Chapter 21
"Richard, you did what you had to do. This isn't your fault," Kahlan reassured him, her fingers repeatedly stroking along the back of his neck and playing with the strands of hair that hung there. "They knew full well the consequences of their actions and yet they chose to oppose us anyway."
"I know," he acknowledged with a sigh, turning to face her. "I just wish there was another way."
"There isn't," she resolutely stated. "We both know that and so does everyone else who has complied with our demands. Maybe once they see the soldiers arriving to occupy their regions, they'll rethink the decision they made. They'll be pleading to join the D'Haran Empire."
Richard placed a hand on her thigh, needing to just touch her at that moment. "I hope you're right. I just hate the thought of anyone losing their life over this, but they have to accept the fact that things are changing.
"I'm not doing this to be a dictator like my brother, Kahlan. I'm trying to do what is best for D'Hara and the Midlands the only way I know how. And the only way to do that is by combining our territories."
"I know that, Richard," she replied, her hand coming to rest on top of his on her leg. "And in time, everyone will come to see that as well."
"I'm glad that you decided to stay. I know it's not easy for you to wait here while Zedd and your father leave to find a cure."
"This is my place…beside you and with our children," she said with her special smile. "This is where I need to be right now."
Richard smiled softly in return, the flicker of sadness and regret in her eyes not going unnoticed by him. "I love you, Kahlan Rahl," he whispered as he leaned in and kissed her.
Kahlan returned his kiss, her hand coming to rest on the side of his face. "And I love you, Richard Rahl."
He touched the tip of her nose with his own, their warm breaths mingling as they gazed into each other's eyes, their mouths hovering close and wanting more. Capturing her lips again, Richard kissed her deeply, his hands settling on her shoulders as he gently pushed her back onto the couch they were sitting on.
Settling over her, he began to lose himself in her, the feel of his body pressing into hers, the feel of her lips so insistent against his own. He felt that familiar flame of desire erupt in his belly, heating his blood and making his pulse race with his need for her.
"Richard…"
The breathless sound of his name in his ears as he kissed her throat only spurred him on, his kisses growing more urgent, his touch more intense as he worked to unlace her dress. The feel of her fingers digging into his backside and kneading his flesh caused a low moan to erupt from deep in his throat.
A sudden knock at their door brought the intensifying passion to a grinding halt. Richard growled under his breath as he pressed his forehead against his wife's, his eyes slamming shut in heated frustration as he attempted to temper the fire that was already blazing through his veins at that moment.
Kahlan bit her bottom lip as she fought to catch the breath he had stolen away. She tilted her head, kissing him again before gently pushing him off of her.
"Later," she softly promised.
"Most definitely," he swore to her as he sat up on the edge of the couch, raking his fingers back through his hair as he tried to tamp down on the need that demanded to be quenched.
Helping Kahlan to her feet, he began tying the laces that he had just loosened, his heart still hammering with longing as he stared at the bounty that he knew lay beneath that pristine fabric. Soon, he promised himself as another insistent knock banged even louder on their door.
"Richard? Kahlan?"
The Seeker and Mother Confessor groaned in combined frustration at the sound of Zedd's voice. Even though married, the old Wizard still managed to find ways to intrude on their private moments, putting a halt to the desire for each other that threatened to consume them.
"Coming!" Richard yelled in exasperation, pressing a quick kiss to Kahlan's brow before reluctantly releasing his hold on her.
Kahlan quickly ran her fingers through her hair, making certain everything was back in its place before her grandfather entered. Richard went to the door, casting a brief look at her to make sure she was ready before opening it.
"Zedd," Richard greeted as he opened the door. "What's wrong?"
"What took you so long?" he huffed as he pushed past his grandson and breezed into the room like a mighty gust of wind.
"Well, it is rather late, Zedd," Richard subtly hinted, closing the door and grinning at the sudden blush that rose to Kahlan's cheeks. It only made his longing for her that much harder to assuage at that moment.
"Never mind," he waved his arms in agitation, completely oblivious to his grandson's intimation. "I need to meet with you and the others in Michael's room right away. It's of vital importance."
"What is it? Did you discover what's wrong with him?" Kahlan asked.
"Yes and no," he scowled. "It's complicated, but I'll explain it all once I have everyone present."
"Can't you tell us something?" the Seeker asked him. They'd had so few answers so far and only more questions.
"I can tell you that Cara found proof of what I had already begun to suspect. I think I now know exactly what happened that night before you left the Palace of the Prophets and the part that you played in how that little boy came to be," Zedd informed them.
Kahlan immediately came to stand by Richard, a shiver of dread tingling through her. "How?"
"I'll explain it all as soon as we get everyone gathered in Michael's room," he insisted.
Following Zedd from their suite, Richard felt as if a weight was suddenly being lifted from his shoulders knowing that they finally had the answers that they had needed for so long now. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling as though things may have just taken a turn down another path; one that he wasn't certain was going to be much better.
