Severed Souls (Sword of Truth 14)

Mohler shook his head. “They aren’t for protection. The abbot is sufficiently powerful to handle any threat himself. I think he likes to have the men there for show—as a display of his importance.”

Cassia made a sour face. “He has them there because they can overhear what is going on in the bedroom. Dreier commands the women he takes in there to be noisy so that the soldiers outside the door will hear. He knows they will gossip about what they heard. He thinks it makes for an impressive image among the soldiers.”

Vale was nodding. “He’s a pig.”

“All right, Mohler, Samantha, Laurin, Vale, and Kahlan, you five wait here.” Richard pointed at the two Mord-Sith and Samantha. “You three protect the Mother Confessor. I’m counting on you. If for some reason Dreier gets past us, this is his likely way out. You will have to stop him and protect Kahlan if he comes this way. Mohler, do you have the collar ready?”

They all nodded. The scribe held up the collar by the chain, as if he were holding up a dead varmint by its tail. Richard took the collar in his left hand, balling up most of the chain in his fist to keep it from making any noise.

“You ready for this, Cassia?”

She flashed him a cunning smile. “You have no idea.”

Kahlan caught his arm. “Richard, are you sure about this? It seems too simple.”

“Sometimes simple is the best approach to a fight. Complicated plans have more to go wrong. We will only have one chance before he uses his powers. Simplicity, speed, and violence of action is our best chance.”

Kahlan leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “If anyone can do it, you three can.”

“All right, let’s go,” Richard said to Nicci and Cassia. “Keep it quiet. You both know what to do.”

Richard already had his sword out so that he wouldn’t have to draw it anywhere near the bedroom. He knew that the ringing sound of pulling the blade would carry in the confines of the corridors. He didn’t know how good the guards were, if they were really listening for the sound of any threat in the halls, or if they were instead listening to the sounds from the bedroom, but he didn’t want to take any chances with making an unnecessary noise. They had to remain undetected until the last instant.

Around the corner, the hallway was empty. The long, dark blue carpet running down the length of the hall muffled the sounds of their footsteps as they moved swiftly along the hall. The three of them slipped carefully around a long table against the wall that held two empty glass bowls. Small tapestries hung in several places, further helping to quiet any sound they made.

When they reached the end of the corridor before the intersection, Richard squatted down with the other two. When he gave her the signal, Cassia lay down on her belly and carefully crawled to the corner. She stretched her neck so that she was just able to peek around the edge.

She pulled back and held up two fingers.

Richard let out a sigh of relief. That made it easier for Nicci to do the first part. Once they started, they needed to be quick. Nicci set down what she had been carrying.

Cassia backed away from the corner and stood. She unfastened buttons and the black leather straps, turned away from Richard, and then pulled the top of her outfit down to her waist. She looked over her bare shoulder and gave him a nod that she was ready.

With two fingers, Richard signaled for her to go.

Cassia boldly walked around the corner and off toward the bedroom. All the guards knew the three Mord-Sith, and knew that they frequently went to Ludwig Dreier’s bedroom to be with him. She walked deliberately, as if she had been summoned.

When Richard and Nicci heard Cassia tell the guards “Lord Dreier sent for me,” Nicci stepped around the corner.

Without pause, the sorceress thrust both arms out, palms facing outward.

When Richard heard the two thumps, he knew that Nicci had stopped their hearts and both men were dead. Death was so swift they hadn’t cried out. They probably hadn’t even seen Nicci.

Richard handed her what she had brought. Nicci leaned out around the corner again and with her gift sent it silently floating down the hall, the way Richard had seen Zedd float rocks through the air. He hoped she would have enough control to keep it from hitting a wall, to say nothing of holding it stationary for a time and then at last hitting the target. Nicci had acted like it was a foolish question, but he didn’t know how to use his gift to do such a thing so he would have no way of judging the difficulty.

He had to trust that Nicci knew what she was talking about.

Richard heard Cassia knock on the bedroom door.

