Temple of the Winds

"The Hall of the Betrayed. ." Kahlan crumpled to the ground. "I have fulfilled the prophecy. I have helped Richard get into the Temple of the Winds. I have helped him stop the plague. "In so doing, I have destroyed him. "In so doing, I have destroyed myself." "You have done more than that," Cara whispered. "What do you mean?"

Cara lifted her Agiel in her fist. "My Agiel. It has lost its power. The power of a Mord-Sith works only in the presence of the bond to our Lord Rahl. It exists to protect the Lord Rahl. Without a Lord Rahl, there is no bond. I have lost my power." "I am Lord Rahl now," Drefan said as he strode up behind Kahlan. Cara sneered at him. "You are no Lord Rahl. You do not have the gift." Drefan met her glare. "I'm all the Lord Rahl you have. now. Someone has to hold the D'Haran empire together."

Kahlan clutched Richard's black shirt to her stomach. "I am the Mother Confessor. I will hold the alliance together."

"You, my dear, have lost your power, too. You are no longer a Confessor, much less the Mother Confessor." He reached down and gripped Kahlan under her arm. His powerful fingers tightened painfully as he lifted her. "You are my wife, now, and you will do as I tell you to do. You have sworn an oath to obey me."

Cara reached out to force him to let go of Kahlan. Drefan backhanded her across the mouth, knocking her to the ground.

"And you, Cara, are a toothless snake now. If you wish to stick around, then you will have to obey me. If not, I have no use for you. For now, only we know that your Agiel doesn't work. Keep it that way. You will protect me as any Lord Rahl."

Cara gave him a venomous look as she wiped the blood from her mouth. "You are not the Lord Rahl."

"No?" He lifted the Sword of Truth, Richards sword, and let it drop back into its scabbard. "Well. I am the Seeker, now." "You are not the Seeker, either." Kahlan growled. "Richard is the Seeker."

"Richard? There is no Richard anymore. I am now Lord Rahl, and the Seeker." Drefan pulled Kahlan against him, his Darken Rahl eyes burning into her. "And you are my wife. At least you will be, once we consummate the marriage. But this is neither the time nor place. We have to get back. There is work to be done." "Never. If you ever touch me, I'll cut your throat."

"You have sworn an oath before the spirits. You will do as you have sworn." Drefan smiled. "You're a whore. You'll enjoy it. I want you to enjoy it, to be pleased, I really do."

"How dare you call me that! I am no whore, especially yours!" His smile widened. "Really? Then how did you betray Richard? Why would he walk away without even looking back? My guess would be that you enjoyed it, when you thought it was me. I'd say Richard saw you for the whore you are. When it really is me, you will find pleasure in it, then, too. I'll like that."

CHAPTER 60

Verna gently shoved Warren. "Wake up. Someone is coming." Warren knuckled his eyes. "I'm awake."

Verna glanced back at the other windows, to make sure that the dead guards were still propped up to make it appear they were on watch. A light from a lamp on the table was just enough to show those outside the guards at the windows, but it would provide enough light to see her and Warren, too, so they stayed away from the windows. "How do you feel?" she asked. "Better. I think I'm all right, now."

He had been unconscious earlier. The headaches caused by the gift were coming closer and closer together. Verna didn't know what to do for him. She didn't know how long it would be before his gift killed him. The only thing she could think to do was to stick to her plan. Warren had said that prophecy had told him that his only chance was to be with her.

Out the window, in the darkness, she could see two shadowed figures approaching up the road. In the distance, on the hills, campfires by the thousands made the countryside look like a lake's reflection of the starry sky.

Verna shuddered to think of the hundreds of thousands of brutes in those tents. The sooner they left this place, the better. She was thankful they weren't going up into Jagang's stronghold again. They wouldn't be able to pull off that kind of magic twice. The spells Warren had used would not trick the guards again.

Thankfully, once was enough. This time, her friends. Janet and Amelia, were coming out to meet her and Warren. If that was, in fact, Janet and Amelia she saw approaching.

It had to be. This was the fourth night after the full moon. This was where they were to meet. Janet had said that Amelia would be back from the tents by now.

Verna feared to think of what kind of shape Amelia would be in. She would probably need to be healed. Verna hoped that it wouldn't take long: it was close to dawn.

She and Warren had taken turns at short naps. They had a lot of traveling to do, to get back to General Reibisch and his army, and they needed to be rested for the journey. Verna wanted to be as far away from this place as she could get in case an alert rose from the stronghold.