At Last (Chp 12)

After having phased safely through several more magical barriers, Brey and Kahlan finally stood in front of the fortified room that would lead Brey to the realization of all his dreams and the beginning of Kahlan's nightmares. Kahlan sagged wearily against the welcome coolness of the stone wall, exhaustion threatening to drag her down. They had spent the entire night wandering the Keep, following Brey's map that would supposedly lead they safely to his final destination.

Kahlan's hope was rapidly fading as they stood now outside of the Crypt of Secrets. There had been no sign of Richard coming for her. Her heart sunk further with the thought that he was probably still upset about seeing her kissing Brey. Maybe Richard had left Aydindril immediately after seeing her with him.

The thought that Richard didn't know the truth of what had happened and had left Aydindril for good burned agonizingly in her soul. She couldn't bear the thought of Richard thinking that she had chosen Brey over him, that she no longer loved the Seeker. Every aching moment that went by without telling Richard the truth of what he had seen tore at her heart.

Kahlan was so tired. She just wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep forever regardless of the dirt and grime that covered it. The throbbing pressure was continuing to build in her head, intensifying to almost unbearable levels. She decided that Cara's agiel to her head when they had to steal the Quillian was beginning to pale in comparison to what she was feeling now.

Running her hand over her face, she was unexpectedly met with smears of blood. She had forgotten about the gash on her head that had evidently been oozing blood all night. She knew she must look dreadful. Peering down at her beautiful white dress, she found it was now ragged and filthy. She had especially picked it out for her evening with Richard.

The hem had been jaggedly torn by Brey's knife when he had cut her dress to form a sling for her broken wrist. She ran a tremulous hand over it in an attempt to smooth out the delicate material and brush away the dark smudges and blemishes of dirt that covered the once stunning white dress. Splotches of blood also marked the dress, causing tears to sting her eyes. She had wanted nothing more than to look perfect for her lover and now she couldn't possibly look worse.

She absentmindedly looked up to see Brey watching her, lust brewing in his wicked blue eyes. "You don't have to try to make yourself look beautiful for me, KK. You're already the most beautiful woman I know."

Kahlan sighed with frustration, not even attempting to try to set Brey straight. It didn't matter. Nothing she said mattered. No matter what she said or did, Brey would just twist it around in that depraved mind of his, bending it to fit his fantasy just as easily as he bended time and space with his magic.

She could feel her body involuntarily shudder as he stepped closer to her, taking her good hand in his. She couldn't back away from him in the tight corridor; there was nowhere to go. She would only have one shot at trying to confess him. Now that they stood at the door to their final destination, Kahlan had just run out of time.

Squeezing her hand tightly in his, Brey pulled her to him, holding her in a tight embrace. In a blinding flash of light, they disappeared. Opening her eyes, Kahlan found herself standing where they should never have gone.

"The Crypt of Secrets," she murmured in amazement under her breath as she gazed around the mystical room she'd heard rumors about but had never seen. Brey had actually done it. They were here. He had been able to bend his way throughout all the powerful barriers that the Wizards of long ago had instilled throughout the Keep in order to keep people like him out. They had just failed….she had just failed.

No, not yet. He still didn't have the second Sparrow's Eye. If she could keep him from finding it or was able to get the other Eye he already possessed away from him, there was still a chance. As long as there was breath in her body, she was till the Mother Confessor and the authority in this land. It was her responsibility to see this monster stopped before he hurt any more people, no matter the cost.

She felt as if she had already lost Richard. She didn't have anything else to lose. After losing Richard, her life no longer mattered, no longer held any meaning. Dennee could carry on the line of Confessors now. The sole responsibility no longer lay on Kahlan's broad shoulders. She would willingly sacrifice her life for the welfare and safety of the Midlands…and for Richard. As long as he was still alive, he would be free to move on without her. He already thought that she had betrayed him. This way, she could die knowing that she couldn't hurt him any further than she already had.

Brey's eyes anxiously began scanning the room as he waved his torch around, stunned by the things he saw in there. Lighting more torches, Brey relinquished his in an empty iron sconce. He could scarcely believe he had finally done it. After all these years, all the turmoil and searching he'd done, he was finally standing inside the Crypt of Secrets with the woman he loved so dearly.

Turning to face her, Brey was stunned to find Kahlan standing right in front of him, her hand out stretched, her sapphire eyes set like stone with resolve for what she had committed herself to do. Seizing his throat, Kahlan knew that he was hers now as she felt her powers bubbling up from somewhere dark, deep within her. In that breath, she could feel her magic surge forth like an active volcano, ready to release a life-damning sentence on the one who had dared cross her.

And in that same breath, the Bender was gone. Disappearing in a spark of brilliance just as her power was unleashed, Kahlan stood empty handed, her magic clapping like thunder without sound and flowing uselessly into the vacant space of her outstretched hand. Temporarily blinded, she raised a hand to cover her eyes in an attempt to refocus her vision. She quickly spun around, ready for him to appear behind her. Lowering her hand, she saw no one.

