Through a spinning dark haze he watched his brother. Shadow-
en-consumed, still wrapped within the hateful cloak, rise up
like a netherworld specter. For an instant he crouched there,
hands pressed against his hooded head as if to crush the images
still locked within, shrieking against his madness. In the next
he was gone, fled into the trees, crying as he went until the
cries were just an echo in his horrified brother’s mind.
74 The Talismans of Shannara
Damson was there then, helping Par to his feet, holding him
up until she was sure he could stand alone. Her eyes were anx-
ious and frightened, and he was conscious of the way she
moved her body to shelter him. Soft streaks of morning light
dappled their faces as they clung to each other. Together they
stared out into the forest gloom, as if somehow they might
catch a final glimpse of the creature who fled from them.
“It was Coll.” Par breathed the words as if they were ana-
thema. “Damson, it was Coil!”
She stared at him in disbelief, not daring a reply.
“And this!” He brought up the Sword of Shannara, still
clasped in his scraped, raw hands. “This is the Sword.”
“I know,” she whispered, more certain of this second decla-
ration. “I saw.”
He shook his head, still trying to comprehend. “I don’t
know what happened. Something triggered the magic. I
don’t know what. But something. It was there, buried inside
the Sword.” He wheeled to face her. “I couldn’t bring it out
alone, but when both of us held the blade, when we strug-
gled .. .” His fingers tightened on her arms. “I saw him,
Damson—as clearly as I see you. It was Coll.”
Damson held herself rigid. “Par, Coil is dead.”
“No.” The Valeman shook his head adamantly. “No, he is
not dead. That was what I was supposed to think. But that
wasn’t Coil I killed in the Pit. It was someone or something
else. That”—he gestured toward the trees—”was Coll. The
Sword showed me. Damson. It showed me the truth. Coil was
imprisoned at Southwatch and escaped. But he’s been changed
by that cloak he wears. There is some sort of malevolent
magic in it, something that subverts you if you wear it. It’s
Coil, but he’s turning into a Shadowen!”
“Par, I saw his face, too. And it looked a little like Coil, but
not enough that—”
“You didn’t see everything,” he cut her short. “I did, be-
cause I was holding the Sword, and the Sword of Shannara
reveals the truth! Remember the legends? ” He was so excited
he was shouting. “Damson, this is the Sword of Shannara! It
is! And that was Coil!”
“All right, all right.” She nodded quickly, trying to calm
The Talismans of Shannara 75
him. “It was Coll. But why was he chasing us? Why did he at-
tack you? What was he trying to do? ”
Par’s lips tightened. “I don’t know. I didn’t have time to
find out. And Coil doesn’t know what’s happening either. I
could see what he was thinking for a moment—as if I was in-
side his mind. He realized what had been done to him, but he
didn’t know what to do about it. That was why he ran. Dam-
son. He was horrified at what he had become.”
She stared at him. “Did he know who you were? ”
“I don’t know.”
“Or how to help himself? Did he know enough to take off
the cloak? ”
Par took a deep breath. “I don’t think so. I’m not even sure
he can.” His face was stricken. “He looked so lost. Damson.”
She put her arms around him then, and he held her as if she
were a rock without which the sea of his uncertainty might
wash him away. All about them darkness was fading as sunrise
brightened the skies east. Birds were coming awake with
cheerful calls, and a faint scattering of dampness sparkled on
the grass.
“I have to go after him,” Par said into her shoulder, feeling
her stiffen at the words. “I have to try to help him.” He shook
his head despairingly. “I know it means breaking my promise
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