“I’ve explained it to you a dozen times, Du Chaillu; I am not your husband. You have simply misinterpreted the old words. It only means we must do this together. And we haven’t done it yet. I wish you would have come with me without bringing everyone else. I don’t even know if this will work. We could be killed.”patted his arm reassuringly. The Caharin has come. He can do anything. He will return our land.” She left him to his thoughts and started back to the camp. “All our people should be with us. It is their right.” She stopped and turned back. “Will we be leaving soon, Caharin?”
“Soon,” Richard said absently.started off again. “I will be with our people when you are ready for me.”entire Baka Ban Mana nation was camped behind them. Thousands upon thousands of tents were spread out over the hills, like mushrooms after a month of rain. He hadn’t been able to talk them out of coming, to convince them to wait, so they were all here, with him.sighed. What difference did it make? If he was wrong, and this failed, he had no reason to worry about all the Baka Ban Mana being disappointed in him. He would be dead.and Sister Verna quietly came up behind.
“Richard,” Warren said, “can we talk to you?”continued to stare out at the storms. “Of course, Warren.” He cast a glance back. “What’s on your mind?”pushed his hands up the opposite sleeves of his robes. Richard thought it made him look very wizardlike when he did that. Warren was going to someday end up being Richard’s idea of what a wizard ought to be: wise, compassionate, and charged with knowledge Richard could only wonder at. If they didn’t all die, that was.
“Well, Sister Verna and I were talking. About what happens after you get through the valley. Richard, I know what you want to do, but we have run out of time. There never was enough time to begin with. Tomorrow is winter solstice. It can’t be done.”
“Just because you don’t know how to do something, that does not mean it can’t be done.”
“I don’t understand.”smiled at them. “You will. You will understand in a few hours.”looked away toward the valley. He idly scratched his nose. “If you say so, Richard.”Verna said nothing. Richard was still trying to get used to her not arguing with him whenever he said something oblique. He wasn’t sure she didn’t want to.
“Warren, about the prophecy, the one about the gateway and the winter solstice. Are you sure it’s about this winter solstice?” Warren nodded. “And if there were an agent, with an open box of Orden, and the skrin bone, are those the only elements needed to open the gateway, to tear the veil?”hot breeze ruffled Warren’s hair. “Yes… but you told me Darken Rahl is dead. There is no agent.”sounded more like a worried question than a statement.
“Must the agent be alive?” Sister Verna asked.shifted his weight to the other foot. “Well, not in principle, I guess. If he were somehow called back into this world, but I don’t see how that could be done, but if it were done, that would be all that was needed.”sighed in frustration. “And then this spirit agent could do the things the living agent would have done?”crept onto Warren’s face. “Well, yes and no. It would require another element. A spirit cannot perform the physical requirements necessary to complete the covenant. He would need a coadjutor.”
“You mean the spirit could not perform certain of the tasks needed, so he would need hands that would work in this world.”
“Yes. With a helper, a spirit could do what was needed. But how could an agent be called back into this world? I don’t see how that could be accomplished.”Verna glanced away. “You had better tell him.”pulled his shirt up and showed Warren the scar. “darken Rahl burned me with his hand, when I unintentionally called him back into this world. He said he was here to tear the veil.”’s eyes opened wide. His worried gaze darted to the Sister, and then back to Richard. “If Darken Rahl is an agent, as you said, and he has someone to help him, then we are only one element away from destruction—the skrin bone. We need to know.”pushed the mriswith cape back over his shoulder. “sister Verna, would you help me?”
“What is it you would like me to do?”first time you told me how to try to touch my Han, I decided to concentrate on a mental image of my sword. But that time, the first time, I used a background to put it against. It was something from the book of magic I told you about. The Book of Counted Shadows.
“When I tried to touch my Han, with the sword on that background, something happened. I was somehow in D’Hara, in the People’s Palace, where the boxes are. I saw Darken Rahl. He saw me, too, and spoke to me. He told me he was waiting for me.”Verna’s eyebrows lifted. “did this ever happen again?”
“No. It frightened the wits out of me. I never used that background again. I think if I use that background now, I may be able to see what is happening there.”folded her hands together before herself. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. But it may have something to do with the Magic of Orden. It would not be the first thing about you that astonished me. It could be real, or just a fear, like a dream.”
