With a hand in the air, Chase brought them to a halt. “This is the place.”

Richard looked around, there were still in the middle of an endless, dead, dried-up bog. He didn’t see any boundary. It all looked the same in every direction. They tethered their horses to a fallen log and followed, Chase a short distance farther on foot.

“The boundary,” Chase announced, holding his arm out at the introduction.

“I don’t see anything,” Richard said.

Chase smiled. “Watch.” He walked on, steadily, slowly. As he went forward, a green glow formed around him, at first hardly perceptible. It grew stronger, brighter, until after another twenty steps it became a sheet of green light pressing against him as he proceeded, stronger close to him and fading away about ten feet to the sides and above, growing larger with every step. It was like green glass, wavy and distorted, but Richard could see through it, see the dead trees beyond. Chase stopped and returned. The green sheet, and then the green glow, faded and vanished as he came back. Richard had always thought the boundary would be a wall of some sort, something that could be seen.

“That’s it?” Richard felt a little let down.

“What more do you want? Now, watch this.” Chase searched the ground, picking up branches, testing each for strength. Most were rotten and broke easily. Finally he found one, about a dozen feet long, that was strong enough to suit him. He carried it back into the glowing light until he reached the sheet of green. Holding the branch by the thick end, he passed the rest through the wall. Six feet away, the end of the stick disappeared as he pushed it forward, until he was holding what appeared to be a six-foot stick instead of a twelve-foot branch. Richard was perplexed. He could see beyond the wall, but not the other end of the stick. It didn’t seem possible.

As soon as Chase had pushed the stick in as far as he dared, it jumped violently. There was no sound. He hauled it back and returned to the others. He held the splintered end of a now eight foot stick toward them. The end was covered with slaver.

“Heart hounds,” he said with a grin.

Zedd seemed bored. Kahlan was not amused. Richard was astounded. Since he seemed to have an audience of only one, Chase grabbed a fistful of Richard’s shirt and dragged him off. “Come on, I’ll show you what it’s like.” Chase locked his right arm together with Richard’s left as they proceeded, cautioning Richard, “Go slow, I’ll let you know when we’ve gone far enough. Keep hold of my arm.” They walked ahead slowly.

Green light began. With each step it became more intense, but it was different from when Richard had watched Chase go in by himself. Then, the light had been to Chase’s sides and above him, now it was all about. There was a buzzing sound, like a thousand bumblebees. With each step the sound became deeper, but not louder. The green light became deeper, too, and the surrounding wood darker, as if night were falling. Then the sheet of green was in front of them, materializing out of nothing, with the green glow everywhere else. Richard could hardly see the woods anymore—he looked back and couldn’t see Zedd or Kahlan at all.

“Easy now,” Chase warned. They pushed against the green sheet as they stepped slowly ahead Richard could feel the pressure of it against his body.

Then everything else blacked out, as if he were in a cave at night, with a green glow around Chase and himself. Richard held Chase’s arm tighter. The buzzing felt like it was vibrating his chest.

With the next step the green sheet of the wall changed suddenly. “Far enough,” Chase said, his voice echoing. The wall had become darkly transparent, as if Richard were looking into a deep pond in the dark woods. Chase stood still, watching him.

There were forms on the other side.

Inky black shapes wavered in the gloom on the other side of the wall, specters floating in the deep.

The dead in their lair.

Something closer and faster moved nearer to them. “The hounds,” Chase said.

Richard felt an odd sensation of longing. Longing for the blackness. The humming wasn’t a sound, he realized, it was voices.

Voices that murmured his name.

Thousands of distant voices called out to him. The black shapes were gathering, calling to him, holding their arms out to him.

He felt a sudden, unexpected stab of loneliness, felt the solitude of his life, of all life. Why did he need the pain when they were waiting, waiting to welcome him? Never alone again. The black shapes drifted closer in the gloom, calling to him, and he began to see their faces. It was as if he were looking through murky water. They came closer. He longed to step through. To be there with them.

And then he saw his father.

Richard’s heart pounded. His father called out to him mournfully in a long sorrowful cry. His arms thrust out, trying desperately to clutch for his son. He was just beyond the wall.

Richard’s heart felt as if it were going to rip with yearning. It had been so long since he had seen his father. He wailed for him, hungered to touch him. He wouldn’t have to be afraid ever again. He had only to reach his father. Then he would be safe.

Safe. Forever.

Richard tried to reach out to his father, tried to go to him, tried to step through the wall. Something was holding his arm. Irritated, he pulled harder. Someone held him from his father. He screamed for whoever held him to let go. His voice sounded hollow, empty.

Then he was being pulled away from his father.

His anger roared to life. Someone was trying to drag him back by his arm. In a rage he grabbed his sword. A big hand clamped over his with an iron grip. Screaming in unrestrained fury, he struggled mightily to free the sword, but the big hands held tight, dragging him, stumbling, from his father. Richard struggled, but was hauled away.

The green wall came up suddenly in place of the darkness as he was pulled back. Chase was dragging him away from it, through the green light. The world returned with a sickening jolt. The dry, dead bog returned.

Suddenly aware, Richard was appalled at what he had almost done. Chase released his sword hand. Shaking, Richard put it on the big man’s shoulder for support, struggling to catch his breath as they stepped out of the green light. Relief washed over him.

Chase leaned over a little, searching his eyes. “All right?”

Richard nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. The sight of his father had brought back the devastating grief. He had to concentrate just to breathe, to stand. His throat hurt. He realized he had been choking, but hadn’t been aware of it at the time.

Terror raced through Richard’s mind as he realized how close he had come to stepping through the wall, to death. He had been totally unprepared for what had happened. If Chase hadn’t been there holding on to him, he would be dead now. He had tried to give in to the underworld. He felt as if he didn’t know himself. How could he have wanted to give himself over to it? Was he that weak? That frail?

Richard’s head swirled with pain. He couldn’t clear the vision of his father’s face from his mind, the way his father longed for him, called to him, so desperate. He ached to be with him. It would have been so easy. The image haunted his mind, refusing to let go. He didn’t want to let it go—he wanted to go back. He could feel the pull, even as he resisted.

Kahlan was there, waiting for them, at the edge of the green light as they emerged. She swept her arm protectively around his waist and tugged him away from Chase. With her other hand she grabbed hold of his jaw, turning his head, making him look at her.

“Richard. Listen to me. Think of something else. Concentrate. You have to think of something else. I want you to remember every intersection on every trail in the Hartland. Can you do that for me? Please? Do it now. Remember every one for me.”