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Sebastian licked the blood from his knife. "You know her tactics better than I and are better able to predict what her next will be. But, as you say, whether she decides to stand with her people, or leaves them to their fate, we will have the city of Aydindril and the seat of power in the Midlands."
The emperor stared off. "That bitch has killed hundreds of thousands of my men. She has always managed to stay one step ahead of me, to stay out of my grip, but all the while she was backing toward the wall-this wall." He looked up in cold rage. "May the Creator grant that I have her at last." His knuckles were white around the handle of his knife, his voice a deadly oath. "I will have her, and I will settle the score. Personally."
Sebastian measured the look in the emperor's dark eyes. "Then perhaps we are near to the final victory-in the Midlands, at least. With the Midlands won, the fate of D'Hara will be sealed." He held his knife up. "And if the Mother Confessor is there, then Lord Rahl very well might be, too."
Je
Jagang's nightmare gaze turned toward her as he gri
Je
"Lord Rahl can't be there, in Aydindril." Both men stared at her. "Lord Rahl is far to the south."
Jagang frowned. "To the south? What do you mean?"
"He's in the Old World."
"Are you sure?" Sebastian asked.
Je
A look of recollection came over Sebastian's face. "Yes, of course, Je
"But I know he was in the Old World after that."
"What do you mean?" Jagang asked in a gravely growl.
Je
"And do you feel the bond?" Jagang asked.
"Well, no. It just isn't strong enough in me. But when Sebastian and I were at the People's Palace, I met people there who said that Lord Rahl was far to the south, in the Old World."
The emperor considered her words as he glanced over at a woman who had come in with platters of dried fruits, sweetmeats, and nuts. She worked at a distant side table, apparently not wanting to come any closer and disturb the emperor and his guests.
"But Je
Je
"If the Mother Confessor intends to make her stand in Aydindril," Sebastian said, thoughtfully, "then it's possible, since we last had this report of him to the south, that he's come north to stand by the Mother Confessor."
Jagang leaned in low over the bloody meat before him. "Those two are like that. Evil to the end. I've dealt with them both for a long time, now. I know from experience that if there's any way for them to be together, they will be-even if it's in death."
The implications were staggering. "Then. . we might have him," Je
Jagang leaned back, drumming his fingers on the table, looking from one to the other. "While I find it hard to believe Richard Rahl would also be there, from what I know about him, he could well decide to stand and lose with her, rather than live to see it all slip away from him bit by bloody bit."
Je
Still, the thought of him being this close was too tantalizing to dismiss, and had her pulse racing. "If he is this close, then I wouldn't need the help of the Sisters of the Light. I wouldn't need a spell. I would only have to get a little closer, to be with you when you make your drive into the city."
Jagang's grim, humorless smile was back. "You will ride with me; I will deliver you to the Confessors' Palace." His knuckles were white around his knife again. "I want them both dead. I will see to the Mother Confessor, personally. I grant you permission to be the one to plunge your knife into Richard Rahl."
Je
Je
But then she remembered her mother lying in a pool of blood on the floor of their home, bleeding to death from those awful ripping stab wounds, her severed arm not far away, a house full of Lord Rahl's brutes standing over her. Je
That was all she wanted.
In the searing haze of righteous anger, as she saw herself slamming the knife into Richard Rahl's chest, she only distantly heard Jagang speak.
"But why is it you wish to kill your brother? What is your reason, your purpose?"
«Grushdeva,» she hissed.
Behind her, Je
The emperor frowned at the woman off in the shadows. Her brown eyes were fixed on Je
"I apologize for Sister Perdita's clumsiness," Jagang said as he glared at the woman.
"Forgive me, Excellency," the woman in the dark gray dress said as she backed out between the hangings, bowing all the way.
The emperor's frown turned back to Je
"Now, what was it you said?"
Je
"You see, Excellency," Je
Je
"Perhaps even more importantly, I must avenge the murder of my mother if I am ever to be at peace."
"Our purpose is the welfare of our fellow man. Your story saddens me, and is the very reason we fight to eradicate the blight of magic." The emperor finally shifted his gaze to Sebastian. "I am proud of you for helping this fine young woman."
Sebastian had turned moody. She knew how ill at ease he felt under the weight of praise. She wished he could feel proud about his accomplishments, his importance, his stature with the emperor.
He laid his knife down across the scraps of his meal. "Just doing my job, Excellency."
"Well," Jagang said with an encouraging smile, "I'm glad you've returned in time to see the culmination of your strategy."
Sebastian leaned back, nursing a mug of ale. "Don't you want to wait for Brother Narev? Shouldn't he be here to witness it, if this turns out to be the blow that ends it?"
With a thick finger, Jagang pushed an olive around in a little circle on the table. It was a time before he spoke quietly without looking up.
"I've not heard from Brother Narev since Altur'Rang fell."
Sebastian came up against the table. "What! Altur'Rang fell? What do you mean? How? When?"
Je
"I received reports not long ago that enemy forces overran the city. Altur'Rang is very distant, and it was cut off. Partly because of winter, the reports were a very long time in reaching me. I await news.
"Given this inauspicious turn of fate, I don't think it wise to wait for Brother Narev to make it up here. He will be busy throwing the invaders back. If the Mother Confessor and Richard Rahl are in Aydindril, we must not wait; we must strike back swiftly, and with withering force."
Je
Sebastian stared at her. "It may be that he isn't in Aydindril. It may turn out that he's still to the south, Je
"I hope he is here and it can finally be ended, but, as His Excellency said about moving on Aydindril, there is nothing to lose. I didn't expect to find him here. If he isn't in Aydindril, then I'll still have the help for which you brought me here in the first place."