The Dark Lord's Demise (21 page)

Betty looked down at the mountain of covers. She thought of the
bare, stone floor. "Well, if you want me to get up, could you bring
me some slippers? 'T'hat floor's cold."

Gaal's laughter rang through the room and shook the velvet curtains. "You do not need to walk with your feet, Betty. You must walk
in your heart." He became more serious. "I know you are grieved
that your family has lived in so many different places. You did not
want to come to Grosvenor Avenue. You (lid not want to leave the
school where you at last had made friends. You miss the way they
admired you and looked up to you. When they followed you, you
felt power."

Betty wondered how Gaal knew so much about her. She felt
defensive. "There's nothing wrong with being powerful."

"The power you seek will only bind you and make you a slave. If
you give yourself to me, my power will free you to serve me. You
saw this on the lakeshore. I was the one who enabled Wesley to
slay the vicious bees, and I was the one who cured your stings."

She started to protest, but her words seemed feeble in the presence of this person who was so kind and wise. She was pulled
toward him and repelled by him at the same time. He said, "Betty, I
have given you new friends to replace those you lost. Lisa will soon
come to you. Listen to her carefully and believe what she tells you."

"Lisa? You mean she got away too?"

Again Gaal laughed. "Lisa was long ago captured by my love.
Now I must warn you-be on your guard. There are dangers here.
Be careful whom you trust. Believe only my servants in Anthropos."

Gaal turned and walked toward the door. Betty cried out, "Don't
leave!" She wanted to run after him. She threw off the bulky covers
and swung her bare feet to the floor. When she looked up again,
Gaal was not there. The door to the room remained shut, but he
was gone.

Wes, Kurt and Lisa hardly noticed the luxury of the room where
Swifilope left them. As soon as the door closed, they all said to each
other, "Betty's here!"

"Why did Gaal tell us that Betty has to be rescued?" Kurt asked.
"I thought he meant she'd been recaptured and we had to rescue
her from a dungeon. But that can't be it. Swiftlope said the queen is
treating her like a-well, like a queen."

Lisa had an answer: "I'll bet somebody believed her when she
bragged that she could make bee stings go away. Now the queen
thinks Betty has special powers over the bees." She thought about
that a moment. "Then why don't they send her to the island to risk
getting stung a million times? Why send us?"

Wes walked across the room to a window covered by heavy draperies. "I feel terrible about Tiqvah being sick. I know we should
stick around and find out what kind of danger Betty might be in.
But if he needs the honey, we should go to the island."

"What do you think of that priest Hazilon?" asked Kurt.

"I'm not sure," Lisa answered. "Supposedly he's the main priest
of Gaal. Somehow I didn't feel Gaal when I was around him. Of
course, we don't always feel Gaal." She recalled what she had told
Betty in the cell: "In a way, he's here with us right now. Even
though we can't see him." She looked around the room and felt a
warm assurance that Gaal himself was there. Still, she wished she
could see him. He had appeared to Kurt and Wes but not to herso far.

Wes touched the draperies. "Betty has to learn about Gaal if
Anthropos is to be saved from great error. That's what Gaal told

His words filled Lisa with regret. "Did Gaal really say that? Gosh,
I had lots of time in the cell with her. I could have told her more about him. I did try, but she didn't want to listen much."

Wes peeked through the drapes to see out the window. "It'll be
sundown soon. We have to give the king and queen an answer. Are
we going on this honey-gathering expedition tomorrow morning
or not?"

Lisa shook her head. "Of course not! We can't take off for the
Island of Geburah tomorrow. Not if Betty's here and we have to
rescue her. I've got to find out where she is. Swiftlope would know.
I'll go find him." She started for the door, but Kurt stopped her.
"You can't. The queen swore that Koach to secrecy. He shouldn't
have told us even what lie did. And we've all seen what justice is
like under Queen Hisschi."

Lisa thought of the guard who had drawn his finger across his
throat. "They'll have my head," he had said. What was his name?
Dominicus. That was it. She wondered what had happened to him
and the boys' guard-Andron, his name was. Had both guards
paid the ultimate price because that awful light person had talked
the children into escaping? Lisa sat at an ornate desk and fiddled
with it silver inkstand. "I have to get to Betty somehow," she
insisted. "It isn't it dungeon she needs to be rescued from. It's that
queen! I don't know what the queen wants from her, but there's a
lot of rotten stuff going on in Anthropos."

At the window Wes gave it short sarcastic laugh. "If you ask me, I
don't think Betty wants to be rescued."

Kurt and Lisa joined him at the window. "Stay back a little," Wes
cautioned. "Remember, this isn't the room where Swiftlope was
supposed to take us. So she doesn't know we're in here. Look down
there." He held the heavy draperies open slightly so that they
could see through it small gap. Their window was high above a garden with a splashing fountain and a pool. Nearby was a tall hedge
that fortunately did not block their view of the scene below.

