High druid of Shannara_ Jarka Ruus - Terry Brooks [76]
It was hard to argue with logic like that, and Ahren Elessedil didn’t even try. He gave his niece a final look of reproof, then opened the pouch and poured the contents into his hands. The Elfstones glimmered a deep blue in the midday sun, their facets mirroring the world about them in prismatic colors. There were three of them, perfectly formed, flawless, and beautiful. Pen remembered the legends. One Elfstone each for the heart, mind, and body, together forming a whole that responded to the strength of the user. Only those born of Elven blood could use them and only if they were freely given or claimed by the user. Once, they had belonged to the Ohmsfords, and it was Wil Ohmsford’s inadvisable but necessary use of them to help the Elven girl Amberle that had altered his body and passed on to his scions the magic that was dying out with Pen.
“I will use the Stones, Khyber,” Ahren Elessedil said, “because you are right in believing that only by using them can we be certain that the tanequil is real. If the Elfstones reveal it to us, then we know the journey to reach it should be made. But understand something else. I spoke of consequences. By using the Stones, I risk revealing our intentions to Shadea a’Ru and her allies. The Elfstones are a powerful magic, and its release will be detected. When that happens, those we seek to escape will come looking.”
“They will come anyway, Uncle Ahren,” Khyber pointed out defensively. “You just said so.”
Ahren nodded. “But now they will come sooner. By nightfall, in all probability. We will no longer have time to think about what we are going to do. The decision will have been made. We will have to leave Emberen — Penderrin, Tagwen, and myself in search of the tanequil, and you back to Arborlon.”
Khyber Elessedil shook her head at once. “I’m going with you. I have no other choice. Uncle Ahren, please, let me finish before you say anything! You are going to take the Elfstones with you because you know you will need them again. Since I can’t return home without them, I will have to go, as well. But there is another reason, an even better one. If something happens to you, neither Pen nor Tagwen can use the Stones because they aren’t Elves. That leaves me, if you teach me how. I know it isn’t what you want. I know you don’t like the idea. But you know it’s necessary. Finding and rescuing the Ard Rhys is what matters.”
She paused. “I want this, Uncle Ahren. I want to help. I want to do something besides sit around in Arborlon and wait for my family to marry me off. I want my life to matter. Please. Let me come.”
He studied her for a moment, then turned to Tagwen. “Is there any other Druid at Paranor that we can trust to come with us?”
Tagwen frowned and pulled absently at his beard. “If you’re asking me if there is anyone I can be sure of, the answer is no. I trust some more than others, but at this point I don’t know how deep the conspiracy goes. You know how things are as well as I do.” He squared his shoulders. “I think we ought to take her with us. She’s older than this boy and she’s able. We might need her. I don’t like to think about it, but something could happen to any of us. The rest have to be able to carry on.”
Ahren Elessedil shook his head in dismay. “I regret agreeing to let you listen to this conversation in the first place, Khyber. This isn’t something you should be involved in.”
“It isn’t something any of us should be involved in,” she replied. “But we all are, aren’t we? Let me come.”
He took a long time making up his mind, and Pen was certain that he was going to say no. Pen’s parents would have said no to him, had they been in a position to do so. Parents didn’t want their children taking the sort of risks involved here. Parents wanted their children safe at home. He didn’t think it was any different with uncles and nieces.
“All right,” Ahren said finally, surprising them