05.07.2005: Answers to reviews removed. See chapter 3 for details.
Disclaimer: David and Leigh Eddings own the characters and worlds, and I am not making money by using their creations in this story.
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CHAPTER 13
After they had assured that Ehlana's injuries were fairly minor (the biggest concern being a minor concussion from the large splinter that had hit her on the head), the queen had been patched up by Sephrenia. She now lay in the bed she shared with Sparhawk, the Styric woman at her side. The whole castle guard had been mobilized in search for the perpetrator of this crime.
Sparhawk stood a little to the side, talking to the Atana in a low, urgent voice:
"Mirtai, would you consider taking up watching Ehlana for a while again? I know you have your family to worry about, but I have to find the person who did this to Ehlana, and I can't do that if I have to worry about this person starting another attempt on her!"
Mirtai considered this for a while and replied: "I will have to talk to my husband about this... but I'll do my best to stay here for a while, Sparhawk. I don't want to see her get hurt any more than you."
"Thank you, Atana," Sparhawk replied formally. "I will leave for now. Most likely the person who did this is not around anymore, but I would like to take a quick look around nonetheless. I will be back shortly. Will you be able to watch over Ehlana for that time?"
"Of course."
Sparhawk nodded, relieved that Mirtai would stay with his wife for a while, and left the room.
Outside, the Church knights, Vanion, and Belgarath and Polgara along with Dorgatan tried to calm the fuming Child Goddess, who was also the Queen's daughter. Aphrael sputtered, cursing in Styric and kicking the wall in what appeared a fit of rage. She only stopped when Dorgatan snapped at her in a language none of them understood – most likely the tongue of the Gods, a language which Sparhawk had only heard a couple of times.
"I should have known the Elder Gods were up to something again!", the Child Goddess spat at her relative. "We should have destroyed them when we had the chance – obviously they can break out of their prisons whenever it pleases them!"
"I wish she wouldn't talk about destroying Gods so casually," Bevier quietly complained to Ulath. That bought him a level stare from both Aphrael and Dorgatan, which caused him to stop voicing his theological sensitivities rather quickly.
"Aphrael," Dorgatan finally replied, "we don't know for certain yet whether it was one of the Elder Gods. Yes, all signs point towards it, but we have no proof just yet. Just think: In the Cyrgon Affair, you and your companions had thought for most of the time that it was the Troll Gods you were up against – until you found out the truth..."
He didn't get an opportunity to finish his little speech; one of the guards who had been involved in the search of the castle grounds strode up to Sparhawk at a brisk pace, saluted and announced: "Your Highness, we have found something that might be of interest to you. Please follow me."
He led the group to a room occupied by one of the minor courtiers; the man had been unknown to Sparhawk, but one could easily judge from the interior of his room that he had been the typical useless social butterfly – charming in your face, intriguing and backstabbing in the background.
'Had been' was the appropriate term; the man in question lay motionless on his bed, his swollen black tongue lolling out of his mouth, the lips blue, the staring eyes bloodshot, the face pallid. He looked as though he had been strangled – but there were no telltale marks on his neck.
Aphrael's eyes narrowed at the sight of the body, and she told the guard who had brought them here: "Thank you, Corporal – you can leave now."
Without thinking about the fact that he was being ordered around by a young girl, the man saluted and closed the door behind him. After he was gone, the Goddess ordered:
"Somebody check his body for anything out of the ordinary – marks, wounds, whatever you can find. I have a suspicion which I would like to confirm."
"I will do it," Polgara volunteered. "I am a trained physician – and I, too, have a thought I would like to confirm. His appearance hints at a poison, and a particular kind of poison at that."
She walked over to the cot, first checking his mouth and hands, then proceeding to the rest of the body. Finally, at the back of his neck, she found what she had been searching for: Two needle-fine wounds, close to each other and showing a peculiar green coloring on the rims. A mouldy odor wormed its way in her nose, and she wrinkled it as she announced:
"As I thought. This was the work of a snake. I cannot tell you which breed it was – I don't know the local snakes, much less which ones of them are poisonous."
"It should not happen here," Ulath remarked.
