Polgara the Sorceress (91 page)

Authors: David Eddings

‘A couple of times,’ mother replied.

‘Is it really as big as she says it is?’

‘Bigger, probably. Someday she might take you there and you’ll be able to see it for yourself.’

‘That’d be just bully, mother!’ he said excitedly.

‘What is it with this “bully” business?’

‘All the boys my age say that a lot. It sort of means “very, very nice”. It’s a real good word. Everybody uses it all the time.’

‘Oh, one of those. It’ll pass – eventually.’

‘What?’

‘Never mind.’ Then mother went back to her reading.

Prince Geran’s eyelids began to droop when the story got as far as Faldor’s farm. That part wasn’t really very exciting, and somewhere during that endless discussion of how to make a pot of stew, the Crown Prince of Riva drifted off to sleep.

The little boy’s regular breathing told Queen Ce’Nedra that she’d lost her audience. She slipped a scrap of paper between the pages of the book, and then she leaned back reflectively.

Aunt Pol’s book had filled in all the gaps Ce’Nedra had noticed in Belgarath’s book – and then some. The wealth of characters, many of them the towering figures of legend, quite nearly filled the Rivan Queen with awe. Riva Iron-grip was here, and Brand, the man who’d struck down a God. Beldaran, the most beautiful woman in history, was here.
Asrana and Ontrose had nearly broken Ce’Nedra’s heart. Aunt Pol’s book had virtually erased the entire library of the History Department of the University of Tol Honeth and replaced it with what had
really
happened.

The staggering march of history was right
here
on the Rivan Queen’s lap. She opened it again and read the part she loved the most, that quiet little scene in the kitchen at Faldor’s farm when Polgara was no longer the Duchess of Erat, but merely the cook on a remote Sendarian farm. Rank meant absolutely nothing there, however. What
really
mattered was Polgara’s gentle, unspoken realization that in spite of all his flaws and his seeming desertion of her mother before she and Beldaran were born, Polgara really loved her vagabond father. The animosity she’d clung to for all those centuries had been rather gently evaporated.

That subterranean little game Aunt Pol and her father had played with each other for centuries had produced a surprise winner, a winner they hadn’t even realized was taking part in their game. They’d spent three thousand years nipping at each other in half-serious play, and for all that time, the wolf Poledra had watched them play, patiently waiting for them to squirm around into the exact position where she wanted them to be, and then she had pounced.

‘You’d understand that, wouldn’t you, Wolf ?’ she murmured to her son’s companion.

Wolf opened his golden eyes and thumped his tail briefly in acknowledgment on the bed.

That startled Ce’Nedra just a bit. Wolf seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. Who
was
this Wolf, anyhow? She quickly pushed
that
thought into the back of her mind. The possibility that Wolf might not be who – or what – he seemed was something Ce’Nedra wasn’t prepared to deal with just now. For now, the discovery that Poledra had won that game was enough for one evening.

Reluctant or not, though, there was
one
realization that crashed in on the Rivan Queen. Her husband’s family predated the cracking of the world, and there was no getting around the fact that it was the most important family in human history. When Ce’Nedra had first met Garion, she’d
rather scornfully dismissed him as an illiterate, orphaned scullery boy from Sendaria, and she’d been wrong on all points. She herself had taught Garion how to read, but she was forced to admit that all she’d really done had been to open the book for him. She’d almost had to run to keep up with him once he’d learned the alphabet. He’d washed a few pots and pans in Faldor’s kitchen, but he was a king, not a scullery boy. Garion wasn’t a Sendarian, either, and as for his being an orphan, he was the farthest thing in the world from
being
an orphan His family stretched back to the dawn of time. Ce’Nedra had fretted about the possibility that her husband might outrank her, but he didn’t just outrank her, he
transcended
her. That
really
went down hard for the Rivan Queen.

She sighed. A whole group of unpleasant realizations were crowding in on Ce’Nedra. She glanced at her own reflection in her son’s smeary mirror, and she lightly touched her deep red hair with her fingers. ‘Well,’ she sniffed, ‘at least I’m prettier than he is.’

Then she realized just how ridiculous that final defense was, and she laughed in spite of herself. She threw up her arms in surrender. ‘I give up,’ she said, still laughing.

Then she slipped out of bed, tucked the bolster up under Geran’s chin and lightly kissed him. ‘Sleep well, my dear little Prince,’ she murmured.

Then, not knowing exactly why, she stroked Wolf’s head. ‘You too, dear friend,’ she said to him. ‘Watch over our little boy.’

The Wolf looked at her gravely with those calm golden eyes, and then he did something totally unexpected. He gave the side of her face a quick, wet lick with his long tongue.

Ce’Nedra giggled in spite of herself, trying to wipe her cheek. She threw her arms around Wolf’s massive head and hugged him.

Then the Rivan Queen blew out the candle, tiptoed out of the room, and quietly closed the door behind her.

Wolf lay there on the foot of Geran’s bed looking at the dying fire in the fireplace with those golden eyes of his for
quite a long time. Everything seemed to be as it was supposed to be, so Wolf sighed contentedly, stretched his muzzle out on his front paws, and went back to sleep.

About the Author
Polgara the Sorceress

David Eddings was born in Washington State and grew up near Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to serve in the US Army. Subsequently he worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company and taught college-level English.
High Hunt
, his first novel, was a contemporary adventure story, but he soon began a spectacular career as a fantasy writer with his bestselling series
The Belgariad
. He consolidated his immediate success with three further enormously popular series,
The Malloreon, The Elenium
and
The Tamuli
. Writing with his wife Leigh, three final volumes rounded off the Belgariad:
Belgarath the Sorcerer, Polgara the Sorceress
and
The Rivan Codex.
These were followed by the epic standalone fantasy
The Redemption of Althalus,
and his latest series of books,
The Dreamers
.

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By David Eddings

THE ELENIUM

Book One:
The Diamond Throne

Book Two:
The Ruby Knight

Book Three:
The Sapphire Rose

THE TAMULI

Book One:
Domes of Fire

Book Two:
The Shining Ones

Book Three:
The Hidden City

By David and Leigh Eddings

Belgarath the Sorcerer

Polgara the Sorceress

The Rivan Codex

The Redemption of Althalus

THE DREAMERS

Book One:
The Elder Gods

Book Two:
The Treasured One

Book Three:
Crystal Gorge

Copyright

Voyager

An Imprint of HarperCollins
Publishers

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www.voyager-books.co.uk

This paperback edition 2006

Previous
Voyager
paperback edition 1998, reprinted 11 times

THIRD EDITION

First published in Great Britain by

Voyager
1997

The Authors assert the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work

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