in on him, shut him away and gave him a trapped and helpless feeling. The stone passageways reminded him of the underground lair of the Antrax. The dark forms of the Druids reminded him of the Morgawr and his Mwellrets. His time in Parkasia still haunted him, its memories unpleasantly vivid and troubling.
His sister had been anxious to explain what it was she was trying to achieve with the order, how she envisioned it serving the Four Lands. It was Walker Boh's dream she was seeking to fulfill, and she had dedicated her life to making it come true. But it was her vision she was following, not Bek's, and he had trouble finding reasons to believe in it as she did. He did not share Walker's belief in the importance of the Druids to the Races, — he did not accept that a Druid Council would function any more effectively or wisely than the governments already established. He trusted his sister and believed her to be capable and committed. But she was still only one person, and however powerful she might think herself, she was diminished measurably by how she had lived her life as the Use Witch. Her exposure to the truth of who and what she was through contact with the Sword of Shannara had caused her psyche to suffer great damage. She might have woken from the coma into which she had fallen as a result of having faced up to that truth, but he wasn't sure she had come back from it whole.
Her responsibilities were so overwhelming and the response of those she sought to help so disdainful that he found himself wondering whether she might revert to the dark creature she had been before he found her. He hated himself for thinking that way, but he understood the pressure she was under and the weight of the task she had given herself. It was one thing to reestablish the Druid order, — it was another to lead it. He wanted to tell her to let go, to come away with him. Even while she was explaining what it was she was trying to do, he wanted to urge her to stop. But, in the end, he said nothing. It was her life, not his. It was her decision.
Standing on the foredeck ofSwift Sure as Rue set the big airship down on Druid soil, he found himself wondering if he would ever see Grianne again. His concerns had all been for Pen, but it was Grianne who had disappeared first and been gone longest. Because she had a history of such disappearances and because she had always returned from them, he had given little thought to what the most recent one might mean. But it was possible, even for an Ard Rhys, to venture too far into unfriendly territory and not be able to find a way out again. It was possible, even for Grianne, not to return.
He turned his attention to dropping the anchor lines then, as the airship touched the ground, climbing down the rope ladder to secure them. The air within the Druid walls felt hot and still. He smelled the dust and the dryness, — he could breathe them in. Already, he was wishing he were somewhere else. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he waited for Rue and Traunt Rowan to descend. It was pointless to dwell on his discomfort. He was here, and here he would remain until he found what he had come looking for.
With Rue beside him, he followed the Druid toward a pair of massive double–entry doors at one end of the court. But before they reached them, the doors opened and a small group of black–cloaked figures emerged into the fading light. As they moved into the courtyard, their long shadows played against the earth like wraiths, faceless and bodiless within their coverings. A chill went up Bek's spine, a warning to be careful. He had formidable magic at his command, but his skills and experience were not the equal of these.
As the contingent approached them, Traunt Rowan turned back to Bek and Rue. «Your arrival is much anticipated,' he said with a deferential nod.
There were three of them, two leading the third, one of the two a broad–shouldered woman of some size and obvious strength. She pulled back her hood as she reached him, and he knew instinctively from the strong features and military bearing that she was the leader. «Bek Ohmsford,' she said, extending her hand. «I am Shadea a'Ru, Ard Rhys in your sister's absence.»
She shook his hand quickly, took Rue's in turn, then nodded to her companions. «My First of Order, Gerand Cera, and my assistant, Pyson Wence.»
Bek nodded to them in turn, the first tall, thin, and sharp–featured, the second physically unintimidating, but with eyes that reminded him of a hunting bird's. Deferring to the woman, neither spoke on being introduced.
«What have you learned of our son?» Rue asked at once. «Have you found him?»
«We haven't.» Shadea met her gaze without flinching, something a lot of men couldn't do. «We continue to search, of course, for both your son and the Ard Rhys, but we have run out of places to look. If you come with me, I will explain.»
Without waiting for their agreement, she turned and started back toward the Keep, her two companions and Traunt Rowan falling quickly into step behind her. Bek glanced at Rue, shrugged, and they followed as well. He was trying to remember if his sister had ever said anything about any of these Druids, but nothing came to mind. Aside from Ahren Elessedil, Tagwen was the only one he could remember her speaking about and the only one he could remember meeting. He wished now that he had paid better attention.
Inside the Keep, Shadea beckoned them forward to walk with her, and the other three Druids gave way as they moved ahead.
«The Ard Rhys disappeared after retiring to her chamber several weeks ago. She went into her room and never came out. There was no sign of a struggle when we found her missing. The Trolls on watch said she had not come out during the night and that they had heard nothing. I dismissed them anyway, simply as a precaution. We have many enemies, and they have many reasons to want us gone. The Trolls might have been subverted.»
That was one explanation, Bek thought, though it didn't feel right. «I recall my sister saying more than once how much she depended on them, how reliable they were.»
Shadea's sun–browned face turned his way sharply, and she brushed the short–cropped blond hair from her forehead. «She may have made a mistake by trusting them. We don't know.»
«No one has seen her since? No one has sent any word of her?» «None. Tagwen seemed to have an idea about what might have happened, but then he disappeared as well. We tracked him to Em–beren and to Ahren Elessedil. Then we tracked them both to Patch Run. Apparently, when they left, they took your son with them. That was the last thing we discovered that's worth talking about. We still don't know why the Ard Rhys disappeared or where she might have gone. We don't know where your son, Tagwen, and Ahren Elessedil have gone, either. Our airships continue to search, but time slips away, and that doesn't favor our efforts. I am hopeful that by coming to Paranor, you can change things.»
Bek felt Rue's hand tighten in his own. «How can I help you? I don't know anything about this.»
Shadea a'Ru nodded. «It is no secret that you are extraordinarily close to your sister. The story of how you found each other twenty years ago is common knowledge. Your inherited magic drew you in ways that nothing else could. It binds you irrevocably. I think we can make use of that in finding her and very likely your son, as well. I'll show you how.»
They passed down the shadowed corridor and ascended a series of stairs to the upper levels. In a broad, high–ceilinged hall that ran down the center of the Keep, they encountered other Druids moving about in small groups, carrying books and papers and conversing with one another. A few looked them over as they passed, taking note of the two who were clearly not of their order. But no one looked for very long, turning quickly away when they caught sight of Shadea.
They are afraid of her,Bek thought.
He remembered that it had been the same when he had come to visit his sister—the same looks, the same quick averting of faces when she passed. Nothing had changed in her absence. It made him wonder if it was the nature of the position or of the candidates drawn to occupy it. It made him wonder why anyone would want it.
As they turned down a secondary passageway, one narrower and less heavily traveled, a young Druid rushed into their midst, colliding with Bek in a flurry of confusion and knocking him to the floor.
«Sorry,' he apologized quickly, reaching down to help Bek up again. The papers he had dropped lay scattered everywhere about them. «I didn't see you. I was in a hurry. My mistake. Are you all right? Well, then. Again, sorry.»
Their hands clasped, and Bek felt a tiny piece of paper pressed into his palm. «There, no harm done,' the young Druid declared, his eyes meeting Bek's quickly before looking away. He apologized again, this time to Shadea, and bent to retrieve his papers from the floor. The big woman gave him a withering look and walked right on past, beckoning the others to follow. Bek glanced down briefly at the young Druid as he passed him. The other man did not look up.
As they continued on, Bek slid the piece of paper into his pocket. He had never seen the young Druid before. He glanced over at Rue, but she didn't seem to have noticed anything.
They climbed several sets of stairs and traversed several more corridors before coming to a room set high in
