Chapter 11

Riding into town, Frederick could hardly hold his head up. It had taken considerably longer to arrive here; picking their way through the steep terrain had been more time consuming than he had initially thought it would be.

Fatigue inundated every part of him, his surroundings beginning to swim before his eyes. He tightened his grip on the reins of his horse, forcing himself to remain upright in his saddle. He felt so weak as they finally pulled their horses to a stop before a small tavern.

His blood began to whoosh in his ears like ocean waves crashing on the shore, his vision blurring. He couldn't say anything to the others, couldn't even make his mouth work as he began to sway in the saddle, his vision tunneling to pinpoints. He closed his eyes, trying force whatever was happening to him to stop, but it did no good.

He could hear his name being called, the sounds around him somewhat muffled, but he could still make out the worry that filled their voices. It felt as though he was trapped inside of his own body without any chance of being set free.

He felt hands grabbing hold of him, steadying him and supporting him. It felt as though he was drifting, being carried along on a billowy cloud. He tried to open his eyes to see what was happening, but he couldn't make them work either now.

A tingling warmth softly touched his body, trickling into him and making him feel so calm and tranquil, removing the panic that was threading its way through him. He could feel his anxiety slowly vanishing the longer the warm tingling caressed him, touching every corner of his mind and body before drifting off into nothingness.

"He should sleep now," Zedd finally announced as he sat back on his heels.

"I can help you get him to a room," the tavern owner volunteered from where he stood behind the Wizard.

"We'd be much obliged for the help," he replied, standing to his feet. "He's been ailing recently. I'm afraid the arduous journey has taken its toll on him."

"What happened to him?" Deryn asked, still kneeling on the ground, his head cradled in her lap.

"I'm afraid that his condition is progressing," Zedd grimly informed her. "He's running out of time more quickly than I had originally guessed."

"Isn't there anything more that you can do for him?"

"I've helped him as much as I can," he shook his head with deep regret. "Sleep is what he needs right now. Hopefully, he'll be somewhat improved in the morning when he wakes up. Come; let's get him inside."

Deryn helped them carry Frederick inside the tavern, the ashen color of his face causing her heart to sink. It only served to remind her how her son was running out of time as well. By the way Frederick looked, she didn't think that he was going to even make it to see Wizard Caelinus at this point.

Helping him into the bed, she carefully pulled the covers over him, adjusting the pillow behind his head. Zedd placed a gentle hand on his forehead, checking on him one more time.

"I need to go ask around, see what I can find out about my friend Caelinus," Zedd told her.

"We'll be fine," Deryn replied. "I'll say here with Frederick and wait for you to return."

"He should be alright now for a while. Just keep him comfortable and I'll return as soon as I can."

Deryn silently nodded as Zedd left the room, closing the door behind him. She settled into a nearby chair, fatigue creeping over her as well. Thoughts of Michael quickly invaded her sleepy state, worry welling up inside of her. She hoped that he was alright; faring better than Frederick was right now.

She couldn't bear the thought of losing her son, not her Michael. Closing her eyes, she imagined him there with her in her arms as she softly cried herself to sleep.

XXX

Cara paused to rub her eyes, his head beginning to throb. She was fairly certain this headache was related to all the reading she'd been doing and not the baby. She was growing more frustrated with her lack of success, agitated that she wasn't able to do more than this.

She knew better than to let on she had a headache or Garren would have all the books removed from their suite before she could blink twice. She knew she couldn't go back to doing nothing again. She'd lose her mind for sure if that happened.

Laying her head back against the pillow, Cara closed her eyes, her hands splayed over her large belly. She slowly began to massage her stomach, soothing away the minor ache that had developed there. She didn't know how much longer she could do this. Her back ached, her body sore from lying in the same bed for days on end. Thankfully for her, pain was something that she could handle.

It was the mind numbing silence of the room, the solitude of being stuck here all alone while everyone else was out there in the world doing something productive to help that slowly driving her mad.

Zedd was with Frederick and Deryn searching for a cure. Kahlan and Lord Rahl were trying to avert a possible war while Nicci was working at untangling the prophecy. The Prelate was taking care of Michael.

Even Garren and Holland had their hands full trying to make sure the People's Palace was well protected against any attacks. They didn't want to be caught unprepared if the three regions who had united against the D'Haran Empire decided to strike. It would be a foolhardy decision going against the Empire and the People's Palace like that, but it still had to be considered as a possibility especially with the birthday celebration fast approaching.

She, on the other hand, felt completely helpless, lying in a bed like some invalid doing nothing but reading old dusty books.

An abrupt sharp kick stole the breath from her lungs causing her to suddenly sit up. She couldn't help the smile that crept to her lips despite the unexpected assault. It was almost as if the baby had read her thoughts, breaking through her sullen mood to remind her he was still here, depending on her to keep him safe.

She was doing something very important. She was protecting her unborn child.

