Now that she was certain Caramon would be all right, Tika focused her attention on this strange man. She saw he was middle-aged, clean-shaven, his eyes as wide and frank as his smile. Human, he was dressed in red robes. Pouches dangled from his belt.
“You’re a magic-user,” Tika said suddenly. “Like Raistlin!”
“Ah, that explains it.” Zebulah smiled. “Seeing me, in his semiconscious state, made this young man think of his brother.”
“But what are you doing here?” Tika glanced around at her strange surroundings, seeing them for the first time.
She had seen them, of course, when the man brought her here, but she hadn’t noticed them in her worry. Now she realized she was in a chamber of a ruined, crumbling building. The air was warm and stifling. Plants grew lushly in the moist air.
There was some furniture, but it was as ancient and ruined as the room in which it was haphazardly placed. Caramon lay on a three-legged bed, the fourth corner being held up by a stack of old, mosscovered books. Thin rivulets of water, like small, glistening snakes, trickled down a stone wall that gleamed with moisture. Everything gleamed with moisture, in fact, reflecting the pale, eerie, green light that glowed from the moss growing on the wall. The moss was everywhere, of every different color and variety. Deep green, golden yellow, coral red, it climbed the walls and crawled across the domed ceiling.
“What am I doing here?” she murmured. “And where is here?”
“Here is—Well, I suppose you could say here,” Zebulah answered pleasantly. “The sea elves saved you from drowning and I brought you here.”
“Sea elves? I never heard of sea elves,” Tika said, glancing around curiously, as if she might see one hiding in a closet. “And I don’t remember elves saving me. All I remember is some sort of huge, gentle fish.…”
“Oh, you needn’t look around for the sea elves. You won’t see them. They fear and distrust KreeaQUEKH—‘air-breathers’ in their language. And those fish were the sea elves, in the only shape they let KreeaQUEKH see them. Dolphins, you call them.”
Caramon stirred and moaned in his sleep. Laying her hand upon his forehead, Tika brushed back his damp hair, soothing him.
“Why did they save our lives, then?” she asked.
“Do you know any elves, land elves?” Zebulah asked.
“Yes,” Tika answered softly, thinking of Laurana.
“Then you know that to all elves, life is sacred.”
“I understand.” Tika nodded. “And like the land elves, they renounce the world rather than help it.”
“They are doing what they can to help,” Zebulah rebuked her severely. “Do not criticize what you do not understand, young woman.”
“I’m sorry,” Tika said, flushing. She changed the subject. “But you, you’re human. Why—”
“Why am I here? I have neither the time nor the inclination to relate my story to you, for it is obvious you would not understand me either. None of the others do.”
Tika caught her breath. “There are others? Have you seen any more from our ship … our friends?”
Zebulah shrugged. “There are always others down here. The ruins are vast, and many hold small pockets of air. We take those we rescue to the nearest dwellings. As for your friends, I couldn’t say. If they were on the ship with you, they were most likely lost. The sea elves have given the dead the proper rituals and sent their souls upon their way.” Zebulah stood up. “I’m glad your young man survived. There’s lots of food around here. Most of the plants you see are edible. Wander about the ruins if you like. I’ve laid a magic spell on them so you can’t get into the sea and drown. Fix the place up. You’ll find more furniture—”
“But wait!” Tika cried. “We can’t stay here! We must return to the surface. Surely there must be some way out?”
“They all ask me that,” Zebulah said with a touch of impatience. “And, frankly, I agree. There must be some way out. People seem to find it on occasion. Then, there are those who simply decide that—like me—they don’t want to leave. I have several old friends who have been around for years. But, see for yourself. Look around. Just be careful you stay in the parts of the ruins we’ve arranged.” He turned toward the door.
“Wait! Don’t go!” Jumping up, tipping over the rickety chair she sat upon, Tika ran after the red-robed magic-user. “You might see my friends. You could tell them—”
“Oh, I doubt it,” Zebulah replied. “To tell you the truth—and no offense, young woman—I’m fed up with your conversation. The longer I live here, the more KreeaQUEKH like you irritate me. Always in a hurry. Never satisfied to stay in one place. You and your young man would be much happier down here in this world than up there in that one. But no, you’ll kill yourselves trying to find your way back. And what do you face up there? Betrayal!” He glanced back at Caramon.
