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Par and Coll rose slowly from where they had been working. “You can’t go back to the Vale,” Morgan said quietly. “There are Federation soldiers everywhere. I can’t be certain if there are Seekers as well, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The village is under “Federation Protection”—that’s the euphemism they use for armed occupation. They’re definitely waiting for you. I asked a few questions and found out right away; no one’s making any secret of it. Your parents are under house arrest. I think they’re okay, but I couldn’t risk trying to talk to them. I’m sorry. There would have been too many questions.”

He took a deep breath. “Someone wants you very badly, my friends.”

Par and Coll looked at each other, and there was no attempt by either to disguise the fear. “What are we going to do?” Par asked softly.

“I’ve been thinking about that the whole way back,” Morgan said. He reached over and put a hand on his friend’s slim shoulder. “So I’ll tell you what we’re going to do—and I do mean “we” because I figure I’m in this thing with you now.”

His hand tightened. “We’re going east to look for Walker Boh.”

Chapter Six

Morgan Leah could be very persuasive when he chose, and he proved it that night in the rain-shrouded Highlands to Par and Coll.

He obviously had given the matter a great deal of thought, just as he claimed he had, and his reasoning was quite thorough. Simply stated, it was all a matter of choices. He took just enough time to strip away his wet clothing and dry off before seating the brothers cross-legged before the warmth of the fireplace with glasses of ale and hot bread in hand to hear his explanation.

He started with what they knew. They knew they could not go back to Shady Vale—not now and maybe not for a long time. They could not go back to Callahorn either. Matter-of-fact, they could not go much of anywhere they might be expected to go because, if the Federation had expended this much time and effort to find them so far, they were hardly likely to stop now. Rimmer Dall was known to be a tenacious enforcer. He had personally involved himself in this hunt, and he would not give it up easily. The Seekers would be looking for the brothers everywhere Federation rule extended—and that was, a long, long way. Par and Coll could consider themselves, for all intents and purposes, to be outlaws.

So what were they to do? Since they could not go any place where they were expected, they must go someplace they were not expected. The trick, of course, was not to go just anywhere, but to go where they might accomplish something useful.

“After all, you could stay here if you chose, and you might not be discovered for who-knows-how-long because the Federation wouldn’t know enough to look for you in the Highlands.” He shrugged. “It might even be fun for a while. But what would it accomplish? Two months, four months, whatever, you would still be outlaws, you would still be unable to go home, and nothing would have changed. Doesn’t make sense, does it? What you need to do is to take control of things. Don’t wait for events to catch up with you; go out and meet them head-on!”

What he meant was that they should attempt to solve the riddle of the dreams. There was nothing they could do about the fact that the Federation was hunting them, that soldiers occupied Shady Vale, or that they were now outlaws. One day, all that might change—but not in the immediate future. The dreams, on the other hand, were something with which they might be able to come to grips. If the dreams were the real thing, they were worth knowing more about. The old man had told them to come to the Hadeshorn on the first night of the new moon. They hadn’t wanted to do that before for two very sound reasons. First, they didn’t know enough about the dreams to be certain they were real, and second, there were only the two of them and they might be placing themselves in real danger by going.

“So why not do something that might ease those concerns,” the Highlander finished. “Why not go east and find Walker. You said the old man told you the dreams had been sent to Walker as well. Doesn’t it make sense to find out what he thinks about all this? Is he planning on going? The old man was going to talk to him,too. Whether that’s happened or not, Walker is certain to have an opinion on whether the dreams are real or not. I always thought your uncle was a strange bird, I’ll admit, but I never thought he was stupid. And we all know the stories about him. If he had the use of any part of the Shannara magic, now might be a good time to find out.”

He took a long drink and leaned forward, jabbing his finger at them. “If Walker believes in the dreams and decides to go to the Hadeshorn, then you might be more inclined to go as well. There would be four of us then. Anything out there that might cause trouble would have to think twice.”

He shrugged. “Even if you decide not to go, you’ll have satisfied yourselves better than you would have by just hiding out here or somewhere like here. Shades, the Federation won’t think to look for you in the Anar! That’s just about the last place they’ll think to look for you!”

He took another drink, bit off a piece of fresh bread and sat back, eyes questioning. He had that look on his face again, that expression that suggested he knew something they didn’t and it amused him no end. “Well?” he said finally.

The brothers were silent. Par was thinking about his uncle, remembering the whispered stories about Walker Boh. His uncle was a self-professed student of life who claimed he had visions; he insisted he could see and feel things others could not. There were rumors that he practiced magic of a sort different from any known. Eventually, he had gone away from them, leaving the Vale for the Eastland. That had been almost ten years ago. Par and Coll had been very young, but Par still remembered.

Coll cleared his throat suddenly, eased himself forward and shook his head. Par was certain his brother was going to tell Morgan how ridiculous his idea was, but instead he asked, “How do we go about finding Walker?”

Par looked at Morgan and Morgan looked at Par, and there was an instant of shared astonishment. Both had anticipated that Coll would prove intractable, that he would set himself squarely in the path of such an outrageous plan, and that he would dismiss it as foolhardy. Neither had expected this.

Coll caught the look that passed between them and said, “I wouldn’t say what I was thinking, if I were you. Neither of you knows me as well as he thinks. Now how about an answer to my question?”

Morgan quickly masked the flicker of guilt that passed across his eyes. “We’ll go first to Culhaven. I have a friend there who will know where Walker is.”

“Culhaven?” Coll frowned. “Culhaven is Federation-occupied.”

“But safe enough for us,” Morgan insisted. “The Federation won’t be looking for you there, and we need only stay a day or two. Anyway, we won’t be out in the open much.”

“And our families? Won’t they wonder what’s happened to us?”

“Not mine. My father is used to not seeing me for weeks at a time. He’s already made up his mind that I’m undependable. And Jaralan and Mirianna are better off not knowing what you’re about. They’re undoubtedly worried enough as it is.”

“What about Wren?” Par asked.

Morgan shook his head. “I don’t know how to find Wren. If she’s still with the Rovers, she could be anywhere.” He paused. “Besides, I don’t know how much help Wren would be to us. She was only a girl when she left the Vale, Par. We don’t have time to find both. Walker Boh seems a better bet.”

Par nodded slowly. He looked uncertainly at Coll and Coll looked back. “What do you think?” he asked.

Coll sighed, “I think we should have stayed in Shady Vale in the first place. I think we should have stayed in bed.”