All the Shun-tuk in the vast chamber stomped a foot in time to their chant of “Sul-a-chan! Sul-a-chan! Sul-a-chan!”
Still holding Richard’s gaze, the dead king walked across the dried blood on the floor toward the man who had at last rescued his spirit from the underworld—Richard, the one, Richard who had brought him back.
Richard didn’t allow himself to retreat as the king came to a stop before him.
The malevolent smile remained on the glowing bluish lips of the spirit. Even the tight flesh beneath stretched with the self-satisfied smile.
“I have been to the farthest, darkest reaches of the underworld,” the king said in an eerie voice that made Richard’s skin crawl. “I have been welcomed to travel the Keeper’s realm at will.”
“I hope you liked it there,” Richard said with sudden venom of his own, “because I am going to send you back there for good.”
The dead man’s unconcerned smile widened. “When in the darkest regions of that darkest of worlds, I met your father. I rather liked him.”
“I didn’t,” Richard said. “I’m the one who sent him to that dark eternity.”
“I know. He told me.”
The king and his attention began to move on. As he did, Hannis Arc, his tattoos no longer aglow, joined the glowing corpse of the resurrected king.
“Now that I have completed this part, Emperor, we have things to do.”
As they strolled past Richard, the dead king nodded, no longer interested or even seeming to be aware that Richard was still standing there. “Our agreements will be honored, Lord Arc. I have given you my word. Let us begin, then.” He lifted an arm, casually acknowledging the cheering, chanting masses of Shun-tuk. “I, too, am eager to begin.”
Richard wondered what, exactly, they were about to begin.
As he went past, Hannis Arc flashed a dark, impatient look at Vika while gesturing at Richard. “Put him back for now. I will get to him later.”
Vika, hands clasped behind her back, bowed her head. “By your command, Lord Arc.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, her hand came up under Richard’s arm to turn him back the way they had come in. Richard saw that the dead king, in all his glowing glory, was listening to Hannis Arc’s words, words Richard couldn’t hear because they were being drowned out by the chanting. He could see Hannis Arc gesturing with his tattooed hands as he leaned in and spoke to the king. Over the tumult all around, the king could hear the words of that private conversation, but Richard couldn’t.
Richard could, though, read in the body language of the man covered in the tattoos that he was the one in charge. Sulachan might have been an emperor who ruled the vast Old World and commanded armies of wizards as well as endless legions of soldiers, but he had been a long-dead emperor trapped in the eternal world of the dead.
Hannis Arc had been the one to use long-forgotten occult powers to help break the spells containing the third kingdom and awaken Sulachan’s corpse. Those powers, along with Richard’s blood, had also created a link that had pulled the emperor’s spirit back from the dark eternity of the world of the dead. Hannis Arc still controlled that link between worlds and thus over the king’s stay in the world of life.
Despite the dead man’s imperious attitude, Hannis Arc was in charge and was not shy about exerting his authority.
Whatever the emperor’s grand plans from ages long ago might be, it was clear to Richard that Hannis Arc had plans of his own and he intended the corpse of the dead Shun-tuk king to help him implement those plans. Hannis Arc would not have been foolish enough to pull a wizard of Emperor Sulachan’s power back from the dead without knowing that he could control him.
As bad as the resurrected king of the half people might be, Richard was beginning to realize that Hannis Arc was even more dangerous.
Still, Richard wondered if the man had any idea of the danger in holding the leash to such beastly forces.
Vika pulled Richard onward up the bowl of the cavern, toward the passageway back out. The Shun-tuk all stared at Richard as he passed. This was the man who had brought their king back to life. They had been foolishly bleeding people to no avail, but now, Richard’s blood had at last done the trick. They viewed him with a kind of respectful awe.
That, however, only put him more at risk from these half people. As far as they were concerned, Richard’s blood, and likely his flesh, had just proven to be extraordinarily valuable. He was sure that they would all want to be the one to have a bite of his flesh, a swallow of his blood, in the hopes of capturing his soul.
A few reached out to drag their fingers through the blood on his arm. They brought those fingers to their lips, tasting what their eyes lusted to have.
With Hannis Arc well out ahead of them, Vika realized the menace so close all around them and hurried Richard through the crowds. With a firm grip on his arm, she steered him through pushing throngs of half people intensely interested in her charge. Vika quickened her pace, elbowing her way through, eager to get him out of the room and the hungry gazes of the onlookers. Once through the mob of Shun-tuk and out into a passageway that tunneled back through the rock, they were able to make better time. She kept up her pace, knowing that he was a prize that Hannis Arc wanted for himself.
“My arm finally stopped bleeding,” he told Vika after they had gone on in silence for a time. “Thanks.”
She shot him a dark look. “I just wanted you to still have some blood left in case they needed more of it, that’s all. Don’t try to read anything more into it.”
Richard was too upset to make a flippant remark.
When they reached his dungeon cell down in the labyrinth of passageways and chambers, Vika shoved him back inside.
Some of the Shun-tuk crowded around outside in the corridor gestured on her command and the wavering greenish wall materialized out of nothing. He had heard that some of them had occult powers, even the ability to reanimate corpses. It appeared to be true.
