«You mean to say that in creating Nicholas, it was like Jagang was just having his carpenters build a house as practice before he sends them on to build something vastly more complicated, like a palace?»

Nicci looked up at him and smiled. «Yes, that's it exactly.»

«But he sent Nicholas with troops to govern a land as well as to capture us.»

«A mere matter of convenience. Jagang had instilled in Nicholas a need to hunt you, but only as part of the testing for his greater goals. He didn't really expect the Slide to be able to accomplish his transcendent ambitions. The emperor may hate you for impeding his progress in conquering the New World, he may consider you unworthy as an opponent, and he may deem you an immoral heathen worthy only of death, but he's smart enough to give you credit for your ability. It's like when you said that you sent that captured soldier to assassinate Jagang. You didn't really expect that lone soldier to succeed at the difficult task of assassinating a well-guarded emperor, but the soldier was of no other value to you and since you thought that there was at least a chance that he might accomplish something, you might as well send him on the mission while you worked on far better ideas that you expected to have a more reasonable chance of success. And if the soldier was killed, then that was fine by you because he only got what was coming to him anyway.

«Nicholas was like that. He was a conjured creation, practice along the path to something altogether superior. In the scheme of things, Nicholas wasn't all that valuable to Jagang, so Jagang, instead of having him killed, [??ltd??] him. If Nicholas succeeded, then Jagang would be ahead of the game and if you killed him, then you did him a service.» Richard ran his hand back over his hair. He felt overwhelmed at the implications. He had criticized Nicci for not being open to seeing the larger picture, and here he had just been guilty of doing the same thing.

«Well then,» he asked her, «what do you think Jagang might conjure up that's worse than Nicholas the Slide?»

The drone of the cicadas seemed oppressive, invasive, at that moment, as if they were the enemy surrounding him.

«I believe he has forged ahead and already created such a masterwork,» Nicci said with quiet finality. She pulled her blanket up around her shoulders and held it closed at her throat. «I think that's what those men back there in the woods faced.»

Richard watched her expression in the near darkness. «What do you know about what Jagang has done?»

«Not a great deal,» Nicci admitted. «Only a few words whispered as one of my former fellow Sisters was leaving on a journey.»

«A journey?»

«To the world of the dead.»

By her tone of voice and the way she stared off, Richard didn't want to ask what had brought about the woman's travel plans. «So, what did she tell you?»

Nicci let out a weary sigh. «That Jagang, had been making things from the lives of captives and volunteers both. Some of those young wizards actually think they are sacrificing themselves for a greater good.» Nicci shook her head at such a sad delusion. «The Sister was the one who told me that Nicholas was but a stepping-stone to His Excellency's true and noble ends.» Nicci looked up again to make sure that Richard was paying attention. «She said that Jagang was on the brink of creating a creature similar to one he had found in ancient writings, but far better, far more deadly, and invincible.»

The hair at the back of Richard's neck lifted. «A creature? What kind of creature?»

«A beast. An invincible beast.»

Richard swallowed at the baleful sound of the word. «What's this creature do? Were you able to find out? What's its nature?»

For some reason, he just couldn't seem to bring himself to use the same word aloud right then, as if speaking it might summon it from out of the surrounding night.

Nicci's troubled eyes turned away. «As the Sister slipped into the arms of death, she smiled like the Keeper himself with a booty of souls, and said, 'Once he uses his power, the beast will at last know Richard Rahl. Then it will find him, and kill him. His life, like mine, is finally at its end.'»

Richard made himself blink. «Did she say anything else?»

Nicci shook her head. «At that point, she convulsed in the agony of death. The room went black as the Keeper snatched her soul in payment for bargains she had once struck.

«The one thing that's been troubling me is how this creature found us. Still, I don't think the situation is as desperate as it may seem. There is really no conclusive evidence to make us believe that it really was this beast that attacked the men back there. After all, you haven't used your power, so there wouldn't have been any way for Jagang's beast to find you.»

Richard looked down at his boots. «When the soldiers attacked,» he said in a low voice as he rubbed a finger along the edge of the leather sole, «I used my gift to deflect the arrows. I didn't do so well with the last one.»

«Lord Rahl,» Cara said, «I don't think that's true. I think you used your sword to deflect the arrows.»

