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“What happened to her?” he asked from the shadow of the cowl, in a voice just as deep and dark.
“She had control of a man who—”
“He had the gift? She was linked with him?”
“Yes,” Kahlan said. “That’s what she called it.” He made a sound in his throat, as if mentally assimilating the information. “It turned out that the man was possessed by a dream walker and—”
“What’s a dream walker?”
“A person, as I understand it, who can invade another person’s mind by slipping into the spaces between their thoughts. He gains control of them in this way. He was covertly possessing this man that she linked with.”
He considered a moment. “I see. Go on.”
“We came down here to question the man—”
“To torture him.”
Kahlan pulled an irritated breath. “No. I told Cara that we were simply going to question him to get answers, if we could. The man was an assassin sent to kill Lord Rahl, and if he didn’t answer the questions, then Cara was prepared to do what she must to get those answers—to protect Lord Rahl.
“But it never got that far. We discovered that this dream walker had control of him, control of his gift. The dream walker used the man’s gift to write a prophecy in the stone behind you.”
The healer didn’t turn to look. “Then what?”
“Then he was going to escape and start killing people. Cara tried to stop him—”
“With her link?”
“Yes. She let out a scream like I’ve never heard before and fell to the ground holding her ears.” Kahlan inclined her head. “Nadine here, and I, went after the man when he tried to escape. Fortunately, he was killed. When we got back, we found Cara on the floor, in convulsions.”
“You shouldn’t have left her alone. She could have choked to death on her own vomit.”
Kahlan pressed her lips together and remained silent. The man just stood there, watching Cara shudder.
Finally, Kahlan could bear it no longer. “This is one of Lord Rahl’s personal guards. She’s important. Do you intend to help her, or you just going to stand there?”
“Quiet,” he commanded in a distracted tone. “One must observe before one acts, or more harm than help can be the result.”
Kahlan glowered at the shadowed form. At last he sank to his knees and sat back on his heels. He lifted Cara’s wrist in one of his big hands, working a finger between her glove and sleeve. He flicked his other hand out over the items on the floor.
“What’s all this?”
“They’re my things,” Nadine said. Her chin rose. “I’m a healer.”
Still holding Cara’s wrist, the man picked up a leather pouch with his other hand, looking at its markings. He set it down and then scooped the two horns from Nadine’s lap.
“Feverfew,” he said as he tossed it back in Nadine’s lap. He looked at the symbols on the other. “Betony.” He tossed it back in her lap with the first.
“You’re not a healer,” he said. “You’re an herb woman.”
“How dare you—”
“Did you give her any of your medicines, besides the oil of lavender?”
“How did… I’ve not had time to give her anything else.”
“Good,” he proclaimed. “The oil of lavender won’t help her, but at least it won’t harm her.”
“Well, of course I know it’s not going to stop the convulsions. It was just to help ease some of her pain. I was going to give her tincture of maypop for that.”
“Were you now? Fortunate that I arrived in time, then.”
Nadine folded her arms across her breasts. “Why’s that?”
“Because tincture of maypop would likely have killed her.”
Nadine scowled as she unfolded her arms and planted fists on her hips. “Maypop is a powerful sedative. It would likely have halted her convulsions. If you hadn’t interfered, I’d have her recovered by now.”
“Is that so? Did you feel her pulse?”
“No.” Nadine paused warily. “Why? What difference could that possibly make?”
“Her pulse is weak, staggering, and labored. This woman is struggling with all her strength to keep her heart beating. Had you given her your maypop, it would have done as you said: sedated her. Her heart would have stopped.”
“I… I can’t see how…”
“Even a simple herb woman should know to use more caution when dealing with magic.”
“Magic.” Nadine wilted. “I’m from Westland. I’ve never seen magic before. I didn’t know magic had any effect on healing herbs. I’m sorry.”
He ignored the apology and pointed. “Undo the buttons and open the top of her outfit.”
“Why?” Nadine asked.
“Do it! Or do you favor watching her die? She can’t hold on much longer.”
Nadine leaned forward and began undoing the row of little red leather buttons along the side of Cara’s ribs. When she finished, he gestured for her to open it. Nadine glanced up at Kahlan. Kahlan gave her a nod, and she pulled back the supple leather, exposing Cara’s chest.
“May I ask your name?” Kahlan asked him.
“Drefan.” Instead of asking hers, he
put an ear to the center of Cara’s chest, listening.
He shifted around, forcing Kahlan to scoot out of the way, until he was at Cara’s head. He briefly inspected the bloody wound above her left ear, and then, seeming to dismiss it as unimportant, went on to systematically probe the base of her neck.
Kahlan could only see the side of his deep cowl, and nothing of his face. The single torch didn’t provide much light, anyway.
Drefan leaned forward and gripped Cara’s breasts in his big hands.
Kahlan sat up straighter. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Examining her.”
“Is that what you call it.”
He sat back on his heels. “Feel her breasts.”
“Why?”
“To see what I discovered.”
Kahlan finally turned from the shadow of his cowl and, rather than grabbing her as he had, put the back of her fingers against the side of Cara’s left breast. It was hot—burning with a fever. She felt the other. It was ice cold.
When Drefan gestured, Nadine followed suit. “What does it mean?” she asked.
“I’d like to reserve judgment until I’ve finished examining her, but it’s not good.”
He put his fingers to the side of her neck, feeling her pulse again. He ran his thumbs outward along her forehead. He bent and put his ear to each of hers. He smelled her breath. He carefully lifted her head and rotated it. He spread her arms out to the sides, pulled the red leather outfit open further so that Cara’s torso was naked to her waist, and then bent over her and palpated her abdomen and up under her ribs.
With his head bent as if in concentration, he touched his fingers to the front of her shoulders for a moment, the sides of her neck, the base of her skull, her temples, several places on her ribs, and lastly to the palms of her hands.
Kahlan was getting impatient. She was seeing a lot of probing and prodding, but very little healing. “Well?”
“Her aura is seriously snarled,” he said, as he brazenly thrust a big hand under the red leather at Cara’s waist.
Kahlan watched in stunned disbelief as his hand slid down to her crotch. She could see his fingers under the tight leather as he worked them into her sex.
