Stone of Tears

by Terry Goodkind

  "Maybe because she didn't think there was a chance of anyone knowing what it was. Maybe because she isn't afraid and doesn't take the time to be any more careful than she thinks necessary."

  "Then let's go back, break the shield, get the cursed thing and take it to the Prelate. I can break the shield, I know I can."

  "I was going to do that myself. I went back to do it tonight, but the room wasn't shielded anymore. I snuck in to take the statue, but it was gone. That was when I saw her leaving the Palace, and I saw others leaving too. I followed them out here.

  "If I can steal the quillion while it is glowing, I can prove they are Sisters of the Dark. I have to stop them before they can suck the life out of anyone else. Jedidiah, they are murdering people, but worse, I fear the reason they are doing it."

  He let out a soft sigh. "All right. But I'm going with you."

  She gritted her teeth. "No, you are going back."

  "Margaret, I love you, and if you send me back to worry all alone, I will never forgive you. I will go to the Prelate myself and make the accusation, to bring you help. Though I may be put to death for making the accusation, I know it would raise suspicions, and maybe an alarm. That is the only other way I will be able to protect you. Either I go with you, or I go to the Prelate; I promise you I will."

  She knew he was telling the truth. Jedidiah always kept his promises. Powerful wizards always did. Rising to her knees, she leaned over and put her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Jedidiah."

  She kissed him deeply as he rose up on his knees to meet her. His hands went under the back of her dress and he gripped her bottom, pulling her against him. Feeling his hands on her flesh made her let out a soft moan. His hot lips kissed her neck and then her ear, sending shimmers of magic tingling through her. His knee forced her legs apart, giving his hands access to her. She gasped at the contact.

  "Come away with me now," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go back, and you can shield your room and I'll give you more until you scream. You can scream all you want and no one will hear you."

  She pushed away from him and pulled his hands out from under her dress. He was breaking down her resistance. She found she had to force herself to stop him. He was using his magic to seduce her away from the danger, trying to save her by drawing her away. She knew that if she let it go on for another second, it would work.

  "Jedidiah," she panted in a hoarse whisper, "please don't make me have to use the collar to stop you. This is too important. Lives are at stake." He tried to reach out to her once more but she sent a cord of power through her hands on his wrists to stop him. She firmly held his hands away.

  "I know, Margaret. Your life is one of them. I don't want anything to harm you. I love you more than anything in the world."

  "Jedidiah, this is more important than my life. This is about the lives of everyone. I think this is about the Nameless One."

  He froze stiff. "You can't be serious."

  "Why do you think these Sisters want this power? What do they need with it? Why would they be willing to kill for it? To what end? Who do you think Sisters of the Dark serve?"

  "Dear Creator," he whispered slowly, "don't let her be right." His hands came up and held her by her shoulders. "Margaret, who else knows these things? Who have you told?"

  "Only you, Jedidiah. I know who four, maybe five, of the Sisters of the Dark are. But there are others, and I don't know who they are. I don't know who I can trust. There were eleven I followed out here tonight, but there could easily be more."

  "What about the Prelate? Maybe you shouldn't go to her, she could be with them."

  She shook her head with a sigh. "You may be right, but it's the only chance we have. There is no one else I can think of who can help me. I have to go to her." She touched her fingertips to his face. "Jedidiah, please go back. If anything were to happen to me, then you would be able to do something. There would be someone who knew."

  "No. I won't leave you. If you make me go back, I will tell the Prelate. I love you. I would rather die than live without you."

  "But there are others to think of. Other lives at stake."

  "I don't care about anyone else. Please Margaret, don't ask me to leave you to this danger."

  "Sometimes you can be infuriating, my love." She took his hands up in hers. "Jedidiah, if we are caught..."

  "If we are together, then I accept the risk."

  She twined her fingers through his. "Then be my husband? As we have talked about? If I die tonight, I want it to be as your wife."

