Терри Брукс - Jarka Ruus

But no one could get into the room, he told himself in trying to shake off his fear that she had been attacked. The Troll watch was fiercely loyal, and the Ard Rhys had installed warding spells all through the walls to protect herself. If something bad had happened to her, there would be some sign of a struggle. Besides, no enemy could slip into Paranor without being detected. Wouldn't the watch have seen and sounded an alarm?

Unless, of course, the enemy was someone already within the walls. He rubbed his beard furiously as he considered the possibility. There were some who might take action against her, how ever misguided. Shadea a'Ru was one. But how likely was that, given the risk of failure and discovery? Any Druid who tried such a thing would have to be mad! He shook his head. It didn't bear thinking on too closely. Not yet, at least.

Suddenly it occurred to him that she might have gone to see Kermadec. The Rock Troll was still camped outside the walls of the Keep, waiting to depart to wherever it was that the Ard Rhys had decided to go. Something important was happening in connection with these mysterious comings and goings, the one planned for the next day and the one just finished a day earlier, so it was not so farfetched to wonder if perhaps his mistress was off pursuing that business again.

He was on his feet and moving toward the doorway when Shadea reappeared from the hallway and stepped inside.

«Nothing," she said, shaking her head in frustration. «I searched everywhere in the Keep and on the grounds outside, and there is no trace of her that isn't at least a day old. I don't like it, Tagwen.» She looked at him thoughtfully. «How reliable is this Troll Kermadec?»

Tagwen was horrified. «Entirely. He is a trusted friend, has been so forever.» He allowed his indignation to show. «Much more so than some others I might name.»

«Yet he is responsible for choosing her guard, including the two who stood watch last night and now have no idea where she is.» She cocked her head. «He was the last to see her outside these walls, wasn't he? Don't bother to deny it; she was seen. What was that meeting about?»

The Dwarf was furious. «None of your business, Shadea! I don't discuss the affairs of the Ard Rhys without her permission—with you or anyone else! Wait for her return to ask such questions!»

She gave him an indulgent look. «Perhaps I should ask Kermadec in her absence, since you seem unwilling to do so. Why don't you ask him to come up to her chambers to discuss what has happened?»

Tagwen realized two things immediately. First, that Kermadec would never set foot inside the Keep. He had made that plain enough quite some time ago, and he was not about to change his mind for Shadea a'Ru, whom he distrusted anyway. Second, if he were foolish enough to accept the invitation nevertheless, perhaps out of concern for the Ard Rhys, he would not come out again. Shadea a'Ru was looking for someone to blame for the Ard Rhys' disappearance. Tagwen felt that instinctively. Why she felt it was necessary—or her responsibility—was beyond him, but what was happening was clear.

It would not take much for her to succeed in her efforts. The Rock Trolls had never been a popular choice as protectors of the Druids. Elves had been used traditionally, a practice begun by Galaphile during the First Druid Council. An Elf himself, Galaphile had felt more comfortable relying on his own people in the wake of the destruction of the Old World and a thousand years of barbarism. Elven Hunters had warded the Druids until the fall of Paranor at the hands of the Warlock Lord. When the Third Council was convened, it was thought that Elves would be called upon again. But the Ard Rhys did not trust Kylen Elessedil sufficiently to rely on him to choose her protectors. By the time of his death, she was already committed to Kermadec and his Rock Trolls. Perhaps she felt more comfortable with them because her relationship with Kermadec did not owe anything to politics. She liked the independence of the Trolls; they gave their allegiance only when they felt it necessary and did not give it lightly. If they were your allies, you could rely on them.

None of that history would help the situation if Shadea managed to manipulate it, as she obviously intended. The Rock Trolls had responsibility for the safety of the Ard Rhys, and the Ard Rhys had disappeared right under their noses. It wouldn't take much effort for the sorceress to convince the order that the blame should be laid squarely at their feet.

Tagwen glared at Shadea. «Kermadec won't come inside; you know that.»

«I do," she agreed. «But if he doesn't, then I will take that as proof of his complicity in whatever has happened and dismiss him along with all of his Trolls. I don't want them guarding the rest of us if they can't do any better job of it than they did with the Ard Rhys.» She paused, a finger lifting to rest lightly on one cheek. «Refusing to come into the Keep suggests he is hiding something, Tagwen. If he isn't, he should tell us so—all of us, who depend on him for our safety. Tell him I said he should explain himself, if he can.»

«Who gave you the right to tell anyone what to do, Shadea a'Ru?» the Dwarf demanded, standing his ground. «You don't command the Druid order.»

She smiled. «Someone has to, in the Ard Rhys' absence. My name has already been put forth. I will serve as best I can, but serve I will. I can do no less.» She looked past him at the empty room. «Go on, Tagwen. Do what I tell you.»

He started to object again, to say something so terrible it would leave no doubt about how he felt. Then he realized that an unguarded response might be exactly what she was hoping for. Something bad was going on, and he was beginning to believe that Shadea had a part in it.

