TITLE: Deception
AUTHOR: LOTSlove®
CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan / Cara / Zedd / Nicci / Original Characters
RATING: R / M
WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings
TIMELINE: Anything up through S2 season finale (Tears)
DISCLAIMER: I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!
SUMMARY: Sequel to me fic Revelation, Richard and Kahlan fight to solidify the D'Haran Empire when a new threat rises threatening to destroy all that they have worked for.
Chapter 24
Rain softly tapped against the windows as they worked in silence, thunder rolling in the distance. The gray sky made it seem darker inside the cabin despite the fire burning in the fireplace and the numerous candles lit around the room.
Caelinus sat with his elbows resting on the table, his hands holding his head as he read through one of his countless journals. He absentmindedly rubbed his fingers back and forth along his scalp making his hair stick out even more so than it already did.
Deryn cast a sidelong glance at the wizard out of the corner of her eye, a small smile tugging at her lips despite herself. Breadcrumbs from lunch they'd had hours ago still stuck to his long beard. She was still amazed at how much the skinny little man had eaten. He'd matched Zedd bowl for bowl of spice soup. She wondered how long it had been since he'd actually eaten a real meal.
Despite the lack of faith in being able to save Michael, Deryn found that she still liked Caelinus. There was just something about him that endeared himself to her. She could tell that beneath the disheveled exterior and even gruffer disposition beat a heart of gold.
Life had been unusually cruel to him, robbing him of so much. She knew deep in her heart that life would be robbing her of her son no matter how hard she railed against it. She swallowed past the painful knot in her throat at the thought of losing her son, but everyone had been right.
Michael had not been meant to exist no matter how much she wished otherwise, no matter how deeply she loved him.
Deryn wanted more than anything to take his place, to take the destruction into her own body to spare his life. She suddenly sat back with the thought, the book slipping free from her hands and creating a soft thud as it hit the table.
"I want to take Michael's place," Deryn suddenly announced, taking everyone by surprise.
"What?" Zedd asked, stunned.
"I want to take my son's place," she repeated, her resolve hardening. "Can't you just transfer his magic and the destruction it's causing into me?"
Caelinus and Zedd stared at each other for a long moment. "I'm afraid it's not that simple," Caelinus slowly began, mulling over her suggestion.
"Why not?" she pressed. "If you remove the magic that is killing him, won't he be saved?"
"It sounds good in theory, but this is not a typical situation," Zedd tried to explain.
"Why won't it work?" she asked again, her voice rising in pitch and anger.
"Because he is a child of magic," Caelinus softly replied. "The same magic that created him also sustains him…"
"And is the same magic that is stealing his life," Zedd finished.
"So removing the magic from his body would be the same as taking his life?" Frederick asked, finally understanding the fragility of the young boy's state. Their hands were tied when it came to saving Michael's life.
"Yes…I'm afraid so," Zedd nodded with a deep frown that only accentuated the wrinkles that lined his face.
With trembling fingers, Deryn picked up her book again. "It…it was just a thought," she murmured, the futility of it all pressing in on her.
Reaching across the table, Zedd took Deryn's hand in his, squeezing it affectionately. "It was a very lovely, very noble thought, my dear," he told her. "I wish more than anything that we could find a way around this."
Biting her upper lip, Deryn slowly nodded, unable to respond as tears slipped silently down her cheeks. From the other side of her, Frederick wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I'm truly sorry," Frederick said. "If there was a way, I would take his place myself."
"You would?" she whispered.
"No child deserves to die," he replied.
"Alright, enough of this!" Caelinus suddenly piped up. "No more tears allowed in my home or you'll all become dinner for Odin!"
The three visitors turned to look at Caelinus, the bright gleam of mischief in his eyes betraying his harsh tone. Zedd rolled his eyes, shaking his head in amazement at his old friend.
"Good," Caelinus grinned, folding his arms against his chest. "Now that I have everyone's attention, are we ready to get back to work here? We have people to save!"
Releasing Deryn's hand, Zedd sat back at his chair. "I want to go back to your idea about the binding spell."
"Alright, but I don't see how it could work," Caelinus sighed.
"About a year and a half ago or so when we were still in Aydindril, someone was slowly poisoning Kahlan with ansia root in an effort to end the line of Confessors," Zedd explained. "Richard used his magic to remove the poison from her blood and draw it into himself. He used his Han to bind it and destroy the poison. Couldn't he possibly be gifted enough to do the same with Frederick?"
"Your grandson was able to do that?" Caelinus gasped.
"Yes with only a little training," Zedd proudly grinned. "Your great nephew is a war wizard, my friend. There's no telling how much he would be able to do with a lot more training."
Caelinus rubbed his chin in amazement, his mind racing. After several long moments he finally spoke. "I'm afraid he still won't be able to heal Frederick."
Zedd leaned forward in his chair, his arms coming to rest on the table as he fold his hands together. "Why not?"
"Well for one thing, it would take a great deal of training to be able to teach him how to do that and Frederick doesn't have that kind of time," Caelinus began. "Second of all, ansia root is far easier to remove from the blood than a full-fledged disease."
