Wizard's First Rule

Chase fell silent as they ascended a hillside of steps, passing into the shade between fluted columns, and through an opening surrounded by carved stone vines and leaves. They entered the halls. Chase's head swiveled about, astonished by the size, the beauty, the sheer overwhelming volume of polished stone about them. Kahlan walked down the center of the vast hall, seeing none of it, the folds of her dress flowing fluidly behind her, the soft sound of her boots on the stone whispering into the cavernous distance.

People dressed in white robes strolled the halls. A few sat on marble benches, and others knelt at squares with a stone and bell, meditating. All wore the same perpetual smile of the divinely deluded, the peaceful countenance of those self-assured in their fantasy of certainty and understanding. Truth was only a shifting fog to them, to be burned off by the light of their convoluted reasoning. Followers, disciples, of Darken Rahl, one and all. Most paid the three no attention, giving them no more than a vacant nod.

Zedd caught a glimpse of two Mord-Sith, proud in their red leather, sauntering up a side hall toward them. When they saw Kahlan, saw the twin red lightning bolts of the Con Dar painted across her face, the two blanched, reversed course, and quickly vanished.

The route they followed took them to an intersection of enormous halls, built in the pattern of a wheel. Stained-glass windows that formed the hub high overhead let in sunlight that streamed in colored shafts through the cavernous central area.

Kahlan stopped and turned her green eyes to the wizard. "Which way?"

Zedd pointed down a hall to the right. Kahlan started off without hesitation.

"How do you know where we're going?" Chase asked.

"Two ways. First, the People's Palace is built on a pattern I recognize, the pattern of a magic spell. The entire palace is one giant spell drawn on the face of the ground. It's a power spell, meant to protect Darken Rahl, keep him safe here, amplify his power. It's a spell drawn to protect him from other wizards. I have very little power here. I am next to helpless. The core of it is a place called the Garden of Life. Darken Rahl will be there."

Chase gave a troubled look. "What's the second."

Zedd hesitated. "The boxes. Their covers are removed. I can sense them. They, too, are in the Garden of Life." Something was wrong. He knew what it was to sense one of the boxes, and two should be twice as strong. But the feeling wasn't; it was three times as strong.

The wizard directed the Mother Confessor down the proper halls as they came to them, and up the proper stairways as they appeared. Each hall, each different level, had stone of unique color or type. In some places the columns stood several levels high. Balconies between them looked down on the hall. Stairways were all marble, each of a different color. They passed huge statues, standing like stone sentinels at the walls to each side. The three walked for several hours, working their way higher into the center of the People's Palace. It was impossible to go in a straight course; there was none.

At last they came to closed doors, carved in a country scene, clad in gold. Kahlan stopped and looked to the wizard.

"This is the place, dear one. The Garden of Life. The boxes are in here. Darken Rahl will be, too." She gave him a deep stare. "Thank you, Zedd, and you, too, Chase."

Kahlan turned to the door, but Zedd put his hand gently on her shoulder and turned her back around. "Darken Rahl has only two boxes. He will be dead soon. Without your help."

Her eyes were cold fire in the heart of the sharp, red lightning bolts drawn on her resolute face. "Then I have no time to waste."

She pushed the doors open, and strode into the Garden of Life

CHAPTER 49

THE FRAGRANCE OF FLOWERS engulfed them as they stepped into the Garden of Life. Zedd knew immediately that something was wrong. There was no doubt; all three boxes were in the room. He had been wrong. Rahl did have all three. He sensed something else, too, something out of place, but with his power diminished, he couldn't put his trust in the feeling. With Chase at his heels, Zedd stayed close behind Kahlan as she walked along the path, among the trees, past the vine-covered walls and colorful flowers. They came to grass. Kahlan stopped.

Across the lawn was a circle of white sand. Sorcerer's sand. In his whole life, Zedd had never seen so much of it in one place, never seen more than a pouchful. This much was worth ten kingdoms. Tiny flecks of prismatic light reflected up at him. With rising trepidation, Zedd wondered what Rah l needed with that much sorcerer's sand, what tie did with it. He found it hard to take his eyes from the lure of it.

Beyond the sorcerer's sand sat a sacrificial altar. There, on the stone altar, were the three boxes of Orden. Zedd's heart felt as if it skipped a beat, to see, for sure, that all three were there together. Each had its cover removed. Each was black as midnight.