[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
depart."
Mister Wolf bowed with resignation, turned, and came back toward the rest of
them. His expression registered a certain hopeless disgust.
"Wait!" Mara roared suddenly. The images of the city and its dead wavered and
shimmered away. "What is this?" the God demanded.
Mister Wolf turned quickly.
"What hast thou done, Belgarath?" Mara accused, suddenly towering into
immensity. "And thou, Polgara. Is my grief now an amusement for thee? Wilt thou
cast my sorrow into my teeth?"
"My Lord?" Aunt Pol seemed taken aback by the God's sudden fury.
"Monstrous!" Mara roared. "Monstrous!" His huge face convulsed with rage. In
terrible anger, he strode toward them and then stopped directly in front of the
horse of Princess Ce'Nedra. "I will rend thy flesh!" he shrieked at her. "I will
fill thy brain with the worms of madness, daughter of Nedra. I will sink thee in
torment and horror for all the days of thy life."
"Leave her alone!" Aunt Pol said sharply.
"Nay, Polgara," he raged. "Upon her will fall the brunt of my wrath." His
dreadful, clutching fingers reached out toward the uncomprehending princess, but
she stared blankly through him, unflinching and unaware.
The God hissed with frustration and whirled to confront Mister Wolf. "Tricked!"
he howled. "Her mind is asleep."
"They're all asleep, Lord Mara," Wolf replied. "Threats and horrors don't mean
anything to them. Shriek and howl until the sky falls down; she cannot hear
thee."
"I will punish thee for this, Belgarath," Mara snarled, "and Polgara as well.
You will all taste pain and terror for this arrogant despite of me. I will wring
the sleep from the minds of these intruders, and they will know the agony and
madness I will visit upon them all." He swelled suddenly into vastness.
"That's enough! Mara! Stop!" The voice was Garion's, but Garion knew that it was
not he who spoke.
The Spirit of Mara turned on him, raising his vast arm to strike, but Garion
felt himself slide from his horse to approach the vast threatening figure. "Your
vengeance stops here, Mara," the voice coming from Garion's mouth said. "The
girl is bound to my purpose. You will not touch her." Garion realized with a
certain alarm that he had been placed between the raging God and the sleeping
princess.
"Move out of my way, boy, lest I slay thee," Mara threatened.
"Use your mind, Mara," the voice told him, "if you haven't howled it empty by
now. You know who I am."
"I will have her!" Mara howled. "I will give her a multitude of lives and tear
each one from her quivering flesh."
"No," the voice replied, "you won't. "
The God Mara drew himself up again, raising his dreadful arms; but at the same
time, his eyes were probing - and more than his eyes. Garion once again felt a
vast touch on his mind as he had in Queen Salmissra's throne room when the
Spirit of Issa had touched him. A dreadful recognition began to dawn in Mara's
weeping eyes. His raised arms fell. "Give her to me," he pleaded. "Take the
others and go, but give the Tolnedran to me. I beg it of thee."
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file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
"No." What happened then was not sorcery - Garion knew it instantly. The noise
was not there nor that strange, rushing surge that always accompanied sorcery.
Instead, there seemed to be a terrible pressure as the full force of Mara's mind
was directed crushingly at him. Then the mind within his mind responded. The
power was so vast that the world itself was not large enough to contain it. It
did not strike back at Mara, for that dreadful collision would have shattered
the world, but it stood rather, calmly unmoved and immovable against the raging
torrent of Mara's fury. For a fleeting moment, Garion shared the awareness of
the mind within his mind, and he shuddered back from its immensity. In that
instant, he saw the birth of uncounted suns swirling in vast spirals against the
velvet blackness of the void, their birth and gathering into galaxies and
ponderously turning nebulae encompassing but a moment. And beyond that, he
looked full in the face of time itself - seeing its beginning and its ending in
one awful glimpse.
Mara fell back. "I must submit," he said hoarsely, and then he bowed to Garion,
his ravaged face strangely humble. He turned away and buried his face in his
hands, weeping uncontrollably.
"Your grief will end, Mara," the voice said gently. "One day you will find joy
again."
"Never," the God sobbed. "My grief will last forever."
"Forever is a very long time, Mara," the voice replied, "and only I can see to
the end of it."
The weeping God did not answer, but moved away from them, and the sound of his
wailing echoed again through the ruins of Mar Amon. Mister Wolf and Aunt Pol
were both staring at Garion with stunned faces. When the old man spoke, his
voice was awed. "Is it possible?"
