Chapter 15

THE HORSES NEEDED No encouragement to run. They fled down the road at full speed, their riders making no attempt to slow them, the howls of the heart hounds energizing the effort. Water and mud splashed as their hooves pounded the road, and rain ran in rivulets across their hides, but it was the mud that won out, streaking and caking on their legs and bellies. When the hounds shrieked, the horses returned a snort of fear.

Richard let Kahlan take the lead, wanting to stay between her and their pursuers. The sounds of the heart hounds were still distant, off toward the boundary, but he knew by the way they were angling in from the left that it- was only a matter of time until they would be overtaken. If they could turn to the right and head away from the boundary, there was a chance they could outrun the hounds, but the woods were thick, impenetrable; it would be slow going if they could find an opening, a sure death if they tried. Their only chance was to stay on the road and reach the swamp before they were caught. Richard didn't know how far it was, or what they would do once they reached it, only that they had to

The colors of day were washing out into a sullen gray as night approached. Rain pelted his face in small, cold pricks, heated and mingled with sweat, and ran down his neck. Richard watched the bodies of his two friends bounce and jostle on the horses, hoping they were tied down securely enough, hoping they were not badly hurt, hoping they would be conscious soon. The ride couldn't be doing them any good. Kahlan didn't turn or look back. She bent to her task, her dark form hunched forward over the horse as it ran.

The road curved back and forth as it threaded its way around imposing misshapen oaks and rock outcroppings. Dead trees became more infrequent. Leaves of the oak, ash, and maple trees sealed the riders away from the last vestiges of the sky, darkening the trail even more. The hounds were getting closer when the road began to descend into a sodden wood of cedar. A good sign, Richard thought: cedar often grew where the ground was wet.

Kahlan's horse disappeared over the edge of a drop. Richard reached the brink of the sharp slope and saw her again, descending into a bowl in the earth. The tangled tops of trees spread out into the distance, at least as much of it as he could see in the mist and dim light. It was the Skow Swamp, at last.

The smell of wet and rot assailed him as he followed her in a rush, down through swirling trailers of mist that moved and spun at their passing. Sharp calls and hoots came from the dense vegetation. The howls of the heart hounds came from behind, closer now. Woody vines hung from slick twisted limbs of trees that stood in the water on roots looking like claws, and smaller leafy vines spiraled around anything strong enough to hold them. Everything seemed to be growing on top of something else, seeking to gain an advantage. Water, dark and still, sat in stagnant expanses, sneaking in under clumps of bushes, enveloping stands of fat-bottomed trees. Duckweed drifted in thick mats on the water, looking like manicured lawn. The lush growth seemed to swallow the sound of their horse's hooves, allowing only the native calls to echo across the waters.

The road narrowed into a trail that struggled to remain above the black water, making it necessary to slow the horses for fear they would break a leg on the roots. Richard saw that as Kahlan's horse passed, the surface of the water rolled in lazy ripples as things moved under it. He heard the hounds at the top of the bowl. Kahlan turned at the howls. If they stayed on the trail, the hounds would be at them in a matter of minutes. As Richard looked around he pulled the sword free. It sent its distinctive ringing across the murky water. Kahlan stopped and looked back to him.

" There" -he pointed with the sword across the water to their right " that island. It looks high enough to be dry. Maybe the heart hounds can't swim."

He thought it a slim hope, but could think of nothing else. Chase had said they would be safe from the hounds in the swamp, but hadn't told them how. This was the only thing he could think of. Kahlan didn't hesitate. She led her horse right in, pulling Zedd's behind. Richard followed close after with Chase's, watching up the trail, seeing movement through gaps in the trees. The water seemed to be no more than three or four feet deep, with a muddy bottom. Weed broke from its anchoring and floated to the surface as Kahlan's horse waded through ahead of him, making steady progress to the island.

Then he saw the snakes.

Dark bodies wriggled in the water, just below the surface, heading toward them from every direction. Some lifted their heads, flicking red tongues out into the damp air. Their dark brown bodies had copper-colored splotches, almost invisible in the gloomy water, and barely disturbed the surface as they swam. Richard had never seen snakes this big. Kahlan was watching the island and hadn't noticed them yet. The dry land was too far away. He knew they weren't going to make it before the snakes reached them.