XXX
"I don't know why I have to be here," the Prelate quietly scowled from the corner of Michael's room. "It's not like I had anything to do with this."
"You will find out soon enough why I have called all of you here, Ann" Zedd announced as he entered the room.
"Do you know what's wrong with my Michael?" Deryn anxiously asked, leaping to her feet at the site of the First Wizard.
"Yes, I have an idea," he replied with a grim expression that caused the Sister of the Light to slowly sink back down into the chair where she had been keeping vigil by her son's bed.
Tears immediately sprang to her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, her bottom lip quivering with fear. "Please tell me that you can help him. I'll do anything you want. Just please…save him…" she cried.
Kahlan silently stood beside Richard, her heart in her throat with the anguish that Sister Deryn was forced to endure right now. She couldn't begin to imagine the torment of watching her child suffer, not knowing if her baby would live or not. She immediately captured Richard's hand, holding onto him for dear life.
Whatever Zedd had discovered, she knew that it wasn't necessarily going to be good.
"I promise that we will do everything in our power to help Michael, but we need to know the truth of what happened that night if we are ever going to be able to save him," Zedd gravely announced.
"I have told you everything that happened between Richard and me and still you refuse to believe me," Deryn sobbed, covering her face with her hands.
"Not you, my dear," Zedd reassured her, casting a glare at the Prelate. "I mean you, Ann."
The Prelate turned her nose up in indignation at the insinuation that she had anything to do with this whole matter, folding her arms defensively against her chest. "I already told you everything that I know," she scowled, taking great offense.
"No, you haven't," Zedd countered, turning to face her. "You see ever since I first used my magic to prove if this child was truly Richard's, I've had this nagging tickling in the back of my mind that something wasn't quite right."
"But you verified that Michael belongs to Richard, that you detected Richard's powerful magic in him," Deryn interjected.
"I did confirm that this child belongs to Richard, but I also know my grandson," the old Wizard pressed. "He would not lie, not even about something like this."
"I'm not lying either," Deryn snapped, anger flashing like twin thunderstorms in her pale green eyes.
"No, I don't believe that you are lying either, my dear. I think that you and Richard have both been used for some unknown purpose."
"What do you think happened, Zedd?" Richard asked.
"Nicci probed Sister Deryn's mind and found memories of a night spent with Richard, but when she probed your mind she found nothing of the sort. I think those memories were planted in Sister Deryn's mind by someone."
"That is ridiculous!" the Prelate hissed from her dim corner of the room, taking a step forward towards the light. "Why would anyone plant memories like that in her mind? And how did Michael come to exist then? He didn't just magically appear out of thin air."
"In a way, he did," Zedd retorted. "You see I believe that you created that boy using a magical spell that Cara discovered in her research for me."
"What kind of spell?" Nicci asked, her brow furrowed in thought.
"It's a very complicated ancient spell, one that requires a great amount of skill and ability to even be able to perform it," he proceeded to tell them. "I'm sure with all of the powerful wizards you have in training there at the Palace of the Prophets, you had an ample source to draw from, didn't you?"
The Prelate's eyes narrowed in anger as she marched towards the First Wizard. "Why in all creation would I even want to do such a thing?"
Zedd stood his ground before the irate Prelate. "I don't know, Ann. Why don't you tell us?"
"If you know anything about this, please tell him so he can save my son," Deryn demanded through a wash of tears from beside Michael's bed.
The Prelate cast a glance at the Sister of the Light and then to the sick child sleeping in the bed before her. The fine lines around her eyes softened somewhat as she took in his flushed cheeks, his pale face. She was surprised at how much worse he looked than he had this morning when she had last seen him.
"Ann, he isn't going to live much longer unless we can get him the help that he desperately needs," Zedd gently said, attempting a softer approach with her. "And the only way I can do that is if I know exactly what you did that night."
"I thought you said you already knew," she softly replied, her eyes focused on the sleeping form of the little boy.
"I have figured out some of it, but I need the exact details if we're ever going to be able to help him."
"Please, Prelate!" Deryn begged, her face wet with tears. "Don't let my child die…please…"
"Ann, I've never known you to be an evil person," Nicci calmly said as she came to stand beside her, placing a hand on her arm. "I know that you must have had your reasons for what you did. Whatever they were I'm sure they were good ones, but now is the time to tell us the truth."
Everyone stood in uneasy silence as they waited to see if the Prelate would finally reveal the truth. The air was thick like a wool cloak blanketing them, threatening to suck all of the life from the room. Dark shadows created from flickering candle flames played on the walls, adding to the ominous feeling that was quickly enclosing them.
"You're right," Ann finally replied, her eyes temporarily falling closed. "Richard did not spend the night with Deryn."
Richard squeezed Kahlan's hand as tears pricked his eyes. He swallowed past the unexpected knot that constricted his throat. He hadn't been spelled, hadn't faltered in his love for Kahlan. He had been faithful to her all along just like he had always maintained. Hearing it being confirmed in front of everyone brought a sweet sense of vindication that he hadn't expected.
