Wizard's First Rule

Chapter 49

The fragrance of flowers engulfed them as they stepped into the Garden of Life. Zedd knew immediately that something was wrong. There was no doubt—all three boxes were in the room. He had been wrong. Rahl did have all three. He sensed something else, too, something out of place, but with his power diminished, he couldn’t put his trust in the feeling. With Chase at his heels, Zedd stayed close behind Kahlan as she walked along the path, among the trees, past the vine-covered walls and colorful flowers. They came to grass. Kahlan stopped.

Across the lawn was a circle of white sand. Sorcerer’s sand. In his whole life, Zedd had never seen so much of it in one place, never seen more than a pouchful. This much was worth ten kingdoms. Tiny flecks of prismatic light reflected up at him. With rising trepidation, Zedd wondered what Rahl needed with that much sorcerer’s sand, what he did with it. He found it hard to take his eyes from the lure of it.

Beyond the sorcerer’s sand sat a sacrificial altar. There, on the stone altar, were the three boxes of Orden. Zedd’s heart felt as if it skipped a beat, to see, for sure, that all three were there together. Each had its cover removed. Each was black as midnight.

In front of the boxes, with his back to them, stood Darken Rahl. Zedd raged at seeing the one who had harmed Richard. The sunlight coming straight down from the glass roof lit the white robes and long blond hair, making them glow. Rahl stood gazing at the boxes, his prizes.

Zedd felt his face heat. How had Rahl found the last box? How had he gotten it? He dismissed the questions—they were irrelevant. The question was what to do now. With all three, Rahl could open one. Zedd watched Kahlan as she stared across at Darken Rahl. If she could in fact touch Rahl with her power, they would be saved, but he doubted that she had the necessary power. In this palace, especially in this room, Zedd could feel that his own power was virtually useless. The whole place was one giant spell against any wizard but a Rahl. If Darken Rahl was to be stopped, only Kahlan could do it. He felt the Blood Rage emanating from her, the seething fury.

Kahlan started across the grass. Zedd and Chase followed, but when they had almost reached the sand opposite Rahl, she turned and placed a hand on the wizard’s chest.

“Both of you will wait here.”

Zedd felt the wrath in her eyes, and understood it because he shared it. He, too, felt the pain of losing Richard.

When Zedd’s head came up, he was staring into the blue eyes of Darken Rahl. They held each other’s gaze a moment. Rahl’s eyes shifted to Kahlan as she walked around the circle of sand, her countenance dead calm.

Chase leaned closer and whispered, “What are we going to do if this doesn’t work?”

“We are going to die.”

Zedd’s hopes lifted when he saw the look of alarm on Darken Rahl’s face. Alarm, and fear, at seeing Kahlan painted with the twin lightning bolts of the Con Dar. Zedd smiled. Darken Rahl hadn’t counted on that, and appeared to be frightened by it.

The alarm turned to action. As Kahlan approached, Darken Rahl suddenly drew the Sword of Truth. It hissed coming out, and it came out white. He held it out, stopping Kahlan at its point.

They were too close to be stopped now. Zedd had to help her, help her use the only thing that could save them. The wizard used every bit of strength he had, which wasn’t as much as he wished, and threw a bolt of lightning across the white sorcerer’s sand. He drained all his power into it. The blue lightning hit the sword, knocking it from Rahl’s hands. It flew through the air, landing a good distance away. Darken Rahl screamed something to Zedd, then turned to Kahlan, speaking to her, but neither could understand him.

Darken Rahl backed away as Kahlan advanced. He bumped into the altar, able to back away no farther. He ran his fingers through his hair as Kahlan stopped in front of him.

Zedd’s smile faded. Something was wrong. The way Rahl ran his fingers through his hair sparked his memory.

The Mother Confessor reached out and seized Darken Rahl by the throat. “This is for Richard.”

Zedd’s eyes went wide. Ice flashed through him. He understood what was wrong. He gasped in recognition.

That wasn’t Darken Rahl.

Zedd screamed. “Kahlan, no! Stop! That’s . . .”

There was an impact to the air, thunder with no sound. The leaves on the trees about shuddered. The grass shook in a wave, radiating outward.

“. . . Richard!” Too late, the wizard realized the truth. Pain gripped him.

“Mistress,” he whispered, falling to his knees before her.

Zedd stood frozen. Despair crushed the elation of Richard being alive. A vine-covered door in a wall to the side opened. The real Darken Rahl emerged, followed by Michael and two big guards. Kahlan blinked in confusion.

The enemy web wavered, and in a shimmer of light the one who had been Darken Rahl was returned to who he really was. Richard.

Kahlan’s eyes went wide in horror as she backed away. The power of the Con Dar faltered, and extinguished. She screamed in anguish at what she had done.

The two guards stepped behind her. Chase reached up for his sword. He was frozen in place before his hand reached it. Zedd brought his hands up, but there was no power left. Nothing happened. He ran for them, but before he could take two steps, he hit an invisible wall. He was encased in it, held like a prisoner in a stone cell. He railed in rage at his own stupidity.

At seeing what she had done, Kahlan yanked a knife from the belt of a guard. With a cry of anguish, she held it up in both hands to plunge it into herself.

Michael grabbed her from behind, twisted the knife from her hands, and held it to her throat. Richard launched himself in a fury at his brother but crashed into an invisible wall and was knocked back. Kahlan had expended all her energy in the Con Dar, and was too weak to fight back—she collapsed in tears. One of the guards tied a gag to her mouth, preventing her from even mumbling Richard’s name.

Richard, on his knees, fell against Darken Rahl, gripping his robes, pleading up to him. “Don’t hurt her! Please. Don’t hurt her.”

Darken Rahl put a hand on Richard’s shoulder. “So glad to see you have come back, Richard. I thought you might. I’m glad you’ve decided to help me. I admire your devotion to your friends.”

Zedd was bewildered. What help could Darken Rahl possibly need from Richard?

“Please,” Richard begged in tears, “don’t hurt her.”

