Dragons of a Lost Star

by Margaret Weis

  “As to the elf king, we have him in chains. Galdar broke his jaw, and so it has been difficult to get much out of him, but we managed.” Dogah smiled grimly. “Would your lordship like to see him?”

  “Hanged, perhaps,” said Targonne and gave a small, dry chuckle at his little pleasantry. “Drawn and quartered. No, no, I have no interest in the wretch. Do what you please with him. Give him to the men, if you like. His screams will help assuage their grief.”

  “Yes, my lord.” General Dogah rose to his feet. “Now, I must attend to preparations for the funeral. Permission to withdraw?”

  Targonne waved his hand. “Certainly. Let me know when all is made ready. I will make a speech. The men will like that, I know.”

  Dogah saluted and withdrew, leaving Targonne alone in the command tent. He rifled through Mina’s papers, read her personal correspondence, and kept those that appeared to implicate various officers in plots against him. He perused the map of Solamnia and shook his head derisively. What he found only proved that she had been a traitor, a dangerous traitor and a fool. Priding himself on the brilliance of his plan and its success, he settled back in his chair to take a short nap and recover from the rigors of the journey.

  Outside the tent, the three officers conferred.

  “What’s he doing in there, do you suppose?” Samuval asked.

  “Rummaging through Mina’s things,” Galdar said with a baleful glare back at the command tent.

  “Much good may it do him,” said Dogah.

  The three eyed each other, ill at ease.

  “This is not going as planned. What do we do now?” Galdar demanded.

  “We do what we promised her we would do,” Dogah replied gruffly. “We prepare for the funeral.”

  “But it wasn’t supposed to happen like this!” Galdar growled, insistent. “It is time she ended it.”

  “I know, I know,” Dogah muttered with a dark, sidelong glance at the tent where Mina lay, pale and still. “But she hasn’t, and we have no choice to but to carry on.”

  “We could stall,” suggested Captain Samuval, gnawing on his lower lip. “We could make some excuse—”

  “Gentlemen.” Lord Targonne appeared at the entrance to the tent. “I thought I heard you out here. I believe you have duties to attend to in regard to this funeral. This is no time to be standing around talking. I fly only in daylight, never at night. I must depart this afternoon. I cannot stay lollygagging around here. I expect the funeral to be held at noon as planned. Oh, by the way,” he added, having ducked into the tent and then popped his head back out again, “if you think you might have trouble lighting the pyre, I would remind you that I have seven blue dragons at my command who will be most pleased to offer their assistance.”

  He withdrew, leaving the three to stare uneasily at one another.

  “Go fetch her, Galdar,” said Dogah.

  “You don’t mean to put her on that pyre?” Galdar hissed through clenched teeth. “No! I refuse!”

  “You heard Targonne, Galdar,” Samuval said grimly. “That was a threat, in case you misunderstood him. If we don’t obey him, her funeral pyre won’t be the only thing those blasted dragons set ablaze!”

  “Listen to me, Galdar,” Dogah added, “if we don’t go through with this, Targonne will order his own officers to do so. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, but we have to play this out. Mina would want us to. You are second in command. It is your place to bring her to the pyre. Do you want one of us to take over?”

  “No!” Galdar said with a vicious snap of his teeth. “I will carry her. No one else! I will do this!” He blinked, his eyes were red-rimmed. “But I do so only because she commanded it. Otherwise, I would let his dragons set fire to all the world and myself with it. If she is dead, I see no reason to go on living.”

  Inside the command tent, Targonne overheard this statement. He made a mental note to get rid of the minotaur at the first opportunity.

  12

  The Funeral

  acing slowly and solemnly, Galdar carried Mina’s body in his arms to the funeral bier. Tears ran in rivulets down the minotaur’s grief-ravaged face. He could not speak, his throat was choked with his sorrow. He held her cradled in his arms, her head resting on the right arm she had given to him. Her body was cold, her skin a ghastly white. Her lips were blue, her eyelids closed, the eyes behind them fixed and unmoving.

