Along with many other esoteric items, all novices memorized those maps in the course of their studies. Even though, at the time, she had never expected to travel to the New World, she was thoroughly familiar with the lay of the land there. Nicci scrutinized the paper in her hands, carefully surveying the geography, overlaying everything on it that was new onto the memorized map in her mind.
The soldier pointed a thick finger at a single bloody fingerprint on the map. "That there is where Lord Rahl himself is hiding-on that dot, in those mountains."
Nicci's breath paused. She stared at the paper, burning the line of every stream and river, every mountain, every road, trail, and mountain pass, every village, town, and city into her memory.
"What did this man confess before he died?" She looked up. "His Excellency is waiting for my report. I was just on my way to see him." She snapped her fingers impatiently. "Let's have it all."
The man scratched his beard. His fingernails were crusted with dried blood, "You'll tell him, won't you? You'll tell His Excellency that Sergeant Wetzel was the one who got the information out of the messenger?"
"Of course," Nicci assured him. "You will receive full credit. I have no need of such recognition." She tapped the gold ring through her lower lip. "The Emperor is always-every moment of every day-in my mind. He no doubt this very moment sees through my eyes that you, not I, are the one who succeeded in getting the information. Now, what did this man confess?"
Sergeant Wetzel scratched his beard again, apparently trying to decide if be could trust her to credit him, or if he should be sure and take the information to Jagang. There was little trust among those in the Imperial Order, and good reason to distrust everyone. As he scratched his beard, flakes of dried blood stuck in its curly hair.
Nicci stared into his red-rimmed eyes. He smelled of liquor. "If you don't report everything to me, Sergeant Wetzel, and I mean right now, I will have you up on the table next, and I will have your report between your screams, and when I'm done with you, they will throw you in the wagon with the rest of the corpses."
He dipped his head twice in surrender. "Of course. I only wanted to be sure His Excellency knew of my success." When Nicci nodded, he went on. "He was just a messenger. We had a small unit of six men doing deep scouting patrol. They went on a circle far to the north, around any enemy forces.
They had one of the gifted women with them to help them remain at a good distance, so they wouldn't be detected. They were somewhere northwest of the enemy force, when by chance they came across this man. They brought him back for me to question. I discovered he was one of a number of regular messengers sent back and forth to report to Lord Rahl."
Nicci waggled a finger at the paper. "But this, down here, looks like the enemy force. Are you saying Rich. . Lord Rahl, isn't with his men?
With his army?"
"That's right. The messenger didn't know why. His only duty was to carry troop positions and regular news of their condition to his master." He tapped the map in her hand. "But right here is where Lord Rahl is hiding, along with his wife."
Nicci looked up, her mouth falling open. "Wife."
Sergeant Wetzel nodded. "The man said Lord Rahl married some woman known as the Mother Confessor. She's hurt, and they're hiding way up there, in those mountains."
Nicci remembered Richard's feelings for her, and her name: Kahlan.
Richard being married put everything in a new light. It had the potential to disrupt Nicci's plans. Or. .
"Anything else, Sergeant?"
"The man said Lord Rahl and his wife have one of them women, them Mord Sith, guarding them."
"Why are they up there? Why aren't Lord Rahl and the Mother Confessor with their army? Or back in Aydindril? Or in D'Hara, for that matter?"
He shook his head. "This messenger was just a low-ranking soldier who knew how to ride fast and read the lay of the land. That's all he knew: they're up there, and they're all alone."
Nicci was puzzled by such a development.
"Anything else? Anything at all?" He shook his head. She laid her hand on the man's back, between his shoulder blades. "Thank you, Sergeant Wetzel.
You have been more help than you will ever know."
As he grinned, Nicci released a flow of power that shot up through his spine and instantly incinerated his brain inside his skull. He dropped with a crash to the hard ground, the air fleeing his lungs in a grunt.
Nicci held up the map she had committed to memory and with her gift set it aflame. The paper crackled and blackened as the fire advanced across the rivers and cities and mountains all carefully drawn out on it, until the hot glow surrounded the bloody fingerprint over a dot in the mountains. She let the paper rise from her fingers as it was consumed in a final puff of smoke.
Ash, like black snow, drifted down onto the body at her feet.
Outside the tent where the Mord-Sith was held, Nicci cast a wary gaze across the surrounding camp to see if anyone was watching. No one was paying any attention to the business of the torture tents. She slipped in through the opening.
Nicci winced at the sight of the woman laid out on the wooden table.
She finally made herself draw a breath.
A soldier, his hands red from his work, scowled at Nicci. She didn't wait for him to object, but simply commanded, "Report."
"Not a word from her," he growled.
Nicci nodded and placed her hand on the soldier's broad back. Wary of her hand, he began to step away from it, but he was too late. The man fell dead before he knew he was in trouble. Had she the time, she would have made him suffer first.
Nicci made herself step up to the table and look down into the blue eyes. The woman's head trembles slightly.
"Use your power. . to hurt me, witch."
A small smile touched Nicci's lips. "To the bitter end, you would fight, wouldn't you?"
"Use your magic, witch."
"I think not. You see, I know a bit about you women."
Defiance blazed up from the blue eyes. "You know nothing."
"Oh, but I do. Richard told me. You would know him as your Lord Rahl, but be was for a time my student. I know that women like you have the ability to capture the power of the gifted, if that power is used against you. Then, you can turn it against us. So, you see, I know better than to use my power on you."
The woman looked away. "Then torture me if that is what you came to do.
You will learn nothing."
"I'm not here to torture you," Nicci assured her.
"Then what do you want?"
"Let me introduce myself," Nicci said. "I am Death's Mistress."
The woman's blue eyes turned back, betraying for the first time a glint of hope, "Good.