The Elves of Cintra (Book 2 of The Genesis of Shannara)

Shadowed, rather than tracked, thought the one.

“It would trouble them to know that we will be there to greet them,” the two-legged demon whispered to the four. “See how they look behind, searching the shoreline for some sign of us? How worried they must be that we will catch them unawares! How helpless they must feel! They have no idea that we passed them by more than a week ago, do they?”

It reached over and stroked the other demon’s sleek, scaly form, feeling it press itself against its hand, anxious for its touch.

“They have no idea of anything,” the speaker whispered.

They watched the boat sail slowly closer, buffeted by the waves, knocked about by the current, straining mightily to stay on course for the inlet. But the watching quickly grew tedious, and the four-legged demon became restless.

The other demon understood. It was time to quit this place, to continue on with their journey.

The two-legged demon edged backward until it could no longer see the river, then rose to a standing position. “We know where they will go next, don’t we, pretty thing?” it murmured to its companion. “Oh, yes, we know. We know everything.”

The Elves and the Knight of the Word would soon find that out.





Chapter TWENTY-FOUR


WHEN HAWK WOKE, it was dawn on a gray and mist-draped morning, the sky and earth of a single hue, the air smelling of damp and old earth. He lay in a sparse woods close by the edge of a bluff that sloped away toward a deep gorge; through this a broad-banked river churned, its surface white-capped and choppy. He could see the far side of the river and the high, cliff-edged bank beyond, but the land after that was shrouded in a deep, impenetrable haze.

He had no idea at all where he was.

He glanced over to find Tessa lying several feet away, still asleep, and beyond her—a dark shaggy lump against the wintry grasses—was Cheney.

For just a moment, his thoughts returned to the gardens of the King of the Silver River. His senses were infused with its colors and its smells, his memories of what the old man had told him fresh and new, and his vision of his destiny as clear as still water. Then the moment was gone and he was staring into the gray, past the sleeping forms of his companions to a future he could only imagine.

Tessa woke. Her eyes opened and she sat up slowly, her eyes fixing on him.

“We’re alive,” she said softly.

He moved to sit close to her and took her hands in his.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt in any way?”

She touched herself experimentally. “No. Are you?”

He shook his head.

“How can that be, Hawk? We were thrown from the compound wall and we fell and…” She trailed off, brushing nervously at her tousled hair.

“And what?” She stared at him in bewilderment. “I can’t remember anything after that.”

“And we lived happily ever after,” he said, smiling. “Just like Owl’s stories.

“

She arched one eyebrow. “That would be nice. Now tell me the truth. What happened to us?”

So he told her, taking his time, remembering things as he went, trying not to leave anything out. Mostly Tessa just listened, but once or twice she couldn’t help herself and had to stop him to ask a question. There was incredulity and disbelief mirrored in her eyes, but she did not try to tell him he might be mistaken or had dreamed this story or was a victim of delusion.

She sat facing him, and her eyes never left his.

When he was finished and silence had enveloped them, she sat without moving for a moment. Then she leaned forward suddenly and kissed him on the lips, her hand behind his neck so that he would not move away, and she held the kiss for a very long time.

“I love you,” she told him when she finally broke away. “I love you so much.” She cupped his face in her hands. “I knew there was something special about you. I knew there was nobody else like you. I knew it from the moment we met. The stories Owl told are true. You are the boy who will save his children. You are the one who will find a safe place for all of us.”

He took a deep breath. “It’s only what I’ve been told. I don’t know how much of it I can believe.”

“But you’re not like the rest of us, are you? You’re something different.

I mean, you don’t look it, but you are. You’re a Faerie creature of some sort. Both Logan Tom and the old man said so. So maybe it’s true. Maybe you are.” She seemed to consider the idea more carefully. “What does that mean, Hawk?” she asked finally. “How are you different? Can you tell me anything?”

He studied her for a moment. “Does knowing I might be different make you afraid of me?” he asked.

She shook her head quickly. “No, that isn’t what I mean.