Disclaimer: I do not own DragonLance or any of its characters. I have thirty dollars, but I don't think that's near enough to buy Raistlin and Dalamar.

Cold Blood
Chapter Three

Kitiara lay on her back in her cot. The thin walls of her commander's tent didn't block the noise of her dragon-army. Raucous laughter, the creak of armor, metal upon metal, raised voices, and the crackling of fire drifted in. However, Kitiara was deep in her thoughts and barely noticed the noise.

Raistlin...how to kill him? He was probably one of the hardest men to kill upon Krynn. He has to be, Kitiara mused, if all the sickness hasn't killed him yet.

Raistlin also sat inside one of the best guarded buildings in all of Ansalon. A flying citadel would be easier for her to get into than the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas. The Shoikan Grove would hardly allow her passage and she knew Skie wouldn't fly directly into the courtyard. Too much evil miasma. Damn it, Kit thought as she turned onto her side. Beleg just couldn't target anyone weaker, could he?

The tendrils of cold air were what first alerted Kitiara to his presence. She shivered and sat up, slowly turning around and meeting the glowing eyes of Lord Soth.

The Death Knight stood near the wooden table that was littered with maps of all sorts, fingering the blade of his dagger. His blackened armor with a carved black rose glistened in the dancing light of the lantern. His cold aura filled the tent, but Kitiara didn't care. She was used to it by now.

"Lord Soth," Kit greeted. She swung her legs over the cot and returned his gaze. With a quick flick of her eye, she located her sword before bringing her eyes back to his. She doubted she'd need it; Soth needed her to help break the curse. If he did attack though, Kit thought, what would a mortal blade be able to do against a Death Knight?

"Strategizing?" he asked, his voice void of emotion as usual. "Planning a way to get out of Sanction?"

"Strategizing, yes. To get out of Sanction, no," she replied. She languidly stretched, arching her back. Shifting herself to a more comfortable position, she continued. "A job was proposed to me. I decided to take it."

"I didn't know you accepted the work of a sell-sword," Soth commented. His fingers ran up and down along the blade of the dagger.

"No, not usually," Kitiara agreed. "But this proposition intrigued me." She told him about her meeting with Beleg. Soth remained silent, his eyes flickering only once at the mention of Raistlin's name.

"A formidable task," he said, nodding slightly. "Especially for one with no capacity for magic."

"Yes. I need one with magical abilities." Kit smiled mischievously as she continued, "That's where you come in."

_

Dalamar sat in the hard, straight-back chair, leaning over the spell- book on the desk. The thick candles that lined the walls of his chamber burned brightly with flickering light. His eyebrows drew together in his concentration as he worked on memorizing the spells and committing them to memory, so they would come readily when he needed them.

He spared a quick glance for the window slit above his head. The sky was darkening and the stars were just beginning to appear. Dalamar sighed, shut the book, stood, and stretched. He listened to his spine creak before leaning down to grab his bag. It was then the sensation hit him.

_

Lord Soth shimmered into existence near the fireplace of the study, behind the great wooden desk. Raistlin's unprotected back was to him. Soth slowly un-sheathed his dagger with as little noise as possible. The arch-mage did not move.

Nor did he move as the Death Knight approached him. Soth halted, close enough to the mage to reach out and touch him. Still Raistlin did not move. What's wrong? Soth thought furiously. He hasn't moved even though I'm so close! Does he not even realize I'm here? Is he sleeping or, perhaps, his illness has finally overtaken him?

Lord Soth shook his head and cleared his mind. What was he waiting for? Now was the time to strike. Soth raised his dagger and was about to swing down...

_

Dalamar hurtled down the stone stairs. Somewhere...somewhere in the Tower, an uninvited guest had arrived. But how could any intruder enter? The Tower is guarded against any living thing, Dalamar reminded himself. How did the intruder get in?

Dalamar stopped as he reached the landing. Shalafi. He needed to find Raistlin, who was most likely still in the study. Raistlin would probably already know of the break-in. But Dalamar still couldn't shake the feeling of urgency as he ran down the stairs to the next floor.

Then the wave of power ran over him.

_

Lord Soth couldn't move. His muscles were paralyzed. The dagger hovered mere inches from the arch-mage's back. An incredible power was beating down on him from all sides.

Blasted mage! Soth cursed. He knew I was here all along! The Death Knight threw up his own defenses around him to try and knock away Raistlin's power. He was holding it off, though barely.

Raistlin rose slowly, shifting a little to the left to avoid the dagger. He faced Lord Soth, locking the Death Knight's fiery gaze with his own hourglass one. The two battled on with their energy.

A tickling sensation moved up Raistlin's throat, making his eyes water. He fought to keep the coughing fit down. He couldn't afford one now. His concentration was now divided between Lord Soth and keeping down his cough.

Soth could feel Raistlin's power wavering. He attacked with more force than he had been using previously. Raistlin was faltering. Soon, he would fall...

Another power slammed against Soth's. A weaker power, but sudden enough to throw him off. The Death Knight whirled his head around to see an elf, panting, standing in the doorway.

Soth's hesitation at Dalamar's appearance gave Raistlin just enough time to recover. The arch-mage focused fully on the undead being and once more assaulted him with as much power as he could conjure.

Soth's barrier cracked and both powers rushed in on him. His voice rose in an unholy cry before he disappeared, only to reappear in Kitiara's tent, crumpled into a heap on the ground and panting.

End of Chapter Three

Well, it took awhile, but I finally got the chapter up. Thank you for all the good reviews you've been sending in. Now, if you would be so kind, please review again by clicking that little blue button down there.