Naked Empire

The captain and his men had special signals that allowed them to move through the pass without being attacked by their own men, or the Sisters, by mistake. The nature of the way Captain Zimmer and his men worked was that they were, for the most part, outside regular command. Kahlan had set it up that way so they could act on their own initiative. While it could at times be aggravating, those men accomplished more than anyone ever expected.

"Zedd wanted me to help these people escape." Adie gave Verna a meaningful look. "There be others we could not help."

Verna glanced over at the people huddling together at the back of the wagon. "I can only imagine what Jagang has been doing with people like that."

"No," Adie said. "I doubt you can."

Verna changed to an even more horrifying subject. "Has Jagang been able to find anything from the Keep, so far, that he will use against us?"

"Thankfully, no. Zedd set a spell that destroyed the things stolen from the Keep. There be a big explosion in the middle of their camp."

"Like the one back in Aydindril that killed so many of them?"

"No, but it still caused much destruction and killed some important people-even some of Jagang's Sisters, I believe."

Verna never thought she would see the day that she would be pleased to hear that Sisters of the Light had died. Those women were controlled by the dream walker, and even when they had been offered freedom, they had been too afraid to believe those trying to rescue them. They had chosen to remain Jagang's slaves.

With a sudden thought, Verna grabbed a fistful of Adie's robes. "Could the spell Zedd ignited possibly have taken out Jagang?"

With her completely white eyes, Adie looked back up Dobbin Pass toward the Imperial Order camp. "I wish I had better news, Prelate, but Captain.

Zimmer, on the way out, told me that just as we were about to be rescued, an assassin managed to get deep into the inner camp."

"An assassin? Who was it? Where was he from?"

"None of us knows. He appeared much like others from the Old World. The intruder be driven by a single-minded determination to get to Jagang and kill him. He somehow made it into the inner defenses, killed some people, and took the uniform of the elite guards so he might get to Jagang. The guards somehow recognized he not be one of their own. They hacked the man to pieces before he could get close to the emperor.

"Jagang left the area until his men could check over their defenses and make sure there be no more assassins about. Many of the Sisters went with him, helping with his safeguards. That be when Zedd set off the sunset spell. We did not know Jagang had left the area, but it would have make no difference. Zedd had to use the spell when it be put before him. The spell be triggered by the sun setting."

Verna nodded. For a moment, she had been hoping…

"Still, you and Zedd escaped, and that's what matters for now. Thank the Creator."

"A surprising number of people showed up all at once to rescue us."

Adie lifted an eyebrow. "I do not recall seeing the Creator among them."

The warm breeze ruffled Verna's curly hair. "I suppose not, but you know what I mean."

The crickets in the woods kept up their steady chirping. Life seemed to be a little sweeter, their situation a little less hopeless.

She let out a sigh. "I hope the Creator will at least help Zedd and Rikka take back the Keep."

"Zedd will not need the Creator's help," Adie said. "Another man showed up to help get us out. Chase be an old friend of Zedd, me, and Richard.

Chase will have those holding the Keep praying for the protection of the Creator."

"Then we can look forward to the day the Keep is back in our hands and Jagang is denied help in breaking through the passes into D'Hara."

Verna waved her arm, signaling, and the four couples standing at the back of the wagon shuffled forward with their children.

"Welcome to D'Hara," Verna told them. "You will be safe, here."

"Thank you for helping get us out," one of the men said with a bow of his head to Adie. "I feel ashamed, now, of the terrible things I had been thinking of you."

Adie smiled to herself as she tightened her thin fingers on his shoulder. "True. But I could not blame you."

The girl who had brought the message the last time tugged on Verna's dress. "This is my mother and father. I told them how nice you were to me, before."

Verna squatted down and hugged the girl. "Welcome back, child. Welcome back."

CHAPTER 55