“Gratch? Is that you, Gratch?”
The gar vigorously nodded his huge, grotesque head. “Grrratch!” He called out in a deep growl that resonated in her breastbone. He thumped his chest with both claws. “Grrratch!”
“Gratch, did Richard send you?”
The gar’s wings flapped more energetically at the mention of Richard’s name.
She came closer. “Did Richard send you?”
“Grrratch luuug Raaaach aaarg.”
Kahlan blinked. Richard had told her that Gratch tried to talk. She suddenly giggled. “Kahlan loves Richard, too.” She tapped her chest. “I’m Kahlan, Gratch. I’m so happy to meet you.”
She gasped as the gar lunged forward and scooped her up in his furry arms, lifting her feet clear of the ground. Her first thought was that he was surely going to crush her, but he was surprisingly gentle as he held her to his smooth chest. Kahlan reached around the great body and hugged the gar’s sides. She couldn’t get her arms even halfway around him.
Kahlan could never have imagined doing such a thing, but now she was brought nearly to tears, because Gratch was Richard’s friend, and Richard had sent the gar to her. It was almost as if it were a hug sent from Richard himself.
The gar carefully set her on the ground. He studied her with his glowing green eyes. She stroked a hand along the fur at the side of his chest as the hulking creature reached down and tenderly stroked her hair with a huge, deadly claw.
Kahlan grinned up at the wrinkled face full of fangs. Gratch let out a purling gurgle. His wings moved in slow, contented sweeps as she stroke his fur, and he stroked her hair.
“You’re safe here with us, Gratch. Richard told me all about you. I don’t know how much you can understand, but you’re among friends.”
When his lips drew back, again exposing the full length of his fangs, she suddenly realized it was a smile. It was the ugliest smile she had ever seen, but it had an innocent quality to it that made her grin, too. She had never in her life thought that gars could smile. It truly was a marvel.
“Gratch, did Richard send you?”
“Raaaach aaarg.” Gratch thumped his chest. He flapped his wings hard enough that it briefly lifted his feet from the ground. Then he reached out and tapped Kahlan’s shoulder.
Kahlan’s mouth fell opened. The gar was telling her something, and she understood. “Richard sent you to find me?”
Gratch went wild with glee that she understood. He scooped her up in his arms again. She laughed at the whole marvelous nature of it all.
When he set her down again, she asked, “Was it hard to find me?”
He let out a whine and shrugged.
“It was a little bit hard?”
Gratch nodded. Kahlan knew a wide variety of languages, but she couldn’t help laughing again at the very idea of communicating with a gar. She shook her head in wonder. Who but Richard would think to befriend a gar?
Kahlan took a claw up in her hand. “Come on in the house. There is someone I want you to meet.”
Gratch gurgled his assent.
Kahlan paused in the doorway. Zedd and Adie looked up from their chairs beside the fire.
“I’d like to introduce a friend,” she said as she pulled Gratch in behind her by a claw. He ducked under the doorframe, folding his wings to fit through, and then once inside, straightened to nearly his full height behind her, still stooping a bit to fit under the ceiling.
Zedd toppled backward in his chair, his skinny arms and legs flailing at the air.
“Zedd, stop it. You’re going to frighten him,” she scolded.
“Frighten him!” Zedd croaked. “You told me that Richard said it was a baby gar! That thing is nearly full-grown!”
Gratch’s massive eyebrows drew together in a frown as he watched the wizard scramble to his feet and tug at his tangled robes.
Kahlan held a hand out. “Gratch, this is Richard’s grandfather, Zedd.”
The leathery lips drew back, showing the fangs again. Gratch held his claws out and started across the room. Zedd flinched and stumbled back.
“Why’s he doing that? Has he had dinner?”
Kahlan laughed so hard she could hardly get the words out. “He’s smiling. He likes you. He wants a hug.”
“A hug! Most certainly not!”
It was too late. With only three strides, the gar had closed the distance in the small room and was already scooping up the bony wizard in his huge, furry arms. Zedd let out a muffled cry. Gratch gurgled a giggle as he lifted Zedd from his feet.