“I need to try. Would you sit with me? I’m afraid of not being able to pull back.”
“Of course, Richard.” She sat down on the ground and held up a hand. “Come. I will be with you.”pulled the mriswith cape around himself as he sat down, folding his legs. “This thing hides my Han, maybe it will work to keep Darken Rahl from seeing me this time.”relaxed himself as he held hands with Sister “Verna. He concentrated on the mental image of the sword against the black square with a white border, as he had done the first time. As he concentrated, seeking the calm center, something began to happen.sword, the black square, and the white border all began to shimmer as if seen through heat waves, the same as the first time. The solid form of the sword softened, becoming transparent, and then vanished. The background dissolved. Once again, Richard was looking into the Garden of Life, at the People’s Palace.searched the filmy image, seeing white bones where before he had seen burned bodies. He remembered them lying over the short walls, in bushes, and sprawled on the grass. They were much as he remembered, only now they were mostly exposed bones.saw the white, glowing figure of Darken Rahl, but he was not standing before the stone altar, before the three boxes of Orden. He was near the circle that had held white sand. The sand had not been there the last time he had seen this vision.woman in a long, brown skirt and white blouse knelt at Darken Rahl’s feet, bent over the circle of sand. Richard willed himself closer. She was drawing lines in the sparkling sorcerer’s sand. Richard remembered some of the symbols she was drawing; Darken Rahl had drawn them before when he had opened the box.watched her hand moving slowly, carefully, as she drew the lines of spells. Her right hand, he noticed, was missing the little finger.the center of the circle, in the center of the sorcerer’s sand, sat a round object. Richard went closer. It was carved all over with beasts, just as the Prelate had described.wanted to scream with rage.then, Darken Rahl lifted his face, and looked right into Richard’s eyes. A smile slowly spread on his lips.didn’t know if Darken Rahl was really looking at him or not, but he didn’t wait to find out. With desperate effort, he forced the image of the sword back into his mind, like slamming a door, at the same time banishing the black-and-white background.a gasp, Richard forced his eyes open. His chest heaved.Verna’s eyes came open, too. “Richard, are you all right? You’ve been at it an hour. I felt you trying to pull back, so I pulled with you. What happened? What did you see?”
“An hour?” Richard was still trying to catch his breath. “I saw Darken Rahl, and the skrin bone. He had a woman there, helping him draw spells in the sorcerer’s sand.”leaned over Richard’s shoulder. “Maybe it was just a vision of a fear. It may not have been real.”
“Warren could be right,” Sister Verna said. She drew her lower lip through her teeth as she thought. “What did the woman look like?”
“Wavy, shoulder-length brown hair, maybe about your size. She was bent over, drawing in the sand, so I couldn’t see her eyes.” Richard pressed his fingers to his forehead as he thought. “Her hand. She was missing the little finger on her right hand.”groaned. Sister Verna’s eyes slid closed.
“What? What’s the matter?”
“Sister Odette,” she said. That’s Sister Odette.”nodded confirmation. “she has been gone for close to six months. I thought she went to get a boy.”
