Dragonlance 15 - Dragons Of A Fallen Sun (57 page)

hanced her good looks, although, Tas thought, she doesn't have

quite the same prettiness she had when I came back here for

Caramon's funeral the first time. Her hair shone with the same

silver sheen, her eyes glinted with the same gold, but the gold

lacked warmth, the silver was dull and tarnished. She looked

faded and tired.

She's unhappy, too, Tas realized suddenly. It must be catching.

Like measles.

"That will be Palin now!" Usha said, hearing the front door

open and close. She sounded relieved.

" And Jenna," Tas mumbled, his mouth full.

"Yes. Jenna," Usha repeated, her voice cool. "You can stay

here, if you like, er . . . Tas. Finish your oatmeal. There's more in

the pot."

She rose to her feet and left the kitchen. The door swung shut

behind her. Tas ate his oatmeal and eavesdropped with interest

on the conversation being held in the entry hall. Ordinarily he

would not have listened in on someone else's conversation, be-

cause that wasn't polite, but they were talking about him when he

wasn't there, which wasn't polite, either, and so he felt justified.

Besides, Tas was starting not to like Palin very much. The

kender felt badly about this, but he couldn't help the feeling.

He'd spent a considerable amount of time with the mage when

they were at Laurana's, relating over and over everything he

could remember about Caramon's first funeral. The kender

added the usual embellishments, of course, without which no

kender tale is considered complete. Unfortunately, instead of en-

tertaining Palin, these embellishments-which shifted from story

to story-appeared to irritate him to no end. Palin had a way of

looking at him- Tas-not as if he had two heads, but more as if

the mage would like to rip off the kender's single head and open

it up to see what was inside.

"Not even Raistlin looked at me like that," Tas said to him-

self, scraping the oatmeal out of the bowl with his finger. "He

looked at me as if he'd like to kill me sometimes, but never like)

he wanted to turn me inside out first." I

Usha's voice came floating through the door ". . . claims he's

Tasslehoff . . ."

"He is Tasslehoff, my dear," Palin returned. "You know Mis-

tress Jenna, I believe, Usha? Mistress Jenna will be spending a few

days with us. Will you make up the guest room?"

There was a silence that sounded as if it had been mashed

through a sieve, then Usha's voice, cold as the oatmeal had grown

by now. "Palin, may I see you in the kitchen?"

Palin's voice, colder than the oatmeal. "Please excuse us, Mis-

tress Jenna."

Tasslehoff sighed and, thinking he should look as if he

hadn't been listening, began to hum loudly to himself and

started to rummage through the pantry, searching for something

else to eat.

Fortunately, neither Palin nor Usha paid any attention to the

kender at all, except for Palin to snap at him to stop that infernal

racket.

"What is she doing here?" Usha demanded, her hands on her

hips.

"We have important matters to discuss," Palin answered eva-

sively.

Usha fixed him with a look. "Palin, you promised me! This

trip to Qualinesti would be your last! You know how dangerous

this search for artifacts has become-"

"Yes, my dear, I do know," Palin interrupted, his tone cool.

"That is why I think it would be best if you left Solace."

"Left!" Usha repeated, astonished. "I've just come back home

after being away for three months! Your sister and I were virtual

prisoners in Haven. Did you know that?"

"Yes, I knew-"

"You knew! And you didn't say anything? You weren't wor-

ried? You didn't ask how we escaped-"

"My dear, I haven't had time-"

"We couldn't even come back for your father's funeral!" Usha

continued. "We were permitted to leave only because I agreed to

paint a portrait of the magistrate's wife. She has a face that would

have been ugly on a hobgoblin. Now you want me to leave again."

"It's for your own safety."

"What about your safety?" she demanded.

"I can take care of myself."

"Can you, Palin?" Usha asked. Her voice was suddenly

gentle. She reached out, tried to take hold of his hands in her

own.

"Yes," he snapped and snatched his crippled hands away,

folded them in the sleeves of his robes.

Tasslehoff, feeling extremely uncomfortable, wished he could

crawl inside the pantry and shut the door. Unfortunately, there

was no room, not even after he'd cleared out a space by stashing

several interesting-looking objects in his pockets.

"Very well, if that's how you feel. I'm not to touch you appar-

ently"-Usha folded her arms across her chest-"but I do think

you owe me an explanation. What is going on? Why did you send

this kender here claiming to be Tas! What are you up to?"

"We're keeping Mistress Jenna waiting-"

"I'm sure she won't mind. I am your wife, in case you've for-

gotten!" Usha tossed her silver hair. "I wouldn't be surprised if

you had. We never see each other anymore."

"Don't start that again!" he shouted angrily and turned away

toward the door.

"Palin!" Usha reached out her hand impulsively. "I love you!

I want to help you!"

"You can't help me!" he cried, rounding on her. "No one

can." He lifted his hands, held them to the light, the fingers

crooked and turned inward like the claws of a bird. "No one

can," he repeated.

More silence. Tas recalled the time he'd been a prisoner in the

Abyss. He had felt very alone then, desolate and unhappy.

Strangely, he was feeling the same now sitting in his friends'

kitchen. He lacked the spirit to even give the lock on the silver

cabinet a second glance.

"I am sorry, Usha," Palin said stiffly. "You are right. You de-

serve an explanation. This kender is Tasslehoff."

Usha shook her head.

"Do you remember my father telling the story about how he

and Tas traveled back in time?" Palin continued.

"Yes," she answered, her voice tight.

"They did so by means of a magical artifact. Tasslehoff used

that same device to jump forward in time so he could speak at

Caramon's funeral. He was here once, but he overshot the mark.

He arrived too late. The funeral was over, so he came back a

second time. In this instance, he was on time. Only everything

was different. The other future he saw was a future of hope and

happiness. The gods had not gone away. I was head of the Order

of White Robes. The elven kingdoms were united-"

"And you believe all this?" Usha asked, amazed.

