The Omen Machine Page 10

  “You serve in some capacity of authority, though?” Richard asked.

  “I am but a humble man who has the good fortune to have been called upon to work with people more gifted than I.”

  “More gifted? In what way?”

  “Why, prophecy, Lord Rahl.”

  Richard shared a surreptitious look with Kahlan.

  He leaned forward. “Are you saying that you have prophets, real prophets— wizards with the gift of prophecy— in your homeland?”

  The man cleared his throat. “Not exactly, Lord Rahl, at least not like the tall prophet you have here that I’ve heard so much about. We are not anywhere near that fortunate. I apologize for giving such a misleading impression. We are but a small and insignificant land. Compared to the prophet you have with you here at the palace, those we have are of minor ability. Still, we do what we can with what we have.”

  “Then who governs in Fajin Province?”

  “Bishop Hannis Arc is the ruler of our people.”

  “Hannis Arc.” Richard leaned back in his plush chair and crossed his legs. “And why didn’t he come?”

  Ludwig blinked. “I wouldn’t know, Lord Rahl. I rarely meet with the bishop. He rules from the city of Saavedra, while I live and work in a small abbey in the mountains some distance away. With my helpers at the abbey we collect information from those who are talented enough to be visited by forewarnings. We regularly provide those bits of prophecy to the bishop in order to help him in the decisions he must make in his capacity as the ruler of our land. Of course, if we uncover especially significant omens we immediately inform the bishop. Those are the only times I actually see him.”

  Zedd rolled his hand, impatient to get to the heart of the matter. “So this bishop…”

  “Hannis Arc.”

  “Yes, Hannis Arc. He is a religious man, then? He rules as a leader of a theological sect?”

  Ludwig shook his head as if fearing he had yet again given the wrong impression. “The title ‘bishop’ is purely ceremonial.”

  “So then this is not a religious rule devoted to the Creator?” Zedd asked.

  Ludwig looked from face to face. “We do not worship the Creator. It is not possible to worship the Creator directly. We respect the Creator, appreciate the life He has given us, but we do not worship Him. That would be rather presumptuous on our part. He is everything, we are nothing. He does not communicate with the world of life in so simplistic a fashion as to speak directly to us, or to hear our pleas.

  “Hannis Arc is the inspirational leader of Fajin Province. He is our guiding light, you might say, not a religious leader. His word is law in Saavedra and other cities as well as the rest of our province.”

  “If his word is law,” Kahlan asked, “then what need has he of predictions from your abbey? I mean, if he depends on the utterances of people who are possessed by a vision, then he doesn’t really rule, now does he?”

  “Mother Confessor?”

  “If he looks to people who provide visions, then he is not really the leader of Fajin Province; those who provide the visions are the ones whose word is really law. They direct him with the visions.” Kahlan arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that right?”

  Ludwig twiddled with the hat on his thumbs. “Well, I don’t—”

  “That would make you the ruler of Fajin Province,” she said.

  Ludwig vigorously shook his head. “No, Mother Confessor, that is not the way it works.”

  “Then how does it work?” she asked.

  “The Creator does not speak to us in the world of life directly. We are not worthy of such common communication. The only people who hear the voice of the Creator are those who are deluded.

  “But from time to time He does give us guidance through prophecy. The Creator is all-knowing. He knows everything that has ever happened; He knows everything that will ever happen. Prophecy is how He speaks to us, how He helps us. Since He already knows everything that will happen, He reveals some of those future events through omens.”

  Kahlan’s expression had gone blank, a Confessor’s face, a visage Richard knew well.

  “So,” she said, “the Creator gives people these visions so that they will cut their children’s throats?”

  Ludwig looked from Kahlan, to Richard, and back to Kahlan. “Perhaps He wanted to spare them a worse end. Perhaps He was doing them a kindness.”

  “If He is everything, and we are nothing, then why didn’t He simply intervene and prevent that grisly end from visiting the children?”

  “Because we are nothing. We are beneath Him. We cannot expect Him to intervene on our behalf.”

  “But He intervenes to give prophecy.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Then He is intervening on our behalf.”

  Ludwig nodded reluctantly. “But it is in a more general sense. That is why we all must heed prophecy.”

  “Ah, I see.” Kahlan said. She leaned in, tapping a finger on the marble table. “So you would have been pleased had that woman today murdered me, because of prophecy that you believe is the divine revelation of the Creator. You are therefore sorry that I am alive.”

  The man’s face lost its color. “I am simply a humble servant, Mother Confessor, gathering what I can for the bishop.”

  “So that he can use what you provide to intervene on behalf of the Creator?” Kahlan asked. “Much like that woman today used prophecy as an excuse to slit the throats of her children.”

  Ludwig’s eyes darted between Richard, Kahlan, and the floor. “He only uses the omens we give him to guide him. They are only a tool. For example, we had people who predicted that this joyous gathering would be marred by tragedy. I believe Hannis Arc did not want to see the palace, after such a victory as we all had, visited by a tragedy, so he chose not to come. We only provided him with our best information. He is the one who chooses what he will do with that information.”

