Dragonlord of the Savage Empire se-2

by Jean Lorrah

  “Of course you are,” Lenardo said reassuringly. “So am I. We won’t go much farther today. Read with me.”

  //See that stream ahead, with the lovely pool? We’ll stop there for the night. We can swim and get clean and put on clean clothes.//

  Just as on the other side of the border, this area was too close to the wall for people to feel secure. An abandoned orchard still produced apples on gnarled old trees, while blackberries weighted the tangled vines under them. While Julia picked fruit, Lenardo found that a bent pin on a thong, baited with a crumb of bread, quickly caught two unwary fish from the stream. He was careful not to Read while he fished. There wasn’t much mind to a fish, but Readers still rarely caught them themselves.

  Now that they were on the Aventine side of the border, Lenardo felt free to relax, to build a fire, to broil the fish and make herb tea, to swim with Julia and wash their clothes.

  As the sun lowered, the chilly air drove them to shore, where the fire and hot tea were welcome. It was pleasant to sit by the fire with Julia, making her practice the Aventine language. He had begun teaching her weeks ago, but since she had had no practice except with him, she had not developed fluency.

  “Tomorrow,” he told her, “we will be among people again. We don’t want to be noticed, so you must let me do any talking that is necessary. And whenever I tell you, you must be careful not to Read.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there will be other Readers about, and many of them know me. A male Reader would not be escorting a female discovery to an Academy, and besides, you Read far too well to be a newly wakened Reader. Once I get you to Tiberium and explain your situation to the Masters, you will continue to grow and use your powers. But until we get there, we must avoid rousing curiosity.”

  “Father, why can’t a male Reader escort a female?”

  He knew that she suspected the truth, and he would have a fight on his hands if he admitted it. He equivocated. “I taught you in Zendi because I was the only other Reader there. Here though, girls are always trained by women and boys by men. You will like your teachers, Julia, and make many new friends at the Academy, girls like yourself.”

  “But what about you?”

  He looked into her round brown eyes, ready to cloud with tears. “I will always be your father,” he said truthfully, and hid the pain that realization cost him.

  She had indeed become his child, as much as if she were his own flesh and blood. Readers tried to keep themselves emotionally distant from the children they knew they would lose at six, seven, or eight. Some even avoided naming their children in a personal fashion. The Academies were full of young Readers named Primus or Secundus, Tertia or Puella.

  The only Readers forbidden mental contact with one another were parents and children, at least until the children were grown. Children were always assigned to Academies far from where their families lived; the Academy must become their home, the Masters their parents, all Readers their brothers and sisters.

  Julia could not fight sleep after another hard day. Lenardo covered her and kissed her forehead. For a moment, the whimsical notion played at the edges of his mind that they did not have to go on to Tiberium. They could stay here, build a house, live off the land. No one came here for months, maybe years at a time, and Readers could easily avoid company.

  He dismissed the foolish notion, banked the fire, and settled back to Read all around them. No one for miles in any direction. No dangerous wild animals. He really should try to contact Master Clement, but before he could do so, he fell asleep.

  Two days later, Lenardo and Julia rode into Tiberium. rThe weather had turned hot again, but Lenardo wore a long-sleeved tunic to cover the brand on his arm. In the crowds, they went completely unnoticed, just another pair of travelers. Lenardo’s beard suggested that he might be a workman from one of the outlying provinces, traveling with his daughter.

  Lenardo Read about him with the same odd sense of his own transparency that had kept Portia and Clement from noticing his eavesdropping. // I can keep Portia from knowing I’m Reading her, I can certainly fool any other Reader in Tiberian.

  It was many years since he had been in the capital, not since his own testing for the rank of magister. The city was clean and beautiful, as he had wanted Zendi to be. It felt good to come home, even without knowing what fate awaited him. Julia would be safe here in Portia’s Academy. What would become of Lenardo was another question. He had broken his vow of celibacy; he could not be readmitted to the Academy. Nonetheless, his Reading abilities had mysteriously increased. He didn’t know why, but if his powers had reached this unheard-of state, what might a Master Reader achieve who had never defiled his body? Once he had demonstrated his increased abilities, the entire Council of Masters would want him alive and well for their study.

