XXII. ISOBEL
Richard stared up at the women approaching on horseback, not loosening his hold on his sword. "You know them?" he asked Kahlan incredulously.
"Yes," said Kahlan, still keeping her grip on his arm. "One of them, anyway. The older one is Sister Isobel, the woman who raised me."
Cara looked over and asked, "So we're not killing anyone today?"
"No," said Richard. "Not yet." He barely noticed the Mord-Sith's resigned sigh. He lowered his sword, but kept it out. The sudden appearance of friends instead of foes seemed too great a coincidence to trust, and the fury of the sword still coursed through him, ready to respond to any threat the women presented. "Could it be a trick?" he said to Zedd, but the wizard shook his head.
"I don't sense any spell in use, but let's use caution here."
Kahlan didn't seem to hear them; she was smiling a teary-eyed, disbelieving smile as the women reined in their horses and the older one dismounted, still calling her name. The woman hurried forward across the muddied ground, the silky red material of her dress flapping in the wind, and Kahlan slipped past the protective ring they'd formed around her to greet the stranger.
"Sister Isobel!" she called.
Isobel pulled her into a hug, clinging to her like someone beloved and long lost, while Richard and the others stood back, watching. "Kahlan!" she cried in a warm, happy voice. "Look at how you've grown. The last time I saw you, why you were hardly more than a child. You didn't reach past my shoulder." Now, Kahlan stood at least a head and a half taller than the wiry, graying sister. "You've grown into a beautiful woman, and about to have a child of your own, I see." She rested an uninvited hand against Kahlan's belly, but Kahlan didn't seem to mind. "When is the child to come?" asked Isobel.
"In the spring," she said.
"The snow already melts," said Isobel. "We found you just in time!"
"What do you mean, you found her?" said Richard. Though he was no longer calling on the sword's magic, it refused to fade, lingering like a warning beneath his skin. He couldn't shake his sense of unease, but Kahlan grabbed the older woman's hand and tugged her forward in an echo of the child she must have once been.
"Come!" she was saying. "I want you to meet my friends." The younger sisters had dismounted, but they hung back, staying close to their horses. Richard kept a sharp eye to them.
"Richard!" Kahlan gave him a luminous smile as she neared him and said, "Richard, this is Sister Isobel. I've told you about her. She's one of the Sisters of the Light who raised me." She laid a hand on Isobel's arm and added, "Sister Isobel, this is Richard, the Seeker of Truth."
"And the father of your child," said the sister in a knowing voice. Kahlan beamed at him with pride and nodded her head, but he stared at Isobel.
"How do you know that?" he demanded.
"Do you see any other strong, handsome men around?" she asked with a wink. Richard just frowned. That was not the true explanation, and they both knew it. "Very well," she said as she adjusted the red veil flowing over her gray hair. "I could hardly expect the Seeker to be satisfied with less than the truth. I learned this from a prophecy."
If that was the truth, he wanted to hear more of it, but Kahlan spoke up again before he could ask another question. She introduced Zedd and Cara in a happy rush, clearly overjoyed to have someone from her childhood returned to her. It brought out an innocent, trusting side in her that he had never seen before, and the two women fell to talking in hushed voices, retreating from the little group a few steps as Isobel put an arm around Kahlan and drew her close.
"Tell me," he heard her say. "How are you feeling? Are you well?" Kahlan smiled and said that she was fine. "And do you have a name for your little one yet?"
"No," said Kahlan softly and glanced his way. He forced himself to smile for her sake. "Not yet," she said, resting a hand on her belly. They continued their quiet conversation, leaving the other two sisters still standing by their horses, and Richard alone with Zedd and Cara.
"If you don't do something to stop this," said Cara in a low voice. "That woman will soon have her sitting in a rocking chair, knitting baby blankets!"
