Confessor (Sword of Truth 11)

“To help me in that, I need to know everything about Six. You may not have known the woman, but you had a network of spies spread throughout the Old World.”

“You knew about the spies?” Ann asked, following Nicci down the stairs.

“Suspected. A woman such as you does not hold on to power for as long as you held on to power without help. Under your rule the Palace of the Prophets was an island of stability and calm in a world of turmoil, a world falling under the spell of the Fellowship of Order. You had to have had your web spread far and wide to keep yourself aware of all that was happening in the outside world, to keep you aware of any potential threats. After all, you kept the palace safe and free to do its work for hundreds of years.”

Ann lifted an eyebrow. “I was not so good at it as you think, my dear. Otherwise, the Sisters of the Dark would not have become established right under my nose.”

“But you suspected, and you took precautions.”

“Not enough, on either account, as it turns out.”

“No one can be perfect, and no one is invincible. It remains true that you did a very good job for a very long time of keeping them at bay. You had a network of informants to help you stay abreast of what was happening in the outside world. I know that the Sisters of the Dark were always looking over their shoulders. They feared you.

“With the kind of web that only the Prelate can spin, you must have heard something about Six over the years.”

“I don’t know, Nicci. Over the years there were a great many important things going on. Rumors of a witch woman were not of much interest to me. There were more important problems. As far as Six, I didn’t really hear anything of note.”

“I’m not interested in getting you to betray confidences, Ann. I’m only interested in anything at all you might know about her. For some reason she took the box of Orden. I need to get it back for Richard. Any bit of information at all might help me to that end.”

“I simply never heard anything about her from my sources.” Ann finally nodded, almost as if to herself. “But I know about her in a general sense, and I also know that she can’t put Orden in play.”

“Then why would she take it?”

“While I don’t know any specifics about her, other than what Shota told us, I do know that the desire to destroy the good in life is what defines some people. The particular twisted beliefs they adopt are merely their internal justification for their overriding hatred of the good. That core drive gives them an affinity with others having the same goal of crushing anyone who lives free, who seeks to better themselves. It is the end—destroying anything good—that inflames and impassions them.

“Ultimately, it is life they hate. They feel inadequate at facing the challenges of life. They loathe the necessity of dealing with the world the way it really is, so they grasp at shortcuts to existence. Instead of working hard, they choose to destroy those who do. Instead of creating something worthwhile, they want to steal what someone else has created.”

“So,” Nicci suggested, “you’re saying that while you don’t know anything specific about Six, you think that because of her nature she will seek others driven by hatred.”

“That’s right,” Ann said. “And what does that mean?”

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Nicci paused, resting a wrist over the newel post, tapping a fingernail on the white marble as she stared off in thought. “It means that, ultimately, she will seek an alliance with the ones who have the other two boxes: the Sisters of the Dark. They may believe very different things, but they are sisters in hate.”

Ann smiled to herself. “Very good, child.”

“She can’t use the box herself,” Nicci finally said, thinking out loud. “That means she had to have taken it as a bargaining tool. She wanted it in order to gain power for herself. When the great barrier came down she saw the New World as vulnerable. She schemed and eventually stole what Shota had created up here in the New World, but ultimately that isn’t enough for her. She intends to have power in exchange for the box she now has.”

Ann was nodding. “She is insuring that when Orden is unleashed she will be included. She is drawn to the potential for the massive destruction of all that is good. She may want power for herself, but I think her real passion is to be part of the dismantlement of values and order.”

“There is one thing about it, though, that doesn’t make sense.” Nicci shook her head as she stared off down the long passageway. “The Sisters of the Dark are not likely to want to deal with the witch woman. They fear her.”

“They fear the Keeper more. They must have the box if they are to unleash Orden. Don’t forget, now that they have put the boxes in play, their lives will be forfeit if they fail to open the correct box. They will be forced to deal with Six.”

“I suppose,” Nicci said.

Something seemed to be missing, she just couldn’t figure out what. It seemed that there had to be something more to it.

CHAPTER 19

Nicci’s hand slipped from the newel post and dropped to her side as they started away. The floors, walls, and ceiling of the quiet hallway stretching into the distance were made entirely of polished slabs of white marble. Soft tendrils of gray and gold veining meandered through the marble, giving the entire stone corridor a faintly wispy look.

Torches in iron brackets spaced evenly along the walls cast the solemn corridor in a flickering light. The dead air carried the heavy smell of pitch and a pale haze of acrid smoke. At varying places along the passageway were other halls leading off to tombs.

“It’s a dangerous time we are in,” Ann said, the sounds of their footsteps echoing off the stone. “We approach the most dangerous place in prophecy that I know of. We approach what holds the potential to be our end.”

Nicci glanced over at the old prelate. “That’s why I have to help Zedd and then find Richard. At the same time Six has to be stopped before she can unite all three boxes. She has already shown me how dangerous she is, but if we can find her Zedd might be able to help with handling the witch woman.

“I think it might be more important for me to get my hands on Sisters Ulicia and Armina. They have the other two boxes. If they unite all three boxes of Orden, I don’t think that the Sisters of the Dark intend to let Richard have until the first day of winter next year to try to open one of the boxes of Orden. They will certainly try to open them as soon as they have all three. I have this uneasy feeling that we may be running out of time.”

“I agree,” Ann said as they passed a hissing torch. “That is why it’s so important for you to be there for Richard—so important for you to help him.”

“I intend to help him.”

Ann glanced up at Nicci. “A man needs a woman to temper his choices, especially when those choices can change the course of life itself.”

Nicci watched their shadows rotate around them as they passed another torch. “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

“Only a woman who loves him, who stands at his side, who is trusted implicitly, can be the kind of woman who can be a positive influence.”

“I do love him and I will stand at his side.”

“You need to do more than stand at his side, Nicci, to be the woman who can have the influence needed.”

Nicci glanced over out of the corner of her eye. “And what influence is it, exactly, that you think is needed?”

“A child needs the strength of a father as well as the nurturing of a mother.” She held up her first two fingers pressed tightly together. “Male and female working together shape us, define us, guide us. In this it is no different. A man needs the feminine element in his life if he is to be a proper ruler to guide the growth of mankind.

“A powerful general without a woman can fight battles and win wars. Jagang can crush those in his way, but he can do nothing more than that—nothing worthwhile, anyway.

“Our side, our cause, is different. It takes more not only to win such a war as we face,

but the future that we hope to be the result. Richard doesn’t simply need someone who loves him, but someone he can love. Living by the sword alone is not enough. He needs that investment of his own emotion. He needs to give love as well as receive it.”

Nicci didn’t want to go down this line of argument again. “I am not that woman.”

“You can be,” Ann pressed in a soft voice.

“I’m sure that Kahlan is a woman who deserves Richard’s love. I am not. I have done terrible things, things which I can never undo. I’ve walked a very dark path. All that I can do is to fight to stop the evil ideas for which I once fought. If I can do that, then I can earn redemption in my own heart. But I could never deserve Richard’s love. Kahlan is that kind of woman. I am not.”

“Nicci, Kahlan is not an option for us. It is pointless to frame it as a choice between you and Kahlan being there for him; she can no longer fill that role. Chainfire took that woman. Only you can fill the role, now. You must marry Richard and be that woman for him.”

“Marry him!” Nicci let out a brief, bitter laugh as she shook her head. “Richard doesn’t love me. He would have no reason to want to marry me.”

“Did you learn nothing at the Palace of the Prophets?” Ann clicked her tongue impatiently. “How did you ever get to be a Sister?”