Khisanth detested mystery of any sort. Where did they go? Did their absence mean the lemures would return? The thought of those brainless creatures clawing at her relent shy;lessly made her feel more trapped than the escort of abishai had. Every nerve tingled at the tips of her scales.

But the lemures did not return. Nor did anyone-or any shy;thing-else. She waited. And waited. Khisanth thought it nearly possible that an entire cycle of seasons could have passed while she waited, for what, she didn't know.

Then, to Khisanth's utter amazement, a wall of fire shot up out of the sand like a geyser. Through it stepped a creature

she would have mistaken for another abishai, if it hadn't cor shy;rected her thoughts.

"Cornugons are the Abyss's greater baatezu," it said in a sepulchral tone. "The distinctions between them and lesser baatezu like abishai are obvious."

Looking more closely, Khisanth began to notice subtle dif shy;ferences-the flesh-covered horns, the slightly more human-looking face, deeply slanted eyes, and protruding tusks instead of rows of equally jagged teeth, like the abishai. And this one gripped a large barbed whip in its talons; the abishai were armed only with claws.

"I am instructed to take you to your meeting." The cornu-gon nodded its horned head once toward the wall of flame.

"Meeting? With whom? Why was I brought to the Abyss?"

The cornugon simply stood, looking toward the blazing wall.

Khisanth felt something pulling at the corners of her confi shy;dence, until she noticed the beginnings of a most unfamiliar sensation-fear. Most oddly, she was developing an irra shy;tional fear of staying where she was. Not that a trip to the Abyss shouldn't inspire terror, she told herself. Still, fear was totally alien to Khisanth's nature. There was no new reason for it to rise at that moment.

Except if it were magically inspired. Dragons were natu shy;rally resistant to magic. The cornugon's magic must be pow shy;erful indeed for a fear spell to affect her so. The dragon felt another unfamiliar twinge of fear.

Before Khisanth could step toward it, the fire wall came to her. She felt its flames tickle and lick at her hide, but the fire didn't burn, wasn't even very warm. The white-orange flame slipped down her back and over her tail and left her standing in a place that looked exactly the same. The sky and sand glowed red as before.

Yet, it felt very different. The cornugon was gone, but Khi shy;santh had the distinct and unshakable impression that she wasn't alone. Cutting through the strange dimness of the bar shy;ren landscape was the long, spiny back of a dragon. Huge, and very close, but very dim.

"Who are you?" Khisanth began, but the momentary relief she felt at the sight of something familiar was knocked away, along with her breath. The area seemed to grow darker, though it was more a darkness of the mind, since the sky's faint redness didn't change. Struggling to breathe, Khisanth could see the dragon's long, unusually thick neck start to swing around to the left.

Like a tightly coiled spring, the neck unwound, and five heads completed the turn, snaking and writhing and hissing softly. Khisanth dropped to her knees in reverence and awe. She cringed before one of the three creators of the world.

In the Dark Queen's present form, the name She of Many Faces seemed most appropriate. Each head represented a type of evil dragon: white, black, green, blue, and red. The colors ran the length of each neck and into the forepart of the dragon's body. They blended into three strips of gray, blue-green, and purple over her back and hindquarters, and merged into a muddy brown tail.

Takhisis's black head slithered closer to the trembling black dragon, hissing softly. You have displeased me greatly,

Khisanth.

Takhisis's lips didn't move, but Khisanth heard the queen's even, almost sensuous voice directly in her head.

"Then I am dead," said the black dragon.

Not yet. Five sets of dragon eyes all bore into Khisanth's, their message unmistakable.

It is my belief that you are yet useful to me, especially now that you have slain three of the only five black dragons worthy of being in my service.

"Worthy!" cried Khisanth. "But you don't under-"

Silence! the Dark Queen's voice cut in sharply. You are clever enough to know that everything happens with my knowl shy;edge, if not consent.

Khisanth, for once, was struck speechless.

Of course I knew of their betrayal with the knights. Black drag shy;ons are the greediest and most solitary of the evil dragons and must be watched accordingly. The tongue of Takhisis's black head darted out, as if to acknowledge and accept the evaluation of its brethren.

"They betrayed you and exposed your entire Black Wing to decimation. Why didn't you strike them dead?"

They were much more useful to me alive. I would have appealed to their greed, offered them more than the knights-their very lives-and turned their betrayal to my advantage. They would have feared my eternal wrath forever after.

Takhisis paused. Her blue head hissed wordlessly. As it was, you helped them destroy the wing.

Khisanth found her voice. "I saved the wing!"

Only vanity would make you view the devastation at Shalimsha as a victory, the same vanity that has made you refuse to take a rider….

"But you don't-" Khisanth stopped the thought.

/ know of the betrayals that have forged your personality-and your pride. You have gleaned less from them than you should.

The five heads swayed to an unheard cadence. You need consider only this one example: If you had taken a rider after your arrival at the wing, you would have secured the rightful position of second dragon. You gave inferior dragons like Khoal power over you. Had you been their superior, they could not have betrayed me.

"Maldeev could have made me second dragon without a rider!"

It was not his rule to break, the voice cut in sternly. / deter shy;mined the policy regarding riders. Maldeev is simply an agent whose function is to enforce my edicts. Again, only vanity would make you think yourself worthy of his risking a god's retribution.

You are right about one thing, though, the voice said in a slightly conciliatory tone. Humans are an inferior race. That is the crux of the whole, upcoming war. They currently control all of Krynn. Until I can return in physical form-which I am using them to help me accomplish-they are necessary annoyances. Like lemures.

That last comment, spoken with a hint of amusement, reas shy;sured Khisanth that she was not beyond redemption. "I thought I was honoring my queen. Must I take a rider?"

Only if you do not wish to repeat your mistakes and risk my wrath a second time.

"Humans are so easily swayed by emotion. How will I find one who is both worthy and true?"

You will live to do much greatness in my name, Khisanth, but trust no one. What you seek is a human worthy of your talents. Look in unexpected places. You will know him when the time comes.

The Dark Queen's five heads began to turn away. There is much work and little time to rebuild the Black Wing. Commit my words to memory, Khisanth, for I fear a second meeting would not go as well for you.

"Thank-" was all the humbled black dragon could squeeze out before the majesty of the Queen of Darkness faded into the barren landscape.

Just as abruptly and with scarcely a puff of smoke, Khi shy;santh left the Abyss. She landed squarely in a scene nearly as bleak as the Infernal Realms. Around her, in the scant light of dusk, soldiers with battle-blackened faces picked through the charred wreckage of Shalimsha Tower.

Chapter 20

Thougb the late summer day was gray and rainy outside the great hall, only one candle was lit inside. The shadows it cast mir shy;rored Maldeev's mood. The dragon highlord sat, slumped in his ornate, claw-footed chair, hands curled tightly around the miniature dragon heads at the ends of the armrests. He heard his water clock whirring behind him. Maldeev didn't care to look at it. He wanted no joy to intrude on his dark humor.