by Jean Lorrah
Zanos was besieged with congratulations and offers to buy him victory drinks before he even reached the medical room. Some of his fighters had to clear a path for him and keep out the well-wishers while he was being examined.
The stiff silence of the Reader who cleansed and
bandaged his wounds was a welcome relief. Zanos waited until he and two of his men were leaving the stadium before allowing himself to think about Astra, let himself wonder where she was and when she’d hear about his victory. Part of him wished she were here to share his joy, but that would have to wait until tomorrow, after he’d recovered his strength through a good meal and a long night of healing sleep.
He hadn’t seen Ard since the match began, just after he’d entrusted his servant with his personal seal and the gold for wagering.
“No need to worry, Master,” Aeson said. “As soon as you won, Ard went to collect your winnings.
Salamis and Massos are helping him carry all that gold back to your villa. Not a legion of thieves would dare try to rob them]”
Fine. Zanos could trust Ard to see he wasn’t cheated. Soon Ard and Lanna would no longer be his servants, but fellow countrymen, journeying back to Madura with him. He could hardly wait till it was safe to tell them of his powers-but not until they were all on board the ship he would soon own, with the empire at their backs. Tomorrow, he thought with satisfaction, / can start turning my dream into a real plan for getting out of here.
And he deliberately put out of his mind Mallen’s description of Madura.
A victorious gladiator, especially one who had received no serious injury, was expected to celebrate..
Zanos usually enjoyed such parties, but today’s combat had drained his Adept energies more than he had first realized. By the time he had made a brief appearance at his third party, he was fighting heavy fatigue, moving little better than a sleepwalker.
Some of the partygoers made jokes about the gladiator having too much wine, but he had drunk no more than a swallow or two, while restraining himself from eating more than his share of the food set out. He was content to let them believe what they wanted as he stumbled toward his villa, supported by two of his fighters. His home was almost in sight when a mob of his friends seemed to descend out of nowhere, sweeping him along to the house of Gareth, one of the other stable owners.
Despite his weary protests, he was put in a thronelike chair at the head of a table. It was all he could do to stay awake and acknowledge the praise heaped upon him by those who’d won heavily on his victory.
Eventually he became aware of a new group of guests-Morella and her girls, wearing their prettiest clothes and best painted faces.
The party quickly turned to something approaching an orgy, giving Zanos the perfect excuse to make his exit. Standing up, however, proved to be a little difficult, and the door seemed a hundred miles away.
Morella and one of her girls appeared beside him, each slipping under one of his arms to give him the support he needed. Morella made some joke about a sleepy little boy needing to be put to bed, and he managed a weak smile as they drifted out of the noisy warmth of Gareth’s house and into the quiet coolness of the street.
Some time later, he was lowered into his bed and his sandals removed. It felt good to have such friends-but they weren’t his usual friends. They smelled too good.
Was he in danger? No… but still something felt… wrong… somewhere in his world.
Whatever it was, it would have to wait until morning. A light blanket slowly settled over his torso as his last strength faded, lowering him into dreamless sleep.
“By Mawort’s golden blade!”
Zanos’ swearing woke Astra from her fitful sleep. As she sat up in the gladiator’s bed, he jumped out of it. She could Read guilty fear in him, then puzzlement as he realized that he was still fully dressed, and so was sheAs a prostitute.
“Astra?” He became unReadable again as he squinted at her painted face. “Is that you?”
“Yes, Zanos,” she said solemnly. “I’m sorry I startled you. I forgot about this stuff on my face. I didn’t expect to fall asleep, but I lay down here because I was almost as weary as you were. Morella and I all but carried you here from Gareth’s house.”
“But what are you doing here?” he demanded. “And why are you dressed like that?”
“I had no place else to go. My life as a Reader is over.”
Zanos sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her, as she told him what she had discovered at Tressa’s wedding.
“White lotus?” he asked. “Given to a Reader? But Astra, it just doesn’t make sense to addict all the Readers on the Path of the Dark Moon-there isn’t enough of the stuff in the whole empire to serve the craving of so many people. I could understand addicting your friend if she were not being failed-if she were going to be forced to do someone’s dirty work, like Darien and Primus.”
Astra did not correct his assumption that Tressa was her friend-if it hadn’t been for Astra’s cowardice, by this time she should have been. Instead…
“It wasn’t the addictive form,” she explained.
“What?” Zanos asked in obvious confusion. “White lotus is the most addictive drug I know of.”
“Yes, in the form distilled directly from the plant. But I learned in my medical training about derivatives which retain the power to make a patient highly suggestible, but cause no later craving. They are used to treat patients, with, mind sickness.. I had. only the most basic of such training, as my talents lie in music, not healing-but I did learn about the existence of such drugs. Zanos, right now I’m not certain how much I learned from Portia’s mind and how much I have pieced together, but this is what I know:
“Sometimes Readers who fail to reach the highest ranks are given a white lotus derivative in their marriage wine. The Master Reader performing the ceremony then implants the suggestion not only that husband and wife will be completely happy with one another, but that their Reading powers will be permanently reduced when they consummate their marriage.”
“You mean without drugs they’re not?” he asked in shock.
