Wizard's First Rule Read Free Page A

remembered the cold fear he had felt when he saw the four men. Four men warily shadowing a woman: the third strange thing to happen this morning. The third child of trouble. No—he shook his head—this was no game, he knew what he had seen. It was no game. They were stalking her.
    Richard came partway to his feet. Waves of heat rolled from his body. Bent over at the waist with his hands braced on his knees, he took a few deep breaths before straightening to his full height.
    His eyes fell on the young woman as she came around the bend in front of him. His breath caught for an instant. Her brown hair was full, lush, and long, complementing the contours of her body. She was tall, almost as tall as he, and about the same age. The dress she wore was like none he had ever seen: almost white, cut square at the neck, interrupted only by a small, tan leather waist pouch. The weave of the fabric was fine and smooth, almost glistening, and bore none of the lace or frills he was used to seeing, no prints or colors to distract from the way it caressed her form. The dress was elegant in its simplicity. She halted, and long graceful folds regally trailing her gathered about her legs.
    Richard approached and stopped three strides away so as not to appear a threat. She stood straight and still, her arms at her side. Her eyebrows had the graceful arch of a raptor’s wings in flight. Her green eyes came unafraid to his. The connection was so intense that it threatened to drain his sense of self. He felt that he had always known her, that she had always been a part of him, that her needs were his needs. She held him with her gaze as surely as a grip of iron would, searching his eyes as if searching his soul, seeking an answer to something. I am here to help you, he said in his mind. He meant it more than any thought he had ever had.
    The intensity of her gaze relaxed, loosening its hold on him. In her eyes he saw something that attracted him more than anything else. Intelligence. He saw it flaringthere, burning in her, and through it all he felt an overriding sense of her integrity. Richard felt safe.
    A warning flashed in his mind, making him remember why he was there, that time was dear.
    “I was up there”—he pointed toward the hill he had been on—“and I saw you.” She looked where he pointed. He looked, too, and realized he was pointing at a tangle of tree limbs. They couldn’t see the hill, because the trees blocked the view. He dropped his arm dumbly, trying to ignore the miscue. Her eyes returned to his, waiting.
    Richard started over, keeping his voice low. “I was up there on a hill, above the lake. I saw you walking on the path by the shore. There are some men following you.”
    She betrayed no emotion, but continued to hold his gaze. “How many?”
    He thought her question strange, but answered it. “Four.”
    The color drained from her face.
    She turned her head, surveying the woods behind her, scanning the shadows briefly, then looked back to him once more, her green eyes searching his.
    “Do you choose to help me?” Except for her color, her exquisite features gave no hint as to her emotions.
    Before his mind could form a thought, he heard himself say, “Yes.”
    Her countenance softened. “What would you have us do?”
    “There’s a small trail that turns off here. If we take it, and they stay on this one, we can be away.”
    “And if they don’t? If they follow our trail?”
    “I’ll hide our tracks.” He was shaking his head, trying to reassure her. “They won’t follow. Look, there’s no time….”
    “If they do?” she cut him off. “Then what is your plan?”
    He studied her face a moment. “Are they very dangerous?”
    She stiffened. “Very.”
    The way she spoke the word made him have to force himself to breathe again. For an instant, he saw a look of blind terror pass across her eyes.
    Richard ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, the small trail is narrow and shear. They won’t be