Brother's Majere

Epilogue

Raistlin and Caramon stood outside the south gate of Mereklar, beyond the city’s white confines.

“-and the woman rushed back to her home, screaming and waving her arms.” Earwig waved his own arms to illustrate. “The next day, there was a knock at the door. Know who it was?”

Catherine shook her head, “No. Who?”

“Dizzy’s hoopak!” Earwig tumbled to the ground and rolled around in uncontrolled mirth.

Catherine stood there, lips twitching.

“Don’t you get it?” Earwig asked after a moment, sitting up.

Catherine raised her eyes to the heavens, a gesture she would come to repeat often. The young woman was dressed in leather pants and a long, buckskin tunic. Soft, supple boots hugged her legs, and she carried a pack on her back. In her hand she held a small tangle of wire-the gift Earwig had given her. She tossed it in the air. The bead inside caught the sun, flashing brightly. Catching the wire as it fell, Catherine winked at the kender.

Earwig, grinning, winked back. The two shared a wonderful secret, a secret that was about to lead them on what the kender hoped would be another wonderful adventure.

Caramon shuffled his feet. “I wish you’d change your mind and travel with us. At least as far as the Black Cat.”

“Can’t,” said Earwig, almost ready to explode with excitement. “We have a Very Important Mission. You see, it’s this wire-”

Catherine prodded him in the back. “Hush up,” she said. “It’s also a Very Secret Mission.”

“That’s right,” said Earwig, rubbing the ring on his thumb. “Well, good-bye, Caramon. Good-bye, Raistlin. It sure was fun!”

Raistlin started to say something, then began to cough violently. Clutching his chest, he leaned on the staff to maintain his balance. Caramon looked at him in concern.

“Are you sure you can make it?”

“Are you sure you can?” Raistlin cast a scathing glance at his brother, who was bandaged and walking stiffly and painfully.

Drawing a white cloth from his robes, the mage dabbed his lips. The cloth came away stained red with blood. “If you must know,” he whispered, “I have no desire to spend another night in this city.”

Caramon glanced around. The gate was empty, unguarded. The streets were filled with people hurrying from door to door, each relating to another his own version of the terrifying wonders that had occurred during the night. The city was in chaos, its leaders dead. Rumor had it that they had perished, fighting alongside the Lord of the Cats to protect the city from some great evil. The walls of Mereklar knew better, but few in the city paid any attention to the new carvings.

A cat carrying a newborn kitten in her mouth hurried past on light feet, moving her family from the wilderness into the city that was said to welcome felines. Several townsfolk, spotting the cat, knelt down to make overtures.

“I still think we should say good-bye to Lady Shavas,” Caramon said.

Raistlin glanced back to the center of Mereklar where a thin column of black smoke still lingered in the air.

“No.” The mage spoke from the depths of his hood. When it seemed Caramon was going to persist, he gently laid a hand on his brother’s arm. “Come. We must go.”

“Oh, here, Raist.” Earwig drew the mage’s cure-the bag of pungent herbs-from his pouch. “You dropped it. You really did!” said the kender, eyes wide.

“I didn’t drop it, Earwig,” said Raistlin. “I threw it a-” He paused, then said, “That is … you may keep it, if you want.”

“I may! Gosh, thanks!”

“Thank you, Earwig, for your help,” Raistlin said. He lifted his eyes and fixed them on the girl.

Take care of him.

The words formed in Catherine’s mind. Startled, she nodded her head. “I will,” she promised.

“Well, be seein’ you, Earwig,” said Caramon. “Good luck with your adventuring.”

The twins started down the road in one direction, Catherine and Earwig turned the other. They were walking past what had once been the blank walls of Mereklar when Earwig suddenly stopped and stared.

“Wow!” he said in awe.

Tears filled his eyes, and he ran his hand across the stone on which was carved a kender perched bravely on the back of a carriage in the Abyss. And there was another carving, of a kender hero slaying a demon. And a third, of a kender gallantly thrusting his hand into a deadly box.…

“Hey, Caramon! Raistlin!” Earwig shouted in wild excitement.

The twins-small figures in the distance-turned. The mage was leaning on his brother’s arm. Both looked sad and weary and in pain.

“Never mind,” said Earwig softly.

“ ’Bye!” shouted the kender, waving the pouch. “Say ‘hi’ to Cousin Tas for me!”

The journey back to the Black Cat was long and tiring for both brothers. They had to stop often to rest. Near midday, Raistlin turned off the path and entered the forest. Caramon, as usual, stopped to wait for him, but this time Raistlin glanced back and gestured.