“Curse the spirits,” Richard said under his breath. He sprang to his feet. “Warren, run and get Du Chaillu. Tell her we must leave right now.”ground his teeth in frustration. He had thought he had all the time he needed. Well, he still had enough time, if he hurried.Chaillu seemed in a trance as Richard pulled her forward by the hand. With the Sword of Truth in his other hand, Richard was in a world of his own, too. His thundering rage was a match for the angry black clouds. The spells of magic circled them like a pack of dogs around a porcupine, angry and insistent, but holding their distance as they searched for an opening.of light emerged from the darkness and whirled around them, spiraling down to vanish into an aura that surrounded Du Chaillu. She seemed to be absorbing the magic, as Sister Verna told him she had done before. Together, they were the completed link Warren had told him the old books said would contain the power and bring the towers down.the waves of heat and the boiling mist, Richard saw the first tower. He pulled Du Chaillu onward, toward the glistening black wall that disappeared into the darkness overhead. Dust and dirt lifted around them as they rushed toward the arched opening in the wall. Spells snatched at them, but their light was sucked to Du Chaillu.acted without thought, not knowing what drove him onward, and not trying to stop it. If he was to succeed, if he was to save Kahlan, he had to let those things within himself guide him. He had to hope that if he truly had the gift, it would react on instinct, as Nathan had told him, and do what was needed.Chaillu seemed not to notice the sparkling black sand they stood on in the center of the tower. She seemed lost in a private spell of her own, in the power passed down to her from those who built the towers and took her people’s land. So far, she had done her half of what was needed; she had protected him. Now Richard had to do his part.impulse, holding her hand tight in his, he lifted the sword high in the other, pointing it straight up. He lost himself in the fury of the magic, letting it overwhelm him. He felt the heat of it in the calm center he had always sought. He let the rage fill the void.exploded from the sword, arcing up into the darkness overhead, jumping from one wall to the other, bathing them all in liquid light. The noise was deafening.raced through the black stone until the whole of the tower glowed, the stone turning white in the heat of the luminous discharge.felt as if the lightning were passing through him, too. It seared him with its power, erupting outward, and up through the sword. Only his rage enabled him to endure the ferocity of the onrushing force coming from within.webs of lightning cascaded down the walls and across the black sand, until everything was alive with it. The black sand turned white, as had the walls, and the world burned with pulsing fire and light., it ended. The lightning cut off, the fire winked out, and the roar of noise ceased, leaving silence ringing in his ears. The polished black stone of the tower was left a blinding white gloss.Chaillu seemed still not to notice what was around her, and Richard pulled her onward, to complete the task for which they both had been born.the white tower, as he held the sword high, he expected the flash of heat and light again, but it did not come. Instead, the counter to it, the balance to it, exploded forth.ripped the air, threatening to strip flesh from bone, as black lightning blasted upward, a void in the light. Like the lightning before, Richard felt the might of the power erupting from deep within himself, as if his very soul were pouring it forth. The snaking void in the light raked the walls, and, with a thunderous roar, pierced a void into the darkness above.the black lightning twisted into the darkness overhead, shadows oozed down the white walls, making it seem as if they were melting into the depths of eternal night. Darkness reached the ground and flowed toward them, soaking into the white sand, turning it black.never gave thought to trying to escape the encroaching night. When it reached them, he felt as if they were being plunged into icy water. Du Chaillu, her eyes closed, shivered with the touch of it. Richard noted it, but through the wrath of the sword’s magic, it was a distant sensation that only fed the anger.seemed the whole world had vanished forever into inky obscurity. Light, and vision, were beyond even memory.felt the undulating, twisting rope of the black lightning, the void in the world of life, cut off. Sudden silence replaced the cacophony. He could hear himself breathing hard. He could hear Du Chaillu doing the same. Light and life and warmth emerged from the cold void., through the arches in the stone, now glossy black where it was once white, Richard could see light coming through the thinning fog. The ground that before was baked and barren was now green and lush. Still holding hands, he and Du Chaillu stood in the archway, watching the haze and smoke lift on a world no one had seen in thousands of years.in hand, they walked out into the cool air, across the thick grass, and through shafts of sunlight. The storms of spells were gone, the dark clouds they spawned evaporating as they lifted. The air smelled fresh and clean. The feel of life vibrated around them.valley off to the pale blue line of mountains in the distance was lush and green. Groves of trees were gathered in places along meandering streams. Gentle rises overlaid each other in differing shades of green.could understand why the Baka Ban Mana would want their land back. It was a place that simply looked like home. This was a place of light and hope that would have stayed in a people’s heart throughout all the dark centuries. It was not a place that belonged to them—it was they that belonged to this place.
“You have done it, Caharin” Du Chaillu said. “You have returned our home from beyond the mist.”saw a few people scattered about in the distance, those who had been trapped in spells for untold years. They wandered aimless and confused. He had to find two he knew.Verna and Warren galloped toward them, bringing his horse. Before they had completely stopped, Richard was up on Bonnie. Du Chaillu thrust a hand up. She wanted to go with him. Reluctantly, he pulled her up behind.
“Richard,” Warren said, “that was astonishing! How did you do it?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea, Warren. I had been hoping you could explain it to me.”galloped Bonnie off in the direction he remembered seeing Chase and Rachel when he had been through the valley the first time. Warren and Sister Verna followed after. It wasn’t long before he found them sitting on the bank of a brook. Chase, with his arm around Rachel’s shoulders, and his usual look of strained tolerance nowhere in evidence, looked confused.swung his leg over Bonnie’s neck and leapt down. “Chase! Are you all right?”
