"Admit it, we're lost." " No, we're not." "The Naveer Pass is just beyond that ridge." "Hey, Wizard, you know what power I wish you had?" " The power to admit when you're wrong." " Right now I'd settle for a silencing spell." "At the next tavern, we're asking for directions." "Kahlan." " Wait." "Kahlan Amnell." "Who's there?" "Mother Confessor." "My dear Kahlan, I knew Mira would lead us to you." " Serena." " Zeddicus Zu'I Zorander." "My old friend." "Mother Confessor, this is Richard Cypher." "The Seeker of Truth." "This is truly an honor." "Erin." "Tara." "Alana." " I thought you were all in hiding." "We were." "But Darken Rahl's spies were more insidious than we thought." "They uncovered our houses of refuge." "There's no safety for Confessors in the Midlands anymore." "That's why we've been searching for you." "We must leave until the time of Rahl's defeat." "We have no choice but to seek sanctuary in Valeria." "Valeria?" "It's an island, hidden by magic." "Far off the coast." " So you're fleeing?" "Only temporarily." "When Rahl is vanquished, we will return." "But, Mother Confessor, we're the source of justice in the Midlands." "The people need us now more than ever." "Rahl wants a world without justice." "And by killing us, he'll get it." "We wanted to give you the opportunity to join us." "You know I can't abandon my mission." "I expected so." "But the decision needed to be yours." "Mother Confessor, we need to keep moving." "Rahl's quads are tracking us." "We've managed to stay ahead of them, but we can't let our guard down." "We'll escort you to the coast." "Will the other Confessors meet us there?" "There are no other Confessors, Kahlan." "We are all that's left." "Are you sure leaving the Midlands is right thing to do?" "Isn't it time for Confessors to stand and fight?" "We did." "We made our stand at the Temple of Rondaxe." "The quads blocked all the doors." "There was no way out." "We fought well, but there were too many." "Demmin Nass has begun taking trophies." "I'm so sorry." "I fared better than most." "Before they could take my other hand, or worse," "Mother Confessor saved me." "What is it?" "Someone's coming." "I guess those quads weren't as far away as we'd hoped." "Stay where you are!" "Wait." " Please, I'm not here to harm you." " Who are you?" "My name is Finn." "I'm looking for Dennee." "My sister?" "What do you want with her?" "I've been searching for months." "A few weeks ago I heard Confessors were nearby." "Please, I have to find her." "She's dead." "My mistress is dead?" "Your mistress?" "If she's dead, how will I know what to do?" "Kahlan, this man is still under confession." "How is that possible?" "I thought the only way the spell is broken is..." "Is when a Confessor dies." "That means Dennee is still alive." "But when I left her..." "Dennee." "Take it." "Take the Book." " Find him." " I'm not leaving you." "This is more important than me." "You know that." "Please, Kahlan." "May the Spirits protect you, little sister." "Go." "She..." "She must have survived somehow." "Rahl must have her." "We know what he does to Confessors." "Which is why we can't risk going after her." " What?" "Mother Confessor is right." "Kahlan, I loved your sister as if she were my own, but it could be a trap." "Why would Rahl keep her alive when he's killed so many others?" "I've already left her behind once." "I won't do it again." "I know it's hard, but my duty is to ensure the survival of the remaining Confessors." "Just as your duty is to protect the Seeker on his mission." "Right now, my mission is to find Kahlan's sister." " But Dennee could be anywhere." " Mira could find her." "Dennee was willing to sacrifice her life for me." "No doubt she'd do the same for any of you." "How can we not even try to save her?" "We should make camp here." "Kahlan tells me you fought bravely at the battle of Rondaxe." "Perhaps I can give you back a little of what you've lost." "I..." "I don't believe it." "Thank you." "Still as powerful as I remember." "I'm just sorry I wasn't powerful enough to stop Darken Rahl before he decimated your order." "When I was just an acolyte, and you took me under your wing, do you remember what you told me?" "You said that real power was not just in the magic that we wield, it was in our ability to make difficult choices." "And leaving behind everything and everyone couldn't have been easy for you, Zeddicus." "But if you hadn't, the Seeker would not have been named, and there would be no hope for the Midlands." "I don't understand why Dennee never told me about