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Fic: Asunder 4/5 (Cara/Kahlan, Legend of the Seeker)
See this post for notes and disclaimers.
They’d picked up the trail relatively easily after they left the village – two recent sets of hoofprints from horses carrying two riders on a sparsely used road were hard to disguise. As predicted, the prints split in two after a while but Richard had taken a little longer than he’d expected to be able to ascertain which trail was genuine.
Telling a horse being ridden from a horse running under its own power should not be difficult. But this was Cara he was dealing with and he had no doubt that if she didn’t want to be found, she’d make it as difficult to find her as humanly possible. But he was an excellent tracker and he had to be confident in his own skills.
After some investigation of both sets of tracks, he determined which was the one that would lead them to Cara. But upon returning to where he’d left the others, it was clear that Cara wasn’t going to make it much further without falling off her horse. She’d been flagging for a couple of hours but had insisted she was fine. She was far from fine. She was leaning forward in her saddle, an arm cradling her wounded side. Her face was pallid and pinched. The wound, if not infected already, was going to be soon with the sweat and dirt that was no doubt accumulating between her skin and her leathers. Night was beginning to fall and Richard made up his mind.
“This is the trail,” he announced. “There’s a clearing up ahead. We’ll stop there and eat.”
“What?” Cara said, though it came out as more of a pant. “No. We keep going.”
“No,” Richard told her, his voice firm. “We stop. We eat. We rest. We carry on.”
She huffed and yanked on her horse’s reins, crying out softly as the action pulled at her wound. Richard’s heart went out to her, but he remained firm, urging his horse on at a gentle trot to the clearing he’d spotted. He dismounted and waited for Zedd and Cara to arrive. Zedd was first.
“I want you to heal her,” Richard said, keeping his voice low. “I don’t care how much she protests. She can’t go on like this. She’s no use to anyone.”
Zedd nodded as Cara drew near, leaning so far forward she was in danger of slipping from the beast. Zedd caught hold of the horse’s bridle and Richard eased Cara down into his arms, holding her like a baby. Her head lolled against his shoulder and he carried her to a nearby tree, propping her against its trunk and wincing when she curled in on herself, whimpering like a kitten. He stroked her hair away from her sweaty forehead; she was barely conscious.
“Zedd!” he called. “Do it now.”
The wizard came over and crouched by Cara’s prone form, holding both of his hands over her injury and chanting under his breath. His hands started to glow and the light transferred to Cara. The old man frowned in concentration.
“It’s worse than she was telling us,” he said, his voice shaking with effort. “And infection is setting in.”
Richard’s eyes fell to Cara’s face. He could barely equate this woman with the one he’d spent the week with. He thought back on his time with the other Cara and cursed himself for not being able to tell that something was wrong sooner. He flushed at the thought of her body against his. That single act should have been enough to alert him. Cara would never do that to Kahlan. She’d die first.
Zedd let out a gasp of air and staggered back a little. Richard caught his arm to stop him from falling.
“Zedd?” he asked.
“It’s done,” Zedd told him, his breathing laboured. “The wound is healed. When she comes around she’ll be right as rain.”
“I doubt that,” Richard muttered.
He reached into the tear in her leathers and withdrew the blood-soaked bandage. He probed the area gently with his fingers and found the skin intact. Satisfied that she’d be okay, he moved back to his horse, pulling out the provisions they’d had packed for them. Dried venison and bread washed down with water. It was hardly a banquet, but it was adequate and they could eat it quickly. Richard divided the food into three portions. He handed Zedd his and tensed as he heard Cara stirring behind him. He picked up the remaining food and approached her, lowering himself to the ground beside her.
Cara came to slowly, seemingly confused and disoriented. She looked up at Richard, her brow creased momentarily.
“I…” Her hand flew to her side. “The pain is gone…you healed me.”
The accusation was thrown at Zedd, who had never been reprimanded for healing someone before.
“You’re welcome,” he said, gruffly, biting down on his venison.
Her eyes turned to Richard. “I told you we should keep going.”
“And I told you we were stopping.” He put the food down in front of her. “Eat. And rest. We’ll set out again in a few hours.”
“A few hours?” Cara spat, pushing herself into a sitting position. “Do you have any idea what she could do to Kahlan in even an extra hour?”
She made as if to stand up but Richard’s hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.
“And if we get there and are too tired or injured to fight her, she’ll kill us all and do whatever she wants with Kahlan.” He shoved the food towards her. “Eat.”
Cara made an exasperated noise, but picked up the food and took a bite, chewing in silence. Richard was thankful that she hadn’t protested more, but expected her to insist they leave immediately after eating. He’d probably agree; the main purpose of them stopping had been to heal Cara.
The meal passed without a word spoken between the three of them. Richard watched Cara pick at her food; something she never did. To his surprise, Cara was the one to break the silence that reigned after they’d finished eating. He still wasn’t used to this more forthcoming Cara. The fact that she addressed his grandfather was even more surprising.
“Wizard, did you find anything else about the magic of the amulet before we left the city?”
Zedd looked equally amazed at her question. “Nothing beyond what I’d discovered before. I investigated as much as I could about the splitting of a person, but there’s not much known and even less tried.”
Cara regarded him for a number of moments before speaking again.
“Are we two people, or one person?”
“I…it’s difficult to say, child,” Zedd said, shifting uncomfortably. “It would appear that you are two fully formed women, separate and individual. And yet you are two halves of a whole person.”
“If one of us were to die, would you still be able to put us back together, as is your ardent desire?” Cara asked.
“I don’t know,” was Zedd’s honest reply. “I wouldn’t like to test that theory.”
“Cara,” Richard interrupted. “I told you that we’d find a way. We won’t have to kill her.”
“Maybe not,” Cara mumbled. “Maybe if you kill me, she’ll die too.”
“Cara…” Richard began with a sigh. He was growing tired of this self-sacrifice she seemed to be determined to achieve. The Cara he knew would insist on being present at Kahlan’s rescue; if only to ensure it was done properly.
“Richard,” Cara cut him off. “If she’s dead, then Kahlan won’t be harmed any further and you can find her.”
“And what if it doesn’t work?” Richard countered. “You’d be dead, Kahlan would still be getting tortured, and we’d be a weaker force against the other Cara.” His voice rose as his anger grew. “Plus the magic of the amulet might not work if you’re dead, meaning that we’d be left with just the other Cara. Is that what you want?”
“What I want?” Cara whispered. “You think any of this is what I want?”
Tears spilled from her eyes in huge, unashamed droplets and Richard felt awful for yelling at her.
“What I want is for Kahlan to be safe.” Her voice was steady, though her tears continued to fall. ”What I want is to not worry about some crazy person running off with her every two minutes to try and foil your quest. What I want is to wake up with her in my arms in the morning and know that we’ll both make it through the day so that we can fall asleep in each other’s arms at night. I want a life for us, Richard.”
When she was done, all three of them were stunned into silence at her words. Richard had never considered that Cara might want to settle down somewhere and have a ‘normal’ life with Kahlan. And perhaps even Cara didn’t know. But obviously some part of her wanted exactly that. He reached out and pulled her against him in a fierce hug, pressing his face into her hair and whispering in her ear.
“You’ll get your life, Cara. I swear it. We’ll fix this and Kahlan will be back in your arms and you’ll get your life.”
“If she wants me.”
The whisper was almost lost on the wind, but he picked it up. He pulled back enough to see her face.
“What do you mean?”
Cara lifts her chin, but he can still see her lips trembling.
“You know what Mord’Sith do to the people they want to break, Richard,” she said. “Do you have any idea what they do to those they want to mate with?”
He shook his head, slowly, wondering how it could be worse.
“No. And nor should you,” Cara continued. “But if you think that Kahlan will be able to look at my face the same way ever again, you’re mistaken. And I accept that. As long as she is alive and well. But what I cannot accept is sitting here for a moment longer, with intimate knowledge of what is surely happening to her right now.”
