Bloodfire Quest (The Dark Legacy of Shannara, #2)(56)

She left quickly, leaving the sisters clasped in a tight embrace of shared sorrow in the sudden silence of their home.



Railing Ohmsford was up early that same morning, too troubled to sleep and still bitter and angry that he had been forced to leave his brother behind. He understood there had been no real choice in the matter, that if what was left of their little group hadn’t boarded Wend-A-Way and sailed off with Aphenglow and Cymrian, they would have been overrun by the Goblins and killed. He understood, as well, that there was no way back into the Forbidding, and no real chance of rescuing his brother even if there had been. He knew all this, but knowing it and accepting it were two entirely different things.

So he had let the others convince him—Seersha, in particular, because she wanted to save Khyber Elessedil every bit as much as he wanted to save Redden—that the only reasonable chance they had was to return to Arborlon, regroup, and come back again better prepared. But the sense of betrayal he felt was acute and deep, and none of the arguments he was able to muster could tamp it down.

Now, awake again before dawn and at loose ends, all he could think about was hopping aboard an airship and flying back into the Fangs.

In the hope of distracting himself, he hobbled out to the pathway fronting the residence he was sharing with Crace Coram, Skint, and Woostra. The effort it required to get there was laborious and painful, and served mostly to demonstrate how far he still had to go before would be fit enough to help anyone. Seersha had set the bones and then splinted the leg during the return trip, repairing the damage well enough that it would heal perfectly in six weeks or so. But making the short journey to the end of the walkway only served to remind him that six weeks could be a long time.

Growing quickly frustrated, he settled himself on one of a pair of benches placed at the edge of the grounds so he could rest and think.

Going back to Patch Run and his mother was out of the question. He would rather face the Goblins on one leg than have to tell her what had happened to Redden. He could return to Bakrabru and Farshaun Req and see if the old Rover couldn’t arrange transportation back to the Breakline or perhaps find someone who knew the wilderness well enough to do the job the Speakman had been recruited to do. But Farshaun would want him healed first, and it seemed unlikely anyone there could do more to hasten that process than the Elves, unless he chose to travel east to the Gnome Healers at Storlock.

He sat for a time in the shade of a chestnut tree, stewing about his situation, waiting for the steady aching in his leg to lessen, trying very hard not to think about what might be happening to his brother inside the Forbidding while he was sitting around inactive and useless.

Skint appeared and said a few words to him, and a little later Crace Coram. The latter told him not to despair, that Seersha would already be making plans to go back and that both he and the boy would accompany her when she did. His reassurance helped ease Railing’s distress, and finally he went back inside and washed himself and dressed in fresh clothes, having realized he was still wearing his clothing from the day before.

The morning passed while all four of them sat around waiting for something to happen. Eventually Aphenglow would appear with news of the Elven response to her report. What was to be done about the Goblins breaking free of their prison, though, was not something she had chosen to discuss with them, although Railing was pretty sure she would have talked it over with Seersha. Whatever the case, action would have to be taken, and it would have to be taken soon.

The boy was also anxious to see Mirai, who was as concerned about Redden as he was, and to whom he could best open up about his desperate need to do something to help his brother. But midday came and went, and Mirai did not appear, either.

He was back on his bench in the early afternoon when Seersha trudged up the pathway looking less than happy. She came over and plopped down beside him. “Sleep well?”

“Poorly,” he snapped. “Is there news?”

She shrugged. “Aphenglow and Arling went to their grandfather to advise him of things and to talk about what could be done for the Ellcrys. I think they made a plan for it.”

“You don’t look too happy about that.”

She stretched out her arms and dropped them listlessly at her sides, frowning. “Aphen and I had an argument. I lost my temper. I don’t usually do that, and I wish I hadn’t this time. Aphen is my friend. But this whole business has gotten completely out of hand, and no one really knows what to do about it.”

“I know what to do,” he said darkly.

She nodded. “Go back into the Fangs and save your brother. But it won’t be that easy. It might not even be possible.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I have to say it. I have to convince myself. You and I want the same thing—to go into the Forbidding, find the Ard Rhys and your brother, and bring them out again. Simple enough. But there are larger concerns. If the Ellcrys fails and the creatures imprisoned there break free, they will overrun the Four Lands. It isn’t just the Goblins; it’s other things, much worse things. We lack the magic and the numbers to hold them back. And without the Ellcrys, we have no way to lock them up again.”

“I’ll worry about that later, after I’ve gotten Redden back,” he insisted stubbornly.

“Except there won’t be a ‘later’ if we don’t address the collapse of the Forbidding first. I don’t like it any better than you do, but I accept the fact of it and that’s why I am not very happy just now.”