And the suspense continues…Dun…Dun…Dun…Enjoy! :D
Chapter 2
The morning sun that had greeted Richard and Kahlan earlier in the day had quickly given way to scattered pockets of fog and heavy rain. Traversing the Emerson Hills had also proven to be more difficult than any of them had expected.
The trio had quickly discovered the winding trails they followed just continued branching out into more winding trails that led to abandoned lumber camps that had been vacated in favor of newer locations. Even Richard's woods guide skills couldn't help them decipher which trails were important and which ones led to a dead-end.
Richard had thought it quite odd that they hadn't seen one person up here all day. For a lumber community, one would have thought that they would have come across someone out here either scouting future sites or men hauling timber or falling trees. They should have at least heard chopping and trees falling. Instead, it was eerily quiet except for the occasional forest noises. Maybe it was because of the inclement weather, but something was definitely not right; he just couldn't put his finger on it.
They had discovered many caves scattered and hidden in and amongst the hills. The caves proved much more obliging to them than the winding trails that had led them to dead-ends. The caves at least were able to provide them shelter when the rains became heavy.
Some of the caves they came upon had been obviously occupied for periods of time as they found discarded bottles, scattered debris, and remnants of campfires. It appeared as though someone had been digging or searching for something. Who that was or what they were searching for was a mystery.
By late afternoon, seeing no end to the current torrent of rain, Richard decided it best to settle in for the rest of the night in one of the caves and start out again at first morning light. It could be very dangerous trudging around in hills that have had trees cut down. The soil was loosened and when you added the heavily rains you ended up with the possibility of mudslides.
Shaking the rain from the hood of her cloak, Kahlan volunteered to look for some firewood, hoping to still be able to find some that was dry. The forest had been so thick in certain spots that even the heavy rains hadn't been able to completely penetrate the canopy it created.
Leaving the cave with Kahlan, Richard was hoping to scare up some game for dinner. Zedd stayed behind to begin unpacking their supplies and clearing space for a small fire. This cave appeared to have been untouched yet by whomever it was that was searching for something.
"Be careful; the rain has created quite a few slippery spots. There could be mudslides starting at any time," Richard warned, concerned about her wandering too far away from him.
"Richard, don't worry; I'm not completely helpless," Kahlan chided him, giving him her special smile.
"I know. I just have a feeling…something's not right," he replied with a frown despite receiving her special smile that he loved just as much as the one who graced him with it. He just couldn't shake the gnawing apprehension that was steadily building inside him.
"What kind of feeling?" starting to feel unsettled herself.
"I'm not sure. Something doesn't seem quite right. Just be careful," he finally smiled back at her, trying not to worry her. No sense having them both on edge until it was warranted.
Kahlan, heading the opposite direction of Richard, began searching for dry firewood. Finding only wet branches, Kahlan continued spreading out her search away from the cave, letting her thoughts drift. What had caused Richard to be so on edge? Whatever it was she had better keep her guard up just in case.
She continued to allow her thoughts to drift, but they always eventually turned back to Richard. She found herself smiling at the thought of him. He not only filled her mind, but her heart; she was consumed by him. She silently scolded herself for acting like a love-sick school girl. She was the Mother Confessor. The Midlands relied on her, she had duties to perform; she had a Seeker to protect…again her thoughts made their way back to Richard. Smiling once more, she sighed to herself. Try as she might, she couldn't deny the affect he had on her, the way he made her feel.
As she made her way through the woods, though, something began to raise her own suspicions about something not being right in these hills. She had an unsettling sensation that she was being watched.
Suddenly bursting through the thick brushes, four D'Haran soldiers rushed toward the Mother Confessor. Quickly drawing her hidden daggers, Kahlan prepared herself for the battle that was coming.
"You want to play? Let's play, boys," Kahlan spit out between gritted teeth, blue eyes flashing.
Richard quietly made his way through the forest, searching for anything that would make for a decent supper. Earlier they had seen a reasonable amount of game about; now if he could only find it again.
As he paused by a large tree listening for any approaching game, Richard began to mull over the small clues the wooded hills had already given him regarding what was happening here. There was definitely something going on, but he didn't have enough evidence yet about what that may be. Whatever it was he resolved to get to the bottom of it before anything happened to Kahlan again.
