and helped cool them, but the surrounding countryside was
empty and still. The peaks of the Dragon’s Teeth north were
barren and gray with the summer’s swelter, and the mix of
hills and low mountains south were burned out and dry. The
sun lifted in the cloudless sky, and the heat beat down in
waves. Dead animals lay scattered on the open plains, their
twisted bodies rotting. Vast stretches of Callahom’s woods had
been sickened and the earth beneath left bare. Pools of stag-
nant, dull-green water stood listless and stinking. Trees were
ravaged and withered like the carcasses of creatures hung out
to dry. Often the stretches of ruined earth lasted for miles.
Morgan could smell the decay in the air. This was more than
the summer heat and dryness; this was the Shadowen poison-
ing that he had witnessed time and again since coming north,
a devastation of the land that the dark things were somehow
causing. And it was growing worse.
Midday faded into afternoon, and they skirted Varfleet to the
north, still following the Mermidon as it began to bend south.
They encountered a handful of peddlers and other tradesmen
on their way, but the heat kept most would-be travelers out of
the sun, so they had the river road pretty much to themselves.
The Talismans of Shannara 269
They spotted their first Federation patrol as they neared
Varfleet and stepped back into the trees to let it pass.
Damson used the Skree again while they waited, and the re-
sult was the same. The disk glowed faintly when pointed
south—or it might have been nothing more than a glimmer of
sunlight. Again Morgan and Matty Roh exchanged a surrepti-
tious look. It was hot, and they were tired. They were wonder-
ing if this was leading somewhere or if Damson was just being
hopeful. There were other ways to track Par if the disk wasn’t
working, but neither of them was ready to challenge Damson
on the matter just yet.
They needed a boat to travel down the Mermidon to the
Rainbow Lake, she advised, tucking the Skree away once
more. It would be quicker by three times than trying to make
the journey afoot. Matty shrugged and said she would go
into the city, since it was less dangerous for her to do so than
for them, and she would meet them here again as soon as she
had found what they needed. She put down the bedroll she had
been carrying and disappeared into the swelter.
Morgan sat with Damson in the shade of an ancient willow
close by the riverbank where they could see anyone approach-
ing from either direction. The river was muddy and clogged
with debris in the wake of last night’s storm, and they watched
it flow past in sluggish, deliberate fashion, a bearer of discards
and old news. Morgan’s eyes were heavy with lack of sleep,
and he closed them against the light.
“You’re still not certain of me, are you? ” he heard Damson
ask after a time.
He looked over at her. “What do you mean? ”
“I saw the look you exchanged with Matty when I used the
Skree.”
He sighed. “That doesn’t mean I’m not certain of you. Dam-
son. It means I didn’t see anything and that worries me.”
“You have to know how to use it.”
“So you said. But what if you’re wrong? You can’t blame
me for being skeptical.”
She smiled ironically. “Yes, I can. Somewhere along the
way we have to start trusting each other, all three of us. If we
don’t, we’re going to get into a lot of trouble. You think about
it, Morgan.”
270 The Talismans of Shannara
He did and was still thinking on it when dusk settled over
the borderlands and Matty trudged back out of the haze with
a tired look on her face.
“We have a boat,” she announced, dropping wearily into the
shadow of the willow and reaching for the water cup Damson
offered. She splashed water on her dust-streaked face and let it
run off. “A boat, supplies, and weapons, all tucked away at the
waterfront. We can pick them up after dark when we won’t be