Witch's Oath

5

The naked Mord-Sith lay in a pool of her own blood on the rough, cold stone floor below where she had been hanging. Bits of broken chain were scattered across the floor. Her single braid was soaked red from that blood. Her red leather outfit lay on the far side of her.

Vika’s pale face was a landscape of bruises, open wounds, and strings of blood from a beating. Richard could see that both her cheekbones had been broken from blows. One of the bone fragments stuck out through the skin. He could hardly contain his rage at what the witch man had done to her. He could also hardly believe that she was still alive. He knew, though, that if he didn’t do something soon, she wouldn’t be alive for long.

He reminded himself that the time would come, but now was not the moment to focus on his anger at Moravaska Michec. Now, it was about Vika, and what he hoped to be able to do.

She was trembling ever so slightly. Her eyes were closed as she struggled against the crushing weight of pain. A glistening, bloody mass of her intestines lay up against her side, still attached by a knotted length of gut coming out of the gaping wound in her abdomen. He had a hard time believing that she wasn’t crying in agony.

During their training, Mord-Sith were kept on the cusp of death for days on end. Richard knew that such twisted training made them more than merely tough. They all knew death well. They all danced with death in their own, private way. It was that training, he thought, and only that training, that made her able to endure it, and probably was keeping her alive.

Vika’s eyes opened as Richard knelt down close beside her.

“You did good, Lord Rahl. I knew you would think of something if I could just buy you a little time.” The inside of her lips had been gashed open on her teeth when Michec had struck her with his fists. He could see how much it hurt her to speak, despite doing her best not to let it show. “I hope you don’t think I was really urging him to kill you.”

“No,” he quietly reassured her as he put a hand gently on her shoulder, “no, I knew what you were doing.”

She let out a breath in relief.

Richard smiled down at her through the pain of empathy at seeing her in such a condition. He gently brushed a strand of blond hair back from her eyes as she gazed up at him.

“You are the one who did good, Vika. It was all your doing. I couldn’t have done it without you. You saved Kahlan and me—and our children.”

“It was my great honor,” she said. “I’m afraid that it is my time, now. I know the cusp of the world of the dead well enough. I have returned from that place more times than anyone has a right to. I am looking out at you now from the brink of that dark place. The world of the dead calls to me. My time has come to go beyond the veil. Thank you for rescuing me from Hannis Arc and for allowing me to serve you.”

Richard shook his head. “It’s not your time, Vika. Don’t even think that. You must live. I need you.”

She rolled her head from side to side. “It is too late for me now. I know that. Please don’t try to soothe me with the false kindness of a lie. I know better.”

“I am the Seeker of Truth. It is no lie. I wouldn’t do that to you. If I thought it was too late for you, I would tell you so.”

She smiled the littlest bit. “Not even you can heal me or hold back the world of the dead. But I would be eternally grateful if you would spare me any more suffering in this life and send me swiftly on to the next.”

“Vika—”

“Please, Lord Rahl. End it. I am ashamed to admit that I am not strong enough to endure this any longer and I don’t have the strength to end it myself. I hate for you to see me so weak. Please. Grant me the mercy of a quick death.”

Richard swallowed back his anguish. It was hard for him to see her beg for death.

“I asked you to trust me. You must do that now. I am the Lord Rahl. We are bonded in an oath—you to me and me to you. Your life while in this world is in my hands and just as it is your duty to serve and protect me, my duty is to protect you. More than that, I need you. You have given me your oath of loyalty. Remember that oath now and put your trust in me. You must hold on for me.”

Before she could object, Richard laid a hand gently on her brow. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, letting his power flow into her. Vika gasped as she felt the hot rush of it. He didn’t try to heal her, or even relieve her pain. He knew that would be futile right then. For the moment, he could only give her strength to help her endure her injuries and hold on until he could do more to try to save her.

When he opened his eyes and lifted his head, he was looking into her intense blue eyes. He smiled at the look in those eyes.

“There is the Mord-Sith I know.” He touched a finger to her lips before she could speak. “My strength is your strength. Now, hold on for me.”

A tear ran from the corner of her eye as she nodded.

Richard rushed to his feet. He might have given her some added strength, but he knew he didn’t have much time. Strength alone would not keep her alive.

A short distance away, Shale, keeping a watchful eye on him, was just finishing helping Kahlan get her clothes back on. Kahlan’s eye was still bluish black and swollen shut. Her wrists oozed blood, as did Shale’s wrists, as did his own.

“Watch for Michec,” he told them both. “He is still down here, somewhere. We are going to need some time without being interrupted.”

Shale eyed him suspiciously. “Time for what?”

Kahlan was just finishing buttoning her shirt. When Richard didn’t answer, she offered her own answer. “Time for a crazy idea, I suspect.”

Shale looked to Richard and then back at Kahlan. “What crazy idea?”

“I can’t begin to imagine.”

“Kahlan, I need you to do something.” With an arm around her shoulders, Richard pulled her closer. He didn’t have time for questions. “I know you are hurting and you need to be healed. So do Shale’s wrists. We will take care of that, I promise. But right now, stay here with Vika. I don’t want her to be alone. Hold her hand. Just be with her until I get back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To get the others.”

Shale gestured off toward where the rest of the Mord-Sith knelt at the opening to the kill room. “Michec blocked them. Do you believe it is the same kind of trick of magic that he did with us?”

Richard sighed as he looked off among the hanging corpses toward the opening to the room. In the distance, between some of the skinned bodies, he could just see the red leather outfits of a few of the kneeling Mord-Sith.

“No. He was a trainer of Mord-Sith. I don’t know exactly how such things worked, but as a trainer he would possess very real power over them. I’m sure Michec really was able to block them off from everything.”

“Then what are you going to do?” the sorceress asked.

“I’m going to pull them out from beyond that block. Now wait here with Kahlan, please, and stay on guard. Michec is out there, somewhere, and sooner or later he is going to come after us. I’m worried he might slip back in here and surprise us.”

“When you see him are you going to scythe him down with light from your sword like you did to the Glee?” the sorceress asked expectantly. “That would certainly be effective.”

Richard’s mouth twisted with frustration. “I would if I could, but I don’t actually know how I did it. I simply reacted. In that instant of desperation I can only assume my war-wizard heritage took over, assessed the nature of the threat, what tools I had at hand, and what powers could be brought to bear, then it did what that instinctual part of my ability concluded would be the most effective response. I don’t know that for certain, but it seems the most logical guess. I do know it wasn’t a conscious act.”

Shale briefly considered his words. She finally gave him a serious look. “Then what are you going to do if you encounter the witch man? He has powerful magic.”

Richard gazed back with an equally serious look. “I guess I’ll have to take care of him the old-fashioned way.”

“The old-fashioned way? What’s that?”

Richard arched an eyebrow. “I’ll just have to go all emotional on him.”

Shale’s mouth twisted with displeasure as she looked over at Kahlan. “You were right. A crazy idea.”