Dragonlance 10 - The Second Generation (8 page)

"Is that edible yet? I'm starving."

"Yes," said Sara, with a sigh, "it is hot. Sit down." At her sorrowful tone, he looked around, grudgingly remorseful. "You sit down, Mother. You look exhausted."

Respectful, attentive, he led Sara to a chair and held it for her. Sara sank into the chair, then gazed at him with wistful eyes. The young man obviously found her silent pleading disturbing. He turned from her abruptly. Ladling out two bowls of soup, he placed one in front of each of them. Sara stared at hers.

Steel began to eat his with a healthy appetite. Tanis let out a relieved breath and heard Caramon do the same. How long would it take the potion to act?

"You're not eating," Steel observed.

Sara was watching him. Her hands, beneath the table, were curled into fists in her lap. "Steel," she said, in a strange voice, "why have you never asked me about your father?" The young man shrugged. "Perhaps because I doubted that you would be able to give me an answer."

"Your mother told me who he was."

Steel grinned—a crooked grin that brought back such vivid, painful memories, Tanis was forced to shut his eyes.

"Kitiara told you what she thought you wanted to hear, Mother. It's all right. Ariakan has told me all about Kitiara. He told me about my father, as well," Steel added offhandedly.

"He did?" Sara was astonished. The hands in her lap ceased to move.

"Well, not his name." Steel ate more stew. "But everything else about him." Damn, this is a slow—acting potion! Tanis thought.

"Ariakan said my father was a valiant warrior," Steel continued, "a noble man who died courageously, gave his life for the cause he believed in. But Ariakan warned me that I must never try to learn my father's identity. 'It carries with it a curse, that will fall on you, if you come to know the truth.' An odd thing to say, but you know what a romantic Ariakan is…"

The spoon fell from Steel's nerveless fingers. "What the—" Blinking, he put his hand to his forehead. "I feel so strange…"

Suddenly, his eyes focused. He drew in a breath. He tried to stand, but swayed on his feet.

"What… have you done?… Traitor! No, I won't let—"

Lurching forward, he reached out a shaking hand, then fell across the table, sending the bowls flying. He made one last, feeble effort to rise, then collapsed there, unconscious.

"Steel!" Sara bent over him and brushed back the dark, curly hair from the handsome, stern face.

"Oh, my son…"

Tanis hurried from behind the curtain, Caramon on his heels.

"He's out cold and will be for some time by the looks of it. Well, Caramon, what do you think?" Tanis studied the young man's features.

"He's Kit's son, there's no doubt about that."

"Yes, you're right there," Tanis said quietly. "The father?"

"I don't know." Caramon's face wrinkled in intense concentration. "It could be Sturm. When I first set eyes on him, I almost thought it was Sturm. I… I was fairly taken aback! But, then, after that, all I saw was Kit." The big man shook his head. "At least there's no elf blood in him, Tanis." Tanis had never truly suspected as much. And so he was surprised to find himself relieved… and some part of him disappointed.

"No, he is not my son, that much is certain," Tanis said aloud to Caramon. "I didn't think it likely anyway. Ariakan might have taken the boy if he had elven blood—there are dark elves, after all—but I doubt it. Does Ariakan know the truth, do you think?" Tanis looked at Sara questioningly.

"He might. That would be one reason he's never told Steel his father's name, warned him not to ask, added some old wives' tale about the curse."

"Old wives generally know what they're talking about,"

Tanis said. "Curses can take many forms. The young man's going to be in for an unpleasant shock, if nothing else."

"And he's going to be furious when he wakes up," Caramon pointed out. "I doubt if he'll even listen to us, much less believe anything we tell him. This is hopeless, Sara. Your plan won't work—"

"It can. It must! I will not lose him!" She glared at them fiercely. "You saw him. You heard him! He is not totally given over to evil. He might change his mind. Please, help me! Help him! Once we get him away from here, away from this dark influence—once he sees the High Clerist's Tower and remembers…"

"Very well. We'll try," Tanis said. "After all, we've come this far. I'll take one arm—"

"This is my work, Tanis." Caramon shouldered him aside.

