The Shining Ones by David Eddings Page A

dear friend and protector, Emperor Sarabian, and they now hold him prisoner in his own palace!’
    ‘Death to the Tamuls!’ a wheezy-voiced old man, far gone in drink, bawled.
    One of the other peasants rapped him sharply across the back of the head with a cudgel, and the slightly out-of-date demonstrator sagged limply to the ground.
    ‘Crowd control,’ Talen sniffed. ‘Rebal doesn’t want people making any mistakes here.’
    Other peasants, obviously more of Rebal’s planted henchmen, began to shout the correct slogan, ‘Death to the Church Knights!’ They brandished crude weapons and assorted agricultural implements as they bellowed, emphasizing their slogan and intimidating the still-confused.
    ‘The purpose of these monsters is all too clear,’ Rebal shouted over the tumult. ‘It is their plan to hold the Emperor as hostage to prevent the Atans from storming the palace. They will sit safe where they are until reinforcements arrive. And make no mistake, my friends, those reinforcements are even now gathering on the plains of Eosia. The armies of the heretics are on the march, and in the van there come the Church Knights!’
    Horrified gasps ran through the ranks of the peasants.
    ‘On to Matherion!’ the fellow with the cudgel bellowed. ‘Free the Emperor!’
    The crowd took up the shout.
    Rebal held up one hand, ‘My blood burns as hotly as yours, my friends!’ he shouted. ‘But will we leave our homes and families to the mercies of the Knights of the Church? All of Eosia marches toward Matherion! And what stands between accursed Eosia and fire-domedMatherion? Edom, my friends! Our beloved homeland stands in the path of the heretic horde! What mercy can we expect from these savages? Who will defend our women from foul rape if we rush to the Emperor’s aid?’
    Cries of chagrin ran through the crowd.
    Rebal moved quickly at that point. ‘And yet, my friends,’ he rushed on, ‘our defense of our beloved homes may yet aid our friend, the Emperor. The beasts of Eosia come to destroy our faith and to slaughter the true believers. I know not what course you may take, but I pledge to you all that I will lay down my life for our beloved homeland and our holy faith! But in my dying, I will delay the Church Knights! That Spawn of Hell must pause to spill my blood, and their delay will give the Atans the time to rally! Thus may we defend our homes and aid our friend in one stroke!’
    Sparhawk began to swear, half strangling to keep his voice down.
    ‘What’s your problem?’ Kalten asked.
    ‘We’ve just been blocked. If those idiots out there accept what Rebal’s telling them, the Church Knights are going to have to fight their way to Matherion foot by foot.’
    ‘They’re very quick to exploit a changing situation,’ Vanion agreed. ‘Too quick, perhaps. It’s almost a thousand leagues from here to Matherion. Either someone has a very good horse, or our mysterious friend out there’s breaking the rules again in order to get word out to the hinterlands of what happened after the coup was put down.’
    Rebal was holding up his hands to quiet the shouting of the crowd. ‘Are you with me, my brothers?’ he called. ‘Will we defend our homes and our faith and help our friends, the Tamuls, at the same time?’
    The mob howled its assent.
    ‘Let’s ask Incetes to help us!’ the man with the cudgel shouted.
    ‘Incetes!’ another bellowed. ‘Incetes! Call forth Incetes!’
    ‘Are you sure, my friends?’ Rebal asked, drawing himself up and pulling his dark cloak tightly around him.
    ‘Call him forth, Rebal! Raise Incetes! Let him tell us what to do!’
    Rebal struck an exaggerated pose and raised both arms over his head. He began to speak, intoning guttural words in a hollow, booming voice.
    ‘Is that Styric?’ Kalten whispered to Sephrenia. ‘It doesn’t sound like Styric to me.’
    ‘It’s gibberish,’ she replied scornfully.
    Kalten frowned. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of