‘Isn’t that just a little fatalistic?’

‘Perhaps. I just wish I could see this shadow of yours. I might be able to identify it a little more precisely.’

‘I can borrow Ehlana’s ring and give them both to you,’ he offered. ‘Then you can take Bhelliom out of the pouch. I can almost guarantee that you’ll see the shadow at that point.’

‘Don’t even suggest that, Sparhawk,’ she shuddered. ‘I wouldn’t be much good to you if I were to suddenly vanish – permanently.’

‘Sephrenia,’ he said a bit critically, ‘was I some sort of an experiment? You keep warning everybody not to touch Bhelliom, but you didn’t even turn a hair when you were telling me to chase it down and take it away from Ghwerig. Wasn’t I in a certain amount of danger too? Did you just wait to see if I’d explode when I put my hands on it?’

‘Don’t be silly, Sparhawk. Everyone knows that you were destined to wield Bhelliom.’

‘I didn’t.’

‘Let’s not pursue this, dear one. We have enough problems already. Just accept the fact that you and Bhelliom are linked. I think that shadow should be our concern right now. What is it, and what is it doing?’

‘It seems to be following Bhelliom – and the rings. Can we discount the things Perraine was trying to do? Wasn’t that Martel’s idea – one that he came up with on his own?’

‘I don’t know that we’d be safe to assume that. Martel was controlling Perraine, but something else may have been controlling Martel – without his even knowing it.’

‘I see that this is going to be another of the kind of discussions that give me headaches.’

‘Just take precautions, dear one,’ she told him. ‘Don’t relax your guard. Let’s see if we can catch up with Ehlana. She’ll be upset if you’re not attentive.’

They were all somewhat subdued when they gathered together that evening. This time, however, they did not gather in the Pandion chapterhouse but rather in a large over-decorated chamber attached to the Archprelate’s personal apartments. The room was normally the site of the meetings of the highest councils of the Church, and they had assembled there at Sarathi’s personal request. Tynian, Sparhawk noticed, was conspicuously absent. The walls of the room were panelled, and it was adorned with blue drapes and carpeting. A very large religious fresco decorated the ceiling. Talen looked up and sniffed disdainfully. ‘I could do a better job than that with my left hand,’ he declared.

‘There’s a thought,’ Kurik said. ‘I think I’ll ask Dolmant if he’d like to have the ceiling of the nave here in the Basilica decorated.’

‘Kurik,’ Talen said with some shock, ‘that ceiling’s bigger than a cow pasture. It’d take forty years to paint enough pictures to cover it.’