She wheeled back around. «The parents escaped because you weren’t smart enough to expect them to try!» she snapped at Traunt Rowan. «The boy escaped because you weren’t smart enough to learn from the example of the parents! You took away the staff, you locked him in a cell, and you thought that was the end of it.Wait for Shadea to return, you thought. That was all that was necessary.»
« I thought it sufficient, yes,” Traunt Rowan replied tightly.
She gave him a withering glare. «It never occurred to you, I don’t suppose, that you were bringing the boy to the one place he should never have been brought.»
He frowned. «What do you mean?»
She stared at him without speaking, the weight of her gaze enough to crush another man. «You don’t understand anything, do you? Neither of you understands what’s happened.»
Pyson Wence exhaled sharply. «We understand, Shadea. They’ve escaped, all of them. If you want to blame us, then do so. But we will get them back again.»
« Will you?» she whispered.
She walked over to her writing desk and sat behind it, thinking that it might be time to put an end to them both. Why wait? With Terek Molt dead and Iridia turned traitor and perhaps something worse, these two were the last of those who had conspired with her to eliminate Grianne Ohmsford. Her grip on the Third Druid Order was strong enough now that she could afford to do away with them.
She considered the idea a moment longer before dismissing it. It was still too soon.
« You took a staff from the boy,” she said to Traunt Rowan. «It had rune markings carved up and down its length. The boy tried to hide it from you, but you knew it was a talisman.» She paused. «Do you know what it does?»
The tall man shook his head. «No.»
« You took it away from him and you put it in this room?»
« I used magic to suspend it in a cradle so that it would wait undisturbed for your return.»
« Except that the boy or this Elven girl who helped him escape found a way to undo your magic. So now the staff is gone as well as the boy.»
He stared at her wordlessly.
« Where, Traunt Rowan? Where do you think they went?»
He shook his head. «He was trapped in this room with the girl when we found them. The girl has the use of Druid magic. Rudimentary, but effective. She held us off long enough for him to find another way out. Perhaps out one of the windows or maybe into a secret passageway, like the one you used to get access to Grianne Ohmsford while she slept.»
« But you searched?»
« Everywhere.»
She rose from the desk and came out to stand in front of him. «Think back. That boy has been on a mission from the beginning. He has been searching for something that will help him find his missing aunt, his beloved aunt. Tagwen went with him, then Ahren Elessedil and Kermadec. They all went with him. That suggests they believed in him. What is it that they thought this boy could do? I’ll tell you what. They thought he could find a way to get inside the Forbidding.»
« That’s ridiculous,” Pyson Wence snapped.
« They didn’t think so,” she snapped back. «Ahren Elessedil gave his life to help that boy. We might assume that he had a good reason for doing so. We might even assume he thought the boy’s life more important than his own. Why would he think that? Because the boy was the best hope any of them had of reaching Grianne Ohmsford inside the Forbidding! That being so, the one thing we didn’t want to do was to bring him anywhere near the place where she went in! Especially after you caught him trying to hide a talisman of unknown origin and power!» She paused, looking from face to face. «But that was exactly what you did. Now both are gone, the boy and his staff, vanished into thin air in this very room.»
She took a deep breath. «Take a moment and think it through carefully. Where do you think they are?»
Traunt Rowan’s face had gone white. «That isn’t possible,” he whispered. «No one can get into the Forbidding.»
She gave him a tight smile. «We did.»
He stared at her, unable to put words to what he was thinking.
« There is one way to find out if I am right,” she said softly. «You do still have the Elven girl locked away, don’t you? She hasn’t escaped with the others, has she?»
Traunt Rowan flushed. «We have her.»
« Bring her to me.»
He left at once, taking Pyson Wence with him. Eyes straight ahead as they stalked through the doorway, neither of them glanced at her on their way out.
Good, she thought. Let them think about what they have done. Let them dwell on it a little and consider what might be in store for them if I am right.
She stood alone in her chambers and despaired over how convoluted things had become. Their plan had been a simple one in the beginning—confine Grianne Ohmsford to the Forbidding and take control of the Druid order. Sen Dunsidan had given them the liquid night, and she had found a way to use it. The plan had worked exactly as it was supposed to work, but since then the situation had spiraled steadily out of control. It had begun with that boy, Penderrin Ohmsford. Why it had begun with him rather than with his more experienced and more deeply talented father, she still didn’t know. Nor did she know even now exactly what it was that he had set out to do, even though she was pretty sure that he had found a way to do it. If this Elven girl confirmed her suspicions about where he was, she would have to take new measures to protect herself. She had come too far and suffered too much to think of giving up what she had gained. The rest of them could do as they wished, if she let them live long enough, but she had set her mind on her own course of action and did not intend to deviate from it.
Grianne Ohmsford was powerful, but she was also mortal. By now, she could be dead. By now, she should be.
But a nagging certainty whispered that she wasn’t.
Better I die than that I concede anything to her. Or to that boy.
She imagined momentarily what she would do to Penderrin Ohmsford if she somehow managed to get her hands on him. The image that came to mind made her shiver.
When Traunt Rowan and Pyson Wence reappeared with the Elven girl, Shadea was surprised to see how small and vulnerable looking she was, she had imagined the girl larger and more imposing. The Gnome Hunter clothing she wore, obviously stolen to provide her with a disguise, was ill fitting, loose, and made her look smaller still. But when she saw Shadea, she displayed a look of such obvious defiance that it instantly infuriated the sorceress.
Little fool!
She walked up to the girl without a word, snatched her by her clothing so that she was off balance, and struck her hard across the face. The blow was delivered open–handed, so as not to break anything, but the sound of it caused Traunt Rowan to flinch. The force of the slap sent the girl sprawling. Without waiting for her to recover, Shadea stalked over to where she lay, grabbed another handful of clothing, and hauled her back to her feet.
Then she placed her face inches from the girl’s. «That was to give you some small idea of how I feel about what you have done. It should also indicate what sort of trouble you are in.»
The defiance was gone from the girl’s face, replaced by a sullen acceptance of her fate. Shadea gave her a moment to recover, to let the words sink in, then struck her again, knocking her to the floor once more.
This time when she stood the girl up again, there were tears in her eyes. «It hurt more this time, didn’t it?» Shadea asked softly. «But I haven’t begun to hurt you yet. What is your name?»