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of a triumphal procession. Ceaselessly the Sword of Glory worked its magic, emitting its customary
roaring cheer as the Dark King bore it forward and downward like a torch.
As he advanced, descending, he wondered again what had become of Akbar, whom he had sent on ahead.
At least the demon would not be up to any treachery, the holder of the Mindsword told himself-he
could feel perfectly confident of that.
Down in the Sword-chamber, the young Prince at that moment was still leaning with his back against
the open vault in which the Blades were customarily kept. Stephen was just emerging from a brief
and successful struggle with his own fears-fear of death, and, worse just now, fear of making the
wrong decision.
With the exception of his long work session with Dragonslicer, just interrupted, Stephen had never
been allowed to handle any of the Swords unsupervised. But at one time or another, as part of his
education, he had been given every Sword available to hold at least briefly, and had been taught
the theory and something of the practice of their use. The result was that now he felt reasonably
well acquainted with these weapons, whose history was so intimately intertwined with that of his
own family.
It had come as no great surprise to the young Prince that Shieldbreaker had leaped up obediently
to meet his touch, and then with matchless violence had disposed of a giant demon, as well as
Dragonslicer and the unfortunate man who had been holding it.
But Stephen's education regarding the Swords also assured him that now, with the palace in the
hands of a strong enemy force, Shieldbreaker was not going to be enough. He was well aware that if
he were armed with that Sword only, it would be only too easy for a knowledgeable human attacker
to overcome him.
He turned his head to look back and down into the Sword- vault, studying the two weapons still
remaining in their velvet nests. Stonecutter would not help him in his present circumstances, and
could be disregarded. But there was one other Sword still in the vault, and that one was quite
another matter. The boy realized that his duty, and his very hope of survival, required him now to
pick up Sightblinder as well as Shield-breaker.
The Sword of Stealth is given to One lowly and despised. Sightblinder's gifts: his eyes are keen
His nature is disguised.
Yet Stephen hesitated. He also understood full well that the decision to hold two Swords drawn at
once was not one to be taken lightly. On his recent birthday he had been allowed, very briefly and
under Karel's supervision, to make the attempt with these very two. His father, Mark, had
demonstrated the ability to do that effectively. (For the first time, as a boy, and then holding
them only briefly, Mark had had the feeling that a great wind had arisen and was about to blow him
off his feet. That the world was altering around him, or that he was being extracted from it. Then
Mark had fainted; this, too, the grown Prince had told his sons.) But the effect on Stephen had
been the same as it would have been on most people: confusion, mental anguish, disorientation.
Shieldbreaker and Sightblinder together, the young Prince knew, would provide anyone who held them
with an almost absolutely unbeatable offense and defense. He knew of only one real flaw in this
armament, but it was a daunting one-the inevitable psychic burden of carrying both Swords drawn at
the same time. That would impose a disabling handicap on all but a few very capable men or women.
But he knew he was going to have to take the risk.
Shieldbreaker continued its muttering, the black hilt thumping soft magical impacts against
Stephen's palm. His right arm, still hurting at the shoulder, was tiring from the weight of the
heavy Sword, and he let the arm sag again until the unbreakable point of the Sword of Force
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trailed on the stone floor; with this weapon there was no need, after all, to hold a ready
position.
And then, frightened of what he must do next, but unwilling to put off the attempt any longer,
Stephen thrust his left hand boldly into the vault and closed his fingers around the black hilt
with the white outline of a human eye-Sightblinder.
This Sword did not come leaping up to meet his reaching grasp. But immediately on Stephen's making
contact with the Sword of Stealth, its magic surged along his arm and through his mind and body. A
power similar to Shieldbreaker's, yet different. This, on top of the lingering effect of the young
Prince's first brush with the demon, made him once more dizzy, and afflicted him with deep
anxiety, the fear that reality might be about to crumble. The savage noises still drifting down
from the upper palace seemed to be swallowed up in the sound of a great wind; it was distracting,
even though the young Prince understood that the wind really existed only within his own mind and
perception.
But Sightblinder's heavy magic worked its benefits as well. The power of the Sword of Stealth
enhanced and focused Stephen's own perception sufficiently to let him feel assured that the human
voices he heard above were truly those of deadly enemies-no matter that most of those who spoke [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]