Pool of Twilight

19

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, paladin," Sirana's voice leered as Kern raised the Hammer of Tyr.

He hesitated.

Sirana's wings fluttered. She waved her silvery staff, and Kern's friends danced in the air above the pool like puppets on strings. Daile was thrashing like a caged animal, while Trooper muttered a stream of curses. Miltiades and Gamaliel were having no better luck than the venerable paladin. The magical trap was too strong, even for those two most powerful warriors. Unable to use their hands, neither Evaine nor Listle could cast any spell. But the invisible bonds did not prevent Listle from tossing a few choice insults down at Sirana. The half-fiend ignored the elf's imaginative taunts.

"Strike me with that precious hammer of yours, Kern, and you're going to ruin this useful staff as well. If you destroy the Staff of Twilight your beloved friends will plunge into my pool."

The steely waters sucked and gurgled hungrily about the rock in the pool's center.

"And when they do, paladin, they'll be fused with zombie corpses that wait in the pool's depths, ready to help your friends turn into creatures of darkness." Sirana raised her gnarled arms exultantly. "Now that would be a sight worth seeing. The lovely sorceress Evaine, sprouting from the back of a decomposing troll, recruited into my zombie army!" Sirana's eyes flashed. "Or perhaps you'd rather see what creatures I have ready to burrow into the flesh of the pretty little elf…"

She flicked the staff, and Listle screamed as she dropped a few inches, dangling closer to the perilous surface of the pool.

With a growl, Kern lowered the Hammer of Tyr.

"There is one way you can save your precious friends," Sirana's all-pervasive voice cooed. "Except for the one you call Miltiades, that vile metal can of moldering bones. There will be no saving that… that heinous defiler of my father's tower. I plan to grind that wretched skeleton to dust!" Unseen magical hands shook Miltiades violently. His skeletal body rattled inside his armor, though his ever-stoic expression did not waver. "However, I will free the others-even the treacherous sorceress, Evaine-if you will do just one tiny thing. Drop the Hammer of Tyr into the pool."

Kern scowled, gritting his teeth. He clenched the holy relic tightly. It was his destiny to return the hammer to Phlan. He couldn't simply cast it into the pool. Yet if he did not, it looked as if his friends would die. Slowly, he extended the hammer out over the pool's edge.

"Kern, don't!" Listle managed to cry out. Invisible bonds squeezed the elf brutally, silencing her.

"Do it, paladin!"

Kern clenched his jaw, loosening his grip…

Thunder split the air.

Jagged chunks of stone crashed to the cavern's floor as a hole burst open in the ceiling above. Something crashed through with a deafening noise.

A vast black dragon.

Kern froze in astonishment, realizing it was the beast Trooper had called Dusk.

The dragon circled menacingly.

"How have you forced me to return here, sorceress?" the dragon hissed.

The half-fiend laughed shrilly. "Just because you are guardian of the pool no longer-and I am guardian in your place-does not mean your pact with the pool is broken. When you accepted the power I granted you, you also accepted shackles that bind you to me. You cannot ignore my call, Dusk!"

"This cannot be!" the dragon shrieked. Brilliant silver sparks danced in his one good eye. "I was on the verge of sending a thousand evil dragons against the cities of the Moonsea. The dragon-rage was about to begin!"

Kern gasped as the beast whirled dangerously close to his friends. They bobbed up and down in the dragon's wake, like leaves buffeted by the wind.

"Your petty dragon-rage means nothing to me," Sirana's voice snapped. "I have need of you here. These vile creatures intend to destroy the pool of twilight. Without its magic, you wouldn't have the power of a garden snake, Dusk. Now, obey my command. Kill these intruders for me." She pointed the staff directly at Kern. "And start with this puppy-paladin."

"I am not your slave," the dragon bellowed. His vast wings propelled his sinuous body toward the cavern's ceiling.

"As long as I am guardian of the pool, you must obey me, Dusk!"

The dragon threw his head back, trumpeting his fury. "Then you will die, sorceress, and command me no more!"

Dusk barked a magical word. Suddenly a globe of impenetrable darkness sprang into being around the rock Sirana stood upon. Folding his wings back against his scaly body, the dragon dove toward the inky sphere.

At the same time, brilliant silver-gray streaks of magic from Sirana's staff shattered the globe of darkness. Dusk accelerated his descent, extending his sicklelike claws.

Sirana waved a hand frantically, and a shimmering haze appeared around her an instant before the dragon struck.

