Faith of the Fallen

When the girl rested the rod against the side of the barrel, Cara, absent any fondness for magic, aimed a suspicious frown at the faintly glowing metal. As Holly took her small hands from the metal, the greenish glow faded, as if a magical wick had been turned down.

"I'm fine, Mother Confessor. Except I'm cold. I'm getting terribly tired of being cold."

Kahlan smiled warmly as she ran a gentle hand down the back of Holly's fine hair. "As are we all." Kahlan crouched down beside the girl. "When we get over into another valley, you can get warm by a nice fire."

"That would be splendid." She cast a furtive glance at her steel rod.

"I have to get back to work, Mother Confessor."

Kahlan couldn't resist pulling the girl close and kissing her frigid cheek. Hesitant at first, the thin little arms surrendered to desperately encircle Kahlan's neck.

"I'm so scared," Holly whispered.

"Me too," Kahlan whispered back as she squeezed the girl tight. "Me too."

Holly straightened. "Really? You get scared, too, that those awful men will murder us?"

Kahlan nodded. "I get frightened, but I know we have a lot of good people who will keep us safe. Like you, they work as hard as they can so that we can all someday be safe, and not have to be scared anymore."

The girl stuck her hands under her cloak to warm them. Her gaze sank to the ground at her feet. "I miss Ann, too." She looked up again. "Is Ann safe?"

Kahlan groped for words of comfort. "I saw Ann not long ago, and she was fine. I don't think you need worry for her."

"She saved me. I love her and miss her so. Will she be with us, soon?"

Kahlan cupped the girl's cheek. "I don't know, Holly. She had important business she was taking care of. I'm sure, though, that we'll see her again."

Pleased with that news and seemingly relieved to know that she was not alone in her fears, Holly turned back to her work with renewed determination.

As Kahlan and Cara collected their horses, they heard a horse approaching at a gallop. Before she recognized the rider, Kahlan saw and recognized the black splotch on its rump. When he saw her waving, Zedd trotted Spider around to her. He slid down off the animal's bare back.

"They're coming," the wizard announced without preamble.

-]--

Verna rushed up, having seen Zedd ride in. "It's too soon! They weren't supposed to be here this soon!"

He gaped at her in astonishment. "Bags, woman, shall I tell them that it would be rather inconvenient for them to attack right now and to please come back to kill us later?"

"You know what I mean," she snapped. "We don't have enough, yet."

"How long till they get here?" Kahlan asked.

"Ten minutes."

That thin sliver of time was the only bulwark between them and catastrophe. Kahlan felt as if her heart rose into her throat, recalling suddenly the forsaken feeling of being mobbed and beaten to death. Verna sputtered in wordless frustration, anger, and dread.

"Do you have any ready?" Zedd asked as calmly as if he were inquiring about dinner.

"Yes, of course," she said. "But if they will be here that soon, we've not enough. Dear Creator, we don't have nearly what we'll need in order to drift it out all across the front. Too little is as good as none."

"We've no choice, now." Zedd gazed off into the darkness, perhaps seeing what only a wizard could see. His jaw was set in bitter disappointment. He spoke in a disembodied voice, a man going through the motions when he knew he had come to the end of his options, perhaps even his faith. "Start releasing what you have. We'll just have to hope for the best.

I have messengers with me; I'll send word of the situation back to General Meiffert. He will need to know."-

To see Zedd seemly relinquish hope cast their fate in the most frightening light possible. Zedd was always the one who kept them focused and gave them courage, conviction, and confidence. He gathered up Spider's reins in one hand and gripped her mane with the other.

"Wait," Kahlan said.

He paused and looked back at her. His eyes were a window into an inner weariness. She couldn't imagine all the struggles he had faced in his life, or even in the last few weeks. Kahlan ran through seemingly a thousand thoughts as she searched frantically for some way of turning away their grim fate.

Kahlan couldn't let Zedd down. He had so often carried them; now he needed another shoulder to help endure the weight. She presented him a look of fierce determination before she turned to the Prelate.

"Verna, what if we didn't release it in the way we planned? What if we didn't simply let it drift out, hoping for the breeze to. carry it where we need it?"

Verna opened her hands in a bewildered gesture. "What do you mean?"

"Won't it take more of the glass-the amount you say you need-simply so that there is enough to let it drift all the way across the valley, and yet have enough to hang in the air, too?"

"Well. . yes, of course, but-"