Chapter 44

IT WAS DEEP IN the night when he left Denna's quarters. The halls were empty except for flickering shadows. Richard's footsteps echoed from the polished stone floors and walls as he walked in a mournful daze, watching his shadow rotate around himself as he passed torches, feeling comfort only at having his pack on his back once more, and to be leaving the People's Palace. He didn't know where he was 'going, only that he was going to go away from here.

The pain of an Agiel in the small of his back slammed him to a halt, and brought sweat instantly to his face as he tried to take a breath, but couldn't. Fire seared through his hips and legs.

" Going somewhere? " came a ruthless whisper.

Constance.

His shaking hand struggled to reach his sword. She laughed as she watched him. A vision of giving her control of the magic, of the whole nightmare starting over again, flashed through his mind. His hand backed away from the sword and kept the anger of the magic in check. She came around to stand before him, her arm around him, holding the Agiel against his back, keeping his legs paralyzed. She was wearing her red leather.

" No? Not ready to try to use the magic on me yet? You will. You will try before long; you will try to save yourself with it, " She smiled. " Save yourself the extra pain, use it now. Maybe I will have mercy on you if you try it now."

Richard thought about all the ways Denna had given him pain, and how she had taught him to tolerate it, so she could give him more. He brought to bear everything he had learned. He controlled the pain, blocking it enough to draw a deep breath.

He swept his left arm around Constance, forcing her body tight against himself. He grabbed the Agiel in his fist, Denna's Agiel, hanging from his neck. Pain shot up his arm. He endured it, dismissed it. Constance gave a grunt as he lifted her off her feet, pulling her up his body. She tried to press her Agiel harder into his back, but she didn't have the leverage, and he had her arm pinned, so she couldn't move it.

When he had her lifted high enough, her contorted face in front of his, he pressed Derma's Agiel to her chest. Her eyes widened. Her expression slackened. Richard remembered Denna holding her Agiel against Queen Milena in this manner. It had the same effect on Constance. She shook, easing the pressure against his back. Still, it was hurting him, as was the Agiel in his hand.

Richard gritted his teeth against the pain. " I'm not going to kill you with the sword. To do that, I would have to forgive you everything. I could never bring myself to forgive you for betraying a friend. I could forgive your deeds against me, but not those against your friend, Denna. That is the one thing I could never forgive."

Constance gasped with the agony. " Please..."

" Promise made..." he sneered.

" No... please... don't."

Richard twisted the Agiel as he had seen Denna do to the Queen. Constance flinched, and went limp in his grip. Blood ran from her ears. He let her lifeless body slip to the ground.

" Promise kept."

Richard stared a long time at the Agiel held tightly in his fist, before he realized it was causing pain, and released it at last to hang from its chain around his neck.

He looked down at the dead Mord-Sith as he caught his breath. Thank you, Denna, he thought, for teaching me to endure the pain. You have saved my life.

It took him the better part of an hour to find his way out of the labyrinth of halls, out into the frigid night, to the expanse of grounds. He kept a tight grip on the hilt of the sword as he went past two big guards at the open gate through the outer wall, but they only gave a polite nod of their heads, as if he were an invited guest departing after a royal dinner.

He stopped, gazing out at the starlit country before him. He had never been so happy to see stars. He turned about, looking at everything. The People's Palace, surrounded by imposing sheer walls, sat atop an immense plateau that dropped off before him to a plain. The plateau stood hundreds of feet above the barren land, but there was a road cut into the cliffs, switching back and forth, descending to the flat land.

" Horse, sir? "

Richard spun around. One of the guards had spoken to him. " What? "

" I asked if you would like a horse brought up, sir. You look to be leaving. It's a long walk."

" What's a long walk? "

The guard gave a nod at the drop. " The Azrith Plains. You're looking to the west, across the Azrith Plains. It's a long walk across. Would you like a horse? "

It unnerved him that Darken Rahl had so little concern for what he might do that he would let him have a horse. " Yes, I would like a horse."

The guard blew a small whistle in a series of short and long bursts to anther man on the wall. Richard heard the short tune repeated into the distance.