“Bags!” Zedd tried unsuccessfully to back away from the gar’s breath. “This flying rug has eaten! And you don’t want to know what!”
Gratch finally set Zedd down. The wizard scrambled back a few steps and shook his finger at the beast. “Now, look here, we’ll have no more of that! You just keep your arms to yourself.”
Gratch wilted, again letting out a purling whine.
“Zedd!” Kahlan admonished. “You’ve hurt his feelings. He’s Richard’s friend, and ours, too, and he’s had a difficult time finding us. The least you can do is be nice to him.”
Zedd harrumphed. “Well… perhaps you’re right.” He peered up at the hopeful beast. “I’m sorry, Gratch. On occasion, I suppose it would be all right for you to hug me.”
Before the wizard could lift his arms to try to hold the gar back, Gratch had again scooped him up and was hugging him like a rag doll, Zedd’s feet swinging to and frow. Gratch at last set the gasping wizard to the floor.
Adie held out a hand, to shake. “I be Adie, Gratch. I be pleased to meet you.”
Gratch ignored the hand and threw his furry arms around her, too. Kahlan had often seen Adie smile, but she rarely let out her raspy laugh. She was laughing now. Gratch laughed with her, in his own, rumbling way.
When order was restored to the room, and everyone had caught their breath, Kahlan saw Jebra’s wide eyes peeking out from a slit in the bedroom door. “It’s all right, Jebra. It’s Gratch, a friend of ours.” Kahlan clamped a restraining grip to the fur of Gratch’s arm. “You can hug her later.”
Gratch shrugged with a nod. Kahlan turned him toward her and took up one of his claws in both of her hands. She looked up into his glowing green eyes.
“Gratch, did Richard send you on ahead to tell us he will be here soon?” Gratch shook his head. Kahlan swallowed. “But he’s on is way? He’s left Aydindril, and he’s on his way to catch up with us?”
Gratch studied her face. His claw came up and stroked her hair. Kahlan saw that he had a lock of her hair on a leather thong at his throat, along with the dragon’s tooth. He slowly shook his head again.
Kahlan’s heart sank like a rock in a well. “He’s not on his way? But he sent you to me?”
Gratch nodded, adding a small flap of his wings.
“Why? Do you know why?”
Gratch nodded. He reached over his shoulder and caught hold of something hanging on his back by another thong. He pulled a long red object over his shoulder and held it out to her at the end of the thong.
“What is it?” Zedd asked.
Kahlan started working the knot free. “It’s a document case. Maybe it’s a letter from Richard.”
Gratch nodded at the guess. When she had freed the knot, she asked Gratch to sit down. He squatted contentedly to the side as Kahlan drew the rolled and flattened letter from the pouch.
Zedd sat beside Adie next to the fire. “Let’s hear the boy’s excuses, and they had better be good ones, or he is in a lot of trouble.”
“I agree with you about that,” she said under her breath. “There’s enough wax on this thing for two dozen letters. We need to teach Richard how to seal a document.” She turned it in the light. “It’s the sword. He’s pressed the hilt of the Sword of Truth into the wax.”
“So we will know it’s truly from him,” Zedd observed as he fed a piece of wood into the fire.
When she had finished breaking all the wax, Kahlan unfurled the letter and
turned her back to the fire so she could read it.
“‘My Dearest Queen,’” she read aloud, “‘I pray to the good spirits that this letter reaches your hands…’”
Zedd shot to his feet. “That’s a message.”
Kahlan frowned at him. “Well of course it is. It’s his letter.”
He waved his thin hand. “No, no. I mean he’s telling us something. I know Richard—I know the way he thinks. He’s telling us he fears that if someone were to get their hands on this letter, it might betray us… or him, so he’s warning us that he can’t say everything he might like to.”
Kahlan pulled her lower lip through her teeth. “Yes, that would make sense. Richard usually thinks things through.”
Zedd gestured as he turned to make sure his bony bottom would hit the chair as he sat. “Go on.”
