David Eddings: Domes of Fire

‘That’s a hateful thing to say, Sparhawk,’ she flared.

‘I’m just trying to get you to look at this realistically, Aphrael. Without the Bhelliom, we’re all in serious danger here—and I’m not just talking about your mother and all our friends. If Krager was telling the truth and we are matched up against Cyrgon, He’s at least as dangerous as Azash was.’

‘Are you sure all of these flimsy excuses aren’t coming into your head because you want to get your hands on Bhelliom again, Sparhawk?’ she asked him. ‘Nobody’s really immune to its seduction, you know. There’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had in wielding unlimited power.’

‘You know me better than that, Aphrael,’ he said reproachfully. ‘I don’t go out of my way looking for power.’

‘If it is Cyrgon, His first step would be to exterminate the Styrics, you know,’ Sephrenia reminded the little Goddess. ‘He hates us for what we did to His Cyrgai.’

‘Why are you all joining forces to bully me?’ Aphrael demanded.

‘Because you’re being stubborn,’ Sparhawk replied. ‘Throwing Bhelliom into the sea was a very good idea when we did it, but the situation’s changed now. I know that it’s not in your nature to admit that you made a mistake, but you did, you know.’

‘Bite your tongue!’

‘We have a new situation here, Aphrael,’ Sephrenia said patiently. ‘You’ve told me again and again that you can’t fully see the future, so you couldn’t really have foreseen all of what’s happening here in Tamuli. You didn’t really make a mistake, baby sister, but you have to be flexible. You can’t let the world fly all to pieces just because you want to maintain a reputation for infallibility.’

‘Oh, all right!’ Aphrael gave in, flinging herself into a chair and starting to suck her thumb as she glared at them.

‘Don’t do that,’ Sparhawk and Sephrenia told her in unison.

She ignored them. ‘I want all three of you to know that I’m really very put out with you for this. You’ve been very impolite and very inconsiderate of my feelings. I’m ashamed of you. Go ahead. I don’t care. Go ahead and get the Bhelliom if you think you absolutely have to have it.’

‘Ah—Aphrael,’ Sparhawk said mildly, ‘we don’t know where it is, remember?’

‘That’s not my fault,’ she replied in a sulky little voice.

‘Yes, actually it is. You were very careful to make sure that we didn’t know where we were when we threw it into the sea.’

‘That’s a spiteful thing to say, father.’

A horrible thought suddenly occurred to Sparhawk ‘You do know where it is, don’t you?’ he asked her anxiously.

‘Oh, Sparhawk, don’t be silly! Of course I know where it is. You didn’t think I’d let you put it someplace where I couldn’t find it, did you?’