Queen of Sorcery

roofed place. Huge pillars, covered with carvings, supported the soaring ceiling, and small oil lamps hung on long chains from above or sat on little stone shelves on the pillars. There was a confused sense of movement as groups of men in varicolored robes drifted from place to place in a kind of langorous stupor.
    "You," Issus snapped at a plump young man with dreamy eyes, "tell Sadi, the chief eunuch, that we have the boy."
    "Tell him yourself," the young man said in a piping voice. "I don't take orders from your kind, Issus."
    Issus slapped the plump young man sharply across the face.
    "You hit me!" the plump one wailed, putting his hand to his mouth. "You made my lip bleed - see?" He held out his hand to show the blood.
    "If you don't do what I tell you to do, I'll cut your fat throat," Issus told him in a flat, unemotional voice.
    "I'm going to tell Sadi what you did."
    "Go ahead. And as long as you're there, tell him that we've got the boy the queen wanted."
    The plump young man scurried away.
    "Eunuchs!" One of the men holding Garion's arm spat.
    "They have their uses," the other said with a coarse laugh.
    "Bring the boy," Issus ordered. "Sadi doesn't like to be kept waiting."
    They pulled Garion across the lighted area.
    A group of wretched-looking men with unkempt hair and beards sat chained together on the floor. "Water," one of them croaked. "Please." He stretched out an imploring hand.
    Issus stopped and stared at the slave in amazement. "Why does this one still have its tongue?" he demanded of the guard who stood over the slaves.
    The guard shrugged. "We haven't had time to attend to that yet."
    "Take time," Issus told him. "If one of the priests hear it talk, they'll have you questioned. You wouldn't like that."
    "I'm not afraid of the priests," the guard said, but he looked nervously over his shoulder.
    "Be afraid," Issus advised him. "And water these animals. They're no good to anybody dead." He started to lead the men holding Garion through a shadowy area between two pillars, then stopped again. "Get out of my way," he said to something lying in the shadows. Grudgingly, the thing began to move. With revulsion Garion realized that it was a large snake.
    "Get over there with the others," Issus told the snake. He pointed toward a dimly lighted corner where a large mass seemed to be undulating, moving with a kind of sluggish seething. Faintly Garion could hear the dry hiss of scales rubbing together. The snake which had barred their way flicked a nervous tongue at Issus, then slithered toward the dim corner.
    "Someday you're going to get bitten, Issus," one of the men warned. "They don't like being ordered around."
    Issus shrugged indifferently and moved on.
    "Sadi wants to talk to you," the plump young eunuch said spitefully to Issus as they approached a large polished door. "I told him that you hit me. Maas is with him."
    "Good," Issus said. He pushed the door open. "Sadi," he called sharply, "tell your friend I'm coming in. I don't want him making any mistakes."
    "He knows you, Issus," a voice on the other side of the door said. "He won't do anything by mistake."
    Issus went in and closed the door behind him.
    "You can leave now," one of the men holding Garion told the young eunuch.
    The plump one sniffed. "I go where Sadi tells me to go."
    "And come running when Sadi whistles, too."
    "That's between Sadi and me, isn't it?"
    "Bring him in," Issus ordered, opening the door again.
    The two men pushed Garion into the room. "We'll wait out here," one of them said nervously.
    Issus laughed harshly, pushed the door shut with his foot, and pulled Garion to the front of a table where a single oil lamp flickered with a tiny flame that barely held back the darkness. A thin man with deadlooking eyes sat at the table, lightly stroking his hairless head with the long fingers of one hand.
    "Can you speak, boy?" he asked Garion. His voice had a strange contralto quality to it, and his silk robe was a solid crimson rather than varicolored.
    "Could I have a drink of water?" Garion asked.
    "In a minute."
    "I'll take my money now, Sadi," Issus said.
    "As soon as we're sure this is the right boy," Sadi replied.
    "Ask it what its name is," a hissing whisper said from the darkness behind Garion.
    "I will, Maas." Sadi looked faintly annoyed at the suggestion. "I've done this before."
    "You're taking too long," the whisper said.
    "Say your name, boy," Sadi told Garion.
    "Doroon," Garion lied quickly. "I'm really very