“Kahlan is strong,” Richard told her, hoping to bolster her flagging confidence. “She won’t break easily.”
It seemed he’d chosen the wrong thing to say. Cara’s face crumpled and she let it fall forward into her hands, her shoulders heaving with sobs. Richard wrapped her in his arms again, still a little surprised when she didn’t push him away. She accepted the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. They sat together for long moments, Cara’s sobs gradually easing as Richard stroked her hair and mumbled words of comfort, looking to Zedd for help. The wizard merely smiled and shook his head, indicating that he thought Richard was doing a fine job all on his own.
“You’re right,” she said, turning her head away from his shoulder. “Kahlan is strong. But she’ll break her. She knows Kahlan. She knows her weaknesses and her fears. She’ll prey on them.” She tilted her head to look into his eyes. “In my experience, the strongest people are the ones who not only break…they shatter.”
Richard closed his eyes, trying to keep his body from tensing up at her words. He needed her to stay focussed. They all needed to stay focussed. And he truly believed that Kahlan would not be broken beyond repair. She was the strongest person he knew. And, despite all evidence to the contrary, part of him hoped that Cara wouldn’t be able to hurt her. During their journey she had still demonstrated a connection to Kahlan. The look in her eyes when she accused him of still being in love with her was evidence enough of some deep attachment. He prayed that there was a shred of humanity left in the other Cara; something that would let Kahlan get through to her. He needed to believe that.
“Richard.”
Cara’s voice drew him out of his head and he looked down at her.
“I don’t know if I can stand to see…what she’s done to her.”
He nodded. Though it hadn’t occurred to him, hearing her say it made him wonder why it hadn’t. Of course it was going to be difficult for Cara to see Kahlan in any form of distress, especially as she felt like she had been party to it in some way.
“I know it’ll be hard,” he said, almost smiling at the scoffing noise she made at his understatement. “But she needs us.”
“She needs you,” Cara mumbled, turning away from him. “What use am I? No agiels. No magic. No Breath of Life. I’m the one who let her be captured.”
“Cara, you have the bravest heart I’ve ever encountered,” Richard told her, softly. “If Kahlan has your heart on her side, that’s a pretty formidable weapon.”
Cara inhaled deeply and wiped her face. “You’re quite ridiculous, sometimes,” she said, but Richard could see some of the resolve return to her eyes. “But…thank you.”
He smiled and, because he thought it might be his only opportunity to do so, he brushed a quick kiss against her forehead. His affection for the normal Cara bordered on brotherly (which made his actions of earlier in the week even more unforgivable.) They’d developed a sibling like bond with each other from very early on in their relationship. She teased him and he accepted it with good humour. She challenged his plans and rolled her eyes when he explained his reasoning. She pouted when he issued an order she didn’t like. She was like a naughty little sister. And he loved her for it. And he wanted her back.
“Okay,” he said, patting her on the back gently. “Let’s go get Kahlan.”
---
The hazy world between oblivion and consciousness was becoming her friend. As she crossed the border to alertness she noticed that her arms were once again strung above her head. She was suspended from her wrists and her shoulders bore an uncomfortable load.
She stretched in an attempt to find purchase but although her toes scraped strands of hay there was no solid ground to be found.
Cara seemed acutely aware of her change in condition and came to stand beside her.
“This is not how I wanted things to be.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Kahlan replied.
“I really did envision your rest periods being more comfortable.”
“I’m sure you did,” Kahlan spits.
Cara smiled and stroked Kahlan’s face, “It’s not really my fault that you can’t be comfortable.”
“Of course not.”
The smile deepened, “If I didn’t have to worry about your confessor power I would have allowed you to lie down to sleep, but given that you broke your bonds that is not possible.”
“I don’t see that it’s my fault that you failed to take my power and my strength into account.”
Cara tilted her head.
“Neither of those things are ever far from my mind.”
Kahlan wished that her Cara were here and not just because she wouldn’t be tied up. Freedom would have been a definite advantage but more than anything she wanted to know if the real Cara feared her magic.
“I would never hurt you.”
The Mord’Sith pressed against the damaged flesh above the confessor’s ribs and Kahlan hissed.
“I would think less of you if you didn’t want to hurt me.”
“You know how I feel about you.”
Kahlan’s words seemed to hit Cara like a physical blow and she all but stumbled.
“What I know is that you were with that imposter.”
“I was with you too.”
“But you don’t think I’m me.”
“No,” Kahlan admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t care for you.”
“When we are done you won’t be worried about imposters or whether or not I am me.”
This was not the way Kahlan wanted the conversation to go and she felt the need to claim the upper hand.
“You don’t think you’re good enough for me to want if you don’t break me?”
She held her breath while anger flashed through Cara’s eyes.
“I don’t really need to worry about that. When we are done there will be no question about your loyalty.”
“You don’t need to do this. I’m already yours.”
Cara’s mask didn’t crack but her hand shook slightly.
“It’s best to be sure.”
“Because of what I can do?” Kahlan asked.
“It is a problem,” Cara admitted.
“How do you know you will be immune from my touch if you break me?”
“I don’t, but if you are truly mine you won’t betray me.”
“I could never betray you.”
“Not even if I hurt those dear to you, or if I have appetites that you can’t satisfy?”
The smirk on Cara’s lips terrified Kahlan.
“Are you saying that I won’t be enough for you?”
“I’m saying that I have already needed to look elsewhere for gratification.”
“What are you talking about?” Kahlan didn’t know why she asked, given Cara’s reply had the power hurt her more than anything the Mord’Sith could ever dream of doing with her agiels.
“Your precious little Richard was very accommodating.”
She closed her eyes and tried to drown out Cara’s words.
A hand pushed her thighs apart and Kahlan gasped.
“Please don’t do this.”
“Are you still so sure that you won’t ever hurt me?”
Kahlan bit back tears and met Cara’s eyes, “No matter what happens, I will never confess you.”
“Well, what we are doing here will make sure of that. Now sleep.”
She wanted to protest. She wanted to point out that no one could possibly sleep in this position. She wanted to argue that even if she were comfortable that she could not sleep after what Cara had said. She didn’t do any of those things because she was frightened of what else Cara might tell her.
To Kahlan’s surprise her battered body had needs that outweighed those of her broken heart and it wasn’t long before sleep claimed her.
---
Although they’d found Cara’s trail, following it wasn’t easy. She knew Richard’s skills and had taken every opportunity to throw them off. But after many hours of travel, the abandoned farms described by the villagers loomed into view. They dismounted a good distance away, holding onto their horses.
“This is it,” Richard breathed. He turned to his grandfather. “Zedd, I want you to wait outside until we call for you. Your magic is no use against her.”
Zedd nodded. “I’ll take the horses and tie them up. We’ll no doubt need them to get Kahlan…” He left his sentence hanging. None of them had any idea what Kahlan would need when they got to her.
“When we get in there, my aim is to subdue her through whatever is necessary.” He glanced at Cara. “Both you and I attacking her directly should be enough to overpower her. But we’re not going to kill her.”
“Yes, so you said,” Cara said, she was distracted, looking to the buildings in the distance and moving from foot to foot, twirling Kahlan’s daggers in her hands. “I won’t kill her unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“And you’ve come to terms with the spell we need to perform on you?” Zedd asked, settling his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him. “No. But I understand why you think it must be done. You’ve lost someone you care for and you want her back.” She looked back at the farm buildings, her mouth drawing into something like a sneer. “I want to make sure that whatever happens, she is no longer left in this world.” A sad smile tugged at her lips. “And I believe that Kahlan must see something in this Cara that you speak of. She’s…she’s a good judge of character.”
“She is,” Zedd agreed, squeezing her shoulder. “And she adores our Cara.”
Cara nodded once. “Then she’ll get her back.”
“Be careful,” Zedd said, looking from Cara to Richard. “Both of you. I’ll be waiting for your signal.”
“Let’s go,” Richard said to Cara with a final look to Zedd as he started to lead the horses away.
Richard drew his sword to match Cara’s already unsheathed daggers, and they made their way towards the cluster of structures.