  “So he sent you,” Richard said.

  Ludwig swallowed before answering. “I hoped that if I came to the palace I would learn from those experts here more about prophecy, about what our future holds. The bishop thought it would be valuable for me to come for this reason, to learn what prophecy reveals for us all.”

  Kahlan had the man fixed in a green-eyed glare. “Maybe while you’re here you can visit the graves of those two children who were not allowed the chance to live life, to see what the future actually held for them. Their lives were cut short by a woman who relied on visions of the future to make her decisions for her.”

  Ludwig broke her gaze and looked down. “Yes, Mother Confessor.”

  The man clearly didn’t agree, but he was not going to argue. He had been full of bluster at the reception when he thought that others were with him in his belief about the overriding importance of prophecy, and that the palace itself supported that belief, but now, in the presence of those who would question his beliefs, his courage was failing him.

  “What can you tell me about a woman named Jit?” Richard asked.

  Ludwig looked up at the change in subject. “Jit?”

  Richard could see in the man’s eyes that he knew the name. “Yes, Jit. The Hedge Maid.”

  Ludwig stared at Richard for a moment without blinking. “Well, not much I’m afraid,” he finally said in a weak voice.

  “Where does she live?”

  “I can’t recall.” Ludwig ran his fingers over his upturned collar. “I’m not sure.”

  “I was told that she lives in Kharga Trace. Kharga Trace is in Fajin Province, isn’t it?”

  “Kharga Trace? Yes, yes it is.” His tongue darted out to wet his lips. “Now that you mention it, I believe that I do recall that she lives in Kharga Trace.”

  Richard watched Ludwig’s gaze wander off. “Tell me about her. About this woman, Jit.”

  The abbot looked back at Richard. “I don’t know much about her, Lord Rahl.”

  “Does she provide predictions for you?”

  Ludwig shook his head, eager to
discourage the notion. “No, no she doesn’t do that sort of thing.”

  “Then what sort of things does she do?”

  The man gestured with his hat. “Well, she lives in a very inhospitable place. She provides cures to some of the people in the more remote areas. Simple things, I believe. Potions and concoctions, I think. But not many people live in Kharga Trace. Like I said, it’s a harsh and forbidding place.”

  “But people travel there from other places in the Dark Lands to see her for these cures?” Richard asked.

  Ludwig worked his hat around and around in his fingers. “I wouldn’t really know, Lord Rahl. I don’t have any dealings with her. I can’t say for certain. But people are superstitious. I guess that some believe in the things she offers.”

  “But she doesn’t offer prophecy.”

  “No, not prophecy. At least, not that I know of, anyway. Like I say, I don’t know much about her.” He gestured to the windows. “Not like you, Lord Rahl. Your prediction proved true. That’s quite a blizzard coming up on us. As you predicted, I don’t think anyone will be venturing out across the Azrith Plain for a few days at least.”

  Richard glanced to the windows. They shook as gales of wind rattled snow and sleet against the glass. It was going to be a cold, black night.

  He looked back at the abbot. “You leave prophecy to those of us here at the palace. Do you understand?”

  The man paused a moment to consider his words. “Lord Rahl, I am not visited by predictions of the future. I have no ability. I only report what I hear from those who do. I suppose that you could silence me if you wished to do so, but that will not silence visions of the future. The future will be upon us whether we are willing or not.

  “There will always be omens of future events. Those who have visions of it will reveal those visions whether we want to hear them or not.”

  Richard let out a deep breath. “I guess you’re right about that, Abbot Dreier.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Out in the corridor, as Ludwig was leaving, Richard spotted Nicci coming their way. With her black dress and long blond hair flowing out behind her she looked like nothing so much as a vengeful spirit come among them to vent her wrath. She glanced at the abbot as he hurried past her. Ludwig deliberately didn’t look at the sorceress on his way by, as if fearing that if he did she might bring lightning down on him. Such a thing wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.

  Richard thought that there were few things as dangerous-looking as a stunningly beautiful woman who was angry, and Nicci looked very angry. He wondered why.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked as she came to a halt.

  She clenched her jaw a moment before she spoke.

  “I’ve been dealing with fools.”

  “What do you mean?” Kahlan asked.

  Nicci aimed a thumb back the way she had come. “All they want to hear about is prophecy. They want know what the future holds, what prophecy says. They think we’re privy to the secrets of the future and we’re withholding those secrets from them.”

  Kahlan glanced over at Richard as she asked, “Who, exactly, are you talking about?”

  Nicci pulled thick locks of blond hair back over her shoulder. “Those people.” She flicked a hand back the way she’d come. “You know, the representatives from the different lands. After the reception nearly all of them sought me out wanting to know what I knew about prophecy and what it had to say about their future. They wanted to know about the omen that caused the woman to kill her children.

