Kalten shook his head. ‘No, of course not. I don’t know what came over me. Forget I said anything.’

Sparhawk, however, did not. That evening he drew Sephrenia to one side. ‘I think we have a problem,’ he said to her.

‘Are you starting to have unusual feelings?’ she asked quickly. ‘Something that may be coming from somewhere outside yourself?’

‘I didn’t exactly follow that.’

‘I think we’ve all noticed it a few times before. We’ve all been having these sudden bouts of doubt and depression.’ She smiled slightly. ‘That’s not really in the character of Church Knights, you know. Most of the time you’re optimistic to the point of insanity. These doubts and gloom are being imposed on us from the outside. Is that the sort of thing you’re feeling? Is that the problem?’

‘It’s not me,’ he assured her. ‘I’m feeling a little low, but I think that’s just the weather. It’s the others I’m talking about. Kalten came up to me today, and he was asking me why we had to be the ones to do this. Kalten would never ask that kind of question. You usually have to hold him back, but now I think he just wants to pack it all up and go home. If my friends are all feeling this way, why don’t I feel it too?’

She looked out into the still-falling snow. Once again he was struck by just how agelessly beautiful she was. ‘I think He’s afraid of you,’ she said after a while.

‘Kalten? That’s nonsense.’

‘That’s not what I meant. It’s Azash who’s afraid of you, Sparhawk.’

‘That’s absurd.’

‘I know, but I think it’s true all the same. Somehow you have more control over Bhelliom than anyone else has ever had. Not even Ghwerig had such absolute power over the stone. That’s what Azash is really afraid of. That’s why He won’t risk confronting you directly, and that’s why He’s trying to dishearten your friends. He’s attacking Kalten and Bevier and the others because He’s afraid to attack you.’

‘You too?’ he asked her. ‘Are you in despair too?’

‘Of course not.’

‘Why of course?’

‘It would take too long to explain. I’ll take care of this, Sparhawk. Go to bed.’

They awoke the following morning to a familiar sound. It was clear and pure, and though the song of the pipes was in a minor key, it seemed filled with an ageless joy. A slow smile came to Sparhawk’s lips, and he shook Kalten awake. ‘We’ve got company,’ he said.

Kalten sat up quickly, reaching for his sword, and then he heard the sound of the pipes. ‘Well, now,’ he grinned, ‘it’s about time. I’ll be glad to see her again.’