“Do we have a strategy?” Cara whispered as they drew nearer. “You know that she’s going to threaten Kahlan’s life, don’t you?”
He pressed his lips together. Without knowing what was waiting for them inside, it was difficult to plan an attack. The element of surprise would only work for a very short time on this Cara. And Cara was right, if she was anywhere near Kahlan when they entered, all she would have to do is press an agiel to her chest and Richard and Cara would be powerless to do anything but what she told them to.
“She’s a Mord’Sith. I’m the Lord Rahl…she should obey a direct command from me,” he said, realising that was a faint hope.
Cara looked at him like he’d sprouted gar wings. “I would think the fact that she abandoned you in Aydindril and kidnapped the Mother Confessor demonstrates that she’s not really in the mood for respecting your authority at the moment.”
He sighed. “No. Then we need to go on the offensive straight away. Attack her from two fronts, force her to defend herself…she won’t have time to kill Kahlan if we charge at her.”
Cara was silent, mulling this over. “It’s possibly our only option,” she agreed. “Knocking her unconscious should be the aim. That will allow us to tend to Kahlan, retrieve the amulet and call for Zedd.”
“Agreed.” He was assessing the buildings for suitability as they got closer. Some obviously did not fit the bill; with doors hanging off their hinges and windows broken. But a large wooden barn like structure caught his attention. It was windowless and looked to only have one entrance, which was securely closed. He gestured to it with his head. “That one?”
Cara followed his eyes and sized up the building, scanning the surroundings and discounting the others for the same reasons Richard had.
“Yes, that one.”
Richard nodded and quickened his stride. Cara grabbed his arm and he turned back to her in surprise.
“Richard, if this doesn’t work…if the spell fails or if one or both of us die before you can perform it…I want you to make sure Kahlan is happy.”
He frowned. “Cara, I don’t think she’ll be happy if either of those things happen.”
“No, I…” She bit her lip. “I realise she will be heartbroken, as I would be in her position. But her heart will mend, in time. And…what I’m saying is that I would rather you be the one to help it mend.”
Her meaning dawned on him slowly. He was split between feeling honoured and slightly disturbed that Cara appeared to be giving her blessing for him to be with Kahlan in the event of her death. It also made him worry that Cara was going to go in with the intention of killing either herself or the other one so that the spell would have less chance of working.
“Cara, that won’t be necessary. She’ll have you.”
She kept hold of his arm as he tried to turn away and he looked into her eyes.
“Richard, it’s important that I know she’d be safe. And I trust you to keep her safe.”
She needed this, he realised. And though he had no idea what would happen between himself and Kahlan in a world without Cara, the one thing he could promise to do was keep her safe. He grasped Cara’s forearm with his hand, turning her grip into a warrior’s agreement. He nodded once and she returned it.
“Of course, if we are successful today, that offer is off the table,” Cara said, her face serious, but her eyes twinkling.
Richard smiled and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Cara. I know.”
“I’m glad we understand each other,” she said, letting go of his arm finally. “And Richard, in case the spell does work, I should probably tell you now that I have never served under anyone that I respect as much as you. You are a true Lord Rahl.”
The unexpected compliment threw him and he felt his throat grow thick. He swallowed against the lump that was forming and dipped his head before meeting her eyes again.
“If I’m a true Lord Rahl, it’s because you’ve helped to show me what that means,” he said, deciding that he shouldn’t let this opportunity pass him by. “So thank you for that. And thank you for being my friend.”
She smiled at him then.
“It is my honour,” she told him. “And while I’m sure we could appreciate each other for a good while yet, we really must get to Kahlan.”
He punched her shoulder affectionately to break the strange tension that had settled over them.
“Let’s go and rescue your lady.”
---
In her mind the second session was not that different from the first. At times she was not even sure that the first session had ever ended.
It would have been nice to think that her body would become immune to the pain, or that the pain would become so overwhelming that her brain would shut down, but neither of those things happened. Life as she knew it ceased to exist and there was only her body. Her agonized body.
Under normal circumstances this would have been more than enough suffering. She didn’t know if her predicament was a designed part of the progress or just a happy coincidence that the Mord’Sith liked to exploit but her bladder felt as though it was about to explode. The discomfort was almost enough to distract her from the living fire that was her skin.
Kahlan contemplated asking for respite but she didn’t know what she would do if the request was declined. She held onto the faint hope that if her bladder really did rupture she might die. That death would likely be short lived but it still felt like a point in her favour.
In the end she was denied the joy of serious internal damage. Cara placed an agiel over the offending area and as the overlying muscles went into spasm she lost her control.
She closed her eyes and a tear trickled down her face mirroring the flow lower down.
Cara wiped the tear away and spoke with what seemed to be genuine compassion, “It’s ok. There is nothing to be ashamed off.”
“How can you say that?”
“It’s part of the process.”
“You have no idea how crazy that sounds. What is happening is not normal.”
A thumb briefly caressed her arm. “I know this is new to you but trust me when I tell you that all is going as it should.”
“Trust me when I tell you that that is of absolutely no comfort.”
Cara laughed. The sound was light and seemed completely out of place. “Don’t worry. I will clean you off before we engage in more pleasant activities.”
“There is nothing pleasant about the thought of being with you like that.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
“Look at me. The fact that you would touch me after doing this to me makes me sick.”
“You have no idea how beautiful you look.”
“And you have no idea how much that disturbs me. Whatever happens tonight, I will not be a willing participant.”
She felt fingers pry one of her eyes open. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
Lips then made contact with her neck and Kahlan swore to herself that she would make sure that Cara’s prediction was not accurate.
---
In the end, the question as to whether or not she would have succumbed to Cara’s advances went unanswered.
Suddenly Cara withdrew her weapons from Kahlan’s body and placed a finger over her lips. She had no idea what was going on, although that shouldn’t have surprised her. She was well aware that she had lost contact with everything other than the agiels and their effects.
To her confusion, the look that Cara gave her was pleading rather than menacing and somehow that made it much more powerful.
“I’ll be back soon,” Cara whispered and then disappeared from view.
It was only then that Kahlan became aware that something had changed. It was a subtraction rather than an addition and even under ideal circumstances she would have been hard pressed to notice it. There was an absence of sound and a feeling of stillness. Something had clearly startled the native creatures and she had no idea if that was good or a bad thing.
The silence didn’t last. It was ruptured by the clatter of falling objects and the accompanying thuds of them hitting a heavy mass. A groan joined the symphony but Kahlan didn’t have time to contemplate this as suddenly the pressure on her arms eased and she made a thud of her own as she hit the ground.
She was joined by Cara but it was not the Cara who had been sharing the barn with her. This Cara removed the bonds from Kahlan’s wrists and rubbed her fingers over the raw skin. Kahlan was about to offer her heartfelt thanks when Cara vanished. The space she had been occupying was filled by the leather clad boot that had kicked her in the face.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know that he was only a distraction?” the Mord’Sith asked.
“I was hoping that the fact that he is your Lord Rahl would mean that you would hesitate before attacking him.”
“It appears that you were in error.”
The fallen Cara dragged herself up onto her knees. “It seems the fact that I thought he might offer a modicum of resistance was also in error.”
“Well quite,” her counterpart replied.
Both Caras tilted their heads to the side and a small smile tugged at the corner of each of their mouths. It was eerie to watch and it left Kahlan feeling unsettled.
The kneeling Cara ended the moment when she flung herself at her double. Her movement halted when an agiel struck her in the side but she still managed to leave her mark. Blood trickled from a wound on the other Cara’s face and she clubbed her opponent twice as punishment.
In an effort to avoid another agiel blow Cara rolled forward. Her feet struck the other Cara firmly in the stomach causing her to stumble backwards. The momentum of the roll allowed the Cara clutching Kahlan’s daggers to end in a crouch. She then dug a blade into the leg of the standing Cara and attempted to sweep her legs out from under her.