At Polgara's questioning gaze, Bevier translated: "There are no poisonous snakes in this part of the world, at least not to my knowledge. We have a few kinds down in Arcium, but they wouldn't survive the climate here for long – and none of them would bite a man in his sleep. They only attack when threatened. Furthermore, I can't think of a way this man could have attacked a snake so that it would bite him in the back of the neck."
"I can think of an explanation," Dorgatan replied, his facial expression angry. "I think we have our proof that an Elder God is involved."
Aphrael nodded. "Zoltach," she said, the name coming out of her mouth as an ominous hiss. "The God of the snakes, lies and intrigue. How fitting for him to be our adversary!"
"Why do you say that?", Vanion wanted to know.
Aphrael sighed. "It might be better if you know about it. Zoltach was the closest ally of Azash before we locked them all away. He uses snakes to do his bidding – there are different kinds he uses, some for domination of people, some for assassination. In this case, this bag," she pointed at a satchel of coins on the nearby table, "seems to have been the payment for the attempt on Sparhawk's life, and that," she directed her little finger at the wounds in the man's neck, "is the payment for his failure. He is the most devious among the Elder Gods, and not above bribing people who are already rotten enough to do his bidding without one of his creatures controlling him. I don't know why we haven't had any warning that he was on the rise again, however – I didn't feel him shatter his prison, as I felt it when Azash broke free..."
Dorgatan frowned. "Maybe he hasn't passed the barrier yet – maybe that is why he wants Anakha out of the way, to gain enough strength to break free without anyone hindering him."
"To do what?", Aphrael asked. "I still can't think of anything he could possibly do without worshippers – and he doesn't seem to have a significant amount of followers just yet, or we would have known about it."
The Messenger-God nodded. "That's why we have to follow the energy flow from my friends' world, once we sense its direction – I am sure the answer lies at the origin of the problem that led us here."
Suddenly, the door opened, showing a small, bendy-legged man with a shaved head standing in the frame.
"Where is the scoundrel who hurt my Doma?", he barked at Sparhawk, enraged.
"Here he is, Kring," the prince consort replied calmly. "His master has already gotten to him for his failure. We are about to follow a lead which hopefully will lead us to the person this attempt on our life originated with..."
"Then at him! I will tell my Peloi to be ready for a journey – we will collect this monster's ears, and a few other assorted body parts..."
Aphrael, who, to the unknowing Domi, appeared like Princess Danae, quickly shook her head at Sparhawk, who improvised:
"Uh, Domi, that might not be a good idea. See, we want to go stealthy about it – otherwise the scoundrel might realize we are after him too fast and flee our righteous vengeance. Furthermore, your wife has already agreed to watch over the Queen – and I would feel even better if you and your Peloi could guard the castle in general while we are out hunting down the person who hired this assassin. I will promise you, however, that his death will be slow and painful, and I will try to bring you his ears as a token of my gratitude for your service."
Kring thought about the Pandion's proposal for a short while, and then grudgingly agreed.
"Of course, Sparhawk. We will remain here until you return with the monster's ears. I will alert my Peloi to watch out for other scoundrels within the castle walls."
With these words, he left the room. After he didn't hear the Peloi chieftain's steps on the stone floor of the hallway anymore, Sparhawk sighed.
"So I have to go out and kill yet another God, is that it? What exactly am I supposed to be, their private little death?"
He looked at Aphrael, unconcealed plea in his eyes. "Why me?"
Despite the stern situation, Polgara had to stifle a laugh.
"Excuse me, Your Highness, but I have known a lot of people who have asked my father and me the exact same question."
The prince raised an eyebrow. "And what would you answer?"
"That they have been chosen by the Gods, that it is their destiny. This might not be the best consolation, but it is the only answer I ever had."
"Calm down, father," Aphrael now chimed in. "We don't know yet what course of action we will have to take when we find out where Zoltach bundles the energy from their world yet. You might want to prepare for the worst, though – Zoltach is not the most understanding God out there, and he might not like it if we come along to thwart his scheme."
There you go! Tonight, I only had time for one slightly longer-than-usual chapter, because I have to get up early tomorrow. Hope you enjoy, will be back next week (after I finally finish the Tamuli – am almost through Book 2!) with more! Please review!