Quest for the King (16 page)

Gerachti, still mounted, shouted something to Alleophaz, pointing
to the left as though he were indicating a safe route. Wesley, who was
several yards back and behind Lisa, heard him shout, "No, Gerachti!
This is the way! Come this way!"

With a wild cry, Gerachti turned his horse and began to climb the
hill past Lisa. Then once again he turned and spurred his horse to
a gallop, intending it to leap a considerable gap to a large clump of
grass and weeds on the left. But at the edge of the bog the horse
stalled, and its forelegs doubled under it. Gerachti was flung over its head, turning a slow somersault. His body twisted as he flew, and he
landed face down in the mud, his head pointing toward his horse.
Screaming and struggling in panic to lift his shoulders and chest from
the mud, he freed both arms-but his legs were sucked down underneath him.

Wesley slid off his horse and ran to help. He snatched up a tree
branch and extended it to Gerachti, who was just able to reach it.
Pulling with all his strength, Wesley felt as if his back was breaking
and that he would be dragged into the swamp himself. Belak was at
his side and seized the branch also. For a moment Wesley was not
certain what would happen. Then he felt Lisa's arms locked round his
waist and pulling him. Inch by inch, their backs aching with the strain,
they dragged Gerachti nearer the firm ground.

Alleophaz leaned out and seized Gerachti's left upper arm. The
next moment they had him on firm ground, covered for the most part
with foul-smelling mud and weeds.

For a moment he sat, gray-faced and white-lipped, trembling and
coughing. Alleophaz checked Gerachti's horse, found it shaking but
uninjured, and turned to Gerachti. "Are you all right?" he asked.
Gerachti did not reply, but stood and turned to face Kurt, who was
standing behind with the horses and mules. His whole body shook
and his words were choked with emotion. "You tried to kill me!" he
thundered. "You murdering sorcerer!"

"Get back with Belak behind the mules," Alleophaz said quietly to
Kurt. "Wesley," he continued, "you saw the column last night. Can you
see it now?"

"Why, yes," answered Wesley, surprised.

"I suggest you lead the rest of the way, then." To the rest he said,
"I will keep Gerachti between Wesley and me. We must not stop here,
or we will be done for. Let us move on, and hope we find shelter
before darkness."

It took them more than an hour to cross the next hundred yards.
To everyone's relief, Gerachti followed Alleophaz without incident.
Kurt and Belak crossed twice, first with the mules (which was much easier than Kurt had anticipated) and then with their own horses. Lisa
was last to cross, and Belak helped her. "I'm not gonna get anywhere
near that man Gerachti," she said.

Then, as though it had been kind to them and allowed them to
cross in safety, the storm broke over their heads furiously once again.
For two more hours they rode through it, drenched with rain, buffeted
by wind, doggedly following Wesley as Wesley followed the column
of smoke. After that the storm died down, and after another hour
sunlight broke over them from a patch of blue sky.

Half an hour later Wesley swung round in his saddle, joy like the
sunshine breaking across his face. He called past Gerachti to Alleophaz, "I knew it! It's a Gaal tree, an oak-the first oak I've seen herean' the column has stopped beside it."

The sun still shone and the sky was now completely blue. But
evening was almost upon them, and they had not eaten all day. They
dismounted. The Gaal tree stood in a small meadow, deep in grass
and with an abundance of wildflowers-buttercups, asters, two kinds
of vetch, clover, bluebells and western wood lilies. A stream flowed
past the Gaal tree, and the horses moved as one to drink. Gerachti,
still dazed and silent, dismounted and sat beside the oak, a pathetic,
mud-covered figure, clearly exhausted. Lisa, too, was pale, and weariness was etched in her face. She moved slowly and with effort "I'm
so sore, " she said. Only Kurt and Belak seemed brisk and alive.

Alleophaz sat down next to Gerachti. "I will stay with him-for now,
anyway," he said. "I have some medicine that may keep him from
ague and fevers." Kurtjoyfully approached the oak.

"Open in the name of Gaal!" he cried, and to everyone's wonder
and joy a door in the trunk swung silently open. Kurt went inside it,
only to emerge, laughing, a moment later. "There are no stables. But
there are piles of towels and horse blankets. We can rub them all
down and cover them with blankets."

Lisa slowly approached the Gaal tree, stopping to look at Gerachti.
As she stared her expression changed, and fear and exhaustion gave
place to compassion. "Poor man, he looks sick." She turned to Alleo phaz and murmured, "If there's hot food, I'll bring it out to him. You
may be able to persuade him to eat."

"Perhaps," Alleophaz said. "It is worth a try."

Lisa went inside the tree, emerging a few moments later with a jug
and two mugs. She handed them to Alleophaz, saying, "It's soup of
some kind-thick and delicious and hot. I found a hot tub of water
in the room I chose, so I'm going to soak in it before supper."

When Alleophaz offered him the soup, Gerachti accepted it and ate
mechanically. Wesley and Kurt busied themselves with the horses, and
Belak elected to help them. It took them nearly an hour to finish, and
by this time the sun had set. Alleophaz persuaded Gerachti to accept
the medicine, wash in the stream, and put dry clothes on. Then Gerachti unrolled his bedroll in a needle-lined dry spot under a giant
pine tree, and quickly fell asleep.

