Troy Denning - The Titan of Twilight

Galgadayle brushed past Brianna to peer at the infant “I don’t see that, not at all,” the seer said. “To me, he’s as ugly as a troll. Use the axe.”

Now that Kaedlaw was growing quiet, his face had once again assumed a handsome and loving aspect in Brianna’s eyes. Her deepest instincts urged her to leap forward and snatch her child from Tavis’s palm. She desperately wanted to know the truth about her son and just as desperately wanted to remain ignorant. It was the conflict between those two emotions more than her willpower that kept her standing fast as her husband covered her helpless child with the flat of Sky Cleaver’s obsidian blade.

Tavis spoke a word in the same ancient tongue the titan used to cast spells. He grimaced with pain, and the last of the color faded from his pale skin. Even his muscles turned partially translucent, so that beneath the stringy cords of sinew, Brianna could see the yellow outlines of bone and the more nebulous shapes of internal organs.

Kaedlaw’s growls gave way to a muffled chortling.

The high scout took Sky Cleaver’s blade away. In his palm lay a rather plain-looking baby, neither as handsome as Tavis, nor as hideous as the ettin. The infant had a rather cherubic face with pudgy jowls, rosy cheeks, and twinkling eyes as gray as steel. Brianna could see her husband’s influence in the child’s straight nose and even features, while the ettin’s could be seen in the cleft chin and dark, curly hair.

“He’s not handsome any more!” Basil gasped. “He just looks normal!”

Tavis’s smile broadened. “He’s always looked that way,” he said. “But we couldn’t see it.”

Galgadayle frowned. “What? I know what I saw before. It was as plain-”

“Of course it was!” interrupted Basil, growing more excited by the moment. “Kaedlaw is no different than any child. We see in him what we expect to see-isn’t that what the axe showed you?”

“More or less,” Tavis answered. “Like any child, Kaedlaw has the capacity for both good and evil. How we rear him will decide which comes to dominate.”

“That is the more,” said Galgadayle. “What is the less?”

Tavis cast an uneasy glance at Brianna, and the queen felt a cold dread seeping into her heart. She began to fear that Galgadayle’s prophecy had been right, after all. Whether Kaedlaw grew up good or evil, he would lead the giants against the rest of the northlands.

When her husband still did not speak, Brianna said, “Tell me.”

Tavis took a deep breath. “Kaedlaw has two fathers,” he said. “I’m sorry, milady. Please forgive me for allowing it.”

Brianna hardly heard the apology. She felt no need of one, and there were other, more pressing matters on her mind. The queen took a tentative step toward her son.

“What of his future?”

Tavis shrugged. “No one can say. Ifs impossible to tell the future-at least Kaedlaw’s.”

Galgadayle shook his head violently. “What of my dreams?” he demanded. “You’re lying!”

Brianna swept Kaedlaw from Tavis’s hand, then whirled on the seer. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She was almost laughing. “Firbolgs can’t lie!”

“Then what of my dreams?” the seer demanded. “They have always come true!”

“Have they really?” Basil’s tone was more one of curiosity than debate. “Has anything ever happened exactly as you saw it?”

“Of course!” the seer replied. “A landslide swept Orisino’s village away, just as I dreamed.”

“In your dream, what happened to Orisino’s tribe?”

“They were buried.”

Basil smirked. “Obviously, your dream was inaccurate. We both know you warned Orisino in time to save his tribe.”

Galgadayle furrowed his brow.

“The same thing happened with the fomorians, I presume,” the runecaster continued. “You dreamed they would drown, then saved the entire tribe by warning Ror of their danger.”

The seer’s face grew almost as pale as Tavis’s, then he fell on his knees before Brianna. “By the gods, I have made a terrible mistake!” he cried. “How can I earn your forgiveness?”

There was a time when Brianna would have turned the firbolg away in contempt, perhaps even struck him, but the joy she felt now was more powerful than any fear he had ever inspired. She could not condemn the seer for what had been an act of conscience-and ultimately one of kindness and concern as well.

Brianna took Galgadayle’s hand and urged him to his feet. “There’s nothing to forgive. You may have frightened me half to death in the silver mines, but it was better that you were chasing us than the fire giants-and they would not have been so kind to their prisoners,” she said. “Fate has a way of pursuing its own course; all you or I can do is follow our consciences and hope for the best”

“You are more generous than I deserve,” Galgadayle replied. “But I thank you.”

Basil cleared his throat. “Now that all’s forgiven, perhaps we should turn our thoughts to leaving before Lanaxis comes back. As bad as he’s wounded, I doubt the titan has given up.”

Brianna felt her joy changing to hot tears. “That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier! I can’t leave the palace. The titan’s magic is too strong!”

“By my brush!” Basil gasped. “That’s what he meant!”

“What?” Tavis asked. “He said something?”

“As he was slipping down the hole into Twilight,” Galgadayle confirmed. “I believe it was, This is not done, not done at all.’ ”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tavis said. “I can cleave even the titan’s magic.”

“But I can already see your bones!” Basil objected. “At most, you can use the axe twice before it destroys you-perhaps only once.”

“I’ll have to take that chance,” Tavis said. “And if I fade, Galgadayle can… he can always…”

“What’s wrong?” Brianna asked.

Tavis stepped toward the seer and raised his axe menacingly. Galgadayle wisely lowered his gaze and retreated.

“He can’t have Sky Cleaver!” Tavis shouted. “I’ll never give it up! I’m the One Wielder!”

“Of course you are,” the queen replied. She stepped back and motioned for Basil to do the same. “We all know that.”

This seemed to calm Tavis, and they all stood in silence, considering their options.

At last, Brianna said, “Running won’t do us any good. One way or another, we’re going to end this thing tonight.”

Tavis shook his head. “We’ll lose. I can’t beat Lanaxis-and the rest of you can’t even touch him.”

“Don’t worry about your sight,” Brianna said. “The goddess still favors me. I can repair your eyes, at least.”

“My eyes aren’t the problem!”

Brianna frowned. “What’s wrong? I know your concern can’t be for yourself.”

“Oh, I’m frightened enough for myself.” Though Tavis’s skin was so transparent that it was difficult to tell his expression, he seemed unable to raise his cloudy gaze from the floor. “But my first concern is still for you and Kaedlaw. I’m just not strong enough to best Lanaxis.”

“Perhaps you could go into Twilight and slay him while he rests,” suggested Galgadayle.

“He’ll expect that,” Brianna said. “Besides, the only time I’ve ever seen him rest was when he got caught in daylight. Twilight restores his strength.”

“Then it’s better to wait for him here,” Basil said.

Tavis clutched the axe to his chest. “He’ll steal it from me!”

“Steal it?” asked Galgadayle. “If Lanaxis gets close enough to grab it-”

“Not grab-call,” Tavis said. “How do you expect me to outshout a titan? He almost stole it before!”

“That makes no sense,” said Basil. “The bond between Sky Cleaver and its wielder is an emotional one. Even Lanaxis shouldn’t be able to call it simply by shouting.”