Blood of the Fold (65 page)

“
Then how do I get it off?”

Zedd sighed. “Only I can do that.”

Kahlan felt a sudden flush of fear. She didn’t want to voice it, but she would be trapped with the spell if anything happened to Zedd.

“
But surely there must be another way to remove the spell. Perhaps Richard?”

Zedd shook his head. “Even if Richard knew how to be a wizard, he could not remove the web. Only I can do it.”

“
And that’s the only way?”

“
Yes.” He looked back to her eyes. “Unless, of course, another with the gift were to deduce your true identity. If such a man were to see you, understand who you were, and name you aloud, then it would break the spell, and all would once again know your identity.”

There was no hope of that. She felt her hopes sink. Kahlan squatted and shoved another stick of wood in the fire. The only way she was going to get the death spell off was for Zedd to do it, and he wasn’t going to do it until he was good and ready.

As Mother Confessor, she would not order a wizard to do something both knew was wrong.

Kahlan watched the sparks swirling up. She brightened. Richard would be with her soon, and it wouldn’t be so bad, then. When Richard was with her she wouldn’t think about the spell; she would be too busy kissing him.

“
What’s funny?” Zedd asked.

“
What? Oh, nothing.” She stood and brushed her hands off on her pants. “I think I’ll go check on the men. Maybe some cold air will get this spell off my mind.”

The cold air did feel good. She stood in the clearing outside the small farmhouse and took a deep breath. The woodsmoke smelled good. She recalled the previous days when they were on the march, and her feet and fingers felt frozen, when her ears burned with the bite of cold, and her nose ran, how she daydreamed about woodsmoke because it meant the warmth of a fire.

Kahlan strolled across the field outside the house. She stared up at the stars, her breath drifting slowly in the still air. She could see small fires dotting the valley beyond, and she could hear the murmurs of conversation of the men sitting around the fires. She was glad they, too, could have fires this night. Soon they would be to Ebinissia and they could be warm again.

Kahlan took a deep breath of the cold air, trying to forget the spell. The whole sky was aglitter with stars, like sparks from a huge fire. She wondered what Richard was doing right now, and if we was riding hard, or getting sleep. She longed to see him, but she also wanted him to get enough sleep. When he finally reached her, she could sleep in his arms. She grinned at the thought.

Kahlan frowned as a swath of stars went dark. Almost as soon as they darkened, they winked back to points of light. Had she really seen them go dark for an instant? Must be her imagination, she thought.

She heard a thud as something hit the ground. No alarm went up. Only one thing could get through the ring of defenders and not raise and alarm. She tingled in sudden gooseflesh, and it wasn’t the spell.

Kahlan yanked her knife free.

She saw glowing green eyes. In the faint light coming from the small winter moon and the stars, she saw a great hulk step toward her. Kahlan wanted to cry out, but her voice wasn’t there.

When the huge beast’s lips drew back, she saw the entire length of its prodigious fangs. She staggered back a step. She was squeezing the knife handle so hard that her fingers ached. If she was quick, and if she didn’t panic, she might have a chance. If she called out, would Zedd hear her? Would anyone hear her? Even if they did, they were too far away. They wouldn’t be able to get to her in time.

In the dim light she could see by its size that it was a short-tailed gar. It would have to be a short-tailed gar; they were the smartest, the biggest, the most deadly. Dear spirits, why couldn’t it be a long-tailed gar?

Kahlan stared as it lifted something from its chest. Why was it just standing there? Where were its blood flies? It looked down, looked up at her, and looked down again. The eyes glowed a menacing green. Its lips drew back farther, vapor clouding the air when it let out a gurgling sound.

Kahlan’s eyes went wide. Could it be? “Gratch?”

The gar suddenly started jumping up and down, howling with excitement and flapping its wings.

Kahlan sagged with heady relief. She sheathed her knife and stepped closer to the towering beast, but she was still cautious.

“
Gratch? Is that you, Gratch?”

The gar vigorously nodded his huge, grotesque head. “Grrratch!” He called out in a deep growl that resonated in her breastbone. He thumped his chest with both claws. “Grrratch!”

“
Gratch, did Richard send you?”

The gar’s wings flapped more energetically at the mention of Richard’s name.

She came closer. “Did Richard send you?”

“
Grrratch luuug Raaaach aaarg.”

Kahlan blinked. Richard had told her that Gratch tried to talk. She suddenly giggled. “Kahlan loves Richard, too.” She tapped her chest. “I’m Kahlan, Gratch. I’m so happy to meet you.”

She gasped as the gar lunged forward and scooped her up in his furry arms, lifting her feet clear of the ground. Her first thought was that he was surely going to crush her, but he was surprisingly gentle as he held her to his smooth chest. Kahlan reached around the great body and hugged the gar’s sides. She couldn’t get her arms even halfway around him.

Kahlan could never have imagined doing such a thing, but now she was brought nearly to tears, because Gratch was Richard’s friend, and Richard had sent the gar to her. It was almost as if it were a hug sent from Richard himself.

The gar carefully set her on the ground. He studied her with his glowing green eyes. She stroked a hand along the fur at the side of his chest as the hulking creature reached down and tenderly stroked her hair with a huge, deadly claw.

Kahlan grinned up at the wrinkled face full of fangs. Gratch let out a purling gurgle. His wings moved in slow, contented sweeps as she stroke his fur, and he stroked her hair.

“
You’re safe here with us, Gratch. Richard told me all about you. I don’t know how much you can understand, but you’re among friends.”

