The Third Kingdom (50 page)

Hannis Arc’s anger rose in a hot fury. “For what purpose?”

The spirit king glanced over out of the corner of a transparent, glowing eye. “What purpose indeed? What purpose would a man have not to tell his master what he was doing, and how he was doing it … unless he has designs on one day taking rule for himself.”

Hannis Arc felt his seething anger boil to the surface.

The glowing spirit leaned toward him. “Now that I am risen from the dead, and my spirit has joined us here, is there really any purpose for an abbot who schemes behind your back with occult conjuring of his own? For an abbot who has designs on your rule?

“What possible service could he provide you that would be worth the risk?” He gestured behind. “You have all you need to carry out any order. These half people and all the dead you can use are yours to command. You will have the world kneeling at your feet, begging to do your bidding. Why tolerate a potential threat from within?” He smiled again. “Why worry about a knife in your back?”

“Why indeed,” Hannis Arc said through gritted teeth.

He had always thought of Ludwig Dreier as a loyal subject with no interest other than to assist his master. He had thought him a man without any personal designs on ruling anything more than his abbey.

Hannis Arc was furious to learn that after giving Ludwig Dreier his position and trusting him with responsibilities such as going to the People’s Palace in his place and with speaking to leaders of other lands, the man would scheme to usurp rule. Hannis Arc wondered just how much his abbot had already done to undermine him.

Dark thoughts of what he wanted to do to Ludwig Dreier drifted through his mind. He reminded himself that it was still possible that it wasn’t true. Sulachan could be wrong.

But what difference did it make? Ludwig Dreier wasn’t needed any longer, and Sulachan was right that it made sense to eliminate the threat, or the potential for it to become one.

The spirit king gestured back to the legions of half people blanketing the landscape, moving like a silent shadow on their march.

“For your purpose, you don’t need all of these here with us. Having most of them with us is more than enough. Once we
get to where we’re going, we will raise all the dead we need from the catacombs, the crypts, tombs, and graves. We will have all the dead we could ever need to accomplish what you wish to accomplish. It is impossible for such a force to be disloyal. You shall have a virtually endless army that will follow your commands without question or delay. You will rule without opposition.”

Hannis Arc glanced back at the half people amassed behind.

“Besides sending some behind to feast on the captives, we should send others to the abbey.”

The spirit king nodded. “So be it.” He turned a little and lifted a hand, using two fingers to summon a contingent of the half people to receive their orders.

Hannis Arc knew from experience that they would be only too eager to be let off their leash to hunt the abbey, as well as feed on the captives down in the caves.

The risen spirit king was proving to be useful beyond Hannis Arc’s wildest imagination. He had never before had the companionship of such an equal in determination, purpose, and ruthlessness.

Soon, they would shape the world to their will.

Richard paced the length of his cell, going back and forth in the light from the soft green luminescence of the veil over the opening where he had come in. He could do nothing other than pace in frustration.

When Vika had taken him to the cell after they had cut him and used his blood to resurrect Emperor Sulachan, Richard had asked her what they were going to do with him. She had smiled in that profoundly disturbing way that only a Mord-Sith could and told him that she would be spending time with him while the others would likely be given to the half people, who were eager to devour them for their souls.

He supposed that after that, the unholy half dead would be coming for him as well. He had imagined it a thousand times over, and then another thousand. He had tried to come up with some way he might escape once they lifted the veil and came for him. He could think of nothing that had even the remotest chance to work. He knew that they would flood in and overwhelm him.

He was beyond distressed and upset waiting for the unknown. He wanted out. If he was going to die, he at least wished he could somehow recover his sword and die fighting. Better that than the end they had planned for him.

If he could get to his sword, he might be able to at least kill the newly risen dead king. He thought that, if he could get to his sword, he might even have a chance to kill Hannis Arc. He spent a lot of time trying to decide which one he would rather kill, if he could only kill one. Without his gift working, at least with his sword he wouldn’t die helpless.