«You weren't there right then so you didn't see what was happening,» Richard said as he grimly shook his head. «I was using my sword on the soldiers; I couldn't use it to deflect the dozens of arrows as well. I deflected the arrows with my gift.»

Nicci was now sitting up straight. «You used your gift? How did you summon it?»

Richard shrugged self-consciously. He wished he knew more about what he'd done. «Through need, I guess. I didn't know I would end up being responsible.»

She gently touched his arm. «Don't foolishly blame yourself. You had no way to know. Had you not done as you did you would have been killed. You were acting to save your life. You didn't know anything about the beast. More than that, though, you may not be entirely responsible.»

Richard frowned at her. «What do you mean?»

Nicci sank back against the rock wall. «I fear that I may have contributed to its finding us.»

«You? But how?»

«I used Subtractive Magic to get rid of your blood so I could heal you. While the Sister didn't say anything specific that I could point to, I still got the uneasy feeling that this creature may somehow be tied to the underworld. If that's true, then when I got rid of your blood with the use of Subtractive Magic I may have inadvertently given it a taste of your blood, so to speak.»

«You did the right thing,» Cara said. «You did the only thing you could do. To let Lord Rahl die instead would have been handing Jagang what he sought.»

Nicci nodded her appreciation of Cara's words.

Richard let out the breath he had been holding. «What else can you tell me about this thing?»

«Nothing of any consequence, I'm afraid. The Sister told me that the Sisters who were experimenting with creating weapons out of people had only created Nicholas to work out some of the preliminary details before moving on to their important work. Even so, some of them died in the task of conjuring the Slide-and, with as many as have already died, Jagang is getting to the point where he has few to spare. He has used those he still has, while he still has enough, to accomplish his goal. Apparently, creating the beast was vastly more complex and difficult than creating a Slide, but the results were said to have been worth it. I suspect that along the way he may have directed that shortcuts be taken, shortcuts that involve the underworld.

«If we're going to fight this thing, we need to find out everything we can about this beast. And we need to find out before it catches us. With what happened to the men, I don't think we have much time.»

Richard knew that what she meant, but hadn't said, was that she wanted him to forget what she thought were his meaningless dreams about Kahlan and to put his full concentration and effort toward this dangerous creation of Jagang's.

«I have to find Kahlan,» he said in a quiet tone meant to convey his conviction and his resolve.

«You can't do anything if you're dead,» Nicci said.

Richard lifted the baldric over his head. He leaned the polished scabbard holding the Sword of Truth against the rock.

«Look, we're not even sure that whatever killed those men back there really is this beast you're talking about.»

«What do you mean?» Nicci asked.

«Well, if it can find me when I use my gift, then why did it attack the men? Sure, it was the place where I'd used my ability, but the attack was three days after the fact. If it was supposed to know me after I used my power then why attack the men?»

«Maybe it just thought you were among them,» Cara offered.

Nicci nodded. «Cara might be right.»

«Maybe,» Richard said. «But if it recognized me by me using my gift and in addition you gave it a taste of my blood, then wouldn't it know that I wasn't among the men?»

Nicci shrugged. «I don't know. It very well could be that by using your gift you only summoned it to the general area, but when you stopped using your ability then the beast was blind to you, so to speak. Maybe it was so angry that it just missed you it went into a frenzy of killing whoever was there. If that's true, then I would suspect that it needs you to again use your gift, now that it's close, to finally be able to catch you.»

«But she said that once I used my gift it would know me. That doesn't sound to me like I need to use it again for it to find me.»

«Maybe it does now know you,» Nicci said. «But maybe it still needs to find you. Since it knows you, now, maybe all the beast needs is for you to again use your gift so that it can pounce.»

That had a frightening kind of logic to it. «I guess it's good that I don't depend on my gift.»

«You'd better make sure you let us protect you,» Cara said. «I don't think you had better do anything that might even inadvertently cause you to use your magic.»

«I'm afraid that I agree with Cara,» Nicci said. «I'm not sure about it having a taste of your blood, but the one thing we do know for sure is what the Sister told me-that if you use your gift it will find you. As long as the beast is hunting you, and until we can learn more about it and nullify the threat, you must not use your gift for any reason.»

