Bearers of the Black Staff - Terry Brooks [128]
Sider leaned forward, wrapped his arms around his knees, and looked off into the trees. “You have to trust me on this. You have to defer to my judgment.”
He said it kindly, keeping his voice deliberately soft, but he could see the boy wince anyway. He was sorry he had to tell him like this, but time was running out for all of them, especially the girl. Taureq Siq would find out soon enough that no meeting between himself and the leaders of the valley was going to take place. When that happened, he would have no further use for Prue Liss and likely dispose of her quickly.
“What do you want me to do while you’re gone?” the boy asked finally.
This was the right question to ask, Sider thought. “I want you to go to Aislinne and tell her what’s happened so that she can pass the information along to Pogue. She must let him know that help is on the way. In the meantime, be certain that the pass at Declan Reach is being fortified against an attack. I expect it to come at Aphalion, but we can’t take that chance.”
The boy nodded. “Will you come back through Declan Reach when you find her?”
“I will.”
“Then I’ll be waiting for you there. I’ll work on the defenses with the others while I do.”
There was a momentary pause as the two stared at each other, neither knowing what more to say. “Don’t worry,” the Gray Man said finally. “I’ll bring her back safe and sound.”
The boy did not respond, but in the following silence Sider Ament could all but hear the words he was thinking.
You’d better.
TWENTY-FOUR
JUST TWO DAYS AFTER VISITING HER GRANDMOTHER, Phryne was summoned before her father and told that the restrictions placed upon her were being lifted. Her father did not seem either happy or unhappy about this decision, simply resigned. His explanation, however, said everything that needed saying.
“Your grandmother seems to feel that you’ve been punished enough,” he began after sitting her down across from him. “She has sent me repeated notes to that effect. She wants me to put you back to work in a more useful way; she wants me to give you a fresh chance to demonstrate your sense of responsibility.”
He paused. “I agree with her thinking, which is saying something. Mistral Belloruus hasn’t exactly endeared herself to me over these past few years. She would have me be a widower in mourning for your mother until I die, and even your mother, could she communicate as much, would disagree with her. Life is for the living, and the living have an obligation to carry on.”
He paused again, suddenly uncomfortable with what he had said. “Not that I didn’t love your mother more than I will ever love any other woman, Phryne. No one will ever replace her in my heart. You might think otherwise, but that’s how it is.”
She did think otherwise, but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. She loved him enough for that.
“So I am giving you back your old life, free of any restrictions,” he continued. “With the understanding that you will not violate my trust and will exercise good judgment when temptation suggests you do otherwise. No running off on some wild impulse, no throwing caution to the winds to satisfy curiosity, and no going outside the valley for any reason whatsoever. Are we agreed?”
She nodded. “We are.”
“This is important, given what I am about to ask of you. Are you certain you can live by these rules?”
“I can live by them.”
“Good. Then we will put the last two weeks behind us, and hope that Sider Ament finds a way to rescue that unfortunate Glensk Wood girl from the Trolls.”
She cringed inwardly as he said it, but kept her face expressionless.
“As I said, I have something I want you to do. No more work at the healing center for now. Let’s leave that to Isoeld.”
She cringed anew. That and a few other things she couldn’t bring herself to mention.
“I want you to go back up to Aphalion Pass,” he finished.
She started, surprised. “But I thought you just got through saying you didn’t want me to—”
“Go out of the valley,” he finished. “That is exactly right. I don’t. What