The Seeress of Kell

ashore."
    "You know how Barak is. Missing a fight always makes him discontent. Tell him some stories. He likes a good story almost as much as he likes a good fight."
    It was good to be back among his old friends again. There had been a sort of emptiness in Garion since he had left them behind at Rheon. The absence of their burly self-confidence had been part of it, of course, but even more than that, perhaps, had been the camaraderie, that sense of good-natured friendship that lay under all the apparent bickering. As they started aft to where Barak stood with one beefy hand on the tiller, Garion saw Zakath and Cyradis standing on the lee side of a longboat. He motioned to Hettar to stop and laid one finger to his lips.
    "Eavesdropping isn't very nice, Garion," the tall Algar whispered.
    “It's not exactly eavesdropping,” Garion whispered back. “I just need to be sure that I won't have to take steps."
    "Steps?"
    "I'll explain later."
    "And what will you do now, Holy Seeress?" Zakath was asking the slim girl, his heart in his voice.
    "The world lies open before me, Kal Zakath," she replied a little sadly. "The burden of my task hath been lifted, and thou needst no longer address me as 'Seeress,' for, indeed, that burden hath also been lifted. Mine eyes are now fixed on the plain, ordinary light of day, and I am now no more than a plain, ordinary woman."
    "Hardly plain, Cyradis, and far from ordinary."
    "Thou art kind to say so, Kal Zakath."
    "Let's drop that 'Kal,' shall we, Cyradis? It's an affectation. It means King and God. Now that I’ve seen real Gods, I know just how presumptuous it was of me to encourage its use. But let's return to the point. Your eyes have been bound for years, haven't they?"
    "Yes."
    "Then you haven't had occasion to look into a mirror lately, have you?"
    "Neither occasion nor inclination."
    Zakath was a very shrewd man and he fully realized when the time had come for extravagance. "Then let mine eyes be thy mirror, Cyradis," he said. "Look into them and see how fair thou art."
    Cyradis blushed. "Thy flattery doth quite catch my breath away, Zakath-"
    "It's not exactly flattery, Cyradis," he said clinically, lapsing into his usual speech. "You're by far the most beautiful I’ve ever met, and the thought of having you go back to anywhere else for that matter leaves a vast emptiness in my heart. You’ve lost your guide and your friend. Let me become both for you. Return with me to Mal Zeth. We’ve got much to discuss, and it may take us the rest of our lives."
    Cyradis turned her pale face away slightly, and the faintly triumphant smile which touched her lips said quite clearly that she saw a great deal more than she was willing to reveal. She looked back to the Mallorean Emperor, her eyes innocently wide. “Wouldst thou indeed take some small pleasure in my company?" she asked.
    "Thy company would fill my days, Cyradis," he said.
    "Then gladly will I accompany thee to Mal Zeth," she said, for thou art now my truest friend and dearest companion."
    Garion motioned with his head, and he and Hettar went on aft.
    "What were we doing?" Hettar asked. "That seemed like a private conversation."
    It was," Garion told him. "I just needed to be sure that it took place, that's all. I was told that it was going to happen, but prefer a little verification now and then."
    Hettar looked puzzled.
    "Zakath's been the loneliest man in the world," Garion told him. "That's what made him so empty and soulless and so dangerous. That's changed now. He isn't going to be lonely any more, and that should help him with something he has to do”
    "Garion, you're being awfully cryptic. All I saw was a young lady rather skillfully wrapping a man around her finger.”
    "It did sort of look that way, didn't it?"
    Early the next morning, Ce'Nedra bolted from her bed and ran up the stairs to the deck. Alarmed, Garion followed her. "Excuse me," she said to Polgara, who was leaning out over the rail. Then she took her place beside the ageless woman, and the two of them stood for some time retching over the side. "You, too?" Ce'Nedra said with a wan smile. Polgara wiped her lips with a kerchief and nodded. Then the two of them embraced each other and began to laugh.
    "Are they all right?" Garion asked Poledra, who had just come up on deck with the ubiquitous wolf pup again at her side "Neither one of them ever gets seasick."
    "They aren't seasick, Garion," Poledra said with a mysterious smile.
    "But why are