"I haven't been able to figure out what, but I believe that Baraccus did something while he was at the Temple of the Winds." Berdine glanced back at him to make sure he was paying attention. "Something big. Something significant."
Richard nodded as he followed Berdine down the empty hallway. "When Baraccus was at the Temple of the Winds he somehow insured that I would be born with Subtractive Magic."
This time it was Nicci who snatched Richard's arm and yanked him to a halt, spinning him around to face her. "What! Where did you ever get an idea like that?"
Richard blinked at her shocked expression. "Shota told me."
"And how would Shota know such a thing?"
Richard shrugged. "You know witch women, they see things in the flow of time. Some of it I put together from the pieces of history that I know."
Nicci looked anything but convinced. "Why in the world would Baraccus ever do such a thing? Shota tries to tell you that, out of the blue, this ancient wizard just happened to travel to the underworld and while he was there he thought… what? As long as he was already there he might as well see to it that when some fellow named Richard Rahl is born three thousand years from then he might as well be born with Subtractive Magic?"
Richard gave her a look. "It's a little more complicated than that, Nicci. I'm pretty sure that he did it to counter what another wizard had done when he'd been there before. That wizard was Lothain. Remember him, Berdine?"
"Of course."
"Lothain was a spy."
Berdine gasped. "That's what Kolo thought—that he had been a spy all along—planted there to lie in wait for an opportunity to strike. Kolo didn't believe that Lothain had just gone crazy or something like everyone assumed. That was the common story at the time—that the stress and danger of his job had just gotten to Lothain and he couldn't handle it anymore, that he simply lost his mind. Kolo never made a point of telling other people what he thought because he didn't think that they would believe him, and also because people had started to think that it was Baraccus who was the spy."
Richard frowned as he started out again. "Baraccus! That's crazy."
"That's what Kolo thought, too."
"What did this wizard Lothain supposedly do?" Nicci asked in a forceful voice meant to bring him back to the subject at hand and to underline the seriousness of her question.
Richard gazed into her blue eyes a moment and saw there not just Nicci, but the powerful sorceress she in fact was. Because of her stunning features, her intent blue eyes, and the way she treated him with such regard, to say nothing of her steadfast friendship, it was easy to forget that this was a sorceress who had seen and done things he could hardly begin to imagine. She was probably one of the most powerful sorceresses ever born, and she was a force to be reckoned with.
More than that, Nicci, of all people, deserved to know the truth. It wasn't that he'd been trying to keep it from her—he just hadn't had the time to discuss it. In fact, he wished that he had already told her about it, that he had had her thoughts on the whole thing, especially the part about the secret library that Baraccus kept, and the book meant for Richard that he'd sent there with his wife for safekeeping… until the day a war wizard was again born into the world to take up their cause.
Richard sighed. There just hadn't been any time, yet. As much as he did want to tell it all to her, he wanted to tell her the entire story when he could discuss it, along with some of the questions he had, so he decided for the moment to leave out most of the details and kept it to the pertinent point.
"Lothain was a spy for the forces of the Old World. Maybe he could see that they were not going to be able to win the war. Maybe he was just taking extra precautions. Anyway, when he went to the Temple of the Winds he sowed the seeds for their cause to rise again at some future time. He did something, at the least, to see to it that a dream walker would again be born into the world.
"Baraccus was unable to reverse the sabotage, so he did the next best thing. He saw to it that there would be a counter born into the world: me."
Nicci, speechless, could only stare at him.
Richard turned back to Berdine. "So, what does this business with Baraccus have to do with these central sites?"
Berdine glanced around again, checking how close the soldiers were. "Kolo wrote in his journal that there were whispers among a group of influential people that Baraccus may have been a traitor, and if he was, then he could have done something ruinous while he was at the Temple of the Winds."
Richard shook his head in frustration. "What did they suspect him of doing?"
Berdine shrugged. "I haven't been able to figure it out yet. It as all very hush-hush. They were all being very careful. No one wanted to come right out and say anything or accuse Baraccus of being a traitor. They didn't want to anger the wrong people. He was still widely revered by many people, like Kolo.
"It could even be that they didn't have any specific accusation, but just held a suspicion that he may have done something. Don't forget, no one was ever able to get back into the Temple after Baraccus, until you did it. Apparently, they were also afraid of that woman, Magda Searus. You know, the one who was made into a Confessor."
"Yes, I remember," Richard said. "Seems odd, though, that something that supposedly had the potential to be so disastrous wouldn't be more out in the open."
"No," Berdine said under her breath, almost as if the ghosts of the past would hear her. "That's the thing. They feared that if people found out about their suspicions, then it might cause a panic or something—cause people to give up. Don't forget, the war was still going on and it was still in question if they would even survive, much less triumph. Everyone was worried about the morale of the people as they fought on and at the same time worked to find a way to win. In the middle of all that, this small circle of high-ranking people were all worried that Baraccus might have done something terrible at the Temple of the Winds that was never supposed to be done."
Richard threw up his hands. "Like what?"