  I will bargain for my life from a position of power, he thought wryly. That was one useful lesson Aradia had taught him; without that understanding, it was dangerous to have something other people wanted.

  The sun was high in the sky. Lenardo found an inn, where he and Julia took a room and then had luncheon in the cool, dark tavern. In the heat, everyone was eating fruit and salad, and so their vegetarian Readers’ diet provoked no curiosity. Soon the busy streets would empty, and the boys at the temporary Academy would be released from their studies in the heat of the day. Lenardo intended to go there and reveal himself to Clement and Torio.

  Leaving Julia, who was actually willing to nap after the long journey, he set out on foot through the emptying streets. His ankle was almost completely healed; the short walk would not harm it. The students from the Academy at Adigia were still housed in an abandoned villa-adequate lodgings but not a proper building for their needs, and no room to expand.

  The street door stood open. Lenardo entered, Reading some of the boys gathered in the shade by the courtyard fountain and others in their rooms. The marble building was cooler inside than out; most of the teachers and students were in their rooms, many of them napping. Something was missing in the atmosphere-a certain sense of hope and excitement that had characterized these same men and boys at Adigia.

  He turned from the entry hall where visitors were greeted into a long corridor, expecting at every moment to be challenged, thinking of the surprise when he identified himself, for everyone here knew him. Several strong Readers were awake and Reading. By the time he reached the end of the hall, he should have been recognized or challenged half a dozen times-yet no one noticed him. Slowly, it dawned on him that he had achieved the legendary ability to Read without being Read. As if his mind had become completely absorbing, nonreflecting, he was unReadable among Readers.

  To test the hypothesis, he deliberately Read the next person he found awake: Decius. The boy was sitting on his bed, massaging the stump of the leg he had lost in the battle at Adigia. Leaning against the bed was the peg leg he was learning to use; it made the stump sore, and the boy was now Reading carefully to determine whether today’s was the bruising pain he had to endure until he gained strength and callouses or whether he had best to go back to his crutch for the rest of the day. It was a pragmatic examination, Lenardo was glad to find; there was no self-pity in the boy’s attitude.

  Neither was there recognition, even when Lenardo Read with him, sick at heart to see traces of unhealed damage after all this time. Sandor would have healed those lingering injuries in a week, Aradia in a day.

  But they heal people only to keep them in their power, Lenardo told himself, and continued quietly past Decius’:closed door toward where Torio’s stood open.

  At this point the wall to Lenardo’s left ended, a series of pillars supporting the roof but giving access to the courtyard, where several of the younger boys were splashing in:the fountain with shouts and giggles, paying attention to nothing but their games. Lenardo moved quietly down the shaded hall and entered Torio’s room.

  The boy was sitting at his desk, his back to Lenardo, concentrating on a box in front of him. It was an exerci
se in fine discernment, a sealed box containing a number ol items similar in composition, some very tiny, such as several grains of sand in different colors, and with them a single salt crystal. Torio, having identified all the larger items, was concentrating on those. He added to the list on his tablet: “sand-black, blue, red, yellow, white.” Lenardo held his breath. Some instinct told Torio to Read again. He did, “looking” at the grains in another way, examining their internal structure. Then he turned his stylus over and rubbed out the word “white,” substituting “salt.” With a sigh, he started to get up from his stool.

  //Very good, Torio.//

  //Master Lenardo.// The boy froze. //Where are you?//

  Astonished to find that Torio seemed to think him still far away, Lenardo replied aloud, “Right here.”

  Torio started and whirled around, his hands groping for an instant unil he began Reading visually and “saw” Lenardo before him. Then he threw his arms about him, hugging him tight, and Lenardo realized that the boy was now as tall as he was.

  “Oh, Master Lenardo, I’m so glad you’re home. But you certainly humble my pride. I didn’t think anyone could sneak up on me anymore. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Why didn’t Master Clement tell me-?”

