“Once triggered, the power begins to evolve. It cannot be stopped. It must be mastered or you will die. This is what has happened to you. It is exceedingly rare for it to happen this way. To be honest, though we have been taught it has happened before, none of us has personal knowledge of it.

Back at the Palace of the Prophets there will be old records of this in others, and we will look into it. But that doesn’t change what matters: you have the gift, it has been triggered, and the evolution has begun.

“We have never had to teach one of your age before. I fear the trouble it is going to cause at the palace. Teaching the gift requires discipline. One of your age has obvious difficulty with this.”

Richard softened his tone, but his gaze hardened. “sister Grace, I will ask for the last time. How do you know I have the gift?”

She stood up a little straighter and let out a noisy breath. She nicked a glance to Sister Verna. “Tell him.”

Sister Verna gave a resigned nod and pulled a small black book from behind her belt. With a frown, she began leafing through it. Those with the gift have some use of it throughout their life, in little ways, even though it lies dormant. Perhaps you have noticed how you could do some things that others could not, yes? The evolution of the gift is triggered by the specific use of the magic. Once triggered, it cannot be undone. This is what you have done.”

She continued turning pages, running her finger down them. “Ah. Here it is.” She lowered the book and looked up. “There are three things that must be done, in a specific manner, to trigger the gift. We don’t fully understand the precise nature of these things, but we understand their general principles. You have done these three things. First, you must use the gift to save another. Second, you must use the gift to save yourself. Third, you must use the gift to kill another with the gift. Perhaps you can see the difficulty in accomplishing them, and why we haven’t seen this before?”

“And what is written about me in that book?”

She looked once more to the book, then glanced up, lifting an eyebrow, to make sure he was paying attention before consulting the pages as she spoke. “First, you used the gift to save the life of one who was being pulled back into the underworld. Not physically, but by her mind. You drew her back. Without you, she would have been lost.” She looked up from under her eyebrows. “You understand, yes?”

Kahlan looked at Richard. They both understood. She was the one he had saved. “In the wayward pine,” she said,

“the first night we met. When you kept the underworld from taking me back.”

Richard nodded to Sister Verna. “Yes, I understand.”

Sister Verna put her finger back to the book. “As for saving yourself with the gift… let’s see… I saw it here a minute… ah! Yes, here it is.” She looked up from under her eyebrows again. “second, you used the gift to save your own life.” She tapped the book with a finger. “You partitioned your mind. You understand, yes?”

Richard’s eyes closed. “Yes, I understand,” he said in a weak voice. Kahlan didn’t understand that one.

Sister Verna went back to the book. “Third, you used the gift to kill a wizard. His name was Darken Rahl. You understand, yes?”

“Yes.” He opened his eyes. “How do you know these things?”

The things you have done used magic, specific magic, that leaves an essence because of who you are and because you are untrained. Were you trained, it would not leave this essence, and we would not know. We have ones back at the Palace of the Prophets who are sensitive to such events.”

Richard glared at her. “You have violated my privacy, spied on me. And as for the third of your three things, I didn’t exactly kill Darken Rahl. Not technically.”

“I can understand how you feel,” Sister Grace said quietly. “But it is only done to help you. If you wish to stand here and argue with us about whether or not these things qualify as the three triggers, I will put your doubts at ease. Once they are done, you begin the process of becoming a wizard. You may not believe it, or choose to be a wizard, but there is no doubt it has happened. We do not place this burden on you. We are only here to help you deal with it.”

“But…”

“But nothing. When the magic is triggered, at least three changes come about. First, you begin to have fetishes about food. It may be things you crave, or things you have always eaten that you now refuse to eat. We have studied this, and don’t understand its cause, but it has something to do with influences at the time the gift comes to life.

“Second, you begin to sleep, at least some of the time, with your eyes open. All wizards do this, even ones who only have the calling. It has something to do with learning to use the magic. If you have the gift, that brings it about as you use it to do these three things. If you have only the calling, the teaching brings it on.

“Third, the headaches come. The headaches are lethal. There is no cure for them other than learning to control the magic. If you don’t, sooner or later, they will kill you.”

“How soon? How much time do I have if I refuse your help?”

Kahlan put a hand on his arm. “Richard…”

“How much time!”

Sister Elizabeth spoke. “It is said that one lived with the headaches for a few years before he died. It is also said that another was dead within several months. We believe the time you have depends upon how strong your power is; the stronger the power, the stronger the headaches, and the shorter the time. But possibly within as little as a month they will begin to be strong enough to render you unconscious at times.”

Richard gave her an even look. “They already have been that strong.”

The three Sisters” eyes widened, and they exchanged the look again.

“We began looking for you before you did these three things. Since we left the palace, you have done all three,” Sister Verna said. “This book is magic. When messages are written in its twin back at the palace, they appear to us here. That is how we know you have done them. How long since you have done the third—since you have killed this Darken Rahl?”

“Three days. But I was unconscious on the second night after I killed him.”

“The second… !” Again they gave each other the look.

His irritation was back. “Why do you keep looking at each other like that?”

Sister Verna’s voice came in a soft tone. “Because you are a very rare person, Richard. In many ways. We have never encountered so many unexpected things wrapped up in one person.”

Kahlan slipped an arm around his waist. “You’re right; he is a rare person. A person I love. What can you do to help him?” She was worried that he was frightening them and they wouldn’t want to help.

There are specific rules he must follow. We all must; they are inviolate. There is no room for negotiation. He must put himself in our hands and must come with us to the Palace of the Prophets.” Sister Grace’s eyes were sad as she said, “Alone.”

“For how long?” Richard demanded. “How long does it take?”

Sister Grace’s black hair shone in the torchlight as she turned her head to him. “It depends on how quickly you learn. It takes as long as it takes. You have to stay until it is finished.”

Kahlan felt a tightness in her chest as Richard slipped his arm around her waist. “Can I visit him?”

Sister Grace shook her head slowly. “No. And there is more.” Her eyes flicked to the Agiel for an instant. She reached into her cloak and pulled something out. It was a ring of metal, hardly more than a hand across. Even though it seemed unbroken, Sister Grace did something and it unlatched, opening into hinged half circles. Its dull silver color reflected the firelight. She held it up in front of Richard. This is called the Rada’Han. It is a collar. You must wear it.”

Richard took a step back, his hand coming away from Kahlan’s waist and going to his throat. His face paled and his eyes widened. “Why?” he asked in a whisper.