Parallel Affinity

Part 11.

Cold... So cold...

Limp on the floor, forearms and cheek pressed against the Shrine's icy stone ground, a chilling shiver rushed down the Mother Confessor's body. It penetrated her consciousness sharply before she was fully awake. When at last she peeked open her eyes, she mournfully remembered where she was. Memories, sharp as knives, slashed through her head, and with a heavy heart she recalled all that had transpired. Inhaling dust from the cold stone ground, she wanted to close her eyes again and sink into nothingness from which she had emerged, forfeiting this bleak reality she had returned to, forfeiting everything she knew, willing to forfeit life itself. Alas, she found that she could not. The moment she closed her eyes, trying to withdraw into herself, a pain came alive, a throbbing pain, in the back of her head.

Cara... It must have been her... No one else can deliver a blow like that, the thought painfully surfaced in her mind.

Desperate to reach up and rub at her temples, Kahlan realised that her wrists were bound together with rope. So were her feet.

With effort, she raised her head a little and looked around herself. Her vision was blurry and her head ached all the more as she searched for the pillar... Until, she saw him.

Richard... Thank the Spirits, he is alive!

Still in Darken Rahl's body, still unable to speak, Richard remained firmly tied to the pillar at the centre of the altar. Nicci's corpse still hung, bleeding, above him, streaking him with tears of blood. He looked at his beloved and acknowledged her seeing him. If he had still had a mouth, he would have smiled to reassured her.

Kahlan lifted her head a little more to see beyond the pillar. On its other side, stood Cara, as though waiting for something. And then Rahl, himself, advanced, positioning himself directly in front of the pillar, in front of Richard, facing the three of them. The five Mord'Sith stood further away in the Shrine, beyond the altar, waiting expectantly.

With effort, Kahlan forced herself upright. The best she could do was to sit up in a kneeling position.

"Ah," Rahl said, "Mother Confessor. It is good of you to wish to participate awake... This time."

"I will not participate in anything you are doing, Rahl," Kahlan spoke lowly, against the throbbing pain in her head. She thought she tasted blood on her tongue. "I will die before I help you."

"You've said that before, and as I've said: I do not doubt that for a moment, Kahlan Amnell," Rahl acknowledged matter-of-factly. "Which is why I have envisioned a plan where your active participation is not necessary, merely your presence."

"My Lord," Cara interjected, "Why not simply confess the Mother Confessor?"

"In order for the confession spell to work, my dear Cara," Rahl replied, "We must first remove the Rada'Han from the Mother Confessor's beautiful neck. However, removing the Rada'Han from the Mother Confessor is not something I would do in a hurry in this place. We have seen what kind of potency the Shrine can inject into anyone carrying even a drop of magic - who knows what power it would unleash within her, hmm? Besides, wouldn't you agree that you would do a much more satisfactory job of giving birth to and ensuring the survival of my son?"

Cara raised an eyebrow and affirmed with a wicked, slanted smile.

"In any case, once the transference is complete," he continued, "We will not have any more need of the Confessor."

"What do you mean 'transference'?" Kahlan demanded, alarmed. "What are you planing to do?"

Rahl ignored her questions.