  When he had arrived at the tent where her body lay, he had attempted, surreptitiously, to find some sign of life in her. He had held his steel bracer up to her lips, hoping to see the slight moistness of breath on the metal. He had hoped, when he picked her up in his arms, to be able to feel the faint beating of her heart.

  No breath stirred. Her heart was still.

  I will seem to be as one dead, she had told him. Yet I live. The One God performs this deception that I may strike out at our enemies.

  She had said that, but she had also said that she would wake to accuse her murderer and call him to justice, and here she lay, in Galdar’s arms, as cold and pale as a cut lily frozen in the snow. He was about to place that fragile lily on the top of a pile of wood that would blaze into a raging inferno with a single spark.

  Mina’s Knights formed a guard of honor, marching behind Galdar in the funeral procession. They wore their armor, polished to a black sheen, and kept their visors lowered, each hiding his own grief behind a mask of steel. Unbidden by their commanders, the troops formed a double line leading from the tent to the bier. Soldiers who had followed her for weeks stood side by side with those who had just newly arrived but who had already come to adore her. Galdar walked slowly between the rows of soldiers, never pausing as their hands reached out to touch her chill flesh for one last blessing. Young soldiers wept unashamedly. Scarred and grizzled veterans looked grim and stern and brushed hastily at their eyes.

  Walking behind Galdar, Captain Samuval led Mina’s horse, Foxfire. As was customary, her boots were reversed in the stirrups. Foxfire was edgy and restless, perhaps due to the proximity of the minotaur—the two had formed a grudging alliance, but neither truly liked the other—or perhaps the raw emotions of the soldiers affected the animal, or perhaps the horse, too, felt Mina’s loss. Captain Samuval had his hands full controlling the beast, who snorted and shivered, bared his teeth, rolled his eyes until the whites showed, and made dangerous and unexpected lunges into the crowd.

  The sun was near its zenith. The sky was a strange, cobalt blue, a winter sky in summer, with a winter sun that burned bright but gave no warmth, a sun that seemed lost in the empty blue vastness. The line of men came to an end. Galdar stood before the huge pyre. A litter wound round with ropes rested on the ground at the minotaur’s feet. Men with tear-grimed faces stood atop the pyre, waiting to receive their Mina.

  Galdar looked to his right. Lord Targonne stood at attention. He wore his grief mask, probably the same one he’d worn at the funeral of Mirielle Abrena. He was impatient for the end of the ceremony, however, and he permitted his gaze to shift often to watch the progress of the sun—a not-so-subtle reminder to Galdar to speed matters along.

  General Dogah stood at Galdar’s left. The minotaur shot the commander a speaking glance.

  We have to stall! Galdar pleaded.

  Dogah lifted his gaze to the sun that was almost directly overhead. Galdar looked up to see seven blue dragons circling, taking an unusual interest in the proceedings. As a rule, dragons find such ceremonies boring in the extreme. Humans are like bugs. They lead short and frantic lives, and like bugs, humans are constantly dying. Unless the human and the dragon have formed a particular bond, dragons little care what becomes of them. Yet, now Galdar watched them fly above Mina’s funeral pyre. The shadows of their wings slid repeatedly over her still face.

  If Targonne meant the dragons to intimidate, he was succeeding. Dogah felt the cringe of dragonfear twist his heart, already wrung by grief. He lowered his gaze in defeat. There was nothing to be done.

  “Carry on, Galdar,” Dogah
said quietly.

  Galdar knelt from his great height and with uncommon gentleness placed Mina’s body on the litter. Somewhere someone had found a fine woven silk cloth of gold and of purple. Probably stolen from the elves. Galdar arranged Mina’s body on the litter, her hands folded over her breast. He drew the cloth over her, as a father might lovingly cover a slumbering child.

  “Good-bye, Mina,” Galdar whispered.

  Half-blinded by his tears that were rolling unchecked down his snout, he rose to his feet and made a fierce gesture. The soldiers atop the pyre pulled on the ropes. The ropes tightened, went taut, and the litter bearing Mina’s body rose slowly to the top of the pyre. The soldiers settled the litter, rearranged the cloth over her. Each one stooped to kiss her cold forehead or kiss her chill hands. Then they climbed down from the top of the pyre.