“Well now, that’s entirely up to you.” He pulled Richard’s hands from his robes.

“Anything! I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt her.”

A smile spread on Darken Rahl’s lips. He licked the tips of his fingers. He ran his other hand through Richard’s hair. “I’m sorry it had to be this way, Richard. I really am. It would have been a pleasure having you around as you were. Although you don’t realize it, you and I are very much alike. But I’m afraid you have fallen victim to the Wizard’s First Rule.”

“Don’t hurt Mistress Kahlan,” Richard cried. “Please.”

“If you do as I say, I will do as I promised, and she will be treated well. I may even turn you into something pleasant, something you would like to be, maybe a lapdog. I may even let you sleep in our bedchamber so you might see that I keep my word. Maybe I will even name my son in honor of you, for helping me. Would you like that? Richard Rahl. Sort of ironic, don’t you think?”

“Do whatever you want with me, but please don’t hurt Mistress Kahlan. Tell me what you want me to do, please.”

Darken Rahl patted Richard’s head. “Soon, my son, soon. Wait here.”

Darken Rahl left Richard on his knees, and glided around the circle of white sand to Zedd. The blue eyes locked on the old man as he came. Zedd felt hollow, empty.

Rahl stopped in front of him and licked his fingers, stroking them over his eyebrows.

“What is your name, Old One?”

Zedd stared back, his hopes destroyed. “Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander.” He held his chin up. “I am the one who killed your father.”

Darken Rahl nodded. “And do you know that your wizard’s fire also burned me? Do you know it almost killed me when I was but a child? And that I spent months in agony? And that to this day I carry the scars of what you did, both those on the outside, and others on the inside?”

“I’m sorry I hurt a child, regardless of who the child was. But in this case, I would call it premature punishment.”

Rahl’s face remained pleasant, the hint of a smile still on his lips. “We are going to have a long time together, you and I. I am going to teach you of the pain I endured, and more. You will know what it was like.”

Zedd gave a bitter look. “Nothing could match the pain you have already given me.”

Darken Rahl licked his fingertips as he turned away. “We will see.”

Zedd watched in hopeless frustration as Rahl returned to stand once more in front of Richard. “Richard!” Zedd screamed. “Don’t help him! Kahlan would rather die than have you help him!”

Richard looked blankly to the wizard before he gazed up at Darken Rahl. “I’ll do anything if you don’t hurt her.”

Darken Rahl motioned him to his feet. “You have my word, my son. If you do as I ask.” Richard nodded. “Recite the Book of Counted Shadows.” Zedd reeled in shock. Richard turned to Kahlan.

“What should I do, Mistress?”

Kahlan struggled against Michael, against the knife at her throat, screamed muffled words against the gag.

Rahl’s voice was calm, gentle. “Recite the Book of Counted Shadows, Richard, or I will have Michael start by cutting off her fingers one at a time. The longer you remain silent, the more he will cut her.”

Richard spun back to Rahl, panic in his eyes. “Verification of the truth of the words of the Book of Counted Shadows, if spoken by another, rather than read by the one who commands the boxes, can only be insured by the use of a Confessor . . .”

Zedd sank to the ground. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. As he listened to Richard reading out the book, he knew it was true—he recognized the unique syntax of a book of magic. Richard couldn’t be making it up. It was the Book of Counted Shadows. Zedd didn’t have the strength to wonder at how Richard had learned it.

The world as they knew it was ending. This was the first day of the rule of Rahl. All was lost. Darken Rahl had won. The world was his.

Zedd sat numbly, listening. Some of the words themselves were magic, and none but one with the gift could keep the words in his head—the magic would erase the whole of it at certain magic trigger words. Protection against unseen circumstances. Protection against just anyone getting hold of the magic within. That Richard could recite them was proof he was born to it. Born of and to the magic. As much as Richard hated the magic, he was magic, as the prophecies foretold.

Zedd mourned the things he had done. Mourned that he had tried to protect Richard from the forces that would have sought to use him, had they known what he was. Those born with the gift were always vulnerable when they were young. Darken Rahl was proof of that. Zedd had deliberately chosen not to teach Richard, as a way of protecting him from those forces learning of him. Zedd had always feared, and hoped, that Richard had the gift, but had hoped he would grow before it manifested itself, and then Zedd might have the time to teach him when he was strong enough, when he was old enough. And before it could kill him. It had been a futile effort. It had come to no good end. Zedd guessed that he had always known Richard had the gift, was someone special. Everyone who knew Richard knew he was someone special. Rare. The mark of magic.

Zedd wept as he recalled the time he had enjoyed with Richard. They had been good years. None had been better in his life. The years away from the magic. To have someone love him without fear, and only for himself. To be a friend.

Richard read out the book without hesitation or a single falter. Zedd marveled that he knew it so perfectly, and caught himself being proud, but then wished Richard weren’t so talented. Much of what he recited was about things already finished with, such as removing the covers from the boxes, but Darken Rahl didn’t stop him or hurry him over those sections for fear that he might miss something. He let Richard recite it at his own pace, and stood mute, listening carefully. Occasionally, Rahl had him repeat a section, to be sure he had it right, and stood absorbed in thought as Richard told of sun angles, of clouds, of wind patterns.

The afternoon wore on, Richard reciting, Rahl standing before him listening, Michael with a knife at Kahlan’s throat, the two guards holding her arms, Chase frozen in place, his hand halfway to his sword, and Zedd sitting on the ground, doomed, locked in his invisible prison. Zedd realized that the procedure for opening the boxes was going to take longer than he would have thought. It would take all night. There were enchantments to be drawn. That was the reason Darken Rahl needed so much sorcerer’s sand. The boxes had to be placed just so, the winter’s first sun touching them, dictating their position once they each cast a shadow.

Each box, although they looked identical, cast a different shadow. As the sun sank lower in the sky, the fingers of shadows grew away from each box. One of the boxes cast a single finger of shadow, another cast two fingers of shadow, and the third cast three. Now he knew why it was called the Book of Counted Shadows.

