Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [82]
Richard nodded as they all went back to their own thoughts.
“They are tan,” Kahlan said softly. They all turned to her. She sat staring into the fire. “The heart hounds are tan, with short fur, like that on the back of a deer. They are seen everywhere now in the Midlands, having been released from their bonds when the other boundary failed. Crazed with lack of purpose, now they even come out in the daytime.”
The three men sat motionless, considering her words. Even Zedd stopped eating.
“Great,” Richard said under his breath. “And what else does the Midlands have that is even worse?”
He didn’t mean it as a question, more as a curse of frustration. The fire crackled, warm on their faces.
Kahlan’s eyes were in a faraway place. “Darken Rahl,” she whispered.
CHAPTER 13
Richard sat away from the camp, leaning against a cold rock, his cloak wrapped tightly around himself as he looked out toward the boundary. What little wind there was bore a breath of ice. Chase had given him the first watch, Zedd was to have the second, and the warden the third. Kahlan had protested when she wasn’t given a watch, but in the end went along with Chase’s wishes.
Moonlight illuminated the open land between where he sat and the boundary. It was an expanse of gentle hills, a few trees and small streams; a pleasant-looking place, considering how near it was to the grim boundary woods. Of course, the woods had probably been pleasant at one time, too, before Darken Rahl had put the boxes in play, and started the destruction of the boundary. Chase had said he didn’t think the heart hounds could stray this far, but if he was wrong, Richard intended to see them coming. He ran his hand over the hilt of his sword for reassurance, fingering the word Truth on it, tracing its raised letters absently while he scanned the night sky, vowing not to let the gars take him by surprise again. He was glad he was given the first watch, since he wasn’t sleepy. He was fatigued, but not sleepy. Still, he yawned.
The mountains that were part of the boundary lay off at the edge of darkness, beyond the tangled mat of woods, rising up like the spine of a dark beast too big to hide itself. Richard wondered what manner of things were looking back at him from that black maw. Chase had said the boundary mountains diminished as they went south, and would be all but gone where they were going.
Unexpectedly, Kahlan, her cloak also wrapped snug about, slipped up silently in the darkness and wedged herself tight against him for warmth. She didn’t talk, simply sat close. Stray wisps of her silky hair touched the side of his face. The handle of her knife jabbed into his side, but he didn’t say anything for fear that if he did she would move away. He didn’t want her to move.
“The others asleep?” he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder. She nodded. “How can you tell?” he asked with a smile. “Zedd sleeps with his eyes open.”
She smiled back. “All wizards do.”
“Really? I thought it was just Zedd.”
As he scanned the valley for any movement, he could feel her eyes on him. He looked back at her. “Aren’t you sleepy?” She was so close he didn’t have to speak in much more than a whisper.
She shrugged. The light breeze pulled some of her long hair across her face.
She reached up and pulled it back. Her eyes found his. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry.”
He wished she would lay her head on his shoulder, but she didn’t. “About what?”
“About what I said to you before, that I wouldn’t want you to come after me. I did not want you to think I don’t appreciate your friendship; I do. It’s just that what we are doing is more