Chapter 19

Clenching her jaw, Kahlan watched impotent how Farkas had successfully rendered Alys's magic useless and had threateningly trapped the little girl between himself and a very sharp looking knife to her throat. Looking for a second over the wizard's shoulder, Kahlan noticed various Mord'Sith coming from behind the trees and standing protectively around the mad wizard.

"You can avoid this, Mother Confessor," Farkas said almost tauntingly as he sunk the knife on Alys's flesh enough to draw a thin line of blood and a muffled whimper from the blonde girl. "I'll let go of the little brat if you surrender yourself to my lovely helpers," he said, nodding his head to the alert Mord'Sith around him.

"Don't do it mommy," Alys shouted and winced when she felt the bite of the blade on her skin again. "If you die, I'll never be born anyway," the blonde girl reasoned as she looked pointedly at her mother, trying to courageously convey that she would be okay somehow.

"No," Kahlan refused resolutely, taking one step forward. "I won't let anything happen to you," the Mother Confessor stated, but before she could take another step, she felt a hand grab her wrist.

"Let her go," Sarah said to Farkas menacingly, not yet letting go of Kahlan's wrist.

"Oh, what a lovely surprise," the wizard said with fake cheerfulness as he noticed who had appeared behind the adults. "A family reunion," he continued smirking as he looked from the brunette Mord'Sith to an alert Cara slightly behind her.

"I said," Sarah raised her voice. "Let Alys go, right now," she said harshly, letting go of Kahlan and walking slowly in the wizard's direction.

"Or you'll do what?" the Mord'Sith standing guard closer to her dared, taking a couple steps to cut Sarah's path.

"Kill you, if you try to get in my way," the brunette evenly said at the Mord'Sith.

"You mean you'll try," the red clad woman smirked. "I bet it was you that killed the sisters that we found dead back at the temple, after you left with Garren to hunt the Confessor," she accused, getting her confirmation in the proud look the brunette teen pierced her with. "But the touch of your agiels won't be able to defeat all of us together," she said, her keen eyes shifting for a second to the rest of the watchful women.

"It wasn't the touch of my agiels that killed them," Sarah said, her smirk rivaling the other woman's as she closed her hand around the Mord'Sith's throat so fast, the woman had no time to react. "It was the touch of my hand," she finished as the irises of her eyes turned completely black and silent thunder crackled in the air.

"Command me, Mistress," the Mord'Sith begged in an adoringly tone as she fell to her knees, making all the other Mord'Sith draw their weapons and take a fearful step back.

"Creator," Zedd whispered in awe of what he was witnessing and glanced at Kahlan to see her reaction.

The Mother Confessor watched speechless as the obviously confessed Mord'Sith tumbled to the ground in agony as the magic surging through her killed her slowly, the adoring eyes still locked pleadingly on Sarah, but the brunette cared for nothing except the unsurprised wizard holding Alys captive.

"Now there's a trick I never learned," Cara raised an eyebrow as she looked between the now dead Mord'Sith and her daughter; the teen had just killed the red clad woman by confessing her nonetheless.

"I knew it," Richard whispered to himself as he tightly closed his fist around the hilt of his sword. "I knew she had confessed that baneling," he nodded to himself.

Hearing Richard, Kahlan looked at him as if asking for someone else's confirmation to her own thoughts. She noticed the hidden pain in the Seeker's resigned eyes as he looked back at her and nodded curtly to her unspoken question. The power of confession belonged solely to the Confessors, watching Sarah use it, a Mord'Sith, brought to Kahlan's memory the image of Alys deflecting magic to protect her. The little girl had been severely hurt, but she did successfully repel the magic, something no Confessor had the ability to do… only the Mord'Sith. They clearly have both Confessor and Mord'Sith powers, Kahlan thought as she looked at Cara to find the blonde looking back at her with knowing eyes, undoubtedly having similar thoughts.

"I'm sick of your games," Sarah said through gritted teeth, attracting everyone's attention back to her.

"And what will you do?" Farkas smiled deviously. "Kill me like you killed your own mother," he sneered.

"You killed my mother," Sarah shouted angrily, making all the Mord'Sith standing guard take one step closer to her. "You are just a coward, trying to manipulate my emotions because you are afraid to face me directly," Sarah lowered her voice, but gained a noticeably tone of authority.

"Coward?" Farkas snorted. "You are the one who ran into a portal instead of staying and facing that you were too weak so save your own mother," he insisted on turning tables. "Not saving her when you could have, is the same thing as killing her yourself."

Sarah smirked, not taking Farkas's obvious bait to angry her.