"Perhaps that is what Kahlan wants," said Zedd quietly. "She is about to become a mother to a babe she has had no time to prepare for, because she is constantly traveling. Now here is a woman who loved Kahlan as a child and could help her. I imagine it is almost like having her own mother returned to her right when she needs her most." He knew Zedd's words were meant for him more than Cara, but he said nothing. Instead, he watched Kahlan with the sister, trying to decide the truth of it. She had always insisted on coming with since the beginning, had been furious with him for suggesting she stay behind at Thandor. He wondered if he should have stopped and built a house for her somewhere, but the quest didn't leave time for such things. He felt the punishing anger of the sword pulsing beneath his skin again, reminding him that Kahlan suffered because of him.
Through the haze of magic, he studied Isobel, taking in the woman's petite frame and her soft, smiling face, with wide set gray eyes to match the loose curls of her hair. She looked the very definition of harmless, but the sword's magic thundered through him as honed and deadly as it ever grew in battle. Though he did not know what prompted it, he vowed to himself that he would not leave Kahlan alone with these women.
At last, he could stand it no longer, and stepped towards Isobel, asking, "What of these two? Do they have names?" Kahlan looked up, and he knew she was frowning at his tone, but Isobel gave him an endlessly patient smile.
"Of course they have names," she said. "Forgive me for leaving you standing there like strangers." She beckoned to the two women with a tilt of her head, and at least that was something learned. He hadn't had much doubt before, but now he was certain that Sister Isobel was in charge of their little group.
The sisters came forward, and she gestured towards the fairer one, "This is Sister Ariel," she said. The young woman said nothing, giving them only a small and fleeting smile. Her thick, golden hair was as resplendent as the sun, but her face was plain and seemed at odds with the beauty of her hair. "And over here is Sister Hanna." Isobel nodded towards the darker one with thick, black curls and eerie, midnight eyes. Unlike Ariel, Hanna offered no smile.
"It's wonderful to meet you both," said Kahlan with true delight in her voice. "I have such fond memories of my time with the Sisters of the Light."
The two sisters nodded, but remained mute. When Isobel saw Richard's frown, she nudged Hanna, who stood nearer. "You vex me with that tongue of yours all day long, and now you have nothing to say?"
Hanna hesitated a moment and then turned to Kahlan. "It is a relief to have found you, Mother Confessor, after searching so long," she said in a halting, stilted voice. Richard swore he caught her dark eyes make the briefest flicker towards Isobel when she finished, as if asking for approval.
Isobel showed no sign of acknowledging the look. Instead, she gathered up Kahlan's hands, squeezing them and giving them a little pat. "I'm afraid they're uneasy about speaking in front of the Mother Confessor. I always thought you might be the one to bear that great title one day," she said with a proud smile. But all Richard could think of was that no one could lie to a Confessor.
"You still haven't told me why you were searching for Kahlan," he said. "Or what prophecy you spoke of earlier."
"You ask many questions, Seeker," said Isobel in a pleasant voice. "I see you take Kahlan's protection seriously, as you should. But do not worry; I will answer your questions. Will that put your mind at ease?"
"That depends on your answers," he said, and Kahlan shot him a look as sharp as her daggers.
Isobel seemed not to mind. She only smiled and said, "Sister Hanna is strongly gifted in foresight." He looked at the darker sister's unsmiling face and the unsettling blackness of her eyes, so dark that they reminded him of Kahlan's in the midst of confession. "She saw that the Mother Confessor would bear the Seeker's child, and that the Keeper would desire this soul. Sister Hanna knew that I had cared for Kahlan as a child, and so informed me of her vision. We set out to find you at once," she said, turning to Kahlan. "I looked first in Aydindril, but you were not there."
"No," said Kahlan. "I have been with Richard."
"But why did you search for her?" he demanded. It seemed too great a coincidence that two sets of women had learned of Kahlan's child through prophecy and set out to find her. He took a hold of his sword, letting the rage flow through him, "Did you intend to kill Kahlan when you found her?"
Kahlan's blue eyes flashed. "Richard!"
"I have found her," said Isobel with a light, tinkling laugh. "Have I tried to stick my dacra into your side, child?"
"No," said Kahlan in a heated voice, still glaring at Richard. "You have not."
