Stone of Tears

Chapter 64

She heard the voices in the outer office, and hoped it was who she thought it would be. She was not looking forward to this, but she was running out of time. Richard would have surely found a way to see Nathan by now, and Nathan would have done his part. Now it was time to do hers.

She couldn’t completely trust Nathan, but in this, he would have done what was required. He knew the consequences of failure. His had been a task she didn’t envy—adding the weight of that snowflake.

With a flick of her fingers, the door swung open. She had had to have the carpenters fix the doorframe. Richard had shattered it with his Han, without even being aware of what he had done. And that was before he had even gone to Nathan.

The curt speech cut off as the door opened, and the three faces looked in, awaiting instruction.

“Sister Ulicia, Finella, it’s late; why don’t you two run along to your offices and tend to your paperwork. I will see her. Sister Verna, please come in.”

Ann stood as Sister Verna strode in. She liked Verna. She abhorred what she was going to have to do to her, but she was running out of time. Hundreds of years to prepare, and now time and events were slipping through her fingers.

The world was at the brink.

Verna bowed. “Prelate Annalina.”

“Please, Verna, sit down. It has been so long.”

Verna pulled a chair close to the opposite side of the table. She sat with her back straight and her hands folded in her lap. “How good of you to take your valuable time to see me.”

Ann almost smiled. Almost. Dear Creator, thank you for sending her to me testy; though it won’t make my job any less onerous, it will surely make it easier.

“I have been busy.”

“So have I,” Verna snapped. “For the last twenty-odd years.”

“Apparently not busy enough. We seem to be having difficulty with a boy you collected, who you should have taken to task before he even arrived.”

Verna’s face turned scarlet. “Had you not forbidden me from doing my duty, using my skills, I would have done so.”

“Oh? Are you so barren of resourcefulness, Verna, that you could not function with minor restrictions? Pasha, a mere novice, seems to be having better success, and she functions under the same restrictions.”

“You think so? You think he is under control?”

“He has not killed anyone since Pasha took over.”

Verna stiffened. “I think I know something of Richard. I would advise the Prelate caution in her confidence.”

Ann looked down, moving papers about, as if devoting attention to words she was not seeing. “I will take your advice under consideration. Thank you for coming, Verna.”

“I’m not finished! I haven’t yet begun!”

Her eyes came slowly up. “If you raise your voice to me again, you will be, Verna.”

“Prelate Annalina, please forgive my tone, but there are matters of grave importance I simply must raise.”

Ann sighed, feigning impatience. “Yes, yes, then please do get to it. I have much work to do.” She folded her hands on the desk and gave Verna a blank look. “Go on then.”

“Richard grew up with his grandfather . . .”

“How nice for him.”

Verna paused in annoyance at the interruption. “His grandfather is a wizard. A wizard of the First Order. His grandfather wanted to teach him.”

“Well, we will see to his teaching. Is that all?”

Verna’s eyes narrowed. “I do not need to remind the Prelate that it is a direct violation of the truce to take a boy from a wizard who would teach him. I was told that there were no wizards left in the New World to teach boys. I was lied to. I was used. We have been stealing boys. You made me a part of that.”

Ann smiled indulgently. “Sister, we serve the Creator, so all may learn to live in his light. Now, in view of our duty to the Creator, what is a truce with heathen wizards?”

Verna was struck speechless.

Dear Creator, I like this woman so. Please give me the strength to break her. Nathan had added his snowflake, she had to add hers.

“I have been sent on a twenty-year chase, without knowing the reason, I have been deceived, my two companions died, one at my hand, I have been forbidden use of my power to do my job . . .”

“Do you think I forbid your use of your power capriciously? Is that what’s bothering you, Verna? Very well then, if you must know the reason, it was to save your life.”

Verna stiffened in caution. “If I remember my lessons in the vaults, there is only one reason such restriction would save my life.”

Inwardly, Ann smiled. Verna wanted it spoken aloud. “Indeed. Richard has Subtractive Magic.”

“You knew that? You had one with Subtractive Magic collared? You would risk that? You would have him brought here, to the palace?” Her hands unfolded and she leaned in a bit. “Why?”

Ann held the other’s gaze. “Because there are Sisters of the Dark in the palace.”

