Blood of the Fold

"Stop! All of you, stop!" The six people and one gar froze at the sound of his shriek. Richard didn't know who would win the fight, but he didn't want to find out. He snatched the instant he had before they might decide to move again and sprang in front of Gratch. With his back to the gar, he held his hands out to each side. "Gratch is my friend. He only wants to protect me. Stay where you are, and he won't hurt you."

Gratch's furry arm circled around Richard's middle and drew him back against the taut, pink skin of his chest and stomach. The passageway resounded with a growl that, while affectionate, at the same time carried a rumble of threat for the others.

"Lord Rahl," Cara said in a smooth voice as the two men sheathed their swords, "we are here to protect you, too."

Richard eased the arm away. "It's all right, Gratch. I know them. You did good, just like I asked, but it's all right, now. Just calm down."

Gratch let out a purling rumble that echoed off the walls rising up like a narrow, dark canyon. Richard knew it as a sound of satisfaction. He had told Gratch to follow him, either high in the air, or flying from rooftop to rooftop, but to stay out of sight unless there was trouble. Gratch had indeed done a good job; Richard hadn't seen a sign of him until he dropped down on them.

"Cara, what are you doing here?"

Cara reverently touched his arm, seeming surprised at finding it solid. She jabbed a finger at his shoulder, and then broke into a grin.

"Not even Darken Rahl himself could become invisible. He could command beasts, but he could not become invisible."

"I don't command Gratch; he's ray friend. And I don't exactly become… Cara, what are you doing here?"

She looked perplexed at the question. "Protecting you."

Richard pointed at the two men. "And them? They said they were going to kill me."

The two men stood rooted like twin oaks. "Lord Rahl," one said, "we would die before we let harm touch you."

"We had almost caught up with you when you walked into those fancy horsemen," Cara said. "I told Egan and UHc to get you out of there without any fighting, or you could be hurt. If those men thought we were trying to rescue you, they might have tried to kill you. We didn't want to take a chance with your life."

Richard glanced to the two, great, blond-headed men. The dark leather straps, plates, and belts of their uniforms were molded to fit like a second skin over the prominent contours of their muscles. Incised in the leather at the center of their chests was an ornate letter R, and beneath that, two crossed swords. One of them, Richard wasn't sure if it was Egan or UHc, echoed the truth of what Cara had said. Since Cara and the other Mord-Sith had helped him in D'Hara two weeks before, making it possible for him to defeat Darken Rahl, he was inclined to believe her.

Richard hadn't anticipated their choice when he had declared the Mord-Sith free from the shackles of their discipline; having their freedom, they chose to be his guardians, and were fiercely protective of him. There didn' t seem to be anything he could do to change their minds.

One of the other women spoke Cara's name in caution and nodded toward the opening into the street. People slowed as they passed, peering in, looking them over. A glare from the two men as they turned put speed into the onlookers' steps, and turned their eyes away.

Cara grasped Richard's arm above the elbow. "It isn't safe here — yet. Come with us, Lord Rahl."

Not waiting for his answer, or cooperation, she pulled him into the shadows at the back of the passageway. Richard gestured silently to reassure Gratch. Lifting the bottom of a loose shutter, Cara stuffed him ahead of her through the opening. The window they entered was the only one in a room appointed with a dusty table holding three candles, several benches, and one chair. To the side sat a pile of their gear.

Gratch managed to fold his wings and squeeze through, too. He stood close to Richard, quietly watching the others. They, in turn, having been told that he was Richard's friend, didn't seem concerned at having a hulking gar eyeing them from a few feet away.

"Cara, what are you doing here?"

She frowned as if he were thick. "I told you, we came to protect you." A mischievous smile crooked the corners of her mouth. "Seems we arrived just in time. Master Rahl must devote himself to being the magic against magic, a task you are more suited to, and let us be the steel against steel." She held her hand out to the other three women. “We didn't have time for introductions at the palace. These are my sisters of the Agiel: Hally, Berdine, and Raina."