lot of stones in the water, and they all went down just like Caramon, without even a bubble-"

"I was worried about Raist-"

"I was quite capable of taking care of myself, my brother. There was an air pocket underneath the overturned

boat, and I was in no danger whatsoever, except of having an imbecile for a brother. Trying to catch a fish with

your bare hands-"

"-jumped in after Caramon. I pulled him out of the water-"

"You did not, Flint! Caramon pulled himself out of the water. I pulled you out of the water. Don't you

remember? You see what trouble you get into without me-"

"I do remember, and that wasn't the way it was at all, you dratted kender, and I'll tell you one thing," Flint

stated emphatically, bringing the confused tale to a close. "I'm never setting foot in a boat again so long as I live.

That was the first time, and it will be the last, so help me, Reorx."

"I trust Reorx will honor that vow," said Tanis. He clapped the dwarf affectionately on the shoulder and rose

to leave. "I'm

going to go see if my house is still standing. You want to come along?"

Tanis asked the question of Flint, but his eyes went to Kitiara. "I'll go!" Tas signed on eagerly.

"No, you won't," Flint said, collaring the kender and hauling him backward.

"You're coming home with us, aren't you, Kit?" Caramon asked teasingly.

"Maybe later," said Kitiara. Reaching out, she took hold of Tanis's hand. "Much later."

"Oh, shut up," Raistlin said crossly when Caramon wanted to talk about it.

Spring came to Solace, bringing with it budding flowers, baby lambs, nesting birds. Blood that had grown cold

and sluggish in the winter warmed and thinned. Young

men panted and girls giggled. Of all the seasons of the year, Raistlin detested springtime mo st.

"Kit didn't come home again last night," Caramon said with a wink over breakfast.

Raistlin ate bread and cheese, made no comment. He had no intention of encouraging this line of discussion.

Caramon needed no encouragement, however. "Her bed wasn't slept in. I'll bet I know whose bed was slept in,

though. Not that they probably did much sleeping."

"Caramon," said Raistlin coldly, rising to his feet, leaving his breakfast mostly untouched. "You are a pig."

He carried the scraps of his meal to the two field mice he had captured and now kept in a cage, along with the

tame rabbit. He had developed certain theories concerning the use of his herbs, and it seemed wiser to test out

these theories on animals rather than his patients. Mice were easy to catch and cheap to maintain.

Raistlin's first experiment had not worked out, having fallen victim to the neighbor's cat. He had chastised

Caramon quite severely for permitting the cat to enter the house. Caramon, who was fond of cats, promised to

entertain the animal out-ofdoors from then on. The mice were safe, and Raistlin was quite pleased with the

results of his latest experiment. He poked the crumbs through the bars.

"It is bad enough our sister whoring herself, without you making dirty remarks about it," Raistlin continued,

giving the rabbit fresh water.

"Aw, c'mon, Raist!" Caramon protested. "Kit isn't ... what

you said. She's in love with the guy. You can see that from the way she looks at him. And he's crazy about her. I

like Tanis. Flint's told me a lot about him. Flint says that this summer Tanis'll teach me to use my sword and the

bow and arrow. Flint says Tanis is the greatest archer who ever lived. Flint says-"

Raistlin ignored the rest of the conversation. Brushing the crumbs from his hands, he gathered up his books. "I

must leave now," he said, rudely cutting his brother off in midsentence. "I am late fo r school. I will see you this

evening, I suppose? Or perhaps you are going to move in with Tanis Half-Elven?"

"Well, no, Raist. Why should I move in with him?"

Sarcasm was lost on Caramon.

"You know, Raist, being with a girl is lots of fun," Caramon continued. "You never talk to any of them, and

there's more than one who thinks you're pretty special. Because of the magic and so forth. And how you cured

the Greenleaf baby of croup. They say that baby would have died if you hadn't helped her, Raist. Girls like that

sort of thing."

Raistlin paused in the doorway, his cheeks faintly burning with pleasure. "It was only a mixture of tea and a