"My mother always told me that hate comes from fear," Sarah said calmly, pausing as Farkas grew slightly nervous. "I now understand what she meant," she said looking pointedly at the wizard.

"I don't fear you," Farkas barked. "You're nothing but a freak of nature that should never have been born," he said as he tightened his grip on Alys.

"You don't fear me?" Sarah asked, choosing to ignored the second half of Farkas statement. "Is that why you don't attack me directly?" she said, looking around at the weary Mord'Sith around her. "I'll tell you why, because if you aim your magic at me, you'll have it ricocheting right back at you and if you dare come closer where my arm can reach you," she paused, smirking menacingly. "I'll have you enslaved to me for the rest of your miserable life."

"You will never rule the Midlands," Farkas said angrily, clearly bothered by what Sarah was saying.

"The ruler of the Midlands sits in the Confessor's chair," Sarah interrupted, her voice rising above Farkas's. "That means only a Confessor is the rightful ruler of the Midlands. Right now, that duty and honor belong to Kahlan Amnel, Mother Confessor of the Midlands and my mother," she stated, provoking a gasp of surprise in her travel companions, as they heard their suspicions confirmed. "When time comes for her to step down, I'm the next in line to be Mother Confessor; if not me, then my sister Alys and if not her, then there'll be another Confessor to rule in Aydindril. You'll never get what you want," she spat, becoming increasingly angrier.

"I think you're wrong, girl," Farkas nodded at the squirming Alys in his grip. "Looks like I'm on the right track to getting what I want," he gloated, watching in delight as Sarah shook with rage while he held Alys close to him, using the child as a shield.

"Mother will have you locked down for the rest of your life," Alys bravely said, trying to free herself from the strong grip she was being held onto.

An agiel connecting with her side startled her and made her scream in pain, but she gritted her teeth and looked daringly up at the Mord'Sith trying to subdue her.

"It's going to take a lot more than that," Alys smirked cockily, obviously not being as affected by the agiel's pain as the red clad woman expected, especially from a little girl.

"No problem," a voice said from Alys's other side as another Mord'Sith stabbed her agiel in the little girl's stomach and the screeching noise mixed with Alys's own screams was deafening.

The pain suddenly ended as Alys saw both Mord'Sith fall to the floor, a dagger buried deep in each of their chests. Looking up with a tired smile at her mother, the blonde girl could see the determination in Kahlan's eyes as she spoke.

"This ends now," Kahlan said, her voice shaking slightly with mixed anger and fear for Alys's life.

"Couldn't agree more," Cara said as she took a fighting stance beside Kahlan and looking to her right with a nod to the two men that joined her.

"I'm taking this child home," Farkas said, looking at the leader Mord'Sith and tilting his head towards Sarah and her companions, in a subtle order to attack. "She'll have the pleasure to die close to her home, unless the Mother Confessor decides to trade her own life for her dear little girl," he warned, looking directly at Kahlan.

"I won't let you hurt her," Kahlan guaranteed, although apprehensive to make a direct attack, since the dagger to Alys's throat was sure to move faster than her.

"Her fate is in your hands, Mother Confessor," Farkas taunted yet again as his image, along with Alys's, started to fade from everyone's view while the Mord'Sith formed a protective line in front of him, preparing themselves to attack.

"You already took my mother from me," Sarah said in an unsettlingly calm manner, looking at the dead Mord'Sith at her feet. "I won't let you take my sister too," she vowed, looking up suddenly at the wizard, her eyes two deep pools of black, and took off in the direction of the wall of red clad women.

"That can't be good," Alys whispered as she searched her sister's eyes for the familiar spark of green but found only pure black rage in the normally friendly eyes. Sparing a glance up at the wizard holding her hostage, she couldn't help but smirk at the look of terror she spotted on the man's face as he also noticed Sarah's dark eyes.

But before any of them could blink again, Farkas and Alys both vanished into thin air, not before the voice of the wizard was heard again, obviously directed at Kahlan "I'll be close to Aydindril, waiting for your decision."

Kahlan wasted no time in following Sarah against the Mord'Sith, with Cara close behind, readying her agiels for combat.

Richard signaled Zedd to stay behind, as his magic unfortunately couldn't be of any help against Mord'Sith, and followed the two women a step ahead of him.

What happened next was too fast for them to comprehend immediately. As a rumbling dry thunder was suddenly heard, only their quick reflexes and Kahlan's rapid recognition of what they were witnessing saved them from being harmed.

The Mother Confessor's first reaction was to turn quickly around and shove Cara in the opposite direction, effectively throwing her lover away from Sarah and lowering herself in a pitiful attempt at self-protection.

