Richard swished his blade clean in the water, then stood. After wiping both sides dry on his leg, he slid the sword home into its scabbard at his hip. In the dim light, Friedrich could see that the lustrous silver-andgold wrought scabbard was secured with a baldric over Richard's right shoulder. Friedrich was pretty sure that he remembered the look of that baldric and scabbard. Friedrich had carved for nearly his whole life and also recognized a certain effortless grace with a blade-no matter what kind of blade. Artful control was required to wield edged steel with mastery. When it was in Richard's hands, he truly seemed in his element. Friedrich well remembered the sword the man was wearing that day. He wondered if this could possibly be that same remarkable weapon.
With a foot, Richard prodded at parts of heart hounds, searching. He bent and lifted a severed hound head. Friedrich saw then that the beast had something clenched in its teeth. Richard tugged at it, but it was impaled on the fangs. As he worked it out of the hound's mouth, off the
fangs, Friedrich's eyes went wide when he realized that it was the book. The hound had tom it out of the backpack.
"Please." Friedrich lifted a hand, reaching. "Is it ... is it all right?"
Richard tossed the heavy head aside, where it thumped down and rolled into the trees. He peered closely at the book in the dim light. His hand lowered and he looked over at Friedrich standing in waist-deep water.
"I think you had better tell me who you are, and why you're here," Richard said. The woman rose up at the dark tone in Richard's voice.
Friedrich cleared his throat and swallowed back his worry. "Like I said, I'm Friedrich Gilder." He took a terrible chance. "I'm looking for a man related to a very old fellow I know named Nathan."
Richard stood staring for a moment. "Nathan. Big man? Tall, long white hair to his shoulders? Thinks a lot of himself T' He sounded not just surprised, but suspicious as well. "Born-for-mischief Nathan?"
Friedrich smiled at the last part, and with relief. His bond had served him well. He bowed, as best he could standing in the water.
"Master Rahl guide us. Master Rahl teach us. Master Rahl protect us. In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are humbled. We live only to serve. Our lives are yours. "
Lord Rahl watched as Friedrich finally straightened, and then extended a hand down. "Come out of the water, Master Gilder," he said in a gentle voice.
Friedrich was somewhat confounded to be offered a helping hand by Lord Rahl himself, and yet didn't know how he could refuse what could be judged an order. He took the hand and pulled himself up out of the water.
Friedrich went to a knee, bowing forward. "Lord Rahl, my life is yours. "
"Thank you, Master Gilder. I'm honored by your gesture, and value the sincerity, but your life is your own, and belongs to no one else. That includes me."
Friedrich stared up in wonder. He had never heard anyone say anything so remarkable, so unimaginable, least of all a Lord Rahl. "Please, sir, would you call me Friedrich?"
Lord Rahl laughed. It was a sound as easy and pleasant as any Friedrich had ever heard. It made a smile well up through him, too.
"If you'll call me Richard."
"I'm sorry, Lord Rahl but ... I'm afraid that I just couldn't bring
myself to do such a thing. I've spent my whole life with a Lord Rahl, and I'm too old to change it, now."
Lord Rahl hooked a thumb behind his wide belt. "I understand, Friedrich, but we're deep in the Old World. If you utter the words 'Lord Rahl' and anyone hears you, we're all likely to have a great deal of trouble on our hands, so I would greatly appreciate it if you would do your best to learn to call me Richard."
"I'll try, Lord Rahl."
Lord Rahl held out an introductory hand. "This is the Mother Confessor, Kahlan, my wife."
Friedrich went to a knee again, bowing his head. "Mother Confessor." He wasn't sure how to properly greet such a woman.
"Now, Friedrich," she said with as much of a scolding tone as Lord Rahl's, but in a voice that he thought revealed a woman of rare grace, command, and heart, "that title, too, will serve us ill, here." It was as lovely a voice as Friedrich had ever heard, its lucid quality holding him spellbound. He had seen the woman once, in the palace; the voice fit his memory of her perfectly.
