*Dragon Wing, vol. i of The Death Gate Cycle. Haplo flew the ship to Arianus. Having underestimated the magical power of Death’s Gate, Haplo had not prepared his ship properly, with the result that it crash-landed. The Geg, Limbeck, discovered the downed ship, rescued Haplo and the dog.
The ship was perfectly round and had been wrought of metal and of magic. The outside hull was covered with sigla that wrapped the ship’s interior in a sphere of protective power. The ship’s hatch stood open, bright light streamed out. Bane saw a figure moving within.
“Grandfather!” the child shouted, and ran toward the ship.
The Lord of the Nexus paused in whatever it was he was doing, glanced out the hatch. Bane couldn’t see the lord’s face, silhouetted against the bright light, but the child knew by the rigidity of the stance and the slight hunching of the shoulders that Xar was irritated at the interruption.
“I will be in presently, child,” Xar told him, going back to his duties, disappearing into the depths of the ship. “Return to your lessons—”
“Grandfather! I followed Haplo!” The child gasped for breath. “He was going to enter the Labyrinth, only he met a Sartan who talked him out of it.”
Silence within the ship, all movement had ceased. Bane hung onto the doors of the hatch, sucking in great quantities of breath, excitement and lack of oxygen combining to make him light-headed. Xar came back, a figure of darkness against the bright interior light.
“What are you talking about, child?” Xar’s voice was gentle, soft. “Calm down. Don’t get yourself so worked up.”
The lord’s hand, callused, hard, stroked Bane’s golden curls, damp with sweat.
“I was… afraid you would leave… without hearing …” Bane gulped air.
“No, no, child. I am making last-minute adjustments, seeing to the placement of the steering stone. Come, what is this about Haplo?” Xar’s voice was mild, but the eyes were hard and chill.
Bane wasn’t frightened by the cold. The ice was meant to burn another.
“I followed Haplo, just to see where he was going. I told you he didn’t love you, Grandfather. He wandered around the forest a long time, looking for someone. He kept talking to that dog of his about serpents. Then he went into the city. He almost got into a fight.” Bane’s eyes were round, awed.
“Haplo?” The lord sounded disbelieving.
“You can ask anyone. Everyone saw.” Bane was not above slight exaggeration. “A woman said he had some sort of sickness. She offered to help him, but he shoved her away and stalked off. I saw his face. It wasn’t nice.”
“Labyrinth sickness,” Xar said, his expression softened. “It happens to us all—”
Bane understood that he’d made a mistake in mentioning the sickness, given his enemy a way out. The child hastened to shut off that escape route.
“Haplo went to the Final Gate. I didn’t like that, Grandfather. What reason did he have to go there? You told him he was to take me to Arianus. He should have been back at his ship, getting it ready to go. Shouldn’t he?”
Xar’s eyes narrowed, but he shrugged. “He has time. The Final Gate draws many back to it. You would not understand, child—”
“He was going to go inside, Grandfather!” Bane insisted. “I know. And that would have been defying you, wouldn’t it? You don’t want him to go inside, do you? You want him to take me to Arianus.”
“How do you know he was going inside, child?” Xar asked, voice soft, tone dangerous.
“Because the Sartan told him he was. And Haplo didn’t say he wasn’t!” Bane said triumphantly.
“What Sartan? A Sartan in the Nexus?” Xar almost laughed. “You must have been dreaming. Or making this up.
Are you making this up, Bane?” The lord said the last sternly, stared at Bane intently.
“I’m telling you the truth. Grandfather,” Bane averred solemnly. “A Sartan appeared out of nowhere. He was an old man with gray robes and an old, stupid-looking hat—”
“Was his name Alfred?” Xar interrupted, frowning.
“Oh, no! I know Alfred, remember, Grandfather? This wasn’t him. Haplo called this man ‘Zifnab.’ He said that Haplo was going into the Labyrinth to look for Alfred and Haplo agreed. At least he didn’t disagree. Then the old man told Haplo that going into the Labyrinth alone was a mistake, that Haplo would never reach Alfred alive. And Haplo said he had to reach Alfred alive, because he was going to take Alfred to the Chamber of the Damned on Abarrach and prove you wrong, Grandfather.”