The Druid of Shannara

Iridescent dragonflies buzzed past him without slowing and disappeared into the twilight’s glow.

Elsewhere, the battle against the Shadowen went on. Walker Boh had invoked the magic of the Black Elfstone, as Allanon had charged him, and the Druid’s Keep had been summoned out of the mists that had hidden it for three centuries. What would the Dark Uncle make, the King of the Silver River wondered, of what he found there? West, where the Elves had once lived, Wren Ohmsford continued her search to discover what had become of them—and, more important, though she did not yet realize it, what would become of herself. North, the brothers Par and Coll Ohmsford struggled toward each other and the secrets of the Sword of Shannara and the Shadowen magic. There were those who would help and those who would betray, and all of the wheels of chance that Allanon had set in motion could yet be stopped.

The King of the Silver River rose and slipped into the waters of the pond momentarily, reveling in the cool wetness, letting himself become one with the flow. Then he emerged and passed down the Garden pathways, through stands of juniper and hemlock onto a hillock of centauries and bluebells that reflected gold about the edges of their petals with the day’s fading light. He paused there, staring out again into the world beyond.

His daughter had done well, he reflected.

But the thought was strangely bleak and empty. He had created an elemental out of the life of his Gardens and sent that elemental forth to serve his needs. She had been nothing to him—a daughter in name only, a child merely by designation. She had been only a momentary reality, and he had never intended that she be anything more.

Yet he missed her. Shaping her as he did, breathing his life into her, he had brought himself too close. The human feelings they had shared would not dissolve as easily as their human forms. She should have meant nothing to him, now that she was gone. Instead, her absence formed a void he could not seem to fill.

Quickening.

A child of the elements and his magic, he repeated. He would do the same again—yet perhaps not so readily. There was something in the ways of the creatures of the mortal Races that endured beyond the leaving of the flesh. There was a residue of their emotions that lingered. He could still hear her voice, see her face, and feel the touch of her fingers against him. She was gone from him, yet remained. Why should it be so?

He sat there as darkness cloaked the land and wondered at himself.


Here ends Book Two of The Heritage of Shannara. Book Three, The Elf Queen of Shannara, will reveal more of the mystery of Cogline and Paranor and chronicle the efforts of Wren Ohmsford to discover what has become of the missing Westland Elves.





Don’t miss one exciting installment of the

Magic Kingdom of Landover series!

Find out which Terry Brooks novel you need…

MAGIC KINGDOM

FOR SALE—SOLD!

Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement had promised. But after he purchasedit, Ben Holiday learned that there were a few details left out.

The kingdom was in ruin. The Barons refused to recognize a king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste the countryside while an evil witch plotted to destroy everything.

The task of proving his right to be King seemed hopeless. But Ben Holiday was not about to give up…

MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE—SOLD!

Book One of The Magic Kingdom of Landover by Terry Brooks

Published by Del Rey? Books.

Available in your local bookstore.





THE BLACK UNICORN

A year had passed since Ben Holiday had bought the Magic Kingdom from the wizard Meeks, who had set a series of pitfalls against him. Troubled by dreams of disaster to his former partner, Miles Bennett, Ben had traveled to Earth. But unknown to Ben, the dreams had been a trap set by Meeks, who then returned to the Magic Kingdom as a tiny insect hidden in Bens clothing and cast a spell to switch appearances with him. Soon Ben became an outcast, no longer recognized by any friend. Of course, there was the prism cat, whatever that was … And where was Willow—and the mysterious black unicorn she had set out to find?

THE BLACK UNICORN

Book Two of The Magic Kingdom of Landover by Terry Brooks

Published by Del Rey? Books.

Available in your local bookstore.





WIZARD AT LARGE

It all began when the half-able wizard Questor Thews announced that, finally, he could restore the Court Scribe Abernathy to human form. It was his spell that had turned Abernathy into a Wheaten Terrier—though with hands and the ability to talk.

All went well—until the wizard breathed in the magic dust of his spell and suddenly sneezed. Then, where Abernathy stood, there was only a bottle containing a particularly evil imp.

High Lord Ben Holiday set forth for Earth, but without the soil of Landover in which to root as a tree at times, Willow could not long survive.

That left it up to Questor Thews to save them. And to make matters worse, the imp had escaped…