“Brendan is taken?” Morgan breathed, remembering how, so short a time ago, he had lulled the boy to sleep.

Without hesitation, Arilan moved into the circle and knelt beside Richenda, assisting her to her feet and giving her into Duncan’s care. She wrung her hands as Duncan drew her away from the Portal, her red-gold hair tumbling around her shoulders and across her face in disarray. Morgan started to go to her, but Arilan shook his head, motioning Duncan to take her yet farther from the circle.

“Let her be, Alaric,” he said in a low voice. “A priest’s touch is better just now. Our more urgent task at present is to close this Portal before Wencit tries to use it again. I should never have left it open.”

“Can we assist you?” Kelson asked, watching with concern as the bishop sat back on his haunches and rubbed his hand across his eyes.

“No, your strength is needed for Derry. Stand back while I do what must be done.”

As they moved at his bidding, Arilan stared up at the ceiling for a moment and drew a deep breath, as though composing himself, then bowed his head and let his hands rest on the ground to either side of him. Light began to flare around his head, ebbing and flowing with his steady heartbeat.

Then, with a brilliant flash, it was over. Arilan reeled forward drunkenly on hands and knees, gulping for breath, but before Morgan could reach him, he shook his head.

“Leave me,” he rasped. “See to Derry now. This is finished. I’ll join you shortly.”

With a glance at Kelson, at Richenda and Duncan across the chamber by Kelson’s bed, Morgan focused himself and moved toward the guards holding Derry. The young earl’s eyes touched him as he approached, and the bound limbs began thrashing again as the Deryni lord came nearer. Morgan looked down at Derry for several seconds without speaking, then knelt down and began removing his gloves.

“What did you actually see?” he asked one of the guards who seemed to be more self-possessed than the others. “Someone told us that Derry carried the boy in here, wrapped up asleep in a cloak, and that the Lady Richenda came with him willingly.”

“That’s what it looked like, Your Grace. They’d been inside only a minute or two. I was on guard duty just at the perimeter when I heard the lady cry out. ‘Derry!’ she called.

“When we got inside, we could see her struggling with him over there, where the bishop was. And something happened to the boy, too. He was lying there on the furs, just where the bishop is sitting, and then there was a funny glow, and it looked like two more people were standing there.”

Kelson, who had moved closer to listen as the guard spoke, dropped to his knees beside Morgan and searched the guard’s face attentively.

“One of the guards who came to fetch us said that the men were Wencit of Torenth and the Earl of Marley. Does that agree with what you saw?”