“There is a war up there!” Tika cried passionately. “People are suffering. Don’t you care about that?”
“People are always suffering up there,” Zebulah said. “Nothing I can do about it. No, I don’t care. After all, where does caring get you? Where did it get him?” With a angry gesture at Caramon, Zebulah turned and left, slamming the ramshackle door behind him.
Tika stared after the man uncertainly, wondering if she shouldn’t run out and and grab him and hang onto him. He was apparently their only link to the world up there. Wherever down here was …
“Tika …”
“Caramon!” Forgetting Zebulah, Tika ran to the warrior, who was struggling to sit up.
“Where in the name of the Abyss are we?” he asked, looking around with wide eyes. “What happened? The ship—”
“I’m—I’m not sure,” Tika faltered. “Do you feel well enough to sit? Perhaps you should lie down.…”
“I’m all right,” Caramon snapped. Then, feeling her flinch at his harshness, he reached out and pulled her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Tika. Forgive me. It’s just … I …” He shook his head.
“I understand,” Tika said softly. Resting her head on his chest, she told him about Zebulah and the sea elves. Caramon listened, blinking in confusion as he slowly absorbed all he heard. Scowling, he looked at the door.
“I wish I’d been conscious,” he muttered. “That Zebulah character knows the way out, more than likely. I’d have made him show us.”
“I’m not so sure,” Tika said dubiously. “He’s a magic-user like—” She broke off hurriedly. Seeing the pain in Caramon’s face, she nestled closer to him, reaching up to stroke his face.
“Do you know, Caramon,” she said softly, “he’s right in a way. We could be happy here. Do you realize, this is the first time we’ve ever been alone? I mean really and truly alone together? And it’s so still and peaceful and beautiful in a way. The glowing light from the moss is so soft and eerie, not harsh and glaring like sunlight. And listen to the water murmuring, it’s singing to us. Then there’s this old, old furniture, and this funny bed …”
Tika stopped talking. She felt Caramon’s arms tighten around her. His lips brushed her hair. Her love for him surged through her, making her heart stand still with pain and longing. Swiftly she put her arms around him, holding him close, feeling his heart beat against hers.
“Oh, Caramon!” she whispered breathlessly. “Let’s be happy! Please! I—I know that—that sometime we’ll have to leave. We’ll have to find the others and return to the world above. But for now, let’s be alone, together!”
“Tika!” Caramon clasped her, crushing her to him as if he would mold their bodies into one, single, living being. “Tika, I love you! I—I told you once that I couldn’t make you mine until I could commit myself to you completely. I can’t do that—not yet.”
“Yes, you can!” Tika said fiercely. Pushing away from him, she looked into his eyes. “Raistlin’s gone, Caramon! You can make your own life!”
Caramon shook his head gently. “Raistlin’s still a part of me. He always will be, just as I’ll always be a part of him. Can you under
stand?”
No, she couldn’t, but she nodded anyway, her head drooping.
Smiling, Caramon drew a quivering breath. Then he put his hand beneath her chin and raised her head. Her eyes were beautiful, he thought. Green with flecks of brown. They shimmered now with tears. Her skin was tan from living outdoors and more freckled than ever. Those freckles embarrassed her. Tika would have given seven years of her life for creamy skin like Laurana’s. But Caramon loved every freckle, he loved the crisp, curling red hair that clung to his hands.
Tika saw the love in his eyes. She caught her breath. He drew her near. His heart beating faster, he whispered, “I’ll give you what I can of myself, Tika, if you’ll settle for that. I wish, for your sake, it was more.”
“I love you!” was all she said, clasping him around the neck.
He wanted to be certain she understood. “Tika—” he began.
“Hush, Caramon …”
6
Apoletta.