Her move was unsuccessful. Her leg moved in a circle and struck nothing but air. The other Cara had jumped out of the way and instead of losing her balance she landed a kick to the crouching women’s throat and it was that Cara who fell.
A boot came down on the hand still clutching a dagger and Kahlan heard a sickening crunch. The standing Cara then pulled the other knife out of her thigh and Kahlan feared that the skirmish was going to be over before it began. To Kahlan’s surprise the knife was dropped to the ground and the upright Cara backed away. The Mord’Sith grinned manically and gestured for her twin to rejoin the skirmish.
The softer Cara, and it seemed strange to think about her that way given she was wielding knives and murder eyes, scurried to her feet and waited for her competitor to make the next move. The agiel totting Cara laughed and ran full pelt into the blades pointed at her. She sidestepped at the last minute and a dagger grazed her leather rather than her flesh. She struck an agiel into the shoulder of the knife bearer but her action left her arm unprotected and a dagger sliced her wrist.
The aggressor changed as the other Cara went on the attack. She spun in a circle with her arms outstretched and two holes opened up just above her victim’s breasts. Although blood gushed from the one of the wounds, it seemed to go unnoticed because the twirling Cara came to an abrupt stop when agiels came in contact with her stomach and lower back.
Although she must have been in agony, it was a look of bewilderment that was plastered over Cara’s face as the agiels pressed deeper. It didn’t seem to be the pain itself but rather the foreign way her body responded to the agiels that was causing her distress. A whimper escaped her lips and she lost her grip on her weapons.
The balance of power appeared to have shifted and the look on the Mord’Sith’s face suggested that she was about to deliver a death blow. Kahlan did not know what form that blow would take but it was interrupted when Richard landed on Cara’s back.
The addition of another enemy did not seem to faze Cara. If anything she found it amusing.
“Now, now Lord Rahl,” she chided. “You don’t want to hurt me. After all, we both know that I could be carrying your heir.”
Kahlan did not want believe her ears but the flush of shame on Richard’s face suggested that there was a truth to the words. His response was to tighten his hold and it was clear that the increase of pressure on her neck was decreasing the flow of air to Cara’s lungs. She hurtled backwards and Kahlan heard a crack as she crashed into the wall of the barn. It appeared that crack had come from Richard’s head as his body went slack and he tumbled to the floor. He was not moving but Cara kicked him in the head for good measure.
She turned to see her other foe had rallied and was now in a fighting stance and she smiled in approval.
“It’s good to know that even when burdened by emotion I am not weak as others.”
”I don’t need your approval.”
“You’d have to do a lot more than stand up to earn that.”
“Let’s just end this.”
“My pleasure.”
They flew at one another and the fight resumed in earnest. They took pound after pound of flesh but neither held the upper hand for long. In essence they were fighting themselves. They had the same training. They knew the same moves. One Cara may have the advantage of brutality but the other countered this with passion and the fact that she was fighting with all of her heart.
The stalemate finally ended when Zedd strode into the barn and yelled, “Enough.”
His arm was outstretched but the Mord’Sith laughed at him.
“Your powers are useless here, Wizard.”
“You see only what you want to see,” he replied. A wave of power shot out from his hand and struck the ceiling.
Large pieces of what had been the roof rained down on Cara and she looked at him in horror.
“Not all actions are direct,” he told her and flicked his hand. This time a cloud of dirt and hay found her eyes, temporarily blinding her and leaving her open to more attacks.
Cara heard the roof above her rattle and she bounded out of the way.
Kahlan found herself being held against the Mord’Sith and an agiel hovered over the tender flesh of her neck.
“Do your worst, old man,” the Mord’Sith dared.
He stood before them, impotent and disheartened.
“I’m so sorry Zedd,” this came from the other Cara, “I couldn’t get the amulet. I have failed us all.”
The confessor tried to blink away her confusion. She had assumed that they‘d come for her.
“Why do you want the amulet?” the Cara behind Kahlan demanded.
“I mean to right a terrible wrong.”
“You believe you can join me with that thing?” The Mord’Sith hissed. “I will not be paired with her. She does not deserve to live.”
“You’re right. She shouldn’t exist, but neither should you.”
“You will get that amulet over my dead body.”
“That is not something that concerns me,” Zedd informed her.
“What if it’s over the Mother Confessor’s dead body?”
Zedd seemed to deflate. He didn’t even bother to suggest that Cara was bluffing. It was then that Kahlan knew that her fate was sealed. They would not risk harming her and she was certain that next time Cara would not be so easy to find. Even if they were found, it probably wouldn’t matter. By that time she may not want to be found. She might not even be herself.
“Take Richard and leave,” she told the others.
The beaten Cara did not want to let things go. “I cannot leave you with her. The shame alone would kill me.”
“If you love me at all you will leave.”
If it were possible, Kahlan’s request broke her even further. She made her way across the room and hoisted Richard onto her shoulder. She struggled with her load and Zedd had to assist her.
As they exited the barn, the remaining Cara turned Kahlan in her arms. “I’m so proud of you,” she said before kissing her. Kahlan returned the kiss and Cara hands travelled down Kahlan’s back. She tried not to flinch at the pain the agiels caused and wrapped her arms around Cara’s neck.
The kiss deepened and Kahlan changed her grip. The look of betrayal in Cara’s eyes when she realised that Kahlan’s hand was at her throat almost made her hesitate and Cara saying, “You promised me,” didn’t make it any easier. She steeled herself and unleashed her power.
As Cara uttered the hollow phrase, “Command me, Confessor,” Kahlan screamed for help.
When Zedd and his Cara returned Kahlan was cradling her Cara in her arms. She fished into Cara’s leathers and threw the broken amulet to Zedd. “Please hurry. She can’t take this much longer.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Cara said through clenched teeth. “If I die in your arms then I will die happy.”
Kahlan brushed a kiss to her forehead and the other Cara looked as though she could kill them both.
“Zedd will fix this. I promise you both.”
“There is nothing to fix,” the Cara beside her muttered.
“She’s right,” the Cara in her arms replied. “I will die as you have willed it and when I am gone you will still have her.”
Kahlan risk a glance at the less fatally injured Cara who seemed pleased with her rival’s assessment. “It’s not what I want,” she told them. “I know it doesn’t seem like it but neither of you are complete. You need to be together.”
One Cara began to argue and the other mindlessly conceded to her mistress’s wish but in the end their responses did not matter. Zedd joined the halves of the amulet together and with a few words in a tongue that Kahlan didn’t understand he caused the Caras to begin to glow and then to move together.
When the light faded only one Cara remained. The body that lay before Kahlan showed no evidence of having engaged in a fight but it was not the body that Kahlan was worried about. Even if every bone was broken Cara’s body could be healed. The damage to Cara’s mind might be much more permanent.
“What happened to me?” Kahlan was not sure how to respond but Cara saved her from having to answer by asking, “And why are you naked? And why is Zedd here when you are naked?”
“You really don’t know?” Kahlan enquired.
“The last thing I recall is that I let the wizard use magic on you so that you could attend to your duties and now I find myself here with the two of you and you are naked.” Cara turned evil eyes to Zedd, “If I didn’t know I was resistant to your powers I would suspect you had done something to me.”
Zedd chuckled, “I have done what needed to be done. I will leave the two of you alone.”
“I didn’t think I get to see you so soon,” Cara whispered to Kahlan and reached for her hand.
Kahlan joined their fingers and said, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Something terrible has happened hasn’t it?” Cara asked as she looked at the state of Kahlan’s body.
“Yes,” Kahlan confirmed.
“Those are agiel wounds. I will kill the Mord’Sith that dared to do this to you.”
She knew they needed to talk but she really didn’t know where to start. She wanted to pretend that none of it had ever happened. In a way that was true, the person who hurt her didn’t even exist anymore, but her body bore evidence that made denial impossible. “There is a lot I need to tell you but I can’t do that yet.”
“Okay,” Cara said sceptically.
“I guess what I’d really like to do right now is to take a bath with you.”
“Okay,” Cara replied with much more enthusiasm.
