Terry Goodkind - Wizard's First Rule

“Kahlan, if it had been you, I would have come after you,” he said, meaning more than the words he spoke.

She studied his eyes. “Please, Richard, don’t even say that.” She gently pulled her arm away and went back to camp.

When the other two, back from tending the horses, came into the firelight, Richard could see that the scabbard strapped over Chase’s shoulder was empty, the short sword missing. One of his battle axes and several long knives were gone, too. Not that this left him defenseless—far from it.

The mace hanging from his belt was covered in blood from one end to the other, his gauntlets were soaked with it, and it was splattered everywhere on him. Without comment he pulled a knife, pried a three-inch yellowish tooth from the mace where it was wedged between two of the blades, and threw the tooth over his shoulder into the darkness. After wiping the blood off his hands and face he sat down in front of the fire with the others.

Richard tossed a stick in the fire. “Chase, what were those creatures that were after us? And how could anything go in and out of the boundary?”

Chase picked up a loaf of bread and tore off about a third. He met Richard’s eyes. “They’re called heart hounds. They’re about twice the size of a wolf, big barrel chests—heads are kind of flat, big snout full of teeth. Fierce. I’m not sure what color they are. They only prowl at night, until today, that is. But it was too dark in those woods to tell, and, anyway, I was kind of busy. There were more than I’ve ever seen together before.”

“Why are they called heart hounds?”

Chase chewed a piece of bread as he stared back with intense eyes. “That’s a matter of some debate. Heart hounds have big rounded ears, good hearing. Some say they can find a man by hearing the beating of his heart.” Richard’s eyes widened. Chase took another bite of bread, chewing for a minute. “Others say they’re called heart hounds because that’s how they kill. They come at your chest. Most predators go for the throat, but not heart hounds—they go straight for your heart, and they have big enough teeth to get the job done. It’s the first thing they eat, too. If there’s more than one hound, they’ll fight over the heart.”

Zedd dished himself a bowl of stew and handed the ladle to Kahlan.

Richard was losing his appetite, but he had to ask. “And what do you think?”

Chase shrugged. “Well, I’ve never sat real quiet in the dark next to the boundary, just to find out if they could hear my heart beating.” He took another bite of bread, looking down at his chest as he chewed. He pulled the heavy mail away from himself. There were two long ragged rips in the chain. Broken pieces of yellow teeth were jammed into mangled links. The leather tunic behind it was soaked with hound’s blood. “The one that did this had the blade of my short sword broken off in his chest, and I was still on my horse at the time.” He looked back to Richard and raised an eyebrow. “That answer your question?”

Bumps ran up Richard’s arms. “What about the way they can go in and out of the boundary?”

Chase took the bowl of stew from Kahlan as she handed it to him. “They have something to do with the magic of the boundary—they were created with it. They are the boundary’s watchdogs, so to speak. They can go in and out without being claimed by it. But they’re tied to it too, and can’t go far from it. With the boundary weakening, they’ve been straying farther and farther all the time. That makes traveling Hawkers Trail dangerous, but to go another way would add a good week to the journey to Kings’ Port. The cutoff we took is the only one that veers away from the boundary until we get to Southaven. I knew I had to reach you before you passed it, or we would have had to spend the night back there, with them. Tomorrow, in the daylight, when it’s safer, I’ll show you the boundary, how it’s weakening.”

Richard nodded as they all went back to their own thoughts.

“They are tan,” Kahlan said softly. They all turned to her. She sat staring into the fire. “The heart hounds are tan, with short fur, like that on the back of a deer. They are seen everywhere now in the Midlands, having been released from their bonds when the other boundary failed. Crazed with lack of purpose, now they even come out in the daytime.”

The three men sat motionless, considering her words. Even Zedd stopped eating.

“Great,” Richard said under his breath. “And what else does the Midlands have that is even worse?”

He didn’t mean it as a question, more as a curse of frustration. The fire crackled, warm on their faces.

Kahlan’s eyes were in a faraway place. “Darken Rahl,” she whispered.

Richard sat away from the camp, leaning against a cold rock, his cloak wrapped tightly around himself as he looked out toward the boundary. What little wind there was bore a breath of ice. Chase had given him the first watch, Zedd was to have the second, and the warden the third. Kahlan had protested when she wasn’t given a watch, but in the end went along with Chase’s wishes.

Moonlight illuminated the open land between where he sat and the boundary. It was an expanse of gentle hills, a few trees and small streams—a pleasant-looking place, considering how near it was to the grim boundary woods. Of course, the woods had probably been pleasant at one time, too, before Darken Rahl had put the boxes in play, and started the destruction of the boundary. Chase had said he didn’t think the heart hounds could stray this far, but if he was wrong, Richard intended to see them coming. He ran his hand over the hilt of his sword for reassurance, fingering the word Truth on it, tracing its raised letters absently while he scanned the night sky, vowing not to let the gars take him by surprise again. He was glad he was given the first watch, since he wasn’t sleepy. He was fatigued, but not sleepy. Still, he yawned.

The mountains that were part of the boundary lay off at the edge of darkness, beyond the tangle mat of woods, rising up like the spine of a dark beast too big to hide itself. Richard wondered what manner of things were looking back at him from that black maw. Chase had said the boundary mountains diminished as they went south, and would be all but gone where they were going.

Unexpectedly, Kahlan, her cloak also wrapped snug about, slipped up silently in the darkness and wedged herself tight against him for warmth. She didn’t talk, simply sat close. Stray wisps of her silky hair touched the side of his face. The handle of her knife jabbed into his side, but he didn’t say anything for fear that if he did she would move away. He didn’t want her to move.

“The others asleep?” he asked quietly, glancing over his shoulder. She nodded. “How can you tell?” he asked with a smile. “Zedd sleeps with his eyes open.”

She smiled back. “All wizards do.”

“Really? I thought it was just Zedd.”

As he scanned the valley for any movement, he could feel her eyes on him. He looked back at her. “Aren’t you sleepy?” She was so close he didn’t have to speak in much more than a whisper.

She shrugged. The light breeze pulled some of her long hair across her face. She reached up and pulled it back. Her eyes found his. “I wanted to tell you I was sorry.”

He wished she would lay her head on his shoulder, but she didn’t. “About what?”

“About what I said to you before, that I wouldn’t want you to come after me. I did not want you to think I don’t appreciate your friendship—I do. It’s just that what we are doing is more important than any one person.”

He knew she had meant much more than she said, just as he had. He looked into her eyes, felt her breath on his face.