Pawn of Prophecy

Silk said, standing near one of the walls and pointing at a corner of the ceiling of the hall. "The mortar's crumbled away. The sound of our voices carries right up through the cracks between the stones into the upper corridor."
    "This is a valuable boy you've brought with you, Lady Polgara," I King Rhodar said gravely. "If he's looking for a profession, I think I might find a place for him. Gathering information is a rewarding occupation, and he seems to have certain natural gifts along those lines."
    "He has some other gifts as well," Aunt Pol said. "He seems to be very good at turning up in places where he's not supposed to be."
    "Don't be too hard on the boy, Polgara," King Anheg said. "He's done us a service that we may never be able to repay."
    Garion bowed again and retreated from Aunt Pol's steady gaze.
    "Cousin," Anheg said then to Barak, "it seems that we have an unwelcome visitor somewhere in the palace. I think I'd like to have a little talk with this lurker in the green cloak."
    "I'll take a few men," Barak said grimly. "We'll turn your palace upside down and shake it and see what falls out."
    "I'd like to have him more or less intact," Anheg cautioned.
    "Of course," Barak said.
    "Not too intact, however. As long as he's still able to talk, he'll serve our purposes."
    Barak grinned. "I'll make sure that he's talkative when I bring him to you, cousin," he said.
    A bleak answering grin touched Anheg's face, and Barak started toward the door.
    Then Anheg turned to Barak's wife. "I'd like to thank you also, Lady Merel," he said. "I'm sure you had a significant part in bringing this to us."
    "I don't need thanks, your Majesty," she said. "It was my duty."
    Anheg sighed. "Must it always be duty, Merel?" he asked sadly.
    "What else is there?" she asked.
    "A very great deal, actually," the king said, "but you're going to have to find that out for yourself."
    "Garion," Aunt Pol said, "come here."
    "Yes, ma'am," Garion said and went to her a little nervously.
    "Don't be silly, dear," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you." She put her fingertips lightly to his forehead.
    "Well?" Mister Wolf asked.
    "It's there," she said. "It's very light, or I'd have noticed it before. I'm sorry, Father."
    "Let's see," Wolf said. He came over and also touched Garion's heart with his hand. "It's not serious," he said.
    "It could have been," Aunt Pol said. "And it was my responsibility to see that something like this didn't happen."
    "Don't flog yourself about it, Pol," Wolf said. "That's very unbecoming. Just get rid of it."
    "What's the matter?" Garion asked, alarmed.
    "It's nothing to worry about, dear," Aunt Pol said. She took his right hand and touched it for a moment to the white lock at her brow. Garion felt a surge, a welter of confused impressions, and then a tingling wrench behind his ears. A sudden dizziness swept over him, and he would have fallen if Aunt Pol had not caught him.
    "Who is the Murgo?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
    "His name is Asharak," Garion said promptly.
    "How long have you known him?"
    "All my life. He used to come to Faldor's farm and watch me when I was little."
    "That's enough for now, Pol," Mister Wolf said. "Let him rest a little first. I'll fix something to keep it from happening again."
    "Is the boy ill?" King Cho-Hag asked.
    "It's not exactly an illness, Cho-Hag," Mister Wolf said. "It's a little hard to explain. It's cleared up now, though."
    "I want you to go to your room, Garion," Aunt Pol said, still holding him by the shoulders. "Are you steady enough on your feet to get there by yourself?"
    "I'm all right," he said, still feeling a little light-headed.
    "No side trips and no more exploring," she said firmly.
    "No, ma'am."
    "When you get there, lie down. I want you to think back and remember every single time you've seen this Murgo - what he did, what he said."
    "He never spoke to me," Garion said. "He just watched."
    "I'll be along in a little while," she went on, "and I'll want you to tell me everything you know about him. It's important, Garion, so concentrate as hard as you can."
    "All right, Aunt Pol," he said.
    Then she kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Run along now, dear," she said.
    Feeling strangely light-headed, Garion went to the door and out into the corridor.
    He passed through the great hall where Anheg's warriors were belting on swords and picking up vicious-looking battle-axes in preparation for the search of the palace. Still bemused, he went through without