Richard slide to a halt next to the fallen blonde and watched stunned as the dozen Mord'Sith that were closing in on Sarah suddenly fell to their knees after a wave of energy shot from the teen's hands.

"Creator help us," whispered a dumbfounded Zedd, squinting to look at Sarah as the girl turned to look at them.

Cara gasped, instinctively dragging herself further away, as she saw her daughter's eyes, remembering the last time she saw the same dark orbs directed at her, with an intense rage fueling them, when Kahlan had learned the blonde had killed her sister.

And like that time, she heard Richard utter similar words next to her, "Cara, get back," the Seeker warned, not sure if Sarah had any control over herself right now.

The blonde looked questionably at Kahlan that nodded her agreement with Richard's words and voiced what every one of them were thinking. "She's in the Con Dar," she said, her voice trembling. "Stay away to be safe," she told the increasingly upset blonde that was trying to get up and shove Richard away. "Please," she added, begging with her eyes for Cara to not do anything reckless and bid their warnings for once.

When Cara gave a curt nod and took some steps back, closer to Zedd and Richard, Kahlan turned around to face the shaking brunette, that by now had taken her black agiels back in her hands and was gripping them fiercely, her eyes surveying the red clad bodies on the ground, that died in agony under her will.

"Sarah," Kahlan called softly, not wanting to startle the girl. "Sweetie, please look at me," she continued, taking a few tentative steps in Sarah' direction.

Sarah whipped her head around and fixed her eyes on Kahlan's, the Mother Confessor halted her advances, lifting her hands in an appeasing gesture, knowing she had no way of stopping Sarah if she decided to attack her.

"Sarah," Kahlan tried again, praying the girl would be able to focus on her voice, but was quickly caught off by the girl's outburst.

"What?", Sarah shouted, fury evident in her voice.

"Please, calm down, hear me out," the older woman said calmingly, hopping to assuage the rage she could feel coming out of the girl.

"Hear you out?", she chuckled humorlessly, taking a couple of steps closer to Kahlan, as Kahlan backtracked in response. "No, you hear me out!" she clenched her jaw and breathed heavily. "My mother is dead, my sister is missing, I'm years away from anything and anyone I know, and you want me to calm down?!" she asked in disbelief.

"Sweetie, I know how you're feeling," she empathized. "But right now, you do need to calm down or you could do something unintentionally that you will regret," Kahlan pointed out, watching as Sarah's eyes shifted to Cara and the two men, obviously weary of her right now.

"I already did something I regret," she returned her still dark eyes to Kahlan. "I may not have killed my mother, but I surely didn't do everything in my power to save her," she said, tears running down her face. "I won't make the same mistake again," she stated resolutely, looking around and whistling in calling to one of the horses, sheathing her agiels on the scabbards at her back and moving towards the approaching animal.

"Stop this instant, girl," Cara shouted, after pushing Richard's restricting hands away from her. "You are not going anywhere, least of all alone!" she said with authority, looking up crossly as the girl mounted the black horse.

"This time I won't listen to you," Sarah said icily. "That bastard will pay," was all Sarah said in a rough voice before hastening the horse with her heels and galloping down the road.

"Get back here!" Cara shouted, trying to free herself from the grip around her waist, only noticing after a second that it was Kahlan and not Richard anymore that was holding her back.

"No, let her go," Kahlan said, although the worry was very noticeable in her voice. "There's no way we can reason with her now," she said, looking at Cara. "Trust me, I know how she's feeling, she's lost in rage," she sighed sadly.

"One more reason why we can't let her go," Cara said frantically as she hopelessly watched Sarah get further and further away from them.

"We won't," Kahlan said firmly. "We'll follow right behind her," she looked deep into Cara's eyes, seeing how the blonde nodded in understanding.

"Then we better hurry," Richard said while running towards one of the remaining horses, since the fourth had spooked and ran away. "She's making that horse fly; we need to catch up."

"We can't let her arrive in Aydindril like that," Kahlan reminded the others worriedly as she recovered her daggers from the Mord'Sith's bodies. "She'll get killed at the gate."

"Then we're already wasting time, let's go!" was all Cara said as she mounted the other horse and pulled Kahlan up to sit on the saddle behind her. "Come on, wizard!" she hurried Zedd and he took his grandson's hand to be pulled up behind him on the horse. They took off on Sarah's trail, hopping they could save the girl from herself.

Kahlan sat on the Confessor's chair, her eyes scanning the determined faces of her generals from the Home Guard and the Mord'Sith. Richard was also there, the ready hand on the Sword of Truth testimony of where he stood regarding the matter she was going to propose now. She looked at Zedd and could see the supportive look on his wisdom filled eyes; she had discussed it with him and he agreed there was no other option anymore, they were running out of time.