“Yes, they are-or I think they are. But how much or how permanently, I don’t know. Zanos, they’re failing Master Readers with years of experience. That’s not the way the Academy system is supposed to operate-but it’s happening. Even supposing the effect of consummating a marriage were to reduce the powers of a Master to those of a Magister Reader-those are still highly significant powers! Such a person, resentful of what had happened, could be a serious threat to the Council of Masters.”
“I see,” Zanos said, fingering the stubble of beard on his chin. “So they make certain such strong Readers do lose most of their powers.” He shuddered. “They deliberately cripple them, as some people will lame a slave to keep him from running away.
Astra nodded. “I have another piece of information, from years ago-before the corruption in the Council of Masters, I think. My mother was not married to my father. Her powers were so diminished by my birth that Portia was able to make her think her baby had died-yet she recovered enough within a few days to escape from an Academy full of Readers. In fact, she vanished so thoroughly that she was never found. Neither was my father.”
“That’s what Portia told you,” Zanos said flatly. “I don’t want to hurt you, Astra-but isn’t it more likely that they were quietly… executed?”
“No!” she protested. “No-that’s one of the things I Read from Portia. They escaped across the border.
I suppose… that means if they were ever discovered to be Readers the savages killed them. But maybe they’re still alive out there somewhere-maybe they escaped beyond the savage lands to the north, and found some other part of the world where Readers are treated kindly. At least I’d like to think so.”
He smiled gently. “I hope you’re right. But how could you have learned so much from Portia’s mind?
Surely the Master of Masters doesn’t leave her thoughts open for a Magister Reader to
eavesdrop on? “
Lowering her eyes, she described her battle with the Master of Masters, ashamed now of how viciously she had struck out at the old woman, yet still unable to think of any other way she could have saved herself. “I’m gambling that Portia won’t regain consciousness for hours,” she said. “The fact that I’m still alive and free means that I was right. But when she wakens she’ll either alert the entire Reader system to find me, or send out Vortius and his killers!”
“Or both,” muttered Zanos. But then he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll find a way to protect you. Now I see why you’re dressed like that-you figured that one of Morella’s girls going home with me wouldn’t draw any attention.” A wry smile curved his lips. “I’ll tell you the irony of that some other time. Right now, we must get you out of Tiberium-”
“No, Zanos. It’s much more complicated than that.”
“I know. You have to get out of the empire entirely. And yes, Astra, there are places beyond the lands of the savages. Thanks to my winnings from yesterday’s match, I’ll soon leave this land too. Come with me and my friends. We’ll find a way to hide you for the week or so-”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! You don’t have a week or so. You have to get out of the empire this very day, before some other Reader scans you!”
He slowly withdrew his hand from her shoulder. “What are you saying?” he asked, a cold, deadly tone in his voice. Astra was suddenly aware that this man had made a career of killing people.
This was the moment she had dreaded. She grasped his retreating hand and held it tightly. “Zanos, please… hear me out. I Read your match with Mallen-and I discovered the secret you two shared. I thanked every god in the universe when you defeated him… and only then thought to wonder if you were an Adept spy for the savages. ” His hand closed painfully on hers, but she continued with forced calm, “I know you can’t be.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“The savages hate and fear all Readers they don’t control. If you were one of them, you wouldn’t have jeopardized your mission by using your powers to save my life when I was so ill.” His grip on her hand eased, and she could almost have laughed at the surprise on his face.
“Yes, ‘ she told him, “I recognized you. I dreamed about the Sun God, but when I discovered that you had Adept powers, I realized that the god with the flaming hair in my delirium was you. And only someone who cared about me would risk using such powers where any one of a hundred Readers could have discovered and exposed him.” Astra gently pressed his hand against her cheek. “Thank you, ” she whispered.
Zanos shook his head, smiling at her. “I always feared somebody would discover my secret, and could never imagine what would happen next. But you’re not just anybody. You’ve become the most important person in the world to me. When I heard that you were so ill, I could not stay away-not when I knew I could heal you.” lean Lorrah Winston A. Howlett
“I know,” she replied. “Now it’s my turn to help you. Something happened during your match with Mallen. By the time it was over, whatever trick you’d been using to hide your powers stopped working.
You remained unReadable. The gods were smiling on you, for the Magister in the medical room only Read your wounds. I was carefully Reading him all the time you were in there, but there was nothing I could have done if he had tried to scan your thoughts-”
“He must have been a friend of Darien and Primus.” Zanos shrugged. “He didn’t even want to look at me, much less treat my injuries. But now that I’ve had a night’s sleep to recover my strength-”
“You’re still unReadable, Zanos. There was only one moment when you woke up,” she told him, “when I could catch your feelings-and then it blanked out. What happened in the arena yesterday somehow changed you-increased your powers beyond your ability to hide them. If any Reader-even one on the Path of the Dark Moon-were to try to Read you right now, your secret would be out.”
“And I’d have to fight off a mob to get out of the city, ‘ he concluded. “But there has to be something we can do. I need time to finish the deal with the owner of the Nightwind.”
“A merchant ship?”