He loved Kahlan and loved having her by his side in the fight against Darken Rahl. At the same time, he hated her always being put in danger, at risk of being hurt or worse. He shuddered at the thought; remembering the bruises that still graced her face.
The thought reminded him of that morning and being greeted so enticingly, her hand resting on his backside. The memory caused desire to burn deep within his soul. He wanted to be with her, to make love to her, to show her what he felt for her. He knew with all his heart he'd rather be confessed by her than live without her.
Richard was suddenly jolted from his thoughts when a large rabbit bounded out from under a berry bush. He slowly crept towards it only to be interrupted by a scream that pierced the air along with his heart as it echoed through the forest.
"Kahlan!" he gasped. The Sword of Truth released its familiar ring as it was removed from its resting place. Sword firmly in hand, Richard quickly ran in the direction of her cry.
Racing through brush and leaping over fallen tree limbs, Richard breathlessly ran toward his love, dread washing over him like the deluge of rain they had hiked through most of the day.
Concerned by what he might find, Richard burst through the brush, ready to do battle and eliminate any threat to Kahlan that was lurking there. Instead, Richard came to an abrupt halt at what he found. Lying there before him were three D'Haran soldiers, dead and no sign of Kahlan.
Leaning over and pulling her daggers from the body of one soldier, Richard spun around at the groaning sounds of a fallen soldier behind him. Still alive, Richard cautiously made his way to the soldier who lay bleeding to death on the ground, a sword protruding from his abdomen.
Leaning over the dying soldier, Richard kept his sword tightly in hand, prepared for the unexpected. While this soldier was obviously no longer a threat, there was no telling what else could be hiding in the brush or who had taken Kahlan.
"You're too…late…Seeker…" the soldier taunted between his last gasps of breath for life, blood running down from the corner of his mouth.
"Where's the Mother Confessor?" Richard urgently demanded, worry quickly flooding his heart.
"I'll see you…in the Underworld…before I…tell you! Besides…you're not…long for…this world… yourself!" the soldier spat out, his head falling back and his eyes becoming cold and lifeless.
"Where is she?! Where's Kahlan?!" Richard screamed at the dead body lying before him. The body that held the information he so desperately needed just took it with him to the Underworld.
Spinning around, Richard began scanning for any clues that might lead him to Kahlan. Trying to calm himself, Richard began looking for the fourth soldier. D'Haran soldiers always travelled in units of four or more, he reminded himself; especially Quads who searched for and murdered Confessors. While this didn't appear to be a Quad of that kind, it seemed most likely that the fourth soldier had Kahlan.
Bending over examining the earth, Richard was able to pick up her boot prints in the mud. At many points, though, her prints were obliterated by the sizeable boot prints of the soldiers, making it difficult for him to read.
As he spread his search out over the area, Richard came across a spot where the brush was broken through. There were two sets of boot prints. One very large, the other much smaller, appeared to have been in a struggle.
Richard carefully made his way through the broken down brush only to find a drop off on the other side. Dread suddenly engulfed him as he took in the mudslide that had wiped out a swath of land on the side of the hill. A mudslide that took large bushes, brush, rocks, and smaller trees careening down the side of the hill and now lay buried at the bottom of a ravine.
Terror seized like a vice around his heart at the thought of her hurt or buried alive under all that mud and debris. Panic swept over him, threatening to vanquish all thought and reason. He couldn't lose her; he just got her back.
"Kahlan! Kahlan!" Richard screamed repeatedly, begging the spirits to be able to hear her voice. Instead, all he heard was dead silence as the rain began to pour down again as it fell from the rapidly darkening skies above.
Tears mingled with the rain on his face as Richard raced into the cave, startling Zedd. Looking up, taking in the face before him, Zedd slowly stood to face the Seeker.
"What happened?" Zedd asked, not wanting to hear the answer. The look on his grandson's face filled his heart with anticipated dread for what Richard was about to tell him.
With despair in his eyes, Richard looked into his grandfather's face, praying for a miracle. "Kahlan's missing," he panted. "I heard her scream. When I got there, I found three dead D'Harans and no sign of her. Zedd, there was a mudslide…" He couldn't bring himself to finish his own sentence, too fearful for what his mind knew, but what his heart wasn't prepared to accept as a possible truth…