Berdine's face screwed up in an expression of exasperation. "Don't know. Kolo only hinted at it. He believed in Baraccus. And he was angry that these people were doing whatever it was that they were doing, but at the same time he wasn't in any position to argue with them. He was not among those in command, or a high-enough-ranking wizard.
"But there was one passage, one mention in his journal, that kind of gave me goose bumps when I read it. I don't know if it was about the Baraccus dispute or not—I mean I can't point to anything specifically to connect it, not so as—"
"What did this passage say?"
Along with Richard, Nicci and Cara both leaned in a little.
Berdine heaved a sigh. "He was writing in his journal, talking about the foul weather and how sick everyone was getting of rain, and he made this offhanded comment that he was upset because he'd learned through his sources that 'they' had made five copies of 'the book that was never to be copied.'"
That gave Richard pause, and goose bumps.
"Not far after that," Berdine said, "his entry started wandering back to talking about the central sites."
"So you think… what? That maybe they hid these copies they weren't supposed to make in the secret central sites?"
Berdine smiled as she tapped her temple with a finger. "Now you're starting to ask the same questions I've been asking myself."
"And he didn't make any mention at all of what book they copied?" Nicci asked. "Not even an indication?"
Berdine shook her head. "That's the part that gave me the goose bumps. But there was more there than his words."
"What do you mean?" Nicci asked, impatiently.
"You know how when you work forever at translating someone's writing, you come to be able to see their mood, see their meaning, see their train of thought even if they didn't write it down? Well"—she pulled her brown braid over her shoulder, twiddling with the end of it—"I could tell by the way he said it that he was afraid to even write down the name of a bo
ok so secret, so important, that it was never to be copied. It was like he was walking on eggshells even mentioning it in his journal."
Richard thought that she certainly had a good point.
Berdine came to a halt before a tall iron door that was painted black. "Here's where I found the books that mention the cental sites being with the bones—whatever that means."
"The place I found was in catacombs," Richard said.
Berdine frowned as she considered. "That might explain that much of it."
"Nathan told me," Nicci said in a low voice, looking between Richard and Berdine, "that he believes that there were catacombs beneath the Palace of the Prophets, and that the palace itself was built there in part to conceal what was buried."
The soldiers slowed to a halt, collecting in a knot a short distance back up the hall. Richard noticed Berdine watching them.
"Why don't you wait out here with your men?" Berdine called back to General Trimack. "I have to go in the library and show Lord Rahl some books. I think maybe you should guard the hall and make sure that no one is sneaking about."
The general nodded and started ordering his men to take up stations throughout the passages. Berdine pulled a key out of the top of her outfit.
"In here I found a book that gave me nightmares."
She looked back at Richard and then unlocked the door.
Nicci leaned close to Richard's ear. "This place is shielded." Her tone was tight with suspicion.
"But she's not gifted," Richard whispered back. "She can't get through shields. If it's shielded, then how is she able to get in?"
Berdine, hearing them, waggled the key after she pulled it back out of the lock. "I have the key. I knew where Darken Rahl kept it hidden."
Nicci lifted an eyebrow as she looked back at Richard. "The key just shut down the shields to the door. I've never seen such a thing before."
"It must have been designed to give access to trusted aides or scholars who weren't gifted," Richard guessed. He turned back to Berdine as she worked at opening the lever on the heavy door.
"By the way, did you learn anything else about Baraccus?"
"Not much," she said, looking back over her shoulder. "Except that Magda Seams, the woman who became the first Confessor, had once been married to him."
Richard could only stare at her. "How does she know these things?" he muttered to himself.
"What?" Berdine asked.
"Nothing," he said, dismissing it with a wave before flicking the hand at the door. "So what is it that you found in here?"
"Something that connected with what Kolo said."
"You mean about this book that wasn't supposed to be copied."
Berdine merely gave Richard a sly smile as she tucked the key down into a pocket inside the top of her outfit, then pushed open the black door.
* * *
CHAPTER 29
Inside, three tall windows that made up most of the far wall lit the room with the gloomy late-afternoon light. Rain pattered against the glass and ran down in snaking rivulets. The walls of the small room were lined with bookshelves made of golden oak. There was only enough space in the center of the room for one simple oak table that was in turn only large enough for the four wooden chairs, one on each side. In the center of the table sat an unusual four-lobed lamp, offering each empty chair its own light from a silvered reflector.
With a sweep of her arm, Nicci sent a spark of her gift into the four wicks. The flames swelled, lending golden warmth to the small room. Richard noticed that, despite the way the palace spell diminished the power of any but a Rahl, she seemed to have had no trouble lighting the lamps.
Berdine went to the shelves to the right of the door. "Near the part of Kolo's journal where he mentioned the book that wasn't supposed to be copied, I think he might have been implying that the men who didn't trust Baraccus were the ones who made the copies. I think that's who he meant, anyway, but I'm not sure; he refers to them as 'the half-wits from Yanklee's Yarns.'"
Nicci spun around to Berdine. "Yanklee's Yarns!"