"Answer the question," said Richard through gritted teeth, because he swore that was not an answer, but a clever way to get around a lie. "Look into her eyes and answer the question, or I swear I will kill you where you stand." Kahlan's eyes filled with furious tears, but he ignored them. He would gladly suffer her anger if it spared her life.
Isobel did as he asked and faced Kahlan, touching a wrinkled hand to her cheek. "My little Kahlan," she murmured. "I did not come here to kill you. Neither did Sister Hanna, nor Sister Ariel."
"She is telling the truth," hissed Kahlan, filled with more anger than he had ever seen before, save for when she was consumed by the fierce, primal wrath of the Con Dar. Somehow, he thought that would have been easier to bear than the raw fury and pain of the woman he loved. "Are you satisfied?"
Richard felt his face burn with shame and said nothing. It was Isobel who spoke, patting Kahlan's back with a motherly hand, "He is trying to protect you, that is all." Kahlan folded her arms above her belly and looked away. "Any more questions, Seeker?" continued the sister with no more reproach than a slightly raised eyebrow.
He did not dare to look at Kahlan when he spoke, "You still have not told me why you came for her."
"To offer to keep her safe until it is time for her child to be born," said Isobel calmly. He found her constant calmness infuriating. She turned to Kahlan, fussing with her cloak and hair like she was still a little girl. "You say you are well, but I can see that you are weary. My sisters and I would be glad to take care of you, while the Seeker and your friends continue on with their quest."
Richard waited with bated breath. Though he had no proof, he could not shake the feeling that it would be a grave mistake to leave Kahlan with these women. However, Kahlan was not one to take orders from anyone. And as angry as she was with him right now, she would be in no mood to heed his advice. He wondered if she would go with the sisters to spite him. But more than that, he feared that she might truly want to join them. He did not know how to ask her to keep struggling on each day, if all she wanted was to stop and rest for the birth of their child. But to his surprise, she shook her head.
"You are very kind," she said quietly. "But my place is with Richard." He could see in her eyes that she was still furious, but even that did not lessen the love with which she said his name. "I must go on."
"I thought you might say as much," said Isobel. "I have heard of your love for him, and his for you. But I have traveled far and long to find you, let us at least rest and talk a little longer. Can you spare me an hour from your quest, my little Kahlan?"
Kahlan shot him a look that said quite plainly that they very well could, and Richard nodded despite Cara's rolled eyes. "We can spare an hour," he said. He doubted he could refuse her anything.
The seven of them settled on the driest patch of brown grass they could find and passed around what food they had in their packs. The air was tense, and Kahlan barely glanced his way. What little was said was due mostly to her and Isobel. The two women sat side by side, sharing memories of the time Kahlan had spent as a child in Thandor. He listened for awhile, glad that Kahlan had some happy childhood memories after the trauma he knew she'd endured at the hands of her father, but eventually he turned to the blonde Sister Ariel. She had sat silently beside him the entire time, taking occasional nibbles on a wedge of cheese.
Richard reached into his pack and took out the dacra he'd carried with him since leaving the mountains. "I found this embedded in the forehead of an Ashkari scholar," he said as he dropped the weapon into Ariel's lap. "I believe it is one of yours."
Silence fell over the assembled group, and she stared down at the dacra, her mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. "It is a dacra," Ariel stated in a halting, uneasy voice much like the one Hanna had used.
"I know it's a dacra," said Richard. "What I don't know is why one of the Sisters of the Light embedded it in a dead man's skull. Or what they did to frighten an entire community into mass suicide. Care to tell me?"
Isobel leaned forward and snatched the weapon from Ariel's lap. He tensed, watching as she spun the beautiful, three pronged blade in her hand with a deft skill that suggested many years of training. She gave the dacra a fond smile, and at last allowed it to come to rest against her open palm. "Many have tried for years to find the hidden city of Ashkari," she said. "How is it that you managed to succeed where countless others have failed?"
"The compass led me there," said Richard stiffly, never taking his eyes from the dacra. He remembered Kahlan had said it could kill in an instant.