At the proper places in the book, Darken Rahl had Richard stop while the enchantments were drawn in the sorcerer’s sand. Some of the spells were called by names Zedd had never heard before. But Rahl had. He drew without hesitation. When darkness fell, he lit torches in a ring around the sand. Under the light of the torches, he drew the enchantments as they were called for. Everyone stood in silence, watching as he carefully drew in the sand. Zedd was impressed by his level of skill at drawing the charms, and was more than a little uneasy at seeing underworld runes.

The geometric patterns were complex, and Zedd knew they must be done without error, and in the proper order, each line drawn at the proper time, in the proper sequence. They could not be corrected or erased and started over if there was a mistake. A mistake was death.

Zedd had known wizards who had spent years studying a spell before they would dare to attempt drawing it in sorcerer’s sand, for fear of making a fatal mistake. Darken Rahl didn’t look to be having the slightest trouble. His steady hand moved with precision. Zedd had never seen a wizard of his talents. At least, he thought bitterly, they would be killed by the best. He couldn’t help admiring the level of mastery. It was a magnitude of proficiency he had never witnessed before.

All of this endeavor was simply to tell which box was the one Rahl wanted—he could open one at any time, the book stated. Zedd knew from other books of instruction that all this effort was a precaution against the magic being used easily. No one was simply going to decide to be the master of the world and read how in a book of magic. Zedd, as much as he knew, didn’t have the required knowledge to carry out the instructions. Darken Rahl had been studying for this moment almost his whole life. His father had probably begun the instruction when he was young. Zedd wished the wizard’s fire that had killed his father had killed Darken Rahl, too. He considered that thought a moment, and then took it back.

At dawn, after all the enchantments were drawn, the boxes were placed on them—each box, distinguished by the number of shadows it threw, was placed on a specific drawing. Spells were cast. As the rays of sun from the second day of winter lit the stone, the boxes were placed on the altar once more. Zedd was amazed to see that the boxes that had thrown a particular number of shadows the day before now threw a different number—another precaution. As directed, the boxes were rearranged so the one throwing a single shadow was to the left, the one that threw two was in the center, and the one that threw three was to the right.

Darken Rahl stared at the black boxes. “Continue.”

Without hesitation, Richard went on. “Once so arranged, Orden is at the ready to be commanded. Where one shadow is insufficient to gain the power to sustain the life of the player, and three more than can be tolerated by all life, the balance is struck by opening the box with two shadows—one shadow for yourself, and one for the world that would be yours to command by the power of Orden. One world under one command is marked by the box with two shadows. Open it to gain your reward.”

Darken Rahl’s face turned slowly to Richard. “Go on.”

Richard blinked. “Rule as you have chosen. That is the end.”

“There . . . must be more.”

“No, Master Rahl. Rule as you have chosen. That’s the end, the last words.”

Rahl grabbed Richard’s throat. “Did you learn it all? The entire book?”

“Yes, Master Rahl.”

Rahl’s face reddened. “That can’t be right! That isn’t the right box! The box with two shadows is the one that will kill me! I told you, I learned that much! I learned which one will kill me!”

“I have told you every word true. Every single word.”

Darken Rahl released his throat. “I don’t believe you.” He looked to Michael. “Cut her throat.”

Richard fell to his knees with a scream. “Please! You gave me your word! You said if I told you, you wouldn’t harm her! Please! I have told you the truth!”

Rahl held his hand up to Michael, but kept his eyes on Richard. “I don’t believe you. Unless you tell me the truth, right now, I will cut her open. I will kill your mistress.”

“No!” Richard screamed. “I have told you the truth! I can’t tell you anything different, it would be a lie!”

“Last chance, Richard. Tell me the truth, or she dies.”

“I can’t tell you anything differently,” Richard cried. “Anything different would be a lie. I have told you every word true.”

Zedd came to his feet. He watched the knife at Kahlan’s throat—her green eyes were wide—he watched Darken Rahl. Rahl had obviously found some of the information from a source other than the Book of Counted Shadows, and that information was in conflict with the information in the book. This was not uncommon—surely Darken Rahl must know that. When there was a conflict, the information in the instruction book for that specific magic must always take precedence. To do otherwise was always fatal—it was a safeguard to protect the magic. Zedd hoped against hope that Rahl’s arrogance would make him go against the book.

The smile came back to Darken Rahl’s face. He licked his fingertips, and wiped them on his eyebrows. “All right, Richard. I just had to be sure you were telling me the truth.”

“I am, I swear on Mistress Kahlan’s life. Every word I told you is true.”

Rahl nodded. He gave a wave of his hand to Michael. Michael relaxed the knife. Kahlan closed her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks. Rahl turned to the boxes, letting out a deep breath.

“At last,” he whispered. “The magic of Orden is mine.”

Zedd couldn’t see it, but he knew that Darken Rahl lifted the lid on the middle box, the one with two shadows—he could tell by the light expanding from it. Golden light lifted and as if it were a great weight, it settled over Master Rahl, lighting him in a golden glow. He turned, smiling. The light about him moved with him as he moved. He lifted slightly into the air, enough to take the weight from his feet, and floated to the center of the sorcerer’s sand, his arms extended, the light beginning to swirl slowly around him. He faced toward Richard.

“Thank you, my son, for coming back, for helping Father Rahl. You will be rewarded for helping me, as I promised. You have delivered to me that which is mine. I can feel it. It’s marvelous. I can feel the power.”

Richard stood without emotion, watching. Zedd sank to the ground again. What had Richard done? How could he? How could he give Rahl the magic of Orden? Allow him to rule the world? He had been touched by a Confessor, that was how—it wasn’t his fault, he had no control. It was over. Zedd forgave him.

Had he the power, Zedd would have made Wizard’s Life Fire, and put his life into it. But he had no power here, no power in the face of Master Rahl. He felt very tired, very old. He knew he would not get the chance to get much older. Darken Rahl would see to that. But it was not himself he grieved for—it was everyone else.

