The High Druid's Blade (The Defenders of Shannara, #1)(95)
The Prime Minister held out his hands. “I offer peace to you, Mistress. Now and in the future.”
“I offer friendship, Prime Minister,” she replied. She took his hands in her own and squeezed gently. “Safe journey home.”
She watched him return to his companions and board the warship. She continued to watch as the vessel released its moorings and lifted away. She kept watching until it was out of sight.
A crisis averted, a promise of peace offered, and an affirmation of friendship given in return—all in a matter of minutes, she thought. What other surprises does this day have in store?
[page]TWENTY-SIX
THE CITY STREETS WERE TEEMING WITH PEOPLE AND CLOGGED with carriages and animals by the time Paxon and Leofur exited Mischa’s building and began walking toward Dark House. To all appearances, they were just another couple passing through the city, but that was only because Leofur had slung her flash rip over one shoulder and closed it away beneath her cloak. While one or two pairs of eyes might have strayed to the black sword strapped across Paxon’s back, it didn’t draw nearly the attention the flash rip would.
In any event, no one stopped them. Midday was approaching, and the smell of foods cooking and the laughter and voices of men and women enjoying their noon meal rose on all sides. The Highlander was acutely aware of how hungry he was; he hadn’t eaten anything since the previous night. He glanced at the girl and took note of her pinched face.
Impulsively, he pulled her over to a cart serving hot beef sandwiches and bought two. Standing in front of a makeshift counter with tankards of ale added to the purchase, they gulped their food and drink like starving wolves. Once finished, they exchanged a look at each other’s grease-and-ale-smeared faces and laughed in spite of themselves. Offering thanks to the vendor, who barely acknowledged them, they set out anew.
It took them only a short while to reach their destination. Paxon slowed when it came in sight, hanging back against the wall of a building across the street and down a bit from Dark House, gathering his thoughts. They weren’t so much about what he was going to do as how he was going to do it. It would probably be better to wait until nightfall and then go in. The traffic would have abated and the darkness would help conceal them. But waiting wasn’t an option. There was no guarantee that Arcannen was even there; waiting until it got dark didn’t improve the odds.
Still, going in now meant doing so in broad daylight with eyes everywhere. Even attempts at sneaking through the back, where Paxon had gone before with help from Grehling, would leave them dangerously exposed. The other choice, of course, was to walk up to the front door and use the flash rip to force their way inside and try to catch the sorcerer by surprise. If there were guards and if he was anywhere but on the first floor, they would likely fail in their efforts.
He turned to Leofur finally, perplexed. “I don’t know how to go about this. We need to get inside, but we have to do it without causing a disturbance that will alert Arcannen. We have to be able to get to him before he has a chance to flee again.”
Leofur nodded. “One of the reasons I came with you,” she said, “was to show you how that can be done.”
He stared at her. “You can get us inside Dark House?”
She nodded. “Right through the front door. Want to give it a try?”
“But how can you do this?”
“I just can. Do you want me to try or not?”
He hesitated, unsure of what he was letting himself in for. But to persist in asking her how she could manage it seemed wrong, too. If she was saying she could do this, she probably could. And he didn’t have a better idea to offer up, as he had already admitted.
“It’s in your hands,” he said.
They left their place by the wall and walked into the thick of the crowds passing by and crossed the roadway. When they reached the far side, Leofur went straight for Dark House, stopping when she reached the bottom of the steps leading up to the front door.
“You wait here,” she told him. “No arguments, no questions,” she added quickly.
He was surprised, but he did as she asked nevertheless. If she could get them inside, he wasn’t about to interfere. He watched her climb the short flight to the door and knock once. When the door opened, she spoke with someone briefly, and the door closed again. Without looking at him, she made a gesture behind her back for him to remain where he was. He did so, still wondering what was going on.
When the door opened once more, a different guard was standing there, burly and scarred, filling the doorway with his bulk. He spoke to Leofur softly, nodded a few times, and finally glanced down the steps at Paxon. After a moment, he nodded to her and stepped back to let her pass. She glanced down at Paxon this time and beckoned him to come with her.
They walked through the front door together, the burly man in the lead, passing any number of guards as they traversed the length of the hall ahead to a set of stairs and started up. Paxon had no idea at all what to expect. Leofur hadn’t said anything about what was going on, and he couldn’t see any way of asking now. He had to trust her; he had to believe she was doing the right thing. Even if it was becoming increasingly hard to do so.
On the second floor, the burly man took them into a small room with a desk and a guard sitting at it and directed them to chairs set to one side. When they had seated themselves, he left without a word.