Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy Part 3

"It's only because of this disorder"-he lifted a hand toward the bleeding walls-"that she was able to enter the Keep without the alarms sounding and the shields stopping her. The Keep was too sick to prevent her entry or to stop her once inside.

"As far as I know, a violation of this nature has never happened before. People have gotten into the Keep in the past, but not because the Keep itself failed in its role. Those entries were successful because the trespasser was clever, or exceedingly talented, or because they had help from inside. Six danced in here all by herself without the alarms sounding or the defenses stopping her. She merely had to take some detours to get around shields that are still functioning."

"The chimes . . ." Nicci breathed, suddenly understanding.

Zedd conceded with a nod. "Richard was right."

"Can anything be done?"

"Yes," Zedd said. "If we can find Richard we can get him to open the correct box of Orden. The Chainfire spell is also contaminated by the chimes. This is confirmation that the taint left by the chimes is corrupting all magic-not only the Chainfire spell-just as Richard told us it was. He needs to unleash Orden and hope that its power will be able to purge the world not only of Chainfire but of the taint left by the chimes having been loose in the world of life."

Nicci cocked her head. "Zedd, Orden is designed for a specific purpose: to counter Chainfire. Orden isn't going seek out other magic plaguing us and purge it as well. It's not designed to do that."

Zedd smoothed back some stray wisps of white hair as he chose his words carefully. "You yourself spoke of how Orden's power, like any power, can be used for aims other than its narrow, intended purpose. Richard needs to use the power of Orden not only to purge us of the taint of Chainfire, but in a broader manner to eliminate the taint left by the chimes."

Nicci didn't know if such a profound course of action was at all wise, or even possible, but she didn't think that this was the time or place to debate it. They were a very long way from having Richard attempt such a thing. They first had to find Richard before anything else could even be considered. After that, there were difficulties with Richard opening a box of Orden that Nicci had not even begun to reveal to Zedd because she hadn't wanted to worry him any more than was necessary. There were, after all, enough immediate problems they had to solve.

"In the meantime," Zedd said, "we must evacuate the Keep."

Nicci was taken aback. "But if the Keep is weakened, then we must do just the opposite; we must defend it. There are invaluable things here that we dare not allow to fall into the wrong hands. We can't risk Jagang and the Sisters gaining possession of the powerful things of magic in here- the ones that still work, anyway, to say nothing of the libraries."

"That is precisely why we must leave," Zedd insisted. "If we leave, I can put the entire Keep in a state that will keep everyone out. It's something that as far as I know has never been activated before, but I can see no other solution."

Nicci gazed up at the blood staining the stone wall. "Well, if the Keep is sick, and its magic is failing, how can you possibly do such a thing and expect it to work?"

"The ancient books that explained the defensive design of the Keep explained about the walls bleeding. A warning in blood, being as gruesome as it is, signifies how grave the trouble with the Keep itself really is. As far is I know such a thing has never happened before. This is the first time such a drastic warning has ever been necessary. It's just one of the things ibout this place that I had to learn about when I became First Wizard.

"Those same sources also described emergency procedures in the event such a thing did happen. There is a way to lock down the Keep with an elevated state of power that is not yet degraded."

Nicci found the very thought troubling. "Elevated state of power?"

"It was in storage-took me most of the day to find it."

-What was?"

Zedd gestured to the nearby brass doors where the box of Orden had ;en until Six stole it. "A bone box. It's waiting in there. It's about the size ot one of the boxes of Orden. While it's bone. I don't know what beast the bone came from. Ancient symbols are caned all over the outside.

"It contains a constructed spell said to be keyed to the Keep's nature. It was constructed by the same wizards who invested the Keep with its many defenses. You might compare it to a small bit of starter dough you set aside so that you always have a bit of the original in order to continue to make the same kind of bread. This spell contains elements of the original magic of the Keep. Quite remarkable, when you think about it."

"How long will such a constructed spell last, once activated, before the taint of the chimes begins to degrade it as well?"