Blood of the Fold

"Then when Richard is with us, and we start pulling the Midlands back together, you can take this death spell off me. Then the Midlands will have a Mother Confessor again."

"It can't be soon enough for me, either."

Kahlan frowned. "Zedd, if you go away to see Queen Cathryn, and I need to get this spell off, how can I do it?"

Zedd looked back to the flames. "You can't. If you were to announce that you were the Mother Confessor, people would believe you no more than if Jebra were to announce that she was the Mother Confessor. The spell won't leave because you simply declare who you are."

"Then how do I get it off?"

Zedd sighed. "Only I can do that."

Kahlan felt a sudden flush of fear. She didn't want to voice it, but she would be trapped with the spell if anything happened to Zedd.

"But surely there must be another way to remove the spell. Perhaps Richard?"

Zedd shook his head. "Even if Richard knew how to be a wizard, he could no; remove the web. Only I can do it,"

"And that's the only way."

"Yes." He looked back to her eyes. "Unless, of course, another with the gin were to deduce your true identity. If such a man were to see you, understand who you were, and name you aloud, then it would break the spell, and all would once again know your identity."

There was no hope of that. She felt her hopes sink. Kahlan squatted and shoved another stick of wood in the fire. The only way she was going to gel the death spell off was for Zedd to do it, and he wasn't going to do it until he was good and ready.

As Mother Confessor, she would not order a wizard to do something both knew was wrong.

Kahlan watched the sparks swirling up. She brightened. Richard would be with her soon, and it wouldn't be so bad, then. When Richard was with her she wouldn't think about the spell; she would be too busy kissing him.

"What's funny?" Zedd asked.

"What? Oh, nothing." She stood and brushed her hands off on her pants.:'I think I'll go check on the men. Maybe some cold air will get this spell off my mind."

The cold air did feel good. She stood in the clearing outside the small farmhouse and took a deep breath. The woodsmoke smelled good. She recalled the previous days when they were on the march, and her feet and fingers felt frozen, when her ears burned with the bite of cold, and her nose ran, how she daydreamed about woodsmoke because it meant the warmth of a fire, Kahlan strolled across the field outside the house. She stared up at the stars, her breath drifting slowly in the still air. She could see small fires dotting the valley beyond, and she could hear the murmurs of conversation of the men sitting around the fires. She was glad they, too, could have fires this night. Soon they would be to Ebinissia and they could be warm again.

Kahlan took a deep breath of the cold air, trying to forget die spell. The whole sky was aglitter with stars, like sparks from a huge fire. She wondered what Richard was doing right now, and if we was riding hard, or getting sleep. She longed to see him, but she also wanted him to get enough sleep. When he finally reached her, she could sleep in his arms. She grinned at the thought.

Kahlan frowned as a swath of stars went dark. Almost as soon as they darkened, they winked back to points of light. Had she really seen them go dark for an instant? Must be her imagination, she thought.

She heard a thud as something hit the ground. No alarm went up. Only one thing could get through the ring of defenders and not raise and alarm. She tingled in sudden gooseflesh, and it wasn't the spell.

Kahlan yanked her knife free.

CHAPTER 34

She saw glowing green eyes. In the faint light coming from the small winter moon and the stars, she saw a great hulk step toward her. Kahlan wanted to cry out, but her voice wasn't there.

When the huge beast's lips drew back, she saw the entire length of its prodigious fangs. She staggered back a step. She was squeezing the knife handle so hard that her fingers ached. If she was quick, and if she didn't panic, she might have a chance. If she called out, would Zedd hear her? Would anyone hear her? Even if they did, they were too far away. They wouldn't be able to get to her in time.

In the dim light she could see by its size that it was a short-tailed gar. It would have to be a short-tailed gar; they were the smartest, the biggest, the most deadly. Dear spirits, why couldn't it be a long-tailed gar?

Kahlan stared as it lifted something from its chest. Why was it just standing there? Where were its blood flies? It looked down, looked up at her, and looked down again. The eyes glowed a menacing green. Its lips drew back farther, vapor clouding the air when it let out a gurgling sound.

Kahlan's eyes went wide. Could it be? "Gratch?"

The gar suddenly started jumping up and down, howling with excitement and flapping its wings.

Kahlan sagged with heady relief. She sheathed her knife and stepped closer to the towering beast, but she was still cautious.

"Gratch? Is that you, Gratch?"