The guard resumed his post. " Won't be long, sir."

" How far to the Rang'Shada Mountains? "

The man frowned a little. " Where in the Rang'Shada? They run a long way."

" Northwest of Tamarang. As close as they come to Tamarang." He rubbed his chin in thought. " Four, maybe five days." He considered the other guard. " Wouldn't you says"

The other shrugged. " If he rides hard, day and night, and changes horses often, maybe five, but I doubt it could be done in four."

Richard's heart sank. Of course Rahl didn't care if he had. a horse. Where was he going to go? Michael and the Westland army were four or five days away, in the Rang' Shada. He couldn't get to them, and back, before the week was out, before the first day of winter.

But Kahlan had to be closer. Rahl had sent that man with the black stripe in his hair, and two quads, to get her. What was she doing this close? He hack told them not to come after him. His anger flashed at Chase for not following his instructions, for not keeping them all away. Then his anger wilted. If it were him, he wouldn't have been able to sit back and not know what had happened to a friend. Maybe they weren't in the mountains, but all on their way. But what good was an army going to do? Ten good men in a place like this could hold off an army for a month.

Two soldiers in full battle armor came riding through the gate, bringing a third horse with them.

" Would you like an escort, sir? " the guard asked. " They're good men."

" No." Richard glared. " I will be going alone."

The guard waved the soldiers off.

" You'll be going west-southwest, then? " Richard didn't answer, so he went on. " Tamarang. The place in the Rang'Shada you asked about. It's to the west-southwest. Piece of advice, if I may, sir? "

" Go on, " Richard said cautiously.

" If you go that way, across the Azrith Plains, then near morning, you'll come to a boulder field among sharp hills. There'll be a split in the road in a deep canyon. Take to the left."

Richard's eyes narrowed. " Why? "

`Because to the right, there be a dragon. A red dragon. A red dragon of a bad temper. Master Rahl's dragon."

Richard mounted the horse and stared down at the guard. " Thanks for the advice. I'll remember."

He put heel to the horse and took to the steep road, down the side of the plateau, down the switchbacks. Beyond one, he saw a drawbridge being lowered as he approached. By the time he reached it, it was down and he never slowed, galloping the horse across the, heavy wooden planks. He could see that the load was the only practical way up the cliffs of the plateau, and the yawning gap spanned by the bridge would prove an impasse to any advancing army. Even without the formidable force of defenders he knew was behind him, even without Darken Rahl's magic, the simple inaccessibility of the People's Palace was defense enough.

As he rode, Richard unbuckled the hated collar and flung it into the night. He vowed that he would never again wear a collar. Not for anyone. Not for any reason.

Running the horse across the plain, Richard looked over his shoulder at the black shape of the People's Palace atop the plateau, looming up, blotting out an entire quadrant of stars. The cold air against his face made his eyes water. Or else it was his thoughts about Denna. Try as he might, he couldn't get her out of his mind. If it weren't for Kahlan, and Zedd, he would have killed himself back there; he was hurting that much.

Killing with the sword in anger, out of rage and hate, was horrible. Killing with the sword's white magic, out of love, was beyond horror. The blade had returned to its polished silver gloss, but he knew how to make it white again. He hoped he would die before that was ever required. He didn't know if he could ever bring himself to do it again.

And yet, here he was, racing across the night, on his way to find Zedd and Kahlan, to find which of them had betrayed the box to Darken Rahl, had betrayed everyone to Darken Rahl.

The whole thing didn't make any sense. Why would Rahl use the night stone to trap Zedd, if Zedd was the traitor? And why would he send men after Kahlan, if she was the one? Yet Shota had said each would try to kill him. It had to be one of them. What was he to do? Turn the sword white, and kill both? He knew that was foolish. He would rather die himself first than harm either. But what if Zedd was betraying them, and the only way to save Kahlan would be to kill his old friend? Or what if it was the other way around? Would he still rather die first, then?

The important thing was to stop Rahl. He had to recover the last box. He had to stop wasting his energy thinking about things he couldn't know. All that mattered was stopping Rahl; then everything else would fall into place. He had found the box once; he would have to find it again.

