Severed Souls(142)

“You’re not weak,” he whispered. “You are the one I love, and you are anything but weak. You are the strongest person I know.”

“You think too much of me, Richard. I’m weaker than you think.”

He had to ask. “What did the oracle say to you?”

Kahlan laid a finger across his lips. “Hush. We need to get some rest. The poison is giving me a terrible headache.”

“My head is killing me, too,” he admitted.

“Tomorrow we will get that fixed. Rest now. Tomorrow Nicci will heal us. Tonight I am weak, so please, my love, just hold me and let me be weak for tonight.

“But tomorrow, after I am healed, I need to be strong.”





CHAPTER

71

As Richard and the main force made their way through the gloomy city of Saavedra, a contingent of soldiers fanned out through the streets and alleyways to make sure that there were no threats lurking around a corner somewhere. Richard didn’t really think that Hannis Arc cared about the small, remote city of Saavedra any longer, and couldn’t see him bothering to have the place locked down. What would be the point? The man had bigger ambitions. He wanted to rule the world, not Fajin Province.

Jake Fister, in the lead, looked grim and formidable as he strode up the main cobblestone road, presenting the strong, intimidating face of the First File. He understood that strength did not invite trouble, but rather was a deterrent.

The chain mail that some of the men wore sparkled in the drizzle. Soldiers flanked Richard and the women, ready to protect them if need be. Although the soldiers kept their weapons sheathed, Richard knew just how fast they could have them out if needed. Those weapons were not meant for show. They were serious tools of their profession and the men were experts with each of them.

Some people stood to the sides and stared, while many others seemed to be rushing everywhere, both along the main cobblestone road through the city and splashing through the mud of the streets and lanes to the sides. The tightly spaced buildings created a warren of passageways, alleys, lanes, and narrow streets. The closeness of everything and everyone made Richard uneasy after being out in the sprawl of the endless, trackless Dark Lands. It felt like the whole city was pulled inward, hiding from that wilderness out beyond.

Richard and those with him slowed from time to time to let frightened women in drab dresses get out of the way. The people off to the sides tried not to be obvious as they watched the strangers in their midst, but everyone, from Richard to the soldiers, all noticed every eye following them as they moved up the street.

Vendors lined up along the sides of the street had laid tarps over their wares, trying to protect them from the weather. Shoppers lifted the tarps, selecting vegetables or meat, trying to look like they didn’t notice the troops passing by. People back in shadows watched the passing visitors from doorways and windows of the dingy, tightly packed, small buildings.

Kahlan walked at Richard’s left, looking like herself again. She had been so exhausted the night before that she had fallen asleep in his arms. Richard had lain awake half the night, unable to close his eyes. She had never before voiced such a wish for him to quit the struggle and leave it to others. In the past, if anything, she had argued against such a notion.

Now she wanted him to quit it all. It had been the same thing Zedd had advised. He hadn’t known how much her heart ached to go off somewhere and live their own lives.

He remembered feeling much the same after she had lost their unborn child when she had been so seriously hurt. He had quit everything and taken Kahlan far back in the uncharted wilderness to the west of Hartland. After she recovered it came to be one of the happiest times of his life, being away from everyone and everything.

He wondered if he was crazy for not jumping at Zedd’s advice and Kahlan’s longings for sanctuary. He wondered if they weren’t right, if he shouldn’t let the world fend for itself.

Maybe if Cara and her husband had cared more for themselves and done that, Ben would be alive and they would be living happily somewhere. Instead, Cara had lost her chance at such happiness. Richard missed her, and his heart ached for her and for all she had lost. He grieved for Zedd as well.

Who did he think he was, anyway? Where did he ever get the idea that the world couldn’t get along without him? He was a woods guide who had taken up the challenge to stop a tyrant and because of that everyone thought he was their savior. He never wanted to be the leader. He had only been doing what was right in protecting himself and people he cared about.

In the end, he thought that was the central issue. He didn’t want to be a leader.

But there were others driven by a desire to dominate and dictate. They lusted to tell everyone else how they must live and what they must think. They were willing to torture and slaughter untold numbers to enforce their arrogant visions.