"I will not!" the old man protested. "Sheath your sword, my boy!"

"If you don't walk between those two trees," Richard said through gritted teeth, "I'll sheath my
sword in your ribs."

The old man lifted his elbows in surprise, then picked up his robes as he stepped through the low
brush, muttering to himself while Richard prodded him along with the sword. He took only a quick
glance back before stepping between the trees. Richard watched as the spiderweb parted. A grin
spread on his face.

"Zedd! Is it truly you?"

Zedd, hands on his hips, peered at him with one eye. "True as toasted toads, my boy."

Richard sheathed the. sword and threw his arms around his old friend, nearly squeezing the life out
of him. "Oh, Zedd! I'm so glad to see you!"

Zedd's arms flailed as he tried to get a breath. Richard let up, looked him in the eye, beaming, then
squeezed again.

"I fear what would have happened had you been any more glad to see me."

Richard walked him back to the fire, an arm around his shoulders. "Sorry about that, but I had to
know for sure. I can't believe you're here! I'm so glad to see you! I'm so happy you're all right. We
have so much to talk about."

"Yes, yes. Can we eat now?"

Kahlan came and gave him a hug, too. "We were so worried about you."

Zedd longingly eyed the cooking pot over her shoulder as he hugged her back. "Yes, yes. But this
would all go better on a full stomach."

"But it isn't done yet," she smiled.

Zedd gave a look of disappointment. "Not done? Are you sure? Perhaps we could check."

"Quite sure. We've only just started it."

"Not done," he said to himself, holding an elbow with. one hand, rubbing his chin with the other.
"Well, we'll just see about that. Stand back, the both of you."

The wizard pushed the sleeves of his robes up his arms while he eyed the fire as if it were a child
who had misbehaved. His skinny arms stretched out, fingers extended. Blue light sizzled around his
bony hands, seeming to gather momentum. With a hiss, it shot out in a jagged blue streak, striking
the cooking pot, making it jump. The blue fire cradled the pot, twisting around it, caressing it,
stroking it. The stew bubbled with blue light, churned and sloshed. The wizard pulled his hands
back and the blue fire sizzled out.

Zedd smiled in satisfaction. "There, now it's done. Let's eat!"

Kahlan kneeled, tasting the stew with -a wooden spoon. "He's right. It is done."

"Well, don't just stand there staring, my boy. Get some plates!"

Richard shook his head and did as he was told. Kahlan dished up a plate full, putting some dried
biscuits on the side, and Rich- and handed it to Zedd. The old man didn't sit, but stood next to them,
by the fire, shoveling in the stew by the forkful. Kahlan spooned stew on the other two plates, and
by the time she was done, Zedd was handing her his empty plate to be refilled.

Having finished one helping, Zedd was able to spare himself the time to sit. Richard sat on a small
outcropping of ledge; Kahlan sat next to him, folding her legs under her; Zedd sat on the ground
facing them.

Richard waited until Zedd had swallowed down half the stew on his plate, and finally allowed
himself a pause before asking, "So, how did you get along with Adie? Did she take good care of
you?"

Zedd looked up at him, blinking. Even in the firelight, Richard could have sworn Zedd's face
reddened. "Adie? Well we..." He looked at Kahlan's puzzled face. "Well, we . . . we got along . . .
fine." He scowled at Richard. "What kind of question is that to ask?"

Richard and Kahlan glanced at each other. "I didn't mean anything by it," he said. "It's just that I
couldn't help noticing that Adie is a handsome woman. And interesting. I just meant you would find
her interesting." Richard smiled a small smile to himself.

Zedd put his face back to his plate. "She's a fine woman." He rolled something around his plate
with the end of his fork. "What is this? I've paten three, and I still don't know what it is."

"Tava root," Kahlan said. "Don't you like it?"

Zed grunted. "Didn't say I didn't like it. Just wanted to know what it was, that's all." He looked up
from his plate. "Adie told me she gave you a night stone. That's how I found you, by the night
stone." He shook his fork at Richard. "I hope you are being careful with that thing. Don't take it out
unless there is great need. Exceptionally great need. Night stones are extremely dangerous. Adie
should have warned you. And I told her so!" He stabbed a tava root with his fork. "It would be best
to be rid of it."

Richard pushed at a piece of meat. "We know."

Richard's mind, was awash with questions he wanted to ask; he didn't know where to start. Zedd
beat him to it, asking first

"Have you two been doing as I said? Have you been staying out of trouble? What have you been
doing?"

"Well," Richard said, taking a deep breath, "we spent a good deal of time with the Mud People."

"The Mud People?" Zedd mulled this over. "Good," he proclaimed at last, holding a forkful of meat
in the air. "You can't get in much trouble with the Mud People." He took the meat off the fork with
his teeth and dipped it back in his plate for more stew and a bite of dried biscuit. He spoke and
chewed at the same time. "So, you two had a nice stay with the Mud People." He noticed that they
weren't saying anything, and his eyes went from one to the other. "You can't get in much trouble
with the Mud People." It sounded like an order.

Richard glanced over at Kahlan. She dipped her biscuit in the stew. "I killed one of the elders," she
said, putting the biscuit in her mouth without looking up.

Zedd dropped his fork, then caught it in midair just before it hit the ground. "What!"
"It was self-defense," Richard protested to her. "He was trying to kill you."

"What?" Zedd stood with his plate, then sat back down. "Bags! Why would an elder dare to try to
kill a . . ." He snapped his mouth shut, with a glance to Richard.

"Confessor," Richard finished for him. His mood withered.

Zedd looked from one bowed head to the other. "So. You finally told him."

Kahlan nodded. "A few days ago."

"Just a few days ago." Zedd grunted an acknowledgment, then ate more stew in silence, eyeing
them suspiciously from time to time. "Why would an elder dare to try to kill a Confessor?"

"Well," Richard said, "that was when we found out what a night stone could do. Just before they
named us as Mud People."

"They named you Mud People? Why?" Zedd's eyes widened. "You took a wife!"

"Well . ._. no." Richard pulled the leather thong out of his shirt and showed Zedd the Bird Man's
whistle. "They settled for giving me this."

Zedd gave a cursory glance to the whistle. "Why would they agree to you not . . . And why would
they name you Mud People?"

"Because we asked them. We had to. It was the only way to get them to call a gathering for us."

"What! They called a gathering for you?"

"Yes. That was just before Darken Rahl came."

"What!" Zedd yelled again, jumping to his feet. "Darken Rahl was there! I. told you; stay away
from him!"

Richard looked up. "We didn't exactly invite him."

"He killed a lot of them," Kahlan said in a quiet voice, still looking down at her plate, chewing
slowly.

Zedd stared at the top of her head, then slowly sank back down. "I'm -sorry," he said softly. "So,
what did the ancestors' spirits tell you?"

Richard gave a shrug. "That we had to go to see a witch woman."

"Witch woman!" Zedd's eyes narrowed. "What witch woman? Where?"

"Shota. In Agaden Reach."

Zedd winced, almost dropping his plate, the air making a sound going through his bared, gritted
teeth as he drew a sharp breath. "Shota!" He looked around as if someone might hear. He lowered
his voice, directing a harsh whisper to Kahlan as he leaned closer to her. "Bags! What would
possess you to guide him into Agaden Reach! You are sworn to protect him!"

"Believe me," she said, looking him in the eye, "I did not want to do it."

"We had to," Richard said, coming to her defense.

Zedd cast an eye to him. "Why?"

"To find out where the box is. And we did, too, Shota told us."

"Shota told you," Zedd mocked, scowling at him. "And what else did she tell you? Shota tells you
nothing you want to know without telling you something you don't."

Kahlan gave Richard a sidelong glance. He didn't return it. "Nothing. She told us nothing else." He
held Zedd's eyes without backing down. "She told us that Queen Milena, in Tamarang, has the last
box of Orden. She told us because her life too depends on this." Richard held Zedd's glare. He
doubted that his old friend believed him, but he didn't want to tell him what Shota had said. How
could he tell Zedd that one, or two, of them might end up being traitors? That Zedd would use
wizard's fire against him, that Kahlan would touch him with her power? He feared that maybe it
would be justified; after all, he was the one who knew about the book. They didn't.

"Zedd," he said softly, "you told me you wanted me to get us to the Midlands, and that you had a
plan once we were here. You were struck down by that underworld beast, you were unconscious,
we didn't know when, or if, you would wake. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what your
plan was. Winter is coming. We have to stop Darken Rahl."

His voice turned harder as he went on. "I have been doing the best I could without you. I've lost
track of the number of times we have nearly been. killed. All I knew to do was try to find the box.
Kahlan helped me, and we found out where it is. It has cost us both dearly. If you don't like what I
have done, then take your cursed Sword of Truth back, I am near to being fed up with it! With
everything!"

He threw his plate on the ground, walking off a ways into the dark, standing with his back to them,
a lump growing in his throat. The dark trees in front of him became watery. It surprised him the
way the anger had reached up and taken him. He had wanted to see Zedd so badly, and now that he
was here, he was angry with him. He let the ire rage, waiting for it to die of its own accord.

Zedd and Kahlan exchanged a look. "Yes," he said softly to her, "I can see that you have indeed
told him." He set his plate on the ground, stood, and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, dear
one."

Richard didn't move when he felt Zedd's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, my boy. I guess you have been having a hard time of it."

Richard nodded as he stared into the darkness. "I killed a man with the sword. With the magic."

Zedd waited a short while before he spoke. "Well, I know you, I'm sure you had to." "No," Richard
said in a painful whisper. "I didn't have to. I thought I was protecting Kahlan, protecting her life. I
didn't know she was a Confessor, that she needed no protection. But I surely wanted to. And I
surely enjoyed it."

"You only thought you did. That was the magic."

"I'm not so sure. I'm not sure what is becoming of me."

"Richard, forgive me for sounding as if I were angry with you. It is myself I'm angry with. You
have done well, it is I who have failed."

"What do you mean?"

Zedd patted his shoulder. "Come and sit. I will tell you both what has happened."

They walked back to the fire, Kahlan watching them together, looking lonely. Richard sat next to
her again and gave her a small smile, which she returned.

Zedd picked up his plate, gave it a hard look, and set it back down. "I'm afraid we're in a lot of
trouble," he said in a soft voice.

A sarcastic remark immediately sprang to Richard's mind, but he stifled it and asked instead, "Why,
what's happened? What of your plan?"

"My plan." Zedd gave a wry smile, drew his knees up, and pulled his robes over his legs, making a
little tent over them. "My plan was to stop Rahl without having to deal with him, and without you
two having to get in danger's way. My plan was for you two to stay out of trouble while I dealt with
this. It would seem as if your own plans may be our only way now. I have not told you all there is
to know of the boxes of Orden, because it was not for you to know. It was none of your business; it
was only. for me to know." He looked at each of them, anger flashing in his eyes for an instant
before it faded. "But I guess it doesn't matter now."

