Without further farewell, Red walked back down the creaking dock with her shaggy pet following. Nathan ran his thumb along the smooth leather of his new life book and pressed it close to his chest.
* * *
At the edge of the thick Hagen Woods, the pines and oaks created dense shadows. Nicci could still smell blood from the recent battle. This place carried so much dark history, but now it was nothing more than a normal forest. The hush that had hung over the tangled branches was replaced by birdsong.
Mrra peered into the forest with golden eyes. The underbrush rustled, and muscular feline forms glided toward them, the survivors of the sand panther pride that Mrra had led overland to fight against General Utros.
Nicci stroked Mrra’s head, scratched behind her ears, and the panther purred contentedly. Her pelt was covered with branded symbols from Ildakar, but Mrra was the only member of her new pride to bear such markings. The other big cats had roamed the wild all their lives, and Nicci knew that was what she wanted.
Mrra twitched her tail and stared into the forest, but she refused to leave her sister panther. Nicci wrapped her arms around Mrra’s neck, pulling the cat close. She held tight and stroked her fur for a long moment. “Thank you, my loyal companion. Run with your pride. You deserve it.”
Mrra let out a rumble in her chest, and Nicci felt the vibrations against her cheek as she held more tightly. “Our spell bond will never be broken. I will always be your sister panther.” She felt a thickening in her throat as she swallowed hard and continued. “But this is your pride. Roam the world with them, live your life, hunt, find a mate, have cubs of your own … and be free. That is all I ask of you. I will let you know if ever I need your help. Thank you for the new sisters and brothers you have shared with me.” Mrra looked up with golden feline eyes, and Nicci stroked the cat’s head again. “Go!”
Mrra let out a roar and turned to the other cats waiting in the forest. She bounded into the tree shadows until Nicci could no longer see her, but she would always feel the sand panther in her heart.
CHAPTER 88
The sword’s edge had been sharpened to a thin steel razor, erasing the nicks and notches from all the blows Bannon had struck during the fight.
“Good as new,” said Mandon, the swordsmith. “After you’ve killed a hundred more enemies, come back to me and I’ll fix it again.”
Bannon was pleased with the ornate blade and doubly pleased to know that the swordsmith remembered selling him Sturdy, so long ago. “That was my first sword and a good one. I wish I still had it.” Pushing back the sadness in his voice, he turned Nathan’s fine weapon from side to side, watching how sunlight flowed like liquid down the polished steel. “But this one will do.”
Mandon chuckled. “I still have that chopping post in the back if you’d like to test it.”
Bannon remembered when he had first purchased Sturdy. So full of the pain and tragedy that he hid every day, he had hacked the post to splinters. Now, he was much more controlled. Not only was he a better swordsman, but his inner hurts were hardened and healed. His optimism was more than a false façade—it was a real part of him.
The other swords in the smith’s shop had been picked over for the defense of Tanimura, and many notched and bloody weapons had been retrieved from the streets, pried from dead hands. Mandon would have years of work cleaning and resharpening them all.
Bannon sheathed his sword with a satisfying click in the scabbard. “It’s just fine as it is. I don’t need to hack at a wooden post.” He paused to smile. “I prefer opponents who fight back, but I think we’ve done away with all of them for now.” He added cryptically, “The sword cleaves the bone.”
“I’ll fight you, boy, if that’s what you want.” He turned to see Lila standing outside the shop, clad in her scant black leather. Though they had been lovers many times, she still intimidated him in certain ways. It was another sort of battle that Lila intended to win, but it was one he did enjoy. Bannon liked to think he had softened her as much as a morazeth could be softened.
“I don’t need any swordplay for today,” Bannon said to her. “But I’d be happy for your company otherwise.”
“Good. I came to retrieve you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “The kraken-hunter captain asked for you. He says he knows what you want.”
“Captain Jared?” He frowned, puzzled. “What is it he thinks I want?”
