Blood of the Fold

"I know, Nathan. Are they there? Are they in Aydindril?"

"One is," he said quietly as he squeezed her hand, "and the other will be there around the time we arrive; I have seen it in the prophecy.

"Ann, this age that is upon us is tangled with a warren of prophecies. War draws prophecies like dung draws flies. Branches go in every direction. Every one of them must be negotiated properly. If we take the wrong path on any of them, we walk into oblivion. Worse, there are gaps where I don't know what must be done. Worse yet, there are others involved who must also take the correct fork, and we have no control over them."

Ann could find no words, and so nodded instead. She sat back at the table and inched her chair close. Nathan straddled the other chair and broke off a chunk of brown bread, chewing while he watched her draw the stylus from the spine of the journey book.

Ann wrote, Tomorrow night, when the moon is up, go to the place you found this. She closed ihe book and returned it to a pocket in her gray dress.

Nathan spoke around his mouthful of bread. "I hope she is smart enough to justify your faith."

"We trained her as best we could, Nathan; we sent her away from the palace for twenty years so she might learn to use her wits. We have done all we can. Now we must have faith in her." Ann kissed the finger where the Prelate's ring had been all those years. "Dear Creator, give her strength, too."

Nathan blew on a spoonful of hot stew. "I want a sword," he announced.

Her brow wrinkled. "You're a wizard with full command of his gift. Why in the name of Creation would you want a sword?"

He regarded her as if she were witless. "Because I would look dashing with a sword at my hip."

CHAPTER 29

Please?" Cathryn whispered.

Richard stared into her soft brown eyes as he gently touched the side of her radiant face, brushing a black ringlet back from her cheek. When they looked into each other's eyes, it was near to impossible for him to look away unless she did so first. He was having that difficulty now. Her hand on his waist sent warm sensations of longing coursing through him. He struggled desperately to put an image of Kahlan in his mind in order to resist the compulsion to take Cathryn in his arms and say yes. His body burned to do so.

"I'm tired," he lied. Sleep was the last thing he wanted. "It's been a long day. Tomorrow we'll be together again."

"But I want — "

He touched her lips to silence her. He knew that if he heard those words from her again, it would be one time too many. The implied offer of her lips as they sucked the end of his finger with a wet kiss was nearly as impossible to resist as the overt invitation of her words. In the fog of his mind, he could hardly form coherent thoughts.

He managed to form one: Dear spirits, help me. Give me strength. My heart belongs to Kahlan.

"Tomorrow," he managed.

"You said that yesterday, and it took me hours to find you," she whispered as she kissed his ear.

Richard had been using the mriswith cape to make himself invisible. It was just a little easier to resist when she couldn't appeal to him directly, but it only delayed the inevitable. When he saw her frantic to find him, he couldn't bear to see her in distress as she searched for him, and would end up going to her.

As her hand came up to his neck, he took it and administered it a quick kiss. "Sleep well, Cathryn. I'll see you in the morning."

Richard glanced to Egan standing ten feet away, with his back to the wall and his arms folded as he stared ahead, as if he saw nothing. Beyond, in the shadows at the end of the gloomy hall, Berdine stood guard, too. She make no pretense at not seeing him standing at the door with Cathryn pressed up against him. She observed without expression. His other guards, Ulic, Cara, and Raina were getting some sleep.

Richard slipped a hand behind his back and turned the doorknob. His weight against the door caused it to spring open, and as it did he stepped aside and Cathryn stumbled into her room. She caught herself by his hand. Looking into his eyes, she kissed his hand. His knees nearly buckled.

Knowing he could resist her no longer if he didn't remove himself from the sight of her, he look back his hand. He was mentally making excuses to himself as to why it would be all right to give in. What could it hurt? Why was it so bad? Why did he think it would be so wrong?

It fell like there was a thick blanket over his thoughts, suffocating them before they could get to the surface.

Voices in his head tried to rationalize why he should stop this foolish resistance and simply enjoy the charms of this gorgeous creature who was making it more than stone cold obvious that she wanted him, who in fact was begging him. He felt a lump in his throat at his desire for her. He was near tears from struggling to find reasons to stop himself.