The corridor remained silent. Richard took a quick peek. The two soldiers were slumped dead on the floor to either side of the white, double door. A number of reflector lamps lit the rotunda. Cassia stood facing the door, her breasts exposed to get Dreier’s immediate attention, as they had the guards’. They needed him to keep his eyes on Cassia, and not look to the side.

Cassia knocked again.

Richard heard the door open.

“What is it?” It was Dreier’s voice. “Oh…”

Nicci immediately sent the stone block sailing in at him.

The instant Richard heard the sound of stone hitting the man’s skull, he was around the corner, racing the rest of the distance.

As he ran in at full speed, sword in one hand, collar in the other, Richard kicked the round table in the middle of the room aside. The table crashed against the wall and shattered.

Dreier was on his knees, bent forward, his head almost touching the floor. He was naked. Both hands clutched his bloody head as he moaned, sounding dazed and confused. The heavy stone block Nicci had sent flying in at him lay off to the side.

Richard slid to a stop on his knees just as Cassia threw a leg around Dreier to straddle his back. She grabbed his thick hair in a fist and pulled up on his head. His hands fell to his sides. Blood pouring from a long gash back across his scalp ran down the side of his head, turning an ear and his neck red.

As soon as Cassia had pulled Dreier’s head up, Richard pushed the collar around his neck and slammed it closed. It made a clang that echoed through the hall.

Dreier was so groggy from the blow to his head that he didn’t even know what had happened. He was like a rag doll, and offered no resistance.

The other two Mord-Sith, having heard the sound of the stone hitting the man’s skull and the clang of the metal collar locking closed, came around the corner at a dead run.

Erika, also naked but for the Agiel in her fist, ran out toward the hall and skidded to a halt before she ran into Dreier, still slumped on the floor, now holding the loose flap of scalp up onto his head to cover the wound.

Sword in hand, Richard stood. Erika smiled at him over the top of her stricken master. Richard knew that she expected him to try to use the sword against her and then she could capture him by capturing its magic.

Richard instead slid the sword back in its sheath. “Sorry, but I’ve done that dance before. I’m not going to do it again.”

Vale and Laurin came up on either side of her. They had their Agiel in their fists as well.

“Your choice,” Richard said. “Surrender, or tangle with my Mord-Sith.”

Her brow twitched. “Your Mord-Sith? Who do you think—”

Laurin jabbed her Agiel into Erika’s kidney. The woman cried out as she d

ropped to a knee.

“If you would like, we can take turns doing this to you all night,” Laurin said. “I suggest you get dressed instead, Erika.”

Cassia held out her hand. “Give me your Agiel, first.”

Erika reluctantly handed it over before going back into the room. Richard followed her in to get Dreier’s clothes. He found them thrown over the back of a chair.

When he picked up the purple robes Dreier had been wearing, Richard felt an odd lump. He groped the robes and found a concealed pocket on the inside at the waist. With a finger, he fished out something small and flat.

He was surprised to see a journey book. He opened the black leather cover to see what it said.

Nicci looked as surprised as Richard. “Well?” she asked.

“Nothing in it,” he told her. “Wiped clean.”

She nodded. “A lot of the Sisters wiped theirs clean as a precaution. Others liked to preserve the messages in case they needed confirmation of instructions, or to remember certain things, or even as proof that they were acting on orders.”

Richard sighed as he slipped the blank journey book into his pocket. “Unfortunately, this one tells us nothing.”

Nicci gave him a meaningful look. “I’d sure like to check its twin.”

“Me too,” he said. “But I have no idea who might have it.”

When he came out of the bedroom carrying the robes, he found Kahlan glaring down at the stuporous prisoner on the floor. “He had better prove useful.”

“Nicci may need to heal him first,” Richard said. “I think she might have cracked his skull.”

Samantha briefly stared down at the naked man. “Can we please go get my mother out of that dungeon, now?”

“Of course,” Richard said. “We need to get Commander Fister and the men out as well. They need to get the citadel guard under control or we will soon have trouble.”

“I can handle any who cause trouble,” Nicci said. “Samantha or her mother could as well.”