Friedrich nodded. "Yes, ma'am." He thought he might be able to learn to call Lord Rahl "Richard," but he was almost positive that he would never be able to call this woman anything other than "Mother Confessor." The familiar name Kahlan seemed a privilege beyond him.
Lord Rahl gestured past the Mother Confessor. "And this is our friend, Cara. Don't let her scare you-she'll try. Besides being a friend, first, she is a valued protector, who remains always concerned for our safety above all else." He glanced over at her. "Although, lately, she has been causing more trouble than help."
"Lord Rahl," Cara growled, "I told you that wasn't my fault. I had nothing to do with it."
"You're the one who touched it."
"Well ... how was I supposed to know!"
"I told you to leave it be, but you had to touch it."
"I couldn't very well just leave it, now could l?"
Friedrich didn't understand a word of the exchange. But even in the near darkness, he could see the Mother Confessor smile and pat Cara on the shoulder.
"It's all right, Cara," she whispered reassuringly.
"We'll figure something out, Cara," Lord Rahl added in a sigh. "We still have time." He turned suddenly solemn and switched his line of
thought as swiftly as he changed direction with that sword of his. He waggled the book. "The hounds were after this."
Friedrich eyebrows went up in astonishment. "They were?"
"Yes. You were just the treat for doing a good job."
"How do you know?"
"Heart hounds would never attack a book. They would have fought to the death over your heart, first, had they not been sent for another reason."
"So that's why they're called heart hounds," Friedrich said.
"That's one theory. The other is that with those big round ears, they can find their victim by the sound of their beating heart. Either way, I've never heard of a heart hound going for a book when a human heart was there for the taking."
Friedrich gestured to the book. "Lord-sorry, Richard-Nathan sent me with this book. He thought it was very important. I guess he was right. "
Lord Rahl turned back from staring at the hounds sprawled across the ground. If it had not been dark, Friedrich was sure he would have seen a frown, but he certainly could hear repressed anger in the man's voice. "Nathan thinks a lot of things are important-usually prophecies."
"But Nathan was sure about this."
"He always is. He's helped me before, I don't deny that." Lord Rahl shook his head with determination. "But, from the beginning, prophecy has been the cause of more trouble for us than I care to think about. Heart hounds mean we suddenly have immediate, deadly danger on our hands. I don't need Nathan's prophecies adding to my problems. I know some people think prophecy is a gift, but I regard it as a curse best avoided."
"I understand," Friedrich said with a wistful smile. "My wife was a sorceress. Her gift was prophecy. She sometimes called it her curse." His smile faltered. "I sometimes held her as she wept over some foretelling she saw, but could not change."
Lord Rahl watched him in the awkward silence. "She's passed away, then?"
Friedrich could only nod as he sagged under the pain of the memories.
"I'm sorry, Friedrich," Lord Rahl said in a quiet voice.
"So am I," the Mother Confessor whispered in sad, sincere sympathy. She turned to her husband, clasping his upper arm. "Richard, I know we don't have time for Nathan's prophecies, but we can hardly ignore what heart hounds mean."
Distress sounded heavily in Lord Rahl's sigh. "I know."
"What are we going to do?"
Friedrich saw him shake his head in the dim light. "We'll have to hope they can handle it, for now.
This is more urgent. We'll need to find Nicci, and fast. Let's just hope she has some ideas."
The Mother Confessor seemed to accept what he'd said as sensible. Even Cara was nodding silent agreement.
"I'll tell you what, Friedrich," the Mother Confessor said in a voice steady with mettle. "We were about to set up camp for the night. With the heart hounds loose, you had better stay with us until we meet up with some of our friends in a day or two and have better protection. At camp you can tell us what this is all about."
"I'll listen to what Nathan wants," Lord Rahl said, "but that's all I can promise. Nathan is a wizard; he's going to have to solve his own problems; we have enough of our own. Let's make camp, first, somewhere safe. I'll at least take a look at this book-if it's still readable. You can tell me why Nathan thinks it's so important. Just spare me the prophecies."
"No prophecies, Lord Rahl. In fact, the lack of prophecy is the real problem."
