Ok, readers. Be prepared! There are a lot of people who are going to die in this update and only a couple of those injured are going to survive. Who will it be?

Chapter 36

The fighting within the Confessor's Palace had swiftly grown fierce and bloody as the First File fought to take it back under their control. Bright red blood streaked across the floors and walls as one by one Kao's men fell to the Lord Rahl's most skilled and battle-tested soldiers.

Cyrus and Edmund along with a contingent of First File soldiers fought their way towards the central Council Chambers where the majority of the palace staff was being held prisoner. Bodies from the first battle still littered the floor, the blood of the dead dried on everything it had touched.

It would take weeks to restore the Confessor's Palace as well as properly bury the dead, the fallen needing to receive the respect that they deserved especially after being cut down in such a gruesome fashion by Kao's men.

"Over there!" Edmund shouted. "More coming on the left!"

The First File quickly compensated for the reinforcements that had suddenly arrived, fighting with a renewed energy to eliminate the threat to the Lord and Lady Rahl that they had sworn to protect and defend with their very lives.

Cyrus thrust with his sword, taking on one of Kao's men. Unfortunately, the larger more skilled warrior quickly gained the upper hand, knocking Cyrus's sword free from his hand before swiftly driving his blade deep into the older man's abdomen.

"Cyrus!" Edmund cried as he raced to his fallen friend's side.

Without a second thought about the fight going on around him, Edmund dropped his sword, gathering the man up into his arms. "Cyrus! Hang on, old friend."

Cyrus drew shuddering gasps for air, his eyes beginning to glaze over. "Please…tell Richard and Kahlan how sorry I am…for all the trouble I helped cause…" he choked out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "And tell Randa and Neal to take good care of my…my Lysria."

"Cyrus, you old fool," Edmund growled, tightening his hold on him. "You aren't going to die so you can tell them yourself. You just have to hang on until Zedd can heal you."

"There's no…no time," Cyrus shook his head, his eyes closing. "I'm sorry, old friend. I'm so…"

Cyrus's body shuddered as he drew his final breath before going completely still in Edmund's arms. "Cyrus!" Edmund yelled, shaking him. "No, Cyrus…not like this."

Receiving no response, Edmund carefully laid his friend down on the ground, his eyes falling closed for a long moment before finally pulling himself together again. Picking up his sword, he stood to his feet on trembling legs, his anger and grief forcing him to move on.

Unfortunately, he never saw one of Kao's men as he snuck up on him from behind, the man's sword piercing him from behind and dropping Edmund to his knees.

XXX

Leaning his back against the wall, Tristan watched as Rachel used her dagger to cut her forearm. They'd argued back and forth for what felt like an eternity on whose blood they were going to use. Rachel had ultimately won the argument much to the king's frustration.

"What do you make of Nicci's message in the book?" Tristan asked.

"I'm not sure," Rachel replied with a frown. "Nicci's message was very cryptic. It's probably code, something that only Lord Rahl or Kahlan will understand. Either way, we need to warn them about what is happening here in case Kao tries to strike the People's Palace as well"

"I just hope we're not too late," he said, watching as she began to write in the journey book.

"I know," she agreed. "We can't let Kao take over the Empire."

Tristan studied her profile as she wrote, admiring the delicate curve of her face that he wanted to touch, her lips that he found himself aching to kiss again. He forced himself to remain still when all he wanted to do was pull her to him, touch her and kiss her the way he really wanted to.

"You keep staring at me like that I'm going to start thinking you have a crush on me," she said as she finished her message, not realizing what she had actually just said to him until the words had left her mouth.

She instantly froze, lifting her face to look at him in shock. She swallowed hard with the way his blue eyes began to darken, her heart hammering in her chest as he leaned closer to her. She didn't know what to do, what to say. She wished she could take it all back, grab the words from the air and pull them back inside.

"What if I already do?" he asked, his voice low and husky.

"You can't," she murmured, mesmerized by his close proximity. "You're in love with Kahlan."

"What if my heart has decided it wants someone else?"

"It does?" she whispered, excited by his admission and yet afraid of what it all meant.