Lila gave him an impatient sniff. “You made it quite clear that you wish to leave Tanimura.” She seemed disappointed in him.
He remained curious. “Then let’s go talk with him and see what he has to say.”
Down by the docks, crew members loaded crates of supplies on board the Chaser. From the foredeck, Jared directed the workers in a loud voice to emphasize that he was in charge, but they ignored him and did what they already knew how to do.
Jared saw them approach along the dock and waved. “I thought you’d come running, Bannon Farmer! This is your chance. The Chaser sails out with the evening tide if you want to go along. We’re heading to Chiriya Island.”
“Chiriya Island? Back home?” He hesitated, uncertain. “I haven’t entirely made up my mind yet.” He looked at Lila.
“Yes, you have,” she said, with frown lines appearing on her brow. “Though I’m surprised you’d want to go back to that island. You’ve had few kind words to say about it.”
With a bright flush, Bannon looked down at his boots. “I have no kind things to say about my horrible father, and he is dead. I couldn’t save my mother, and she was what anchored me there. My friend Ian was gone, so I had no reason to stay. But now I am a much braver man, and I realize that there’s also nothing to fear about going home.” After so much death and mayhem, after all he had been through with the Norukai slavers, the selka attack, and the defeat of the ancient army, he was weary to the bone, and in his heart he just wanted some peace. “I don’t know what that place holds for me anymore. I’m not convinced I’ve any reason to go back.”
Jared crossed his arms over his chest and he called down to them. “I’ve just had disturbing word, too—enough to make me reconsider the destination, if you didn’t want to go there so badly.”
“Wait, I never said—” Bannon spluttered, then paused. “What disturbing word? Has something happened to Chiriya Island?”
The krakener captain grimaced. “More Norukai ships seen in the vicinity.” He paused only a moment for the news to sink in. “We broke the back of King Grieve’s fleet, that’s for sure, but there are more serpent ships plying the seas. Raiders with their own mind for destruction. And now that we’ve conquered and strengthened the major coastal cities, they’ll be forced to attack softer outlying targets. Like Chiriya Island.”
“Then we have to go there!” Bannon said. “Somebody has to help protect them. They don’t know how to fight. How will they—?” He looked at Lila. “You and I can show them.”
She still seemed to hold a grudge. “I thought you were trying to get away from me, since you wanted to leave so badly.”
He was shocked. “I never said that. I … Sweet Sea Mother, I never thought it through! I contemplated going home, just as a daydream. I was just thinking of those poor villagers. Even with all my bad memories of Chiriya, there are still a lot of good people who don’t deserve to be slaughtered by the Norukai.”
“You didn’t even know about the new Norukai threat until just now.” Lila sniffed. “That wasn’t part of your decision.”
Jared grinned at them from the side of the ship, showing the gap in his teeth. “She’s got you there, lad.” After two of his crew members trudged up the gangplank, each with a keg of ale balanced on his shoulder, Jared bounded down to meet them on the docks.
“Wait…” Bannon hesitated again, his thoughts whirling. “Would it bother you if I go somewhere? You sound hurt.”
Lila stiffened. “You have seen me fight. It takes much more than that to hurt a morazeth. And would you not want me at your side if it comes to fight
ing more Norukai? Although why you would bother to help such weaklings instead of getting your revenge is beyond me.”
He squared his shoulders. “Because that island is full of people just like I was, and I didn’t deserve what happened to me. People just like Ian, and he didn’t deserve it. I want to save them, if I can. I, uh, assumed you would go with me.”
“You did not think to ask?”
“Would you go with me to Chiriya Island? And wherever else I might go?”
She nodded. “I accept your reasons. I will accompany you.” Lila adjusted her black leather skirt. “You always manage to find circumstances in which you need protection. I don’t dare let you go alone.”
* * *
Though Nicci tried not to show any emotion, saying farewell to Bannon turned out to be more difficult than she expected. As they stood in the large square above the harbor, the young man came forward and hugged her for a long moment, much longer than was necessary, and she allowed it. She even embraced him back.
