“She did not fail,” Drisker says suddenly, breaking the silence. He is nudging the snow in front of him with his boot. “She did exactly what she intended to.”
He kneels down and musses the snow about with his gloved hand for a moment, then looks up. “She regained the Stiehl.”
* * *
—
Once they had allowed his words to sink in and come to terms with the implications, they discussed briefly what to do next. There were choices aplenty—all of them worthy, but many contradictory.
“We should find her and put an end to her,” Brecon Elessedil declared. “She cannot have gotten far, and we have the means of tracking her down. She is too dangerous to be allowed to survive. Look how much trouble she has made already. She trapped Drisker in Paranor and left him to die. She stole the Stiehl and gave it to Tarsha’s brother so that he would kill her. And she seeks far more than that, unless I am misguided.”
“You are not,” Drisker replied with a deep sigh. “She seeks to rebuild the Druid order in her own image, with herself as Ard Rhys. She will use whatever means she can to achieve this, and we know now that she had some sort of alliance with the Skaar that was meant to further her plans. But she is not our primary concern, as dangerous as she clearly is. Our primary concern is with the coming war between the Skaar and the people of the Four Lands. We already know what the Skaar are capable of doing, and their behavior suggests they are here to find a home for their people at the very least, and perhaps to subjugate the entire Four Lands at the worst. Do I have it right, Dar Leah? You seem to know the most about this.”
Dar hesitated. He knew considerably more than they did thanks to his conversations with Ajin d’Amphere—more than any of them could have guessed. Mostly, he had kept what he knew about her—and what she had revealed in their unexpected meeting after Paranor’s return—to himself. During their journey to save the Keep and its Druids, he had revealed to Drisker the details of his two brief encounters with Ajin d’Amphere, both of which took place before he even knew who she was. While Drisker was locked away, they had encountered each other a third time, and on that occasion she had revealed both her identity and the purpose of the Skaar invasion. Most of this, he had imparted to Brecon Elessedil. But even then he could not be certain how much she revealed was the truth and how much was not. He thought he understood something more of her motivations, and if he was right they confirmed what Drisker had always suspected. But even after both Brecon and he had come face-to-face with the Skaar princess in Arborlon—following her bold attempt to persuade the prince’s father to ally the Elven nation to the Skaar in an effort to hold off the Federation—he had held back the more personal nature of Ajin’s interest in him. He kept thinking it was either a whim or an attempt at subterfuge; he found it hard to believe that she was truly as interested in him as she professed.
Of one thing, he was certain. Where Ajin d’Amphere was concerned, you could never be certain of anything—and he was not convinced he knew all that much about her even now.
He shook his head. “She said the Skaar came here to establish a new homeland. Yet my senses say—and I think Brecon will agree—that she loves to play games and seems intent on pitting each Race in the Four Lands against the others. She was in some way allied with Clizia, which allowed her to gain entrance into Paranor and slaughter the Druids. When Clizia banished Paranor from the land, she then sought an alliance with the Elves. But I’m still not sure what she really wants.”
Except perhaps where I am concerned. And can I believe even that is real?
Tarsha stepped forward. “I know you have much more important things to consider, but I have my brother back, and for that, Drisker, I will always be grateful. You saved my life when he would have taken it, and you found a way to subdue him. Maybe this will give me a chance to help Tavo.”
The Druid shook his head dismissively. “I merely responded when my senses warned me. I knew what he was about.”
He paused. “Or did I?”
He turned to Tavo, hunched over and shivering to one side of the Blade. “Dar,” he said. “Find wood and build us a fire. We are freezing out here, and there is no reason to fear any further attacks from Clizia just now. Brecon, perhaps you can help.”
He did not make it sound like anything more than a request, but there was an emphasis to his words that sent both men moving away and into the trees in search of deadwood. “Tarsha, come close,” he told her.
Dar Leah gave Tavo Kaynin over to Drisker and departed the clearing with Brecon on his heels, wondering what was about to happen.
* * *
—
Drisker waited for Tarsha to approach, beckoning her closer when she hesitated. He forced Tavo to his knees, then placed both big hands on the girl’s shoulders. “We have a decision to make, and we must not make it lightly. I think you know that your brother is still a danger to both himself and us. And I think you know that his problems are not going to go away without a good bit of healing, and I don’t know that we have time to give it to him.”
“I have time,” she said at once.
“Not so. You cannot be with him as he is, and we cannot spare the time he needs. Nor can he be left where Clizia can find him again—especially now that she has the Stiehl back. It would be kinder and quicker to put an end to your brother right now.”
He saw the startled look in her eyes and put a finger to her lips. “Say nothing yet. Only hear me out. I said it might be quicker and kinder, but it is not what we are going to do. We are going to keep him with us, and we are going to give you a chance to help him. But you must agree that you and he will remain with us, that you will come with us and do what is needed to help the Four Lands and her people, and that you will pledge to fulfill your promise to serve as my student for the agreed-upon time. We, in turn, will see to it that Tavo gets as much help as we can manage to give him.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Perhaps we should take him to the Stors for care.”
“Perhaps, but they do not treat emotional and psychological dysfunction. They treat physical ailments and injuries and have no expertise in treating mental disorders. Besides, he is entirely too dangerous to be around anyone save you and me. You know that, don’t you?”
She nodded. “He is too dangerous for me, too,” she whispered. “How can I ask you to keep him with us?”
“You don’t have to. I am offering.” He took his hands away and straightened. “A few adjustments will be necessary to make this work. I will do so, but I need you to leave me for now. Go into the woods with Dar and Brecon and keep them company. I want you all to stay away until I call you.”
She glanced over quickly at Tavo, who was looking at her now with a gaze that said he was both beaten and defeated. “You won’t—”