Bearers Of The Black Staff Part 18

True enough, Sider thought. "We won't let that happen." He glanced over. "My word on it."

The boy seemed to accept this rea.s.surance, and they proceeded in silence, wending their way down the narrow path that took them into Glensk Wood the back way out of the mountains, avoiding the main road. Sider saw no reason to advertise their coming just yet. What he was hoping was that Aislinne would have something to say about how to proceed. She knew the village and its leaders far better than he did, and she would have a sense of what might gain their support while avoiding the machinations of Skeal Eile.

Darker thoughts took hold. He'd had the chance more than once to put an end to the Seraphic, to make him disappear as if he had never been. But he was not trained as an a.s.sa.s.sin, and his code of conduct did not allow him to harm those who did not directly threaten him or those he protected. Skeal Eile was skirting the edges of that distinction if he was responsible for the attempted a.s.sa.s.sination of Panterra and Prue at Pan's home. But the Seraphic's involvement remained only a suspicion, strong as it might be. There were many at the council meeting when Panterra spoke; one of them, aroused to the point of mindless rage, might have acted on impulse.

Still, he would have to find a way to a.s.sure himself that the Seraphic would not try to harm Aislinne after he and Panterra left. That he hadn't done so before was no guarantee of what he might do in the future. Especially after he heard what Sider had to say. Things would be changed irrevocably after that.

And with that thought completed, the answer to what he would do came to him in a flash of inspiration.

Even so, he kept it to himself. They were at the edge of the village now, pa.s.sing close enough to cottages to see lights in the curtained windows and movement behind the curtains. A few villagers walked the main road off to their right, too far away to be recognized, but easy enough to avoid. He motioned the boy to stay close and slipped from tree to tree, from thicket to woodpile to outbuilding, steadily advancing into the heart of the village. Not long now, he thought. Her home was not more than several hundred yards farther on. He wondered if she would be alone or if Pogue would be there. In a way, it might be better if he was.

But he knew he didn't want that. For what brief time he was allowed, he wanted to have her alone.

The path they were following ended at a small copse of trees bordering the rear of a semicircle of cottages, and Panterra suddenly took hold of his arm and stopped him.

"My home," the boy whispered, pointing at one.

The cottage was dark and silent, and there appeared to be no one living there. But the grounds were neatly kept and the exterior of the house looked cared for. The boy stood where he was for a moment, studying the home as if he had never seen it before, and Sider wondered what he was thinking. Then the boy nodded and gestured that they could go on, apparently only wanting to take a quick look at it.

Minutes later, they were standing in the shadows outside Aislinne Kray's home while Sider studied it and waited for his instincts to tell him it was safe to go inside. He couldn't be certain who was there; no movement within was discernible from where they stood.

But he sensed that the house was not empty.

"Wait here," he told Panterra.

He left the cover of darkness, walked up to the front door of the cottage, and knocked. Now he could hear movement inside, the sounds of footsteps, the lifting of a latch, the creak of hinges.

The door opened, and Aislinne was there.

"You've returned," she said quietly.

She did not seem surprised, but there was something in her eyes that suggested she wasn't quite prepared, either. She was dressed, not yet ready for bed, her hair still tied up. The room behind her was empty.

"I'm sorry for the hour," he said.

"No, you're not. You're never sorry for anything, the lateness of an hour least of all. Did you do as I asked you? Did you find Panterra and Prue? Are they all right?"

Direct and purposeful. She was still the girl he had met when he was just fifteen. For a moment, he saw her that way again, composure in place, golden hair hanging down, her gaze fixed on him, tall enough to look him directly in the eyes. She could tell he was staring, and he didn't care that she did.

"I've brought Panterra to speak with you. Something has happened, and the people of Glensk Wood are in danger because of it." He hesitated. "Is Pogue here?"

She shook her head. "No. Does it matter?"

"Can we come inside?" He avoided answering her question, not wanting to risk what he might say.

