At Last (Chp 11)
Exhaustion clung heavily to her like a drenched cloak, wrapping her tightly in its unrelenting grasp, unwilling to release its hold on her as it continued to intensify. Kahlan blinked several times in a futile attempt to shake the fog of fatigue and confusion that had settled over her mind. She knew she had to stay focused if she ever wanted to see Richard again, but all she wanted to do right now was sleep.
Her head pounded in perfect unison with every steady thump of her heart, a constant reminder of the concussion that plagued her and now threatened her very life. She knew if she didn't get help soon, she wouldn't have to worry about Brey's deluded dreams of sharing a life with her ever coming true…or of her and Richard's dreams of becoming a reality for that fact either.
Frustrated tears burned in her eyes, causing her throat to painfully constrict. How dare Brey do this to her, interfering in their lives, taking her against her will, stealing her happiness with Richard.
Kahlan was suddenly snatched from her thoughts by a fierce jerk on her arm. Glancing around her, she found herself standing at the precipice of a set of steep stairs that spiraled downwards into a pit of darkness. Dazed, Kahlan had almost fallen down those steps into the unknown abyss below.
Kahlan stared in confusion into Brey's transparent blue eyes, eyes that no longer held malice or rage. Instead, they were filled with deep concern and love. It was unsettling to see the amount of love that resided there. It faintly reminded her of the love that she always saw in Richard's beautiful brown eyes…and yet it was so very different.
The love in Brey's eyes was dark and detached, making her blood like ice in her veins, her skin prickling with nauseating fear. It wasn't a pure love that spoke of her value, but only of what he wanted to possess and control, to keep for himself. It was a cold, carnal form of lust that left Kahlan feeling exposed and defiled. What Kahlan thought, what she felt or wanted mattered not to Brey unless it was directly associated with him.
The smoldering look of love that Kahlan saw in Richard's eyes made her heart melt, her pulse race, enveloping her in a sweet sense of protection and love. It was a gaze that spoke of his undying love for her, the deep-seated respect and awe of her that resided in his heart.
It was a reverential love that put her above all else, especially himself. The intense passion that burned for her, permeating Richard's entire countenance made her feel exquisitely beautiful and desired like a precious jewel.
And she felt no less for her Seeker.
"KK, are you alright? You almost fell down those steps!" Brey held her by her upper arms, staring into her perplexed face.
"No, I'm not feeling very well," she finally admitted as she attempted to banish the haze of confusion from her mind.
Averting her eyes, Kahlan could no longer stand to look into his face, to see his naked animalistic desire for her. She was surprised and yet extremely relieved that Brey had not forced himself on her. She hoped that she could buy a little more time. Hopefully, the friend she knew from Thandor was still inside him somewhere, buried deep beneath the tangled, thorny vines of deluded emotions and warped dreams.
"Sorry, but we can't stop to rest. Not now anyway. As soon as you help me find the second Sparrow's Eye, I can heal you and everything will be alright…I promise, KK. You'll see. Everything will be perfect…just like we dreamed it would be. Just you and me. Together we'll be unstoppable." His words came in an escalating frenzied rush of excitement, knowing that he was very close to realizing his dreams.
"Brey, stop it!" she finally shouted, frustration and exhaustion breaking down her resolve to stay focused and calm, to try and talk some sense into him. "There is no you and me! There never was and there never will be! We shared some special times together, times that I will always cherish. You were there for me when I had no one, Brey, but that time is gone. Do you understand? I am in love with Richard!"
It all came out in a seething rush of bitter, angry words. She no longer cared what he did to her or if her words were breaking through his sick deluded wall of denial. Her head was pounding relentlessly, bile rising threateningly in the back of her throat, the room spinning wildly at times. It was growing more and more difficult to connect her thoughts or to put coherent words together. She ached to feel Richard's arms wrapped lovingly around her, holding her and telling her everything was going to be alright.
Kahlan braced herself for the onslaught of fierce rage that was about to be unleashed upon her. Glowering at him, she reminded herself that she was the Mother Confessor and she was not about to back down from anyone, least of all this brutal monster.
