lord of many kingdoms, but Valdemar stands in his way, by an increasingly lesser margin. These folk we have shown you come to help defend Elspeth's land. We will speak to them, through an intermediary that they trust, letting them know that Falconsbane has come to roost here.'
An'desha considered that for a moment, seeing something of what their reaction might be to that unwelcome information. 'They will know that Falconsbane is their chiefest enemy. So - what am I to do in all of this? What is it that I can do for them that will help them defeat Ancar and Falconsbane? I can do nothing to prevent him from helping Ancar if he chooses.'
'Watch,' Dawnfire said immediately. 'Delve the depths of Falconsbane's memories. Learn all you can of him and of Ancar and Hulda and their plans. We will pass this on as well. You will be the spy that no one can possibly detect; the ideal agent, who is even privy to thoughts. Somewhere, in everything that you learn, there will be a way for your allies to defeat not only Ancar, but Falconsbane as well.'
But that did not necessarily mean that they would be able to help him...and he noticed a curious omission. Neither Dawnfire nor Tre'valen had said anything about mentioning his existence to these 'allies'....
And, feeling a little alarmed, he said so. 'You say nothing of me - '
Now Tre'valen looked away, and it was Dawnfire who said, with a peculiar expression of mingled apology and determination, 'We cannot tell them of your existence, although we will inform the intermediary, who suspects it already. If we let the others know that you live in Falconsbane's body, they might hesitate to - '
Here she broke off, and An'desha continued, bleakly, with the inescapable. 'They might hesitate if it becomes necessary to slay Falconsbane, even if there is no other choice. Is that what you wished to say?'
'The intermediary will know,' Tre'valen pointed out, but a little hesitantly. 'She can judge best if they should know as well...but at the moment, she thinks not.'
She thought not, hmm? An'desha pondered that for a moment. How likely was it that these 'allies' would come face-to-face with Falconsbane?
But at least three of them were Adepts. When was it necessary for an Adept to come face-to-face with an enemy in order to attack him?
'An'desha, we pledged you that we would do our best to free you and save you. We did not mean to 'free you and save you' by slaying you,' Dawnfire said, quickly. 'You know we cannot lie to you in this. You have already accepted the risk, have you not?'
He sighed. He had. And word once given could not be taken back without becoming an oath-breaker. They were quite right, and besides, what choice did he have? He either faced a lifetime - presumably a long one - of being a prisoner in his own body, forced to watch Falconsbane commit his atrocities and being unable to do anything to prevent them, or he could retreat into his 'safe haven' in Falconsbane's mind, make himself blind and deaf to all that passed while Falconsbane was awake, and live a kind of prison existence in which he would still know what Falconsbane was doing, even if he refused to actually see it.
Neither was any kind of a life; a living hell was more like it. He had a chance now....
And he certainly did not want Falconsbane making free with his body anymore. The creature must be stopped.
'No matter what happens, we will be with you,' Tre'valen said softly.
That decided him. At least his loneliness and isolation were at an end. These two were friends already; it would be no bad thing to come to an ending, if it were in the company of true friends.
'Well, then,' he said, steeling himself against the horrid memories he must once again face in order to pass the information on to his protectors. 'I must begin my part of the bargain. Here is what I have learned of Ancar....'
It took a surprisingly short time to relate, really. It was astonishing how simply sordid those terrible acts Ancar had recited became, when they were told, not to an avid audience of Mornelithe Falconsbane, but to the impassive witnesses of the two Avatars. They seemed neither disturbed nor impressed; they simply nodded from time to time as if making special note of some point. He added his impressions of what Falconsbane had thought, once he came to the end of that recitation. It had not been flattering, for although Ancar had done his best to shock the Adept, Mornelithe had not been impressed either. He had, in fact, considered Ancar to be little more than a yapping pup, barking his importance to an old, bored dragon.
'Things could be worse,' Dawnfire commented, when he came to the end of the recitation. 'Falconsbane is still far more interested in regaining control of himself and gaining control of the situation than he is in helping Ancar. He does not know that the Valdemarans are returning to their home, so his thirst for revenge has not yet been awakened against Valdemar. And I suspect he will be investigating this woman Hulda as a possible ally against Ancar, simply because he is not the kind of creature to leave any opportunity without at least looking into it. And meanwhile, Ancar has learned nothing useful from him, which is a good thing, and he intends to withhold real information for as long as possible, which is even better.'
An'desha sighed. 'Better than you know. The things that Falconsbane has done to gain his powers - '
He shuddered without really intending to. Tre'valen touched his shoulder with sympathy. 'I can soften those
