quickly at Wren. “You’re Elves, my queen, and no one has
seen Elves before, ever! I … I wasn’t the first choice for this
journey. I had to argue a long time to win the job. Don’t make
me leave right away. I can help in some way, I know I can.
Please, my queen? I’ve come a long way to find you. Let me
stay awhile.”
“And Gloon as well, I suppose? ” She smiled.
He smiled back instantaneously. “Oh, Gloon will stay hid-
den until he is called.” He threw up his hand, and the war
shrike streaked upward and disappeared. Tib watched him go,
saying, “He looks after himself, mostly.”
Wren glanced at Desidio, who shook his head doubtfully.
Tib didn’t seem to see, his eyes still directed skyward.
‘Tib, why don’t you get something to eat and then go to
bed,” Wren advised. “We’ll talk about the rest of it in the
morning.”
The boy looked at her, blinked, stifled a yawn, nodded, and
trotted off dutifully behind Desidio. Tiger Ty passed them
coming up from the cooking fire with a plate of food and cast
a sharp glance back at the boy on reaching Wren.
“Was that a war shrike I saw? ” he growled. “Nasty bird,
those. Hard to believe that boy could train one. Most of them
would as soon take your head off as look at you.”
“That dangerous? ” Wren asked, interested.
“Killers,” the Wing Rider answered. “Hunt anything, even a
moor cat. Don’t know how to quit once they’ve started some-
thing. It’s rumored that in the old days they were used to hunt
men—sent out like assassins. Smart and cruel.” He shook his
head. “Nasty, like I said.”
She glanced at Triss. “Maybe we don’t want it around,
then.”
Tiger Ty started away. “I wouldn’t.” He stretched. ‘Time for
192 The Talismans of Shannara
sleep. The others flew in an hour ago, in case you didn’t see.
We’ll scout things out again tomorrow morning. Night.”
He ambled off into the dark, gnarled, bowlegged, rocking
from side to side like some old piece of furniture that had been
jostled in passing. Wren and Triss watched him go without
comment. When he was gone, they looked at each other.
“I’m sending Tib back,” she, said.
Triss nodded. Neither of them spoke after that.
Wren slept, curled into her light woolen blanket at the edge
of the firelight, dreaming of things that were forgotten as
quickly as they were gone. Twice she woke to the sounds of
the night, tiny chirpings and buzzings, small movements in
the brush, and the rustle of things unseen far overhead in the
branches of the trees. It was warm and the air was sdll, and
the combination did not make for a sound sleep. Home Guard
slept around her; Triss was less than a dozen feet away. At the
edges of her vision she saw others on patrol, vague shadows
against the darkness. Curled in the crook of her arm. Faun
stirred fitfully. The night edged away in a crawl, and she swam
listlessly through sleep and waking.
She was just settling in for yet another try, the deepest part
of the night reached, when a prickly face poked into view di-
rectly in front of her. She jumped in fright.
“Hssst! Easy, Wren Elessedil!” said a familiar voice.
Hurriedly she pushed herself up on one elbow. “Stresa!”
Faun squeaked in recognition, and the Splinterscat hissed it
into silence. Lumbering close, it sat back on its haunches and
regarded her with those strange blue eyes. “It didn’t seem
phhttt a good idea to let you go off on your own.”
She smiled in spite of herself. “You nearly scared me to
death! How did you get past the guards? ”
The Splinterscat’s tongue licked out, and she could have
sworn that it smiled. “Really, now. Elf girl. They are only men.
Sssstt! If you want to give me a challenge phffttt put me back
on Morrowindl.” The eyes blinked, luminous. “On second
thought, don’t. I like it here, in your world.”
Wren hugged Faun into her body as the Tree Squeak tried to
squirm away. “I’m glad you’re here,” she told Stresa. “I worry