Richard once again found himself trapped in the cave prison with no way out, with thousands of half people who wanted to eat the flesh right off his bones and lap up his blood not far away on the other side of that greenish veil, the boundary to the underworld they were able to control at will.
If they could bring those greenish walls up, they could no doubt also bring them down.
His friends faced the same peril as Richard.
Even if he could do the impossible and somehow escape the half people, without being able to get Zedd and Nicci out, he was doomed to succumb to the poisonous touch of death within him.
Kahlan was no less doomed.
CHAPTER
70
Hannis Arc led the king of the dead out into the dawn of a new day in the world of life. Off behind them, the half people, gathering in the tens of thousands, trailed behind at a respectful distance. More likely, he thought, it was a fearful distance.
Hannis Arc paused when the king strolled to a stop to take in the sweep of the new day. Thick clouds obscured the sky as well as the higher peaks. Veils of mist dragged low enough to blur the tops of the rock spires.
The crumbling rock pinnacles reminded Hannis Arc of tightly bundled marsh grass that had died and then turned to stone. Pieces of it flaked off the spires over time, leaving the ground covered with decomposing fragments of what looked like nothing so much as stone fingers.
Everything in this place seemed to be old and crumbling and dead. The sparse shrubs and stunted trees that clung to life in crags and sheltered areas looked only half alive. It truly was a place where life and death coexisted.
“It has been a long time since I have been in this world,” the spirit king said in a voice that seemed to come from both worlds at once. “It is good to be back. At long last, after all I have accomplished in the underworld it is time at last to bring this realm under control.”
Hannis Arc watched the newly united spirit and man look out over the dreary world of life. They had accomplished all that needed accomplishing
in this forsaken place. Vika had arranged for their departure and seen to it that the Shun-tuk had gathered the supplies they would need for the journey. Everything was ready.
“I want to be on our way immediately,” Hannis Arc said.
“And you plan on bringing the man whose blood you used?” the king asked as he feasted on the sight of the rock wasteland as if viewing a colorful field of wildflowers.
“Richard Rahl?” Hannis Arc smiled to himself. “Of course. He needs to be made to feel the pain and anguish of losing his power and authority, suffer the humiliation of his fall from leader of an empire to a nobody.”
“I see,” the king said without looking over. “So, you plan to assume the burden and risk of dragging him along just to humiliate him?”
Hannis Arc frowned over at the glowing spirit. “That is the idea. I have been planning my revenge on the House of Rahl for nearly my entire life. I’m at last ready to take the rule of the D’Haran Empire. He will see it come to pass.”
The glowing figure smiled in the way an elder would smile. Hannis Arc didn’t particularly like the smile, but he waited for the king to have his say.
“I have had experience with such matters, and I can tell you that such men as those who come to rule empires do not feel humiliation at losing rule. They feel only a need to do whatever is necessary to get back on top, or for revenge. After all, do you feel humbled at all your family lost? I think not. I expect you to feel only a need for revenge. Am I right?”
Hannis Arc hadn’t thought of it in that way. “Well yes, but I want him to suffer his fall from power.”
The spirit shrugged. “You are wishing for a type of satisfaction you will never get. Powerful people who lose power do not feel anguish and heartache like a jilted lover.”
Hannis Arc’s brow drew tighter. “What is your point?”
The spirit king turned to face him. “You brought me in back from the world of the dead to my unfinished business in the world of life and in return I am committed to helping you to rule this world. That is what I am doing.”
“By asking me to abandon my revenge against Lord Rahl?”
The spirit of Sulachan smiled again. “Do you know why I am standing here today, Lord Arc?”
Hannis Arc was pleased to hear Sulachan refer to him that way, even if he wasn’t pleased to be questioned. “As you just said, because I used my talents to bring you back.”
If Hannis Arc wished it, he could also send the spirit of Sulachan back to that eternal world. But for now, if his plan was to succeed, he needed what only Sulachan could provide. Besides, the arrangement was well worth it and Hannis Arc felt he was getting the best of it by far.
The spirit smiled. “Yes, but you only brought me back because you needed me, and you needed me because I long ago made myself invaluable to the right person. I could afford to wait. I had all eternity to wait.
“You were the first one to come along who was wise enough to see the potential if we joined our talents and our goals.
“Part of my value is in my vast experience. That experience in rule can help you in achieving your goal.”
Hannis Arc frowned, not appreciating being treated as if he were an inexperienced, subordinate partner. As far as he was concerned, it was Sulachan who was the subordinate in their arrangement. He had, after all, returned to the world of life only as a result of Hannis Arc’s power and ability. He might have all eternity to wait, but he had been stuck in the underworld for thousands of years, and would be forever, unless and until Hannis Arc brought him back out. If he was so smart, he would have been able to return to the world of life by himself.
“In what way does your experience benefit me with Richard Rahl?”
“Greatness demands the kind of dedication to purpose that I have shown, that has brought me to stand in the world of life again today. I let nothing distract me from my goal. You as well have shown great dedication to the purpose of rule.
