Thanks for sticking with me everyone!
Nightmares (Chapter 8)
Lying on the ground with arm stretched out in desperation, Kahlan peered over the edge where Richard had just been. She stared horrified into deep abyss, shock overwhelming her soul, anguish breaking her heart.
"RICHARD!!" she screamed over and over until her voice became hoarse, tears coursing down her cheeks. This couldn't be happening. Her chest seized with agonizing sorrow, strangling the breath from her lungs, making it near impossible to breathe.
"No! Richard…please come back to me…" she cried, her voice rasping and weak. She felt as if all her strength and will to live had just been drained from her body. Richard had taken it and her heart with him into the Underworld.
Laughter suddenly rose up from the depths of the seemingly bottomless abyss. It swarmed around her, enveloping her and calling out to her, tormenting and mocking her pain and her grief.
"Kahlan…there, there…it'll be alright…I'll be coming for you once I'm done with my brother…"
"Bring Richard back to me now, Rahl!!" Kahlan seethed, her eyes flashing with rage and her all-consuming anguish. The painful depth of her loss was beyond anything she'd ever endured or imagined possible. She would do whatever it took now to make it stop.
"I don't think so. I'm having a very nice reunion with my dear brother. I'm not sure he's having as good as time as I am, though…" he chuckled, the sound of Richard's screams reverberating from the Underworld, shattering what was left of Kahlan's heart.
"Rahl, take me instead!! Let Richard live and I will take his place," she pleaded, her face soaked with her tears, her breath coming out in short gasps. Hearing Richard's tormenting screams were driving her to the brink of insanity. She felt so helpless to save him.
"Oh, don't worry, my lovely Confessor…you'll be joining us soon enough. Right now, though, I'd like to prolong the agony of your separation for just a bit longer."
"I will willingly stay by your side for all eternity in the Underworld if you let Richard go!!" she desperately begged as she bargained for Richard's life. It was her that the Keeper and Rahl wanted. Why wouldn't they just take her now and get it over with? Why did Richard have to suffer because of her?
"KAHLAN! NO!!" A familiar strangled cry suddenly escaped from the depths of the Underworld.
"RICHARD!!"
"Goodbye for now, my love…but don't fret. I'll be coming for you soon enough once I'm finished enjoying my brother's company. Oh…and by the way, Richard sends his love…"
An evil cackling laugher permeated the air again, echoing in her ears and crushing her soul. She had been frantically clinging to her last glimmer of hope when she had heard Rahl's voice, hoping that she could talk him into releasing Richard, but now that had just burned out.
"No, Richard!...I love you!" she mournfully cried, desperate for her lover to return to her. "Don't make me live my life without you…" she sobbed.
XXX
Kahlan lay on the ground, staring over the edge of the rift for what felt like hours. She couldn't bring herself to leave the last place her Richard had been. She somehow felt closer to him if she stayed there. Her overwhelming sorrow was choking the life out of her, teasing and tempting her with the thought of throwing herself over the edge of the rift and ending her torment. Then she could be reunited with her Seeker.
She couldn't bear the thought of having to go on without Richard. He was her source of strength, her sole purpose for living. He made the winding paths of her life seem straight, her future brighter than she had ever thought possible.
Ever since she was a little girl, Kahlan had thought that her life would lead to taking a mate, living a lonely existence in a loveless marriage in order to continue the line of Confessors. It was her duty as a Confessor and so she had resigned herself to her hopeless fate…that was until she had met Richard.
Richard had made her believe in true love, that there was someone in the world who had been created just for her. He had stirred up emotions in her that she had never known or thought possible. He had caused her to rethink beliefs that had been steeped in years of tradition and the ways of all the Confessors that had come before her. He had forced to face her feelings for him, to embrace it and not run away from it. He challenged her to look beyond the boundaries of her magic and at the infinite power and magic of their love.
Because of his relentlessness and pure love for her, they had been able to share their love with each other. But now, Richard was gone forever.
Slowing getting to her feet, Kahlan hung her head as she stared into the rift, mesmerized by the glowing green flames of the Underworld. "I'm so sorry, my love…" she softly whispered, her face stained with tears.
"Kahlan!"
