Warheart

CHAPTER 44

Rather than asking Nicci to explain, Richard started for the doorway to have a look for himself. Nicci brought a light sphere, while the two Mord-Sith had lanterns taken from pegs in the far wall where another half-dozen lanterns still hung, covered in a layer of dust so thick it made them look like they were carved from dirt.

Richard came to a stop when he saw the small symbol in the language of Creation carved into the stone over the doorway.

He turned and looked back at the four women. “That says ‘Sanctuary of Souls.’”

“Yes”–Nicci tilted her head toward the hanging–“and it fits with all of this.”

The thin, silklike material hung dead still over the outside of the doorway. Nicci held the light sphere closer so he could see all of the symbols in the language of Creation covering the sheer material of the cloth. The symbols appeared backward because they had been painted onto the other side with a brush and ink.

Even with the symbols being backward, he could make out the meaning of a number of the more familiar symbols. He puzzled at others, though, trying to think if he had ever seen them before. While he recognized some of the compositional elements, he couldn’t make sense of what they meant when combined. In the language of Creation, the sub-elements worked together to construct the primary expression, so the meaning of those sub-elements was to an extent dependent on how all the parts of the symbol worked together. While he thought some of the symbols looked somehow familiar, he couldn’t recall where he had seen them.

“I don’t recognize some of these symbols”–he gestured to several of the more complex emblems–“like this grouping, here.”

“You probably wouldn’t,” the sorceress said. “These are ward spells.”

Richard frowned back at her. “Ward spells? What are they warding?”

Nicci’s blue eyes turned up to look at him. “The dead.”

“How do you know?”

Nicci admonished him with a look. “I was a Sister of the Dark. These are things I recognize. They are dangerous spells and only used for the most dangerous of places.”

Richard couldn’t help thinking about the words “Sanctuary of Souls” above the door.

“And they are meant to ward the dead?”

“In this case, yes. They are designed to stop the dead or any minions of the world of the dead. They act something like shields. But shields, like those rolling stones back in the caves in Stroyza, often have to be constructed. For that reason, shields are often difficult to create. Because these kinds of wards can even be painted on a piece of cloth, they are considerably easier to put up.”

Richard felt the thin cloth between his fingers and thumb. “Then why aren’t wards like this used more often? Why bother with building shields when you can simply paint a few of the appropriate ward spells?”

Nicci gave him a look as if he had asked a stupid question. “Pretty hard to steal a giant rolling stone. Don’t you think that for people without the ability to create them on their own, this kind of ward would be much easier to steal and use for their own purpose?”

“I suppose so,” Richard admitted as he studied the flimsy hanging cloth. “So these particular wards are specifically meant to stop spirits?”

“Yes. In this case there is no doubt that they are meant to repel the dead from this doorway. Since they are facing anything coming from out there, they are obviously meant to keep spirits of the dead out of the room with Lucy’s well.”

“So then there are ghosts beyond this doorway?” Cassia asked.

Nicci drew her lower lip through her teeth as she studied the spell-forms on the cloth. “That would be my guess. I do know that spirits of the dead can’t cross such wards. These keep them on the other side. They could serve no other purpose. Such dangerous spell-forms would not be here unless it was absolutely necessary.”

“You mean they act something like the skrin,” Kahlan asked, “repelling spirits from the veil to keep them from crossing through and keep them in the underworld?”

Nicci smiled. “That’s a very good way to put it, Mother Confessor.”

Kahlan looked back at the cloth hanging. “It’s beginning to make sense why what is out beyond is called the Sanctuary of Souls.”

“Yes,” Nicci agreed. “In a way, while it keeps them from crossing, it also creates a sanctuary for them where they feel safe. The underworld, with the skrin, is like that, too–it keeps them on that side, but it also creates a sanctuary for spirits where they won’t be disturbed.”

Richard frowned as he studied the symbols. “I just realized where I’ve seen some of these symbols before.”

“Really?” Nicci asked. “I can’t think of anywhere you would have seen such wards before.”

He turned away from the doorway to look at the sorceress. “I remember seeing some of these same ward spells on the enormous gates leading out of the third kingdom.”

Kahlan rubbed her arms. “That barrier to the third kingdom was put there an awfully long time ago, Richard. It was back in the great war. Are you saying that you think these were put here by the same people who built that barrier, and possibly for the same reason? Do you really think these have been here that long?”

Richard considered his answer a moment. “I don’t have a way to know for sure, but that would be my guess. I suspect this has something to do with that war and what the people back then were doing to stop Sulachan. If that’s true, then we’re the first people to enter the Sanctuary of Souls since back in that time.”

“That’s an unsettling thought,” Nicci said.

Kahlan gave them both an impatient look. “Regardless, what matters now is that we need to get to the sliph–if this really is the Keep. Like it or not, this is the only way out so let’s get going.”

Despite what Nicci had done for him to give him strength, the dull ache of the poison was wearing on him. He knew Kahlan was right.

Richard pulled the cloth aside just enough to peer out into the hallway. It was dark, lit only by the light from the lanterns and the sphere Nicci had taken from a bracket on the wall. At the farthest reaches of where that light penetrated, he thought he saw movement. He stared, trying to see it again, or see what it was, but nothing moved when he looked where he thought he’d seen the movement. He wondered if it could be his imagination. He wished he could believe it was.

Kahlan clasped his arm, gently pulling him back briefly. “Lucy said that she was supposed to tell you to be careful out there. While it’s important to remember that, sometimes it’s more dangerous to do nothing. We’re running out of time–you’re running out of time. We need to get going.”

Richard circled his arm around her waist. “Spoken like the Mother Confessor.”