“I’ve heard rumors,” Aphenglow said. “Tell me more. What does it do?”

“It can do a couple of things. It can be used to ward the Keep against intruders, even in the absence of its Druids. Walker Boh used it that way when he flew the Jerle Shannara to Parkasia. Once set in place, the magic will protect Paranor until any of the resident Druids return to release it from its task and reopen the Keep. Simple enough.”

He paused. “It can also serve a much darker purpose. It can be used to destroy every living thing it finds within Paranor’s walls and then to seal the Keep and hide it away. Poof! Everyone dead and the Keep disappeared. That has happened only once, when Allanon knew his life was ending and no Druids would be left to succeed him. Mord Wraiths had occupied the Keep and were destroying it, so he summoned the old magic. When it had finished with the Mord Wraiths, Paranor disappeared from the world of men.”

Aphenglow stared at him, appalled. “What are you saying? That you think the Druids are going to be wiped out a second time? That the Keep is asking to be closed away again?”

Woostra sighed wearily. “Pay attention, Aphenglow. The reason for the Keep’s insistence on communicating with you—in my opinion, mind you—is that it feels it is in danger. Perhaps Grianne Ohmsford’s wards are not sufficient to protect it. Perhaps it feels threatened by the Federation; perhaps something else is going on. Whatever the case, there are choices to be made, and I have just told you what they are. But I can’t tell you what you need to do. To find that out, you must go down inside the well that houses the old magic.”

“I don’t understand,” she insisted. “Why would going there help me?”

“Because you need to get close enough …” He trailed off sharply. “You really don’t know, do you? I thought you did. Don’t you understand? The voice comes from there.”

She shook her head. “What are you talking about? I thought it came from the Keep.”

“If you had listened more closely and tracked it to its source, you would have realized by now it doesn’t come from the Keep—it comes from within the pit!”