Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

Richard brushed some of the snow off his face. The tumbling fall, the sudden plunge, and hanging by his fingers over a cliff had left him shaken but, more than anything, angry.

Samuel, still lying crumpled in the snow, wriggling and squirming, pulled to himself, mumbling something Richard couldn't hear over the sound of the wind.

When Samuel saw Richard stalking toward him, he scrambled awkwardly to his feet, still suffering from the lingering pain. Despite that pain, though, he saw what he wanted.

"Mine! Gimme! Gimme my sword!"

Richard lifted the point toward the disgusting little fellow.

Seeing the point of the blade approaching, Samuel lost his courage and scuttled a few steps backward up the slope. "Please," he whined, holding his hands out to ward Richard's wrath, "no kill me?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Mistress sends me."

"Shota sent you to kill me, did she?" Richard mocked. He wanted Samuel to admit the truth.

Samuel vigorously shook his head. "No, not to kill you."

"So then that was all your idea."

Samuel didn't answer.

"Why, then?" Richard pressed. "Why did Shota send you?"

Samuel eyed Cara as she moved to the side, halfway hemming him in. Samuel hissed at her, showing his teeth. Cara, unimpressed, showed him her Agiel. His eyes grew big with fear.

"Samuel!" Richard yelled.

Samuel's yellow eyes turned back to Richard and they again turned hateful.

"Why did Shota send you?"

"Mistress.» he whimpered as his anger flagged. He stared off longingly in the direction of Agaden Reach. "She sends companion."

"Why!"

Samuel flinched when Richard yelled and took an aggressive stride forward.

Samuel, trying to keep watch on both of them, pointed a long finger al Cara. "Mistress say for you to bring pretty lady."

This was a surprise-for two reasons. "Pretty lady" was what Samuel had always called Kahlan.

Secondly, Richard would never have expected that Shota would want Cara to come down into Agaden Reach with him. He found that somehow troubling.

"Why does she want the pretty lady to come with me?"

"Don't know." Samuel's bloodless lips pulled back in a grin. "Maybe to kill her."

Cara waggled her Agiel for him to see. "If she tries, maybe she will get a lot more than you got. Maybe I'll kill her, instead."

Samuel squealed in horror, his bulging eyes going wide. "No! No kill mistress!"

"We didn't come to harm Shota," Richard told him. "But we will defend ourselves."

Samuel pressed his knuckles to the ground as he leaned toward Richard. "We will see," he growled with contempt, "what mistress does with you, Seeker."

Before Richard could answer, Samuel suddenly darted off into the swirling snow. It was surprising how fast he could move.

Cara started after him, but Richard caught her arm to stop her.

"I'm in no mood to go running after him," he said. "Besides, it's unlikely we'll catch him. He knows the trail and we aren't familiar with it. We can't follow his tracks as fast as he can make them. Besides, he will be heading back to Shota and that's where we're going anyway. No use to waste our energy when we'll catch up with him in the end."

"You should have let me kill him."

Richard started up the slope toward the trail. "I would have, but I can't fly."

"I suppose," she conceded with a sigh. "Are you all right?"

Richard nodded as he slid the sword home into its scabbard, putting away, too, the flush of hot anger. "Thanks to you."

Cara flashed him a self-satisfied smile. "I keep telling you, you couldn't get along without me." She glanced around in the gray-blue murk. "What if he tries that again?"

"Samuel is basically a coward and an opportunist. He only attacks when he thinks you're helpless. He is without any redeeming qualities as far as I can tell."

"Why would a witch woman keep him around?"

"I don't know. Maybe he's just a sycophant and she enjoys the groveling. Maybe she lets him stay around to run errands for her. Maybe Samuel is the only one who would willingly be her companion. Most people are terrified of Shota and from what I hear no one will come near this place.

Although, from what Kahlan told me, witch women can't help bewitching people-it's just the way they are. Even if they didn't, Shota is certainly seductive in her own right so I imagine that if she really wanted a worth while companion, she could have her pick.

"Now that we've driven him off, I really doubt that Samuel would have the courage to attack again. He's delivered Shota's message. Now that we've scared him, and hurt him, he will probably want to run back to Shota's protection. Besides, he probably thinks she may kill us and he'd be just as happy to have her do it."

Cara stared off into the swirling snow for a moment before following Richard up the steep slope. "Why do you think Shota would send a messenger to make sure that I come with you down into Agaden Reach?"

Richard found the trail and started down it. He saw Samuel's footprints but they were already filling in with the blowing snow.

"I don't know. That part has me puzzled."