Soul of the Fire (Sword of Truth 5)

“But what about the vote? They places we’ve yet to visit?”

“We were going to have to divide up the men anyway and send them out to to watch over the voting and counting and then returning the results to Fairfield. We can send them now and have the men speak to the people in each place first. There are men among them I would trust to speak for us. They’ve heard what we’ve had to say enough times.

“We might as well divide them up here and get them on their way while we get back to the estate. Besides, we wouldn’t do wrong to see to making sure we convince all the people in Fairfield to vote to join us.”

Kahlan nodded. “Our first responsibility is the chimes. It won’t do us any good to win the vote if the chimes kill everyone.”

Richard’s eye was caught by something. He swung down from his saddle and tossed Kahlan the reins to his horse. He crossed the grass back to the clump of spruce.

“What is it?” Kahlan called, eager to be off.

Richard lifted a drying bough. “A saddle. Someone’s left their things here, and covered them to keep them dry.”

“Probably from that horse we saw,” she said

“Maybe it belongs to a trapper, or something,” Richard said. “But it looks to have been here for a while.”

“Well, unless you plan on stealing somebody’s things, Richard, let’s get out of here.”

When the raven let out a call, Richard hurried back to his horse. “Just seems strange, that’s all.”

As they started down the trail, Richard looked over his shoulder. He saw several ravens circling far up in the sky. He didn’t know which one was the raven-that-wasn’t-a-raven. Maybe they all were.

He took his bow from its place on the saddle and hooked it over his shoulder instead.

57

Dalton gazed out the window of his office as he listened to Stein reporting the number and location of Imperial Order soldiers now stationed as special Anderith guard troops inside Anderith. The Dominie Dirtch were as good as in Jagang’s hands. Should Lord Rahl bring his forces—if he even had any close enough—toward Anderith, he would quickly be a leader without an army to lead.

“The emperor also sent word that he wishes me to personally express, on his behalf, his appreciation for the efficient cooperation he has been receiving. From my men’s reports, the Minister looks to have done a remarkable job of taking the teeth out of the Anderith army. They will present even less of an obstacle than we thought.”

Dalton looked back over his shoulder, but saw no smirk on the man’s face. He put his boots up on Dalton’s desk and leaned back in his chair to clean his fingernails with a dagger. Stein looked contented.

Dalton reached over and picked up the useless but valuable little book the woman had brought up from the library, the book once belonging to Joseph Ander. He set it on the other side of his desk so Stein’s boots wouldn’t damage it.

From what Teresa reported to him, Dalton thought Stein should have every reason to be contented, what with the number of women living their daydreams by tattling to eager ears the raw excitement they had found in the bed of the foreign savage. The more outrageously he treated them, the more delighted they were to gossip about it.

With the number of women offering themselves willingly, Dalton found it remarkable the man would so frequently still turn his lust on the unwilling. He guessed Stein found the thrill of vanquishing by force more satisfying.

“Yes, the Anderith army looks real pretty, standing there behind the Dominie Dirtch.” Stein grinned. “But their false pride will be of little use to them when they must meet the true face of war.”

“We have kept our part of the bargain.”

“Believe me, Campbell, I know the worth of you and the Minister. Farming may be less glamorous than conquest, but without food, an army grinds to a halt. None of us wishes to take up the pastime of tending the land, but we wish to continue eating. We understand your worth in knowing how to keep the system going. You will be a valuable asset to our cause.

“And Emperor Jagang wishes me to assure you he looks forward to rewarding such good works, once he arrives.”

Dalton kept the problems to himself. “When might we expect his arrival?”

“Soon,” Stein said, dismissing further detail with a shrug. “But he is concerned about the situation with Lord Rahl. He is leery as to why you would seem to put faith in an outcome so fickle as the voice of the common people.”

“I must admit, I share his concern.” Dalton heaved a sigh. He still wished Bertrand had chosen a less risky road, but as Dalton had come to learn, Bertrand Chanboor relished the risky route, much as Stein preferred unwilling partners.

