“I want to live, and I want you to live. I don’t really see that we have any alternative.”
Richard didn’t see one, either, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. A lot of other lives were at stake. He needed to get to the palace.
He let out a deep sigh as he gazed up at the darkening sky. All the leaves had stilled as the light breeze had died out. Night was closing in around them. Their time was running out. Kahlan’s time was running out. The palace was too far.
More than anything else, he could not bear the thought of Kahlan dying. He would do anything he had to do—anything—to keep her alive and out of the clutches of what Sulachan had waiting for her in the underworld. While he feared his own fate there, he feared any harm coming to Kahlan far more.
“All right,” he said with finality to all the people watching him, “we go to the citadel. That means a change of other plans, though.”
“What do you mean?” Zedd asked.
“No one at the People’s Palace has any idea what is coming their way. Hannis Arc and Emperor Sulachan have an army of half people and all the dead they could possibly need. The palace is built to withstand a siege from an army, but this is something different. Everyone at that palace needs to understand the nature of what is headed there so they can prepare.”
“Prepare?” Irena exclaimed. “The people there have no chance. If they stay they will be trapped there and slaughtered. Hannis Arc and his forces will kill anyone who resists.
“The situation is hopeless. The palace has to be evacuated. It’s the only chance those people have.”
Richard regarded her alarm calmly. “Accepting that a situation is hopeless ensures that it is. Defeat is not an option I accept. We need to figure out a way to win.”
Zedd cleared his throat. “While I don’t agree with Irena that the situation is hopeless, I don’t see how we can fight this threat. A number of painful lessons have shown us that magic doesn’t work against many of the half people. Hannis Arc and Emperor Sulachan have powerful occult abilities. Perhaps even more frightening, they and many of the half people can raise the dead to send against us. I don’t need to remind you that it’s pretty hard to kill someone who is already dead.”
“You’re right,” Richard said. “Magic doesn’t work all that well against most of the half people, and weapons don’t work well against the dead they send at us. But our small force here has proven that we can fight against great numbers of the half people. We also know that, as difficult as it is, we can defeat their dead warriors. They can be stopped with any kind of fire, for one thing, and they can be hacked to pieces.
“The spirit king, risen from the dead, is from that ancient time when people wielded powers that no longer exist. In the world the way it is now, I doubt he has any equal. Hannis Arc, too, is able to wield powerful occult sorcery. After all, Hannis Arc did bring Sulachan back from the world of the dead. I can’t even imagine the two of them working together.”
“That’s what I mean,” Irena insisted. “Trying to fight such occult powers is hopeless!”
“If you accept that it’s hopeless, then you are doomed to that fate.”
Irena spread her arms in frustration. “How do you propose we fight such powers? Magic doesn’t work against them!”
“Really? Well, despite their frightening occult powers, and their numbers, little Samantha, here, proved all by herself that they are vulnerable in some ways to what can be done with magic if you are not willing to accept failure.”
Samantha silently beamed with pride.
“I’m not saying it will be easy,” Richard told them. “I’m saying that it must be done. We can’t let them take the world into the nightmare they envision.”
Everyone looked grim.
“The people at the palace don’t stand a chance unless they understand the true nature of what’s coming and are prepared,” Kahlan said with quiet resignation. “We need to warn them.”
Richard nodded. “Exactly.”
“But warn them to do what?” Zedd asked. “I certainly don’t think we should give up hope, or abandon the palace as Irena suggested, but how can the people there fight what’s headed their way? Out on the Azrith Plain there are no cliffs we can bring down on top of them.”
“There are gifted there,” Richard said. “There are Sisters of the Light there. Nathan is there. Most of his life has been spent studying prophecy, history, and all sorts of forgotten matters having to do with magic. He often knows about things we’ve never even heard of before. He may be able to provide valuable information on what we can do. If nothing else, he can lay down wizard’s fire on the legions of walking dead.
“Also, the palace has natural defenses. As long as they know what is coming, they can shut the great inner door, and they can seal off the tombs so that Sulachan can’t raise the dead within the palace. The First File is there and they have special weapons, remember?”
Nicci frowned. “Special weapons?”
“Nathan found red-fletched bolts for the crossbows. They were relics from the great war left hidden in the palace. They have some kind of ancient power that can penetrate shields and magic. Since they were from back in that time, maybe they can take down those with occult powers the way they can the gifted.”
Zedd nodded in thought. “Richard is right. The palace must be defended. There are incredibly valuable and dangerous things there—books of magic and items of great power. It would be disastrous if Hannis Arc got his hands on them.”
Richard rubbed his forehead as he considered. “The First File will never surrender. It’s not in their nature. We need to warn them what is coming so they can prepare as best they can. They will hold off Hannis Arc and Sulachan’s army.”
“For a time,” Kahlan said.
“For a time,” Richard agreed. “If Hannis Arc and that unholy spirit king aren’t stopped … The First File must hold the palace. At least until we can be cured at the citadel and get there.
“Until then, they need to send the army out to help protect the cities in the way of the advancing horde. They need to do what they can to keep Hannis Arc from capturing cities and laying waste to the places on the way to the palace.”