“I will miss you, Nicci. I’ve grown much in strength and wisdom during my time with you.” When he finally let go, Bannon turned to Nathan.
The wizard clearly felt proud of his protégé. Tears welled in his azure eyes. “My boy, you are a brave fighter and a fine companion. You were naive and gullible when we first met, but now you are a man, stronger, braver, and more accomplished than I ever expected.”
“I admit, I am impressed,” Nicci said. “When I saved you from your own stupidity in that Tanimura alley, I was certain you were a lost cause. You created your own problems, and I vowed never to rescue you again.”
Bannon’s voice quavered with emotion. “I didn’t need any more rescuing, did I?”
“Yes, you did,” Nicci said with a laugh, “but no more than all of us did. You fought beside us, and we fought beside you. Go home, Bannon Farmer. You deserve it.”
Nathan looked closely at Lila. “You swear to protect him? As a morazeth?”
“Always. You should not need to ask.”
Offended, Bannon touched the sword Nathan had given him. “I thought you said I could take care of myself!”
Nicci and Nathan looked at each other with an amused expression.
Lila repeated, “You have nothing to worry about. I’ve already given my word.”
They lingered for a long moment as the sun set, then Bannon and Lila made their way down to the kraken ship that was ready to depart.
Nicci turned back to look at the streets of Tanimura and around the harbor. The flat expanse of Halsband Island was still blackened with the ashes of funeral pyres, but the flames had finally gone out, and the brisk ocean winds had scoured the air clean of the stink of death.
Now that they stood together in the square, Nathan asked her, “So, what is to become of us? Are you also going to rest on the knowledge that the world is safe, thanks to us?”
“The world is never safe. And our promise to Richard is never over.” Her brow furrowed with concern. “We know he is embroiled in a great crisis of his own up in D’Hara. If the danger is so great that he could not spare troops when I asked, then perhaps we should return to the People’s Palace and help him.”
Nathan’s lips quirked in a small smile. “I knew dear Richard couldn’t survive without us for long. You think we should ride north, off to the rescue?”
“I believe he needs us.” She wanted nothing more than to fight at Richard’s side again, to see his handsome face, feel his presence. But she had left D’Hara for a reason, knowing that his heart belonged entirely and unconditionally to Kahlan. Nicci accepted that, so she had gone far away to keep serving him, but at a safe distance where the ache in her heart would gradually fade.
Wrestling with her decision, she looked around the square, felt the weight of all that had occurred here. Though the people in Tanimura were battered and emotionally drained, they knew they had won, and victory gave a brightness to their mood.
The messenger who rode into the main square from Altur’Rang, however, had a hard and twisted look on his face, flinty eyes, and a sneer that was haughty and superior. He raised his voice and demanded the attention of the crowd as they finished their work for the day. “I bring word from the new capital of our restored empire!”
Nicci was instantly alert. “New empire?”
The man looked down from his horse and gave them a withering look, as if they were beneath his notice. He adjusted his helmet. “Your ignorance does not diminish the glory of Emperor Argus. Altur’Rang has been under attack by an ancient army, and yet I bring word to you that the foolish enemy warriors have been vanquished.”
Nathan stepped closer. “Dear spirits! Was it the army of General Utros?”
“An expeditionary force of thousands of armed men,” said the messenger as others gathered around. “But they were doomed to failure once they encountered the might of Emperor Argus. We offered them the chance to swear allegiance to the New Imperial Order, but they declined.” His lips twisted in a smile. “Our fearless troops would have massacred them, but the Keeper himself intervened. The ground opened up and their souls were swept away to the underworld.”
Nicci stepped forward to face him. “The Imperial Order is destroyed, and Emperor Jagang is dead.” She didn’t add that she herself had assassinated the horrible man.
“Emperor Jagang was no longer relevant,” said the messenger. “The Imperial Order has returned under a new and stronger man, a ruler who would make Jagang quiver with awe.”
