Into Darkness

44

Richard put an arm around Kahlan’s and Shale’s shoulders and moved them away from the witch women over to the group of Mord-Sith standing a short distance apart under a dead tree draped with sheets of moss. He wanted to have a confidential conversation. He didn’t necessarily distrust the witch women, but he didn’t want to let anyone know his plans for where they were going, or the route he intended to take.

“Besides nearly killing us all,” he told them once they were all back together with the six Mord-Sith, “Shota greatly delayed us in getting to the Keep. The diversion exposed us to attacks by the Glee. With Kahlan so far along, she is even more vulnerable. We need to avoid any more of those risky battles. Not only that, but Shota has caused us to go a long way off course in the wrong direction in order to come up here to Agaden Reach. It put us a long way from Aydindril.”

“How far do you think we are from the Keep?” Shale asked.

Richard stared off to the northeast, as if he could almost see the Keep from where he stood. “We are farther from the Keep, now, than we were when we were at the People’s Palace.”

Shale clearly looked disheartened. Richard couldn’t say he blamed her. They had already had a long and difficult journey, not even counting the time in Bindamoon and now up near Agaden Reach. They were all exhausted from that journey, and it turned out that for all practical purposes, the journey was only now beginning. They now had farther to go than when they started.

“We are going to need to hurry, then, if we are to get to the Keep before the babies come.” Shale passed a look of caution among them all. “We certainly don’t want to be traveling when the Mother Confessor gives birth. The Glee are danger enough, but if they ever caught us when the Mother Confessor was in labor, well, I think we all know how bad that would be.”

Richard nodded. “I think we all agree on that. Fortunately, we brought plenty of horses with us from Bindamoon. They couldn’t make it up here, of course, so we had to leave them down the mountains a ways. They are eating grass and hopefully resting up for the long and difficult ride ahead.”

“Are you sure they will still be there?” Kahlan asked.

Richard had no trouble reading the concern in her voice or on her face. He reassured her with a nod. “We made sure they will stay where they are until we get back to them. We left them in a good-size box canyon. There’s a stream through it, so they have water, and there is plenty of grass for them to eat. We made a quick fence of sorts with some deadfall to close off the narrow entrance to the canyon. They aren’t going anywhere.” He smiled at Kahlan. “I brought along a mare that is especially gentle riding for you.”

She didn’t look to care about that. She was obviously worried about bigger issues than an easy ride. “How far?” She ran her hand over her swollen belly. “We need to be on our way to Aydindril. How long will it take us to reach the horses so we can set off in earnest?”

Richard was probably more impatient than she was, but he was trying not to show his concern over the distance they still had to travel before the babies came so as not to discourage her. He didn’t want Kahlan to worry they wouldn’t make it in time, but it was a legitimate fear.

He could see that she looked spent from the battle with Shota and the other witches she had fought and killed. He knew she wouldn’t give up easily, but he also knew she would be concerned about the twins. Carrying them, added to the difficulty of traveling, would have to wear her out all that much quicker.

He didn’t really have an alternate plan if they didn’t want to try to make it to Aydindril in time. There was no substitute that could begin to provide the same level of safety. That meant that they had to get there, and they couldn’t afford to waste any time.

“You just went through quite the ordeal,” he said. “Are you feeling strong enough for a difficult walk down these mountains?”

“I’m fine,” she said without hesitation, almost sounding annoyed that he would think of her as fragile. “But I will be a lot finer when we get to Aydindril. Stop worrying about me—I can rest all I want once we get there. Now, though, is not the time for resting. Now is the time for riding. Get us to the horses, would you please?”

“All right,” Richard said with a sigh at her determination. “If we push hard, I think we can reach where we left them by dark. It’s a good place to camp. I saw wild boars on our way up here. I know where they will be bedding down late in the day. If we’re lucky, I can get one with an arrow and we can have a good meal tonight and meat for our journey. We’re going to need our strength, and our supplies of travel food are running low.”

“Which way?” she asked, eyeing the path back through the gloomy and dangerous swamp, not seeming concerned about the details that worried him.

“I found a way that will keep us from having to go back up the peaks and over the snowpack that you used to get into this place. I saw your tracks,” he explained when she looked over at him with a quick frown.

“That would be good. Then what?” she asked.

Richard flicked his hand toward the east. “Once we get back out of this swamp, we need to head east down out of these mountains as quickly as we can to get back to the horses. After that, we ride east.”

Kahlan gave him a puzzled look. “Why not northeast? Aydindril is northeast of here. Northeast would be the straightest route.”

“This spine of mountains runs northeast all the way up through the Midlands. You’re right that it’s the straight route, but it would take forever to pick our way through these mountains. Not only that, but we couldn’t take horses if we went that way.

“Once we are down and out of these mountains we will head east, cross north of Tamarang to reach the Callisidrin, then we can follow the river up to its headwaters. That will be the flattest traveling, where the horses can make better time. After that, we jump east again between the worst of the mountain ranges over to the Kern River basin. Following that north will take us right to Aydindril and the Keep.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Shale said.

Kahlan looked over and arched an eyebrow at the sorceress. “Not so simple. Most towns and villages are along rivers. We don’t want people to spot us. I really don’t want to encounter any more Glee. If one of them hooks my belly with a claw, it’s all over.”

“Kahlan is right,” Richard said. “That means we’re going to have to stay close enough to the rivers to make riding easier and faster along relatively flat river valleys but stay far enough away from any of the towns or villages where people could see us ride past. We simply can’t afford to let any people spot us before we get to the Keep. That won’t be easy, but it’s not so impossible.”

“We’re wasting time,” Kahlan said. “By your lady’s command, take me away from this dreadful place and get me to your keep, wizard. Our children are asking to be born.”

Richard answered with a smile that made her smile in return, and that, more than anything, lit his world. He wanted to hug her and kiss her, but they needed to be on their way, and besides, he didn’t want an audience when he finally had the chance.

They quickly wished the witch women safe journeys home after they buried Shota; then they traced their route back out of the swamp. Once into the vast forests of the rugged mountain country, they ascended steep climbs through clefts in the mountains to get through a confined, narrow pass that Richard had found before. It was a difficult climb but, in the end, it turned out to be a lot easier than the frigid way into the Reach by going across the snowpack and then over the windswept, open ledges. The thickly forested cleft in the mountains had steep rises to each side and jumbled rock up the middle, so it sheltered them from the worst of the winds but was hard work that tired their muscles and at least made them warm with the effort.

Once through the pass, they were finally able to start down out of the mountains. The trees were thick, but that meant that the forest floor, so sheltered from the sun, was relatively barren, making travel quick and relatively easy.

Ahead of them lay a long and dangerous journey.

Richard intended to outrun any trouble.