“A smuggler’s ship, actually. War or no war, the Emperor still needs fishing ships for his food and smuggling ships to get him soap and spices. That’s why certain vessels have not been conscripted for the invasion fleet. The Nightwind’s owner has had money problems lately, and is open to accepting a rather large bribe-”
A worried look crossed his face as he stopped.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I just realized what was strange when you and Morella put me to bed last night.” He went to the door and opened it. “Ard! Lanna!”
There was no reply. Astra Read throughout the villa, and found no one. When she told Zanos, he asked,
“Did you see either of them last night?”
“Ard let us in. I’m sure he didn’t recognize me, although he did stare-but I don’t remember seeing Lanna.”
Muttering an oath, Zanos strode to the bedroom’s west wall. It was painted with a mural of birds in flight, divided into panels. Zanos pressed two spots in one panel and it instantly sprang open, revealing a closetlike hiding place.
He let out a long breath, obviously relieved as he pulled out a small wooden chest, one of three hidden there. “For a moment I was afraid that Ard had betrayed me and run off with my winnings,” he said as he lifted the heavy box to a small table. “And I’ve always been afraid that one of Vortius’ corrupt Readers would locate that secret panel. “
A sudden pounding at the front door drew Astra’s attention away from the chest. She Read through the door-and gasped as she recognized, “It’s Vortius!”
“What’s he doing here?” Zanos asked, already heading out of the room.
“Zanos-”
“Yes, I know,” he said, putting a silencing finger to his lips as he pulled the door shut behind him. With her inner vision, Astra followed him to the front door and watched him admit Vortius, his two bodyguards, and a middle-aged man in the robes of a magistrate. Zanos welcomed the official with a measure of respect, ignoring the gambler and his two thugs.
“I’ll come straight to the point, Zanos,” said the magistrate. “Vortius claims you are unable or unwilling to pay off the gambling debt you incurred yesterday. He says you owe him nine hundred gold marks.”
“Is this some kind of joke?” Zanos shot an angry look at the smug gambler. “I don’t owe you a thing.”
“You can’t lie your way out of it, Zanos,” Vortius
retorted, pulling documents out of the folds of his cloak. “You wagered one thousand marks on the outcome of your match yesterday, but put up only a hundred marks at the gambling center. That is permitted, but now you must pay the rest.”
“Now I know you’ve gone insane!” Zanos exclaimed. “First of all, I bet only one hundred marks, and second, I won’t”
“Yes, I know you won,” the magistrate said, “which puzzles me all the more. Why did you wager against yourself?”
Zanos snatched the documents from Vortius’ hands. Astra bit her lower lip as she Read the unbelievable: a wagering agreement between Zanos and Vortius for one thousand gold marks-on Malien. The line for the bettor’s identification bore the mark of Zanos’ personal seal.
“Forgery!” the gladiator exclaimed. “This is fraud-”
“On the contrary,” said the magistrate, “I was witness to the transaction; your manservant made this wager as he always does, and finalized it with your seal. You did entrust him to place that bet for you?”
“Not that bet! Not against me! Why would I bet against myself in a death match?”
“Oh, come now, Zarios,” Vortius sneered. “It’s happened before: the heavy favorite makes a deal with his opponent. The favorite is ‘defeated’ with a slight wound, and he and his friends get rich by betting against him. You were the clear favorite yesterday, but something must
have gone wrong between you and Malien. You were forced to change your plans and kill-”
“That’s a lie!” Zanos declared.
None of this makes sense, Astra thought. ” Zanos “lost” the bet, then what’s in these-?
Rocks! Incredulously, Astra Read that the chest on the table was filled not with gold, but with stones. So were the other two. Ard betrayed him, she realized, feeling sick. Oh, Zanos…
“You know the gambling laws, Zanos,” the magistrate was saying. “If you cannot pay the debt by noon today, then the state will seize your properties and turn them over to Vortius, after the appropriate taxes have been deducted. And if the assessments show that the value of your properties does not fully cover the debt-”
“-which I’m sure it doesn’t,” Vortius put in.
“-then you will be turned over to Vortius as his bondservant, to work off the rest.”
Zanos tore apart the documents and made a leap for Vortius’ throat. The two bodyguards grabbed the gladiator’s arms, barely able to restrain him.
“Zanos, no!” Astra projected, even though she knew he couldn’t receive her thoughts. If Zanos unleased his powers on four men, including a government official, that mob he feared might consist of half the empire!
For a few brief moments, Zanos became Readable, and Astra could sense his struggle to regain his composure.
“Bondservant!” he spat. “That’s just another word for slavel I’ll never be your slave, Vortius!”
“You will do as the law directs.” The gambler smiled. “Or you will find yourself sold into the galleys.
Besides, working for me is not so bad. I can be quite generous. After all, I could have pressed my claim last night, and spoiled your celebration.”
That’s a lie, Astra’s powers told her. Vortius had to be someplace else last night, and couldn’t have pressed his claim, even if he’d wanted to.
But where had he been? She knew that the answer to that question was very important, but Vortius annoyingly would not think of it so she could Read it.
“You have three hours to get your affairs in order, Zanos,” the magistrate said. “We will return at noon, and if you do not have the money at hand, all that