His blow glanced off the magical shield in a spray of sparks. With a bellow, he winged back toward the cavern's ceiling. Sirana smiled smugly, but the force of the dragon's blow had managed to knock her off balance. She teetered on the edge of the rock, arms flailing. Then she tumbled backward into the pool. The Staff of Twilight flew from her hand.

Kern watched in horror as the staff tumbled and rolled. It stopped less than a handspan from the edge.

Daile gasped. "We're sinking!" the ranger shouted.

Kern looked up in horror. Sure enough, his six friends were all gradually descending toward the pool's surface.

"Can't one of you blasted spellcasters do something?" Trooper snapped. "I've already had my bath this year!"

Both Evaine and Listle were powerless. Kern swore. Somehow he had to get that staff.

The waters of the pool frothed angrily. Something began to rise out of the depths, something huge. Gray foam ran from its sides as it lifted higher and higher, reaching toward the cavern's heights.

Sirana.

The gigantic, misshapen form of the half-fiend sorceress stood a full fifty feet high. Twilight-colored specks danced beneath her skin like stars gone mad. She reached out colossal arms.

"Fight me now, wyrm!"

The dragon screamed and once again plummeted toward her. The companions could only watch in dread fascination as the two titans grappled with each other. They had their own troubles. Inch by inch, they continued to be lowered toward the surface of the pool.

Dusk's claws raked Sirana's body, and searing magic crackled through the dragon. The reek of burned flesh filled the cavern. Dusk ignored the pain. The dragon's snapping jaws closed on Sirana's throat. At the same moment, a dozen spikes of brilliant magic punched through Dusk's body like white-hot spears. Neither monster dared to loose its hold on the other as they began to sink.

Locked in a fatal embrace, dragon and gigantic sorceress disappeared into the pool of twilight.

The torpid waters closed over them with a gurgling sound, silencing their inhuman screams. A ripple spread across the pool's surface. Then all was still.

Kern shook his head in amazement. Evil really does destroy itself, he thought.

Now, to free his friends, who hovered only a few inches above the surface of the pool. Quickly, he shed his armor and stood on the edge of the basin.

"Are you insane, lad?" Trooper growled.

"Maybe," Kern said with a grin. "But there's only one way to find out."

Ignoring the shouts of protest from his friends, he dove into the pool.

The thick water closed about him, oily against his skin. He felt the pool's magic swirl around him, trying to penetrate his flesh, to absorb his essence into its own.

Suddenly, Kern was buoyed to the pool's surface by a mass of sticky blue cobwebs. His unmagic did protect him! He began swimming for the spur of rock in the pool's center. In truth, it was more like dragging himself through molasses than swimming. After several minutes of laborious effort, he made it to the rock. He pulled himself out of the pool, shaking off as many of the blue cobwebs as he could. Then, carefully, he picked up the Staff of Twilight

He realized then that he had absolutely no idea what to do with it.

"Er, does any one know how to work one of these things?" he asked sheepishly.

"I don't really think we have time for lessons for beginners," Trooper commented acidly. He and the others were no more than a handspan above the silvery waters.

"You can do it, Kern," Evaine said calmly. "I'll help you."

He nodded jerkily.

"Now, grip the staff tightly and concentrate on me," the sorceress instructed. "Close your eyes and envision a thread running from my waist right to the staff. Now, begin reeling it in."

"Like a fishing rod?" he asked tentatively.

"Exactly."

Kern tried to do as she advised. His heart pounded in his chest. He knew he didn't have much time. He clenched his eyes tightly, concentrating…

Something bumped into him. He windmilled his arms wildly to keep from falling off the rock. He opened his eyes to see Evaine standing near him at the edge of the pool.

"A little shaky, Kern, but not bad," she said with a smile. "However, why don't you let me handle the others?"

He relinquished the staff only too gladly.

Minutes later, transported by Evaine and the Staff of Twilight, the adventurers stood together on solid ground. Kern had managed to scrape off most of the cobweb residue, but putting his armor back on was a sticky business.

"It is time to cast your spell, Evaine," Miltiades said gravely. "You must destroy the pool."

The sorceress was already preparing her incantation. She lit a fire in her small copper brazier, sprinkling a handful of dried herbs and unusual powders over the flame. Multicolored sparks crackled into the air. She sat cross-legged before the brazier, drawing out an oval crystal. She set it carefully in the fire's center. Immediately the gem began to pulsate in rhythm with the flickering flames.

