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"He saved my life from soldiers sent by Jagang, before. They were looking for these books. I was so afraid the man who had me was going to cut my throat, but Richard killed him. Then, he held me in his arms and quieted my tears." She looked up from gazing into her memories. "And he saved my grandfather, too. Well, not exactly him, but the woman with him."
"Woman?"
Jillian nodded. "Nicci. She said that she was a sorceress. She was so beautiful. I couldn't stop staring at her. I'd never before seen a woman that beautiful. She was like a good spirit standing there before me, with hair like sunlight, and eyes like the sky itself."
Kahlan sighed. Why wouldn't a man like that have a beautiful woman with him. After hearing it, she didn't know why she hadn't ever considered such a likelihood before now.
Kahlan didn't know why, but she felt as if something, some hope she had never dared define, or maybe an unfathomable longing she still clung to for something profoundly valuable hidden beneath the black shroud that had been drawn over her past… had just slipped away from her.
She had to look away from Jillian's gaze lest she lose control at the thought of the forlorn situation she found herself trapped in. She used the excuse of looking over her shoulder, checking to make sure that the emperor and his Sisters were still busy, as she wiped an unexpected, solitary tear from her cheek.
The Sisters looked more involved than ever in a discussion of the technicalities in the book. Jagang was demanding to know how they could be sure that certain parts were correct.
When Kahlan looked back, Jillian was staring at her. "But she wasn't as beautiful as you."
Kahlan smiled. "Diplomacy must be a requirement of being a priestess of the bones."
"No," Jillian said, looking suddenly worried that Kahlan might not believe she was telling the truth. "Really. There's something about you."
Kahlan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Jillian's nose scrunched up with the struggle of searching for words. "I don't know how to explain it. You're beautiful, and smart, and you know the right thing to do. But there's something else."
Kahlan wondered if this could be some link to who she really was. She had been looking for someone who would be able to see her, and remember her, and maybe give her a clue.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Something noble."
"Noble?"
Jillian nodded. "You remind me of Lord Rahl in a way. He saved my life without hesitation, just like you want to do. It wasn't just that, though. I don't know how to explain it. There was just something about him… and you have that same quality about you, too."
"Good. At least he and I have something in common, then, because I'm about to save your life, too."
Kahlan took a steadying breath as she checked over her shoulder again. The others were still engaged in their heated conversation. She turned back to Jillian and gave her a dead serious look.
"We have to do this now."
"But, I'm still worried about my grandfather…"
Kahlan looked into the girl's eyes for a long moment.
"Now, you listen to me, Jillian. You're fighting for your life. It's the only life you will ever have. They will show you no mercy for staying. I know that your grandfather would want you to take this chance."
Jillian nodded. "I understand. Lord Rahl told me much the same thing about the importance of my life."
For some reason, that lifted Kahlan's heart and made her smile. The smile quickly vanished, though, as she put her mind back to the task at hand. She didn't know if Jagang and the Sisters would be finished soon, or if they would be at it for the rest of the night, but she couldn't afford to miss the opportunity.
"We have to do this now, before I lose my nerve. I want you to do exactly as I say."
"I will" Jillian said.
"Here's what we're going to do. You will stay right here. I'm going to go over there and kill these two men."
Jillian's eyes went wide. "You're going to do what?"
"Kill them."
"How? You're just a woman, and they're big. And there's two of them."
"It's not impossible if you know how."
"You're going to cut their throats?" Jillian guessed.
"No. They would make noise if I did that. Besides, I couldn't do that to both of them at the same time. So, I'm going to take two more of their knives and then I'm going to slip up behind them and I'm going to stab them right… here."
Kahlan jabbed a finger in Jillian's back, a little to the side, right in the soft spot of her kidney. Even the small jab made the girl grunt with the pain of how sensitive that place was.
"Stabbing a man right there, in his kidney, is so painful that it makes it impossible for him to cry out."
"You can't be serious. Surely they will scream."
Kahlan shook her head. "The pain is so great when you're stabbed in the kidney that your throat clamps shut. Your scream is locked in your lungs. That will be our chance. Before they collapse and hit the floor as they're dying, we have to get through that door behind them. We have to slip through as quietly as possible to buy as much time as we can. We'll probably only have a brief moment before we're discovered, but that moment is all we need for you to get away.
"You stand right here. As soon as I drive the knives in their backs, you head for the door—fast as you can. But don't make any noise. I'll be there with you at the doors."
Jillian was panting in fear of such a task. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "But I want you to go with me."
Kahlan squatted down and hugged the girl.
"I know. This is all I can do to protect you, Jillian. But I think it will be enough to get away."
She wiped at her eyes. "But what will they do to you?"
"You just worry about getting away. If I get a chance to escape, I promise you I will. Tell Lokey to watch for me in case I ever do get away."
"All right."
Kahlan knew that it was a false hope. She squeezed Jillian's shoulder and stood. She checked the four at the table one last time. She did so just in time.
Jagang glanced over his shoulder to see what Kahlan was doing. She stood silently beside Jillian, watching him and the Sisters working, as if she had been there the whole time, doing nothing but awaiting her fate. He turned his attention to the heated words between Sister Ulicia and Sister Cecilia. Sister Ulicia was being her obstinate self, while Sister Cecilia was trying to find a way to appease Jagang by telling him whatever he wanted to hear.
Once she was sure that Jagang's attention was back on the book, Kahlan immediately started for the guards. As one was again eyeing Jillian with increasingly open lust, Kahlan carefully pulled a long knife from his weapons belt. Without delay, she moved to the far guard and did the same, taking his long knife as well.
Standing behind them, she glanced to the Sisters and Jagang and, seeing them still busy, she looked over at Jillian. The girl, wiping her palms on her hips, nodded that she was ready.