Richard turned and looked behind to see if they could make it back to high ground. Where they had left the trail, the dark shapes of the heart hounds were gathered, snarling and growling. Heads held low, the big black bodies paced back and forth, wanting to enter the water, to reach their prey, but only howling instead.

Richard lowered the tip of the sword into the water, letting it drag a small wake behind, as he prepared to strike at the-first snake that came close enough. Then a surprising thing happened. When the sword dipped into the water, the snakes turned suddenly and squirmed away as fast as they could go. Somehow, the magic in the sword frightened them away. He wasn't sure why the magic would function this way, but was glad it did.

They worked their way among the large trunks of trees that stood like columns in the mire. Each in turn brushed aside vines and streamers of moss as they passed. When they crossed shallower areas of water, the tip of his sword no longer reached the water. The snakes returned immediately. He leaned lower, the sword's tip dipping back in the water, and the snakes turned once more, wanting nothing to do with them. Richard wondered what would happen when they reached dry land. Would the snakes follow them there? Would the sword's magic work to keep them away out of the water? The snakes might be as much trouble as the heart hounds.

Water ran off the underside of Kahlan's horse as it climbed up onto the island. There were a few poplar trees at the high point in the center and cedars at the water's edge on the far side of the small hump of dry ground, but mostly it was covered with reed and a smattering of iris. To see what would happen, Richard took the sword from the water before he needed to. The snakes began to come for him. When he left the water, some turned and swam away, some wandered the shoreline, but none followed onto dry land.

In near darkness, Richard laid Zedd and Chase on the ground beneath the poplars. He pulled a tarp from the packs and strung it between the trees to make a small shelter. Everything was wet, but since there was no wind, the makeshift structure kept most of the rain off them: There was no chance of a fire, for now, since all the wood that could be found was thoroughly soaked. At least the night wasn't cold. Frogs kept up a steady chirping from the wet darkness. Richard placed a pair of fat candles on a piece of wood so they could have some light under their shelter.

Together they checked Zedd. There didn't seem to be any sign of an injury, but he remained unconscious. Chase's condition was unchanged, too.

Kahlan stroked Zedd's forehead. " It is not a good sign for a wizard's eyes to be closed like this. I don't know what to do for them."

Richard shook his head. " Neither do 1. We can be glad they don't have a fever. Maybe there's a healer in Southaven. I'll make litters the horses can pull. I think that would be better than having them ride again the way they did today."

Kahlan retrieved two more blankets to keep their friends warm; then she and Richard sat together by the candles, the water dripping around them. Glowing pairs of yellow eyes waited on the trail, in the blackness back through the trees. As the heart hounds paced, the eyes moved back and forth. Occasionally, Richard and Kahlan heard yelps of frustration. The two of them watched their hunters off across the dark water.

Kahlan stared at the glowing eyes. " I wonder why they didn't follow us."

Richard glanced sideways at her. " I think they're afraid of the snakes."

Kahlan jumped. to her feet, quickly scanning around, her head pushing against the tarp. " Snakes, what snakes? I don't like snakes, " she said in a rush.

He looked 'up. " Some kind of big water snakes. They swam off when I put the sword in the water. I don't think we have to worry; they didn't come up on the dry ground when we did. I think it's safe."

She looked around cautiously as she pulled her cloak tight and then sat down, closer to him this time. " You could have warned me about them, " she said with a frown.

" I didn't know myself until I saw them, and the hounds were right behind us. I didn't think we had much choice in the matter, and I didn't want to scare you."

She didn't say anything more. Richard got out a sausage and a loaf of hard bread, their last one. He tore the bread in half and cut pieces off the sausage, handing her a few. They each held a tin cup under the rainwater that dripped off the tarp. They ate in silence, watching all around for any sign of threat, listening to the rhythm of the rain.

" Richard, " she asked at last, " did you see my sister, in the boundary? " " No. Whatever it was that had you didn't look like a person to me, and. I would bet that the thing I struck down at first didn't look like my father to you." She shook her head that it didn't. " I think, " he said, " they just appear in a form meant to re-create a person you want to see, to beguile you."

" I think you're right, " she sighed, taking a bite of sausage. When she finished chewing, she added, " I'm glad. I would hate to think we had to hurt them."