Part 5 - Epilogue
They’d picked up the trail relatively easily after they left the village – two recent sets of hoofprints from horses carrying two riders on a sparsely used road were hard to disguise. As predicted, the prints split in two after a while but Richard had taken a little longer than he’d expected to be able to ascertain which trail was genuine.
Telling a horse being ridden from a horse running under its own power should not be difficult. But this was Cara he was dealing with and he had no doubt that if she didn’t want to be found, she’d make it as difficult to find her as humanly possible. But he was an excellent tracker and he had to be confident in his own skills.
After some investigation of both sets of tracks, he determined which was the one that would lead them to Cara. But upon returning to where he’d left the others, it was clear that Cara wasn’t going to make it much further without falling off her horse. She’d been flagging for a couple of hours but had insisted she was fine. She was far from fine. She was leaning forward in her saddle, an arm cradling her wounded side. Her face was pallid and pinched. The wound, if not infected already, was going to be soon with the sweat and dirt that was no doubt accumulating between her skin and her leathers. Night was beginning to fall and Richard made up his mind.
“This is the trail,” he announced. “There’s a clearing up ahead. We’ll stop there and eat.”
“What?” Cara said, though it came out as more of a pant. “No. We keep going.”
“No,” Richard told her, his voice firm. “We stop. We eat. We rest. We carry on.”
She huffed and yanked on her horse’s reins, crying out softly as the action pulled at her wound. Richard’s heart went out to her, but he remained firm, urging his horse on at a gentle trot to the clearing he’d spotted. He dismounted and waited for Zedd and Cara to arrive. Zedd was first.
“I want you to heal her,” Richard said, keeping his voice low. “I don’t care how much she protests. She can’t go on like this. She’s no use to anyone.”
Zedd nodded as Cara drew near, leaning so far forward she was in danger of slipping from the beast. Zedd caught hold of the horse’s bridle and Richard eased Cara down into his arms, holding her like a baby. Her head lolled against his shoulder and he carried her to a nearby tree, propping her against its trunk and wincing when she curled in on herself, whimpering like a kitten. He stroked her hair away from her sweaty forehead; she was barely conscious.
“Zedd!” he called. “Do it now.”
The wizard came over and crouched by Cara’s prone form, holding both of his hands over her injury and chanting under his breath. His hands started to glow and the light transferred to Cara. The old man frowned in concentration.
“It’s worse than she was telling us,” he said, his voice shaking with effort. “And infection is setting in.”
Richard’s eyes fell to Cara’s face. He could barely equate this woman with the one he’d spent the week with. He thought back on his time with the other Cara and cursed himself for not being able to tell that something was wrong sooner. He flushed at the thought of her body against his. That single act should have been enough to alert him. Cara would never do that to Kahlan. She’d die first.
Zedd let out a gasp of air and staggered back a little. Richard caught his arm to stop him from falling.
“Zedd?” he asked.
“It’s done,” Zedd told him, his breathing laboured. “The wound is healed. When she comes around she’ll be right as rain.”
“I doubt that,” Richard muttered.
He reached into the tear in her leathers and withdrew the blood-soaked bandage. He probed the area gently with his fingers and found the skin intact. Satisfied that she’d be okay, he moved back to his horse, pulling out the provisions they’d had packed for them. Dried venison and bread washed down with water. It was hardly a banquet, but it was adequate and they could eat it quickly. Richard divided the food into three portions. He handed Zedd his and tensed as he heard Cara stirring behind him. He picked up the remaining food and approached her, lowering himself to the ground beside her.
Cara came to slowly, seemingly confused and disoriented. She looked up at Richard, her brow creased momentarily.
“I…” Her hand flew to her side. “The pain is gone…you healed me.”
The accusation was thrown at Zedd, who had never been reprimanded for healing someone before.
“You’re welcome,” he said, gruffly, biting down on his venison.
Her eyes turned to Richard. “I told you we should keep going.”
“And I told you we were stopping.” He put the food down in front of her. “Eat. And rest. We’ll set out again in a few hours.”
“A few hours?” Cara spat, pushing herself into a sitting position. “Do you have any idea what she could do to Kahlan in even an extra hour?”
She made as if to stand up but Richard’s hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.
“And if we get there and are too tired or injured to fight her, she’ll kill us all and do whatever she wants with Kahlan.” He shoved the food towards her. “Eat.”
Cara made an exasperated noise, but picked up the food and took a bite, chewing in silence. Richard was thankful that she hadn’t protested more, but expected her to insist they leave immediately after eating. He’d probably agree; the main purpose of them stopping had been to heal Cara.
The meal passed without a word spoken between the three of them. Richard watched Cara pick at her food; something she never did. To his surprise, Cara was the one to break the silence that reigned after they’d finished eating. He still wasn’t used to this more forthcoming Cara. The fact that she addressed his grandfather was even more surprising.
“Wizard, did you find anything else about the magic of the amulet before we left the city?”
Zedd looked equally amazed at her question. “Nothing beyond what I’d discovered before. I investigated as much as I could about the splitting of a person, but there’s not much known and even less tried.”
Cara regarded him for a number of moments before speaking again.
“Are we two people, or one person?”
“I…it’s difficult to say, child,” Zedd said, shifting uncomfortably. “It would appear that you are two fully formed women, separate and individual. And yet you are two halves of a whole person.”
“If one of us were to die, would you still be able to put us back together, as is your ardent desire?” Cara asked.
“I don’t know,” was Zedd’s honest reply. “I wouldn’t like to test that theory.”
“Cara,” Richard interrupted. “I told you that we’d find a way. We won’t have to kill her.”
“Maybe not,” Cara mumbled. “Maybe if you kill me, she’ll die too.”
“Cara…” Richard began with a sigh. He was growing tired of this self-sacrifice she seemed to be determined to achieve. The Cara he knew would insist on being present at Kahlan’s rescue; if only to ensure it was done properly.
“Richard,” Cara cut him off. “If she’s dead, then Kahlan won’t be harmed any further and you can find her.”
“And what if it doesn’t work?” Richard countered. “You’d be dead, Kahlan would still be getting tortured, and we’d be a weaker force against the other Cara.” His voice rose as his anger grew. “Plus the magic of the amulet might not work if you’re dead, meaning that we’d be left with just the other Cara. Is that what you want?”
“What I want?” Cara whispered. “You think any of this is what I want?”
Tears spilled from her eyes in huge, unashamed droplets and Richard felt awful for yelling at her.
“What I want is for Kahlan to be safe.” Her voice was steady, though her tears continued to fall. ”What I want is to not worry about some crazy person running off with her every two minutes to try and foil your quest. What I want is to wake up with her in my arms in the morning and know that we’ll both make it through the day so that we can fall asleep in each other’s arms at night. I want a life for us, Richard.”
When she was done, all three of them were stunned into silence at her words. Richard had never considered that Cara might want to settle down somewhere and have a ‘normal’ life with Kahlan. And perhaps even Cara didn’t know. But obviously some part of her wanted exactly that. He reached out and pulled her against him in a fierce hug, pressing his face into her hair and whispering in her ear.
“You’ll get your life, Cara. I swear it. We’ll fix this and Kahlan will be back in your arms and you’ll get your life.”
“If she wants me.”
The whisper was almost lost on the wind, but he picked it up. He pulled back enough to see her face.
“What do you mean?”
Cara lifts her chin, but he can still see her lips trembling.
“You know what Mord’Sith do to the people they want to break, Richard,” she said. “Do you have any idea what they do to those they want to mate with?”
He shook his head, slowly, wondering how it could be worse.
“No. And nor should you,” Cara continued. “But if you think that Kahlan will be able to look at my face the same way ever again, you’re mistaken. And I accept that. As long as she is alive and well. But what I cannot accept is sitting here for a moment longer, with intimate knowledge of what is surely happening to her right now.”
“Kahlan is strong,” Richard told her, hoping to bolster her flagging confidence. “She won’t break easily.”