Lord Rahl gestured around at the carcasses. "This is the immediate problem. We'd better find a spot down there in the swamp, surrounded by water, if we want to live to see morning. There will be more where these came from."
Friedrich peered nervously around in the darkness. "Where do they come from?"
"The underworld," Lord Rahl said.
Friedrich's jaw dropped. "The underworld? But how is such a thing possible?"
"Only one way," Lord Rahl said in a low voice filled with terrible knowledge. "Heart hounds are, in a way, the guardians of the underworld-the Keeper's hounds. They can only be here because the veil between life and death has been breached."
CHAPTER 55
The four of them started down the path, heading toward the dark expanse of low-lying forest, as Friedrich contemplated the staggering significance of the veil between the world of life and the world of the dead being breached. The latter part of Althea's life revolved around the Grace she used in her tellings, so he certainly knew about the veil between worlds. Over the years, Althea had often spoken to him about it. In particular, preceding her death, she had told him much of what she had come to believe about the interaction of those worlds.
"Lord Rahl," Friedrich said, "I think what you said about the veil between the world of the living and the dead being tom might be tied in with why Nathan thought it was so vital that I reach you with this book. He doesn't want you to help him-that's not why he sent me with this book-he meant this to help you."
Lord Rahl snorted a laugh. "Right. That's the way he always puts it-that he only wants to help you."
"But I think this is about your sister."
Everyone froze in their tracks.
Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor spun around, hovering close to him. Even in the darkness, Friedrich could see how wide their eyes were open.
"I have a sister?" Lord Rahl whispered.
"Yes, Lord Rahl," Friedrich said, taken by surprise that he didn't know. "Well, a half sister, actually. She, too, is the offspring of Darken Rahl. "
Lord Rahl seized him by the upper arms. "I have a sister? Do you know anything about her?"
"Yes, Lord Rahl. A little, anyway. I've met her."
"Met her! Friedrich, that's wonderful! What's she like? How old is she?"
"Not many years younger than you, Lord Rahl. Early twenties, I'd say. "
"Is she smart?" he asked with a grin.
"Too smart for her own good, I'm afraid."
Lord Rahl laughed in delight. "I can't believe it! Kahlan, isn't that wonderful? I have a sister."
"It doesn't sound wonderful to me," Cara growled before the Mother Confessor could answer. "It doesn't sound wonderful at all!"
"Cara, how can you say that?" the Mother Confessor asked.
Cara leaned toward them. "Need I remind you both of the trouble we had when Lord Rahl's half brother, Drefan, showed up?"
"No . . ." Lord Rahl said, clearly troubled by the mention.
Everyone fell silent. "What happened?" Friedrich finally dared to ask.
He gasped when Cara snatched him by the collar and jerked him close to her hot glare. "That bastard son of Darken Rahl nearly killed the Mother Confessor! And Lord Rahl! He nearly killed me! He did kill a lot of other people. He nearly got everyone killed. I hope the Keeper of the dead put Drefan Rahl in a cold dark hole for all of eternity. If you only knew what he did to the Mother Confessor-"
"That's enough, Cara," the Mother Confessor said in quiet command as she put a hand on the woman's arm, gently urging her to release Friedrich's collar.
Cara complied, but, in the heat of anger, only with great reluctance. Friedrich could clearly see why this woman was a guard to the Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor. Even though he could not see her eyes, he could feel them, like a hawk's, locked on him even in the dark. This was a woman whose penetrating judgment could weigh a man's soul, and decide his fate. This was a woman not only with the authority, but with the ability, to act on what she decided was necessary.
Friedrich knew, because he had seen women like this often in the People's Palace. When her hand came out from under her cloak to snatch him
by the collar, he'd seen her Agiel dangling on a chain from her wrist. This was a Mord-Sith.
"I'm sorry about your half brother," Friedrich said. "But I don't think Jennsen means you harm."
"Jennsen," he whispered, testing his first encounter with the name of someone he never knew existed.
"As a matter of fact, Jennsen is terrified of you, Lord Rahl."
