Dragons of Winter Noght by Weis, Margaret

with him. Glancing to his side, he saw the flash of firelight off a leave them-Caramon-” The dwarf began to cry, tears

metal helm and heard the dwarf roaring. Then, from a door- streaming into his beard. “That big, dumb ox! I need him. He

way, he heard words of magic. can’t do this to me! And Tanis, too!” The dwarf swore. “Damn

Gilthanas, unable to stand without help, had crawled out it, I need them!”

and was pointing at the draconians, reciting his spell. Flaming Sturm put his hand on Flint’s shoulder. “Go back to Tas. He

darts leaped from his hands. One of the creatures fell over, needs you now. There are draconians roaming the streets. We’ll

clutching its burning chest. Flint leaped on another, beating it be all-”

oven the head with a rock, while Sturm felled the other draconian, Laurana screamed, a terrifying, pitiful sound that pierced

ion with a blow from his fists. Sturm caught Elistan in his arms r Sturm like a spear. Turning, he caught hold of her just as she

as the man staggered forward. The cleric was carrying a started to rush into the debris.

woman. “Laurana!” he cried. “Look at that! Look at it!” He shook her

“Laurana!” Gilthanas cried from the doorway. in his own anguish. “Nothing could be alive in there!’

Dazed and sick from the smoke, the elfmaid lifted her glazed ! “you don’t know that!” she screamed at him in fury. tearing

eyes. “Gilthanas?” she murmured. Then, looking up, she saw away from his grasp. Falling onto her hands and knees, she

the knight. tried to lift one of the blackened stones. “Tanis!” she cried. The

“Sturm,” she said confusedly, pointing behind her vaguely. stone was so heavy, she could only move it a few inches.

“Your sword, it’s here. I saw it-” Sturm watched, heartsick, uncertain what to do. ‘Then he

Sure enough, Sturm saw a flash of silver, barely visible had his answer. Horns! Nearer and nearer. Hundreds, thousands of horns beneath the rubble. His sword, and next to it was Tanis’s. The armies were invading He looked at

sword, the elven blade of Kith-Kanan. Moving aside piles of tan, who nodded in sorrowful understanding. Both men

stone, Sturm reverently lifted the swords that lay like artifacts hurried over to Laurana.

within a hideous, gigantic cairn. The knight listened for move- “My dear,” Elistan began gently; “there is nothing you can do

ment, calls, cries. There was only a dreadful silence. for them. The living need you. Your brother is hurt, so is the

“We’ve got to get out here,” he said slowly, without moving. kender. The draconians are invading. We must either escape

He looked at Elistan, who was staring back at the wreckage, his now, and keep fighting these horrible monsters, or waste our

fare deathly pale. “The others?” lives in useless grief. Tanis gave his life foe you, Laurana. Don’t

“They were all in there,” Elistan said in a trembling voice. let it be a needless sacrifice.”

“And the half-elf . . .” , Laurana stared up at him, her face black with soot and filth streaked with tears and blood. She heard the horns, she heard Gilthanas calling, she heard Flint shouting something about Tasslehoff dying, she heard Elistan’s words. And then the rain began, dripping from the skies as the heat of the dragonfire melted the snow, changing it to water.

The rain ran down her face, cooling her feverish skin.

“Help me, Sturm,” she whispered through lips almost too numb to shape the words. He put his arm around her. She stood up, dizzy and sick with shock.

“Laurana!” her brother called. Elistan was right. The living needed her. She must go to him. Though she would rather lie down on this pile of rocks and die, she must go on. That was what Tanis would do. They needed her. She must go on.

“Farewell, Tanthalas.” she whispered.

The rain increased, pouring down gently, as if the gods themselves wept for Tarsis the Beautiful.

Water dripped on his head. It was irritating, cold. Raistlin tried to roll over, out of the way of the water. But he couldn’t move. There was a heavy weight pressing down on tap of him. Panicking, he tried desperately to escape. As fear surged through his body, he came fully to consciousness. With knowledge, panic vanished. Raistlin was in control once more and, as he had been taught, he forced himself to relax and study the situation.