Brey's expression, however, only softened. Reaching out a hand, Kahlan involuntarily trembled as he cupped the side of her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb just as her Seeker had down countless times. "Oh, my precious Kahlan…it's alright. I suddenly see it all so clearly. I realize now that it's not your fault. You've been brainwashed, deceived into believing that you no longer love me."
"I don't love you, Brey! I have never loved you!" Kahlan was startled at how crazy Brey's thinking had become. He was living in his own reality, his own fictitious world that he had created. A world that was limited to only him and her. Any time anything assaulted that idealistic dream, he would either break into fits of blinding rage or would compensate his deluded thinking to keep his fantasy intact.
"KK, that's what the Sisters of the Light and the Confessors have trained you into thinking. They made you forget your love for me. It's not your fault, my love. It's their fault…it's Richard's fault." Brey's voice suddenly turned into a deadly hiss as he said Richard's name, his expression twisting into a sneer. His face turned red, his eyes wild and flecked with loathing.
"No one has ever brainwashed me," she spat out in revulsion. "Richard has done nothing but shown me unconditional love, a love that has never wavered, not once. Even when he believed that there was no possible chance for us to ever be together, Richard never stopped loving me."
"He played you!" Brey shouted, his chest beginning to heave with fury.
"I feel sorry for you Brey. You will never know or understand what true love is," she shot back. Not backing down one bit, she stood face to face with her attacker, keeping a steely glare locked on him. As much as his visible rage unnerved her, Kahlan was not about to let it show.
"You are the one who does not know what true love is, KK," he heaved, shaking with the mounting hatred that flowed through his system, further intensifying the deluded myths he'd built up in his mind. "But I'm going to show you. Oh yes, KK…I will remind you of our love. I will make you remember."
Brey immediately leaned in, smashing his lips against hers, grabbing her arms and roughly pulling her to him. Kahlan struggled against his hold, but he was too strong. Fear and panic began escalating in her mind, threatening to overtake her. Her heart began racing with terror. The time had come. He was going to take her against her will. Richard would never want her after what Brey was about to do to her.
This was supposed to be her night with Richard, they're first time together. Having never been with anyone, Kahlan was going to give herself to Richard. Now, Brey was taking what was not his to take. Her body, her will, her heart had been saved solely for Richard and Richard alone. She couldn't let Brey do this to her. Her mind raced with a thousand thoughts, desperately seeking a way out of this.
Kahlan fought against his grip on her, struggled to stop him from taking her, but he had her pressed tightly against the wall. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, trailing down her cheeks as Brey forcibly ran his hand down her bruised neck to her chest, grasping her breast and squeezing hard. She cried out, but her scream of pain was cut off by his mouth on hers.
Suddenly, Brey pulled back enough to stare into her eyes, his chest heaving. "As soon as I find the second Sparrow's Eye, you'll be all mine, Kahlan. And I will remind you over and over and over again how much you love me until you finally remember."
Trembling violently, Kahlan's breath was coming out in shuddering gasps as she attempted to calm her hammering heart and the terror that struck like a lightening bolt to her very core. She quickly ran the back of her hand across her mouth, shameful for what Brey had just done to her.
"Now, if you're ready to proceed, we need to keep moving," Brey finally said as he turned away from her, dragging her towards the steps that she had almost fallen down just minutes earlier.
Brey took the first step down, only to find his progress abruptly halted by an invisible wall. The electric crackle of magic filled the air, suddenly appearing with Brey's intrusion into its sleepy state, waking it from its long peaceful slumber. Stunned, Brey reached out a hand, running it along the suddenly visible blue wall of magic that impeded his advance and stood formidably in the way of getting what he wanted.
"Well, I guess you won't be finding that second Eye after all," Kahlan taunted. She knew that the Keep was filled with endless, unexpected traps and magical boundaries set up by Wizards past in order to protect the powerful secrets that it contained within its ancient walls. She had, however, forgotten about the wall that protected this particular set of stairs.
"Think again, KK," Brey smugly replied as he swiftly turned, enveloping her securely in a cocoon of his arms and body.
In a flash of blinding light, Brey and Kahlan abruptly disappeared, only to immediately reappear at the bottom of the steps on the other side of the magical boundary.
