“Thank you, ma’am. I’m glad your head is faster than your friend’s hand. This place may not seem much to you, but it’s mine and you just kept it in one piece for me.”
“You are welcome,” Kahlan said. “Do you have a room for us?”
The proprietor put the toothpick back in the corner of his mouth. “There’s one, upstairs, at the end of the hall, on the right, that has a bolt on the door.”
“We have two friends outside,” Richard said. “I could use some help getting them up there.”
The man gave a nod of his head back at the roomful of men. “It wouldn’t do if that lot saw you were burdened with injured companions. You two go up to the room, just like they expect. My son’s in the kitchen. We’ll bring your friends up the back stairs, so no one will see.” Richard didn’t like the idea. “Have a little faith, my friend,” the other said in a low voice, “or you may be bringing harm to your friends. By the way, my name’s Bill.”
Richard looked at Kahlan; her face was unreadable. He looked back to the proprietor. The man was tough, hardened, but didn’t appear to be devious. Still, it was his friends’ lives at stake. He tried to keep his voice from sounding as threatening as he felt.
“All right, Bill, we will do as you ask.”
Bill gave a small smile and a nod as he rolled the toothpick across his mouth.
Richard and Kahlan went up to the room and waited. The ceiling was lower than was comfortable. The wall next to the single bed was covered with years of spit. In the opposite corner were a three-legged table and a short bench. A single oil lamp sat glowing weakly on the table. The windowless room was otherwise bare, and had a naked feel to it. It smelled rank. Richard paced while Kahlan sat on the bed, watching him, looking slightly uncomfortable. Finally, he strode over to her.
“I can’t believe what you did down there.”
She stood up and looked him in the eyes. “The result is what matters, Richard. If I had let you do what you were about to do, your life would have been at great risk. For nothing of value.”
“But those men think…”
“And you care what those men think?”
“No… but…” He could feel his face redden.
“I am sworn to protect the life of the Seeker with my own. I would do anything required to protect you.” She gave him a meaningful look, lifting an eyebrow. “Anything.”
Frustrated, he tried to think how to put into words how angry he was without making it sound as if he was angry with her. He had been at the brink of lethal commitment. A brink only one wrong word away. Pulling back was agonizingly difficult. He could still feel his blood pounding with the lust for violence. It was difficult to understand the way the anger twisted his own rationality with hot need, much less explain it to her. Looking into her green eyes was making him relax, though, cooling his anger.
“Richard, you have to keep your mind where it belongs.”
“What do you mean?”
“Darken Rahl. That is where your mind belongs. Those men downstairs are of no concern to us. We must only get past them, that’s all. Nothing else. Don’t expend your thoughts on them. It’s a waste. Put your energy to our job.”
He let out a breath, and nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You did a brave thing tonight. As much as I didn’t like it.”
She put her arms around him, her head against his chest, and gave him a slow hug. There was a soft knock at the door. After assuring himself it was Bill, he opened the door. The proprietor and his son carried Chase in and laid him carefully on the floor. When the son, a lanky young man, saw Kahlan, he fell instantly and hopelessly in love. Richard understood the feeling; nonetheless, he didn’t appreciate it.
Bill pointed with his thumb. “This is my son, Randy.” Randy was in a trance, staring at Kahlan. Bill turned to Richard, wiping the rain off the top of his head with the rag he kept over his shoulder. He still had the toothpick in his mouth.
“You didn’t tell me your friend was Dell Brandstone.”
Richard’s caution flared. “That a problem?”
Bill smiled. “Not with me. The warden and me have had our disagreements, but he’s a fair man. He gives me no trouble. He stays here sometimes when he’s in the area on official business. But the men downstairs would tear him apart if they knew he was up here.”
“They might try,” Richard corrected.
A slight smile curled the corners of Bill’s mouth. “We’ll get the other one.”
When they left, Richard gave Kahlan two silver coins. “When they come back, give the boy one of these to take the horses to the stables for us and tend to them. Tell him that if he will spend the night watching them and have them ready for us at sunrise, you will add the other.”
“What makes you think he will do it?”
Richard gave a short laugh. “Don’t worry, he’ll do it, if you ask. Just smile.”
Bill came back carrying Zedd in his husky arms. Randy followed, carrying most of their packs. Bill gently laid the old man on the floor next to Chase. He gave Richard a look from under his curly eyebrows, then turned to his son.
“Randy, go get this young lady a basin, and a pitcher of water. And a towel. A clean towel. She might like to clean up.”
Randy backed out of the room, smiling and tripping over his feet as he went. Bill watched him go, then turned to Richard with an intense look. He took the toothpick out of his mouth.
“These two are in bad shape. I won’t ask you what happened to them because a smart fellow wouldn’t tell me, and I think you’re a smart fellow. We don’t have a healer around here, but there’s someone who may be able to help, a woman named Adie. They call her the bone woman. Most people are afraid of her. That bunch downstairs won’t go near her place.”
Richard remembered Chase saying Adie was his friend. He frowned. “Why?”
