Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy Part 2

Kahlan didn't think that it was a good idea to go stumbling around in the dark, especially when they were beginning to come upon a landscape deeply rutted and eroded in places by runoff from the high ground. The horses could easily break a leg in such conditions. But, in their ambition to get to Caska, the Sisters hadn't wanted to stop when evening had begun to engulf them. What the Sisters wanted, the Sisters got. Kahlan wasn't looking forward to eventually setting up camp in the dark.

"I think there's someone out there," Sister Armina said in a quiet voice as she stared out into the darkness.

"I sense something, too," Sister Cecilia murmured.

Sister Armina glanced over, expectantly. "Maybe it's Tovi."

"Could be nothing more than a wild mule." Sister Ulicia didn't appear to be in a mood to stand around speculating. "Come on." She glanced back at Kahlan. "Stay close."

"Yes, Sister," Kahlan said. She handed the Sisters the reins to their horses.

Sister Cecilia, older than the rest of them, grunted with the effort of swinging her tired muscles up into her saddle. "My memories of the rare maps down in the vaults at the Palace of the Prophets tell me that we should be getting close to the place."

"I recall seeing that ancient map," Sister Ulicia said, once seated atop her horse. "It called this place the Deep Nothing. That would mean that it has to be Caska up on that distant headland."

Sister Armina heaved an impatient sigh as she urged her horse on after the others. "Then we will at last find Tovi here."

"And when we finally join up with her," Sister Cecilia said, "she is going to have some explaining to do."

Sister Armina gestured off toward the distant headland. "You know Tovi — always ignoring what she's supposed to do because she thinks she knows best. She's the most obstinate woman I've ever met."

As far as Kahlan was concerned, Armina had little room to talk.

"We'll see how obstinate she is when I have my fingers around her throat," Sister Cecilia said.

Sister Armina urged her horse up beside Sister Ulicia. "You don't think she could be up to no good, do you, Ulicia?"

"Tovi?" Sister Ulicia glanced back over her shoulder. "No, not really. She may be exasperating at times, but she has the same goal as do the rest of us. Besides, she knows as well as we do that we need all three of the boxes. She knows what's involved and what's at stake.

"We will soon have the three boxes all back together again — that's all that really matters — and we will already be in Caska, so I suppose it wouldn't really have done us any good to catch up with Tovi before now. We still would have had to come here anyway."

"But why would she have taken off the way she did?" Sister Cecilia pressed.

Sister Ulicia shrugged. Unlike the other two, she seemed to be somewhat at ease, now that Caska was in sight. "It could be nothing more than that she discovered Imperial Order troops nearby and she simply wanted to avoid any possibility of trouble so she left the area. She probably was using her head, that's all. She knew we had to come here. She probably saw a chance to slip away and took it. We're better served by such caution. She was, in the end, going to where we planned on going all along, so I don't really see what mischief she could be up to."

"I suppose." Sister Cecilia seemed somewhat disappointed not to have a villain upon whom to fixate her anger.

They rode in silence for nearly an hour more before it became apparent to the Sisters that riding over such ground in the dark might not only risk breaking a horse's leg, but one of their necks as well. As far as Kahlan could tell, they weren't much closer to the headland than they had been for most of the day. Out on the plain, distances were far greater than they appeared to be. What at first seemed to be a place only a couple of miles distant could turn out to take days to reach. The Sisters, despite their eagerness to get to Caska and Tovi, were tired and ready to stop for the night.

Sister Ulicia dismounted, handing the reins to Kahlan. "Get camp set up. We're all hungry."

Kahlan dipped her head. "Yes, Sister."

She immediately hobbled all the horses so they couldn't wander off, then made her way around to the side of the pack animals to start getting out their gear. She was dead tired but knew that it would probably be hours before she would have a chance to get any sleep. The camp had to be set up, food had to be prepared, and then the horses had to be fed, watered, and groomed for the night.

Sister Ulicia took hold of Sister Armina's arm and pulled her close. "While we're making camp, I want you to go out there and check the area. I want to know if it's just a mule."

Sister Armina nodded and immediately set out on foot into the darkness.

Sister Cecilia watched Sister Armina dissolve into the night. "Do you really think it's a mule?"

Sister Ulicia cast her a dark look. "If it is a mule, it's staying the same distance away as we travel. If it's someone watching us, then Armina will find them."