Severed Souls (Sword of Truth 14)

“But on the other hand, being around for you and Kahlan makes it all worthwhile.”

Richard felt a little better. “That’s good to hear.”

Zedd put a hand on Richard’s shoulder as he leaned closer in the moonlight. “You make life worthwhile for me, Richard. You always have. In a way, I no longer live for myself, but instead for you and Kahlan. I think that maybe that’s a wonderful way to live—to have something meaningful to live for.” He cocked his head. “Isn’t it Kahlan who makes you fight for life? Think of life without her, and you will see what I mean, and see what you are really living for.”

Richard nodded. “That’s certainly true.” He looked down at Kahlan not far away as she pulled the blanket up, ready for him to crawl in beside her and keep her warm. “I can’t imagine life without her. I wouldn’t want to live without her.”

Zedd gave a firm nod. “That’s what I mean, Richard. That, and I’m perfectly happy to stick around to help you keep from falling on your face. Someone has to.”

Richard let out a deep breath as he nodded. “Good. I love you, you know.”

“I know. I love you too, my boy.” He gestured to Kahlan. “Now go get some sleep. I’ll be right here nearby if either of you needs anything—and I’ll be with you for a good long time to come. I’m not too old to be of use, you know.

“Soon we will free you of that sickness and then you can decide what you want to do. Either way—quit and go off to live your own lives, or continue to fight—I will still love you and support you in whatever you do. I know you will make the right choice, your own choice. As Magda Searus said, you make your own destiny.”

“Thanks, Zedd. I guess we’ve had quite the adventure since we left Hartland.”

“Quite the adventure, indeed. And it hasn’t been all bad. There have been a lot of good times along the way.”

“I’m all for the adventure being over, though,” Richard told his grandfather.

Zedd smiled. “That’s my wish, too. Now, get some rest. I don’t want to have you going unconscious on me again before I can heal you. The last time was a bother.”

“You can really heal us, though, right?”

Zedd stood up straight and looked Richard in the eye. “In a containment field, yes, of course. You have no need to doubt that, Richard. Now let me go so I can get some rest.”

“Sure. Rest well, then.”

The wizard looked around at the woods. “This really is a beautiful place. It’s important to take in beauty whenever you can, my boy. This is a good place for a rest. And then tomorrow we need to be on our way to get to where we can heal you.”

Richard smiled and gave his grandfather a nod before he went back and crawled into the blanket beside Kahlan. As he turned on his side, she spooned up against him.

“Everything all right?” she asked. “With Zedd, I mean.”

“He wants us to get some sleep.”

Kahlan squeezed her arm around his middle. “I’m all for that.”

As she snuggled close for warmth and simply to be close, Richard watched out over the camp. Nicci, Irena, and Samantha were already wrapped in their blankets, breathing evenly and slowly, as were most of the men.

Richard watched them all, worrying about them all, afraid to go to sleep lest he never wake.

CHAPTER

55

Richard woke sometime in the night when Zedd rose up. He had been sleeping fitfully because he was worried about a whole variety of things. There were a lot of problems but not very many solutions, other than getting to the citadel. He had also been sleeping lightly because he was on alert, so Zedd standing up was enough to wake him.

In the moonlight he could see his grandfather take the blanket off from around his shoulders, lay it down, and then stretch to one side. He yawned and after stretching to the other side he carefully tiptoed among a sleeping Nicci, Irena, Samantha, and some of the soldiers. Richard knew that while Zedd usually slept well, he sometimes said that his bones ached, and it was not uncommon for him to get up in the night for a while to “walk the kinks out,” as he put it.

Something about the night felt strange to Richard. Even the perfectly still woods they were camped in felt somehow peculiar, somehow unnatural. He saw that the moon had moved across the sky, so he knew that it was not long until dawn. As soon as there was enough light, they could all be on their way.