When his lips drew back, again exposing the full length of his fangs, she suddenly realized it was a smile. It was the ugliest smile she had ever seen, but it had an innocent quality to it that made her grin, too. She had never in her life thought that gars could smile. It truly was a marvel.

“
Gratch, did Richard send you?”

“
Raaaach aaarg.” Gratch thumped his chest. He flapped his wings hard enough that it briefly lifted his feet from the ground. Then he reached out and tapped Kahlan’s shoulder.

Kahlan’s mouth fell opened. The gar was telling her something, and she understood. “Richard sent you to find me?”

Gratch went wild with glee that she understood. He scooped her up in his arms again. She laughed at the whole marvelous nature of it all.

When he set her down again, she asked, “Was it hard to find me?”

He let out a whine and shrugged.

“
It was a little bit hard?”

Gratch nodded. Kahlan knew a wide variety of languages, but she couldn’t help laughing again at the very idea of communicating with a gar. She shook her head in wonder. Who but Richard would think to befriend a gar?

Kahlan took a claw up in her hand. “Come on in the house. There is someone I want you to meet.”

Gratch gurgled his assent.

Kahlan paused in the doorway. Zedd and Adie looked up from their chairs beside the fire.

“
I’d like to introduce a friend,” she said as she pulled Gratch in behind her by a claw. He ducked under the doorframe, folding his wings to fit through, and then once inside, straightened to nearly his full height behind her, still stooping a bit to fit under the ceiling.

Zedd toppled backward in his chair, his skinny arms and legs flailing at the air.

“
Zedd, stop it. You’re going to frighten him,” she scolded.

“
Frighten him!” Zedd croaked. “You told me that Richard said it was a baby gar! That thing is nearly full-grown!”

Gratch’s massive eyebrows drew together in a frown as he watched the wizard scramble to his feet and tug at his tangled robes.

Kahlan held a hand out. “Gratch, this is Richard’s grandfather, Zedd.”

The leathery lips drew back, showing the fangs again. Gratch held his claws out and started across the room. Zedd flinched and stumbled back.

“
Why’s he doing that? Has he had dinner?”

Kahlan laughed so hard she could hardly get the words out. “He’s smiling. He likes you. He wants a hug.”

“
A hug! Most certainly not!”

It was too late. With only three strides, the gar had closed the distance in the small room and was already scooping up the bony wizard in his huge, furry arms. Zedd let out a muffled cry. Gratch gurgled a giggle as he lifted Zedd from his feet.

“
Bags!” Zedd tried unsuccessfully to back away from the gar’s breath. “This flying rug has eaten! And you don’t want to know what!”

Gratch finally set Zedd down. The wizard scrambled back a few steps and shook his finger at the beast. “Now, look here, we’ll have no more of that! You just keep your arms to yourself.”

Gratch wilted, again letting out a purling whine.

“
Zedd!” Kahlan admonished. “You’ve hurt his feelings. He’s Richard’s friend, and ours, too, and he’s had a difficult time finding us. The least you can do is be nice to him.”

Zedd harrumphed. “Well … perhaps you’re right.” He peered up at the hopeful beast. “I’m sorry, Gratch. On occasion, I suppose it would be all right for you to hug me.”

Before the wizard could lift his arms to try to hold the gar back, Gratch had again scooped him up and was hugging him like a rag doll, Zedd’s feet swinging to and frow. Gratch at last set the gasping wizard to the floor.

Adie held out a hand, to shake. “I be Adie, Gratch. I be pleased to meet you.”

Gratch ignored the hand and threw his furry arms around her, too. Kahlan had often seen Adie smile, but she rarely let out her raspy laugh. She was laughing now. Gratch laughed with her, in his own, rumbling way.

When order was restored to the room, and everyone had caught their breath, Kahlan saw Jebra’s wide eyes peeking out from a slit in the bedroom door. “It’s all right, Jebra. It’s Gratch, a friend of ours.” Kahlan clamped a restraining grip to the fur of Gratch’s arm. “You can hug her later.”

Gratch shrugged with a nod. Kahlan turned him toward her and took up one of his claws in both of her hands. She looked up into his glowing green eyes.

“
Gratch, did Richard send you on ahead to tell us he will be here soon?” Gratch shook his head. Kahlan swallowed. “But he’s on is way? He’s left Aydindril, and he’s on his way to catch up with us?”

Gratch studied her face. His claw came up and stroked her hair. Kahlan saw that he had a lock of her hair on a leather thong at his throat, along with the dragon’s tooth. He slowly shook his head again.

Kahlan’s heart sank like a rock in a well. “He’s not on his way? But he sent you to me?”

Gratch nodded, adding a small flap of his wings.

“
Why? Do you know why?”

Gratch nodded. He reached over his shoulder and caught hold of something hanging on his back by another thong. He pulled a long red object over his shoulder and held it out to her at the end of the thong.

“
What is it?” Zedd asked.

Kahlan started working the knot free. “It’s a document case. Maybe it’s a letter from Richard.”

Gratch nodded at the guess. When she had freed the knot, she asked Gratch to sit down. He squatted contentedly to the side as Kahlan drew the rolled and flattened letter from the pouch.

Zedd sat beside Adie next to the fire. “Let’s hear the boy’s excuses, and they had better be good ones, or he is in a lot of trouble.”

“
I agree with you about that,” she said under her breath. “There’s enough wax on this thing for two dozen letters. We need to teach Richard how to seal a document.” She turned it in the light. “It’s the sword. He’s pressed the hilt of the Sword of Truth into the wax.”

“
So we will know it’s truly from him,” Zedd observed as he fed a piece of wood into the fire.