The Dragons of Ash and Smoke (Tales from the New Earth Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

visage, scarred and twisted like a monster. But what
he saw was nothing of the sort. Instead, he saw a young man with his
own wide eyes, but with some things just a bit off. His nose was
smaller and narrower. His lips with thinner, his forehead higher.
There were several thick scars like ropes criss-crossing his face,
across his nose, and one that ran diagonally from above his right
eye, over his lips and down to the left side of his chin, but he
barely noticed them.
    He smiled at the stranger
in the mirror and the reflection smiled back. And that was when he
really saw the difference from his old face. The scarring twisted his
grin into a snarl, a leer of such rage that he gasped and stared at
himself with wide eyes.
    When the smile
disappeared, he was looking at an innocent face again. It was beyond
creepy.
    “ So
what do you think, laddie?” Stanis asked him diffidently. “How
did we do?”
    “ How
did I do, you mean,” the cleric said firmly. “Any errors
are mine, Simon.”
    “ I...I
don't know what to say,” the wizard replied, watching himself
as he spoke. He was relieved to see that his snarl didn't appear as
he was speaking, only when he smiled.
    Well, I'll just have to
smile less, I suppose, he told himself.
    “ It's
different, I have to admit. Um, why do I look so angry when I smile?”
    Opheilla squeezed his arm
gently.
    “ It
is the scarring, I'm afraid. The damage was quite severe. I managed
to save your eyes and regrow your skin, but some things are beyond
even the powers of the gods. Or perhaps they simply chose not to
erase the scars. Forgive me, but this is the best that I could do.”
    Simon hastened to reassure
her.
    “ Please
don't apologize. You've given me back my life.” He moved his
legs under the quilt. “I can walk, talk, see. It is more than I
could have hoped for and you have my eternal gratitude. Really.”
    Stanis, who had been
glowering a bit as the cleric apologized, now smiled widely.
    “ Now
that is the wizard that I remember,” he exclaimed. “Think
of the positives, lad, and get on with it, I say. And who doesn't
like to show off a few battle scars, hmm? Why, I've got this lovely
one that I show off to the ladies on my...”
    “ That
will do, Stanis,” Opheilla interrupted him primly. “We
don't need any of your intimate war stories, thank you.”
    Simon grinned in spite of
himself and the dwarf winked at him over the cleric's shoulder.
Apparently neither of them was bothered in the least by his twisted
smile and that cheered him up a bit.
    “ Now,
do you feel strong enough to walk a short distance today?” the
cleric asked him. “I know that you just woke up, but we've been
turning you to avoid bedsores for a long time now, and it would do
you a world of good to get up and stretch your muscles.”
    “ Absolutely,”
Simon said gamely. “I'd actually like to look around. I've
never toured a dwarven city before.”
    Stanis laughed and crossed
the room to a pair of stone doors that were built into the wall. He
opened them and Simon could see many colorful clothes hanging in
there. The dwarf stood looking at them and stroking his beard.
    “ What's
your favorite color, lad?” he asked over his shoulder.
    “ Um,
blue?”
    “ Ah.
In that case, I have just the robe for you.”
    Stanis reached into the
closet and pulled out a long robe the color of an early morning sky.
He carried it back and laid in at the end of the bed.
    “ We've
had some light shoes made to your size along with the clothing,”
Opheilla told him and looked at Stanis.
    He grumbled a bit but
returned to the closet and fished out a pair of leather shoes.
    In the meantime, Simon
carefully pulled back the quilt and twisted around until he sat on
the edge of the bed. The cleric stood up and moved back to give him
some room.
    “ Don't
rush it, young wizard,” she cautioned. “If you feel any
dizziness when you stand up, take a moment and let it pass.”
    “ Yes
ma'am,” Simon said with a grin and