“I was horrified when I heard this news. Can you imagine what I felt? To look at Steel and know that his mother had slain the man who was his father. How could I explain such things to a boy when I didn’t understand them myself?”
Caramon sighed. “I don’t know,” he said moodily. “I don’t know.”
Sara went on. “We were living in Palanthas when the war ended. And then I was truly frightened, terrified that Kitiara might start searching for her son. Maybe she did. At any rate, she didn’t find us. Some time later, I heard she had taken up with the dark elf mage, Dalamar—apprentice to her brother, Raistlin, who was now Master of the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas.”
Caramon’s face softened, grew grave and wistful, as always, when Raistlin was mentioned.
“Forgive me, Caramon,” Sara said softly, “but when I heard the stories about your brother Raistlin, all I could think of was-here is more dark blood, running in my child’s veins. And it seemed to me that Steel drifted deeper into the shadows every day. He wasn’t like other boys hisage. All boys play at war, but, for Steel, war wasn’t a game. Soon the other children refused to play with him. He hurt them, you see.”
Tika’s eyes widened. “Hurt them?”
“He didn’t mean to,” Sara said quickly. “He was always sorry afterward. He takes no pleasure in inflicting pain, thank the gods. But, as I said, the games weren’t games to him. He fought with a fierce ardor that shone in his eyes.
Imaginary enemies were very real to him. And so the other children shunned him.
He was lonely, I know, but he was proud, and he would never admit it.
“And then came the war over Palanthas, when Lord Soth and Kitiara attacked the city. Many people lost their lives. Our home was destroyed in the fires that raged through the city, but I wept with thankfulness when I heard that Kitiara was dead. At last, I thought, Steel is safe. I prayed that the dark cloud would be lifted from him, that he would begin to grow toward the light.
My hopes were dashed.
“One night, when Steel was twelve, I was awakened by a knocking at the door. I looked out the window and saw three figures, cloaked in black, riding horseback. All my fears returned to me. They frightened me so much, in fact, that I woke Steel and told him we must flee, escape by the back door. He refused to go. I think... I think some dark voice called to him. He told me to run, if I wanted. He would not. He wasn’t afraid.
“The men battered down the door. Their leader was... Do you recall, I spoke of Ariakas?”
“Highlord of the Red Dragon army. He died in the temple, during the final assault What has he got to do with this?”
“Some say he was Kit’s lover,” Tika inserted.
Sara shrugged. “She wouldn’t have been the first, and likely not the last. But, according to what I’ve heard, Zeboim, daughter of Takhisis, was enamored of Ariakas, became his lover, and bore him a son, named Ariakan. Ariakan fought in the ranks, under his father’s command, during the War of the Lance. He is a skilled warrior who fought courageously in battle. When he was captured, more dead than alive, by the Knights of Solamnia, they were so impressed with his courage that, although he was their prisoner, they treated him with every respect.
“Ariakan was their prisoner for many years, until they finally released him, mistakenly thinking that—in these times of peace—the man could do no harm. Ariakan had learned much during his enforced stay with the knights. He came to admire them, even as he despised them for what he considered their weaknesses.
“Shortly after his release, Ariakan was visited by Takhisis, in the form of the Dark Warrior. She commanded him to start an order of knights dedicated to her, as the Solamnic Knights are dedicated to Paladine. 'Those who are boys now will grow up in my service,' she told him. 'You will raise them to worship me. I will own them, body and soul. When they are men, they will be prepared to give their lives in my cause.'
“Almost immediately, Ariakan began to recruit boys for this unholy army.”
Sara’s voice sank. “Ariakan was the man at the door.”
“Blessed Paladine!” Tika murmured, stricken.
“He had found out about Kit’s son.” Sara shook her head. “I’m not sure how. Ariakan claimed that Kit had told his father about the boy. I don’t believe that. I think . . . I think it was the wizard Dalamar, evil Master of the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas, who led Ariakan to us—”
“But Dalamar would have told me,” Caramon protested. “He and I are... well—”
Sara stared at him, her eyes wide.
“Not friends,” Caramon said, thinking the matter through, “but we have a mutual respect for each other. And the boy is my nephew, after all. Yes, Dalamar would have told me—”
“Not likely!” Tika sniffed. “When all’s said and done—he’s a black-robed mage. Dalamar serves the Dark Queen and himself, not necessarily in that order. If he saw that Steel might prove valuable...” She shrugged.
“Perhaps Dalamar was only following orders,” Sara whispered, glancing fearfully out the window, into the night. “Takhisis wants Steel. I believe that with all my heart. She has done everything in her power to take him... and she is close to succeeding!”
“What do you mean?” Caramon demanded.
“It is the reason I am here. That night, Ariakan made Steel an offer. Ariakan would make Steel a dark paladin.”
Sara reached for her cloak, held up the brooch of the black lily in a trembling hand. “A Knight of Takhisis.”
Caramon was aghast. “Such an evil order doesn’t exist.”
“It does,” Sara said in a low voice, “though few know it. But they will. They will."
She sat silently shivering and, at length, drew her cloak back around her.
“Go on,” Caramon said grimly. “I think I see where this is heading.”
“Kitiara’s son was among the first Ariakan sought. I must admit he is shrewd, is Ariakan. He knew exactly how to handle Steel. Ariakan spoke to the boy man-to-man. He told him he would teach him to be a mighty warrior, a leader of legions. He promised Steel glory, riches, power. Steel was entranced. He agreed, that night, to go with Ariakan.
“Nothing I said or did, no tears I shed, moved Steel. I won only one concession—that I could come with him. Ariakan agreed to this only because he figured I could be useful to him. He would need someone to cook for the boys, mend their clothes, clean up after them. That... and he took a fancy to me,"
Sara finished softly.
“Yes,” she added, partly ashamed, partly defiant, “I became his mistress. I was his mistress many years, until I grew too old to please him anymore.”
Caramon’s face darkened.
“I understand,” said Tika, patting the woman’s hand. “You sacrificed yourself for your son. To be near him.”
“That was the only reason! I swear to you!” Sara cried passionately. “I hate them and what they stand for! I hate Ariakan. You don’t know what I have endured! Many times, I wanted to kill myself. Death would have been far easier. But I couldn’t leave Steel. There is good in him, still, though they’ve done all they could to trample out the spark. He loves me and respects me, for one thing. Ariakan would have rid himself of me long ago, but for Steel. My son has protected me and defended me—to his own detriment, though he never speaks of it. He has watched others rise to knighthood ahead of him.
Ariakan has held Steel back, all because of me.
“Steel is loyal. He is honorable, like his father. Both to a fault, perhaps, for as he is loyal to me, so he is loyal to them. His life is bound up in this evil knighthood. And, at last, he has been offered the chance to become one of them. In three nights' time, Steel Brightblade will swear the oath, make his vows, and give his soul to the Queen of Darkness. This is why I have come to you, why I have risked my life, for if Ariakan discovers what I’ve done, he will kill me. Not even my son will be able to stop him.”