“Richard? What’s going on? Where are we? We were coming to get you. You can’t go…” He looked around. “You can’t go into the valley. Zedd needs you. The veil is torn.”
“I know.” Richard handed the reins to Sister Verna and quickly introduced everyone. “My friends will explain it all to you.” He put a knee to the ground in front of Rachel. The dark, amber-colored Stone of Tears hung on a chain around her neck, just as he remembered it. “Rachel, are you all right? How do you feel?”blinked up at him. “I was in a nice place, Richard.”is a nice place, too. You will be fine, now. Rachel, did Zedd give you that stone?”nodded. “He said you might want it, and I was to keep it for you, until you came to get it.”’s why I’m here, Rachel. May I have it, then?”smiled and pulled it over her head. Richard unclasped the chain and pulled the Stone off. Holding it in his hand, he could feel its warmth, and Zedd’s presence.chain was too small for him. He handed it back to Rachel, telling her it looked prettier on her than it would on him, and then strung the Stone onto a leather thong he had ready.hung the Stone of Tears around his neck, along with the Agiel and the dragon’s tooth. From the corner of his eye, he watched the distant dot growing in the sky.
“Richard,” Warren said, “after seeing what I just saw, with the towers, I have no doubt you can do what you say you can do, but you have no time to reach where you must go. Tomorrow, the world is going to end if you don’t get there. What are you going to do?”
“Where is it we are going, my husband?” Du Chaillu asked.
“‘We” are not going anywhere, Du Chaillu. You are staying here, with your people.”
“Husband?” Chase said, a scowl finally starting to creep onto his face.
“I am not her husband. It’s just some silly idea she got in her head.” Richard watched the red shape growing, high up in the sky. “Look, I don’t have time to explain it. Sister Verna and Warren can tell you about it.”Verna, a suspicious frown on her face, took a step toward him. “What are you going to do? Warren was right, you have no time.”the distance, the red wings spread wide as the dragon plunged into a dive. Richard unhooked his pack from Bonnie, slinging it onto his back. He gave Bonnie’s neck a good-bye hug. He hooked on the quiver, and slipped the bow over his shoulder. From the corner of his eye, he watched the dragon plummet straight down.
“I’m going to have time. I must leave you now, Sister.”
“What do you mean you are leaving? How?”the last instant the dragon pulled out of the dive. Her long neck stretched out. Wings spread wide, she shot toward them at incredible speed, skimming along just above the ground.
“I have only one chance to reach my goal in time. I must fly.”
“Fly!” Warren and Sister Verna shouted together.swept up with a roar. Everyone else saw her for the first time. Immense wings beat to slow the dragon’s speed.clothes flapped in the sudden burst of wind. The grass all around flattened in the gusts. Warren, Sister Verna, and Du Chaillu stepped back in surprise. Scarlet settled to the ground as her forward speed was brought to a halt by her beating wings.
“Richard,” Sister Verna said as she slowly shook her head, “you have the oddest pets of anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Red dragons are pets to no one, Sister. Scarlet is a dear friend.”trotted toward the huge red dragon glistening in the sunlight. Scarlet snorted a small cloud of gray smoke.
“Richard! How good to see you again. Since you called me so urgently with my tooth, I presume you are in trouble again. As usual.”
“Trouble indeed, my friend.” Richard patted a glossy red scale. “I’ve missed you, Scarlet.”
“Well, I’ve already eaten. I guess I must instead give you a ride in the sky to work up an appetite. Then I will eat you.”laughed. “Where is your little one?”ears twitched. “Off hunting. Gregory is not so little anymore. He misses you, and would like to see you.”
“I would like to see Gregory, too. But I’m in a terrible hurry right now. I’m running out of time.”
“Richard!” Du Chaillu ran toward him. “I must go, too. I must go where my husband goes!”leaned toward Scarlet’s ear as she lowered her head and peered at him with one yellow eye. “A little flame, Scarlet,” he whispered. “Just for effect. Don’t hurt her.”Chaillu leapt back with a squeal as a burst of fire charred the grass at her feet.