A fter a long chase through the streets of a city whose crumbling beauty seemed a horror to Tanis, they entered one of the lovely palaces in the center. Running through a dead garden and into a hall, they rounded a corner and came to a halt. The redrobed man was nowhere to be seen.
“Stairs!” Riverwind said suddenly. His own eyes growing accustomed to the strange light, Tanis saw they were standing at the top of a flight of marble stairs that descended so steeply they had lost sight of their quarry. Hurrying to the landing, they could once more see the red robes fluttering down them.
“Keep in the shadows near the wall,” Riverwind cautioned, motioning them to the side of the stairway that was big enough for fifty men to walk down it abreast.
Faded and cracked murals on the walls were still so exquisite and life-like that Tanis had the fevered impression the people portrayed there were more alive than he was. Perhaps some of them had been standing in this very spot when the fiery mountain struck the Temple of the Kingpriest.… Putting the thought out of his mind, Tanis kept going.
After running down about twenty steps, they came to a broad landing, decorated with life-size statues of silver and gold. From here, the stairs continued down, leading to another landing, leading to more steps, and so on until they were all exhausted and breathless. Still the red robes fluttered ahead of them.
Suddenly Tanis noticed a change in the air. It was becoming more humid, the smell of the sea was strong. Listening, he could hear the faint sounds of water lapping against stone. He felt Riverwind touch his arm, pulling him back into the shadows. They were near the bottom of the steps. The red-robed man was in front of them, standing at the very bottom, peering into a pool of dark water that stretched out before him into a vast, shadowy cavern.
The red-robed man knelt by the side of the water. And then Tanis was aware of another figure; this one in the water! He could see hair shining in the torchlight—it had a faint greenish cast. Two slender white arms rested on the stone steps, the rest of the figure was submerged. The figure’s head lay cradled on its arms, in a state of complete relaxation. The redrobed man reached out a hand and gently touched the figure in the water. The figure raised its head.
“I have been waiting,” a woman’s voice said, sounding reproachful.
Tanis gasped. The woman spoke elven! Now he could see her face, the large, luminous eyes, pointed ears, delicate features.…
A sea elf!
Confused tales from his childhood came back to Tanis as he tried to follow the conversation of the red-robed man and the elven woman, who was smiling at him fondly.
“I’m sorry, beloved,” the red-robed man said soothingly, in elven, sitting down beside her. “I went to see how the young man you were concerned about was doing. He’ll be all right, now. It was a close one, though. You were correct. He was certainly intent on dying. Something about his brother—a magic-user—betraying him.”
“Caramon!” Tanis murmured. Riverwind looked at him questioningly. The Plainsman could not, of course, follow the elven conversation. Tanis shook his head, not wanting to miss what else was said.
“QueaKI’ ICHKeecx,” said the woman in scorn. Tanis was puzzled, that word was certainly not elven!
“Yes!” The man frowned. “After I made sure those two were safe, I went to see some of the others. One of them, a bearded fellow, a half-elf, leaped at me as if he would swallow me whole! The others we managed to save are doing well.”
“We laid out the dead with ceremony,” said the woman, and Tanis could hear the ages-old sorrow in her voice, the sorrow of the elves for the loss of life.
“I would have liked to ask them what they were doing in the Blood Sea of Istar. I’ve never known a ship’s captain foolish enough to dare the maelstrom. The girl told me there’s war going on above. Maybe they had no choice.”
The elven woman playfully splashed water on the redrobed man. “There’s always war going on above! You are too curious, my beloved. Sometimes I think you might leave me and return to your world. Especially after you talk with these KreeaQUEKH.”
Tanis heard a note of true concern in the woman’s voice, though she was still playfully splashing the man.
The red-robed man leaned down and kissed her on the wet, greenish hair shining in the light of the sputtering torch on the wall above them. “No, Apoletta. Let them have their wars and their brothers who betray brothers. Let them have their impetuous half-elves and their foolish sea captains. As long as my magic serves me, I will live below the waves—”
“Speaking of impetuous half-elves,” Tanis interrupted in elven as he strode rapidly down the stairs. Riverwind, Goldmoon, and Berem followed, though they had no idea what was being said.
