Hammered

like writing a mental picture book. They don’t use human languages; they speak in images connected with a syntax of emotions. My attempts to render the communication in writing invariably fall short of the true experience, but here is what I sent to Sonora: //Druid spells / Books / Need protection / Aid//
    A minute passed by, and then I felt the reply travel up my arm and images formed in my mind: //Sonora comes / Query: Need?//
    I formed a picture in my mind of a pit, eight feet deep, with steps leading down into it that would bear our weight. I kept it firmly in my mind’s eye, and slowly, to my right, the pit began to form. Granuaile gasped. To her it must have looked like I was pulling a Yoda, but Sonora was doing all the work. A barrel cactus disappeared into the earth and got reabsorbed; grasses and roots tore away as the pit widened and deepened. It took only a couple of minutes.
    » Right, now we schlep the boxes down in there. « That took more than a couple of minutes, but once we were finished I had more talking to do with Sonora, as well as with another elemental—an iron one.
    » Now, if I just leave these books in the earth, they won’t do so well. On top of that, someone who’s looking for those books will be able to divine their presence if we don’t shield them somehow. «
    » Who would be looking for them? «
    » Bad guys. So I’m going to have an iron elemental encase them all in iron. «
    » Wicked. Do all the elementals do what you want? «
    » Excellent question, and the answer is no. Some are more helpful than others, but in general they’ve all been more accommodating since I’ve been the only Druid around to take care of them. «
    » Wait. You take care of them ? «
    » Sure. Why else would they give us access to their power? «
    » But I don’t understand why they’d need your help. They’re beings of super-duper mega-big magical mojo. «
    » True. And sometimes they get bound against their will by witches and warlocks seeking to steal their mojo for selfish purposes. When that happens, it’s a Druid’s job to set them free. Happened just a couple months ago, in fact. Three witches bound up the elemental Kaibab, and I was nearby to set it free before they were able to do anything extraordinarily stupid. «
    
    Yep .
    
    » You’re talking about the Kaibab Plateau north of the Grand Canyon? « Granuaile asked, and I nodded confirmation. » What happens if an elemental needs your help in China? «
    » I hear about it through the elemental grapevine, then I shift planes to Tír na nÓg and back to earth near the spot where the trouble is. «
    » What if you don’t get there in time? I mean, what if an elemental dies? «
    » Then you get the Sahara Desert. «
    I watched her lips. She almost said, » Bullshit, « but then she collected herself and said, » The Sahara’s been there for millions of years. «
    » Aye, but it hasn’t always been as dry as it is now. Used to be quite a bit wetter, able to support a broader base of life. Then about five thousand years ago, a wizard bound the Sahara elemental and absorbed it into himself. «
    » How’d he do that? «
    » Not well. He went mad trying to contain it and died. «
    My apprentice frowned. » Wasn’t the elemental released at that point? «
    » Aye, the power was released, but it no longer had a coherent identity as an elemental. It was wild magic, and it was released around the Nile Delta. Shortly thereafter the Egyptian civilization started building pyramids. «
    » Are you saying …? «
    » No, because I don’t appreciate fallacies of causality. Interesting coincidence, though, don’t you think? «
    She nodded. » Did the elementals tell you all of this? «
    » Yes. That was three thousand years before my time. They’ll tell you all sorts of secrets if you’re nice to them. And they respond more quickly once they get to know you. This iron elemental I’m calling has been fed lots of faeries over the years. He likes me quite a bit. Calls himself Ferris. «
    Granuaile looked at me sharply. » Stop it, sensei. «
    » Stop what? «
    She huffed and tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear, then squinted her skepticism at me. » Its name is Ferris? As in the word ferrous ? You can’t expect me to believe an iron elemental is as fond of puns as you are. «
    I smiled. » No, you’re