"What was not for us to know?" Kahlan asked with a frown, her own anger flashing a little.
Apparently, she didn't like it any more than Richard did that they were in danger without knowing
it all.

"Well, you see," Zedd said, "the three boxes work just as I said, each with their own purpose, but
you have to know which to open. That is the part I know. It's all in a book, called the Book of
Counted Shadows. The Book of Counted Shadows is an instruction book for the boxes. I'm its
keeper."

Richard went rigid. The tooth felt as if it would jump right off his chest. He couldn't move a
muscle, could hardly breathe.

"You know which box is which?" Kahlan asked. "You know which he must open?"

"No. I'm the keeper of the book. That information is all in the book. But I've never read it. I don't
know which box is which, or even how to figure it out: If I were to open the book, it would risk
spreading the knowledge. It must not be opened; that could be very dangerous. So I never did. I am
the keeper of many books, this only one among them, but a very important one." Richard realized
that his eyes were open wide and tried to relax them back to normal with a few blinks. Almost his
whole life he had been looking forward to the day he would find the keeper of the book, and it had
been Zedd the whole time. The shock left him frozen.

"Where was it?" Kahlan asked. "What happened?"

"It was in my Keep. The Wizard's Keep. In Aydindril."

"You went to Aydindril?" Kahlan asked, her voice anxious.

"How is Aydindril? Is it safe?"

Zedd averted his eyes. "Aydindril has fallen."

Kahlan's hand went to her mouth; tears filled her eyes. "No."

Zedd nodded. "I'm afraid so." He picked at his robes. "It is not going well for them. At least I gave
the occupiers something to think about," he added under his breath.

"Captain Riffkin? Lieutenants Delis and Miller? The Home Guard?"

Zedd kept his eyes to the ground and shook his head as she named each in turn. Kahlan put her
hands to her breast as she took deep breaths and bit her lip. Whoever these men were, she looked to
be pretty upset by the news. Richard thought he should cover his own shock by saying something.
"What's this Wizard's Keep?"

"It's a refuge, a place where the wizards preserve important things of magic, such as the books of
prophecies, and books of even more importance-books of magic and instruction, such as the Book
of Counted Shadows. Some of the books are used to teach new wizards, some are used as reference,
and some are used as weapons. Other items of magic are kept there also, such as the Sword of
Truth, between Seekers. The Keep is sealed by magic; none can enter but a wizard. At least none
but a wizard was supposed to be able to enter. But someone did. How they did without being killed
is beyond me. It must have been Darken Rahl. He must have the book."

"Maybe it wasn't Darken Rahl," Richard managed, his back straight as a board.

Zedd's eyes narrowed. "If it wasn't Darken Rahl, then it was a thief. A very clever thief, but a thief
nonetheless."

Richard swallowed back the dryness in his mouth. "Zedd . . . I . . . Do you think this book, the
Book of Counted Shadows, would be able to tell us how to stop Rahl? How to keep him from using
the boxes?"

Zedd shrugged his bony shoulders. "As I said, I've never opened the cover. But from what I know
from other books of instruction, it would only be of aid to the person with the boxes; it's designed
to help use magic, not to help another in stopping its use. In all likelihood, it wouldn't have helped
us. My plan was to simply get the book, and destroy it, to keep Rahl from getting the information.
Having the book lost to us leaves us with no alternative; we must find the last box:'

"But without the book, can Rahl still open the boxes?" Kahlan asked.

"With as much as he knows, I am sure he can. But he still wouldn't know which one."

"Then, with or without the book, he's going to open a box." Richard said. "He has to. If he doesn't,
he dies. He has nothing to lose. Even if you had recovered the book, he would still open a box-after
all, there is a chance he will pick right."

"Well, if he has the book, then he will know which to open. I was hoping that if we couldn't find
the last box, at least I could destroy the book, and keep it from Rahl, give us at least that one
chance. The chance he might pick right-for us." Zedd's face soured. "I would give anything to
destroy that book."

Kahlan put her hand on Richard's arm; he almost jumped. "Then Richard has done as the Seeker
should; he has found where the box is. Queen Milena has it." She gave Richard a smile of
reassurance. "The Seeker has done his job well." His mind was spinning too fast to return the smile
properly.

Zedd drew a finger and thumb down opposite sides of his chin. "And how do you propose we get it
from her? Knowing is one thing, getting is quite another."

Kahlan gave Zedd a smooth smile. "Queen Milena is the one to whom the snake in the silver robes
sold his services. He is about to have an unpleasant meeting with the Mother Confessor."

"Giller? Queen Milena is the one Giller went to?" The wrinkles on Zedd's face deepened with his
scowl. "I think he will be astonished to meet my eyes again."

She frowned. "You just leave this task to me. He is my wizard. I will deal with him."

Richard's eyes went back and forth between the two of them He felt suddenly out of place. The
great wizard and the Mother Confessor discussing how they would deal with an upstart wizard, as
if they were talking of pulling weeds in a garden. He thought of his father, of how his father had
told him he had taken the book to prevent it from falling into covetous hands. Darken Rahl's hands.
He spoke without thinking.

"Maybe he had a good reason for doing what he did."

They both turned and looked at him, as if they had forgotten he was there.

"A good reason?" Kahlan snapped. "Greed was his good reason. He deserted me, and left me to the
quads."

"Sometimes people do things for reasons that aren't what they seem." Richard gave her an even
look. "Maybe he thought the box was more important."

Kahlan looked too surprised to speak.

Zedd frowned, his white hair looking wild in the firelight. "Perhaps you are right. It could be that
Giller knew about the Queen having the box, and wanted to protect it. He certainly knew what the
boxes were about." He gave Richard an ironic smile. "Maybe the Seeker has given us a new
perspective. Maybe we have an ally in Tamarang."

"And maybe not," Kahlan said.

"We will know soon enough," the wizard sighed.

"Zedd," Richard asked, "yesterday, we went to a place called Homers Mill." Zedd nodded. "I saw
it. And I have seen many more just like it."

Richard leaned forward. "It wasn't Westlanders, was it? It couldn't have been Westlanders. I told
Michael to get the army together and protect Westland. I didn't tell him to attack anyone. Certainly
not helpless people. It couldn't have been Westlanders; they wouldn't do that."

"No, it wasn't anyone from Westland. I haven't seen or heard from Michael."

"Then who?"

"It was Rahl's own men who did it, by his command."

"That does not make any sense," Kahlan said. "The town was loyal to D'Hara. There were forces of
the People's Peace Army there, and they were killed to a man."

"That's the very reason he did it."

They both gave him puzzled looks. "That doesn't make any sense," Kahlan said.

"Wizard's First Rule."

Richard frowned. "What?"

"Wizard's First Rule: people are stupid." Richard and Kahlan frowned even more. "People are
stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are
stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it
might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet
they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the
truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.

"Because of the Wizard's First Rule, the old wizards created Confessors, and Seekers, as a means of
helping find the truth, when the truth is important enough. Rahl knows the Wizard's Rules. He is
using the first one. People need an enemy to feel a sense of purpose. It's easy to lead people when
they have a sense of purpose. Sense of purpose is more important by far than the truth. In fact, truth
has no bearing in this. Darken Rahl is providing them with an enemy, other than himself, a sense of
purpose. People are stupid; they want to believe, so they do."

"But they were his own people," Kahlan protested. "He was killing his supporters." "You will
notice not all the people were killed; some were raped, tortured, but left alive to flee, to spread the
news. You will also note how none of the soldiers were left alive to dispute the story. That it isn't
the truth doesn't matter, and the ones hearing the story will believe it because it provides them with
a sense of purpose, an enemy to rally against. The survivors will spread the word like a wildfire.
Even though Rahl has destroyed a few towns that were loyal to him, and a few of his soldiers, he
has gained many more towns to his side, a hundredfold over. Even more people will rally around
him and support him because he has told them he wants to protect them from this enemy. Truth is
hard to sell; it gives no sense of purpose. It is simply truth."

Richard sat back, a little stunned. "But it isn't true. How can Rahl get away with it? How could
everyone believe it?"

Zedd gave him a stern look. "You knew better, you knew it wasn't Westlanders, yet even you
doubted your knowledge. You were afraid it was true. Being afraid something is true is accepting
the possibility. Accepting the possibility is the first step to believing. At least you are smart enough
to question. Think of how easy it is to believe, for people who don't question, who don't even know
how to question. For most people, it's not the truth that is important, it's the cause. Rahl is
intelligent; he has given them a cause." His eyes glinted with purpose. "It is the Wizard's First Rule
because it is the most important. Remember it." .

"But the ones who did the killing, they knew. It was murder. How could they do it?"

Zedd shrugged. "Sense of purpose. They did it for the cause."

"But that goes against nature. Murder goes against nature."

The wizard smiled. "Murder is the way of nature, of all living things."

Richard knew Zedd was sucking him in-it was his way to draw you in with an outrageous
statement-but his blood was up and he couldn't help protesting. "Only some of nature. Like
predators. And that's only to survive. Look about at these trees, they can't even think of murder."

"Murder is the way of all things, the way of nature," Zedd repeated. "Every living thing is a
murderer." Richard looked to Kahlan for support. "Don't look at me," she said. "I learned a long
time ago not to debate with wizards."

Richard looked up, at the beautiful big pine spreading over them, illuminated in the firelight. A
spark of understanding lit in his mind. He saw the branches, stretched out with murderous intent, in
a years long struggle to reach the sunlight and dispatch its neighbors with its shade. Success would
give space for its offspring, many of which would also shrivel in the shade of the parent. Several
close neighbors of the big pine were withered and weak, victims all. It was true: the design of
nature was success by murder.

Zedd watched Richard's eyes. This was a lesson, the way the old man had taught Richard since he
was young. "You have learned something, my boy?"

Richard nodded. "Life for the strongest. There is no sympathy for the slain, only admiration for the
winner's strength."

"But people don't think that way," Kahlan said, unable to hold her tongue.

Zedd gave a sly smile. "No?" He pointed to a small, withered tree near them. "Look at this tree,
dear one." He pointed to the big pine. "And this. Tell me which you admire more."

"This one," she said, pointing at the big pine. "It's a beautiful tree."

"This one. You see? People do think this way. It's beautiful, you said. You chose the tree that
murders, not the one murdered." Zedd smiled triumphantly. "The way of nature."

Kahlan, folded her arms. "I knew I should have kept my mouth shut."

"You may keep your mouth closed if you wish, but don't close your mind. To defeat Darken Rahl,
we must understand him to know how to destroy him."

"This is how he's winning so much territory," Richard said, tapping his finger on the hilt of his
sword. "He's letting others do it for him, giving them a cause; then all he has to worry about is
going after the boxes. There is no one to interfere."