“Do you seriously think any of that is going to work, or do any good at all?” Irena asked.
“Yes,” Richard said. “I will make it work. I will not allow the world to be lost to this madness. I am the Lord Rahl. The people of D’Hara are depending on me to be the magic against magic. I will not abandon them to such a threat. I will find a way. There is no other option.
“If I have to come back from the dead to fight for our people, I will.”
No one said a word against the grim finality of his vow.
Darkness was settling down around them. There was no time to waste. Richard reached an arm up and called out to get Commander Fister’s attention. When he trotted over to them, Richard gestured to a rock and invited the man to have a seat.
“What is it, Lord Rahl?”
“Who is our best rider?” Richard asked him.
Surprised by the question, the commander made a face. “Lord Rahl, these men are all First File. They are all the best. You don’t get to be one of the First File unless you are the best of the best at everything. Few men make the cut. Just pick one, Lord Rahl, and he can do whatever job you ask of him.”
“We need to get word to the palace,” Richard told him. “We only have one horse. We can’t afford to have him be too slow, or get caught, and yet he must take care not to kill his horse by driving it too hard. He must reach the palace as soon as possible with my orders.”
“What orders, if you don’t mind me asking? What does he need to tell them?”
“We must warn the palace that Hannis Arc is coming with an army of half people and likely legions of the dead.
“There is a lot of the Dark Lands the rider will have to get through before he ever makes it back to the palace, and he will also have to somehow get around Sulachan and his fo
rces. It is absolutely essential that our man make it there with instructions. He cannot fail.”
“Then we should send Ned,” Commander Fister said after a moment’s thought. “He was born in the Dark Lands. He grew up in this vile place, a ways southwest from here, I think he said. Southwest is the direction he needs to go to get back to the palace from here. He would best know the lay of the land.”
Nicci looked up. “Ned. He is the one who was attacked right after Richard saw those people who vanished, when the Shun-tuk first attacked us.”
“That’s the man,” the commander confirmed. “He would have the best chance to get through. He’s tough, he knows the countryside, and he’s a good rider. Like the rest of the men, he doesn’t know the meaning of giving up.”
“Lucky,” Nicci said.
Richard looked over at her. Her knees were drawn up with her arms locked around them. Her chin rested on her knees.
“Lucky?” he asked.
She looked into his eyes. “Lucky that he didn’t get eaten. Lucky the Lord Rahl would not abandon his people.”
She pointedly didn’t look at Irena, who had wanted to leave the man to his fate during that first attack.
Not wanting to get into it, Richard merely nodded before looking back at the commander. “Good. Ned it is, then. It’s getting dark fast. I want to talk to him before he goes off to get some sleep. There is a lot he needs to know. I have a number of orders for those at the palace. I want him to get a good rest, then in the morning at first light, before he leaves, I want to talk to him again to make sure he remembers it all.”
Commander Fister nodded. “Anything else, Lord Rahl?”
“I hear that it was an exhausting, hard-fought battle with those Shun-tuk for most of last night. Everyone needs a good rest. In the morning we all leave for Saavedra.”
“And there is no time to waste on that journey,” Irena chimed in as she shook a finger at the man. “We need to get there as quickly as possible.”
Commander Fister smoothed a hand back over his hair. “Saavedra…” he said as he thought about it. He finally looked up. “I’m sorry to admit it, Lord Rahl, but I don’t know for certain where, exactly, Saavedra is located.”
“Irena says that it’s to the southeast. She will lead us.”
Irena looked surprised. “Richard, I don’t know the land well enough. I set out from Stroyza by trail and then road when I went to Saavedra that one time. Other than that, I rarely left Stroyza. Since you rescued us from beyond the north wall, we’ve been running all over Creation. I don’t really know for sure exactly where we are, now, at least not well enough to lead us to Saavedra.”
“It’s a big enough city that there will be roads going there,” Richard said. “We know the general direction, so sooner or later we will run into a road that leads to Saavedra.”
“I’ll ask Ned as well,” the commander offered. “I imagine he has a pretty good idea of the direction and how to get there.”
Richard nodded. “I also want double watches tonight.”
Commander Fister clapped a fist to his heart. “Already done, Lord Rahl.”
“And commander,” Richard said, making the man turn back, “I want everyone to stay alert. There is a creature out there in the woods that has been watching us.”
Commander Fister frowned as he scanned the woods briefly. “A creature? What sort of creature?”
Richard gestured in the direction he had last seen the thing, in the woods behind Kahlan.
“It’s back that way. Some kind of mountain cat. Dark spots on its back. It’s been watching us, but I don’t think it means us any harm or it would have already caused it. Just be aware.”
“What color are its eyes?” Kahlan asked.
Richard thought it an odd question. “Green.”
“Leave him be,” she said. “He won’t hurt us. He’s just curious.”
Richard arched an eyebrow at Kahlan. “He?”
“His name is Hunter.” Kahlan smiled at him as she dismissed it with a coy shrug. “Just a little friend I met while you were off visiting the underworld.”
