"Run, Kahlan." "Run!" " Did we lose them?" " I think so." "Those bees were more relentless than the Dragon Corps." "A lot of work for so little honey." " That's not enough for two." "You take it." " No." "You." " I insist." " But you did all the work." "I'll eat at the next tavern we pass." "It can't be far." " Which direction are we headed, anyway?" "East." "East?" "Towards the D'Haran border?" "To Caddock, to be precise." "Oh, breakfast." "I'm starving." "I spoke with a friend in the resistance while I was getting supplies." "It seems King Gregor is facing a new enemy and has requested the Seeker's help." " King Gregor?" " His kingdom borders D'Hara." "He's a strong ally of the resistance." "One of the few leaders brave enough" " to stand against Darken Rahl." " Apparently, he's done better than that." "Our friend says the king has driven back the D'Harans." "They've pulled their troops away from the border." "Well, why does he need our help?" "What could be a bigger threat than the D'Harans?" "Ah!" "The Caddock border shouldn't be much further." "Wait." "Stay where you are." "Guards, lower your weapons." "Unless I'm mistaken, this is Richard Cypher, the Seeker." "I'm Marius, brother of King Gregor." "Thank the Spirits you received my message." "We came as quickly as we could." "Wizard Zorander." "Confessor." "It's an honor." " This is Flynne, captain of the guard." " Forgive the rude welcome." "All our nerves are a little frayed lately." "Would that have anything to do with why you asked us to come?" "It's best if you hear that from the king himself." "Thank you for coming so quickly." "It pains me to delay you on your mission to defeat Darken Rahl." "Helping those who stand against Rahl is part of that mission." "My kingdom is being terrorized by a vicious beast that's ravaging our countryside, and I need your help to destroy this monster." "Tell me where to find this beast." "You already have." "It's me." "Five months ago, the D'Harans began amassing troops along this border." "From there, Rahl's soldiers launched raids on our farmland, burnt our crops." "With our food stocks dwindling, Rahl knew we couldn't repel a siege." "An invasion was imminent." "I had no choice but to seek an alliance with our neighbor." "Here, in Agaden Reach." "The domain of that she-devil, Shota." "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but why would you seek an alliance with someone as dangerous as Shota?" "The witch-woman has the ability to see the future." "I was hoping she would help us change it." "I reminded Shota that our kingdom was all that separated her from Rahl's tightening grip." "That if Caddock were overrun, Agaden Reach would soon follow." "So I struck a bargain with her." "In exchange for my pledge to defend her, she promised to give me the power to protect my kingdom forever." "And how exactly did she do that?" "She cursed me." "Each night, I would be transformed into a Calthrop." "A Calthrop?" "An awful, haunts the nightmares of all D'Harans." "The Calthrop is one of the few things D'Haran children are taught to fear." "For centuries, they've frightened each other around campfires with tales of the creature's bloodlust." "For weeks I ventured close to the D'Haran camps." "At nightfall, I would become the creature." "The few who survived the slaughter fled back to D'Hara, spreading stories of the brutal Calthrop that stalked the forest around Caddock." "Soon, Rahl's forces were too terrified to cross into our kingdom." "With morale suffering and his troops stretched thin," "Rahl abandoned his attempt to conquer us." "Once the D'Haran troops pulled away from our border," "I went back to Shota and asked her to remove the curse." "I couldn't risk butchering my own people." "But she refused." "And once the Calthrop's hunger couldn't be quenched," "I had my most loyal men, all sworn to secrecy, chain me in the woods." "But the beast broke through the chains and killed them all." "I spent half my treasury on purchasing this:" "A rada'han." "I'd hoped its ability to suppress magic would be enough to overcome Shota's curse." "I locked the rada'han around my brother's neck, yet he still transformed and somehow managed to escape from it." "I was too ashamed to have my people know that their king was the Calthrop." "So now each night, I head to the most remote part of the forest." "A place called Knollwood Grove." "Anyone venturing into the woods after dark rarely makes it out alive." "I have no memory of these attacks, but each morning," "I awake with the taste of blood on my tongue." "Three days ago, I awoke to find the savaged remains of my latest victim." "The face staring back at me was that of my own wife." "I had murdered my beloved queen." "It's not your fault, brother." "You were only trying to protect your kingdom." "And now the kingdom must be protected from me." "I've tried to end my life." "Poison, hanging, a dagger to my heart." "But you can't be killed." "Because Shota gave you exactly what you asked for:" "The power to protect your kingdom forever." "Your Majesty, what makes you think I can help you?" "According to legend, the only thing that can kill a Calthrop is the Sword of Truth." "Can't you lift the curse?" "Only the one who made it can break it." "I'll go to Agaden Reach and try to reason with Shota." "Are you sure?" "Few who have gone there have ever returned." "I know." " I'm