"Astounding," Beldin murmured. "That actually sounded like real logic. Aren't you feeling well, Belgarath?"

"Would you please?" Belgarath growled. "Well, Cyradis?"

She paused, her expression distant. Garion seemed to hear that faint choral murmuring.' "Thy reasoning is correct, Ancient One. The same perception came to Zandramas some time ago, so I am not revealing anything unto thee which she doth not already know. Zandramas, however, hath rejected the fruits of her reasoning and hath striven to circumvent her conclusions."

"Very well, then," Zakath said, "since we're all going to get there at the same time anyway, and since everybody knows about it, there's not much point in being coy, is there? I say we just land on the beach and march straight to the cave."

"Stopping only long enough for you and me to put on our armor," Garion added. "It probably wouldn't be a good idea to dress up here on board ship. It might make Kresca nervous."

"Your plan sounds good to me, Zakath," Durnik agreed.

"I'm not so sure," Silk said dubiously. "There's a certain advantage to sneaking."

"Drasnians," Ce'Nedra sighed.

"Listen to his reasons before you throw the notion out, Ce'Nedra," Velvet suggested.

"It's sort of like this," Silk went on. "Zandramas knows deep down that she can't beat us to that cave, but she's been trying for months all the same, hoping that there's some way she can bypass the rules. Now, let's try to think the way she does."

"I'd sooner take poison," Ce'Nedra said with a shudder.

"It's only for the sake of understanding your opponent, Ce'Nedra. Now, Zandramas has been hoping against hope that she can beat us to that cave and avoid the necessity of coming up against Garion. He did kill Torak, after all, and nobody in his right mind would willingly confront the Godslayer."

"I'm going to have that removed from my title when I get back to Riva," Garion said sourly.

"You can do that later," Silk told him. "What would Zandramas most likely feel if she arrived at the cave mouth, looked around, and didn't see us?"

"I think I see where you're going, Kheldar," Sadi said admiringly.

"You would," Zakath said dryly.

"It's really rather brilliant, you know, Kal Zakath," the eunuch said. "Zandramas is going to feel a wild exultation. She'll believe that she's succeeded in circumventing the prophecies and that she's won in spite of them."

“Then what's going to happen to her when we all step out from behind a boulder and she finds out that she still has to face Garion and submit to the choice of Cyradis after all?" Silk asked.

"She's probably going to be very disappointed," Velvet said.