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The Omen Machine

“Do you have a better idea?” Nicci asked him.

“I guess not,” Zedd grumbled unhappily.

“That machine saved their lives,” Nicci said. “Remember the last thing it said to Richard? ‘Your only chance is to let the truth escape.’ The machine told Richard how to destroy a Hedge Maid. I didn’t even know to do that. Richard figured it out.”

Zedd’s bushy brows drew down. “You really think so?”

Nicci smiled down at the two of them lying unconscious in the wagon. “Why do you think he plugged their ears?”

A slow smile overcame the old man. “The boy got it right.” His frown returned in a rush. “Why do you suppose the machine told him that— saved his life?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Nicci asked.

“Obvious?”

As they walked along on each side of the wagon, Nicci gave the wizard a sidelong glance. “The machine needs him.”

“Needs him,” Zedd repeated unhappily.

“To fulfill its purpose,” Nicci said.

“I remember,” he grumbled again. “What ever its purpose is,” he added under his breath.

Nicci laid a hand on Richard’s chest as she walked along beside the wagon, releasing a comforting trickle of sustaining Additive Magic into him, letting him know that he was not alone with the whisper of death inside him. On the other side of the wagon, Zedd did the same for Kahlan.

Nicci felt Richard take a deeper breath. He knew she was there. Even if he couldn’t answer, somewhere deep down inside, he knew.

Nicci dared to allow herself to let go of her panic. They were both finally safe. It had been a frightening journey. Knowing where Richard had been headed, Nicci hadn’t expected to ever see him alive again. At least for now, they were in good hands, and they would recover once they were back at the palace and she and Zedd and Nathan could heal them properly.

Nicci was so relieved that she had no words to fully express it. She was also angry at Richard for going after a Hedge Maid. She had warned him. She had told him how dangerous they were. She had told him to stay away from Hedge Maids. But he had gone anyway.

Nicci supposed that he had no choice. He had to go after Kahlan. Who else but Richard would walk into a Hedge Maid’s lair to save the woman he loved.

Who else but Richard.

“They look cute lying there together,” Cara said as she gazed down at them over the edge of the wagon.

The Mord-Sith’s face suddenly went red. “You won’t tell them I said that.” Again, it was not a question.

Nicci smiled; for the first time in many days, she really smiled.

“Not a word of it,” she said.

“Good,” Cara muttered. She looked up toward the head of the line of soldiers. “General, would you get this column moving a bit faster. We have to get them back to the palace!”

Benjamin looked back over his shoulder with a smile and gave his wife a salute of a fist to his heart; then he urged his horse to pick up the pace.

END

OTHER BOOKS BY TERRY GOODKIND

THE SWORD OF TRUTH

Wizard’s First Rule

Stone of Tears

Blood of the Fold

Temple of the Winds

Soul of the Fire

Faith of the Fallen

The Pillars of Creation

Naked Empire

Debt of Bones

Chainfire

Phantom

Confessor

The Omen Machine

Copyright

HarperCollinsPublishers

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Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2011

Terry Goodkind asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-00-739675-7

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

THE OMEN MACHINE. Copyright © 2011 by Terry Goodkind. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition © JULY 2011 ISBN: 978-0-00-744448-9

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