  Mina remained there, alone.

  Captain Samuval brought Foxfire to a halt at the foot of the pyre. The horse, now seemingly aware that he was on show, stood quiet with dignity and pride.

  Mina’s Knights gathered around the pyre. Each held in his hand a lighted torch. The flames did not waver or flicker, but burned steadily. The smoke rose straight into the air.

  “Let us get on with it,” said Lord Targonne in annoyed tones. “What do you wait for?”

  “A moment longer, my lord,” said Dogah. Raising his voice, he shouted, “Bring the prisoner.”

  Targonne cast Dogah a baleful glance. “What do we need him for?”

  Because it was Mina’s command, Dogah might have said. He offered the first explanation that came into his mind.

  “We plan to throw him onto the pyre, my lord,” said Dogah.

  “Ah,” said Targonne, “a burnt offering.” He chuckled at his little jest and was annoyed when no one else did.

  Two guards led forth the elf king who had been responsible for Mina’s death. The young man was festooned in chains—fetters on his wrists and ankles were attached to an iron belt around his waist, an iron collar had been locked around his neck. He could scarcely walk for the weight and had to be assisted by his captors. His face was bruised practically beyond recognition, one eye swollen shut. His fine clothes were covered with blood.

  His guards brought him to a halt at the foot of the pyre. The young man lifted his head. He saw Mina’s body resting atop the pyre. The elf went so white that he was paler than the corpse. He let out a low, wretched cry and lurched suddenly forward. His guards, thinking he was trying to escape, seized hold of him roughly.

  Silvanoshei had no thought of escape, however. He heard them cursing him and talking of throwing him onto the fire. He didn’t care. He hoped they would, that he might die and be with her. He stood with his head bowed, his long hair falling over his battered face.

  “Now that we are finished with the histrionics,” said Lord Targonne snappishly, “may we proceed?”

  Galdar’s lips curled back from his teeth. His huge fist clenched.

  “By my beard, here come the elves,” Dogah exclaimed in disbelief.

  It had been Mina’s command that all elves who wanted to attend the ceremony were to be permitted to do so, and they were not to be harassed or threatened or harmed, but welcomed in the name of the One God. Mina’s officers had not expected any elves would come. Fearing retribution, most elves had locked themselves in their houses, preparing to defend their homes and families or, in some cases, making plans to flee into the wilderness.

  Yet now out of the city gates came pouring a vast gathering of Silvanesti elves, mostly the young, who had been Mina’s followers. They bore flowers in their hands—those flowers that had survived the ravaging touch of the shield—and they walked with slow and measured tread to the tune of the mournful music of muted harp and somber flute. The human soldiers had good reason to resent this appearance of their enemy, those they held responsible for their beloved commander’s death. A muttering arose among the troops, hardening into a growl of anger and a warning to the elves to keep their distance.

  Galdar took heart. Here was the perfect way to stall! If the men would decide to ignore their orders and take out their fury on these elves, Galdar and the other officers could not be expected to stop them. He glanced skyward. Blue dragons would not interfere with the slaughter of elves. After such an unseemly disruption, the funeral would certainly have to be postponed.

  The elves proceeded toward the pyre. The shadows of the dragons’ wings flowed over them. Many blanched and shuddered. The dragonfear that touched even Galdar must be horrible for these elves. For all they knew, they would be brutally attacked by the human soldiers who had good reason to hate them. Yet still they came to pay homage to the girl who had touched them and healed them.

  Galdar could not help but pay grudging homage to their courage. So, too, did the men. Perhaps because Mina had touched them all, human and elf felt a bond that day. The growls of anger and muttered threats died away. The elves took their places a respectful distance from the pyre, as if they were aware they had no right to come closer. They lifted their hands. A soft breeze sprang up from the east, caught the flowers they bore, and carried them in a cloud of fragrance to the pyre, where the white petals floated down around Mina’s body.

  The chill sunlight illuminated the pyre, illuminated Mina’s face, shimmered in the golden cloth so that it seemed to burn with its own fire.