“Du Chaillu, your land is returned to your people. You must stay with them. You are their spirit woman; they need you. They need your guidance. I would ask something else of you: protect the towers that are on your land. I don’t know if they can bring any harm, but as the Caharin, I order that no one shall ever enter them. Guard them, and keep all others out, too.
“Live in peace with others who would live in peace with you, but continue to practice with the blades so you may protect yourselves.”Chaillu drew herself up tall. The little strips of cloth on her prayer dress fluttered in the breeze, along with her thick black hair.
“You are wise, Caharin. I will see that it is as you say, until you return to your wife and your people.”
“Richard,” Sister Verna said. Her face held a serious look. “do you know where Kahlan is?”
“Aydindril. She would have gone there; the prophecy takes place before her people. She will be in Aydindril.”
“The time of choosing is upon you, Richard. Where are you going now?”looked long into her steady gaze.
“D’Hara.”appraising him silently for a moment, she at last embraced him in a warm hug. She kissed his cheek. “And then?”raked his fingers through his thick hair. “somehow I will stop what is to happen in D’Hara, and then I must get to Aydindril before it’s too late. Take care, my friend.”nodded. “Warren and I will see to the people here who have been released from the spells. They will need guidance. I have been a Sister of the Light for nearly two hundred years. All I ever wanted was to help people who needed it. But you had help. There is no excuse for taking you, or others. I want to try to set some of this right.”gave Richard a firm hug. “Thanks, Richard. For everything. I look forward to seeing you again.”winked. “Try not to have any adventures.”
“I’ll go with you,” Chase said.
“No.” Richard wiped a hand over his face. “No, go home, Chase. Take Rachel to her new mother, and her brothers and sisters. Emma will be worried sick by now. She hasn’t seen you in ages. Go home to you wife and family. I’ll need to be returning home soon, too.”turned back to Sister Verna. “We must do something about those six Sisters. They’re sailing for Westland. The people there have no protection against magic. In West-land, those Sisters will be like hawks in a hatchery.”
“I think that journey will take them some time. You have time enough for them, Richard.”
“Good. Kahlan will want to wed before the Mud People. Then I may need to come and get some advice on how to handle those six. Talk to Nathan, and Ann. We can decide what to do then.”
“Be careful,” Warren said. He stood stoically with his hands in the opposite sleeves of his robes. “And I don’t just mean with yourself. Don’t forget the things Nathan and I have told you. Don’t forget that everyone else is in danger from what you can do with the Stone of Tears. I don’t think you have yet reached your time of choosing.”
“I’ll do my best.”lowered herself so he could climb up onto her shoulders. He gripped the black-tipped spines and hauled himself up. Richard gave a slap to a red scale.
“To D’Hara, my friend. Again.”a roar of flame, Scarlet launched into the sky.68the distance, in the predawn gloom, he could see the green glow. It rose from the People’s Palace, through the glass roof of the garden of life, like a beacon. Richard had seen that color of green from only one place. The underworld.icy wind tore at his clothes as Scarlet’s wings beat with a steady cadence. She had put strenuous effort into the flight to D’Hara. She understood the danger posed by the Keeper. The underworld would take her, too. And she hated Darken Rahl. He had stolen her egg before and used it to enslave her.she began her descent, she peered back, her ears turning toward him. There will be enough time, Richard. We can still make it to Aydindril. It is only just dawn.”
“I know you’ll get me there, Scarlet. I’ll try not to give you too much time to rest.”banked to the left, steepening their descent down toward the courtyard where they had been before. It was a place the huge dragon could land in the dark with room to spare. The palace’s vast jumble of roofs and walls rushed up toward them with frightening speed. Richard’s toes tingled with the feeling of floating off her back as she plummeted., from the darkness below, a blinding flash of lightning crackled up all about them. It left yellow lines of afterimage in his vision. Before Richard could make sense of it, another came.roared in pain and pitched to the left. They dropped into a sickening spiral toward the ground. Richard gripped her spines as the huge dragon tried to recover.the vast steps rotating below, he saw the woman illuminated by the light of the next bolt of lightning she sent forth from her hands. Once again, Scarlet roared in pain. He couldn’t see the woman in the darkness when the lightning cut off.struggled to check the uncontrolled descent.knew that another bolt of the lightning would finish her. He tore the bow from his back and yanked an arrow from the quiver.