But how? There was no time. How was he going to find Zedd and Kahlan? He was one man on a horse, and there was a whole country to search. They wouldn't be traveling by road, not if Chase was with them. Chase would keep them off the roads, well hidden. Richard didn't know the roads, much less the trails.

This was a fool's task. There was too much country to search.

Darken Rahl had planted too many doubts in him. Swirling thoughts twisted on themselves, became more and more confusing, hopeless. He felt that his own mind was his worst enemy right now. Richard cleared his mind and chanted the devotion to keep himself from thinking. He smiled at the stupidity of chanting a devotion to a man he wanted to kill, but he chanted anyway as he rode on into the night. Master Rahl guide us: Master Rahl teach us. Master Rahl protect us. In your light we thrive. In your mercy we are sheltered. In your wisdom we are humbled We live only to serve. Our lives are yours.

Twice, he walked the horse to rest it, but pushed on hard the rest of the time.. The Azrith Plains seemed endless. The flat country, devoid of almost all vegetation, stretched on forever. The chanting helped him keep his mind clear of all thoughts, except one: the horror of killing Denna. That memory he couldn't shake. Those tears he couldn't keep back.

Dawn brought him his own shadow to chase. Boulders appeared, looking out of place on the flat ground, casting long shadows of their own. They gathered in numbers as he rode. The terrain began undulating, opening up in gullies, rising in ridges. He rode through narrow passes and rifts, down a canyon with walls of crumbling rock. The road took- a bend to the left, with a narrower road to the right. Richard took the horse to the left, remembering what the guard had told him.

Out of the clearness of his mind, a thought came to him. Richard brought the horse to a skidding halt. He looked off down the right road. He thought about it a minute, then pulled the reins to the right, urging the animal on, down the right-hand road.

Darken Rahl had told him he was free to go where he pleased

He had even let him have a horse so he might go where he wished. Maybe Darken Rahl wouldn't mind if Richard borrowed his dragon.

Letting the horse pick its own way, he watched carefully all about, resting his hand on the hilt of the sword. Surely a red dragon wouldn't be hard to spot. There was no sound but the horse's hooves on the hard ground. Richard didn't know how far it was, and rode for a long time among the rubble of boulders on the canyon floor. He began to worry that the dragon was gone, that maybe Rahl himself was riding it somewhere. Maybe to get the box. He didn't know if his present course was a good idea, but it was the only idea he could think of.

A blinding burst of fire erupted with a deafening roar. The horse reared. Richard leapt off, landed on his feet, and scrambled behind a boulder as the air was filled with flying stones and fire. Shards of rock ricocheted past his head. He heard the horse thud to the ground and smelled burnt hair. It screamed a terrible neigh until there was a snapping of bones. Richard crouched tighter against the rock, afraid to look.

As he listened to the periodic roar of fire, the breaking of bones, the ripping of flesh, Richard decided that this had been a very stupid idea. He could hardly believe the dragon was so well hidden that he hadn't even seen it. He wondered if it had seen him dive behind the boulder. At least for the moment, it didn't seem so. He searched about for a way to escape, but the terrain was too open to run without being seen. The sound of the horse being eaten made his stomach turn. At last it ended. He wondered if dragons took naps after they ate. 'There were a few snorts. The snorts came closer. Richard tried to make himself smaller.

Talons rasped over the boulder he was hiding behind and lifted it right off the ground, tossing it aside. Richard looked up into piercing yellow eyes: Almost everything else was an intense red. The head, with flexible black-tipped spikes around the base of the jaw and on the back of its skull behind the ears, was at the end of a long, thick neck rising from an immense body. The sinewy tail terminated in black-tipped spikes, like the ones on the head, only stiff and hard. The tail swished idly, pushing rocks aside. As it flexed its wings, powerful muscles rippled beneath the glossy, red interlocking scales on its shoulders. Razor-sharp teeth, stained red from its recent meal, sprouted just inside the snarling lips and lined the long muzzle. The beast snorted. Smoke rose from nostrils at the end of the tapered snout.