"Aren't you the one who keeps saying that anything is possible, Belgarath?"
"We didn't know you could intervene directly," Aunt Pol said.
"I nudge things a bit from time to time - make a few suggestions. If you think
back carefully, you might even remember some of them."
"Is the boy aware of any of this?" she asked.
"Of course. We had a little talk about it."
"How much did you tell him?"
"As much as he could understand. Don't worry, Polgara, I'm not going to hurt
him. He realizes how important all this is now. He knows that he needs to
prepare himself and that he doesn't have a great deal of time for it. I think
you'd better leave here now. The Tolnedran girl's presence is causing Mara a
great deal of pain."
Aunt Pol looked as if she wanted to say more, but she glanced once at the
shadowy figure of the God weeping not far away and nodded. She turned to her
horse and led the way out of the ruins.
Mister Wolf fell in beside Garion after they had remounted to follow her.
"Perhaps we could talk as we ride along," he suggested. "I have a great many
questions."
"He's gone, Grandfather," Garion told him.
"Oh," Wolf answered with obvious disappointment.
It was nearing sundown by then, and they stopped for the night in a grove about
a mile away from Mar Amon. Since they had left the ruins, they had seen no more
of the maimed ghosts. After the others had been fed and sent to their blankets,
Aunt Pol, Garion, and Mister Wolf sat around their small fire. Since the
presence in his mind had left him, following the meeting with Mara, Garion had
felt himself sinking deeper toward sleep. All emotion was totally gone now, and
he seemed no longer able to think independently.
"Can we talk to the - other one?" Mister Wolf asked hopefully.
"He isn't there right now," Garion replied.
"Then he isn't always with you?"
"Not always. Sometimes he goes away for months - sometimes even longer. He's
been there for quite a long while this time - ever since Asharak burned up."
"Where exactly is he when he's with you?" the old man asked curiously.
"In here." Garion tapped his head.
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David...-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt (31 of 144) [1/17/03 2:45:46 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
"Have you been awake ever since we entered Maragor?" Aunt Pol asked.
"Not exactly awake," Garion answered. "Part of me was asleep." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
depart."
Mister Wolf bowed with resignation, turned, and came back toward the rest of
them. His expression registered a certain hopeless disgust.
"Wait!" Mara roared suddenly. The images of the city and its dead wavered and
shimmered away. "What is this?" the God demanded.
Mister Wolf turned quickly.
"What hast thou done, Belgarath?" Mara accused, suddenly towering into
immensity. "And thou, Polgara. Is my grief now an amusement for thee? Wilt thou
cast my sorrow into my teeth?"
"My Lord?" Aunt Pol seemed taken aback by the God's sudden fury.
"Monstrous!" Mara roared. "Monstrous!" His huge face convulsed with rage. In
terrible anger, he strode toward them and then stopped directly in front of the
horse of Princess Ce'Nedra. "I will rend thy flesh!" he shrieked at her. "I will
fill thy brain with the worms of madness, daughter of Nedra. I will sink thee in
torment and horror for all the days of thy life."
"Leave her alone!" Aunt Pol said sharply.
"Nay, Polgara," he raged. "Upon her will fall the brunt of my wrath." His
dreadful, clutching fingers reached out toward the uncomprehending princess, but
she stared blankly through him, unflinching and unaware.
The God hissed with frustration and whirled to confront Mister Wolf. "Tricked!"
he howled. "Her mind is asleep."
"They're all asleep, Lord Mara," Wolf replied. "Threats and horrors don't mean
anything to them. Shriek and howl until the sky falls down; she cannot hear
thee."
"I will punish thee for this, Belgarath," Mara snarled, "and Polgara as well.
You will all taste pain and terror for this arrogant despite of me. I will wring
the sleep from the minds of these intruders, and they will know the agony and
madness I will visit upon them all." He swelled suddenly into vastness.
"That's enough! Mara! Stop!" The voice was Garion's, but Garion knew that it was
not he who spoke.
The Spirit of Mara turned on him, raising his vast arm to strike, but Garion
felt himself slide from his horse to approach the vast threatening figure. "Your
vengeance stops here, Mara," the voice coming from Garion's mouth said. "The
girl is bound to my purpose. You will not touch her." Garion realized with a
certain alarm that he had been placed between the raging God and the sleeping
princess.
"Move out of my way, boy, lest I slay thee," Mara threatened.
"Use your mind, Mara," the voice told him, "if you haven't howled it empty by
now. You know who I am."
