The Omen Machine

Kahlan was greatly worried about what else Nicci knew but wasn’t saying.

“I’m afraid she’s right,” Zedd admitted with a sigh.

Kahlan pushed herself up onto her elbows. “But if you can’t heal it…”

Zedd patted her shoulder and smiled in a reassuring manner, the old twinkle back in his eye. “Don’t worry, dear one. There are a number other effective things we can do to get this taken care of. We have access to a wide variety of herbs here at the palace. It’s just a scratch and a bit of infection. I’ve been healing such scratches and infections with poultices and herbs my whole life. I’ll make one up that will have you better in no time.”

“Zedd’s right,” Richard told her. “He always took care of my cuts and scrapes without the aid of the gift. I even have some aum with me,” he told Zedd.

Zedd’s bushy eyebrows lifted. “Do you now. Well, that will be a help to ease her pain while the poultice does its work of drawing out the infection.” He patted her shoulder again. “I’ll make it up right away and have you feeling better in no time.”

Kahlan smiled as she lay back. “Thanks, Zedd.”

He glanced about at the ground where she was lying, then looked up at Richard. “We need to get her to someplace more comfortable where she can rest.”

“I’m comfortable here,” Kahlan protested. She didn’t relish the idea of being watched again in one of the bedrooms.

“Are you really?” Zedd glanced over at the gaping hole in the center of the room. “That machine down there has been giving others prophecy as they sleep— others without even a hint of the gift. Imagine the power that thing must emanate to be able to do such a thing in the first place, not to mention that it’s doing it from within a containment field. I’m suspicious that that much power might have given you that headache while you slept.”

Richard shot a frown back at the hole in the floor. “I don’t have a headache, and I’ve been sleeping here too.”

Zedd held up a finger. “But you have the gift— both sides of it. What’s more, I believe that you have some kind of unique connection to the machine, so it may not affect you in the same way. But it could be harming others who spend too much time near it, like Kahlan has been doing.”

With a troubled look, Richard put a comforting hand on Kahlan’s shoulder.

Pain throbbed relentlessly in her head. “You really think the machine could be the cause?”

Zedd shrugged. “We don’t know much about the machine. We have no idea what it’s capable of, and that worries me greatly. It could be radiating a field of power that is responsible for your pain and nausea. At the very least I do know that when I tried to heal you I could sense that you’re not getting anywhere near the amount of sleep you need for your body to have time to heal. That is making you susceptible to any number of problems. Without the rest you need, that infection is only going to get worse. That’s why I think we need to get you to a comfortable bed— and more importantly, away from this machine— so you can get the proper rest you need to help us get you healed.”

She had to admit, that did make sense. Still…

“There are certainly enough comfortable places in the palace,” Richard told her. “We’ll find you a place where you can rest and Zedd can treat your arm.”

Kahlan pushed herself up on her elbows again. “And what about the problem we had in our bedroom?”

Richard showed her a crooked smile. “I have an idea about that. Not to worry.”

But she was worried. Kahlan did her best to ignore the pounding pain in her head and the throbbing ache in her arm. “I’m better,” she lied. She cleared her throat, trying to make her failing voice sound normal. It didn’t really help.

“You don’t sound better,” Nathan said.

“There are more important things to worry about other than fussing over me,” she said. “It was probably just a bad dream that gave me a headache, and as for my arm, well, sometimes scratches get worse before they get better. I think you’re all making too much of it.”

No one looked in the least bit convinced. Maybe because Kahlan wasn’t convinced herself, but more so because she knew she had a fever. It was making her hoarse. She hardly had any voice left. Whenever she spoke it only revealed how bad she felt.

“I still think I ought to give it a try,” Nathan said.

“If you want, I’d be happy to be your patient,” Kahlan said, trying to sound better than she felt.

As Nathan stepped around Richard, Richard gestured. “By the way, what do you have with you?”

Nathan looked at the paper in his hand as if he’d forgotten he had it. “Oh, yes.” He waggled it back at Richard. “From your personal prophet down in the library.”

Richard made a sour face. “What does Lauretta have to predict now?”

“I’m afraid that it sounds serious. That’s why I came looking for you. It’s hard to say what it’s actually about, but it’s possible that it’s another omen about Kahlan.” Nathan waved the paper briefly, then turned it around so that he could read it aloud. “It says, ‘A queen’s choice will cost her her life.’”