The Sapphire Rose. David Eddings

have time for childish jokes.’

      ‘Let him speak, Kurik,’ the Earl of Lenda said intently. ‘Good ideas can sometimes come from the most unusual places. Exactly what is this force you spoke of, young man?’

      ‘The people,’ Talen replied simply.

      ‘That’s absurd, Talen,’ Kurik said. ‘They aren’t trained.’

      ‘How much training do you really need in order to pour boiling pitch down on the heads of a besieging army?’ Talen shrugged.

      ‘It’s a very interesting notion, young man,’ Lenda said. ‘There was, in fact, an outpouring of popular support for Queen Ehlana after her coronation. The people of Cimmura – and of the surrounding towns and villages – might very well come to her aid. The problem, though, is that they don’t have any leaders. A mob of people milling around in the streets without anyone to direct them wouldn’t be much of a defence.’

      ‘There are leaders about, My Lord.’

      ‘Who?’ Vanion asked the boy.

      ‘Platime for one,’ Talen offered, ‘and if Stragen’s still here, he’d probably be fairly good at it as well.’

      ‘This Platime’s a sort of a scoundrel, isn’t he?’ Bevier asked dubiously.

      ‘Sir Bevier,’ Lenda said, ‘I’ve served on the royal council of Elenia for many years now, and I can assure you that not only the capital, but the entire kingdom as well has been in the hands of scoundrels for decades now.’

      ‘But –’ Bevier started to protest.

      ‘Is it the fact that Platime and Stragen are official scoundrels that upsets you, Sir Bevier?’ Talen asked lightly.

      ‘What do you think, Sparhawk?’ Lenda asked. ‘Do you think this Platime fellow could really direct some kind of military operation?’

      Sparhawk thought it over. ‘He probably could,’ he said, ‘particularly if Stragen’s still here to help him.’

      ‘Stragen?’

      ‘He holds a position similar to Platime’s among the thieves in Emsat. Stragen’s a strange one, but he’s extremely intelligent, and he’s had an excellent education.’

      ‘They can call in old debts as well,’ Talen said. ‘Platime can draw men from Vardenais, Demos, the towns of Lenda and Cardos – not to mention the men he can get from the robber bands operating out in the countryside.’

      ‘It’s not really as if they were going to have to hold the city for an extended period of time,’ Tynian mused. ‘Only until the Elenian army gets here, and a great deal of what they’ll be doing is going to be pure intimidation. It’s unlikely that Primate Annias will be able to spare more than a thousand church soldiers from Chyrellos to cause problems here, and if the tops of the city walls are lined with a superior force, those soldiers will be very reluctant to attack. You know, Sparhawk, I think the boy’s come up with a remarkably good plan.’

      ‘I’m overcome by your confidence, Sir Tynian,’ Talen said with an extravagant bow.

      ‘There are veterans here in Cimmura as well,’ Kurik added, ‘former army men who can help direct the workers and peasants in the defence of the city.’

      ‘It’s all terribly unnatural, of course,’ the Earl of Lenda said sardonically. ‘The whole purpose of government has always been to keep the commons under control and out of politics entirely. The only purpose the common people really have for existing is to do the work and pay the taxes. We may be doing something here that we’ll all live to regret.’

      ‘Do we really have any choice, Lenda?’ Vanion asked him.

      ‘No, Vanion, I don’t think we have.’

      ‘Let’s get started with it then. My Lord of Lenda, I believe you have some correspondence to catch up with, and Talen, why don’t you go and see this Platime fellow?’

      ‘May I take Berit with me, My Lord Vanion?’ the boy asked, looking at the young novice.

      ‘I suppose so, but why?’

      ‘I’m sort of the official envoy from one government to another. I should have an escort of some kind to make me look more important. That sort of thing impresses Platime.’

      ‘One government to another?’ Kalten asked. ‘Do you actually think of Platime as a head of state?’

      ‘Well, isn’t he?’

      As Sparhawk’s friends were filing out, Sparhawk briefly touched Sephrenia’s sleeve. ‘I need to talk with you,’ he said quietly.

      ‘Of course.’

      He went to the door and closed it. ‘I probably should have told you about this before, little mother,’ he said, ‘but it all seemed so innocuous at the beginning –’ He shrugged.

      ‘Sparhawk,’ she told him, ‘you know better than that. You must tell me everything. I’ll decide what’s innocuous and what isn’t.’

      ‘All right. I think I’m being followed.’

      Her eyes narrowed.

      ‘I had a nightmare right after we took Bhelliom away from Ghwerig. Azash was mixed up in it and so was Bhelliom. There was something else as well though – something I can’t put a name to.’

      ‘Can you describe it?’

      ‘Sephrenia, I can’t even see it. It seems to be some sort of shadow – something dark that’s right on the very edge of my vision – like a flicker of movement to one side and slightly behind me. I get the feeling that it doesn’t like me very much.’

      ‘Does it only come to you when you’re dreaming?’

      ‘No. I see it now and then when I’m awake too. It seems to appear whenever I take Bhelliom out of its pouch. There are other times as well, but I can almost count on seeing it anytime I open the pouch.’

      ‘Do that now, dear one,’ she instructed. ‘Let’s find out if I can see it too.’

      Sparhawk reached inside his doublet, took out the pouch and opened it. He removed the Sapphire Rose and held it in his hand. The flicker of darkness was immediately there. ‘Can you see it?’ he asked.

      Sephrenia looked carefully around the room. ‘No,’ she admitted. ‘Can you feel anything coming from the shadow?’

      ‘I can tell that it isn’t fond of me.’ He put Bhelliom back into the pouch. ‘Any ideas?’

      ‘It might be something connected with Bhelliom itself,’ she suggested a bit dubiously. ‘To be perfectly honest with you, though, I don’t really know that much about Bhelliom. Aphrael doesn’t like to talk about it. I think the Gods are afraid of it. I know a little bit about how to use it, but that’s about all.’

      ‘I don’t know if there’s any connection,’ Sparhawk mused, ‘but somebody’s definitely interested in doing me in. There were those men on the road outside Emsat, that ship that Stragen thought might be following us and those outlaws who were looking for us on the Cardos road.’

      ‘Not to mention the fact that somebody tried to shoot you in the back with a crossbow when we were on our way to the palace,’ she added.

      ‘Could it be another Seeker perhaps?’ he suggested.

      ‘Something like that maybe. Once the Seeker takes control of somebody, the man becomes a mindless tool. These attempts on your life seem to be a bit more rational.’

      ‘Could Azash have some creature who could manage that?’

      ‘Who knows what kinds of creatures Azash can raise? I know of a dozen or so different varieties, but there are probably scores of others.’

      ‘Would you