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them out!
He was incensed, even now, hours later. They were seated at the bow Atalan, Kermadec, Tagwen,
the young Druids, Rue, and Bek. They made an odd-looking group. The Trolls were giants with skins of
bark and flat, virtually featureless faces. The Druids were much smaller and impossibly young. The Dwarf
was squat and solid, his thick beard like a mask. And Bek and Rue, fatigued and weak from the wounds
they had received during their flight out of Paranor, had the look of the walking dead.Swift Sure hung
anchored above a valley floor somewhere deep within the Klu, west almost to the Charnals. The Inkrim
and the storm had been left behind. It was nightfall, and the Trolls who had been wounded were sleeping
below. Everyone was exhausted.
 Kermadec shifted his large frame and leaned back against the ship s railing. His rough face was
impassive, his voice calm.  Let it be, Atalan. He nodded at Bek and Rue.  So young Penderrin has
found a way into the Forbidding, after all. Your son is nothing if not resourceful. He has kept his wits
about him.
 He has his wits, but does he have the use of magic, as well? Rue asked, reminded suddenly of what
Bek had revealed of the traces of her son s passage.
Kermadec shrugged.  He has some. He has that ability to read the responses of living things. He can
discern their thinking from that. Like the lichen. Like that moor cat. He glanced at Tagwen.  It s a magic
I wouldn t mind having, Bristle Beard.
 He said it was a small magic, the Dwarf muttered. He scowled at Kermadec.  Having seen nothing to
suggest otherwise, I am inclined to take him at his word. Penderrin is not given to exaggeration.
Tagwen had recovered from his faint, though he was still embarrassed about the collapse. Kermadec
had spent a long time reassuring the Dwarf that it had nothing to do with his courage, but was a result of
exhaustion and stress. Anyone might have suffered the same indignity, and it would not be mentioned
again. Tagwen, however, did not appear convinced.
 There is the magic he generated during his encounter with the tanequil, as well, Trefen Morys pointed
out.  To create a talisman of such power, a tremendous amount of magic would have to be released.
Even if it didn t come from Pen, traces of it would cling to him. And he carries the darkwand with him.
Any reading of magic attached to Pen would be influenced by that.
It was a reasonable explanation, and even Rue seemed to accept it. Only Bek knew that the reasoning
was wrong. The readings given him by the wishsong had told him that the traces of his son s passage
encompassed only magic that belonged to him. The blood connection between father and son was too
strong for him to be mistaken. Pen had uncovered a form of magic that was still a mystery, possibly even
to himself.
 I am very sorry to hear that Ahren Elessedil is dead, he said to Tagwen, changing the subject.
The Dwarf looked down at his hands and shook his shaggy head slowly.  He was a brave man, Bek
Ohmsford. He gave his life so that the rest of us could go on. We would not have reached Kermadec
and Taupo Rough, let alone Stridegate and the tanequil, if not for him.
 And the Elven girl is his niece?
 Khyber Elessedil. Tough as old leather, that girl, though nearly as young as Penderrin. She has the
Elfstones. Took them from the Elessedils and brought them to Ahren so that he would teach her how to
use them. Turned out he had no choice. She used them in the Slags to sink theGalaphik, then again later
to help us on our journey here. She had them with her when she disappeared in Stridegate.
 But you think that she boarded one of the Druid airships that took Pen to Paranor? Rue asked.
Tagwen looked at Kermadec and came to some unspoken agreement.  Something might have happened
to her in the ruins after she left us and went in search of Penderrin, but I don t think so, the Dwarf
declared. He looked up.  She was very close to the boy and determined to help him reach the Ard Rhys.
I think she found a way, and that s why he was able to get into the Forbidding after the Druids took him
prisoner.
  Well, the fact that the King of the Silver River told Bek in his dream that an Elven girl is one of the three
who will help us reach Pen suggests you are right. But where is she now?
 She must be at Paranor, Kermadec answered with another shrug.  Waiting for us.
 Then we must go there to help them, Tagwen declared firmly.  It was the promise I made to young
Penderrin before they took him, and I intend to fulfill it.
 As do I, Kermadec agreed.
 How, exactly, are you going to go about doing that? Bellizen asked suddenly. Starlight reflected in her
ink-black eyes.  Do you have a plan?
Neither of them did, of course. No one did. There was a long silence as they pondered her question.
They had been so consumed with reaching Paranor that none of them had given much thought to what
they would do once they were there. It wasn t at all clear, they realized as they reflected on the
possibilities, what their course of action should be.
 What are we up against at Paranor? Bek asked finally, looking from Bellizen to Trefen Morys.  How
much support does my sister have?
Trefen Morys shook his head.  Very little, I m afraid. There are a handful of Druids who openly support
her and will stand with her when she returns, but most have been dismissed from the order. Those who
remain support Shadea. It isn t that they believe so strongly in her, it s more that they mistrust your sister.
She has never been able to shed her image as the Ilse Witch, not entirely.
 Some will stand with her when she returns, Bellizen added.  But only some, and I do not think we can
count their numbers with any degree of certainty. Some will stand with her because, like us, they believe
in her. Some will stand with her because they have seen how badly Shadea a Ru has dealt with her
power. But most will take no stand at all.
 That works both ways, of course, Kermadec pointed out.  They do not choose to stand with her, but
will not stand with Shadea, either. That gives us a chance.
 Why do you support her? Rue asked Bellizen, glancing at Trefen Morys, as well.  Why have you
taken her side?
Bellizen blushed.  It is not easy to explain. I do so in part because she was kind to me when others were
not. She brought me to Paranor at the suggestion of another Druid, from a village in the Runne where my
talents were considered abnormal and my safety threatened. I do not know how she found out about me,
but she told me that I belonged with her. I believed that. She has never given me cause to think badly of
her or to want her gone. I think she is the Ard Rhys we need. I think she understands the purposes of
magic better than anyone.
 I came from a village close to Bellizen s, Trefen Morys added.  We did not know each other before
Paranor, but have become friends since. I came to Paranor on my own, seeking a chance to study with
the Druids. My mistress gave me that chance. She gave me responsibilities and taught me herself on more
than one occasion.
 She is a great lady. Bellizen bit her lip, glancing quickly at her companion.  Those who follow her are
mostly younger and never knew her as the Ilse Witch. The others, the older ones, cannot seem to forget.
They think of her still as a dark creature, capable of reverting without warning. They do not know her as
Trefen and I do. They are less forgiving because their lives are too deeply rooted in the past.
 They are not alone, Bek said quietly.  Perhaps that is just the way of things. He surveyed the faces of
the others.  Very well. We know what we have to do. We have to find a way into the Keep and the
sleeping chamber of the Ard Rhys. That is where Penderrin and Grianne will reappear when they return
from the Forbidding.
He almost added,if they can find a way back, but he caught himself just in time. Rue didn t need to
hear him saying anything about the odds. She understood them well enough. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]