Her head floated closer to him. 'You have the gift, Richard Cypher. Just hold it in your hand and call to me. I will hear. Remember, great need.'
'Thank you Scarlet, but I don't have the gift.'
Scarlet threw her head back and rumbled in laughter. The ground shook. The scales on her throat vibrated. When her fit of laughter died out in spurts, she tilted her head to look at him with one yellow eye. 'If you don't have the gift, then no one does. Live free, Richard Cypher.'
Everyone in the village watched in silence as the red dragon grew smaller in the golden sky. Richard put his arm around Kahlan's waist, pulling her close against him.
'I hope that I've finally heard the last of this nonsense about me having the gift,' he muttered half to himself. 'I saw you from up in the air.' He pointed with his chin across the clearing. 'You want to tell me what that was all about with our friend over there?'
Chandalen was making a point of not looking at her. 'No It's not important.'
----------
'Are we ever going to get to be alone?' Kahlan asked with a coy smile. 'Pretty soon I'm going to have to start kissing you in front of all of these people.'
Dusk was bringing a cozy, fading light to the impromptu feast. Richard glanced around the grass-roofed shelter at the elders in their coyote hides. They were all smiles and chatter. Their wives and a few children had joined the group. People were stopping by the shelter to welcome the two of them back, smiling and exchanging gentle slaps.
Little children across the way were chasing brown chickens that wanted nothing more than to find a place to roost for the night. The chickens squawked as they made flapping escapes. She couldn't understand how the children could stand to be naked, as cold as it was. Women in bright dresses were bringing woven trays of tava bread and glazed pottery bowls of roasted peppers, rice cakes, long boiled beans, cheese, and roasted meats.
'You really think they're going to let us get away before we tell them the whole story of our great adventure?'
'What great adventure? All I remember is being scared to death all the time and being in more trouble than I knew how to get out of Her insides twisted in pain at the memory of learning he had been captured by a Mord-Sith. And thinking you were dead.'
He smiled. 'Didn't you know? That's what an adventure is: being in trouble.'
'I've had enough of adventure to last me the rest of my life.'
Richard's gray eyes looked distant. 'Me, too.' Her gaze went to the red leather rod, the Agiel, which hung on a gold chain around his neck. She reached back and took a piece of cheese from a platter. Her face brightened. She put the cheese to his mouth. 'Maybe we can just make up a story that sounds like a proper adventure. A short adventure.'
'Suits me,' he said, and then bit off a chunk of the cheese as she held it to his mouth.
Immediately, he spit the cheese into his hand and made a sour face. This is awful!' he whispered.
'Really?' She sniffed the piece she still held. She took a tiny bite. 'Well, I don't like cheese, but it doesn't taste any worse than usual to me. I don't think it has gone bad.' He was still making the face. Tastes like it has to me.' Kahlan thought a minute, and then frowned. 'Yesterday at the People's Palace, you didn't like the cheese there either. And Zedd said there was nothing wrong with it.'
'Nothing wrong with it! It tasted rotten! I ought to know, I love cheese. I eat it all the time. I know bad cheese when I eat it.'
'Well, I hate cheese. Maybe you're just picking up my habits.'
He rolled a roasted pepper in a piece of tava bread and grinned. 'I could think of a worse fate.'
As she returned the smile, she saw two hunters approaching. Her back stiffened. Richard noticed her reaction and sat up straighter. These are two of Chandalen's men. I don't know what they want.' She gave him a wink. 'Be a good boy? Let's not have an adventure.'
Without smiling or answering, he turned and watched the two come. The hunters stopped in front of her at the edge of the platform. They planted the butts of their spears firmly in the ground, leaning on them with both hands. They both assessed her with slightly narrowed eyes and small, tight smiles that weren't entirely unfriendly. The one closest pushed his bow a little farther up on his shoulder and then extended an open hand to her, palm up.
She looked down at the hand. She knew what it meant -an open hand offered without a weapon in it. She glanced up at him in confusion. 'Does Chandalen approve of this?'
'We are Chandalen's men. Not his children.' He kept the hand out.
Kahlan looked at it a moment and then stroked her palm over his. His smile widened a little and he gave her a gentle slap.
'Strength to Confessor Kahlan. I am Prindin. This is my brother, Tossidin.'
She gave Prindin a slap and wished him strength. Tossidin held his palm open to her. She stroked it with hers. He gave her a slap and added his wish of strength. He had a handsome smile that matched his brother's. Surprised by his friendliness, she returned his slap and greeting. Kahlan glanced to Richard. The brothers noticed the look, and in response both gave Richard a slap and greeting.
'We wanted to tell you that you spoke with strength and honor today,' Prindin said. 'Chandalen is a hard man, and a hard man to get to know, but he is not a bad man. He cares deeply for our people and wants only to protect them from harm. That is what we do -protect our people.'
Kahlan nodded. ' Richard and I are Mud People, too.' The brothers smiled. 'The elders have proclaimed it for all to know. We will protect you both, the same as any other of our people.'
'Will Chandalen?'
