The One with the Serpent Tongue

Shadow of an Echo

A/N To be honest I was not sure if I would ever continue this, and I'm not naïve enough to promise this one is definitely going to be finished; but I was in the mood so thought I'd give this story a shot again.

Chapter Eleven

A Little Comfort Goes A Long Way

Galahad had to give Garion a lot of credit, when he decided to run and hide he did it well. The one thing that gave him away was the sound of gasping breaths. He was hunched over next to the creek, staring blankly into the water with tears running openly down his cheeks. Galahad could see his shoulders shaking and lanky arms were wrapped around his knees drawing his legs into himself, curling up into a compact ball of thoroughly miserable boy.

Galahad settled down to sit on a rock next to his surrogate nephew, only speaking once he was in place, "Garion, I know this is hard, come on, talk to me." He encouraged.

"I'm a killer," Garion mumbled, just curling tighter into himself.

A light sigh escaped Galahad, before pressing forward, "Did you enjoy it?" He questioned bluntly.

That got the boy's attention, as a sandy haired head shot up to glare at him, "Of course not!" He refuted in anger. "I never want to do anything like that again! The way he screamed, I can't get it out of my head. Why fire? Of all things, why that!"

Good he was venting now, better than keeping it all in. "Because fire is a very strong force, it calls to people when they are angry. A swift solution that erases all traces of whatever is bothering you. It purges the Earth of rot, and in this case that just so happened to be a person." In Galahad's mind there was no coincidence that bad temper and hot temper were synonymous. Anger was associated with heat and fire, the two went hand in hand.

"What do I do now?" Garion asked weakly.

"You pick yourself up and move on," Galahad advised. "And just so you know, it is okay to be upset that this happened, and it is alright to still be angry at Chamdar for all he has done. Just because he is dead does not make his deeds any less evil. Also, the only member of this group that has never killed anyone is Ce'Nedra. I'm not saying that it is the right thing to do all the time, but the longer we travel to find the Orb, the more chances there will be that we don't have a choice."

"How old were you the first time?" Garion asked, scrubbing at his eyes, trying to get the tears to stop.

"Eleven, almost twelve," Galahad answered. "It was a bit like what happened with you. A bad man was trying to kill me, and he was working to bring back the man who killed my parents. I didn't mean to do it, but it happened, and I've had a very long time to come to terms with it."

Garion took a deep shuddering breath, "How did he die?"

"He burned," Galahad admitted. "Just by touching my skin. When my mother died she was given the chance to stand aside, but didn't so she could protect me. Her sacrifice made it so the man couldn't touch me in hatred. It was love fueling a very ancient piece of magic that kept me alive."

Garion looked down at his marked palm, "Is that what happened with me? Is that why he burned when I touched him?"

"No Garion," This was the question Galahad had been waiting for. "You did that, it was your Will that accomplished your Wish. The magic that saved me was a whole different thing. What you just did was Sorcery the same as your Aunt Pol and grandfather does."

Rapid blinking, "There's something different?"

"In my case, yes." Galahad admitted. "I'm not like the other sorcerers, I was born somewhere else, with a different name and prophecy guiding my steps. I came to this world by choice, not by birth."

"I don't understand," Garion responded numbly, emotionally worn out.

"I didn't expect you to, no one outside of the Brotherhood and the Gods know. I was brought here by UL and trained in Proglu; but my name was originally Harry Potter and I was born in a place called England." Galahad informed, uttering the name that he had kept hidden for centuries, but had never truly forgotten. "I was exiled in exchange for destroying the evil man who was threatening to annihilate my world. A lot like Zedar is trying to do by taking the Orb to Torak. I didn't escape my fate by coming here, I exchanged one path for the other."

"Why would you do that? Give up everything?" If Garion wasn't so numb he couldn't feel anymore he would be freaking out a lot more. Instead exhaustion kept him curious and just kind of lost to reality. The current situation felt like a dream.

"Because it was the right choice to make, no matter what would happen to me." Galahad responded simply. "A wise man once told me that the time would come when people would have to choose between what is right and what is easy. I didn't fully understand what that meant until UL gave me my choice."