" What have we here? " came a decidedly female voice. " A tasty treat? "

Richard sprang to his feet and drew the sword, sending its ring into the air.

" I need your help."

" Only too glad to help you, little man. But not until after I eat you.,,

'I'm warning you, stay back! This sword has magic."

" Magic! " the dragon gasped in mock fright. It put a claw to its breast. " Oh, please, brave man, don't slay me with your magic sword! " It made a smoky rumble that Richard took for laughter.

Richard kept the sword out, but felt suddenly foolish. " You intend to eat me, than? "

" Well, I must admit, more for the amusement than the taste."

" I had heard red dragons were an independent sort, but that you are little more than a lapdog to Darken Rahl." A ball of flame boiled from the mouth, rising into the air. " I thought you might like to be free of your bonds, and be independent once more."

The head, bigger than he, Richard was frightened to note, came closer, to within a few yards. Its ears swiveled forward. A glossy red tongue, split at the end like a snake's, slithered out toward him, making a curious investigation. Richard held the sword out of the way as the tongue raked up his body from his crotch to his throat. It was a gentle touch, for a dragon, yet it knocked him back a few steps.

" And how would a little man like you be able to do that? "

" I'm trying to stop Darken Rahl, kill him. If you helped me, then you would be free."

The dragon threw its head up, smoke puffing from its nostrils as it rumbled in laughter. The ground shook. It looked down at him, blinked, then threw its head back again, rumbling in laughter once more.

The rumbling died out and the head returned, the eyebrows bunching up in an angry frown. " I don't think so. I don't think I would like to put my fate in a little man like you. I would rather put my future in continuing to serve Master Rahl." It made a grunt, blowing small clouds of dust away to the sides at Richard's feet. " The entertainment is over. Time for my tasty treat."

" All right. I'm prepared to die." Richard had to think of a stall, to give himself time to think. Why would a red dragon be at the service of Darken Rahl? " But before you eat me, may I tell you something first? "

" Speak, " the dragon snorted. " But make it short."

" I'm from Westland. I've never seen a dragon before. I always thought they would be fearsome creatures, and I must admit, you certainly are fearsome, but there is one thing I wasn't prepared for."

" And what would that be? ",,

" You are, without a doubt, the most stunningly beautiful creature I have ever seen."

It was the truth. Despite the deadly nature of it, it was strikingly beautiful. The neck of the dragon made itself into an S shape as it pulled its head back, blinking in surprise. The eyes frowned a little, doubting.

" It's true, " Richard said. " I'm to be eaten. I have no reason to lie. You are beautiful. I never thought I would see anything as magnificent as you. Do you have a name? "

" Scarlet."

" Scarlet. What a lovely name. Are all red dragons as stunning as you, or are you special? "

Scarlet put a claw to her breast. " That would not be for me to say." The head snaked its way toward him again. " I have never had a man I was about to eat tell me such a thing."

An idea began forming in Richard's mind. He put the sword back in its scabbard. " Scarlet, I know a creature as proud as you would not be at the beck of anyone, much less one as demanding as Darken Rahl, unless there was terrible need. You are too beautiful and noble a creature for that."

Scarlet's head floated closer. " Why would you say such things to me? "

" Because I believe in the truth. I think you do too."

" What is your name? "

" Richard Cypher. I am the Seeker." Scarlet put a black-tipped talon to her teeth. " Seeker." She frowned. " I don't believe I've ever eaten a Seeker before." A strange, dragon's smile crossed her lips. " It will be a treat. Our talk is over, Richard Cypher. Thank you for the compliment." The head floated closer, the lips pulling back in a snarl.

" Darken Rahl stole your egg, didn't he? "

Scarlet pulled back. She blinked at him, then threw her head back, jaws wide. An earsplitting roar made the scales on her throat vibrate. Fire shot skyward in a booming blast. The sound echoed off the cliff walls, causing little rock slides.

Scarlet's head whipped back to him, smoke rising from the nostrils. " What do you know about that! "

" I know that a proud creature such as you would not subject herself to such demeaning duties, except for one reason. To protect something important. Like her. young."