“Scarlet! Make fire so I can see her!”Richard drew the string to his cheek, Scarlet let out a fiery roar of pain and anger. In its red glow, he saw the woman raise her arms again. Before he could call the target, the spiral took her out of his line of sight.
“Scarlet! Look out!”drew back her right wing, and they tipped the other way. The yellow lightning streaked past to the left, just missing them. The ground was coming up fast.the flickering red light of the dragon’s blast of fire, Richard saw her raise her hands again. He drew the bowstring and twisted his body with their motion to keep her in sight.she could disappear again, he called,the target. The instant it came to him, the arrow was away.
“Turn!”beat her right wing, making them wobble in the air as the yellow bolt erupted past, between the dragon’s neck and wing. Almost before it began, the lightning cut off.ripple of total blackness passed over them. The arrow had found its mark. The Keeper now had Sister Odette.a hard jolt, they hit the ground. Richard was thrown off, and tumbled across the ground. He sat up and shook his head, then sprang to his feet.
“Scarlet! Are you hurt bad? Are you alive?”
“Go,” she groaned in a deep vibrating voice. “Hurry. Get him before he has us all.” She held her trembling left wing out.stroked her snout. “I’ll be back. Hang on.”drew the sword as he charged up the hill of steps. He didn’t need to call forth the anger; it was with him before he had even touched the hilt. He ran in a blind rage toward doors between the colossal columns.he ran through the doors, a handful of soldiers charged out of the darkness. Without pause, Richard scythed into them. His blade flashed in the torchlight coming from the vast halls inside. Richard danced with the spirits. His blade was fluid grace among the hacking soldiers.first, he cut in half, breastplate and all. Every charge was met with swift steel. In a matter of moments, the fifteen men lay scattered across the bloody floor, and then Richard was moving again.much for his welcome back. He remembered the D’Haran army pledging their loyalty to him the last time he had been here, when he had killed Darken Rahl. Maybe they just didn’t know who he was. More likely, they knew precisely who he was.chose a hall that led in the direction of the Garden of Life. Three levels of balconies looked down on the hall. Most of the torches were dark. He saw no people as he ran past a devotion square with white sand raked in circles around a pitted rock.a staircase at the side, a half-dozen Mord-Sith charged down, running toward him. Each wore her red leather uniform, and each had an Agiel in her hand. Through the rage, he realized that he couldn’t use the sword on them, or they would capture him by its magic. He was furious. He needed to get to Darken Rahl. He didn’t need to have to deal with these deadly women., Richard sheathed his sword and drew his knife. Denna had told him once that if he had just used his knife instead of his sword, he would have had her. He was not going to be able to outrun them; he was going to have to kill them.biggest, a blonde-headed woman at the lead, held her hands out as he went for her. “Lord Rahl, no!”other five slid to a stop behind her. Richard slashed at her, but she lurched back into a half crouch with her hands held out to the sides.
“Lord Rahl! Stop! We are here to help you!”he had put the sword away, he had no shortage of rage of his own. He had to get to Darken Rahl if he was to get to Kahlan. “Help me in the afterlife—you will be there shortly!”
“No, Lord Rahl! I am Cara. We are here to help you. You cannot go that way. That hall is not secure.”stood panting, knife in hand. “I don’t believe you. You want to capture me. I know very well what Mord-Sith do to their captives.”
“I knew Denna, your mistress. You wear her Agiel. Mord-do not live to hurt their captives any longer. You set us free. We would never hurt the one who set us free. We revere you.”
“When I left here, I told the soldiers to burn all those outfits and give you new clothes. I ordered the Agiel taken from you. If you revere me, why have you not followed my orders?”sly smile touched her lips as she lifted an eyebrow over a cold, blue eye. “Because you cannot free us just to enslave us in a life you choose. We are free to choose for ourselves. You made that possible.
“We chose to fight to protect our Lord Rahl. We have sworn to lay down our lives for you, if necessary. Not only the men of the First File can protect you. We have chosen to be your personal bodyguards. Not even the First File dared argue with us. We take orders from no one but Lord Rahl.”
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