Severed Souls (Sword of Truth 14)

“Look, Zedd, I’m not arguing that the man can do what he wants, and neither was Naja. The point is that by the things he has done—creating the half people, animating the dead, and pulling spirits out of the world of the dead into this world—Naja’s people were sure that he has the wherewithal to rip the veil. That’s all that really matters.”

“I still say it’s delusional.”

“It may be delusional to think you can steal a man’s thoughts by breaking his head open with a rock to have a look at them, but the man with the head full of thoughts is dead either way.”

Zedd grunted unhappily. “I suppose you’re right. Did she offer any solution, any answers?”

“She said that Sulachan’s scheme could only be stopped by the bringer of death.”

Zedd shot Richard a sharp look. “What is the bringer of death supposed to do to stop such powers?”

Richard’s gaze wandered across the dark woods. The low clouds had drifted silently back overhead and blanketed the heat of the day, so that it wasn’t as cold as Kahlan said it had been the night before, when he had been at death’s door.

“Have you ever heard of something called ‘the Twilight Count’?” he finally asked his waiting grandfather.

“No, I can’t say that I have. What is it?”

“I don’t know. The way Naja talked about it makes me think it might have something to do with the chronology of prophecy, like a calendar of prophecy, or something. It involved some kind of formal calculation, but she didn’t explain it—I guess because people in her time knew all about it. She did say that they were able to determine from this Twilight Count that prophecy holds the key to stopping the threat.”

“Prophecy.” Zedd’s face twisted with a sour expression. “It would have to be prophecy.”

“Actually, you may be surprised to hear that she said the threat can only be ended by ending prophecy.”

Zedd’s frown deepened. “Ending prophecy? How in the world are we supposed to end prophecy?”

Richard looked over at his grandfather. “We? Naja said that according to the Twilight Count, prophecy can only be ended by the bringer of death. That means it can only be ended by me.”

“Samantha called you ‘the one.’ What’s that about?”

Richard shrugged. “In many different ways, books of prophecy have all identified me as the bringer of death. In the same way they say I’m the one who is supposed to stop Sulachan by ending prophecy. I think that’s why Samantha and the sorceresses of Stroyza have always expected ‘the one’ to come along and solve the problem they are there to watch over. It could be that they have been taught that the right person would come along at the right time.”

“Or it could be something as simple as them knowing that the barrier would eventually fail, and they assume that when it did someone would come along and set things right.”

“That makes sense, too,” Richard said. “People are always looking for a simple answer, looking for ‘the one’ who will solve their problems.”

Zedd clasped his hands behind his back. “Sounds simple enough.”

It was Richard’s turn to frown. “Simple?”

“Certainly. The barrier comes down, as Naja’s people knew it would. The people of Stroyza were meant to watch for that event. Even if over the centuries they lost the ability to read Naja’s message, they probably continued to pass the general concept down from generation to generation, teaching their children that when the barrier failed they had to report it and someone would stop the threat. Over time, the gifted of Stroyza might have simply come to think of that person as ‘the one.’”

Richard shot his grandfather an unhappy look. “It may sound simple, but the problem is I’m the one named in prophecy and I don’t have any idea how to end prophecy.”

Zedd’s sour expression returned. “Yes, that part does sound tricky.”

“That isn’t all,” Richard said as he showed Zedd his ring with the Grace on it. “Magda Searus and Merritt left it for me.”

Zedd frowned. “The first Confessor herself?”

“That would be the one.”

“How do you know it’s for you? Was there a message with it?”

Richard nodded. “There were three emblems written in the language of Creation hidden in a shielded door along with this ring. They have been hidden there, undisturbed and undiscovered, for three thousand years.

“The first of the three emblems said, If you are reading this it is because you are the bringer of death and the barrier has been breached. What we could not stop you now face. War is upon you.”

“Well that certainly seems to confirm the business with you being ‘the one.’ What about the other two emblems?”

Richard squinted in thought, making sure he got the words right. “The second said, Know that you are the only chance life has, now. Know, too, that you are balanced between life and death. You have the potential to be the one to save the world of life or end it. You are not destined for anything. You make your own destiny.”

“That sounds like it’s referring to the poison in you,” Zedd said. “That touch of death you carry means you are balanced between the world of life and the world of the dead.”

“That’s what I thought,” Richard said. “But the problem is that the combinations of cause and effect that result in me being the one to save life, or to end it, are so complex, and there are so many variables, that I don’t know how what she said is supposed to do me any good.”

Zedd made a sound of agreement deep in his throat. “What about the third part? Did that shed any light on it?”

“Not really. The third emblem said, Know that you have within you what you need to survive. Use it. Seek the truth. Know that our hearts are with you. Make your own destiny and make it true, for life hangs in the balance. We leave you a reminder to keep with you, of all that is important.

“Magda Searus and Wizard Merritt wanted me to have this ring as a reminder of what we all fight for.”

Zedd considered the words in silence.

“Do you have any idea what I should do?” Richard finally asked.

Zedd’s face turned away to stare off into the darkness. “As a matter of fact, my boy, I do.”

CHAPTER

47

Richard frowned over at his grandfather, his face shadowed by the light of the campfire. “Really? You know what I need to do?”

Zedd grunted with a nod. “I do. As a matter of fact, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s why I came out here to speak with you alone. The message from Magda and Merritt only confirms my thoughts.”

Richard rubbed the creases in his forehead. He stopped when he realized that he was trying to rub away the distant sounds of screams deep in his own mind. He focused instead on the buzz and chirp of night insects. Silhouetted against the faint light of the sky, he could see bats from time to time as they silently swooped by on erratic courses to catch flying bugs.

“I could use some advice about now, Zedd,” Richard said in a quiet voice. “I’m about at my wits’ end. Everyone is depending on me.”

Zedd looked over at him. In the hard angles of the old man’s face, Richard could see that it was one of those troubled looks that told him this was as serious as Zedd got.

“My boy, after we get to the citadel and remove that poison from you, I think that you should quit.”

Richard stared for a moment, not sure he had heard correctly. “What are you talking about, quit? What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. Quit. Give it all up.”

Richard frowned, trying to understand. “Give what up?”