The Complete Elenium Trilogy: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, The Sapphire Rose. David Eddings

care of the rest.’

      ‘Sparhawk,’ Kurik said sharply, looking around the room, ‘what happened to Talen?’

      Sparhawk turned quickly. ‘I thought he was bringing up the rear when we came in.’

      ‘So did I.’

      ‘Berit,’ Sparhawk said, ‘go and find him.’

      ‘At once, my Lord.’ The novice hurried from the room.

      ‘Some problem?’ Lycien asked.

      ‘A wayward boy, cousin,’ Bevier told him. ‘From what I gather, he needs to be watched rather closely.’

      ‘Berit will find him.’ Kalten laughed. ‘I have a great deal of confidence in that young man. Talen may come back with a few bumps and contusions, but I’m sure they’ll be very educational for him.’

      ‘Well, if it’s all under control, then,’ Lycien said, ‘why don’t I send word to the kitchen? I’m sure you’re hungry. And in the meantime, perhaps some wine?’ He assumed a pious expression that was obviously feigned. ‘I know that the Knights of the Church are abstemious, but a touch or so of wine is good for the digestion, or so I’ve heard.’

      ‘I’ve heard that, too,’ Kalten agreed.

      ‘Could I prevail upon you for a cup of tea, my Lord?’ Sephrenia asked. ‘And some milk for the little girl? I’m not sure that wine would be good for either of us.’

      ‘Of course, madame,’ Lycien replied jovially. ‘I should have thought of that myself.’

      It was midafternoon when Berit returned with Talen in tow. ‘He was down near the harbour,’ the novice reported, still firmly holding the boy by the neck of his tunic. ‘I searched him thoroughly. He hadn’t had time to steal anything.’

      ‘I just wanted to look at the sea,’ the boy protested. ‘I’ve never seen the sea before.’

      Kurik was grimly removing his wide leather belt.

      ‘Now, wait a minute, Kurik,’ Talen said, struggling to free himself from Berit’s grasp. ‘You wouldn’t really do that, would you?’

      ‘Watch me.’

      ‘I picked up some information,’ Talen said quickly. ‘If you thrash me, I’ll keep it to myself.’ He looked appealingly at Sparhawk. ‘It’s important,’ he said. ‘Tell him to put his belt back on and I’ll let you know what I found out.’

      ‘All right, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said. ‘Let it pass – for the moment anyway.’ Then he looked sternly at the boy. ‘This had better be good, Talen,’ he threatened.

      ‘It is, Sparhawk. Believe me.’

      ‘Let’s have it.’

      ‘Well, I was going down this street. As I said, I wanted to see the harbour and all the ships and things. Anyway, I was passing a wine shop and I saw a man coming out.’

      ‘Amazing,’ Kalten said. ‘Do people in Madel actually frequent wine shops?’

      ‘You both know this man. It was Krager, the one you had me watching in Cimmura. I followed him. He went into a shabby-looking inn down by the waterfront. I can take you there if you want.’

      ‘Put your belt back on, Kurik,’ Sparhawk said.

      ‘Do we have time for this?’ Kalten asked.

      ‘I think we should make time. Martel’s already tried to interfere with us a couple of times. If it was Annias who poisoned Ehlana, he’ll definitely want to keep us from finding any kind of antidote. That means that Martel will try to get to Cippria before I do. We can wring that information out of Krager if we can catch him.’

      ‘We’ll go with you,’ Tynian said eagerly. ‘This whole thing will be easier if we can cut Annias’ hands off here in Madel.’

      Sparhawk considered it, then shook his head. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘Martel and his hirelings know Kalten and me. He doesn’t know the rest of you. If the two of us can’t catch up with Krager, you’ll all be looking around Madel for him. That’s going to be easier if he doesn’t know what you look like.’

      ‘Makes sense,’ Ulath agreed.

      Tynian looked profoundly disappointed. ‘Sometimes you think too much, Sparhawk,’ he said.

      ‘It’s a trait of his,’ Kalten told him.

      ‘Will these cloaks of ours attract any attention in the streets of Madel, my Lord?’ Sparhawk asked the marquis.

      Lycien shook his head. ‘It’s a port city,’ he said. ‘There are people here from all over the world, so two more strangers won’t attract that much notice.’

      ‘Good,’ Sparhawk said. He started towards the door with Kalten and Talen at his heels. ‘We should be back before long,’ he said.

      They left their horses behind and went into the city on foot. Madel was situated on an estuary, and the smell of the sea was very strong, carried inland by a stiff onshore breeze. The streets were narrow and crooked and grew increasingly run-down as the two knights and the boy approached the harbour.

      ‘How far is this inn?’ Kalten asked.

      ‘Not too much farther,’ Talen assured him.

      Sparhawk stopped. ‘Did you get the chance to look around a bit after Krager went inside?’ he asked the boy.

      ‘No. I was going to, but Berit caught me before I had time.’

      ‘Why don’t you do it now? If Kalten and I go marching up to the front door and Krager happens to be watching, he’ll be out the back door before we get inside. See if you can find that back door for us.’

      ‘Right,’ Talen said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. He scurried off down the street.

      ‘Good lad there,’ Kalten said, ‘in spite of his bad habits.’ He frowned. ‘How do you know this inn has a back door?’ he asked.

      ‘Every inn has a back door, Kalten – in case of fire if nothing else.’

      ‘I guess I hadn’t thought of that.’

      When Talen returned, he was running as hard as he could. There were about ten men chasing him; in the lead, roaring unintelligibly, was Adus.

      ‘Look out!’ Talen shouted as he ran past.

      Sparhawk and Kalten whipped their swords out from under their cloaks and stepped slightly apart to meet the charge. The men following Adus were shabbily dressed and carried a variety of weapons, rusty swords, axes, and spiked maces. ‘Kill them!’ Adus bellowed, slowing slightly and waving his men on.

      The fight was short. The men rushing up the narrow street appeared to be common waterfront roughnecks, and they were no match for the two trained knights. Four of them were down before the others realized that they had made a tactical blunder. Two more collapsed onto the bloody stones before the rest could turn to flee. Then Sparhawk leapt over the sprawled bodies and rushed at Adus. The brute parried the knight’s first stroke, then seized his sword hilt in both hands and flailed at Sparhawk with it. Sparhawk easily deflected those blows and countered deftly, inflicting painful cuts and bruises on his opponent’s mailed ribs and shoulders. After a moment, Adus fled, running hard and clutching at his side with a bloody hand.

      ‘Why didn’t you chase him?’ Kalten demanded, coming up puffing and with his blood-smeared sword still in his hand.

      ‘Because Adus can run faster than I can,’ Sparhawk shrugged. ‘I’ve known that for years.’

      Talen came back down the street, breathing hard. He looked admiringly at the hacked and bleeding bodies sprawled on the cobblestones. ‘Well done, my Lords,’ he congratulated them.

      ‘What happened?’ Sparhawk