" So you know. That will not save you, " she snarled.

" I also know where Darken Rahl is keeping your egg."

" Where! " Richard had to dive to the side to avoid the flames. " Tell me where it is! "

" I thought you wanted to eat me now."

One 'eye came close. " Someone should teach you not to be flippant, " she rumbled.

" Sorry, Scarlet. It's a bad habit that has brought me to grief in the past. Look, if I help you get your egg back, then Rahl would have no hold on you. If I could do that, would it be worth helping me? "

" Helping you how? "

" Well, you fly Rahl around. That's what I need. I need you to fly me around for a few days, help me look for some friends of mine, so I can protect them from Rahl. I need to be able to cover a lot of ground, search a lot of area. I think if I could do it from the sky, like a bird, I could find them, and have enough time to stop Rahl."

" I don't like flying men about. It's humiliating."

" Six days from now, it will all be over, one way or another. It you help me, that's all I would need. After that; it won't matter, one way or the other. How long will you have to serve Rahl if you don't help me? " " All right. Tell me where my egg is, and I will let you go. Let you live."

" How would you know I was telling the truth? I could just invent a place, to save myself."

" Like dragons, real Seekers have honor. That much I know. So, if you really know, tell me and I will free you."

" No."

" No! " Scarlet roared. " What do you mean `No'? "

" I don't care about my life. Just as you, I care about things more important. If you want me to help you get your egg back, then you will have to agree to help me save the ones I care about. We will get the egg first, then you help me. I think it more than a fair trade. The life of your offspring, in exchange for flying me about for a few days."

Scarlet's piercing yellow eye came close to his face; her ears swiveled forward. " And how do you know that once I have my egg, I will keep my end of the bargain? " '

" Because, " Richard whispered, " you know what it is like to fear for the safety of another, and you have honor. I have no choice. I don't know any other way to save my friends from living the rest of their lives as you are living now-under the heel of. Darken Rahl. I will be putting my life at great risk to save your egg. I believe you to be a creature of honor. I will trust your word, with my life."

Scarlet gave a snort, backing away a little, peering at him. She folded her huge wings against herself. Her tail swished about, knocking stones and a few small boulders skidding across the ground. Richard waited. One arm cane forward; a single black tipped talon, thick as his leg, sharp as his sword point, hooked through the sword's baldric, and gave a snug pull. Her head came close.

" Bargain struck. On your honor, on mine, " Scarlet hissed. " But I have not given my word I will not eat you at the end of the six days."

" If you help me save my friends, and stop Rahl, I don't care what you do to me after that." Scarlet snorted. " Are short-tailed gars a threat to dragons? "

The dragon unhooked her talon from him, " Gars." She spat the name. " I have eaten enough of them. They are no match for me, not unless there were eight of ten together, but gars don't like to gather together in numbers, so that's not a problem."

" It's a problem now. When I saw your egg, there were dozens of gars around it."

Scarlet gave a grunt, and tongues of flame licked out between her teeth. " Dozens. That many could pull me from the sky. Especially if I were carrying my egg."

Richard smiled. " That's why you need me. I will think of a plan."

-+----

Zedd screamed. Kahlan and Chase both jerked back. Kahlan's brow wrinkled. He had never done this before when he had sought out the night stone. The sun was already down, but in the fading light she could see his skin was nearly as white as his hair.

She grasped him by the shoulders. " Zedd! What is it? "

He didn't answer. His head fell to the side as his eyes rolled back. He still wasn't breathing, but that much was normal; he hadn't breathed in the past when he sought the night stone. She exchanged a worried glance with Chase. Kahlan could feel Zedd shivering under her hands. She shook him again.

" Zedd! Stop it! Come back! "

He gave a gasp, then whispered something. Kahlan put her ear by his mouth. He whispered again.

Kahlan was horrified. " Zedd, I can't do that to you."

" What did he say? " Chase demanded.

She looked up at the boundary warden, her eyes wide in fear. " He said to touch him with my power."

" Underworld! " Zedd gasped. " Only way."

" Zedd, what's happening? "

" I'm trapped, " he whispered. " Touch me or I'm lost. Hurry."

