Soul of the Fire

Dalton kept the problems to himself. "When might we expect his arrival?"

"Soon," Stein said, dismissing further detail with a shrug. "But he is concerned about the situation with Lord Rahl. He is leery as to why you would seem to put faith in an outcome so fickle as the voice of the common people."

"I must admit, I share his concern." Dalton heaved a sigh. He still wished Bertrand had chosen a less risky road, but as Dalton had come to learn, Bertrand Chanboor relished the risky route, much as Stein preferred unwilling partners.

"But, as I've explained," Dalton went on, "by such tactics we will be able to trap Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor. Without them to lead the enemy forces, the war will quickly fall into a rout leaving the Midlands a plum for Jagang's picking."

"And so the emperor is content to let you play this out."

"But, there are risks involved."

"Risks? Anything I can do to help?"

Dalton took his seat, scooting his chair close to his desk.

"I believe we must do more to discredit the cause of Lord Rahl, but in that, there is danger. Mother Confessors, after all, have ruled the Midlands for thousands of years. They have not held sway because they have nice smiles. They are women with formidable teeth, as it were.

"The Lord Rahl, too, is said to be a wizard. We must tread with care, lest we force them into abandoning this vote in favor of action. If that were to happen, it could ruin the plans in which we all have so much invested."

"I told you, we have troops in place. Even if they have an army anywhere close, they can't get it into Anderith, not past the Dominie Dirtch." Stein chuckled without humor. "But I would be happy to have them try."

"As would I. The point is, the Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor are here, and they are trouble enough."

"I've told you before, Campbell, you shouldn't worry about magic. The emperor has clipped the claws of magic."

Dalton carefully folded his fingers together before himself on the desk. "You say that often enough, Stein, and as much as I wish to, I find little comfort in mere words. I, too, could promise things, but you expect results that can be seen."

Stein waved his knife. "I've told you before, the emperor intends to end magic so men of vision can lead the world into a new era. You will be part of that. Magic's time has passed. It is dying."

"So is the Sovereign, but he's not yet dead."

Stein went back to cleaning his nails, paying exaggerated attention to them. He seemed undaunted by Dalton's doubts and went on to try to dispel them.

"You will be pleased to know, then, that unlike your beloved Sovereign, the bear of magic no longer has fangs-it is toothless. It is no longer a weapon to be feared."

Stein lifted the corner of his cape made of human scalps. "Those of magic's talents will contribute to my collection.

I take the scalps while they are still alive, you know. I enjoy their screams while I'm cutting it off them."

Dalton was unimpressed by the man's boasting and his attempts to shock, but wished he knew what Stein was talking about when he alluded to the end of magic. He knew from Franca's inability to use her gift that something was going on, but he didn't know what or, more important, the extent to which it was impaired. He didn't know if Stein was telling the simple truth, or an ignorant version of wishful thinking layered over some Old World superstition.

Either way, the time had come to act. They could ill afford to let it go on as it was. The measure of how far they dared go in showing their opposition to joining Lord Rahl was the problem Dalton faced. It was necessary to take a stand in order to fire people into saying no to Lord Rahl, but a weak stand was as good as- no stand. On the other hand, it was far too dangerous to reach through the bars and twist the nose of the bear if it still had its teeth and claws.

Dalton wondered if he might be able to press Stein into being more forthcoming. "It sounds then as if we have a serious problem."

Stein looked up. "How so?"

Dalton opened his hands in a gesture of befuddlement. "If magic is no longer a weapon, then the Dominie Dirtch, in which we all have invested so much faith, is of no use, and all our plans will fail. I would call that a serious problem."

Stein took his feet from Dalton's desk and slid the knife back into its sheath. Putting an elbow on the desk, he leaned forward.

"Not to worry. You see, the thing is, the emperor still has control of his Sisters of the Dark; their magic works for him. From what they've told us, something has happened, though. From what I gather, something of magic has gone awry and caused the power of those on Lord Rahl's side to fail.

"Jagang has learned that Lord Rahl no longer has magic backing him. His magic is going to fail. The man is, or soon will be, naked to our blades."