Captives of the Savage Empire se-3

by Jean Lorrah

  Julia gave Amicus a withering look, but Lenardo replied, "Julia is an exceptionally talented Reader. We would not ordinarily expose so young a child to potential danger, but we are grievously short of Readers of any age or ability."

  "However," Torio interrupted, "there is now another Reader available—one completely loyal to Lord Wulfston."

  "Who?" Wulfston asked, with a puzzled glance at Melissa.

  //Tell them, Rolf,// Torio broadcast at the strongest intensity.

  "Tell them what?" the boy asked in total surprise.

  Even Wulfston, the only one at the table who could not Read it, immediately understood what had happened. He got up, went to Rolf, pulled him out of his chair and hugged him. "It's working! Torio—how did you do it? Can you teach me now?"

  "I don't understand!" Rolf protested. "I didn't do anything."

  //Yes you did!// Torio replied.

  //Rolf, listen,// Lenardo added.

  //Nobody's talking,// Julia told him.

  "But… how did it happen?" Rolf asked in confusion. "Torio—how did you know! How did you know when I didn't?"

  Torio explained, telling how Rolf had insisted he had heard Melissa's voice when she was miles away, on the other side of the battlefield. "Melissa, you gave Rolf the clue, when you suggested that he orient himself by using his ability to sense water. But Wulfston, you were right about motivation: Rolf opened to Reading to save his life."

  The black Adept returned to his seat, lost in thought. Then he sighed. "I am surrounded by Readers, and I cannot reach any of you." His sense of isolation was palpable.

  Aradia ran to Wulfston and hugged him tightly. "You will learn, my brother—I know you will. It takes time, that's all. But we have three people now with both powers—that proves that more can learn."

  "Why don't you just—" Master Corus began, but Master Amicus interrupted him.

  "Corus—no!"

  Torio, Lenardo, Melissa, and Julia were all good enough Readers to catch Corus' unspoken words—implant the idea that he can Read in his mind—and echo them to Aradia and Rolf.

  "What did he say?" Wulfston asked, not missing the tension among the Readers. When they all remained silent, he leaned forward and demanded, " Tell me!"

  Aradia remained behind him, her arms still around him. "That we might… implant in your mind the belief that you can Read," she said gently.

  Wulfston put his hands over his sister's, as if for support. It was obvious that the idea was as abhorrent to him as to any Reader, and yet, "My sister," he said, "I trust you. Lenardo—you are as much family as Aradia. I will be safe in your hands."

  "No!" Lenardo and Aradia spoke as one.

  "Do you remember how we worked together to save Nerius' life?" Wulfston asked. "We could have killed him, removing the tumor from his brain—but we risked it, and gave him back his health. I am willing to risk—"

  "Father was dying!" Aradia said. "The worst we could have done would have been to kill him a few weeks sooner. You are in no danger, little brother. All you need to get what you want is patience."

  "And you do not understand the danger," added Lenardo. "In Nerius' case we were working with a growth of specific location and dimensions. It was hard work to explain to you, and even harder for you to do—but it was physical. Wulfston, you never know what will happen when you tamper with a person's mind. We could do much worse than kill you. I will not do it, Aradia will not—and thank the gods you are a Lord Adept whose mind no one can tamper with if you do not will it."

  A strange combination of astonishment and guilt was radiating from Masters Amicus and Corus. //They're right,// Master Corus said. //We should never have allowed Portia to start—//

  //Stop! Stop Reading!// Master Amicus demanded, grasping the other man's arm.

  //What difference does it make now? We can't go home. What difference if these people twist our minds, or if the Council—//

  Suddenly something happened that Torio had never Read before—Master Amicus' mind was grappling somehow with Master Corus', trying to prevent his thoughts—Searing pain jabbed through him. Melissa screamed and put her hands to her head. Rolf cried out hoarsely, and Julia gave out a child's wail of pain and fear.

  "Wulfston!" Lenardo gasped. "Amicus! Knock him out!"

  The Master Reader slumped in his chair, and the pain subsided to a shallow throbbing. Master Corus put his face in his hands and sobbed.