  He put a hand behind her head and drew her against him. Pulling her hair away from her ear he whispered softly into it. "That would make me the happiest man in the world. I love you so much, Margaret. But how can we be married here, now?"

  "We can say the words. Our love is all that counts, not some other person saying words for us. Words coming from our hearts will bond us better than anyone else could do."

  He squeezed her tight. "This is the happiest moment in my life." He pulled back, taking up her hands again. In the darkness they looked at each other. "I, Jedidiah, pledge to be your husband, in life and in death. I offer you my life, my love, and my eternal devotion. May we be bonded in the Creator's eyes and heart, and in our own."

  She whispered the words back to him as tears streamed down her cheeks. She had never been so afraid and so happy in all her life. She shook with the need of him. When they finished the words, they kissed. It was the most tender, loving kiss he had ever given her. Tears continued to run down her face as she pressed against him, against his lips. Her hands clutched the back of his broad shoulders, holding him to her. His arms around her made her feel safer and more loved than she had ever felt. At last, they parted.

  She struggled to catch her breath. "I love you, my husband."

  "I love you, my wife, always and forever."

  She smiled. Even though she couldn't see it in the dark, she knew he was smiling too. "Let's go see if we can get some proof. Let's see if we can put a stop to the Sisters of the Dark. Let's make the Creator proud of the Sisters of the Light, and a wizard-to-be."

  He squeezed her hand. "Promise me you won't do anything foolish. Promise me you won't try to do anything that might get you killed. I want to spend some time with you in bed, not the woods."

  "I need to see what they are up to. See if I can find a way to prove all this to the Prelate. But they are more powerful than I am, to say nothing of the fact that there are at least eleven of them. On top of that, if they truly are Sisters of the Dark, they have the use of Subtractive Magic. We have no defense against that.

  "I don't know how we are to get the quillion away from them. Maybe we will see something else that will help us. If we just keep our eyes open, and let the Creator guide us, maybe He will reveal what it is we can do. But I don't want either of us taking any more of a chance than we have to. We must not be discovered."

  He nodded. "Good. That's the way I want it too."

  "But Jedidiah, I am a Sister of the Light. That means I have responsibilities, responsibilities to the Creator, and all his children. Though we are now husband and wife, it is still my job to guide you. In this, we are not equals. I am in charge, and I will only allow you to go with me if you promise to abide by that. You are not yet a full wizard. If I tell you something, you must obey. I am still better with my Han than you are with yours."

  "I know, Margaret. One reason I wanted to be your husband is because I respect you. I wouldn't want a weak wife. You have always guided me, and that will not change now. You have given me everything I have. I will follow you always."

  With a smile, she shook her head. "You are a marvel, my husband. A marvel of the best kind. You will make a remarkable wizard. Truly remarkable. I have never told you, because I always feared you would let the knowledge swell your head, but some of the Sisters say that they think you may prove to be the most powerful wizard in a thousand years."

  He didn't speak, and she couldn't see his face, but she was sure he
was blushing. "Margaret, your eyes are the only ones I need to see filled with pride."

  She kissed his cheek, and then took his hand. "Let's go see how we can put a stop to this."

  "How do you know where they went? How can we follow them? It's dark as pitch in these woods. The trees hide the moon."

  She pinched his cheek. "A trick my mother taught me. I have never shown it to anyone. When I saw them leaving the Palace, I cast a pool of my Han at their feet. They stepped through it. It leaves tracks of my own Han. Only I can see them. Their footprints are as bright as the sun on a pond to me, but to no other."

  "You must teach me this trick."

  "Someday, I promise. Come on."

  She led him by the hand as she followed the glow of the Sister's footprints through the dense woods. Distant night birds called in haunting voices, owls hooted, and other creatures made low screams and clicks. The ground was uneven, tangled with roots and brush, but the glowing footprints helped her to see the way.

  The damp heat made her sweat. Her dress clung to her wet skin. When she got home, she would shield her room and she would have a bath. A long bath. With Jedidiah. Then she would let him use his magic on her, and she would use hers on him.

