Free Warheart by Terry Goodkind Page B

those same abilities. Doing such things is the use of your abilities for the right reasons.”
    â€œWhat abilities?” Kahlan asked suspiciously.
    â€œA sorceress can’t delve into things in the underworld the way a skilled wizard can.” Red tipped her head toward Nicci without looking at her. “That is why Nicci, like all Sisters of the Dark, killed a wizard and stole his gift to use in dark devotion to the Keeper. Sisters of the Dark possessing the ability of a wizard can make contact with those in the underworld. Like all such Sisters, the Keeper once visited her in her dreams and granted her access to the darkness.”
    Red’s eyes finally turned to Nicci. “Isn’t that right?”
    The fire crackled as the two women stared at each other for a long moment.
    â€œWhat does this have to do with finding a spiritist?” Nicci finally asked in a dangerous tone.
    â€œYou wanted to know how to bring Richard back,” the witch woman said in a quiet voice that was no less dangerous. “I’m telling you what that thread in the flow of time reveals. I’m not saying it can be done. I’m only telling you that if it is to be done, if Richard is to be found, you must do what only you can do.
    â€œWe need the help of the good spirits to rescue him and help put him on the path of the Grace so he may return, but first, before anything else can be done, he must be located in that eternity of darkness. The demons of the dark have their wings wrapped around his soul, hiding him.” She looked right at Kahlan. “Isn’t that right, Mother Confessor?”
    Kahlan swallowed at the memory. “I’m afraid it is.”
    â€œIf you want to find him to have a chance to bring him back,” Red told Nicci, “then you must first contact a spiritist in the underworld and seek her help.”
    Nicci heaved a sigh. “All right. Let’s just say for a moment that I can find a way to do such a thing. What is her name?”
    â€œThe one you need is named Naja.”
    â€œNaja!” Kahlan said in surprise. “Naja Moon?”
    Red nodded.
    Kahlan rested her left palm on the hilt of the sword–Richard’s sword. “That’s the woman Richard said left messages in the shielded caves in the village of Stroyza. That’s where he found this ring. Naja knew Magda Searus and the wizard Merritt.”
    The witch woman nodded. “That is the one I saw in the flow of time.” She let out a deep breath. “The problem is, she was a powerful sorceress. She, in fact, once helped Emperor Sulachan with his evil schemes, but it was under threat of death and she eventually escaped. She came to the New World to help in the fight to defeat Emperor Sulachan. She understood the things he was doing, and was a great help to those in the New World.”
    â€œSo why is that a problem?” Kahlan asked. “Nicci has to somehow contact Naja Moon, in the underworld, right? Naja knows how to find Richard?”
    â€œYes, she could do such a thing,” Nicci said in Red’s place. “The problem is, spirits of such power are difficult to find.”
    â€œIt’s worse than that,” Red explained. “Sulachan traveled the underworld. Naja had turned against him and he would have wanted revenge for that betrayal. Men like Sulachan carry grudges beyond the grave. Naja would have wished to have eternal peace and would have hidden her spirit.”
    â€œI can understand that,” Nicci said. “I would not want to be found in the underworld by a wizard of Sulachan’s power.”
    Kahlan wiped a weary hand across her eyes. “Can you find her or not?” she asked Nicci, her impatience lending an edge to her voice.
    â€œMaybe, but only if I had the help of a lesser sorceress, a lesser spiritist,” Nicci finally admitted. “One less tangled in Sulachan’s affairs and the world of the dead. One who understood