guarded. Why would that be? I wondered. I waited until an of-
ficer emerged, one highly placed, one who shares. I followed
him, then sat with him to drink. I let him persuade me to go
with him to a private place. When I had him alone, I put a
knife to his throat and asked him questions. He was evasive,
248 The Talismans of Shannara
but I was able to persuade him to admit what I already knew—
that Padishar was being held in his cells.”
“But he is alive? ”
“Alive so that he can be executed publicly. They don’t want
rumors floating about afterwards that he might have escaped.
They want everyone to see him die.”
They stared at each other in the dark. The Pit, Morgan was
thinking, a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had hoped never
to go back there again, never even to come close. He thought
of the things that lived there, the Shadowen misfits, the mon-
sters trapped by the barrier of magic that had shattered the
Sword of Leah …
He brushed the thought aside. The Pit. At least he knew
what he was up against. He could devise a plan with that.
“Did you learn anything else? ” he asked quietly.
She shook her head. He could see the pulse beat at her
throat, the black helmet of her hair a frame about her delicate
face.
“And the officer? ”
There was a long silence as she looked into his eyes, seeing
something beyond and far away. Then she gave him an empty
smile.
“When I was finished with him, I cut his throat.”
T
XXII
hey sat without speaking after that, side by side on the
workbench, still touching, looking out at the darkness.
Several times Morgan thought to rise and move away,
but he was afraid that she would mistake the reason for it and
so stayed where he was. The sound of laughter penetrated the
silence of the open court from somewhere without, harsh and
unwelcome, and it seemed to rub raw even further nerves that
were already frayed. Morgan did not know how much time
passed. He should say something, he knew. He should confront
the dark image of her words. But he did not know how to do
so.
A dog barked in the distance, a long staccato peal that died
away with jarring sharpness.
“You don’t like it that I killed him,” she said finally. It was
not a question; it was a statement of fact.
“No, I don’t.”
“You think I should have done something else? ”
“Yes.” He didn’t like making the admission. He didn’t like
the way he sounded. But he couldn’t help himself.
“What would you have done? ”
“I don’t know.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and turned him until they
were facing. Her eyes were pinpricks of blue light. “Look at
me.” He did. “You would have done the same thing.”
He nodded, but was not convinced.
“You would have, because if you stop to think about it,
there wasn’t any other choice. This man knew who I was. He
knew what I was up to. He couldn’t have mistaken that. If I
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250 The Talismans of Shannara
had let him live, even if I had tied him up and hidden him
away somewhere, he might have escaped. Or been found. Or
anything. If that had happened, we would have been finished.
Your plans, whatever they might be, wouldn’t stand a chance.
And I have to return to Varfleet. If he ever saw me there, he
would know. Do you see? ”
He nodded again. “Yes.”
“But you still don’t like it.” Her rough, low voice was a
whisper. She shook her head, her black hair shimmering. There
was an unmistakable sadness in her voice. “I don’t either, Mor-
gan Lean. But I learned a long time ago that there are a lot of
things I have to do to survive that I don’t like. And I can’t help
that. It has been a long time since I have had a home or a fam-
ily or a country or anything or anyone but myself to rely on.”