Witch's Oath

28

As dawn broke in the east, they all ate a quick breakfast to finish off the chicken. The low clouds let rays of light through a band of sky at the horizon. The bottoms of the clouds turned pink at first, then gradually a deep purple.

Kahlan was eager to have another piece of cheese. She knew she hated cheese, but for some reason it tasted wonderful. She couldn’t explain it. She supposed that Shale was right that at least one of her babies had a taste for it. As she ate it, she rubbed her belly.

“This is for you,” she told them.

After they had packed up their bedrolls and gear, they saddled their horses while Vale and Cassia were off on a short scouting patrol to make sure there were no surprises lurking about. One of them went off in each direction to check the gully, since that was the only place where they couldn’t see for miles, unlike the rest of the desolate Azrith Plain. It was a quick reconnaissance and they both returned to report seeing nothing and finding no footprints. While many people came to the People’s Palace from all over much of D’Hara, in the direction they were headed across the Azrith Plain the land was deserted and there was no civilization before reaching the Midlands.

As Kahlan struggled to lift her saddle up over her mare’s back, Richard rushed over to help. Kahlan was strong. It seemed odd to her that she was having trouble lifting her saddle. She decided that with all they had been through down in the complication, the encounter with Michec, and having only a short sleep, she was simply tired.

Richard stepped in beside her, taking the saddle out of her hands. “Here, let me help lift that.”

He hoisted the saddle up onto her mare, and she got to put a hand on his back as he pulled the strap underneath and tightened it. She was glad for the chance to touch him, to feel a connection to him. After all that they had nearly lost, it was reassuring to touch him and see him smile. Though it was going to be a long journey, it would be a joyous one to not only be away from the constant threat of attack but to be with Richard.

She grinned as she looked up into his gray eyes. “We’re going to have babies.”

He bent and kissed her. “I will always protect them, and you. We’ll teach them to be good people. I promised you a golden age and I still intend to keep that promise.”

Darkness unexpectedly crept into her thoughts. “What about the Golden Goddess? Maybe you are mistaken and that is the golden age that is coming. She is in another world. How can we possibly defeat her? How can we stop her from coming for our children?”

Richard sighed, his smile fading with the change of subject. He didn’t have an answer, so he didn’t try to lie to her.

“I promised you I will protect them, and I will.”

“I know. You will think of something,” she said, forcing cheerfulness into her voice, trying to sound optimistic and bring back his smile. “I know you will.”

His smile made a brief reappearance.

She gazed out toward the still-dark horizon to the west after she saw that the others looked like they were about ready to leave. “Which direction?”

Richard took a quick look off into the distance to the dark horizon. “Aydindril is northwest from here as the crow flies. That would be the obvious choice, but with a formidable mountain range lying across the straightest route from here to Aydindril, mountains where the boundary once stood when we were growing up, that’s a problem. The boundary may be gone, but these mountains still present a formidable barrier.”

Kahlan shuddered at the mention of the boundary. When it had come down, it had unleashed Darken Rahl and the might of D’Hara on the Midlands. It had been the end of a long peace, the end of all the other Confessors, and the beginning of a horrific war. But the boundary coming down had also brought her to be with Richard. The world was so different now, but those mountains reminded her of the way things used to be.

“It’s possible we could find a way across those mountains,” Richard said, “but if we found a pass, it would be a dangerous crossing. Any high pass across that range would likely mean we would need to abandon the horses at some point. And that’s if we can find a such a pass.

“It’s also possible we could wander around in those mountains and never find a way across. Much of that range rises thousands of feet in nearly sheer rock walls. While it would theoretically be the shortest distance to Aydindril, I think trying to go that way would mean we would have to go on foot, spend a lot of time only to come to impassable cliffs, and even if we eventually found a way over it would end up taking longer. Not only that, but like I said, if we can find a pass up in those mountains, it’s likely to be dangerous.”

Kahlan stared off to the west. She knew those mountains, and she knew he was right. “It’s the heat of summer down here, but high up in those mountains weather could be a big problem.”

He nodded as he checked a saddle strap under the stirrups and then tipped his head more toward the left. “Southwest will get us to the Kern River. There will be a road along the river. It would provide an easier way over into the Midlands. It’s longer, but easier traveling and a lot less of a risk.”

Kahlan sighed as she looked toward the northwest, toward her home, toward the Confessors’ Palace, where she had been born, and where the Wizard’s Keep waited. She hadn’t realized how much she missed home. Now that they were going to Aydindril, she felt a sense of excitement to get there. The idea of having her children born where she had been born sounded wonderful to her.

“If we go too far south to cross the Kern we will end up in the Wilds.” She lifted an eyebrow at him. “You know what that’s like.”

Richard grimaced as he nodded. “Well, maybe if we spot any possible gaps in the mountain range, we can find a way across long before we have to go that far south.”

Kahlan nodded. “And if we can find a way across the mountains before we have to go too far south, we will end up in populated parts of the Midlands, where we can get any supplies we need. That will make our travel easier. Even if we do have to abandon the horses to get across, we can get horses in those lands.”

“There is that,” he said. “But don’t forget, we need to stay out of sight of people as much as possible.”

“You’re right.” Kahlan sighed. “It sounds like for now we need to head southwest through the desolate parts of D’Hara to get beyond at least the largest of the mountains. To the south they aren’t as formidable as they are up here to the north.”

“We will stay as close to the mountains as practical but still in areas that allow us to make good time. That way, I may be able to find a way over the mountains and into the Midlands sooner rather than later. Once we cross over, we can head north to Aydindril.” He smiled at her. “If there is a pass, I’ll find it. I am a woods guide, after all.”

Kahlan returned the smile. “I guess we have a plan for now.”

As eager as she was to get to the Keep, she knew they had to be smart about it. There was a lot of wild and dangerous country between them and where they needed to go.

“Everyone ready?” Richard called out.

Shale climbed up in her saddle after confirming that she was ready. The Mord-Sith mounted up, also letting him know that they were ready. When Kahlan saw Nyda yawn, it made her yawn, too.

In short order they were on their way. They rode up out of the gully and then headed southwest across the featureless plain for the rest of the day. As the sun started to sink off to their right, Kahlan was just able to make out a ragged, pale blue line of mountains in the distance, outlined by the sun as it sank behind them. She guessed those mountains would still be a number of days’ ride if they went directly northwest, toward Aydindril, but with the way they were heading to the southwest to skirt the highest of those mountains, it would likely be many days before they were close to the long spine of the mountain range where Richard could start looking for a way over it. The sooner he could find a way, the shorter their journey would be and the sooner they would reach the safety of the Keep.

The frustrating thing was that they were going farther away from Aydindril all the time because the imposing mountain range prevented a more direct route. She told herself it couldn’t be helped.

As tired as she was, it made Kahlan feel good to at least be headed home, even if indirectly, and, hopefully, the worry of the Glee would be left behind them.

It excited her to heading home with her two unborn children of D’Hara. She hoped to raise them for a good part of their childhood where she’d grown up, where she had first discovered the excitement of the natural world around her.

As they rode, she couldn’t keep her mind from drifting back to thoughts of Michec, when she had been hanging from the manacles as he was about to skin her, and the threat that the Glee were going to rip her babies from her womb.

Unexpectedly, the memory of the glint she had seen in the dead witch man’s eyes just before Richard burned him to ash began to haunt her as she rode.

Witches had a way of never letting you feel entirely free of their reach.