He nodded his agreement and looked over. Her hair was wet, and some of it was stuck to the side of her face. " There's something else, though, that I think is odd. When that thing from the boundary, whatever it was, struck out at Chase, it was fast and it hit him square the first time, and before we could do anything it grabbed you with no trouble. Same with Zedd, it got him the first time. But when I went back for them, it tried for me and missed, then it didn't even try again."

" I noticed that when it happened, " she said. " It missed you by a good distance. It was as if it didn't know where you were. It knew right where the three of us were, but it couldn't seem to find you."

Richard thought a moment. " Maybe it was the sword."

Kahlan shrugged. " Whatever it was, I am happy for it."

He wasn't at all sure it was the sword. The snakes had been afraid of the sword, and swam away from it. The thing in the boundary had shown no fear; it seemed as if it simply couldn't find him. There was one other thing that he wondered at. When he had struck down the thing in the boundary that looked like his father, he had felt no pain. Zedd had told him there would be a price to pay for killing with the sword, and that he would feel the pain of what he had done. Maybe there was no pain because the thing was already dead. Maybe it was all in his head, none of it was real. That couldn't be; it was real enough to strike down his friends. His self-assurance that it wasn't his father he had cut down began to waver.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence while he thought about what he could do for Zedd and Chase, which was nothing. Zedd had medicines along, but only Zedd know how to use them. Maybe it was magic from the boundary that had struck them down. Zedd had magic along, too, but he was also the only one who knew how to use that.

Richard took out an apple and cut it into wedges, removed the seeds, and gave half to Kahlan. She moved closer and leaned her head on his arm as she ate it.

" Tired? " he asked.

She nodded, then smiled. " And I am sore in places I cannot mention." She ate another wedge of apple. " Do you know anything about Southaven? "

" I've heard other guides mention it when they've passed through Hartland. From what they say, it's a place of thieves and misfit, "

" It doesn't sound like the kind of place that would have a healer." Richard didn't answer. " What will we do, then? "

" I don't know, but they'll get better, they'll be all right."

" And if not? " she pressed.

He took the apple away from his mouth, and looked at her. " Kahlan, what are you trying to say? "

" I am saying that we have to be prepared to leave them. To go on."

" We can't, " he answered firmly. " We need them both. Remember when Zedd gave me the sword? He said he wanted me to get us across the boundary. He said he had a plan. He hasn't told me what that plan is." He looked out over the water at the hounds. " We need them, " he repeated.

She picked at the skin of the apple wedge. " What if they were to die tonight? Then what would we do? We would have to go on."

Richard knew she was looking up at him, but he didn't look back. He understood her need to stop Rahl. He felt the same hunger, and would let nothing stop them, even if it meant leaving his friends, but it hadn't reached that point yet. He knew she was only trying to reassure herself that he had the necessary conviction, the required determination. She had given up much to her mission, lost much to Rahl, as he had. She wanted to know he had the ability to go on, at any cost, to lead.

The candles lit her face softly, a small glow in the darkness. Reflections of the flames danced in her eyes. He knew she didn't like saying these things to him

" Kahlan, I'm the Seeker, I understand the weight of that responsibility. I will do anything required to stop Darken Rahl. Anything. You can place your faith in that. I will not, however, spend the lives of my friends easily. For now we have enough to worry about. Let's not invent new things."

Rain dripped into the water from trees, sending hollow echoes through the darkness. She put her hand on his arm, as if to say she was sorry. He knew she had nothing to be sorry for; she was only trying to face the truth, one possible truth, anyway. He wanted to reassure her.

" If they don't get better, " he said, holding her eyes with his, " and if there is a safe place to leave them, with someone we can trust, then we will do so and go on."

She nodded. " That is all I meant."

" I know." He finished his apple. " Why don't you get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

" I couldn't sleep, " she said, indicating the heart hounds with a nod of her head, " not with them watching us like that. Or with snakes all around."

Richard smiled at her. " All right, then, how about if you help me build the litters for the horses to pull? That way we can get out of here in the morning as soon as the hounds are gone."

She returned the smile and got up. Richard retrieved a wicked looking war axe from Chase and found it worked as well on wood as on flesh and bone. He wasn't at all sure Chase would approved of putting one of his prize weapons to use in this fashion; in fact, he knew he wouldn't. He smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to tell him. In his mind he could picture his big friend's disapproving frown. Of course, Chase would have to embellish the story with every telling. To Chase, a story without embellishment was like meat without gravy; just plain dry.