“Come, Caramon.”

“Sure. Is something wrong?” the warrior asked in concern.

“We must speak.”

Caramon felt himself grow cold. The warrior had awakened from a deep, nightmare-ridden sleep to find himself lying in a bed in Barnstoke Hall, his brother watching over him, guarding his rest. Raistlin had treated his brother’s wounds and told him that it was all over, it was time to leave Mereklar.

“Then the city’s safe?” Caramon had asked.

“I’ll tell you all later, my brother!” Raistlin had said. “When I feel the time is right.”

That time, seemingly, was now.

The twins left the road. Walking into a sparse forest, they picked their way carefully through the undergrowth. Raistlin moved slowly, his strength waning. Caramon grimaced with every step.

“Does your shoulder hurt?” Raistlin asked.

“Like fire,” Caramon admitted.

“I will change the dressings.”

The mage’s slender hands, which could be gentle when he wanted them to be, ministered to Caramon’s wound, washing it with cool water from the stream. Raistlin spread a salve of his own invention over the inflamed area. Caramon grunted, sighing in relief as the balm eased his pain.

Raistlin settled himself on the bank of the stream and stared for long moments into the rippling water. Caramon waited in trepidation. He had never seen his brother so withdrawn, so silent and preoccupied.

“Shavas is dead,” said Raistlin suddenly.

“What?” Caramon gasped. “Dead! How-”

“I killed her.”

Caramon made a strangled sound. Raistlin glanced up at him. His twin was gazing at him in horror. The expression on his brother’s face was familiar. Raistlin had seen it once before-in the Tower of High Sorcery. The mage’s thin lips twisted in bitterness.

“Perhaps I should explain-”

“Yes, perhaps you should!” Caramon’s voice grated harshly.

“I will start at the beginning. Since her banishment from the world, the Dark Queen has always sought a way to reenter. She lacks the strength to do so on her own, and so she decided to attempt to take advantage of the power unleashed by the Great Eye.

“To this end, she sent her agents into Mereklar. The gods of neutrality were tricked by Takhisis and her cohorts into building the city, not knowing, at the time, that they were forging an entrance from the Abyss into the world.

“The gods of good discovered the plot, however, and constructed the city’s three gates in such a way that they would close if the forces of evil tried to escape. In addition, to make amends for the part he played in the trickery, the Cat Lord offered his services and those of his kind to guard the city. But that, my brother, is another story and one which I have neither the breath nor the inclination to relate.”

“Agents?” said Caramon, regarding his brother skeptically. “Who were the Dark Queen’s agents in Mereklar?”

“The nine members of the council-”

“But there were ten members,” interrupted Caramon.

“And Lady Shavas,” Raistlin concluded softly.

The warrior rose to his feet, glaring at his brother in anger.

“Sit still, Caramon, and listen!”

Pierced by Raistlin’s golden-eyed stare, Caramon subsided and reluctantly sat back down.

“The council members were, in fact, demons from the Abyss who murdered the original members and took their form and features. Lady Shavas was …” Raistlin hesitated.

“Was what?” Caramon demanded.

“An … evil wizardess,” the mage lied, his gaze leaving his brother, moving to gaze at the water. “This is the chain of events as I have been able to reconstruct it.

“The demons arrived in Mereklar and, aware of the prophecy, immediately began to get rid of the city’s cats. They reduced the feline population slowly, in hopes that they would not arouse suspicion, but it didn’t work. The townspeople became upset and demanded action. To keep up the pretense, the Dark Queen’s agents were forced to appear to be interested in hiring someone to solve the mystery. That was why they posted that reward announcement.”

“And that was why Lord Manion tried to kill us!” Caramon said, his suspicion starting to crumble beneath the weight of his brother’s words.

“Yes. When that attempt failed, we made it to the Black Cat Inn and revealed our intent to go to Mereklar. The demons feared then to kill us outright, afraid it would start a panic-perhaps even a revolt-in the city. Councillor Shavas had to pretend to be thankful to see us. She had to make a show of offering us the job. I don’t believe she was ever much afraid of us,” Raistlin added dryly. “She knew she had a hold on us both.”

Caramon’s face burned. He lowered his head and moodily began to toss bits of bark into the stream. “Go on.”

“Shavas even managed to gain control of the kender, trapping Earwig with the gold ring. It turned him into a spy and eventually put him under the sway of the Dark Queen.