Once Zedd had disappeared beyond a screen of young spruce and Richard couldn’t see him anymore, he rolled over onto his back and gazed down at Kahlan. In her sleep, she rearranged herself and snuggled up under his arm. It made him smile to watch her sleep. It was a picture of perfect innocence. Richard gently ran a hand down the side of her face, thinking about how much he loved her, how he would do anything for her. It made him angry to think of anyone harming her.

Once he started to worry about her safety, he couldn’t go back to sleep. Something was wrong and he could not for the life of him put his finger on it.

As long as he was awake and couldn’t sleep, he pushed himself back to sit up a little so he could scan the woods, looking for anything out of place. Not a leaf stirred in the dead air. He didn’t hear any night birds, or even any bugs. It was perfectly quiet in the woods all around them. He watched everyone sleeping, his gaze going from one soldier to another, checking. No one stirred as they slept. He was at least glad that the rest of them were able to get some sleep. Zedd was the only one out of his bedroll besides men on watch somewhere out among the trees.

At one point, as he dozed off into a light sleep, Richard heard an odd, muted thump, but the woods otherwise remained still. Waking instantly, he cocked his head, listening, waiting for it to happen again so he could better tell what it was, but the woods remained silent. He thought that it might have been a big pinecone dropping to the soft mat of the forest floor. Those sometimes made a thump that jarred him awake on really quiet nights.

Richard slid back down to lie beside Kahlan for a time. He knew he should get some sleep, but he seemed too on edge to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, they kept coming open. He took every opportunity, when they did, to watch out over the camp, visually checking on Nicci, Irena, Samantha, and the men. None of them had stirred, and no one in camp besides him appeared to have been awakened by the soft thump.

In the moonlight, Richard spotted a dark form in the distance moving through the encampment. He soon realized that it was Commander Fister making his way among the sleeping men. By the way the man was walking, Richard recognized that he had an urgent purpose.

Richard sat up, frowning, as the commander came close and dropped to a knee beside him. Even in the moonlight, Richard could see that the man’s face was white.

Richard checked and noticed that Zedd was not back, yet.

He looked back at Commander Fister. “What is it?”

Kahlan woke up and sat up in a rush beside Richard. “What’s wrong?” she asked in a whisper.

The commander couldn’t seem to find his voice.

“What’s wrong?” Richard asked again, more forcefully.

“It’s … it’s Zedd.”

Richard frowned as he looked over at his grandfather’s empty bedroll. “What about Zedd?” He looked around, checking the camp. “Where is he?”

Commander Fister swallowed. He stood and gestured weakly off in the direction Richard had last seen his grandfather.

Richard shot to his feet. In a heartbeat, Kahlan was up beside him.

Richard could see that the man still couldn’t find words. “Show me.”

Men were already starting to stir, to sit up, as the commander nodded. He turned to the camp and shouted.

“Everyone up! Weapons!”

Men rushed to scramble out of bedrolls as they snatched up swords, axes, and bows.

Commander Fister stared urgently across the camp as men with their weapons to hand went into defensive positions. The commander, Kahlan, and Richard stepped between Nicci, Irena, and Samantha as they rolled over, rubbi

ng sleep from their eyes while rushing to get to their feet.

Samantha looked up at the men all around standing with weapons drawn. “What is it?” she asked.

No one answered as they all hurried to follow the commander.

Predawn mist drifted close to the ground. Richard and Kahlan followed the hulking form of the commander as he rushed across the small camp and then through the screen of young spruce. He continued on a short distance through the woods beyond to a small, moonlit spot that was open, with trees standing like sentinels all around.

Lit by a small patch of moonlight, under a fine shroud of mist, Zedd lay on his back in the bed of moss.

Richard blinked. Kahlan, right beside him, gasped.

His grandfather’s head rested a half dozen feet away among the ferns.

The whole scene looked so peaceful, so restful, so calm.

Richard blinked again, at first not really understanding what he was seeing—or not wanting to.

The reality of what he was seeing filled his mind in a hot rush.