She nodded. He looked back over his shoulder at the shadows where the boy was waiting, and beckoned. A moment later Panterra appeared, hurrying across the green s.p.a.ce to the door and inside. "Well met, Aislinne," he greeted as he brushed past her.

"And you, Panterra. How is Prue? Not come with you?"

The boy's eyes flicked immediately to Sider, and the Gray Man knew he would have to answer the question directly, that Aislinne would not be fooled. "She stayed behind," he said. "Let me tell it."

He did so, a quick and efficient recapitulation of most of what had happened to Panterra and Prue and their Elven companions after leaving the valley, and then of his own part in attempting to bring them home again. He looked for condemnation and disappointment in Aislinne's eyes as he related how they had left Prue Liss behind, but he found none. She sat quietly as he talked and did not interrupt.

When he had finished, she looked down at her hands for a moment. "At least you tried to help them. At least you brought Panterra back with you." She looked up again. "Will you return for Prue? Will you try to save her, as well?"

"I have already promised that I would. But I had to come here first. I have to make certain that warning is given. Have you sent messengers to the other villages?"

She shook her head. "No one would go. Not without more than your word. They are afraid, Sider. Afraid of Skeal Eile, afraid of the sect. You can't blame them."

"No, I don't suppose I can." He gave her a wan smile. "I don't suppose a.s.signing blame in this business serves any good purpose. Those who haven't seen it for themselves will find it hard to believe anything of what I have told you. But they will have to find a way to do so. The dangers they face will not allow them to do otherwise."

"Even then, what can anyone do?"

"If they are attacked by the Trolls, they must fight," he answered. "If they are fortunate enough to prevail, they must still find a way to fit themselves into the larger world. They must a.s.similate. They must adapt. They must forget everything they thought was true about their safe haven and rethink what it will take for them to survive."

She nodded. "What do you intend to do to help?" She paused. "By coming here, I a.s.sume that you intend to speak with Pogue."

"I intend it. And once I have done so, I intend to get word to those other villages. But I would ask your thoughts first. We already know how Skeal Eile and his followers will react. How should I go about this so that they cannot undermine me? I have to be certain that someone will listen to me and then act on what I am saying. Glensk Wood sits closest to Declan Reach. If the Trolls find the pa.s.s through, they will come here first."

She thought about it a moment. "A public announcement invites trouble. Something private might be better." She gave him a look. "What if I were to bring Pogue and Skeal Eile to you tonight. Just the two."

"Eile won't come," said Panterra, standing off to one side.

"He will if he doesn't know the reason he is being summoned."

"Bring Trow Ravenlock, as well," Sider said. "His Trackers are the closest thing you have to an organized fighting force, and two of them are directly involved in what's happened." He glanced at the boy. "Ravenlock will stand up for you, won't he? He believes in you and the girl?"

Panterra Qu nodded doubtfully. "But he believes in the teachings of the Children of the Hawk, as well. I don't know."

"Well." The word was a sigh of resignation. "We have to start somewhere."

"I'll go now." Aislinne stood. "Panterra, there's food in the kitchen. Go in and have something to eat and drink. Sider, I would speak with you alone for a minute."

She took him outside without further explanation, closing the door tightly behind them. She stood on the porch without looking at him for a moment, staring out into the night, but seeing something else entirely. Then she took him down the steps, across the yard, and into the shadows where they could not be easily seen. All around them, the village was dark and silent. Even the lights in the windows were beginning to disappear.

When she turned to face him, there was no friendliness in her eyes. "Why did you bring Panterra back with you?"

The question took him by surprise. "He's seen things I haven't; he brings another perspective and another voice to the discussion. I thought it would help."

She gave him a sardonic smile. "You are such a poor liar, Sider. All you say is probably true, but that isn't why he's come with you. I don't need you to tell me the reason, either. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you look at him. You want him for yourself. You've decided he's the one."

Sider hesitated, considering a lie. Then he gave it up. Not with her, he decided. "That's true. But he doesn't know it yet; I haven't spoken to him. I have no way of knowing what he will say."

