The Pillars of Creation (Sword of Truth 7)

Sebastian measured the look in the emperor’s dark eyes. “Then perhaps we are near to the final victory—in the Midlands, at least. With the Midlands won, the fate of D’Hara will be sealed.” He held his knife up. “And if the Mother Confessor is there, then Lord Rahl very well might be, too.”

Jennsen, thoughts tumbling through her mind, looked from Sebastian to the emperor. “You mean, you think that her husband, Lord Rahl, is there, too?”

Jagang’s nightmare gaze turned toward her as he grinned wickedly. “Exactly, darling.”

Jennsen felt a chill run up her spine at the murderous look in his eyes. She was grateful to the good spirits that she was on this man’s side, and not his enemy. Still, she had to voice the vital information Tom had told her. She felt a stab of anguish, wishing it had been someone other than Tom who had confirmed it for her, but it was Sebastian who was really the first one to have told her about it.

“Lord Rahl can’t be there, in Aydindril.” Both men stared at her. “Lord Rahl is far to the south.”

Jagang frowned. “To the south? What do you mean?”

“He’s in the Old World.”

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asked.

Jennsen puzzled at him. “You told me so yourself. That he led his army of invasion into the Old World.”

A look of recollection came over Sebastian’s face. “Yes, of course, Jenn, but that was long before I even met you—way back before I left our troops—that I had heard those reports. That was a long time ago.”

“But I know he was in the Old World after that.”

“What do you mean?” Jagang asked in a gravely growl.

Jennsen cleared her throat. “The bond. The D’Haran people feel a bond to the Lord Rahl—”

“And do you feel the bond?” Jagang asked.

“Well, no. It just isn’t strong enough in me. But when Sebastian and I were at the People’s Palace, I met people there who said that Lord Rahl was far to the south, in the Old World.”

The emperor considered her words as he glanced over at a woman who had come in with platters of dried fruits, sweetmeats, and nuts. She worked at a distant side table, apparently not wanting to come any closer and disturb the emperor and his guests.

“But Jenn, you heard that last winter when we were at the palace. Have you heard anyone with the bond confirm it since then?”

Jennsen shook her head. “I guess not.”

“If the Mother Confessor intends to make her stand in Aydindril,” Sebastian said, thoughtfully, “then it’s possible, since we last had this report of him to the south, that he’s come north to stand by the Mother Confessor.”

Jagang leaned in low over the bloody meat before him. “Those two are like that. Evil to the end. I’ve dealt with them both for a long time, now. I know from experience that if there’s any way for them to be together, they will be—even if it’s in death.”

The implications were staggering. “Then…we might have him,” Jennsen whispered, almost to herself. “We might have Richard Rahl, too. The nightmare might be close to over. We could be on the eve of victory for all of us.”

Jagang leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table, looking from one to the other. “While I find it hard to believe Richard Rahl would also be there, from what I know about him, he could well decide to stand and lose with her, rather than live to see it all slip away from him bit by bloody bit.”

Jennsen felt an unexpected pang at the thought of the two of them standing together as the end came. It was completely out of character for a Lord Rahl to care for any woman, much less to stand by one as she was about to lose the war for her homeland, and her life as well. Lord Rahl would be more concerned about preserving his own life and land.

Still, the thought of him being this close was too tantalizing to dismiss, and had her pulse racing. “If he is this close, then I wouldn’t need the help of the Sisters of the Light. I wouldn’t need a spell. I would only have to get a little closer, to be with you when you make your drive into the city.”

Jagang’s grim, humorless smile was back. “You will ride with me; I will deliver you to the Confessors’ Palace.” His knuckles were white around his knife again. “I want them both dead. I will see to the Mother Confessor, personally. I grant you permission to be the one to plunge your knife into Richard Rahl.”

Jennsen felt a wild swing of emotion, from giddy elation that the deed was close at hand, to sickening horror. For an instant, she doubted that she could really carry out such a grisly, cold-blooded act.

Jennsen.

But then she remembered her mother lying in a pool of blood on the floor of their home, bleeding to death from those awful ripping stab wounds, her severed arm not far away, a house full of Lord Rahl’s brutes standing over her. Jennsen remembered her mother’s eyes, as she lay dying. She remembered how helpless she felt as her mother’s life slipped away. The horror of it was as fresh as ever. The rage was as white-hot as ever. Jennsen lusted to plunge her knife into her bastard brother’s heart.

That was all she wanted.

In the searing haze of righteous anger, as she saw herself slamming the knife into Richard Rahl’s chest, she only distantly heard Jagang speak.

“But why is it you wish to kill your brother? What is your reason, your purpose?”

“Grushdeva,” she hissed.

Behind her, Jennsen heard a glass vase hit the floor and shatter. The sound startled her back to where she was.

The emperor frowned at the woman off in the shadows. Her brown eyes were fixed on Jennsen.

“I apologize for Sister Perdita’s clumsiness,” Jagang said as he glared at the woman.

“Forgive me, Excellency,” the woman in the dark gray dress said as she backed out between the hangings, bowing all the way.

The emperor’s frown turned back to Jennsen.

“Now, what was it you said?”

Jennsen hadn’t the slightest idea. She knew she’d said something, but she wasn’t sure what. She thought that maybe her grief had tied her tongue in knots right when she went to answer. Her sorrow returned, like a great, grim weight on her shoulders.

“You see, Excellency,” Jennsen said as she stared down at her uneaten dinner, “all my life, my father, Darken Rahl, has been trying to murder me because I was his ungifted offspring. When Richard Rahl killed him and assumed rule over D’Hara, he took up in his father’s place, and part of that place was to murder his ungifted siblings. But in this duty, he was even more vicious than his father had been.”

Jennsen looked up through watery vision. “Just after I met Sebastian, my brother’s men finally caught up with us. They brutally murdered my mother. If not for Sebastian being there, they would have had me, too. Sebastian saved my life. I intend to kill Richard, because, if I don’t, I can’t ever be free. He will always send men to hunt me. Besides saving my life, Sebastian helped me to see that.

“Perhaps even more importantly, I must avenge the murder of my mother if I am ever to be at peace.”

“Our purpose is the welfare of our fellow man. Your story saddens me, and is the very reason we fight to eradicate the blight of magic.” The emperor finally shifted his gaze to Sebastian. “I am proud of you for helping this fine young woman.”

Sebastian had turned moody. She knew how ill at ease he felt under the weight of praise. She wished he could feel proud about his accomplishments, his importance, his stature with the emperor.

He laid his knife down across the scraps of his meal. “Just doing my job, Excellency.”

“Well,” Jagang said with an encouraging smile, “I’m glad you’ve returned in time to see the culmination of your strategy.”