you." "How did you come to know my sister?" "I tried to kill her." "I was an assassin from the Order of Blood, and was sent by Darken Rahl to murder her." "During the battle, I was confessed by her." "I haven't seen her in months." "Dennee told me she had to undertake a delicate mission." "She promised she'd return to me when it was done." "She would have kept that promise if I hadn't left her for dead." "Kahlan." "Kah..." "Hey, hey." "We're going to find her, okay?" " What's she saying?" " It's Dennee." "She's close." "A fortress." "It's not a fortress, it's a prison." "Dennee's inside." "Dennee!" "We can't just charge into a D'Haran prison." "But a Mord-Sith could." "Zedd, can you do a little magic tailoring?" "Sir." "A Mord-Sith approaches." "Tell your warden I have a very special prisoner for him." "The Seeker?" "You captured him single-handed?" "You dare question a Mord-Sith?" "Take me to the warden." "I have urgent intelligence from Lord Rahl." "Intelligence that must be discussed in private." "Leave us." "So, what is this intelligence?" "Command me, Confessor." "You have a prisoner I want to see." "Dennee." "Kahlan." "Yes, it's me, little sister." "You came for me." "I should have never left you." " This is the Seeker." "Yes." "Then you completed the mission." "I feared you were dead." "Thank the Spirits you're not." "Are you all right?" "Did they hurt you?" "No." "But they're going to take my baby." "Oh, Dennee." "You're with child." "They mean to take my sister's child?" "What do you know about this?" "Darken Rahl wants to raise a Confessor as his own." "To twist the child into a monster that would do his bidding." "Can you walk?" " I think so." "You should hurry." "General Nass rides for the prison as we speak." " What's going on?" " Prisoner transfer." "But my orders are to hold the Confessor here until General Nass arrives." "Your orders have changed." " Our Dennee is safe." "Dennee!" "By the Spirits, you're with child." "Is our baby all right?" "Finn is the father?" "Mother Confessor, our numbers were dwindling." "And Finn was already confessed, so I took him as a mate." "Finn is strong." "And with Rahl hunting Confessors," "I could think of no one better to protect the child." "Joyous news." "Another Confessor will be born just when we needed her most." "Dennee." "You must have known you were carrying the baby when we set off for the Boundary." "Why didn't you tell me?" "If you knew, would you have let me join you on such a perilous journey?" "No, I wouldn't." "And I couldn't let you go alone." "We need to get moving." "The D'Harans will be coming after us." "General Nass, we received orders not to expect you." "What orders?" "General." "I have the orders right here." "Where is the prisoner?" "Being delivered to Rahl." "By whom?" "By the Mord-Sith." "She had also captured the Seeker." "That was no Mord-Sith." "It was a Confessor." "Ready your men." "If you can deliver the Confessor-child and the Seeker to Lord Rahl, he may forgive your failure." "Isn't there a shorter route to the west?" "You smell that?" "These are Thelusian pines." "They'll cover any scent from us the D'Harans might pick up." " We'll be harder to track that way." " Oh, good." "Because we may need to stop." "You're doing great, Dennee!" "I just need you to try again." "Come on." "Yes." "Keep breathing." "Dennee, the baby's in the wrong position." "What?" "We need to turn the baby around." "I don't wanna lose my baby." "Your baby's going to be fine." "Let me try." "Have you done this before?" "I grew up on a farm, remember?" "Okay." "I don't wanna lose her." "No." "Okay, Dennee." "Try now, push." "It's a boy." "What's wrong?" "The child must die." "It's not your fault, Dennee." "It's no one's fault." "There's nothing you could have done to prevent this." "Kahlan, what's going on?" "We're going to need Kreeg root for the ritual." "Will someone tell me what's happening here?" "Male Confessors can't be allowed to live." "Their souls must be purified by the Ritual of the Waters before they pass to the underworld." "Ritual?" "What are you talking about?" "We have to drown the child." "That's insane." "A Confessor giving birth to a male child is extraordinarily rare." "But if one is born, he cannot be allowed to grow into adulthood." "Male Confessors are unable to control their power." "Once they reach manhood, they can't resist using it for wicked ends." "So they are killed at birth." "Your numbers are dwindling, and now you want to kill one of your own just because you think it might be evil?" "Mothers of male Confessors