Chapter 5: Conclusion

Tsuriko would let no one see her shame as she stood in the harbor of Port Legann. She was lucky to be alive at all, and in a great deal of pain—but worse than her physical injuries was her humiliation. She had many enchanted items, but there was only one she had not resorted to until her battle with Khallis—the charm spelled to create an illusion and allow her to escape.

How could a mere sword be so powerful? If she possessed it—no, she wasn’t stupid. Such things tended to overrun the minds of their holders, especially holders like Khallis and Tsuriko, who did not have the Gift. Still, she had run away from it—it would have been better to die an honorable death at the hand of a worthy enemy than to flee like a coward!

How is this any more a flight than what drove you into this life? A taunting voice at the back of her mind reminded her. You became a killer because you were running away—now you’re running away from being a killer.

Deep in thought, she didn’t see the man until she bumped into him—and cursed herself for not noticing him. An assassin should always be aware of her surroundings, surprised by nothing—

"Excuse me, ma’am," the young man was saying, bowing politely. His hair was wind-tossed—he had probably just disembarked from one of the ships in the harbor. He looked at her, and whispered, "Mithros!"

Tsuriko frowned. Fright was the usual reaction people had to her, but there seemed to be something different in his voice—

"Is that really an Aerdel Knot?" he breathed.

"I don’t believe that is any of your business," she said, looking for an escape. In the thick crowd, people kept cutting her off, keeping her from getting away from them. "Good day, sir!" She took off, but the man followed. Her injuries kept her from moving quickly enough to lose him.

"Please, wait!" he called after her. A cart came between them, and when it was out of the way, the young man looked around desperately to see where she’d gone.

Tsuriko leaned against a building, panting and clutching her injured arm. Her blood was beginning to seep through the bandage onto her shirt—she had decided against the eye-catching black leather in favor of a less conspicuous shirt and breeches—and she clenched her teeth in pain. Even after days of rest, her wounds would not heal.

"You’re hurt," she heard a voice say, and jumped. What is wrong with me? she wondered, looking up into the face of the young man that had been following her a moment ago. She hurt too much to try to flee. "How did this happen?"

"I’m fine," Tsuriko said. "Please, leave me alone."

"I can’t leave you like this," he replied. "If you don’t get help, you’ll lose your arm, or worse."

"I’ll survive," the assassin said forcefully, despite the fact that a tear was beginning to run down her cheek. "I didn’t ask for your charity!"

"There’s nothing wrong with needing help once in a while," the young man said. "I’ll take you to a healer." Tsuriko did not argue, but held her head high and followed. "Oh, and by the way, my name is Josef. Josef Brennert."

*

The next day dawned dark and gray, with the feeling in the air of a coming storm. Krissen rose and dressed as if in a daze, remembering Asuka’s words, but still unsure exactly what the mage wanted from her. She set out for the castle that had once belonged to Geyshard.

*

"The weather-mages just announced that there’s a hurricane coming in," Zedd said to Asuka and Amaya as he entered the room. The sky had begun to drizzle, leaving tiny beads of moisture on his cloak.

"A hurricane?" Amaya repeated.

"A nasty storm with heavy rain and lots of wind," Zedd explained. "It’s rare that they hit the coast here, but when they do, they leave behind lots of destruction. I hear they’re evacuating everyone who lives along the coastline, and criers are out, telling people not to leave their homes unless they must."

"Sounds scary," Amaya whispered.

Not half as scary as what we’ll have to face today, Zedd thought. I wish Asuka would tell me what her plan is…

*

"Any later, and we wouldn’t have been able to save the arm," the healer told Josef. "Both wounds were infected, and it’s amazing that she was able to put up with the pain for as long as she did."

"So, how is she?" Josef asked.

"Now that I’ve burned out the infection, her wounds should heal without any permanent damage. It’ll take time, though—her arm was cut to the bone, and the shoulder wound was nasty as well."

