Free The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) by J.J. Thompson

give up just yet. Your people still survive and, as long as
they do, you have to fight for them. Will you do that?”
    Simon
stared at her, surprised at the question.
    “ With
my last breath and my last strength, Opheilla. I just don't know if
it will be enough.”
    “ We
can only do what we can do, young wizard. All else is out of our
hands. Look now, the council chamber is up ahead.”
    Simon
followed her gaze.
    The
walls in this corridor were covered with bright white marble veined
with gold. Torches hung in brackets every ten feet or so and made the
marble glow warmly. Ahead, the tunnel ended at a set of massive metal
doors. They shone like brass and stretched up a dozen yards.
    Do
the dwarves ever do anything on a small scale, he asked himself with
some humor. A lesser man might have thought that they were trying to
compensate for their smaller stature.
    A
guard stood on either side of the doors, huge glowing hammers rested
on the ground in front of them, head-first. They wore the usual armor
and were probably the strongest looking dwarves that Simon had seen
yet.
    “ They
look a bit...menacing,” he whispered to Opheilla as they walked
toward them.
    “ The
royal guard,” she replied quietly. “The king must be
back. The guard is never far from his side and are responsible for
his security. They are fanatically loyal and are chosen from our
greatest warriors.” She winked at him. “Don't bother
joking with them; I don't think any of them have a sense of humor.”
    “ No
problem,” Simon said nervously.
    The
guard on the left was a woman and her expression was as grim and
alert as her companion's. When the wizard and cleric had approached
to within a dozen feet of the doors, both warriors fixed them with
forbidding looks.
    The
guards lifted their hammers and moved together to block the doors.
    “ Hold,”
the female said, her voice devoid of emotion. “And state your
business.”
    “ I
am Opheilla,” the cleric said calmly, meeting the cold glares
from the guards. “A member of the priesthood of Daemor. The
council has requested a meeting with my patient, Simon O'Toole. May
we pass?”
    Neither
warrior answered for a long moment. They looked Simon up and down
slowly and he shivered and stared at the enchanted hammers, thinking
how easily they could crush him into a smear on the floor. He gripped
his staff tightly, hoping that it wasn't shaking as badly as his
knees were.
    “ He
is a wizard, is he not?” the male asked, his deep voice filled
with disdain.
    “ Yes,
if that matters. He is first and foremost a guest of honor of our
people,” Opheilla replied, her voice now as cold as the guards'
eyes. “Will you shame us all by keeping a guest waiting like a
dog outside of the council chambers doors?”
    The
guards turned their hostile looks on her and she met them with her
own. The air chilled and, as Simon watched, he thought that the
cleric had never looked so regal and proud.
    Finally
the tension broke and both warriors stepped back, grounding their
weapons again.
    “ Apologies,
lady cleric,” the female said respectfully. “The council
waits within. You and your guest are welcome to enter.”
    “ Thank
you,” Opheilla said, still sounding a little miffed by the
holdup.
    The
doors began to open inward by themselves, the metal ringing musically
as they moved.
    “ Follow
closely, my friend,” the cleric said under her breath and
strode forward.
    Simon
quickly moved to keep up, his knees weak after the confrontation with
the guards. He was thankful for his staff as he leaned on it for
support.
    The
council chamber was, like all dwarven structures, huge and ornate. It
was round and about a hundred feet across and almost as high. On the
distant ceiling, a brightly glowing gem, like a miniature copy of
Daemor's Heart, lit the room with yellowish light. Tiers of benches
circled the room, but were empty of spectators. The floor was made of
marble like the hallway behind them, except that it was black