Garion considered this for a few moments, "Why here? Of all places."

"Because of you." Blunt and honest was the way to go.

Belgarath's oh so favorite phrase soon followed, "Why me?"

"You are a very important person Garion, and you are backed in this journey by the gods themselves. Your fate is even more tangled than my own, no one knows what is going to happen. Not even UL. I was brought here because you needed me. I know what it feels like to be twisted and pulled in so many different directions you feel like you are going to break. I can support you in ways the others can't." Galahad explained.

"I don't want this," Garion whispered, staring at his hand again, the white blaze never more apparent to him than now. Almost as if the fire that had burnt Chamdar to ashes had rebranded the skin.

"I know, believe me, I know." Galahad sympathized, and brushed his hair away from his forehead, drawing attention to the lightning scar. "I was marked too. I got this from the man who was trying to kill me. I survived a curse I shouldn't have, and it made me famous on the night my parents were killed. I was hounded and praised, only to be ridiculed and written off as a lunatic following the whims of the people I was fated to save. All because I lived when I should have died. I didn't want fame or destiny, I just wanted my family. People like us have only one choice, face our fates, or fight it and risk losing everything we love. I know you don't want it, I didn't either, but this is the burden we were given and we have to make the best of it. Use the power you are gifted with wisely and move forward with all your heart. There are good things waiting for you if you give them a chance."

Garion closed his hand, making a fist so tight his knuckles turned white. "I'll do whatever I have to. I don't want anyone to suffer because I wasn't strong enough."

"Good," Galahad approved. "Now stand up Belgarion and find your place in the world."

The sandy haired young man rose from his dejected position, looking at Galahad with determination. "I will!" He responded firmly.

In that moment, Galahad thought his heart might burst with pride.

When they got back to the others, Polgara took one look at Garion and pulled him into a hug, "You did well." She complimented, before kissing his forehead and letting him go. Her own way of saying goodbye to the boy Garion, and welcoming the man Belgarion into their midst.

"Are you alright?" Barak asked, remembering his own first kill. Something like that changed a person, and plenty of times it was not for the better.

"I am now." Garion assured, though his still red eyes betrayed him a bit. "I'm sorry for running."

"I'm not surprised you ran, but I am impressed that you managed to come back so quickly." Silk responded first.

"I just needed to think," Garion admitted. "Uncle helped me sort things out."

The sharp witted spy turned to Galahad with a raised eyebrow, getting a simple shrug in return. His story was not one he shared lightly, the Drasnian would just have to deal with his curiosity.

"So where do we go from here?" Durnik asked after several minutes of silence passed.

"Nyissa." Galahad immediately informed. "I need to have a little talk with Salmissra. If she is throwing her lot in with the Angaraks it could spell trouble. Her network isn't quite as big as Drasnia's, but her agents are very efficient."

"How do you know you will get to speak with her? It isn't easy getting close." Silk inquired thoughtfully. Galahad wasn't exaggerating when he said the Nyissan officials were efficient. Penetrating Salmissra's palace was a task for only the best of Drasnia's spies.

"Oh trust me, I'll manage." Galahad smirked. There was more than one way to get to Salmissra. "Also, I'm bringing Garion with me."

"That's crazy!" Barak exclaimed, "Why would you bring the person being targeted directly to the person hunting them?"

"The safest place for Garion is the palace itself." Galahad informed. "I know it doesn't sound right, but trust me on this. Salmissra is not the one after Garion, she is working for someone else. It is in her best interest to keep him unscathed. If he is left in the open whoever she is working for might take measures into their own hands."

"The rest of us would be watching over him," Barak argued. He didn't want to see the boy get hurt. "He would only have one protector if he went with you."

"You don't know Nyissa like I do," Galahad refuted. "It would be relatively easy to spirit him away with just a few drops of a drug in the water supply. He would be gone before you realized something was wrong."

"And just how do you plan on keeping yourself from falling for the same trick?" The Cherek challenged.