Isobel nodded, turning the blade over. After a long silence, she spoke, "It is not the way of the Sisters of the Light to seek out and destroy another community, even though the scholars you spoke of have shunned the Creator's light by studying the Keeper." Richard thought of the exquisite mural in the library at Ashkari, how it paid tribute to the glorious beauty of the rising sun. The scholars had not shunned the light, but merely sought to also understand its opposite. He wondered what Sister Isobel would think of him if she knew he spent hours every night studying one of their books on the Underworld.
She flipped the dacra in her hand and tucked it away in her boot, saying, "What you discovered in Ashkari was not the work of Sisters of the Light, but Sisters of the Dark."
"Sisters of the Dark?" said Cara in a sharp voice.
"Sisters who have turned to serving the Keeper."
"Who are they?" said Richard. "Where are they?"
"I cannot say. Sisters of the Dark do not reveal themselves, but work in secret," said Isobel. Her solemn gray eyes seemed to look right through him. "I can see you are worried I am one of them. Perhaps you will look on me more kindly, Seeker, if I give you information that may help you. It is the Sisters of the Dark who hunt Kahlan."
Kahlan straightened up, her waterskin halting on its way to her mouth. "But the prophecy made no mention of Sisters of the Dark!"
"Tell me what prophecy you have heard," urged Isobel. "And perhaps I can shed some light on it."
Kahlan wove her hands together, reciting from memory the same words that had been engraved in his mind since Shota first spoke them, "The Keeper's daughters hunt the one conceived in sorrow – child of love and fury – for their master lusts for its soul. If he gains it, the one in white will perish and all life shall follow her. But, if by the Creator's grace, the one bound to the blade is given to the world of the dead, the child will be born into a storm that promises hope for the world of the living."
When she fell silent, it felt to Richard as if the air had suddenly grown colder, the sky darker. There was no flavor left in the food. But Isobel smiled quite delightedly and brushed breadcrumbs from her lap. "Ah, there is your problem!" she said. "The Keeper's daughters – that is a turn of phrase. You spent several years in Thandor. Did you not often hear a sister refer to herself as one of the Creator's daughters?"
"Often," said Kahlan.
"This is the same. Sisters of the Dark are daughters of the Keeper. As to where they are, I have heard a rumor that many sisters are amassing far to the east, near the border with D'Hara, at the site of the Great Rift."
"The Great Rift?" echoed Richard. "What place is that?"
Isobel sighed and said, "The Great Rift is an opening to the Underworld far greater in size than any other tear in the veil. It is a place of tremendous power – a sign of the Keeper's increasing dominion over the world of life. I would not presume to advise the Seeker on his quest, but it may be of benefit to you to travel there. You would learn much. Perhaps you would even be able to destroy some of these Sisters of the Dark who threaten your beloved. If you like, I will lead you there."
"No," said Richard, trying to hide his interest in the place. His unease still lingered, and the last thing he wanted was to keep these women close. "The compass is leading south, and I must follow it," he lied. The compass currently pointed east, but only Kahlan caught his lie. He could see the realization in her eyes, but she did not give it away with so much as a tilt of her head. He wondered how sharp her anger would be when she unleashed it later.
He expected Isobel to push her offer, but she only smiled and said, "You are the Seeker. I am sure you know best how to follow your quest."
"Yes." He stood abruptly. "And we should get back to it. I'll ready the horses." Zedd and Cara got up and said quick goodbyes, but Kahlan lingered with Isobel until the last possible moment, the two women whispering with their heads bent together. They hugged when they parted, and though Kahlan let him help her up onto her horse, she did not give him her usual smile.
They rode south in a smothering, stony silence all afternoon. When he finally swung the horses back east in their original direction, he thought Kahlan would have something to say about the lie she'd caught him in, but even then she said nothing. When he could bear it no longer, he urged his horse over to hers and asked to talk to her. Her blue eyes were icy, but she nodded, and they let their horses fall back until they rode a good distance behind Zedd and Cara.
