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Faith of the Fallen :: Goodkind Terry
Страница: 33 из 617"And leave you unprotected? When I knew that toothless brute was going after you? Lord Rahl would have skinned me alive if I had left you."
Tall and lean, shoulders squared and chin raised, Cara looked as pleased as a cat licking mouse off its whiskers. Kahlan suddenly understood:
Richard had entrusted Cara with Kahlan's life; the MordSith had proven that faith justified.
Kahlan felt a smile stretch the partly healed cuts on her lips. "I just wish I'd, known you were standing there the whole time. Now, thanks to you, I won't need the wooden bowl."
Cara didn't laugh. "Mother Confessor, you should know that I would never let R anything happen to either of you."
Richard appeared out of the shadows as suddenly as he had vanished. He stroked the horses reassuringly. As he moved down beside them, he quickly checked the neck collars, the trace chains, and the breaching to make sure it was all secure.
"Anything?" he asked Cara.
"No, Lord Rahl. Quiet and clear."
He leaned in the carnage and smiled. "Well, as long as you're awake, how about I take you for a romantic moonlight ride?"
She rested her hand on his forearm. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Not a scratch."
"That's not what I meant."
His smile vanished. "They tried to kill us. Westland has just suffered its first casualties because of the influence of the Imperial Order."
"But you knew them."
"That doesn't entitle them to misplaced sympathy. How many thousands have I seen killed since I left here? I couldn't even convince men I grew up with of the truth. I couldn't even get them to listen fairly. All the death and suffering I've seen is ultimately because of men like this-men who refuse to see.
"Their willful ignorance does not entitle them to my blood or life.
They picked their own path. For once, they paid the price."
He didn't sound to her like a man who was quitting the fight. He still held the sword, was still in the grip of its rage. Kahlan caressed his arm, letting him know that she understood. It was clear to her that even though he'd been justly defending himself, and though he was still filled with the sword's rage, he keenly regretted what he'd had to do. The men, had they been able to kill Richard instead, would have regretted nothing. They would have celebrated his death as a great victory.
"That was still perilous-making them all chase after you."
"No, it wasn't. It drew them out of the open and into the trees. They had to dismount. It's rocky and the footing is poor, so they couldn't rush me together or with speed, like they could out here on the road.
Tall and lean, shoulders squared and chin raised, Cara looked as pleased as a cat licking mouse off its whiskers. Kahlan suddenly understood:
Richard had entrusted Cara with Kahlan's life; the MordSith had proven that faith justified.
Kahlan felt a smile stretch the partly healed cuts on her lips. "I just wish I'd, known you were standing there the whole time. Now, thanks to you, I won't need the wooden bowl."
Cara didn't laugh. "Mother Confessor, you should know that I would never let R anything happen to either of you."
Richard appeared out of the shadows as suddenly as he had vanished. He stroked the horses reassuringly. As he moved down beside them, he quickly checked the neck collars, the trace chains, and the breaching to make sure it was all secure.
"Anything?" he asked Cara.
"No, Lord Rahl. Quiet and clear."
He leaned in the carnage and smiled. "Well, as long as you're awake, how about I take you for a romantic moonlight ride?"
She rested her hand on his forearm. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Not a scratch."
"That's not what I meant."
His smile vanished. "They tried to kill us. Westland has just suffered its first casualties because of the influence of the Imperial Order."
"But you knew them."
"That doesn't entitle them to misplaced sympathy. How many thousands have I seen killed since I left here? I couldn't even convince men I grew up with of the truth. I couldn't even get them to listen fairly. All the death and suffering I've seen is ultimately because of men like this-men who refuse to see.
"Their willful ignorance does not entitle them to my blood or life.
They picked their own path. For once, they paid the price."
He didn't sound to her like a man who was quitting the fight. He still held the sword, was still in the grip of its rage. Kahlan caressed his arm, letting him know that she understood. It was clear to her that even though he'd been justly defending himself, and though he was still filled with the sword's rage, he keenly regretted what he'd had to do. The men, had they been able to kill Richard instead, would have regretted nothing. They would have celebrated his death as a great victory.
"That was still perilous-making them all chase after you."
"No, it wasn't. It drew them out of the open and into the trees. They had to dismount. It's rocky and the footing is poor, so they couldn't rush me together or with speed, like they could out here on the road.