Soul of the Fire

The guard kicked the man lying on his side. The head turned their way. Not fast, not slow, but deliberate. Rather than the cowed look Dalton expected, one fiery eye glared up.

"Serin Rajak?"

"That's right," the man growled. "What do you want?"

Dalton squatted down beside the man. He had to make a second attempt at drawing a breath. The stench was overpowering.

"I've just been appointed Minister of Culture, Master Rajak. Only today. As my first act, I've come to right the injustice done you."

Dalton saw then that the man was missing an eye. He had a badly healed sunken scar where it had once been.

"Injustice. The world is full of injustice. Magic is loose to harm people. Magic has put me here. But I've not given in to it. No sir, I've not. I'll never give in to the evil of magic.

"I gladly gave an eye in the cause. Lost it to a witch. If you expect me to renounce my holy war against the vile purveyors of magic, you can just leave me here. Leave me, do you hear? Leave me! I'll never give in to them!"

Dalton backed away a little as the man floundered wildly on the floor, yanking at restraints that even someone who was only half crazy could see would never surrender their grip to his trying. He thrashed until fresh blood colored his wrists.

"I'll not renounce the struggle against magic! Do you hear? I'll not give in to those who inflict magic on those of us who worship the Creator!"

Dalton put a restraining hand on the man's greasy shoulder.

"You misunderstand, sir. Magic is doing great damage to our land. People are dying from fires and drowning. People, for no reason, are leaping off buildings and bridges-"

"Witches!"

"That is what we fear"

"Witches cursing people! If you fools would only listen, I tried to warn you! I tried to help! I tried to rid the land of them!"

"That's why I'm here, Serin. I believe you. We need your help. I've come to release you, and beg you help us."

The white of the man's one eye as he stared up was a beacon in the inky night of filth.

"Praise the Creator," he whispered. "At last. At last I've been called to do His work."

CHAPTER 60

Richard was stunned by the sight. The wide thoroughfare was packed with people, nearly all carrying candles, a glowing flood of faces washing up Fairfield's broad main avenue. They flowed around the trees and benches in the center between the two sides of the road, making them look like treed islands.

It was just turning dark. The afterglow at the horizon in the western sky, behind the peaks of distant mountains showing through a thin gap in the gathering clouds, was a deep purple with a pink blush. Overhead, leaden clouds had been gathering all afternoon. The deep rumble of sporadic thunder could be heard in the distance. The humid air smelled damp while at the same time dust churned up by the hooves of the horses rose to choke the air. Occasionally, there fell an errant drop of rain, fat and ripe with the promise of more to follow.

D'Haran soldiers surrounded Richard, Kahlan, and Du Chaillu in a ring, of steel. The mounted men all around them reminded Richard of a boat, floating in the sea of faces. The soldiers skillfully refused to give way without looking like they were forcing people, aside. The people ignored them; their attention seemed to be on getting where they were going, or maybe it was just too dark for the people to recognize them, thinking they were part of the Anderith army.

The Baka Tau Mana blade masters had vanished. They did that, sometimes. Richard knew they were simply taking up strategic positions in case of trouble. Du Chaillu yawned. It was the end of a long day of traveling that saw them finally returning to Fairfield.

Richard didn't like the looks of what he saw, and led everyone with him off the main avenue packed with people to a deserted street not far from the main city square. In the gathering gloom he dismounted. He wanted to get a closer look, but didn't want people to see him there with all the soldiers. Good as his men were, they were no match for the tens of thousands of people in the streets. A colony of tiny ants, after all, could overpower a lone insect many times their size.

Richard left most of the men behind to wait and watch the horses while he took Kahlan and a few men with him to see what was happening. Du Chaillu didn't ask if she could come along, she simply did. Jiaan, having scouted the area to his satisfaction and found it reasonably safe, joined them. In the shadows of two-story buildings to either side of a north-south street opening onto the square, they watched unnoticed.