Kahlan's eyes began to dart frantically about her, feeling his eyes as they roamed over her, watching her every move, her every step, every rise and fall of her chest. Shivers raced down her spine at the thought of him hiding in the dark, neglected crooks and corners of the large crypt, just watching her with those unsettling eyes.

"Brey, I know you're in here. Come and face me!" Kahlan growled angrily at him, unnerved by his sudden change in tactics.

"KK, I love you. Why would you try to confess me again?"

His voice sounded so weak and innocent, so small and almost childlike in his question. It pierced her heart to hear the simplicity and the hurt in his words, taking her back to the boy she played with and confided in up on that cliff in Thandor. Her throbbing head and aching wrist chillingly reminded her that he was no longer that boy.

"Brey, you're not well. There is something wrong with you. I can help you. Zedd can help you. Please come out and I will do my best to help you feel better." The erratic, swinging change in his thinking and emotions was unsettling and frightening, confusing her and taking her off-guard. He sounded so hurt and helpless, but she knew that was the furthest thing from the truth.

"I'm fine, KK. It's you who is not well. I want to help you, to take care of you, to love you just like I did in Thandor. Why won't you let me?"

The tears were evident in his voice the longer he spoke to her, causing Kahlan to begin to feel sorry for him. She mentally shook herself. She could not be taken in again by him. She had believed Brey over Richard because of what she had been through in her past and she had been fooled; he would not fool her again.

Kahlan cautiously began circling her way around towering shelves of old books and glass cases holding magical items as she followed the mournful sound of his voice as it echoed in the enormous room. Brushing stray cobwebs from her face, her gaze warily searched him out, desperate to find him before he changed tactics again and appeared behind her. She decided it was best to keep him talking.

"Come out, Brey, and help me, then. Help me to remember what I have forgotten since Thandor. I need you to help me remember my love for you," she calmly said, her voice sounding soothing and gentle despite the bitter taste the words left in her mouth. She slowly rounded another large case, this one containing a hideous looking skull of an animal of some odd sort that had a large red jewel imbedded in the middle of what once was its forehead…or at least she assumed it used to be its forehead.

The only answer to Kahlan's request was the anxious sounds of her breathing and soft scuffing sounds of her boots along the rough stone of the floor. The ominous silence rattled her to her core, especially being surrounded by such powerful objects of magic. It could be catastrophic if Brey got his hands on any of these other items that had safely been tucked away in here.

Kahlan cried out when she felt a sudden hand on her shoulder. Spinning around, she found herself face to face with Brey. "Do you really mean that, KK?"

His face was streaked with tears, his translucent eyes brimming with confusion and sadness. He looked as if his heart had been shattered and his world had just crumbled down around him.

Raising her hand to him, Brey flinched, backing up a couple of steps. Kahlan slowly inched towards him, keeping her hand open, palm up. Reaching for him, she tenderly ran her fingers down his cheek, wiping away the tears that stained it. "I'll let you help me remember my love for you if you let me help you. Ok?"

"But once I find the second Eye, I won't need your help," he excitedly replied as his face immediately brightened. "I'll be all-powerful. No one can stop us, KK, no one. The second Eye will protect me from your magic and we can be together…at last." He sounded as giddy as a child with a new toy.

"Brey, you need help. There is something not right with you. You are not the same person I left in Thandor all those years ago," Kahlan ventured a little further, her hand still caressing his cheek, hoping against hope that her friend was still in there somewhere, hiding behind all the deluded fantasies.

Kahlan watched in alarm as his sad eyes suddenly grew cold and hard. She could feel his jaw clench rigidly under her touch. She immediately pulled her hand back, but he snatched it before she could break away from him. She had just ventured too far.

"I don't need help! I am the same person you knew! You're the one who's changed, Kahlan! It's you, not me!" He growled at her, the faint appearance of the boy she had known before quickly disappearing back behind the veil of the disturbed tempest in his mind. He began shoving her backwards, his anger frothing to the surface with each shove.

Slamming her back against a wall, he pressed in close to her, savagely kissing her as his hands wandered roughly over her body. Momentarily pulling back, he glared pitilessly into her eyes, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I believe it's high time I remind you of how much you love me."

Tears began spilling from her eyes as she fought against his hold on her. His mouth covered hers, making her gag as he forced his tongue into her mouth. Her head and back were pressed firmly against the stone wall behind her and he had a death-grip on her good arm. Panic rose furiously in her heart and mind, jeopardizing logic. She couldn't stop from shaking, fear of what he was doing to her overpowering her. Though she couldn't yell, her mind was screaming helplessly for Richard to save her.

"Let her go!"

The ugly rage-filled sound of the Seeker's voice caused Brey to immediately stop. Pulling Kahlan away from the wall, Brey held her in front of him as he spun around to face the intruder he was more than anxious to eliminate. The Bender found himself standing before an incensed Seeker and a Wizard of the First Order.

"I said, let her go!" Richard roared again, his eyes glowing with vengeance. His knuckles were white with the sword gripped tightly in his hands, the blade glowing as it sung in unison with the rage that permeated every fiber of his being.