She didn’t twitch. She knew. At least, she suspected. Bless you, Verna, you are a bright one. Forgive me for what I must do.

“Is this room shielded?” Verna asked in an even tone.

“Of course.” She left unsaid that her shield would not protect against these Sisters.

“Do you have proof of such an accusation, Prelate?”

“I do not need proof, right now, because this conversation is restricted. You will not speak of it. Unless you plan to bring charges. If you do, I of course will deny it, and say a bitter Sister was trying to accuse the Prelate of blasphemy for personal gain. And then we would have to hang you. Neither of us wants that, now do we?”

Verna sat stiff and still. “No, Prelate. But what does that have to do with bringing Richard here?”

“When your house is overrun with rats, the only thing you can do is bring in a cat.”

“This cat sees us all as rats. Maybe with good reason. Some might say that perhaps you were not bringing in a cat for your rats, but bait. Richard is a good person. I would not like to think he is being sacrificed.”

“Do you know why you were selected to go after Richard?”

“I had thought it was your vote of confidence.”

Ann shrugged. “In a way, it was. Although I’m not sure that there are Sisters of the Dark in the palace, and I have no idea who they are if it’s true, I had to assume that if it is true, then since Grace and Elizabeth were at the top of the list, they would be Sisters of the Dark. I knew from prophecy, that only my eyes have seen, that Richard probably has Subtractive Magic, and further, that he would refuse the first two offers. I knew the first two sisters would die.

“If the Nameless One’s disciples knew any of this, they would want the third name on the list to be one of theirs, too. I used my prerogative as Prelate to pick the third Sister.”

“You chose me, because you had faith that I was not one of them?”

What Ann wanted to say was I have known you since you were a child, Verna. I know your quick mind, your heart, and your soul. You, of all the Sisters, were the one I trusted with the fate of the world. I knew Richard would be safe in your hands.

But she could not say that.

“I chose you, Verna, because you were far down on the list, and because, all in all, you are quite unremarkable.”

The room rang with silence for a long moment. Verna swallowed. “I see.”

Ann affected dispassionate objectivity. Inside, her heart was breaking.

“I doubted you were one of them. You are a person of little note. I’m sure Grace and Elizabeth made their way to the top of the list because whoever directs the Sisters of the Dark considered them expendable. I direct the Sisters of the Light. I chose you for the same reason.

“There are Sisters who are valuable to our cause; I could not risk one of them on such a task. The boy may prove a value to us, but he is not as important as other matters at the palace. He may be a help. It was simply an opportunity I thought to take.

“If there had been trouble, and none of you made it back, well, I’m sure you can understand that a general would not want to lose his best troops on a low-priority mission.”

Verna’s breathing looked forced. Her voice sounded it. “Of course, Prelate Annalina.”

Ann shuffled her papers impatiently. “I have important matters to get back to. Is there anything else, Sister?”

“No, Prelate.”

When the door closed, Ann lowered her face into her shaking hands. Tears dripped onto her papers.

She appraised his eyes for a long moment. Richard didn’t know if she would say yes or not, but he had had to tell her much of what he had learned just to get her to agree to listen to his plea. He couldn’t afford to fail. He needed help. He had to trust someone.

“All right, Richard. I will help you. If half of what you say is true, I must help you.”

Richard sighed as he closed his eyes in relief. “Thank you, Liliana. I’ll never forget you for this. You’re the only one around here who will listen to reason. Can we do it now? Time is critical.”

“Now?” she whispered harshly. “Here? Richard, if what you say about you having Subtractive Magic is true, it won’t be a simple matter to remove your Rada’Han. I will need to retrieve an object of magic that the Sisters keep guarded. It’s an aid, used to amplify power. Maybe through that, and with your help, it will be enough to get the collar off.

“Not only that, but if the Nameless One is involved, there is no telling what ears, or Han, might be paying attention.”

“Then, when? Where? It has to be soon.”

She wiped her fingers over her eyes as she considered. “Well, I think I can retrieve the object before tonight, so we could try tonight. But where? It can’t be in the palace. It would be too dangerous.”

“The Hagen Woods,” Richard said. “Everyone avoids the Hagen Woods.”

