Read 3 When Darkness Falls.8 for Free Online Page B

of course — allowed him another sennight of rest, he knew he'd be back to his old self.
    "I'm fine," he'd said hastily, the moment he'd seen her. Idalia's strengthening cordials were notoriously unpalatable.
    She'd laughed, seeing his expression. "Then I'll just make tea. That way I can tell Isinwen that I've seen you, and that you're not at Death's Gate."
    Kellen made a rude noise. "He's seen me at Death's Gate. He should know the difference."
    Idalia glanced over her shoulder, in the middle of kindling the brazier for tea. "But this time it's more than a matter of a few Shadowed Elves, and an Enemy who may not come for decades… or centuries. Tell me, when you saw Redhelwar yesterday, how did he seem to you?"
    "Not very happy." Quickly Kellen related the details of his conversation with the Army's General — and the strange orders that had come from Andoreniel.
    Idalia set the pot on the brazier to heat and squatted beside it. She shook her head ruefully. "Well, Andoreniel has to do something. The whole army knows what we saw in the mirror by now — and that includes the Centaurs, the Herds-folk, and the Mountainfolk. They don't have Elven land-wards to protect them. And the Mountainfolk trade with Armethalieh. They know how powerful the High Mages are. The idea that Armethalieh could come in on Their side…"
    "That doesn't mean we just give up!" Kellen protested.
    Idalia met his eyes. There was no despair in that violet gaze, but there was no hope there, either. "Can you tell me Armethalieh isn't going to fall because of Anigrel? Can you tell me we can convince the High Mages to fight on our side? Can you think of some way we can protect out Allies? You said it yourself — even if they try to move in winter, the weather will kill as many of them as They will. And winter's only half over."
    "So we need to give them hope," Kellen said stubbornly. "Idalia, I don't have answers — not all of them, anyway. Most of the time I just seem to know when something's a bad idea — and giving up and trying to fight a defensive war against Them is a really bad idea.
    "And I know — and so do you — that if They didn't think we could defeat Them, They wouldn't be working so hard to weaken us instead of attacking us directly."
    The water had boiled, and Idalia sifted loose tea — Armethaliehan Black, Kellen's favorite — into the waiting pot and filled it. While the tea steeped, she and Kellen sat in silence, listening to the wind whistle over the heavy silk of the pavilion.
    When the tea was ready, she filled two mugs, added several honey-disks for sweetening, and passed one to Kellen.
    "You know Redhelwar values your advice," she said at last. "What will you suggest?"
    Kellen ran his hand through his hair, raking it back out of his eyes. It hadn't been cut since he'd left the City, and it was long enough now for some of the shorter Elven styles — though no Elf would ever have to contend with Kellen's mop of unruly light-brown curls.
    "Right now two-thirds of the army isn't fit to fight, and we've got a lot of wounded. On top of that, we still need to locate the other Enclave of Shadowed Elves that the Crystal Spiders told us about. And… " Kellen hesitated. "Andoreniel is the King. Redhelwar will follow his orders, not my suggestions."
    "Then we'd better hope you come up with some good suggestions," Idalia said. "And that Vestakia can locate that other Enclave."

    * * * * *

    BECAUSE of their Elven blood — no matter how debased and Tainted — the land-wards surrounding the Elven Lands did not recognize the Shadowed Elves as enemies, and while any yet lived, they could use that weakness to bring other ancient foes of the Elves into the land, bypassing the protections of the land-wards, as they had done when they had helped the Frost Giants and Ice Trolls to attack the caravan bound for the Fortress of the Crowned Horns.
    When Kellen and Idalia had gone down into the caverns where the Shadowed Elves laired, they had found