one of those few." " And if you fail?" "What then?" "I can't bear the thought of killing another innocent person." "While Zedd's gone, I'll watch over you and keep you from harming anyone." "How?" "The monster can break through our strongest chains." "I may have a few tricks that your blacksmith doesn't." "When the evening bell chimes, I will come find you, Seeker." "Your Highness, I'm coming with you." "Forgive me, but I have already harmed too many people." "I couldn't bear to add the Mother Confessor to that toll." "Father?" "This is Princess Corah, my daughter." "We're honored to have the Seeker here in Caddock." "Our people have lived in fear for so long." "Were very sorry to hear about your mother, princess." "Just promise me, you'll find the horrible beast that murdered my mother and you'll kill it." "You're sure these chains will hold?" "Zedd's magic has made them unbreakable." "I hope you're right, Seeker." "But swear to me." "If it's a question of my life or yours, you'll kill me." "I swear." "But we'll make sure it doesn't come to that." "Much as I enjoy your company, Seeker, you can't watch over me every night." "I just have to do it until Zedd can convince Shota to lift the curse." "I've been expecting you, Zeddicus." "Then you know why I've come." "I can't imagine it's to apologize for scorning me all those years ago." "I was once a foolish, young wizard." "I..." " I never meant to hurt you." " And yet you left." "Without a word of explanation." "Those words may have been my last." "I showed you our future together." "With our combined powers, we could have moved mountains." "Our children would have ruled for a thousand generations." "And now look at you, Zeddicus, reduced to crawling back, begging me for a favor." "Why should I do anything for you?" "Not for me." "For King Gregor, with whom you share a common enemy." "He's beaten back the D'Harans and insured the safety of his lands and yours." "The king killing his own people doesn't benefit you at all." "Release him from the curse." "Put an end to this pointless bloodshed." "Without the Calthrop, this is what will come to pass." "The D'Harans will launch their army." "They will cease the castle." "Caddock will fall." "And my realm will be next." "What I bestowed on King Gregor, it's not a curse, Zeddicus." "It's a blessing." "I met your mother once." "You did?" "She visited Aydindril when I was a young Confessor." "She was very kind to me." "I can see the resemblance." "I still can't believe she's gone." "I lost my mother when I was very young." "I know how painful it can be." "It would be easier if I knew why she left the castle." "What she was doing out there the night she died." "Princess Corah." " What is it, Duncan?" " Where's Helena?" "We took a wagon to fetch her family, as you asked." "But we were passing through Knollwood Grove our horse was bitten by a snake vine." "I ran back as fast as I could to get another horse." "They're still at Knollwood Grove?" "That's one of the beast's hunting grounds." "It's almost sundown." "No one's allowed to leave the castle." "There are children out there." "Just tell me where to find the children, I'll bring them back." " I'm going with you." " No, it's too dangerous." "I'm the one who put them in danger." "With the Calthrop loose, my lady-in-waiting was worried about her family." "I sent her to go get them." "Putting yourself in danger won't help them." "No, it'll help you." "We can move faster if I show you the way." "It's started." "Please, Seeker, don't let me hurt anyone else." "Stay back!" "I don't want to hurt you." "As soon as we get this hitched, we can get out of here." "Mother, I'm scared." "It's all right, little ones." "We'll be on our way soon." "Whoa." "Fight me!" "Run!" "Hey!" "Corah, no." " Run away!" "Richard." "Kahlan!" "I'm fine." "Take the children." "Run!" "Hurry, little ones." "Kill it, Seeker!" "Kill it!" "Ah!" "Richard!" "Ah!" "Ah!" "Kahlan." "Kahlan, are you all right?" "Kahlan, stop." "Kahlan, stop." "Kahlan, it's me, Richard." "Kahlan, it's me." "It's me, Richard." "Stop." "It's okay." "God, I'm so sorry." " Are you all right?" "I think so." "Now that that beast is dead." "Father?" "The Calthrop wasn't the only monster out there last night." "The second time I've gone into the Con Dar and I still don't have control over it." "The first time, I almost destroyed you." " Last night I almost destroyed Corah." " But you didn't." "Only because you stopped me." "Once it gets a hold of me, it's like I'm some wild animal." "I don't know what I'm doing." "You were trying to protect me from the Calthrop." "If my mother were alive, she could teach me to control it." "But on my own, it's only a matter of time before I hurt someone." " Someone I care about." "Richard, Kahlan." " We killed the Calthrop." " Yes, I heard." "And that's the problem." "Shota showed me a vision of what would happen to this kingdom without the Calthrop." "I saw a D'Haran invasion, soldiers storming the castle, and one of their commanders taking the king's throne." "Well, we know Shota's visions can be averted." "Yes, but I'm afraid in order to do that, we may need Shota to curse someone else." "The D'Harans will prepare their invasion once they learn the Calthrop has been slain." "As much as the people feared and hated the beast, it kept them safe from Rahl." "Then we have to make sure the