"I realized that I have been in love with the dream of marrying Kahlan," he confessed, feeling so foolish now that his eyes had been opened. "I had never accepted the fact that Kahlan had left Aydindril and married her Seeker, but I know now that she and Richard are truly meant to be. You helped me realize that, Rachel."

She could hardly believe this was really happening as Tristan drew even closer to her, his hand coming to rest against the side of her face. "I did?"

"You touched a part of my heart that I thought had died when Kahlan left," he told her. "You opened my eyes and helped me to see that real love existed right in front of me."

"Tristan, I…" she began only to be silenced by his mouth suddenly claiming hers.

Their first kiss had been sweet, tentative. This kiss was anything but that. It was passionate and possessive, heated in a way that Rachel had been dreaming about, but had tried so hard to ignore. Now, she found she couldn't ignore it any longer…didn't want to.

Retreating for air, Tristan pulled back to gaze into her eyes, hopeful that she felt the same way. He didn't have to wait long as she closed the distance and kissed him again, unleashing her heart the way that she had been wanting to for some time now.

Overjoyed, Tristan's hands settled on her face, holding her where he wanted her as he lost himself in the feel of her lips moving so passionately against his. Breaking the kiss, he fought to catch the breath she'd just stolen away.

Rachel gazed into his eye, her hand caressing his face. "We should probably keep moving," she finally suggested. "We need to find Lord Rahl and Chase."

"Did you finish the message?" he asked, offering her his hand as he pulled her up to her feet.

"All done," she told him. "Hopefully, Nicci will check the journey book soon."

Taking the book from her hands, he stuffed it into his jacket pocket. "Let's go," he said, taking her hand and leading her back out into the corridor. "Richard and Chase will probably need help."

They quickly headed back towards the secret entrance that would take them down into the hidden catacomb of tunnels that ran beneath the Confessor's Palace. Turning the corner, they found themselves face to face with five of Kao's men.

"Take them!" the man leading the group shouted, drawing his sword.

Tristan and Rachel quickly moved to attack, knowing that they couldn't afford to be captured right now. They needed to get to Richard and help him free Kahlan. Rachel couldn't help but wonder how her Lord Rahl and Chase were doing against Kao himself.

Tristan quickly eliminated three of Kao's men one right after the other, determined to take as many out as possible. Turning, he watched as Rachel dispensed with one just as the last man's sword pierced her side. "Rachel!" Tristan shouted, enraged as he charged towards the man.

He quickly raced to her, slicing through the final man before dropping to his knees beside the fallen Mord'Sith. "Rachel, no…please," he murmured, his face contorted with fear as he took the bleeding Mord'Sith into his arm. "Hang on!"

XXX

Richard raked his fingers back through his long chestnut brown strands as they moved through the Keep, quickening his pace in a desperate need to get to Kao C'Id before he could find the deadly Book of Sokro. It was all he could do not to race through the Keep after Kao, leaving Kahlan behind in order to finish this once and for all, keeping her safe from anymore pain.

It was gut-wrenching to say the least seeing her like this, barely able to stand let alone breathe. He wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into his arms and take her back to their suite where he could take care of her, tend to her injuries.

He ached so deeply just to hold her close in his arms, to curl his body around hers and bathe in her scent as they shared the same breath. It had been far too long since he'd last been able to love her the way he wanted to, needed to.

Turning down another long corridor, Richard felt an unusual sense of calm washing through him, telling him that they were getting closer. The Keep was entirely too quiet, the only sound was the faint scraping of his and Chase's boots against the aged marble floor as well as Kahlan's ragged breaths.

Her breathing was growing more irregular the deeper into the Keep they went, periodic winces and gasps telling him that she was rapidly deteriorating. Unfortunately, he was going to have to force that horrifying thought to the back of his mind, knowing that he couldn't dwell on how badly injured she was or he'd never be able to do what he needed to do now.

The soft sound of voices up ahead suddenly reached his ears, letting him know that they were close. He cast a glance back over his shoulder at Kahlan who was growing paler by the moment. Her blue eyes were distant and yet aflame with pure rage. It was probably the only thing keeping her upright.

Chase gave him a reassuring nod from behind her, silently telling him that he would do whatever was necessary to protect Kahlan. The Seeker nodded his head in response before turning his attention back to the battle at hand.

