Many of them saw it with the same understanding Nicci had.
The carvers wandered away from their work to come see what stood in the plaza. The masons came down from the scaffolding. The tenders set down their mortar buckets. The carpenters climbed down from their work at setting beams. The tilers laid aside their chisels. The drivers picketed their horses. Men digging and planting the surrounding grounds set down their shovels. They came from all directions toward the statue in the plaza.
People flowed up the steps in ever expanding ranks. They flooded around the statue, gazing in awe. Many fell to their knees weeping, not in misery as they had before, but with joy. Many, like the blacksmith, laughed, as tears of delight ran down their happy faces. A few covered their eyes in fear.
As people took it in, they began to run off to get others. Soon, men were coming down from the shops on the hill to see what stood in the plaza. Men and women who had come to watch the construction now ran off home to get loved ones, to bring them to see what stood at the emperor’s palace.
It was something the like of which most of these people had never in their lives seen.
It was vision to the blind.
It was water to the thirsty.
It was life to the dying.
Chapter 66
Kahlan pulled her map out and took a quick look. It was hard to tell for sure. She glanced up and down the road and noted that the other buildings were not quite as well kept.
“What do you think?” Cara asked in a low voice.
Kahlan slipped the map back inside her mantle. She snugged the fur up over her shoulders a little, making sure it covered the hilt of Richard’s sword she wore strapped behind her shoulder. Her own sword was hidden under her cloak. At least the sun had just gone down.
“I don’t know. We don’t have much light left. I guess there’s only one way to be sure.”
Cara eyed the people who looked their way. For the most part, everyone in the city seemed remarkably incurious. With their horses stabled outside of the city, there would not be any swift escape if they needed to get away. The general indifference of people, though, somewhat eased Kahlan’s concern.
They had decided to simply be as aloof and casual as possible. She had thought they looked pretty simple in their traveling clothes, but in a place as drab as Altur’Rang, the two of them had a hard time being inconspicuous. In retrospect, she wished they would have had the time to find something shabby to wear. Kahlan felt they were about as inconspicuous as a pair of painted whores at a country farm fair.
She climbed the stairs to the place as if she knew where she was going and belonged there. Inside, the hallway was clean. It had the smell of freshly scrubbed wood floors. With Cara close at her heels, Kahlan moved down to the first door on the right. She could see the stairway farther down the hall. If this was the correct building, this would be the proper door.
Looking both ways, Kahlan gently rapped on the door. No answer came. She knocked again, a little louder. She tried the knob, but it was locked. After checking the hall again, she pulled a knife from her belt and worked it under the molding, springing it out until the door popped open. She grabbed Cara’s sleeve and pulled the woman in with her.
Inside, they both struck a pose prepared to fight. There was no one in the room. In the light coming in from two windows, Kahlan saw first that there were two sleeping pallets. What she saw next was Richard’s pack.
Kneeling on the floor in the far corner, she flipped back the flap and saw his things inside—his war wizard’s clothes were in the bottom. Near tears, she clutched the pack to her chest.
It had been over a year since she had seen him. For almost half the time she had known him, he had been gone from her. It seemed she could not endure another moment.
Kahlan heard a sudden noise. Cara seized the wrist of a young man as he charged in brandishing a knife. In one fluid motion she had his arm twisted behind his back.
Kahlan thrust her hand into the air. “Cara! No.”
Cara made a sour face as she lowered her Agiel from the young man’s throat. His eyes were wide with both fear, and indignation.
“Thieves! You’re thieves! That’s not yours! Put it back!”
Kahlan rushed to the youth, motioning for him to keep his voice down.
“Is your name Kamil, or Nabbi?”
The young man blinked in surprise. He licked his lips as he glanced over his shoulder at the woman towering above him.
“I’m Kamil. Who are you? How do you know my name?”
“I’m a friend. Gadi told me—”
“Then you’re no friend!”
Before he could scream for help, Cara clamped a hand over his mouth.
Kahlan shushed him. “Gadi murdered a friend of ours. After we captured him, Gadi told me your name.”
When she saw that he was taken aback by the news, Kahlan signaled for Cara to lower her hand.
“Gadi killed someone?”
“That’s right,” Cara said.
He stole a quick glance over his shoulder. “What did you do to him? To Gadi?”
“We put him to death,” Kahlan said, not revealing the full extent of the deed.
The young man smiled. “Then you really are friends. Gadi is a bad person. He hurt my friend. I hope he suffered.”
“It took him a long time to die,” Cara said.
The young man swallowed when he saw her grin from over his shoulder. Kahlan gestured and Cara released him.
“So, who are you two?” he asked.
“My name is Kahlan, and this is Cara.”
“So, what are you doing here?”
“That’s a little complicated, but we’re looking for Richard.”
His suspicion returned. “Yeah?”
Kahlan smiled. He was indeed Richard’s friend. She put her hand to the side of his shoulder as she held his gaze.
“I’m his wife. His real wife.”
Kamil blinked dumbly. “But, but—”
Kahlan’s voice hardened. “Nicci isn’t his wife.”
His eyes brimmed with tears as a grin overcame him. “I knew it. I knew h
e didn’t love her. I could never understand how Richard could have married her.”
Kamil suddenly threw his arms around Kahlan, hugging her with fierce happiness for Richard. Kahlan laughed softly as she smoothed the young man’s hair. Cara seized his collar and pulled him back, but at least did it gently.
“And you?” Kamil asked Cara.
“I am Mord—”
“Cara is Richard’s good friend.”
Kamil unexpectedly hugged Cara, then. Kahlan feared the Mord-Sith might crush his skull, but she endured it politely, even if she was ill at ease. Kahlan thought Cara might even have started to smile.
Kamil turned back to Kahlan. “But what is Richard doing with Nicci, then?”
Kahlan took a deep breath. “It’s a long story.”
“Tell me.”
Kahlan appraised his dark eyes for a moment. She liked what she saw there. Still, she thought it best to keep it simple.
“Nicci is a sorceress. She used magic to force Richard to go with her.”
“Magic? What magic?” he pressed without pause.
Kahlan took another breath. “She could have used her magic to hurt me, kill me, if Richard didn’t agree to go with her.”
Kamil gazed skyward as he thought it over. He finally nodded. “That makes sense. That’s the kind of man Richard is—he would do anything to save the woman he loved. I knew he didn’t love Nicci.”
“And how did you know that?”
Kamil gestured at the two pallets. “He didn’t sleep with her. I bet he slept with you, when you were together.”
Kahlan could feel her face flushing at his boldness. “How do you know that?”
“I don’t know.” He scratched his head. “You just look like you belong with him. When you say his name I can see how you care for him.”
Kahlan couldn’t help but smile through her weariness. They had been riding at a breakneck pace for weeks. They had lost a few horses along the way, and had to acquire others. They had gone with little sleep for the last week. She had trouble even thinking straight.