Temple of the Winds

"And what else have you to report, general?" "Well. Lord Rahl, it seems that some of our units are. . missing." "Missing? How can troops be missing? I want them found. We must have the army together to defend against the Imperial Order. I won't have the D'Haran empire fall to the Imperial Order because my officers fail to maintain discipline!"

"Yes. Lord Rahl. I have already sent scouts to find the troops who have… wandered off from their stations."

"It's the bond, Drefan," Kahlan said. "The D'Harans aren't bonded to you. The army is breaking up, wandering off aimlessly because they have lost the bond, lost their leader. They don't know what to do. They are without a Lord Rahl-"

He struck her. The sharp sound reverberated through the room. "Stand up!" He waited until she regained her feet. "I'll not have insolence from my wife! Do you understand?"

Kahlan pressed her fingers to her nose, trying to halt the flow of blood. The crimson tide flooded over her fingers and lips and down her chin. The sight of it nearly drove a gasp from him. The sight of the Mother Confessor with blood on her made his hands shake. He longed for the slicing, for the sight of blood everywhere on her. for her screams, for her terror.

But he could wait until she begged for it. As had Nadine. He had enjoyed Nadine's perverted hunger. He had relished her surprise, her terror, her agony, before he cast her over the side of the mountain, still alive, so she could think about her vile nature all the way down. It had sated him-for now.

He could wait until the Mother Confessor's true corruption finally surfaced once again, as it had the first night. Richard must have been horrified to discover how much she really wanted his brother, that the woman he had loved was as impure as any whore. Poor, innocent, stupid Richard. He never even looked back over his shoulder as he walked away.

Drefan could wait. She would need time to recover from the shock of causing Richard's death. Drefan could wait. It wouldn't take her long, as badly as she wanted him.

He swept Kahlan up in his arms. "Forgive me. my wife. I didn't mean to hurt you. Forgive me, please. I was only worried for our safety from the Order- distraught that these worthless soldiers won't follow orders and in so doing endanger us all."

Kahlan wrenched herself out of his arms. "I understand." She lied so poorly. From the corner of his eye, he could see the coiled form in red leather. If she moved to strike, he would slice her down. If she didn't, he still had use for her.

Kahlan twitched a finger in caution to Cara. Cara reluctantly relaxed. Kahlan thought she was so clever, thought he didn't see the way she gave orders to people. For now, it didn't matter.

"General Kerson," Drefan said, "I want those derelict troops found. We must have discipline in the army, or we are lost to the Order. When they are found. I want the officers executed."

"What? You want me to execute my own men because they have lost the bond-" "I want you to execute them for treason. When the rest of the men learn that we won't tolerate such negligence to duty, they will think twice about joining with our enemy." "Our enemy. Lord Rahl?"

"Of course. If they don't do their duty as D'Harans, to serve and protect the D'Haran empire, to say nothing of their Lord Rahl, then they are aiding the enemy. That makes them traitors! It endangers the life of my wife! Of everyone!"

He glided his fingers over the raised gold letters on the hilt of the Sword of Truth-his sword. He wielded it by right. "Now, do you have anything else to report?"

The general and Kahlan surreptitiously shared a look. "No, Lord Rahl."

"Good. That will be all, then. Dismissed." He turned to Kahlan and held out his arm. "Come, my dear. We will have breakfast together."

CHAPTER 61

In a daze, Richard stepped down off the wizard's throne at the head of the Hall of the Winds. His footsteps echoed into the distance. It was his rightful place, the wizard's throne: he was the only war wizard, the only wizard with both Additive and Subtractive Magic.

The inside of the Temple of the Winds was beyond colossal. It was almost beyond comprehension. There was no sound in this soundless place, unless he put one there, or willed it into being.

The arched ceiling enclosing the lofty heights overhead could have contained eagles, and they hardly would have been aware that they were captive inside a structure. Mountain hawks, were there any, could soar and dive under that aerial arch, and feel at home.

To the sides, massive columns supported walls that ascended into the remote curve of the ribbed ceiling. In those side walls, enormous windows let in more of the omnipresent diffused light.

At least he could see the side walls. The far distant end of the hall simply faded out of sight, into a haze.

Nearly everything was the color of a pale afternoon mist: the floors, the columns, the walls, the ceiling. They almost seemed made of the filmy light.