"I'm not certain how long this will take," Evaine explained to the others. "I've never encountered a pool quite like this one before. The other pools I've destroyed have all been either purely dark or light in nature." As she talked, the sorceress deftly twisted her long hair into a knot to keep it out of the fire. "But this pool is different. Its essence is-" she struggled for the right words-" primal… chaotic. Its source lies in a magic far older than that of the other pools, a magic that comes from the time before light and dark were separate, and all the universe dwelt in twilight."

"Will you be able to destroy it, Evaine?" Kern asked solemnly.

She laughed grimly. "There's just one way to find out." She held her hands above the brazier and gem, chanting arcane words. Suddenly her voice fell silent, and her green eyes stared blankly into space. The sorceress sat as if hewn of stone.

"She will be like this for some time," Gamaliel said, standing protectively behind Evaine. "She cannot be disturbed. Should anything wake her from her spell before it is complete, the gem will break, and she will die." By the fierce gleam in his eye, it was clear the barbarian man did not intend to allow such a mishap to occur.

There was nothing to do then but wait. Kern sat down on a rock.

Daile sighed, wandering a short distance from the others. She felt strangely let down. She had vowed to avenge her father's death, but Sirana was dead, slain by the dragon, and the young ranger's arrows had played no part in it. The fire of revenge still smoldered in her heart. What of her oath now? she asked herself. How could she keep her word to her father? She rested her hands against the smooth wood of her magical bow.

"How much longer?" Trooper asked Gamaliel with a scowl. The older paladin paced fretfully.

The stone-faced barbarian shrugged. "I am no sorcerer. I cannot say."

"What is it, Trooper?" Listle asked in concern.

The old man shook his head. "I'm not certain. It's just that there's something about this place that bothers-"

A gurgling sound emanated from the pool, cutting off the old paladin.

All turned to see the surface of the pool begin bubbling furiously.

In a spray of foam, something began to lift from the roiling waters. A gigantic creature uncurled itself from the depths of the pool to tower above the companions.

"By Tyr above!" Trooper whispered.

For a scant moment, Kern wondered how Sirana and Dusk could still live. Quickly he realized the truth. They were dead enough. But the magic of the pool had fused their gigantic corpses into a hideous new undead form.

The dragon's tattered wings sprouted from the back of the gigantic half-fiend, and her hands ended in his claws. Dusk's neck sprouted from the center of Sirana's chest, his fanged maw snapping mindlessly. The creature took a lumbering step forward, wading through the pool. Its sinuous dragon tail snapped behind it like a huge, deadly whip. Sirana's dead eyes stared with blank malice. The pool of twilight finally possessed a guardian that it could utterly control.

The dragon's maw opened wide.

"Beware dragonbreath!" Trooper shouted.

Hastily, Kern, Listle, and Daile dove out of the way. Gamaliel crouched protectively before Evaine, still deep in her spell, but a heartbeat later Miltiades stepped between the barbarian and the creature of the pool.

A black, acrid-smelling cloud issued from the dragon's mouth, gouging the stone floor and melting stalagmites into piles of slag. A spray of dark acid splattered against Miltiades' armor, pitting the hard steel. A few droplets flew past, burning into Gamaliel's flesh, but Evaine remained unhurt. That was all that mattered to the barbarian.

The new guardian reached the edge of the pool. It could not leave the water that had spawned it and gave it continued strength. So the guardian reached high above with its gigantic arm and wrenched a huge stalactite from the cavern's ceiling. Dead eyes blazing, it hurled the sharp chunk of stone toward the adventurers.

The stalactite narrowly missed Kern, striking the stone floor and bursting into splinters of rock that traced hot tracks across his exposed skin. He stood, bleeding from a dozen small wounds. Already the guardian was reaching for another stalactite.

Trooper and Miltiades rushed forward, and Kern sprang into motion. But almost immediately, the guardian launched another stalactite. Kern raised his shield, doubting it would do much good against the crushing force of a half-ton of solid limestone.

Abruptly a bright streak of light arced through the air, striking the stalactite in midflight. The chunk of stone veered off its deadly course and plunged into the pool. The guardian let out a piercing shriek of rage.

Kern turned to see Listle clutching the Staff of Twilight. Its powers of levitation had diverted the stalactite from its deadly trajectory.

Again and again, the zombie guardian snapped off sharp-pointed stalactites and hurled them at the adventurers. Listle waved the staff vigorously, using its magic to turn the stones aside. Daile tried to launch arrows at the guardian, but clouds of acid dragonbreath burnt them to ashes before they could reach their target. Kern, Trooper, and Miltiades managed to creep within striking distance.

