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

He relaxed his grip and slipped the Elfstone into his pocket. “Did you tell the King something that frightened him?” he asked, still trying to gain time.

“Very good. I did exactly that. I told him that I had found evidence that the Loden was created to shield the Ellcrys—which, of course, is true. I also told him that the wielder of the Stone was at considerable risk from the magic if it was invoked. I told him the lore revealed that the user of the Loden was bound to the magic, and the binding was almost always fatal. The Stone sapped the user’s lifeblood. Once summoned, the magic claimed the user’s life as its own. I convinced him that his daughter would die as a result. He was desperate for an alternative, but I told him there wasn’t any. The Ellcrys had made her choice, and the first summoned was the Chosen who must respond.

His only option, I explained, was to let her complete her term as Chosen and force the tree to choose another. A Chosen no longer in service would not be acceptable. I convinced him that the tree was in no immediate danger and he could afford to wait. He was eager to believe this. He would have done almost anything to save his daughter.”

“But you killed her anyway.”

The demon shrugged. “Expediency. It was more important that you be forced to flee than to let the King have his wish. I wanted everyone turned against you so that you had no choice but to do what I wanted—to find the Loden in the hope that somehow this would give you a means of helping the Ellcrys and convincing the King of your innocence. Admit it—that was what you were hoping would happen, isn’t it?”

Kirisin nodded. “I still don’t understand why you did all this. Why you didn’t just kill me, too. Why you didn’t just let the Elfstones be. If you waited, the tree would have died and the Forbidding would have come down. You would have gotten what you wanted, you and the rest of the demons.

What point was there in having me find the Loden? Were you just worried that someone else might find it if I didn’t?”

The demon gave him a wry smile and a shrug. “No, that isn’t it at all. It’s much more complicated. You have to understand. The demons are winning the war against the humans. Within a matter of months, the humans will be wiped out or imprisoned in our camps. Then we will have to deal with the Elves.”

It reached in its pocket and produced a silver cord strung through two shiny silver rings. Idly, it began to play with the implements, letting the rings run up and down the cord. It seemed completely absorbed in the activity, working the cord into different positions to allow for changes of movement in the rings. Once or twice, it jerked on the cord sharply so that the rings disappeared into its hand for an instant before dropping free again.

Kirisin watched the rings as they slid back and forth, glimmering in the light. Then he looked back at the demon. “You haven’t answered my question.

“

The demon smiled. “Not yet, I haven’t. Patience, Kirisin.”

It was moving the cord and its rings in circles now, its hands inscribing broad arcs on the cavern air. “We have all the time we need.”

Suddenly, right behind him, Simralin’s right leg moved.

Kirisin caught his breath.

“The problem with the Elves is one of logistics,” the demon continued, still playing with the cord and the rings. Its eyes followed the movement of the rings, completely absorbed. “To subjugate and eventually eliminate humans, we have been forced to spend years breaking down their system of order, secretly encouraging and fostering them to participate in their own destruction. The wars among their governments, the plagues that have decimated their populations, the poisoning of their world, and the erosion of their sense of security and strength of determination have all required a great deal of time and effort. We are not anxious to have to do it all over again with the Elves. Their population is not as numerous, but there are enough of them that they could prove troublesome. Nor do we have any guarantee that they might not find a way to recapture their lost magic and use it against us.”

The demon spun the rings like shining wheels about the cord. “Look at what’s happened with you, Kirisin—just in the last few weeks!

You’ve rediscovered several forms of magic, several talismans that had been lost for centuries. Elfstones that can be used as weapons—weapons that even demons must respect. What if there are others and you are able to find them, as well? You are a better-ordered civilization than the humans, and you might just find a way to stop us, given enough time and incentive.”