  “They think we know all about the prophecy behind the vision the woman had and that we’re keeping that information from them. They want to know what other dire omens we’re withholding from them.”

  Kahlan nodded. “I know what you mean. They were all of a mind to hear prophecy from us as well.”

  Richard raked his fingers back through his hair. “As much as I don’t like it, and as angry as it makes me, I guess that it’s to be expected from people who have just heard that a woman killed her children to spare them what she says she saw in a vision.”

  Zedd pushed his hands up the opposite sleeves of his robes. “People can’t help fearing such grim warnings. They fear to believe that they’re true, fear what it will mean in their lives, and so, in the grip of that fear, they believe such things. We can try to reason with people— Richard and Kahlan both did so— but overcoming fear is hard to do, especially after hearing of a vision so fearsome that it would cause a woman to murder her children because of it.”

  “I suppose,” Nicci said. Her blue eyes flashed anger again. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. All because of what a crazy woman says.”

  “I didn’t see you at the reception,” Richard said. “Where did you hear about her killing her children?”

  Nicci frowned up at him. “Hear about it? I was there.”

  “There? What do you mean you were there?”

  Nicci folded her arms and stared at him as if he were the one who was crazy. “I was there. I was down in the market helping to get people organized and hurrying them along to move into the passages in the plateau and out of what is shaping up to be a monstrous storm. They need to move into shelter. Those tents aren’t going to protect them.”

  “That’s true enough.”

  Nicci sighed as she shook her head. “So, I was down there in the market when the first one hit.”

  The creases in Richard’s brow deepened. “What do you mean, when the first one hit? First what?”

  “Richard, aren’t you listening? I was there when the first child hit the ground.”

  Richard’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  “It was a girl, not ten years old. She came down on a log wagon, on one of the upright stake poles. That pole was bigger than my leg. She came down face-first, shrieking all the way. It went right through her chest. People were screaming and running around in confusion and panic.”

  Richard blinked, trying to makes sense of what he was hearing. “What girl are you talking about?”

  Nicci looked at all the faces watching her. “The girl that the woman threw off the palace wall, over the edge of the plateau, after she had her vision.”

  Richard turned to Benjamin. “I thought you said you found the children.”

  “I did. We found both of them.”

  “Both?” Nicci’s brow drew tight. “There were four of them. All four of her children hit within seconds of one another. The first, the girl, was the oldest. When the woman threw them off the top of the plateau they all landed right there near me. Like I said, I was there. It was a horrifying scene.”

  Kahlan seized a fistful of Nicci’s dress at her shoulder. “She killed four more?”

  Nicci didn’t try to remove Kahlan’s hand. “Four more? What are you talking about? She killed her four children.”

  Kahlan pulled Nicci closer. “She had two children.”

  “Kahlan, she had four.”

  Kahlan’s hand slipped from Nicci’s dress. “Are you sure?”

  Nicci shrugged. “Yes. She told me so herself when I questioned her. She even told me their names. If you don’t believe me you can ask her yourself. I have her locked up in a cell down in the dungeon.”

  Zedd leaned in closer. “Locked up…?”

  “Wait a minute,” Richard said. “You’re telling me that this woman killed her four children by throwing them off the side of the plateau? And you locked her up?”

  “Of course. Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve said?” Nicci frowned around at everyone. “I thought you said that you knew all about it. Her husband found out what had happened and was going to kill her. He was screaming for her blood. I was afraid that the guards who grabbed the woman were going to let him have her. I sympathize with his feelings, but I couldn’t allow it for now. I had her locked up, instead, because I thought you or Kahlan would want to question her.”

  Richard was incredulous. “Why did she do it? What did she say?”

  Nicci appraised
them all as if they had collectively gone mad. “She said that she had a vision and couldn’t stand the thought of her children having to face the terror to come, so she killed them swiftly instead. You said that you knew about it.”

  “We knew about the other one,” Richard said.

  “Other one?” Nicci looked from face to face, finally settling on Richard. “What other one?”

  “The one who cut her two children’s throats and then came to the reception and tried to kill Kahlan.”

  Nicci’s concerned gaze darted to Kahlan. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. I took her with my power and had her confess. She told us what she had done and what she intended to do.”

  Nicci pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Wait, you’re saying that there was a second woman who also had a vision and killed her children?”

  Kahlan and Richard both nodded.

  “That would help explain why people are so unnerved and want to know what prophecy has to say about it,” Richard said.

  “What’s going on?” Nicci asked.

  “I don’t know, yet.” Richard rested the palm of his left hand on his sword. “We saw a sick boy down in the market this morning who said that there is darkness in the palace, and then a blind woman who said that the roof is going to fall in.”

  Nicci reflexively glanced up. “The roof?”

  Richard nodded. “Yes, and some other things that make just as little sense.”

  Nicci’s troubled blue eyes turned to Richard. “When I asked the woman what her vision had been, she said that she couldn’t let her children live to face what will happen after the roof falls in.”

  “That makes three people who have said that very thing.”