Zedd nodded. "He uses the Wizard's First Rule to do most of the work for him. This is what makes
our job so hard. He gets people on his side because people don't care about the truth; they do his
bidding because they believe what they want to, and fight to the death for these beliefs, despite how
false they are."

Richard slowly stood, looking off into the night. "All this time, I thought we were fighting evil.
Evil on the loose, run amok. But that's not it at all. What we're up against is more like a plague. A
plague of fools."

"You have gotten it right, my boy. A plague of fools."

"Directed by Darken Rahl," Kahlan noted.

Zedd peered at her a moment. "If someone digs a hole, and it fills with rainwater, where is the
fault? Is it the rain's fault? Or is it the fault of the person who digs the hole? Is it Darken Rahl's
fault, or the fault of those who dig the hole, and let him rain in?"

"Maybe both," Kahlan said. "That leaves us with a lot of Enemies."

Zedd lifted a finger. "And very dangerous ones. Fools who won't see the truth are deadly. As a
Confessor, perhaps you have already learned this lesson, yes?" She nodded. "They don't always do
what you think they will, or should, and you can be caught off guard. People you don't think should
be trouble can kill you quick."

"This doesn't change anything," Kahlan said. "If Rahl gets all the boxes, and opens the right one, he
is the one who will kill us all. He is still the head to the snake; it is still this head we must remove."

Zedd shrugged. "You are correct. But we must stay alive to have a chance to kill this snake, and
there are plenty of small snakes that can kill us first."

"This is a lesson we already learned," Richard said. "But as Kahlan said, it doesn't change anything.
We must still get the box to kill Rahl." He sat down again, next to her.

Zedd's face turned deadly serious. "Just remember: Darken Rahl can kill you," he pointed a bony
finger at Richard, then Kahlan, "and you," then at himself, "and me-easy."

Richard sat back a little. "Then, why hasn't he?"

Zedd lifted an eyebrow. "Do you go around a room, and kill all the flies in it? No. You ignore
them. They don't merit your attention. Until they bite. Then you swat them." He leaned closer to the
two of them. "We are about to bite him." Richard and Kahlan gave each other a sideways glance.

"Wizard's First Rule." Richard felt a trickle of sweat run down his back. "I'll remember."

"And don't repeat it to anyone," the wizard admonished. "Wizard's Rules are for none but a wizard
to know. The Wizard's Rules may seem cynical or trivial to you, but they are powerful weapons if
you know how to use them, because they are true. Truth is power. I have told you two because I'm
the head of the wizards, and I think it important for you to understand. You must know what Rahl
is doing, since it is the three of us who must stop him."

Richard and Kahlan both nodded their oath.

"It's late." Zedd yawned. "I have been traveling a long time to reach you. We will talk more later."

Richard jumped up. "I'll take first watch." He had something to do, and wanted it done before
anything else happened. "Use my blankets, Zedd."

"Done. I'll take second watch." Second watch of three was the least pleasant: it split your sleeping
in two. Kahlan began to protest. "I spoke first, dear one."

Richard pointed to the rock outcropping where he would be, after he scouted the area, and headed
off. His mind churned with a thousand thoughts, but with one above all the rest. The night was still,
and cold, yet not uncomfortably so. He left his cloak open as he picked his way through the trees,
intent on where he was going. Night creatures called to one another, but he hardly noticed. At one
point, he scrambled to the top of a boulder and peered back through the gaps in the trees, watching
the fire, waiting until he saw the other two roll themselves in the blankets; then he slid off the rock
and continued on toward the sound of rushing water.

At the edge of the river, he cast about until he found a chunk of driftwood big enough for his
purpose. Richard remembered Zedd telling him that he must have the courage to do what was
necessary for their goal, and he must be prepared to kill any one of them if it came to that. Richard
knew Zedd, and he knew that Zedd wasn't just making a point-he meant what he said. He .knew
that Zedd was capable of killing him, or, more important, Kahlan

He took the tooth from his shirt, pulling the leather cord over his head. He held the triangular
shaped tooth in his hand, feeling the weight of it, looking at it in the moonlight, and thought about
his father. The tooth was the only way for Richard to prove to Zedd that his father wasn't a thief,
that he had taken the book to keep it from Darken Rahl. Richard wanted so badly to tell Zedd, to
tell him that his father had been a hero, had given his life to stop Rahl and died a hero to protect
them all. He wanted his father to be remembered for what he had done. He wanted to tell Zedd.

But he couldn't.

The wizard wanted the Book of Counted Shadows destroyed. Richard was the Book of Counted
Shadows now. Shota had warned him that Zedd would use the wizard's, fire against him, but that he
had a chance to beat him. Perhaps this was the way. To destroy the book, Zedd would have to kill
him. Richard didn't care about himself, he had nothing to live for; he no longer cared if he died.

But he did care if Kahlan died. If Zedd knew that Richard had the book inside him, he would make
him tell what it said, and then he would know that to make sure the book was true, Rahl would have
to use a Confessor. And there was only one Confessor left alive. Kahlan. If Zedd knew, he would
kill her to prevent Rahl from getting the knowledge.

Richard couldn't allow the chance of Zedd knowing, of killing Kahlan.

He wrapped the cord around the piece of driftwood and jammed the tooth into a long crack,
wedging it into the wood so it wouldn't come out. Richard wanted the tooth as far away from him
as he could get it.

"Forgive me, Father," he whispered.

Hard as he could, he threw the wood with the tooth attached. He watched it arc through the air, and
splash into the dark water with a distant sound. In the moonlight, he could see it bob to the surface.
He stood with a lump in his throat as he watched it being carried downriver. Richard felt naked
without the tooth.

When it was no longer in sight, he circled the camp, his mind in a daze. He felt empty. Richard sat
on the rock outcropping where he had told them he would be, and watched their camp below.

He hated this. Hated having to lie to Zedd, to feel that he couldn't trust him. What was he coming
to, to no longer be able to trust his oldest friend? The hand of Rahl was reaching out to him, even at
this distance, and making him do things he didn't want to.

When this was ended, and Kahlan was safe, and if he lived, he could go home.

Near the middle of his watch, he became suddenly aware again of the thing that followed them. He
couldn't see its eyes, but he could feel them. It was on the hill opposite the camp, watching. He felt
a chill run through him, at being watched.

A distant sound made him sit bolt upright. A snarl, a growl, followed by a yelp. Then silence again.
Something had died. Richard's eyes were wide, trying to see, but he saw only blackness. The thing
that followed had killed something: Or been killed itself He felt an odd worry for it. As long as it
had followed, it had never tried to hurt them. Of course, that didn't really mean anything. It could
simply be waiting for the right time. For some reason, though, Richard didn't think it meant them
any harm.

He felt the eyes again. Richard smiled; it was still alive. He had the urge to go after it, to find out
what it was, but dismissed the idea. This was not the time. This was a creature of the dark. Better to
meet it on his own terms.

Once more on his watch, he heard something die. Closer.

Without Richard having to go wake him, Zedd appeared for his watch, looking rested and
refreshed, eating a piece of dried meat. Zedd came and sat next to him, offering a piece of meat.
Richard declined.

"Zedd, what about Chase, is he all right?"

"He is well. Far as I know, he went off to follow your instructions."

"Good. I'm glad he's well." .Richard hopped down off the rock, ready for some sleep.

"Richard, what did Shota tell you?"

Richard studied his friend's face in the dim light of the moon. "What Shota said to me is private. It
is not for others to hear." The edge to his own voice surprised him. "And that is the way it will
remain."

Zedd took a bite while he watched Richard. "The sword has a lot of anger to it. I see you are having
trouble controlling it."

"All right. All right, I'll tell you one thing Shota said. She told me she thought I ought to have a talk
with you about Samuel!"

"Samuel?"

Richard gritted his teeth and leaned closer. "My predecessor!"

"Oh. That Samuel."

"Yes, that Samuel. Would you like to explain that to me? Would you like to tell me that's the way I
too will end up? Or had you planned on keeping it from me until I was done doing wizard's work
and you have to give the sword to some other fool!" Zedd watched calmly as Richard became more
and more upset. He grabbed Zedd's robes and pulled his face close. "Wizard's First Rule! Is that
how wizards find someone to take the sword? Just find someone stupid enough not to know better
and there you go! A new Seeker! Do you have any other little things you forgot to tell me? Any
other little unpleasant things I ought to know!"

Richard released his robes with a shove. He had to resist mightily the urge to draw the sword. His
chest heaved with his anger. Zedd watched calmly.

"I'm truly sorry, my boy," he whispered, "that she has hurt you so.°"

Richard stared back, everything that had happened pushing in on him, extinguishing the anger.
Everything seemed so hopeless. He burst into tears and fell against Zedd, throwing his arms around
him. He cried in choking sobs, unable to control himself.

"Zedd, I just want to go home."

Zedd held him, patted his back gently, spoke tenderly. "I know, Richard. I know."

"I wish I had listened to you. But I can't help myself. I can't make myself stop feeling this way, no
matter how hard I try. 1 feel like I'm drowning and can't get any air. I want this nightmare to end. I
hate the Midlands. I hate the magic. I just want to go home. Zedd, I want to be rid of this sword and
its magic I never want to hear about magic again."

Zedd held him and let him cry. "Nothing is ever easy." "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Kahlan
hated me or something, but I know she cares for me too. It's the magic. The magic keeps us apart."

"Believe me, Richard, I know how you feel."

Richard sank to the ground, leaned against the rock, crying. Zedd sat next to him.

"What is to become of me?"

"You will go on. There is nothing else you can do."

"I don't want to go on. And what of Samuel? Is that what is to become of me?"

Zedd shook his head. "I'm sorry, Richard. I don't know. I gave you the sword against my own heart,
because I had to, for everyone else. The magic of the Sword of Truth does that to a Seeker, in the
end The prophecies say that the one who truly masters the sword's magic, and in so doing makes
the blade turn white, will be protected from that fate. But I don't know how it's to be done. I don't
even know what it means. I didn't have the courage to tell you. I'm sorry. If you want, you may
strike me dead for what I've done to you. Only, promise me first that you will go on and stop
Darken Rahl."

Richard laughed bitterly through the tears. "Strike you dead. That's a joke. You're all I have, all I'm
allowed to love. How could I kill that? It's myself I should kill."

"Don't say such a thing," Zedd whispered. "Richard, I know how you feel about the magic. I
walked away from it too. Sometimes events happen that you have to deal with. You are all I have
left. I went after the book because I didn't want you to be in danger. I would do anything to spare
you hurt. But I cannot spare you this. We must stop Darken Rahl, not just for ourselves, but for all
the others who have no chance."