Bathed in the golden light, Darken Rahl slowly rose a few feet off the ground, above the white sorcerer’s sand, a satisfied grin on his face, his blue eyes sparkling. His head rolled back in rapture, his eyes closing, his blond hair hanging away. Sparkles of light rotated about him.

The white sand turned a golden color, continued turning darker, to a burnt brown. The light around Rahl darkened to amber. His head came down, his eyes coming open, his smile fading.

The sorcerer’s sand crisped to black. The ground trembled.

A smile spread on Richard’s face. He went and retrieved the Sword of Truth, the anger of the sword’s magic flooding into his gray eyes. Zedd came to his feet. The light around Darken Rahl turned an ugly brown. His blue eyes went wide.

A wailing roar came from the ground. The black sand under Rahl’s feet split open. Violet light shot up, engulfing him. He twisted in it, screaming out.

Richard, his chest heaving, stood transfixed, watching.

The invisible prison around Zedd shattered. Chase’s hand abruptly completed its journey to his sword, yanking it free as he flew toward Kahlan. The two guards released her arms and met him halfway.

Michael’s face paled. He stared in shock as Chase cut down one of the men. Kahlan drove her elbow into Michael’s gut and grabbed the knife, twisting it from his hand. Disarmed, Michael scanned about with quick jerks of his head, his eyes wild, and raced off down a path between the trees.

Chase and the second guard tumbled to the ground, both grunting with lethal intent as they rolled over each other trying to gain advantage. The guard cried out. Chase came to his feet. The other didn’t. He gave a glance at Darken Rahl, and ran off down the path Michael had taken. Zedd saw a glimpse of Kahlan’s dress as she disappeared in another direction.

Zedd stood as Richard did, spellbound, their stares riveted to Darken Rahl as he struggled, trapped in the grip of the magic of Orden. Violet light and dark shadows held him tight in the air above the black hole.

“Richard!” Rahl shrieked. “What have you done!”

The Seeker stepped closer to the circle of black sand. “Why, only what you wanted, Master Rahl,” he said innocently. “I have told you what you wanted to hear.”

“But it was the truth! You told the words true!”

Richard nodded. “Yes, I did. I just didn’t tell you all of them. I left out most of the paragraph at the end. Be cautioned. The effect of the boxes is fluid. It shifts with the intent. To be Master of all, so you may help others, shift one box to the right. To be Master of all—so all will do your bidding, shift one box to the left. Rule as you have chosen. Your information was correct—the box with two shadows was the one that would kill you.”

“But you had to do as I said! You were touched by a Confessor’s power!”

Richard smiled. “Was I? Wizard’s First Rule. It’s the first rule because it’s the most important. You should have guarded better against it. That’s the price of arrogance. I accept my vulnerability, you don’t.

“I didn’t like the choices you gave me. I couldn’t win by your rules, so I made some new ones. The book said you had to confirm the truth with the use of a Confessor. You only thought you had done that. Wizard’s First Rule. You believed because you wanted to. I have beaten you.”

“It can’t be! It’s not possible! How could you have known how to do this!”

“You taught me: nothing, including magic, is one-dimensional. Look at the whole, you said—nothing that exists has only one side. Look at the whole.” Richard shook his head slowly. “You should never have taught me something you didn’t want me to know. Once you teach me something, it’s mine to use. Thank you, Father Rahl, for teaching me the most important thing I will ever learn—how to love Kahlan.”

Darken Rahl’s face distorted in pain. He laughed and screamed.

Richard looked around. “Where’s Kahlan?”

Zedd pointed a long finger. “I saw her leave that way.” Richard slid the sword back into its scabbard as he turned his eyes to the figure held in the shadows and light. “Good-bye, Father Rahl. I trust you will die without my watching it.”

“Richard!” Rahl shrieked as he watched the Seeker stride away. “Richard!”

Zedd stood alone with Darken Rahl. He watched as transparent fingers of smoke entwined around the white robes, pinning Rahl’s arms to his sides. Zedd stepped closer, the blue eyes coming to the old wizard.

“Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, you have won this much of it, but maybe not all of it.”

“Arrogant to the end?”

Rahl smiled. “Tell me who he is.”

Zedd shrugged. “The Seeker.”

Rahl laughed, struggling in pain. The blue-eyed gaze, came back to Zedd. “He is your son, isn’t he? I have at least been defeated by wizard blood. You are his father.”

Zedd shook his head slowly, a wistful smile coming to his lips. “He is my grandson.”

“You lie! Why put a web around him, hide his father’s identity, if it is not you!”

“I put a web around him because I did not want him to know who the blue-eyed bastard was who raped his mother and gave him life.”

Darken Rahl’s eyes widened. “Your daughter was killed. My father told me so.”

“A little trick, to keep her safe.” Zedd’s expression darkened. “Though you didn’t know who she was, you hurt her. Without intending it, you also gave her happiness. You gave her Richard.”

“I am his father?” Rahl whispered.

“When you raped my daughter, I knew I couldn’t harm you, and my first thought was to comfort her, protect her, so I took her to Westland. She met a young man, a man widowed with a baby son. George Cypher was a good, kind man—I was proud to have him as my daughter’s husband. George loved Richard as his own, but he knew the truth, except about me, who I was—that was hidden by the web.

“I could have hated Richard for his father’s crimes, but chose instead to love him for himself. He turned out to be quite a man, don’t you think? You have been defeated by the heir you wanted. An heir born with the gift. That is rare. Richard is the true Seeker. From the Rahl blood, he has the rage of the anger, the capacity for violence. But it’s balanced with Zorander blood, the capacity for love, understanding, and forgiveness.”

Darken Rahl shimmered in the shadows of the magic or Orden. He twisted in pain as he became transparent as smoke. “To think, the Zorander and Rahl bloodlines, joined in one. Yet he is still my heir. In a way,” he managed, “I have won.”

Zedd shook his head. “You have lost, in more ways than one.”