D'Harans don't find out." "If we can keep the legend of the Calthrop alive, we can keep the D'Harans from invading." "And spare anyone else the burden of carrying Shota's curse." "Maybe." "But how long could we keep up such a ruse?" "Long enough for me to defeat Rahl." "Why didn't my father tell me?" "He was trying to protect you." "If my father didn't think I was strong enough to hear the truth, how can I lead this kingdom?" " I know you can." " But maybe I shouldn't." "Maybe I should ask Marius to assume the throne in my place." "If you decide it's too much, no one would fault you." "But if I'm not mistaken, your mother wasn't much older than you when she took the throne." "But she had my father." "And you have both of them inside you." "I've seen your strength." "You made the decision to ride out to save Helena and her children, even though you knew the dangers." "I don't think your people could ask for a more courageous leader." "As Queen, I pledge my fealty to this great kingdom, to defend its people from all enemies, and lead it into peace and prosperity." "Spirits, bless our kingdom." "Spirits, bless our kingdom." "Spirits, bless our Queen." "Spirits, bless our Queen." "The only way the D'Harans will believe the Calthrop is still alive is if there's been another attack." "My Queen," "Captain Flynne and I will slaughter sheep and leave the carcasses at the border." "We'll spread word along the trade routes." "The D'Harans will believe it's the work of the Calthrop." "I may have something that will help those efforts." "I can place several of these chimes in the forest that borders D'Hara, and cast a spell on them." "The slightest disturbance in the air, say, from an approaching D'Haran, and the chimes will ring out." "Only it won't be just any chime they'll hear, it'll be the awful howls of a Calthrop." "The ear is more easily frightened than the eye." "We'll make preparations at once, Your Majesty." "I wanna thank you." "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been here." "If there's anything" "I can do for you..." "There is one favor you could grant me, Your Majesty." "Why are you wearing that?" "Because I can't trust myself." "I'm used to having control." "Being a Confessor is about certainty, about knowing the truth." "When I'm in the Con Dar, I don't have any of that." "The rada'han gives a little of it back to me." "But we don't even know if it works." "It didn't stop King Gregor." "It works." "I can feel it suppressing my power already." "Maybe it's something that shouldn't be suppressed." "You said only the most powerful Confessors have it, right?" "Yes." "Then maybe this is a gift." "One you shouldn't deny." "It's a part of who you are." "When I'm in the Con Dar, I don't know who that is." "More news from our spy in the castle." "Not only is King Gregor dead, but so is the Calthrop." "Then the kingdom of Caddock is ripe for the taking." "But we must act quickly if we want the Seeker as well." "According to our spy, he will not remain at Caddock much longer." "He would leave the kingdom defenseless?" "No." "The child-queen wants us to believe that the Calthrop still lives." " They plan to deceive us." " To deceives us?" "And how do they intend to do that?" "If Kahlan could learn to use the Con Dar, just think of how powerful we could be." "There are some things that even a wizard of the First Order doesn't fully understand." "This is one thing I..." "I can't teach Kahlan." " But Zedd..." " Maybe we should respect her decision to wear the rada'han." "Power is only valuable if it can be harnessed." "If not, then it's no power at all." "That sounded just like a Calthrop." "I haven't cast the spell yet." "Another monster?" "Zedd's on his way to Agaden Reach to find out who Shota cursed." "What do we do when we find this person?" "We prevent them from hurting innocent people." "My Queen, shall I inform Prince Marius?" "Is there something else bothering you, Your Majesty?" "I was going through my mother's things and found her diary." "I know why she was outside the castle the night she died." "She believed my father was unfaithful, and that at night, he would meet a woman." " Who?" " The diary doesn't say." "Only that the woman lived near Knollwood Grove." "My mother went there to confront them." "But the king couldn't have been unfaithful." "By night, he was the Calthrop." "But my mother didn't know that." "My father kept it a secret, even from her." "Why would she think he was unfaithful?" "Because someone told her." "The diary doesn't say who, only that it was someone she trusted." "Whoever told her knew where the king would be at night." "And sent her to her death." "There's only one person besides your father who knew the truth about the Calthrop." "Prince Marius." "Think about it." "Marius stood the most to gain." "An entire kingdom." "Maybe he orchestrated the queen's death at the hands of the Calthrop." "And he knew the king would be so grief-stricken over killing his own wife, he would want to die." "So the prince summoned the Seeker to fulfill his wish." "And if it's the kingdom that Marius wants..." "Then only one person stands in his way." "Me." "No sign of Prince Marius." " My men have searched, he's not here." " When's the last time anyone saw him?" "When I informed him of the second Calthrop." "Well, he can't have gotten far." "I'll find him." "Keep the queen