I must be crazy, Josef thought. I don’t even know her name. I don’t know who she is, what she is—

She stared at him, leaning against the doorframe and fingering her bandages absently. "Why did you do this for me?" she asked softly.

Josef looked away. "Because—once—someone I know came to Corus injured, but unable to afford a healer. A healer decided to fix her up for free, and—well, I don’t know, really. I don’t have the Gift, but at least I can do something."

"I see," Tsuriko said softly. "…Thank you."

The castle looked little different than it had when Zedd had last been there. The servants that once served Geyshard now served Hirom Khallis, the new master of the castle. The rain was beginning to come down harder, now, and the three travelers had the hoods of their cloaks pulled up around their faces.

"The storm won’t make the castle fall down, will it?" Amaya asked softly, looking up nervously at the stone towers.

"I’m sure it’s withstood hurricanes before," Zedd replied. "It won’t collapse."

Amaya didn’t look convinced. Zedd looked to Asuka to reassure her, but Asuka looked like one in a trance, staring at the place where she’d spent the last ten years of her life. "Make sure she’s all right," she said softly, and stepped forward. She began to glow with deep blue light. The gates of the castle creaked as they opened before them. Zedd followed Asuka through the open doorway, Amaya clinging to his hand.

*

The gates had already admitted Krissen some time earlier, and somehow she knew where to look for what she sought. Whether Asuka had somehow given her the knowledge through the dream, or some other magic was involved, she did not know—but she followed the dark hallways like one who had known them all her life, until her search ended at a closed door. Probably locked, she thought, but tested the knob anyway.

The door swung open, and at first all she saw in the darkness was a sword, illuminated by an eerie orange light.

She got her own sword up just in time.

Hirom Khallis had been an excellent swordsman before he had acquired Sorrow, and now Krissen had to concentrate entirely on the battle, with no room in her mind for any stray thoughts or contemplations. Find an opening, strike—watch the opponent’s blow, block. The room was rather a bad place for a fencing match; it appeared to be a storeroom, dark, with little room for maneuverability and stray objects on the ground that could be stumbled over if one got careless. Krissen had to watch her step as well as her opponent—until she realized she could use her magic to have a sense of the floor and where she stepped. Power the color of the stormclouds outside glowed for a moment on the floor of the room, then vanished.

Neither Krissen nor Hirom spoke as they fought, their faces bearing a similar mask of grim concentration. Every blow each made was blocked by the other, resulting in an uneasy stalemate neither could break through. The room was uncomfortably warm, and Krissen could see the sweat on her opponent’s brow and feel it on her own. A bolt of lightning crackled outside, the sound so muffled by the walls of the palace that it was barely audible.

The glow of Sorrow was sickening to look at for too long, making Krissen’s head ache. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with that, she thought, biting her lip as the sword’s edge came a little too close to her skin. And I’m starting to get tired. How much longer can this go on?

She received her answer shortly, as a sudden realization flashed on Khallis’ face. "I’ve got bigger problems to deal with, little girl," he said, backing towards the door without taking his eyes off her. "Don’t worry, darling—I’ll be back for you later."

Krissen had stopped to wipe her forehead as he backed away—in the second that it took, Hirom was gone, slamming the door behind him. She ran to it, twisting the doorknob, pushing, pulling—nothing was of any avail.

She had been locked in.

*

As soon as they had entered the castle’s courtyard, Asuka threw up a dark, sparkling shield around the three of them—just in time, as a bolt of lightning snaked down from the sky upon them. It crackled along the sides of the shield to the ground with a deafening blast of thunder. Amaya began to cry, clinging to Asuka’s side. Zedd picked her up, and they ran inside the castle.

The long, lamp-lit audience chamber was empty. Zedd and Asuka worked a spell to conceal and protect Amaya, then began the walk down the center aisle of the grand hallway. A figure strode out of the shadows, Sorrow glowing orange in his hand.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, my friends," he said, with sarcastic good-nature. Zedd threw green lightning at him, but it washed off Hirom Khallis as water runs off glass.