Vapor, smoke, shadows, and light spun in a roar. The ground shook violently. The sorcerer’s sand, now black as pitch, was sucked into the vortex. The whole of it rotated over the abyss, the sounds of the world of life and the underworld mixing in a terrible howl.

Darken Rahl’s voice came hollow, empty, dead. “Read the prophecies, old man. Things may not yet be as final as you think. I am an agent.”

A point of blinding light ignited in the center of the spinning mass. Zedd shielded his eyes. Beams of white-hot light shot upward, through the windows overhead, into the sky, and downward, into the blackness of the abyss. There was a piercing shriek. The air shimmered with the heat, light, and sound. A flash lit everything around to white, and then there was silence.

Cautiously, Zedd took his hands from his eyes. It was gone. The whole of it was gone. Winter sunlight warmed the ground where only moments before the black abyss had been. The sorcerer’s sand was gone. The bare circle of earth it had covered was whole. The rupture between worlds healed. At least Zedd hoped it was.

The wizard felt his power seeping back into his bones. The ones who had drawn the spell against him were gone. The effect of the spell was gone.

He stood before the altar, spread his arms into the sunlight, and closed his eyes.

“I recall the webs. I am who I was before: Zeddicus Zu’l Zorander, Wizard of the First Order. Let all know it once more. And the rest, too.” The people of D’Hara were linked to the House of Rahl, a link forged in magic long ago by those who would rule—a link that chained the people of D’Hara to the House of Rahl, and House of Rahl to them. With the webs removed, that link to the gift would be felt by many, and let them know that Richard was now Master Rahl.

Zedd would have to tell Richard that Darken Rahl was his father, but not this day. He would have to find the words first. There were many things to tell him, but not this day.

Richard found her, kneeling before one of the deserted devotion pools. The gag was still tied around her neck, left there when she had pulled it from her mouth. Kahlan hunched over in tears, her long hair cascading off her shoulders as she leaned forward, the knife gripped in both fists, the point held to her chest. Her shoulders shook with her sobs. Richard came to a stop next to the folds of her white dress.

“Don’t do that,” he whispered.

“I must. I love you,” Kahlan gave a little moan. “I have touched you with my power. I would rather die than be your mistress. It is the only way to release you.” She gave a tearful shudder. “I would like you to give me a kiss, and then leave me. I don’t want you to see it.”

“No.”

Her eyes snapped up to his. “What did you say?” she whispered.

Richard put his fists on his hips. “I said ‘no.’ I’m not going to kiss you with those silly things painted on your face. They nearly scared the life out of me.”

Her green eyes stared in disbelief. “You can deny me nothing, once I have touched you with my power.”

Richard squatted down close to her. He untied the gag from her neck. “Well, then, you have ordered me to kiss you”—he dunked the cloth in the water—“and I told you I won’t do it with this thing painted on your face.” He began wiping the lightning bolts from her skin. “So, I guess the only solution is to get rid of it.”

She knelt, frozen, while he cleaned the red off her face. Richard looked into her wide eyes when he finished. He tossed the rag aside, and knelt in front of her, slipping his arms around her waist.

“Richard, I touched you with the magic. I felt it. I heard it. I saw it. How could the power not have taken you?”

“Because I was protected.”

“Protected? How?”

“By my love for you. I realized I loved you more than life itself, and I would rather give myself into your power than live without you. Nothing the magic could do to me could be worse than living without you. I was willing to give it all over to you. I offered the power everything I have. All of my love for you. Once I realized how much I loved you, was willing to be yours on any terms, I understood that there could be nothing for the magic to harm. I’m already devoted to you—it didn’t need to change me. I was protected, because I have already been touched by your love. I had utter faith that you felt the same, and had no fear of what would happen. Had I had any doubt, the magic would have latched on to that crack and taken me, but I had no doubt. My love for you is smooth and seamless. My love for you protected me from the magic.”

She gave him her special smile. “You felt that way? You had no doubt?”

Richard smiled back. “Well, for a moment, when I saw those lightning bolts on your face, I have to admit, I was worried. I didn’t know what they were, what they meant. I pulled the sword, trying to gain time to think. But then I realized it didn’t matter—you were still Kahlan, and I still loved you, no matter what I wanted you to touch me more than anything, to prove my love and devotion for you, but I had to put on an act for Darken Rahl’s benefit.”

“These symbols mean that I, too, gave everything over to you,” she whispered.

Kahlan circled her arms around his neck, kissing him. They knelt on the tiles in front of the devotion pool, pressed against one another. Richard kissed her soft lips the way he had dreamed a thousand times of kissing her. He kissed her until he was dizzy, and then kissed her some more, not caring that bewildered people who passed watched them.

Richard had no idea how long they knelt there embracing, but decided at last that they had better go find Zedd. With her arm around his waist and her head leaning against him, they walked back to the Garden of Life, kissing once more before they went through the doors.

Zedd stood with one hand on a bony hip, the other stroking his chin, as he inspected the altar and other things behind it. Kahlan fell to her knees before him, taking his hands in hers, kissing them.

“Zedd, he loves me! He figured out how to make it work, with the magic. There was a way, and he found it.”

Zedd frowned down at her. “Well, it took him long enough.”

Kahlan came to her feet. “You knew how to do it?”

Zedd looked indignant at the question. “I’m a wizard of the First Order. Of course I knew.”

“And you never told us?”

Zedd smiled. “Had I told you, dear one, it wouldn’t have worked. The foreknowledge would have interjected a grain of doubt. That single grain would have caused failure. To be the true love of a Confessor, there must be total commitment to get past the magic. Without the willingness to give himself over to you, selflessly, despite the knowledge of the consequence, it wouldn’t work.”

“You seem to know a lot about it,” Kahlan frowned. “I have never heard of it before. How often does this happen?”

Zedd rubbed his chin in thought, looking up at the windows. “Well, only once before that I know of.” His eyes rested on the two of them. “But you can tell no one, just as I wasn’t able to tell you. No matter how much pain it may cause, no matter the consequences, you can never tell. If even one other knows, it could be passed on, destroying forever the chance for others. It’s one of the ironies of magic—you have to accept failure before you can have success. It is also one of the burdens of magic—you must accept the results, even the death, of others, to protect the hope for the future. Selfishness costs the lives, the chances of those yet unborn.”