Kahlan couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips, relief washing through her like a sudden spring shower. How could she have ever doubted Richard or his love for her?
She subtly turned in towards him, pressing her face to his shoulder in an unspoken act of love. Turning his head, Richard tilted his forehead towards her in acknowledgement, his head brushing softly against hers, knowing what she was feeling, what she was saying to him though no words were spoken.
"What?" Deryn shook her head furiously, refusing to believe it. She shot to her feet in sudden rage, her chair falling back and banging against the floor. "No! That's not true! Richard made love to me that night. We have a child together!"
"I'm sorry, Deryn, but Richard did not spend the night with you. I planted those memories in your mind," Ann ruefully admitted.
"No…no…" Deryn kept chanting, tears slipping faster down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hands.
"After he left your room that night, I had one of the wizards sneak into Richard's room after he had fallen asleep and use a spell to extract a piece of his essence," Ann explained. "We then used magic to create the child inside of you, Deryn."
"Why did you do that to me?" Richard demanded, his anger returning with an overwhelming vengeance. "You had no right to do that."
"Prophecy," Ann simply stated as if the answer was obvious. "A new prophecy appeared on the wall at the Palace of the Prophets just before Verna brought you to us. I already knew how you felt about prophecy before you had even arrived. Your stay with us only confirmed what I already knew so I had to act."
"By stealing from me and creating a child without my knowledge?" the Seeker growled.
"I was only doing what I thought was right," Ann lifted her chin in resentment. "You ignore the importance of prophecy unless the Mother Confessor's life is at stake. You refuse to put any value in anything even pertaining to prophecy. I had to do something to save us all before it was too late."
"Too late for what?" Kahlan demanded, her fingers twitching with an overpowering desire to confess the Prelate.
"The end of life as we know it."
"What are you talking about?" Richard shook his head in confusion, his mind still reeling with the revelation.
"The new prophecy that says 'regions will unite under a new wickedness, one that will rise like a deadly serpent against the Seeker and his heirs, threatening to destroy the future unless the head can be removed from the serpent's body'."
Kahlan felt an icy shiver of panic shoot up her spine with the Prelate's words. She didn't know what upset her more – the fact that another prophecy about Richard had emerged predicting a new threat or the fact that their children were now involved as "his heirs".
She knew how Richard felt about prophecy and she didn't blame him. In fact, she agreed with him up to a certain point. She didn't always believe everything that prophecy had to say, but she also knew better than to completely ignore it.
"What does that have to do with what you did that night?" Richard exclaimed, his fury humming through his veins.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ann cried out in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air. "The prophecy talks about the Seeker's heirs. At the time, you were in love with Kahlan, but didn't know that you could be together. I knew that you would never leave her for another, that you would not give up until you had found a way to be with the Mother Confessor.
"I knew that if you did find a way to be together, she would only be able to give you daughters, but not a true male heir. I had to step in and create a male heir for you to help conquer this new threat in case you failed."
Stunned, Richard turned away from the Prelate, his mind spinning with what she was telling him. It was beyond comprehendible to him how someone could just step into his life and make choices for him, altering his life, his future to make it fit with what prophecy had to say.
No one had the right to choose his path for him; no one had the right to play with his life as if it was all just some game.
He leaned forward, placing his hands against the wall in an attempt to contain the furious storm deep within his core. He felt a sudden gentle hand on his back. He knew her touch without ever having to look. It was Kahlan. Unable to find his voice at that moment, he lowered his head against the wash of emotions coursing through him.
"I'm sorry, Richard," Ann evenly stated. "But you left me no choice. You had already proven time and again your flippant view of prophecy. I had to do something to prevent the end of life as we know it."
"You had no right," he seethed, spinning on his heel to face her. "You used me and Deryn in your little quest to make life fit neatly into what your view on prophecy was. Did you take into consideration that the heirs may have been my daughters?"
"Heirs in prophecy have always pointed to males," Ann snapped.
"But Paige and Priya are the first Confessors to ever possess both forms of magic like I do," Richard pointed out, his chest heaving with rage. "I think that makes them uniquely different as my heirs, giving them profound abilities to be able to take on whatever new threats come along the way."
"Not to mention, Kahlan and Richard have fulfilled that part of the prophecy with the birth of Aiden," Nicci interjected. "So it seems you interfered for no reason at all."
"There was no way of knowing that Kahlan was going to lose her powers and be able to give birth to a son without the touch of Confession," Ann argued, her fists planted firmly on her hips.
"This still doesn't explain what's wrong with my son!" Deryn yelled, grabbing everyone's attention.
"That is the biggest problem of all, I'm afraid," Zedd regretfully informed her.
"Why?" Deryn cried. "You said you would help him!"
"And I will do everything I can to help him," the Wizard replied. "But he is no ordinary child. He was created out of magic, not love. That is where the problem lies."
"What do we need to do, Zedd?" Richard asked him.
"I'm afraid we may have to rely on Caelinus's expertise for the answer to this problem as well," he sighed.