Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

Within the undulating silver pool, a lustrous metallic hump mounded up, rising above the edge of the stone wall surrounding the well. It drew up into a bulk, rising of its own accord, gathering into a recognizable shape. Its glossy surface, like a liquid mirror, reflected everything around the room, distorting the images reflected off its surface as it grew and transformed.

It looked like living quicksilver.

The rising shape continued to contort, bending into edges and planes, folds and curves, until it warped into a woman's face.

A silver smile widened in what seemed to be recognition. "Master, you called me?"

The sliph's eerie, feminine voice echoed around the room, but her lips hadn't moved.

Richard stepped closer, ignoring Nicci and Rikka's wide-eyed astonishment. "Yes. Sliph, thank you for coming. I need you."

A silver smile was pleased. "You wish to travel, Master?"

"Yes, I wish to travel. We all do. We all need to travel."

The smile widened. "Come, then. We will travel."

Richard herded everyone close to the wall. Liquid metal formed into a hand that reached out to touch each of the three women in turn.

"You have traveled before," the sliph said to Cara after only brief contact with her forehead. "You may travel."

The glistening hand gently brushed a palm across Nicci's brow, lingering for a bit longer. "You have what is required. You may travel.

Rikka lifted her chin, ignoring her distaste for magic, and stood her ground as the sliph touched her forehead.

"You may not travel," the sliph said.

Rikka looked indignant. "But, but, if Cara can-why can't I?"

"You do not have both sides required," said the voice.

Rikka folded her arms defiantly. "I must go with them. I'm going, too. That's all there is to it."

"It is your choice, but if you try to travel in me, you will die, and then you will not be with them either."

Richard laid a hand on Rikka's arm before she could say anything else. "Cara captured the power of someone who had an element of the required magic; that's why she can travel. There is nothing to be done about it. You have to stay here."

Rikka didn't look at all happy, but she nodded. "The rest of you had better get going, then."

"Come," the sliph said to Richard, "and we will travel. To which place do you wish to travel?"

Richard almost said it aloud, but then stopped himself. He turned to Rikka.

"You can't come with us. I think you had better leave now, so that you don't even hear where I'm going. I don't want to take the chance that if you know, then the others might somehow find out. My grandfather can be clever when he wants to be and pull tricks to get his way."

"You don't need to tell me." Rikka sighed in resignation. "You're probably right, Lord Rahl." She smiled at Cara. "Protect him."

Cara nodded. "I always do. He's pretty helpless without me."

Richard ignored Cara's boast. "Rikka, I need you to tell Zedd something for me. I need you to give him a message."

Rikka frowned as she listened intently.

"Tell him that four Sisters of the Dark have captured Kahlan, the real Mother Confessor, not the body buried down in Aydindril. Tell him that I intend to come back as soon as I can and I will bring him the proof. I ask that when I return, before he tries to cure me, he allow me to show him the evidence I will bring. And tell him that I love him and understand his concern for me, but that I'm doing as the Seeker must do, as he himself charged me to do when he gave me the Sword of Truth."

When Rikka had gone, Cara asked, "What evidence?"

"I don't know. I haven't found it yet." Richard turned to Nicci. "Don't forget what I told you before. You have to breathe in the sliph once we go under. At first you'll want to hold your breath, but that just isn't possible. Once we arrive and come up out of the sliph, you must let her out of your lungs and again breathe in the air."

Nicci was looking more than a little nervous. Richard took her hand. "I'll be with you, as will Cara. We've both done this before. I won't let go of you. It's hard to make yourself breathe in the sliph for the first time, but once you do, you will see that it's quite a remarkable experience. It's rapture to breathe the sliph."

"Rapture," Nicci repeated with more than just a little incredulity.

"Lord Rahl is right," Cara said. "You'll see."

"Just remember," Richard added, "when it ends you will not want to let go of the sliph and breathe air again-but you must. If you don't, you'll die. Do you understand?"

"Of course," Nicci said with a nod.

"Come on then." Richard started to climb up on the wall, pulling Nicci up with him.

"Where will we travel, Master?"

"I think we should go to the People's Palace, in D'Hara. Do you know the place?"

"Of course. The People's Palace is a central site."

"A central site?"

If living quicksilver could be said to look puzzled by a question, the sliph looked puzzled. "Yes, a central site. Like this place here is a central site."

Richard didn't understand, but didn't think it was relevant and so didn't press the issue. "I see."