When at last Kern was within range, he didn't hesitate. He hurled the Hammer of Tyr directly at the guardian's head. The weapon flashed with blue radiance as it spun through the air.

Suddenly a shimmering tentacle of metallic water snaked out of the pool, curling around the hammer. The liquid tentacle halted the weapon in midflight and began dragging it down into the murky depths.

Quickly Kern summoned the hammer back to his outstretched hand. It seemed the pool protected its guardian even as the guardian protected the pool. How could he harm the creature if his hammer couldn't reach it?

A stalactite struck unnervingly close to Kern and the two paladins.

"Listle, what's the matter?" Miltiades called out.

The elf bit her lip, shaking the Staff of Twilight. A thin tendril of smoke rose from its tip. "I think this thing's had it," she said glumly, casting the spent staff aside.

"Well, you'll be able to say the same thing about us shortly if we don't do something about this blasted creature," Trooper snapped. He testily gathered his gray robe around his knobby knees to dodge a flying chunk of rock. "Cat-man, how is that sorceress of yours doing?"

"Her spell is not yet complete," Gamaliel said sharply, his eyes flashing at the mere hint his mistress was not doing all she could.

"Just a question," Trooper grumped. "No need to take it so personally."

"All right, I have an idea," Listle cried out. "But I'm going to need you to distract old two-heads here."

Trooper looked at the elf suspiciously. "What harebrained scheme are you-"

"Just keep zombie-breath occupied, all right?" she replied. She traced an intricate pattern in the air with her fingers. Silvery sparks crackled about her feet, and suddenly she began to move so rapidly she blurred before their eyes.

There was no time to doubt her strategy. The three warriors darted between the cascading rocks, reaching the pool's edge. They attacked-Kern with his hammer, Miltiades with his long sword, Trooper with his rune sword. More metallic tentacles lifted themselves from the pool, snaking wildly to parry their blows. But a few swings managed to slip through, landing against the mutant zombie's knees. It let out a roar and bent over to reach its foes with long, scythelike claws.

As a result, it did not see the silver streak that sped around the far side of the pool, approaching on its blind side.

Just then, Listle reached the melee, the silver sparks around her feet fading as her swiftness spell ended. Still distracted, the creature did not notice as the elf reached out a single finger and touched its flesh, whispering the words of a spell.

Instantly the guardian straightened, growing rigid. The dead eyes that had once been Sirana's stared into space, gazing at some imagined foe with a look equal parts horror and outrage. The dragon's maw snarled at a conjured enemy as the creature clawed futilely at thin air.

Listle's illusion spell had worked! In its mind, the creature was now battling its worst nightmare. What sort of form that nightmare had taken, there was no way to know. But if the guardian lost the imaginary battle, the consequences would prove fatal-and very real.

The elf grinned triumphantly at her fellow warriors. Suddenly, caught in the throes of its phantom battle, the guardian whirled. Its serpent tail whistled through the air, cracking like a gigantic whip as it struck Listle forcibly.

The elf's delicate body was hurled through the air like a piece of chaff. She struck a pile of jagged rocks and did not move. Blood seeped from a wound on Listle's temple.

"No!" Kern screamed in disbelief, taking a step toward the fallen elf.

A hand on his shoulder halted him.

"Kern."

It was Trooper, his voice solemn. "The battle is not over."

Kern shook his head dumbly. Could an illusion…could Listle… die?

At the same moment, Daile moved toward the edge of the pool, raising her bow. She felt a sick knot in her stomach, fear that Listle was dead. But Daile was determined that the elf's sacrifice would not be in vain. Nor would her father's. Now was her chance for vengeance, while the creature was still distracted.

Do not fail me now, bow, she silently instructed her weapon. She nocked an arrow, raising the magical longbow.

"I am no sorcerer," a calm voice said behind her, "but I do know that if you strike the creature with an arrow, the elf's spell will be broken."

Daile froze.

Gamaliel stepped before her. As always, the barbarian's chiseled face was impassive.

Daile clenched her fingers. She ought to release the arrow right away. Her opportunity for vengeance could pass at any moment. But something in Gamaliel's eyes held her.

"A single arrow cannot slay this beast," he went on softly.

The bow trembled in her grip. "But I vowed to my father…"

Gamaliel reached out, clasping her wrist. "Remember what I told you," he said quietly. "Sometimes those with the wild gift lose themselves in the hunt. But this is not your hunt, Daile." He nodded toward Kern. "It is his. Do not take that from him." A shadow touched the barbarian's lips. It might almost have been a smile. "Fear not, Daile. You will have many opportunities in the years to come to honor your father's memory with your deeds."