Kahlan nodded. “I promise.”

“Me too,” Richard said. “Zedd, is it over? With Darken Rahl, I mean. Is he dead?”

Zedd gave Richard a look he found unexpectedly uncomfortable. “Darken Rahl is dead.” Zedd put a thin hand on Richard’s shoulder, his bony fingers gripping tightly. “You have gotten it right, Richard, all of it. You scared the wits out of me. I have never seen a performance to match it.”

Richard grinned in pride. “Just a little trick.”

Zedd nodded, his white hair sticking out in every direction, looking wild. “More than a trick, my boy. More than little.”

They all turned when they heard the sound of someone approaching. Chase came dragging Michael in by the scruff of his neck. His dirty white trousers and shirt spoke that he had not come willingly. Chase gave him a shove, forcing him in front of Richard.

Richard’s mood darkened at seeing his brother. Michael’s defiant eyes came up to meet Richard’s gaze.

“I’ll not be treated in this manner, little brother.” His voice was as condescending as it had ever been. “You don’t know what you’ve interfered with, what I was trying to do, how I would have helped everyone by uniting Westland and D’Hara. You have doomed the people to needless suffering that Darken Rahl could have spared. You are a fool.”

Richard thought about all he had been though, about all that Zedd, and Chase, and Kahlan had been through. He thought about all those he knew who had died at Rahl’s hands, and the countless number of dead he would never know of. The suffering, the cruelty, the brutality. He thought of all the tyrants allowed to flourish under Darken Rahl, all the way from Darken Rahl himself down to Princess Violet. He thought of those he had killed. He felt pain and grief at the things he had had to do.

The metallic ring of the Sword of Truth filled the air. Michael’s eyes went wide at seeing its point at his throat.

Richard leaned a little closer to his brother. “Give me the loser’s salute, Michael.”

Michael’s face turned crimson. “I would rather die first.”

Richard nodded as he straightened. He looked deep into his brother’s eyes as he took the sword away. Richard pulled the anger back, tried to make the sword turn white. It would not. He slid the blade home into its scabbard.

“I’m glad to see we have one thing in common, Michael. We would both die for what we believe in.” He took his gaze from Michael, to the big, crescent battleaxe hanging at Chase’s belt. His eyes came up to the boundary warden’s grim face. “Execute him,” he whispered. “Take his head to his personal guard. Tell them he was executed by my order, for treason against Westland. Westland will have to find a new First Councilor.”

Chase’s big fist grabbed Michael by the hair. Michael screamed out, falling to his knees, giving the loser’s salute.

“Richard! Please, I’m your brother! Don’t do this! Don’t let him kill me! I’m sorry, forgive me. I was wrong. Please, Richard, forgive me.”

Richard stared down at his brother, who was on his knees before him, his hands together, imploring. Richard held out the Agiel in his fist, feeling the pain it gave him, tolerating it, remembering it, the visions flashing through his mind. “Darken Rahl told you what he was going to do to me. You knew. You knew what was going to happen to me, and you were indifferent because it brought you personal gain. Michael, I forgive everything you have done against me.”

Michael sagged in relief. The Seeker stiffened. “But I cannot forgive what you have done against others. Others have forfeited their lives because of the things you have done. It is for those crimes that you are to be executed, not the ones against me.”

Michael screamed and cried as Chase dragged him away. Richard watched in pain, shaking, as his brother was taken to his execution.

Zedd placed his hand over Richard’s on the Agiel. “Let it go, Richard.”

Richard’s thoughts masked the pain it was giving him. He looked to Zedd, standing before him with his bony, leathery hand over his, saw things in his friend’s eyes he had never seen before, a shared understanding of the pain. He released the Agiel.

Kahlan’s eyes went to it as it fell against his chest. “Richard, do you have to keep that?”

“For now, I do. It was a promise I made to one who I killed. One who helped teach me how much I love you. Darken Rahl thought this would defeat me. Instead, it taught me how to defeat him. If I discard it now, I would be denying what is inside me, what I am.”

Kahlan put her hand on his arm. “Right now, I don’t understand, but someday, I hope I will.”

Richard looked around the Garden of Life, thinking about Darken Rahl’s death, and about his father’s death. He had seen justice done. He grieved a moment when his memories touched his father. But then the pain lifted as he realized that he had completed the task his father had given him. Richard had remembered every word of the secret book perfectly. His duty was done. His father could rest in peace.

Zedd straightened his robes with a huff. “Bags! A place this big must have something to eat, don’t you suppose?”

Richard grinned, putting an arm around each of them as he led them out of the Garden of Life. He took them to a dining hall he remembered. People sat at tables as if nothing had changed. The three of them found a table in the corner. Servers brought plates of rice, vegetables, brown bread, cheese and bowls of steaming spice soup. The surprised but smiling servers kept bringing more as Zedd resolutely emptied the plates of food.

Richard tried the cheese, and to his surprise found it had a sickening flavor. He threw it back on the table as he made a sour face.

“What’s the matter?” Zedd asked.

“That has to be the worst-tasting cheese I’ve ever eaten!”

Zedd sniffed it and took a bite. “Nothing wrong with the cheese, my boy.”

“Fine, then you eat it.”

Zedd was only too happy to comply. Richard and Kahlan ate spice soup and brown bread, and smiled as they watched their old friend eat. Zedd had his fill at last, and they resumed their journey out of the People’s Palace.

As they strode through the halls, the bells tolled in a single, long peal, calling people to the devotion. Kahlan watched with a frown as everyone gathered at the squares, bowing to the center, chanting. Since Richard had changed the words in his devotion, he no longer felt the pull, the nervous need to join the people. They passed a number of squares as they continued on, each filled with people chanting. Richard wondered if he should do something about it, stop them somehow, but decided at last he had already done the most important part.

