The highlander folded his arms across his chest. «He could make the time if it were necessary. Brin, your father might have a different slant on all this. After all, he’s had the benefit of experience — and he’s used the Elven magic.»
«Brin, he could use the Elfstones!» Jair’s eyes snapped open. «He could go with you. He could protect you with the Elfstones, just as he protected the Elven girl Amberle!»
Brin saw it then; those few words gave her the answer that she had been looking for. Allanon was right. She must go with him. But the reason was not one she had considered until now. Her father would insist on accompanying her. He would take the Elfstones from their hiding place and go with her in order that she should be protected. And that was exactly what she must avoid. Her father would be forced to break his pledge never to use the Elfstones again. He probably wouldn’t even agree to her accompanying Allanon. He would go instead in order that she, her mother, and Jair be kept safe.
«I want you to go back to bed, Jair,” she said suddenly.
«But I just got…»
«Go on. Please. We’ll talk this all out in the morning.»
Jair hesitated. «What about you?»
«I’ll be only a few minutes, I promise. I just want to sit here alone for a time.»
Jair studied her suspiciously for a moment, then nodded. «All right. Good night.» He turned and walked back into the darkness. «Just be sure you come to bed, too.»
Brin’s eyes found Rone’s. They had known each other since they were small children, and there were times when each knew what the other was thinking without a word being said. This was one such time.
The highlander stood up slowly, his lean face set. «All right, Brin. I see it, too. But I’m coming with you, do you understand? And I’m staying with you until it’s finished.»
She nodded slowly. Without another word, he disappeared down the hallway, leaving her alone.
The minutes slipped by. She thought it through again, sifting carefully the arguments. In the end, her answer was the same. She could not permit her father to break his vow because of her, to risk further use of the Elven magic he had foresworn. She could not.
Then she rose, blew out the flame of the oil lamp and walked, not in the direction of her bedroom, but to the front entry instead. Releasing the latch, she opened the door quietly and slipped out into the night. The wind blew against her face, cooling and filled with autumn’s smells. She stood for a moment staring out into the shadows, then made her way around the house to the gardens in back. Night sounds filled the silence, a steady cadence of invisible life. At the edge of the gardens, beneath a stand of giant oak, she stopped and looked about expectantly.
A moment later, Allanon appeared. Somehow, she had known he would. Black as the shadows about him, he drifted soundlessly from the trees to stand before her.
«I have decided,” she whispered, her voice steady. «I’m going with you.»
Chapter Three
Morning came quickly, a pale silver light that seeped through the predawn forest mist and chased the shadows westward. Their restless sleep broken, the members of the Ohmsford household stirred awake. Within an hour, preparations were underway for Brin’s departure to the Eastland. Rone was dispatched to the inn to secure horses, riding harness, weapons, and foodstuffs. Brin and Jair packed clothing and camping gear. In businesslike fashion, they went about their tasks. There was little conversation. No one had much to say. No one felt much like talking.
Jair Ohmsford was feeling particularly uncommunicative, trudging through the house as he went about his work in determined silence. He was more than a little disgruntled that both Brin and Rone would be going east with Allanon while he was to be left behind. That had been decided first thing that morning, practically moments after he was out of bed. Gathering in the dining area as they had gathered last night, they had discussed briefly Brin’s decision to go into the Anar — a decision, Jair thought, of which everyone but he already seemed aware. Then came the determination that, while Brin and Rone would make the journey, he would not. True, the Druid had not been pleased by Rone’s insistence that if Brin were to go, then he must go as well, because Brin needed someone she could depend upon, someone she could trust. No, the Druid had not been pleased with that at all. In fact, he had agreed to Rone’s coming only after Brin had admitted she would feel better with Rone along. But when Jair suggested that she would feel better still with him along as well — after all, he had the magic of the wishsong, too, and could help protect her — all three had abruptly and firmly told him no. Too dangerous, Brin said. Too long and hazardous a journey, Rone added. Besides, you are needed here, Allanon reminded him. You have a responsibility to your parents. You must use your magic to protect them.
With that, Allanon had disappeared somewhere and there was no further opportunity to argue the matter with him. Rone thought the sun rose and set on Brin, so naturally he would not go against her wishes on this, and Brin had already made up her mind. So that was that. Part of the problem with his sister, of course, was that she didn’t understand him. In fact, Jair was not altogether certain that she really understood herself a good deal of the time. At one point during their preparations, with Allanon still gone and Rone still down in the village, he had brought up the subject of the Elfstones.
«Brin.» They were packing blankets on the floor of the front room, wrapping them in oilskins. «Brin I know where father hides the Elfstones.»
She had looked up at once. «I thought that you probably did.»
«Well, he made such a big secret of it…»
«And you don’t like secrets, do you? Have you had them out?»
«Just to look at,” he admitted, then leaned forward. «Brin, I think you should take the Elfstones with you.»
«Whatever for?» There was a touch of anger in her voice then.
«For protection. For the magic.»
«The magic? No one can use their magic but father, as you well know.»
«Well, maybe…»
«Besides, you know how he feels about the Elfstones. It’s bad enough that I have to make this journey at all, but to take the Elfstones as well? You’re not thinking very clearly about this, Jair.»
Then Jair had gotten angry. «You’re the one who’s not thinking clearly. We both know how dangerous it’s going to be for you. You’re going to need all the help you can get. The Elfstones could be a lot of help — all you need to do is to figure out how to make them work. You might be able to do that.»
«No one but the rightful holder can…»
«Make the Stones work?» He had been almost nose to nose with her then. «But maybe that’s not so with you and me, Brin. After all, we already have the Elven magic inside us. We have the wishsong. Maybe we could make the Stones work for us!»
There had been a long, intense moment of silence. «No,” she said at last. «No, we promised father we would never try to use the Elfstones…»
«He also made us promise not to use the Elven magic, remember? But we do — even you, now and then. And isn’t that what Allanon wants you to do when you reach the Mord Wraiths’ keep? Isn’t it? So what’s the difference between using the wishsong and the Elfstones? Elven magic is Elven magic!»
Brin had stared at him silently, a distant, lost look in her dark eyes. Then she had turned again to the blankets. «It doesn’t matter. I’m not taking the Elfstones. Here, help me tie these.»
And that had been that, just like the subject of his going with them into the Eastland. No real explanation had been offered; she had simply made up her mind that she would not take the Elfstones, whether she could use them or not. He didn’t understand it at all. He didn’t understand her. If it had been him, he would have taken the Elfstones in a moment. He would have taken them and found a way to use them, because they were a powerful weapon against the dark magic. But Brin… Brin couldn’t even seem to see the inconsistency of her agreeing to use the magic of the wishsong and refusing to use the magic of the Stones.
He went through the remainder of the morning trying to make some sense of his sister’s reasoning or lack