“When we were at the Black Cat, I had seen a magical line of power flowing into Mereklar. I discovered three of them, forming a triangle that ended at the councillor’s house. I didn’t understand their meaning until we visited the cave of the dead wizard. Our doing so, by the way, was all arranged by the Cat Lord. As a demi-god, he could not interfere directly, but he managed, nonetheless, to guide us toward the truth. I have the feeling”-Raistlin smiled slightly-“that Bast does not always play by the rules, even those laid down by heaven.

“The dead wizard showed me what I needed to know-both about Mereklar and about Shavas.”

“He didn’t say anything about her!” Caramon protested.

“He did. To me.”

“Why would he?”

“To avenge himself, avenge his death. Shavas killed him, you see, my brother. He was a threat to her. He knew the truth. ‘A mask of flesh.’ ” Raistlin sighed. “I saw her truly for what she was the first time I met her. I saw-” He paused, shuddering.

“What?”

Raistlin looked at his twin intently, then sighed and glanced away. “It doesn’t matter what I saw. You wouldn’t understand. At any rate, I knew the truth. I knew what she was. I knew why she had tried to have you assassinated-”

“I don’t believe it!” Caramon shook his head stubbornly.

“Don’t persist in being a fool! She was the only one who knew we would be returning to the inn at that time that night. She sent her assassin ahead of us, to wait for us in our room.”

“But it was me he tried to kill!”

“So that you would no longer be around to protect me.”

“Oh, you’re saying she wanted you?” Caramon sneered.

“Yes, but not the way you imagine. She wanted … my soul.”

Raistlin whispered the word. Caramon, seeing his brother’s strained face, could not repress a shiver. Against his will, he was beginning to believe.

“When the attempt to kill you failed,” the mage continued, “Shavas seduced you, rendering you helpless to harm her. She sought to catch me in a magical trap. That, however, failed. She was not too concerned, believing that I, too, would fall under her spell as had you. Then, disaster struck.

“The Lord of the Cats, enraged by the murder of his people, appeared. He knew the demons for what they were, but not why they were here. He tried to get information from them. When that failed, he started killing them, one by one, hoping to scare the others and rouse the townspeople to a knowledge of their danger.

“The rest of what happened after that-about the gate, the demons’ entry into the world, and their failure-you know, my brother, for you were part of the reason they failed.” Raistlin fell silent.

“Shavas?” Caramon persisted, softly.

“Yes, Shavas. I knew she had to be stopped. She was supremely powerful. If she were free to act, she would have insured her Queen’s entry. You and the kender and perhaps even the Cat Lord would have fallen. And so, I prepared a poison. I took it with me to her house and I put it in the brandy. To allay her suspicions, I drank the poison along with her.”

Caramon sucked in his breath, clenched his hands to stop them from trembling. He couldn’t believe his twin’s terrible calm. He stared at Raistlin wildly.

“But you’re not-you won’t-”

“Die? No, the poison did not affect me. You see, my brother, I was able, at last, to command the power of the Great Eye. I developed a poison that would channel the Eye’s power and destroy Shavas.”

“I don’t understand!” Caramon let his head fall into his hands.

“It’s simple.” Raistlin spoke like a teacher to a dullard pupil. “When induced into a user of magic, the poison I made causes all magical energy suffusing an area to flow into the wizard. After I refused her offer to align myself with the Dark Queen, Shavas cast a spell to destroy me. She destroyed herself, instead.”

“But, since you drank the poison-” Caramon hesitated, staring in disbelief.

“Yes.” Raistlin nodded. “If I had tried to cast a spell, it would have destroyed me instantly. I left myself defenseless. But it was the only way … the only way.”

“I can’t believe it,” said Caramon, but he spoke in a tone that admitted his belief. “She was so beautiful! So young!”

Raistlin began to cough. Hiding his face behind the white cloth he held to his mouth, he gazed at his brother from the shadows of his cowl.

I could tell you the truth. I could tell you that she was a lich. I could tell you she had been alive since before the Cataclysm. I could tell you that she had been Councillor of Mereklar since its beginning, taking the guise of one person, then another. I could tell you her life was bound in that opal necklace, giving her the semblance of youth, of beauty. I could tell you, my brother, that the lips you kissed were, in reality, rotting and decaying flesh.…

“Yes, my brother,” said Raistlin, reaching out his hand to touch Caramon’s arm. “She was very beautiful.”

The big man lifted his head and gazed at his twin in astonishment. Gingerly, fearing rebuff, he laid his hand on his brother’s.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Raistlin curled his thin fingers around his brother’s hand and held it tightly. The twins sat quietly together for a long time beside the stream, watching the water flow.