But he couldn’t do anything—including trying to get to his sword—unless he could find a way to get out of the prison cell. He had thought for a time that maybe Vika would choose to help him, in some little way, at least. But he had not seen her since she had left him after the ceremony.

He wondered why. As he paced hour after hour, he was left to contemplate what Hannis Arc was really up to. He must have some grand goal in mind. Richard could understand the spirit of Sulachan wanting to come back to the world of the living in order to try to implement his plans. Naja’s account had been pretty emphatic about what he wanted to do.

Richard glanced down at the ring that Magda Searus had left for him. He knew what Sulachan wanted. He wanted to break the Grace.

Richard went back to pacing. He knew what Sulachan wanted, but what was Hannis Arc’s role? He was not the kind to be a sycophant to a spirit king. He had to have a plan of his own, something he wanted for himself. Richard knew that people like Hannis Arc only wanted one thing: power. The symbols tattooed all over the man spoke to the lengths to which he would go in order to obtain that power. He was deeply involved in the darkest of occult conjuring.

Of course, with the war ended and the world at peace—at least until the barrier containing the half people had failed and Hannis Arc brought their king back—the only real power left was the D’Haran Empire. By getting Richard out of the way, that made it pretty obvious what Bishop Arc’s intent had to be.

He wanted to be Lord Arc and rule the D’Haran Empire.

Throughout his waiting and pacing, Richard had regularly gone to every opening covered by a green veil. At each he had called out, hoping to get in contact with Zedd again, or with anyone. He wished he knew if they were still alive, still all right. He shouted until he nearly lost his voice. He never received an answer. There was no one imprisoned near him.

He tried not to take that as a bad sign.

He went back to wondering what Hannis Arc and the spirit king were doing. He wondered if they had already left. If Hannis Arc hadn’t already left, he surely would have already come down to gloat, to torment Richard.

Richard wondered if maybe he was being kept around as a source of fresh blood in case Sulachan’s corpse needed a bit of freshening from time to time. Maybe the emperor was waiting to see if he would need more blood. Maybe they didn’t know, and were keeping Richard for the time being, just in case.

Richard wanted nothing more than to have Sulachan come down to get that blood. If he got any chance at all, he was going to take it. He needed to rip that walking corpse to pieces—with his bare hands if need be, with his teeth if he had to. He might not be able to harm the spirit, but if he could rip the worldly part of him to bits that might do something.

He knew that such a battle would cost him his life, but it would be worth it if he could put a stop to what was happening. Besides, he was likely going to be fed to the half people anyway.

He could feel the sword’s magic in the distance. But even though he could feel it, it was too far away to do him any good. It was like a connection waiting to be completed, waiting for him to return. He could sense where it was, but he had no way to get to it.

If it were closer, he could summon it. He was bonded to the blade, and within a certain distance he could draw the sword
to hand. He had done that before—drawn it to him. But it was too far, now. Besides, it was beyond the green boundary to the underworld. Even if it were somehow close enough, and he called it to him as he had done in the past, once it fell into the underworld it would be lost forever.

He checked his arm where he had been cut. The wound had closed and was starting to heal, but it was black under the skin. He wondered if that was from the knife, or from the poison of death inside him.

He supposed that it didn’t matter. He imagined that soon enough the Shun-tuk would finally be given permission to rip him apart. They were probably only being held at bay in case Sulachan needed any more blood. The others had probably already been sacrificed. Richard’s time would come soon enough.

They would likely feed him to the half people before the poison inside ever had the chance to kill him. With grim curiosity, he wondered if that poison might kill the half people who ate him. He supposed not. They were of the third kingdom.

As he sat back against the wall, tossing small stones out of boredom, he wondered if Samantha had gotten away. He had no idea what she could do now that she was alone and so far from her home, but at least she had escaped Hannis Arc’s clutches. Of course, there was no guarantee that she had stayed out of the drifting greenish boundaries of death, or out of the clutches of the half people.

