CHAPTER 9

This was truly stu pid, my brother," said Raistlin, turning the dagger over in his slender hands, studying it idly. "I find it hard to believe, even of you."

Kneeling on the floor by the bedside, Caramon looked up at his twin. His face was haggard, drawn and deathly pale. He opened his mouth.

" 'I don't understand, Raist,' " Raistlin whined, mocking him.

Caramon clamped his lips shut, his face hardened into a dark, bitter mask. His eyes glanced at the dagger his brother still held. "Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't drawn aside the hood," he muttered.

Raistlin smiled, though his brother did not see him.

"You had no choice," he replied. Then he sighed and shook his head. "My brother, did you honestly think to simply walk into my room and murder me as I slept? You know what a light sleeper I am, have always been."

"No, not you!" Caramon cried brokenly, lifting his gaze. "I thought—” He could not go on.

Raistlin stared at him, puzzled for a moment, then suddenly began to laugh. It was horrible laughter, ugly and taunting, and Tasslehoff—still standing at the end of the hall—clasped his hands over his ears at the sound, even as he began creeping down the corridor toward it to see what was going on.

"You were going to murder Fistandantilus!" Raistlin said, regarding his brother with amusement. He laughed again at the thought. "Dear brother," he said, "I had forgotten how entertaining you could be."

Caramon flushed, and rose unsteadily to his feet.

"I was going to do it . . . for you," he said. Walking over to the window, he pulled aside the curtain and stared moodily out into the courtyard of the Temple that shimmered with pearl and silver in Solinari's light.

"Of course you were," Raistlin snapped, a trace of the old bitterness creeping into his voice. "Why did you ever do anything, except for me?"

Speaking a sharp word of command, Raistlin caused a bright light to fill the room, gleaming from the Staff of Magius that leaned against the wall in a corner. The mage threw back the coverlet and rose from his bed. Walking over to the grate, he spoke another word and flames leaped up from the bare stone. Their orange light beat upon his pale, thin face and was reflected in the clear, brown eyes.

"Well, you are late, my brother," Raistlin continued, holding his hands out to warm them at the blaze, flexing and exercising his supple fingers. "Fistandantilus is dead. By my hands."

Caramon turned around sharply to stare at his brother, caught by the odd tone in Raistlin's voice. But his brother remained standing by the fire, staring into the flames.

"You thought to walk in and stab him as he slept," Raistlin murmured, a grim smile on his thin lips. "The greatest mage who ever lived—up until now."

Caramon saw his brother lean against the mantlepiece, as if suddenly weak.

"He was surprised to see me," said Raistlin softly. "And he mocked me, as he mocked me in the Tower. But he was afraid. I could see it in his eyes.

" 'So, little mage,' Fistandantilus sneered, 'and how did you get here? Did the great Par-Salian send you?'

" 'I came on my own,' I told him. 'I am the Master of the Tower now.'

"He had not expected that. ’Impossible,' he said, laughing. 'I am the one whose coming the prophecy foretold. I am master of past and present. When I am ready, I will return to my property.'

"But the fear grew in his eyes, even as he spoke, for he read my thoughts. 'Yes,' I answered his unspoken words, 'the prophecy did not work as you hoped. You intended to journey from the past to the present, using the lifeforce you wrenched from me to keep you alive. But you forgot, or perhaps you didn't care, that I could draw upon your spiritual force! You had to keep me alive in order to keep sucking out my living juices. And—to that end—you gave me the words and taught me to use the dragon orb. When I lay dying at Astinus's feet, you breathed air into this wretched body you had tortured. You brought me to the Dark Queen and beseeched her to give me the Key to unlock the mysteries of the ancient magic texts I could not read. And, when you were finally ready, you intended to enter the shattered husk of my body and claim it for your own.' "

Raistlin turned to face his brother, and Caramon stepped back a pace, frightened at the hatred and fury he saw burning within the eyes, brighter than the dancing flames of the fire.

"So he thought to keep me weak and frail. But I fought him! I fought him!" Raistlin repeated softly, intently, his gaze staring far away. "I used him! I used his spirit and I lived with the pain and I overcame it! 'You are master of the past,' I told him, 'but you lack the strength to get into the present. I am master of the present, about to become master of the past!' "

Raislin sighed, his hand dropped, the light flickered in his eyes and died, leaving them dark and haunted. "I killed him," he murmured, "but it was a bitter battle."

"You killed him? They-they said you came back to learn from him," Caramon stammered, confusion twisting his face.

"I did," Raistlin said softly. "Long months I spent with him, in another guise, revealing myself to him only when I was ready. This time, I sucked him dry!"