"Did you not hear the part where I told you Richard bound the poison with his magic and used his Han to destroy it?" Zedd groused.
"Yes, I heard you," Caelinus huffed. "My ears still work just fine, but yours obviously don't! I gave you two valid reasons why it won't work. There shouldn't be any more question about it!"
"And I'm trying to tell you that Richard is the first in over three thousand years with magic more powerful than you can even possibly begin to imagine," Zedd yelled, standing to his feet. "It's going to take years to train him, but he has an innate instinct the likes of which I've never seen before in all my life!"
"Look, you old bag of bones," Caelinus yelled back, standing to his feet as well. "I'm telling you that a binding spell won't work! Ansia root gives off toxins that build up and stay in the blood stream itself without filtering into any organs.
"Richard was able to remove the toxins and cleanse her blood. That's how he was able to save her. But this," Caelinus paused to point at Frederick, "goes far beyond that. This disease sucks the life out of every single part of the body – the bones, the tissue, the muscles, the blood, the organs. You name it and it destroys it.
"Not only would Richard have to be able to draw all of the disease from Frederick's body, but he'd also have to repair the damage that the disease has already caused. On top of that, he'd have to destroy the disease before it started to cause any damage to his own body. Do you really want to put that much responsibility on that young man's shoulders when he hasn't even been trained as a wizard let alone a war wizard?"
Zedd released a ragged breath as he stared at the bony old wizard across the table from him. He knew that Caelinus was right, but he had been so hopeful that a binding type spell could help save Frederick's life.
He slowly sank back into his chair, all the fire going out of his eyes. "I just so hoped that it was the answer to all of this," Zedd softly relented.
"I know you did, Zeddicus," Caelinus gently replied, sitting back down as well. "But I'm telling you it's just not the answer we're looking for."
"It's alright you two," Frederick finally interjected. "We'll keep looking. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. I'm prepared for what lies ahead of me if we can't find a cure. I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't live to see my grandchildren grow up. It's fate that life has dealt me and after the things I have done in my life, I'm certain it's well-deserved."
"It's not well-deserved, Frederick," Zedd firmly stated. "You have seen the error of your ways and have worked to change your life, to mend the hurts you caused. We will find a way to save you."
"Thank you, but please don't put any more pressure on Richard," Frederick slowly shook his head. "Creator knows that young man has more than his fair share of troubles right now as it is without trying to save me."
XXX
A throaty growl tore from the Mord'Sith's lips as she tried to breathe through the contractions. Even after all the horrifying pain that she had endured when she had been broken and trained as a Sister of the Agiel, giving birth was still painful to a certain extent.
"I have…to push…" Cara panted, sweat trickling down the sides of her face.
"No, not yet, Cara," Nicci firmly shook her head. "It's not time yet. Hang on just a little longer. I'll tell you when you can push."
Cara growled angrily, her body contracting with painful spasms. She clutched Garren's hand even tighter, hanging onto him for dear life. Giving birth paled mightily in comparison to the excruciating pain an agiel could deliver, but this brought a different kind of pain as fear for her unborn child coursed through her.
She couldn't lose this baby, this beautiful little life that she and Garren had created. She hadn't even met her child yet and already her baby met everything in this world to her. She knew what losing this baby would do to Garren and she couldn't live with that, couldn't live with the overwhelming guilt and grief that would come.
How would she be able to ever look into those beautiful stormy gray eyes of the man that she loved, knowing that she had failed in bringing their child into the world?
Tears suddenly leaked from her eyes and trickled down her flushed cheeks, not because of the pain that racked her body, but because of the fear that had reached inside of her, enveloping her heart. She wanted nothing more than to bring Garren as much happiness and love that he had given her, to give him the children that she knew that he wanted with her.
She couldn't fail him in this.
Sitting behind her as he supported her body, Garren brushed his cheek gently against hers. "Cara, you're doing amazing," he reassured her, turning and gently pressing his lips against her face.
"Hold on, Cara," Nicci said. "You're almost there."
"I have to push…now!" the Mord'Sith bit out, the overwhelming urge becoming too much to bear.
Garren placed his hands on her knees, softly caressing her skin. Cara immediately placed her hands on top of his larger ones, their fingers intertwining as she clenched her jaw to suppress the scream that was stuck in her throat.
"Here are the supplies you requested," Naira breathlessly announced as she set them down on the ground, settling in beside Sister Nicci to assist if necessary.
"Good," Nicci replied. "Cara, I'm going to check you again."
Garren watched as Nicci checked on the baby, her face suddenly filling with worry. His heart seized with fear as her gaze flicked up to him, their eyes meeting. He knew in that moment that something was terribly wrong.
"Nicci, what is it?" he asked, his breath catching.
"The baby is turned, can't be delivered in this position," Nicci calmly said. "If I don't do something, your baby will die."
"Please, dear spirits…no!" Cara cried. "Please, Nicci, save my baby!"
"I will do everything in my power, Cara," Nicci promised her, her hand coming to rest on top of Cara and Garren's joined hands. "I'm going to turn the baby and then everything should be fine."
"Do whatever you have to," the Mord'Sith replied, her tears falling faster.
