what the tower looks like inside, he
thought with a twinge of concern as he walked up the front steps.
The door wasn't locked and opened smoothly with a simple
push. He waited a moment, took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Chapter
7
“ How
can it be dusty? I dusted it just the other day.”
“ No,
you did not. That was two weeks ago.”
“ Was
it? How quickly the time flies when you're being made to do drudge
work.”
Simon stood just inside
the open door and listened to the argument filtering down from
upstairs. He was laughing as quietly as he could. Apparently Aeris
wasn't thrilled at being stuck doing housework.
“ It
isn't drudgery,” Kronk said loudly. He sounded distinctly
irritable, very unlike his usual placid self.
Simon wondered just how
many of these arguments they'd engaged in over the past six or seven
months.
“ It
is necessary. When master comes home, he must feel a sense of order.
He will want things to be precisely the way they were when he left.”
Simon quietly leaned his
staff against the wall next to the door and tiptoed over to the
clothes cabinet. He took off his shoes and left them inside.
“ Kronk,
we don't know when our wizard will return, if ever. You do realize
that people in long-term comas rarely recover, don't you? And if they
do, they are often very much diminished, mentally.”
There was a long pause.
“ Hey!
Why did you throw that?”
“ Never
say that!” Kronk bellowed. “Master will heal. Master will
be fine. He will come home to us and be exactly the same as he was
when he,” another pause, “when he was taken from us. Do
you hear me?”
Simon stood still and felt
a lump form in his throat. The little guy's loyalty was
heart-warming.
“ All
right. All right. Honestly, you need to stay calm. I'm not saying he
won't be back. I'm just looking at all of the possible outcomes of
his condition, that's all.”
“ No,
you are being negative. Again. And that is not useful. Now get that
dusting done. I must finish folding these clothes and then let the
horses out for a run. The filly gets restless when she is locked
inside for too long.”
Simon walked across the
room in his bare feet and found the kettle in one of the lower
kitchen cupboards. He pumped some water into it, trying to be as
quiet as possible, and then set it over the pile of logs in the
fireplace. He concentrated on the wood and felt his power flow easily
through him and ignite the dry tinder.
So the filly must be doing
well, he thought happily. He'd worried about Sunshine's foal many
times since he'd woken up. He knew that Kronk was very fond of the
horses, but bad things did happen on occasion, no matter how much you
cared for something.
The water began to boil
and he found his box of dried chamomile tea leaves and a pot of honey
that looked almost fresh. Kronk had been taking care of everything,
it seemed, even making sure his supplies were changed when they went
bad.
He made his tea, sat down
at the kitchen table and sighed. He was home. Now to inform the odd
couple upstairs. He took a deep breath.
“ Hey
guys?” he yelled gleefully. “Aren't you going to come
down and welcome me back?”
There was a long moment of
silence.
“ Who
is that?” Aeris called down, sounding confused.
“ Oh
come on, Aeris. Surely my voice hasn't changed that much, has it?”
“ Master?”
Kronk said so faintly that Simon could barely hear him. It was
quickly followed by a bellow. “Master!”
The little earthen raced
down the stairs so quickly that he tripped and bounced down the last
few steps. He quickly leaped up and ran across the room so fast that
his short legs were just a blur.
He jumped up on to the
kitchen table, skidded to a halt and just stared.
Aeris flew down the stairs
a little more slowly and floated over to the table, his eyes wide
and, for a change, with
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