Free Warheart by Terry Goodkind Page A

thing, we are going to need a great deal of help. It’s not something that can be accomplished without the help of others.”
    â€œWhat others?” Nicci asked.
    â€œDead, others,” Red told them, still gazing off into the distance.
    Nicci took a deep breath. “I don’t understand. How can the dead help us?”
    â€œDo you mean we need the help of the good spirits?” Kahlan guessed.
    Red turned back and looked at her for a moment before speaking. “Richard is lost in the world of the dead, the spirit world. In order to help him, before anyone can help him, he first must be found in that eternity of darkness. That’s a very specialized task. In order to find him, we first need a spiritist.”
    â€œA spiritist?” Nicci asked in a suddenly displeased tone.
    â€œYes. The flow of time does not ordinarily reveal what is sought, but this time I was able to catch a glimpse of factors surrounding potential events. Sometimes the flow is strong and rich in detail, which tells me that it is fixed and a near certainty. The flow I saw of you ending Richard’s life after the Mother Confessor had been murdered was that way. It was obscured where Richard was concerned, but I knew what was going to happen with you two.
    â€œThe flow I saw this time was only a slender thread, and I was only able to get a fleeting glimpse of it. That indicates there is only a remote chance that events will take this course. Time moves like a river, taking the easiest course. Ordinarily such slender threads are backwaters in time and are to be ignored, since the chances of them cutting a new path for the river in time are so unlikely. The thread exists only to reveal the richness of possibilities, not the probability.
    â€œIt is the allowance made for free choice to balance prophecy.
    â€œFor it to come about requires a series of events to come about in precise fashion. To help such a thread to strengthen, Richard must first be found. The only one who can do that is a spiritist.”
    Kahlan looked back and forth between the two women. “What’s a spiritist?”
    Nicci glanced over at Kahlan. “A gifted woman who can travel the darkness of the spirit world and seek specific spirits. She is gifted with the talent to find and then talk to spirits.”
    â€œYou mean she communes with the dead,” Kahlan said.
    â€œThat’s the heart of the matter,” Nicci admitted.
    Kahlan shrugged. “All right. Where do we find one of these spiritists?”
    â€œI’m afraid you can’t,” Nicci said. “There are none living anymore.”
    Kahlan looked back at Red, reflections of the firelight flickering in her knowing eyes. “How can we use a spiritist if they are all dead?”
    â€œI told you. You must talk with the dead.”
    â€œYou’re talking in circles,” Kahlan said, her temper heating. “How do we talk to the dead if we need a spiritist to do that, and they are all dead?”
    Red tipped her head toward Nicci. “She is the only one who can do such a thing.”
    Kahlan’s gaze went to Nicci. The sorceress was frowning.
    â€œWhat are you getting at?” Nicci asked. “I’m not a spiritist.”
    â€œYou were a Sister of the Dark.”
    Nicci’s frown tightened. “So?”
    Red admonished her with a look. “What is it Sisters of the Dark deal in? They deal in the world of the dead. They worked for the forces of the underworld. They sought to bring the Keeper himself into this world.”
    Nicci backed up a step. “I’m not that person anymore. I’m no longer a Sister of the Dark.”
    Red flicked a hand in irritation. “All but you are dead. That’s because all but you chose to stay to that dark path, and it cost them their lives. You chose otherwise because Richard showed you another path. Now, you must use what you know in order to help find his path back. You still have