Wizard's First Rule

"Zedd," he whispered, "now I know why you stand on this rock all the time. I've never felt anything like that in my life. I had no idea."

Zedd smiled knowingly. "You're a natural, my boy. You held your arms just right, your head had the proper tilt, you even arched your back correctly. You took to it like a duckling to a pond. You have all the makings of a fine wizard." He leaned forward, gleefully. "Now just try to imagine doing it naked."

"It makes a difference?" Richard asked in amazement.

"Of course. The clothes interfere with the experience." Zedd put his arm. around Richard's shoulder. "Someday I will let you try it."

"Zedd, why did you have me do that? It wasn't necessary. You could have done it."

"How do you feel now?"

"I don't know. Different. Relaxed. More clearheaded. I guess not as overpowered, not as depressed."

"That's why I let you do it, my friend, because you needed it. You have had a hard night. I can't change, the problems, but I could help you feel better."

"Thank you, Zedd."

"Go get some sleep, it's my watch now." He gave Richard a wink. "If you ever change your mind about becoming a wizard, I would be proud to welcome you into the brotherhood."

Zedd help up his hand. Out of the darkness, the piece of cheese he had thrown away floated back to him

CHAPTER 14

CHASE REINED IN Fns horse. "Here. This will be a good place."

He led the other three off the trail through an open tract of long-dead spruce, the silver-gray skeletons standing bare of all but a few branches and an occasional wisp of dull green moss. The soft ground was littered with the rotting corpses of the former monarchs. Brown bog weed, its broad, flat leaves laid down in haphazard fashion by past storms, looked like a tangled sea of dead snakes underfoot.

The horses picked their. way carefully among the tangle. Warm air, heavy with humidity, carried the fetid smell of decay. A fog of mosquitoes followed them as they went, the only things alive as far as Richard could tell. As open as this place was, little brightness was offered by the sky, as a thick, uniform overcast of clouds hung oppressively close to the ground. Trailers of mist dragged across the silver spikes of the trees that remained standing, leaving them wet and slick.

Chase led the way for Zedd and then Kahlan, with Richard following behind, watching over them as they twisted their way along. Visibility was limited to less than a few hundred feet, and even though Chase didn't seem to be concerned, Richard kept a sharp lookout; anything could sneak up close before they would be able to see it. All four swatted at the mosquitoes, and except for Zedd, they kept their cloaks tight for protection. Zedd, who shunned wearing a cloak, nibbled on the remnants of lunch, looking about as if on a sightseeing excursion. Richard had an excellent — sense of direction but was glad they had Chase to lead them. Everything in the bog looked the same, and he knew from experience how easy it would be to become lost.

Since Richard had stood on the wizard's rock the night before, he felt the weight of his responsibilities less of a burden, and more of an opportunity to be a part of something right. He didn't feel the danger any less, but felt more strongly his need to be part of stopping Rahl. He saw his part in the scheme of things as a chance to help others who had no chance to fight Darken Red. He knew he couldn't back away; that would be the end of him, and a lot of others.

Richard watched Kahlan's.body sway as she rode, her shoulders moving to the horse's rhythm. He wished he could take her to places he knew of in the Hartland Woods, secret places of beauty and peace, far back in the mountains, show her the waterfall he had found, and the cave behind it, have lunch by a quiet forest pond with her, take her into town, buy her something pretty, take her someplace, any place, where she would be safe. He wanted her to be able to smile without having to worry every minute if her enemies were getting closer. After last night, he felt that the first part, his fantasy of being with her, was just an empty wish.

With a hand in the air, Chase brought them to a halt. "This is the place."

Richard looked around, there were still in the middle of an endless, dead, dried-up bog. He didn't see any boundary. It all looked the same in every direction. They tethered their horses to a fallen log and followed, Chase a short distance farther on foot.

"The boundary," Chase announced, holding his arm out at the introduction.

"I don't see anything," Richard said.