Cara lay back again, taking slow even breaths until the kicking tirade was finally over. She knew in her heart that this baby was going to be every bit like his father. She couldn't have been any happier about it. She wanted their child to be like Garren in every possible way.

Feeling the baby settle once more, Cara picked up her book again, hoping to finally come across something that could possibly help Michael or Frederick. She'd only come across tiny crumbs of information, bits of clues that may or may not prove helpful. She wanted to find something big that would definitely prove to be useful.

She resumed reading, her heart abruptly leaping into her throat and her eyes widening with what she was reading.

"Naira," Cara suddenly called out. "Naira!"

The servant girl who had been sitting in the greeting room should the Mord'Sith need anything came running into the bedchamber. "What is it, Mistress Cara?" she breathlessly asked. "Is it the baby? Are you in labor?"

"No, I'm fine," she shook her head. "Get Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor right away…and Sister Nicci too."

"Yes, Mistress," Naira quickly dipped her head before rushing out of the room.

Returning to the book, Cara continued to read, dreadful panic beginning to rise with what she had discovered. She didn't know how she was going to be able to tell them what she'd just found out.

XXX

"I felt and saw something inside of Michael that I can't even begin to describe," Richard attempted to explain to them.

"Try," Nicci encouraged him. "Tell me exactly what you felt, what you experienced."

"Nicci, I don't even know how I was able to do anything at all let along try to describe it," he sighed in obvious frustration as he sank into a chair next to Kahlan. "I have no control over my magic. It comes on its own and leaves almost as quickly."

Kahlan reached over, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Richard, I know you're frustrated by everything that has happened," she gently said. "But I know you can do this. You're a very rare man, Richard Cypher. You are more special than even you know."

Richard turned to gaze into her blue eyes, the use of his previous name causing a small smile to rise to his lips. It was something she had often told him in the past. She always knew how to lighten his heart and lift his spirits.

Drawing a deep breath, he focused his thoughts before finally beginning. "Michael's fever was high. Nothing that Ann did seemed to work at reducing the fever. I knew I had to try to do something so I laid my hand on his forehead and closed my eyes.

"I cleared my mind and forced myself to just focus on him and his fever. I knew if I didn't do something soon the fever was going to take him before the magic could."

"You're doing well," Nicci encouraged him, coming to kneel before him. "What happened next?"

Richard's eyes slipped closed before he continued. "I felt a warm steady fountain of magic suddenly come up out of nowhere inside of me," he tried his best to explain. "It's going to sound ridiculous but it was almost like warm honey running through me, slow and methodical and yet so powerful I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to control it. I was scared that I was going to hurt Michael with it, end his life myself."

He couldn't stop the shudder that rolled through him with the memory. He felt a hand suddenly slip into his. He clutched it tightly, immediately knowing it was Kahlan's. He didn't need his eyes to see it. He knew her better than he knew himself, knew every part of her so intimately even to the innermost parts of her being. Her essence had been forever imprinted on him. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Drawing a deep breath, he continued. "I made myself focus on his fever, on finding it and removing it. In my mind, I swear that I could actually see his magic destroying him. It was like tiny fireworks going off inside of him, bright flashes of reds and blues popping and snapping everywhere I looked. It was breaking down everything in its path, leaving a glowing crystal-like dust in its wake. It…it was slowly taking him away."

He could feel warm tears beginning to trickle down his face, but he couldn't make them stop. The horror of what he had witnessed had been too dramatic. To see it happening to a child was horrible, but to know it was happening inside of a little boy who was partly made up from him made it that much worse. It was partly his magic that was destroying Michael.

"What did you do next?" Nicci softly asked, the pain etched in his handsome face clawing at her heart.

"I'm not sure exactly," he murmured, his brow furrowing as he fought to recount exactly what had happened. "I just reached out for the fever, tried to take it into myself. I felt a sudden sharp tingling wash through me, hot waves rolling through me and then it was…just over. His fever had broken."

Opening his eyes, he looked down at Nicci's sorrowful face. It caused dread to tremble through him as he wiped away the tears from his face with his free hand. He kept Kahlan's hand clutched firmly in his, not ready to release it any time soon. She was his rock, his anchor. Without her, he was sure that would've crumbled long ago.

"Nicci, what is it?" Kahlan asked, ignoring the death grip that Richard had on her hand at that moment. She could tell by the look on the sorceress's face it was warranted.

"I'm not certain, but…" she began, getting to her feet.

Just then, a knock came at the door, startling them all. "Come in," Richard called.

Garren entered with Naira following close at his heels. "Garren, what is it? Is it Cara?" Nicci immediately asked, her gaze narrowing with worry.

"No, she's fine, but she thinks she may have found something important," he informed them. "She wants to see you all right away."

XXX

Richard led the way down the corridor to Cara's quarters with Nicci, Kahlan, and Garren doing their best to keep up. His heart was pounding out of his chest, beating harder and faster with every corner that he turned. He just prayed she found something that could help Michael, anything that could spare Frederick.