"What is it?" she asked in a quiet, tired voice.
"I thought you might want to yell at me," he said. He would welcome it at this point.
She stared straight ahead at the rolling hills. "I don't want to yell at you, Richard."
He sighed, "Kahlan, I'm sorry."
She finally looked at him then, and to his surprise, her eyes were filled with tears. "You were so cruel to her," she whispered. "Sister Isobel raised me. I know she did not give birth to me, but she was like a second mother to me for a time. Do you know how happy I was to see her today? I thought we were going to die, and then to see her instead! I could hardly believe my eyes. I was so excited for you to meet her and for her to meet you, and you did not have one kind word for her. Not one." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry," he said again.
Kahlan seemed not to hear him. "You accused her of coming to kill me!" she cried. "And threatened to murder her yourself! The very woman who saved me from my father. You have no idea what she rescued me from, Richard. None. I have not begun to tell you half of what was done to me by my father, because it would only give you pain, but she knows all of it." She pursed her lips together, staring down at the saddle. Her knuckles were white from how hard she gripped the reins.
Her voice grew faint and faraway, speaking from out of the depths of long silenced memories, "When I first went to Thandor, I would often wake from nightmares of my father finding us again. She slept on the hard floor of my room ever night just to be there to comfort me when I started screaming. Besides me, she was the only person who could make Dennee smile! I know why you did what you did. And that we have ridden south all day because you wanted to throw them off our trail. But since you seem to have no faith in my judgment, perhaps it will comfort you to know that every word she spoke was true."
Richard felt as if he sat drowning beneath a cold wash of guilt. He had only wanted to keep her safe. "I have faith in your judgment," he promised. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a trick. Two sets of women both looking for you? It seemed to great a coincidence to trust. And they passed through that village right before the baneling attack!" He twisted in the saddle to look at her, "It made me uneasy, Kahlan. Did you see how the other sisters refused to speak? It was as if they were afraid to open their mouths and have you catch them in a lie."
"Maybe they were," said Kahlan. He started at her words. "I'm a Confessor. It makes people uncomfortable, knowing that they could say something as innocent as a meal tastes delicious to avoid hurting the feelings of their host, and I will know it for a lie. My whole life, people have reacted to me as those two did. That is nothing new."
Richard nodded, staring out at the melting snowdrifts. Kahlan's life had been a lonely one since birth, and he had ruined what should have been a happy reunion with one of the few people who hadn't held her magic against her. The anger of the Sword of Truth struck him sharp like the crack of a whip, and his eyes stung. "I was wrong," he said quietly. "Can you ever forgive me?"
She let out a tired, watery laugh and pushed at her hair. "Of course I can forgive you. You acted out of love for me, not a desire to be cruel. But Richard, I would not distrust someone you trusted. I accepted Cara on your word."
She had. Even though the woman had killed her sister and countless others, she had let his word be enough. He forced away his lingering unease and vowed to do the same.
They rode in silence awhile longer, though this time it was companionable. He studied her out of the corner of his eye, taking in her swollen belly and the awkward way she now had to sit in the saddle because of it. Though she tried to hide it, the discomfort of riding in her condition showed in the pinched lines around her mouth. "What is it?" asked Kahlan when she caught him looking.
He swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Would you have been happier with the sisters? Preparing for the baby?"
"No." She spoke with a vehemence that surprised him.
"I'm sorry we don't have a home," he continued. "Some place to make ready for her." There was so much he wished they could do differently. Kahlan deserved a bed to sleep in. A home to have decorated however she wanted. With a cradle and blankets and a doll for their daughter. He wanted to worry over her day and night, not because the Keeper was trying to kill her, but because her feet ached, or she wanted a plate full of honey cakes when they didn't have any.
But she reached across the distance between their horses and took his hand. "My home is with you, Richard," said Kahlan quietly. "I don't need anything else. She can be born in the forest or on the road so long as you're there with me when it happens."
"I will be," said Richard. He swore to himself that not even the Keeper of the Underworld would keep him from her side when the time came for their daughter to be born.