"Thank you all for coming here," Kahlan started and received answering nods from everyone. "This situation is becoming unbearable," she said as she looked out the window to the sea of red that could be seen outside the gates, as the Blood of the Fold positioned their troops. "My daughters have been taken by a wizard that is consumed by his thirst for power and wants to rule this city, our city," she firmly said.

"A weakling who runs through the loops of time kidnapping children instead of facing us in battle," Raina interrupted with a scowl, she was definitely getting tired of waiting and just wanted to kill someone, do something.

"And the Blood of the Fold are even worse than him," Richard added with a scowl.

"Farkas not only threatened our peace," Kahlan continued, her voice noticeably getting stronger. "But he took my daughters away from me, he killed my wife and he laughs at us, thinking he is on his way to rule the Midlands," she said, her eyes cold as ice in contrast with the fire boiling in her veins.

"Mother Confessor, he will have to kill us all to rule in Aydindril," a general of the Home Guard said as he touched his heart with a fist in a show of loyalty and nodded in respect as Kahlan recognized his gesture with a nod.

"And we'll kill anyone in our path to prevent him from harming our little princesses," Raina said with a smirk and looked at Berdine to see her lover nod back at her in agreement.

"I thank you all for your loyalty, bravery and courage," Kahlan acknowledged them with a thankful soft smile. "Confronting the Blood of the Fold in battle and force them to give us information about Farkas and how to get to him is our only hope now," she said and paused briefly as she looked at Richard for moral support.

Going to war was the last thing she wanted. Until now, the Blood of the Fold didn't attack them and she was thankful for that, it gave them time to research all the angles in how to get Farkas, thus preventing her people from being killed. But now, after Zedd and Berdine had gone through every book in the Wizard's Keep, after countless spies sent to the Blood of the Fold, in the hopes they could get information, and after thousands of plans and ideas, Kahlan saw no other option to resolve this. When she sent word to Richard, he immediately came with an army to increase Aydindril's numbers and she would now take advantage of that.

"My army and I are at your orders, Mother Confessor," Richard acknowledged Kahlan by her title and bowed slightly in a show of respect and as I token of his unquestionable loyalty. He tried to reason with the Blood of the Fold, but unsurprisingly, the lunatics didn't care for nothing but their prejudiced beliefs.

"I thank you Lord Rahl," Kahlan smiled gratefully at her longtime friend. She had to admit that having Lord Rahl, and his mighty army, fighting for them, made her feel more comfortable when heading to the enormous battle she was sure they had ahead of them.

"The Home Guard will serve you and your family to the death," the general said and took his weapon out, followed quickly by the other generals. "Our swords and our lives are yours, Mother Confessor," they vowed and bowed together, the hilt of their swords close to their hearts.

"Me and my family truly appreciate it gentlemen's," Kahlan nodded and turned to look questioningly at the Mord'Sith.

"As if you need to ask, Mother Confessor," Raina said with a smile. "We'll get Sarah and Alys back home, where they belong," she promised as Berdine just nodded at her side.

"Then let's get to work," Kahlan said. "We need a plan of attack and fast," she said in a way of dismissing everyone.

The Home Guard and the Mord'Sith all took the cue and left the room to start planning the attack on the Blood of the Fold.

"You made the right decision, my dear," Zedd smiled at Kahlan and put his hand on his grandson's shoulder. "Get your army ready, we should attack soon. I'll help with the strategy too, I'm sure my many years of experience count for something," Zedd smiled and squeezed Richard's shoulders.

"We can sure use your advice, Zedd," Richard said to the old wizard before facing Kahlan again. "We'll get the girls, I promise you that," he resolutely said and walked out with Zedd to give their input on the strategy.

"They will be back with us," Kahlan whispered, hope filing her heart like it hadn't in a while. "I can feel it."

"Or I'll rip this world and the next apart, until we have them with us again," a voice behind Kahlan vowed with fervor.

The Home Guard was cautiously leading an old man who requested to speak with the Confessor ruling in Aydindril, saying that he had information of the utmost importance to the ruler. Entering the chair room, the guard at the front approached the head Confessor and bowed as he spoke.

"This man says he has information for you, my lady," he delivered the message in a clear voice. "He requests that you listen," he finished as he straightened himself and stepped aside so the man in question could be seen.

Dennee regarded the man with careful curiosity before addressing him in a gentle, yet firm voice.

"What is your name?" the brunette woman asked.

"Draco, my lady," the replied as he approached.

"Speak your mind," Dennee requested with a nod.