have often thought as you do." "One foolish young Confessor couldn't bear to have her son killed," "so she raised him in secrecy." "She thought that the love in her heart would be powerful enough to prevent him from turning to the dark ways." "But when the boy came of age, his bloodlust was insatiable." "My child was only 11 years old when I had to kill him." "Well, just because it happened with your son, doesn't mean it's going to happen with Dennee's." "He's just a baby." "There's still time to watch him grow." "To know if he's gonna be evil or not." "Kahlan." "You can't go along with this." "You think this is easy for me?" "This is my nephew." "Richard, I know that it's hard for you to understand, but ancient ways must be honored." "And the longer we allow this child to live, the harder it's going to be to do what must be done." "Doing it now is a less cruel fate for both the family and the child." "Finn will take the child and perform the Ritual of the Waters." "Is there no other way?" "You know there is not." "Get away from him." "You cannot wish evil away." "You cannot love evil away." "You can only destroy it." "You're not going to hurt this baby." "D'Harans." "They're close." "We need to move now." "I can get the D'Harans off our trail." "But you have to promise me nobody will harm this baby while I'm gone." "Dala oil and Kreeg root." "The Ritual of the Waters." "The Confessor gave birth to a boy." "A female Confessor-child was quite a prize, but what Lord Rahl wouldn't give for a male Confessor." "And if they are running from us, they haven't had time yet to perform the ritual." "Sir." " Their tracks lead this way." "Follow them." "We must save that child." "Did you lose them?" "They found the tracks I left for them." " They're heading in the wrong direction." " Good." "But they're not gonna give up so easily." "They know it's a boy." "And it seems Rahl really wants to get his hands on a male Confessor." "It's the darkness reaching for the darkness." "But he will not have it." "Where's the baby?" "Finn's taken him." "You were supposed to keep him safe." "I'm sorry, Richard." "But you don't understand." "You're right, I don't." "You promised me." "Because I knew you'd do anything to protect the child." "And so should you." "Richard, letting him live would be a violation of everything we're taught." "You can't ask me to go against my beliefs." "And you can't ask me to go against mine." "Finn, don't." "I can't disobey my mistress." "You have to do what your mistress wants, right?" "Yes." "She wants me to drown our son." "Are you sure that's what Dennee wants?" "The Mother Confessor ordered her to do it." "Doesn't your mistress also command you with her heart?" "You heard her when she gave birth." "She didn't want her baby to die." "You know her heart better than anyone, Finn." "You know what she wants." "She wants her baby to live." "I will protect him with my life." "You gave the child to the Seeker?" "I thought that's what you'd want." "No, the child is evil and must die." "Then I have failed you." " Which way did the Seeker go?" " To the north." "I can get him back." "No." "You'll go with Alana." "Take Dennee and the others to the shore." "The Wizard, Kahlan and I will continue after the child." "Take Mira as your guide." "We will rejoin you at the shore once we have the child." "Then we can complete the ritual and sail to the island." "Mother Confessor, let me go on to track Richard." "I'll move faster on my own." "Sir, we've lost their trail." "They can't have gotten far." "And for your sake, that child had better be alive when we find them." "Okay." "It's okay." "We're safe now." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Stay away, Kahlan." "Richard, wait." "What are you planning on doing?" "Just keep running with the child?" "What your people want to do is barbaric." "I know it must seem that way, but you have to understand, that boy is a threat to everything that we're fighting for." "How do you know that if none of them have been allowed to live?" "It's too dangerous to rely on hope." "Hope?" "Isn't that what we're fighting for?" "Kahlan." "I was a child that was hunted." "Darken Rahl tried to kill me because of his blind faith in prophecy." "Are you asking me not to believe in prophecy?" "No, I'm asking you to believe in me." "Hey." "He's hungry." "We need to find some food." "My father used to give this to me when I was a baby." "There you go." "There you go." "I thought you might like that." "Richard, what are we gonna do with him?" "Well, I was thinking." "Maybe we