safe." "This way, Your Majesty." " What's the safest place in the castle?" " I'm afraid there's no place safe for you." " You're part of Marius' plot." " Take them." "She wears a rada'han." "Her magic cannot harm you." "Stop them!" "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" "Where were you last night?" "The sun's going down soon." "Maybe you came out here to transform into the Calthrop?" " You think I'm the monster?" " I know you're a monster." "You arranged the death of the queen." "And your brother." "Why would I do such a thing?" "Maybe because you thought he was too weak to protect the kingdom." "I loved my brother." "But you loved his power more." "And you would do anything to get it and hold onto it." "Even if it meant striking a deal with Shota to make you the Calthrop." "You've gone mad." "We'll find out soon enough." "Who is it, Shota?" "Who have you cursed now?" "You still don't understand, do you, Zeddicus?" " I didn't curse anyone." " Enough games." "I promised King Gregor that his kingdom would be protected forever." "So I cursed the royal scepter." "Whoever inherits the kingdom, inherits the curse." "It won't take them long to break down this door." "I'll have to Confess one of the guards." "But I'll need your help to take off the rada'han." "Corah." "Corah!" "Corah." "Wait." "We need to get everyone out of the castle." "Take them to the caves until you get word that it's safe to return." "Right away." "What's happening?" "Corah is the Calthrop." "She's loose inside the castle." "We're getting out." "We have to stop the beast without hurting Corah." "Maybe we could use the rada'han to change the queen back." "But it didn't work on the king." "And why was that?" "I have no idea what you're talk..." "You were in charge of locking King Gregor into the rada'han." "Yes." "But each night I laced his meal with a sleeping potion." "Once he was asleep, I unlocked the rada'han, unleashing the Calthrop." "So all we have to do is get this thing around the beast's neck." " I think Marius can help with that." " How may I serve you?" "You're going to be the bait." "Ah!" "It's all right." "It's all right." "It's okay." "I'm here." "I don't understand." "If I'm the monster, then why did Marius sneak out of the castle before sunset?" "I was on my way to warn the D'Harans that the Calthrop was still alive." "You murdered my mother and father, all so you could kneel before Rahl." "In exchange for swearing my allegiance to Darken Rahl, the D'Harans agreed to leave me on the throne." "But you weren't able to deliver your message to the D'Harans." "So they think the Calthrop is dead?" "Yes." "They're planning to invade Caddock." "They'll be here soon." "Let them come." "I'll remove the rada'han and the Calthrop will slaughter every last one." "It's too late." "It's over, Seeker." "There's no escape." "Bring the Seeker to me." " You won't kill me." "Rahl wants me alive." " True." "But he didn't say in how many pieces." "You'll find it difficult to escape without your hands." "No!" " No!" "Fools." "See what you've done?" "This will come to pass within the hour." "And we're too far away to do anything to prevent it." "You were right when you said together we had the power to move mountains, Shota." "In fact, I think we could move something far greater." "Bring the Seeker to me." " You won't kill me." "Rahl wants me alive." " True." "But he didn't say in how many pieces." "You'll find it difficult to escape without your hands." "What witchery is this?" "Ah!" "Don't you see, Zeddicus?" "Together we can accomplish anything." "Nothing can stop us." "That's precisely the reason why I left you all those years ago." "Ultimate power must not go unchecked." "You know this as well as I do, Shota." "We would become monsters." "That's the very reason we must defeat Darken Rahl." "Then there is something else I must show you." "The D'Harans won't stop running until they reach the People's Palace." "And once the stories spread of the Calthrop terrorizing the kingdom, they'll think twice about invading again." "What happens when my people learn the truth about the Calthrop?" "Maybe they don't need to know." "You can wear the rada'han at night to suppress the curse." "But don't you need it?" "No." "My power is part of who I am." "I tried to deny it, and it only put people in danger." "I need to embrace it, learn to control it." "I think I have to do the same." "My father was too ashamed to tell his people the truth about himself, and look what it cost him." "If he'd told my mother he was the Calthrop, she never would have left the castle that night." "And they'd both be alive." "Nothing good can come from hiding who I am." "What's wrong?" "When the D'Harans had you," "I tried to bring on the Con Dar, but I couldn't." "Even when I needed it most." "You told me it took your whole life to learn how to use your Confessor powers." "Give it time." "Zedd." "We have to hurry." " What is it?" " Shota showed me a vision." "There is another Book of Counted Shadows." "Long ago, in secret, an ancient monk transcribed a copy of the book." "If we could get our hands on it, we could defeat Rahl." "Did Shota's vision show you where it is?" "Yeah." "But there was more to her vision." "Soon Rahl will also learn of the book's whereabouts." "And when he does, he'll send men to retrieve it." "The only question is, can we get there first?"