Both grinned, but neither answered. They pulled their spears up, readying to leave.
'Tell them I said they have fine bows,' Richard said. She glanced sideways to see him watching the two. She told his words to Prindin.
They smiled as they nodded. 'We are very good with them.'
Richard's expressionless gaze stayed on the two brothers. 'Tell them I think their arrows look to be well made. Ask if I may see one.'
Kahlan frowned at him before translating for the hunters. The brothers beamed with pride. Prindin pulled an arrow from his quiver and handed it to Richard. Kahlan noticed that the elders were all quiet. Richard rolled the arrow in his fingers. Betraying no emotion, he looked at the nock and then turned it around and looked at the flat, metal point. He handed the arrow back. 'Very fine work.' As Prindin replaced the arrow in his quiver, Kahlan told him what Richard had said. He slid a hand partway up his spear and leaned a little of his weight on it. 'If you know how to shoot a bow, we would invite you to come with us tomorrow.' Before she could translate, Savidlin spoke to her. 'Richard told me before, when you were here last, that he had to leave his bow behind in Westland, and that he missed it As a surprise, I made him one, for when you both came back. It is a gift to him for teaching me how to make roofs that do not leak. It is at my home. I was going to give it to him tomorrow. Tell him, and tell him that if he agrees, I would like to take some of my hunters and go with him tomorrow' He smiled. 'We will see if he is as good a shot as our hunters.'
The brothers grinned and nodded their enthusiasm. They looked to be confident of the results of the contest. Kahlan told Richard what Savidlin had said.
Richard was surprised, and seemed to be moved by what Savidlin had done. 'The Mud People make some of the finest fbows I have ever seen. I am honored, Savidlin. That is was poison, the result of an evil magic. They didn't know that in Westland, where Richard was from, you could eat red things like apples. They had seen him eat an apple once before, when he had tricked them into not making him take a wife from their village by convincing them that his eating it might make his seed poisonous to his bride, but they sweated as they watched the two of them doing it again.
'What are you doing?' Kahlan asked him.
'Just eat your apple and then translate for me.'
When they finished, Richard stood, motioning her up next to him. 'Honored elders, I have returned from stopping the threat against our people. Now that it is
over, I would like to ask your permission for something. I hope you find me worthy. I would like to ask your permission to have a Mud Woman as my wife. As you can see, I have taught Kahlan to eat these things as I do. She will not be harmed by it, or by me, and in the same way, though she is a Confessor, I will not be harmed by her. We would like to be together, and we would like to be wedded by our people.'
Kahlan could hardly get the last of the words out past the tightness in her throat, and she could hardly keep from throwing her arms around him. She could feel her eyes burning and filling with tears, and had to clear her throat to finish the words. She put her arm around Richard's waist to steady herself.
The elders suddenly beamed with surprise. The Bird Man wore a wide grin. 'I think you are finally learning to be Mud People,' he said. 'Nothing could please us more than for you two to be wed.'
Richard didn't wait for the translation, but gave her a kiss that took her breath away. The elders and their wives applauded.
It was all the more special to her that they would be wedded before the Mud People. Kahlan felt at home here When they had come before, seeking help in their struggle to stop Rahl, Richard had shown the Mud People how to make roofs that didn't leak. They had made friends, had fought battles together, with lives saved, and lost. In the process, the two of them had bonded with these people. In honor of their sacrifices, the Bird Man had proclaimed them Mud People.
The Bird Man stood and gave Kahlan a fatherly hug that felt as if he were saying that he understood everything she had been through and was happy she had at last found happiness. She shed a few tears against his shoulder as he held her in his strong arms. Their adventure, a long ordeal, had taken her from the depths of pain and despair to the heights of joy. The fight had ended only yesterday. It didn't seem possible it could be over at last.
As they went on with the feast, Kahlan wished more than ever that it could end soon so she could be alone with Richard. He had been held prisoner for over a month, and had only rejoined her the day before. She hadn't even really had a chance to talk with him. Or hug him nearly enough.
Children danced and played around the small fire while the adults gathered around torches, eating and talking and laughing. Weselan scooted down next to her, hugged her, and said she would make her a proper wedding dress. Savidlin kissed her cheek and slapped Richard's back. She found it difficult to look away from Richard's gray eyes. She didn't want to. Ever.
The hunters who had been out on the plain the day the Bird Man had tried to teach Richard how to call specific birds with the special whistle he had given Richard as a gift, wandered by the elders' platform. All Richard could do that day was make a sound that called all the birds at once, but not different species individually. The hunters had laughed endlessly that day.
As they listened now, Savidlin made Richard show the whistle and tell again how he had used it to call all the birds that roosted in the valley filled with gars. The thousands of hungry birds had eaten the gars' blood flies, creating a panic. The diversion had enabled Richard to rescue Scarlet's egg.
The Bird Man laughed, even though he had already heard the story three times by now. Savidlin laughed and slapped Richard's back. The hunters laughed and slapped their thighs. Richard laughed as he watched them react to Kahlan's translation.