"I will have her!" Mara howled. "I will give her a multitude of lives and tear
each one from her quivering flesh."
"No," the voice replied, "you won't. "
The God Mara drew himself up again, raising his dreadful arms; but at the same
time, his eyes were probing - and more than his eyes. Garion once again felt a
vast touch on his mind as he had in Queen Salmissra's throne room when the
Spirit of Issa had touched him. A dreadful recognition began to dawn in Mara's
weeping eyes. His raised arms fell. "Give her to me," he pleaded. "Take the
others and go, but give the Tolnedran to me. I beg it of thee."
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David...-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt (30 of 144) [1/17/03 2:45:46 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
"No." What happened then was not sorcery - Garion knew it instantly. The noise
was not there nor that strange, rushing surge that always accompanied sorcery.
Instead, there seemed to be a terrible pressure as the full force of Mara's mind
was directed crushingly at him. Then the mind within his mind responded. The
power was so vast that the world itself was not large enough to contain it. It
did not strike back at Mara, for that dreadful collision would have shattered
the world, but it stood rather, calmly unmoved and immovable against the raging
torrent of Mara's fury. For a fleeting moment, Garion shared the awareness of
the mind within his mind, and he shuddered back from its immensity. In that
instant, he saw the birth of uncounted suns swirling in vast spirals against the
velvet blackness of the void, their birth and gathering into galaxies and
ponderously turning nebulae encompassing but a moment. And beyond that, he
looked full in the face of time itself - seeing its beginning and its ending in
one awful glimpse.
Mara fell back. "I must submit," he said hoarsely, and then he bowed to Garion,
his ravaged face strangely humble. He turned away and buried his face in his
hands, weeping uncontrollably.
"Your grief will end, Mara," the voice said gently. "One day you will find joy
again."
"Never," the God sobbed. "My grief will last forever."
"Forever is a very long time, Mara," the voice replied, "and only I can see to
the end of it."
The weeping God did not answer, but moved away from them, and the sound of his
wailing echoed again through the ruins of Mar Amon. Mister Wolf and Aunt Pol
were both staring at Garion with stunned faces. When the old man spoke, his
voice was awed. "Is it possible?"
"Aren't you the one who keeps saying that anything is possible, Belgarath?"
"We didn't know you could intervene directly," Aunt Pol said.
"I nudge things a bit from time to time - make a few suggestions. If you think
back carefully, you might even remember some of them."
"Is the boy aware of any of this?" she asked.
"Of course. We had a little talk about it."
"How much did you tell him?"
"As much as he could understand. Don't worry, Polgara, I'm not going to hurt
him. He realizes how important all this is now. He knows that he needs to
prepare himself and that he doesn't have a great deal of time for it. I think
you'd better leave here now. The Tolnedran girl's presence is causing Mara a
great deal of pain."
Aunt Pol looked as if she wanted to say more, but she glanced once at the
shadowy figure of the God weeping not far away and nodded. She turned to her
horse and led the way out of the ruins.
Mister Wolf fell in beside Garion after they had remounted to follow her.
"Perhaps we could talk as we ride along," he suggested. "I have a great many
questions."
"He's gone, Grandfather," Garion told him.
"Oh," Wolf answered with obvious disappointment.
It was nearing sundown by then, and they stopped for the night in a grove about
a mile away from Mar Amon. Since they had left the ruins, they had seen no more
of the maimed ghosts. After the others had been fed and sent to their blankets,
Aunt Pol, Garion, and Mister Wolf sat around their small fire. Since the
presence in his mind had left him, following the meeting with Mara, Garion had
felt himself sinking deeper toward sleep. All emotion was totally gone now, and
he seemed no longer able to think independently.
"Can we talk to the - other one?" Mister Wolf asked hopefully.
"He isn't there right now," Garion replied.
"Then he isn't always with you?"
"Not always. Sometimes he goes away for months - sometimes even longer. He's
been there for quite a long while this time - ever since Asharak burned up."
"Where exactly is he when he's with you?" the old man asked curiously.
"In here." Garion tapped his head.
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David...-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt (31 of 144) [1/17/03 2:45:46 AM]
file:///F|/rah/Dave%20Eddings/Eddings,%20David%20-%20Belgariad%203%20-%20Magicians%20Gambit.txt
"Have you been awake ever since we entered Maragor?" Aunt Pol asked.
"Not exactly awake," Garion answered. "Part of me was asleep." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]