"Terrified of me? Why would she be afraid of me?"
"She thinks you're after her."
Lord Rahl stared incredulously. "After her? How can I be after her? I've been struck down here in the Old World."
"She thinks you want to kill her, that you send men to hunt her down."
He was stunned to silence for a moment, as if each new thing he was hearing was even more incredible than the last. "But . I don't even know her. Why would I want to kill her?"
"Because she is ungifted."
Lord Rahl stepped back, trying to understand what Friedrich was telling him. "What difference does that make? Lots of people are ungifted."
Friedrich pointed to the book in Lord Rahl's hand. "I think Nathan sent that book to explain it."
"Prophecy won't help explain anything."
"No, Lord Rahl. I don't think this has to do with prophecy so much as with free will. You see, I know some about prophecy from my wife. Nathan explained how prophecy needs free will, and that's why you react so strongly against prophecy, because you are a man who brings free will to balance the magic of prophecy. He said that prophecy had not proclaimed it to be me who was to bring this book to you, but that I had to bring it of my own free will."
Lord Rahl stared at the book in the darkness. His tone softened. "Nathan can be trouble at times, but I know he's a friend who has helped me before. His help can sometimes cause me considerable trouble, but even if I don't always agree with the things he chooses to do, I know he chooses to do them for good reason."
"I loved a sorceress for most of my life, Lord Rahl. I know how complex such things as this can be. I would not have come all this way if I didn't believe Nathan in this."
Lord Rahl appraised him for a moment. "Did Nathan say what was in this book?"
"He told me the book is from the time of a great war, thousands of
years ago. He said he discovered it in the People's Palace after a frantic search among the thousands of tomes there, and that as soon as he'd located it he brought it to me, to ask that I take it to you. He said time was so urgently short that he dare not take any more to translate the book. Because of that, he didn't know what was in it."
Lord Rahl looked down at the book with considerably more interest. "Well, I don't know how much good it's going to be able to do us. The hounds did a lot of damage to it. I'm beginning to fear why."
"Richard, do you know at least what it says on the cover?" the Mother Confessor asked.
"I only saw it in the light long enough t
o see that it was in High D'Haran. I didn't try to translate it. It says something about Creation."
"You're right, Lord Rahl. Nathan told me the title." Friedrich tapped the book. "It says, there, on the cover, in gilded letters, The Pillars of Creation. "
"Great," Lord Rahl muttered, seemingly in unhappy recognition of the title. "Well, let's get to a safe place and set up camp. I don't want the heart hounds to catch us out in the open in the dark. We'll make a small fire and maybe I can see if the book will tell us anything useful."
"You know about the pillars of Creation, then?" Friedrich asked, following after the three of them as they started off down the trail.
"Yes," Lord Rahl said back over his shoulder in a troubled tone. "I've heard of them. Nathan came from the Old World, so I guess he would know about them, too."
Friedrich scratched his jaw in confusion as they crested a small rise in the trail. "What do the pillars of Creation have to do with the Old World?"
"The Pillars of Creation are in the center of a forsaken wasteland." Lord Rahl pointed ahead, to the south. "It's not all that far from here, off that way. We went past there not long ago. We had to cross the fringes of the place; some very unpleasant people were after us."
"Their bloody bones are drying in the wasteland," Cara said with obvious pleasure.
"Unfortunately," Lord Rahl said, "it cost us our horses, too; that's why we're on foot. At least we escaped with our lives."
"Wasteland ... but, Lord Rahl, the pillars of Creation are also what my wife called-"
Friedrich halted when something beside the path caught his eye. Even in the dim light, the hauntingly familiar dark shape silhouetted against the light color of the dusty trail drew him up short.
He squatted down to touch it. To his surprise, it felt like what he thought. When he picked it up, he was sure of it. It had the same crooked opening for the drawstring, the same notch in the supple leather where he had once accidentally nicked it with a sharp gouge when he had been in a hurry.
"What's the matter?" Lord Rahl asked in a suspicious voice as he scanned the near-dark landscape. "Why did you stop?"
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