It seemed he’d chosen the wrong thing to say. Cara’s face crumpled and she let it fall forward into her hands, her shoulders heaving with sobs. Richard wrapped her in his arms again, still a little surprised when she didn’t push him away. She accepted the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. They sat together for long moments, Cara’s sobs gradually easing as Richard stroked her hair and mumbled words of comfort, looking to Zedd for help. The wizard merely smiled and shook his head, indicating that he thought Richard was doing a fine job all on his own.
“You’re right,” she said, turning her head away from his shoulder. “Kahlan is strong. But she’ll break her. She knows Kahlan. She knows her weaknesses and her fears. She’ll prey on them.” She tilted her head to look into his eyes. “In my experience, the strongest people are the ones who not only break…they shatter.”
Richard closed his eyes, trying to keep his body from tensing up at her words. He needed her to stay focussed. They all needed to stay focussed. And he truly believed that Kahlan would not be broken beyond repair. She was the strongest person he knew. And, despite all evidence to the contrary, part of him hoped that Cara wouldn’t be able to hurt her. During their journey she had still demonstrated a connection to Kahlan. The look in her eyes when she accused him of still being in love with her was evidence enough of some deep attachment. He prayed that there was a shred of humanity left in the other Cara; something that would let Kahlan get through to her. He needed to believe that.
“Richard.”
Cara’s voice drew him out of his head and he looked down at her.
“I don’t know if I can stand to see…what she’s done to her.”
He nodded. Though it hadn’t occurred to him, hearing her say it made him wonder why it hadn’t. Of course it was going to be difficult for Cara to see Kahlan in any form of distress, especially as she felt like she had been party to it in some way.
“I know it’ll be hard,” he said, almost smiling at the scoffing noise she made at his understatement. “But she needs us.”
“She needs you,” Cara mumbled, turning away from him. “What use am I? No agiels. No magic. No Breath of Life. I’m the one who let her be captured.”
“Cara, you have the bravest heart I’ve ever encountered,” Richard told her, softly. “If Kahlan has your heart on her side, that’s a pretty formidable weapon.”
Cara inhaled deeply and wiped her face. “You’re quite ridiculous, sometimes,” she said, but Richard could see some of the resolve return to her eyes. “But…thank you.”
He smiled and, because he thought it might be his only opportunity to do so, he brushed a quick kiss against her forehead. His affection for the normal Cara bordered on brotherly (which made his actions of earlier in the week even more unforgivable.) They’d developed a sibling like bond with each other from very early on in their relationship. She teased him and he accepted it with good humour. She challenged his plans and rolled her eyes when he explained his reasoning. She pouted when he issued an order she didn’t like. She was like a naughty little sister. And he loved her for it. And he wanted her back.
“Okay,” he said, patting her on the back gently. “Let’s go get Kahlan.”
---
The hazy world between oblivion and consciousness was becoming her friend. As she crossed the border to alertness she noticed that her arms were once again strung above her head. She was suspended from her wrists and her shoulders bore an uncomfortable load.
She stretched in an attempt to find purchase but although her toes scraped strands of hay there was no solid ground to be found.
Cara seemed acutely aware of her change in condition and came to stand beside her.
“This is not how I wanted things to be.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Kahlan replied.
“I really did envision your rest periods being more comfortable.”
“I’m sure you did,” Kahlan spits.
Cara smiled and stroked Kahlan’s face, “It’s not really my fault that you can’t be comfortable.”
“Of course not.”
The smile deepened, “If I didn’t have to worry about your confessor power I would have allowed you to lie down to sleep, but given that you broke your bonds that is not possible.”
“I don’t see that it’s my fault that you failed to take my power and my strength into account.”
Cara tilted her head.
“Neither of those things are ever far from my mind.”
Kahlan wished that her Cara were here and not just because she wouldn’t be tied up. Freedom would have been a definite advantage but more than anything she wanted to know if the real Cara feared her magic.
“I would never hurt you.”
The Mord’Sith pressed against the damaged flesh above the confessor’s ribs and Kahlan hissed.
“I would think less of you if you didn’t want to hurt me.”
“You know how I feel about you.”
Kahlan’s words seemed to hit Cara like a physical blow and she all but stumbled.
“What I know is that you were with that imposter.”
“I was with you too.”
“But you don’t think I’m me.”
“No,” Kahlan admitted, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t care for you.”
“When we are done you won’t be worried about imposters or whether or not I am me.”
This was not the way Kahlan wanted the conversation to go and she felt the need to claim the upper hand.
“You don’t think you’re good enough for me to want if you don’t break me?”
She held her breath while anger flashed through Cara’s eyes.
“I don’t really need to worry about that. When we are done there will be no question about your loyalty.”
“You don’t need to do this. I’m already yours.”
Cara’s mask didn’t crack but her hand shook slightly.
“It’s best to be sure.”
“Because of what I can do?” Kahlan asked.
“It is a problem,” Cara admitted.
“How do you know you will be immune from my touch if you break me?”
“I don’t, but if you are truly mine you won’t betray me.”
“I could never betray you.”
“Not even if I hurt those dear to you, or if I have appetites that you can’t satisfy?”
The smirk on Cara’s lips terrified Kahlan.
“Are you saying that I won’t be enough for you?”
“I’m saying that I have already needed to look elsewhere for gratification.”
“What are you talking about?” Kahlan didn’t know why she asked, given Cara’s reply had the power hurt her more than anything the Mord’Sith could ever dream of doing with her agiels.
“Your precious little Richard was very accommodating.”
She closed her eyes and tried to drown out Cara’s words.
A hand pushed her thighs apart and Kahlan gasped.
“Please don’t do this.”
“Are you still so sure that you won’t ever hurt me?”
Kahlan bit back tears and met Cara’s eyes, “No matter what happens, I will never confess you.”
“Well, what we are doing here will make sure of that. Now sleep.”
She wanted to protest. She wanted to point out that no one could possibly sleep in this position. She wanted to argue that even if she were comfortable that she could not sleep after what Cara had said. She didn’t do any of those things because she was frightened of what else Cara might tell her.
To Kahlan’s surprise her battered body had needs that outweighed those of her broken heart and it wasn’t long before sleep claimed her.
---
Although they’d found Cara’s trail, following it wasn’t easy. She knew Richard’s skills and had taken every opportunity to throw them off. But after many hours of travel, the abandoned farms described by the villagers loomed into view. They dismounted a good distance away, holding onto their horses.
“This is it,” Richard breathed. He turned to his grandfather. “Zedd, I want you to wait outside until we call for you. Your magic is no use against her.”
Zedd nodded. “I’ll take the horses and tie them up. We’ll no doubt need them to get Kahlan…” He left his sentence hanging. None of them had any idea what Kahlan would need when they got to her.
“When we get in there, my aim is to subdue her through whatever is necessary.” He glanced at Cara. “Both you and I attacking her directly should be enough to overpower her. But we’re not going to kill her.”
“Yes, so you said,” Cara said, she was distracted, looking to the buildings in the distance and moving from foot to foot, twirling Kahlan’s daggers in her hands. “I won’t kill her unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“And you’ve come to terms with the spell we need to perform on you?” Zedd asked, settling his hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at him. “No. But I understand why you think it must be done. You’ve lost someone you care for and you want her back.” She looked back at the farm buildings, her mouth drawing into something like a sneer. “I want to make sure that whatever happens, she is no longer left in this world.” A sad smile tugged at her lips. “And I believe that Kahlan must see something in this Cara that you speak of. She’s…she’s a good judge of character.”
“She is,” Zedd agreed, squeezing her shoulder. “And she adores our Cara.”
Cara nodded once. “Then she’ll get her back.”
“Be careful,” Zedd said, looking from Cara to Richard. “Both of you. I’ll be waiting for your signal.”
“Let’s go,” Richard said to Cara with a final look to Zedd as he started to lead the horses away.
Richard drew his sword to match Cara’s already unsheathed daggers, and they made their way towards the cluster of structures.