  The boy’s string of questions halted as Master Clement himself came into the room, closing the door behind him and staring at Lenardo in disbelief.

  “No Reading, Torio,” he instructed quickly. “Lenardo, how did you get here? Why didn’t you contact us? How did you come within the pale?”

  “The same way I just walked through an Academy of Readers undetected. I have much, much to tell you, Master, and to show you.”

  “We must seek a plane of privacy,” said Master Clement. “Lenardo, you are in grave danger here. If you are discovered before we find a way to explain your presence, you will be arrested and executed. Torio, stay here until I contact you. Yes, you may join us, son, but I do not want you trying to reach another plane alone.”

  “Yes, Master,” Torio replied, and lay down on his bed as Clement and Lenardo left.

  Unlike the old Academy at Adigia, there was no special protected room where Readers could take shelter while they left their bodies. Master Clement’s room, though, had a couch as well as bed. Lenardo stretched out, making certain his position would not cramp his unattended body, and floated easily up into pure consciousness. Master Clement was quickly “mere” too, and they “moved” together to Tone’s room.

  The moment Master Clement’s presence touched Torio, the boy’s consciousness left his body, joining them readily with the delicious sense of pure freedom so refreshing in those to whom it was still a new experience.

  //Excellent, Torio,// Lenardo told him. //You have learned much while I was away.//

  //Don’t encourage him to pride,// Master Clement warned, although his warm pleasure in the boy’s achievement belied the thought. //I’ve never had a student so determined to be first and best at everything. No, not even you, Lenardo.//

  In their present disembodied state, no Reader could “overhear” their conversation unless they willed it or unless the other Reader joined them. Yet to Lenardo’s. surprise, Clement said, //We will now move to another plane. Torio, you’ve done this only once before. Don’t try to Read and follow. Flow with me. With me. That’s right.//

  The two presences were gone, but Lenardo had Read then- “direction.” He followed into the disorientation of the plane of privacy, sensing Torio’s discomfort. They were three presences in a world of nothing-no light and hence no dark, no up, no down. From here, they could no longer Read their own world, would not even know if something happened to their bodies.

  The plane of privacy was dangerous; only Readers of the highest ranks could achieve it, and even they rarely used it. Only once before had Lenardo actually come here to achieve privacy: when he, Clement, and Portia had plotted his exile so that he could attempt to take Galen from the enemy.

  He was surprised that Clement was already teaching Torio, who had not yet passed his preliminary examinations.

  //Now, Lenardo,// said Clement, //What are we to do with you?//

  //All I want is to return home, Master. I have accomplished my task: Galen is dead, and the alliance of powerful Adepts who were attacking the empire has been destroyed.//

  //You will have to be tested under Oath of Truth before the Council of Masters.//

  //Of course,// said Lenardo.

  //Portia is respected by the Senate. She can have your exile revoked. Then you can help me rebuild our Academy.//

  //No, Master,// Lenardo interrupted. Ill cannot return to the Academy, for I have broken my Reader’s Oath.//

  //No!// It was a flash of pain from Torio. //No, Master Lenardo, you couldn’t-//

  //I did,// he insisted calmly. //It seemed necessary at the time. All I ask is the same treatment accorded any failed Reader: a job, a place to live… and a place in Portia’s Academy for my daughter.//

  // Your… daughter?// asked Clement.

