Into Darkness

6

Richard was having a wonderful dream that Kahlan was kissing him. As it always did, the feel of her soft lips on his seemed to open up the feminine half of the universe to him. It was a profound completion of his reason for being. It made him whole.

As he was kissing her, something made him open his eyes. He abruptly realized that it wasn’t a dream.

It was not yet dawn, but through the trees he could see the eastern sky just beginning to brighten a bit. Her hair had fallen down to flow around his face. Flickering firelight gave her face a warm glow as she pulled back and looked down at him with that radiant smile he knew so well.

“You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you.” The smile widened with mischievousness. “But I couldn’t resist kissing you.”

Richard let out a deep breath of relief as he embraced her, holding her tight to him. His fears melted away in that moment.

He finally gripped her shoulders and lifted her back away from him. “How do you feel?”

Her mouth twisted playfully. “Pretty good now that I’ve had a kiss.”

“No, I mean everything else.” He looked at her skeptically. “Are you all right?”

She shrugged. “I feel surprisingly well, actually. I think I was having a terrible nightmare and it felt like I was asleep forever in some faraway place. I didn’t like being in that place. While I was sleeping, I thought I heard you say that life is a struggle, and I should fight for you, for us, and for our children. So I did and woke up.”

Seeing that Kahlan was awake and up, Shale threw off her blanket and rushed around the fire. “Mother Confessor! You’re awake. How are you feeling. Don’t try to stand. Any pain? Are you hurting anywhere?”

Kahlan struggled to sit up as Shale tried to push her back down. “I feel like I’ve had a very long and restful sleep, actually. I feel fine.” As the Mord-Sith rushed up around them, Kahlan frowned. “Why is everyone acting so strange?”

“You don’t remember?” Richard asked.

Kahlan made a face as she half smiled. “No. Remember what?”

“You … were having difficulty with your pregnancy,” Shale said.

Kahlan’s face suddenly went ashen. “What?”

The sorceress waved her hands to dispel the fear from Kahlan’s suddenly pale expression. “No, no, everything is fine, now. Lord Rahl found a plant I needed to make you some medicine and it fixed you right up. It was not a big thing, really. You were exhausted and just needed a bit of medicine and rest, so I helped you go to sleep. Don’t worry, everything is fine, now.”

Kahlan looked skeptically at all the faces watching her as she ran a hand over her round belly. “Are you sure?” She looked under the blanket. “Where are my trousers?”

When everyone was silent for a moment, Rikka finally spoke up. “I washed them for you, Mother Confessor. I dried them by the fire. They are ready whenever you want them.”

“I made some breakfast,” Berdine said with a big grin. “I thought you would be hungry when you woke up. We have fresh fish and rabbit. Which do you prefer? I have to say, I like the rabbit best.”

“Well, actually, I am pretty hungry. The fish sounds good.” She tipped her head to look out of the lean-to. “It looks like the weather is no better.”

Richard glanced out. “At least it’s not snowing down here. Fortunately it’s not raining any longer, either. At least for now. The weather in these mountains can change in an instant, but I don’t think it’s going to be getting much better for a while.”

“Well,” Kahlan said, “we need to get moving south to try to find a way to get around these mountains if I’m to have these babies at the Wizard’s Keep.”

“There can be no going south,” Shale said with a frown. “Not with that boundary wall of death thing.”

“The boundary …” Kahlan’s brow twitched a little as she put a hand to her forehead. “That’s right. I seem to have forgotten that we had run into the boundary … .”

“Lord Rahl found a trail leading to a pass over the mountains,” Vika said, hoping to dispel Kahlan’s sudden concern.

Kahlan’s mouth fell open. “A trail over a pass? That would mean the boundary wouldn’t matter and we can cross the mountains here. That would get us directly to Aydindril.” She looked up hopefully. “If there is a pass, we could get over the mountains right away. That would significantly shorten our journey.”

“The sooner the better,” Shale said. “You aren’t getting any less pregnant. I would feel a lot better if we weren’t out in the wilderness when the time comes to give birth.”

Kahlan still seemed somewhat confused. “So then I’m all right? The twins are all right? Was I having some kind of trouble?”

Some of the Mord-Sith exchanged glances. Everyone noticed that Kahlan seemed not to remember what had happened. Richard could see no reason to tell her how close she had come to losing the babies, to say nothing of her life. It would needlessly frighten her to know how grave the situation had been. From the looks on all the other faces, it seemed that none of the rest of them thought it would be a good idea to tell her, either.

Berdine suddenly smiled brightly. “Lord Rahl found a plant that made you all well again.”

Kahlan looked over at him and put a hand on his chest. “Was it any trouble?”

“None at all,” Vika said from behind Richard.

Richard wasn’t as happy about the pass as the rest of them. It seemed everything had been conspiring to force them to cross the mountains in this place. Someone was behind the strange woods they lost so much time in. Someone had usurped his ability and used it to put up those boundaries. Kahlan had begun to miscarry and he had to find a very rare plant to save her and the babies. There just happened to be some of those very rare mother’s breath plants up the mountain trail they just happened to come across.

Whatever hidden hand was behind all of the recent events seemed determined to get them up into these mountains. And there just so happened to be an old trail for them to use.

“As soon as we have something to eat then we should probably get going,” he said. “There is no telling how long this break in the weather will last. It would be good to make some distance while we have the chance.”

She flashed him a smile. “I would like that. The sooner we are to Aydindril the better. I feel well rested. I’m up for some traveling.”

“I’m afraid it’s going to be a difficult journey,” Richard cautioned her. “It’s a demanding climb from here to get to the trail, and the trail itself is not an easy one. I’m afraid that once we get to it, there is no way to take the horses up that trail and over that pass.”

“Well,” she said, thoughtfully, “I expect the horses will enjoy their freedom. I’m sure they will be glad not to have to carry us and all our gear any longer.”

Richard smiled. Kahlan always tried to find the bright side of things. He was sure she was worried about what lay ahead for them, but she didn’t want to show her concern. As the Mother Confessor, she always tried to keep everyone positive. Richard wasn’t feeling nearly so positive. As pregnant as she was, it was going to be a difficult journey on foot.

Worse, he knew that they were being guided by a hidden hand.