Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [187]
Then it came to her. She knew where he was. She smiled to herself, took an apple out of his pack, and headed through the dark walkways between the buildings of the Mud People’s village, headed for the spirit house.
Light flared suddenly in the darkness, lighting the walls around her. At first, she didn’t realize what it was; then, looking out between the buildings, she saw lightning. Lightning at the horizon, in every direction, all around, lacing its angry fingers into the sky, into the dark clouds, lighting them from inside with boiling colors. There was no thunder. And then it was gone, leaving darkness once more.
Was there no end to this weather, she wondered. Would she ever again see stars, or the sun? Wizards and their clouds, she thought, shaking her head. She wondered if she would ever see Zedd again. At least the clouds protected Richard from Darken Rahl.
The spirit house sat in the dark, away from the sound and activity of the banquet. Cautiously, Kahlan pulled back the door. Richard sat on the floor in front of the fire, his sword, in its scabbard, lay at his side. He didn’t turn at the sound.
“Your guide wishes to speak with you,” she said meekly.
The door squeaked closed behind her as she kneeled down, sitting back on her heels next to him, her heart pounding.
“And what does my guide wish to tell me?” He smiled, she thought in spite of himself.
“That she made a mistake,” she said softly, picking at a string on her pants. “And that she is sorry. Very, very sorry. Not just for what she did, but mostly for not trusting you.”
The insides of his elbows were hooked around his knees, one hand holding the other. He turned to face her, the warm, red glow of firelight reflecting in his gentle eyes.
“I had a whole speech rehearsed in my mind. But now I can’t remember a word of it. You have that effect on me.” He smiled again. “Apology accepted.”
Relief swept through her. She felt as if her heart were mending. From under her eyebrows, she looked up at him. “Was it a good speech?”
His grin widened. “It seemed so at the time, but now I don’t think so.”
“You are pretty good at speeches. You nearly scared the wits out of the elders, including the Bird Man.” Reaching out, she placed the whistle over his head, around his neck.
Unclasping his hands, he touched it with his fingers. “What’s this for?”
“It is a gift from the Bird Man, with his apology for what he tried to make you do. He said he, too, had no right, and wishes to thank you, with this gift, for opening his heart’s eyes. Tomorrow he will teach you to use it.” Kahlan turned to sit with her back to the fire, facing him, close against him. It was a warm night, and with the heat of the fire, Richard glistened with sweat. The symbols painted across his chest and around his upper arms gave him a wild, savage appearance. “You have a way of opening people’s eyes,” she said in a coy voice. “I think you must have used magic.”
“Maybe I did. Zedd says that sometimes a trick is the best magic.”
The sound of his voice resonated with something deep inside her, made her feel weak. “And Adie said you have the magic of the tongue,” she whispered.
The look in his gray eyes penetrated her, impaling her with its power, making her breathing quicken. Haunting sounds of the boldas carried in from the distance, mingling with the sound of the fire, of his breathing. She had never felt this safe, this relaxed, and this tense, all at the same time. It was confusing.
Her gaze wandered from his eyes, feasting on other places on his face: the shape of his nose, the angle of his cheeks, the line of his chin. Her eyes stopped on his lips. Suddenly she was aware of how hot it was in the spirit house. She felt lightheaded.
Probing his gaze again, she withdrew the apple from her pocket and took a slow, juicy bite, dragging her teeth across the meat. The iron look in his eyes never wavered. Fluidly, impulsively, she put the apple to his mouth and held it there as he took a big, wet bite. If only it were possible