  Aradia was leaning heavily on Wulfston, unReadable. She pulled herself up, walked to Master Corus, and laid her hands on his head. His pain stopped entirely, but dread fear replaced it—he froze as he sat, waiting. She began to Read again. Feeling his fear, she said, "I won't hurt you. No one will force you… but won't you tell us what you started to? Aloud, please, so my brother can hear."

  He looked up at her, then at Lenardo. "I was afraid," he said dully, "of Portia and her inner circle of Masters. At first I thought they knew best—they were all older, have been Master Readers longer than I have. But this past year I voted with them because they hold the power. Portia can influence the Emperor—she is of his family, did you know?"

  "I didn't know," said Lenardo. "But it should make no difference—the Emperor, the Senate, the Readers, all work for the best interest of the empire."

  "That's what I thought—I really did. For a long time. I didn't question—"

  "I understand," Lenardo assured him. "I was the same, until Portia sent me into the savage lands, and I discovered that things are not always as we have been led to believe. Tell us—when did you begin to question?"

  The man blushed with shame. "I didn't. I knew what they were doing, and I made no effort to stop it."

  "Who is'they' and what did they do?" asked Torio.

  "What they were going to do to you," he replied. "I've Read you. You are a Magister Reader—there is no question about it. You will be a Master when your powers are fully developed. But they—Portia and her inner circle—declared you failed. They'd have married you off—"

  "To blunt my powers. I know."

  "Wait," said Lenardo. "I 'knew' it, too, Torio. But I am married, and my powers are not blunted. Only at first—"

  "If you had been married in a proper Readers' ceremony," said Master Corus, "your powers would not have returned."

  Melissa gasped, but remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself.

  "What are you saying?" asked Aradia.

  "Marriage—sex—does blunt one's powers. We do not fully understand it, but it seems to have to do with… bodily changes, the way one's powers change at puberty, and are blunted by illness. Pregnant women always have weakened powers—temporarily. But… those powers could return, and even grow—under the right circumstances."

  "That is the way it happens with Adepts," said Wulfston. "At least most of the time."

  "Father," said Aradia. "Lilith. And Lenardo and me, although I have not yet borne a child."

  "But the Council of Masters wants to retain control over all Readers," said Master Corus. "There are so many Readers who will never attain the top ranks—but who might come close over the years, close enough to threaten the political power of the Masters—"

  "Readers have no political power," said Torio. "We can't hold office—we can't even own property unless we're failed."

  "The Council—or at least Portia's inner circle—may not hold public office," replied Corus, "but they wield power. They know the secrets of the Senators. They find out about business deals. It's… the way things have always been done, I was told. I took my share. It was easy… and the others told me it was my right. It wasn't. It was wrong—I can see how my powers have failed from misuse. I could not hide my feelings even from Torio."

  "So," said Aradia to Lenardo, "it turns out your fine, upstanding Council of Masters are no less desirous of power than Adepts are, my husband."

  Lenardo nodded. "They are simply less honest about it. But it makes no difference, Aradia—"

  "No difference!" cried Melissa. "No difference that m
y best friend has lost her powers because they twisted her mind? No difference that Portia became so afraid of Master Jason that she sent him into danger, to die? No difference that everything we've always believed in is a Hell"

  At her outburst, Torio started to turn to Melissa—

  And was in the midst of a crowd on the steps of the Senate in Tiberium, his mind screaming with other people's rage and fear as the earth heaved beneath his feet! The tremor lifted the stone slabs used as steps, toppling him—the world spun before his eyes—while inside the Senate he Read the roof cave in! Men screamed and tried to run. Solid stone fell on them. Across the forum, a reviewing stand filled with dignitaries collapsed, throwing people into the crowd—he recognized the golden robes of the Emperor!

  Pain and fear filled the air, wrath playing counterpoint as he Read, both broadcasting and shouting, "Stop! Stop it! You'll kill everyone! You're destroying the whole city! Everyone will die!"

  Chapter Seven

  The scene cut off as abruptly as it had begun. Melissa found herself back at Lord Wulfston's table, gripping the edge, her heart pounding in terror. She looked around, Reading. Rolf was rubbing his eyes, his fear and shock overwhelmed by the sight he had never known before. Torio pulled the boy's hands away from his face, saying, "It wasn't you, Rolf." //But what was it?//

  "Tiberium!" Master Corus exclaimed. "Another earthquake—destroyed!" A bitter laugh escaped him. "Now I have no home to return to."