Caramon shook his head. "That's impossible. You didn't leave until the same time we did, that night . . .. At least that's what the dark elf said—”

Raistlin shook his head irritably. "Time to you, my brother, is a journey from sunrise to sunset. Time to those of us who have mastered its secrets is a journey beyond suns. Seconds become years, hours—millennia. I have walked these halls as Fistandantilus for months now. These last few weeks I have traveled to all the Towers of High Sorcery—those still standing, that is—to study and to learn. I have been with Lorac, in the elven kingdom, and taught him to use the dragon orb—a deadly gift, for one as weak and vain as he. It will snare him, later on. I have spent long hours with Astinus in the Great Library. And, before that, I studied with the great Fistandantilus. Other places I have visited, seeing horrors and wonders beyond your imagining. But, to Dalamar, for example, I have been gone no more than a day and a night. As have you."

This was beyond Caramon. Desperately, he sought to grab at some fraction of reality.

"Then . . . does this mean that you're . . . all right, now? I mean, in the present? In our time?" He gestured. "Your skin isn't gold anymore, you've lost the hourglass eyes. You look . . . like you did when you were young, and we rode to the Tower, seven years ago. Will you be like that when we go back?"

"No, my brother," Raistlin said, speaking with the patience one uses explaining things to a child."Surely Par-Salian explained this? Well, perhaps not. Time is a river. I have not changed the course of its flow. I have simply climbed out and jumped in at a point farther upstream. It carries me along its course. I—”

Raistlin stopped suddenly, casting a sharp glance at the door. Then, with a swift motion of his hand, he caused the door to burst open and Tasslehoff Burrfoot tumbled inside, falling down face first.

"Oh, hullo," Tas said, cheerfully picking himself up off the floor. "I was just going to knock." Dusting himself off, he turned eagerly to Caramon. "I have it figured out! You see—it used to be Fistandantilus becoming Raistlin becoming Fistandantilus.Only now it’s Fistandantilus becoming Raistlin becoming Fistandantilus, then becoming Raistlin again. See?"

No, Caramon did not. Tas turned around to the mage. "Isn't that right, Raist—”

The mage didn't answer. He was staring at Tasslehoff with such a queer, dangerous expression in his eyes that the kender glanced uneasily at Caramon and took a step or two nearer the warrior—just in case Caramon needed help, of course.

Suddenly Raistlin's hand made a swift, slight, summoning motion. Tasslehoff felt no sensation of movement, but there was a blurring in the room for half a heartbeat, and then he was being held by his collar within inches of Raistlin's thin face.

"Why did Par-Salian send you?" Raistlin asked in a soft voice that "shivered" the kender's skin, as Flint used to say.

"Well, he thought Caramon needed help, of course and—” Raistlin's grip tightened, his eyes narrowed. Tas faltered. "Uh, actually, I don't think he, uh, really intended to s-send me." Tas tried to twist his head around to look beseechingly at Caramon, but Raistlin's grip was strong and powerful, nearly choking the kender. "It-it was, more or less, an accident, I guess, at least as far as he was c-concerned. And I could t-talk better if you'd let me breathe . . . every once in awhile."

"Go on!" Raistlin ordered, shaking Tas slightly.

"Raist, stop—” Caramon began, taking a step toward him, his brow furrowed.

"Shut up!" Raistlin commanded furiously, never taking his burning eyes off the kender. "Continue."

"There-there was a ring someone had dropped . . . well, maybe not dropped—” Tas stammered, alarmed enough by the expression in Raistlin's eyes into telling the truth, or as near as was kenderly possible. "I-I guess I was sort of going into someone else's room, and it f-fell in-into my pouch, I suppose, because I don't know how it got there, but when th-the redrobed man sent Bupu home, I knew I was next. And I couldn't leave Caramon! So I-I said a prayer to F-Fizban—I mean Paladine—and I put the ring on and—poof!"—Tas held up his hands—"I was a mouse!"

The kender paused at this dramatic moment, hoping for an appropriately amazed response from his audience. But Raistlin's eyes only dilated with impatience and his hand twisted the kender's collar just a bit more, so Tas hurried on, finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"And so I was able to hide," he squeaked, not unlike the mouse he had been, "and sneaked into Par-Salian's labralabora-lavaratory—and he was doing the most wonderful things and the rocks were singing and Crysania was lying there all pale and Caramon looked terrified and I couldn't let him go alone—so . . . so . . ." Tas shrugged and looked at Raistlin with disarming innocence, "here I am . . .."

Raistlin continued clutching him for a moment, devouring him with his eyes, as if he would 'strip the skin from his bones and see inside his very soul. Then, apparently satisfied, the mage let the kender drop to the floor and turned back to stare into the fire, his thoughts abstracted.

"What does this mean?" he murmured. "A kender—by all the laws of magic forbidden! Does this mean the course of time can be altered? Is he telling the truth? Or is this how they plot to stop me?"

