Naked Empire

Owen threw up his hands. "But, Lord Rahl, if we were to start killing them, they would take revenge on all the people they have."

Richard watched the men, waiting until he was sure everyone was paying attention.

"You have just recognized the reality that they are evil. You're right; they will probably start killing captives as a way to convince you to surrender. But they are killing them now. Over time, if left to do as they will, the killing they do will be on a vast scale. The faster we kill them, the sooner it's over and the sooner the murder will stop. Some people will lose their lives because of what we do, but in doing it, we will free all the rest. If we do nothing, then we condemn those innocent people to the mercy of evil and evil grants no mercy. As I've said before, you can't negotiate with evil. You must destroy it."

A man cleared his throat. "Lord Rahl, some of our people have sided with the men of the Order-believed their words. They will not want us to harm the men of the Order."

Richard let out a heavy breath. He turned away for a moment, gazing off into the gloom, before turning his attention once more to the men. "I've had to kill people I knew my whole life because they sided with the Order, much the same as you are saying. They came to believe the men of the Imperial Order, and because I was opposed to the Order, they tried to kill me. It's a terrible thing to have to kill someone like that, someone you know. I believe the alternative is worse."

"The alternative?" the man asked.

"Yes, letting them murder me. That's the alternative: losing your life and losing the cause for which you fight-the lives of your loved ones."

Richard's expression had turned grave. "If some of your people have joined with the Order, or work to protect them, then it may be that you could end up facing them. It will be their life, or yours. It could even mean the lives of the rest of us. If they side with evil, then we must not allow them to stop us from eliminating evil.

"This is part of what you must weigh in your decision to join us or not. If you take up this struggle, you must accept that you may have to kill people you know. You must weigh this in the choice you will make."

The men no longer seemed shocked by his words. They looked solemn as they listened.

Kahlan saw small birds flitting past, looking to roost for the night.

The sky, the icy fog, was getting darker. She scanned the sky, ever watchful for black-tipped races. With the weather in the pass so dreadful, she doubted they would be around. The fog, at least, was comforting for that reason.

Richard looked exhausted. She knew how hard it was for her to breathe in the high, thin air, so it had to be far worse for him; she feared how, because of the poison, the thin air robbed Richard of his strength. They needed to be down out of the high pass.

"I have told you the truth and all I can for now," Richard told the men. "Your future is now up to each of you."

He quietly asked Cara, Jennsen, and Tom to collect their things. He put a gentle hand on Kahlan's back as he turned to the men and gestured down the hill.

"We're going back down to our camp in those woods. You men decide what you will do. If you are with us, then come down there in the protection of the trees, where the races won't be able to spot us when the weather lifts.

We will need to finish making the weapons you will carry.

"If any of you choose not to join us, then you're on your own. I plan not to be here, at this camp, for long. If the Order captures you they will likely torture you and I don't want to be anywhere nearby when you scream your lungs out as you reveal where our camp was."

The forlorn men stood huddled in a group.

"Lord Rahl," Owen asked, "you mean we must choose now?"

"I've told you all I can. How much longer can those being tortured, raped, and murdered wait for you? If you wish to join us and be part of life, then come down to our camp. If you choose not to be on our side, then I wish you luck. But please don't try to follow us or I'll have to kill you.

I was once a woods guide; I will know if any of you follow us."

One of the men, the one who had been the first to show Richard two pebbles to say that he would reveal the location of the antidote, stepped forward, away from the rest of the men.

"Lord Rahl, my name is Anson." Tears filled his blue eyes. "I wanted you to know that, to know who I am. I am Anson."

Richard nodded. "All right, Anson."

"Thank you for opening my eyes. I've always had some of the thoughts that you explained. Now I understand why, and I understand the darkness kept over my eyes. I don't want to live like that anymore. I don't want to live by words that don't mean anything and I don't want the men of the Order to control my life.

"My parents were murdered. I saw my father's body hanging from a pole.