“‘My Dearest Queen, I pray to the good spirits that this letter reaches your hands, and it finds you and your friends well and safe. Much has happened, and I must beg your understanding.
“‘The alliance of the Midlands is ended. Overhead, Magda Searus, the first Mother Confessor, and her wizard, Merritt, glare down upon me, because they have witnessed its end, and because it is I who has ended it.
“‘Realize that I know full well the weight of thousands of years of history staring down upon me from overheard, but please try to understand that if I had not acted, then our only future would be as slaves to the Imperial Order, and then that history would be forgotten.’”
Kahlan put a hand to her chest over her thumping heart, and paused to gulp air before she went on.
“‘Months ago, the Imperial Order began the undoing of the alliance, winning converts to their side, and unraveling the unity that was the Midlands. As we fought the Keeper, they fought to steal the security of our home. Perhaps there would have been a chance to bring unity once more, had we the luxury of time, but the Order presses their plans, and denies us that luxury. With the Mother Confessor dead, I was forced to do what must be done to forge unity.’”
“What? What has he done?” Zedd croaked.
Kahlan shot him a silencing glare over the top of the trembling letter, and then went on.
“‘Delay is weakness, and weakness is death at the hands of the Order. Our beloved Mother Confessor knew the cost of failure, and has charged us with carrying this war to victory; she has declared this a war without mercy on the Imperial Order. Her wisdom in this was infallible. The alliance, however, was fragmented with self-interest. This was a prelude to ruin. I was forced to act.
“‘My troops have captured Aydindril.’”
Zedd exploded. “Bags and double bags! What’s he talking about! He has no troops! He just has his sword and this flying rug with fangs!”
Gratch rose with a growl. Zedd flinched.
Kahlan blinked away the tears. “Be quiet, both of you.”
Zedd glanced from her to the gar. “Sorry, Gratch, no offense intended.”
They both sank back down as she went on.
“‘Today I gathered the representatives of the lands here in Aydindril and informed them that the alliance of the Midlands is dissolved. My troops have surrounded their palaces and will shortly have disarmed their soldiers. I told them, as I will tell you, that there are only two sides in this war: our side, and the Imperial Order. There will be no bystanders. We will have unity, one way, or another. All lands of the Midlands must surrender to D’Hara.’”
“D’Hara! Bags!”
Kahlan didn’t look up as tears dripped from her face. “If I have to tell you again to be quiet, you will wait outside while I read this letter.”
Adie took a fistful of Zedd’s robes and pulled him down into his chair. “Read on.”
Kahlan cleared her throat. “‘I explained to the representatives that you, the queen of Galea, were to marry me, and through your surrender and our union, it shows that this is a union forged in peace, with common goals and mutual respect, and not a matter of conquest. Lands will be allowed to retain their heritage and lawful traditions, but not their sovereignty. Magic in all forms will be protected. We will be one people, with one army, under one command, and under one law. All lands that join us through their surrender will have a say in formulating those laws.’”
Kahlan’s voice broke. “‘I must ask you to return at once to Aydindril and surrender Galea. I must deal with matters of various lands, and your knowledge and assistance would be invaluable.
“‘I informed the representatives that surrender is mandatory. There will be no favoritism. Any who fail to surrender will be put under siege. They will not be allowed to trade with us until they surrender. If they do not surrender willingly, with all the benefits that that entails, and we are compelled to gain their surrender by force of arms, then they will not only forfeit those benefits, but incur sanctions as well. As I said, there will be no bystanders. We will be one.
“‘My queen, I would give my life for you, and want nothing more than to be your husband, but if my actions turn your heart against me, I would not force your hand in marriage. Understand, though, that the surrender of your land is necessary and vital. We must live by one law. I cannot afford to show special favors to any land, or we are lost before we begin.’”
Kahlan had to pause to gasp back a sob. She could hardly read the watery words wavering before her eyes.