His friends had to get better, he told himself. They just had to. He couldn't bear it if they died.

It was several hours before they were finished. Kahlan stayed close to him, as she was afraid of the snakes, and the heart hounds watched them the whole time. For a while Richard had thought to use Chase's crossbow to try to get some of the hounds, but finally decided against it: Chase would be angry at him for squandering valuable bolts to no purpose. The hounds couldn't get them, and would be gone with the light.

When they were finished, they checked the other two, then sat down together again by the candles. He knew Kahlan was tired-he could hardly keep his own eyes open-but she still didn't want to lie down to sleep, so he had her lean against him. In no time her breathing slowed and she was asleep. It was a fitful sleep; he could tell she was having bad dreams. When she started whimpering and jerking, he woke her. She was breathing rapidly, and almost in tears.

" Nightmares? " he asked, stroking her hair reassuringly with the backs of his fingers.

Kahlan nodded against him. " I was dreaming about the thing from the boundary that was around my legs. I dreamt it was a big snake."

Richard put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight against him. She didn't object, but pulled her knees up and put her arms around them as she nuzzled against him. He worried that she could hear his heart pounding. If she did, she didn't say anything and was soon fast asleep again. He listened to her breathing, to the frogs, and to the rain. She slept peacefully. He closed his fingers around the tooth under his shirt. He watched the heart hounds. They watched back.

She woke sometime near morning when it was still dark. Richard was so tired he had a headache. Kahlan insisted he lie down and sleep while she kept watch. He didn't want to; he wanted to continue holding her, but was too sleepy to argue.

When she gently shook him awake it was morning. Weak, gray light filtered through the dark green of the swamp and through heavy mist that made the world seem small and close. The water around them looked as if it had been steeped with decayed vegetation, a brew that rippled occasionally with unseen life beneath the surface. Unblinking black eyes pushed up through the duckweed, watching them.

" The heart hounds are gone, " she said. She looked drier than she had last night.

" How long? " he asked, rubbing the cramps out of his arms.

" Twenty, maybe thirty minutes. When it got light they suddenly went off in a rush." Kahlan gave him a tin cup of hot tea. Richard gave her a questioning look.

She smiled. " I held it over the candle until it was hot."

He was surprised at her inventiveness. She gave him a piece of dried fruit and ate some herself. He noticed the war axe leaning against her leg, and thought to himself that she knew how to stand watch.

It was still raining gently. Strange birds called out sharply in rapid, ragged shrieks from across the swamp, while others answered in the distance. Bugs hovered inches above the water, and occasionally there was an unseen splash.

" Any change in Zedd or Chase? " he asked.

She seemed reluctant to answer. " Zedd's breathing is slower."

Richard quickly went and checked. Zedd seemed hardly alive. His face had a sunken, ashen look. He put an ear to the old man's chest and found his heart to be beating normally, but he was breathing slower, and he felt cold and clammy.

" I think we must be safe from the hounds now. We had better get going, and see if we can find them some help, " he said.

Richard knew she was afraid of the snakes-he was, too, and told her so-but she didn't let it interfere with that they had to do. She put her trust in what he said, that the snakes wouldn't come near the sword, and crossed the water without hesitation when he told her to go. They had to traverse the water twice, once with Zedd and Chase, and a second time to retrieve the parts for the litters, as they could only be used on dry land.

They hooked up the poles to the horses, but couldn't use them yet as the tangle of roots on the swamp trail would-cause too jolting a ride. They would have to wait until they were on a better road, once they were clear of the swamp.

It was midmorning before they reached the better road. They stopped long enough to lay their two fallen friends in the litters and cover them with blankets and oilcloth. Richard was pleased to discover that the pole arrangement worked well; it didn't slow them at all, and the mud helped them slide along nicely. He and Kahlan ate lunch on their horses, passing food back and forth as they rode next to each other. They stopped only to check on Zedd and Chase, and continued on through the rain

-+----

Before night came they reached Southaven. The town was little more than a collection of ramshackle buildings and houses fit crookedly in among the oaks and beech, almost as if to turn themselves away from the road, from queries, from righteous eyes. None looked ever to have seen paint. Some had tin patches that drummed in the steady rain. Set in the center of the huddle was a supply store, and next to it a two-story building. A clumsily carved sign proclaimed it to be an inn, but offered no name. Yellow lamplight coming from windows downstairs was the only color standing out from the grayness of the day and the building. Heaps of garbage leaned drunkenly against the side of the building, and the house next door tilted in sympathy with the rubbish pile.