  They went deeper into the Hagen Woods, deeper than she had ever gone before. Vapor drifting from boggy areas carried the pervasive stench of rotting vegetation. They passed through dark gullies veiled with hanging roots and moss that brushed against her face and arms, making her flinch at the unexpected contact. The footprints led up and over sparsely wooded, rocky ridges.

  At the top of one, standing in the still, damp air, she looked back, out across the somber landscape. In the far distance, she could see the flickering lights of Tanimura, and set among the lights, rising up in the silvery moonlight, the Palace of the Prophets, its dark shape blocking out the lights of the city beyond.

  She longed to be back there, to be home, but this was something that had to be done. There was no one else to do it. The lives of everyone depended on her. The Creator was depending on her. Still, she longed to be home, and safe.

  But home was no longer safe. It was as dangerous as the Hagen woods, if there really were Sisters of the Dark. Even with as much as she knew, it was difficult for her to accept the idea. The Prelate had to believe her, she just had to. There was no one else she could turn to for help. She wished there was even just one Sister she could trust, confide in, but she didn't dare trust anyone. Nathan had warned her not to trust anyone.

  Even though she wished Jedidiah was home, and safe, she was glad to have him with her. She knew there was nothing he could do to help, but it still felt good to have him to confide in. Her husband. She smiled at the thought. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. She would protect him with her life, if she had to.

  The ground pitched into a descent. Through gaps in the trees, she could see they were going down into a deep bowl in the earth. The edge was steep and they had to move slowly so as not to send any rocks tumbling through the woods. One started to slide as her foot touched it, and she quickly used a handful of air to stop it, and then push it firmly into the ground. She sighed in relief.

  Jedidiah followed her, a silent, comforting shadow. Her tension relaxed a little when they passed from the loose rock, back into denser woods where the ground was mossy and silent to step on.

  The faint sound of chanting drifted to them through the thick woods, carried on heavy, fetid air. Low, rhythmic, guttural tones of words she couldn't understand resonated in her chest. Even without understanding the words, she felt revulsion at them, as if they made the air reek.

  Jedidiah gripped her upper arm, dragging her to a halt. He put his mouth close to her ear. "Margaret, please," he whispered, "let's go back now, before it's too late. I'm afraid."

  "Jedidiah!" she growled as she reached up and snatched him by the collar. "This is important! I am a Sister of the Light. You are a wizard. What do you think I have been training you for? To stand on a street down in the market and perform tricks! To have people throw coins at you? We serve the Creator. He has given us everything we have so we may use it to help others. Others are in danger. We must help. You are a wizard. Act like one!"

  She could just see his wide eyes in the faint light. He sagged slightly as the tension went out of his muscles. "I'm sorry. You're right. Forgive me. I will do what I must, I promise."

  Her anger cooled. "I am afraid, too. Touch your Han, keep a firm grip on it, but not too tight. Hold it so you can release it in an instant, as I have taught you. If anything happens, don't hold back. Don't be afraid of how much you might hurt them. If you do need your power, anything less than all of it will not be enough. If you keep your head, you are strong enough to defend yourself. You can do it, Jedidiah. Have faith in what I have taught you, what all the Sisters have taught you. Have faith in the Creator, in what He has given you. You have it for a reason, we all do. This may be the reason. Tonight may be what you have been called for."

  He nodded again and she turned back to the glowing footprints, following them into the thick forest. They wandered through the trees toward the center of the bowl, toward where the chanting was coming from. The closer they got, the more the voices made her skin prickle. The voices were Sisters. She thought she recognized some of them.

  Dear Creator, she prayed, give me the strength to do what I must to help you. Give Jedidiah strength, too. Help us serve you, to help others.

