Temple of the Winds

Nadine held the torch up with both hands. Kahlan put her arms around Nadine's waist as they twisted around on tiptoes to change places on the stone. The woman was as cold as a fish in winter. Kahlan wasn't much warmer from being in the frigid tunnels with the icy water lapping around her ankles. Her toes were numb. "What if he swims upstream and escapes?" Nadine asked, her teeth chattering. "I don't think that likely, with only on? arm. He was probably holding a stone, keeping just his face above the surface as he lurked in the water, waiting for us." "And what if he does it again?"

"I'm in front now. It will be me he grabs hold of, and that will be the last mistake he makes."

"And what if he waits until you pass, and pops up and grabs me again?" "Then hit him harder the next time." "I hit him as hard as I could!"

Kahlan smiled and gave Nadine a reassuring squeeze on her arm. "I know you did. You did the right thing. You did well»

They inched along the wall, passing several more gentle turns, watching the water the whole time for Marlin's face peering up at them. Both started at things they saw in the water, but it always turned out to be nothing more than pieces of flotsam.

The torch was sputtering more, and looked to be near its end. The drains all led outside, and they had traveled a goodly distance in this one. Kahlan knew that the tunnel must end soon. She realized the thought was more hope than knowledge; as a girl she had explored the tunnels and drains down here, though not when they had been so swollen with run-off, and although she had a good idea of where she was, she didn't know their exact location. She remembered that some drainage tunnels seemed to go on forever.

As they moved along, the sound of the roaring water seemed to change pitch. Kahlan wasn't sure what that meant. Ahead, the tunnel bent to the right.

A thump that she could feel in her chest more than hear made her stop. She held out a hand, not only to halt Nadine, but' to signal silence.

The wet stone of the walls ahead brightened, glistening with a reflected bluish glow from something beyond the bend, A low howl rose in pitch until they could hear it clearly over the rush of the water.

A boiling ball of flame exploded from around the bend. Raging yellow and blue flame, filling the entire tunnel, tumbled as it raced toward them with a wail. Liquid fire seething with all-consuming menace. Wizard's fire.

Kahlan snatched Nadine by the hair. "Hold your breath!" Pulling Nadine with her, Kahlan dived into the water just ahead of the angry fury of roiling flame. The icy water was such a shock that she almost gasped it in.

Under the churning water, it was difficult to tell up from down. Kahlan opened her eyes. She saw the wavering glow of the inferno overhead. Nadine was struggling to get to the surface. Kahlan jammed her left hand against the underside of a stepping stone to hold herself under, and with her good arm held Nadine under with her. Nadine, in the panic of drowning, fought to escape. Panic clawed at Kahlan, too.

When everything went black, Kahlan her lungs burning for air, thrust her head above the water, pulling Nadine up with her. Nadine choked and coughed as she gasped. Long sodden strands of hair covered both their faces. Another tumbling ball of wizard's fire raced up the tunnel. "Get a big breath!" Kahlan screamed.

She sucked a deep breath herself and went under, dragging Nadine down with her. They went under without an instant to spare. Kahlan knew that, given a choice, Nadine would have chosen to die in the fire rather than drown, but the water was their only chance. Wizard's fire burned with deadly determination, with the resolve of the wizard who conjured it.

They couldn't keep doing this. The water was so cold she was shivering uncontrollably already. She knew that cold water, by itself, could kill a person. They couldn't stay in the water: it would end up killing them as sure as the wizard's fire. They couldn't get to Jagang through Marlin's wizard's fire. If they were to reach him in time, there was only one way: they would have to go under the fire. Under the water. Kahlan repressed her panic at the thought of drowning, made sure she had a good grip around Nadine's waist, and then pushed away from the stepping stone she had been gripping for dear life. The wet wrath of water swept them away in its frigid flux. She could feel herself tumbling under the water as she scraped and bumped along the stone. When her shoulder hit on something, she almost screamed, but the thought of losing her breath instantly locked her throat shut even tighter.

With frenzied need of air, and blackness disorienting her, she knew she had to come up. She was holding Nadine in a death grip with her good arm. With her other hand, she managed to hook a stone. With Nadine's weight in addition to her own, it felt as if the rush of water would rip her arm from its socket.