he stumbled onto them or how^ie let them capture him, but it
shouldn’t have happened. The magic of the wishsong should
have been more than a match for men like these. I don’t under-
stand it. Something’s wrong.”
Matty said nothing, waiting.
Damson handed back the water skin and sighed. “I wish I
could have seen his face. He looked up once, just for a mo-
ment, but it was too dark to see clearly.” She shook her head.
“Slavers—there won’t be any reasoning with them.”
Many shifted her feet. “Reasoning isn’t something men like
this understand. We’re women. If given half a chance, they’d
seize us, use us for their own pleasure, and then cut our
throats. Or if we were really unlucky, they’d sell us along with
358 The Talismans of Shanna:
the Valeman.” She looked out at the night. “How many did
you count’7”
“Five. Four inside, one standing watch. They’re drinkir
and throwing dice and fighting among themselves.” Sh-
paused hopefully. “When they sleep, we might be able to sl r
past them and free Par.”
Matty gave her a steady look. “That would be chancy in tl a
dark. We wouldn’t be able to tell them from us if it came s< a fight. And if the Valeman is chained to the wall, it wou». take too much time and make too much noise to try to frc>
him. Besides, they might be up all night the way things are g> •
ing. There isn’t any way to know.”
“We could wait a bit. A day or two if we must. There wiS
be a chance sooner or later.”
Matty shook her head. “We don’t have the time. We dor i,
know how long it will be until they get to where they’re going
There may be more of them ahead. No. We have to do .’
now. Tonight.”
Now it was Damson’s turn to stare. “Tonight,” she repeate”
“How? ”
“How do you think? If they’ve found a way to capture tht
Valeman in spite of his magic, they’re too dangerous to foe’
around with.” Matty Roh seemed to be measuring her. “It
we’re quick, they’ll be dead before they know what happeneu
Can you do it?”
Damson took a deep breath. “Can you? ”
“Just follow me in and stay behind me. Watch my back. Re
member how many there are. Don’t lose count. If I go dow?’
get out of there.” She straightened. “Are you ready? ”
“Now? ”
‘The quicker we start, the quicker we finish.”
Damson nodded without speaking, feeling distanced froni
what was happening, as if she were watching it from some
other vantage point. “I only have a hunting knife.”
“Use whatever you have. Just remember what I said.”
The tall girl dropped her cloak and reached down into her
gear for the slender fighting sword and strapped it over her
back, wearing it the same way Morgan Lean wore his. She fas-
tened a brace of throwing knives to her waist and slipped a
broad-bladed hunting knife down into her boot. Damson
The Talismans of Shannara 359
watched and did not speak. Two against five, she was thinking.
But the odds were greater than that. These men were seasoned
fighters, cutthroats who would kill them without a second
thought. What are we to them? she wondered, and decided it
was a stupid question.
They moved off into the night, slipping across the grasslands
like ghosts. Damson leading Many back the same way she had
cone earlier, watching the light from the oil lamps hung within
the cabin grow brighter as they neared. The voices of the men
reached out to greet them, coarse and raucous. Damson could
no longer see the glow of the pipe on the porch steps, but that
didn’t mean the sentry wasn’t still there. They” moved north of
the cabin into the trees and came up from behind, flattening
themselves against the rough board wall. Inside, the sounds of
gambling and drinking continued.
They peered around the south side of the cabin toward the
front. There was no sign of the sentry. With Matty leading
now, her sword drawn and held before her, they eased up to