  Little flickers of light came through the leaves. They crept closer. The trees around her were huge. The two of them glided from one trunk to another, no longer following the footprints. They could see glimpses now of something through openings in the underbrush. Slowly, they tiptoed forward across the open forest floor beneath large spreading spruce trees. The needles were soft and quiet to walk on. Shoulder to shoulder, they slid behind low, heavy brush at the edge of woods. It was as close as they could go. Beyond lay a flat, round, open area.

  At least a hundred candles were set on the ground in a ring, like a fence, or boundary, as if holding back the dark forest. Inside the candles was a circle drawn on the ground. It looked to be made of white sand that sparkled with little points of prismatic light. It looked like the descriptions of sorcerer's sand she had heard, although she had never actually seen any. It stood out clearly in the candle light, and the light of the moon overhead.

  Symbols were drawn with the same white sand. They were inside the circle, points of them touching the outer boundary of the circle at irregular intervals. Margaret had never seen the symbols before, but she knew some of the elements of them from an old book. They spoke to the underworld.

  About halfway in from the outer white line and candles, eleven sisters sat in a circle. Margaret stared harder, trying to see in the dim, flickering light. It looked as if each had a hood over her head, with holes cut for the eyes. They chanted in unison. Shadows from the Sisters extended inward to a point in the center.

  In the center lay a woman, naked, except for a hood like the others. She lay on her back, her hands crossed over her breasts, her legs pressed together.

  Twelve. With the one in the center, that made twelve. She searched the circle of Sisters again. Even with the candles, it was still dark, and the candles were to the Sisters' backs.

  Her eyes stopped on a form on the opposite side of the circle. Her breath caught in her throat. That form was larger than the rest. It was hunched, its head lowered, and without a hood. It sat at a convergence of lines in the symbols.

  It was not a Sister. With a start, she saw the faint orange glow. The statue with the quillion was resting in its lap.

  She and Jedidiah crouched, frozen, watching the circle of Sisters as they chanted. After a time, one of them, to the side of the hunched form, stood. The chanting stopped. She spoke short, sharp words in a language Margaret didn't know. At points in the speech, her hand shot into the air, flinging sparkling dust over the naked woman in the center. The dust ignited, bathing the hooded Sist
ers with brief, harsh light. At the flash, they all answered with odd, rhyming words. She and Jedidiah exchanged looks, her own confused, frightened feelings reflected in his eyes.

  The standing Sister flung both hands up, calling out a list of strange words. She went to the naked woman, stood at her head, and threw up her arms again. The sparkling dust caught fire once more. This time, the orange glow from the quillion brightened.

  The head of the hunched form slowly rose. Margaret made a silent gasp when she saw the face of the beast. Its fanged mouth opened with a low growl. The Sister drew a delicately wrought silver scepter from her cloak, and gave it sharp shakes as she chanted again, sprinkling water over the prone woman.

  Something was happening to the quillion. It brightened, and then dimmed. The dark eyes of the beast watched the naked woman. Margaret stared, wide-eyed. Her heart pounded so hard it felt as if it would tear a hole in her chest.

  As the quillion faded, the beast's eyes began to glow orange. The same color orange as the quillion. As the quillion dimmed, the glow in the beast's eyes intensified, until the little statue was dark, and the thing's eyes shined bright.

  Two more Sisters stood. They moved to each side of the first.

  The first knelt. Her hooded head lowered, looking down to the naked woman. "It is time, if you are sure. You know what must be done; the same as has been done to us. You are the last to be offered the gift. Do you wish to accept it?"

  "Yes! I am entitled. It is mine. I want it."

  Margaret thought she knew both voices, but she wasn't sure because the hoods muffled their words.

  "Then it shall be yours, Sister." The other two knelt beside her as she pulled a cloth from her cloak, twisting it between her fists. "You must pass this test of pain to gain the gift. We cannot touch you with our magic while it is being done, but we will help you as best we can."

  "I will do anything. It is mine. Let it be done."

  The naked woman spread her arms. The sisters to each side leaned with all their weight on her wrists.