"My lady, I am but a humble servant," the old man started as he kneeled before the Confessor, ruling Aydindril in the place of her sister. "I'm here before you to warn about a great evil that will be upon your doors," he mysteriously said, looking up at the seated Confessor.

"What are you speaking of?" Dennee questioned.

"A monster will appear at Aydindril's doors," he continued, his eyes distant as he fixed them on the window to the side. "A twisted experiment made by our enemies…a freak of nature," he warned darkly.

"Speak clearly at once!" Dennee demanded, making the old man look up at her with glazed eyes.

"Darken Rahl has the Mother Confessor in his grip," he revealed, watching as the color drained from the woman in front of him.

"My sister?" Dennee exclaimed, eyes wide with fear. "What has happened to her?" she all but commanded the man to speak.

"Darken Rahl's sorcery has the Mother Confessor and her companions trapped in a powerful and dangerous illusion," the old man explained with a painful expression on his wrinkled face.

"Darken Rahl is dead," Dennee said suspiciously, her eyes searching the man's but found that her powers didn't warn her of any deceit.

"Don't let yourself be fooled, my lady; his power all but grew with the Keeper's help," he clarified, shaking his head. "Darken Rahl controls many a sorcerer in this land that do what he commands."

"Explain yourself," Dennee got up and approached the man. "What is this evil you talk about and more importantly, what happened to the Mother Confessor?" she raised her voice, making every guard in the room take a threatening step closer to the old man.

"Darken Rahl, that monster," the man spat. "He had a captive Confessor for many years. The woman became pregnant and her daughters used in a monstrous experience of Darken Rahl, not unlike all the others he was always prone to do," the man paused for a beat, making sure he had the Confessor's full attention. "After being tortured from a young age, these two girls, Confessors by birth, were broken into ruthless Mord'Sith who's only goal is to serve their master," he stated, much to the astonishment of everyone in the room. "A terrible fate, but the monsters they have become are not to be ignored."

"How is that even possible?" Dennee questioned, thinking of all the possible implications this information might have. "How do you know of this?" she questioned.

"I was once caught on the grip of Darken Rahl myself," he looked away, his look becoming once again distant and pained, seeming to be remembering old memories. "I saw terrible things, my lady."

"And my sister?" Denne brought the man's attention back to her. "What happened to her? And what do these… girls have to do with her?" she questioned.

"The Mother Confessor is under a powerful spell, a dark spell," he explained. "Darken Rahl trapped her in an elaborated fantasy, one that is meant to prevent the Mother Confessor and his companions to stand in the way of these young demons and furthermore, aid them with their goals," he stated fervently.

"Stand in the way…?" Dennee mused. "Stand in the way of what? What do they want? What does Darken Rahl want?"

"To seize the power in Aydindril," he revealed. "To destroy the home of the righteous as he is destroying everything else slowly, letting demons of all kinds run free in our world."

"I won't let anyone destroy this city," Dennee vowed. "And as for this spell you talk about, how do we break it?"

"As any dark spell, for this one to be broken it demands blood," the old man advised solemnly.

"Whose blood?" the Confessor asked apprehensively.

"The freak's blood," he said with vengeance. "You have to kill the cursed girl that will surely be upon your door. A Mord'Sith in possession of powers she should never have, even if it was once her birth's right." he said.

"How will I know who she is?" Dennee asked, the worry for her sister's wellbeing as much as a priority as it was to save the city she ruled in the Mother Confessor's forced absence.

"There's no way the city will miss the tornado of hate and rage that will surely enter these walls," he said with certainty.

"That's what we shall see…" Dennee whispered to herself, her mind already working on ways to defend the city, it's people and her own sister. "I thank you for this information old man, know that Aydindril will always be grateful," she said as a way of dismissing him, nodding for the guards to escort him back outside.

No one noticed the malevolent smirk that contorted the old man's face into a dark expression as he walked out of the room.

Sarah rode her horse almost to exhaustion in her need to get to Aydindril. Her thoughts focused on getting her sister from the grasp of Farkas as she rode, ignoring the dark cloud enveloping her senses but feeling exhilarated by the surge of power running through her veins. Nothing could stop her; nothing would prevent her to fulfill her mission, she couldn't afford that luxury.

She looked back for a moment, smiling as she noticed that, for a while now, the others were not following her. They wanted her to stop, to calm down… how could she stop when her sister's life was in danger? She would not stand by and do nothing this time, she couldn't. Wiping angrily at the tears that fell from her eyes, she gritted her teeth and pushed her horse even more. She didn't save her mother, she knew that, but this time, nothing, not even her mothers would stand in her way to save Alys.