Morgan nodded. “But she’s the only one the Mole will trust.
She has to go in first, through the gates. I’ll go with her.” He
looked at her. “What do you think, Damson Rhee? ”
“I think I can do it,” she declared quietly. “And the Mole
will help—if they haven’t caught up with him yet.” She
frowned doubtfully. “They have to be hunting for him down in
those same tunnels we’ll be coming through.”
“But he knows them better than the soldiers do,” Morgan
said. “They’ve been trying to catch him for weeks now and
haven’t been able to do so. We just need another few days.”
He looked at the girl and the big man in turn. “It is the best
chance we’re going to get. We have to try.”
Chandos shook his head once more. “How many of us will
this take? ”
‘Two dozen, no more.”
Chandos stared at him, wide-eyed. ‘Two dozen! Highlander,
mere’s five thousand Federation soldiers quartered in Tyrsis,
The Talismans of Shannara 117
and who knows how many Shadowen! Two dozen men won’t
stand a chance!”
“We’ll stand a better chance than two hundred—or two
thousand, if we had that many to muster, which we don’t, do
we? ” The big man’s jaw tightened defensively. “Chandos, the
smaller the company, the better the chance of hiding it. They’ll
be looking for something larger; they’ll expect it. But two
dozen men? We can be on top of them before they know who
we are. We can disguise two dozen among five thousand a lot
more easily than two hundred. Two dozen is all we need if we
get close enough.”
“He’s right,” Damson said suddenly. “A large force would
be heard in the tunnels. There would be nowhere for them to
hide in the city. We can slip two dozen in and hide them until
the attempt.” She looked directly at Morgan. “What I don’t
know is whether two dozen will be enough to free Padishar
when the time comes.”
Morgan met her gaze. “Because of the Shadowen? ”
“Yes, because of the Shadowen. We don’t have Par with us
this time to keep them at bay.”
“No,” Morgan agreed, “you have me instead.” He reached
back over his shoulder, drew out the Sword of Leah, brought
it around in front of him, and jammed it dramatically into the
earth. It rested there, quivering slightly, polished surface
smooth and silver in the starlight. He looked at them. “And I
have this.”
“Your talisman,” Chandos muttered in surprise. “I thought it
was broken.”
“It was healed when I went north,” Morgan replied softly,
seeing Quickening’s face appear and then fade in his mind. “I
have the magic back again. It will be enough to withstand the
Shadowen.”
Damson glanced from one face to the other, confused. Per-
haps Par hadn’t told her about the Sword of Leah. Perhaps he
hadn’t had time in the struggle to escape Tyrsis and reach the
free-bom. And no one knew about Quickening save for Walker
Boh.
Morgan did not care to explain, and he did not try. “Can
you find the men? ” he asked Chandos instead.
The black eyes fixed him. “I can, Highlander. Twenty times
118 The Talismans of Shannara
that for Padishar Creel.” He paused. “But you’re asking them
to place a lot of faith in you.”
Morgan jerked his sword free of the earth and slid it back
into its sheath. In the distance, along the bluff edge, free-bom
patrolled in the darkness. Behind, back against the trees, cook-
ing fires burned low, and the clank and rattle of cookware was
beginning to diminish as the meal ended and thoughts turned
to sleep. Pipes were lit, small bits of light against the black,
fireflies that wavered in the concealment of the trees. The
sound of voices was low and easy.
Morgan looked at the big man. “If there were a better
choice, Chandos, I would take it gladly.” He held the other’s
dark gaze. “What’s it to be, yes or no? ”
Chandos looked at Damson, his gold earring a small glitter
as his head turned. “What do you say? ”
The girl brushed back her fiery hair, the look in her eyes a