“Do we have a strategy?” Cara whispered as they drew nearer. “You know that she’s going to threaten Kahlan’s life, don’t you?”
He pressed his lips together. Without knowing what was waiting for them inside, it was difficult to plan an attack. The element of surprise would only work for a very short time on this Cara. And Cara was right, if she was anywhere near Kahlan when they entered, all she would have to do is press an agiel to her chest and Richard and Cara would be powerless to do anything but what she told them to.
“She’s a Mord’Sith. I’m the Lord Rahl…she should obey a direct command from me,” he said, realising that was a faint hope.
Cara looked at him like he’d sprouted gar wings. “I would think the fact that she abandoned you in Aydindril and kidnapped the Mother Confessor demonstrates that she’s not really in the mood for respecting your authority at the moment.”
He sighed. “No. Then we need to go on the offensive straight away. Attack her from two fronts, force her to defend herself…she won’t have time to kill Kahlan if we charge at her.”
Cara was silent, mulling this over. “It’s possibly our only option,” she agreed. “Knocking her unconscious should be the aim. That will allow us to tend to Kahlan, retrieve the amulet and call for Zedd.”
“Agreed.” He was assessing the buildings for suitability as they got closer. Some obviously did not fit the bill; with doors hanging off their hinges and windows broken. But a large wooden barn like structure caught his attention. It was windowless and looked to only have one entrance, which was securely closed. He gestured to it with his head. “That one?”
Cara followed his eyes and sized up the building, scanning the surroundings and discounting the others for the same reasons Richard had.
“Yes, that one.”
Richard nodded and quickened his stride. Cara grabbed his arm and he turned back to her in surprise.
“Richard, if this doesn’t work…if the spell fails or if one or both of us die before you can perform it…I want you to make sure Kahlan is happy.”
He frowned. “Cara, I don’t think she’ll be happy if either of those things happen.”
“No, I…” She bit her lip. “I realise she will be heartbroken, as I would be in her position. But her heart will mend, in time. And…what I’m saying is that I would rather you be the one to help it mend.”
Her meaning dawned on him slowly. He was split between feeling honoured and slightly disturbed that Cara appeared to be giving her blessing for him to be with Kahlan in the event of her death. It also made him worry that Cara was going to go in with the intention of killing either herself or the other one so that the spell would have less chance of working.
“Cara, that won’t be necessary. She’ll have you.”
She kept hold of his arm as he tried to turn away and he looked into her eyes.
“Richard, it’s important that I know she’d be safe. And I trust you to keep her safe.”
She needed this, he realised. And though he had no idea what would happen between himself and Kahlan in a world without Cara, the one thing he could promise to do was keep her safe. He grasped Cara’s forearm with his hand, turning her grip into a warrior’s agreement. He nodded once and she returned it.
“Of course, if we are successful today, that offer is off the table,” Cara said, her face serious, but her eyes twinkling.
Richard smiled and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Cara. I know.”
“I’m glad we understand each other,” she said, letting go of his arm finally. “And Richard, in case the spell does work, I should probably tell you now that I have never served under anyone that I respect as much as you. You are a true Lord Rahl.”
The unexpected compliment threw him and he felt his throat grow thick. He swallowed against the lump that was forming and dipped his head before meeting her eyes again.
“If I’m a true Lord Rahl, it’s because you’ve helped to show me what that means,” he said, deciding that he shouldn’t let this opportunity pass him by. “So thank you for that. And thank you for being my friend.”
She smiled at him then.
“It is my honour,” she told him. “And while I’m sure we could appreciate each other for a good while yet, we really must get to Kahlan.”
He punched her shoulder affectionately to break the strange tension that had settled over them.
“Let’s go and rescue your lady.”
---
In her mind the second session was not that different from the first. At times she was not even sure that the first session had ever ended.
It would have been nice to think that her body would become immune to the pain, or that the pain would become so overwhelming that her brain would shut down, but neither of those things happened. Life as she knew it ceased to exist and there was only her body. Her agonized body.
Under normal circumstances this would have been more than enough suffering. She didn’t know if her predicament was a designed part of the progress or just a happy coincidence that the Mord’Sith liked to exploit but her bladder felt as though it was about to explode. The discomfort was almost enough to distract her from the living fire that was her skin.
Kahlan contemplated asking for respite but she didn’t know what she would do if the request was declined. She held onto the faint hope that if her bladder really did rupture she might die. That death would likely be short lived but it still felt like a point in her favour.
In the end she was denied the joy of serious internal damage. Cara placed an agiel over the offending area and as the overlying muscles went into spasm she lost her control.
She closed her eyes and a tear trickled down her face mirroring the flow lower down.
Cara wiped the tear away and spoke with what seemed to be genuine compassion, “It’s ok. There is nothing to be ashamed off.”
“How can you say that?”
“It’s part of the process.”
“You have no idea how crazy that sounds. What is happening is not normal.”
A thumb briefly caressed her arm. “I know this is new to you but trust me when I tell you that all is going as it should.”
“Trust me when I tell you that that is of absolutely no comfort.”
Cara laughed. The sound was light and seemed completely out of place. “Don’t worry. I will clean you off before we engage in more pleasant activities.”
“There is nothing pleasant about the thought of being with you like that.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
“Look at me. The fact that you would touch me after doing this to me makes me sick.”
“You have no idea how beautiful you look.”
“And you have no idea how much that disturbs me. Whatever happens tonight, I will not be a willing participant.”
She felt fingers pry one of her eyes open. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
Lips then made contact with her neck and Kahlan swore to herself that she would make sure that Cara’s prediction was not accurate.
---
In the end, the question as to whether or not she would have succumbed to Cara’s advances went unanswered.
Suddenly Cara withdrew her weapons from Kahlan’s body and placed a finger over her lips. She had no idea what was going on, although that shouldn’t have surprised her. She was well aware that she had lost contact with everything other than the agiels and their effects.
To her confusion, the look that Cara gave her was pleading rather than menacing and somehow that made it much more powerful.
“I’ll be back soon,” Cara whispered and then disappeared from view.
It was only then that Kahlan became aware that something had changed. It was a subtraction rather than an addition and even under ideal circumstances she would have been hard pressed to notice it. There was an absence of sound and a feeling of stillness. Something had clearly startled the native creatures and she had no idea if that was good or a bad thing.
The silence didn’t last. It was ruptured by the clatter of falling objects and the accompanying thuds of them hitting a heavy mass. A groan joined the symphony but Kahlan didn’t have time to contemplate this as suddenly the pressure on her arms eased and she made a thud of her own as she hit the ground.
She was joined by Cara but it was not the Cara who had been sharing the barn with her. This Cara removed the bonds from Kahlan’s wrists and rubbed her fingers over the raw skin. Kahlan was about to offer her heartfelt thanks when Cara vanished. The space she had been occupying was filled by the leather clad boot that had kicked her in the face.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t know that he was only a distraction?” the Mord’Sith asked.
“I was hoping that the fact that he is your Lord Rahl would mean that you would hesitate before attacking him.”
“It appears that you were in error.”
The fallen Cara dragged herself up onto her knees. “It seems the fact that I thought he might offer a modicum of resistance was also in error.”
“Well quite,” her counterpart replied.
Both Caras tilted their heads to the side and a small smile tugged at the corner of each of their mouths. It was eerie to watch and it left Kahlan feeling unsettled.
The kneeling Cara ended the moment when she flung herself at her double. Her movement halted when an agiel struck her in the side but she still managed to leave her mark. Blood trickled from a wound on the other Cara’s face and she clubbed her opponent twice as punishment.
In an effort to avoid another agiel blow Cara rolled forward. Her feet struck the other Cara firmly in the stomach causing her to stumble backwards. The momentum of the roll allowed the Cara clutching Kahlan’s daggers to end in a crouch. She then dug a blade into the leg of the standing Cara and attempted to sweep her legs out from under her.
Her move was unsuccessful. Her leg moved in a circle and struck nothing but air. The other Cara had jumped out of the way and instead of losing her balance she landed a kick to the crouching women’s throat and it was that Cara who fell.
