Wizard's First Rule

Zedd looked around and led him forward with a hand on his elbow. Before going far, he hit it again, but this time he had been moving slowly and wasn't knocked from his feet, only back a few steps. He took one slow step forward, and came in contact with it again. Zedd gave a serious frown. Richard put his hands out, feeling the solid form of the smooth wall that wouldn't let him pass but would let the rest of them through. The touch of it made him feel dizzy and sick. Zedd walked back and forth through the invisible barrier.

The wizard stood where the unseen wall stood. "Walk back to the end of the bridge, then walk to me."

Richard felt the lump on his forehead as he walked back to the end of the bridge. Kahlan jumped off her horse, next to Zedd. Brophy came up beside her, to see what the trouble was. This time, as he walked, Richard held his hands out in front of himself.

Before he was halfway back, he made solid contact, and could go no farther, having to back away from the sickening feeling at its touch.

Zedd rubbed his chin. "Bags!"

The rest of them came to Richard, since he couldn't come to them. Zedd led him forward again. When he made contact, he backed away a little.

Zedd took Richard's left hand. "Touch it, with your other hand."

Richard did as he was told until the sick feeling made him withdraw his hand. Zedd seemed to feel it, through Richard. By now, they were at the foot of the bridge. Every touch of the thing had made it move back the way they had come.

"Bags! And double bags!"

"What is it?" Richard demanded.

Zedd took a glance to Kahlan and Chase before he spoke. "It's a keeper spell."

"What's a keeper spell?"

"It's a spell drawn by that filthy artist, James. He's drawn it around you, and then when you touched it the first time, it activated the spell. Once you touch it, it pulls tighter, like a trap. If we don't get it off you, it will shrink until you are all that's in it, and then you won't be able to move."

"Then what?"

Zedd straightened. "The touch of it is poison. When it finishes closing around you, like a cocoon, it will crush you, or the poi= son of it will kill you."

Kahlan grabbed the sleeve of Zedd's robes, panic in her eyes. "We have to go back! We have to get it off him!"

Zedd pulled his arm free. "Well, of course we do. We'll find the drawing and erase it."

"I know where the sacred caves are," Kahlan offered as she grabbed hold of her saddle and put a foot in the stirrup.

The wizard turned to retrieve his horse. "We don't have any time to waste. Let's go."

"No," Richard said.

They all turned back to stare at him.

"Richard, we have to," Kahlan said.

"She's right, my boy. There's no other way."

"No." He looked at their startled faces. "That's what they want us to do. You said the artist couldn't spell you or Kahlan, so he did it to me, thinking that would get us all back. The box is too important. We can't take the risk." He looked to Kahlan. "You just tell me where these caves are, and Zedd, you tell me how to erase the spell."

Kahlan grabbed the reins of her horse and Richard's, pulling them forward. "Zedd and Chase can protect the box, I'm going with you."

"No, you're not! I'm going alone. I have the sword to protect me. The box is all that matters, it is our first responsibility. We must protect it above all else. Just tell me where the caves are, and how to fix the spell. When I'm finished, I'll catch up with you."

"Richard, I think…"

"No! This is about stopping Darken Rahl, not about any one of us. This is not a request, it's an order!"

They straightened, Zedd turning to Kahlan… "Tell him where the caves are."

Kahlan angrily handed the reins of her horse to Zedd and snatched up a stick. She drew a map in the dirt of the road, pulling the stick along one of the lines she had drawn. "This is the Callisidrin, and here, the bridge. This is the road, and here, Tamarang and the castle." She drew the line of a road to the north of the city. "Here, in these hills northeast of the city, there is a stream that runs between twin hills. They're about a mile south of a small bridge that crosses the stream. The twin hills have cliffs on the sides toward the stream. The sacred caves are in the cliff on the northeast side of the stream. That is where the artist draws his spells."

Zedd took the stick from her and broke off two finger-length pieces. He rolled one between his palms. "Here. This will erase the curse. Without seeing it, I can't tell you what part you must erase, but you should be able to figure it out. It's a drawing and you will be able to make some sense of it. That is the whole purpose of a drawn spell; you must be able to make sense of it, or it won't work."

The stick Zedd had rolled in his palms no longer felt like wood. It felt soft and tacky. Richard put it in his pocket. Zedd rolled the other piece in his palms. He handed it to Richard, it too no longer a stick. This time it was black, almost like charcoal, but hard.