" Stay close to me, " Richard said as they dismounted. " The men here are dangerous."

Kahlan smiled oddly with one side of her mouth. " I'm used to their kind."

Richard wondered what that meant, but didn't ask.

Talking trailed off when they went through the door, and all faces turned. The place was about what Richard expected. Oil lamps lit a room filled with a fog of pungent pipe smoke. Tables, all arranged in a haphazard fashion, were rough, some no more than planks on barrels. There were no chairs, only benches. To the left a door stood closed, probably leading to the kitchen. To the right, in the shadows, leading up to the guest rooms, was a stairway minus a handrail. The floor, with a series of paths through the litter, was mottled with dark stains and spills.

The men were a rough collection of trappers and travelers and trouble. Many had unkempt beards. Most were big. The place smelled of ale and smoke and sweat.

Kahlan stood tall and proud next to him; she was a person not easily intimidated. Richard reasoned that perhaps she should be. She stuck out among the riffraff like a gold ring on a beggar. Her bearing made the room even more of an embarrassment.

When she pushed back the hood of her cloak, grins broke out all around, revealing a collection of crooked and missing teeth. The hungry looks in the men's eyes didn't fit the smiles. Richard wished Chase were awake.

With a sinking feeling, he realized there was going to be trouble.

A stout man walked over and halted. He wore a shirt with no sleeves and an apron what looked like it could never have been white. The top of his shiny, shaved head reflected the lamplight, and the curly black hair on his thick arms seemed in competition with his beard. He wiped his hands on a filthy rag before flopping it over a shoulder.

" Something I can do for you? " the man asked in a dry voice. His tongue rolled a toothpick across his mouth as he waited.

With his own tone and eyes Richard let the man know he would brook no trouble. " There a healer in this town? "

The proprietor shifted his glance to Kahlan and then back to Richard. " No."

Richard noted the way, unlike the other men, the man kept his eyes where they belonged when he looked at Kahlan. It told him something important. " Then we would like a room." He lowered his voice. " We have two friends outside who are hurt."

Taking the toothpick out of his mouth, the man folded his arms. " I don't need any trouble."

" Nor do I, " Richard said with deliberate menace.

The bald man looked Richard up and down, his eyes snagging for an instant on the sword. With his arms still folded, he appraised Richard's eyes. " How many rooms you want? I'm pretty full."

" One will do fine."

In the center of the room a big man stood. From a mass of long stringy red hair he looked out with mean eyes that were set too close together. The front of his thick beard was wet with ale. He wore a wolf hide over one shoulder. His hand rested on the handle of a long knife.

" Expensive-looking whore you got there, boy, " the red-haired man said. " I don't suppose you'd mind if we came up to your room and passed her around some? "

Richard locked his glare on the man. He knew this was a challenge that would only be ended with blood. His eyes didn't move. His hand did-slowly, toward the sword. His rage pounded, fully awake even before his fingers reached the hilt.

This was the day he was going to have to kill other men.

A lot of other men.

Richard's grip tightened around the braided wire hilt until his knuckles were white. Kahlan gave a steady pull on the sleeve of his sword arm. She spoke his name in a low tone, raising the inflection at the end, the way his mother did when she was warning him to stay out of something. He stole a glance at her. She gave a luscious smile to the red-haired man.

" You men have it all wrong, " she said in a throaty voice. " You see, this is my day off. I'm the one who hired him for the night." She smacked Richard on the rear. Hard. It surprised him so much he froze. She licked her top lip as she looked at the red-haired man. " But if he doesn't give me my money's worth, well, you will be the first I call to fill the breach." She smile lasciviously.

There was a thick moment of silence. Richard resisted mightily his need to pull the sword free. He held his breath as he waited to see which way it was going to go. Kahlan continued to smile at the men in a way that only made his anger deepen.

Life and death measured each other in the red-haired man's eyes. No one moved. Then a grin split his face and he roared with laughter. Everyone else hooted and hollered and laughed. The man sat down and the men started talking again, ignoring Richard and Kahlan. Richard breathed out in a sigh. The proprietor eased the two of them back a ways. He gave Kahlan a smile of respect.

