 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
'Of course,' he said, taking up a knife and carving off a generous
portion for her.
'My thanks,' she said. 'This one -' she jerked her head at me
was in so much hurry to reach this place that we scarce had time for
a rabbit or two along the way.'Daintily she gulped the meat down in
two great bites. 'Quite good,' she said, 'though one wonders why it
was necessary to burn it.'
'A custom, little sister,' he laughed.
'Oh, well,' she said, 'if it's a custom.' Carefully she licked her
whiskers clean.
'I will return in a moment, Belgarath,' Belar said and moved away.
'That one is nice,' my companion told me pointedly.
'He is a God,' I told her.
'That means nothing to me,' she said. 'Gods are the business of
men. Wolves have little interest in such things.'
'Perhaps you would care to return to the place where we met?' I
suggested.
'I will go along with you for a while longer,' she told me. 'I was
ever curious, and I see that you are familiar with most remarkable
things.' She yawned, stretched, and curled up at my feet.
PREFACE
The return to the Vale where my Master waited took far less time
than had my journey to the country of the Bear-God. Though time is
a matter of indifference to them normally, when there is a need for
haste, the Gods can devour distance in ways that had not even
occurred to me. We began walking with Belar asking me questions
about my Master and our lives in the Vale and the young she-wolf
padding along sedately between us. After several hours of this, my
impatience finally made me bold.
'My Lord,' I said, 'forgive me, but at this rate it will take us almost
a year to reach my Master's tower.'
'Not nearly so long, Belgarath,' he replied pleasantly. 'I believe it
lies just beyond that next hilltop.'
I stared at him, not believing that a God could be so simple, but
when we crested the hill, there lay the Vale spread before us with my
Master's tower standing in the center.
'Most remarkable,' the wolf murmured, dropping onto her
haunches and staring down into the Vale with her bright yellow
eyes. I could only agree with her.
The other Gods were already with my Master in the tower, and
Belar hastened to join them.
My brothers, the other Disciples of Aldur, awaited me at the foot
of the tower. When they saw my companion, they were startled.
'Is it wise, Belgarath, to bring such a one here?' Belzedar asked
me. 'Wolves are not the most trustworthy creatures.'
My companion bared her fangs at him for that.
'What is her name,' the gentle Beltira asked.
'Wolves do not require names,' I told him. 'They know who they
are without such appendages.'
Belzedar shook his head and moved away from the wolf.
'Is she quite tame?'Belar asked me. 'I wonder that you had time
for such business on your journey, and I know you would not loiter'
'She is not tame at all,' I told him. 'We met by chance, and she