*

Krissen cursed, struggling with the door, trying every unlocking spell she knew. Nothing worked. Even blasting the lock with magic had no effect, and she stood back for a moment.

I have to get out, she thought. Her magic collected between her hands. I need to get out before it’s too late!

Desperation gave Krissen’s magic strength she didn’t realize she had, and she blew the door apart with a silver blast. She ran through the splintered hole, knowing that she had to get to where Amaya, Zedd, and Khallis were—even if she didn’t know why.

"Get back," Asuka said to Zedd, her voice sharp and angry. Instead, he drew his sword and charged at Hirom Khallis. His swordmanship was a credit to his teacher, but he did not have the skill or experience of the bearer of Sorrow, and was soon sent sprawling back, the tip of Sorrow at his neck.

"Vengeance at last," Khallis said triumphantly, but a midnight-blue wind blew the sword away from Zedd before it could take his life.

"Why are you doing this?" Zedd cried as he got to his feet. "Geyshard was just your employer—we have no quarrel with you! Just drop the sword and—"

The laughter that came from Hirom then was not the laughter of a sane man. The sound made Zedd cringe, all the more eerie when combined with the sound of rain and wind from outside. "Now die, Zeddicus!"

Hirom ran at Zedd, preparing to end his life with a thrust of the glowing sword. Once again, a blue wind wrenched it away. Asuka placed a hand on Zedd’s arm, pushing him back gently.

"See to Amaya," she said softly.

*

Krissen dashed up the stairs, retracing her steps back to the front of the castle. She saw Asuka and Zedd there, both tinted with the dark blue of Asuka’s Gift.

/I have been waiting for you/ Asuka’s voice was a whisper in Krissen’s mind. /Please take care of them both. That is all I ask of you—sister/

*

"I’m not going to abandon you," Zedd shouted.

"I have to try something," Asuka replied. "Make sure Amaya is all right." The air around Asuka was becoming thicker and darker as she spoke, and Zedd sighed.

"I’ll be right back," he said. He ran back towards the entrance, where Amaya was hidden.

Asuka smiled, and Hirom frowned at her. "What do you have in mind, little puppet?" he asked.

Blue lightning crackled between her hands. Zedd looked back over his shoulder, and could see Hirom thrust again with Sorrow. This time, Asuka did not deflect his blow. He cried out—the sound of his voice was drowned out by the sound of thunder. He could see the sword in Asuka’s chest, and ran towards her—

When Krissen ran between him and her, pushing him back.

"No—" he said, fighting to escape, barely noticing as both Asuka and Khallis glowed with a brighter and brighter light. "I have to—I can’t—"

The following explosion threw both of them to the ground, Krissen taking the worst of the blast and losing consciousness. For a moment Zedd was blinded by the light of the explosion, and when his eyes cleared, Amaya was looking over him, her expression one of pure terror. Zedd rolled Krissen over gently, relieved to see that she was still breathing, and sat up. Amaya threw herself at him, tears running down her face. He hugged her and patted her back numbly, too shocked to think or feel anything.

There was little but ashes left of Asuka and Hirom Khallis, and a half-molten, blackened piece of metal was all that remained of Sorrow. However, there was a note that had somehow survived the explosion—a page that glowed blue on the charred, blackened stone.

He was so absorbed in his grief that he did not hear Krissen approach. She touched his shoulder but said nothing—neither of them knew what they could say to each other, if words existed that could express their emotions.

"I don’t understand…" Zedd finally whispered. "Amaya, do you—"

"No," Krissen interrupted, her voice soft. "Amaya is not Asuka’s sister."

Zedd turned to face her, a thousand questions forming in her mind. How does she know? What does she have to do with this? What is she doing here?