"It's going to be alright, my love," Garren murmured in her ear, his own heart racing with fear. "We're going to have a beautiful little baby to hold, one that looks just like you."
"No, I want the baby…to look like you…" Cara panted, grinding her teeth again as Nicci turned the baby.
Garren chuckled softly with his wife's words. "You want our baby to have facial hair?"
Cara couldn't suppress the giggle that rose up in her throat despite her situation. "Not exactly," she huffed. "And especially not if it's a girl."
"Did you realize our baby will share a birthday with Paige and Priya now?" Garren told her.
"At least the baby's birthday will be easy to remember," Nicci smiled. "Alright, the baby is in position. Shouldn't be long now."
Cara relaxed a moment against her husband, relief flooding her heart. "Thank you, Nicci," she panted softly.
"Don't thank me now," she frowned. "We're not there yet, but we're close."
"Can't you just…use your magic…to get this baby out?" Cara asked.
"I wish I could, my friend," Nicci shook her head in regret. "I'm afraid that you're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way."
XXX
Racing through the streets, Richard was like vengeful rage unleashed in human form, his face a mask of lethal intent. Sword in hand, he was the bringer of death as he searched the city for any signs of his wife or daughters. His raptor gaze swept from side to side, desperate for any clue as to where his family was.
Evening was fast approaching. He feared if he didn't find his family soon they'd be swallowed up by the darkness, Sabinus and the others escaping into the night with his daughters. After that, it would be next to impossible to find them, but he would never give up trying to find his girls.
"Lord Rahl!"
Richard turned to find a group of Mord'Sith running towards him, their agiels in hand. Soldiers flooded the streets, their swords glinting softly in the late afternoon sunlight as they cleared people away from the area.
"Mistress Rachel sent us to find you," Mistress Lainna said as she came to a stop before him. "She's following the Mother Confessor. They're heading towards the west gates."
"I want the whole city on lock down!" he ordered.
"Already done, Lord Rahl," Captain Collins informed him. "The Mother Confessor was seen heading that way as well. They won't be able to escape with your daughters."
Richard felt his heart stutter hearing that Kahlan was heading straight into the heart of danger. His daughters were already there. He didn't want his wife to be as well. He needed to get to her, to draw her back out of the ConDar. He feared for her when she was held in its powerful grasp, knew how it devastated her when she wasn't in complete control of herself.
He also feared what Sabinus and the others wanted with his daughters. It caused his stomach to churn. "Stay clear of Kahlan no matter what," he told them. "I need to get to her now."
"We'll follow you from a distance, my Lord," Collins said.
Richard tightened his grip on his sword, his need to get to his wife and children overwhelming him. "Be careful if you see Ambassador Dorst or the woman that is with him. They possess very powerful magic. There's no telling what they are capable of doing."
XXX
"We need to split up," Sangria suddenly said as they ducked down a narrow side alley.
"We need to get out the city," Sabinus panted heavily trying to catch his breath as he pressed his back against the wall of a shop. "I'm sure they're fortifying the entire Palace as we speak."
"How did she break free from our magic?" Sangria snapped. "She never should have been able to do that."
"We just took her daughters away from her, Sangria," Sabinus scowled. "What did you think was going to happen?"
"We just need to focus on getting out of here now," she hissed.
"In all of your great planning and scheming, did you manage to plan an escape?" he bit out, knowing his worst fears were about to be realized.
Ignoring his criticism, Sangria tried to think of how best to avoid the enraged Mother Confessor who was quickly catching up to them. She hated to admit it, but she hadn't anticipated Kahlan going into ConDar.
"We need to split up," she said again. "She can't follow both of us. She'll have to choose."
"But out magic is strongest when we're together," he reminded her, glancing at the twin little girls still crying hysterically in Frinhill and Gorrim's arms.
"We need to get out of here now!" Gorrim yelled. "I'm not about to be confessed to that witch!"
"Sabinus, you take Gorrim and the child with you," she suddenly announced. "I'll go this way with the others. We'll meet up at the west gate once we've lost her."
"And then what, Sangria?" he demanded to know. "Be slaughtered by Lord Rahl and his sword instead? I told you this was never going to work."
"I didn't come this far to give up now," she ground out, her almond eyes practically glowing with anger. "I am not giving up on my future just because you're too scared to fight for what we want."
"I'm not sure that you even know what you really want any more," he softly replied.
"I know exactly what I want and now we finally have it," she said, her steely voice filling him with dread. "We have the most powerful children to ever have been born. Once we have harvested their powerful magic, no one will be able to stop us."
Sabinus released a defeated breath. There was no sense arguing now. It was far too late to go back and undo what had already been done. They were as good as dead anyway, if not by confession than by the Seeker's lethal blade.
Sangria moved to stand before her twin brother, her hand finding his. "We can do this, Sabinus," she gently said with a smile. "Together, no one can stop us, not even the Seeker and Mother Confessor."
He gave his sister a weak smile, unable to take any comfort or reassurance from her words or the smile that played upon her lips. He knew in his heart the futility of this, but he would do anything in this world for his sister, anything at all to make her happy.
He would even die for her.