“Hunter. You named him.” It was not a question, but a reminder of what he had told her once before.
She shrugged again. “He brought me three rabbits. Seemed a pretty obvious name.”
“That’s where you got the rabbits for the stew?” the commander asked in astonishment. “I had been wondering.…”
“He slept with me last night,” Kahlan told Richard. “I was upset and afraid for you. The little thing kept me warm and kept me company.”
“You named him,” Richard said again in admonishment.
Kahlan smiled at him. Her own green eyes sparkled.
“He needed a name.”
“Of course he did,” Richard said as he shook his head.
CHAPTER
46
“What are you doing up?” Zedd asked as Richard stepped closer in the darkness.
The flickering light from the low fire in the distance made Zedd’s wavy white hair look a little like it was made of flames.
“I was asleep all day,” Richard reminded him. “I’m not really tired. I want to check on the men standing watch.”
“Ah,” Zedd said with a nod.
“What are you doing up?” Richard asked his grandfather.
Zedd stroked a finger along his lower lip. “I confess that I saw you go by, and I wanted to talk to you. Alone.”
“Ah,” Richard said with a nod. “Maybe something about the bringer of death?”
Zedd smiled in a way Richard knew well. Ever since he had been a boy, when Richard caught on before his grandfather had finished explaining, Zedd would give him that particular smile.
“Well, yes, that was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Would you like to tell me about it, or am I going to have to drag it out of you one question at a time?”
Richard held up a hand in surrender. “No, I’ve been wanting to tell you what I’ve learned in the hopes that maybe you could shed some light on it.”
“So what was written in the language of Creation on those walls you found in Stroyza?”
“I found an account written by Naja Moon. She was a sorceress who worked with Magda Searus and Merritt.”
Zedd arched an eyebrow in wonder. “Remarkable. I’ve never read anything from anyone so close to them.”
“It was remarkable to read her account of that time,” Richard said. “She explained how Emperor Sulachan had conjured weapons out of people during the great war, and in the process learned how to animate the dead—in part by drawing their souls back out from the world of the dead.”
Zedd shook his head with a troubled look. “Crossing the boundaries between the worlds of life and death in such a way requires powers I can’t begin to fathom. Had I not seen the dead reanimated with my own eyes I would not believe it true.”
“Naja said that when the half people were originally created, he instilled occult ability in some to enable them to revive the dead, the same as Sulachan and his wizards were able to do. In the process of creating them, the spirits of those original half people were discarded and left to wander forever between worlds.”
Zedd lifted a finger with a sudden thought. “Those people that you said snuck up on you when you were on watch, and then vanished. Do you think…”
Richard was nodding. “I think they very well might have been some of those lost souls who wandered back into this world, looking for where they belong.”
Zedd shook his head. “The poor souls.”
“Indeed. Naja mentioned that some of them show up in this plane of existence and cause trouble. Sometimes they even harm people here.”
“Much like the half people.”
Richard nodded. “The half people want a soul and think that they can get one by devouring the living to get one, and the lost souls want to be able to find the place they belong. Sulachan doomed both to never being at peace.”
The wrinkles in Zedd’s
face deepened with a troubled frown. He idly rubbed a hand back and forth across his mouth as he considered it. His hazel eyes finally turned to Richard.
“And what does the bringer of death have to do with all that?”
Richard rested the palm of his left hand on the hilt of his sword. “According to Naja, despite everything they tried in order to stop Sulachan’s creations, in the end all they could do to keep from being annihilated was to build the barrier to lock that evil away.”
Richard smiled. “I guess they did much the same as you did long ago when you created the boundaries to lock D’Hara and the House of Rahl away so that the Midlands and Westland could live in peace.”
Zedd nodded in thought. “Yes, except that, by comparison, I built a little fence out of sticks while those people back in the great war built a fortress wall out of stone. Mine lasted decades, while theirs lasted thousands of years.”
Richard nodded. “But both were still fated to eventually fail. Naja knew that the barrier, much like the boundaries you put up, wouldn’t last forever and then the people of the New World would once again have to face the evil they had locked away. She said that they could do no more than leave people to stand watch.”
“I know the feeling,” Zedd said, deep in thought. “That’s all I had been able to do—lock evil away for a time. Sometimes, you can’t eliminate evil; you can only keep it contained.”
“Naja also explained, much the same as that Shun-tuk prisoner told us, that Sulachan’s plan is to dissolve the boundary between life and death in order to rule a united world where life and death exist together. It wouldn’t be the world of life anymore, or the world of death, but a third kingdom.”
Zedd looked up from his thoughts. “That’s crazy.”
“Yes, but because of the forces he is using—occult powers that can not only bend but break the elements of the Grace—the mere attempt, no matter how crazy, could very well destroy the world of life.”
Zedd peered at Richard. “Do you think him more powerful than the Keeper of the underworld? That’s like saying that one man is more powerful than all of Creation and he can take over and dictate everything in life, from how fast grass grows to how high birds can fly to how people must serve him. Thinking he can rule life and death is the very definition of delusional.”
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