Together they stepped out into the chilly darkness.
Rachel froze stiff when she saw the glowing green eyes staring down at her.
Her breath caught in her throat, preventing the scream locked inside her from escaping.
Huge wings snapped open, spreading wide. With the moon behind those wings, Rachel could see veins pulsing in the skin stretched across the wings.
It was a gar.
Rachel just knew that in an instant the beast was going to tear both of them apart.
“Rachel, don’t be afraid,” her mother said in a gentle voice.
Rachel couldn’t move her legs. “What?”
“This is Gratch. Gratch is a friend of Richard’s.” She turned to the deadly beast and laid a hand on the great furry arm, giving it a soothing stroke. “Aren’t you, Gratch?”
The mouth split wide. Huge fangs glistened in the light of the lantern. The vapor of its breath hissed out between those fangs up into the cold air.
“Grrratch luuug Raaaach aaarg,” the creature growled.
Rachel blinked. It wasn’t a growl, exactly. It sounded like it had actually been words.
“Did it just say that it loved Richard?”
Gratch nodded earnestly. Rachel’s mother nodded.
“That’s right. Gratch loves Richard. The same as you.”
“Grrratch luuug Raaaach aaarg,” the beast repeated.
This time, Rachel could recognize better what Gratch had said.
“Gratch is here to help Richard. But we need you, too.”
Rachel finally took her eyes off the huge beast to look over at her mother.
“What can I do? I’m not big, like Gratch.”
“No, you aren’t. That’s why Gratch can carry you. And you, in turn, can carry a message.”
CHAPTER 52
Updrafts buffeted Richard as he stood on the narrow road leading from the People’s Palace down the side of the plateau. Nathan, standing to his left, leaned over the edge to take a look down the precipitous drop. Even at a time like this the prophet had the curiosity of a child. A thousand-year-old child, no less. Richard supposed that being kept as a prisoner one’s whole life could do that to a person.
Nicci, to Richard’s right, was in a quiet mood. Richard couldn’t say that he blamed her. Cara and Verna waited behind him. Both looked to be in a mood to throw someone off the side of the cliff. Richard knew, despite appearances, that it was really Nathan who was in the mood to do such a thing. Since he’d found out that Ann had been killed he had been quietly seething. Richard could easily understand such silent rage.
Gears squeaked and the heavy catch clattered as the guards worked to turn the crank to lower the bridge. As the heavy beams and planks slowly descended, Richard could finally begin to see the face of the solitary soldier standing on the other side, waiting. The first thing he saw were the dark eyes, glaring across the abyss.
The young man was big, just coming into his prime, with a massive chest and arms. Greasy strands of hair hung down to his powerful shoulders. He didn’t look to have bathed in his life. Richard could smell him from across the chasm.
The young man looked to be developing into a fine brute for the Imperial Order. He was an excellent example of a common Order soldier: a contemptuous, undisciplined thug, a young man governed by his lusts and emotions, and not in the least bit interested in the damage and suffering he caused in order to have what he wanted. He would be without mercy, compassion, or empathy for those he hurt. Their suffering would mean nothing to him. He was completely self-absorbed and devoted entirely to his own wants, not caring what he had to do to satisfy his desires.
He was typical of the regular Imperial Order soldiers Richard had seen. Unaccustomed to consequences, he was a youth whose muscles had developed far in advance of his intellect, and so he would be only vaguely familiar with what it meant to be a civilized man. Worse, the concept would hold no interest for him, since it offered no immediate gratification of his urges.
He had been selected specifically to send a message. He was a reminder—in all his savage glory—of just what sort of men waited below on the Azrith Plain.
Still, the individual standing there by himself, in his dark leather armor plates, straps, studs, tattoos, and belts laden with crude weapons, really meant nothing. It was the mind of the man that mattered.
And that mind was infused, possessed, and commanded by a dream walker, Emperor Jagang.
The emperor had made contact with them through the journey book that Verna still carried. Ann had for many years carried the twin of that journey book, but it was now in the possession of Sister Ulicia and, therefore, Jagang.
Verna had been totally surprised by the contact. Richard had not. He had been expecting it. In fact, he was the one who had asked Verna to check in her journey book for a message.
Jagang had wanted a meeting. He said he would come alone, but for his own safety in the mind of one of his men. He said that Richard could bring whoever he wanted to the meeting—as many as he wanted, a whole army if he wanted. Jagang was hardly worried about the life of the soldier. The emperor had said that even if they decided to kill the soldier, he didn’t care.
Richard knew not only from his own experience but from Kahlan’s as well that catching the dream walker in the mind of another person was impossible. She’d said that she had touched such a person possessed by Jagang with her power, but even as it took them, the emperor was effortlessly able to escape the danger. Despite the talented people with Richard, he did not delude himself that any of them might just be able to catch the dream walker.
Of course, the soldier would be dead. But that was just the sacrifice the man would have to make for the cause, as far as Jagang was concerned.
