Stone of Tears

He had found a small clearing, high enough to be dry, and had waited there since the sun had gone down. He could see the full moon through the tight tangle of branches, and judged it about two hands high. He didn’t know what was supposed to happen in the Hagen Woods when the sun set on you there, but so far it seemed as it always had when he had been there before at night.

He returned Liliana’s call, and she came out from behind a fat oak. She looked about at the woods. It wasn’t a tentative glance, but a confident appraisal.

She sat before him, crossing her legs. “I got it. The aid I told you about.”

Richard smiled in relief. “Thanks, Liliana.”

She pulled it from her cloak. In the moonlight, he could see it was a small statue of a man holding something clear as glass. She held it up, showing it to him.

“What is it?”

“The crystal, this clear part here, has the power to amplify the gift. I don’t have the power to get your Rada’Han off, if it is true that you have Subtractive Magic, because I have only Additive. You will hold this in your lap. When we join our minds this will help amplify your power, so I can use it, and be able to break the hold.”

“Good. Let’s begin.”

She pulled the statue back. “Not until I tell you the rest.”

He looked into her pale, pale blue eyes, at the dark flecks spread through them. “so tell me.”

“The reason you can’t help get the collar off is because you don’t have the training to use your gift. You don’t know how to direct the power. This will overcome that deficiency. I hope.”

“You’re trying to work up to warning me about something.”

She gave a single nod. “You don’t know how to control the flow, so you be will at the mercy of the aid. But the aid doesn’t understand pain. It simply does what it must. What I need.”

“So you’re telling me it might hurt. I’m prepared to endure pain. Let’s get started.”

“Not “might.’” She held up a cautionary finger. “Richard, this is dangerous. It will hurt you. It will feel like your mind is being torn apart. I know you want to do this, but I don’t want to deceive you. This will make you think you are dying.”

He felt a trickle of sweat run down his neck.

“It must be done.”

“I will be directing my Han to try to break the hold of the collar. The aid will be pulling power from you, to do as I need to overcome the Rada’Han. It will hurt you.”

“Liliana, I can take whatever is necessary. It must be done.”

“You listen to me, Richard. I know you want to do this, but you listen. I will be pulling the gift from you, to help break the collar. Your mind will feel like I’m trying to pull the very life from you. Your inner mind may interpret that as me trying to suck the gift, the very life, from you.

“You will have to endure the feeling of having your life ripped from you. You will have to endure it until the collar breaks. If you try to stop it when my power is in you, trying to do as I must…”

“So what you are saying is that if it’s too much, and I want to stop, I can’t. If I try to stop the pull on my magic, it will kill me.”

“Yes. You must not resist. If you do, you will die.” Her expression was as serious as he had ever seen it. “You must trust me, and not try to stop what is happening to you, or you will die, and then Kahlan will die. Are you sure you can do that?”

“Liliana, I would do anything, endure anything, to save Kahlan. I trust you. I will put my life in your hands.”

She at last nodded and placed the statue in his lap. She gazed into his eyes a long moment, and then kissed her finger. She touched the kissed finger to his cheek.

“Into the void, then, together. Thank you for your trust, Richard. You will never know what this means to me.”

“Nor to me, Liliana. What do you want me to do?”

The same as we have always done before. You just try to touch your Han, as always, and I will do the rest.”

She wiggled forward until their knees were pressed together. They held hands, letting them rest over their knees. Each drew a deep breath, and closed their eyes.

At first, it was the same as it always was, just deep relaxation as he concentrated on the image of the Sword of Truth. The pain, at first, was simply an uncomfortable tingling. It spiraled deeper, settling at the base of his spine, .feeling like a pulled muscle. The pain worked its way up his back.

Abruptly, it erupted everywhere at once, something like the pain of the Agiel; a hot ache searing through the marrow of his bones. Denna had taught him to endure pain. He said a silent thank you to Denna, for what she had done. Maybe it would be what he needed to endure this, to save Kahlan.

The twisting torture took his breath. His back stiffened. Sweat instantly drenched his face. His lungs burned for air. With the greatest of effort, he drew a breath.

Shattering pain exploded through his mind, plunging him into a timeless place of ripping, unending agony. He struggled to hold the sword in his mind. Tears ran down his face. He had to do this.