Soul of the Fire

Stein scratched his stubble. "I'm happy to know you feel that way, Dalton. Since you do, I'd like to compliment you on your choice of a whore for a wife."

Dalton, turning to look over papers, stiffened. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Oh, Bertrand, he loans her to me now and then. He was bragging on her, and wanted me to have some myself. He told her the Creator wanted her to please me. I just had to tell you, she's quite the hot one."

Stein turned toward the door.

"There's one more thing," Dalton said.

"What's that?" he asked, turning back.

Dalton brought the tip of his sword whistling around and sliced Stein's belly open just below his weapons belt. He made the cut shallow, so as not to slice through everything, just deep enough so that the man's bowels would spill out at his feet in front of him.

Stein gasped in shock, his jaw dropping, his eyes showing the whites all around as he stared down. He looked up at Dalton as he was falling to his knees. The gasp turned to panting grunts.

"You know," Dalton said, "as it turns out, I really am the possessive type. Thank the good spirits your end was • quick."

Stein collapsed on his side. Dalton stepped over him, around behind him.

"But just because it's quick, I don't want you to feel you're missing out on anything, or that I'm neglecting what you have coming."

Dalton grabbed Stein's greasy hair in a fist. He sliced his sword around the top of Stein's forehead, put a boot to the man's back, and ripped his scalp off.

He came around and showed it to the shrieking man. "That was for Franca, by the way. Just so you know."

As Stein lay on the floor, his viscera spilled out, his head bleeding profusely, Dalton casually walked to the door and opened it, pleased the new man hadn't opened the door without permission despite all the screaming.

"Phil, you and Gregory get in here."

"Yes, Minister Campbell?"

"Phil, Stein here is making a mess in my office. Please help him out."

"Yes, Minister Campbell."

"And I don't want him ruining the carpets." Dalton, as he picked up some papers from his desk, glanced down at the screaming man. "Take him over there and throw him out the window."

CHAPTER 70

Richard crashed through the front door. He saw people there, but he headed straight for Kahlan.

Jiaan seized his arm. "Richard, wait."

"What? What is it? How is she?"

"She is still alive. She has made it past a critical time."

Richard nearly collapsed with relief. He felt tears course down his face, but he kept himself together. He was so tired he had trouble doing the simplest things. He hadn't been able to turn the knob to open the door, and had not been able to stop, either.

"I can heal her now. My power is back."

Richard turned to the hall. Jiaan seized his arm again.

"I know. Du Chaillu has her power back, too. You must see her first."

"I'll see her later. I have to heal Kahlan before anything else."

"No!" Jiaan shouted in Richard's face.

It surprised him so that he halted. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Du Chaillu said she knows now why she came to you. Du Chaillu said we must not let you touch Kahlan until you see her first. She made me swear I would draw my sword on you before I let you near Kahlan.

"Please, Caharin, do not make me do that. I beg you."

Richard took a breath and tried to calm himself. "All right. If it's that important, then where is Du Chaillu?"

Jiaan lead Richard into the hall and to a door next to the room where Kahlan was. Richard took a long look at the door to Kahlan, but then followed Jiaan's urging and went in the other door.

Du Chaillu was sitting in a chair holding a baby. She beamed up at Richard. He knelt before her and looked at the sleeping bundle in her arms.

"Du Chaillu," he said in a whisper, "it's beautiful."

"You have a daughter, husband."

With all the things in Richard's head, arguing with Du Chaillu about the child's parentage was the last of them.

"I have named her Cara, in honor of the one who saved our life."

Richard nodded. "Cara will be pleased, I'm sure,"

Du Chaillu put a hand on his shoulder. "Richard, are you all right? You look like you have been to the land of the dead."

He smiled a little. "In a way, I have. Jiaan said your gift is back."

She nodded. "Yes. And you must believe in it. My gift is to feel a spell and silence it."

"Du Chaillu, I need to heal Kahlan."

"No, you must not."

Richard raked his fingers back through his hair. "Du Chaillu, I know you want to help, but that is crazy."

She gripped his-shirt in her fist. "Listen to me, Richard. I came to you for a reason. This is the reason, I know now. I came to save you the pain of losing Kahlan.

"She has magic in her that is a trap. If you touch her with your magic, to heal her, it will spring the magic and kill her. It was a way of making sure they killed her."

Richard, trying to remain calm, licked his lips. "But you have the power to annul spells. When we first met, Sister Verna told me so. Du Chaillu, you can annul this spell and then I can heal her."