A boot came down on the hand still clutching a dagger and Kahlan heard a sickening crunch. The standing Cara then pulled the other knife out of her thigh and Kahlan feared that the skirmish was going to be over before it began. To Kahlan’s surprise the knife was dropped to the ground and the upright Cara backed away. The Mord’Sith grinned manically and gestured for her twin to rejoin the skirmish.
The softer Cara, and it seemed strange to think about her that way given she was wielding knives and murder eyes, scurried to her feet and waited for her competitor to make the next move. The agiel totting Cara laughed and ran full pelt into the blades pointed at her. She sidestepped at the last minute and a dagger grazed her leather rather than her flesh. She struck an agiel into the shoulder of the knife bearer but her action left her arm unprotected and a dagger sliced her wrist.
The aggressor changed as the other Cara went on the attack. She spun in a circle with her arms outstretched and two holes opened up just above her victim’s breasts. Although blood gushed from the one of the wounds, it seemed to go unnoticed because the twirling Cara came to an abrupt stop when agiels came in contact with her stomach and lower back.
Although she must have been in agony, it was a look of bewilderment that was plastered over Cara’s face as the agiels pressed deeper. It didn’t seem to be the pain itself but rather the foreign way her body responded to the agiels that was causing her distress. A whimper escaped her lips and she lost her grip on her weapons.
The balance of power appeared to have shifted and the look on the Mord’Sith’s face suggested that she was about to deliver a death blow. Kahlan did not know what form that blow would take but it was interrupted when Richard landed on Cara’s back.
The addition of another enemy did not seem to faze Cara. If anything she found it amusing.
“Now, now Lord Rahl,” she chided. “You don’t want to hurt me. After all, we both know that I could be carrying your heir.”
Kahlan did not want believe her ears but the flush of shame on Richard’s face suggested that there was a truth to the words. His response was to tighten his hold and it was clear that the increase of pressure on her neck was decreasing the flow of air to Cara’s lungs. She hurtled backwards and Kahlan heard a crack as she crashed into the wall of the barn. It appeared that crack had come from Richard’s head as his body went slack and he tumbled to the floor. He was not moving but Cara kicked him in the head for good measure.
She turned to see her other foe had rallied and was now in a fighting stance and she smiled in approval.
“It’s good to know that even when burdened by emotion I am not weak as others.”
”I don’t need your approval.”
“You’d have to do a lot more than stand up to earn that.”
“Let’s just end this.”
“My pleasure.”
They flew at one another and the fight resumed in earnest. They took pound after pound of flesh but neither held the upper hand for long. In essence they were fighting themselves. They had the same training. They knew the same moves. One Cara may have the advantage of brutality but the other countered this with passion and the fact that she was fighting with all of her heart.
The stalemate finally ended when Zedd strode into the barn and yelled, “Enough.”
His arm was outstretched but the Mord’Sith laughed at him.
“Your powers are useless here, Wizard.”
“You see only what you want to see,” he replied. A wave of power shot out from his hand and struck the ceiling.
Large pieces of what had been the roof rained down on Cara and she looked at him in horror.
“Not all actions are direct,” he told her and flicked his hand. This time a cloud of dirt and hay found her eyes, temporarily blinding her and leaving her open to more attacks.
Cara heard the roof above her rattle and she bounded out of the way.
Kahlan found herself being held against the Mord’Sith and an agiel hovered over the tender flesh of her neck.
“Do your worst, old man,” the Mord’Sith dared.
He stood before them, impotent and disheartened.
“I’m so sorry Zedd,” this came from the other Cara, “I couldn’t get the amulet. I have failed us all.”
The confessor tried to blink away her confusion. She had assumed that they‘d come for her.
“Why do you want the amulet?” the Cara behind Kahlan demanded.
“I mean to right a terrible wrong.”
“You believe you can join me with that thing?” The Mord’Sith hissed. “I will not be paired with her. She does not deserve to live.”
“You’re right. She shouldn’t exist, but neither should you.”
“You will get that amulet over my dead body.”
“That is not something that concerns me,” Zedd informed her.
“What if it’s over the Mother Confessor’s dead body?”
Zedd seemed to deflate. He didn’t even bother to suggest that Cara was bluffing. It was then that Kahlan knew that her fate was sealed. They would not risk harming her and she was certain that next time Cara would not be so easy to find. Even if they were found, it probably wouldn’t matter. By that time she may not want to be found. She might not even be herself.
“Take Richard and leave,” she told the others.
The beaten Cara did not want to let things go. “I cannot leave you with her. The shame alone would kill me.”
“If you love me at all you will leave.”
If it were possible, Kahlan’s request broke her even further. She made her way across the room and hoisted Richard onto her shoulder. She struggled with her load and Zedd had to assist her.
As they exited the barn, the remaining Cara turned Kahlan in her arms. “I’m so proud of you,” she said before kissing her. Kahlan returned the kiss and Cara hands travelled down Kahlan’s back. She tried not to flinch at the pain the agiels caused and wrapped her arms around Cara’s neck.
The kiss deepened and Kahlan changed her grip. The look of betrayal in Cara’s eyes when she realised that Kahlan’s hand was at her throat almost made her hesitate and Cara saying, “You promised me,” didn’t make it any easier. She steeled herself and unleashed her power.
As Cara uttered the hollow phrase, “Command me, Confessor,” Kahlan screamed for help.
When Zedd and his Cara returned Kahlan was cradling her Cara in her arms. She fished into Cara’s leathers and threw the broken amulet to Zedd. “Please hurry. She can’t take this much longer.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Cara said through clenched teeth. “If I die in your arms then I will die happy.”
Kahlan brushed a kiss to her forehead and the other Cara looked as though she could kill them both.
“Zedd will fix this. I promise you both.”
“There is nothing to fix,” the Cara beside her muttered.
“She’s right,” the Cara in her arms replied. “I will die as you have willed it and when I am gone you will still have her.”
Kahlan risk a glance at the less fatally injured Cara who seemed pleased with her rival’s assessment. “It’s not what I want,” she told them. “I know it doesn’t seem like it but neither of you are complete. You need to be together.”
One Cara began to argue and the other mindlessly conceded to her mistress’s wish but in the end their responses did not matter. Zedd joined the halves of the amulet together and with a few words in a tongue that Kahlan didn’t understand he caused the Caras to begin to glow and then to move together.
When the light faded only one Cara remained. The body that lay before Kahlan showed no evidence of having engaged in a fight but it was not the body that Kahlan was worried about. Even if every bone was broken Cara’s body could be healed. The damage to Cara’s mind might be much more permanent.
“What happened to me?” Kahlan was not sure how to respond but Cara saved her from having to answer by asking, “And why are you naked? And why is Zedd here when you are naked?”
“You really don’t know?” Kahlan enquired.
“The last thing I recall is that I let the wizard use magic on you so that you could attend to your duties and now I find myself here with the two of you and you are naked.” Cara turned evil eyes to Zedd, “If I didn’t know I was resistant to your powers I would suspect you had done something to me.”
Zedd chuckled, “I have done what needed to be done. I will leave the two of you alone.”
“I didn’t think I get to see you so soon,” Cara whispered to Kahlan and reached for her hand.
Kahlan joined their fingers and said, “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
“Something terrible has happened hasn’t it?” Cara asked as she looked at the state of Kahlan’s body.
“Yes,” Kahlan confirmed.
“Those are agiel wounds. I will kill the Mord’Sith that dared to do this to you.”
She knew they needed to talk but she really didn’t know where to start. She wanted to pretend that none of it had ever happened. In a way that was true, the person who hurt her didn’t even exist anymore, but her body bore evidence that made denial impossible. “There is a lot I need to tell you but I can’t do that yet.”
“Okay,” Cara said sceptically.
“I guess what I’d really like to do right now is to take a bath with you.”
“Okay,” Cara replied with much more enthusiasm.
Part 5 - Epilogue