The Druid frowned. «The Ellcrys?»
But this time Amberle did not answer him. Her hands lifted to her stricken face and wiped away the tears. Her green eyes opened, and she came to her feet once more.
«If I were to agree to travel with you to Arborlon, if I were to agree to face my grandfather and my people, if I were to go before the Ellcrys one final time — if I were to do all this, all that you have asked, what then if she will not give to me her seed?»
Allanon straightened. «Then you may return to Havenstead, and I will trouble you no more.»
She paused. «I will think about it.»
«There is no time to think about it,” Allanon insisted. «You must decide now, tonight. The Demons search for you.»
«I will think about it,” she repeated. Her eyes settled on Wil. «What is your part in all of this, Healer?» Wil started to reply, but her quick smile stopped him. «Never mind. Somehow I sense that we are alike in this. You know no more than I.»
Less, Wil wanted to tell her, but she had already turned away.
«I have no place for you in my home.» She spoke to Allanon again. «You may sleep here, if you like. Tomorrow we’ll talk about this further.»
She started toward the cottage, chestnut hair trailing sail–like down her back.
«Amberle!» the big man called after her.
«Tomorrow,” she replied and did not slow.
Then she was done, disappearing silently through the cottage door, leaving Druid and Valeman staring after her in the dark.
Chapter Eleven
The creature came for Wil through the sluggish haze of his sleep, a formless creation of his dreams that rose up hauntingly out of the depths of his subconscious. It was a thing of terror, a thing that lurked in the dark recesses of his mind where he hid his deepest fears. It came for him with stealth and cunning, slipping easily past the obstacles with which he sought to block it, its motion fluid and quick as it pressed in about him. He could not see it as it came; he never would. It lacked substance or identity; it lacked reason. There was only the overwhelming sense of terror it created by its being. He ran from it, of course — ran swiftly through the landscapes of his imagination, ran and ran until it seemed he must surely have left it behind. But he had not. It was there at once, closing swiftly, surely. He lunged from it in desperation, screaming soundlessly for help, anyone’s help. But there was no, one. He was alone with this thing and he could not escape it. Yet he must, for if it were to reach him, if it were to touch him, he knew with certainty that he would die. So he ran in fear, blindly, feeling the breath of the thing hot upon his neck…
He came awake with a start, lurching upward from beneath the blankets to a sitting position. The night air was cold on his face and body. Sweat ran from beneath his arms, and from within his head he could hear the sound of his heart pounding wildly.
Allanon’s dark form crouched next to him, strong hands, holding fast to Wil’s shoulders. The Druid’s voice was a harsh whisper.
«Quick, Valeman. They have found us.»
Wil Ohmsford did not need to ask who it was that had found them. It was his dream become reality. He came to his feet with a bound, grabbing up his blanket and hurrying after the Druid, who was already moving toward the little cottage. As if by intuition, Amberle appeared at the edge of the porch, white night dress blowing eerily about her slender form, giving her a ghostly appearance. Allanon went to her at once.
«I told you to dress,” he whispered angrily.
She looked unconvinced. «You would not seek to trick me, Druid? This would not be some game you are playing to help me make up my mind to come back with you to Arborlon?»
Allanon’s face went black. «Another few minutes of standing around and you will have your answer! Now dress!»
She stood her ground. «Very well. But I cannot leave the children. They must be taken to a place of safety ”
«There is not time enough for that,” the Druid urged. «Besides, they will be safer here than stumbling about in the dark.»
«They will not understand being left like this.»
«Remain and they will share your fate!» Allanon’s patience was gone. «Wake the oldest. Tell him that you must go away for a time, that you have no choice. Tell him that when it is light out, to take the others to a neighbor’s home. Now do as I say — hurry!»
This time she did not argue, but turned and disappeared back inside the cottage. Wil straightened his clothing and rolled his blanket tight. Together, Druid and Valeman saddled the horses and brought them around to the front of the darkened home to wait for the Elven girl. She was with them almost immediately, dressed in boots, slacks, belted tunic and a long blue riding cloak.
Allanon brought the girl and the Valeman close before Artaq, whispering softly to the animal, stroking the satin neck. Then he handed the reins to Wil. «Get on.»
Wil did as he was told, scrambling aboard the big black. Artaq shook his head and whiskered. Allanon continued to whisper gently, then took Amberle by the waist and swung her up behind the Valeman as if she were no more than a feather’s weight. Then he mounted Spitter.
«Quiet, now,” he cautioned. «Not a word.»
They turned onto the roadway that ran in front of the little cottage and followed it eastward through the sleeping village. Only the sound of their horses’ hooves thudding softly on the earthen trail broke the deep stillness. In minutes, the buildings of the village were behind them, and they were at the forest’s edge. Before them stretched the tilled fields, the waters of the irrigation ditches sparkling with moonlight as they crisscrossed through neatly planted rows of grain and corn already grown and ripening. In the distance, on either side, the wooded slopes of the valley fell away into the grasslands.
Allanon dismounted wordlessly He stood motionless for a time, listening to the silence of the night, his dark face anxious. Finally he stepped close to Artaq, motioning for Wil and Amberle to bend close.
«They are all around us.» He breathed the words. Wil went cold. The Druid looked at him as if to measure his worth. «Have you ridden in hunt before?» Wil nodded. «Good. You and Amberle will stay with Artaq. If you are pressed, give him his head. He will see you safely through this. We will ride north along the edge of the village to where the valley drops into the grasslands. Once there, we will break through their circle. Do not stop for anything, do you understand? If we become separated, do not turn back. Ride north until you reach the Silver River. If I do not come at once, cross and ride west to Arborlon.»
«What will you…?» Wil asked hurriedly.
«Do not concern yourself with what I might be doing,” the Druid cut him short. «Just do as you are told.»
Wil nodded reluctantly He did not like the sound of this at all. When Allanon turned away, he glanced back at Amberle.
«Hold tight,” he whispered and tried a quick smile. She did not smile back. There was undisguised fear in her eyes.
Allanon remounted. Slowly, cautiously they made their way along the forest’s edge, skirting the western borders of the village of Havenstead. Silence hung deep and penetrating across the whole of the valley. Like shadows, they slipped through the darkness of the trees, their eyes searching the night for movement. Ahead of them, the north slope of the valley began to loom up darkly through breaks in the forest.
Then Allanon reined in sharply, motioning for them to be still. He pointed wordlessly toward the fields on their left. Wil and Amberle followed the line of his arm. At first, there was nothing to be seen, only row upon row of stalks shaded dark gray in the moonlight. But a moment later their eyes picked out the quick movement of something vaguely like an animal as it crept from one of the irrigation ditches and disappeared into the stalks of the