"What did you say?" Tas asked with interest, looking up from where he sat on the carpet, trying to catch his breath. "The course of time altered? By me? Do you mean that I could—”

Raistlin whirled, glaring at the kender so viciously that Tas shut his mouth and began edging his way back to where Caramon stood.

"I was sure surprised to find your brother. Weren't you?" Tas asked Caramon, ignoring the spasm of pain that crossed Caramon's face. "Raistlin was surprised to see me, too, wasn't he? That's odd, because I saw him in the slave market and I assumed he must have seen us—”

"Slave market!" Caramon said suddenly. Enough of this talk about rivers and time. This was something he could understand! "Raist—you said you've been here months! That means you are the one who made them think I attacked Crysania! You're the one who bought me! You're the one who sent me to the Games!"

Raistlin made an impatient gesture, irritated at having his thoughts interrupted.

But Caramon persisted. "Why!" he demanded angrily. "Why that place?"

"Oh, in the name of the gods, Caramon!" Raistlin turned around again, his eyes cold. "What possible use could you be to me in the condition you were in when you came here? I need a strong warrior where we're going next—not a fat drunk."

"And . . . and you ordered the Barbarian's death?" Caramon asked, his eyes flashing. "You sent the warning to what's-hisname—Quarath?"

"Don't be a dolt, my brother," Raistlin said grimly. "What do I care for these petty court intrigues? Their little, mindless games? If I wanted to do away with an enemy, his life would be snuffed out in a matter of seconds. Quarath flatters himself to think I would take such an interest in him."

"But the dwarf said—”

"The dwarf hears only the sound of money being dropped into his palm. But, believe what you will." Raistlin shrugged. "It matters little to me."

Caramon was silent long moments, pondering. Tas opened his mouth—there were at least a hundred questions he was dying to ask Raistlin—but Caramon glared at him and the kender closed it quickly. Caramon, slowly going over in his mind all that his brother had told him, suddenly raised his gaze.

"What do you mean—'where we go next'?"

"My counsel is mine to keep," Raistlin replied. "You will know when the time comes, so to speak. My work here progresses, but it is not quite finished. There is one other here besides you who must be beaten down and hammered into shape."

"Crysania," Caramon murmured. "This has something to do with challenging the-the Dark Queen, doesn't it? Like they said? You need a cleric—”

"I am very tired, my brother," Raistlin interrupted. At his gesture, the flames in the fireplace vanished. At a word, the light from the Staff winked out. Darkness, chill and bleak, descended on the three who stood there. Even Solinari's light was gone, the moon having sunk behind the buildings. Raistlin crossed the room, heading for his bed. His black robes rustled softly. "Leave me to my rest. You should not remain here long in any event. Undoubtedly, spies have reported your presence, and Quarath can be a deadly enemy. Try to avoid getting yourself killed. It would annoy me greatly to have to train another bodyguard. Farewell, my brother. Be ready. My summons will come soon. Remember the date."

Caramon opened his mouth, but he found himself talking to a door. He and Tas were standing outside in the now-dark corridor.

"That's really incredible!" the kender said, sighing in delight. "I didn't even feel myself moving, did you? One minute we were there, the next we're here. Just a wave of the hand. It must be wonderful being a mage," Tas said wistfully, staring at the closed door. "Zooming through time and space and closed doors."

"Come on," Caramon said abruptly, turning and stalking down the corridor.

"Say, Caramon," Tas said softly, hurrying after him. "What did Raistlin mean—'remember the date'? Is it his Day of Life Gift coming up or something? Are you supposed to get him a present?"

"No," Caramon growled. "Don't be silly."

"I'm not being silly," Tas protested, offended. "After all, Yuletide is in a few weeks, and he's probably expecting a present for that. At least, I suppose they celebrate Yuletide back here in Istar the same as we celebrate it in our time. Do you think—”

Caramon came to a sudden halt.

"What is it'!" Tas asked, alarmed at the horrified expression on the big man's face. Hurriedly, the kender glanced around, his hand closing over the hilt of a small knife he had tucked into his own belt. "What do you see? I don't—”

"The date!" Caramon cried. "The date, Tas! Yuletide! In Istar!" Whirling around, he grabbed the startled kender. "What year is it? What year?"

"Why . . ." Tas gulped, trying to think. "I believe, yes, someone told me it was—962."

Caramon groaned, his hands dropped Tas and clutched at his head.

"What is it?" Tas asked.

"Think, Tas, think!" Caramon muttered. Then, clutching at his head in misery, the big man stumbled blindly down the corridor in the darkness. "What do they want me to do? What can I do?"

Tas followed more slowly. "Let's see. This is Yuletide, year 962 I.A. Such a ridiculously high number. For some reason it sounds familiar. Yuletide, 962 . . .. Oh, I remember!" he said triumphantly. "That was the last Yuletide right before .. right before . . ."

The thought took the kender's breath away.

"Right before the Cataclysm!" he whispered.