Whirling abruptly on her heel, Kahlan turned to see Zedd and Cara rushing towards her, their eyes wide with fright as they took in the massive expanse of rifts that spread out like tentacles surrounding the area where Kahlan stood. The glowing green illumination lit up the horizon as the sun began to rise.
"Zedd!" she cried as she rushed into his arms, sorrow renewing its fierce grip on her soul and crushing the fragile damn she had built to hold back her tears.
Enveloping the Mother Confessor into his arms, Zedd held her to his chest. "Kahlan my dear, what happened?"
"He's gone, Zedd…he's gone…" she cried, hysteria attempting to overtake her again.
"Richard?" he asked incredulously, Cara coming to stand by his side.
"He sacrificed himself in order to save my life…" she woefully cried as she pulled back to look in the old Wizard's face. "What am I going to do without him?"
Tears formed in the Wizard's eyes at the thought of losing his only grandson. "Kahlan, he loved you above all else. He would want you to go on, to complete his quest, find the Stone of Tears, and seal the rift. He wouldn't want you to stop living because of him."
"I don't know if I can," Kahlan whispered as she looked up into Zedd's face. His eyes unexpectedly grew wide as he released his hold on her, his jaw growing slack as he stumbled backwards a couple of steps. "Zedd, what is it?" Kahlan asked, stunned.
Without a word, Zedd suddenly collapsed to the ground in a heap. Kahlan stood in horror as she took in the large gaping hole in his back that was still smoldering from the lethal magic that had been burned into him. "ZEDD!" Kahlan cried in shock.
Spinning around, Cara found them facing off against Sister Nicci and ten Sisters of the Dark. The Sisters' orange dresses and scarves billowed in the wind that had grown stronger with the opening of the rifts, their Dacras gripped tightly at their sides in preparation for battle.
Cara immediately flipped her agiels into her hands, ready to fight to the death. Even though her Lord Rahl was gone, she would never let him down by allowing the Mother Confessor to be harmed. Cara knew that he would expect her to protect Kahlan as if it were him.
Kahlan swiftly pulled her daggers, more than prepared to fight to the death no matter what. She would be the victor either way. If they killed her, she would be in the Underworld with Richard and could hopefully save him from Rahl. If Kahlan killed them, she could continue the quest and seal the rift. She knew that would be what Richard would have wanted her to do.
Her jaw clenched tight, Kahlan's eyes were like blue steel as she and Cara charged toward the waiting Sisters of the Dark. Dodging to the left, Kahlan narrowly missed being struck by a Dacra. Four Sisters raced towards the Mother Confessor and the Mord'Sith while Sister Nicci held the others back in anticipation.
Slicing and swinging their Dacras as if they were daggers, the approaching Sisters had split into pairs as they committed themselves in a battle to the death. Risking a glance to Cara on her left, Kahlan seethed, "for Richard."
"For Richard," Cara repeated the vow, the thirst for blood and revenge washing over the Mord'Sith's face.
Focusing her attention back to the battle, Kahlan threw herself into the fight with a vengeance, releasing all the fury and hurt that had swallowed her whole and now resided in her heart. Slicing her daggers, Kahlan blocked each Dacra as she ducked and stabbed, swiftly sending the two Sisters to their master in the Underworld.
Kahlan spun around to see how Cara was fairing when she saw Sister Nicci fire a Dacra straight at the Mord'Sith who was just about to finish off the second Sister of the Dark. "CARA!" Kahlan screamed, but it was too late.
The Dacra hit its target, embedding itself in the Mord'Sith's heart. Cara looked down at the Dacra and then up at the Mother Confessor. "I'm so sorry, Kahlan…I failed to protect you for Lord Rahl…"
"Cara, no!!" Kahlan cried as she ran toward her friend. She was brought to an abrupt halt by a burst of magical fire that stopped her dead in her tracks.
Sister Nicci sauntered her way up to the Mord'Sith. "I believe this belongs to me," she taunted as she looked Cara dead in the eye before ripping the Dacra out of her chest.