Liliana looked up. “Richard, you can’t be serious. It’s dangerous there.”

“Not for me. I already told you how I can tell if the mriswith are coming. We’ll be safe enough, and we won’t have to worry about any Sisters, or Pasha, stumbling by while we’re trying to get this cursed thing off my neck.”

She let out a frustrated breath. At last she laid a hand on his shoulder and, giving it a squeeze, smiled. “All right. The Hagen Woods, then.”

With a stern look, she gripped his shoulder and held him out at arm’s length. “I’m violating a whole stack of rules by doing this. I know it’s important, and the right thing to do, but if they catch us before we can do it, they will make sure I never get near enough to you to ever again try.”

“I’m ready now, let’s go.”

“No. I must try to retrieve the aid first.” She cocked her head to the side as she frowned. “And I just thought of something else. They keep telling you not to let the sun set on you there. Why?”

Richard shrugged. “Because it’s dangerous.”

“And after everything you’ve learned, you believe them? You trust them? Richard, what if they don’t want you to let the sun set on you there because you might learn something useful? You said the Hagen Woods were placed there by the wizards of old who had Subtractive Magic, in order to help those like you. What if the Sisters don’t want you to have that help? What if they are just trying to make you afraid, so you won’t discover it?”

Wizard’s First Rule. Were they deceiving him? Was he believing a lie? “You may be right. We’ll go before sunset.”

“No. We don’t want to be seen together. And it will take me some time to steal the aid. Do you know where the long, split rock sits in the stream to southwest corner of the Hagen Woods?”

“I know the place.”

“Good. You get there before the sun sets; you are the one the magic is for. Go in the woods by the split rock. Tie strips of cloth to branches so I can follow where you went, and find you. I’ll meet you there, in the woods, when the moon is two hands in the sky. And Richard, don’t you dare tell anyone about this, or you will be risking not only my life and yours, but Kahlan’s too.”

Richard nodded with a smile of thanks. “On my word. Tonight, then.”

He paced his room after she left. He was anxious to get this over with, and be off. He was running out of time. If Darken Rahl had the skrin bone, they were already out of time. But that was just foolish. How would he get it? He was a spirit. Maybe it was as Warren said, that the elements were rarely all in place.

It was Kahlan he was worried about. He had to help her.

A knock brought him out of his thoughts. He thought it might be Liliana come back, but when he opened the door, a distraught Perry pushed into the room.

“Richard! I need your help.” He pulled out a fistful of robes. “Look at this! They promoted me!”

Richard glanced down the length of the simple, brown robes. “Congratulations. That’s great, Perry.”

“It’s a disaster! Richard, I need your help!”

Richard frowned. “Why is it a disaster?”

Perry threw his arms in the air, as if it should be obvious to anyone. “Because I can’t go into the city! I’m restricted in these robes! I’m not allowed to go over the bridge!”

“Well, I’m sorry, Perry, but I don’t see how I can help you.”

Perry took a deep breath to calm himself. He looked up pleadingly. “There’s a woman in the city . . . I’ve been seeing her steady of late. Richard, I really like her. I’m supposed to meet her tonight. If I don’t show up, so I can explain, if I never show up again, she’ll think I don’t care about her.”

“Perry, I still don’t see what I can do about it.”

Perry grabbed him by his shirt. “They took all my clothes. Richard, you could lend me some of yours. Then no one would recognize me, and I could sneak into the city, and see her. Please, Richard, lend me some of your clothes?”

Richard thought a moment. He didn’t care if he was violating some obscure rule of the palace, it seemed insignificant compared to what he was doing, but he still worried for Perry.

“The guards all know me. They will see it’s you in my clothes and tell the Sisters. Then you’ll be in for trouble.”

Perry glanced away, frantically thinking. “Night. I’ll wait until night, and then I’ll go. They won’t see so clearly who it really is at night. Please, Richard? Please?”

Richard sighed. “It’s fine by me, Perry, if you want to risk it. Just don’t get yourself caught. I’d hate to know I helped get you in trouble.” He gestured to the bedroom, where the wardrobe was. “Come on. Take whatever you like. You aren’t quite my size, but I guess you’re close enough.”

Perry added a grin to his sidelong look. “The red coat? I can have the red coat? She’d like me in that.”

