"In the presence of the Sardion -in the place which is no more."

"And where is that?"

"The path to that dread place lies in the mysteries, Ancient One. Thou must seek it there." She turned her face toward Garion, half-reaching out to him with one slender hand.

"Thy heart is sore, Belgarion," she said with a great sympathy in her voice, "for Zandramas, the Child of Dark, hath reft away thy son and even now doth flee with him toward the Sardion. It lies upon thee to bar the path of Zandramas to that stone -for the stars and the voices of the earth proclaim that the power of the Dark doth reside in the Sardion, even as the power of the Light doth reside in the Orb of Aldur. Should Zandramas reach the Dark Stone with the babe, the Dark shall triumph, and its triumph shall be eternal."

"Is my baby all right?" Ce'Nedra demanded, her face pale and a dreadful fear in her eyes.

"Thy child is safe and well, Ce'Nedra," Cyradis told her. "Zandramas will protect him from all harm -not out of love, but out of Necessity." The seeress' face grew still. "Thou must steel thy heart, however," she continued, "for should there be no other way to prevent Zandramas from reaching the Sardion with thine infant son, it falls to thee -or to thy husband -to slay the child."

"Slay?" Ce'Nedra exclaimed, "Never!"

"Then the Dark shall prevail," Cyradis said simply. She turned back to Garion. "My time grows short," she said to him. "Heed what I say. Thy choice of companions to aid thee in this task of thine must be guided by Necessity and not thine own preference. Shouldst thou choose awry, then shalt thou fail thy task, and Zandramas will defeat thee. Thy son shall be lost to thee forever, and the world as thou knowest it shall be no more." Garion's face was bleak. "Go ahead," he told her shortly. "Say the rest of what you have to say." Her suggestion that either he or Ce'Nedra could ever under any circumstances kill their own child had filled him with a sudden anger.

"Thou wilt leave this place in the company of Ancient Belgarath and his most revered daughter. Thou must also take with thee the Bearer of the Orb and thy wife."

"Absurd!" he burst out. "I'm not going to expose Ce'Nedra -or Errand- to that kind of danger."

"Then thou wilt surely fail."

He looked at her helplessly.

"Thou must have with thee as well the Guide and the Man with Two Lives -and one other whom I will reveal to thee. Thou wilt be joined at some later times by others -the Huntress, the Man Who Is No Man, the Empty One, and by the Woman Who Watches."

"That's fairly typical seer gibberish," Beldin muttered sourly.

"The words are not mine, gentle Beldin," she told him.

"These are the names as they are written in the stars -and in the prophecies. The incidental and worldly names which were given them at the time of their births are of no moment in the timeless realm of the two Necessities which contend with each other at the center of all that is or ever will be. Each of these companions hath a certain task, and all tasks must be completed 'ere the meeting which is to come, else the Prophecy which hath guided thy steps since time began will fail."

"And what is my task, Cyradis?" Polgara asked her coolly."

"It is as it hath ever been, Holy Polgara. Thou must guide, and nurture, and protect, for thou art the mother -even as Ancient Belgarath is the father." The faintest of smiles touched the blindfolded girl's lips. "Others will aid thee in thy quest from time to time, Belgarion," she continued, "but those I have named must be with thee at that final meeting."

"What about us?" Barak demanded, "Hettar and Mandorallen and Lelldorin and me?"

"The tasks of each of you are complete, most Dreadful Bear, and the responsibility for them hath descended to your sons. Shouldst thou or the Bowman or the Horse Lord or the Knight Protector seek to join with Belgarion in this quest, thy presence will cause him to fail."

"Ridiculous!" the big man sputtered. "I'm certainly not staying behind."

"That choice is not thine to make." She turned back to Garion, laying her hand on the massive arm of her mute protector. "This is Toth," she said, slumping as if a great weariness were about to overcome her. "He hath guided my faltering steps since the day that other sight came upon me and I bound up mine eyes that I might better see. Though it doth rend my soul, he and I must now part for a little while. I have instructed him to aid thee in thy search. In the stars, he is called the Silent Man, and it is his destiny to be one of thy companions." She began to tremble as if in exhaustion. "One last word for thee, Belgarion," she said in a quavering voice. "Thy quest will be fraught with great peril, and one of thy companions shall lose his life in the course of it. Prepare thine heart therefore, for when this mischance occurs, thou must not falter, but must press on to the completion of the task which hath been laid upon thee."

"Who?" he said quickly. "Which one of them is going to die?"

"That hath not been revealed to me," she said. And then with an obvious effort, she straightened. "Remember me," she said, "for we shall meet anon." With that she vanished.

"Where did she go?" General Brendig exclaimed.

"She was never really here," Errand replied.

"It was a projection, Brendig," Belgarath said. "But the man -Toth- is solid. Now how did they work that? Do you know, Errand?"

Errand shrugged. "I can't tell, Belgarath. But it took the combined power of all the Seers at Kell."

"What absolute nonsense!" Barak burst out angrily, pounding one huge fist on the table. "Nothing in this world could make me stay behind!"

"Mandorallen, Hettar, and Lelldorin vehemently nodded their agreement.

Garion looked at Polgara. "Could she possibly have been lying?" he asked.

"Cyradis? No. A seeress isn't capable of lying. She may have concealed a few things, but she could never have lied. What she told us was what she saw in the stars."

"How can she see the stars with that blindfold over her eyes?" Lelldorin objected.

Polgara spread her hands. "I don't know. The seers perceive things in ways we don't entirely understand."

"Maybe she read them wrong," Hettar suggested.

"The Seers at Kell are usually right," Beldin growled, "so I wouldn't necessarily want to bet my life on that."

"That brings us right to the point," Garion said. "I'm going to have to go alone."