Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind [88]
“Good.” Richard tugged his cloak tighter. “Everyone should be able to eat an apple when they want. Especially children.” He looked over at the old man. “Zedd, I promise I will remember your lesson. I won’t let you down. I won’t let all those people who died be forgotten.”
Zedd smiled and gave Richard’s back an affectionate rub.
The two friends sat in silence, sharing the stillness of the night and the quiet of each other’s understanding, thinking about what they could not know: what was to come.
Richard thought about what needed to be done, about Panis Rahl, and about Darken Rahl. He thought about how hopeless everything seemed. Think about the solution, he told himself, not the problem; you are the Seeker.
“I need you to do something, wizard. I think it is time for us to disappear. Rahl has followed us long enough. What can you do about that cloud?”
“You know, I think you’re right. I only wish I knew how it was hooked to you, so I could unhook it, but I can’t figure it out. So, I will have to do something else.” He contemplatively drew his finger and thumb down the sharp sides of his jaw. “Has it rained, or been overcast since it first started following you?”
Richard thought back, trying to remember every day. Most of the time he had been in a fog over his father’s murder. It seemed so long ago. “The night before I found the snake vine, it rained in the Ven, but by the time I got there, it had cleared off. No, no rain. I don’t remember it being cloudy since my father’s murder. At least, nothing more than a few high, thin clouds. What does that mean?”
“Well, it means I think there is a way to fool the cloud, even if I can’t unhook it. Since the sky has been clear all that time, that means Rahl probably has been responsible. He has moved the other clouds away so he could easily find this one. Simple, but effective.”
“How could he move the clouds away?”
“He put a spell on this one to repel other clouds, and somehow hooked this one to you.”
“Then why don’t you put a stronger spell on it to attract other clouds; before he realizes it, it will be lost, and he won’t be able to find it to try to outdo your magic. If he does use stronger magic to move the clouds away to find this one, he won’t know what you have done, and the stronger spell that pushes the clouds away will break the hook.”
Zedd gave him an incredulous look, his eyes blinked. “Bags, Richard, you have gotten it exactly right! My boy, I think you would make an excellent wizard.”
“No, thanks. I already have one impossible job.”
Zedd drew back a little and frowned, but didn’t say anything. His thin hand reached into his robes and pulled out a rock, tossing it on the ground in front of them. He stood and his fingers spun around in a circle over the little rock until, suddenly, it popped into a large rock.
“Zedd! That’s your cloud rock!”
“Actually, my boy, it’s a wizard’s rock. My father gave it to me, long ago.”
The wizard’s finger stirred faster and faster until light came forth, sparkles and colors, swirling around. He continued to stir, mixing and blending the light. There was no sound, only the pleasant smell of a spring rain. At last the wizard seemed satisfied.
“Step up on the rock, my boy.”
Unsure at first, Richard stepped into the light. It tingled and felt warm against his skin, as if he were lying in the hot summer sun without clothes, after a swim. He let himself bask in the warm, safe feeling, gave himself over to it. His hands floated outward from his sides until they were horizontal. He tilted his head back, took deep breaths, and closed his eyes. It felt wondrous, like floating in water, only he was floating in light. Exhilaration soaked through him. His mind felt a buoyant, timeless connection to everything around him. He was one with the trees, the grass, the bugs, the birds, the animals all around, the water, the very air itself; not a separate being, but part of a whole. He understood the interconnection of everything in a new way, saw himself as