The thought of watching Kahlan go through the pain of losing her father wasn't something he wanted to go through. He couldn't bear to watch her hurting and not be able to do anything about it. He would do whatever it took to save her father in order to keep her from pain.

And Michael.

Even though it was still difficult to think of him as his son, he was still more than just some little boy that he didn't know very well. His blood, his magic flowed through his veins. It was something he couldn't ignore. He knew in his heart that it would be painful to watch him die as well.

Richard felt as though he was being pulled in every direction with all the chaos that was going on around them at the moment. He missed Zedd, missed his silent support and wise counsel. He wished more than anything that he was here with him now, helping him to make the right decisions.

Swallowing back his sudden loneliness for his grandfather, he entered Cara and Garren's suite. Making his way to the bedchambers, Richard found Cara propped up in bed, a book in one hand, her other hand caressing her large belly. At another time, it would've been a sweet scene to behold, however, the urgency of their current problems quickly forced it aside.

"What took you so long?" she asked, peering over the top of her book.

"We came right away," Richard muttered almost breathlessly as he came to stand beside her bed. "What did you find?"

"I'm afraid nothing good," Cara frowned, sitting up a little further in bed.

"What did you discover?" Nicci pressed, her own anxiety already rising with what Richard had just told her.

"I came across an ancient text that describes a similar situation as Michael's," Cara began, pausing to shift her position in bed to get more comfortable. "It's not identical because the man they describe as the father of the child had magic, but nothing as powerful as Lord Rahl's.

"Some wizards experimented with a spell similar I imagine to the one Ann must have had her wizard use. It did work and they were able to create a child of pure magic just like Michael."

"What happened to him?" Richard asked, his stomach already in his boots.

"The child died soon after turning two years old," she softly informed them. "The magic couldn't sustain itself. It ended up taking the child's life."

She hated being the one to tell him such heartbreaking information, but if they could possibly learn something from other's attempts and failures, then maybe Michael could be saved from a similar fate as this child had suffered.

Everyone stood still in solemn silence, no one knowing what to say or wanting to ask any more questions. Everyone pretty much already knew the answer. There was none. There was no hope.

"I'm sorry, Lord Rahl," Cara finally said, breaking through the dreadful silence that filled the room.

Kahlan's hand automatically found Richard's, clutching it tightly. She hated to watch what this was doing to him, to have to stand by and not be able to do anything to keep it from happening. It was the worst feeling in the world to watch the one that she loved most suffer like this.

She couldn't begin to imagine losing one of her children. Knowing it was not her child didn't make any of this easier. It was because it was Richard's child that it hurt her so deeply.

"This just proves that Michael never should have existed in the first place," Nicci scowled, wishing there was something she could do to ease Richard's heartache. "Ann should've never interfered."

"But she did and he does exist," Richard firmly said. "So we keep looking for answers, searching for a way to save this child."

"I'm not saying that we should give up," Nicci softly replied, regretting her words. "I'm just angry with Ann for creating this entire mess in the first place."

"I know, Nicci, and so I am," he agreed. "We just have to look past our anger right now and focus on saving Michael. We can't change the past, but we can have some sort of say in the future. Besides, it isn't Michael's fault any of this has happened."

"I'll keep reading, see if I can find out what they tried to do to save the child," Cara informed them, hope filling her voice. "Maybe if we can eliminate some ideas that didn't work for them, it'll help us come up with a better way to save Michael."

"Good idea, Cara," Richard nodded his head with a tight-lipped smile. "Keep us informed."

Garren stayed at the foot of the bed as everyone left, his focus on his wife. He could see relief filling her face as well as fatigue. He folded his arms against his chest as he studied her, trying to decide the best course of action.

"I see you staring at me," Cara murmured, turning her attention back to her book. "And I know what you're thinking. I'm fine."

"You look tired," he frowned.

"I feel fine," she insisted as she peered over the top of the book at him. "I just wish I could have found something a little more hopeful for Lord Rahl."

"Cara, you found what we needed to find," he reminded her. "That's what's important. Something good can still come from bad."

"I know," she sighed in resignation. "It's just the look of sorrow on Lord Rahl's face…I wish I could have been able to tell him something different."

Garren came to sit on the edge of the bed beside her, taking the book from her hands and setting it aside. "You still might," he replied, leaning down and kissing her. "I'm proud of you. You haven't given up. You're tenacity paid off."

"Hopefully my tenacity will come up with a cure."

"If there ever was a woman who could uncover the tiniest bit of information, I'm sure it would be you," he smiled with pride. "Just promise me you'll take a break and rest."

"Aye, Commander," she grumbled with a half-hearted salute.

Chuckling softly, Garren stood to his feet. Leaning over her, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you," he told her. "I'll be back soon. I just need to check on a couple more things."

"I love you too," she sighed as she watched him leave.

Without a moment of hesitation, Cara quickly picked up her book, eager to find what they so desperately needed.