a vision? ”
Walker Boh shook his head. He reached down absently to
stroke Rumor’s broad head as the cat nuzzled up against him.
“No, Coll. I used a Druid trick and went out of my body in
spirit form to enter the Shadowen keep. They could not sense
me so easily that way. I found Par locked within the tower.
Rimmer Dall was with him. The First Seeker was trying to
persuade Par to let him take control of the wishsong’s magic.
He says that Par is a Shadowen like himself.”
“He has told Par that before,” Damson said quietly.
“It is a lie,” Coil insisted.
But Walker Boh shook his head. “Perhaps not. There is
some truth to what he says. I can sense it in the words. But the
troth is an elusive thing here. There is more of it than is being
told. Par is confused and angry and frightened. He is on the
verge of accepting what the First Seeker tells him. He was
close to letting the other have his way.”
“No,” Damson whispered, white-faced.
Walker breathed the night air and sighed. “No, indeed. But
time is running out for Par. His strength is fading. I risked a
small intrusion to disrupt the acceptance and for now it will
not happen. But we have to get to him quickly. The secret to
destroying the Shadowen lies with Par. It always has. Rimmer
Dall ignores everything in his efforts to win Par over. He
knows of my return, of Wren’s return, of our escapes from
other Shadowen. He knows we draw steadily closer to him.
The Shadowen are threatened, but he concentrates only on Par.
The Talismans of Shannara 387
Par is the key. If we can free him of his fear of the wishsong,
we may have all the pieces to the puzzle. AUanon sent us to
find the talismans and we have done so. He sent us to bring
back the Elves and Paranor and we have done that as well. We
have everything we require to defeat the Shadowen; we just
need to discover how to use it. The answer lies down there.”
He looked off into the valley, down through the trees to
where the dark obelisk of Southwatch rose against the horizon.
“The Sword of Shannara will free Par,” Coil promised, step-
ping forward determinedly. “I know it will.”
Walker didn’t seem to hear him. “There is one thing more.
The Shadowen keep something locked within the cellars of the
keep, something living, chained by magic and held against its
will. I don’t know what it is, but I sense that it is powerful and
that we have to find a way to set it free if we are to win this
fight. Whatever it is, the Shadowen guard it with their lives.
The wards protecting it are very strong.”
He looked back at them again. “The Shadowen are Elven-
bom and use Elven magic out of the time of faerie. Their
strengths and weaknesses all derive from that. Par may be one
of them in some sense because he is of Elven blood. I can’t be
sure. But I think the question of what he will become has not
yet been settled.”
“He would never turn against us,” Damson whispered, and
looked away.
“What do we do, Walker? ” Coil asked quietly. He held the
Sword of Shannara in both hands, and his blocky face was set
like a piece of granite.
“We go down after him, Valeman,” the other answered. “We
go after him now, before it is too late.”
“Not all of us,” Morgan interjected hastily, and glanced at
the women.
Walker looked at him. “They are resolved to go, High-
lander.”
Morgan refused to back off. He didn’t want Damson and
Matty going down into the Shadowen den. The men all pos-
sessed magic of one sort or another to protect themselves. The
women had nothing. It seemed a mistake.
“You’re not leaving me,” Damson interjected quickly, and
he saw Matty nod in agreement.
388 The Talismans of Shannara
“It’s too dangerous,” he heard himself object. “We can’t
protect you. You have to stay here.”
They glared at him, and he faced them down. For a moment