The three emerged from the cavernous halls out into the winter sunlight. The hillside of steps cascaded down before them, to the huge expanse of courtyard. The three paused at the brink. Richard gasped when he saw the numbers gathered there.

Spread out before them were thousands of men, standing tall in rank upon rank. At the head, at the base of the steps, stood Michael’s personal guard, formerly known as the Home Guard, before Michael took that name from them. Their mail, shields, and yellow banners shone brightly in the sun. Behind them, nearly a thousand men of the Westland army. Behind them, many more of the D’Haran forces. Chase stood before them all, his arms folded, looking up the steps. Next to him, planted in the ground, was a pole with Michael’s head atop it. Richard stood, stunned by the silence. If a man in the back, a half mile away, had coughed, he would have heard it.

Zedd’s hand on his back started him down the steps. It felt a little too much like a push. Kahlan took his arm, giving it a squeeze, and held herself tall as they descended the series of steps and expansive landings. Chase watched Richard’s eyes as he came. Richard saw Rachel beside him, clutching one arm around his leg, holding Sara in the other hand. Sharing the grip with the doll was Siddin’s hand. Siddin saw Kahlan and broke from the hand, running to meet her. Kahlan laughed and scooped him up in her arms. He grinned at Richard and jabbered something Richard didn’t understand, before throwing his arms around Kahlan’s neck. After she hugged him and whispered to him, she put him down, holding his hand tightly.

The captain of the Home Guard stepped forward. “The Home Guard stands ready to swear loyalty to you, Richard.”

The commander of the Westland army stepped up next to the captain. “As does the Westland army.”

A D’Haran officer came forward. “As do the D’Haran forces.”

Richard stared numbly at them, blinking. He felt the anger heat in him.

“No one’s swearing loyalty to anyone, least of all me! I’m a woods guide. Nothing more. Get that through your heads right now. A woods guide!”

Richard gazed out over the sea of heads. All eyes were on him. He glanced over to Michael’s gory head stuck on the pole. He closed his eyes a moment, then turned to some men of the Home Guard, and pointed to the head.

“Bury that thing with the rest of him.” No one moved. “Right now!”

They jumped and made for the head. Richard returned his gaze to the D’Haran officer standing before him. Everyone waited.

“Send word: all hostilities are ended. The war is ended. See to it that all forces are recalled to their homelands, all armies of occupation are withdrawn. I expect every man who has committed crimes against defenseless people, whether he be foot soldier or general, to be put on trial, and if found guilty, punished according to the law. The D’Haran forces are to help get food to the people who would otherwise starve over the winter. Fire is no longer outlawed. If any forces you encounter don’t follow these orders, you will have to deal with them.” Richard pointed to the commander of the Westland army. “Take your forces and help him. Together, you will be too strong to ignore.” The two officers stared. Richard leaned closer. “It won’t get done if you don’t get to it.”

Both men put a fist over their hearts in salute, giving a bow.

The D’Haran officer’s eyes came up to Richard’s. His fist was still over his heart. “By your command, Master Rahl.”

Richard stared in surprise, then dismissed it. The man, he decided, must just be used to saying “Master Rahl.”

Richard noticed a guard to the side. He recognized the man. He was the captain of the guards at the gate when Richard had left the People’s Palace before. The one who had offered him a horse and warned him about the dragon. Richard motioned him to come forward. The man came and stood stiffly at attention, looking a little worried.

“I have a job for you.” The man waited in silence. “I think you would be good at getting it done. I want you to collect all the Mord-Sith. Every last one.”

“Yes, sir.” He looked a little pale. “They will all be executed before sunset.”

“No! I don’t want them executed!”

The man blinked in confusion. “What am I to do with them?”

“You are to destroy their Agiels. Every last one. I don’t ever want to see an Agiel again.” He held up the one at his neck. “Except this one. Then you are to find them new clothes. Burn every stitch of Mord-Sith clothes. They are to be treated with kindness, and respect.”

The man’s eyes went wide. “Kindness,” he whispered, “and respect?”

“That’s what I said. They are to be given jobs helping people, they are to be taught to treat people in the same way they are treated: with kindness and respect. I don’t know how you are to do that, you’ll just have to figure it out yourself. You look like a bright fellow. All right?”

He frowned. “And what if they refuse to change?”

Richard glared at the man. “Tell them that if they choose to stay on the same path, instead of taking another, then they will find the Seeker with the white sword at the end of the road.”

The guard smiled, put his fist to his heart in salute, and gave a smart bow.

Zedd leaned forward. “Richard, the Agiel are magic, they can’t simply be destroyed.”

“Then help him, Zedd. Help him destroy them, or lock them away, or something. All right? I don’t want anyone to ever be hurt by an Agiel again.”

Zedd gave a little smile and nod. “I’d be glad to help with that, my boy.” Zedd hesitated, stroking his chin with a long finger, and then spoke softly. “Richard, do you really think this is going to work, calling the forces home, having the Westland army help them?”

“Probably not. But you can never tell about your First Rule, and it should gain time until we can get everyone home again, and you can put the boundary back up. Then we’ll be safe once more. Then we’ll be finished with the magic.”

A roar came from the sky. Richard looked up to see Scarlet circling. The red dragon spiraled down through the crisp air. Men fell back, yelling and scattering as they saw that she was going to land at the base of the steps. Scarlet fluttered to a landing in front of Richard, Kahlan, Zedd, Chase, and the two children.

“Richard! Richard!” Scarlet called out, hopping from one foot to another, her wings held out, quivering in excitement. Her huge, red head swept down to him. “My egg hatched! It’s a beautiful little dragon, just as you said it would be! I want you to come see it! It’s so strong. I bet it flies within a month.” Scarlet seemed suddenly to notice all the men. Her head scanned about, surveying them. Her big yellow eyes blinked, her head swept down to Richard. “Are we having trouble here? Do we need some dragon fire?”

Richard grinned. “No. Everything is fine.”

“Well, then, climb up and I’ll take you to see the little one.”