  //A Reader, Master, born among the savages. I took her into my protection lest they kill her, and then I adopted her.//

  Relief flooded from the other Readers. //Under such circumstances,// said Clement, //what choice did you have? You could not let a child die just because she is female. The portion of your oath requiring you to protect a fellow Reader took precedence. The Council will have to pronounce judgment, but I am sure you will be readmitted to the Academy. How old is the child?//

  //Just turned nine.//

  //And where is she now?//

  Ill took a room at an inn before coming here.//

  //We cannot leave a child at an inn. We’ll put her up with a family for tonight, until she can be tested. But you must not continue-//

  //Master Clement,// Lenardo said stopping him. Ill have broken more than one part of the Code. I am no longer celibate.//

  Shocked silence. Then Torio’s protest: //It’s not so. You couldn’t have.//

  //It’s not possible,// Clement added. //Lenardo, your powers are not diminished. They have grown-grown far more in the few months you were away than I have ever seen a Reader of your age achieve. Son, believe me, the savages have placed a false memory within your mind, hoping to weaken your abilities. If it were true, you would not be able to leave your body, let alone achieve the plane of privacy, or walk unnoticed among Readers. If we must send you to Gaeta to remove this false memory, we will do so, but you may rest assured that it cannot possibly be true.//

  //Master, I regret to tell you that you are wrong. It was no illusion. I sacrificed my powers deliberately, to diminish the powers of an Adept who survived the battle in which Galen was killed. She was my ally until peace was achieved and she realized that she is now the most powerful. In savage terms, that gives her the right to rule. She would have used me, and she would have used Julia-my daughter-had we remained within her sphere of influence.// Lenardo started to add that he knew how to break a command implanted in his mind by an Adept-when he suddenly recalled: //Master Clement, I did not know when I was exiled that the Adepts had the power to place thoughts in people’s minds. How did you know it?//

  Ill did not know it when you left us, Lenardo, or I would have warned you. Portia should have.// No physical reactions were possible in this nonphysical plane, but Lenardo perceived from Clement something distinctly like a long, sad sigh. //Since returning to Tiberium, I have sat regularly on the Council of Masters and learned much that was never reported to us out on the border. You must be cautious, Lenardo. There is great distrust of Readers among powerful nonReaders. If any member of the Council should decide you are too dangerous, a word to any senator would be your death warrant.//

  //I know that, Master, but I am not dangerous. Furthermore, my powers have increased greatly, although I do not know why. The Council will want to study me, to discover the reason so that all Readers may increase their powers.//

  //Master Lenardo,// said Torio, //did you not contact me one morning, a
bout a week ago? I thought I felt-//

  //You did, Torio.//

  //But you seemed startled. I thought you were trying to come home and feared you had been interrupted, captured. I left my body-//

  //Torio,// Master Clement chided, //you have just learned that skill, and are not to attempt it unsupervised.//

  //But Master Lenardo seemed so agitated. I Read to Adigia. I couldn’t get lost there. But I couldn’t find you, Master Lenardo.//

  //No, Torio. You couldn’t find me because I was in Zendi.//

  //Zendi!// Master Clement was horrified. //You left your body in Zendi and came all the way to Tiberium? Lenardo, you could have lost contact with your body forever. If the situation required such a risk, why did you contact Torio rather than me?//

  //There was no risk. Torio, I contacted you by accident, and I was so startled to find myself Reading Tiberium that I withdrew. You see, that was the morning I discovered my new powers. I had not left my body. I was Reading directly.//

  //From Zendi to Tiberium?// Master Clement’s skepticism was tinged with the fear that Lenardo had gone mad. //No one has ever Read over such a distance. To Read a single day’s journey without leaving one’s body is the stuff of legends.//

  //So is a Reader walking among other Readers undetected,// Lenardo reminded him. //Master, when we return to our bodies, I will demonstrate.//

  Demonstrate Lenardo did, for Clement, Torio, and Portia, whom they contacted at once. Her first response to Lenardo’s return was anger.

  //We tread a difficult enough path as it is,// she flashed. //How dare I inform the Senate that an exile has not only come within the pale but is wandering free in Tiberium? The plan was that you be let in at a gate.//

  //Savage soldiers were lying in wait for me at the gates. I planned to climb the wall, but the earthquake conveniently opened a path for me.//

  //That little tremor?//

  //Along the border it was very severe, fortunately at its worst where no one lives.// As an example of his powers, he Read the earthquake area for them, showing the acres of fallen timber and fissures in the earth where the quake had been centered, just a few miles from where he and Julia had nearly met their death.