“Sure.” Richard led a giddy Perry toward the bedroom. “If that is what you would like, take it. I’m glad someone will enjoy wearing the red coat.”

Perry sorted through the wardrobe, looking for a pair of pants and a shirt he thought would look dashing.

“I saw Sister Liliana leaving your room, just before I came.” He pulled out a ruffled, white shirt. “She one of your teachers?”

“Yes. I like her. She’s the nicest of the lot.”

Perry held up the shirt in front of himself. “How does this look on me?”

“Better than on me. You know Liliana?”

“Not really. She just always gave me the shivers. Those strange eyes of hers.”

Richard thought about Liliana’s pale, pale blue eyes shot through with violet flecks. He shrugged. “I thought they were strange, too, at first. But she’s so bubbly and friendly that I don’t even notice them anymore. She has such a warm smile that it’s hard to see anything else.”

She considered the captain standing before her desk. He was asking an outrageous price. But then, what was the Palace’s gold to her? Before it was missed, she would be gone.

As she had feared, the boy was proving troublesome to tame. It was becoming important to cultivate other options. There were other ways of seeing to the Keeper’s wishes, other ways of keeping her oath.

“I agree to your price. In fact, I double it, just to insure your loyalty.”

She pushed the purse across the desk. Captain Blake licked his cracked lips as he watched it moving closer. He finally reached out and took it, testing its weight before tucking it in his coat.

“Very generous of you, Sister. You’re a woman who knows how to win a man’s loyalty.”

“You are not going to count it, Captain?”

His cold eyes weren’t touched by his servile smile. “Aye, Sister, I’ll be counting it when I get back to the Lady Sefa. When do you wish to sail?”

There were still a few matters, a few loose ends, to attend to. “Soon. I have paid you more than enough to have you at the ready, until I’m ready.”

“Aye, Sister, you have at that.” He scratched his scruffy chin. “I’m content to sit. I’m in no great hurry to be sailing to where you want to go.”

She leaned forward. “You are sure you can make the voyage.”

“Aye, Sister. The Lady Sefa has made the voyage before, and can again. Still, I’ve no itch to be off into those waters until I have to.” He straightened his tattered coat. “How many ladies will you be bringing?” An apologetic smile spread easily on his weathered face. “I’ll need to see to the proper accommodations.”

Sitting back, she again ground her teeth at the memory of Liliana pulling off her hood at the joining rite. Liliana had let every other Sister know her identity by doing that. Worse, she had been warned. It was more than a mistake; it was arrogance. Liliana was proving dangerously untrustworthy. With the power she was appropriating, there was no telling what she would do next. There was certainly no reason to take Liliana.

As for the others, why take them all? The Prelate had made a mistake by speaking her suspicions aloud, thinking a shield of Additive Magic would protect her. The Prelate would have cause to suspect six of the Sisters, but if the Prelate were to die, there would be no reason for anyone, even Liliana, to suspect the others. Why take them, when they might prove useful here?

She was liking this plan more by the moment. “Myself and five others will be going.”

“Mind if I ask why you fine ladies want to be sailing out around the great barrier. Isn’t the Old World to your liking?”

She leveled a menacing glare on the man standing before her. “I have bought your ship, your crew, and you, for as long as I want them, and for whatever purpose I want them. Answering questions was not part of the bargain.”

“No, Sister. I just thought—”

“Your silence was.” Without taking her eyes from his, she flicked her wrist and brought a blade to hand. “I have always thought death too brief a lesson. I believe in long lessons. If I so much as suspect you have violated your part of the bargain, any part of it, they will find you still breathing, but without an inch of skin left anywhere on you. Do we understand each other?”

Captain Blake stared furiously at the blue and yellow carpet beneath his feet. “Aye, Sister.”

“Then that will be all, Captain. I will be seeing you spon. Be ready to sail the instant you see six Sisters coming.”

After he had gone, she pulled a spare dacra from a drawer and, resting an elbow on the desk, watched it spinning in her fingers as she thought. She didn’t like leaving matters to chance. Best if all the loose ends were taken care of.

Someone would have to eliminate Richard Rahl. Someone not going with them. She smiled. Someone expendable.