Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [270]
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