"Asuka told me to come," Krissen continued, reading the questions in Zedd’s eyes. "She told me…Amaya is the child Asuka was, before her memory was taken away," she added, her voice rough as she wiped her watery eyes. "She asked the Goddess for a second chance, but what was destroyed could not be returned to her, so the child she was has been given a chance at another life."

"But—her sister—" Zedd stuttered.

Krissen sighed. Silently, she led him down to the storage room where she had fought Khallis earlier. Amaya followed, and when they reached the room, she ran forward to look at an old bag that seemed to be falling apart.

"My things—" the child whispered. "But they can’t be! This bag is too old, and it’s all dirty—" She began pulling things out of the bag, shaking her head in disbelief. "How can this—it looks like it’s mine, but it’s all falling apart! And what is it doing here?"

"It must’ve been sitting here for about ten years," Krissen said softly. Zedd remembered Asuka’s words, after Amaya had her nightmare—"she killed him, though she doesn’t know it," she’d said—and felt more tears welling up in his eyes as Asuka pulled out a yellowed piece of parchment.

"It’s so old, and it’s kinda hard to read, but it’s my mother’s handwriting," Amaya said. She looked up at Krissen. "Is it true, what you said? That Asuka is…or was, or something…she’s the same as me?"

"I…that’s what she told me," Krissen replied. She looked at the letter in Amaya’s hands, and had to hold the door frame to keep from falling down.

"Dear Lady Krissen," it began.

"It’s all too much like a dream," Krissen whispered, feeling dazed.

"I wish it were," Zedd replied. "She sacrificed herself—"

"Stop it!" Amaya cried. Both adults stared at her. "Don’t you understand? I—I am Asuka." The words came out awkward—it was difficult to think of oneself as someone else they’d met—but Amaya had to manage. "Her soul was killed a long time ago, leaving just a spark—just enough to keep her alive. But I’m here!" She was crying, but she forced the words out. "I’m here, and Asuka wanted me to live the life she never had a chance to. So I have to, Zedd. I have to."

Zedd looked down at her, then at Krissen. "You haven’t been properly introduced," he murmured. "Amaya, meet your sister. Krissen, this is Amaya."

*

They waited out the storm in the castle. The hurricane was even worse by nightfall, and though Amaya was able to fall asleep on Zedd’s lap, neither Krissen nor Zedd felt sleepy.

"Where will you go now?" Krissen asked. She sighed. "I suppose you’ll want to return to Carthak and continue working on your black robe. Amaya will get a good education there, too."

Zedd looked away. "I don’t know."

Krissen sighed again, shaking her head. "I feel like such a fool," she muttered.

"There’s nothing to feel foolish about," Zedd replied automatically. Krissen looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Only this time it’s not a dream," she said. Zedd turned back quickly to stare at her.

"What—what do you—" he choked out.

Krissen laughed, the sound bitter and hollow. "Asuka didn’t tell you? We weren’t just dreaming. She used some sort of magic to bring our souls together."

Zedd felt his face grow red, and he laughed uncomfortably in spite of himself. "Now I feel like a fool."

"There’s nothing to feel foolish about," Krissen replied. "We both thought we were just dreaming. There’s nothing to apologize for."

"In the dream, you wanted it, too," Zedd said softly.

"It was a dream. I was lonely," Kris said awkwardly, shifting in discomfort.

"You said that you loved me," Zedd added.

"And you said that you wished that it wasn’t just a dream." Kris’s tone was almost accusatory. For a few moments they said nothing.

"Where will you go, when the storm clears?" wondered Zedd. Krissen sighed.

"I suppose I’ll go back to Corus," she sighed. "I don’t know how the Riders are getting along without Hacia and me."

"What? Why isn’t Hacia teaching?" Zedd wanted to know, sounding somewhat relieved by the change of subject.

"Ugh. I feel like I’m spreading rumors—but she’s pregnant. And my brother’s the father."

