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

“Don’t worry, there’s no one else,” she said. “I can take care of myself.”


He nodded and let the matter drop. “Is there a compound inside that dome? I thought I might find something there.”

She straightened, taking her fingers away from the cat. Not once when she moved did she reveal even the slightest detail about herself. “You don’t want to go there. No one there will help you.”

“You seem awfully sure…”

“I am. Do you know why? I was born in that compound. My parents and my brothers and sisters still live there. All except my sister Evie; she died when I was four. The rest are still there. They live underground, in the basement rooms. They hide during the night. No lights or movement is allowed aboveground. That way, no one knows they are there.”

He stared at her.

“Stupid, isn’t it? If you pretend no one can find you, then maybe no one will. That’s what it amounts to. Pretending. They pretend a lot. I guess it’s what keeps them from falling apart.”

“How old are you?” he asked.

“Eighteen. How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight. How long since you lived inside the compound?”

“Six years. I was put out when I was twelve.”

He hesitated, wondering how far he should pursue this. “Why were you putout?”

“I got sick.”

She didn’t offer anything more. He stood watching her, leaning on his staff, studying her posture for some clue about what was wrong with her. The night tightened about them, as if to hide the secret she was obviously keeping. Rabbit stood up, walked over to him, and sat down again, just out of reach but close enough that her eyes reflected the moonlight.

“Why do you need plague medicine?” she asked.

“I have some sick kids with me. They need it. We’re traveling south.”

“There isn’t anything south,” she said. “Just more of the same. More plague and poisoned air and water, and bad chemicals. And insects—lots and lots of insects.”

He had heard something of this but not yet come across it. Apparently the disruption of the ecosystems and the poisoning of the earth and water had fueled rapid growth in certain species of insect life. The giant centipede the Ghosts had killed was one example. But in other cases, the results were different. Instead of one giant insect, accelerated procreation resulted in thousands and thousands of smaller forms, hordes that were eating their way through every type of plant life that was left, denuding the earth.

“How old are your kids?” she asked suddenly.

“They’re not my kids. I’m just helping them. The oldest is maybe twenty. The youngest is ten.”

“Are they street kids or compound kids?”

“Some of both, I guess.”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Were you a street kid or a compound kid?”

“A compound kid, but I was orphaned at eight. Why are you asking all these questions?”

“Do you want my help finding your plague medicine?”

He sighed. “I want any help I can get.”

“Then just tell me what I want to know. Where are your kids?”

“I left them outside the city when I came to look for the medicine.”

“That’s dangerous, coming in alone at night. Aren’t you scared?”

“Aren’t you?”

“I know my way around.”

“So do I. Look, can you help me find what I need?”

She came forward a step. “Maybe. Maybe I’m the only one who can help you.

The only one who’s willing. No one in the compound will help you. No one in the streets, either. Just me.”

He gave her a hard look. “Uh-huh. Only you. Why is that? Because your cat likes me?”

“Because I need something from you.”

Rabbit was rubbing up against him, acting as if they had been friends all their lives. He hadn’t even noticed her until just now. He glanced down and shifted his leg away by stepping back. The cat looked up at him with saucer eyes.

Logan faced the girl. “What is it you need?”

“I need you to take me with you when you leave.”

As if he needed another kid to look after. As if he hadn’t just been contemplating finding a way to lose the ones he already had. It struck him as incredibly funny; he found himself wanting to laugh, even though he knew it was no laughing matter to the girl. But it didn’t matter how she felt. He wasn’t going to take her. He wouldn’t.

“Do you know why they put me out of the compound?” she asked suddenly. “My parents and my brothers and sisters and my friends and all the rest? Why they never stopped to think twice about it, even though I was only twelve years old and had been born in the compound and had never been outside, even with adults? Why do you think?”

She started toward him.

“They were afraid of you?” he guessed. He held his ground against her advance, not sure what was going to happen but unwilling to back away.