“Yes,” Red drawled again. “The call of death from that vile creature, Jit.”
Kahlan cast a suspicious look at the woman. “You know of Jit, and the poison in us?”
Red rolled her eyes. “I am a witch woman. Of course I know of important matters that involve central figures such as you and Lord Rahl. It is all part of the larger issue. It’s part of why you must perform the task I have for you.”
“You mean killing someone for you.”
“That’s right.” She took a deep breath of her own as she considered how to begin. “Well, since you are rapidly running out of time, I will try to make this as short as I can.”
“I would appreciate that,” Kahlan said, not really wanting to hear it. She thought about the field of skulls and realized that at least listening to what Red had to say was probably wise. They needed to be on their way. Fighting their way through was not a risk they needed. Listening would take less time.
“You see, Mother Confessor, I have seen the demon. He is here, in the world of life.”
“The demon?”
“The one called Sulachan. He has long been dead. He belongs in the world of the dead and—”
“You expect me to kill Sulachan?” Kahlan was incredulous.
“No, not exactly. Not directly, anyway. What I expect is for you to make it possible for him to be sent back to the underworld, where he belongs.”
Kahlan certainly wanted Sulachan and his scheme stopped. Since Red seemed to have the same objective, Kahlan suddenly became more interested. “Make it possible.… How am I supposed to do that?”
“I am trying to explain the larger picture, if you would allow me. You said you were in a hurry.”
Kahlan nodded. “Sorry. Go on.”
“Sulachan is an ancient evil that blighted the world. He died long ago and belongs in the world of the dead. By all that is right, he should not be a problem for us today, but he is.
“In life, he was a sickly man. He was also a man of vision. Evil vision, deranged vision, but vision nonetheless. Knowing he was slowly dying, he began making preparations long before he ever passed over into the world of the dead. Despite being sickly, he was a powerful wizard, possessing both the gift and occult powers.”
“I don’t understand this business with occult powers,” Kahlan said. “I’ve never encountered them before. Why do they suddenly seem to be springing up all over?”
Red swept an arm around. “Everything requires balance. That balance runs the gamut from the minuscule to the most central elements. Conflict seeks balance, balance is often achieved by conflict. Heat and cold; darkness and light; bad balanced by good; hate by love—that sort of thing. Smaller parts, such as the good spirits versus demons, are part of a larger balance of life versus death. All elements are built from smaller, balanced elements.
“The gift itself is balanced between Additive Magic and Subtractive Magic. Yet on a larger scale, the totality of that internal balance within the gift—the gift itself—is balanced by occult powers.
“Back in the great war, those like Sulachan were defeating the gifted. That threatened to throw the worlds of life and death out of balance. The gifted prevailed, though, sealing those with occult powers behind the barrier. The gift thus gained dominance. But because everything always seeks balance, they knew the seals on the barrier could not last forever, and indeed they haven’t. Occult powers have been leaking out for some time, and now they are once again fully free and among us.”
“I see,” Kahlan said, considering the repercussions. “So, you were saying about Sulachan dying?”
“With his own abilities and the help of many others whom he commanded, he manipulated powers in the underworld before he died—occult powers—to prepare his place there.
“His spirit has been working for the three thousand years since his death to reconnect with the forces he had put into place here in this world when he had been alive.”
“Forces—you mean like the half people?”
“Yes. He knew that they could not be contained forever. He knew that one day they would be freed from their exile, and then be able to work to call his spirit back from the world of the dead into his body in the world of life.
“He also used the spirits of the dead he reanimated, drawing their spirits out of their eternal rest in the underworld to do his bidding. Once he pulled them away from their link to the gift that had taken them beyond the veil, they lost that connection and no longer knew where they belonged. He used them as his ethereal messengers between worlds.
“Lastly, Sulachan managed to enlist the essential help of the man who used to live a couple of days in that direction,” she said, flicking a hand in the direction of Saavedra off through the pass.