Alleophaz called, "Come on! It is time we stopped and went in for
supper. I take your word for it, Kurt, that it is large enough inside."

"It is!" Kurt laughed.

Alleophaz held the jug up. "Anyone want soup? I did not have
mine. It is still quite warm, and there is a clean mug here!"

"No, thanks," Wesley said. "I'll wait for supper."

Inside the tree they found a very large circular room. The windows
opened on the meadow, and there was a stairway at one side leading
to the bedrooms. Hot food lay steaming on the table, along with wine
and fruit as they had enjoyed the previous night. After supper they
sat round a fire of blazing logs again, contented and sleepy as they
discussed the events of the day.

"How's Gerachti?" Wesley asked Alleophaz.

"He still does not speak," Alleophaz replied slowly, frowning. "He
seems more willing to follow directions, though. He was exhausted,
sleeping when I left him."

"Did you give him a powder again?"

"No, I gave him medicine to prevent fever, but he seemed too weary
to need a sleeping powder."

"I do not think any of us need sleeping powders tonight, my lord," yawned Belak.

And since they all shared Belak's need to yawn, they left the fire
with one accord, and made their way to bed.

Kurt woke abruptly in the night and rose to look through the window.
Across the meadow and through the trees a brilliant blue light
gleamed powerfully. His heart began to pound inside his chest, and
he pulled on his boots and wrapped his not-quite-dry cloak around
him. Creeping down the stairway, he crossed the circular room and
whispered to the door, "Open in the name of Gaal."

Outside he could still see the silhouetted outline of the trees, black
against the blue flickering light beyond them. For several minutes he
stood in the open doorway, staring. There was a sudden and unexpected deep longing in his heart, and he struggled to find words to
express it.

"Oh, Dad!" he said to the darkness. "Why aren't you like Gaal? Why
are you never around? Why, when you are around, are you so ornery?
Why can't you be-different? Why are you like Gerachti? Will you
become like him in the future? I'm scared, Dad! I'm scared!"

He began to move toward the blue light. Slowly he crossed the
meadow, climbing up the slope that led to the trees, drawn powerfully
by the blue light. He never saw the shadow that rose beneath the pine
tree to follow him.

Kurt emerged from the trees into a small meadow, where at the
center a column of blue flame rose skyward. It was about fifteen yards
in diameter and seemed to rise straight to the stars. The blue flames
seemed both to be going up and coming down at the same time. He
stared at them in wonder for several minutes, then slowly advanced
toward them. When he was near enough to the column, he reached
out and touched it. A thrill, like a vibration, ran from his fingers up
his arm and enveloped his whole body.

"Oh-what is it?" he gasped. He reached out again, and again
experienced the same sensation. Hardly knowing why he was doing
so, he stepped forward and began to walk into the flames. Wave after wave of wonder swept over him, wonder that was not just emotional
but physical as well. He was washed in liquid love, inside and outside,
as though his body were not solid anymore and the blue flames were
all through him, penetrating him, saturating him with love.

Somewhere near the center of the column he fell on his knees and
flung his arms skyward. "Gaal! Gaal! Gaal! Is it you? Is it the
Changer?"

He paused, then began to sob. Tears streamed down his face.
"Changer! Changer! You are a Father-aren't you? I know it! I know
it-and you are my Father!

"Who are you?" he cried again. "It feels like you-but you've never
done this before! Oh, it is you, Changer, Father!"

He fell forward on his face, sobbing uncontrollably, and for half
an hour the liquid love continued to pour through him. Finally he sat
up again.

"It is you, isn't it?" he cried softly, then after a moment, "Oh, why
can't it be like this always? Can I stay here-always?"

He had not seen the still figure of Gerachti ten yards in front of
him, a naked sword gripped in his right fist. But soon spoken words
began to penetrate his consciousness. "You need not go on sniveling,
sorcerer! I am not moved by your pleading-which has gone on long
enough!"

Kurt heard the words and recognized the voice. lit by the blue light,
he could see the face and form of Gerachti, as well as the sword blade.
But neither the words nor the menacing attitude had any meaning.
liquid love flowed through him. Everything else seemed distant, irrelevant.

He did not know that all Gerachti could see was darkness and a
weeping boy sitting ten yards from him in that darkness. "Your days
are numbered, boy sorcerer, and your time has now come."

Gerachti stepped forward, raising the sword above his head, but as
he neared the edge of the flaming column the sword was snatched
out of his hand and flung into the outer darkness. A look of astonishment came over his face, and he was seized by an invisible antag onist. Wrestling, fighting, he was flung on the ground-struggling,
grunting, panting, hitting out, rolling over, cursing, fighting for
breath.

Kurt rose to his feet, still aware of light and love around and
through him. "Don't hurt him!" he breathed. He could never afterward
say how long the struggle continued-many hours?-but eventually
Gerachti lay on his back, his arms pinned on either side by an invisible force as he sobbed and panted. "I did not know! I did not know!
I did not know!" he repeated, and soon was weeping just as Kurt had
wept earlier.

"I think I ought to go, Father!" Kurt said. He crept away, turning
back many times to look at the column of light. Then he sighed,
turned his back and headed for the oak. He fell deeply asleep the
moment his head touched the pillow