Righteous fury thundered through Richard's veins as they drew closer, the voices growing louder. His heart hammered in his anxious anticipation as he tightened his hold on his sword. He would not rest until Kao C'Id was dead.

As gratifying as it would be to outright kill him with his sword, there was darker part of his that wanted nothing more than to beat him senseless for what he had done to Kahlan.

He paused, silently peering around the corner to find Kao, Theon, and Ahti at the end of a side corridor that opened up into a large alcove. Theon and Kao were talking to each other while Ahti had his back to them.

Richard's chest immediately clenched painfully in realization. They had found the book.

Without a second thought, Richard raced towards them, his sights firmly set on Kao as Kahlan and Chase followed close behind. The sound of Ahti beginning to chant the words to an ancient spell filled the air, letting them know that they were too late.

Kao and Theon both spun around at the sound of someone approaching to find Lord Rahl had indeed arrived. Both men immediately drew their swords, intent on stopping them. A smile spread across Kao's face as he moved to his right to take on the mighty Seeker.

"Lord Rahl," Kao grinned wickedly at him. "It is an honor to finally meet the infamous ruler of the great D'Haran Empire."

Richard only sneered in response as he lunged at the man who had tried to take everything away from him. He growled as he swung his sword, the wisdom and skill of Seekers past inundating him and guiding his every movement.

Kahlan immediately charged towards Theon who was laughing at her. "I see you've gotten free from your Rada'Han," he mocked her. "I guess it's time to see what you've really got, wench."

"You can't handle what I'm about to bring," she seethed, ignoring the intense pain in her side that stole every breath she tried to draw.

She tightened her grip on the dagger that Chase had given her, more than prepared to do whatever it took to end Theon's life. He would not touch her again nor would he ever be able to lay a finger on her children, not while there was still breath left in her body.

Ahti was forced to stop in the middle of the spell with the large boundary warden who was looming like a wraith behind him. "You fool!" Ahti angrily yelled as he turned on his heel to face him, his hands out in front of him in preparation for a battle. "Do you really think that you can stop me?"

"I don't think I can," Chase glared heated at him. "I know I will."

Ahti created a bright orange ball of Wizard's fire between his extended hands before hurling it straight at Chase with a bright gleam of pure wickedness in his glowing red eyes. The boundary warden swiftly leapt out of the way, narrowly missing being burned alive.

He ducked and rolled out of the way, leaping back onto his feet before charging after the Wizard who was already preparing for another assault. He knew that he needed to get Ahti away from the Book of Sokro so he could get his hands on it before the wizard released untold horrors upon all of them.

Kahlan blocked every swing of Theon's sword with her large dagger, grunting heavily from the painful force that vibrated through her entire body every time Theon's blade crashed into hers. He was a very large man, his strength giving him a definite advantage, but her smaller size allowed her to move more quickly than he could.

She just hoped that she could hold on a little longer. Her body was already beginning to give out on her, her moves growing slower, her vision tunneling and her breathing more shallow because of the pain lancing through her side as well as her head.

Her blood pounded in her ears, the room beginning to spin, but she fought past it, desperate to just get one hand on the barbaric excuse for a man who has abused her. All she needed was a single moment, one heartbeat in time to unleash her magic and he would be all hers.

"You're weakening already, wench," Theon taunted her with a smug grin, allowing his leering gaze to lustfully wander over her body. "I'm going to enjoy beating you and then I'm going to take you somewhere private where I can teach you what it's like to be with a real man."

"Too bad you aren't a real man," Kahlan spat out with heated venom.

Her biting words further enraged the arrogant man before her, causing him to suddenly lunge at her with a furious desire to make her suffer. His blade narrowly missed her abdomen as she swiftly turned at the very last second, her hand sweeping up to seize hold of his massive throat.

In that moment, time came to a standstill as Kahlan released her powerful magic that shot like a bolt of lightning from her into him. It lashed out like a blinding whip, snatching hold of his very soul and making it hers to control and manipulate at will.

Thunder without sound caused a fierce shockwave to seize the air around them as her blue eyes swirled to black before returning to blue again. Theon's mouth hung open in sheer shock as he swiftly fell to his knees in a repentant display, his entire body trembling with the weight of grief that had gripped him.

