“I’m not so sure. Barak’s not nearly as good a sailor as Greldik is, and that oversized tub of his isn’t very responsive to the helm. We’re gaining on him every day. When he gets to Mal-lorea, he’s going to have to stop in every port to ask questions. Most Malloreans wouldn’t recognize Garion if he walked up and spat in their eyes. Kheldar’s another matter, though. I understand that the little thief has branch offices in most of the cities and towns in Mallorea. I know how Barak thinks. As soon as he gets to Mallorea, he’s going to go looking for Silk, since Silk and Garion are obviously going to be together. I don’t have to ask about Silk, though. All I’ve got to do is describe the Seabird to waterfront loafers in just a few towns. For the price of a few tankards of ale, I’ll be able to follow Barak wherever he goes. Hopefully we’ll catch up with him before he finds Garion and ruins everything. I just wish that blind girl hadn’t told him he couldn’t go along. The fastest way I know of to get Barak to do something is to forbid him to do it. If he was with Garion, at least Belgarath would be there to keep him under control.”
“How do you propose to stop him even if we do catch up with him? His ship may be slower than this one, but it’s also bigger, and it carries more men.”
“Greldik and I have worked that out,” Anheg replied. “Greldik’s got a special piece of equipment in his forward hold. It bolts to the bow of this ship. If Barak refuses to come about when I order him to, Greldik’s going to ram him. He won’t go very fast in a sinking ship.”
“Anheg, that’s monstrous!”
“So’s what Barak’s trying to do. If he succeeds in breaking through to Garion, Zandramas will win, and we’ll all end up under the heel of somebody worse than Torak was. If I have to sink Seabirdto avoid that, I’ll do it ten times over.” He sighed. “I’ll miss my cousin, though, in case he gets drowned,” he admitted.
Queen Porenn of Drasnia had summoned Margrave Khen-don, the chief of her intelligence service, to her private chambers that morning and issued her commands in no uncertain trams. “Every oneof them, Javelin,” she had said in a peremp-
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tory tone, “I want every single spy out of this wing of the palace for the rest of the day.”
“Porenn!” Javelin had gasped. “That’s unheard of! ”
‘ ‘Not really. You just heard it—from me. Tell your people to sweep all the unofficial spies out, as well. I want this wing of the palace totally unpopulated within the hour. I have spies of my own, Javelin, and I know where all the usual hiding places are. Clean out every one of them.”
“I’m bitterly disappointed in you, Porenn. Monarchs simply don’t treat the intelligence service in this fashion. Have you any idea of what this is going to do to my people’s morale?”
“Frankly, Khendon, I couldn’t care less about the morale of your professional snoops. This is a matter of supreme urgency.”
“Has my service ever failed you, your Majesty?” Javelin’s tone had been a bit offended.
“Twice that J recall. Didn’t the Bear-cult infiltrate your service? And didn’t your people fail abysmally to warn me about Genera! Haldar’s defection?”
Javelin had sighed. “All right, Porenn, sometimes a few mi-northings have escaped us.”
“You call Haldar’s going over to the Bear-cult minor?”
“You’re being unnecessarily critical, Porenn,”
“I want this wing cleared, Javelin. Would you like to have me summon my son? We’ll draw up a proclamation making the prohibition against spying on the royal family permanent.”
“You wouldn’t!” Javelin’s face had turned absolutely white. “The whole service would collapse. The right to spy on the royal family has always been the highest reward for exemplary service. Most of my people jump at the chance.” He frowned slightly. “Silk’s turned it down three times already, though,” he added.
“Then clear them out, Javelin—and don’t forget the closet hidden behind the tapestry in the corridor just outside.”
“How did you find out about thafi”
“Ididn’t. Kheva did, actually.”
Javelin had groaned.
A few hours after that, Porenn sat impatiently in her sitting room with her son, King Kheva. Kheva was maturing rapidly now. His voice had settled into a resonant baritone, and a downy beard had begun to sprout on his cheeks. His mother, in somewhat marked contrast to most regents, had been gradually introducing him into state councils and negotiations with foreign powers. It would not be long now until she could gently guide
.r him to the forefront and gradually withdraw herself from her unwanted position of authority. Kheva would be a good king, she thought. He was very nearly as shrewd as his father had been and he had that most necessary trait in a reigning monarch,
. good sense.
