Cara Mason was the last to gather of those called by Darken Rahl to the Garden of Life. Eyes were upon her as she entered, but she found that compared very little to the fact that the Lord Rahl stood in waiting, his jaw tight with impatience and his eyes closed. She joined the ranks of the gathered Mord'Sith, all on their knees before their Master. When she was fully bent, she dared a glimpse in Darken Rahl's direction, a smile warming his perfect features. Cara knew that smile.
"Master Rahl guide us. Master Rahl teach us. Master Rahl protect us." They chanted the abbreviated devotion together in clear unison. Each of the Mord'Sith was dressed in red leather, prepared for blood to be spilt, if that was what Master Rahl wished of them. They rose at the completion of their chant, saluting their Master with a fist over their hearts.
Altogether, five Mord'Sith stood before Darken Rahl and each held considerable prestige within their ranks. The group consisted of Berdine, Constance, Raina, Rikki, and herself. Darken Rahl beamed at them, considerably less impatient now that things could move forward. "My dear pets," he addressed them, his tone conveying his inner playfulness that revolved around his plans. "I have a task – a task of high importance – that I must entrust to one of you."
Kahlan spurred her horse to ride harder, but could feel the strain of the beast. It breathed heavily, its hair soaked through with sweat and its muscles burning from exertion. Still, she pushed it, knowing that time was against her. Behind her, four men rode, trying desperately to keep up. Their hulking frames were apparent even on horseback and not well hidden by their cloaks. They rode in a diamond formation, one in the lead, one to each side of him and a pace back, and one behind the leader. She thought it an odd pattern and even odder that she was not under fire with them so close on her heels. However, it was only a passing thought as more pressing things weighted on her mind – namely, escape.
Kahlan was nearing the boundary and hoped to escape through it as the wizards held it open for her. She could see them, the five standing on a rough semi-circle, a pass held open by their magic. They had arranged to be there the moment Kahlan needed to cross, but she had not expected a quad to be on her tail so quickly. Rahl must have been cautious and sent a second with the first, which she had managed to dispatch in the Wilds, not a few hours earlier. The time it took her to recover from using her power must have given the second quad what it needed to catch her.
When she was close enough to discern the wizards from each other, the first one dropped, his life given to keeping open the boundary for her. Her heart clenched at the visual reminder that they would all die that day. The magic they were using was consuming them and they had no option to back out of the spell they cast together. Once their life was spent, the spell would be held by those that remained, until none were left. The space open in the boundary shriveled with the decrease in power. She estimated that she could still make it with her horse, but it would be a close call. And then another fell to the spell, just when she was within paces of the wizards' ring.
Pulling up on her reins, she dismounted with a flourish of white fabric as her cloak moved to reveal her dress. A knife was produced, seemingly from nowhere and brandished before her as the quad reined their horses to a halt. "It looks like we are at the end of our chase, witch," the leader of the quad called as he dismounted, drawing a large blade from his hip. The others followed his lead, each wielding a sword of equal length that put her at a disadvantage. If she could not get within range to use her touch, she would be powerless against them. They each stood about a head taller than her, with the leader having nearly two, their bulk enough to make any man stand down. They were all blonde under their hoods and blue eyes glimmered at her with hunger.
Behind her, Kahlan heard another of the wizards fall and knew that her hole in the boundary was getting smaller and would not be open much longer. If they had not begun to converge on her, she would have made a move, knowing that if she didn't, she would lose her chance at escape. They fanned out so that they were in a line, far enough from each other that she could not attack more than one at once, but close enough that if she caught one, the others could run her through.
Where they were only a bare two blade lengths from her, she clapped her horse, making it kick. It caught the leader in the chest plate, sending him sprawling to the dirt, and separated the man to his left from the rest. She moved with practiced grace, her knife slicing through the flash of the far man's neck, before the moved on to the smallest of the group, her hand flashing out and her fingers hoping to reach his flesh. His sword was on its arch downward, but halted when with the slightest touch, she released her power, a soundless thunder shaking the air around them.
The unrestrained contact of her hand on the man's naively exposed neck knocked the hood back, revealing a pair of sharp azure eyes. They were clouded with fear, but the fear drained away as the moment passed. Blonde hair was cropped short and was in slight disarray, and jaw was hard. However, it was no man. A woman looked at her while her hand released her throat and from this woman's lips spilled on word. "Mistress."