Phantom: Chainfire Trilogy Part 2

"Richard would probably have started out on foot. I imagine he would head back here, to the Keep. After all, that's where he was going when something went wrong in the sliph. For some reason he went to the wisps, but that may have had more to do with geography than anything else — he was much closer to them than coming all the way back here, so he may have decided to make a quick stop there before heading back to us. It may be nothing more than that.

"As far as the wisps, they wouldn't tell us much either. They wouldn't let us go beyond the dead trees, into those huge, ancient trees beyond. But there is some good news in it. We at least know for sure that Richard is alive, and that he went to the land of the wisps. That's what matters — Richard is alive. Knowing Richard, he will try to find a horse as soon as possible and will probably show up here before we know it."

Zedd squeezed her arm. "You're right, my dear." It was a gesture that Nicci found comforting, almost as if it were a connection to Richard himself. It was the kind of reassurance Richard himself would have offered at such a troubling moment.

Zedd suddenly frowned. "You said the wisps wouldn't let you into the big pines?"

Nicci nodded. "That's right. They wouldn't let us proceed any farther than the dead oak woods, or allow us to see the other wisps."

"In a way it makes sense." Zedd ran a finger up along his temple as he considered. "The wisps are secretive creatures, and don't generally allow anyone into their land, but it seems odd under the circumstances — and with word from me — that they wouldn't welcome you in."

"They're dying."

Zedd's eyes turned up at her. "What?"

"Tarn said that the wisps were dying out and that was why they didn't want us to enter. He said that it's a time of great strife among the wisps, great sadness and worry. They didn't want strangers among them right now."

"Dear spirits," Zedd whispered. "Richard was right."

Nicci's insides tightened with anxiety. "What are you talking about? Richard is right about what?"

"The oaks dying. They protect the land of the wisps. The wisps are dying, too. It's part of a cascade of events. Richard already told us why, in this very room. As if I needed yet more reason to believe him."

"Yet more reason? What do you mean by that?"

He took Nicci's elbow and turned her toward the spell-forms floating above the table. "Look here."

"Zedd," Nicci said in admonition, "that's the Chainfire verification web — and it looks suspiciously like an interior perspective."

"That's right."

"I know I'm right. The question is, what's going on? What are you up to?"

"I found a way to ignite a kind of simulation of an interior perspective — one without you needing to be in it. It isn't the same in every respect," he said with a dismissive gesture, "but for the purpose I had in mind it was good enough."

Nicci was astonished that he had been able to do such a thing. It was also somewhat disquieting to again see the very thing that had almost taken her life. But that wasn't at all what she found most disturbing.

"Why are there two of them?" she asked. "There is only one Chainfire spell. Why are there two spell-forms here?"

Zedd flashed her a wry smile. "Ah, there is the trick of it. You see, Richard claimed that the chimes had been present in the world of life. If that were true, their presence would have contaminated the world of life, would have contaminated magic. And yet none of us has seen any evidence of it. That is the paradox of such contamination; it erodes your ability to detect its presence. I wanted to find a way to see if Richard was right — "

"Richard Rahl is right."

Zedd shrugged one bony shoulder at her emphatic declaration. "But I needed to see if I could actually find any evidence. I didn't understand all that emblem business Richard was going on about. I believe in him too, Nicci, but I don't understand how he can see language in symbols the way he does, how he was able to come to the conclusions that he does. I need to see proof I understand."

Nicci folded her arms as she stared at the twin spell-forms. "I guess I know how you feel. I believe in him, and he makes sense, but I sometimes feel lost, like I used to as a novice when there would be a test on things that were taught when I hadn't been in class. When Richard…"

Nicci fell silent. Her arms came unfolded.

"Zedd, those two spell-forms aren't the same."

His smile grew sly. "I know that."

Nicci stepped closer to the table, closer to the two forms made of glowing lines. She inspected them more carefully. She pointed at one.

"That one is the Chainfire spell. I recognize it. This other is identical, but it's not the same. It's a mirror image of the real spell."

"I know." He looked rather proud of himself.

"That's impossible."

"I thought so too, but then I remembered a book named The Book of Inversion and Duplex — "

Nicci rounded on the old wizard. "You know where The Book of Inversion and Duplex is?"

Zedd gestured vaguely. "Well, yes, I managed to lay my hands on a copy."