The Legend of the Seeker: Trinity

Chapter Fourteen: Illusion

"What's an Arachne?" Richard asks, as he looks at Trinity's hand.

Zedd shakes his head. "A creature from the old world." He says. "Or at least one that is supposed to be."

"How did it get to the Midlands?" Kahlan asks. She looks back down to Trinity, brushing the hair from her face.

"It must have come when the Sisters of the Dark passed through." Richard realizes.

Zedd bends down near Trinity, pulling her sleeve up. "Arachne's attack the body as well as the mind. Should one be bitten, if the venom itself doesn't kill them, the insanity they suffer from will." Cara looks stricken at his words. He sees that the black veins cover part of her hand and a bit of her wrists. He sighs in relief. "She hasn't been infected long."

Cara looks up at Zedd; tightening her grip on the woman in her arms. "Can you help her?"

Zedd stands up. "There are some ingredients I need to fight the venom. We need to get her inside; quickly. We won't be able to maintain her temperature out here."

"But the nearest town is half a day away!" Cara tells him.

Zedd turns away from her, facing a small clearing in the woods. He raises his hands and begins to chant in an ancient language. Richard and Kahlan watch on, waiting to see what he is doing. The ground lights up as a small building arises from it. He walks to the building, opening the door. "Inside." He says. "Quickly!"

Cara gathers Trinity firmly in her arms before standing. She enters the building and lays Trinity the bed. Zedd, Richard, and Kahlan follow in after her.

"You need to remove her shirt." Zedd says. "We have to be able to track the veins on her body. The further they travel the less time we will have to save her."

Kahlan sits on the other side of Trinity, helping Cara unlace her corset. "How long do we have?" Cara asks, through gritted teeth. Kahlan slides the corset off before moving to remove her shirt.

"Given that she was bitten on her right wrist instead of her left...about eighteen hours." He says. "If the venom reaches her heart; she will die."

"What ingredients do you need Zedd?" Richard asks, his eyes filled with worry for his friend.

"I need you to find Evening Primrose." Zedd says. "That will slow the hallucinations, Valerian; to slow her heart rate so the venom will spread less quickly. Passion Flower will be needed to keep her asleep. Kava Kava will lessen her pain. But the most difficult ingredient to gather will be the tooth of a gar. It's needed to kill whatever poison is in her body." Richard nods and starts towards the door as Cara stands up to follow. "Cara you can't go with him."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing." She argues.

"You won't be. When she begins to fall into hallucinations you're the only one that will be able to pull her back." Zedd tells her.

Kahlan stands from her place on the bed and makes her way to the door. "We'll be back." She says, before she and Richard leave.

Cara watches them go before returning to her spot by Trinity. Zedd brings over a bowl of cool water and a cloth. "We need to try to temper her fever, while they're gone. I spelled the water to change temperature as she does." He explains.

Cara brushes Trinity's hair from her face before taking a cloth and dipping it into the water, pressing it to Trinity's forehead.

Richard and Kahlan run through the woods, desperate to save their friend in time.

Trinity opens her eyes to find herself lying on the floor of a small house. She stands from the ground and looks around. "Cara?" She calls. She walks deeper into the home, checking rooms. "Richard? Kahlan?" She hears the cry of a baby from outside and turns towards the sound. The door opens and a young couple walks in, a child in the mother's arms. "I'm sorry to intrude, but can you tell me where I am?" She asks but the couple ignores her. "Excuse me." She says, only for the young man to walk through her and into a room.