Chapter 2
Chase's arrival brought mixed emotions for Richard. He was clearly glad to see his old friend and know that he was well. He knew Chase's presence meant Kahlan would be well protected and he would have the benefit of his grandfather's help on his mission. But he also knew that it meant he and Kahlan would now be separated.
Richard's concern at leaving her, knowing Reetha could return at any time, was so great that he had asked if Zedd could cast a spell over them. One that would connect them in a way that Richard could find her should anything happen while he was gone. Zedd assured him it was possible and had brought them together as he united them in a wizard's connection spell.
Outside the inn, Chase clasped Richard's arm in a show of support and looked him squarely in the eye. "Be careful my friend. I'll watch over her as I would my own Emma."
"I know. Thank you, Chase."
Kahlan stood near Richard's horse as he said goodbye to Chase, Martha and Rachel. She felt the connection to him strongly in her breast. She knew he too could similarly feel her.
Richard walked over to her and stood with his toes touching hers, his head bent toward hers. He took her hands up in his.
She looked up at him with her disarming blue eyes, wet with tears. "We'll be able to sense each other? Like we do now, even when you're far away?"
"The closer we are the stronger the feeling, like it is right now. The farther apart we get the more faint it will grow."
"Will it disappear, if you get too far away?"
"No. It will only disappear if something happens to Zedd or to one of us." He wished he hadn't said that out loud. "But that won't happen" he quickly added.
She leaned against him, holding him close "I miss you already."
Richard swallowed past the lump in his throat. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Her face against his neck, she whispered, "Tell me."
He pulled the leather thong from around his neck, the large tooth his father had given him hanging from it. He slipped it over her head; the pointed tooth coming to rest just above her breasts. "I love you Kahlan. Anytime you need to hear that while I'm away, you just hold onto this and remember this moment right now." He pulled her into a final tender kiss before forcing himself to break away.
Kahlan watched as he mounted his horse and disappeared with Zedd into the surrounding forest, her hand tightly clamped around the tooth.
---
"So Reetha, you've come beseeching my help?" Captain Rothman didn't try to hide his disdain. "Why should I help you now? I can recall some time ago when you were not so obliging."
She had known he would treat her this way. But she had no choice. The Seeker and the First Wizard had killed her only remaining disciples. If she wanted the Mother Confessor and her child then she needed his help. She had spurned his advances some time before and apparently, he had not forgotten it.
She used her sweetest voice, letting a small trickle of her hypnotizing magic flow forth, "Captain, surely you're not still unhappy with me...? After all this time?" She walked toward him, providing him with a direct view of her in her sheer, gossamer dress. His collar suddenly felt tight around his neck. He used a finger to loosen its hold. His eyes were dark with lust as she approached him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, "There must be some way for me to make it up to you Captain?" She breathed into his ear, allowing her magical breath to take hold of him. Captain Rothman had hoped to never see her again. But now, he found himself strangely drawn to her, unable to resist her. The sorceress' beguiling magic seeped into him. Her presence mesmerized him. She breathed warmly into his ear filling him with sudden strength and stamina as his willpower weakened. His submission to her seemed against his will. His mind warned him of danger, yet he wanted her. He was powerless to resist. He licked his lips before pulling her into a hard kiss.
---
Reetha pulled her dress back over her head as she got up from the chaise. In his magic induced lust, the Captain would have taken her right there in the main hall; Reetha had pulled him into an adjoining room. He reached for his clothes. "What is it you want Reetha?"
"Men. I need Soldiers. My disciples have all been killed; many by Lord Rahl before his death when we failed to bring him the Seeker; the last of them just recently by the Seeker himself.
"Why? What are you up to now?"
"Lord Rahl has left a void waiting to be filled. There are others who would like to fill it."
"What others?" He himself knew of at least one wizard who would want to contend for the role of leader over all the lands, but he wanted to know who Reetha had in mind.
"Does it matter who, Captain? There are many. With the Mother Confessor and her soon to be born offspring, I would be in a position to receive the very best of offers."
"Offspring?" The Captain was intrigued by the news. "How do you know such a thing?"
"I am a sorceress, Captain. I know more than you can imagine."
"She's protected by the Seeker and a Wizard; of the First Order, I might add."
"Precisely why I need your men."
"How would you even know where to find her?"
A sly smile spread over he lips. "I could find her in the dark."
---
Richard and Zedd were well beyond the temple where they had found Kahlan more than a month before. They had gone back hoping to find that Reetha had returned, but they'd found it empty. In their search there, they'd discovered a journal with notes pertaining to a Captain Rothman in Whispering Pass. Zedd knew the area well and that it was home to a small outpost of D'Haran soldiers. It was also home to another temple of the sorroral women.
They were now just outside Whispering Pass. They could have continued on but chose to stop for the night and be well rested when they entered the pass, not certain of what they would be up against. They made no fire to keep from alerting others to their presence.
It was a cold, clear night. Richard tightened his cloak against the winds that blew constantly here giving voice to the trees, their eerie moans and whispers creaking overhead. The pass was so named for their ghostly sounds. Freshly fallen snow reflected the light of the moon.
He stood at the edge of camp staring out into the forest, the wind buffeting his frame. He shivered against the cold. He missed Kahlan. He had been cold for so long, he was trying to remember the last time he had felt warm, knowing it had been with her. The trees groaned their whispers all around him and he recalled the moment. Kahlan had come to him like a whisper in the night and he had been warm; she had kissed him tenderly and he had been warm; she had made love to him and he had been warm. The memory of it helped to ward off the cold, if but for a moment. Through the spell Zedd cast he felt her presence within him and he longed for the tenderness of her spirit and the joy he found in her eyes. He asked the good spirits to watch over her and their unborn child.
He didn't know when he would be able to return to her, but hoped it would be soon. He and Zedd would enter the Pass tomorrow where he expected to find some answers. More than that, he hoped to find Reetha.
---
Kahlan and Rachel helped Martha prepare the evening meal. She enjoyed their company and appreciated them trying to keep her spirits up. At times such as now, she almost wished Zedd hadn't cast the connection spell between her and Richard. She could sense him, though only faintly. It was painful to feel his presence within her, to expect him around every corner, yet know he wasn't there.
Rachel put her hands lightly on Kahlan's stomach, tilting her head up to look at her. "When will we start to see the baby, Kahlan?"
Kahlan smiled, happy to have Rachel's innocent distraction. She ran a hand down the child's hair. "It's a little soon yet, but it won't be long now. I promise to come show you as soon as it happens." Her words seemed to please Rachel very much.
As Kahlan lay in bed that night she ached for Richard's touch. She clung to the warm feeling of him in her breast. She wondered what he was doing at that moment, if he longed for her as desperately as she longed for him. She wrapped her fingers around the tooth hanging from her neck. She whispered her love for him before drifting off to sleep.
---
Kahlan awoke with a start and bolted upright in bed, panting in the darkness. Cold fear ran through her veins as she jumped from the bed, yanking open the door of her room she called out "Chase!" She ran down the hall. "Chase!"
He appeared just as she was calling his name and grabbed her by the arms. "Are you alright? What is it?"
She grabbed his shirt in her fists. "The connection! It's gone!" She fell to her knees, "I don't feel Richard anymore!"
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