Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind Read Free Book Online Page A

ordered one of the lines on the Grace—the line representing the underworld. “When you say, ‘Dear spirits, watch over my departed mother’s soul,’ do you expect the dear spirits to rush of a sudden to do so because you’ve put words to the wish?”
    Kahlan could feel her face flush. She often asked the dear spirits to watch over her mother’s soul. She was beginning to see why Zedd found the woman so vexing.
    Richard came to Kahlan’s rescue. “The prayers are not actually meant as a direct request, since we know the spirits don’t work in such simple ways, but are meant to convey heartfelt feelings of love and hope for her mother’s peace in the next world.” He stroked his finger along the opposite side of the same line Ann had ordered. “The same as my prayers for my mother,” he added in a whisper.
    Ann’s cheeks plumped as she smiled. “So they are, Richard. The Mud People must know better than to try to bribe with rice cakes the powerful forces they believe in and fear, don’t you suppose?”
    “ It’s the act of making the offering that’s important,” Richard said. By his unruffled attitude toward the woman it was apparent to Kahlan that Richard had learned to pick the berries out of the nettles.
    Too, Kahlan understood what he meant. “It’s the supplication to forces they fear that is really meant to appease the unknown.”
    Ann’s finger rose along with her brow. “Yes. The nature of the offering is really only symbolic, meant to show homage, and by such an obeisance to this power they hope to placate it.” Ann’s finger wilted. “Sometimes, the act of courteous yielding is enough to stay an angry foe, yes?”
    Kahlan and Richard both agreed it was.
    “ Better to kill the foe and be done with it,” Cara sniped from back at the door.
    Ann chuckled, leaning back to look over at Cara. “Well, sometimes, my dear, there is merit to such an alternative.”
    “ And how would you ‘kill’ evil spirits,” Zedd asked in a thin voice that cut through the drumming of the rain.
    Cara didn’t have an answer and so she glared instead.
    Richard wasn’t listening to them. He seemed to be transfixed by the Grace as he spoke. “By the same token, evil spirits … and such could be angered by a gesture of disrespect.”
    Kahlan was just opening her mouth to ask Richard why he was suddenly taking the Mud People’s evil spirits so seriously when Zedd’s fingers touched the side of her leg. His sidelong glance told her that he wanted her to be quiet.
    “ Some think it so, Richard,” Zedd offered quietly.
    “ Why did you draw this symbol, this Grace?” Richard asked.
    “ Ann and I were using it to evaluate a few matters. At times, a Grace can be invaluable.
    “ A Grace is a simple thing, and yet it is infinitely complex. Learning about the Grace is a lifetime’s journey, but like a child learning to walk, it begins with a first step. Since you were born with the gift, we also thought this would be a good time to introduce you to it.”
    Richard’s gift was largely an enigma to him. Now that they were back with his grandfather, Richard needed to delve the mysteries of that birthright and at last begin to chart the foreign landscape of his power. Kahlan wished they had the time Richard needed, but they didn’t.
    “ Zedd, I’d really like you take a look at Juni’s body.”
    “ The rain will let up in a while,” Zedd soothed, “and then we will go have a look.”
    Richard dragged a finger down the end of a line representing the gift—representing magic. “If it’s a first step, and so important,” Richard pointedly asked Ann, “then why didn’t the Sisters of the Light try to teach me about the Grace when they took me to the Palace of the Prophets in the Old World? When they had the chance?”
    Kahlan knew how quickly Richard become wary and distrustful when he thought he felt the tickling of a halter being slipped over his ears, no matter how kindly done, or how innocent its