" Thank you, ma'am. I'm glad your head is faster than your friend's hand. This place may not seem much to you, but it's mine and you just kept it in one piece for me."

" You are welcome, " Kahlan said. " Do you have a room for us? "

The proprietor put the toothpick back in the corner of his mouth. " There's one, upstairs, at the end of the hall, on the right, that has a bolt on the door."

" We have two friends outside, " Richard said. " I could use some help getting them up there."

The man gave a nod of his head back at the roomful of men. " It wouldn't do if that lot saw you were burdened with injured companions. You two go up to the room, just like they expect. My son's in the kitchen. We'll bring your friends up the back stairs, so no one will see." Richard didn't like the idea. " Have a little faith, my friend, " the other said in a low voice, " or you may be bringing harm to your friends. By the way, my name's Bill."

Richard looked at Kahlan; her face was unreadable. He looked back to the proprietor. The man was tough, hardened, but didn't appear to be devious. Still, it was his friends' lives at stake. He tried to keep his voice from sounding as threatening as he felt.

" All right, Bill, we will do as you ask."

Bill gave a small smile and a nod as he rolled the toothpick across his mouth.

Richard and Kahlan went up to the room and waited. The ceiling was lower than was comfortable. The wall next to the single bed was covered with years of spit. In the opposite corner were a three-legged table and short bench. A single oil lamp sat glowing weakly on the table. The windowless room was otherwise bare, and had a naked feel to it. It smelled rank. Richard paced while Kahlan sat on the bed, watching him, looking slightly uncomfortable. Finally, he strode over to her.

" I can't believe what you did down there."

She stood up and looked him in the eyes. " The result is what matters, Richard. If I had let you do what you were about to do, your life would have been at great risk. For nothing of value."

" But those men think..."

" And you care what those men think? "

" No... but..." He could feel his face redden.

" I am sworn to protect the life of the Seeker with my own. I would do anything required to protect you." She gave him a meaningful look, lifting an eyebrow. " Anything."

Frustrated, he tried to think how to put into words how angry he was without making it sound as if he was angry with her. He had been at the brink of lethal commitment. A brink only one wrong word away. Pulling back was agonizingly difficult. He could still feel his blood pounding with the lust for violence. It was difficult to understand the way the anger twisted his own rationality with hot need, much less explain it to her. Looking into her green eyes was making him relax, though, cooling his anger

" Richard, you have.to keep your mind where it belongs."

" What do you mean? "

" Darken Rahl. That is where your mind belongs. Those men downstairs are of no concern to us. We must only get past them, that's all. Nothing else. Don't expend your thoughts on them. It's a waste. Put your energy to our job."

He let out a breath, and nodded. " You're right. I'm sorry. You did a brave thing tonight. As much as I didn't like it."

She put her arms around him, her head against his chest, and gave him as slow hug. There was a soft knock at the door. After assuring himself it was Bill, he opened the door. The proprietor and his son carried Chase in and laid him carefully on the floor. When the son, a lanky young man, saw Kahlan, he fell instantly and hopelessly in love. Richard understood the feeling; nonetheless, he didn't appreciate it.

Bill pointed with his thumb. " This is my son, Randy." Randy was in a trance, staring at Kahlan. Bill turned to Richard, wiping the rain off the top of his head with the rag he kept over his shoulder. He still had the toothpick in his mouth.

" You didn't tell me your friend was Dell Brandstone."

Richard's caution flared. " That a problem? "

Bill smiled. " Not with me. The warden and me have had our disagreements, but he's a fair man. He gives me no trouble. He stays here sometimes when he's in the area on official business. But the men downstairs would tear him apart if they knew he was up here."

" They might try, " Richard corrected.

A slight smile curled the corners of Bill's mouth. " We'll get the other one."

When they left, Richard gave Kahlan two silver coins. " When they come back, give the boy one of these to take the horses to the stables for us and tend to them. Tell him that if he will spend the night watching them and have them ready for-us at sunrise, you will add the other."

" What makes you think he will do it? "

Richard gave a short laugh. " Don't worry, he'll do it, if you ask. Just smile."

