Dragons of Spring Dawning - Margaret Weis [73]
“Come on, General.” Bakaris shoved Laurana toward the wyvern.
But instead of advancing, Laurana whirled to face the man.
“Tell me one thing,” she said through pale lips. “Is it true? Is Tanis with … with Kitiara? Th-the note said he was wounded at Vingaard Keep … dying!”
Seeing the anguish in her eyes—anguish not for herself, but for the half-elf—Bakaris smiled. He had never dreamed revenge could be so satisfying. “How should I know? I’ve been locked in your stinking prison. But I find it difficult to believe he’d be wounded. Kit never allowed him near a fight! The only battles he wages are those of love.…”
Laurana’s head drooped. Bakaris laid a hand on her arm in mocking sympathy. Angrily Laurana shook free, turning to keep her face hidden.
“I don’t believe you!” Flint growled. “Tanis would never allow Kitiara to do this—”
“Oh, you’re right there, dwarf,” Bakaris said, realizing quickly just how far his lies would be believed. “He knows nothing of this. The Dark Lady sent him to Neraka weeks ago, to prepare for our audience with the Queen.”
“You know, Flint,” Tas said solemnly. “Tanis was really fond of Kitiara. Do you remember that party at the Inn of the Last Home? It was Tanis’s Day of Life Gift party. He’d just ‘come of age’ by elven standards and, boy! Was that some party! Do you remember? Caramon got a tankard of ale dumped over his head when he grabbed Dezra. And Raistlin drank too much wine and one of his spells misfired and burned up Otik’s apron, and Kit and Tanis were together in that corner next to the firepit, and they were—”
Bakaris glanced at Tas in annoyance. The commander disliked being reminded of how close Kitiara really was to the half-elf. “Tell the kender to keep quiet, General,” Bakaris growled, “or I’ll let the wyvern have him. Two hostages would suit the Dark Lady just as well as three.”
“So it is a trap,” Laurana said softly, looking around in a daze. “Tanis isn’t dying … he’s not even there! I’ve been a fool—”
“We’re not going anywhere with you!” Flint stated, planting his feet on the ground firmly.
Bakaris regarded him coolly. “Have you ever seen a wyvern sting anyone to death?”
“No,” said Tas with interest, “but I saw a scorpion once. Is it like that? Not that I’d want to try it, mind you,” the kender faltered, seeing Bakaris’s face darken.
“The guards on the walls of the city might well hear your screams,” Bakaris said to Laurana, who stared at him as if he were speaking a language she didn’t comprehend. “But, by then, it would be too late.”
“I’ve been a fool,” Laurana repeated softly.
“Say the word, Laurana!” Flint said stubbornly. “We’ll fight—”
“No,” she said in a small voice, like a child’s. “No. I won’t risk your lives, not you and Tas. It was my folly. I will pay. Bakaris, take me. Let my friends go—”
“Enough of this!” Bakaris said impatiently. “I’m not letting anyone go!” Climbing onto the back of a wyvern, he extended his hand to Laurana. “There’s only two, so we’ll have to double up.”
Her face expressionless, Laurana accepted Bakaris’s help and climbed onto the wyvern. Putting his good arm around her, he held her close, grinning.
At his touch, Laurana’s face regained some of its color. Angrily, she tried to free herself from his grip.
“You are much safer this way, General,” Bakaris said harshly in her ear. “I would not want you to fall.”
Laurana bit her lip and stared straight ahead, forcing herself not to cry.
“Do these creatures always smell so awful,” Tas said, regarding the wyvern with disgust as he helped Flint mount. “I think you should convince them to bathe—”
“Watch the tail,” Bakaris said coldly. “The wyvern will generally not kill unless I give them the command, but they are high-strung. Little things upset them.”
“Oh.” Tas gulped. “I’m sure I didn’t mean to be insulting. Actually, I suppose one could get used to the smell, after a bit—”
At a signal from Bakaris, the wyvern spread their leathery