Richard scrubbed his eyes. "I know. I won't quit until it's finished. I promise. Then maybe I can
give up the sword, before it's too late for me."

"Go and get some sleep. Each day will get a little better for you. If it's any consolation, although I
don't know why Seekers end up like Samuel, I truly don't believe it will happen to you. But if it
does, it won't happen for some time, and therefore, that can only mean you have defeated Darken
Rahl, and all the people of the lands will be safe. Know that if it happens I will al- ways take care
of you. If we can stop Rahl, maybe I can help you find the secret to turning the blade white."

Richard nodded and rose to his feet, pulling his cloak around himself. "Thank you, my friend. Sorry
I've been so hard on you tonight. I don't know what's gotten into me. Maybe the good spirits have
deserted me. I'm sorry I can't tell you what Shota said.

"And Zedd, be careful tonight. There's something out there. It's been following us for days. I don't
know what it is, I haven't had the time to snap a circle on it. But I don't think it means us harm, at
least it hasn't so far, but you never know in the Midlands."

"I will be careful."

Richard started to walk away. Zedd called his name. He stopped and turned.

"Just be glad she cares for you as much as she does. If she didn't, she might have touched you."

Richard stared back at him a long moment. "I'm afraid, in a way, she already has."

-+---
Kahlan picked her way along in the dark among the rocks and trees, and found Zedd sitting on a
rock, watching her come, his legs crossed under him.

"I would have come and woke you when it was time," he said.

She went and sat next to him, hugging her cloak around herself. "I know, but I couldn't sleep, so I
thought I would come and sit with you."

"Did you bring anything to eat?"

She reached in her cloak, pulling out a small bundle. "Here." She smiled. "Some rabbit and
biscuits."

While Zedd rubbed his hands together and started right in, she watched out into the night, thinking
how to put the question she had come to ask him. It didn't take him long to finish the snack.

"Wonderful, dear one, wonderful. That's all you brought?"

Kahlan laughed. "I also brought some berries." She pulled out a cloth bundle. "I thought you might
like something sweet. Can I share them with you?"

He eyed her up and down. "I guess you're small enough, you couldn't eat that many."

She laughed again and took a small handful from the open bundle in his hands. "I think I know why
Richard is so good at finding food. Growing up around you, he had to be good, or he would starve."

"I would never let him starve," he protested. "I care for him too much."

"I know. Me, too."

He chewed a few berries. "I want to thank you for keeping your word."

"My word?"

Zedd peered up at her as he hunched over the bundle, eating berries one at a time. "Your word not
to touch him, not to use your power on him."

"Oh." She looked off into the night, gathering her courage. "Zedd, you are the only wizard left,
other than Giller. I am the last Confessor. You have lived in the Midlands, you have lived in
Aydindril. You are the only one who knows what it is like to be a Confessor. I tried to explain it to
Richard, but it takes a lifetime to truly understand, and then, I think none but another Confessor or
a wizard can really understand."

Zedd patted her arm. "You may be right."

"I have no one. I can have no one. You can't imagine what that's like. Please, Zedd." Her eyebrows
wrinkled together. "Please, can you use your magic to remove this from me? Can you take the
Confessor's magic from me, and let me be a normal woman?"

She felt as if she was hanging by a thin strand over a gaping, dark, bottomless pit. She twisted on
the end of the strand while she watched his eyes.

His head bent. He didn't look up. "There is only one way to release you from the magic, Mother
Confessor."

Her heart leapt into her throat. "How?" she whispered.

His eyes came to hers. They were filled with pain. "I could kill you."

She felt the strand of hope break. She put all her effort to making her face show nothing, a
Confessor's face, as she felt herself disappearing down into the blackness. "Thank you, wizard
Zorander, for hearing my request. I didn't really think there was, I just thought I would ask. I
appreciate your honesty. You better go get some sleep now."

He nodded. "First, you must tell me what Shota said."

She maintained her expression. "Ask the Seeker. It is to him she spoke; I was covered with snakes
at the time."

"Snakes." Zedd lifted an eyebrow. "Shots must have liked you. I have seen her do worse."

Kahlan held his eyes. "She did worse to me, too."

"I asked Richard. He won't tell me. You must."

"You would have- me step between two friends? You would ask me to betray his trust? No, thank
you."

"Richard is smart, perhaps the smartest Seeker I have ever seen, but he knows very little of the
Midlands. He has seen only a tiny portion of it. In some ways it's his best defense and strongest
asset. He found where the last box is by going to Shota. No Seeker from the Midlands would have
done that. You have spent your whole life here, you know many of the dangers. There are creatures
here who could use the magic of the Sword of Truth against him. There are creatures who would
suck the magic from him and kill him with it. There are dangers of every kind. We don't .have the
time to teach him all he needs to know, so we must protect him, so he can do his job. I must know
what Shota said so I can judge if it's important; if we need to protect him."

"Zedd, please, he is my only friend. Don't ask me to betray his trust."

"Dear one, he is not your only friend. I'm your friend too. Help me protect him. I will keep it from
him that you told me."

She gave him a meaningful glare. "He has an uncanny way of finding out things you wish him not
to know."

Zedd gave a knowing smile at that; then his face hardened. "Mother Confessor, this is not a request,
this is an order. I expect you to treat it as such."

Kahlan folded her arms, half turning away from him as she bristled. She could hardly believe he
was doing this to her. She no longer had a say in the matter. "Shots said Richard was the only one
who has a chance to stop Darken Rahl. She doesn't know how, or why, but he is the only one with a
chance."

Zedd waited in silence. "Go on."

Kahlan gritted her teeth. "She said you would try to kill him, that you would use wizard's fire
against him, and that he has a chance to beat you. There is a chance you will fail."

Silence settled around them again. "Mother Confessor . . ."

"She said that I too will use my power on him. But he has no chance against it. If I live, I will not
fail."

Zedd took a deep breath. "I see why he didn't want to tell me." He thought in silence a moment.
"Why didn't Shota kill you?"

Kahlan wished he would stop asking questions. She turned back to him. "She planned on it. You
were there. Well, it wasn't really you, it was just an illusion, but we thought it was you. You, I
mean, your image, tried to kill Shota. Richard knew she was the only way to find the box, so he,
well, he protected her. He . . . well, he turned back your wizard's fire, and gave Shota a chance to . .
. to use her power on you."

Zedd lifted an eyebrow. "Really . . .

Kahlan nodded. "In return for `saving' her, she granted him a wish. He used it to save us. He made
her spare our lives. Richard wouldn't back down. Shota was not happy. She said that if he ever
comes back to Agaden Reach, she will kill him."

"That boy never fails to amaze me. He really picked the information over my life?"

She was a little surprised by his smile. She nodded. "He jumped right in front of the wizard's fire.
He-used his sword to turn it away."

Zedd rubbed his chin. "How wondrous: That's precisely what he should have done. I had always
feared he wouldn't be able to do what was necessary, if it came right down to it. I guess I need fear
no longer. Then what?"

Kahlan looked down at her hands. "I Wanted Shota to kill me, but she wouldn't, because she had
granted him the wish. Zedd, I . . . I couldn't stand the thought of doing that to him. I begged him to
kill me. I didn't want to live to carry out the prophecy, to hurt him."

She paused, and for a moment silence hung between them

"He wouldn't do it. So I tried to. For days I tried. He took my knife away, he tied me up at night, he
watched me every second. I felt like I had lost my mind. Maybe for a time, I had. At last, he
convinced me that we couldn't know what the prophecy meant, or even that it wasn't he who would
turn against us, and would have to be killed in order to defeat Darken Rahl. He made me see that I
couldn't act on a prophecy we didn't yet understand."

"I'm very sorry, dear one, that I had to make you tell me, and for what you two have been through.
But Richard is right. Prophecies are dangerous things to take too seriously."

"But a witch woman's prophecies are always true, aren't they

"Yes." He shrugged as he spoke softly. "But not always in the way .you think. Sometimes,
prophecies can even be self fulfilling."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Really?"

"Sure. Just imagine, for the sake of illustration, that I tried to kill you because I wanted to protect
Richard, from this prophecy coming true. He sees this, we fight, one of us wins, say it's him. That
part of the prophecy is fulfilled, so he fears the other part will be too, and thinks he must kill you.
You don't want to be killed, so you touch him to protect yourself. There you have it; prophecy
fulfilled.

"The problem is, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Without it, none of these things would have
happened. There was no outside influence other than the prophecy. Prophecies are always true, but
we seldom know how." He gave her a look as if asking of she understood.

"I always thought prophecies were to be taken seriously."

"They are, but only by those who understand such things; prophecies are dangerous. The wizards
guard books of prophecies, as you know. When I was at my Keep, I reread some of the pertinent
books. But I don't understand most of them. There used to be wizards who did nothing else but
study the books of prophecies. There are prophecies in them I have read that would scare you blind,
if you knew them. They sometimes make even me wake at night in a sweat. There are things in
them I think might be about Richard, that frighten me, and there are things in them I know are
about Richard, but I don't know what they will turn out to mean, and I dare not act on what I have
read. We can't always know what the prophecies mean, and so they must be kept secret. Some of
these could cause great trouble if people heard them."

Kahlan's eyes were wide. "Richard is in the books of prophecies? I have never met anyone before
who was in the books."

He gave her an even gaze. "You are in the books too."

"Me! My name is in the books of prophecies!"

"Well, yes and no. That's not how it works. You seldom know for sure. But in this case, I do. It says
things like, `The last Mother Confessor' this, and `The last Mother Confessor' that, but there can be
no doubt who the last Mother Confessor is. It is you, Kahlan. There can also be no doubt who `the
Seeker who commands the wind against the heir to D'Hara' is. It is Richard. Heir to D'Hara is
Rahl."

"Commands the wind! What does that mean?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

Kahlan frowned and looked down as she picked at the rock. "Zedd, what does it say about me in the
books of prophecies?"

He was watching her when her eyes came back up. "I'm sorry, dear one, I can't tell you that. You
would be too frightened to ever sleep again."

She nodded. "I feel very foolish now, for wanting to kill myself because of Shota's prophecy. To
keep it from coming true, I mean. You must think me stupid."

"Kahlan, until it comes to be, we can't know. But you shouldn't feel foolish. It could be that it's just
as it says, that Richard is the only one with a chance, and you will betray us, and take him, and thus
give victory to Rahl. There is a chance you should have done it to save us all."

"You are not making me feel any better."

"It could also be that Richard will somehow be a traitor, and you will save us all."

She gave him a dark look. "Either way, I don't like it."

"Prophecies are not meant for people to see. They can cause more trouble than you could believe;
there have been wars over them. Even I don't understand most of them. If we had the wizards of
old, the experts in the prophecies, maybe they could help us, but without them to guide us, it is best
to leave Shota's prophecy be. The first page of one of the books of prophecies says: `Take these
Prophecies to mind, not to heart.' It is the only thing on the whole page, in a book half as big as a
good-size table. Each letter is gilded. It is that important.