She stepped close. "I know that boy. And the girl who partners with him. They aren't exactly like you and I once were, but close enough that I won't let you do this. Separating them would be worse than what you did in separating us. Do you realize what they mean to each other?"

He shook his head. "I know hardly anything about that. I only know what he makes me feel, and what he makes me feel is why I plan to speak to him."

"I forbid it!" she hissed sharply.

"It isn't your place to do that." The words were out before he could think better of them, too late to take back. "Aislinne, I don't want this, either. But if I am killed in this business, in this transition from the old world to the new, that boy will be needed to take the staff and go on. There must be someone to follow after me."

"Then find someone else."

He shook his head. "I haven't time for that. I haven't even got a place to start. I've been looking all these years, waiting, but there's been no one. Now I have to-"

"Stop." She spit out the word as if to rid herself of its bitterness, one hand lifting to emphasize her wish to silence him. "No more. I have to go. But we aren't finished. Do you understand me?"

He took a deep breath. "All too well. I'll wait on you. I can promise that much."

She stared him down, and then nodded. "I'll bring you your audience. Practice your speech to them while you wait. And practice one to me, as well."

Then she was gone.

TWENTY-ONE.

WHEN SIDER CAME BACK INSIDE THE COTTAGE, Panterra Qu could feel the anger radiating off him. The Gray Man's face was rigid with it, and his posture warned against saying anything. So Pan sat quietly, ate the food he had found in the kitchen in the cold box, and waited for the anger to dissipate, the familiar calm to return.

After a while it did. "That looks good," Sider offered absently.

He rose, disappeared into the kitchen, and returned with a plate of his own. He ate hurriedly, obviously anxious to finish before Aislinne and the men returned, saying nothing further to Pan.

But when he was finished and had returned his empty plate to the kitchen and lowered himself into a chair across from the boy, he said, "Are you ready for this?"

Pan nodded. "What do you think will happen?"

The Gray Man shook his head. "No one will be happy to see us, Skeal Eile least of all. But they will stay and listen because they will know that our being here means we have something important to tell them. They'll listen, but maybe they won't believe. It depends."

"I guess it does," Pan agreed. He thought about it for a minute. "What will you do about Skeal Eile?"

Sider Ament shrugged. "That depends, too. If I don't like what I see in his eyes, I'll have to reconsider my thinking. Otherwise, I'll seek a promise of unconditional support in front of the other two. That sort of public oath carries weight. Since we won't be staying, we won't be at much risk. It's Aislinne who should worry."

"Aislinne seems able to take care of herself," Pan said. "And she has friends besides us who can protect her."

The Gray Man nodded and looked away, his gaze drifting toward the curtained windows and the night beyond. "She was always resourceful."

Panterra wanted to ask him about Aislinne, wanted to know more. There was a history between the two that went way back; any fool could tell as much. He wanted to know what that history was. But he knew that asking would be wrong and likely brushed aside. He would have to wait and hope that at some point Sider Ament would choose of his own volition to talk about it.

They waited in silence then, listening to the night's deep stillness, searching for sounds that would signal the coming of the others. It was not long before they heard footsteps and accompanying voices. Those approaching did not do so cautiously or with any indication that they knew who was waiting inside. Pan heard Pogue Kray's deep voice rumble in sharp cadence to Trow Ravenlock's quieter tones. But he did not hear Skeal Eile or Aislinne, and wondered if something had happened.

The door opened and both speakers stepped inside, drawing to an abrupt halt the moment they saw Panterra and Sider. Aislinne and Skeal Eile followed, Aislinne entering last and closing the door firmly behind her.

"What is the meaning of this, Aislinne?" her husband asked at once, never for a moment turning away from the two visitors, his dark eyes angry.

"We have a nice piece of trickery at work here, Pogue." Skeal Eile offered a guarded smile, but his voice was smooth and pleasant. "Your wife possesses depths of deception still unplumbed, it seems."