Releasing his hold on her, Brey turned and eyed the Confessor. "You must have forgotten that magic cannot contain me. I guess there is a lot more that I need to help you remember," he tightly informed her as he lit a nearby torch, removing it from its iron sconce before seizing her arm once again, dragging her down the winding labyrinth of the Keep.
XXX
The erratic, wandering path of footprints that disturbed the thick blanket of dust and dirt on the stone floor was like a trail of breadcrumbs, leading Richard and Zedd down the main corridor and around rows of dusty old books. Hope had sprung anew in Richard's heart when he had discovered Kahlan's racing boot prints through the great hall, filling him with a sense of pride that she had fought the Bender and escaped.
Hope promptly dissolved, replaced by rekindled fear when her trail led to an alcove holding many more rows of books, but no Kahlan. Instead, the pair was greeted by thick layers of cobwebs and books that sat silently mocking them with what they knew about the Mother Confessor's condition, but were unwilling to divulge.
Richard cursed under his breath as his eyes settled on the end of one of the wooden bookcases, his gaze narrowing with apprehension. A fresh stain of blood scowled back at him, causing his heart to plummet as he placed a trembling hand over the cruel reminder that his Kahlan was still at the mercy of the Bender.
Flattening his hand against the bookcase, Richard squeezed his eyes shut against the horrifying images that started racing tauntingly through his mind, images of what Brey had done to Kahlan, could do to her if he didn't find her soon.
"I have to find her, Zedd," he finally choked out, his voice strangled with sorrow and desperation. "I can't lose her."
"We'll find her, Richard," Zedd replied as he watched the Seeker try to rein in his emotions. "We can't give up yet."
"I will never give up on Kahlan. Not now. Not ever."
"I know, Richard…I never meant to…"
"I can't keep following their trail like this, hoping to get to Kahlan in time. Every time I get close, I only find more of her blood!" Richard shouted as he spun on his heel to face the Wizard, anger and worry a violent cyclone consuming his soul. "At this rate, I'll be…I'll be too late to save her…"
Richard's chest was tight with the weight of his fears, his hands clenched at his sides. Life was not life if Kahlan was not a part of it. She made the sun rise, the stars shine, and the world a better place. He knew when he first met Kahlan he would never be the same. And he never wanted to. Everything he was and wanted to be was because of her.
"Richard, we'll get her back. Focus on the solution, not the problem."
Raking his hand back through his hair, Richard took a sharp intake of breath as he fought to control his fury. Once he got his hands on Brey, the Bender would regret the day he set foot in their camp that fateful night. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Richard channeled the firestorm of emotions that buffeted him at every turn into finding a way to reach Kahlan.
"Zedd, you know the Wizard's Keep. Is there a way we can get to the Sparrow's Eye before Brey does?"
"I'm sorry, my boy. I've been gone from the Keep and the Midlands for many, many years. I have no idea where it could be hidden. It'll take weeks to search the entire Keep and even then we still might not find it. There are thousands of rooms and the entire place is spelled with all sorts of magic."
"Where would the Wizards have hidden something that possessed powerful magic? There has to be someplace in here that they would keep the most valuable or dangerous magic."
"The most treacherous forms of magic were always kept in the Crypt of Secrets. It's like a vault in the lowest level of the Keep. He would have to break through numerous boundaries of formidable magic to even come close to entering the Crypt of Secrets." Zedd's brow furrowed with growing alarm. While the Sparrow's Eye was quite dangerous in the wrong hands, there were many other forms of magic that were hidden in that crypt that could cause far worse catastrophes. They would all be in a great deal more trouble than they already were in.
"You said yourself that Benders can manipulate time and space. He couldn't be held by your Wizard's web. Those magical boundaries aren't going to slow him down for long, Zedd." Richard immediately turned and quickly began making his way back down the central corridor. "I hope you can think of a way to defeat him if he finds that second Eye before we get there," Richard heatedly called over his shoulder.
