Soul of the Fire

Richard leaned close. "Kahlan, the chimes may be the most important part in this. This would buy us time to search. I think we should agree to let the people of Anderith vote."

"I still say no, but if you want to try it"-she pressed finger and thumb to the bridge of her nose-"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this-then I will trust your judgment, Richard. You are, after all, the Lord Rahl."

"But I depend on you for advice."

"You are also the Seeker."

He smiled. "But I don't have my sword."

Kahlan smiled back. "You've gotten us this far. If you say we should try this, then I'll go along, but I don't like it. Still, you are right about the chimes. That's our first responsibility. This will help us search for the solution to the chimes."

Richard was relieved that she had finally agreed, but worried about her reasons for being reluctant. With her hand on his arm, they returned to the head table. The Minister, his wife, and Dalton Campbell rose.

"There are conditions," Richard said.

"Such as?" the Minister asked.

"Our men will watch everything, to insure no one cheats. Everyone will have to vote at the same time, so people can't go to more than one place and vote more than once. They will gather in cities and towns, and each will mark a piece of paper, either with a circle to join into one whole with us, or an X to leave their fate to the cruel fangs of fate. Our men will watch the counting and reporting so that we know everything has been fair."

The Minister smiled. "Excellent suggestions. I concur with every one of them."

Richard leaned toward the man. "One more thing."

"That being?"

"All the people will vote. Not just Anders, but the Hakens, too. They are part of the land, just as are the Anders.Their fate will be altered by this, too. If there is to be a vote, all people of Anderith will vote."

Lady Chanboor and Dalton Campbell shared a look. The Minister spread his hands, his smile growing.

"But of course. All people will vote. It is settled, then."

CHAPTER 53

Hildemara was livid. "Bertrand, you're going to be skinned alive by Jagang's men, and I will delight in watching, my only regret being that you have sealed me to a similar fate!"

Bertrand lifted a hand dismissively. "Nonsense, my dear. Rather, I've managed to stall the Mother Confessor and the Lord Rahl while Jagang draws ever closer."

Dalton, for once, tended to agree with Hildemara. Despite everything else, she was a brilliant strategist. On the face of it, it seemed that if given the choice, the people, the Hakens for sure, would go with the freedoms of Lord Rahl's empire rather than willingly submit to the tyranny of the Imperial Order.

But Dalton knew, too, that there had to be something behind Bertrand's self-satisfied smile. The man had the uncanny knack of tactical calculation coldly bereft of emotional bias toward his desired outcome, which would corrupt the validity of the equation. Bertrand only jumped if he knew he could span the chasm; he didn't leap simply because he wished to span it.

From his vast knowledge of law, Dalton knew there were few weapons as effective in eviscerating an adversary as the simple tactic of delay. He hoped Bertrand wasn't wielding a weapon that would gore them, instead of the enemy.

"Minister, I'm afraid this could be troublesome. To stall Lord Rahl is worthy, but not if it serves no better end than to allow him to enflame the people against the Imperial Order and drive them into the arms of his cause, instead. Were that to happen, we would be unable to fulfill our agreements. We would then be at the center of the storm of war."

"And Jagang would make an example of us, to show others what happens to those who don't deliver as promised," Hildemara added.

Bertrand took a swig from the goblet he'd brought with him to the private study. He set down the silver goblet on a small marble tabletop and savored the taste of rum before swallowing.

"My dear wife, and my trusted aide, do you both fail to see the simple brilliance in this? We are going to stall them so the Imperial Order can have time to get here. Stall them until it's too late for them to do anything effective. On top of everything else, can you imagine how grateful Jagang will be when we can hand him his greatest enemy?"

"And how would we accomplish that?" his wife asked.

"A month of this voting business will enable the Order to get the rest of their advance guard in place. They can then take the Dominie Dirtch at their discretion. Lord Rahl's forces, even if he has them close, will be precluded from coming to the rescue of the Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor, once they lose the people's support. Jagang will be invincible.

"The emperor gets a land and the people to work it, as promised, and we are handsomely rewarded for handing it to him. We will have unquestioned authority. No more Directors to worry about-ever again. We will rule Anderith for life, the way we choose, without worry of opposition."