"Command me, my mistress," Theon begged, turning fearful dark eyes upon her.

"I want you to die," she managed to ground out.

Theon's eyes instantly rolled back into his head as his heart suddenly stopped, dropping to the ground dead at her command. Kahlan immediately slumped to the floor as well, her legs giving out on her as she fought to remain conscious.

The fierce heat of Wizard's fire exploded to her right as the dagger slipped from Kahlan's fingers that were suddenly cold and numb. The feel of the cool marble floor felt like a welcome respite against her face as blackness swiftly overtook her.

Richard ground his teeth, his jaw clenched in barely restrained cold rage as he blocked every strike of Kao's sword. The man was enormous, nearly making the Seeker seem small in comparison, but Richard was too skilled and deadly in his own right to be outmatched by Kao C'Id.

He allowed the wrath within to flood his system as he unleashed all his pent up emotions that had been storming within him, begging for release for so long now. His sneer deepened as he threw everything that he had into the fight with Kao.

Every muscle felt the rage simmering within, his powerful magic rippling just beneath the surface set to explode at any moment. He didn't think that he'd ever felt his Han react in such a violent way. He could barely hold it in as he matched Kao's every swing and thrust, his magic struggling to break free from the Seeker's fierce hold on it.

His heart felt as though it was going to burst right out of his chest as his sword arched with ferocious intensity. The evil smirk on Kao's face only served to fuel his rage, knowing what this man had likely been planning to do to Kahlan.

With a growl, Richard began to push him back with his forceful attack, putting the invader on the defensive. The smirk slowly began to fade from Kao's face as the Seeker gained the upper hand, anger filling his black eyes that were mirrors to the true depravity of this monster's soul.

"I am going to destroy you," Kao seethed, grunting as the tip of the Seeker's blade sliced through his upper arm. "I'm going to rape your wife over and over again. I'm going to slaughter your precious children right before your very eyes…and eat their hearts for dinner."

"You will never touch my family," Richard roared with vengeance that Kao felt deep in his bones.

The blade of the Sword of Truth began to glow with the blinding fury oozing from somewhere deep within the Seeker. A deadly calm filled his face, his dark raptor gaze locked solely on his prey before him.

In that flicker of a moment, Kao suddenly knew that he was no match for the mighty War Wizard. He knew he needed to escape, get out of here to regroup and come back to fight another day. Before he could even think about fleeing, Richard spun on his heel, his blade slicing across the man's chest.

Kao instantly dropped his sword, staggering backwards in stunned disbelief as his back hit the wall. Richard didn't hesitate as he drove his sword deep in his chest, panting heavily with satisfaction as blood spilled from the wound onto the Seeker's sword as well as his hands.

"Greet the Keeper for me," Richard hissed as he suddenly pulled his sword free.

Kao slowly slide down the wall, his blood streaking it as he sank to the floor. Richard stared at his lifeless body for a long moment, taking satisfaction knowing that it was finally done before turning his attention to the others.

His heart instantly leapt into his throat as his gaze fell on Kahlan lying so still on the floor several feet away, Theon lying next to her. "Kahlan!" he yelled as he raced to her side.

Dropping to his knees next to her, he gently rolled her over, his hands carefully cradling her face. She was alive, but barely, her breathing shallow. "Please…please, Kahlan," he pleaded with her as he took her into his arms. "Don't you dare do this to me, Kahlan!"

He looked to Chase, desperate for help, watching as his friend inched closer and closer to the wizard. Ahti suddenly turned, blasting a hole in the alcove wall before escaping. Chase looked back at Richard kneeling on the ground holding Kahlan in his arms.

"Get her out of here," Chase told him. "I'm going after Ahti."

Richard nodded his head in agreement, releasing Kahlan long enough to sheath his sword before grabbing the Book of Sokro. There was no way he was going to let that book fall into that wizard's vile hands.

Returning to Kahlan, he gently gathered her up into his arms. Standing to his feet, he kissed her forehead before turning to leave. He just hoped that Zedd would be able to heal her, to save her life once again because without her he had no life.