Smoke curled from the dragon's snout. Then it seemed to grin. "You have given me something I did not know: a secret I did not have. That has not happened to me in long centuries. And so I feel generous."

Melia's eyes narrowed. "Generous? Are you certain you are indeed one of the Gordrim, Sflthrisir?"

"Oh, I am certain," the dragon hissed. "And for your sharp tongue, you shall be first, Melindora Nightsilver. Here is your secret: That which you crave, you can never have. Any that you love will be doomed to mortal death, and so it shall ever be."

Grace had seen Melia angry, weary, and hurt-- even once or twice afraid.

But she had never seen this--this look of horror and despair. The lady clasped a hand to her mouth to stifle a silent cry, then she turned her face and pressed it against Beltan's broad chest.

The blond knight glared up at the dragon. "What have you done to her?"

The dragon flexed its wings. "I have done nothing more than speak the truth for her, Sir Knight, as I will speak for you. The one you love isdestined to turn from you at the moment your feelings are made clear."

. Beltan's jaw dropped, but he said nothing as he held on to Melia. "You speak lies, not truths," Falken said, his voice bitter.

"That is not so," the dragon said.

Falken clenched his jaw and was silent.

469.

How about you, Falken? You, who will never forget his hand in the death 480 of a kingdom. Or what of the stout Embarran there?" The dragon swung its head toward Durge. "Strong as stone, you present yourself, Sir Knight, and yet your heart is tender and weak with feelings for another, is that not so? If only you were young and handsome enough to deserve her."

Durge stood stiffly, gazing at the horizon.

"And here are two Daughters of Sia," the dragon crooned, turning its eyes on Lirith and Aryn, "both doomed to betray their sisters and their mistress."

The women clasped hands but did not speak, and the dragon sidled toward Grace, stone cracking beneath its taloned feet. Grace wanted to flee, but her legs were columns of ice.

"And what secrets shall I speak for you?" the dragon said. "Shall I tell you of the girl? Do you not wonder how she spoke the name of a runelord?"

Grace ground the words like glass between her teeth. "Leave . . . her .

. . alone."

Again laughter rumbled in the dragon's throat. "No, it is the girl who will leave you before the end-- I promise you that, Your Majesty. You should let me take her now. It would be so much easier for you all."

Grace held on to Tira. The girl was still, gazing at the dragon with tranquil eyes.

"Very well," the dragon said, rearing back. "One last secret I will speak. For you, Blademender." Its head flicked from Grace to Travis.

"And for you, Runebreaker. Both of you seek , where Krondisar is imprisoned. Know that you will find it. And know also that both of you will die there."

Beltan pulled himself away from Melia, his hand dropping to the hilt of his sword, his face solemn. "No they won't--not if I have anything to do 481.

470 mark anthony The dragon's eyes glittered. "Oh, you will, Sir Knight. You will."

Beltan's jaw worked, but no words came out. The wind howled over stone, and the sky deepened to slate. The dragon spread its wings: a bank of fog expanding.

"Go now, Runebreaker. Soon this vile world will end--this horrible,finite rock to which we have been chained--and we will return to the beautiful twilight of before. And it is you who shall bring this end about."

Travis bowed his head, then he looked up, and Grace gasped. The expression on his face was one of sorrow, but one of strength as well.

He gripped the small piece of bone that hung at his throat: the rune of hope.

"I think you're wrong, Sfithrisir," Travis said quietly. "Secrets aren't power. I think they're like fire. And if you keep them long enough, they'll burn you."

The dragon spoke again, and this time its voice smoldered with hate. "Go before I change my mind and destroy you all." The creature pumped its wings and sprang into the air, soaring into the fading sky. One last cry drifted from above. "Go, Runebreaker! Go destroy the world by saving it!"

For a time they stood as the wind moaned over bare stone. Finally, Grace looked at the others, their faces stricken. She met Travis's eyes, and he nodded. Then, together, they left the valley to the falling night.

The nine travelers did not speak as they rode into the hot mists of dawn, leaving behind the door, the valley, and the dark temple.

Grace understood their silence. Each of them had something to think 482 about now--a secret the dragon Sfithrisir had revealed to them. As the sheer cliffs of the Fal Erenn vanished in the fog behind them, she cast a glance to her left. Travis bounced in the saddle aback his shaggy gelding. Behind his spectacles, his gray eyes reflected the hazy horizon.

Both of you seek . . . both of you will die there. . . .

Despite the already-rising heat, Grace shivered. Her gaze moved down to the too-thin girl in the ragged smock perched before her on Shandis's withers.

It is the girl who will leave you before the end--I promise you that. . . .

As if sensing eyes on her, Tira looked up, her crimson hair tumbling away from her half-scarred face. She grinned, then bent her head to continue playing a r..,----" ...;^T. ..!." U,,-_