“But, as I’ve explained,” Dalton went on, “by such tactics we will be able to trap Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor. Without them to lead the enemy forces, the war will quickly fall into a rout, leaving the Midlands a plum for Jagang’s picking.”

“And so the emperor is content to let you play this out.”

“But, there are risks involved.”

“Risks? Anything I can do to help?”

Dalton took his seat, scooting his chair close to his desk.

“I believe we must do more to discredit the cause of Lord Rahl, but in that, there is danger. Mother Confessors, after all, have ruled the Midlands for thousands of years. They have not held sway because they have nice smiles. They are women with formidable teeth, as it were.

“The Lord Rahl, too, is said to be a wizard. We must tread with care, lest we force them into abandoning this vote in favor of action. If that were to happen, it could ruin the plans in which we all have so much invested.”

“I told you, we have troops in place. Even if they have an army anywhere close, they can’t get it into Anderith, not past the Dominie Dirtch.” Stein chuckled without humor. “But I would be happy to have them try.”

“As would I. The point is, the Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor are here, and they are trouble enough.”

“I’ve told you before, Campbell, you shouldn’t worry about magic. The emperor has clipped the claws of magic.”

Dalton carefully folded his fingers together before himself on the desk. “You say that often enough, Stein, and as much as I wish to, I find little comfort in mere words. I, too, could promise things, but you expect results that can be seen.”

Stein waved his knife. “I’ve told you before, the emperor intends to end magic so men of vision can lead the world into a new era. You will be part of that. Magic’s time has past. It is dying.”

“So is the Sovereign, but he’s not yet dead.”

Stein went back to cleaning his nails, paying exaggerated attention to them. He seemed undaunted by Dalton’s doubts and went on to try to dispel them.

“You will be pleased to know, then, that unlike your beloved Sovereign, the bear of magic no longer has fangs—it is toothless. It is no longer a weapon to be feared.”

Stein lifted the corner of his cape made of human scalps. “Those of magic’s talents will contribute to my collection. I take the scalps while they are still alive, you know. I enjoy their screams while I’m cutting it off them.”

Dalton was unimpressed by the man’s boasting and his attempts to shock, but wished he knew what Stein was talking about when he alluded to the end of magic. He knew from Franca’s inability to use her gift that something was going on, but he didn’t know what or, more important, the extent to which it was impaired. He didn’t know if Stein was telling the simple truth, or an ignorant version of wishful thinking layered over some Old World superstition.

Either way, the time had come to act. They could ill afford to let it go on as it was. The measure of how far they dared go in showing their opposition to joining Lord Rahl was the problem Dalton faced. It was necessary to take a stand in order to fire people into saying no to Lord Rahl, but a weak stand was as good as no stand. On the other hand, it was far too dangerous to reach through the bars and twist the nose of the bear if it still had its teeth

and claws.

Dalton wondered if he might be able to press Stein into being more forthcoming. “It sounds then as if we have a serious problem.”

Stein looked up. “How so?”

Dalton opened his hands in a gesture of befuddlement. “If magic is no longer a weapon, then the Dominie Dirtch, in which we all have invested so much faith, is of no use, and all our plans will fail. I would call that a serious problem.”

Stein took his feet from Dalton’s desk and slid the knife back into its sheath. Putting an elbow on the desk, he leaned forward.

“Not to worry. You see, the thing is, the emperor still has control of his Sisters of the Dark; their magic works for him. From what they’ve told us, something has happened, though. From what I gather, something of magic has gone awry and caused the power of those on Lord Rahl’s side to fail.

“Jagang has learned that Lord Rahl no longer has magic backing him. His magic is going to fail. The man is, or soon will be, naked to our blades.”

Dalton was now at full attention. If it was true, that would change everything. It would mean he could implement the full extent of his plans at once. It would mean he could take the necessary action and not have to worry over the repercussions or even reprisals from Lord Rahl.

Better yet, Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor would have to place even more of their hope in the vote, while at the same time Dalton, without fear of their actions, insured their loss.

If, that was, it was true about magic failing.

Dalton knew one way he might find out.