Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

"Raping, pillaging, and slaughtering the helpless is all perfectly entertaining for Jagang's army, but they rather don't like things like this. Dying for the Creator in a grand battle and going to their reward in the afterlife is one thing, being taken by something they can't see coming out of the darkness and ending up helpless in this way is quite another matter.

"I expect that Jagang will decide to skirt this land rather than allow some unknown out here to give his men a fright that could change their minds about fighting for the glory of the Creator and the Imperial Order. That means they will have to continue on south for a good distance. It will add time to their journey before they can finally swing around and come up into D'Hara."

Richard nodded thoughtfully. "Very good, Nicci. Very good."

She beamed. "What do you have there?"

"Chainfire." He moved up on the steps to sit between Nicci and Cara. "It's a book." He hesitated in opening the cover. "In case this is some kind of prophecy or something, I'd just as soon you looked at it first."

Concern settled in her exquisite features. "Of course Richard. Give it here."

Richard handed her the book and stood. He didn't want to risk glancing at it and too late discovering that he shouldn't have, only to discover the beast about to tear into them. Especially not now, not when he was so close to getting answers.

Nicci was already scanning the book, Cara looking over her shoulder.

"It makes no sense," Cara announced as she read from Chainfire.

Richard didn't think that Nicci shared that opinion. Her face was draining of color. "Dear spirits.» she whispered to herself.

As she kept reading, not saying anything to them, Richard sat on a rise of ground to the side, under an olive tree. There was a vine growing around the trunk. He reached out to idly pluck a leaf from the vine.

He stopped, his hand inches from the dusky, variegated leaves.

Icy gooseflesh prickled up his arms.

He knew what that vine was.

From The Book of Counted Shadows, the book that his father had him commit to memory before they destroyed it, the words flooded into his mind: And when the three boxes of Orden are put into play, the snake vine shall grow.

"What's the matter?" Jillian whispered to him as she leaned close. "You look like you've seen a spirit."

"Have you ever seen this plant growing here, where your people live?"

"No, I don't believe I have."

"She's right," Jillian's grandfather said in a puzzled voice. "I've lived in these parts all my life. I don't recall seeing that vine before, except for a spell almost three years back, I believe it was. That's right, three years this coming autumn. Then it died away. Haven't seen it since."

Richard didn't see any pods on the newly sprouted vine. He reached out and carefully plucked a sprig.

"Richard, this is an incredibly dangerous book," Nicci said in a gravely troubled voice. She was preoccupied, still reading, and not paying any attention to the rest of them talking. "This is beyond dangerous." She was reading as she spoke. "I'm only in the beginning, but this is — I don't even know how to begin.»

Richard rose to his feet, holding the sprig of the vine out, staring at it.

"We have to go," he said. "Right now."

Something in the tone of his voice made Cara and even Nicci look up.

"Lord Rahl, what is it?" Cara asked.

"You look like you just saw the ghost of your father," Nicci said.

"No, this is worse," Richard told her, finally looking up. "I understand. I know what's going on."

He ran to the steps down into his tomb. "Sliph! We need to travel!"

"But Richard, you have come to help me cast the dreams so that the evil people will not come here."

"Look, I have to leave. Right now."

"Lord Rahl has already helped us as much as he can for now," her grandfather said as he put an arm around her slender shoulders. "If he can, he will return to us."

"That's right," Richard said, "if I can I'll return. Thank you, Jillian, for helping me. You can't begin to imagine what you have done this day. Tell your people to stay away from that vine."

"Richard," Nicci said, "what's gotten into you?"

He seized Nicci's dress at her shoulder, and Cara's arm.

"We have to get to the People's Palace. Now."

"Why? What's happening? What did you find?"

Richard showed her the sprig of vine before stuffing it in a pocket and grabbing her arm again and forcing her down the steps.

"This is a snake vine. It only grows when the boxes of Orden have been put in play."

"But the boxes of Orden are safe in the palace," Cara protested.

"They're not safe any longer. Those Sisters have put the magic of Orden in play. Sliph! We need to travel to the People's Palace."

"Come, we will travel."

Nicci was still fighting him as he pulled her along. "Richard, I don't see what this has to do with your dream of this woman."

Richard slapped the metal plate, starting the ceiling of the tomb closing. "Good bye, Jillian. Thank you. I will return someday."

As she waved, he snatched up his bow and quiver.