Richard conceded with a nod. He didn't know if that was possible. While he didn't know how to call upon his gift, he wasn't sure that he knew how to prevent it coming forth, either. It was awakened by anger and answered a certain kind of need. He wasn't aware of the specific conditions that invoked his ability; it just happened. While their theory of not using his gift made sense, he wasn't sure he could actually control it enough to prevent it if conditions caused it to spring to life.

Another frightening thought occurred to him. It was possible that the beast had found him, and knew precisely where he was, and it had only killed the men out of blood lust. For all he knew, the beast could be out in the woods watching, using the noise of the cicadas to cover its footsteps as it approached their shelter.

In the dim light Nicci watched him. As he pondered the grim possibilities, she reached out again and felt his forehead.

Drawing back, she said, «We'd better get some rest. You're shivering with the cold. I'm afraid that in your condition you may lapse into a fever. Lie down. We'll all have to keep each other warm. But first, you need to be dry or you'll never get warm.»

Cara leaned past Richard, toward Nicci. «How do you think you can get him dry without a fire?»

Nicci gestured. «Both of you, lie back.»

Richard lay back; Cara hesitantly complied. Nicci leaned over them, placing a hand just above their heads. Richard felt the warm tingle of magic, but not an uncomfortable sensation like the last time. He could see the soft glow above Cara as well. It struck him how remarkable it was for Nicci to trust Cara enough to use magic on her. Using magic on a Mord-Sith gave them the opportunity to seize that magic in order to control the gifted person. Richard found it even more remarkable that Cara would trust Nicci enough to allow her to use magic on her. Mord-Sith did not like magic one bit.

Nicci's hands moved slowly downward, just above their bodies. By the time she reached Richard's boots, he realized that he felt dry. He ran a hand over his shirt, then his pants, and found that both were dry.

«How is that?» Nicci asked.

Cara was scowling. «I'd rather be wet.»

Nicci arched an eyebrow. «I can arrange that, if you like.»

Cara put her hands under her arms to warm them and remained silent. Satisfied that Richard was pleased, Nicci did the same for herself, moving both hands down her dress as if slowly pressing away the water.

When she finished, she was shivering and her teeth were chattering, but she and her black dress were dry.

Concerned by the way she wavered that she might pass out, Richard sat up and gently gripped her arm. «Are you all right?»

«I'm just exhausted,» she admitted. «I've not had much sleep for days, on top of the effort of healing you and then the exertion of the traveling we did after the attack today. I'm afraid that it's all caught up with me. This bit of magic took what strength and warmth I had left. I just need to get some sleep, that's all. But even if you don't realize it, Richard, you need it even more. Lie back and sleep, now. Please. If we all lie close we can keep each other warm.»

Dry, but weary and still cold, Richard wriggled into his bedroll. She was right; he did need rest. He couldn't get help for Kahlan if he wasn't rested.

Without hesitation, Cara pressed up close on his left to help get him warm. Nicci pushed in on his other side. The warmth was a relief. He hadn't realized how cold he was until the three of them crowded in tight together. He knew by how he felt that Nicci was right, that he wasn't fully well yet. At least he only needed rest and not magic.

«Do you think this beast could have taken Kahlan in order to get to me? he asked into the dark and quiet shelter.

Nicci was a moment in answering. «Such a creature needs no perverse method to get to you, Richard. From what the Sister said, and from what I fear I may have done, to say nothing of you having used your gift, the beast will be able to find you. From all those dead men back there, I fear it already has.»

Richard felt the weight of guilt crush down upon him. If not for him, those men would be alive.

He had difficulty swallowing past the lump in his throat. He wished there were some way to undo what was done, some way to give them their lives and their futures back.

«Lord Rahl?» Cara whispered. «I would like to make a confession, if you will swear never to repeat it.»

Richard had never heard her say such an odd thing. «All right. What is it that you wish to confess?»

Her answer was a while in coming, and then it was so soft he would not have been able to hear it were she not so close. «I'm afraid.»

Almost against his better judgment, Richard lifted his arm around her shoulders and held her close. «Don't be. It's coming after me, not you.»

She lifted her head and scowled at him. «That is the reason I'm afraid. After seeing what it did to those men, I'm afraid that it's coming for you and there is nothing I can do to protect you.»

«Oh,» Richard said. «Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm afraid of that, too.»

Cara laid her head back down on his shoulder, content to stay under the protective comfort of his arm. The surrounding strum of the cicadas somehow made him feel more vulnerable. The seventeen-year cycle of the insects was inescapable, inexorable, unstoppable.