  "Was it?" asked Aradia. "Was it real? Lenardo—has it finally happened?"

  "No," he answered. "It was my vision. But you all saw it this time? That's never happened before."

  Wulfston looked around at their stricken faces. "Would someone please tell me what happened?"

  "The earthquake again," said Lenardo. "The destruction of Tiberium. The same vision I've been having—except that it went on a few moments longer… and now I know when!"

  "Summer Festival," said Torio. "The banners, the crowds, the Emperor in the reviewing stand. More people are in Tiberium then than on any other day of the year."

  "We must stop it!" said Lenardo. "Two months—only two months to ease that fault."

  I hope it kills the whole Council of Masters, Melissa thought privately.

  "We'll go in again," said Wulfston. "We have to go deeper into the empire—"

  "And what if we set off other quakes?" asked Torio. "We're working without enough information again. What if we set up the very disaster you foresee, my lord?"

  Lenardo studied Torio, and smiled ruefully. "The right question, Lord Torio. Who has suggestions?"

  "Your visions have always come true, Lenardo," said Aradia.

  "Yes, but not always as I interpreted them. And I have never been able to prevent one."

  "What we need," said Wulfston, "is a map of the entire length of the fault—but even you can't Read all the way to the southern section, Lenardo."

  "I can if I go back into the empire. With the powers I now have, I will be safe for long enough to make your map, Wulfston. This time we will have every bit of information before we begin. When we are ready, we will spread our Adept talents the length of the empire. Just before the festival, people will be traveling all up and down the main road—a few more strangers won't be noticed."

  "The problem," said Wulfston, "is Readers. We can gather several hundred people with varying degrees of Adept talent—but how do we coordinate them? Torio's quicksand almost became a disaster because I could not communicate with the water talents in the midst of the action. We need several hundred Readers, as well… and all the Readers we have are right here in this room."

  Melissa glanced at Master Corus, and the still-unconscious Master Amicus beyond him. She had the beginning of an idea… but she knew Amicus' loyalties were still with Portia, while Corus appeared to be willing to do whatever seemed most expedient for his own safety—hardly someone they should trust with their plans.

  Wulfston followed her gaze, and asked, "Lenardo, Torio, how certain is it that the Council of Masters will indeed disregard what these hostage Readers report to them?"

  "Not certain at all, concerning something they can verify—such as renegade Readers entering the empire with groups of unReadable strangers," said Lenardo. "We have made a strategic error. I suggest we keep Master Amicus asleep, put Master Corus to sleep before he has an opportunity to report to the Masters left with the army—and then take them both north to Lilith's castle and hold them there until after the Summer Festival. Even out of body, they cannot communicate over such a distance."

  "You don't have to knock me out," said Master Corus. "I will go willingly." His relief was obvious.

  "Why?" asked Wulfston, and Lenardo frowned as he tried to Read the man. Only his emotions were Readable.

  Melissa remembered something Jason had told her. " 'When the moon devours the sun, the earth will devour Tiberium. Master Corus doesn't want to be there when it happens."

  "When the moon devours the sun," Lenardo mused. "I've heard that before. Is there—?"

  "An eclipse," said Melissa, "just before Summer Festival."

  "Then we know we have the timing right," said Wulfston. "Now, what about Melissa? Torio?"

  Melissa let Torio Read her. He reported, "She feels betrayed, Wulfston. Her faith in the Council of Master Readers and the Aventine government has been badly shaken. Let her see what we're doing. I think she will join us."

  "Very well," said Wulfston. "Lenardo, Aradia?"

  "I trust Torio's instincts," said Lenardo.

  "And I trust Lenardo's," Aradia added.

  "Torio," said Wulfston, "keep watch on Melissa. I must prepare for the funeral this afternoon. Lady Melissa, the bodies of those who were drowned in the storm are being returned with the prisoners to the Aventine army. Our own dead are being brought here, by those closest to them. It is our custom to allow each person to be spoken of by those who loved him, before he is returned to the elements. We will keep the body of Magister Jason here, for our ceremony—if you wish to speak for him?"

