Death's Mistress--Sister of Darkness by Terry Goodkind

Author:Terry Goodkind
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, pdf
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

CHAPTER 37

When night fell, Nicci and her companions sat around a fire pit outside of Marcus and Luna’s home, which was built from mud bricks. The house was spacious and cool, with a large central room, wooden beams across the open, airy ceiling, and small high windows below a clay tile roof. The large home reflected a more prosperous time.

Sitting outside in the warm dusk as they prepared for the evening meal, Nathan and Bannon told the adults the story of their journeys, and Nicci explained about Lord Rahl’s new golden age, though it was clear that neither Marcus nor Luna took hope.

“We can barely find enough water to survive,” said Marcus, “and our food is rapidly dwindling. As I told you, the other towns that once filled this valley twenty years ago are silent and dead.” He pressed his hands together, hunched his shoulders, and looked at Nicci. “I am glad to hear of the overthrow of tyrants, but can your Lord Rahl come to our aid? The Scar keeps growing.”

Nicci narrowed her eyes. “We are here. Now. But we need to know more about the Lifedrinker.”

Worry lines seamed Nathan’s face. “I am not convinced how much assistance I can offer, Sorceress—at least until we get to Kol Adair.”

Thistle sat cross-legged in the dust next to Nicci as she cleaned the fresh lizards for dinner. “Kol Adair? That’s far away.” The girl used her little bloody knife to skin another of the lizards, inserted a stick through the body cavity, and handed it to Bannon, so he could roast it over the low cook fire in the pit. Somewhat queasy, the young man lowered the carcass over the coals, and soon the flesh began to bubble and sizzle.

Bannon wiped a hand across his mouth while turning the stick over the cook fire so the lizard didn’t burn. “How fast is the Scar growing?”

“In twenty years, the entire valley died away, and the devastation continues to spread,” Luna said. “We are one of the last villages on the outskirts.”

“The Scar grows faster as the Lifedrinker becomes more powerful … and his appetite is insatiable,” Marcus added. “I remember when the heart of the valley started dying, just before Luna and I were married. But we’ll stay here. We’ve lasted this long.”

The night was silent, but the breezes carried an ashy breath with bitter chemical taint. At the scattered mud-brick houses or larger quarried-stone structures around the town, quiet villagers ate their own meals outside, keeping apart from one another. Verdun Springs had fallen into a sullen hush, as if caused by the mention of the Lifedrinker’s name.

Luna looked sad. “Verdun Springs used to have a population of a thousand, and now fewer than a dozen families remain.”

“We are the strongest twenty,” Marcus insisted. It was clear they had had this argument before.

Bannon said, “There are forests and farmlands on the other side of the mountains, plenty of places for you to settle and be happy.”

“It would only delay our fate,” said Marcus, with a stubborn frown.

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