Only Trow showed any semblance of calm, giving Sider a nod and saying to Pan, "How are you, Tracker? We miss you and your partner. Have you come back to stay?"

Ignoring the others, Aislinne moved to the front, turning to face her husband. "I did not tell you who waited because you would not have come and it was important that you did. If you hear them out, I think you will agree with me and forgive me my deliberate omissions."

Pogue Kray glowered at her. "Sometimes, you step too far over the line with me, Aislinne. You should not presume-"

"I see no harm in hearing what they have to say," Skeal Eile said suddenly, cutting the other short. "We're here, after all. What harm can come from it?"

And right away, Panterra knew that something was amiss. For the Seraphic to be this calm suggested he was not altogether surprised to find them there, and that was troubling. No one should have known they were coming. No one should have been prepared for this.

But maybe it was simply the Seraphic's discipline and training that allowed him to give this impression, and he was simply disguising his real feelings beneath a faade of apparent calm.

In any case, there was no time to find out. An argument between Aislinne and Pogue Kray was pus.h.i.+ng everything else aside.

"I don't like being deceived!" Pogue Kray snapped, his eyes flicking dark with anger. "Especially not by my wife! I expect better than that from her!"

"Any deception in this business exists only in your mind!" Aislinne replied quietly.

"Tricking me into this meeting does not count as deception?"

Sider Ament suddenly stepped between them. "Instead of attacking Aislinne, perhaps you would do better to listen to what I have to say."

"Keep your opinions to yourself, Gray Man!" the other snapped, coming forward to meet him. "You and your black staff, thinking you can do whatever you wish. Think again! I don't need to listen to anything you have to say, not now and not-"

"Perhaps it would suit you better if I simply left and you found out on your own that the protective wall you all believe in so strongly is broken and an army of thousands waits just on the other side of the pa.s.s at Declan Reach. Perhaps you would prefer to tell what's left of your people after that army destroys the village, kills the men, and makes slaves of the women and children that this was all Aislinne's fault. Perhaps they will understand your refusal to speak with me about it now. Perhaps. I won't be there to find out, however. Come, Panterra."

He pushed past Pogue Kray and moved toward the door. After a moment's hesitation, a stunned Panterra followed in his wake.

"Sider, wait!" Trow Ravenlock moved to block his way. Smaller than the other, he stood defiantly in place before him. "Don't go. Tell him to stay, Pogue."

The big man stood frozen in place, silent.

"Tell him," Skeal Eile advised quietly. He gathered his white robes closer about him and lifted his head slightly to emphasize his insistence. "This is no time for soothing your injured pride by acting the part of the child. We need to know what he's talking about."

Again, the voice of reason, and again Panterra felt the wrongness of it. But he avoided looking at the other, keeping his eyes averted.

Aislinne walked up to her husband, stood directly in front of him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I did what I thought needed doing to get all of you in this room. Now, please. Listen to Sider."

Pogue Kray took a deep breath. "All right, Aislinne." He turned about to find Sider facing him. "Speak, then. We will hear whatever you have to say on this."

It cost him something to do that, and Panterra thought he paid it mostly because of what he felt for Aislinne. It might have cost Sider Ament something, as well, and it was Aislinne who had exacted the price from him, too.

"Here is what the boy and I know," Sider began without preliminaries, still standing by the door, facing them. "We have been through the pa.s.ses at Declan Reach and Aphalion and seen for ourselves that the protective walls are down. A handful of Elves went with us, and they know this, too. The outside world is open to us, and we are open to it. There are dangerous things out there, and some of them have already come into the valley, as the boy has told you. More of them are coming."

Then he told them of the Troll army under Taureq Siq and of Panterra's encounter of several days earlier, leaving out only the part about Prue's capture. He simply told them that the boy, once it was discovered who he was and where he was from, was released to come back and ask for a meeting between the Maturen and the leaders of those who lived in the valley. He added that the Drouj were migrating in search of a new home, and it might well be that Taureq Siq believed that this valley, with its mountain walls and natural defenses, would provide him with what he needed.