  "Yes, thank you… my lord," Melissa got out around the lump in her throat.

  "Before we make any further plans, though—" Wulfston glanced toward Master Corus, and he slumped, as unconscious as Amicus. The Lord Adept called for servants to remove the two men. "Now. Aradia? Lenardo?"

  "What news of Lilith?" asked Aradia.

  "The watchers reached her before she had gone far enough to make it worth her while to journey all this way," Wulfston replied. "She sends us her congratulations, but has returned home."

  "Rightly so," said Aradia. "We will write to her of our new plan—I do not want the watchers sending the message, lest it be read by some of our outlying neighbors. They are frightened of our strength now—but think what opportunity we would give them if they knew both Lords Adept and minor talents were out of our lands at one time!"

  Lenardo smiled fondly at his wife. "Trust Aradia to think in terms of power and vulnerability. She is right—we must not let the whole world know. Fortunately, we will not be moving armies; no one need know that our lands will temporarily be left without Adept defenses."

  "There are other defenses," Rolf put in. "Even a

  Lord Adept's army can be delayed by storms. You will not need my kind of talent with you."

  "You forget, Rolf," said Torio, "we need you as a Reader."

  "But I can't—"

  //Can you hear me, Rolf?// Lenardo asked.

  "Yes, but—"

  "No 'buts. That's good enough to act as relay to nonReaders. Wulfston, do you think if we threw a few more of our minor Adept talents into quicksand—?"

  "I'd dive in myself, if I thought it would do any good. But Rolf is a special case—if he could see, he would have known which way to direct his Adept talent, and would not have had to Read."

  "But I didn't learn it to save my life," said Aradia.

  "No—someone else's," Lenardo replied. "You heard a man scream—and you arrived in time to save him. But the witnesse
s claimed he never made a sound. I didn't realize you were Reading until the next day—but we must all be watching for evidence like that. We know it's the same talent now." He stretched out his hand, and Melissa saw on his forearm the dragon's head brand of the traitor to the Aventine Empire. He became unReadable—and the heavy candlestick slid down the table and into his hand.

  Melissa gasped. They had said he had learned Adept powers—but this was the first time she had seen it. He turned to her, Readable once more. "Yes, Lady Melissa, it works both ways. You can learn Adept powers. Rolf makes the evidence undeniable: Aradia and I are not some peculiar special case. It is one talent, not two."

  "Then… we cripple ourselves," said Melissa. "Our own beliefs destroy our powers. But why—?"

  "Melissa," said Torio, "what would have happened to you in the Aventine Empire if you had shown Adept tendencies?"

  "That's not what I mean," she replied. "I know how things are—but I don't understand why. If the Empire had Adepts, trained like Readers and loyal to their homeland, the savages would never have been able to hurt us. And you—why would you prevent children from Reading?"

  "I almost got killed for it," said Julia.

  "It's the same question," Melissa insisted. "Why not use both talents?"

  "You can't," said Aradia, "not to their fullest. I am not a very good Reader—not even as good as Julia—because I will not give up my Adept powers."

  "What you just saw," added Lenardo, "is the limit of my Adept ability. But Aradia and I are adults. My daughter sometimes accuses me of discouraging her from learning Adept powers, but that's not true. We do not know what could be accomplished by someone who exercised both talents from childhood. But after you have learned to rely on one power, you are unwilling to compromise it. The food you eat to keep up strength for Adept functions dulls Reading—and using Adept power weakens the body, if only temporarily. Sleep and food restore it—but in the meantime Reading is as diminished as if you were critically ill."

  "And eating the cattle fodder Lenardo prescribes for clear Reading," Aradia supplied, "weakens the body, making it impossible to use Adept powers to their fullest. I feel secure when I am at the peak of physical strength. If I allow myself to become weak, my neighbors will attack and destroy me. Even since we formed our alliance, not a year has passed without our being attacked by other Lords Adept. That is why Adept powers are the ones we encourage. A Reader cannot protect himself against Adept attack."