The man turned his head in alarm. The elven woman disappeared into the water so swiftly that Tanis wondered for a moment if he might have imagined her existence. Not a ripple on the dark surface betrayed where she had been. Reaching the bottom of the steps, Tanis caught hold of the magic-user’s hand just as he was about to follow the sea elf into the water.
“Wait! I’m not going to swallow you!” Tanis pleaded. “I’m sorry I acted the way I did back there. I know this looks bad, sneaking around after you like this. But we had no choice! I know I can’t stop you if you’re going to cast a spell or something. I know you could engulf me in flames or put me to sleep or wrap me in cobweb or a hundred other things. I’ve been around magic-users. But won’t you please listen to us? Please help us. I heard you talking about two of our friends—a big man and a pretty red-haired girl. You said the man nearly died—his brother betrayed him. We want to find them. Won’t you tell us where they are?”
The man hesitated.
Tanis went on hurriedly, losing coherence in his efforts to keep hold of this man who might be able to help them. “I saw the woman here with you. I heard her speak. I know who she is. A sea elf, isn’t she? You are right. I am half-elven. But I was raised among the elves, and I’ve heard their legends. I thought that’s all they were, legends. But then I thought dragons were legends, too. There is a war being fought in the world above. And you’re right. There always seems to be a war being fought somewhere. But this war won’t stay up above. If the Queen of Darkness conquers, you can be certain she’ll find out the sea elves are down here. I don’t know if there are dragons below the ocean, but—”
“There are sea dragons, half-elf,” said a voice, and the elven woman reappeared in the water once more. Moving with a flash of silver and green, she glided through the dark sea until she reached the stone steps. Then, resting her arms on them, she gazed up at him with brilliant green eyes. “And we have heard rumors of their return. We did not believe them, though. We did not know the dragons had awakened. Whose fault was that?”
“Does it matter?” asked Tanis wearily. “They have destroyed the ancient homeland. Silvanesti is a land of nightmares now. The Qualinesti were driven from their homes. The dragons are killing, burning. Nothing, no one is safe. The Dark Queen has one purpose—to gain dominance over every living be
ing. Will you be safe? Even down here? For I presume we are below the sea?”
“You are right, half-elf,” said the red-robed man, sighing. “You are below the sea, in the ruins of the city of Istar. The sea elves saved you and brought you here, as they bring all those whose ships are wrecked. I know where your friends are and I can take you there. Beyond that, I don’t see what more I can do for you.”
“Get us out of here,” Riverwind said flatly, understanding the conversation for the first time. Zebulah had spoken in Common. “Who is this woman, Tanis? She looks elven.”
“She is a sea elf. Her name is …” Tanis stopped.
“Apoletta,” said the elven woman, smiling. “Forgive me for not extending a formal greeting, but we do not clothe our bodies as do you KreeaQUEKH. Even after all these years, I cannot persuade my husband to quit covering his body in those ridiculous robes when he goes onto the land. Modesty, he calls it. So I will not embarrass either you or him by getting out of the water to greet you as is proper.”
Flushing, Tanis translated the elven woman’s words to his friends. Goldmoon’s eyes widened. Berem did not seem to hear, he was lost in some sort of inner dream, only vaguely aware of what was happening around him. Riverwind’s expression did not change. Apparently nothing he heard about elves could surprise him anymore.
“Anyway, the sea elves are the ones who rescued us,” Tanis went on. “Like all elves, they consider life sacred and will help anyone lost at sea or drowning. This man, her husband—”
“Zebulah,” he said, extending his hand.
“I am Tanis Half-Elven, Riverwind and Goldmoon of the Que-shu tribe, and Berem, uh—” Tanis faltered and fell silent, not quite knowing where to go from here.
Apoletta smiled politely, but her smile quickly faded. “Zebulah,” she said, “find the friends the half-elf speaks of and bring them back here.”
“We should go with you,” Tanis offered. “If you thought I was going to swallow you, there’s no telling what Caramon might do—”
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