"I won't be going as a human, and I'll be teaching Garion how to shift as well." Galahad explained calmly. He had been expecting the question and was able to hold his own against the inquisition. "We have a few days before we get to Nyissa, should be plenty of time."

Even Garion looked shocked though, and he spluttered out, "You can really teach me that?"

"Why not?" Galahad responded smoothly. "It is one of the more useful skills we have."

"If you are going to insist on this, then I will go with you to the palace." Polgara broke in. "I have dealt with Salmissra before, I know what to expect."

"I won't stop you, but I recommend you use a snake for a form, your usual ones will stick out like red to a bull." Galahad reminded.

She glared at him, "I don't need you to tell me that. I am fully capable of using other forms if I need to. It's not like you don't change around if the circumstances call for it."

He put up his hands in surrender, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Nothing wrong with a little refresher. How long has it been since you were in Nyissa?"

That brought her up short, making her glare at him again. "A while." She hedged. "In case you have forgotten I have been a little busy for the last few centuries." She had been nurturing the line that would produce the Godslayer; only leaving for limited excursions ordered specifically for her.

"Pol, Galahad, we need to get moving." Belgarath broke in, unsuccessfully trying to hide his grin. He liked watching the two normally so stoic companions bicker like children. "If you want to keep squabbling, do it on horseback."

The two in question were forced to admit he was right and the party was soon on their way again. Polgara and Galahad were very pointedly riding at different ends of the group.

Galahad expected Garion to stick near him, but the young man surprised him by riding next to Ce'Nedra instead. Conversation between the two was stilted and slow, but it appeared to him like Garion was attempting to reassure the nervous princess. That was an interesting development.

"Ah, our little Garion is growing up." The half-joking comment came as a surprise to Galahad since he hadn't realized Silk had dropped back to ride with him.

"It was bound to happen sometime," Galahad responded smoothly. He didn't want to give the Drasnian the satisfaction of knowing he had managed to catch him off-guard.

"How did you do it? I have seen people much older than him have similar reactions and it took them several days if not weeks to gather themselves back together." It seemed the other spy was too curious to just let it go, and Galahad was not surprised in the least.

"I can't tell you exactly what I told him, at least not yet. That is not a story for everyone to hear. I simply informed him that I have been in his shoes before and knew what he needed to hear. He's a stronger person than he is given credit for, I honestly didn't have to do much; most of his quick recovery was his own doing." Galahad was very proud of his nephew. Silk was right; it was not an easy thing to come to terms with killing, and while Galahad suspected there may be a few relapses of doubt to come there was no doubt Garion had managed to do something many other wouldn't have.

"He's going to need all the strength he can get," Silk commented under his breath, barely loud enough for Galahad to hear much less anyone else.

"Yes he will, but remember he is not going to be left alone. The strength of the Light does not come from one person, but many." That was a fact worth celebrating.

"Still, all of this would mean nothing without him." Silk added.

"Oh, I know, part of my saying that to you was to reassure myself. I don't want to see him take on all the responsibility himself. He had been given companions, he needs to feel comfortable relying on us when he needs to. Otherwise situations like what happened in Arendia could turn out very differently." Galahad still shuddered to think what may have happened should Garion have tried to go it alone and keep Lelldorin out of it.

"Seems to me like he is learning that part of your lessons well." Silk complimented. Raising Garion had been a complicated task with several key people throwing in their hands, from Belgarath to Durnik they had all played a role. Polgara and Durnik were the nurturers while Belgarath and Galahad were the teachers. It hadn't taken Silk long to figure that out by watching how each adult interacted with Garion.

"All we can do is give him the pieces, it's him that has to put the puzzle together." Galahad brushed off.

"The better the pieces the easier it is to finish the picture though," Silk pointed out. "A good teacher can make a bad student good, and a good student great. Get a bad teacher and even the smartest pupil could suffocate."

"Sounds like you have experience with both," Galahad successfully deflected the topic. As his comment worked to spark Silk's memories of the academy and he was soon telling Galahad all about it; his enthusiasm put a smile on Galahad's face.

It was nice to see people you cared about enjoying themselves.