Chapter 1 The world was tilting, spinning. Her memorywas fragmented; brief images she could notunderstand bursting into her consciousnessand vanishing like fireflies in the night. Herheart raced and her throat constricted. Shebolted upright and immediately felt a stronghand on her shoulder.“Lie down. You are safe.” The calmsoothing voice was strangely familiar, and inher state of delirium it seemed to hold amystical power of command. She lay back andallowed the dreams to take her again.

She walked at the head of a solemn procession. People dressed in finery, but of astyle she had never seen. A young man strodealongside her. He was tall and muscular, with astern face, but tears welled in his eyes. Shetore her gaze from him, and focused ahead,where a man in a dark robe stood behind analtar, upon which lay a stone sword…

Wide awake now, her confused eyes took inher surroundings. She was in a hut of somesort. Its walls were supported by rough posts,the gray, peeling bark still clinging to them inplaces. The walls were of woven branches,banded to the posts with ropy lengths of vine,with ray-green moss stuffed in the biggestholes. Something dark and solid, probablyhides, made the outer layer.She rolled over on her side, propping up on

David Debord |

her elbow. She lay atop a thick, soft fur. Bearskin? A couple of rough blankets covered her.She looked at the smoky peat fire in a stonering in the center of the hut. She had beenhere before. Or was she still dreaming?“You are finally awake, then?” Larris satcross-legged on the other side of the fire. Hegot up slowly and came to kneel beside her.His eyes were bleary and his hair disheveled asif he had not slept in days. “You gave us quitea fright in more ways than I care to count.”He smoothed her hair with an air of familiarity that seemed wrong between the twoof them. Strangely, she did not mind. Perhapsit was the fatigue.“This place,” she said, her own voicesounding strange to her ear, where…” Thequestion died on her lips. There were too manyquestions she wanted to ask, and the whirlwindof confused thoughts was too much for hertired mind. She fell back onto the bearskin andclosed her eyes. “I don’t remember…”“Shanis,” Larris said, soundinguncomfortable. “Tell me, exactly how much doyou remember?”“I remember the golorak,” she replied,shuddering at the thought. She felt his hand onher forearm, and she did not shrug it away.“We found the chamber. Then the snake camealive and I lost my sword. I was so scared andconfused, I tried to grab the stone sword fromthe statue. Everything is fuzzy after that.Mostly I remember strange dreams of flyingthrough the air and fighting a giant serpent. It’sall so strange.”

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Keeper of the Mists“It wasn’t a dream,” Larris said in a softvoice. His grip tightened on her arm. “Youfought the snake. You hurt it and it tried toflee. You followed it out through a tunneland…” his voice grew horse, and he seemed tochoke on the next words, “…and into the sky. You took us with you. When the fight was over,we were lying on a hill in Lothan. Horgris foundus the next day. This is his camp.”She grew more numb with each word. Itwas im-possible, but in the depth of her soulshe knew it to be true. Her old obstinate naturewelled up within her, and she sat up. “That isthe most ridiculous heap of goat dung I haveever heard.” She looked him in the eye, and hemet her gaze with a level stare. As desperatelyas she wanted to cling to her disbelief, shecould not deny it. Tears welled in her eyes, thefirelight sparkling like diamonds in her eyes.“How can it be?” she whispered.“That stone sword,” Larris said. He lookedup at the ceiling, then back at her, “is theSilver Serpent.”“No,” she gasped. “It was for you. You haveto take it.” She realized she was babbling andclammed up. Her thoughts now spun so fastshe was surprised Larris could not hear thebuzzing they seemed to create in her mind.“I can’t take it,” he said. “I tried. When youcame down from… the sky, you dropped it onthe ground. I tried to pick it up and it felt likemy entire body was afire. I was certain it hadburned my hand off, but there was nothing.Hierm tried as well, but the same thinghappened to him. Allyn refused to even