Chainfire (Sword of Truth 9)

He turned and frantically searched the spines of the books stacked all over the tables. He finally found what he wanted in the middle of a pile and yanked it out, letting the rest of the stack topple over. He hurriedly leafed through the book, muttering to himself as he searched.

“Here it is,” he said as he pressed a finger to a page. “There are any number of prophecies down here that I’ve found in books I’ve never seen before. These prophecies surrounding the final battle are veiled to me—I cannot see them in visions—but the words are frightening enough. This one sums them up as clearly as any.”

He bent close and in the candlelight read to her from the book. “‘In the year of the cicadas, when the champion of sacrifice and suffering, under the banner of both mankind and the Light, finally splits his swarm, thus shall be the sign that prophecy has been awakened and the final and deciding battle is upon us. Be cautioned, for all true forks and their derivatives are tangled in this mantic root. Only one trunk branches from this conjoined primal origin. If fuer grissa ost drauka does not lead this final battle, then the world, already standing at the brink of darkness, will fall under that terrible shadow.’”

Fuer grissa ost drauka was one of the prophetic names for Richard. It was from a well-known prophecy in the ancient language of High D’Haran. Its translation was the bringer of death. To here call him by that name in this prophecy was a means of linking the two prophecies in a conjugate fork.

“If the cicadas should come this year,” Nathan said, “then that will verify that this prophecy is not just authentic but active.”

Ann’s knees felt weak. “The cicadas began to emerge today.”

Nathan stared down at her like the Creator Himself pronouncing judgment. “Then the chronology is fixed. The prophecies have all tumbled into place. Events are marked. The end is upon us.”

“Dear Creator protect us,” Ann whispered.

Nathan slipped the book into his pocket. “We must get to Richard.”

She was already nodding. “Yes, you’re right. There is no time to lose.”

Nathan glanced about. “We certainly can’t take all these books with us and there is no time to read them. We must seal this place back up, like it was, and leave immediately.”

Before Ann could add her agreement, Nathan swept out an arm. The candles all extinguished. Only the lantern on the corner of one of the tables remained lit. On his way past, he swept it up in his big hand.

“Come on,” he said.

Ann scurried to catch up with him, trying to stay in the small circle of light now that the odd room had been plunged into darkness. “Are you sure that we shouldn’t take any of these books?”

The prophet rushed into the narrow stairwell, the light funneling in with him. “We can’t be slowed down to carry them. Besides, which would we take?” He paused momentarily to look back over his shoulder. His face was all angles and sharp lines in the harsh lanternlight. “We already know what prophecy says and now, for the first time, we know the chronology. We must get to Richard. He has to be there at the battle when the armies clash or all will be lost.”

“Yes, and we will have to make sure that he is there to complete the word of prophecy.”

“We are in agreement, then,” he said as he turned and rushed onward up the stairs. The tunneled stairwell was so narrow and low that he had trouble making his way up.

At the top, they burst out into the night, to the shrill, buzzing song of the cicadas. Nathan called out for Tom and Jennsen. The trees gently swayed in the humid breeze as they waited for an answer. It seemed an eternity, but it was really only a moment before both Tom and Jennsen came running out of the darkness.

“What is it?” Jennsen asked, breathlessly.

The dark shadow of Tom towered at her side. “Is there trouble?”

“Grave trouble,” Nathan confirmed.

Ann thought that he might be a little more discreet about it, but as serious as the situation was, discretion probably was pointless. He pulled the book he had taken from the library out of his pocket. He opened it to a blank page where prophecy was missing.

“Tell me what this says.” he commanded, holding it out to Jennsen.

She frowned at him. “What it says? Nathan, it’s blank.”

He grumbled his discontent. “That means Subtractive was somehow involved. Subtractive is underworld magic, the power of death, so it affects her the same as us.”

Nathan turned back to Jennsen. “We have found prophecy that pertains to Richard. We must find him or Jagang will win the war.”

Jennsen gasped. Tom let out a low whistle.

“Do you know where he is?” Nathan asked.

Without hesitation, Tom turned a little and lifted an arm to point off into the night. His bond told him what their gift could not. “He is that way. Not a great distance, but not close, either.”

Ann peered into the darkness. “We’ll have to get our things together and be on our way at first light.”

“He’s on the move,” Tom said. “I doubt you will find him there in that spot by the time you get there.”

Nathan cursed under his breath. “There’s no telling where that boy is heading.”

“I’d guess that he is headed back to Altur’Rang,” Ann said.

“Yes, but what if he doesn’t stay there?” He laid a hand on Tom’s shoulder. “We will need you to come with us. You are one of the covert protectors to the Lord Rahl. This is important.”

Ann saw Tom’s hand gripped tightly around the knife at his belt. The silver hilt of that knife was emblazoned with the ornate letter “R,” standing for the House of Rahl. It was a rare knife carried by rare individuals who worked unseen to protect the life of the Lord Rahl.

“Of course,” Tom said.

“I’ll come as well,” Jennsen added in a rush. “I only have to get—”

“No,” Nathan said, silencing her. “We need you to stay here.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Ann said in a more sympathetic tone than Nathan had used, “you are Richard’s link with these people. They are in need of help in understanding the wider world only just opened to them. They are vulnerable to the Imperial Order and vulnerable to being used against us. They have only just made the choice to be part of our cause and part of the D’Haran Empire. Richard needs you to be here for now, and right now Tom’s place is with us and his duty to Richard.”

With panic in her eyes, she looked to Tom. “But I—”

“Jennsen,” Nathan said, his arm encircling her shoulders, “look there.” He pointed down the stairwell. “You know what’s down there. If anything happens to us, Richard may need to know as well. You must be here to guard this place for him. This is important—just as important as Tom coming with us. We’re not trying to spare you danger; this may in fact be more dangerous than going with us.”

Jennsen looked from Nathan’s eyes to Ann’s and reluctantly recognized how serious the situation was. “If you think Richard might need me here, then I must stay.”

Ann touched her fingertips to the underside of the young woman’s chin. “Thank you, child, for understanding the importance of this.”

“We must close this place up, like it was when I found it,” Nathan said, swirling his arms with his urgency. “I’ll show you the mechanism and how to make it function. Then we must get back to town and gather our things. We will only be able to snatch a few hours’ sleep before sunrise, but it can’t be helped.”

“It’s a long walk out of Bandakar,” Tom said. “After we’re over the mountain pass we’ll have to find some horses if we’re to catch Lord Rahl.”

“It’s decided then,” the prophet said. “Let’s get this tomb closed back up and be on our way.”

Ann frowned. “Nathan, this cache of books has been hidden under this gravestone for thousands of years. In all that time no one has ever discovered it was there. Just how did you manage to find it?”