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

Logan shook his head. “Not much of anything out here to suggest there is another way. Let’s have a closer look.”


He moved away. Panther reached down to touch the Parkhan Spray shoved down between the door and the seat, and then eased the Lightning ahead at a crawl, letting a sizable gap open between the Knight of the Word and the AV.

Everyone had quit talking and begun looking around, searching the countryside. Logan, walking ahead, didn’t see anything, but it bothered him that these vehicles blocking the roadway were so far out in the middle of nowhere. The blockade could have been the result of a long-ago crash; it looked as if it was. But it made him uneasy nevertheless.

He was within yards of the tangle when his nerves suddenly turned sharp-edged and raw, the magic sparked at his fingertips, and he decided this was a mistake. He couldn’t have said why, but he had learned to trust his instincts. He stopped where he was, one hand lifting to signal Panther.

“Don’t move,” said a voice from one side.

Without changing position, Logan turned his head and looked over in the direction of the speaker. A gaunt man with a shock of black hair had stepped out from behind one of the wrecked vehicles. He was unarmed, his hands empty, and his arms hanging loosely at his sides.

Logan turned toward him, the runes of his staff glowing brightly as the magic readied itself.

“If you’re thinking about using that staff on me, you might want to think again,” the man said calmly. “My friends are all around you and they have their weapons trained on the kids. You might save yourself, but you probably won’t save them.”

The Knight of the Word glanced about quickly. Dark figures surrounded them, more than a dozen, come seemingly out of nowhere. They must have been hiding in ditches alongside the road. Or maybe they had burrowed in and waited. They were as ragged and thin as the speaker, and they carried weapons of all sorts, all of them pointed toward the AV and the hay wagon.

A wave of helplessness washed through him. “What do you want?”

The speaker smiled. “We want you to come with us to see someone. It shouldn’t take long. The kids can wait here until you come back.

Then you can all go on your way.”

“Come with you where?”

“Just over the hill there.” He pointed east, toward the mountains. “We saw you coming, you know. This isn’t a chance meeting. It was planned. We know who you are. We know why you carry the staff and what it does.

We know all about the Knights of the Word. That’s why Krilka Koos wants to meet with you.”

“Maybe he should have just asked me instead of sending men with guns to threaten these kids.”

“Maybe that was his way of making sure you didn’t say no.”

Logan understood two things right away. First, the man was lying. He might tell them that no harm would come to them and that they would be allowed to go on their way, but it wasn’t necessarily so. Release or safe passage of any sort would be a matter of expediency, not honor. Second, whatever this was, it was something personal.

“Why don’t you just let the kids go on without me? I can still come with you and meet with…what was his name?”

“Krilka Koos. No, that won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“If we let the kids go, there’s nothing to keep you here.

We know we can’t hold you if you don’t want to be held. We know you won’t give up the staff, either. All we have to bargain with is the kids. If they don’t mean anything to you, then we’re in trouble. I’m betting, though, that they do.”

Logan nodded. “They won’t be touched?”

The speaker shook his head. “Not one hair on their heads.”

“Who is Krilka Koos?”

The speaker smiled. “You’ll see. How about it? Are you coming?”

Logan hesitated, and then turned back toward the AV.

“No, no, none of that,” the speaker said quickly, freezing him in place. “Hard to tell what you might feel you need to talk about. You might say the wrong thing.”

Logan looked at him. “Maybe they need to know what’s going to happen.”

“Maybe they can figure it out on their own.” The man shrugged. “A few of my friends will stay with them to make sure they don’t figure it out wrong.

“

Logan stood staring at him a moment, the weight of the situation pressing down on him. He had stepped right into this mess, letting himself be trapped despite all his experience and knowledge. He hadn’t even considered that his enemies might use the children against him, might take advantage of his sense of responsibility toward them to break down his defenses. What a fool he was.

He looked down at his feet and shook his head. He had thought long and hard about leaving the Ghosts. He had wondered how they would handle it if he did. Could they survive without him? Could they continue on?

They were all about to find out.