Bill came back carrying Zedd in his husky arms. Randy followed, carrying most of their packs. Bill gently laid the old man on the floor next to Chase. He gave Richard a look from under his curly eyebrows, then turned to his son.

" Randy, go get this young lady a basin, and a pitcher of water. And a towel. A clean towel. She might like to clean up."

Randy backed out of the room, smiling and tripping over his feet as he went. Bill watched him go, then turned to Richard with an intense look. He took the toothpick out of his mouth.

" These two are in bad shape. I won't ask you what happened to them because a smart fellow wouldn't tell me, and I think you're a smart fellow. We don't have a healer around here, but there's someone who may be able to help, a woman named Adie. They call her the bone woman. Most people are afraid of her. That bunch downstairs won't go near her place."

Richard remembered Chase saying Adie was his friend. He frowned. " Why? "

Bill glanced to Kahlan, and back to Richard, narrowing his eyes. " Because they're superstitious. They think she's bad luck of some sort, and because she lives near the boundary. They say that people she doesn't like have a bad habit of dropping dead. Mind you, I'm not saying it's true. I don't believe it myself. I think it's all made up in their own heads. She's not a healer, but I know of folks she's helped. She may be able to help your friends. At least you better hope she can, because they're not going to last much longer without help."

Richard combed his fingers through his hair. " How do we find this bone woman? "

" Turn left down the trail in front of the stables. It's about a four-hour ride."

" And why are you helping us, " Richard asked.

Bill smiled and folded his muscled arms across his chest. " Let's just say I'm helping the warden. He keeps some of my other customers at bay, and the wardens bring me an income from the government with their business, here and from my dry goods store next door. If he makes it, you just be sure to tell him it was me that helped save his life." He chuckled. " That'll vex him good."

Richard smiled. He understood Bill's meaning. Chase hated to have anyone help him. Bill did indeed know Chase. " I will be sure to let him know you saved.his life." The other looked pleased. " Now, since this bone woman lives by herself, way out by the boundary, and I'm to ask for her help, I think it would be a good idea if I took her some things. Can you get together a load of supplies for her? "

" Sure. I'm an approved supplier; I get reimbursed from Hartland. Of course, that thieving council takes most of it back in taxes. I can put it in my tally book for the government to pay, if this is official business."

" It is."

Randy came back with the basin, water, and towels. Kahlan put a silver coin in his hand and asked him about caring for the horses. He looked to his father for approval. Bill nodded.

" Just tell me which horse is yours, and I'll take extra good care of it, " Randy said with a big grin.

Kahlan smiled back. " They are all mine. Take care with each, my life depends on it."

Randy's face turned serious. " You can count on me." Unable to decide what to do with his hands, he finally jammed them in his pockets. " I won't let anyone near them." He backed toward the door again, and when all but his head was through it, added, " I just want you to know I don't believe a word of what those men downstairs are saying about you. And I told them so."

Kahlan smiled in spite of herself. " Thank you, but I do not want you to endanger yourself on my account. Please stay away from those men. And do not mention that you talked to me, it will only embolden them."

Randy grinned and nodded and left. Bill rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned to Kahlan with a smile.

" You wouldn't consider staying here and marrying the boy, would you? It would do him good to have a mate."

An odd look of pain and panic flashed across Kahlan's eyes. She sat on the bed, looking down at the floor.

" Just kidding, girl, " Bill said apologetically. He turned back to Richard. " I'll bring you each a plate of supper. Boiled potatoes and meat."

" Meat? " Richard asked suspiciously.

Bill chuckled. " Don't worry, I wouldn't dare serve those men bad meat.. I could lose my head." In a few minutes he returned and set two steaming dishes of food on the table.

" Thank you for your help, " Richard said.

Bill raised an eyebrow. " Don't worry, it will all be in my tally book. I'll bring it -to you in the morning to sign. There anyone in Hartland who will recognize your signature? "

Richard smiled. " I think so. My name is Richard Cypher. My brother is First Councilor."

Bill flinched, suddenly shaken. " I'm sorry. Not that your brother is First Councilor. I mean that I'm sorry I didn't know. I mean that if I had known, I'd have given you better accommodations. You can stay at my house. It's not much but it's better than this. I'll take your things over right now...: '

" Bill, it's all right." Richard went to the man and put a hand on his back, reassuring him. The proprietor looked suddenly less fierce. " My brother is First Councilor; I am not. The room is fine. Everything is fine."