Kahlan could only stare in horror as Cara collapsed to the ground dead. "No…no, this can't be happening!" Kahlan muttered as she stared at the lifeless body of the Mord'Sith. This couldn't be real. She had not only lost Richard, but now Zedd and Cara also. Her world was crumbling down all around her. Within a matter of a few short hours, Kahlan had just lost everyone that she held dear.
"Well, who then will protect the great Mother Confessor now? Not so strong when you have lost your Seeker, Wizard, and Mord'Sith are you? And you're supposed to be the governing authority of the Midlands? You couldn't even protect your Seeker or your friends. How do you think that you can protect Aydindril?" Sister Nicci sneered, her eyes dancing with wicked glee.
Kahlan could only stare as she listened to the mocking words of Sister Nicci. She couldn't argue with Nicci; she was right in everything she said. She had let Richard down, had allowed him to die in his attempt to save her life. She had failed to protect her friends just now. How could she ever expect to rule the Midlands or protect Aydindril from the Keeper?
"No argument? No more fight? I expected so much more from the great Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell. I guess all the rumors about you were wrong," Nicci smirked.
Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she felt her soul collapse under the weight of the Midlands and the world that had rested upon her shoulders as the Mother Confessor. She had let those under her protection down, but more than that she had let Richard down.
"I'm so sorry, my Richard," she murmured as she closed her eyes in anticipation of the painful death to come at the hands of Sister Nicci.
Suddenly, the ground began to quake again under her boots, the earth crumbling beneath her feet. Emerald fire began spurting up all around her as the ground ripped apart from the dark magic of the Underworld, tearing the boundary between the world of the living and the world of the walking dead. Kahlan abruptly felt the earth give way under her as she began to plummet to her death and into the waiting arms of Darken Rahl…
Walking through the woods listening to the owls hooting back and forth in their own private conversation, Kahlan silently walked the perimeter of their camp absorbed in her own thoughts. The moon was shining brightly as it peeked through the clouds that floated lazily before it while a gentle breeze cooled the warm summer air.
Even though Richard hated it when she was out here standing guard alone, Kahlan enjoyed taking her turn watching over the camp at night. She loved the moonlight that shone overhead, casting a yellowish glow on the earth below. The world was so calm, so peaceful at night. She could let her thoughts drift, reflect on the events of the day, work out her struggles. Her thoughts, however, always drifted back to where her heart forever beat; it always beat for Richard.
In the wee hours of the night before sunrise, there was no Keeper, no rift in the Underworld, no prophecies. All was right with the world. Besides that, she loved the fact that she was watching over her Seeker while he slept, keeping him safe from harm. She wanted to take care of him for the rest of her life.
Richard made her happy beyond her wildest dreams. The only thing that could possibly steal her happiness now was the Keeper and his followers. She couldn't control the shudder that vibrated through her body at the thought of the added danger she put her lover in.
"As long as the Mother Confessor's pure heart beats, the Keeper is doomed to fail…"
XXX
As the hours seemed to fly by, Richard's panic continued to grow to desperate levels. The longer they went with no sign of Kahlan, the worse his chances were of bringing her out of the nightmare. She had been breathing in the ayon now for longer than either Cara or he had.
Richard was panic-stricken about what Kahlan was going through right now. What kind of nightmare was she having? Was it intensifying? Was it starting to play out over and over again in her mind? As far as they knew, Richard and Cara's nightmares had only been lived through once in the two days they had been trapped in the mines. Zedd had told them, though, that the more times the nightmare repeated, the less likely they would be able to save her.
Richard cursed under his breath. In his nightmare, he had lived the experience of losing her once. He already knew deep down inside that he could never survive living through it a second time.
A sudden eruption jolted the Seeker from his thoughts as he looked overhead to see rocks beginning to break free from their resting place as another cave-in seized the mines. "Get back!" Richard frantically shouted at Zedd and Cara as he dove out of the way of falling rocks and debris.
Cara slammed into Zedd, knocking him out of the way of a large boulder falling just over his head. Hitting the ground hard, the wind was temporarily knocked out of them. Covering the Wizard with her body, Cara covered her head with her hands as rocks crashed down from above.
Cara tentatively looked up when the mine grew suddenly still. Looking around, Cara found the tunnel completely blocked and no sign of the Seeker…
