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

Some of the others probably do, too. You’re just inviting trouble.”


Her arm dropped away as she swiveled back around so that she was facing him. “He didn’t mean to kill Squirrel. I saw what happened. It was an accident. We can’t go on blaming everyone for bad things, no matter what sort of…” She stopped and shook her head. “We have to learn how to forgive again.” She gestured toward the other Ghosts. “They have to learn.”

“I’m not arguing about what happened or how it should be handled. I’m just telling you we can’t bring that boy with us.”

She looked away. “I won’t put him out until he is well enough to look after himself. Otherwise, it would be just like killing him.”

He didn’t like the idea, but he knew he couldn’t push her any farther. “All right. Another day. No more.”

She nodded, saying nothing.

He knelt beside her. “Something else. I had a vision last night, a dream.

The Lady came to me. She told me Hawk was safe.”

She stared at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“She said magic saved him. She said he would come north to find us, but we must travel south to find him. She said he would meet us on the banks of the Columbia. What is that? Is it a river? I haven’t heard the name before.”

Owl nodded. “It’s south of here. I don’t know how far. I’ve never been there. I’ve only read about it in books.” She paused. “It could be more than a hundred miles away.”

He thought about it a moment. He looked over at the Lightning and the shopping cart attached to the back of it. Then he looked at the Ghosts, scattered about the campsite, most of them now waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

It could be more than a hundred miles. Not too far if he were traveling alone in the AV. Much too far for a shopping cart and a bunch of kids who would mostly have to walk it.

“We need to find a faster way to travel,” he said.

THEY ATE BREAKFAST, Logan dividing up portions from their meager supplies, realizing already that they didn’t have enough to last the week. Too many mouths to feed for the distance they needed to travel. They would have to forage somewhere along the way for both food and water.

While the others ate, Owl fed the boy chained inside the AV—Bear keeping close watch—and River trickled a little water down the throat of the semi-conscious Weatherman. Afterward, Logan checked the bindings on the old man and the shackles on the sullen boy, did a quick survey of the loads strapped onto the AV and the shopping cart, informed Owl and Candle that they would be riding with him, and prepared to set out.

“I spose you get to ride the whole way, Mr. Knight?”

Panther sneered at him. “We walk, you drive?”

“Panther, stop it!” Owl admonished.

“I’m the only one who knows how to drive her right now,”

Logan answered him. “If one of you was to learn how it’s done, you could help me. Interested?”

Panther hesitated, and then shook his head. “Naw. I’m just asking. I don’t want nothin’ to do with it.”

“I do!” Fixit said at once.

Logan nodded. “Good, Fixit. We’ll start your lessons right away. Climb aboard.” He winked over his shoulder at Owl. “Let’s go.”

They set out at midmorning, the day bright and sunny but hazier than usual, a combination of smoke and ash from the dock fires and the general pollution of the air. As they made their way down off the bluff along the service road and onto the freeway, Logan could hear the steady beating of the invasion force drums overlying the sharp snap and pop of automatic weapons fire. The fighting was still going on in the streets. When it was over, things would quiet down while the demons and once-men began staging the siege of the Safeco Field compound. A few days later, the real madness would begin.

He thought about the doomed people trapped there, but only for a moment. They weren’t the first and they wouldn’t be the last. He couldn’t save them all, no matter how much he might want to try. He would be lucky to save the few he had managed to take with him in his flight. He would be lucky to save himself.

Their progress was slow, though steady. He drove the big machine at a crawl to allow those afoot to keep pace. Fixit rode next to him, watching what he did, asking questions constantly and paying close attention to the answers. At one point the boy said he thought he was ready to try driving the AV, but Logan shook his head. Better if he waited another day, gave himself some time to think about everything. Fixit looked disappointed, but he didn’t object. He just settled back in the seat, watched Logan some more, and then began asking about the vehicle’s weapons systems. Logan hesitated, debating the matter, and then told him about the cannons and missile launchers, which were locked down anyway, but kept to himself what he knew about the laser trackers and shields.