•i. There was a rather heavy-handed pounding on the sitting-loom door. “Yes?” Porenn replied.
i “It’s me, Porenn,” a brash-sounding voice said. “Yarblek.” v “Come in, Yarblek. We’ve got something to talk about.” s, Yarblek pushed the door open, and he and Vella entered. | Porenn sighed. During the course of her visit to Gar og Nadrak, & Vella had reverted. She had shed the shallow veneer of gentility f?Porenn had labored so long to create, and her garb indicated f that she had once again become the wild, untameable creature ‘I she had always been before.
;| “What’s all the rush, Porenn?” Yarblek said gruffly, dump-|ing his shabby felt coat and shaggy hat in the corner. “Your messenger almost killed his horse getting to me.”
“Something urgent has come up,” the Queen of Drasnia replied. “I think it concerns us all. I want you to keep it in strictest ^confidence, however.”
“Confidence.” Yarblek laughed derisively. “You know there f aren’t any secrets in your palace, Porenn.” ; “There is this time,” Porenn said a bit smugly. “This mom-
• :ing I ordered Javelin to clear all the spies out of this wing of die ‘i palace.”
Yarblek grinned. “How did he take it?” “Badly, I’m afraid.”
“Good. He’s been getting just a little too sure of himself flately. All right, let’s get down to business. What’s this prob-“tem?”
§;- “In a moment. Did you find out what Drosta’s been up to?” “Of course. He’s trying to make peace with Zakath. He’s been dealing—at a distance—with the Mallorean who’s in charge [of their Bureau of Internal Affairs; Brador, I think his name is. Anyway, Drosta’s been letting Mallorean agents runnel through Gar og Nadrak to infiltrate the west.”
It was Yarblek’s tone of voice more than anything that warned renn that there was more. “All of it, Yarblek. You’re holding ngs back.”
Yarblek sighed. “I hate dealing with a clever woman,” he implained. “It seems so unnatural for some reason.” Then he prudently skipped out of the range of Vella’s daggers. “All
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right.” He gave up. ‘ ‘Zakath needs money and lots of it to deal with the wars he’s got on two different fronts. Drosta’s cut the import duties on Mallorean carpets—at least to the merchants who pay taxes to Mal Zeth. Those Malloreans have been scalping Silk and me in the Arendish markets.”
“I assume you took advantage of that information?”
“Naturally.” He thought a moment. “Here’s your chance to make a tidy profit, Porenn,” he suggested. “Drosta’s cut the import duties to the Malloreans by fifteen percent. You could raise your duties by the same amount. You’ll make money, and Silk and I can stay competitive.”
“I think you’re trying to swindle me, Yarblek,” Porenn said suspiciously.
“Me?”
“We’ll talk about it later. Now, listen very carefully. This is the reason I sent for you. Barak, Mandorallen, Hettar, Lell-dorin, and Relg are sailing to Mallorea. We’re not entirely positive, but we think they plan to intrude themselves in Belgarion’s quest. You were there at Rheon, and you know what that Dala-sian Seeress told us. Those hotheads absolutely have to stay out of it.”
“I’ll certainly agree about that.”
“How fast can you get a message to your people in Mallorea?”
“A few weeks. Maybe a little fester if I make it a top priority.”
“This matter has the highest priority, Yarblek. Anheg and Varana are chasing Barak, but we can’t be sure they’ll catch him in time. We have to delay Barak, and the best way to do that is to feed him misinformation. I want you to instruct your people in Mallorea to tell Barak lies. Keep him going off in the wrong direction every chance you get. Barak will be following Khel-dar, so he’ll be checking in at every one of your branch offices in Mallorea for information. If Kheldar and the others are going to Maga Renn or Penn Daka, have your people tell Barak thai he’s going to Mal Dariya.”