'I don't know what's set the burr under your tails so you aren't thinking, children, but I stopped falling for tricks like this one a millennium ago and I'm not going to let you cart me into a trap now. I said he likely wouldn't be able to use me; I'd prefer not to put that to the test, if you don't mind.' They stared at each other in shock, Dawnfire included.
'What? 'Darkwind asked.
'Let me spell it out for you. Dawnfire was allowed to escape, so that she could bring you this trumped-up story. So that you lot would go charging off straight into his loving arms.' Nyara was the first to recover. 'oh, no,' she whispered. 'It is too, too like my own escape-an escape that was not. This sword is right!' Elspeth set her chin stubbornly, her eyes flashing for a moment, then sighed, and threw up her hands. 'Bright Havens, I want to believe it, I really do, because it's such a good chance to get the bastard now, while he's away from his support and his army-but you're right, you're both right. It's too damned pat, too coincidental. Mother's intelligence web had Ancar safe in his own palace when we left. We made much better time than he could have because we're riding Companions. The only way he could possibly have matched our time would be to ride in relays, and how would he manage that off his own lands? He has farther to come than we did on top of all that. So how could he possibly be arriving here just at the same moment we did?'
'And why sssshould he perrrmit Dawnfirrre to overhearrrr hisss plansss?' Treyvan rumbled. 'Mossst essspecially, why ssshould he have given herrr to one who wasss not competent with hawksss to take to the mewsss? He wanted herrr to fly to usss with thisss.'
'And then wanted us to-what?' Elspeth asked. 'Falconsbane never does anything for just one reason. He wants us not only to try and break up this nonexistent meeting, he wants us moved. Why? What's so special about this neutral area where the supposed 'meeting' is? Is it a particularly good place to stage a double ambush?'
'There's nothing special about it that I know of,' Darkwind replied, frowning with concentration.
'He can't have meant to catch you as he caught the dyheli, can he?' Dawnfire asked, drooping a little, as she, too, acknowledged the fact that her escape had been too easy. 'He deliberately reminded me of what he had done to them there-'
'Which probably means he wanted us to concentrate on that as well,' Skif mused aloud. 'We know he wants the sword. From what Quenten told me, he probably wants Elspeth as well.'
'oh, yes,' Nyara agreed, nodding her head vigorously. 'Yes, an untrained mage? He uses such as tools. He would be pleased to have you in his hands, lady.'
''So, is there anything else he wants? Something we'd leave unprotectedsomething even the whole Clan might leave unprotected, if we went to them and got more help for this?' Skif continued.
Elspeth glanced sideways at Darkwind. 'The Vale itself?' she hazarded.' Or your father?
He shook his head. 'No, the static protections are too much for him to crack easily. We could return and entrap him before he had even begun to break the outermost shields.'
'The Heartssstone?' asked Treyvan, then answered himself. 'No, it isss the sssame as for the Vale-' The squall of a hungry young gryphon cut across their speculations, and sent all eyes in the direction of the inner lair.
'No,' Treyvan whispered, his eyes widening.
'Yes!' Nyara cried, in mingled pain and triumph. 'Yes-that is what he wants-as much as sword and mage, and Starblade and Starblade's son! Revenge, and the souls of your younglings!'
'And I... ' Treyvan whispered, his eyes wide with horror, 'nearrrly gave it all away to him... again.'
It had taken Darkwind no time at all to create a scale-model of the area around the lair, using rocks, twigs, and the flat expanse of sand near the entrance. It was the only place big enough for all of them.
Elspeth shook off the many memories of time spent bending over a sand-table with Kero, and paid close attention to Darkwind. She wondered now how she could have mistaken simple stress for arrogance.
Not thinking clearly lately, are we? she asked herself. Not observing at all well. When this is over, it might be a good idea to take a few days to rest and think. About a lot of things.
'You'll be here,' Darkwind said to Skif, placing a pinecone on the bits of rock representing the ruins to the left of the lair.
'And I'll be moving around if I can't get a good knife or bow-shot from there,' Skif added.
The Hawkbrother nodded. 'Exactly so. You are best as mobile as possible. Now, the little ones, Dawnfire, and the sword will be here, in front of the lair.' He placed a cluster of weed-stripped seed-heads and a sliver of wood before the large stone representing the lair, and gave Elspeth a penetrating glance. 'You are certain you are willing to give up the use of the blade? It seems unfair.' Elspeth shrugged. 'It was Need's choice, remember,' she pointed out. 'We've got to protect the bait somehow, and two of the three of them are female.'