Queen Hisschi sat on a stone bench by the fountain. The water
splish-splashed with a cheerful musical sound. She stared into the
swirling pool where a dozen large goldfish swam in circles. Some
were orange and white; some had patches of black; some were solid orange or golden yellow. The queen gathered her long velvet
skirt about her and settled herself more comfortably. With a graceful movement of her hand she motioned for Betty Riggs to sit
beside her.

Betty stood a few yards away, uncertain what to do. She admired
the queen, but she had never before been anywhere close to royalty, and she did not know how to act. Flat stones were set into the
ground near the fountain. She said, "I'm sorry, but I guess I feel
weird sitting next to a queen. Is it all right if I sit on one of these
rocks?"

The queen smiled. "As you wish. I hope you will soon grow comfortable with me and not feel, as you say, weird."

"I'll try," said Betty sincerely. She plopped herself down on the
stone. She started to sit cross-legged but thought it was far too
informal, so she tucked her legs to one side and smoothed her
long, white silky skirt. She loved the clothes she'd been given here
at the palace. Her impressions of Anthropos had definitely
improved.

The queen trailed her fingers through the water and said, "I
marvel at the ways of the True One. We had three young Regenskind in the dungeons for rebellion. They escaped but were recaptured. We released them when we discovered their true identity,
that they were visitors from other worlds and that they possessed
certain powers. There was talk of a fourth. No one knew what had
happened to her. Then when I heard of your capture, I realized
who you are. Naturally I was delighted."

Betty squirmed. She hoped the queen was delighted with her,
not with the Friesens. Queen Hisschi continued, "It would help me
greatly if you would tell me again how you escaped being stung by
the weaver bees."

"Oh, we were stung! Were we ever! Hundreds of times! But I
decided the stings weren't going to be real for me, and they cleared
up right away. After the bees were dead, anyway." Then she
noticed the queen looking oddly at her. "What's wrong?"

The queen stared at Betty with undisguised amazement. "You
say you were stung many times by the weaver bees? How is it possible? People have died under the bee stings." Her eyes became even wider. "Surely you possess even stronger powers than the
three Friesen children!"

Embarrassed but pleased, Betty traced a design in the dirt with a
finger. She thought it wasn't a very ladylike action and quickly
wiped her finger on the grass. "Well, I guess I do have powers, if
you say so, your majesty. I believe that anything, I mean anything, is
possible. If you believe in it enough, you can make it happen."

"Betty Riggs," the queen said, "surely the Lord Gaal has sent you
to us!"

Betty's head snapped up. Gaal! That was the wonderful man
who had come to her in her chamber. The one who told her not to
believe anyone except his servants. Was Queen Hisschi one of his
servants,, Betty thought she must be. The queen was certainly
beautiful and smart.

Hisschi appeared not to notice Betty's surprise. Her eyes took
on a faraway look. "I have much to tell you, Betty. It is a tale both
happy and sad. My lord, Tiqvah, ascended to the throne of Anthropos as a very young man, still unmarried. The governing of the
land consumed his time and energies. He was not inclined to
marry, although I assure you many young women of Anthropos
dreamed of receiving his attentions."

"Was he cute?" Betty asked.

The queen frowned. "I am not sure what the expression means.
He was-and is-a handsome man. Scarcely could I believe my
good fortune when lie favored me with his attentions. I am from a
noble family of Playsion, the land united with Anthropos by the
marriage of Tigvah's parents. On a hunting trip to Playsion the
king was introduced to me. I was some years younger and not yet
considering marriage. We looked into each other's eyes and-well,
perhaps you know how it is."

Betty shook her head. "Not exactly. I haven't ever had a real
boyfriend." She thought it all sounded like it beautiful fairy tale.
She hoped someday she would meet someone and fall in love like
that.

The queen continued her story. "After that, the king took a
decidedly increased interest in hunting. He traveled to Playsion
often. Eventually he asked me to be his bride and join him here in the palace at Nephesh. We were married and have been very
happy together."

Betty sighed. "That's so romantic. Do you have any kids?"

"We keep no goats on the palace grounds."

"Oh, phooey. We had the same trouble with those Matmon guys.
When I say kids, I mean children." Betty giggled but stopped when
she saw the troubled expression on the queen's face.

"I have given birth to three children," Hisschi said slowly. "Two
boys and a girl. In that way our family resembles your friends the
Friesens."

Betty was tired of hearing about the Friesens. "Oh, them.
They're not really my friends. In fact, I don't even particularly like
them. Let's get back to your story, if you don't mind. I haven't seen
your kids-children-around here. I guess they're grown up by
now. Are they away at school?"

Betty was surprised to see Queen Hisschi turn away. The merry
splashing of the fountain made a sharp contrast with her suddenly
dark mood. The watery sound filled what became an uncomfortably long silence. When the queen at last spoke, her face was still
turned away. "I am grieved to tell you that none of my three children lived to see their first birthday."