The Ruby Knight

been struck a sharp blow to the pit of the stomach.
    ‘This queen of thine, what malady hath she so grave that only Bhelliom can heal it?’ There was only the faintest hint of curiosity in the ghost’s voice.
    ‘She was poisoned, Your Majesty, by those who would seize her throne.’
    Sarak’s expression, which had been blankly indifferent, suddenly became angry. ‘A treasonous act, Sir Sparhawk,’ he said harshly. ‘Knowest thou the perpetrators?’
    ‘I do.’
    ‘And hast thou punished them?’
    ‘Not as yet, Your Majesty.’
    ‘They still have their heads? Have the Pandions become weaklings over the centuries?’
    ‘We thought it best to return the queen to health, Your Majesty, so that she might have the pleasure of pronouncing their doom upon them.’
    Sarak seemed to consider that. ‘It is fitting,’ he approved finally. ‘Very well then, Sir Sparhawk, I will aid thee. Despair not that Bhelliom is not in the place where I lay, for I can direct thee to the place where it lies hidden. When I fell upon this field, my kinsman, the Earl of Heid, seized up my crown and fled with it to keep it out of the hands of our foes. Hard was he pressed and gravely wounded. He reached the shores of yon lake ere he died, and he hath sworn to me in the House of the Dead that with his dying breath, he cast the crown into the murky waters, and that our foes found it not. Seek ye, therefore, in that lake, for doubtless Bhelliom still lies there.’
    ‘Thank you, Your Majesty,’ Sparhawk replied with profound gratitude.
    Then Ulath pushed forward. ‘I am Ulath of Thalesia,’ he declared, ‘and I claim distant kinship with thee, My King. It is unseemly that thy final resting place be in foreign soil. As God gives me strength, I vow to thee that with thy permission I will return thy bones to our homeland and lay thee to rest in the royal sepulchre at Emsat.’
    Sarak regarded the braided Genidian with some approval. ‘Let it be so then, my kinsman, for in truth, my sleep hath been unquiet in this rude place.’
    ‘Sleep here for but a short while longer, My King, for as soon as our task is completed, I will return here and take thee home.’ There were tears in Ulath’s ice-blue eyes. ‘Let him rest, Tynian,’ he said. ‘His final journey will be long.’
    Tynian nodded and let King Sarak sink back into the earth.
    ‘That’s it then, isn’t it?’ Kalten said eagerly. ‘We ride to Lake Venne and go swimming.’
    ‘It’s easier than digging,’ Kurik told him. ‘All we have to worry about is the Seeker and that Troll.’ He frowned slightly. ‘Sir Ulath,’ he said, ‘if Ghwerig knows exactly where Bhelliom is, why hasn’t he retrieved it in all these years?’
    ‘The way I understand it, Ghwerig can’t swim,’ Ulath replied. ‘His body’s too twisted. We’ll probably still have to fight him, though. As soon as we bring Bhelliom out of the lake, he’ll attack us.’
    Sparhawk looked towards the west where the light from the newly risen sun sparkled on the waters of the lake. The tall, summer-green grass of the fields near the mound moved in long waves in the fitful morning breeze, and the fields were bounded near the lake by the greyish sedge and marsh grass which covered the peat bogs. ‘We’ll worry about Ghwerig when we see him,’ he said. ‘Let’s go and have a closer look at this lake.’
    They all slid down the grassy side of the mound and climbed into their saddles. ‘Bhelliom shouldn’t be too far out from shore,’ Ulath said as they rode towards the lake. ‘Crowns are made of gold, and gold’s heavy. A dying man couldn’t throw something like that very far.’ He scratched at his chin. ‘I’ve looked for things under water before,’ he said. ‘You have to be very methodical about it. Just floundering around doesn’t accomplish very much.’
    ‘When we get there, show us how it’s done,’ Sparhawk replied.
    ‘Right. Let’s ride due west until we come to the lake. If the Earl of Heid was dying, he wouldn’t have taken any side trips.’
    They rode on. Sparhawk’s elation was overshadowed by some anxiety. There was no way of knowing how long it would be before the Seeker returned with a horde of numb-faced men at its back, and he knew that he and his friends could not wear armour while they probed the depths of the lake. They would be defenceless. Not only that, as soon as the spirit of Azash saw them in the lake, He would know exactly what they were doing, and for