The Keep was immense, and thousands of years old. Kahlan had spent much of her life there, but she had seen only a fraction of the place. Even Zedd hadn't seen it all, because of some of the shields that had been placed there ages ago by those with both sides of the gift, and Zedd had only the Additive side. Rare and dangerous items of magic had been stored there for eons, along with records and countless books. By now it was possible that Zedd and Adie had found something in the Keep that would help drive the Imperial Order back to the Old World.
Not only would going to the Keep be a way to solve Richard's problem with the gift, but it might provide them with something they needed to swing the tide of the war back to their side.
Suddenly, seeing Zedd, Aydindril, and the Keep seemed only a short time away.
With a renewed sense of optimism, Kahlan squeezed Richard's hand. She knew that he wanted to keep scouting ahead. "I'm going to go back and see how Jennsen is doing."
As Richard moved on and Kahlan slowed, letting the wagon catch up with her, another dozen black-tipped races drifted in on the air currents high above the burning plain. They stayed close to the sun, and well out of range of Richard's arrows, but they stayed within sight.
Tom handed a waterskin down to Kahlan when the bouncing wagon rattled up beside her. She was so dry that she gulped the hot water without caring how bad it tasted. As she let the wagon roll past, she put a boot in the iron rung and boosted herself up and over the side.
Jennsen looked to be happy for the company as Kahlan climbed in. Kahlan returned the smile before sitting beside Richard's sister and the puling Betty.
"How is she?" Kahlan asked, gently stroking Betty's floppy ears.
Jennsen shook her head. "I've never seen her like this. It's breaking my heart. It reminds me of how hard it was for me when I lost my mother.
It's breaking my heart."
As she sat back on her heels, Kahlan squeezed Jennsen's hand sympathetically. "I know it's hard, but it's easier for an animal to get over something like this than for people to do the same. Don't compare it to you and your mother. Sad as this is, it's different. Betty can have more kids and she'll forget all about this. You or I never could."
Before the words were out, Kahlan felt a sudden stab of pain for the unborn child she had lost. How could she ever get over losing her and Richard's child? Even if she ever had others, she would never be able to forget what was lost at the hands of brutes.
She idly turned the small dark stone on the necklace she wore, wondering if she ever would have a child, wondering if there would ever be a world safe for a child of theirs.
"Are you all right?"
Kahlan realized that Jennsen was watching her face.
Kahlan forced herself to put on a smile. "I'm just sad for Betty."
Jennsen ran a tender hand over the top of Betty's head. "Me too."
"But I know that she'll be all right."
Kahlan watched the endless expanse of ground slowly slide by to either side of the wagon. Waves of heat made the horizon liquid, with detached pools of ground floating up into the sky. Still, they saw nothing growing.
The land was slowly rising, though, as they came ever closer to distant mountains. She knew that it was only a matter of time until they reached life again, but right then it felt like they never would.
"I don't understand about something," Jennsen said. "You told me how I shouldn't do anything rash, when it came to magic, unless I was sure of what would happen. You said it was dangerous. You said not to act in matters of magic until you can be sure of the consequence."
Kahlan knew what Jennsen was driving at. "That's right."
"Well, that back there pretty much seemed like one of those stabs in the dark you warned me about."
"I also told you that sometimes you had no choice but to act immediately. That's what Richard did. I know him. He used his best judgment."
Jennsen looked to be satisfied. "I'm not suggesting that he was wrong.
I'm just saying that I don't understand. It seemed pretty reckless to me.
How am I supposed to know what you mean when you tell me not to do anything reckless if it involves magic?"
Kahlan smiled. "Welcome to life with Richard. Half the time I don't know what's in his head. I've often thought he was acting recklessly and it turned out to be the right thing, the only thing, he could have done. That's part of the reason he was named Seeker. I'm sure he took into account things he sensed that even I couldn't."
"But how does he know those things? How can he know what to do?"
"Oftentimes he's just as confused as you, or even me. But he's different, too, and he's sure when we wouldn't be."
"Different?"