"The prophecy from Shota is different somehow, from those in books, isn't it?"

"Yes. Prophecy given directly from one to another, is meant to be an aid to that person. Shota was
trying to help Richard. Shota herself wouldn't even know how it is meant to help, though; she was
only the channel. Someday, it may mean something to Richard, it may aid him. There is no way to
tell, though: I was hoping I would be able to understand it, and help him. He doesn't take to riddles.
Unfortunately, it is of the kind called a Forked Prophecy, and I can be of no aid."

"Forked, that means it can go different ways?"

"Yes. It could mean what it says, or just about anything else. Forked Prophecies are almost always
useless. Hardly better than a guess. Richard was right in his choice not to be guided by it. I would
like to think it's because I have taught him well, but it could be his instinct. He had the instincts of a
Seeker."

"Zedd, why don't you just tell him these things, like you have told me? Doesn't he have a right to
know all this?"

Zedd stared off into the night for a long time. "It's difficult to explain. You see, Richard has a feel
for things." He made an odd frown. "Have you ever shot a bow?"

Kahlan smiled. She drew her knees up, folded her fingers together over them, and rested her chin
on her fingers. "Girls are not supposed to do such things. So I took it up as a diversion when I was
young. Before I began taking confessions."

Zedd gave a little laugh. "Have you ever been able to feel the target? Have you ever been able to
ignore all the noise in your head and hear the silence, and know where the arrow is going to go?"

She nodded with her chin still resting on her fingers. "Only a couple of times. But I know what
you're talking about."

"Well, Richard can feel the target like that almost at will. Sometimes I think he could even hit it if
he closed his eyes

When I have asked him how he does it, he shrugs and can't explain. He simply says he can feel
where the arrow is to go. He can do it all day long. But if I start telling him things, like how fast the
wind is, how many feet away the target is, or that the bow was outside the night before and it was a
humid night, affecting the draw, well, then he can't even hit the ground. The thinking interferes
with the feeling.

"He does the same thing with people. He's relentless in the search for an answer. He has been
heading for the box like an arrow. He has never been to the Midlands before, yet he found a way
through the boundary, and has found the answers he needed to keep going, to seek out the target.
That is the way of a true Seeker. The problem is, if I give him too much information, he starts
doing what he thinks I want him to do, instead of what he feels. I have to point him in the right
direction, toward the target, and then let him go. Let him find it himself."

"That's pretty cynical. He is a human being, not an arrow. He only does that because he thinks so
much of you, and he would do anything to please you. You are an idol to him. He loves you very
much."

He gave her a somber look. "There is no way I could be any more proud of him, or love him any
more, but if he doesn't stop Darken Rahl, I will be a dead idol. Sometimes, wizards must use people
to accomplish what must be done."

"I guess I know how you feel, not telling him what you wish you could."

Zedd rose. "I'm sorry the two of you have had a hard time of it. Maybe with me here, it will be
easier. Good night, dear one." He started off into the darkness.

"Zedd?" He stopped and looked back toward her, a dark form against the moonlit forest. "You had
a wife."

"I did."

She cleared her throat and swallowed. "What was it like? Loving someone more than life itself, and
being able to be with them, and having them love you back?"

Zedd stood still and silent for a long time, staring at her in the darkness. She waited, wishing she
could see his face. She decided he wasn't going to answer

Kahlan held her chin up. "Wizard Zorander, I am not making a request. This is an order. You .will
answer the question."

She waited. His voice came softly. "It was like finding the other half of myself, and being
complete, whole, for the first time in my life."

"Thank you, Zedd." She was glad he couldn't see her tears as . she struggled to hold her voice
steady. "I was just wondering."

CHAPTER 3

7
RICHARD WOKE WHEN HE heard Kahlan come back and toss some wood in the fire. Light was
just starting to creep across the tips of distant mountains, casting them in a soft pink glow, dark
clouds behind making the snowcapped peaks stand out all the more. Zedd lay on his back, eyes
wide open, snoring. Richard rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned.

"How about some tava-root porridge?" he whispered, wanting to let Zedd sleep.

"Sounds good," she whispered back. ,

Richard pulled the roots from his pack and began peeling them with his knife while Kahlan
retrieved a pot.

When he finished cutting them up, he tossed the roots in with the water she had added from a skin.
"This is the last of them. We'll have to start digging some more roots tonight, but I doubt we'll find
tava. Not in this rocky ground."

"I picked some berries."

Together they warmed their hands at the fire. More than a queen, he thought. He tried to imagine a
queen in fine robes and a crown, picking berries

"You see anything while you were on watch?"

She shook her head. Then she seemed to remember something and her face came up. "But one time,
I did hear something strange. It was down here, near the camp. It was like a growl, then a yelp. I
almost came and woke you, but it was gone as soon as it started, and I didn't hear it again.".

"Really." He glanced over each shoulder. "Down here. Wonder what that was about. I guess I was
so tired it didn't wake me."

Richard mashed the pot of roots when they were done and added a little sugar. Kahlan dished up
the porridge and added a big handful of berries on top of each.

"Why don't you wake him," she said.

Richard smiled. "Watch this."

He tapped his spoon a few times against the side of the tin bowl. Zedd made a short snort, and sat
bolt upright.

The old man blinked twice. "Breakfast?"

With their backs to him, they both giggled.

"You're in a good mood this morning," she said, looking over.

He smiled. "Zedd's back with us."

Richard walked over and handed Zedd a bowl of porridge, then sat with his own on the low ledge.
Kahlan made herself comfortable on the ground, wrapping a blanket around her legs while she
balanced her bowl with one hand. Zedd didn't bother to unwrap himself from his blanket as he ate.
Richard waited, biding his time, eating slowly while Zedd bolted his porridge.

"Good!" Zedd proclaimed as he rose to get himself another bowlful from the pot.

Richard waited until his old friend was spooning from the pot, then said, "Kahlan told me what
happened. I mean, she told me about how you made her tell you about Shota."

Kahlan froze with a look as if she had been struck by lightning.

Zedd flinched up straight and spun to her. "Why did you tell him! I thought you didn't want him to
know you . . ."

"Zedd . . . I never . . ."

Zedd's face grimaced. He turned slowly to Richard, who hunched over his bowl, methodically
spooning porridge into his mouth

He didn't bother to look up. "She didn't tell me. But you just did."

Richard put the last spoonful in his mouth, and after he swallowed he licked his spoon clean and
dropped it in the tin bowl with a clank.

His face, calm and triumphant, came up to the wizard's squinting eyes. "Wizard's First Rule,"
Richard announced with a wisp of a smile. "The first step to believing something is wanting to
believe it is true . . . or being afraid it is."

"I told you," Kahlan fumed at Zedd. "I told you he would find out."

Zedd paid her no attention; his eyes were locked on Richard.

"I thought about it last night," Richard explained as he set down his bowl. "I decided you were
right, that you should know what Shota said. After all, you're a wizard, maybe there's something in
it you could help us with to stop Darken Rahl. I knew you wouldn't rest until you knew what had
happened. I decided I would tell you today, but then I figured you would get it out of Kahlan first,
one way or another."

Kahlan fell back on the blanket, laughing.

Zedd straightened his back and put his fists on his hips. "Bags! Richard, do you have any idea what
you have just done?"

"Magic," Richard smiled. "A trick, if done properly, is magic." He shrugged. "Or so I've been told."

Zedd nodded slowly. "Indeed." He pointed a thin finger skyward, the sparkle returning to his
intense hazel eyes. "You have tricked a wizard with his own rule. Not one of my wizards was ever
able to do that." He stepped closer, a grin spreading on his face. "Bags, Richard! You have it! You
have the gift, my boy! You can be a wizard of the First Order, like me."

Richard frowned. "I don't want to be a wizard."

Zedd ignored his words. "You have passed the first test."

"You just said none of the other wizards was able to do it, so how could they be wizards if they
couldn't pass the test?"

Zedd gave him a one-sided smile. "They were wizards of the Third Order. One, Giller, is of the
Second Order. None were able to pass the tests to be a wizard of the First Order. They didn't have
the gift. Only the calling." Richard made a smirk. "It was just a trick. Don't make something out of
it that it wasn't."

"A very special trick." Zedd's eyes narrowed again. "I'm impressed. I'm also very proud of you."

"And how many of these tests are there, if this is the first?"

Zedd shrugged. "Oh, I- don't know. Maybe a few hundred or so. But you have the gift, Richard." A
shadow of worry passed across his eyes, as if he hadn't expected it. "You must learn to control it, or
. . ." His eyes lit up again. "I will teach you. You really could be a wizard of the First Order."

Richard realized he was starting to listen too closely, and shook his head to clear it. "I told you, I
don't want to be a wizard." He added under his breath, "I don't want anything to do with magic ever
again when this is over." He realized that Kahlan was staring at him. He looked from one wideeyed face to another. "It was just a stupid little trick. Nothing more."

"Just a stupid little trick if done on someone else. No small trick, if done on a wizard."

Richard rolled his eyes. "The both of you are . . ."

Zedd leaned forward eagerly, cutting him off. "Can you command the wind?"

Richard leaned back a little. "Of course -I can," he said, playing along. He held both hands up to the
sky. "Come to me, brother wind! Gather about! Blow a gale for me!" He spread his arms
dramatically.

Kahlan wrapped her cloak around herself expectantly. Zedd looked about. Nothing happened. The
two of them seemed a little disappointed.

"What's the matter with the two of you?" Richard scowled. "Did you eat some bad berries?"

Zedd turned to her. "He must learn that later."

Kahlan considered what Zedd said, then looked up at Richard. "Richard . . . to be a wizard, it's not
an offer made to many.".

Zedd scrubbed his hands together. "Bags! I wish I had the books here with me now. I'd bet a
dragon's tooth they have something to say about this." His face darkened. "But then there is the
matter of the pain . . . and . . ."

Richard squirmed uncomfortably. "And just what kind of wizard are you anyway? You don't even
have a beard." Zedd came out of his own thoughts and frowned. "What?"

"A beard. Where's your beard? I've been wondering about it ever since I found out you were a
wizard. Wizards are supposed to have beards, you know." ,

"Who told you this?"

"Well . . . I don't know. Everybody knows it. Wizards are supposed to have beards. It's common
knowledge. I'm surprised you don't know it."

Zedd made a face as if he had just sucked on a lemon. "But I hate beards. They itch."

Richard shrugged. "Seems you don't know as much as you think you do about being a wizard, if
you don't, even know wizards are supposed to have beards:"

Zedd folded his arms. "A beard is it?" He unfolded his arms, and began drawing his fingers and
thumb down opposite sides of his chin. As he drew his fingers repeatedly, whiskers began
appearing. The more he did this, the longer the whiskers grew. Richard watched, wide-eyed, until a
snow white beard reached to the middle of Zedd's chest.