No, the people Richard had with him had not been brought to try to kill Jagang through the mind of the surrogate; Richard knew better. They each had been brought for other reasons.
The bridge finally thudded down in place. Richard had already given the bridge crew and guards their instructions, so once the bridge had been lowered he gave them the signal and they all started back up the road.
Once the crew and guards were out of hearing distance, Richard started across. His entourage was quick to stay close to him. The man on the other side stood for a moment, his thumbs hooked in his weapon belt, before casually advancing to the middle of the bridge and striking an arrogant pose.
As they came to a halt, the man’s dark eyes—Jagang’s dark vision—were fixed on Nicci. While the master looking through those eyes was no doubt angry, the young man himself was quite open about his lust for what he saw. He ignored everyone else but the blond woman standing before him in a revealing black dress. The neckline at the top of the bodice was loose and open and the man was quite interested in what he was seeing.
“What is it you want?” Richard asked in a businesslike voice.
The man’s eyes—Jagang’s vision—turned to Richard, but then went back to Nicci.
“Well, darlin,” the deep voice said, “I see you have managed once again to betray me.”
Nicci returned only an indifferent expression.
“You said that you wanted to meet with me,” Richard said, keeping his voice calm. “What’s so important to you?”
The contemptuous gaze slid to Richard. “Not so important to me, boy. To you.”
Richard shrugged. “All right, to me, then.”
“Do you care about all those people back there behind you?”
“You know I do,” Richard said with a sigh. “What of it?”
“Well, I am going to give you a chance to prove it. Listen carefully, for I’m not in the mood to trade insults.”
Richard wanted to ask the man—ask Jagang—if he was having trouble sleeping, but he resisted the urge for sarcasm. They were there for a purpose.
“State your offer, then.”
The soldier lifted an arm, rather haltingly, Richard thought, to gesture back up at the palace towering behind them.
“You have many thousands of people in there, awaiting their fate. That fate now is entirely in your hands.”
“That’s why they call me Lord Rahl.”
“Well, Lord Rahl, while you only stand for yourself, I represent the collective wisdom of all of the people of the Order.”
“Collective wisdom?” Again, Richard had to force himself not to make a flippant remark.
“Collective wisdom is what guides our people. Together, because we are many, we are wiser than the few.”
Richard looked down, picking at a fingernail. “Well, I’ve already played the collective wisdom of your Ja’La team and beat them up one side and down the other.”
The man lurched forward half a step, as if about to attack. Richard stood his ground, folding his arms as he finally looked up to stare into Jagang’s eyes.
The man halted. “That was you?”
Richard nodded. “What is your offer?”
“When we get in there—and we will get in—men like my young soldier, here, the pride of the people of the Old World come to crush the heathens of the New World, will be set free in the palace. I will leave to your imagination what such men will do to the fine people in the palace.”
“I already know how the pride of the Order treats innocent people. I’ve already seen the results of their collective wisdom. No imagining is necessary.”
“Well, if you would like that to be repeated here, only tenfold worse just because they’re angry at your bullheaded defiance, at having to sit down there building their own way in, then you have to do nothing. They will come, they will get in, and they will extract their vengeance for all that you have done to the people of their homeland.”
“I already know all that,” Richard said. “It’s pretty obvious, after all.”
“And would you like to spare your people that pain?”
“You know I would.”
The man straightened a little, taking on Jagang’s smile. “And do you know that I have your sister, Jennsen?”
Richard blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I have Jennsen. She’s quite nice on the eyes, actually. She was brought back after we visited a graveyard in Bandakar to pay our respects to the deceased.”
Richard was losing track of what Jagang was talking about. “What deceased?”
“Why, Nathan Rahl, of course.”
Richard’s eyes slid closed as he remembered that grave marker. “Dear spirits,” he whispered to himself.
“While they were paying our respects to the tomb of Nathan Rahl, my representatives came across the most interesting books. One in particular I believe you’ve heard of: The Book of Counted Shadows.”
Richard glared, but said nothing.
“Now, as I’m sure you are aware, there are five copies of that particular book. In fact, I have three of them. From what my good Sisters tell me, you have memorized another copy. I’m not sure where the fifth is, but I suppose that it could be any of a number of places.
“The thing is, it doesn’t really matter. You see, The Book of Counted Shadows that came into my possession, along with your beautiful little sister and a few of her friends, is not a copy.”
Richard puzzled at the man. “Not a copy? Then what is it?”
“It’s the original,” Jagang said in his deep voice, sounding quite amused with himself. “Because it’s the original, I don’t have to worry about which of the five is the one true copy and which four are the false copies. That no longer concerns me, since I now have the original.”
Richard heaved a sigh. “I see.”
“Besides that, I now also have all three boxes of Orden. My friend Six was kind enough to bring me the third.” The dark eyes turned toward Nicci. “She got it from the Wizard’s Keep. Just ask Nicci. Fortunately, Nicci recovered from the touch of the witch woman. I would have been so very displeased had she died.”
