Sara took off her helm and shook out her hair. “Lord Ariakan to you, worm. And I am no one’s woman, except my own. You do remember my name, don’t you, Glob? Or has it slipped your pea-brained mind?”
The goblin sneered. “What you doing out this night, S-s-s-ara?” He hissed the name mockingly. “And who be these two?” Little piggy eyes had caught sight of Caramon and Tanis, though the men took care to stand well out of the torchlight.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t ask too many questions, Glob,” Sara replied coolly. “Lord Ariakan doesn’t like underlings who meddle in his affairs. See to it my dragon has whatever she wants. You two.” She didn’t look behind her, but motioned to Caramon and Tanis. “Come with me.”
The two walked past the goblin, who appeared somewhat daunted at the mention of Ariakan’s affairs, and stepped back. But the goblin squinted intently as the two, shrouded in their cloaks, passed him. And at that moment, as ill luck—or the Dark Queen—would have it, a gust of wind swept round the stable yard and whipped back Tanis’s long, graying hair to reveal a shapely, pointed ear.
The goblin sucked in a shrill breath. Leaping over to Tanis, he caught hold of his arm and thrust the lighted torch in his face, so close that he nearly caught the man’s beard on fire.
“Elf!” the goblin shrieked, adding a curse.
Caramon had his hand on his sword, but Sara threw herself in between the big man and the goblin.
“Glob, you fool! Now you’ve done it! Ariakan will have your ears for this!”
Snatching the torch from the goblin’s hand, Sara hurled it into the mud. The flame sputtered and went out.
“What you mean?” demanded Glob. “What I do? He be a damn elf! A spy!”
“Of course, he’s a spy,” Sara snarled. “You’ve just unmasked one of my lord’s double agents! You may have jeopardized the entire mission! If Ariakan hears of this, he’ll have your tongue cut out!”
“Me no talk,” Glob returned sullenly. “Lord-man know that.”
“You’d talk fast enough if some white-robed mage got hold of you,” Sara predicted grimly.
Caramon had released his sword, but he stood large and threatening. Tanis flipped his cloak over his face and glowered balefully at the goblin.
The goblin’s face twisted in a scowl. He stared at Tanis with hatred. “I don’t care what you say. I go report this.”
“It’s your tongue,” said Sara, shrugging. “Remember what happened to Blosh. And if you don’t, go ask him. But don’t hold your breath, waiting for him to answer.”
The goblin flinched. The aforementioned tongue flicked nervously over its rotting yellow teeth. Then, with another glare at Tanis, the goblin ran off.
“This way,” said Sara.
Caramon and Tanis trudged after her. Both cast oblique glances at the goblin and saw the creature accost a tall man in black armor. The goblin, talking in a shrill voice, pointed at them. They all caught one word: elf.
“Keep walking,” Sara said. “Pretend you don’t notice.”
“I should have wrung the creature’s neck,” Caramon muttered, hand on his sword hilt.
“Nowhere to hide the body,” Sara said in cool, practical tones. “Someone would have found the wretch and there would have been the Abyss to pay. Discipline is strict here.”
“Ariakan’s whore ...” The goblin’s voice carried clearly.
Sara’s lips tightened, but she managed a smile. “I don’t think we have much to worry about. Ah, there, see?”
“Speak of Mistress Sara with respect, toad!”
The knight struck the goblin across the face, sent the creature sprawling backward into the stable muck. Then the knight strode on about more pressing matters.
Sara continued walking.
“This business about us being spies. That was fast thinking,” said Tanis, at her shoulder. Caramon, glancing around watchfully, brought up the rear.
“Not really.” Sara shrugged. “I had already planned out my story, in case we were seen. Ariakan has been bringing his agents here, mostly to impress them, I think. A goblin made the mistake of blabbing that he recognized one. Ariakan had the creature’s tongue cut out. That gave me the idea.”
“Will the dragon say anything?”
“I’ve told the dragon the same story. Flare is loyal to me, anyway. Blues are. They’re not like reds.”
“That knight seemed to respect you ...” Tanis began.
“Unusual—for a whore.” Sara finished his sentence for him.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“No, but it’s what you were thinking.” Sara walked on in bitter silence, her eyes blinking against the rain and spray that lashed her face.
“I’m sorry, Sara,” Tanis said, resting his hand on her arm. “Truly.”
She sighed. “No, I’m the one to apologize. You spoke only the truth.” Lifting her head proudly, she turned to face him. “I am what I am. I’m not ashamed. I would do it again. What would you sacrifice for your own son—your wealth? Your honor? Your very life?”
Clouds scudded across the night sky and, suddenly, for one instant, Solinari, the silver moon, was free of them. Its bright light shone down on Storm’s Keep, and for a strange instant, Tanis saw the future illuminated for him, as if Sara’s words had opened a door of a moonlit room. He had only a swift glimpse of danger and peril, swirling about his frail son like the driving rain, and then clouds blew back across Solinari, hiding it from sight, blotting out its silver light. The door shut, leaving Tanis disturbed and frightened.
“Ariakan didn’t mistreat me,” Sara was saying some what defensively, mistaking the half-elf’s shaken silence for the silence of disapproval. “It was always understood between us that he would use me for his pleasure, nothing more. He will not take a wife, not now. He is over forty, married to war.
“ 'All true knights should have only one true love' he says. 'And that true love is battle.' He considers himself a father to the young paladins. He teaches them discipline and respect for their fellow knights, respect for their enemies. He teaches them honor and self-sacrifice. Such things, he deems, are the secrets of the Solamnic Knights' victory.
“'The knights did not defeat us,' Ariakan tells the young men. 'We defeated ourselves, by selfishly pursuing our own petty ambitions and conquests instead of banding together to serve our great queen.' ”
“ 'Evil turns upon itself/ ” quoted Tanis, trying to banish the terror that haunted him, the afterimage of the startling vision of his son.
“Once it did,” said Sara, “but no more. These knights have been raised together from childhood. They are a close-knit family. Every young paladin here would willingly sacrifice his life to save his brother ... or to further the Dark Queen’s ambitions.”
Tanis shook his head. “I find that hard to believe, Sara. It is the nature of evil to be selfish, to look out for oneself to the detriment of others. If this were not so ..."
He faltered, fell silent.
“Yes,” Sara urged him to continue. “What if it were not so?”
“If evil men were to act out of what they perceive to be noble cause and purpose, if they were willing to sacrifice themselves for such causes ...” Tanis looked grave. “Then, yes, I think the world might well be in trouble.”
He drew his cloak more closely about him. The chill, damp air made him shiver.
“But that just isn’t the way things work, thank the gods.”
“Reserve your judgment and your thanks,” Sara said in a soft, trembling voice. “You haven’t yet met Sturm’s son."
Chapter Seven