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

don't trust her,
Kronk. This whole thing feels wrong somehow. You know how a wizard's
magic works. There's no need for blood or eggs or any other
disgusting materials. This feels more like witchcraft.”
    Kronk frowned at the
flames and then nodded slowly.
    “ I know. We share
the same reservations. I have carefully mentioned my concerns to our
master.”
    “ And?”
    “ And I believe that
he is so eager to end his bond with the silver dragon that he is
ignoring any foreboding. He simply wants to be rid of her and will do
anything to accomplish that goal.”
    “ Damn. Well, I don't
like it anyway. Should I tell him?”
    Kronk looked at Aeris
again and their eyes locked.
    “ Why bother? It
won't matter,” the earthen said heavily. “He will not
listen.”
    “ Damn,” Aeris
muttered again.

    Simon woke up the next
morning in better spirits than usual. He was optimistic that his
merging with Esmiralla would soon be over and then each of them could
both go their own way. He had come to the chilling conclusion that if
he had to share his mind with the silver dragon for much longer, he
might actually go insane. And that thought was terrifying.
    'You are finally awake,'
the dragon's voice echoed through his head.
    “ Obviously,”
he replied shortly as he rolled out of bed. He preferred to speak
aloud when communicating to Esmiralla. It seemed less crazy for some
reason.
    'Good. Now that we have
the three ingredients we need, the ceremony can soon begin.'
    Simon poked through his
wardrobe, discovered an old pair of jeans and a belt to hold them up.
They were ridiculously big on him but he had no interest in wearing
any of his robes.
    He found another old
t-shirt, this one black with a faded yellow smiley-face on it, and
slipped it over his narrow shoulders. It fit like a tent.
    “ So what's the
holdup?” he asked as he got dressed. “I thought that we
only needed the two types of blood and the egg and then we could get
on with it.”
    'That is all that is
needed for the ceremony, yes,' the silver dragon answered. 'Now we
need the proper setting.'
    “ Meaning?”
    Simon left his room and
pattered down the stairs in his bare feet.
    'Meaning that the ceremony
must be performed at night, under a full moon.'
    The wizard walked across
the main floor to the sink and filled his kettle. Apparently both of
the elementals were out.
    “ A full moon?
Seriously?” he asked derisively as he hung the kettle in the
fireplace and added a log to the low-burning embers. “Should I
sacrifice a virgin too? Yeah, good luck finding one of those around
these parts.”
    'Your tone is not
appreciated, wizard.'
    The dragon sounded
irritated but Simon was past caring.
    'The rite is the rite,'
she continued. 'This is one of the parameters that must be met if we
want it to succeed. And we both want that, do we not?'
    “ Got that right,”
Simon said harshly. “So how long until the next full moon? I
don't keep track of it for some reason.”
    Esmiralla ignored his
sarcastic comment.
    'Do not fret. Three days
are all that you will have to endure. Three days and we are free of
each other and can go our separate ways. Patience, wizard. Patience.'
    Her presence faded and
Simon let out a long breath.
    Three days. Yeah, I can
wait three days, he thought. At least now I have a time frame. That's
a relief.
    He made his morning cup of
tea and walked outside. The stone steps out front were a bit cool on
his feet but not too bad and Simon sat down and listened to the birds
singing and the gentle sound of the breeze wafting past his tower. It
was going to be a lovely day.
    “ Good morning, all
powerful one,” a voice said from his left.
    The wizard turned his head
and watched Aeris fly slowly around the corner of the building. The
elemental looked quite happy.
    “ Morning,”
Simon replied. “How's it going?”
    “ Very well.”
    The small semi-transparent
figure moved to hover next to the wizard's shoulder and bobbed on the
mild wind.
    “ I'm