Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

"Not necessarily," Ann said as she again stared at Nicci. "At this point the cause is no longer much of an issue."

Nicci's brow twitched. "No longer an issue-what in the world are you talking about?"

"If a person has a broken arm you set it and splint it. You don't waste your time running around asking questions, trying to figure out exactly how they managed to break their arm. You need to take action to correct the ailment; talk won't correct it."

"We think he needs our help," Zedd offered in a more conciliatory tone. "We all know that the things he is saying are flat impossible. At first, when he said that he gave the Sword of Truth to Shota, I thought he had done something profoundly foolish, but I've come to see that his actions weren't willful nor were the dimensions of them so simply grasped. I reacted with an angry reprimand when I should have seen how ill he really is and dealt with it in that context.

"There are times when you can see how someone might come to believe something odd, but Richard's behavior is far beyond anything that could remotely be described as odd. It's become clear that he is delusional and we all now realize as much." He opened his hands in a beseeching gesture. "Is there anything at all you can say in his behalf that makes any sense and that demonstrates how we may be wrong in our analysis?"

Zedd looked truly under great distress. It was obvious how genuinely concerned he was for his grandson.

Nicci turned her eyes downward, unable to look into the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Zedd, but I know of nothing that makes any sense. Unfortunately, I don't think that the body he dug up proves anything conclusively or we might have a chance to force him to accept the reality of the evidence. On the other hand, I think the body he dug up really was the Mother Confessor, Kahlan Amnell, the woman that he dreamed he had a relationship with while in his confused state of pain when he was injured.

"He probably heard the name somewhere when he first traveled to the Midlands and it just stuck in his mind. It was probably a nice fantasy. For someone who grew up to be a woods guide, I think it would be a natural enough daydream, like imagining that he might one day go off to a strange land and marry a queen, but then it turned into a dream while he was hurt, and then into an obsession."

Nicci had to make herself stop. It hurt to the bone to say such things to other people about Richard, even if those other people also loved and cared about him and wanted to help him. Even Ann, as much as Nicci often thought the woman had ulterior motives, really did care a great deal about Richard. He was a man Ann believed was necessary to fulfill prophecy, but she still felt warmly toward him as an individual.

Nicci knew she was doing the right thing in what she said about Richard, but it still made her feel like she was betraying him. She could see his face in her mind, watching, silently hurt that she would be so coldly unbelieving.

"We think that, whatever the cause of his false belief," Ann said, "Richard needs to be brought back to reality."

Nicci didn't say anything. While she thought they were right, she didn't know that there was anything that could be done, other than letting him, as time went on, arrive at the truth on his own.

Nathan took a step forward and smiled down at Nicci. In the small room he seemed even more imposing. But it was his dark azure eyes that were so riveting. He spread his hands in a gesture of open appeal.

"Sometimes it hurts a person to help them, but later they see how it was the only way, and then, when they are finally well, they're happy that you did as had to be done."

"Like setting a broken arm," Ann offered, nodding to Nathan's words. "No one wants to go through the pain of having that done, but sometimes such things are necessary if they are to be well and have their life back."

"So," Nicci asked with a frown, "you want to heal him?"

"That's right," Zedd told her. He smiled, then. "I found a prophecy about Richard that says They will at first contest him before they plot to heal him. I never thought it would come to pass so soon or in quite this manner, but I think we all agree that we love Richard and want him well and back with us as himself."

Nicci thought that there must be more to this than what any of them were saying. She began to wonder why they had sent Rikka off for tea —why, exactly, they would not want the Lord Rahl's bodyguard around.

"I told you, I'm not exactly a healer."

"You did quite a good job of healing him when he was shot with that arrow," Zedd said. "Even I could not have accomplished such a feat. None of us in this room, other than you, Nicci, could have accomplished such a thing. You may not think you are much of a healer, but you were able to do what would have been impossible for any of us."

"Well, I was only successful because I used Subtractive Magic."

No one said anything. They all just stared at her.