Krissen couldn’t help but smile at Zedd’s shocked expression, but her smile soon faded. "I hope they’ve got things sorted out by now," she said. "I think they really do love each other, and I’d hate to see them throw it all away…"

"The schools of magic in Corus are good," Zedd said. "I think that Amaya could begin her schooling there, and I could continue my study with the scholars at the palace."

She didn’t say anything, but he could see the surprise and joy in Krissen’s face. "You could use some schooling in magic yourself, y’know," he added. "The way you blasted that door didn’t say much for your finesse."

Krissen sighed. "Zedd, I—I love you," she said. "I used to think that would make all my troubles go away, but I guess it doesn’t work that way. Even so, I won’t throw it away again."

"I love you, too," Zedd replied. "We’ll learn."

*

Two weeks later, Nikain Heransra and Hacia Fischer were joined in marriage. Present at the wedding were many of the Queen’s Riders and Nikain’s scholar friends, including Josef Brennert and—

Zedd nudged Krissen. "Do you recognize the Yamani girl sitting next to Josef?" he whispered. She shook her head. Zedd couldn’t be completely sure—she was dressed very differently from the day he had met her—but he thought that she was the assassin who had tried to kill him just a few weeks earlier.

Amaya had quickly become friends with Jedrick Roseclayne’s daughter Brenne, and the two girls sat together at the ceremony, between their respective "families". Soon Adine would marry Jedrick, and as for Krissen and Zedd—

"When are you two going to make it official, anyway?" Nikain asked them wickedly after the wedding. Both Kris and Zedd turned pink at the question.

"We still need time to get things sorted out," Krissen said.

Zedd shook his head. "How long ago was it that you said you’d never marry?" he wondered, elbowing Nikain. Both the Archivist and his bride laughed, as well as Jedrick and Adine.

"You’ll let us play with your baby, won’t you?" Brenne asked Hacia, who blushed.

"Babies aren’t toys," Adine gently scolded the daughter of her betrothed. She looks like a mother herself, for all that she’s younger than Zedd, thought Krissen. And now Hacia’s going to have a baby—Hacia a mother? Nikain a father? I can hardly believe it.

But who am I to say anything? I’m just as much a mother to Amaya as Adine is to Brenne…

The Yamani who had been sitting with Josef bowed respectfully to Zedd. "I’m sorry I tried to kill you," she said. That said, she left, leaving both Zedd and Krissen in a state of shock.

"Who was she?" wondered Kris.

"An assassin Khallis sent to kill me," Zedd replied almost matter-of-factly. "She was under some sort of coercion, and Asuka freed her from it, but…she’s not exactly someone I would have expected to see here." He sighed, and Krissen could tell from the distant look on his face that he was thinking about Asuka again. She frowned, and Zedd noticed her expression. Making quick excuses, he led Krissen out to the moonlight courtyard.

She couldn’t face him, and instead looked up at the stars. Zedd sighed, unsure where to begin. "What do you want?" Krissen finally asked him, her voice somewhat hurt.

"I wanted to say to you what I’ve been thinking about ever since…" he trailed off—he didn’t need to say when. "I don’t know whether or not I loved Asuka—I thought I did, but all along, she could see that I loved you. I’m not going to dwell over her death my whole life—just like I can’t dwell over what happened to Kahlan. We have Amaya to worry about, and—

"—and I love you, Krissen, more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Not as a replacement for Asuka or Kahlan, but because you are who you are. I need to stop dwelling on the past and feeling sorry for myself, because I have more than I could ever have dreamed of now."

He kissed her firmly—it was one of many kisses over the past two weeks, but Krissen had yet to tire of them, and didn’t think that she would any time soon.

"Thank you," she said, feeling tears stinging her eyes.

For a few moments they said nothing, content in each other’s company. "In a way, I feel like something is ending," Zedd said. "But it’s not, is it?"

"No," Krissen replied. "It’s a beginning. For Nikain and Hacia, for Amaya—maybe even for that assassin girl."

"And us," Zedd added.

"Of course," Krissen said quickly. "For us."