Accustomed to carrying barrels of ale on his broad back, Caramon picked the young man up bodily and heaved him effortlessly over a broad shoulder. Steel's head and flaccid arms dangled in front, his long hair practically brushing the ground. Grunting, Caramon settled the young man more securely, then nodded.

"Let's go."

Sara flung a cloak over Steel, grabbed a cloak for herself and her dragon rider helm. Opening the door a crack, she peered out. The rain had ceased for the moment, and the stars shone. The constellation of the Dark Queen, very near, gleamed with ominous brilliance. Storm clouds were massing again on the horizon.

Sara motioned, and they hastened out. They met no one until they neared the stables, then ran almost headlong into a knight in black armor.

He glanced at Steel and smiled coolly. "Another casualty? The young men threw themselves into their training this night. The clerics will earn their keep today." Saluting, the knight went about his business.

The fortress was quiet, most of the men either resting after the night's endeavors or, as the knight had said, recovering from their wounds. Several dragons kept watch, perched atop the tall towers. Guards walked the battlements, probably more for the sake of training and discipline than because they actually feared assault. Ariakan had nothing to fear. Not now. Not yet. Few knew he was here, or what he plotted. But now I know, Tanis realized uneasily. I can carry the warning, except that it may already be too late.

Traitor, Steel called Sara. Is she? Has she really done that much damage to their cause? He thought back to what she'd said that very night. Her main goal was to keep Steel safe. To do that, she had served evil in silence for over ten years. She had broken that silence at last, but only out of desperation, only to save the young man from the final, irrevocable commitment.

They reached the cleared area. Sara put her hand to the brooch she wore on her breast. A blue dragon appeared in the sky, soaring toward them.

. "If you can summon dragons," said Tanis, following up on this thoughts, "you could have escaped this place long ago."

"You are right." Sara hovered near Steel, hanging limply in Caramon's grasp. "But I would have had to go alone. He would have refused to come with me. I couldn't leave him here by himself. My influence is all that has kept him walking in the light."

"But you could have warned someone. The Knights of Solamnia might have been able to stop Ariakan." Tanis gestured at the mighty fortress. "Now, he is too strong."

"What would your knights have done?" Sara demanded. "Come with their dragons? Their lances? And what would that have accomplished? Ariakan and the knights would have fought to the death, all our deaths. No, I couldn't risk it. Back then, I still had hope. Someday, Steel might see how evil they are. He might agree to come with me… But now…" She shook her head bleakly. The blue dragon landed on the ground near them. Flare was agitated at the sight of Steel's seemingly lifeless form, but Sara quieted the dragon with a few softly spoken words of explanation. Flare still appeared dubious, but the blue obviously trusted Sara and was extremely solicitous of Steel. The dragon never took its eyes off the young man, as Caramon secured him in the saddle, then wedged himself in uncomfortably behind.

Sara approached the dragon. Tanis laid his hand over hers, halting her.

"We'll do what you ask, Sara Dunstan, but the final decision will rest with Steel. Unless you plan to lock him up in a cellar and throw away the key," he added dryly.

"This will work," she insisted.

Tanis kept hold of her wrist. "Sara, if it doesn't, you've lost him. He'll never forgive you for this act, for betraying him, betraying the knighthood. You know that, don't you?" She stared at the lifeless form of her son, her face as cold and unlovely as the black lily brooch. Tanis saw, then, the true strength of the woman who had dwelt in this dark prison for so many dark years.

"I know," she said, and pulled herself up onto the dragon.

"What have you done, Mother?" the young paladin demanded furiously. Awakening in the mountains, on a windswept promontory overlooking the High Clerist's Tower, Steel was groggy and disoriented at first, but realization, then anger, soon burned away the potion-induced mists.

"I want to give you a chance to reconsider what you are doing," Sara told him. She did not plead or beg; she was not a pathetic figure. She was calm and dignified and, as the two faced each other, Tanis saw a resemblance that was not born in the blood, but sprang from long years of mutual respect and affection.

Whatever clay the father and mother had brought into this world, it was Sara who had formed and molded it.

Steel swallowed any bitter recriminations or angry words. Instead he turned his dark-eyed gaze on Tanis and Caramon.

"Who are these men?"

"They are friends of your father," Sara replied.

