The Druid turned to Bek. «If you will return with me to Paranor, perhaps we can find them together. We know you have a strong connection to your sister, that you share the use of her magic. We were hoping that you might find a way to apply your talents to help us with our search. If we can find either your sister or your son, we have a chance of finding both.»
He hesitated. «I admit that we are growing desperate. We need a fresh approach. We need any help that we can get.»
He sounded sincere and his plea had merit, but something troubled Bek. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but he couldn't quite make himself dismiss it, either.
«What of the expedition?» he asked, trying to think it through.
«I will see that everything is taken care of. Another ship, paid for by the order, will fulfill your obligation to your passengers. With your permission, I will fly back with you aboard your airship to Paranor. The Athabasca can continue her search. We have all of our airships out looking, crisscrossing the Four Lands. I don't want to take any of them out of service until this matter is settled.» He paused. «We are doing everything we can to find your son.»
He directed this last comment at Rue in what was surely an effort to reassure her, but Bek was pretty certain it was too late for that.
«We have to find him, Bek,' Rue said quickly. «We have to do whatever it takes.»
She was right, of course. But that didn't mitigate his sense of uneasiness. Why would Pen, who was always so dependable, disappear without a word to anyone? Where would Ahren Elessedil have taken him that required such secrecy? Looking at it from every conceivable angle, he kept coming back to the same two possibilities—that his son had been forced to flee or that Traunt Rowan was lying.
«Let me talk with our passengers and tell them what's happening,' he said to the Druid. «Then we'll come with you.»
He took Rue's hand and led her over to where the six who had hired them were standing in the shadow ofSwift Sure. Quickly, he told them a version of the truth—that an emergency had arisen that required them to leave immediately for home, that another airship with another Captain and crew familiar with expedition work would come to allow them to complete their outing. There were a few disappointed looks, but everyone took it well. None of them asked for their money back. They shook hands and wished one another well.
After giving a wave of reassurance to Traunt Rowan, Bek walked over to the crates of supplies stacked on the ground at the airship's stern and began checking through them. Rue, who had hesitated before following him over, bent close. «What are you doing?»
«Pretending that I'm doing something useful,' he said. «Gaining us a little space and time so that we can think.»
She joined him in poking through the crates, her eyes never leaving his face. «You don't trust him, either.»
He glanced back at the Druid, who was leading their passengers over to theAthabasca in preparation for boarding. «Why do you think Tagwen felt the need to seek out Ahren Elessedil when there are more than a hundred other Druids at Paranor whom he could have turned to? Why would he choose to seek help outside Paranor's walls? That doesn't feel right.»
«No,' she agreed, «it doesn't.»
«But let's assume he had a good reason for traveling all the way to Emberen to find Ahren. Why did Traunt Rowan and the other Druids suddenly feel a need to follow him? If they were worried about our family, why wouldn't they go straight to Patch Run to warn us? They've thrown Pen into the mix as a reason for their search, but they didn't know anything about a connection to us before they started looking for the other two.»
Rue's mouth tightened. «He said Pen might be in danger, that we all might. But he never said from whom, did he?»
«I take your point. Whatever the case, I don't think we are being told the truth.»
She straightened abruptly. «Then why are we going back to Paranor? If this is some sort of a trap, we shouldn't be so quick to step into it.»
He shook his head. 'They want something from us. If they didn't, they would have taken a different approach. Besides, if we don't go to Paranor, we lose our best chance of finding out what is really going on.»
She brushed back loose strands of her long red hair and looked off into the distance. «I could make him tell us everything in about ten minutes if you left me alone with him.»
Bek smiled in spite of himself. «He's a Druid, Rue. He's too powerful to play games with. Anyway, if we scare him, he won't be so eager to tell us anything. Even when he lies, he gives us small glimpses of the truth. Let's make use of that for now. We can skin him and hang him out to dry later.»
She reached over and took his hand. «I want Penderrin safe, Bek. If this involves your sister, it probably involves her enemies, and her enemies are too dangerous for a boy to deal with.» She glanced over at the
Druid airship. «I hate it that we've become involved in her life again.»
He straightened and took her in his arms. She let him do so, but her body remained stiff and angry as he held her. «Don't be too quick to blame this on Grianne,' he whispered. «We don't know anything for sure yet. We don't even know that Pen is missing. All we know is what we've been told, and we can't really trust that.»
She nodded and inclined her head into his shoulder. «What if he's telling the truth? We can't dismiss that possibility, either. Just because he hasn't told his story well doesn't mean it isn't true. We can't take chances with Pen's safety.»
He pressed her against him reassuringly. «Nothing will happen to Pen. Remember who raised him. He isn't without resources or skills. If he's disappeared, it may be because he wants it that way. What we need to do is to discover the reason. But we have to go to Paranor to do that. Are you willing to take the chance?»
She backed out of his embrace, and he saw the familiar resolve reflected in her green eyes. «What do you think?»
Six
Shadea a'Ru walked alone down the lower west corridor of the Druid's Keep, listening beyond the soft scrape of her footfalls for other sounds. The air was warm and stultifying outside the walls of the Keep, but cool and resonant inside. A barely audible whisper of faraway voices reverberated off the stone walls like motes of dust dancing in the light.
She listened to those voices carefully, but only to make certain they did not follow her.
They would be serving the noon meal now, and a period of rest would follow for those who cared to take advantage of it. Few would. The Druids she led knew there were consequences for any failure to complete their work. She kept them guessing as to what those consequences might be or when to expect them. She let them work without supervision or deadlines because her unpredictability was all the incentive they required. A little uncertainty and a few object lessons were strong motivators.
She did not visit acts of reprisal on those who disappointed her; she knew better than to do that. She did not use her office to punish outright. She had learned a long time ago that consequences must be administered in more subtle ways. A few well–chosen examples set the tone. She provided them early on, within days after gaining the position of Ard Rhys, a clear indication of her expectations. She chose two younger Druids, ones lacking in broad support, ones whose presence would not be missed. She called them into her office and simply dismissed them. She sent them home without offering them even the smallest clue as to how or why they had failed. They might apply for reinstatement, she advised, once they had determined the nature of their shortcomings. It was a fair and just approach to the strict demands of the order's disciplines, and no one could find fault with how she had handled things.
Yet the underlying message was unmistakable. If one failed, whether one understood how or why—one paid the price. The best way to avoid such consequences was to work hard and not make trouble.
Of course, the more powerful of the Druids were not so easily intimidated. Their dismissal would result in confrontations of the sort she was trying to avoid. Yet she was determined that they all be brought into line, that they be made to accept her leadership and her control. She did not require that they make a public display of their