can take him to the Valley of Thandor." "The duty of the Sisters of the Light is to protect the children at Thandor." "They'd never take in a male Confessor." "No one will." "We're on our own, Richard." "You're never on your own." "Richard, wait." "We don't need to fight amongst ourselves." " We have enough enemies already." " This baby isn't one of them." "But he could be." "Darken Rahl was once a child." "Think of all the death and suffering he's caused." "If you had a chance to prevent that, wouldn't you?" "Inevitably, evil is in its nature." "Well, it's not in mine." "No one is going to hurt this baby." "Enough debate, Zeddicus." "If you can't control the Seeker, I will." "Is your devotion so great that you'd threaten to confess the Seeker?" "Oh, I have no intention of confessing him." "Command me, Mother Confessor." "Zedd?" "What have you done?" "You have betrayed your order, Kahlan." "Who are you to question my judgment?" "When yours is so obviously impaired by your feelings for the Seeker?" "You would forsake everything you believe." "Everything you've lived for, for a man who can never love you." "Zeddicus, get the boy." "Zedd, you can't do this!" "You don't want to hurt us." "It's no use, Richard." "He's been confessed, he's not Zedd anymore." "I don't wanna fight you, Zedd." "And he doesn't want to fight you, Seeker." "Give me the child and you can continue with your mission." "The mission?" "You jeopardized that when you confessed a Wizard of the First Order." "As soon as I have the child," "I will command Zeddicus to continue on as the Seeker's Wizard." "All will be as it was." "No." "Very well." "Make him leave." "Richard!" "Mother Confessor, you're going to kill him!" "Kahlan, this has gone on long enough." "Your mission is to protect the Seeker." "You know as well as I his life is more important than the child's." "So give him to me." "It shouldn't be a difficult decision, Kahlan." "Saving the man you love." "Don't do it, Kahlan." "Kahlan, no." "It's okay, little one." "It'll all be over soon." "I'm sorry I went against your will by trying to save our child." " I failed you." " No, you didn't fail me." "You were doing my will." "Dennee, you can't put such ideas in his head." "Why not?" "Mother Confessor knows what must be done." "We cannot defy her." "Would you feel the same if it were your child?" "It has been done this way for thousands of years." "There are only six of us left." "Do the ancient ways still make sense?" "I'm so sorry, Richard." "But I couldn't let them hurt you." "It's not your fault." "With Zedd confessed, and the Sword of Truth gone, it's hopeless." "There's always hope." "We're too late, aren't we?" "Mother Confessor has taken the child to the shore to drown him." " Can we catch her in time?" " She's confessed Zedd." "And taken the Sword of Truth." "What are we gonna do?" "We're going to get some help." "The tracks end here." "Where did he go?" "I'm right here." "I'm unarmed." "Then you are a fool." "Kahlan, now!" "Command me, Confessor." "What is it, Mother Confessor?" "The others." "They should already be here." "Someone's coming." "Stop them." "You'll never know how greatly you've disappointed me, Kahlan." "I always thought that one day you would be Mother Confessor." "How wrong I was." "You were taught all your life to know the difference between right and wrong." " This child..." " No!" " could destroy everything we've been fighting for." "No, we're fighting for a world with less brutality." "Would killing that child give us that?" "Yes." "No!" "Zedd?" "Zedd." "Zedd!" "Richard." "I'm just glad I didn't hurt you." "She dedicated her life to keeping the Midlands free from the tyranny of Darken Rahl." "For that she will be remembered." "Spirits, watch over her as she has watched over so many." "We need to choose a Mother Confessor." "We already have." "It's you, Kahlan." "I'm..." "I'm honored, but I must continue to protect the Seeker." "Just as we must stay in the Midlands to protect the people from Rahl's injustice." "Take Mira." "She will keep you safe." "Thank you for coming back for me." "I asked the Spirits to protect you, and they did." "They'll be fine." "You said it yourself." "Dennee and Finn can't be confessed, so their son's touch will have no effect." "He can't be seduced by his own power if he's unable to use it." "Once they reach Valeria, there won't be anyone to corrupt him." "With no one to corrupt him, they can raise him to be a force for good." "But what if we're wrong?" "What if we've unleashed a horrible evil into the world?" "What then?"