Confessor: Chainfire Trilogy Part 3

Zedd made a face as he shook his head. "I have no idea. From the things I've read and the tests I've run, I believe that such a state will last quite a while, but there is no way to know for certain. All we can do is try."

"What if it's already been corrupted by the chimes?" Friedrich asked. "After all, if the Keep is infected, and this spell is part of the Keep's original power, what's to say it's not corrupted as well?"

Friedrich, having been married to a sorceress most of his life, knew quite a bit about magic even though he was not himself gifted.

"I tried to run verification webs on some of the corrupted aspects of the Keep, such as the alarms. The corruption prevented the verification from functioning. The verification on the spell in the bone box worked without any difficulty. From my tests it's still viable."

"Why can't we stay here and put the Keep in this protective state?" Cara asked.

"It's too dangerous," Zedd told her. "The emergency procedure has never been employed before. I'm not sure of its precise nature or exactly how it works, but the information I reviewed said that such a state will prevent anyone from entering. I can only assume that such an emergency condition, by necessity, would deal harshly with any intruders. It appears that it's a form of light spell. From the limited amount that I know about the conditions of the interior of the Keep in such a state, it would be very dangerous for anyone to be in the place.

"After all, how can we know that there aren't intruders in the Keep right now?"

Cara straightened. "Now?"

"Yes. If the Keep's defenses are failing, and the alarms aren't working, how would we know if there were people wandering about who don't belong in here? For all we know, Six could still be lurking about. Chase said he didn't find any tracks of her leaving. Sisters of the Dark could have snuck in as well. There's no longer a dependable way for us to know.

"Even more concerning is that enemies could enter through the sliph. Richard is the only one who could put the sliph back to sleep; we can't. The sliph isn't designed to deny her services to anyone who asks and has the proper power. Jagang could send Sisters of the Dark in through the sliph. There aren't enough of us to guard the sliph all the time, at least not enough of us with enough power to have a chance to defend against an attack from Sisters of the Dark.

"Without the ability to put the sliph back to sleep, or to be able to depend on alarms and shields to protect the Keep, it remains vulnerable to intrusion of all sorts. It must be assumed that such a spell, by its very nature, would eliminate anyone in the Keep. Since it's a measure of last resort we have to assume that it could be as fatal for us to be in here as it would be for an intruder.

"Therefore, we have to leave and then ignite the protective state."

"How will be get back in?" Cara asked.

"I will have to shut the thing down. I know the sequence necessary to inactivate the spell. Once I shut it down, though, I don't believe it can be reactivated, so we dare not shut it down unless it's absolutely necessary for some reason, or until the taint of the chimes can be eliminated from the world of life."

Nicci heaved a sigh. "I can't think of any argument against the plan. It seems the only way to preserve the Keep for the time being."

"Besides that," Zedd said, "we can't just continue to sit here."

"No," Nicci said, "I don't suppose we can."

She was already thinking of things that had to be done. There were any number of places she needed to go.

"It seems to me," Zedd said as he looked around at those waiting for his pronouncement, "that the first thing to be done is to try to get Richard his power back. If he was reconnected with his gift perhaps it would help him.

"We have reason to believe that it was cut off by a spell drawn in the sacred caves in Tamarang. Unless anyone has a better idea, I say we go to Tamarang and help Richard by eliminating whatever is blocking him from his gift."

Both Mord-Sith nodded. "If it would help Lord Rahl, I say let's get going," Cara said.

"I agree," Tom said.

"I'm afraid that I'd slow you down," Friedrich said. "I'm not as young as I used to be. Perhaps it would be best if I stayed in the area in case Richard shows up. He'll need to know what's happening. I can stay close, watch the Keep from the outside."

"That makes sense," Zedd told the man.

"I think I had better go to the People's Palace," Nicci said.

Zedd frowned. "Why?"

"Well, I can use the sliph. From the People's Palace I can take the sliph down to the area of Tamarang and meet you there. The sliph is much faster, so I will have time at the palace to check into some things."

"Like what?" Zedd asked.

"Well, with Richard missing and cut off from his power, Nathan is acting in the capacity of Lord Rahl. That bond is all that stands between us and the dream walker being able to enter our minds. I want to see how he's doing."

Zedd nodded in thought.