Zedd cocked his head and gave Richard an intent look. "Will this do, my boy?"

Richard realized his mouth was open. He made it shut, but could only nod.

Zedd scratched his chin and neck. "Good. Now give me your knife, so I can shave this thing off. It
itches like ants."

"My knife? What do you need my knife for? Why don't you just make it disappear like you made it
appear?"

Kahlan gave a little laugh, then made her face straight when he glanced at her.

"It doesn't work that way. Everyone knows it doesn't work that way," Zedd mocked. He turned to
Kahlan. "Doesn't everyone know? You tell him."

"Magic can only do things that use what is there. It cannot undo things that have happened."

"I don't understand."

Zedd peered at him with sharp eyes. "Your first lesson, should you ever decide to become a wizard.
The three of us all have magic. It is all Additive Magic. Additive Magic uses what is there, and
adds to it, or uses it somehow. The magic Kahlan has uses the spark of love in a person, no matter
how small, and adds to it until it's changed into something else. The magic of the Sword of Truth
uses your anger, and adds to it, takes power from it, until it becomes something else.

"I do the same thing. I can use whatever I need in nature to change things. I can change a bug to a
flower, I can change a fear to a monster, I can make a broken bone knit, I can take heat from the air
around us and add to it, multiply it, into wizard's fire. I can make my beard grow. But, I can't make
it ungrow." A rock big as his fist started rising into the air. "I can lift something. I can change it."
The rock crushed to dust.

"Then, you can do anything," Richard whispered.

"No. I can lift or crush or move the rock, but I can't make it vanish. Where would it go? That's
called Subtractive Magic: the undoing of things. My magic, Kahlan's magic, the sword's magic, is
from this world. All magic from this world is Additive Magic. Darken Rahl can do any of it I can."
Zedd's expression turned dark. "Subtractive Magic is from the underworld. Darken Rahl knows
how to use that too. I don't."

"Is it as powerful as Additive Magic?"

"Subtractive Magic is the counter to Additive. As night is to day. Yet it is all part of the same thing.
The Magic of Orden is the magic of both, Additive and Subtractive. It can add to the world, and it
can take the world to nothing. To open the boxes, you must be a master of both magics. People
never worried about it ever happening, because no one was ever able to tap Subtractive Magic. But
Darken Rahl commands it as easily as I command the Additive."

"And how do you suppose that came to be?" Richard asked with a frown.

"I have no idea. But it troubles me greatly."

Richard drew a deep breath. "Well, I still think you are getting worked up over nothing. All I did
was a little trick."

Zedd gave him a serious glare. "If done on a normal person, it would have been as you say. But Fm
a wizard. I know how the Wizard's Rules work. You would not have been able to do this to me,
except with magic of your own. I have taught many to be wizards. I have had to teach them to do
what you have done. They could not do it without learning it first. Once in a great while, one is
born with the gift. I was one such as this. Richard, you have the gift too. Sooner or later you will
have to learn to control it." He put out his hand. "Now, give me the knife so I can rid myself of this
ridiculous beard."

Richard put the knife handle in Zedd's hand. "The blade is dull. I've been digging roots with it. It's
too dull to shave with."

"Really?" Zedd pinched the edge of the blade between his thumb and forefinger, drawing them
along the length of the knife. He turned the knife around and held it delicately between his thumb
and two fingers. Richard grimaced at him shaving dry With a light stroke, a swath of beard fell
away.

"You just used Subtractive Magic! You made some of the edge go away to sharpen it."

Zedd arched an eyebrow. "No, I used what was already there, and re-formed the edge, making it
sharp again."

Richard shook his head and went about gathering up their things while Zedd shaved off the beard.
Kahlan helped put things away.

"You know, Zedd," Richard said as he picked up the bowls, "I think you're getting too obstinate in
your ways. I think when this is over, you need someone. Someone to take care of you, help keep
your perspectives straight. Put the light of day to your imagination. I think you need a wife."

"A wife?"

"Sure. I think that's what you need. Maybe you should go back and take another look at Adie."

"Adie?"

"Yes, Adie," Richard scolded. "You remember Adie. The woman with one foot." .

"Oh, I remember Adie quite well." He gave Richard his most innocent look. "But Adie has two
good feet, not one."

Richard and Kahlan both came to their feet in a rush. "What?"

"Yes," Zedd smiled, turning away. "Seems it grew back." He bent, pulling an apple from Richard's
pack. "Quite unexpectedly."

Richard took Zedd's sleeve and turned him around. "Zedd, you . . .

The wizard smiled. "Are you thoroughly sure you wouldn't like to be a wizard?" He took a bite of
the apple, pleased at seeing the astonishment on Richard's face. Zedd handed him the knife, the
blade as sharp as he had ever seen it.

Richard shook his head and turned to his work. "I just want to go home and be a guide. Nothing
more." He thought awhile, then asked, "Zedd, all the time I grew up with you, you were a wizard
and I never knew. You didn't use the magic. How could you stand not to? Why didn't you?"

"Ali, well, there are dangers to using the magic. Also, pain."

"Dangers? Like what?"

Zedd regarded him for a moment. "You have used magic, with the sword. You tell me."

"But that's the sword, that's different. What dangers are there for a wizard in using the magic? And
what pain?"

Zedd gave a small, sly smile. "Only just finished with the first lesson, and already he is eager for
the second."

Richard straightened. "Never mind." He hoisted the pack onto his back. "All I want to be is a
woods guide."

Apple in hand, Zedd started toward the trail. "So you have told me." He took a big bite. "Now, I
want you two to tell me everything that has happened since I was knocked unconscious. Don't leave
out a thing, no matter how trivial."

Richard and Kahlan exchanged a crimson look. "I won't tell if you don't," he whispered.

She held him back with a hand on his arm. "I swear, not a word about what happened in the spirit
house."

By the look in her eyes, he knew she meant to keep her word.

For the rest of the day as they trudged along the trails, keeping off the main roads, the two of them
told Zedd the stories of everything that had happened since they Were attacked that day at the
boundary. Zedd made them go back to previous events at the oddest places in a story. Working off
each other's words, Richard and Kahlan managed to weave the story of the Mud People without
mention of anything that happened between them in the spirit house.

As they drew nearer to Tamarang, they crisscrossed roads, and began to see refugees carrying their
belongings on their backs, or on small carts. Richard saw to it that they didn't stay long in the sight
of people, and placed himself between them and Kahlan whenever he could. He didn't want anyone
recognizing the Mother Confessor. He was relieved each time they were back in the woods. The
forest was where he was most comfortable, even though it had proven its dangers to them.

Late in the day, they had to take to the main road in order to cross the Callisidrin River. It was too
big and swift to risk fording, so they took the big wooden bridge. Zedd and Richard kept Kahlan
protectively between them as they walked among the people crossing the bridge. Kahlan kept the
hood of her cloak up so people wouldn't see her long hair. Most of the people were headed for
Tamarang, seeking shelter and safety from the marauding forces, supposedly sweeping in from
Westland. Kahlan said that they would reach Tamarang by the middle of the next day. From now
on they would have to travel most of the time on the road. Richard knew that they would have to
move far from the road at night to be clear of any people. He began watching the sun so as to leave
them time to move deep enough into the forest before it became too dark.

-+---
"Does that feel good?"

Rachel pretended Sara answered that it did, and tucked a little more grass around her doll to be
doubly sure she was warm enough. She nestled the loaf of bread with the cloth tied around it next
to Sara.

"You'll be warm for now. I have to go get some wood before it's too dark, and then we'll have a
fire. Then we can both be warm."

She left Sara with the bread in the wayward pine and went outside. The sun was down, but it was
still light enough to see. The clouds were a pretty pink. She looked at them once in a while as she
picked up sticks, holding them against her body with the other arm. She checked her pocket to be
sure the fire stick was still there. She had almost forgotten it last night, and was scared now, unless
she checked to make sure she hadn't forgotten it again.

She looked up again at the pretty clouds. Just as she did, some big dark thing swooped low over the
trees a little way up the hill

It must be some big bird, she thought. Ravens were big, and dark. It must be one of those noisy
ravens. She picked up some more sticks. Then she saw a bunch of blueberry bushes, low against the
ground in an open place, their leaves starting to turn a flaming red. She threw the sticks down.

She was so hungry, she sat down on the berry bushes and started eating them as fast as she could
pick. It was getting late in the year, and the berries were starting to get dry and shriveled, but they
were still good. In fact, they tasted wonderful. She started putting one in her pocket for each one
she ate. She moved on her hands and knees, picking berries, eating them, and putting them in her
pocket. It was getting darker. Once in a while, she looked up at the pretty clouds. They were getting
a darker color. Purple.

When her stomach felt better, and her pocket was full, she picked the sticks up and went back to the
wayward pine. Once back inside, she untied the cloth that was around the bread and dumped the
berries from her pocket onto the cloth. She sat down and ate the berries off the cloth as she chatted
with Sara, offering to share her berries as she ate. Sara didn't eat many. Rachel wished she had a
mirror. She wished she could look in a mirror at her hair. Earlier in the day, she had seen herself in
a dark pool. Her hair looked so wonderful, all even. Richard was such a nice man to cut it for her.

She missed Richard. She wished he were here now, to run away with her, to hug her. He gave the
bestest hugs in the whole world. If Kahlan weren't so mean, he could give her hugs too. Kahlan
would find out then how wonderful his hugs were. For some reason, Rachel missed her, too. Her
stories, and her songs, and her fingers on her forehead. Why did she have to be so mean and say she
was going to hurt Giller? Giller was one of the nicest men in the world. Giller gave her Sara

Rachel broke the sticks as best she could, so they would fit in the circle of stones she had made.
After stacking them carefully, she pulled out the fire stick.

"Light for me."

She set the fire stick down on the cloth with the berries and then warmed her hands and ate a few
berries while she told Sara some of her troubles, how she wished Richard were hugging her, how
she wished Kahlan weren't mean, how she hoped Kahlan didn't hurt Giller, how she wished she had
something other than berries to eat.

Some bug bit her on the neck. She let out a little squeal and swatted it. There was a little bit of
blood on her hand when she took it away. And a fly.

"Look, Sara. Look at how that stupid fly bit me. It made blood."

Sara seemed sorry for her sting. Rachel ate a few more berries.

Another fly bit her neck. Rachel swatted it, not squealing this time. There was another spot of blood
on her hand.

"That hurt!" she told Sara. With a frown, she threw the squished fly in the fire.

The fly that bit her on the arm made her jump. She slapped it flat. Another bit her neck. Rachel
flailed at the flies in the air around her face. Two more bit her neck, making blood before she
smacked them. Tears welled up in her eyes from the pain of the stings.