Bill glanced to Kahlan, and back to Richard, narrowing his eyes. “Because they’re superstitious. They think she’s bad luck of some sort, and because she lives near the boundary. They say that people she doesn’t like have a bad habit of dropping dead. Mind you, I’m not saying it’s true. I don’t believe it myself. I think it’s all made up in their own heads. She’s not a healer, but I know of folks she’s helped. She may be able to help your friends. At least you better hope she can, because they’re not going to last much longer without help.”
Richard combed his fingers through his hair. “How do we find this bone woman?”
“Turn left down the trail in front of the stables. It’s about a four-hour ride.”
“And why are you helping us,” Richard asked.
Bill smiled and folded his muscled arms across his chest. “Let’s just say I’m helping the warden. He keeps some of my other customers at bay, and the wardens bring me an income from the government with their business, here and from my dry goods store next door. If he makes it, you just be sure to tell him it was me that helped save his life.” He chuckled. “That’ll vex him good.”
Richard smiled. He understood Bill’s meaning. Chase hated to have anyone help him. Bill did indeed know Chase. “I will be sure to let him know you saved his life.” The other looked pleased. “Now, since this bone woman lives by herself, way out by the boundary, and I’m to ask for her help, I think it would be a good idea if I took her some things. Can you get together a load of supplies for her?”
“Sure. I’m an approved supplier; I get reimbursed from Hartland. Of course, that thieving council takes most of it back in taxes. I can put it in my tally book for the government to pay, if this is official business.”
“It is.”
Randy came back with the basin, water, and towels. Kahlan put a silver coin in his hand and asked him about caring for the horses. He looked to his father for approval. Bill nodded.
“Just tell me which horse is yours, and I’ll take extra good care of it,” Randy said with a big grin.
Kahlan smiled back. “They are all mine. Take care with each, my life depends on it.”
Randy got a serious look on his face. “You can count on me.” Unable to decide what to do with his hands, he finally jammed them in his pockets. “I won’t let anyone near them.” He backed toward the door again, and when all but his head was through it, added, “I just want you to know I don’t believe a word of what those men downstairs are saying about you. And I told them so.”
Kahlan smiled in spite of herself. “Thank you, but I do not want you to endanger yourself on my account. Please stay away from those men. And do not mention that you talked to me, it will only embolden them.”
Randy grinned and nodded and left. Bill rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned to Kahlan with a smile.
“You wouldn’t consider staying here and marrying the boy, would you? It would do him good to have a mate.”
An odd look of pain and panic flashed across Kahlan’s eyes. She sat on the bed, looking down at the floor.
“Just kidding, girl,” Bill said apologetically. He turned back to Richard. “I’ll bring you each a plate of supper. Boiled potatoes and meat.”
“Meat?” Richard asked suspiciously.
Bill chuckled. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare serve those men bad meat. I could lose my head.”
In a few minutes he returned and set two steaming dishes of food on the table.
“Thank you for your help,” Richard said.
Bill raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, it will all be in my tally book. I’ll bring it to you in the morning to sign. There anyone in Hartland who will recognize your signature?”
Richard smiled. “I think so. My name is Richard Cypher. My brother is First Councilor.”
Bill flinched, suddenly shaken. “I’m sorry. Not that your brother is First Councilor. I mean that I’m sorry I didn’t know. I mean that if I had known, I’d have given you better accommodations. You can stay at my house. It’s not much but it’s better than this. I’ll take your things over right now….”
“Bill, it’s all right.” Richard went to the man and put a hand on his back, reassuring him. The proprietor looked suddenly less fierce. “My brother is First Councilor; I am not. The room is fine. Everything is fine.”
“You’re sure? Everything? You’re not going to send the army here, are you?”
“You’ve been a big help to us, honest. I have nothing to do with the army.”
Bill didn’t look convinced. “You’re with the head of the boundary wardens.”
Richard smiled warmly. “He’s a friend of mine. For many years. The old man, too. They’re my friends, that’s all.”
Bill’s eyes brightened. “Well, if that’s true, then how about if I add a couple extra rooms to the tally book? Seeing as how they won’t know you all stayed together.”
Richard kept smiling, and patted the man’s back. “That would be wrong. I won’t put my name to it.”
Breathing out with a sigh, Bill broke into a big grin. “So, you are Chase’s friend.” He nodded to himself. “Now I believe you. I haven’t been able to get that man to fatten my tally book in all the time I’ve known him.”
Richard put some silver in the man’s hand. “But this wouldn’t be wrong. I appreciate what you’re doing for us. I would also appreciate it if you would water the ale tonight. Drunken men die too easy.” Bill gave a knowing smile. Then Richard added, “You have dangerous customers.”
The man studied Richard’s eyes, glanced to Kahlan, then back again. “Tonight I do,” he agreed.
Richard gave him a hard look. “If anyone comes through that door tonight, I will kill them, no questions asked.”
Bill looked at him for a long moment. “I’ll see what I can do to keep that from happening. Even if I have to knock some heads together.” He went to the door. “Eat your supper before it gets cold. And take care of your lady, she has a good head on her shoulders.” He turned to Kahlan and winked. “And a pretty one, too.”
“One more thing, Bill. The boundary is failing. It will be down in a few weeks. Take care with yourself.”
