Soul of the Fire

Richard looked up. "See? Do you understand?" He saw she didn't. "Kahlan, I don't think he banished the chimes as he was supposed to. I think he instead used them for his own purposes."

Her nose wrinkled. "Used them? What can you use the chimes for?"

"The Dominie Dirtch."

"What!" She squeezed the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. "But then how was it possible for us to follow such a well-defined, prescribed, strict outline and inadvertently call them forth? That sort of structure is exactly what you are telling me Joseph Ander thought he was beyond."

Richard had been waiting for that exact argument. "That's the balance. Don't you see? Magic must be balanced. In order to do something creative, he had to balance it with something not creative, a very strict formula. That it is so strict in its requirements to free the chimes is in itself proof of the creativity of what he did."

He knew her well enough to tell she didn't agree, but wasn't in the mood to argue. She said simply, "So how do we then banish the chimes?"

Richard shook his head with defeat in that much of it.

"I don't know. I fear there is no answer to that question. The wizards of Joseph Ander's time were equally frustrated by the man. In the end, they simply considered this place lost to them. I'm beginning to believe Joseph Ander created an unbreakable magic inside a puzzle without a solution."

Kahlan took the book from his hands, closed it, and placed it back on the little table.

"Richard, I think you're getting a little crazy yourself, reading the rantings of a lunatic. That's not the way magic works."

That's what the wizards at the Keep had told Ander- that he couldn't convert and control an element that was innately uncontrollable. Richard didn't tell Kahlan that, though. She wasn't prepared to think of magic in these terms.

Neither were the other wizards.

Joseph Ander had not been at all pleased to have his ideas so summarily dismissed, thus his final farewell.

Kahlan put her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying your best. I'm just getting nervous. The vote should be coming back soon."

Richard put his hands on her waist. "Kahlan, people will see the truth. They have to."

She gazed off. "Richard," she whispered, "make love to me?"

"What?"

She looked up into his eyes. "It's been so long. Make love to me."

"Here? Now?"

"We can tie the tent shut. No one comes in without asking permission anyway." She smiled. "I promise to be quiet, and not to embarrass you." With a finger, she lifted his chin. "I promise I won't even tell your other wife."

That brought a brief smile, but Richard wasn't able to keep hold of it.

"Kahlan, we can't."

"Well, I think I could. I bet I could change your mind, too."

Richard lifted the small dark stone on her necklace. "Kahlan, magic has failed. This won't work."

"I know. That's why I want to." She clutched at his shirt. "Richard, I don't care. What if we make a baby? So what?"

"You know 'so what. »

"Richard, would it be so bad? Really?" Her green eyes were filling with tears. "Would it be so bad if we made a child together?"

"No, no, of course not. It isn't that. You know I want to. But we can't right now. We can't afford to see Shota in every shadow, waiting to do as she promised. We can't afford the distraction from our duty."

"Our duty. What about us. What about what we want?"

Richard turned away. "Kahlan, do you really want to bring a child into this world? Do you want to bring a child into the madness of this world? The madness of the chimes.and a horrific war looming before us?"

"What if I said yes?"

He turned back to her and smiled. He could see he was only upsetting her. Du Chaillu being pregnant was probably making Kahlan think of having her own child.

"Kahlan, I want to, if you do. All right? Whenever you want, we will, and I'll deal with Shota. But in the meantime could we wait until we see if there is even going to be a world of life-or even a world with freedom-into which we can bring our child?"

She finally smiled. "Of course. You're right, Richard. I guess I was just getting… carried away. We have the chimes to deal with, and the Imperial Order…"

Richard took her in his arms to comfort her, when Captain Meiffert called from outside the tent. "See?" he whispered to her. She smiled.

"Yes, Captain, come on in."

The man stepped inside reluctantly. He wouldn't meet Richard's gaze.

"What is it, Captain?"

"Ah, Lord Rahl, Mother Confessor… the vote in Fair-field is counted. Some of our men have returned with numbers. But not all of them," he was quick to add. "There are more yet to come back. It will take a few days yet before they all travel back."

"So, Captain, what are the results?"

The man handed over a slip of paper. Richard read it, but it took a moment for it to sink in.

"Seven in ten against us," he whispered.

Kahlan gently lifted the paper from his fingers and looked at it. Without a word, she set it on the table.