" You're sure? Everything? You're not going to send the army here, are you? "

" You've been a big help to us, honest. I have nothing to do with the army."

Bill didn't look convinced. " You're with the head of the boundary wardens."

Richard smiled warmly. " He's a friend of mine. For many years. The old man, too. They're my friends, that's all."

Bill's eyes brightened. " Well, if that's true, then how about if I add a couple of extra rooms to the tally book? Seeing as how they won't know you all stayed together."

Richard kept- smiling, and patted the man's back. " That would be wrong. I won't put my name to it."

Breathing out with a sigh, Bill broke into a big grin. " So, you are Chase's friend." He nodded to himself. " Now I believe you. I haven't been able to get that man to fatten my tally book in all the time I've known him."

Richard put some silver in the man's hand. " But this wouldn't be wrong. I appreciate what you're doing for us. I would also appreciate it if you would water the ale tonight. Drunken men die too easy." Bill gave a knowing smile. Then Richard added, " You have dangerous customers." The man studied Richard's eyes, glanced to Kahlan, then back again. " Tonight I do, " he agreed.

Richard gave him a hard look. " If anyone comes through that door tonight, I will kill them, no questions asked."

Bill looked at him for a long moment. " I'll see what I can do to keep that from happening. Even if I have to knock some heads together." He went to the door. " Eat your supper before it gets cold. And take care of your lady, she has a good head on her shoulders." He turned to Kahlan and winked. " And a pretty one, too."

" One more thing, Bill. The boundary is failing. It will be down in a few weeks. Take care of yourself."

The man's chest rose as he took a deep breath. He held the doorknob as he looked into Richard's eyes for a long moment. " I think the council named the wrong brother First Councilor. But then, they didn't get to be councilors because they worry about doing right. I'll come get you in the morning when the sun is up and it's safe."

When he left, Richard and Kahlan sat close on the small bench and ate their meal. Their room was at the back of the building, and the men downstairs were at the front, so it was quieter than Richard thought it would be. All they could hear from the crowd was a muffled hum. The food was better than Richard expected, or maybe it was just that he was famished. The bed looked wonderful to him, too, as he was dead tired. Kahlan noticed.

" You only had an hour or two of sleep last night. I will stand first watch. If the men downstairs decide to come up here, it will not be until later that they work up the courage. If they come, it would be better if you were rested."

" Easier to kill people when you're well rested? " He was immediately sorry it came out the way it did; he hadn't meant it to sound harsh. He- realized he was gripping his fork as if it were a sword.

" I'm sorry, Richard. I didn't mean it that way. I only meant I don't want you to get hurt. If you are too tired you will not be able to protect yourself as well. I'm afraid for you."

She pushed a potato around the plate with her fork. Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. " I'm so sorry you had to be pulled into this mess. I don't want you to have to kill people. I didn't want you to have to kill those men downstairs. That's the other reason I did what I did, so you would not have to kill them."

He looked over at her as she stared down at her plate. It hurt his heart to see the look of pain on her face. He gave her a playful shove with his shoulder. '

" I wouldn't have missed this journey for anything. Gives me time to be with my friend." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he smiled.

She smiled back and put her head against the side of his shoulder for a second before eating the potato. Her smile warmed him.

" Why did you want me to ask the boy to take care of the horses? "

" Results. That's what you said was most important. The poor kid is hopelessly in love with you. /Since you were the one who asked, he will guard the horses better than we could ourselves." She looked at him as if she didn't believe him. " You have that effect on men, " he assured her.

Her smiled faded a little, taking on a haunted look. Richard knew he was getting too close to her secrets, so he said nothing else. When they finished eating, she walked to the basin, dipped the end of a towel in the water, and went to Zedd. She wiped his face tenderly, then looked over to Richard.

" He is the same, no worse. Please, Richard, let me have first watch, get some sleep? "

He nodded, rolled himself into the bed, and was asleep in seconds. Sometime in the early morning she woke him for his watch. As she went to sleep he washed his face with the cold water, trying to wake up, then sat on the bench, leaning against the wall, waiting for any sign of trouble. He sucked on a piece of dried fruit, trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth:

An hour before sunrise, there was an urgent knock at the door.

" Richard? " a muffled voice called. " It's Bill. Unbolt the door. There's trouble."