  “Are we expecting anyone else?” Targonne demanded sarcastically. “Dwarves, perhaps? A contingent of kender? If not, then get this over with, Dogah!”

  “Certainly, my lord. First, you said you intended to speak her eulogy. As you said, my lord, the troops would appreciate hearing from you.”

  Targonne glowered. He was growing increasingly nervous, and he could not explain why. Perhaps it was the strange way these three officers stared at him, with hatred in their eyes. Not that this was particularly unusual. There were many people on Ansalon who had good reason to hate and fear the Lord of the Night. What made Targonne uneasy was the fact that he could not enter their minds to discover what they were thinking, what they were plotting.

  Targonne felt suddenly threatened, and he could not understand why that should make him nervous. He was surrounded by his own bodyguard, Knights who had good reason to make certain that he remained alive. He had seven dragons at his command, dragons who would make short work of humans and elves alike, if the Lord of the Night ordered. Still he could not argue away the feeling of imminent peril.

  The feeling made him irritated, annoyed, and sorry he had ever come. This hadn’t turned out as he had planned. He had come to flaunt this victory as his own, to bask in the renewed adulation of the troops and their officers. Instead, he found himself overshadowed by a dead girl.

  Clearing his throat, Targonne straightened. In a voice that was cold and flat, he said, “She did her duty.”

  The officers and men regarded him expectantly, waited for him to go on.

  “That is her eulogy,” Targonne said coldly. “A fitting eulogy for any soldier. Dogah, give the command to light the pyre.”

  Dogah said no word, but cast a helpless look at the other two officers. Captain Samuval was bleak, defeated. Galdar gazed with his soul in his eyes to the top of the pyre, where Mina lay still, unmoving.

  Or did she move? Galdar saw a quiver in the cloth of gold that covered her. He saw color return to her wan cheek, and his heart leaped with hope. He stared enthralled, waiting for her to rise. She did not, and he came to the bitter realization that the stirring of the cloth was caused by the gentle breeze and the mockery of warmth was the pale light of the sun.

  Lifting his voice in a ragged howl of grief and rage, Galdar snatched a torch from the hand of one of Mina’s Knights and hurled it with all the might of his strong right arm onto the top of Mina’s funeral pyre.

  The flaming torch landed at Mina’s feet, set the cloth that covered her ablaze.

  Raising their own voices in hollow cries, the Knights under Mina’s command flung their own torches onto the pyre. The
oil-soaked wood burst into flame. The fires spread rapidly, flames reaching out like eager hands to join together and encircle the pyre. Galdar kept watch. He stared at the top to keep sight of her, blinking painfully as smoke stung his eyes and cinders landed in his fur. At last the heat was so intense that he was forced to retreat, but he did not do so until he lost sight of Mina’s dear body in the thick smoke coiling around her.

  Lord Targonne, coughing and flapping his hands at the smoke, backed away immediately. He waited long enough to make certain that the fire was blazing merrily, then turned to Dogah.

  “Well,” said his lordship, “I’ll be off—”

  A shadow blotted out the sun. Bright day darkened to night in the pause between one heartbeat and the next. Thinking it might be an eclipse—albeit a strange and sudden one—Galdar lifted amazed eyes, still stinging from the smoke, to the heavens.

  A shadow blotted out the sun, but it was not the round shadow of the single moon. Silhouetted against tendrils of fire was a sinuous body, a curved tail, a dragon’s head. Seen against the sun, the dragon appeared as black as time’s ending. When it spread its massive wings, the sun vanished completely, only to reappear as a burst of flame in the dragon’s eye.

  Darkness deep and impenetrable fell upon Silvanost and, in that instant, the flames that consumed the pyre were doused by a breath that was neither heard nor felt.

  Galdar gave a roar of triumph. Samuval dropped to his knees, his hands covering his face. Dogah gazed at the dragon with wonder. Mina’s Knights stared upward in awe.

  The darkness grew deeper, until Targonne could barely see those standing next to him.

  “Get me out of here! Quick!” he ordered tersely.

  No one obeyed his commands. His Knight escorts stared at the strange, immense dragon that had blotted out the sun, and they seemed, one and all, to have been changed to stone by the sight.