Tanequil by Terry Brooks Page B

in suddenly. “Did you look for a message?”
    â€œWe 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?
    â€œIf 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.”
    â€œYou 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.
    â€œWhat of the expedition?” he asked, trying to think it through.
    â€œI 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.
    â€œWe 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.
    â€œLet me talk with our passengers and tell them what’s happening,” he said to the Druid. “Then we’ll come with you.”
    He took Rue’s hand and led her over to where the six who had hired them were standing in the shadow of
Swift Sure.
Quickly, he told them a version of the truth—that an emergency had arisen that required them to leave immediately for home, that another airship with another Captain and crew familiar with expedition work would come to allow them to complete their outing. There were a few disappointed looks, but everyone took it well. None of them asked for their money back. They shook hands and wished one another well.
    After giving a wave of reassurance to Traunt Rowan, Bek walked over to the crates of supplies stacked on the ground at the airship’s stern and began checking through them. Rue, who had hesitated before following him over, bent close. “What are you doing?”
    â€œPretending that I’m doing something useful,” he said. “Gaining us a little space and time so that we can think.”
    She joined him in poking through the crates, her eyes never leaving his face. “You don’t trust him, either.”
    He glanced back at the Druid, who was leading their passengers over to the
Athabasca
in