His heart thundered in his chest as he swallowed back hot furious tears at the site of his soul-mate. She had a large ugly gash on the right side of her forehead. Blood trickled in rivulets down the side of her face and neck. There was a large purple bruise on her jaw and bruises in the shape of a handprint lined her throat. Her arm was in a sling and her dress was tattered beyond repair. She was shaking uncontrollably; fear and horror filled her eyes as tears continued to fall down her pale cheeks.

Richard wanted nothing more in that moment than to run that bastard through and finish him off once and for all, to make him pay for what he had done to Kahlan. He wanted to go to her, take her in his arms and make everything alright again. He hated himself for believing she had betrayed him. Because of it, Kahlan had been taken and paid the price.

"I can't let KK go now. I have almost everything I have come here for. I just need the second Sparrow's Eye and she and I will be on our way."

"You are not going anywhere with her!" Zedd interjected; Richard battling for control over his emotions.

Zedd stood beside the Seeker, his arm raised in preparation for anything. He could blast the Bender with Wizard's fire, but Kahlan was too close to him. There was no way of taking him out without further injuring or killing Kahlan.

"I don't think you have much of a say in the matter. Besides, Kahlan loves me, not you, Richard! And once I find the second Eye, we will finally be together forever…just the way it should have been before the Sisters took her away from me!"

"You can't blame Kahlan or the Sisters for her going to Aydindril. She had to leave you in order to be trained as a Confessor." Richard kept his raptor gaze on the Bender even though everything inside of him was screaming for Kahlan.

"Don't you see? Everything I have ever loved has been taken from me! My home, my people, my mother and my father…Kahlan…" his voice cracked from the weight of his emotions, tears returning to his eyes. "I have searched for other Benders. There are no more! I am all that is left of my race! After Kahlan left, I swore to myself that no more would be taken from me ever again. I left Thandor one year to the day after Kahlan was gone. I had heard about the magical Sparrow's Eyes and the power it possessed. I have searched the Midlands ever since leaving Thandor just so I could find the Eyes and be reunited with her. It has taken me all these years, but I have finally done it and you can't stop me!"

Momentarily releasing Kahlan, Brey turned her to face him, grasping her arms tightly. He leaned down to stare into her watery blue eyes. "You see, KK, don't you? I did it all for you…for us…we've both lost so much in our lives, had so much taken away from us, endured so much pain…but not anymore. We can be together forever…just you and me…"

"Brey, there is no you and me. There never really was. I'm so sorry for all you've been through, but I don't love you. I'm in love with Richard," Kahlan gently told him, her gaze momentarily turning towards her Seeker with her declaration of her love for him. She hoped that Brey would finally see the light of the truth that he had been evading all these years. "Brey, you and the times we shared will always be special to me, but my heart belongs only to Richard."

Brey's expression froze like stone, his eyes narrowing into deadly pinpoints of madness. He violently began shaking her, her sling falling from her shoulder as tears ran down his face. "NO!" He suddenly released his hold on her arms. Seizing her broken wrist, he turned her to face Richard again. "You did this, Seeker! You turned her against me!" he seethed violently.

Kahlan screamed out in agonizing pain as Brey tightly clutched her shattered wrist, the small fractured bones shifting and digging into the nerves and ligaments. She twisted and turned, trying desperately to escape his hold on her, only to drop to her knees. The intense searing pain did not lessen despite her best efforts to calm her breathing and her tears.

"Kahlan!" Richard cried out as he took a step forward, his rage trembling for release as he helplessly watched Brey torment her.

"Stay back or I swear to the Creator I will kill her!" Brey spewed out as he ran a hand through his hair, desperately attempting to regain control of the situation. Any semblance of self-control that the Bender may have possessed at one point in time had quickly evaporated for good, never to return. There was no reining in the madness anymore. He was lost forever to the delusional state he had created the day Kahlan had left for Aydindril.

"Don't you dare lay another hand on her or I will kill you where you stand!" Richard seethed between gritted teeth. The things he had imagined Kahlan enduring at the hands of this mad man were beginning to pale in comparison to seeing it take place right before his eyes.

"You have done enough, Seeker! Now I will force you to watch as I make Kahlan remember how much she loves me and not you!" Grabbing her arm, he jerked Kahlan to her feet. Crushing his mouth to hers, he groped her breast.

Kahlan winced in pain as she attempted to pull away from his violent embrace. The sound of Richard's enraged growl stung her ears and gripped her heart. She knew as difficult and traumatic as this ordeal had been for her, it was tearing Richard apart as well. Kahlan bit down on Brey's lip in a dire effort to escape his hold on her.

Immediately pulling back, Brey yelped loudly in pain, his hand flying to his mouth. Touching his lip, he looked to see blood coloring his fingertips. Fury exploded in his mind as Kahlan's rebelliousness pushed him further over the edge.

Ignoring the metallic taste of his blood on her tongue, Kahlan reached for his throat in another effort to confess the Bender before he had a chance to escape her again. Before she could even connect with his neck, Brey's fist connected with her jaw yet again, sending her sprawling to the floor.

Enraged, Richard ran for Brey, sword drawn and glowing with a powerful craving to be bathed in the Bender's blood. Before the Seeker could reach him, Brey was gone in a bright blaze of magic…