The man’s chest rose as he took a deep breath. He held the doorknob as he looked into Richard’s eyes for a long moment. “I think the council named the wrong brother First Councilor. But then, they didn’t get to be councilors because they worry about doing right. I’ll come get you in the morning when the sun is up and it’s safe.”
When he left, Richard and Kahlan sat close on the small bench and ate their meal. Their room was at the back of the building, and the men downstairs were at the front, so it was quieter than Richard thought it would be. All they could hear from the crowd was a muffled hum. The food was better than Richard expected, or maybe it was just that he was famished. The bed looked wonderful to him, too, as he was dead tired. Kahlan noticed.
“You only had an hour or two of sleep last night. I will stand first watch. If the men downstairs decide to come up here, it will not be until later that they work up the courage. If they come, it would be better if you were rested.”
“Easier to kill people when you’re well rested?” He was immediately sorry it came out the way it did; he hadn’t meant it to sound harsh. He realized he was gripping his fork as if it were a sword.
“I’m sorry, Richard. I didn’t mean it that way. I only meant I don’t want you to get hurt. If you are too tired you will not be able to protect yourself as well. I’m afraid for you.”
She pushed a potato around the plate with her fork. Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. “I’m so sorry you had to be pulled into this mess. I don’t want you to have to kill people. I didn’t want you to have to kill those men downstairs. That’s the other reason I did what I did, so you would not have to kill them.”
He looked over at her as she stared down at her plate. It hurt his heart to see the look of pain on her face. He gave her a playful shove with his shoulder.
“I wouldn’t have missed this journey for anything. Gives me time to be with my friend.” She looked at him out of the corner of her eye as he smiled.
She smiled back and put her head against the side of his shoulder for a second before eating the potato. Her smile warmed him.
“Why did you want me to ask the boy to take care of the horses?”
“Results. That’s what you said was most important. The poor kid is hopelessly in love with you. Since you were the one who asked, he will guard the horses better than we could ourselves.” She looked at him as if she didn’t believe him. “You have that effect on men,” he assured her.
Her smile faded a little, taking on a haunted look. Richard knew he was getting too close to her secrets, so he said nothing else. When they finished eating, she walked to the basin, dipped the end of a towel in the water, and went to Zedd. She wiped his face tenderly, then looked over to Richard.
“He is the same, no worse. Please, Richard, let me have first watch, get some sleep?”
He nodded, rolled himself into the bed, and was asleep in seconds. Sometime in the early morning she woke him for his watch. As she went to sleep he washed his face with the cold water, trying to wake up, then sat on the bench, leaning against the wall, waiting for any sign of trouble. He sucked on a piece of dried fruit, trying to get the bad taste out of his mouth.
An hour before sunrise, there was an urgent knock at the door.
“Richard?” a muffled voice called. “It’s Bill. Unbolt the door. There’s trouble.”
16
Kahlan sprang out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as Richard unbolted the door. She pulled her knife. Bill, breathing hard, squeezed in and pushed the door shut with his back. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
“What is it? What’s happened?” Richard asked.
“Everything was pretty quiet,” Bill swallowed, catching his breath. “Then a little while ago these two fellows showed up. Right out of nowhere. Big men, thick necks, blond hair. Good-looking. Armed to the teeth. The kind of men you try not to look in the eye.” He took a few deep breaths.
Richard stole a quick glance at Kahlan�
�s eyes. There was no doubt in them as to who the men were. Apparently the wizard trouble the quad had run into wasn’t trouble enough.
“Two?” Richard asked. “You’re sure there weren’t more?”
“Only saw two come in, but that was enough.” Bill’s wide eyes looked out from under his curly eyebrows. “One was tore up pretty good, arm in a sling, big claw cuts down his other arm. Didn’t seem to bother him any, though. Anyway, they started asking about a woman that sounded a lot like your lady here. Except she isn’t wearing a white dress like they described. They started for the stairs, and a quarrel broke out about who was going to do what with her. Your red-haired friend jumped the one with the sling and slit his throat from ear to ear. The other fellow cut down a bunch of my customers in a heartbeat. I’ve never seen anything like it. Then all of a sudden he just wasn’t there anymore. Vanished into nothing. There’s blood everywhere.
“The rest of the lot are down there right now arguing about who’s going to be first to…” He glanced at Kahlan, leaving the rest unsaid. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm. “Randy’s bringing the horses to the back; you have to get out now. Head for Adie’s. The sun’s an hour away, the hounds two, so you’ll be all right. But not if you delay.”
Richard grabbed Chase’s legs. Bill his shoulders. He told Kahlan to bolt the door and get their things together. With Chase in their arms they trudged down the back stairs and out into the darkness and rain. Lamplight coming from the windows reflected in the puddles, giving the wet, black forms of the horses yellow highlights. Randy was waiting, looking worried as he held the horses. They dropped Chase in a litter and ran as quietly as possible up the stairs. Bill scooped Zedd into his arms, while Richard and Kahlan threw on their cloaks and grabbed the packs. The three of them, Bill, Richard, then Kahlan, raced down the stairs and for the door.
Wizard's First Rule Page 24