" You better do as he says, " Chase warned.

Kahlan didn't like that idea one bit. " Zedd, I can't do that to you! "

" It's the only way to break the hold. Hurry."

" Do it! " Chase bellowed. " There's no time to argue! " " May the good spirits forgive me, " she whispered as she closed her eyes.

She felt trapped by panic; she had no choice. Dreading what she was going to do, her mind fell silent, calm. In the calm, she relaxed her restraint. She felt her power build, taking her breath away. Released, the power slammed into the wizard. There was a hard impact to the air all about. Thunder with no sound. Pine needles rained down all about. Leaning over them, Chase gave a little grunt of pain; he was closer than he should have been. Silence fell over the woods. Still the wizard did not breathe.

Zedd stopped shaking, his eyes came down, he blinked a few times, his hands came up and he gripped Kahlan's arms. With a gasp, he took a breath.

" Thank you, dear one, " he managed through the deep breaths.

Kahlan was surprised that. the power, the magic, didn't seem to have taken him. It should have. She was relieved it hadn't, but astonished.

" Zedd, are you all right? "

The wizard gave a nod. " Thanks to you. But if you hadn't been here, or had waited any longer, I would have been trapped in the underworld. Your power has brought me back."

" Why didn't it change you? "

Zedd straightened his robes, seeming a little embarrassed at his helpless predicament. " Because of where I was." He held his chin up. " And because- I'm a wizard of the First Order. I used your Confessor's power as a lifeline, to find my way back. It was like a beacon of light in the darkness. I followed it back without letting it touch me."

" What were you doing in the underworld? " Chase asked before she had a chance.

Zedd gave a cross look to the boundary warden, and didn't answer. '

Kahlan's worry surged. " Zedd, answer the question. This never happened before. Why were you pulled into the underworld? "

" When I seek the night stone, part of me goes to it. That's how I find it, and can tell where it is."

Kahlan tried not to think of what he was saying. " But the night stone is still in D'Hara. Richard is still in D'Hara." She grabbed fists full of his robes. " Zedd..."

Zedd's eyes went to the ground. " The night stone is no longer in D'Hara. It's in the underworld." His angry eyes came up to her. " But that doesn't mean Richard is not still in Dollars! It doesn't mean anything has happened to him! Only the night stone."

With a strained expression, Chase turned to setting up the camp before darkness fell. Kahlan still held Zedd's robes, frozen in terror.

" Zedd... please. Could you be wrong? "

He shook his head slowly. " The night: stone is in the underworld: But dear one, that doesn't mean Richard is. Don't let your fear run away with you."

Kahlan nodded as she felt tears run down her cheeks. " Zedd, he has to be all right. He has to. If Rahl has kept him there this long, he wouldn't kill him now."

" We don't even know that Rahl has him."

She knew he just didn't want to admit it out loud. Why else would he be at the People's Palace, if Darken Rahl didn't have him?

" Zedd, when you sought the night stone before, you said you could feel him, that he was alive." She almost couldn't bring herself to ask, could hardly get the words out, afraid of what he might say. " Did you sense him in the underworld? "

He looked into her eyes a long time. " I didn't sense him. But I don't know if I would, if he were in the underworld. If he were dead." When she started crying, he pulled her against him, hugging her head to his shoulder. " But I think it was only the night stone there. I think Rahl was trying to trap me there. He must have gotten the night stone from Richard, and then sent it to the underworld to snare me."

" We're still going after him, " she cried. " I'm not turning back."

" Well, of course we are."

Kahlan felt a warm tongue on the back of her hand. She stroked the wolf's fur as she smiled over at him.

" We'll find him, Mistress Kahlan. Don't you worry, we'll find him." " Brophy's right, " Chase called over his shoulder. " I'm even looking forward to the lecture we'll be getting about coming after him."

" The box is safe, " the wizard said, " that's what matters. Five days from tomorrow is the first day of winter, and then Darken Rahl will be dead. We will have Richard back after that, if not before."

" I'll get us there before then, if that's what you're getting at, " Chase grumbled