Into Darkness

78

“It was a long and difficult journey getting to the Keep the last time,” she reminded him. “We had better get some fast horses.”

“I have a better way,” Richard told her.

“Another crazy idea? Please tell me you don’t intend to use the gateway to get us there.”

Richard shook his head at the very notion. “Dear spirits no. I’m not sure that would even be possible. But I know a better way, and it’s not crazy at all. Let’s go.”

As they went through the double doors and out of the Garden of Life, there was a very surprised knot of men of the First File standing right there. They all stepped back, stunned at seeing the Lord Rahl and Vika.

It looked as if they had heard sounds and were all gathered by the doors. At seeing him, all of them snapped to attention after stepping back and clapped fists to their hearts.

One of the Lord Rahl’s personal guard stepped forward. The man was even bigger than the men of the First File. He was armored with fitted leather and had metal bands around his massive arms, just above his elbows. Those bands had razor-sharp projections on them that were used in close-quarters combat. They could tear an opponent apart with ease in short order.

The big man blinked in astonishment. “Lord Rahl, we weren’t … expecting you.”

“I suppose not,” Richard said. “To tell you the truth, I wasn’t expecting me to be here ever again.”

When the man only frowned in confusion, Vika showed him a smile. “We went into darkness to get here.”

He clearly didn’t have a clue as to what she could mean.

“We’ve been keeping extra guards on this place since you told us to before you left,” the captain of the guard said. “Not a soul has gone in there, but we heard noises and thought that maybe it was more of the Glee.” He leaned over to look around Richard and through the open doors into the Garden of Life. The man looked painfully puzzled. “How did you get in there?”

“I just returned from the world of the Glee,” he told them. The eyes of all the men widened. “They were killing people in our world, and they killed a lot of people here, at the palace. I had to make sure they can never come here to harm anyone again.”

The captain looked grim. “There was an attack not long after you and the Mother Confessor disappeared, some time back, but none since then, thank the Creator.”

“That wasn’t the Creator’s doing,” Vika told them. “It was Lord Rahl’s.”

Richard ignored her and addressed the captain. “I’m sorry to hear about that, but at least there is no longer any need to ever again have to worry about attacks from those monsters. They will never be able to come here to our world again.”

The captain frowned his concern. “Lord Rahl, how can you be so sure of that? Those demons could just show up out of thin air—we never knew when or where. How can you be sure they will not come again?”

Richard gestured back through the open double doors. “Because I stole the device they used to travel to our world and brought it back with me.”

Jaws dropped. “Weren’t they angry you did that?” the commander asked.

“Well, yes, actually they were, but the ones who objected are now dead.”

They all looked at Vika, like maybe she could explain the incomprehensible to them. “I know, it sounds crazy,” she told them, “but Lord Rahl sometimes does crazy things. If he didn’t, we would be the ones who were dead by now.”

The captain cleared his throat. “We are certainly happy to hear that you are safely back in our world with us, Lord Rahl. But what of the Mother Confessor? You were going to the Keep for her safety.”

“Yes, well, and therein lies the problem. I wanted to bring the device I stole from the Glee here, where I know it will be safe under the protection of the First File. Now that I’ve done that, I need to get to the Keep as soon as possible.”

“What can we do to help?”

“Get me to the sliph.”

At that command, he sensed Vika tense up, and he saw her glance down at the Sword of Truth.

He showed her a small smile. “Since the sword had been touched by the world of the dead, and this time there isn’t any risk to Kahlan’s pregnancy, I can take my sword with me in the sliph.”

Her expression eased. “That’s a relief.”

Richard nodded his agreement and then turned to the Captain. “The fastest way to the sliph, if you please.”

The man clapped a fist to his heart. “Come with us.”

Richard could see in Vika’s face that she had lost weight. They had eaten hardly anything in the days they were in the world of the Glee. He was feeling weak himself. He knew that the sliph would take at least a day to get them to the Keep.

Before they started out, he took one of the other soldiers by the arm. “It’s going to be a long journey. Please bring me and Vika something to eat. Nothing fancy or anything that would take time to prepare. Some kind of meat. Whatever is already cooked. Bring it to the sliph and be quick about it.”