Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy Part 3

Jagang looked outraged at such talk. "Prosper? They are merely heathens dancing on the ground that will be their graves. They will be crushed. That is what people will see-that the Order will rightly punish those who turn away from their duty to their fellow man. The punishment they suffer for their selfishness will be remembered for the next thousand years."

'And the D'Haran forces? The wolves set loose on your flock? They will not be so easily eliminated. They will continue to break the hold of the Order. They will continue to hound those who have sent war north, eviscerating the very core of the Fellowship of Order."

Jagang grinned. "Oh, darlin, you are so wrong about that. You forget the boxes of Orden."

''You have only two."

"At the moment, maybe, but I will have all three. When I do, then I will unleash the power of Orden to do our bidding. With the power of Orden under my control, all opposition will be swept away in the firestorm of our righteous cause. I will use the power of Orden to burn the flesh from every one of those D'Haran troops, and leave each one to die a slow, agonizing death. Hunted by the power of Orden, there will be nowhere for them to hide. Their screams will be the sound of sweet justice to our people now suffering under their brutality. I will also make each one of those heathen traitors from Altur'Rang suffer for betraying our teachings.

"The power of Orden will serve the cause of the Fellowship of Order and in the end strike the D'Harans down-no matter where they are.

"I will grind Richard Rahl's bones to dust. He is a dead man, he just doesn't know it, yet."

Jagang's grim grin gave Nicci goose bumps. "But first," he said with obvious delight, "I want him to live long enough to see it all, live long enough to truly suffer. You know how much I like those who have opposed me to live so that they may endure the pain of proper suffering."

His voice lowered to a growl. "To that end, I have something very, very dear to Richard Rahl. When I unleash the power of Orden I will at long last be able to bring him pain he can't begin to imagine. It will bring him the kind of emotional anguish that will crush his spirit, crush his very soul, before I crush his worldly body."

Nicci knew that Jagang was talking about Kahlan, but she dared not let him know what she knew about it. It took all her will power not to glance at her, not to give away what she knew.

"We will prevail," he said. "I offer you the opportunity to return to my side-to the Order's side. In the end, you have no choice in the matter but to accept the Creator's will. It is time for you to accept your moral responsibility to your fellow man."

She had known from the moment she had entered the camp that she had no chance to escape the inevitable. She would never again see Richard, or freedom.

Jagang gestured dismissively. "You can accomplish nothing with your childish affection for Richard Rahl."

Nicci knew what was going to happen if she did not submit to his authority and accept his offer. If she did not accept, he was going to make it all that much more agonizing for her.

But her life was hers, now, and she would not throw it away willingly.

"If you are going to grind Richard Rahl to dust," she said in her most condescending tone, "if he is nothing more than a petty problem to you, then why are you so concerned about him?" She arched an eyebrow. "More to the point, why are you so jealous of him?"

His face flushing red with rage, Jagang seized her by the throat. With a roar he heaved her onto the bed. She drew a sharp breath just before he landed on her. He straddled her middle, then leaned to the side and retrieved something. With his weight atop her she could hardly breathe.

One meaty hand grabbed her face to hold her head still even though she made no effort to resist. With the thumb and knuckle of the other hand he pulled her lower lip out. When he released her face she saw that he was holding a sharpened awl.

He stabbed it through her lower lip, twisting it around, making a hole. Tears of pain stung her eyes. She dared not move lest he rip her lip off.

After he pulled the awl out he pushed a split gold ring through her freshly pierced lip.

Bending forward, he used his teeth to close the ring.

His stubble scraped against her cheek as he pressed close and whispered in her ear. "You are mine. Until the day I decide you are to die, your life belongs to me. You might as well forget any thoughts of Richard Rahl. When I've finished with you the Keeper will have you for betraying me."

When he straightened, he slapped her. The powerful wallop felt like it rattled her teeth. "Your whoring with Richard Rahl is ended. You will soon enough be begging to admit that you were only trying to make me jealous and that my bed is where you really wanted to be all along. Isn't that right?"

Nicci stared up at him without showing any emotion or saying anything.

He hit her across the face with a closed fist. "Admit it!"