The Quest

A they descended the last slopes of the mountain they saw a larger group of horsemen coming towards them. When the two parties .were separated by less than a few hundred paces one of the strange riders spurred forward at a canter. As he drew closer, Meren exclaimed, 'It is Onka.'

'Your new eye serves you as well as the old one,' Taita remarked, and he looked upon the approaching horseman with the I

'The captain is angry,' said Taita.

'I have given him good reason,' admitted That. 'You and I will be unable to speak to each other in private again. However, if you need to send a message to me, you can do so through Bilto, the magistrate of Mutangi. He is one of us. But now we have the company of Captain Onka.'

Onka reined in just ahead of them, forcing them to a halt. 'Colonel That, I am grateful to you for taking over my duties.' He did not salute his superior, and his sarcasm came close to insubordination.

'I see you are fully recovered from your indisposition,' That replied.

'The Supreme Council are less grateful to you than I am. You exceeded your orders in taking over the escort of the magus.'

'I shall be happy to answer to Lord Aquer.'

'You may be required to do so. In the meantime he has ordered you to place the Magus, Taita of Gallala, in my charge. You are also to hand Dr Ha

At last Onka turned to Taita. 'Greetings, revered Magus. Hail, Colonel Cambyses. I see that the operation on your eye was successful. My felicitations.

I have been ordered to take you to your quarters at Mutangi. You are to wait there until sent for by the Supreme Council. Their summons

should not be more than a few days in coming.' Onka's aura was still blazing with anger. He kicked his horse into trot and they rode on down the mountain.) Neither That nor Onka acknowledged each other as the two parties passed, one ascending, the other descending the mountain. Taita, too, ignored Colonel That but looked instead at the members of the party he was leading up to the Cloud Gardens. There were six troopers in full uniform, three in the van and the other three in the rear. Between them rode five young women, all comely and all with child. They smiled at Meren and Taita as they passed, but none spoke.

They were still half a league from Mutangi when a small figure on a large grey colt burst out of the woods and tore across the green fields towards them, her long blonde hair streaming out behind her like a ba

'Here comes trouble, and as usual she is in good voice,' laughed Meren.

Even at this distance they could hear Fe

'That is a sight to warm the heart,' Taita said, his gaze fond and tender.

Fe

Taita was almost taken unawares by the onslaught, but he recovered his balance and she locked both arms round his neck, pressing her cheek to his.

'You are getting too big for those tricks. You could have injured us both,' Taita protested, but held her as tightly as she was hugging him.

'I thought you would never come back. I have been so bored.'

'You have had all the village children for company,' Taita pointed out mildly.

'They are children and therefore childish.' Still clinging to Taita, she looked across at Meren. 'I missed you too, good Meren. You will be amazed at how Hilto has taught me to shoot. We shall have an archery contest, you and I, for an enormous prize—' She broke off and stared at him with astonishment. 'Your eye!' she cried. 'They have mended your eye! You look so handsome again.'

'And you are bigger and even more beautiful than you were when last I saw you,' Meren replied.

'Oh, silly Meren!' She laughed, and once more Taita felt the twinge of jealousy.

When they reached the village, Hilto, Nakonto and Imbali were just as happy to welcome them back. As a home-coming gift Bilto had sent

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five large jugs of excellent wine and a fat sheep. Hilto and Nakonto slaughtered it, while Imbali and Fe

Later, they feasted round the fire for half the night, celebrating their reunion. It was all so homely and familiar after the weird otherworld of the Cloud Gardens that, for the moment, the menace of Eos seemed remote and insubstantial.

At last they left the fire and retired to their sleeping chambers. Taita and Fe

'Oh, Taita, I was so worried. I expected you to cast for me and I could hardly sleep for fear that I might miss you if you did.'

'I am sorry I caused you distress, little one. I have been to a strange place where strange things happen. You know the good reasons why I was silent.'

'Good reasons are just as hard to bear as bad ones,' she said, with precocious feminine logic. He chuckled and watched as she pulled off her tunic and washed herself, then rinsed her mouth with water from the large earthenware jug. She was maturing with such extraordinary rapidity that he felt another pang.

Fe

This time I may not be forced to give her up to another, he thought.

Perhaps there is a chance that Ha

She sat up and looked at him sternly. 'Of course I am listening. How cruel you are! I always listen when you talk.'

'Well, lie down again and keep listening.' He paused. When he went on, his tone was no longer light. 'I have found the witch's lair.'

'Tell me about it - all of it. Keep nothing from me.'

So he told her about the Cloud Gardens and the magical grotto. He described the sanatorium and the work Ha

at last he summoned the courage to tell her of the operation Ha

Fe

'Yes.' He could not help but smile at the description, and for a moment she looked bemused. Then she smiled like an angel, but the outer corners of her green eyes slanted upwards wickedly. 'I would love us to have one of those. It sounds like such rich sport, much better than a puppy.'

Taita laughed at the way she had claimed joint ownership, but his guilt was as keen as a razor's edge. The imp of the grotto had put the devils into his mind, but Taita found himself imagining things that were best kept locked away and never spoken of. In the time Fe