“‘Mriswith have attacked the city.’” A low whistle came from between Zedd’s teeth. She ignored it and read on. “‘With Gratch’s help, I have put their remains on pikes to decorate the front lawn of the Confessors’ Palace so all may see the fate of our enemies. Mriswith can be invisible at will. Besides myself, only Gratch can detect them when they are shrouded by their cloaks. I fear they will come for you, so I have sent Gratch for protection.
“‘We must remember one thing above all others: the Order wishes to destroy magic. They are not shy about using it, though. It is our magic they wish to destroy.
“‘Please tell my grandfather that he, too, must return at once. His ancestral home is in danger. This is why I had to take Aydindril, and cannot leave; I fear to let the enemy have my grandfather’s ancestral home, and the dire consequences that would ensue.’”
Zedd couldn’t keep silent. “Bags,” he whispered to himself as he came to his feet again. “Richard’s talking about the Wizard’s Keep. He didn’t want to write it, but that’s what he’s referring to. How could I be so stupid? The boy is right; we can’t let them have the Keep. There are things of powerful magic in there that the Order would dearly pay to put their hands on. Richard doesn’t know about the magic in there, but he’s smart enough to understand the danger. I’ve been a blind fool.”
With a cold fright Kahlan realized the truth of it, too. If the Order were to take the Keep, they would have access to enormously powerful magic.
“Zedd, Richard is there all alone. He knows almost nothing about magic. He doesn’t know anything about the kind of people in Aydindril who can use magic. He’s a fawn in a bear’s den. Dear spirits, he has no idea of the danger he’s in.”
Zedd nodded grimly. “The boy’s in over his head.”
Adie let out a mocking laugh. “In over his head? He has stolen Aydindril and access to the Keep right from under the nose of the Order. They have sent mriswith against him, and he puts them on pikes outside the palace. He probably has the lands on the verge of surrender into a union that can fight the Order, the very thing we were trying to think how to accomplish. He be using the very thing that be our problem—trade, and uses even that as a weapon to force their hand. He not be waiting to try to reason with them. He has simply put a knife to their throats. If they start falling to him, he could very well soon have the whole of the Midlands in his fist. The important lands, anyway.”
“And with them all joined with D’Hara, as one force, one command,” Zedd said, “it could be a force that could stand against the Order.” He turned to Kahlan. “Is there any more?”
She nodded. “A bit. ‘Though I
fear greatly for my heart, I fear, too, the results should I fail to act, for the shadow of tyranny that will forever darken the world. If we don’t do this, then Ebinissia’s fate will have been only the beginning.
“‘I will put my faith in your love, though I can’t help fearing this test of it.
“‘Though I am surrounded by bodyguards, and one has already laid down her life for me, their presence is not what I need to feel secure. You all must return to Aydindril at once. Do not delay. Gratch will keep you safe from the mriswith until you are with me. Signed, yours in this world, and those beyond, Richard Rahl, Master of D’Hara.’”
Zedd whistled through his teeth again. “Master of D’Hara. What has that boy done?”
Kahlan lowered the letter in her trembling hands. “He has destroyed me, that is what he has done.”
Adie lifted a thin finger in her direction. “Now, you listen to me, Mother Confessor. Richard knows very well what he be doing to you, and has laid his heart open to you for it. He told you that he writes that letter under the image of Magda Searus because he be pained by what he must do, and understands what it means to you. He would rather lose your heart than let you be killed by what will come if he bows to the past instead of minds the future. He has done what we could not do. We would be begging for unity, he has demanded it, and put teeth to the demand. If you wish to truly be the Mother Confessor, and put the safety of your people above all else, then you will help Richard.”
Zedd lifted an eyebrow, but remained silent.
At the name, Gratch spoke up. “Grrratch luuug Raaaach aaarg.”
Kahlan wiped a tear from her cheek and sniffled. “I love Richard, too.”
“Kahlan,” Zedd said, reassuringly, “just as the spell will be removed from you in time, I’m sure that you will once again be the Mother Confessor.”
“You don’t understand,” she said, holding back the tears. “For thousands of years a Mother Confessor has always protected the Midlands through the alliance. I will be the Mother Confessor who failed the Midlands.”
Blood of the Fold Page 46