Slowly Daile lowered the bow. "I will honor him," she whispered fiercely.

Gamaliel only nodded, his grip tightening.

"Kern," Trooper growled fiercely. "Listle's spell won't last much longer. Act now! Use the Hammer of Tyr!"

Kern was dazed and reacting slowly.

"Life was worth everything to Listle," Miltiades prompted quietly. "Yet she was willing to risk her life for this quest. Do not let that sacrifice come to nothing."

These words bit deep into Kern's heart. Suddenly he felt his fear, his anger-his confusion-melt away.

He whirled to face the mutant. The creature writhed before him, still tackling the phantom enemy that only its grotesque eyes could see. It lurched forward, within range.

With a cry to Tyr, Kern hurled the glowing hammer with all his might.

This time the metallic tentacles that reached up to snatch it out of the air were smashed. The hammer hit the guardian full in the chest. Blue lightning crackled, transfixing the zombie. In a heartbeat, the hammer returned to Kern's grip.

"What's going on?" a clear voice asked.

Evaine had woken from her spell. In her hand she held the gem that had been bathed in the magical flame of her brazier. An energy pulsated inside the gem, first dark, then light, beating to a slow, steady rhythm.

"Is your spell complete, Evaine?" Miltiades asked.

"It is." She frowned, noticing the gigantic mutant zombie struggling against the magic that encircled it. "Something tells me I missed out on some highlights."

"We'll explain later!" Kern cried hoarsely. "I think now would be a good time to destroy the pool."

Evaine smiled, her green eyes glinting with a dangerous light. "With pleasure." She raised the pulsating gem and cast it into the pool of twilight.

The crystal sank silently beneath the surface of the pool. At first nothing happened. Kern wondered with a shiver of fear if Evaine's spell had misfired. Then he noticed a faint, pulsating spot where the gem had fallen into the pool, glowing light, then dark, in a steady cadence.

The waters of the pool swirled and bubbled, but the pulsing spot began to spread, stilling the waves. The pool surged in fury, waterspouts reaching to the ceiling. But the pulsating circle continued to enlarge, its steady, calming rhythm unwavering. First dark. Then light. Then dark again.

"What's happening?" Kern shouted above the roar of the waves.

"The pool fights to keep its chaotic nature," Evaine shouted back. "But the magic within the gem is rhythmic, ordered."

Metallic foam flew through the air. The guardian of the pool-the mutant zombie that was half Sirana, half Dusk- screamed as it struggled against the holy magic that surrounded it.

By now all the pool was pulsating. Dark. Light. Dark.

The waves ebbed. The surface of the pool became as still as glass. Even the guardian became motionless, the dragon maw frozen in midscream.

The pool went dark, so dark that all the light seemed to be drained out of the cavern. The blackness hurt Kern's eyes. He counted ten heartbeats in the ominous silence. Then, all of a sudden, the pool flared brilliantly, and everything went white. The searing light seemed to burn right through stone and flesh. Ten more heartbeats. Abruptly, then, the radiance dimmed.

The pool of twilight was no more.

A gaping pit yawned in the cavern floor where the pool had existed only moments before. All that was left of Sirana and Dusk were their bones, fused together in a death embrace. But even as the adventurers watched, those bones crumbled into dust.

Evaine stumbled backward weakly, but Gamaliel caught her before she could fall. Her skin was pallid, eyes hollow, but she was smiling all the same.

"Damn, but I enjoy doing that."

Tarl's entire body glowed sapphire blue. Radiant light flowed through him, out of him, sustaining the shimmering wall that held the army of zombies at bay outside the gates of the temple of Tyr.

His faith had not dimmed, but he knew that his body was failing. Mere flesh was not strong enough to bear the raw, crackling magic that coursed through him. The azure radiance was consuming him, ever faster. Still his belief in Tyr did not waver. Whatever happened, Tarl knew he had done all that one man could do.

"The end draws close," Sister Sendara murmured to Anton.

"By Tyr, I can see right through his hands," the patriarch said softly. "They're made of light, just like the wall!"

Even as Anton watched, more and more of Tarl's form was transformed into shimmering light. The sapphire wall began to flicker and fade. The dark army of twisted zombies surged forward with an inhuman howl of victory. In moments they would stream through the gates into the heart of the temple.

Tarl could feel himself fading, growing more and more insubstantial. He channeled every last ounce of his strength into the magical wall, regretting only that he had not had the chance say good-bye to Shal, or his son.

