The Dark Elf Trilogy: Homeland

Chapter 27 Untroubled Dreams

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Zaknafein sank down into his bed in an easy sleep, the most comfortable rest he had ever known. Dreams did come to him this night, a rush of dreams. Far from tumultu-ous, they only enhanced his comfort. Zak was free now of his secret, of the lie that had dominated every day of his adult life.

Drizzt had survived! Even the dreaded Academy of Men-zoberranzan could not daunt the youth's indomitable spirit and sense of morality. Zaknafein Do'Urden was no longer alone. The dreams that played in his mind showed him the same wonderful possibilities that had followed Drizzt out of the city.

Side by side they would stand, unbeatable, two as one against the perverted foundations of Menzoberranzan.

A stinging pain in his foot brought Zak from his slumbers.

He saw Briza immediately, at the bottom of his bed, her snake whip in hand. Instinctively, Zak reached over the side to fetch his sword.

The weapon was gone. Vierna stood at the side of the room, holding it. On the opposite side, Maya held Zak's other sword.

How had they come in so stealthily? Zak wondered. Magi-cal silence, no doubt, but Zak was still surprised that he had not sensed their presence in time. Nothing had ever caught him unawares, awake or asleep.

Never before had he slept so soundly, so peacefully. Per-haps, in Menzoberranzan, such pleasant dreams were dan-gerous.

"Matron Malice will see you" Briza announced.

"I am not properly dressed" Zak replied casually. "My belt and weapons, if you please"

"We do not please!" Briza snapped, more at her sisters than at Zak. "You will not need the weapons" Zak thought otherwise.

"Come, now" Briza commanded, and she raised the whip.

"I should be certain of Matron Malice's intentions before I acted so boldly, were 1 you" Zak warned. Briza, reminded of the power of the male she now threatened, lowered her weapon.

Zak rolled out of bed, putting the same intense glare alter. nately on Maya and Vierna, watching their reactions to bet. ter conclude Malice's reasons for summoning him.

They surrounded him as he left his room, keeping a cau. tious but ready distance from the deadly weapon master.

"Must be serious" Zak remarked quietly, so that only Briza, in front of the troupe, could hear. Briza turned and flashed him a wicked smile that did nothing to dispel his suspicions. Neither did Matron Malice, who leaned forward in her throne in anticipation even before they entered the room.

"Matron" Zak offered, dipping into a bow and pulling the side of his nightshirt out wide to draw attention to his inap. propriate dress. He wanted to let Malice know his feelings of being ridiculed at such a late hour.

The matron offered no return greeting. She rested back in her throne. One slender hand rubbed her sharp chin, while her eyes locked upon Zaknafein.

"Perhaps you could tell me why you've summoned me"

Zak dared to say, his voice still holding an edge of sarcasm. "I would prefer to return to my slumbers. We should not give House Hun'ett the advantage of a tired weapon master"

"Drizzt has gone" growled Malice.

The news slapped Zak like a wet rag. He straightened, and the teasing smile disappeared from his face.

"He left the house against my commands" Malice went on.

Zak relaxed visibly; when Malice announced that Drizzt was gone, Zak had first thought that she and qer devious co-horts had driven him out or killed him.

"A spirited boy" Zak remarked. "Surely he will return soon"

"Spirited" Malice echoed, and her tone did not put the de-scription in a positive light.

"He will return" Zak said again. "There's no need for our alarm, for such extreme measures" He glared at Briza, though he knew well that the matron mother had called him to audience to do more than tell him of Drizzt's depar-ture.

"The secondboy disobeyed the matron mother" Briza snarled, a rehearsed interruption.

"Spirited" Zak said again, trying not to chuckle. "A minor indiscretion"

"How often he seems to have those" Malice commented.

"Like another spirited male of House Do'Urden"

Zak bowed again, taking her words as a compliment. Mal-ice already had his punishment decided, if she meant to punish him at all. His actions now, at this trial-if that's what it was-would be of little consequence.

"The boy has displeased the Spider Queen!" Malice growled, openly enraged and tired of Zak's sarcasm. "Even you were not foolish enough to do that!"

A dark cloud passed across Zak's face. This meeting was indeed serious; Drizzt's life could be at stake.

"But you know of his crime" Malice continued, easing back again. She liked that she had Zak concerned and on the defensive. She had found his vulnerable spot. It was her turn to tease.

"Leaving the house?" Zak protested. "A minor error in judgment. Lloth would not be concerned with such a trifle issue"

"Do not feign ignorance, Zaknafein. You know that the el-yen child lives!"

Zak lost his breath in a sharp gasp. Malice knew! Damn it all, Lloth knew! "We are about to go to war" Malice continued calmly, "we are not in Lloth's favor, and we must correct the situation" She eyed Zak directly. "You are aware of our ways and know: that we must do this"

Zak nodded, trapped. Anything he did now to disagree would only make matters worse for Drizzt-if matters could be worse for Drizzt.

"The secondboy must be punished" Briza said. Another rehearsed interruption, Zak knew. He wondered how many times Briza and Malice had practiced this encounter.

"Am I to punish him, then?" Zak asked. "I'll not whip the boy; that is not my place"

"His punishment is none of your concern" Malice said.

"Then why disturb my slumber?" Zak asked, trying to de-tach himself from Drizzt's predicament, more for Drizzt's sake than his own.