one of his assassins so soon is a great worry. I don’t know who it was sent for. It’s possible it was simply sent to kill whoever was around. The Keeper needs no reason to kill. I must leave the Palace tomorrow to learn what I can before we are surprised again.”
Trimack pondered this with troubled eyes. “Do you know when Lord Rahl will return?”
Zedd shook his head. “No. I thought I was going to have time to teach him some of what he must know, but now I must send for him at once to meet me in Aydindril and see if we can discover what must be done. He is in great danger and knows nothing of it. Events have outpaced me. I have no idea what the Keeper is going to do next but I now fear how deep his tendrils may be. That they were around Darken Rahl even before the veil was torn means I have already been an ignorant fool in this business.
“If Richard should happen to return unexpectedly, or if anything happens to me … help him. He sees himself as a woods guide, not the Lord Rahl. He will be distrustful. Tell him I said to trust you.”
“If he is distrustful, how shall I convince him to trust me?”
Zedd smiled. “Tell him I said it is the truth. The toasted toads’ truth.”
Trimack’s eyes widened with incredulity. “You wish the Commander General of the First File to say such a childish thing to the Lord Rahl?”
Zedd straightened his face and cleared his throat. “It’s a code, Commander. He will understand it.”
Trimack gave a suspicious nod. “I had better see to the Garden of Life, and the rest of it. No disrespect intended, but you look like you could use some rest.” He gave a tilt of his head toward where the army of maidservants were still cleaning blood off the marble floor. “All the healing you did looks to have tired you.”
“It did. Thank you Commander Trimack. I will take your advice.”
Trimack’s fist snapped to his heart, the salute softened by the hint of a smile. He began to turn, but hesitated. His intense blue eyes looked back to the wizard.
“May I say, Wizard Zorander, that it is a pleasure to at last have one with the gift in the Palace who is more concerned with putting peoples’ guts back inside, than with spilling them out. I have never seen the like of it.”
Zedd didn’t smile. His voice was quiet. “I am sorry Commander, that I could do nothing for that lad.”
Trimack gave a sorrowful nod. “I know that to be the truth, Wizard Zorander. The toasted toads’ truth.”
Zedd watched the Commander stride across the hall, drawing armored men to him like a huge magnet. The wizard brought his hand up, staring at the gold chain looped over his sticklike fingers. He gave a pained sigh. Wizard business—using people. And now for the worst of it. He brought the black, tear-shaped stone from a pocket deep in his robes. The spirits be cursed, he thought, for the things a wizard must do.
He held the mounting where the blue Stone had been, and pressed the point of the smooth, black stone to it. Elemental power flowed from the fingers of each hand, joining in the middle, welding the stone to the mount.
Hoping he was wrong, Zedd brought forth a painful memory of his long dead wife. With the way Jebra’s mind had shredded his barriers, it wasn’t difficult. When a tear ran over his cheek, he wet his thumb in it, and shut the memory away with the greatest of effort. He smiled a little at the irony that wizards even had to use themselves, and that the horrible memory at least brought with it one with a little pleasure to balance it.
Holding the black stone in the palm of one hand, he buffed its surface with the tear dampened thumb. The stone turned a clear amber as he rubbed it with his thumb. His heart sank a little. There was no doubt now as to what it was.
Resigned to what must be done, Zedd wove a wizard’s web around the stone. The spell would work to hide the true nature of the stone from everyone, except Richard. More importantly, the web would draw
Trimack pondered this with troubled eyes. “Do you know when Lord Rahl will return?”
Zedd shook his head. “No. I thought I was going to have time to teach him some of what he must know, but now I must send for him at once to meet me in Aydindril and see if we can discover what must be done. He is in great danger and knows nothing of it. Events have outpaced me. I have no idea what the Keeper is going to do next but I now fear how deep his tendrils may be. That they were around Darken Rahl even before the veil was torn means I have already been an ignorant fool in this business.
“If Richard should happen to return unexpectedly, or if anything happens to me … help him. He sees himself as a woods guide, not the Lord Rahl. He will be distrustful. Tell him I said to trust you.”
“If he is distrustful, how shall I convince him to trust me?”
Zedd smiled. “Tell him I said it is the truth. The toasted toads’ truth.”
Trimack’s eyes widened with incredulity. “You wish the Commander General of the First File to say such a childish thing to the Lord Rahl?”
Zedd straightened his face and cleared his throat. “It’s a code, Commander. He will understand it.”
Trimack gave a suspicious nod. “I had better see to the Garden of Life, and the rest of it. No disrespect intended, but you look like you could use some rest.” He gave a tilt of his head toward where the army of maidservants were still cleaning blood off the marble floor. “All the healing you did looks to have tired you.”
“It did. Thank you Commander Trimack. I will take your advice.”
Trimack’s fist snapped to his heart, the salute softened by the hint of a smile. He began to turn, but hesitated. His intense blue eyes looked back to the wizard.
“May I say, Wizard Zorander, that it is a pleasure to at last have one with the gift in the Palace who is more concerned with putting peoples’ guts back inside, than with spilling them out. I have never seen the like of it.”
Zedd didn’t smile. His voice was quiet. “I am sorry Commander, that I could do nothing for that lad.”
Trimack gave a sorrowful nod. “I know that to be the truth, Wizard Zorander. The toasted toads’ truth.”
Zedd watched the Commander stride across the hall, drawing armored men to him like a huge magnet. The wizard brought his hand up, staring at the gold chain looped over his sticklike fingers. He gave a pained sigh. Wizard business—using people. And now for the worst of it. He brought the black, tear-shaped stone from a pocket deep in his robes. The spirits be cursed, he thought, for the things a wizard must do.
He held the mounting where the blue Stone had been, and pressed the point of the smooth, black stone to it. Elemental power flowed from the fingers of each hand, joining in the middle, welding the stone to the mount.
Hoping he was wrong, Zedd brought forth a painful memory of his long dead wife. With the way Jebra’s mind had shredded his barriers, it wasn’t difficult. When a tear ran over his cheek, he wet his thumb in it, and shut the memory away with the greatest of effort. He smiled a little at the irony that wizards even had to use themselves, and that the horrible memory at least brought with it one with a little pleasure to balance it.
Holding the black stone in the palm of one hand, he buffed its surface with the tear dampened thumb. The stone turned a clear amber as he rubbed it with his thumb. His heart sank a little. There was no doubt now as to what it was.
Resigned to what must be done, Zedd wove a wizard’s web around the stone. The spell would work to hide the true nature of the stone from everyone, except Richard. More importantly, the web would draw
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