He grimaced. “I’m embarrassed we don’t know more. We have been searching for them for days. We have been searching for you, too. We think that the disappearance of the Ard Rhys might indicate that her entire family is in danger. There is some indication of this being so. She has many enemies, and everyone knows you are close to her and are possessed of the Shannara magic, as well. Some of those enemies might consider you as dangerous to them as she is.”

“Penderrin would never go off with anyone, even Ahren Elessedil, without leaving word for us,” Rue broke in suddenly. “Did you look for a message?”

“We did,” Traunt Rowan said. “We looked everywhere. But we didn’t find one.”

You searched our house, Bek thought. That was bold. Why did you feel the need?

“If Pen failed to leave a message, it was because he didn’t have enough time to do so.” Rue was sliding into her protective mother role, and Bek could see the anger in her eyes. “Why wasn’t he offered your protection earlier?”

A flicker of irritation appeared on Traunt Rowan’s handsome face and then quickly disappeared. “We did what we thought best at the time. We were a little disorganized, confused. We didn’t know what had happened at that point.”

“You still don’t, it seems,” she snapped.

The Druid turned to Bek. “If you will return with me to Paranor, perhaps we can find them together. We know you have a strong connection to your sister, that you share the use of her magic. We were hoping that you might find a way to apply your talents to help us with our search. If we can find either your sister or your son, we have a chance of finding both.”

He hesitated. “I admit that we are growing desperate. We need a fresh approach. We need any help that we can get.”

He sounded sincere and his plea had merit, but something troubled Bek. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but he couldn’t quite make himself dismiss it, either.

“What of the expedition?” he asked, trying to think it through.

“I will see that everything is taken care of. Another ship, paid for by the order, will fulfill your obligation to your passengers. With your permission, I will fly back with you aboard your airship to Paranor. The Athabasca can continue her search. We have all of our airships out looking, crisscrossing the Four Lands. I don’t want to take any of them out of service until this matter is settled.” He paused. “We are doing everything we can to find your son.”

He directed this last comment at Rue in what was surely an effort to reassure her, but Bek was pretty certain it was too late for that.

“We have to find him, Bek,” Rue said quickly. “We have to do whatever it takes.”

She was right, of course. But that didn’t mitigate his sense of uneasiness. Why would Pen, who was always so dependable, disappear without a word to anyone? Where would Ahren Elessedil have taken him that required such secrecy? Looking at it from every conceivable angle, he kept coming back to the same two possibilities—that his son had been forced to flee or that Traunt Rowan was lying.