Years ago, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power, at the bottom of the sea. Yet now it is needed again to stop a malign force from spreading evil and destruction across the lands. Sparhawk, Queen's champion, sets out to retrieve the Stone. But others seek the gem for their own diabolical ends. Most fearsome of these are the Shining Ones, whose mere touch melts human flesh from bone. Now Sparhawk finds himself stalked by these creatures out of myth . . . whose touch is all too real. Annotation. Years past, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power. It rested at the very bottom of the deepest ocean, that nevermore should its awesome power sing temptation to mortal men. Now Sparhawk, Knight and Queen's Champion, must retrieve that Sapphire Rose from its briny sleep. For only with the might of Bhelliom could he hope to thwart the fiendish schemes directed against the Tamul empire, and against his own homeland. Sparhawk's journey to recover Bhelliom would be fraught with peril. Only with Goddess' help could he hope to recover the stone. And that would only begin his quest, for the forces of evil sought to capture the gem for their own diabolical ends. Sparhawk and his loyal companions must keep Bhelliom safe from those who sought to steal it, as well as from the horrors which those evildoers had already loosed upon the world. Most feared of all the monsters that terrorized Tamuli were the Shining Ones: dreaded, glowing beings whose merest touch could melt human fleshfrom bone.,All too soon, Sparhawk and his allies found themselves stalked by those fell creatures out of myth. For the Shining Ones, too, had designs on Bhelliom - designs that would change the very shape of the world...