Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [384]
The two Mord-Sith rose. They stood grim-faced, shoulder to shoulder, blocking his way. He jerked to a halt. The one with blond hair and blue eyes brought her Agiel up in a menacing posture, waving it in front of him.
“No one is allowed to miss a devotion. No one.”
Richard returned the threatening glare. “I am the Seeker.” He lifted Denna’s Agiel in his fist. “Mate to Denna. I am the one who killed her. Killed her with the magic by which she held me. I have said my last devotion to Father Rahl. The next move you make will determine if you live or die. Choose.”
An eyebrow lifted over a cold blue eye. The two Mord-Sith glanced at each other, then stepped aside. Richard marched off to the Garden of Life, to Darken Rahl.
Zedd warily scanned the edges as they ascended the road up the side of the plateau, the surroundings brightening the higher they went. The three of them emerged from the fog into midmorning sunlight. Ahead, a drawbridge began lowering, the catch on the gears clattering as the span lowered across a chasm. Chase loosened the short sword in the scabbard over his shoulder when the lowering bridge revealed a couple of dozen soldiers waiting on the other side. Not one of the soldiers brought a weapon to hand, nor did they move to block the way, but stood at ease to the side, seemingly disinterested in the three.
Kahlan gave them no notice as she strode past. Chase did. He looked like a man about to preside over a slaughter. The guards nodded and smiled politely.
The boundary warden leaned a little closer to Zedd, but kept his eyes on the well-armed soldiers. “I don’t like this. It’s too easy.”
Zedd smiled. “If Darken Rahl is to kill us, he must first let us get to where we are to be killed.”
Chase frowned over at the wizard. “That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Zedd put his hand on Chase’s shoulder. “No loss of honor, my friend. Go home, before the door closes behind us forever.”
Chase stiffened. “Not until it is done.”
Zedd nodded and walked a little faster to stay close to Kahlan. When they gained the top of the plateau, they were confronted by a huge wall stretching off to either side. The battlements at the top were alive with men. Kahlan didn’t pause, but marched toward the gate. Straining with the weight, two guards pushed the immense doors back as she approached. She didn’t lose a step as she went through the opening in the wall.
Chase glared at the captain of the guards. “You let anyone in?”
The captain gave a surprised stare. “She is expected. By Master Rahl.”
Chase grunted and followed after. “So much for our sneaking up on him.”
“One does not sneak up on a wizard of Rahl’s talents.”
Chase grabbed Zedd’s arm. “Wizard! Rahl is a wizard?”
Zedd frowned at him. “Of course. How do you suppose he is able to command magic the way he does? He is descended from a long line of wizards.”
Chase seemed annoyed. “I thought wizards were only supposed to help people, not rule them.”
Zedd let out a deep breath. “Before some of us decided to no longer interfere with the affairs of man, wizards used to rule. There was a rift—the wizard wars, as they were known. A few on their side survived, and continued to follow the old ways, continued to take power for themselves, continued to rule people. Darken Rahl is a direct descendant of that line—the house of Rahl. He was born with the gift; not all are. But he uses it only for himself; he is a person who does not bear the burden of conscience.”
Chase fell silent as they ascended a hillside of steps, passing into the shade between fluted columns, and through an opening surrounded by carved stone vines and leaves. They entered the halls. Chase’s head swiveled about, astonished by the size, the beauty, the sheer overwhelming volume of polished stone about them. Kahlan walked down the center of the vast hall, seeing none of it, the folds of her dress flowing fluidly behind her, the soft sound of her boots on the stone whispering into the cavernous distance.
People dressed in white robes strolled the halls. A few sat on marble benches, and others knelt at squares