He held his tongue. Better to keep his head. Better to stay free. Someone needed to tell Kermadec what was happening, to warn him of the danger.

Nodding curtly, he went out the door and down the hallway, his eyes downcast, his face flushed. A part of him wanted to run out of there as fast as he could and not come back. He was suddenly afraid, looking about as he went at the faces of those he passed, seeing suspicion and doubt and in some cases outright anger. As Shadea had said, the word was already out. Schemes were being hatched and alliances formed. If the Ard Rhys did not resurface soon, everything was going to go Shadea's way.

On impulse, he made a short detour to the Rock Troll living quarters in the north courtyard and asked one of the watch commanders to bring a dozen of his men to the north gates on orders of the Ard Rhys. The commander did not argue. Tagwen had carried messages of this sort to him before from time to time; there was nothing unusual about this one.

Once outside the walls of the keep, Tagwen went to the edge of the forest and called for Kermadec. He knew the Maturen was camped somewhere just beyond the north gates. Waiting, he rubbed his beard and folded his arms across his burly chest, trying to think what he could do to stop Shadea from taking control.

«Bristle Beard!» Kermadec called with a laugh. His guttural tongue was rough–edged and resonant as he stepped out of the trees and stretched out his hand in greeting. «What's the matter with you? You look as if you swallowed something sour. Could your day be going better, old Dwarf?»

Tagwen clasped hands with the Troll. «It could. But yours isn't looking so good, either.» He glanced quickly over his shoulder. «Better listen carefully to me, Kermadec. I don't know how much time we've got, but it isn't much.»

Quickly, he explained what had happened to the Ard Rhys, then what had brought him down to find Kermadec. The Rock Troll listened silently and without interrupting, then looked up expectantly as his watch commander and a dozen fully armed Trolls appeared through the gates.

«I thought it best that you not be left alone, whatever you decide," Tagwen explained. «I don't like what's happening in there. Shadea is manipulating things in a way that suggests she intends to take control of the order. When the Ard Rhys reappears, this will stop quick enough, but in the meantime I think you are at some risk.»

The Maturen nodded. «Shadea a'Ru wouldn't dare this if she didn't have reason to believe it would succeed. That isn't good. I don't know what's become of the Ard Rhys, but she hasn't been down here since she went inside after our return. I don't suppose it will hurt to tell you we were in the ruins of the Skull Kingdom, looking into rumors of strange fires and shadow movements. We saw something of them while we were there, a clear indication of magic at work. The Ard Rhys intended to visit the shades of the Druids at the Hadeshorn to ask their advice on the matter. But I don't think she would have gone there without me. Or at least without letting me know.»

«Or me either, though she might not tell me as much as you about what she was doing.» Tagwen looked put–upon. «But she wouldn't just leave.»

«Something has happened to her, then," Kermadec said, anger reflected in his blunt features. «It may have something to do with what we witnessed in the Knife Edge. Or it may have something to do with what's happening here. I don't trust Shadea or her friends. Or a whole lot of the others, for that matter. Druids in name only, no friends to the Ard Rhys or to the Druid cause.»

Tagwen hugged himself. «I don't know what to do, Kermadec," he admitted.

The Rock Troll walked over to the watch commander and spoke quietly with him for a moment. The watch commander listened, nodded, and disappeared with his men back inside the walls. Kermadec returned to Tagwen.

«I'm pulling all the Trolls out of the Keep and down to the gates. We will stand watch there for another few days. If the Ard Rhys returns, things can go back to where they were. If she doesn't and we're dismissed, we'll go. As long as we hold the gates, we can keep ourselves safe. Shadea can order us out, but she can't do much more than that.»

«Don't be too sure of that. She has command of powerful magic, Kermadec. Even your Trolls will be at risk.» The Dwarf paused. «You won't go inside, will you? Promise me you won't.»

Kermadec grunted. «Oh, come now, Tagwen. You know what would happen if I did. Shadea and her bunch would have me in irons quicker than you could blink. It would suit them perfectly to announce that I was responsible for the disappearance of the Ard Rhys. Neither truth nor common sense would prove much of an obstacle to the expediency of having me locked up until things could be sorted out. Besides, the matter is likely already decided. I'm to be cast as the villain, even if no proof is ever offered. Wiser heads would prevail in different circumstances, but not here. I told the Ard Rhys she would be better off dismissing the whole lot of them and starting over. But she wouldn't listen. She never does.» He shook his head. «I can't help thinking that her stubbornness has something to do with what's happened to her.»

«I wouldn't argue the point," Tagwen said. He was wishing he had been more insistent about her precautions while inside the walls. He was wishing he had stayed in her bedchamber last night to keep watch.

«I think I might go back into the ruins of Skull Mountain and take another look around," Kermadec announced. His blunt features tightened, eyes shifting away from the Dwarf. «I might see something more, might find something. I don't think I can sit around here doing nothing. My men don't need me; they know what to do.»

«You don't want to go into the Skull Kingdom alone," Tagwen said, shaking his head for emphasis. «It's too dangerous up there. You've said so yourself, many times.»