Blood of the Fold

Cara frowned. “They died because of the Blood of the Fold, and because of the Imperial Order."

"We know, Cara," Kahlan said. "We'll be there just as soon as I see to the poultice on his shoulder and we get cleaned up."

The funeral fires burned for days. Twenty-seven thousand were dead. Richard felt as if the flames carried away his spirits, as well as those of the men who had died. He stayed and said the words along with the others, and by night stood guard over the flames along with the others, until it was done.

From the light of this fire, and into the light. Safe journey to the spirit world, Richard's shoulder worsened over the next few days, getting swollen, red, and stiff.

His mood was no better.

He walked the halls and occasionally watched the streets from the windows, but talked to few people. Kahlan strolled at his side, offering her comforting presence, remaining quiet unless he spoke. Richard couldn't banish the image of all the dead from his mind. He was haunted by the name the prophecies had given him: the bringer of death.

One day, after his shoulder had begun to heal, at last, as he sat at the table he used as a desk, staring at nothing, there was sudden light. He looked up. Kahlan had come in, and he hadn't even noticed. She had pulled the drapes open to let in the sunlight.

"Richard, I'm starting to worry about you."

"I know, but I can't seem to make myself forget."

"It's right for the mantle of rule to be heavy, Richard, but you can't let it crush you."

"That's easy to say, but it was my fault that all those men died."

Kahlan sat on the table in front of him and with a finger, lifted his chin. "Do you really think that, Richard, or are you just feeling sorry that so many had to die?"

"Kahlan, I was stupid. I just acted. I never thought. If I would have used my head, maybe all those men wouldn't be dead."

"You acted on instinct. You said that that was the way the gift worked with you, sometimes anyway."

"But I — "

"Let's play 'what if. What if you had done it differently, as you now think you should have?"

"Well, then all those people wouldn't have been killed."

"Really? You're not playing by the rules of 'what if. Think it through, Richard.

What if you had not acted on instinct, and had not gone to the sliph? What would have been the result?"

"Well, let's see." He rubbed her leg. "I don't know, but things would have worked out differently."

"Yes, they would have. You would have been here when the attack came. You would have gone to fight the mriswith in the morning, instead of the at the end of the day. You would have been worn down and killed long before the gars arrived at dusk. You would be dead. All these people would have lost their Lord Rahl."

Richard tilted his head up. "That makes sense." He thought about it a moment. "And if I hadn't gone to the Old World, then the Palace of the Prophets would be in Jagang's hands. He would have the prophecies." He stood and went to the window, looking out on the bright spring day. "And no one would have any protection from the dream walker, because I would be dead."

"You've been letting your emotions control your thinking."

Richard came back and took up her hands, truly noticing how radiant she looked. “Wizard's Third Rule: Passion rules reason. Kolo warned that it was insidious. I've been breaking it by thinking I had broken it."

Kahlan slipped her arms around him. "Feeling just a little better, then?"

He put his hands on her waist as he smiled for the first time in days. "You've helped me see. Zedd used to do those kinds of things. I guess I'll just have to count on you to help me."

She hooked her legs around him and pulled him closer. "You had better."

As he gave her a little kiss, and was about to give her a bigger one, the three Mord-Sith marched into the room. Kahlan put her cheek against his. "Do they ever knock?"

"Rarely," Richard whispered back. "They enjoy testing. It's their favorite thing to do. They never tire of it."

Cara, in the lead, came to a halt beside them, looking from one to the other "Still with the clothes, Lord Rahl?"

"You three look well this morning."

"Yes, we are," Cara said. "And we have business."

"What business?"

"When you have the time, some representatives have arrived in Aydindril, and have requested an audience with the Lord Rahl."

Berdine brandished Kolo's journal. "And I would like to have your help with this. What we already learned has helped us, and there is much more yet that we haven't translated. We have work to do."

"Translate?" Kahlan asked. "I know many languages. What is it."

"High D'Haran," Berdine said, taking a bite out of a pear in her other hand. "Lord Rahl is getting even better at High D'Haran than me."

"Really," Kahlan said. "I'm impressed. Few people know High D'Haran. It's an extremely difficult language, I'm told."

"We worked on it together." Berdine smiled. "At night."

Richard cleared his throat. "Let's go find out about the representatives." He boosted Kahlan widi his hands on her sides and set her on the floor.