denying he needed rest. But to fall asleep-by accident? He suddenly began to feel lost and hollow, as though something inside had vanished.
'Why so worried?' Melegaunt came to his side. 'Elves do sleep. I've seen them.'
'Occasionally,' said Galaeron. 'When we're sick or wounded, sometimes when we're despondent or fall prey to the Gloom, more often as we grow older and the time to go West draws near.'
Vala nodded. 'When you need to escape your pain and rest. Not so different from humans.'
'Much the same,' allowed Galaeron, 'except that we never fall asleep. It's a purposeful act.'
'What a joy that must be,' exclaimed Malik. 'Me, I am always lying awake when I should be sleeping and sleeping when I should be awake. This year alone, it has nearly cost me my life a dozen times.' He hesitated a moment, his mouth contorting oddly as he struggled not to say more, then he blurted, 'I hardly dare close my eyes for fear of having my throat cut by that Harper witch Ruha!'
Galaeron frowned. The Harpers were among the few humans generally accorded admittance to Evereska, and the mere fact that one of them counted Malik an enemy was reason to be suspicious of him. On the other hand, the little man had risked his own life to save Galaeron and Aris from the beholders, and any trouble between humans was no business of the tomb guard's or Evereska's.
Vala and Melegaunt seemed even less interested in Malik's revelation than Galaeron. Vala pursed her lips as though wondering why the little man thought they should care, and Melegaunt merely tugged his beard and studied Galaeron.
Finally, he said, 'Things didn't go exactly as we planned with Aris's rescue. How much did you strain yourself with the magic I showed you?'
'1 think of it as the cold magic,' said Galaeron. 'A lot. There was no choice.'
Melegaunt's face turned instantly stormy. 'Fool! Did I not warn you against testing yourself with this magic?'
'I wasn't testing,' said Galaeron. 'There was no other choice.'
'There is always another choice,' said Melegaunt. 'It would be better to surrender your body to the beholders than to surrender your spirit to your shadow.'
Melegaunt came forward and grabbed Galaeron's head, then tipped it back and pulled his eyelids open. 'There it is. You've let your shadow inside.' Galaeron's stomach turned to ice. 'Then get it out!' 'I can't.' Melegaunt released Galaeron's eyelids and stepped back. 'You must learn to control it, before it learns to control you.' 'Control it? How?'
'Carefully-very carefully,' said Melegaunt. 'Shadows are subtle things. It will try to subvert your nature, to make you see the dark in everything around you.'
'See the dark?' asked Galaeron. 'You mean dark motives?'
'In a way, yes. For every light, there is a shadow. It will make you look at the shadow instead of the light, to see how every noble act might be selfish. Gradually, you will come to see the darkness before the light. When that happens, you are your shadow.'
Galaeron's throat went dry, and he could not bring himself to speak again.
'Galaeron, you must learn to do the hardest thing of all,' said Melegaunt. 'You must always make sure you see the light before you see the shadow'
'That will be hard.' Galaeron thought of the suspicions that had been plaguing him the past few days, and of his decision to keep secret the way the cold magic had rushed into him during the battle against the bugbears. 'Why did you ever show me this magic, Melegaunt?'
'Are you that weak?' Melegaunt grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. 'I give you the most precious gift in the world, and you call it poison? Your shadow is winning already, elf.'
The words hit Galaeron like a blow, for his trouble entering the Reverie had come with his doubts about Melegaunt's character. Had the shadow been inside even then? Despite the cold, he felt flushed and sweaty.
'There's something I should have told you about the bugbear battle,' Galaeron said. 'The new magic came to you?'
'Unbidden,' Galaeron replied. 'When 1 cast my spells, it rushed in of its own accord. 1 had to concentrate to keep it out.' Melegaunt nodded. 'Looming death has a way of bringing you closer to your shadow self.' The wizard stared at him. 'It is more troubling that you kept it from me.'
'You keep so many secrets of your own.' Even to Galaeron, his tone sounded defensive. 'And after you sicked the illithids on Lord Imesfor, I did have reason to doubt you.'
'We talked about that If you were not satisfied with my explanation, you should have said so.' Melegaunt's voice lacked its usual patience. 'This will be a struggle, elf, and I don't know that you will win.'
Galaeron's heart sank. 'I don't want this magic. There must be something you can do.'
'There is.' Melegaunt glanced meaningfully toward Vala's sword. 'And should you fail, I will.' 'It would be that bad?'
'It would,' said Melegaunt 'And I am not here to release yet another evil on this world.'
'Nor would I want that. I will take your word as a promise.' Galaeron turned to Vala. 'And one from you, as well.'
She raised her brow and glanced at Melegaunt. When the wizard nodded grimly, she shrugged and seemed a little sad. 'I hope you know what you're asking.'
'He is only asking what is right,' said Melegaunt He cast a wary eye eastward, where Thousand Faces stood hidden by snow and trees and far fewer miles than any of them would have liked. 'We must be on our way. The beholders will come looking for us-'
'I will show you a safe way.' It was the first Aris had spoken. 'You are going to the Delimbyr River?'
'A little beyond, yes,' said Melegaunt, 'but that would be a good start' 'Then follow.'
Aris turned up the narrow side gulch where they had made camp and started through the blizzard. Melegaunt led the way after him through knee-deep snow. With Malik's horse breaking trail, they were just able to keep the giant's looming silhouette from vanishing into the storm.
As they climbed, Galaeron barely noticed the slope growing steeper. He could not help being frightened- frightened of what he might become, more frightened of what he might cease being. Elves who could not enter the Reverie soon became something else altogether. Unable to share in a communion of like hearts, they grew immeasurably sad and lonely. Eventually, such lone wolves withered of despair or abandoned their home, preferring a life alone-or even among humans-to the constant reminder of the bliss they could no longer share.
Without that connection to his fellows, Galaeron did not know if he would have the strength to control his shadow. Even now, it seemed reasonable to be wary of Melegaunt. Humans were well known for treachery, and the wizard's furtiveness certainly invited misgivings. Why wouldn't he say who he hoped to find, or why he had been studying the phaerimm, or where this new magic came from?
It occurred to Galaeron that Melegaunt's warning might be a scheme to make him doubt his own misgivings. Certainly, there could be no better way to quell a person's suspicions than to make them an object of fear. Hardly had this thought flashed through the elf's mind before another followed suggesting his shadow had planted the previous one. Galaeron had entered a maze of spirals, where every idea turned back on itself and no opinion could be trusted. He felt as though the ground had vanished from beneath the snow, leaving him to flail around helplessly until he grew tired of struggling and simply let the blizzard take him.
After a time, they crossed a high white meadow and came to a steep gully packed full of snow. Aris instructed them to stand well off to one side, then cupped his hands and gave a booming yell. There was a soft rumble so quiet and low Galaeron felt it more than heard it. In the next instant, a tremendous avalanche swept out of the gully and spread across the meadow Aris waited a few minutes for the snow to stabilize, then pointed up the chute. 'The ridge on top descends into the Delimbyr Valley. Stay on the crest and follow it to the river. The trees are tall and thick, so you won't be seen by any but a few stone giants traveling the same path. Don't hide from them, and tell them what you did for me, and they will do you no harm.'
'And what of you, Aris?' asked Galaeron. 'Will you be all right?'
'1 think not.' Aris's voice was so angry and low that it felt like another avalanche barreling down the chute. He snapped the top off a thirty foot pine, then began to strip away the branches. 'The massacre of my steading was a terrible thing, but what those eyes did to the Saga Caves… for destroying the work of two thousand years, I will make them pay.'
