King of The Murgos Read Online Free PDF Page B

mind with its crystal song. Garion looked at Eriond. "Shall we go back now? Aunt Pol was sort of worried when she couldn't find you."
    As they turned and followed the deserted gallery back along the way they had come, Garion laid his arm affectionately across his young friend's shoulders. For some reason they seemed very close just now.
    They emerged from the gallery at the brink of the dim abyss where pale lights dotted the sheer walls and the murmur of a waterfall far below came whispering up to them.
    Garion suddenly remembered something that had happened the day before. "What is it about you and water that concerns Aunt Pol so much?" he asked curiously.
    Eriond laughed. "Oh, that. When I was little—just after we moved into Poledra's cottage in the Vale—I used to fall into the river fairly often."
    Garion grinned. "That seems like a perfectly natural thing to me."
    "It hasn't happened for a long time now, but I think that Polgara feels that maybe I'm saving it up for a special occasion of some sort."
    Garion laughed, and they entered the cubicle-lined corridor that led toward the Gorim's cavern. The Ulgos who lived and worked there threw startled glances in their direction as they passed.
    "Uh—Belgarion," Eriond said, "the Orb is still glowing."
    "Oh," Garion replied, "I'd forgotten about that." He looked back over his shoulder at the cheerfully burning stone. "It's all right now," he told it. "You can stop." The Orb's final flicker seemed faintly disappointed. The others were gathered at breakfast in the central room of the Gorim's house. Polgara looked up as the two of them entered. "Where have you—" she began, then stopped as she looked into Eriond's eyes more closely. "Something's happened, hasn't it?" she asked instead.
    Eriond nodded. "Yes," he replied. "UL wanted to talk with us. There were some things we needed to know."
    Belgarath pushed aside his plate, his face becoming intent. "I think you'd better tell us about this," he said to them. "Take your time and don't skip over anything."
    Garion crossed to the table and sat down beside Ce'Nedra. He described the meeting with the Father of the Gods carefully, trying as best he could to repeat UL's exact words. "And then he said that Eriond and I shared the same spirit and that we were supposed to aid and sustain each other," he concluded.
    "Was that all he said?" Belgarath asked.
    "Pretty much, yes."
    "Except that he told us he was with us," Eriond added.
    "He didn't say anything more specific about this certain time when everything has to be completed?" the old man demanded with a slightly worried expression.
    Garion shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, Grandfather. I'm afraid not."
    Belgarath's expression suddenly became exasperated. "I hate working to a schedule I haven't seen," he muttered. "I can't tell if I'm ahead or behind."
    Ce'Nedra had been clinging to Garion, her face filled with both concern and relief. "Are you really sure he said that our baby is all right?" she demanded.
    "He said that he is well," Eriond assured her. "He told us that the one who holds him will see to his needs and that for the moment he's in no danger."
    "For the moment?" Ce'Nedra exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "He didn't get any more specific, Ce'Nedra," Garion said.
    "Why didn't you ask UL where he is?"
    "Because I'm sure he wouldn't have told me. Finding Geran and Zandramas is my job, and I don't think they're going to let me evade it by getting somebody else to do it for me."
    "They? Who are they?"
    "The Prophecies—both of them. They're playing a game, and we all have to follow the rules—even if we don't know what they are."
    "That's nonsense."
    "Go tell them. It wasn't my idea."
    Aunt Pol was looking oddly at Eriond. "Have you known?" she asked him. "About your name, I mean?"
    "I knew I had another name. When you called me Errand, it didn't seem quite right, for some reason. Do you mind very much, Polgara?"
    She rose with a smile, came around the table, and