"I do," Palin said stubbornly. "1 believe it because I have seen

the device, Usha. I've held it in my hands. I've felt its power.

That's why Mistress Jenna is here. I need her advice. And that's

why it's not safe for you to stay in Solace. The dragon knows I

have the device. I'm not sure how she found out, but I fear some-

one in Laurana's household may be a traitor. If so, Beryl may al-

ready be aware that I have brought the device to Solace. She'll

send her people to try to-"

"You're going to use it!" Usha gasped, pointed her finger at

Palin.

He made no response

"I know you, Palin Majere," Usha said. "You're planning to

use the device yourself! To try to go back in time and . . . and. . .

who knows what else!"

"I've only been thinking about it," he returned, uneasily. "1

haven't made up my mind. That's why I needed to speak to Mis-

tress Jenna."

"You planned to speak to her and not to me? Your wife?"

"I was going to tell you," Palin said.

"Tell me? Not ask me? Not ask me what I thought about this

insanity? Not ask my opinion? No." She answered her own ques-

tion. "You intend to do this whether I want you to or not. No

matter how dangerous. No matter that you could be killed!"

"Usha," he said, after a moment, "it's so very important. The

magic. . . if I could. . ." He shook his head, unable to explain. His

voice trailed away.

"The magic is dead, Palin," Usha cried, her voice choked with

tears. "Good riddance, I say. What did it ever do for you? Noth-

ing except destroy you and ruin our marriage."

He reached out his hand, but this time she was the one who

pulled away. "I'm going to the Inn," she said, not looking at him.

"Let me know if . . . if you want me to come home."

Turning away from him, she walked over to Tas. Usha looked

him over long and hard. "You really are Tas, aren't you?" she

said, awed.

"Yes, Usha," Tas said miserably. "But I wish right now I

wasn't."

She leaned down, kissed him on the forehead. He could see

the unshed tears shimmer in her golden eyes.

"Good-bye, Tas. It was nice to see you again."

"I'm sorry, Usha," he wailed. "I didn't mean to make a mess

of things. I just came back to speak at Caramon's funeral."

"It's not your fault Tas. Things were a mess long before you

came."

Usha left the kitchen, walking past Palin without glancing at

him. He stood where she had left him, staring at nothing, his ex-

pression dark, his face pale. Tas heard Usha say something to

Jenna, something he couldn't quite catch. He heard Jenna re-

spond, but he couldn't catch that either. Usha left the house. The

front door shut with a bang. The house was silent except for

Jenna's restive pacing. Still Palin did not move.

Tas reached into several of his pockets and at last located the

device. He removed some string that had become tangled around

it dusted off the lint from his pocket and some crumbs from a bis-

cuit he'd meant to eat two days ago.

"Here, Palin," Tas said, holding out the device. "You can

have it."

Palin stared at him, uncomprehending.

"Go on," Tas said, pushing the device at him. "If you want to

use it like Usha said you did, I'll let you. Especially if you can go

back and make things the way they're supposed to be. That's

what you're thinking, isn't it? Here," Tas said insistently and ~

gave the device a shake, which caused its jewels to wink.

"Take it!" Jenna said.

Tas was startled. He had been so intent on Palin, he hadn't

heard Jenna come into the kitchen. She stood in the doorway, the

door partially ajar.

"Take it!" she repeated urgently. "Palin, you were worried

about overcoming the geas laid on the device, the spell that

would always return the device to the person who uses it. Such

a geas would protect the owner if the device was ever stolen or

lost but if the device is freely given, this act may break the

geas!"

"I don't know anything about gewgaws," said Tas, "but I

know that I'll let you use the device if you want to."

Palin lowered his head. His gray hair fell forward, covering

his face, but not before Tas had seen the pain that contorted and

twisted it into a face he did not recognize. Reaching out Palin

took hold of the device, his crooked fingers wrapping around it

lovingly.

Tas watched the device go with something akin to relief.

Whenever the device was in his possession, he could always

hear Fizban's voice reminding him in irritable tones that he

wasn't supposed to be off having adventures. He was supposed

to go back to his own time. And while this adventure certainly

left a lot to be desired as far as adventures go-what with being

cursed and having to see Usha cry and discovering that he

didn't like Palin anymore-Tas was starting to think that even a

bad adventure was probably better than being stepped on by a

giant.

"I can tell you how it works," Tas offered.

Palin placed the device on the kitchen table. He sat there star-

ing at it, not saying a word.

"There's a rhyme that goes with it and stuff you have to do to

it," Tas added, "but it's pretty easy to learn. Fizban said I had to

know it so that I could recite it standing on my head and I could,

so I'm sure you probably can, too."

Palin was only half-listening. He looked up at Jenna. "What

do you think?"

"It is the Device of Time Journeying," she said. "I saw it at the

Tower of High Sorcery when your father brought it to Dalamar

for safekeeping. He studied it, of course. I believe he had some of

your uncle's notes regarding it. He never used it that I know of,

but he has more knowledge about it than anyone now living. I

never heard that the device went missing. However, as I recall,

we did find Tasslehoff in the Tower right before the Chaos War. He

might have taken it then."

Jenna eyed the kender quite sternly.

"I did not take it!" Tas said, insulted. "Fizban gave it to me! He

told me-"

"Hush, Tas." Palin leaned across the table, lowered his voice.

"I don't suppose there is any way you could contact Dalamar."

"I do not practice necromancy," Jenna returned coolly.

Palin's eyes narrowed. "Come now, you don't believe he's

dead. Do you?"

Jenna relaxed back in her chair. "Perhaps I don't. But he might

as well be. I have not heard a word from him in more than thirty