Richard prayed they got to the crypt in time to stop Brey and save Kahlan. If not, he would lose Kahlan forever. Thoughts of Brey's hands on Kahlan, hurting her, taking her against her will, his body covering hers as he spilled his seed inside of her, Kahlan carrying Brey's child. It caused his heart to constrict as waves of nausea crashed over him. The thought quickened his pace. The fury pounding in his blood soon matched his thunderous pace, step for vengeful step. His vision was almost blurry from the merciless storm that hummed inside of him brewing just below the surface, begging for release.
His and Kahlan's love for one another permeated their very essence, forever defining them within one another. Their hearts and lives were eternally entwined. Where one left off and the other began was impossible to distinguish. What happened to one, happened to both of them. And he was not about to let the Bender destroy their lives.
XXX
"How do you know we're even going in the right direction?"
"Trust me, I know. I didn't search the entire Midlands for information for the last several years to not know where I'm going," he darkly replied without pausing his steps.
Brey's eyes darted anxiously about the corridor, not really sure of what he was actually expecting to see. He'd heard rumors of the sinister magic that had been instilled throughout the Keep to protect the mystic secrets and magical objects hidden there. He'd been warned that he would most likely not make it out alive. The warning had done little, though, to dissuade him from pursuing his ultimate goal. Nothing would keep him from obtaining ultimate power and making Kahlan his forever.
Once he obtained the second Sparrow's Eye, he would take over the Midlands and rule the entire territory. He would bring everyone under his control, eliminating anyone and everyone who stood in his way. And he would start with the Seeker.
The thought of destroying the Seeker, torturing him, forcing him to watch as he took Kahlan away from him and making her his brought a sense of overwhelming happiness to his soul. A vile grin danced upon Brey's lips at the thought of bringing Richard Cypher pain, of making him suffer endlessly by knowing that Kahlan loved him and not the Seeker. He was determined to make sure that every breath that Richard breathed would bring him heart-rending agony.
As happy as he was, Brey felt a surprising wave of pity for the Seeker. It hadn't been Richard's fault that he had fallen in love with Kahlan. She was the most beautiful creature ever brought into existence by the Creator. He really couldn't begrudge the Seeker for wanting to marry her, of wanting to build a life with her.
The odd sense of pity was swiftly washed away by a reawakened feeling of jealous fury at the thought of Richard with Kahlan - his lips caressing hers, his hands touching her, stroking and enjoying her soft flesh. No, he forbid it! No one would be with his precious Kahlan except for him. He'd been planning this since that dreadful day she had been taken away from him. Richard Cypher would not stop him now.
With a deep throaty growl, Brey violently wrenched Kahlan's arm causing the toe of her boot to catch in a crack in the stone floor. Catching off guard, Kahlan stumbled, falling forward. Unable to catch herself, she fell forward, her full weight coming down hard on her broken wrist.
Kahlan cried out in agonizing pain, stunned to suddenly find herself on the cool floor. She quickly rolled onto her back to relieve the pressure off of her injured arm. Her chest heaving with pain, she looked up to see Brey standing over her, his eyes blazing with flames of rage, his teeth clenched tightly into an irate sneer.
"Richard will never touch you again! Never! You are mine, Kahlan! Do you hear me? I will kill Richard Cypher before he touches you again!"
Fear for Richard's safety began to swell deep within her heart. She had to keep Richard safe, keep him from being hurt by Brey. Sitting up, Kahlan quickly reached into her boot and drew her dagger. Now was her chance to put an end to this torment. Bringing her dagger up, Kahlan thrust forward, resolve giving her the strength she needed to do what she must.
Brey just as quickly leapt backwards, narrowly missing the blade that was to end his life. Fury exploded inside of him as he grabbed Kahlan's wrist, struggling for control of the weapon. Finally twisting her arm, the dagger clanked loudly as it fell uselessly to the stone floor.
Kahlan immediately scooted backwards until she found her back pressed up against the wall. She stared defiantly at Brey, waiting for the punishment that she knew was coming for her actions.
Brey immediately crouched down in front of her, keeping her back flattened against the wall. Panting, his breath was hot against her face. "We'll soon be together forever, my KK," he fumed, his words coming out in heated bursts of madness as he ran his hand roughly along her jaw…