"So that's what this is about," Steel said, favoring both Tanis and Caramon with a cold and haughty stare.

Magnificent in his youth and strength, retaining his pride and his composure when his head must have been swimming and his mind groping about in befuddled confusion, Steel won the grudging admiration of both men.

The blue dragon sniffed the air, shook her head, and snarled. Silver dragons, favored by the Knights of Solamnia, occasionally patrolled the skies above the tower. None could be seen in the skies this early, but the blue obviously scented something she didn't like. Sara calmed Flare and led her into a large opening in the rocks, where the dragon would be at least partially hidden from view—the main reason she had chosen this particular landing site. The three men remained standing on the rock ledge, regarding each other in uncomfortable silence. Steel looked ill, was unsteady on his feet, but he would obviously sooner die than admit to weakness, and so neither Tanis nor Caramon made any offer of assistance or comfort. Caramon nudged Tanis.

"Do you remember the autumn the war started, right after we'd left Solace with Goldmoon and Riverwind? We ran afoul of draconians and Sturm was wounded. Blood covered his face. He could barely stand, let alone walk, and yet he never said a word of complaint, refused to stop…"

"Yes," said Tanis quietly, looking at the young man. "I remember." The memory was very vivid, just now.

Steel—aware that he was under scrutiny, if not discussion—turned proudly away. Tanis eyed the dark paladin's black armor—hideously adorned with symbols of death—and wondered gloomily just how he and the others were supposed to march into the High Clerist's Tower. And, as if this wasn't trouble enough, when Sara emerged from the cave, Tanis knew at a glance that there was more.

"What is it, Sara? What's wrong?"

Caramon cast a nervous glance at the sky. "Not a patrol—"

"Flare claims that we were followed," Sara said in a low voice, not looking at Steel. "That knight… he must have suspected something."

"Great, just great!" Tanis muttered. "How many?"

Sara shook her head. "One blue with a single rider. He's not here now. He returned to the fortress… once he found out where we were bound…"

"But the Knights of Takhisis will come for us," said Steel with a cool and triumphant smile. He turned to Sara. "We can leave now, Mother, before any harm is done. Leave these two old fossils to their moldy memories."

Sighing, he touched her cheek gently. "I know what you're trying to do, Mother, but it won't work. Nothing will make me change my mind. Let us go back home. I'll see to it that Lord Ariakan doesn't blame you. I will tell my lord this mad scheme was my idea. A dare, taken over wine and dice, to spit on the High Clerist's Tower—"

Caramon made a rumbling sound, deep in his chest. "Mind how you talk, boy," he growled.

"Your father's blood is red on those stones. His body lies inside." Steel was obviously taken aback. He regained his composure swiftly, however, and shrugged.

"So my father died in the assault—"

"He died defending the tower," said Tanis, observing the young, man intently, "and the knighthood."

"He is honored among all Ansalon," Caramon added. "His name, like Huma's, is spoken with reverence."

"That name is Sturm. Sturm Brightblade," said Sara softly. "And that is the name you bear, Steel." The young man had gone white. He stared at them all in disbelief that rapidly darkened to suspicion. "I don't believe you."

"To tell you the truth," Tanis said, treading on Caramon's foot to warn him to keep silent, "neither do we. This woman here"—he gestured at Sara—"came to us with some wild tale of a liaison between your mother and a man who was our friend, a liaison of which you were the unwitting product. We refused to believe her, and so we told her to bring you here to prove it."

"Why?" Steel demanded, sneering. "What will this prove?"

"Good question, Tanis," Caramon said under his breath. "What will this prove?" Tanis looked at Sara for the answer.

Take my son inside the tower, her eyes begged him. Let him see the knights. He will remember how he honored them in his childhood. I know he will. My stories will come back to him.

"I wish to Paladine I had your faith, mistress," Tanis said into his beard. He scratched his chin, trying to think up some excuse. This whole scheme was beginning to make less and less sense, becoming more and more dangerous.

Aloud, he said the first thing that came to mind, "There's a jewel that hangs around your father's neck. It was buried with him. The star jewel is magical. It was given to him by an elven queen, Alhana Starbreeze. This jewel will…"

"Will what?" Steel mocked him. "Dissolve when I enter the sacred chamber."