The Dragons of Decay by J.J. Thompson Read Free Book Online Page A

clothing from stores,”
Aeris said as he nodded at what was left of the clothes cabinet.
    “ True
enough,” Simon agreed, feeling tired and depressed. “New
boots and gloves and all of that. Luckily I have spares. Ah well, I
needed to freshen up my wardrobe anyway,” he added, trying to
sound more cheerful.
    “ That
is the right attitude, my dear wizard,” the air elemental said
approvingly. “All of this can be fixed. You are safe and the
tower is secure once more. Considering that hordes of wights wiped
out countless towns and villages back in the old days, I'd say you
got off lightly.”
    Simon
held on to that thought. Aeris was right, of course. He'd been caught
flat-footed and off-guard and had managed to survive basically
intact. It was a lesson for him to never get too complacent.
    Suddenly
he looked at the elemental with dawning horror.
    “ What
is it?” Aeris asked as he saw Simon's expression. “What's
wrong?”
    “ You
said that the wights used to wipe out towns and villages,” the
wizard said in a strangled voice.
    The
two of them locked eyes.
    “ Nottinghill!”
they said at the same time.
    Simon
turned and raced up the slippery, icy stairs with Aeris zipping along
behind him.
    He
ran into his study, lit all of the candles in the darkened room with
a thought and canceled his Diamond Skin spell. He slipped off his
staff and leaned it against the desk. Then he snatched up the hand
mirror and rattled off the Magic Mirror spell.
    “ Clara!”
he said loudly into the mirror, Aeris floating next to him. “Clara,
can you hear me?”
    “ Simon?
Hello again. You were right about the storm. Luckily we got everyone
indoors before it hit.”
    The
wizard sagged with relief. The cleric sounded normal and calm. He'd
been terrified that somehow the wights had gotten into the town.
    She
appeared in the mirror's surface, standing at a window in her
quarters and gazing out at the violent storm just beyond the glass.
    “ Clara,
listen. I need to warn you about something.”
    “ Warn
us? About something other than this blasted storm?”
    “ Exactly.
Let me tell you what just happened.”
    Simon proceeded to explain about the
attack on the tower. Clara gasped once or twice but didn't interrupt
his story. As he spoke, the cleric moved through her rooms and picked
up her own mirror so that she could look back at the wizard. Then she
went into her living room and sat down on her sofa.
    “ So you're saying that this was
a common occurrence back in the old days of magic?” she asked
when he was finished speaking.
    Simon glanced at Aeris, who moved
into view and nodded at her.
    “ Yes, lady, it was. Well,
perhaps common is not the proper term. But most settlements knew that
when particularly violent winter weather was approaching, that wights
or other undead might be following in its wake.”
    “ Wow. The things we don't know
about this New Earth of ours could fill a library,” Clara
muttered. “But you're okay, Simon?”
    “ I'm fine, thanks. I'm more
worried about you and the town. If I may make a suggestion, tell
Malcolm and Aiden to man the walls near the gates and keep an eye out
for anything peculiar.”
    “ You mean like hordes of
undead?” she asked dryly.
    The wizard grinned.
    “ Yeah, something like that.
Your walls are warded and, as long as the gates remain closed, you
should be fine. But as I just saw a little while ago, one mistake can
make all of our protections worthless.”
    “ Yes, I can see that.”
    The cleric looked across the room at
the blustery weather through her window and shivered.
    “ I hate the cold,” she
said. “Strange. I used to love winter. Skiing, Christmas, Jack
Frost nipping at your nose and all that stuff. Now though, I just
find it all so depressing.”
    “ I'm with you there,”
Simon said.
    “ But I'll get wrapped up and
hunt down our two friends. They'll organize the guards and we'll be
extra vigilant while this blizzard lasts.”
    Her lips twitched in an