Guardians of the West

time with Silk and Brand hot on his heels. Startled servants and officials jumped out of their way as they rushed down, faces grim and with drawn weapons in their hands.
    At the bottom of the last flight of stairs they found the heavy door to the women's baths bolted from the inside.
    Instantly summoning his will, Garion focused it and commanded, "Burst!" The ironbound door blasted inward off its hinges.
    The scene inside was one of horror. The Lady Arell lay in a crumpled heap on the tile floor with the hilt of a dagger protruding from between her shoulders. In the center of the steaming pool, a tall, raw-boned woman in a dark cloak was grimly holding something under the water -something that struggled weakly- and floating on the surface above that struggling form was a great fan of coppery red hair.
    "Ce'Nedra!" Garion shouted, leaping feet first into the pool with his sword aloft.
    The cloaked woman gave him one startled glance and fled, splashing frantically away from the enraged king.
    Ce'Nedra's tiny body rose limply to the surface of the pool, and she floated facedown and bobbing slightly in the water. With a cry of anguish, Garion dropped his sword and struggled through the warm, waist-deep water -his desperate arms reaching out toward the limp body floating just beyond his grasp.
    Roaring with rage, Brand ran around the tiled walkway surrounding the pool with his sword aloft to pursue the tall woman, who was fleeing through a narrow doorway on the far side of the bath, but Silk was already ahead of him, running swiftly after the woman with a long-bladed dagger held low.
    Garion caught up the body of his wife in his arms and struggled toward the edge of the pool. With horror he realized that she was not breathing.
    "What can I do?" he cried desperately. "Aunt Pol, what can I do?" But Aunt Pol was not there. He laid Ce'Nedra on the tiles on the edge of the pool. There was no sign of movement, no flutter of breath, and her face was a ghastly blue-gray color.
    "Somebody help me!" Garion cried out, catching the tiny, lifeless form in his arms and holding it very close to him.
    Something throbbed, sharply against his chest, and he looked into his wife's still face, desperately searching for some sign of life. But Ce'Nedra did not move, and her little body was limp. Again he caught her to him.
    Once again he felt that sharp throb -almost like a blow against his heart. He held Ce'Nedra away from him again, searching with tear-filled eyes for the source of that strange, jolting throb. The flickering light of one of the torches stuck in iron rings around the marble walls of the pool seemed to dance on the polished surface of the silver amulet at her throat. Could it have been- ? With a trembling hand he put his fingertips to the amulet. He felt a tingling shock in his fingers. Startled, he jerked his hand away. Then he closed his fist about the amulet. He could feel it in his palm, throbbing like a silver heart, beating with a faltering rhythm.
    "Ce'Nedra!" he said sharply. "You've got to wake up. Please don't die, Ce'Nedra!" But there was no sign, no movement from his wife. Still holding the amulet, Garion began to weep. "Aunt Pol," he cried brokenly, "what can I do?"
    "Garion?" It was Aunt Pol's startled voice, coming to him across the empty miles.
    "Aunt Pol," he sobbed, "help me!"
    "What is it? What's wrong?"
    "It's Ce'Nedra. She -she's been drowned!" And the full horror of it struck him like some great, overwhelming blow, and he began to sob again, great, tearing sobs.
    "Stop that!" Aunt Pol's voice cracked like a whip. "Where?" she demanded. "When did this happen?"
    "Here in the baths. She's not breathing, Aunt Pol. I think she's dead."
    "Stop babbling, Garion!" Her voice was like a slap in the face. "How long has it been since her breathing stopped?"
    "A few minutes -I don't know."
    "You don't have any time to lose. Have you got her out of the water?"
    "Yes -but she's not breathing, and her face is like ashes."
    "Listen carefully. You've got to force the water out of her lungs. Put her down on her face and push on her back. Try to do it in the same rhythm as normal breathing, and be careful not to push too hard. You don't want to hurt the baby."
    "But- "
    "Do as I say, Garion!"
    He turned his silent wife over and began to carefully push down on her ribs. An astonishing amount of water came out of the tiny girl's mouth, but she remained still and unmoving.
    Garion stopped and took hold of the amulet again.