Shadowen closing from everywhere, fighting to get past Morgan
Lean, back on his feet once more, and Rumor, who seemed in-
destructible. But it was too late for them. This moment be-
longed to Par and his friends and allies, to all those who had
fought to bring it about, to the living and the dead, to the brave.
He summoned the magic of the wishsong one final time,
brought all of it to bear, the whole of what burned within
him, evolved out of his birthright into the monster that had
nearly consumed him. He summoned it forth and shaped it
once more into that shard of blue fire that had first appeared
when he had fought to escape the Pit, that shard that seemed
a piece of azure lightning come down from the sky. He raised
it overhead and brought it down on the crimson cords of magic
that bound the light, shattering them forever.
Par shuddered with the force of the blow and with what the
effort took from him, a tearing, a rending, a draining away.
The light exploded in response, blazing forth into the cav-
ern’s darkest comers and from there upward into Southwatch.
It chased the shadows and the gloom and turned what was
black to white. It shrieked with glee at finding its freedom, and
then it sought retribution for what had been done to it.
It took Rimmer Dall first, sucking out the First Seeker’s life
as if drawing smoke into its lungs. Rimmer Dall shuddered vi-
olently, collapsed in a scattering of ashes, and ceased to exist.
The light went after the other Shadowen then, who were al-
ready fleeing in hopeless desperation, and swallowed them up
one after the other. Finally it rose to consume Southwatch, rac-
ing up the black walls, into the pulsing obsidian stone. Par was
dragged to his feet by Walker, who bent to snatch up the
Sword of Shannara. Walker called to Morgan, and in seconds
they were gathering the others as well, hauling them up, carry-
ing those who could not stand. Rumor led the way as they
surged toward a tunnel at the chamber’s far end, racing to es-
cape the cataclysm.
Overhead, Southwatch exploded into the morning sky in a
geyser of fire and ash.
428 The Talismans of Shannara
Stresa was the first to feel the tremors and hiss in warning
at Wren, “Elf Queen. Phffit! Do you feel it? Hsst! Hsst! The
earth moves!”
Wren stood slightly apart from Triss, the Elfstones clutched
in her hand as she watched the coming of the Federation army,
awaiting her confrontation with the Creepers. They had
reached the mouth of the Valley of Rhenn, and with the front
lines of me Elves and their allies less than three hundred yards
away, the battle she dreaded was about to commence.
Barsimmon Oridio, Padishar Creel, Chandos, and Axhind had
dispersed to their various commands. Tiger Ty had gone to be
with the Wing Riders. Home Guard surrounded the queen on
all sides, but she felt impossibly alone.
She turned at the Splinterscat’s words, then felt the tremors
herself. Triss,” she whispered.
For the earth was shuddering more deeply with each series
of quakes that passed through it, as if a beast coming awake to
the rising of the sun, to the coming of the light. It shook itself
from sleep, and its growl rose above the beating of the Feder-
ation drums and the marching of the soldiers’ feet.
Wren caught her breath in dismay.
What was happening?
Then fire and smoke erupted far to the east and south, rising
up against the sunlight in a wild conflagration, and the quaking
turned to a desperate heaving. The men of the opposing armies
paused in their confrontation and turned to look, eyes scanning
the horizon, cries beginning to ring out. The fire and smoke
grew into a cloud of black ash, and then suddenly there was a
tremendous burst of white light that filled the sky with its
brightness, pulsing and alive. It rose in a wild sweep, racing
across the sun and back again, running with the wind and the
clouds.
When it flew down into the earth again, the shudders began