Kahlan laughed at seeing Richard laugh. 'I think we have found an adventure that satisfies them.' She thought about it and frowned. 'How did Scarlet land you close enough to the egg without being seen by the gars?'
Richard looked away and was silent a moment. 'She landed me on the valley on the other side of the hills around Fire Spring. I went through the cave.'
He didn't look at her. Kahlan hooked some hair behind an ear. 'And was there really a beast in the cave? A Shadrin?'
He let out a deep breath as he looked across the open area. That there was. And more.' As she put her hand on his shoulder, he took it and kissed the back of it, still staring off. 'I thought I was going to die there, alone. I thought I would never see you again.' He seemed to shake off the memory and leaned back on an elbow, gazing at her with a lop-sided smile on his face.
The Shadrin left some scars that aren't healed yet. But I would have to take off my pants to show them to you.'
'Really?' Kahlan gave a throaty laugh. 'I think I better have a look ... to see if everything is all right.'
As she looked deep into his eyes, she abruptly realized most of the elders were watching them. Suddenly she felt her face warm. She snatched up a rice cake and took a quick bite, relieved to know they couldn't understand their words. She hoped others couldn't understand the look in their eyes She chided herself to pay more attention to where she was. Richard sat up again. Kahlan reached over to a small bowl of roasted ribs that looked to be wild boar, and set it down in his lap.
'Here. Have some of these.'
She looked over at a group of the wives. She held up the rice cake and smiled. 'These are very good.' They nodded their satisfaction. She looked back to Richard. He was staring down at the bowl of meat. His face was white.
'Take it away,' he whispered.
Kahlan frowned and lifted the bowl from his lap, setting it behind her. She scooted closer to him. 'Richard, what's wrong?'
He was still staring at his lap, as if the bowl were still there. 'I don't know. I looked down at the meat, and then I could smell it. It made me feel sick. It just seemed like a dead animal to me. Like I was about to eat some dead animal lying there in front of me. How could anyone eat some dead animal that was just lying there?'
Kahlan didn't know what to say. He didn't look well. 'I think I know what you mean. I was sick once and they fed me some cheese. I threw it all back up. They thought it would be good for me, and every day fed me more, and I. would throw it up, until I was well again. That is why, to this day, I don't like cheese. Maybe it's something like that, because you have a headache.'
'Maybe,' he said in a weak voice. 'I spent a long time at the People's Palace. They don't eat meat there. Darken Rahl doesn't - didn't - eat meat, so none was served at the palace. Maybe I just got used to not eating meat.'
She rubbed his back as he put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. First cheese, and now meat. His eating habits were becoming as peculiar as ... a wizard's.
'Kahlan ... I'm sorry, but I need to go somewhere where it's quiet. My head really hurts.'
She put her hand on his forehead. His skin was cold and clammy. He looked about ready to fall over. Her insides fluttered with worry.
Kahlan squatted in front of the Bird Man. 'Richard doesn't feel well. He needs to go somewhere quiet. Is that all right?'
At first he thought he knew why they wanted to leave. His smile faded when he saw the anxiety on her face. 'Take him to the spirit house. It is quiet there. No one will bother him. Get Nissel if you think there be need.' A little of his smile came back. 'Maybe he has spent too much time on the dragon. I thank the spirits my gift of flight was short.'
She nodded, unable to manage much of a smile, and said a quick good night to the others. Picking up both their packs, she put a hand under Richard's arm and helped him to his feet. His eyes were squeezed shut, his eyebrows wrinkled together in pain. The pain seemed to pass a little, and he opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and started off with her across the open area.
The shadows were thick among the buildings, but the moon was up, giving them enough light to see their way. The sounds of the feast faded into the background, leaving only the slow scrape of Richard's boots- scuffing on the dry ground.
He straightened a little. 'I think some of it has passed.'
'Do you get headaches often?'
He smiled over to her in the moonlight. 'I'm famous for my headaches. My father told me that my mother used to get headaches like the ones I get, where you feel sick to your stomach because your head hurts so much. But this one is different. I've never had ones like this before. It's like something inside my head is trying to get out.' He too
k his pack from her and hoisted it to his shoulder. 'It hurts more than my other headaches.'
They passed from the narrow passageways to the wide space around the spirit house. It sat by itself, moonlight reflecting off the tile roof Richard had helped the Mud People build. Wisps of smoke rose from the chimney.
Around the side, by the door, a row of chickens roosted on a low wall. They watched as she pulled the door open for him, starting a little at the squeak of the hinges, and settled down as the two of them passed inside.
Richard flopped down in front of the fireplace. Kahlan pulled out a blanket and made him lie back, bunching the blanket under his head. He rested the back of his wrist over his eyes as she sat, cross-legged, next to him.
Kahlan felt helpless. 'I think I should go get Nissel. Maybe a healer can do something for you.'
He shook his head. 'I'll be all right. I just need to be away from all the noise.' He smiled, his arm still over his eyes. 'Have you ever noticed how badly we do at parties? Every time we are at a party something happens.'
2 - Stone of Tears Page 10