Richard folded his arms again. “So you have The Book of Counted Shadows, and now you have all three boxes. Sounds like you have Ja’La dh Jin well in hand. What is it you want from me?”
The soldier wagged an admonishing finger. “You know what I want, Richard Rahl. I want into the Garden of Life.”
“I suppose you do, but I don’t think it would be very healthy for me to allow that.”
“I suggest that you think about all those people in there, and ask yourself how healthy it will be for them if you don’t agree. You see, we are going to get in. It’s just a matter of when and what happens when we do get in. If you force me to fight my way in, then, as I said, I will have to let my men extract their revenge on every single person in there—every man, woman, and child. I expect that it will be terrifying beyond their wildest imagination.
“But, if you surrender—”
“Surrender!” Verna shouted. “Are you out of your mind!”
Richard silenced her by easing her back. He turned again to Jagang. “Go on.”
“If you surrender, I will not harm the palace.”
“If we were to surrender, why in the world would you spare it? I certainly hope you don’t expect me to believe that you have it in you to honor such a bargain.”
“Well, you see, we were planning to build a grand palace to be the headquarters of the Imperial Order. Brother Narev himself was overseeing the project. But you ended that dream for our people.
“We could start over and build such a palace….” The man gestured indulgently. “But it would be so much more fitting, since you took our palace, for us in the end to take yours and rule from it to show all who would defy the Fellowship of Order what comes of such foolish resistance. This seat of the Order would be a statement to all.
“Of course, after you witness the opening of the correct box of Orden I would have you put to death.”
“Of course,” Richard said.
“A relatively quick death, but not too quick. I would want you to pay for some of your crimes, after all.”
“How appealing.”
“Well, your people would live. Aren’t you concerned for them? Have you no compassion? They would have to bow to the beliefs of the Order, which is, after all, the moral law of the Creator Himself, but they would not be molested by my men.”
“Still doesn’t sound very appealing,” Richard said, his arms still folded.
The soldier shrugged, an awkward movement, like a puppet whose strings had been pulled. “Well, those are your only two choices. Either we eventually smash our way in on a river of blood, letting my men have what they want of your people and your palace while my Sisters and myself do what we must in the Garden of Life, or else you come to your senses and allow your people to live in peace, while my Sisters and myself do what we must in the Garden of Life.
“Either way, I will have the Garden of Life to use as I must. The only question is how soon, and how much blood and suffering it will cost your people.”
“You may never get in. You think you will, but you may not. I have that possibility to consider.”
“Not really,” Jagang said with a surrogate smile. “You see, I always have the additional option of Six helping us. She wouldn’t have to fight her way up through the palace. She can just…drop us in, as it were. Beyond that, if I grow too impatient I could always go ahead and do it the easy way by simply using the book the way it was intended to open the correct box.”
“You need the Garden of Life.”
The man gestured dismissively. “The boxes predate the Garden of Life. There is nothing that says they must be opened in such a place—a containment field, as my Sisters explained it. My Sisters, as well as Six, also advised me that while the Garden of Life was built as a containment field specific to the boxes of Orden, the boxes can still be opened from right where they are.”
Richard glared at the man before him. “Without the specific containment field offered by the Garden of Life it would be extremely dangerous to attempt to open one of the boxes. Any number of otherwise inconsequential errors would risk destroying the world of life.”
Jagang again smiled a very wicked smile. “This world, this life, is transient. It is the next world that matters. Destroying this vile, wretched world, this miserable life, would be doing the Creator a great service. Those of us who have served His cause through the Fellowship of Order will be rewarded in that eternal afterlife. Those of you who have opposed us will fall into the eternal darkness beneath the Keeper. Ending this wretched world in the cause of saving it would be a noble act worthy of great reward.
“So, you see, Richard Rahl, in this round of Ja’La dh Jin I am going to win it all, one way or the other. I am merely offering you the chance to decide how you wish it to end.”
The wind carried a sheet of dust past as Richard watched the man. He knew from the things he’d studied, and the things that Nicci had told him, that Jagang wasn’t bluffing about being able to open the boxes without the Garden of Life. He also knew how dangerous it would be. Unfortunately, he also knew that the Order didn’t really care if all life ended. They valued death, not life. Even if they could somehow eliminate Jagang it would make no difference, really. He represented the beliefs of the Order, he did not shape them.
In the end, he was hardly the most dangerous part of the Order. It was the evil beliefs the Fellowship of Order taught that were dangerous. Jagang was merely the brute who enforced those beliefs.
“I don’t know that I can make such a decision immediately.”
“I understand. I will give you some time to think it over. Some time to walk the halls of the palace and look into the eyes of those women and children under your care.”
Richard nodded. “This is the kind of thing I will have to think about. There is much to consider. It will take time.”
The man smiled. “Of course. Take your time. I give you a few weeks. I will give you until the new moon.”
The man started to turn away, but then turned back. “Oh, one other thing.” His dark gaze slid to Nicci. “You will have to surrender Nicci to me as part of the bargain. She belongs with me. She must be given back.”