Sorceress of Darshiva

them the same thing—that a new God of Angarak was coming. After a time, word of what she was doing got back to Mal Yaska, and Urvon sent some very powerful Grolims to Darshiva to stop her. I'm not sure what happened to her out there in that wilderness, but whatever it was seems to have filled her with enormous power. When Urvon's Grolims tried to stop her from preaching, she simply obliterated them."
    "Obliterated?" Belgarath exclaimed in astonishment.
    "That's about the only word I can use. Some of them she consumed with fire. Others were blasted to bits by bolts of lightning that shot down out of a cloudless sky. Once, she opened the earth, dropped five of them into a pit, and then closed the earth on them again. Urvon began to take her very seriously at that point, I guess. He sent more and more Grolims to Darshiva, but she destroyed them all. The Darshivan Grolims who chose to follow her were given real powers, so they didn't have to resort to trickery any more."
    "And the ones who didn't?" Polgara asked.
    "None of them survived. I understand that a few of them tried deception—pretending to accept her message—but I guess she could see right through them and took appropriate steps. It probably wasn't really necessary, though. She spoke as if inspired, and no one could resist her message. Before long, all of Darshiva—Grolims and secular people alike-groveled at her feet.
    "She moved north from Darshiva into Rengel and Voresebo, preaching as she went and converting whole multitudes. The archpriest Naradas followed her blindly and he was also enormously eloquent and appears to have only slightly less power than she does.
    For some reason, she never came across the River Magan into Peldane—until recently."
    "All right," Polgara said, "she converted Rengel and Voresebo. Then what?"
    "I really can't say." Nabros shrugged. "About three years ago, both she and Naradas disappeared. I think they went off to the west someplace, but I don't know for sure. About the last thing she told the crowds before she left was that she was going to be the bride of this new God she's been talking about. Then, a month ago, her forces came across the Magan and invaded Peldane. That's about all I know, really."
    Polgara stepped back. "Thank you, Nabros," she said gently. "Why don't you see if you can get some sleep now? -I'll save some breakfast for you."
    He sighed, and his eyelids began to droop. "Thank you, Lady," he said drowsily, and a moment later he was fast asleep. Polgara gently covered him with a blanket.
    Beigarath motioned to them, and they all went back over to the fire again. "It's all beginning to fit together now, isn't it?" he said. "When Torak died, the Dark Spirit took over Zandramas and made her the Child of Dark. That's what that business in the wilderness was all about."
    Ce'Nedra had been muttering to herself under her breath. Her eyes were dangerous and her face angry. "You'd better do something about this, old man," she said threateningly to Belgarath.
    "About what?" He looked a little baffled.
    "You heard what that man said. He told us that Zandramas plans to be the bride of this new God."
    "Yes," he said mildly, "I heard him."
    "You're not going to let something like that happen, are you?"
    "I hadn't planned to, no. What's got you so upset, Ce'Nedra?"
    Her eyes flashed. "I will not have Zandramas for a daughter-in-law," she declared hotly, "no matter what happens."
    He stared at her for a moment, then he began to laugh.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    By mid afternoon the wan dish of the sun had begun to burn through the pervading mist, and Beldin returned. "The fog's completely cleared away about a league west of here," he told them.
    "Are there any signs of movement out there?" Belgarath asked him.
    "Some," Beldin replied. "A few detachments of troops that are all headed north. Otherwise it's as empty as a merchant's soul. Sorry, Kheldar, it's just an old expression."
    "That's all right, Beldin," Silk forgave him grandly. "these little slips of the tongue are common in the elderly."
    Beldin gave him a hard look and then continued. "The villages up ahead all seem to be deserted and mostly in ruins. I'd say that the villagers have fled." He glanced at the sleeping Melcene.
    "Who's your guest?" he asked.
    "He's with the Bureau of Roads," Belgarath replied. "Silk found him hiding in a cellar."
    "Is he really all that sleepy?"
    "Sadi gave him something to calm his nerves."
    "I'd say it worked pretty good. He looks very