Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

"The simple explanation is that you don't recall anything of the blank sections because they are simply that, blank places, as I said, that were left in the book by the person who made the copy."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean, I recall the general nature of the prophecies-the length of them. As a gifted person you would be more attuned to what you're reading. I wouldn't. Since I never really understood these prophecies, I instead remember more of the way they looked. I remember how long they were. These are no longer complete. I didn't understand them, and I remember how long they seemed and how hard it was to make sense of such long prophecies."

"When something is hard to understand it always seems longer than it really is."

"No." Berdine screwed up her face with conviction. "That's not it." She turned to the last prophecy and tapped the page. "This one here is only a page long followed by a number of blank pages. I can't say that I remember the others so well, but for some reason I paid more attention to the last one. I'm telling you, I remember that this one for sure was a lot longer. I can't swear to how long the others were, or how long this one is supposed to be, but I do know for certain that this last one, at least, was more than a page. It wasn't incomplete, as this one here is, now. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to remember how long it was, or what it said, but I know that it was more than a single page."

That was the confirmation Verna had been waiting for.

"While most of it makes little sense to me," Berdine went on, "I do remember this part, this beginning having to do with all the talk about a forked source and the confusing business about going back to a mantic root, and then the 'splitting the horde that vaunts the Creator's cause' —that part at least sounds like the Imperial Order-but I can't recall the rest of it that's blank after 'a leader's lost trust.

"I'm not imagining it, Verna, I'm not. I can't say why I'm so sure that the rest of it is missing, but I am. And therein lies what has me so bothered-why is the part that's missing from the book missing from my memory?"

Verna leaned close and lifted an eyebrow. "Now, that, my dear, is the question that I find troubling."

Berdine looked startled. "You mean, you know what I'm talking about? You believe me?"

Verna nodded. "I'm afraid so. I didn't want to plant the seed of suggestion in your mind. I wanted you to confirm my own suspicions."

"Then this is what Ann was concerned about, what she wanted us to check?"

"It is." Verna shuffled through the disorderly jumble of books on the sturdy table, finally pulling out the one she wanted. "Look here at this book. This is the one that is perhaps the most troubling to me. Collected Origins is an exceedingly rare prophecy in that it was written entirely in story form. I studied this book before I left the Palace of the Prophets to search for Richard. I practically knew the story by heart." Verna fanned through the pages. "The book is now entirely blank and I can't remember a single thing about it except that it had something to do with Richard —exactly what, I have no idea."

Berdine studied Verna's eyes the way only a Mord-Sith could study someone's eyes. "So this is some kind of trouble, and that trouble is a threat to Lord Rahl."

Verna let out a deep breath. The flames of several of the closer candles fluttered as she did so.

"I'd be lying if I said otherwise, Berdine. While the missing text doesn't all have to do with Richard, it all pertains to a time after his birth. I don't have a clue as to the nature of the problem, but I admit that it has me greatly concerned."

Berdine's demeanor changed. Usually the woman was the most good-natured of any of the Mord-Sith that Verna knew. Berdine had a kind of simple, childlike glee about the world around her. At times she could be heartwarmingly curious. Despite hardships that had others complaining, Berdine usually wore an unaffected smile.

But at the impression of some kind of threat to Richard, she changed in a flash to all business. And now she had turned as suspicious and coldly menacing as any Mord-Sith ever was.

"What could be the cause of this?" Berdine demanded. "What does it mean?"

Verna closed the book full of blank pages. "I don't know, Berdine, I really don't. Ann and Nathan are as puzzled as we are-and Nathan is a prophet."

"What does that part about people losing trust in their leader mean?"

For an ungifted person, Berdine had managed to single out the most crucial part of a very oblique prophecy.

"Well," Verna said, cautiously framing her answer, "it could mean a number of things. It's hard to tell."

"Maybe hard for me, but not hard for you."

Verna cleared her throat. "I'm not an expert in prophecy, you understand, but I think it has something to do with Richard."

"I know that much. Why would this prophecy talk about people losing trust in him?"