Blood of the Fold

An ironic smile came to Leoma's face. "Yes, I have been dreaming, but that, too, is beside the point. You must give up your bond to Richard."

"Why?"

"Richard has a way of interfering with the emperor's control of events. You see, loyalty to Richard blocks Jagang's power. He wishes to see if this loyalty can be broken so diat he can enter your mind. It's an experiment, of sorts. It's my task to convince you to forsake that loyalty."

"I'll do no such thing. You can't make me abandon my fidelity to Richard."

Leoma's smile turned grim as she nodded. "Oh, yes, I can, and I will. I have a great deal of motivation. Before Jagang finally arrives to establish his headquarters here, I will break the bond to his enemy."

"How? By cutting off my Han? You think that will break my will?"

"You forget so easily, Verna? You forget the other uses the Rada'Han has? You forget the test of pain? Sooner or later, you will be on your knees begging to swear fidelity to the emperor.

"You make a grave mistake if you think I will balk at such a gruesome task. You make a grave mistake if you forget what I am, or think I have an ounce of sympathy. We have weeks yet, before Jagang arrives. We have all the time we need. Those weeks under the test will seem like years to you, until you submit, but submit you will."

Verna stiffened. She had forgotten the test of pain. She felt the constriction of terror rising in her throat again. She had seen it done to young men in a Rada'Han, of course, but it was never done for more than an hour, with years between tests.

Leoma stepped closer and kicked the cup of water aside.

"Shall we begin, Sister Verna?"

CHAPTER 43

Richard winced when he saw the boy knocked senseless. Some of the bystanders pulled him aside, and another boy took his place. Even from behind the high window in the Confessors' Palace, he could hear the cheers from the crowd of children watching the boys play the game he had seen children in Tanimura playing: Ja'La.

In his homeland of Westland, he had never heard of Ja'La, but children in the Midlands played it just as did those in the Old World. The spirited game was fast-paced and looked exciting, but he didn't think children should have to pay the price of having their teeth knocked out for the fun of a game.

"Lord Rahl?" Ulic called. "Lord Rahl, are you here?"

Richard turned from the window and let the comforting shroud go as he flung the black mriswith cape back over his shoulders.

"Yes, Ulic. What is it?"

The big guard strode into the room when he saw Richard seem to appear out of the air. He was used to the sight. "There's a Keltish general here asking to see you. General Baldwin."

Richard touched his fingertips to his forehead as his mind searched. "Baldwin, Baldwin." He looked up. "General Baldwin. Yes, I remember. He's the commander of all Keltish forces. We sent him a letter about Kelton's surrender. What does he want?

Ulic shrugged. "He would say only that he wants to speak with Lord Rahl."

Richard turned to the window, pushing the heavy gold drape back with a hand as he idly leaned against the painted window casing. He watched a boy doubled over, recovering from a hit with the broc. The boy straightened and went back to the play.

"How many men accompanied the general to Aydindril?"

"A small guard of five, maybe six hundred."

"He was told that Kelton had surrendered. If he meant trouble, he wouldn't march into Aydindril with so few men. I guess I had better see him." He turned back to the attentive Ulic. "Berdine is busy. Have Cara and Raina escort the general in."

Ulic clapped a fist to his heart and started to turn away, but turned back when Richard called his name. "Have the men found anything more at the bottom of the mountain below the Keep?"

"No, Lord Rahl, nothing more than all those parts of mriswith. The snow at the base of that cliff is drifted so deep that it will be spring, when it melts, before we can discover what else fell from the Keep. The wind could have carried whatever fell anywhere, and the soldiers have no idea where in that vast tract to dig. The mriswith arms and claws they found were light enough so that they didn't drive under the snow. Anything heavier could have gone down ten, maybe twenty feet in that light, windblown fluff."

Richard nodded in disappointment. "One other thing. The palace must have seamstresses. Find the head seamstress and ask her to please come see me."

Richard pulled his black mriswith cape around himself without really thinking about what he was doing, and went back to watching the Ja'La game. He was impatient for Kahlan and Zedd to arrive. It shouldn't be long, now. They must be close. Surely Gratch had found them and they would all be together soon.

He heard Cora's voice behind him, at the door. "Lord Rahl?"