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  　‘Please, Richard, accept the offer now, on the first of the three reasons and offers. Your life depends on this.’

  　She stood still, waiting. His gaze went back to the dull silver collar. He looked on the verge of panic. The room was dead quiet except for the slow crackle of the fire and the soft hiss of the torches.

  　He looked up, and his mouth opened, but no words came as he stared unblinking at her intense gaze.

  　At last he blinked and spoke in a hoarse whisper. ‘I will not wear a collar. I will never again wear a collar. For anyone. For any reason. Never.’

  　She straightened a little, lowering the collar, looking genuinely surprised. ‘You refuse the offer and the Rada’Han?’

  　‘I refuse.’

  　Sister Grace stood a while, staring with what seemed to be a mix of sadness and worry. Pale, she turned to the two Sisters behind her. ‘Forgive me, Sisters, I have failed.’ She handed the Rada’Han to Sister Elizabeth. ‘It is upon you now.’

  　‘The Light forgives you,’ Sister Elizabeth whispered as she kissed Sister Grace on each white cheek.

  　‘The Light forgives you,’ Sister Verna whispered, giving the same kisses.

  　Sister Grace turned back to Richard, her voice less steady. ‘May the Light cradle you always with gentle hands. May you someday find the way.’

  　Holding Richard’s gaze, she brought her hand up, giving it a flick. A knife appeared from her sleeve. But rather than a blade, it had what seemed to be a pointed, round rod coming from the silver handle.

  　Richard leapt back, drawing the sword in one swift, 【创建和谐家园】ooth motion. Its distinctive ring sounded in the air.

  　Deftly, Sister Grace flipped the knife in her hand so it stopped with the blade pointing not toward Richard, but toward herself. She held it with practiced grace, without taking her eyes from Richard.

  　And then she plunged the knife between her breasts.

  　There was a flash of light that seemed to come from within her eyes, and she collapsed to the ground, dead.

  　Richard and Kahlan both took a step back in wide-eyed shock and horror. Sister Verna bent and pulled the knife from the dead woman. She stood and looked at Richard.

  　‘As we told you: this is no game.’ She slipped the silver knife into her cloak. ‘You must bury her body yourself. If you let another do it for you, you will have nightmares for the rest of your life; nightmares caused by magic. There is no cure for them. Don’t forget, you must bury her yourself.’ Both Sisters pulled their hoods up. ‘You have been offered the first of three chances, and refused. We will return.’

  　The two Sisters glided to the door and were gone.

  　The sword’s point slowly settled to the ground. Richard stared at the dead woman, tears running down his face.

  　‘I won’t wear a collar again,’ he whispered to no one but himself. ‘Not for anyone.’

  　With labored movements, he retrieved a 【创建和谐家园】all shovel and a handle from his pack, and hooked them onto his belt. He then rolled Sister Grace onto her back, folded her hands across her, and lifted her lifeless form in his arms. One arm slipped from its place, loose, swinging. Her head hung down, limp. Her dead eyes stared. Black hair dangled. There was a 【创建和谐家园】all blossom of blood on the front of her white blouse.

  　Richard’s pained eyes sought Kahlan. ‘I’m going to bury her. I would like to go alone.’

  　Kahlan nodded and watched him shoulder the door open. After it had been pushed shut, she sank to the ground and started crying.

  　CHAPTER 10

  　She was sitting, staring into the fire, when Richard came back. He had been gone a long time. After Kahlan had stopped crying, she had gone to tell Savidlin and Weselan what had happened, and then came back to the spirit house to wait for Richard. They had told her to come get them if she needed anything.

  　Richard sat down next to her and put his arms around her, his head on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through the back of his hair and held him close. She wanted to say something, but was afraid to say anything, so she just held him.

  　‘I hate magic,’ he whispered at last. ‘It’s going to come between us again.’

  　‘We won’t let it. We just won’t. We will think of something.’

  　‘Why did she have to kill herself?’

  　‘I don’t know,’ Kahlan whispered.

  　Richard took his arms away and fingered some of Nissel’s leaves out of his shirt pocket. He sat chewing them as he gazed into the fire, a slight frown of pain on his face.

  　‘I feel like running away, but I don’t know where to go. How do you run away from something inside you?’

  　Kahlan rubbed her fingers back and forth on his leg. ‘Richard, I know this is hard for you to hear, but please listen. Magic isn’t bad.’ He didn’t object, so she went on. ‘How people use it is sometimes bad. Like the way Darken Rahl used it. I have had magic all my life. I’ve had to learn to live with who I am. Do you hate me because I have magic?’

  　‘Of course not.’

  　‘Do you love me despite my magic?’

  　He thought a minute. ‘No. I love everything about you, and your magic is part of you. That was how I got past the Confessor’s magic. If I had loved you despite your power, I wouldn’t have been accepting you for who you are. Your magic would have destroyed me.’

  　‘So you see? Magic isn’t all bad. The two people you love most in the world have magic. Zedd and me. Please listen. You have the gift. It is called a gift, not a curse. It is a wonderful, rare thing. It could be something used to help others. You have already used it to help others. Maybe you should try to think of it in this way, instead of trying to fight something that can’t be fought.’

  　He stared into the fire a long time as she 【创建和谐家园】oothed his pant leg. She could hardly hear him when at last he spoke.

  　‘I won’t wear a collar again.’

  　Kahlan’s gaze went to the Agiel. The red leather rod hung from a fine gold chain at his neck, swinging slightly with his breathing. She knew the Agiel was used to torture people, but she didn’t know how. She only knew she didn’t like him wearing it.

  　Kahlan swallowed. ‘Did the Mord-Sith make you wear a collar?’

  　He stared unblinking at the fire. ‘Her name was Denna.’

  　She turned to him, but he didn’t respond. ‘Did she ... Did Denna make you wear a collar?’

  　‘Yes.’ A tear ran down his cheek. ‘She used it to hurt me. It had a chain on it. She hooked the chain to her belt and led me around by that collar like an animal. When she would attach the chain to some resting place, I couldn’t move it. She controlled the magic that gives me pain when I use the sword to kill. She could amplify the magic, the pain. It prevented me from so much as putting tension on the chain. I tried. I tried hard. You can’t imagine how much it hurt. Denna made me put the collar around my own neck. She made me do a lot of things.’

  　‘But the headaches will kill you. The Sisters said the collar will stop the headaches and help you learn to control the gift.’

  　‘They said that was one of the reasons. They also said there are two more reasons for the collar. I don’t know what those other two reasons are. Kahlan, I know you think I’m being foolish. I think I’m being foolish, too. My head tells me the same things you are saying. But my insides tell me something altogether different.’

  　Kahlan reached out and took the Agiel in her fingers, rolling it back and forth. ‘Because of this? Because of what Denna did?’ He nodded, still staring at the fire.

  　‘Richard, what does this do?’

  　Richard looked to her at last. He gripped the Agiel in his fist. ‘Touch my hand. Don’t touch the Agiel, just my hand.’

  　Kahlan reached out and put her fingers against his fist.