Richard put his arm around Kahlan’s waist. “If you’ll take Kahlan, too, I would love to come.”

Scarlet eyed Kahlan up and down. “If she is with you, she is welcome.”

“Richard,” Kahlan said, “what about Siddin? Weselan and Savidlin will be worried sick over him.” Her green eyes gazed deep into his. She leaned closer, and whispered, “And we have unfinished business in the spirit house. I believe there is still an apple there we have yet to finish.” Her arm tightened around his waist, and a little twist of a smile came to her lips. The shape of the smile caught his breath in his throat.

With difficulty, Richard tore his eyes from her and looked up at Scarlet. “This little one was stolen from the Mud People when you took Darken Rahl there. His mother will be as anxious to have him back as you were to have your young one returned. After we see your little dragon, could you take us there?”

Scarlet’s big eye peered down at Siddin. “Well, I guess I can understand his mother’s worry. Done. Climb up.”

Zedd stepped forward, his hands on his hips, his voice incredulous. “You would let a man fly upon you? A red dragon? You would take him where he wishes to go?”

Scarlet puffed smoke at the wizard, forcing him to take a step back. “A man, no. This is the Seeker. He commands me. I would fly this one to the underworld and back.”

Richard gripped the spines and climbed onto Scarlet’s shoulders as she lowered herself for him. Kahlan handed Siddin up.

Richard put him in his lap and took Kahlan’s hand as she swung her leg over Scarlet behind him. She put her arms around his waist, her hands against his chest, and her head against his shoulder squeezing tightly.

Richard leaned a little toward Zedd. “Take care, my friend.” He gave his old friend a big smile. “The Bird Man will be happy to learn I have finally decided to take a Mud Woman as my wife. Where will I find you?”

Zedd reached up with a thin arm and put a hand on Richard’s ankle, giving it a pat. “I will be in Aydindril. Come to me when you are ready.”‘

Richard gave the wizard his sternest frown, leaning down even more. “And then we are going to have a talk. A long talk.”

Zedd nodded with a smile. “Yes, I expect we will.”

Richard smiled at Rachel, gave her and Chase a wave, then gave a pat to one of Scarlet’s scales. “To the sky, my red friend!”

Scarlet gave a roar of flame as she took to the air, Richard’s dreams and joy lifting with her.

Zedd stood watching the dragon shrinking in the sky, keeping his worries to himself. Chase stroked Rachel’s hair, and then folded his arms as he lifted an eyebrow to the wizard.

“Gives a lot of orders for a woods guide.”

Zedd laughed. “That he does.”

A little, bald-headed man came running down the hill of steps, a hand held up, beckoning. “Wizard Zorander! Wizard Zorander!” He finally came to a panting halt in front of them. “Wizard Zorander.”

“What is it?” Zedd asked with a frown.

He struggled to catch his breath. “Wizard Zorander, there is trouble.”

“What sort of trouble? And who are you?”

He leaned closer, conspiratorially, lowering his voice. “I am the head master of the crypt staff. There’s trouble.” His beady eyes darted about: “Trouble in the crypt.”

“What crypt?” The man’s eyes looked surprised at the question. “Why, the crypt of Panis Rahl, Master Rahl’s grandfather, of course.”

Zedd’s brow wrinkled. “And what’s the trouble?”

The head master put his fingers nervously to his lips. “I didn’t see it myself, Wizard Zorander, but my people would never lie. Never. They told me, and they wouldn’t lie.”

“What is it?” Zedd bellowed. “What’s the trouble?”

His eyes darted about again, his voice lowered to a whisper. “The walls, Wizard Zorander. The walls.”

Zedd gritted his teeth. “What about the walls?”

He looked up at the wizard, his eyes wide. “They are melting, Wizard Zorander. The walls in the crypt are melting.”

Zedd straightened and glared at the man. “Bags! You have white stone on hand, white stone from the quarry of the prophets?”

The man nodded vigorously. “Of course.”

Zedd reached into his robes, pulling out a small pouch. “Seal the opening to the tomb with white stone from the quarry of the prophets.”

“Seal it shut?” he gasped.

“Yes. Seal it shut. Or the entire palace will melt.” He handed the man the pouch. “Mix this magic dust with the mortar. It must be done before the sun sets, understand? Sealed shut before the sun sets.”

The man nodded, snatched the pouch from Zedd’s hand, and ran back up the steps as fast as his short legs would take him. Another man, taller, with his hands in the opposite sleeves of his gold-trimmed white robes, passed him as he came down. Chase glared at Zedd, poking a big finger at the wizard’s chest.

“Panis Rahl, Master Rahl’s grandfather?”

Zedd cleared his throat. “Yes, well, we will have to have a talk.”

The man in the white robes approached. “Wizard Zorander, is Master Rahl about? There are matters to be discussed.”

Zedd peered up at the dragon disappearing in the sky. “Master Rahl will be away for a time.”

“But he will return?”

“Yes.” Zedd looked back to the man’s waiting face. “Yes, he will return. You will just have to carry on until then.” The man shrugged. “We are used to that, here at the People’s Palace—waiting for the Master to return.” He turned and started off, but stopped when Zedd called him back.

“I’m hungry. Is there anywhere to get something to eat around here?”

The man smiled and held his arm out to the palace entrance. “Of course, Wizard Zorander. Allow me show you to a dining hall.”

“How about it, Chase? Care for some lunch before I’m on my way?”

The boundary warden looked down at Rachel. “Lunch?” She grinned and nodded in earnest. “All right, Zedd. And where is it you’re going?”

Zedd shifted his robes. “To see Adie.”

Chase lifted an eyebrow. “A little rest and relaxation?” He grinned.

Zedd couldn’t help smiling a little. “That, and I must take her to Aydindril, to the Wizard’s Keep. We have a lot of reading to do.”

“Why would you want to take Adie to Aydindril, to the Wizard’s Keep, to read?”

Zedd gave the boundary warden a sidelong glance. “Because she knows more about the underworld than anyone alive.”