Маргарет Уэйс - Dragons of Spring Dawning

“I’m going after it—” the dwarf muttered, though his hands shook so he could barely lift his helm from the dirt.

“N-no,” stammered Tasslehoff, his face strained and white as he stared after the knight. “Whatever that thing was, we can’t fight it. I-I was scared, Flint!” The kender shook his head in misery. “I-I’m sorry, but I can’t face that—that thing again! We’ve got to go back to Kalaman. Maybe we can get help—”

Tas started off into the woods at a run. For a moment Flint stood angry and irresolute, staring after Laurana. Then his face crumpled in agony. “He’s right,” he mumbled. “I can’t go after that thing either. Whatever it was, it wasn’t of this world.”

Turning away, Flint caught a glimpse of Bakaris, lying beneath Laurana’s cloak. Swift pain cramped the dwarf’s heart. Ignoring it, Flint said to himself with sudden certainty, “He was lying about Tanis. And so was Kitiara. He’s not with her, I know it!” The dwarf clenched his fist. “I don’t know where Tanis is, but someday I’ll have to face him and I’ll have to tell him... I let him down. He trusted me to keep her safe, and I failed!” The dwarf closed his eyes. Then he heard Tas shout. Sighing, he stumbled blindly after the kender, rubbing his left arm as he ran. “How will I ever tell him?” he moaned. “How?”

“All right,” said Tanis, glaring at the man who sat so calmly in front of him. “I want answers. You deliberately took us into the maelstrom! Why? Did you know this place was here? Where are we? Where are the others?”

Berem sat before Tanis in a wooden chair. It was ornately carved with figures of birds and animals in a style popular among the elves. In fact, it reminded Tanis strongly of Lorac’s throne in the doomed elven kingdom of Silvanesti. The likeness did nothing to calm Tanis’s spirits, and Berem flinched under the half-elf’s angry stare. The hands that were too young for the middle-aged man’s body plucked at his shabby trousers. He shifted his gaze to glance nervously around their strange surroundings.

“Damn it! Answer me!” Tanis raved. Flinging himself at Berem, he gripped the man’s shirt and yanked him up from his chair. Then his clenching hands moved to the man’s throat.

“Tanis!” Swiftly Goldmoon rose and laid a restraining hand on Tanis’s arm. But the half-elf was beyond reason. His face was so twisted with fear and anger that she didn’t recognize him. Frantically she tore at the hands that gripped Berem. “Riverwind, make him stop!”

The big Plainsman grasped Tanis by the wrists and wrenched him away from Berem, holding the half-elf in his strong arms.

“Leave him alone, Tanis!”

For a moment, Tanis struggled, then went limp, drawing a deep, shuddering breath.

“He’s a mute,” Riverwind said sternly. “Even if he wanted to tell you, he couldn’t. He can’t talk—”

“Yes, I can.”

The three stopped, startled, staring at Berem.

“I can talk,” he said calmly, speaking Common. Absently he rubbed his throat where the marks of Tanis’s fingers stood out red against his tan skin.

“Then why pretend you can’t?” Tanis asked, breathing heavily.

Berem rubbed his neck, his eyes on Tanis. “People don’t ask questions of a man who can’t talk...”

Tanis forced himself to calm down, to think about this a moment. Glancing at Riverwind and Goldmoon, he saw Riverwind scowl and shake his head. Goldmoon shrugged slightly. Finally Tanis dragged another wooden chair over to sit in front of Berem. Noticing that the back of the chair was split and cracked, he sat down carefully. “Berem,” Tanis spoke slowly, curbing his impatience, “you’re talking to us. Does that mean you’ll answer our questions?”

Berem stared at Tanis, then nodded his head, once.

“Why?” Tanis asked.

Berem licked his lips, glancing around. “I—You must help me—get out of here—I—I can’t stay here—”

Tanis felt chilled, despite the warm stuffiness of the room. “Are you in danger? Are we in danger? What is this place?”

“I don’t know!” Berem looked around helplessly. “I don’t know where we are. I only know I cannot stay here. I must get back!”

“Why? The Dragon Highlords are hunting for you. One of th-the Highlords—” Tanis coughed, then spoke huskily. “One of them told me that you were the key to complete victory for the Dark Queen. Why, Berem? What do you have that they want?”

“I don’t know!” Berem cried, clenching his fist. “I only know that they have been chasing me... I have been fleeing them for—for years! No peace... no rest!”

“How long, Berem?” Tanis asked softly. “How long have they been chasing you?”

“Years!” Berem said in a strangled voice. “Years... I don’t know how long.” Sighing, he seemed to sink back into his calm complacency. “I am three hundred and twenty-two years old. Twenty-three? Twenty-four?” He shrugged. “For most of those years, the Queen has been seeking me.”

“Three hundred and twenty-two!” Goldmoon said in astonishment. “But—but you’re human! That’s not possible!”

“Yes, I am human,” Berem said, his blue eyes focusing on Goldmoon. “I know it is impossible. I have died. Many times.” His gaze switched to Tanis. “You saw me die. It was in Pax Tharkas. I recognized you when you first came on the ship.”

“You did die when the rocks fell on you!” Tanis exclaimed. “But we saw you alive at the wedding feast, Sturm and I—”

“Yes. I saw you, too. That’s why I fled. I knew. . . there would be more questions.” Berem shook his head. “How could I explain my survival to you? I do not know myself how I survive! All I know is that I die and then I’m alive again. Again and again.” His head sank into his hands. “All I want is peace!”

Tanis was completely mystified. Scratching his beard, he stared at the man. That he was lying was almost certain. Oh, not about dying and coming back to life. Tanis had seen that himself. But he knew for a fact that the Queen of Darkness was exerting almost all forces she could spare from the war to search for this man. Surely he must know why!

“Berem, how did the green gemstone get, uh, into your flesh?”

“I don’t know,” Berem answered in such a low voice they could barely hear him. Self-consciously, his hand clutched his breast as if it pained him. “It is part of my body, like my bones and my blood. I—I think it is what brings me back to life.”

“Can you remove it?” Goldmoon asked gently, sinking down onto a cushion next to Berem, her hand on his arm.

Berem shook his head violently, his gray hair falling over his eyes. “I’ve tried!” he muttered, “Many times I’ve tried to rip it out! I might as well try to tear out my own heart!”

Tanis shivered, then sighed in exasperation. This was no help! He still had no idea where they were. He’d hoped Berem could tell them . . . Once more, Tanis looked around their strange surroundings. They were in a room of an obviously ancient building, lit with a soft eerie light that seemed to come from the moss that covered the walls like tapestry. The furniture was as old as the building and in battered, shabby condition, though it must have been rich once. There were no windows. Nothing could be heard outside. They had no idea how long they’d been here. Time had grown confused, broken only by eating some of the strange plants and sleeping fitfully.

Tanis and Riverwind had explored the building but could find no exit and no other signs of life. Tanis wondered, in fact, if some magical spell had not been laid over the whole thing, a spell designed to keep them inside. For every time they ventured forth, the narrow, dimly lit hallways always led them inexplicably back to this room.