Richard looked from Nicci's astounded expression to Berdine's. "What's Yanklee's Yarns?" he asked.
"A book," Berdine said.
Richard turned a questioning look on Nicci.
Nicci huffed in exasperation. "It's more than just a book, Richard. Yanklee's Yarns is a book of prophecy. A very, very peculiar book of prophecy. It predates the great war by seven centuries. The vaults at the Palace of the Prophets had an early copy of it. It was a curiosity that every Sister studied in the course of her education about prophecy."
Richard peered around at the books lining the shelves. "What was so peculiar about it?"
"It's a book of prophecy that is nothing but gossip and hearsay."
Richard turned back to her. "I don't get it."
"Well," Nicci said, pausing to find the right words, "it wasn't believed to be prophecy about future events… exactly. It's, it's, well, it's actually believed to be prophecy about future gossip, so to speak."
Richard rubbed his tired eyes as he sighed. He looked up at Nicci again. "You mean to say that this Yanklee fellow wrote predictions about gossip?" When Nicci nodded, all he could do was ask, "Why?"
Nicci leaned in a little. "That's the very question to which everyone wanted an answer."
Richard shook his head, as if to clear the cobwebs.
"You see, there are many things that are secret"—Nicci gestured toward Berdine—"like this business with the book that wasn't supposed to be copied. Those kinds of secrets often remain secret because people go to their graves without ever revealing them. That's why when we study historical records we sometimes are not able to solve mysteries—there just isn't any information to be had.
"But, sometimes, there are little tidbits of information floating around, things people saw or overheard, and the people who saw or overheard them start to gossip about those tasty tidbits. There were Sisters at the Palace of the Prophets who believed that hidden within this prophetic book of gossip there would be hints of what those future secrets would turn out to be."
Richard arched an eyebrow. "You mean these Sisters were, in essence, listening to gossip in order to overhear something?"
Nicci nodded. "Something like that."
"You see, there were a few Sisters who considered this simple book of seeming nonsense to be one of the most important books of prophecy in existence. It was kept under tight security. It was never allowed to leave the vaults for study, as some other volumes of prophecy were.
"There were Sisters who devoted a lot of their spare time to studying this seemingly silly book. Because people don't generally go to the trouble to record gossip, Yanklee's Yarns is thought to be the only book of its kind—the only written account of gossip, even if it hadn't happened yet. These Sisters believed that there were events that couldn't be discovered or studied in any other way except through this book, which predated such events. In essence, they believed that they were eavesdropping on whispered gossip about things that would happen in the future, gossip about secret things. They believed that Yanklee's Yarns held invaluable clues to secrets unknown to anyone else or in any other way."
Richard pressed his fingertips to his forehead as he tried to take it all in. "You said that there were Sisters devoted to studying this book. Do you happen to know who any of these Sisters were?"
Nicci nodded slowly. "Sister Ulicia."
"Oh, great," Richard muttered.
Berdine opened a glassed door to one of the bookshelves and pulled a volume off the shelf. She turned back and showed the book's cover to Richard and Nicci.
The title was Yanklee's Yarns.
"When I read in Kolo's journal about 'the half-wits from Yanklee's Yarns,' that name was so odd that it kind of stuck in the back of my mind. You know what I mean? Then, one day, I was in here doing research and this book's title jumped out at me. I didn't realize it was a book of prophecy, like you said, Nicci."
Nicci shrugged with one shou
lder. "Some books of prophecy are hard to recognize as prophecy—especially for someone not trained in such things. Such important volumes can appear to be simply boring records or, in the case of Yanklee's Yarns, nothing more than trivial nonsense."
Berdine indicated the bookshelves lining the small room. "Except there would hardly be anything trivial in this room."
"Good point," Richard said.
Berdine smiled, pleased that he recognized the value of her reasoning. She set the book down on the table that occupied the center of the small library and carefully opened the cover. She leafed through the fragile pages until she found the place she wanted. She looked up at each of them in turn.
"Since Kolo had mentioned this book, I thought I ought to read it. It was really boring. Nearly put me to sleep. It didn't appear of any importance at all"—she tapped a page—"until I spotted this, here. This really woke me up."
Richard twisted his head to read the words above her finger. He had to work at it a moment to figure out the meaning of the passage written in High D'Haran. He scratched his temple as he translated aloud.
" 'So nervous will be the meddling half-wits to copy the key that should never be copied, that they will tremble in fear at what they have done and cast the shadow of the key among the bones, never to reveal that only one key was cut true.'"
The hair at the back of Richard's neck stood on end.
Cara folded her arms across her breasts. "So you mean to say that you think that when it came right down to the deed itself and they made the copies, they turned chicken and made all but one copy a fake?"
Berdine drew her hand down her long braid of glossy brown hair. "It would appear so."
Richard was still lost in the words. "Cast the shadow of the key among the bones…" He looked up at Berdine. "Hid them in the central sites. Buried them with the bones."
Berdine smiled. "It's so good to have you back, Lord Rahl. You and I think just alike. I've missed you so much. There have been so many things like this I've wanted to go over with you."