She had wanted so much to come with him, to help him, to try to rescue her mother. She had wanted to help fight the threat descending on the world. She had wanted to carry out the duty of the gifted who had been left in Stroyza. She had shown so much resolve.

He felt guilty for abandoning her, but of course he’d had no
choice in the matter. Still, he felt bad. Having her run to keep her from being captured along with him was all he had been able do.

Richard slumped back against the wall, resting his forearms over his knees. He was exhausted from the captivity, the pain of the Agiel, and with worry. He was weak from lack of food.

Worse, he was getting weaker from the inner poison.

“Lord Rahl?”

Richard’s head came up. He thought he heard a voice call his name. It was distant, and rather muffled coming through the wavering, greenish underworld wall, but he thought that it sounded like Samantha’s voice.

“Lord Rahl?”

It was closer the second time. He was sure that it was Samantha’s voice.

Richard stood in a rush.

“Lord Rahl?”

That time the voice was right outside his prison cell door.

“Samantha? Samantha, is that you?”

“Lord Rahl! Lord Rahl! Are you all right?”

“Yes! I’m trapped in here. I can’t get out. They stuck me in here behind a veil to the underworld.”

“I know.”

“How in the world did you find me?”

“A woman in red leather saw me hiding in the rocks just outside the caves where they took you.”

“Red leather? And she didn’t take you captive?”

“I thought she was going to snatch me for sure and give me to all those half people. Most of them had already passed by near where I was hiding. She was coming from the caves to catch up with the men leading the half people.

“But when she spotted me, she instead signaled for me to stay where I was, to stay out of sight, and wait. I couldn’t imagine why. I was afraid and didn’t know if I could trust her,
but I didn’t know what else to do. If I came out, then the others would snatch me for sure.

“But then, after a time, when everyone had moved on, she came back.”

“And she didn’t capture you?”

Samantha was quiet for a moment. “No. I don’t know why not. She stared at me for a long time, thinking about something, I guess. I stood there trembling, imagining she was going to feed me to the half people I’d just seen go by. Then, the strangest thing happened. She bent down and told me where you were.”

Richard was stunned. “So, she’s with you, then? She helped you get down here?”

“No, she only told me where you were being held. It looked like she had a hard time of deciding to do that much. After that, she went to catch up with the others.”

“Do you know where the others were going?”

“Most of them seem to be headed south, back toward the gates we came through. They had so many Shun-tuk with them that it looked like the ground was moving. I couldn’t see all of them, or tell if they were all moving south. I watched for what seemed like all day as they kept coming past. But I do know that some of the half people stayed behind.”

“So, there are still half people here, in the caves?”

“Yes. Lots of them. It took me a long time to work my way down here,” she said, sounding frantic. “There’re all over in these caves. Sometimes I had to wait hours for them to leave.”

“Where are they now?”

“I don’t know for sure. I know that they patrol the passageways. Lord Rahl, you have to get out of there! The half people will come back through here soon. They haunt these caves like ghosts. I can’t stay here—they’ll get me. You have to get out! You have to get out now!”

Richard threw his hands up in frustration. “I can’t, Samantha.
The half people have the ability to banish the green veil, but I don’t. I don’t have a way out or I would already be out. I’m trapped in here.”

“Lord Rahl, I can’t stay here. The caves are full of half people. If I stay I’ll be caught and—”

“Listen to me, Samantha, you need to run. You’re right. You can’t stay out there or you’ll be caught. Get out of here. Get out now.”

“I need you to come with me.”

Richard raked his fingers back through his hair as he growled in anger. “Samantha—”

“I found some of the others.”

“What?”

“When I was looking for you, I found some of the soldiers. I talked to them like I’m talking to you. They’re trapped, too, on the other side of greenish underworld veils.” There was a long pause. “Lord Rahl,” she said, her voice starting to choke with tears, “I talked to my mother.”