“But for those who would be great, there is no room for distracting fixations. Such distractions drain away your energy of purpose. That is why I asked what is most important to you—dragging this man along with us, or ruling the world.”
Hannis Arc’s mood was getting as dark as the overcast. “There is no reason why I can’t do both.”
“You would be ruling one man, when you should be properly devoted to the effort of ruling all men.”
“You’re saying that Richard Rahl is a distraction that could keep me from succeeding?”
The spirit shrugged. “The world is full of distractions. It is the task of a great ruler to keep them to a minimum. Distractions drain time and energy from your primary goal.”
Hannis Arc glanced back at the milky half people, killers all, spread silently out across the landscape behind them. He turned back to the spirit watching him.
“Since the day my parents were killed at the orders of a Rahl, I have been planning my revenge, so that I—”
“And why do you suppose that the House of Rahl killed your parents, your father, the ruler of little, insignificant, far-off Fajin Province?”
Hannis Arc paused a moment, feeling the sparkle of mist against the tattoos on his face as he let his anger cool a bit. “To eliminate the possibility that he might rise up and challenge for rule.”
The spirit smiled. “That is why the House of Rahl has ruled D’Hara for so long, and the House of Arc has ruled little Fajin Province. The House of Rahl was focused on ruling, not on humiliating your father by making him watch them rule. They simply eliminated the potential for a challenge to their power. If your aim is to rule, then you should rule.”
“I believe I can do both.”
“So did Richard Rahl’s father. He kept the distraction of Richard Rahl around for too long, and in the end it cost him his life. A number of men like him have failed because they were stopped by someone who would never have been a problem had they been killed in the first place. Richard Rahl is the leader of the D’Haran Empire because he is strong and determined and because Darken Rahl didn’t kill him when he should have.
“Richard Rahl is an incredibly dangerous man. He is, after all, fuer grissa ost drauka. He is not a man to be trifled with.
“If you think too much of yourself, if you think you can control him every moment, if you think that your power is strong enough to best him and keep him down, then you underestimate him. You underestimate him at your peril. You may have him captive at the moment, but every moment he is alive he will be thinking of how to kill you.
“He did not get to be Lord Rahl, the leader of the D’Haran Empire, the man who defeated Emperor Jagang and the might of the Old World, without being very good at what he does, and what he does well is to take down those who try to subjugate him. Right now, you are making yourself his target, his primary goal, and I can assure you, he will not be distracted from that goal by anything.
“If he is dead, then you don’t have to worry about any of that, and you can go on to rule the world.”
Hannis Arc’s mouth twisted. “I hate to admit it, but you may have a point. The man has proven how determined he is.”
The spirit king turned back to look Hannis Arc in the eye. “Rule is the revenge, Lord Arc. Kill your enemy now, while you have the chance, and then you can go on to rule. Ruling will be your vengeance.”
“As your return to this world is yours?”
Sulachan smiled a dark, vindictive smile. “I will now be the one who in the end has triumphed over all those who would think to take my rule and banish me to the infinite recesses of the underworld while at the same time banishing all those that I created”—he lifted an arm around at the desolate landscape—“to this forsaken place. In the end, they could not contain any of us with barriers or even death itself. Now, we will each have our way and our revenge.”
Being from tiny Fajin Province, Hannis Arc had no means to raise an army to fulfill his ambitions of conquest. He commanded small numbers, really, and he would need vast might to take his o
bjective, the People’s Palace, and rule from the House of Rahl’s traditional seat of power. To take that objective, he was going to need an army.
And now, through Sulachan, he had what he needed. He not only had the Shun-tuk nation of half people, he had at his disposal an endless army of the dead.
Hands clasped behind his back, he finally looked over at the wise spirit king. A spirit Hannis Arc controlled.
The tattoos covering him had been tedious, time-consuming, and painful. But they had proven to be worth it. Those symbols in the language of Creation not only helped Hannis Arc pull the spirit of Sulachan back from the underworld, they protected him from the spirit king, should he not honor his commitments. They were, in a way, Hannis Arc’s armor when dealing with things dead.
“Now that the barrier is down there is no reason to remain here. I don’t want to waste any time. We need to be on our way.”
The spirit king bowed his head. “By your command, Lord Arc.” He glanced back at the vast army of half people. “We all stand ready and march on your order.”
“First I kill Richard Rahl, and then we march.”
A cunning smile overcame Sulachan’s spirit face. “We should allow some of the Shun-tuk to feast on the captives. Let your enemy, Richard Rahl, be among those eaten. Let him suffer the same terrifying death as the others.”
Hannis Arc shook his head emphatically. “No. No, you’re right that while I have the upper hand I should kill him. I’ve watched him over the years of war and you’re right about how dangerous he is. I must not take any chances.
“But now that the decision has been made, I want to do it myself, with my own hands. I want to watch death take him. I want to see the man die before my eyes so that the threat he represents is ended once and for all. I want him to look up into my eyes and know that it is I, Hannis Arc, banishing him to the world of the dead.
“Before he dies, I want him to know that I am turning the Shun-tuk loose on all his friends to devour the living flesh off their bones.