The Last Druid (The Fall of Shannara) by Terry Brooks

Author:Terry Brooks [Brooks, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2020-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

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They flew north for the remainder of that day and far into the next, hugging the coastline without putting the Behemoth in danger of being dashed into the cliffs. The wind continued to blow steadily with occasional sharp gusts, the temperature continued to fall, and the snow increased. By the time night arrived, they were engulfed in a virtual whiteout. But Ajin d’Amphere continued to guide them, clearly confident in her knowledge of where to go and how to get there. Even when Dar and Rocan could see nothing, Ajin’s instincts and experience seemed unerring, so they let her take command. She kept them flying, dismissing a suggestion from Rocan, who said—once and only once—that it might be safer to seek anchorage until morning.

“It would not be safer to anchor out here. It would be safer to get past all this weather and inland to where we can anchor and sleep. Surely you know your crew is exhausted, Captain. Once at our anchorage, the winds will diminish to almost nothing. And while the cold and the snow remain, we should be able to sleep. Keep flying, please.”

So they did, pushing on until Ajin took them through a pair of towering cliffs that bracketed a broad river, flying into the river’s mouth at five hundred feet and then ascending to one thousand and a bit more when the cliffs heightened and the passageway narrowed. She had suggested that staying aloft would be safer than attempting a water landing and navigating the treacherous river when visibility was so poor. So they stayed airborne as they traveled, and before long she took them down into a spacious bay that was well inland and surrounded by heavy forest.

Once landed on the bay’s much quieter waters, they put out their anchors and secured their vessel. A watch was set while the rest of the passengers and crew went to sleep.

Dar watched Ajin start away without him, reconciling himself to a night of sleeping alone, but then she turned around and came back, taking his hand in hers and towing him after her. He did not resist. They went below to her cabin, where they had slept during the entire voyage to Skaarsland, and she led him inside and closed the door behind them.

“Do not try to pin me down like that ever again,” she said softly when they were inside.

“I apologize,” he said at once, aware by now of his misstep. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

She studied his face intently, almost as if trying to find or understand something that was hidden. He stood quietly in front of her, the smokeless lamp at the doorway providing the only light available, playing off her exquisite features as her eyes locked on his.

“My concern is for your safety,” he said finally. “Do you not know me well enough by now to see this?”

She smiled suddenly, warm and promising as she stepped close. “I think I will need the rest of my life to know you as well as I want to,” she whispered.

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