Part 25 (1/2)

Sparhawk stood at the top of the hill surveying the progress of the work below. The ladies were gathered under a broad canopy erected on poles in the centre of the depressed basin on the hilltop. Stragen was strumming his lute and singing to them in his deep rich voice.

'How's it going down there?' Talen asked, coming up to where Sparhawk stood.

'It's about as secure as Khalad can make it without being obvious about it,' Sparhawk replied.

'He's awfully good, isn't he?' Talen said with a certain pride.

'Your brother? Oh, yes. Your father trained him very well.'

'It might have been nice to grow up with my brothers. Talen sounded a bit wistful. He shrugged. 'But then...' he peered out at the forest. 'Any word from Engessa?'

'Our friends are still out there.'

'They're going to attack, aren't they?'

'Probably. You don't gather that many armed men in one place without having something military in mind.'

'I like your plan here, Sparhawk, but I think it's got a hole in it.'

'Oh?'

'Once they finally realise that we aren't going to move from this spot, they might decide to wait and then come at us after dark. Fighting at night's a lot different from doing it in the daytime, isn't it?'

'Usually, yes, but we'll cheat.' Talen gave him a quizzical look. 'There are a couple of spells that brighten things up when you need to see.'

'I keep forgetting about that.'

'You might as well get used to it, Talen,' Sparhawk told him with a faint smile. 'When we get back home, you're going to start your novitiate.'

'When did we decide that?'

'Just now. You're old enough, and if you keep on growing the way you have been lately, you'll be big enough.'

'Is magic hard to learn?'

'You have to pay attention. It's all done in Styric, and Styric's a tricky language. If you use the wrong word, all sorts of things can go wrong.'

'Thanks, Sparhawk. That's all I need-something else to worry about.'

'We'll talk with Sephrenia when we get to Sarsos. Maybe she'll agree to train you. Flute likes you, so she'll forgive you if you make any mistakes.'

'What's Flute got to do with it?'

'If Sephrenia trains you, you'll be submitting your requests to Aphrael.'

'Requests?'

'That's what magic is, Talen. You ask a G.o.d to do something for you.'

'Praying?' the boy asked incredulously.

'Sort of.'

'Does Emban know that you're praying to a Styric G.o.ddess!'

'More than likely. The Church chooses to ignore the fact, though-for practical reasons.'

'He's a hypocrite then.'

'I wouldn't mention that to Emban, if I were you.'

'Let me get this straight. If I get to be a Church Knight, I'll be wors.h.i.+pping Flute?'

'Praying to her, Talen. I didn't say anything about wors.h.i.+pping.'

'Praying, wors.h.i.+pping, what's the difference?'

'Sephrenia will explain it.'

'She's in Sarsos, you say?'

'I didn't say that.' Sparhawk silently cursed his careless tongue.

'Yes, as a matter of fact you did.'

'All right, but keep it to yourself.'

'That's why we came overland, isn't it?'

'One of the reasons, yes. Haven't you got something else to do?'

'Not really, no.'

'Go find something-because if you don't, I will.'

'You don't have to get all huffy.' Sparhawk gave him a steady stare. 'All right, all right, don't get excited. I'll go entertain Danae and her cat.'

Sparhawk stood watching the boy as he returned to the festivities under the canopy. It was obviously time to start being a little careful around Talen. He was dangerously intelligent, and a slip of the tongue might give away things that were supposed to be kept private. The discussion had raised an issue, however. Sparhawk went back to the group gathered on the hilltop and took Berit aside.

'Go tell the knights that if those people out there decide to wait until after dark to attack, I'll take care of giving us light to work by. If we all try to do it at the same time, we might confuse things.'

Berit nodded. Sparhawk considered it further. 'And I'll go talk with Kring and Engessa,' he added. 'We don't want the Atans and the Peloi going into a panic if the sky suddenly lights up along about midnight tonight.'

'Is that what you're going to do?' Berit asked.

'It usually works out about the best in cases like this. One big light's easier to control than several hundred little ones-and it disrupts the enemy's concentration a lot more.'

Berit grinned. 'It would be a little startling to be creeping through the bushes and have the sun come back up again, wouldn't it?'

'A lot of battles have been averted by lighting up the night, Berit, and a battle averted is sometimes even better than one you win.'