So was Jagang's beast. How could he hide from such a thing?

«So,» Nicci asked, apparently trying to lighten the somber mood in the shelter, «where did you meet this woman of your dreams?»

Richard didn't know if she was trying to soften the question with a little humor, or if she was being sarcastic. If he didn't know better he would have thought it sounded like jealously.

He stared up in the darkness as he thought back to that day. «I was out in the woods, looking for evidence of who had killed my father-the man I grew up thinking was my father, George Cypher, the man who'd raised me. That was when I spotted Kahlan moving along a trail around Trunt Lake.

«Four men were following her. They were assassins sent by Darken Rahl to kill her. He had already killed all the other Confessors. She is the last.»

«So you rescued her?» Cara asked.

«I helped her. Together we were able to kill the assassins.

«She'd come to Westland looking for a long-lost wizard. It turned out that Zedd was the great wizard she had been sent to find-he still held the position of First Wizard, even though he had given up the Midlands and fled to Westland before I was born. The whole time I grew up I never knew that Zedd was a wizard, or my grandfather. I only knew him as my best friend in the world.»

He could sense Nicci looking at him, and feel her warm, soft breath against the side of his face. «Why did she want this great wizard?»

«Darken Rahl had put the boxes of Orden in play. It was everyone's worst nightmare.» Richard clearly recalled his dread at hearing that news. «He had to be stopped before he opened the correct box. Kahlan had been sent to ask this long-vanished First Wizard to appoint a Seeker. After that first day when I saw her by Trunt Lake, my life was never again the same.»

Into the silence, Cara asked, «So, was it love at first sight?»

They were humoring him, trying to take his thoughts off the men who had been slaughtered by a beast sent by Jagang to kill him, trying to take his mind off the monster now coming for him.

The thought struck him that maybe somewhere back in the woods around where they had camped, somewhere in an undiscovered place where he hadn't looked, lay Kahlan's torn remains.

Such a thought was so painful to contemplate that it felt like it was crushing his heart.

Richard didn't reach up and wipe away the tear that ran down his cheek. But with a gentle touch, Nicci did. Her hand briefly, tenderly, caressed his cheek.

«I think we'd better try to get some sleep,» he said.

Nicci drew back her hand and laid her head against his arm.

In the darkness, Richard couldn't seem to make his burning eyes close. Before long he could hear Cara's even breathing as she surrendered to sleep. Nicci softly pressed her cheek against his shoulder as she snuggled up close in their shared warmth.

«Nicci?» he whispered.

«Yes?»

«What kind of torture does Jagang use on captives?»

He could feel Nicci take a deep breath and let it out slowly. «Richard, I'm not going to answer that question. I'm sure you have to know that Jagang is a man who needs killing.»

Richard had had to ask the question. He was relieved that Nicci was kind enough not to answer it.

«When Zedd first gave me the sword, I told him that I would not be an assassin. I have since come to understand the principled value of preserving life through the task of killing evil men. I wish that driving the Imperial Order out of the New World was as simple as killing Jagang.»

«I can't tell you how many times I wished I had killed him when I had the chance, even though you are right about it not ending the war. I wish I could stop thinking about all the opportunities I missed. I wish I could stop thinking about all the things I should have done.»

Richard reached around her and held her trembling shoulders.

He felt her muscles slowly relax. Her breathing finally slowed as she slipped into sleep.

If he was to find Kahlan, Richard had to get the rest he needed. He closed his eyes as another tear leaked out. He missed her so much.

His thoughts lingered on that first day he saw Kahlan in the white, satiny smooth dress that he only much later found out distinguished her as the Mother Confessor. He remembered the way it hugged her shape, the way it made her look so noble. He remembered the way her long hair cascaded down around her shoulders, framing her in the dappled forest light. He remembered looking into her beautiful green eyes and seeing the gleam of intelligence looking back at him. He remembered feeling, from that first instant, from that first shared gaze, as if he had always known her.

He told her that there were four men following her. She asked, «Do you choose to help me?»

Before his mind could form a thought, he heard himself say, «Yes.»

He had never for an instant been sorry that he said yes.

She needed help now.

His last thoughts as he drifted into tormented sleep were of Kahlan.