The decomposing zombies shrieked in gleeful cacophony. They clawed past each other, pressing against the flickering barrier, ready to tear living flesh from bone.

Then, they abruptly collapsed.

Each and every rotting abomination slumped to the ground like a puppet with its strings slashed. Even as the stunned clerics watched, their twisted bodies began to bubble and steam, evaporating in a noxious yellow cloud. Then a cold wind raced through the streets of the city, blowing the poisonous atmosphere away.

"Tarl, release the gate!" Sister Sendara shouted, hobbling toward the white-haired cleric.

It was hard, so hard. The power continued to stream through Tarl like water through a busted dam. It nearly washed him away. With his last shred of consciousness, he reached out and tried to shut off the energy.

The azure radiance vanished.

Tarl dropped to the ground. The others, watching, did not know if he was alive or dead. Then they saw a shuddering breath fill his chest.

"Thank Tyr, he lives!" Tarl heard a voice cry. But he hardly noticed, his mind filled with a single thought: You've done it Kern! You've done it!

Kern was the first to reach Listle.

He saw that she lived, if barely. Her breathing was shallow, her face deathly pale. Carefully, he lifted the elf. Her body felt light in his arms, her bones as insubstantial as a bird's.

He laid her gently on the cloak Miltiades spread on the ground. A faint light flickered in the ruby pendant at her throat.

"She's holding on by the barest thread," Evaine said, resting a hand gently on Listle's brow. "I think it's the necklace that's keeping her alive."

The ruby's feeble flickering began to slow, growing dimmer.

"Can you do anything?" Kern asked desperately.

Slowly Evaine shook her head. "My magic cannot heal her." She paused. "But a true paladin could."

Kern looked at Trooper and Miltiades. It was the most precious gift that the god Tyr granted his paladins, the power to heal with a single touch. "Please," he whispered urgently.

Trooper gave him a sharp look, then knelt by the elf. He laid his hands against her temples. A pale blue glow shimmered about his fingertips. Listle took a shuddering breath, then her breathing grew shallow once again.

"Miltiades, help me."

The skeletal knight knelt beside the venerable paladin. Miltiades removed his gauntlets and laid the bare, yellowed bones of his undead hands atop Trooper's. The older man flinched at the paladin's chilling touch, but he did not pull away. The blue glow brightened. The flow of blood from the wound on Listle's forehead slowed, then stopped. Still she did not wake.

The blue nimbus around Trooper's hands vanished. With a deep sigh, the old man stood, his shaggy eyebrows drooping. "It wasn't enough. We helped some, but her injuries are too dire."

"But she can't die," Kern whispered hoarsely.

"Why?" Trooper asked sternly. "Because she's only an illusion? Is that what you still think?" His blue eyes sparked fire. "Well, if you do, you're more fool than I took you for, Kern Desanea, and a waste of time at that."

The paladin whirled and stomped away, leaving Kern speechless.

"There is one more who might save her," Miltiades said in his sepulchral voice.

"Who?" Kern demanded.

The skeletal knight's empty eye sockets seemed to regard Kern silently.

Kern's shoulders slumped as he realized what the undead paladin meant. "But I can't heal her, Miltiades," he said helplessly. "I don't have the power. I'm only a paladin-aspirant. I'm not really a paladin."

"If that is what you believe, then it is so," Miltiades intoned quietly.

Kern looked to the others for help-Evaine, Gamaliel, Daile. All regarded him sadly, silently. There was nothing they could do to help him. Nothing at all. It was up to him to act.

He made a decision. Confusion became calm.

"No, Miltiades." He clenched his jaw tightly. "I spoke wrongly. I am a paladin."

He reached out and laid his hands on Listle's brow.

"By Tyr, I believe I am."

Blue light flared brilliantly about his hands. The wound on Listle's forehead dimmed to a faint shadow, then vanished. For a moment her breathing halted altogether, but the azure radiance beat brightly. Then her chest began to rise and fall in a gentle rhythm. The light in her ruby pendant began to glow steadily.

The blue nimbus faded.

Kern lifted his hands, staring at them in amazement.

Listle stirred, her silvery eyes fluttering open. "What's everybody grinning at?" the elf asked in annoyance, her voice weak but clear.

'You," Kern said with a grateful laugh. He stood, lifting her easily to her feet and pressing his lips to hers. He stepped away, smiling broadly.

The elf's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words would come out.

For the first time in her life, Listle Onopordum found herself completely speechless.