from today.”
Zedd lifted his hands in fury and frustration. “Even if we could find them, you think that you would somehow be able to command the power of Orden? You think you can wield the power of Orden?”
“Not me,” she said in a near whisper.
Zedd cocked his head, unsure he had actually heard what he thought he’d heard. His suspicion flared into hot dread.
“What do you mean, not you? You just said that you put the boxes in play.”
Nicci stepped closer. She laid a hand gently on his forearm.
“When I opened the gateway I was asked to name the player. I named Richard. I put the boxes of Orden in play on behalf of Richard.”
Zedd stood thunderstruck.
He wanted to strike her dead.
He wanted to strangle her. He wanted to rip her limb from limb.
“You named Richard?”
She nodded. “It was the only way.”
Zedd ran the fingers of both hands back into his unruly thatch of wavy white hair, holding his head for fear it might come apart.
“The only way? Bags, woman! Are you out of your mind?”
“Zedd, calm down. I know it’s a surprise, but this is hardlya whim. I’ve thought it through. Believe me, I’ve thought it all through. If we are to survive, if those who care about life are to survive, if there is to be a chance for life, if there is to be a chance for a future, then this is the only way.”
Zedd dropped heavily into one of the chairs at the table. Before he did something beyond retrieval, before he reacted out of blind rage, he told himself that he must keep his head. He tried to touch on all he knew about the boxes and what was happening, tried to remind himself of all the desperate things he’d had to do in his life. He tried to see it from her perspective.
He couldn’t.
“Nicci, Richard doesn’t know how to use his gift.”
“He will have to find a way.”
“He doesn’t know anything about the boxes of Orden!”
“We will have to teach him.”
“We don’t know enough about the boxes of Orden. We don’t know for sure which is the correct Book of Counted Shadows. Only the correct book works as the key to the boxes!”
“We will have to sort that out.”
“Dear spirits, Nicci, we don’t even know where Richard is!”
“We know that the witch woman tried to capture him in the sliph and failed. We know from what Rachel told us that Six apparently cut Richard off from his gift by drawing spells in the sacred caves in Tamarang. Rachel says that Six lost him when he was captured by the Imperial Order. For all we know, by now he may have escaped them as well and be on his way here. If not, we will have to find him.”
Zedd couldn’t seem to find a way to make her see and understand all that stood in their way. “What you’re suggesting is impossible!”
She smiled then, a sad smile. “A wizard I know and respect, a wizard who taught Richard to be the man he is,also taught him to think of the solution, not the problem. Such advice has always served him well.”
Zedd was having none of it. He shot to his feet. “You had no right to do such a thing, Nicci. You have no right to decide this for his life. You had no right to name Richard to this!”
Her smile vanished to reveal the iron beneath. “I know Richard. I know how he fights for life. I know what it means to him. I know that there is nothing he would not do to preserve the value of life. I know that if he knew all the things I know, he would have wanted me to do as I have done.”
“Nicci, you don’t—”
“Zedd,” she said in a commanding tone of voice that cut him off, “I asked you if you trusted Richard with your life, with all life. You said that you did. Those words have meaning. You did not hem and haw, qualifying the bounds of your trust. Trusting someone with your life is as unequivocal as trust can be.
“Richard is the only one who can lead us in the final battle. While Jagang and the Order might be part of it, the battle over the power of Orden is the final battle. The Sisters of the
Zedd lifted his hands in fury and frustration. “Even if we could find them, you think that you would somehow be able to command the power of Orden? You think you can wield the power of Orden?”
“Not me,” she said in a near whisper.
Zedd cocked his head, unsure he had actually heard what he thought he’d heard. His suspicion flared into hot dread.
“What do you mean, not you? You just said that you put the boxes in play.”
Nicci stepped closer. She laid a hand gently on his forearm.
“When I opened the gateway I was asked to name the player. I named Richard. I put the boxes of Orden in play on behalf of Richard.”
Zedd stood thunderstruck.
He wanted to strike her dead.
He wanted to strangle her. He wanted to rip her limb from limb.
“You named Richard?”
She nodded. “It was the only way.”
Zedd ran the fingers of both hands back into his unruly thatch of wavy white hair, holding his head for fear it might come apart.
“The only way? Bags, woman! Are you out of your mind?”
“Zedd, calm down. I know it’s a surprise, but this is hardlya whim. I’ve thought it through. Believe me, I’ve thought it all through. If we are to survive, if those who care about life are to survive, if there is to be a chance for life, if there is to be a chance for a future, then this is the only way.”
Zedd dropped heavily into one of the chairs at the table. Before he did something beyond retrieval, before he reacted out of blind rage, he told himself that he must keep his head. He tried to touch on all he knew about the boxes and what was happening, tried to remind himself of all the desperate things he’d had to do in his life. He tried to see it from her perspective.
He couldn’t.
“Nicci, Richard doesn’t know how to use his gift.”
“He will have to find a way.”
“He doesn’t know anything about the boxes of Orden!”
“We will have to teach him.”
“We don’t know enough about the boxes of Orden. We don’t know for sure which is the correct Book of Counted Shadows. Only the correct book works as the key to the boxes!”
“We will have to sort that out.”
“Dear spirits, Nicci, we don’t even know where Richard is!”
“We know that the witch woman tried to capture him in the sliph and failed. We know from what Rachel told us that Six apparently cut Richard off from his gift by drawing spells in the sacred caves in Tamarang. Rachel says that Six lost him when he was captured by the Imperial Order. For all we know, by now he may have escaped them as well and be on his way here. If not, we will have to find him.”
Zedd couldn’t seem to find a way to make her see and understand all that stood in their way. “What you’re suggesting is impossible!”
She smiled then, a sad smile. “A wizard I know and respect, a wizard who taught Richard to be the man he is,also taught him to think of the solution, not the problem. Such advice has always served him well.”
Zedd was having none of it. He shot to his feet. “You had no right to do such a thing, Nicci. You have no right to decide this for his life. You had no right to name Richard to this!”
Her smile vanished to reveal the iron beneath. “I know Richard. I know how he fights for life. I know what it means to him. I know that there is nothing he would not do to preserve the value of life. I know that if he knew all the things I know, he would have wanted me to do as I have done.”
“Nicci, you don’t—”
“Zedd,” she said in a commanding tone of voice that cut him off, “I asked you if you trusted Richard with your life, with all life. You said that you did. Those words have meaning. You did not hem and haw, qualifying the bounds of your trust. Trusting someone with your life is as unequivocal as trust can be.
“Richard is the only one who can lead us in the final battle. While Jagang and the Order might be part of it, the battle over the power of Orden is the final battle. The Sisters of the
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