"Get away!" she yelled as she waved her hands around.

Some were inside her dress, biting her chest and back. More bit her neck.

Rachel started screaming as she batted at the flies, trying to get them off. Tears streamed down her
cheeks. A fly bit the inside of her ear, making her scream even louder. The sound of it buzzing in
her ear made her cry and scream as she dug with her finger, trying to get it out. She thrashed her
arms as she yelled.

Rachel screamed in a high pitch as she stumbled out of the wayward pine, wiping flies off her eyes.
She ran, arms lashing out, trying to get the flies away. The flies followed her as she ran and
screamed.

Something in front of her made her stop dead in her tracks.

Her wide eyes worked their way up the giant, fur-covered body of the thing. Its belly was pink, and
had flies on it.

Against the fading colors of the sky, it slowly unfolded huge wings, spreading them wide. Not
wings covered with feathers, wings covered with skin. Rachel could see big blood veins in them,
throbbing.

With all her courage, she put her shaking hand in her pocket. The fire stick wasn't there. Her legs
wouldn't move. She didn't even feel the flies that were biting her. She heard a sound like a cat
purring, but a lot louder. Her eyes went up further.

Glowing green eyes glared down at her. The purring sound was a low growl.

The mouth opened with a louder growl, lips pulling back, showing its long, curved teeth.

Rachel couldn't run. She couldn't move. She couldn't even scream. She shook as her wide eyes
looked up into those mean eyes that glowed green. She forgot how to move her feet.

A big claw reached for her.

She felt something warm running down her legs

CHAPTER 3

8
RICHARD FOLDED HIS ARMS and leaned back against the rock. "Enough!"

Zedd and Kahlan both turned their heads, seeming to have forgotten he was even there. He had
been listening to the two of them arguing for at least the last half hour as they sat in front of the
fire, and was tired of it. In fact, he was just plain tired. Dinner was long since done .and they should
be getting some sleep, but instead they were trying to decide what they would do tomorrow when
they reached Tamarang. Now, instead of arguing, they started presenting their cases to him.

"I say we march in there and I deal with Giller. He is my student. I will get him to tell me what's
going on. I'm still Wizard of the First Order. He will do as I say. He will give me the box."

Kahlan pulled her Confessor's dress from her pack and held it up to Richard. "This is the way we
deal with Giller. He is my wizard and he will do as I say because he knows the consequences."

Richard let out a deep breath as he rubbed his eyes with his fingertips. "You both want to eat a
chicken. we haven't even plucked yet. We aren't even sure whose chicken it is."

"What do you mean?" Kahlan asked.

Richard leaned forward. Now he had their attention, at last. "At the very least, Tamarang is giving a
sympathetic ear to D'Hara. At the very worst, Darken Rahl is there. Most likely, the fact is
somewhere between the two. If we march in there and tell them what we want, they might not like
it. Tamarang has a whole standing army to express to us how much they don't like it. Then what?
Are the three of us going to fight a war with their army? How is this going to get us the box? How
is it going to even get us to Giller? If we have to fight, I'd rather it be on the way out, not on the
way in."

Richard expected one of them to express some sort of objection while they sat as if being scolded,
but neither did, so he went on.

"Maybe Giller is waiting and hoping someone will come, so he can help them get away with the
box. Then again, maybe he will not be so willing to part company with it. But we won't know if we
never make it to him, now, will we?" He addressed Zedd. "You told me the box has magic, and a
wizard, or Rahl, can feel that magic, but a wizard can also cover the feeling of that magic with a
wizard's web, so the box can't be detected. That could be why Queen Milena wanted a wizard-to
hide the box from Rahl, and use it as a bargaining tool. If we create a big commotion, and scare
Giller, no matter how he feels about us, he may be frightened, and use the opportunity to escape. It
could also be that Rahl is just waiting for the quarry to be flushed from cover, and then he will
pounce."

Zedd turned to Kahlan. "I think the Seeker has some good points. Perhaps we should hear him
out?"

Kahlan smiled a little. "I believe you are correct, good wizard." She turned to Richard. "What is
your way?"

"You've dealt with this Queen Milena before, right? What sort of person is she?"

Kahlan needed no time to give it any thought. "Tamarang is a minor and relatively insignificant
land. Still, Queen Milena is as pompous and arrogant as any queen comes." "A small snake, but a
snake that can kill us nonetheless," Richard noted.

Kahlan nodded.. "But a snake with a big head."

"Small snakes have to be careful, cautious, when they don't know what they are up against. The
first thing we have to do, is to give her a worry. Make her unsure enough not to bite us."

"What do you mean?" Kahlan asked.

"You said you've dealt with her before. Confessors go to the lands to take confessions, and to
inspect the prisons, to find out what they will. She wouldn't want to close Tamarang to a Confessor,
would she?"

"Not if she has half a brain," Zedd chuckled.

"Well, that's what we do then. You put your dress back on, and do your duty. Simply a Confessor
doing what Confessors are expected to do. She may not like it, but she will treat you well; she will
want you to be happy. She will want you to see what you will, and then be on your way. The last
thing she will want is to raise a fuss. So, you inspect her dungeon, smile, or frown, or whatever it is
you do, and then before we're on our way, you say you want to speak to your former wizard."

"You think she should go alone?" Zedd protested.

"No. Kahlan doesn't have a wizard with her; the Queen would see that as a tempting vulnerability.
We don't want her mouth to water."

Zedd folded his arms. "I will be her wizard."

"No, you will not be her wizard! Darken Rahl is killing people as we speak, looking for you. If you
remove the wizard's web, let them know who you are, we'll have trouble down around our ears
before we can get away with the box. Who .knows what reward there is on your wrinkled hide. You
will be her protection, but you will be anonymous protection. You will be . . . " Richard tapped the
sword hilt, thinking. His eyes came back down. "You will be a cloud reader. A trusted advisor to
the Mother Confessor in the absence of a wizard." Richard frowned slightly at Zedd's grumble. "I'm
sure you know how to play the part."

"Then you will hide your sword, your identity, from her as well?" Kahlan asked.

"No. The presence of the -Seeker will give her pause, something else to worry about, something to
keep her fangs in her mouth until we're away. The whole point is to give her something she's
familiar with, a Confessor, so as not to raise an alarm. At the same time, give her something to keep
her worried, a cloud reader and the Seeker, so she would rather be rid of us than find out what sort
of trouble we might be able to cause. The way you two want to do it gets us in a fight, a fight where
one or all of us could be hurt. My way puts us at minimum risk of a fight, and if it comes, at least it
will be when we're on our way out with the box." He gave each of them a stern look. "You do
remember the box, don' you? In case you've forgotten, that is what we're after, not Giller's head in a
basket. Whose side he's on is not an issue. We must only get the box, no more."

Kahlan folded her arms with a frown; Zedd rubbed his chin while he looked into the fire. Richard
let them mull it over for a while. He knew that the way they wanted to do it was sure to cause
trouble, and that soon enough they would both realize it.

Zedd turned back to him. "Of course you are right. I agree." His thin face turned to Kahlan.
"Mother Confessor?"

She studied Zedd's face a moment before looking up at Richard. "Agreed. But Richard, the two of
you will have to play the part of courtiers to the Mother Confessor. Zedd knows the protocol, but
you don't."

"I hope not to be there long. Just tell me what I need to know to get by for a short time."

Kahlan drew a deep breath. "Well, I guess the most important thing is to look like you are part of
my escort, be . . . respectful." She cleared her throat, diverting her eyes. "Just pretend like I am the
most important person you have ever been around, and treat me in that manner, and no one will
question. Every Confessor allows her attendants different liberties, and as long as you are
deferential, no one will think anything of it if you should happen to do something not quite proper.
Even if you think my behavior . . . odd, just play along. All right?"

Richard watched her a moment while she studied the ground. He rose to his. feet. "It would be my
honor, Mother Confessor." He gave a bow.

Zedd cleared his throat. "A little deeper, my boy. You are not traveling with a mere Confessor. You
are an escort to the Mother Confessor herself." "All right," Richard sighed. "I'll do my best. Now,
get some sleep. I'll take first watch." He started walking toward the trees.

"Richard," Zedd called after him. He stopped, turning back. "There are many in the Midlands who
have magic. Many different, and dangerous, types of magic. There. is no telling what manner of
sycophants Queen Milena has surrounded herself with. You pay attention to what Kahlan and I tell
you, and do your best not to cross anyone. You may not know who, or what, her attendants are."

Richard drew his cloak around himself. "In and out with minimum fuss. That's what I want too. If
all goes well, tomorrow at this time we will have the box and our only worry will be to find a hole
to hide in until winter."

"Good. You have it right, my boy. Good night."

In a spot thin of brush, Richard found a moss-covered log to sit on while he kept an eye toward the
camp and the surrounding woods. He checked to make sure., the moss was dry. He didn't want to
sit in damp moss and then have wet pants to make him colder. The moss was dry, so he rearranged
his sword, sat down, and wrapped his cloak tight. Clouds hid the moon. If it wasn't for the fire
lending the little illumination it did to the surrounding woods, it would be the kind of dark that
made you think you were blind.

Richard sat and brooded. He didn't like the idea of Kahlan having to put on the dress and put herself
at risk. He liked it less that it was his own idea. He wondered, and worried, at what she meant about
her acting "odd," and his playing along. He wondered, and worried even more at what she had said
about pretending she was the most important person he had ever been around. He liked that not at
all. He always pictured Kahlan in his mind as his friend, at the least. He didn't like to picture her as
the Mother Confessor. It was Confessor's magic that made it impossible for them to be more than
friends. He was afraid to see her as others saw her, as the Mother Confessor. Any reminder of what
she was, her magic, only brought the hurt deeper into his heart.

It was the smallest of sounds that made him sit bolt upright.

The eyes were on him. They were close, and though he couldn't see them, he could feel them. The
knowledge that some- thing was close, watching him, sent a chill across his skin. It made him feel
naked. Vulnerable.

His eyes were wide, his heart pounding, as he looked straight ahead to where he knew the thing
was. The silence, except for his heart beating in his ears, was oppressive. Richard held his breath,
trying to hear.

Again came the soft sound of a foot being lowered stealthily to the forest floor. It was coming
toward him. Richard's wide eyes stared frantically into the blackness, trying to see a movement.

It was no more than ten paces away when the yellow eyes inched into view, hunkered low to the
ground. The eyes were glowering right at him. The thing stopped. He held his breath.

With a howl, it sprang. Richard jumped to his feet, his hand going for the sword. When it bounded
into the air, Richard saw that it was a wolf. The biggest wolf he had ever seen. It was to him before
his hand even reached the hilt. The wolf's front paws hit his chest square. The powerful impact
drove him backward over the log he had been sitting on.

