Morgawr by Terry Brooks Page A

discover what had happened. He thought it might be worth setting down to see if there was any indication that members of the
Jerle Shannara
had been involved, but decided against it. The information wouldn’t do him any good unless he tried to follow up on foot, and that was too dangerous. He glanced over his shoulder to where
Black Moclips
hovered several hundred feet away, drifting in the wind. He signaled to Rue Meridian to swing by for a look, then began a slow sweep back out over the ruins. The Rover girl could make her own decision about what to do. He would continue on. If nothing else turned up, he would come back later.
    He had barely settled into a fresh glide over the blasted expanse of the city when he caught sight of something flying toward them from the northeast. Obsidian saw it, as well, and gave a sharp cry of recognition.
    It was Po Kelles aboard Niciannon.

    Rue Meridian had just maneuvered
Black Moclips
over the collection of dead men at the edge of the ruins and was wondering what to make of it when she glanced back at Hunter Predd and saw the second Wing Rider. She knew it had to be Po Kelles, and she felt fresh hope that his arrival signaled the approach of her brother aboard the
Jerle Shannara
. With two airships searching, she would have a much better chance of finding Bek and the others. Perhaps she could take on a couple of Rovers to help her fly
Black Moclips
so that she could catch a few hours of sleep.
    She watched the two riders circle in tandem, talking and gesturing from the backs of their Rocs. Holding her course, she peered back toward the coast, for some sign of the other ship. But there was nothing to be seen as yet, so she returned her attention to the Wing Riders. The discussion had become animated, and the first vague feelings of uneasiness crept through her. Something about the way they communicated, even from a distance, didn’t look right.
    You’re imagining things,
she thought.
    Then Hunter Predd broke away from Po Kelles and flew back to where she waited, swinging about to come alongside before dropping down and below the aft railing. Taking hold of the line he had left dangling from before, the Wing Rider swung down off the bird and pulled himself up, hand over hand, until he was back on board. A hand signal to Obsidian sent the Roc wheeling away to take up a position beside them, flying to keep pace.
    Rue Meridian waited as the Elf hurried over to the pilot box and climbed inside. Even in the faint new light, she could tell that he was upset.
    â€œListen to me, Little Red.” His weathered face was calm, but strained. “Your brother and the others are flying this way, but they are being chased. A fleet of enemy airships appeared off the coast yesterday at dawn. The
Jerle Shannara
barely got away from them. She’s been flying this way ever since, trying to shake them off. But fast as she is, she can’t seem to lose them. They tracked her all through the mountains, all the way inland, even after she’d changed course to go another way entirely, and now they’re almost here.”
    Enemy airships? All the way out here, so far from the Four Lands? She took a moment to let the information sink in. “Who are they?”
    He made a dismissive gesture with one hand. “I don’t know. No one does. They fly no flag, and their crews act like dead men. They walk around, but they don’t seem to see anything. Po Kelles got a close look late yesterday when the Rovers set down to rest, thinking they’d lost them. Not an hour passed, and there they were again. The ones he could see were men, but they didn’t act like men. They acted like machines. They didn’t look as if they were alive. They were all stiff and empty-eyed, not seeing anything. One thing is certain. They know where they’re going, and they don’t seem to need a map to find us.”
    She glanced around at the brightening day and the ruins below, her hopes for