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certainty of his threat. Using the Landsview, Ben had scoured Landover from end to end for all three
days given to him after Rydall s departure and had found exactly nothing. There was no trace of Rydall,
no sign of his passing, and no clue as to where he had gone to earth. Bunion had searched as well, using
his kobold speed and extraordinary tracking powers. He, too, had failed. In the end the only conclusion
left, however improbable, was that somehow Marnhull s King indeed had managed to penetrate the fairy
mists from a land without. Having done so, he had snatched away Mistaya and her guards, Abernathy
and Questor included, and had gone back the way he had come, leaving Ben Holiday to face the
challenge he had issued, to stand alone against the seven he would send to destroy him.
Ben shook his head resignedly. He had been awake since shortly after midnight, anticipating the arrival
of this first destroyer. He was not tired, not even weary, only sad. He would be forced to fight this
creature, whoever and whatever it was, and probably would destroy it. He would do so as his alter ego,
the Paladin, but it wouldn t change the fact that he would still be the one doing the fighting and perhaps
the killing. It wouldn t change the necessity of his transformation into the iron-clad warrior who protected
the Kings of Landover, a transformation he feared and despised, because each time it happened a little
more of him slipped away into the abyss of dark madness that shrouded the life of the Paladin. Warrior
and knight-errant, protector and champion, the Paladin was before all things a destroyer to which no
sane man could ever wish to be joined. But Ben Holiday was. And would forever be from now until the
end.
But I made that choice when I gave up my old life for this new one, he chided himself. The decision was
mine.
 Perhaps we can simply ignore him, Willow said quietly. Ben looked over at her, but she kept her eyes
focused on the giant.  If we keep him locked outside the gates, what can he do? He might grow weary of
his vigil. Time favors you, Ben. Let him be.
Ben thought it over. He could do that. He could leave the giant where he was and see what happened. It
wasn t a bad idea, though it would inconvenience those who might wish to enter or leave the castle. But it
did nothing to enhance his image as King. It left him a prisoner in his own palace.
 He has made no demands? Ben asked Bunion, still weighing the possibilities.
The kobold chittered softly. No, the giant had not spoken.
 Well. Ben tightened his mouth.  We ll let him wait a bit. A little breakfast first, now that we know he s
here. Then we ll see.
He started to turn away, and abruptly the giant s arm lifted and pointed directly at him. There was no
mistaking the gesture. Do not turn away, it said. Do not turn your back on me.
Ben wheeled about and came back to the wall. The giant s arm lowered, and he resumed waiting, one
hand resting on his belted waist, the other on the butt of his massive club. The strange eyes glinted. The
huge figure looked to be carved of stone.
 It appears he does not approve of your idea, Willow, Ben murmured, feeling her hand close over his.
He could tell what she was thinking: Be careful. Do not rise to his goading. Do not be drawn into this fight
until you are ready.
She did not say to him,  Do not go. She knew he must. She knew he could not avoid this confrontation
or any of those which must follow if they were to see Mistaya alive again. She hated the situation as much
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as he did, but they had understood from the moment of Rydall s coming with the news of their missing
daughter that they were trapped in this deadly game and that somehow they must find a way to win.
 What is his strength? she asked suddenly, indicating the giant with an irritated wave of her hand.  He is
large and strong, but he is no match for the Paladin. Why has he been sent?
Ben had been wondering that, too. The Paladin was better armed and protected. How could the giant
hope to defeat him?
At his side Bunion chittered softly. He wanted to go down and test the giant s strength, to see what his
edge might be, to probe for his weakness. Ben shook his head. He would risk no one but himself in this
struggle with Rydall. Not when the lives of Mistaya, Abernathy, and Questor were at risk already.
 He forbids us to leave the wall, he said finally.  What will happen if we disobey? Perhaps we should
see. Bunion, stay put and keep watch for us.
Keeping tight hold of Willow s hand, he turned from the wall and walked over to the open stairs that
wound downward about the watch house to the courtyard below. He was barely to the first step when
he heard Bunion hiss in warning.
The giant was beginning to shimmer like a mirage in the midday summer heat. The air all about it was as
damp as liquid, rainbow colors sliding across its surface like autumn leaves across glass.
Ben hesitated, waiting. Then Bunion started and looked quickly over.
The giant had disappeared!
Ben stared at the kobold, undecided about what to do, then started toward him once more, needing to
see for himself. At the same moment he heard Willow gasp. He wheeled back, following her gaze to the
courtyard below. Soldiers and retainers had scattered as light filled the yard s center in a blaze of
shimmering color.
The giant reappeared, come out of the ether, come now into the walls of the castle itself. It rose up out
of nothingness, huge and dark. The massive club was shouldered, and there was a new menace about it.
A squad of soldiers approached it warily, placing themselves between the giant and their King. In a
moment the battle would be joined.
But Ben already knew he could not let that happen.
 Stand where you are! he called down.
The soldiers looked up at him expectantly. The giant s gaze lifted as well.
Ben felt Willow release his hand, but he could not bring himself to look at her. He reached into his tunic
and withdrew the medallion of Landover s Kings, the talisman that warded them from danger. Holding it
forth so that it caught the morning sun, he reluctantly summoned the Paladin.
Brilliant white light flared instantly at the foot of the gatehouse stairs, and from out of its brightness the
Paladin appeared. He was afoot and armed with his unsheathed broadsword and an iron-tipped mace
strapped to his waist. He was armored in silver, shining with the intensity of the sun at midday.
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Ben instantly felt a connection between them, locks snapping into place, a picture forming in his mind, a
strange combination of fire and ice mixing into something else altogether. Tendrils of feeling and thought
began to link them, to join them as one. He was carried out of his body and into the Paladin s armor on a
wave of light. He was clasped to the other as if by dozens of hands, wrapped about and encased in the
iron, and made one with his protector s weapons. He was submerged in memories of battles fought and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]