As he fell backward, his breath knocked from him, he saw behind him something more frightening
than the wolf.

A heart hound.

The huge jaws snapped at his chest just as the wolf reached the heart hound and went for its throat.

Richard's head hit something hard. He heard a yelp and the sound of teeth ripping tendon.
Everything went black.

His eyes opened. Zedd was looking down at him, and had a middle finger to each side of Richard's
forehead. Kahlan was holding a torch. He felt dizzy, but stood anyway on wobbly legs, until
Kahlan made him sit on the log.

With a frown of concern, she stroked her fingers on his face. "Are you all right?"

"I think so," he managed. "My head . . . it hurts." He thought he might throw up.

Zedd took the torch from Kahlan and held it behind the log, casting light on the body of a heart
hound, its throat ripped out. Zedd looked down at Richard's sword, still in its sheath.

"How is it the hound didn't have you?"

Richard felt the back of his head; it hurt like daggers twisting

"I . . . don't know. It all happened so fast." Then he remembered, like a dream when waking. He
stood up again. "A wolf! It was a wolf that has been following us."

Kahlan stepped closer and put an arm around his waist to steady him. "A wolf?" The odd tone of
suspicion in her voice made him look to her narrowed eyes. "Are you sure?"

Richard nodded. "I was sitting here, and then all of a sudden I knew it was watching me. It came
closer, and I saw its yellow eyes. Then it leapt at me. I thought it was attacking. It knocked me flat,
right over the log. I never even had time to draw the sword, it was so fast. But it wasn't attacking
me. It was going for the heart hound behind me, protecting me. I never even saw the heart hound
until I was falling backward. It must have killed the hound. That wolf saved my life."

Kahlan straightened herself and put her fists on her hips. "Brophy!" she called into the darkness.
"Brophy! I know you're out there. Come here this instant!"

The wolf trotted into the torchlight with its head down and its tail between its legs. Its thick fur was
a charcoal color from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. Fierce yellow eyes glowed from its dark
head. The wolf dropped to its belly and crawled to Kahlan's feet. Once there, it rolled onto its back
with paws in the air, and whined.

"Brophy!" she admonished. "Have you been following us?"

"Only to protect you, Mistress."

Richard's jaw dropped. He wondered how hard he had been hit on the head. "He can talk! I heard
him! That wolf can talk!"

Zedd and Kahlan both looked up at his wide eyes. Zedd glanced at her. "I thought you said you told
him."

Kahlan winced a little. "Well, I guess I didn't remember to tell him everything." She frowned at
Zedd. "It's hard to remember everything he doesn't know. We have lived it our whole lives. You
just forget he hasn't." ,

"Come on," Zedd grumbled. "Let's go back to the camp. All of us."

The wizard led them with the torch, Kahlan following, the wolf slinking along at her side, ears
lowered, tail dragging the ground

When they sat around the fire, Richard addressed the wolf as it sat on its haunches next to Kahlan.
"Wolf, I guess . . ."

"Brophy. The name's Brophy."

Richard sat back a little. "Brophy. Sorry. My name is Richard, and this is Zedd. Brophy, I would
like to thank you for saving my life."

"Don't mention it," he growled.

"Brophy," Kahlan said in a disapproving voice, "what are you doing here?"

The wolf's ears flattened. "There is danger for you. I have been protecting you."

"You have been released," she scolded.

"Was that you, last night?" Richard asked.

Brophy regarded him with yellow eyes. "Yes. Whenever you camped, I cleared the area of heart
hounds. And a few other nasty things. Last night, close to morning, one came near to your camp. I
took care of it. This hound tonight was hunting you. He could hear your heart beating. I knew
Mistress Kahlan would be unhappy if he ate you, so I kept him from doing it."

Richard swallowed hard. "Thank you," he said in a weak voice.

"Richard," Zedd asked, rubbing his chin, "the hounds are underworld beasts. They haven't bothered
you up until now. What's changed?"

Richard almost choked. "Well, Adie gave Kahlan a bone to carry, to get us through the boundary,
and to protect us from underworld beasts. I had an old bone, that my father gave me, and Adie said
it would do the same thing. But I lost it a day or two ago."

Zedd's face was wrinkled up in thought. Richard looked to the wolf, hoping to change the subject.
"How come you can talk?"

Brophy drew his long tongue around his lips. "Same reason you can talk. I can talk because ..." He
looked up at Kahlan. "You mean he doesn't know what I am?"

She gave him a look, and he sank to the ground, resting his head on his paws.

Kahlan locked her fingers around a knee, clicking her thumbnails together. "Richard, do you
remember when I told you that sometimes, when we took a confession, the person turned out to be
innocent? And once in a great while, one who was to be executed would ask to give a confession so
as to prove his innocence?" Richard nodded. She cast an eye to the wolf. "Brophy was to be
executed for killing a little boy . . . ."

"I don't kill children," the wolf growled, coming to his feet.

"Do you wish to tell the story?"

The wolf sank back down. "No, Mistress."

"Brophy would have rather been touched by a Confessor's power than be thought a child killer. Not
to mention what else was done to that little boy. He requested a Confessor. It's something done only
rarely-most men choose the executioner-but it meant that much to him. I told you we have a wizard
with us, when we take confessions. One reason is for protection, but there is another reason. In a
case like this, where the person is unjustly accused, and found to be innocent, he is still left touched
by our power, he cannot be returned to who he was. So, the wizard changes him to something else.
The changing takes away some of the magic, of the Confessor, and gives him enough concern for
himself to start over with a new life."

Richard was incredulous. "You were innocent? And yet you are to be left like this? For life?"

"Completely innocent," Brophy confirmed.

"Brophy." Kahlan spoke his name in a rising tone Richard was familiar with.

The wolf sank back down. "Of killing that boy." His cowering eyes looked up at Kahlan as she
watched him. "That's all I meant. Innocent of killing that boy."

Richard frowned. "What does that mean?"

Kahlan looked over to him. "It -means that when he gave his confession, he confessed to other
things he was not accused of. You see, Brophy had been engaged in occupations of a dubious
nature." She glanced down at the wolf. "At the gray edges of law."

"I was an honest businessman," the wolf protested.

Kahlan cast an eye toward Brophy while she spoke to Richard. "Brophy was a trader."

"My father was a trader," Richard said, his anger rising.

"I don't know what traders in Westland trade, but in the Midlands, some traders deal in things of
magic." Richard thought about the Book of Counted Shadows. "So what?"

Kahlan lifted an eyebrow to him. "Some of them happen to be alive at the time."

Brophy rose up on his front paws. "How am I to tell? You can't always tell. Sometimes, you think
something is just an artifact, like a book, that a collector will pay handsomely for. Sometimes it's
something more, a stone, a statue, or a staff, or perhaps a . . . Well, how am I to know if they are
alive?" .

Kahlan still had her eye on the wolf. "You traded things of magic other than books and statues," she
scolded. "In this innocent business of his, he would also get himself into disagreements with
people. Disagreements such as rights of ownership. When Brophy was a man, he was as big for a
man as he is for a wolf. He sometimes used his size to `persuade' people to do as he wished. Is this
not true, Brophy?"

The wolf's ears wilted. "It's true, Mistress. I have a temper. A temper as big as my, muscles. But it
only came out when I was wronged. A lot of people think they can cheat traders; they think we are
little more than thieves and will not stand up for ourselves. When I settled disagreements with my
temper, they tended to. stay settled."

Kahlan gave the wolf a little smile. "Brophy had a reputation that, although not unearned, was
larger than the truth." She looked up at Richard. "The business he was in was dangerous, and
therefore very profitable. Brophy made enough money at it to support his `hobby.' Almost no one
knew about it until after I touched him, and he made his confession."

The wolf put his paws over his head. "Oh, Mistress, please! Must we?"

Richard frowned. "What was this `hobby'?"

Kahlan's smile widened. "Brophy had a weakness. Children. As he traveled around in search of
things to trade, he would stop at orphanages and see to it they had what they needed to take care of
the children. All the gold he made ended up in different orphanages, so the children could be cared
for, and not go hungry. He twisted the arms of the people running the orphanages, to swear them to
secrecy. He didn't want anyone knowing. Of course, he didn't have to twist very hard." Brophy's
paws were still over his head, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Mistress, please," he whined, "I
have a reputation." He opened his eyes and rose up on his front paws. "And a well earned one at
that! I've broken my share of arms and noses! I've done some pretty despicable deeds!"

Kahlan lifted an eyebrow to him. "Yes, you have. Some were reason enough to get you thrown in
prison for a time. But none were reason enough to chop off your head." She looked back up at
Richard. "You see, since Brophy had been seen around orphanages, and because of his reputation,
no one was too surprised when he was accused of the murder of a little boy."

"Demmin Nass," Brophy growled. "Accused by Demmin Nass." His lips curled back, showing his
long teeth as he growled.

"Why didn't the people at the orphanages stand up for you?"

"Demmin Nass," Brophy growled again. "He would have slit their throats."

"Who is this Demmin Nass?"

Kahlan exchanged a look with the wolf. "Remember when Darken Rahl came to the Mud People,
and he took Siddin? Remember when he said Siddin was a gift for a friend? Demmin Nass is that
friend." She gave Richard a meaningful look. "Demmin Nass has a very sick interest in little boys."

Richard felt a stab of fear, and pain, for Siddin, and for Savidlin and Weselan. He remembered his
promise to try to find their boy. He had never felt so powerless.

"If I ever find him," Brophy growled fiercely, "I will settle a few scores. He's not fit to die. He must
pay first for the things he's done."

"You just stay away from him," Kahlan warned. "He is a dangerous man. I don't want you hurt any
more than you have been already."

The wolf's yellow eyes flared angrily at Kahlan for a moment before they cooled. "Yes, Mistress."
He lay back down. "I would have faced the executioner with my head held high, the spirits know I
may have earned it, but not for that. I would not let them kill me thinking I had done those things to
children. So I demanded a Confessor."

"I didn't want to take his confession." Kahlan picked up a stick and pushed at the dirt. "I knew he
wouldn't have requested a Confessor unless he was innocent. I talked to the judge; he said that in
view of the crime, he would not commute the sentence. It was death or a confession. Brophy
insisted upon the confession." Richard could see the firelight reflecting in the wetness of her green
eyes. "Afterward, I asked him to pick another creature he would choose to be, if he had a choice.
He chose a wolf. Why a wolf, I don't know." She smiled a little. "I guess it fits his nature."

"Because wolves are honorable creatures." Richard smiled. "You haven't lived in the forest, you've
lived among people. Wolves are very social creatures, have strong ties and relationships. They are
fiercely protective of their young. The whole pack will fight to protect them. And all members of
the pack care for the young."

"You understand," Brophy whispered.