Aphen rose with her, turning to watch the scribe’s approach, a stiff-legged shuffle that suggested not all of his parts were functioning. Woostra gave them a nod.

“Go find the others,” the Ard Rhys said quickly to Aphen. “Tell them to gather in the main Council chamber at midday. We will discuss this further at that time.”

Then Woostra was next to her and she was guiding him by the elbow into his offices, closing the doors behind them. Aphenglow stood looking after them for a moment longer, almost expecting the Ard Rhys to reappear. But she didn’t, and the young woman finally turned away.

Midday brought a change in the weather, which at sunrise had seemed bright and clear but had now turned gray and chilly. The winds had picked up, clouds scudded across the sky in waves, and it was clear that a storm was on the way. The Druids were seated around the huge table that dominated the main Council chamber. Khyber Elessedil had just finished her report on meeting with the Shade of Allanon, confirming what Woostra had discovered in his search about Aleia Omarosian’s ties to the Chosen, and in the silence that ensued she was now looking from face to face. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for. Maybe some hint of inner strength and determination to see through what must inevitably happen next. Maybe some sense of how strong each could be when their metal was placed in the fire. She didn’t know, but she searched anyway.

“What are we to do?” Carrick asked finally, his lean figure draped in his chair like a straw man’s.

It was the question, of course. But she had already thought it through after leaving Aphenglow. She had returned to her chambers, bathed and dressed in clean clothes, had Woostra bring her food and drink, and then sat by her window and considered her options. It wasn’t so much what she should do as what she should do first. They needed to undertake a search for the Elfstones, but before doing so they needed to be better prepared. She had listened carefully to Allanon’s shade. She might have dismissed such advice coming from anyone else, but not from him. Even dead, he knew people and their vicissitudes better than most. That he could sense things hidden from others came as no surprise to anyone who had studied his life, and she had studied it thoroughly.

In particular, if he said they needed help from others more talented and better trained in areas where they were not, she knew to pay attention to his advice.