Nicci couldn’t imagine that anything would make Jagang quiver, but she merely assessed the arrogant messenger. She knew his type. She glanced at Nathan, whose eyes were wide and whose face was drawn.
“Dear spirits, a new Imperial Order?” he whispered.
Nicci knew what they had to do. “I had thought our duty was to go and assist Richard, but just as he was confident we could handle this war ourselves, we must be confident that Richard can deal with his own crisis.” She narrowed her eyes. “If there is a New Imperial Order, if there is a man who claims Jagang’s throne, then you and I have to go see this Emperor Argus ourselves.”
“Indeed we do,” Nathan said, his face flushed with anger. “Indeed we do.”
Nicci raised her voice to the messenger. “We will accompany you to Altur’Rang. We would meet this Emperor Argus.”
The man turned to them, assessing them. High in the saddle, he ran his eyes up and down Nicci’s body, her blue eyes, her blond hair. She hoped she wouldn’t have to kill him before they reached the grand capital city. “I cannot guarantee he will see you. Argus is an important man.”
“I’m sure he is,” Nathan said.
The messenger nudged his horse forward, slowly leaving them behind as he rode through the square to continue spreading his news. He called over his shoulder, “I will depart in the morning. You may follow me, but I will not pamper you.”
Nathan chuckled. “Oh, young man, we do not need pampering.”
Nicci’s expression tightened. She felt hardened inside and knew that her work here in the Old World was not done. Richard had dispatched her and Nathan to spread the word of the D’Haran Empire, to let the world know that tyrants and despots and slavery would no longer be tolerated. Richard counted on her to crush them before they became too great a threat.
“We still have work to do, Nathan,” she told him. “And you have a whole new life book to fill.”
He nodded. “You are indeed correct, Sorceress.” They watched the haughty messenger depart, already making their plans. “We should prepare for another journey.”
“And another fight.”
The wizard hesitated as he looked down to the harbor. They could see the krakener ship setting sails, ready to drift out to sea with the evening tide. “I planned ahead, my dear Sorceress.” He reached into the vest that covered his ruffled shirt and pulled out a folded sheaf of papers. “I wrote a lengthy letter to Richard, and General Zimmer promised to dispatch a courier to ride north and deliver it to the People�
��s Palace. It tells Richard everything he needs to know about what we’ve been up to.” He arched his eyebrows. “Would you like to read it?”
Nicci accepted the letter, along with a lead stylus in case she needed to make notes. She skimmed the pages of stories that Nathan had written about their adventures, expecting that he would make himself into a legendary hero while portraying Nicci and Bannon as his faithful companions. Instead, she was surprised to see that the focus was on her own actions, making Nicci out to be the savior of the Old World.
Nicci handed the letter back to him. “It seems adequate. Remember, I came with you in the first place because Richard was sure you needed watching.”
Nathan made a noncommittal sound as he scribbled a note at the very end before sealing the letter packet.
“What was that?” Nicci asked.
“A mere postscript to reassure Richard.”
“Reassure him in what way?”
He tucked the letter back into his vest. “Merely a promise that I will keep watch over you, because no matter what you think, you still need watching … with or without the New Imperial Order. You can’t save the world on your own.”
“I am not alone,” Nicci said, and realized it was true. The idea was suddenly strange to her, given her past, her time under the thumb of her stern mother, serving the Keeper as a Sister of the Dark or crusading for the Imperial Order. All of that was behind her forever. Nicci was stronger, better, braver. Those who wished to harm the world didn’t have a chance.
She looked at Nathan, then drew her gaze across the bustling city of Tanimura, the forested hills, and the entire Old World beyond. She had no idea what sort of threat Emperor Argus or the New Imperial Order would pose, but she—they—would deal with it, no matter what.
“No,” she repeated, “I am not alone.”
ALSO BY TERRY GOODKIND
Heart of Black Ice Page 52