Betrayals

by Sharon Green

  But that didn't change the fact that Meerk had refused to agree to Valiant's demands. He had openly admitted he was courting Tamrissa, and with marriage in mind! That part of it had also shaken Valiant, as he'd never expected Meerk to have honorable intentions. It changed things in a vague but definite way, if anything could be both vague and definite at the same time. It also meant that he would have to speak to Tamrissa, something he'd been hoping to avoid. Every time he got close to her and she smiled that beautiful, en­ticing smile ...

  It took a small effort for Valiant to get control of himself again, but as soon as he did he headed straight for Tamrissa. If he put off talking to her Meerk might come back and say the wrong thing, and that would be worse. Better to get there first and avoid confusion. When he stopped beside her she looked up, then she smiled that smile.

  "Well, this is a surprise," she said, actually putting aside the pen she'd been using. "Or is it time for us to Blend again?"

  "No, it isn't time to Blend," Valiant answered quickly, feeling a flush in his cheeks as he crouched beside her. Wasn't that part of what Meerk had said ... ? "I just wanted to talk to you for a moment, to ask a favor. Will you mind doin' me a favor?"

  "Of course not," she answered, looking as though she forcibly kept herself from reaching out to touch him. "What favor would you like me to do for you?"

  "I want you to tell Meerk to stop... doin' what he's doin', ' Valiant said, having more trouble putting the thing into words than he'd expected to. "He isn't part of our group, after all, and it just isn't right."

  "What isn't right about it?" she asked after a very brief pause, an odd expression flickering in her lovely eyes. "He isn't doing anything but courting me, and in a most polite way. He isn't by some chance interfering with someone else's intention to court me—is he?"

  "Ah... no, he isn't," Valiant said through teeth that seemed to want to clench. "It... isn't time yet for... somethin' like that. But that doesn't make what he's doin' all right. He isn't really one of us, and that makes a big difference."

  "It hasn't made a difference for Rion and Naran," she countered, the expression in her eyes having suddenly changed. "Are you saying you consider Naran an outsider because she doesn't Blend with us?"

  "No, of course not," Valiant hastened to assure her, be­ginning to feel that the conversation was getting out of hand. "Naran is one of us without question, but that's completely different. Meerk isn't like Naran, not in any way at all."

  "And why would that be?" she demanded, all sweetness and smiles having disappeared. "Tell me, Dom Ro, why is it different? I want to hear a reason for what you're saying."

  "It just is, that's all," Valiant muttered, determined not to be stampeded away from the decision he'd previously made. "And it doesn't even matter. You agreed to do me the favor, so 1 expect you to hold to that."

  "I agreed before I understood what the favor was," she stated, showing nothing of the fluster she once would have. "Now that I have all the details, I'm afraid I must decline. I happen to like being courted, since I don't intend to spend the rest of my life alone. If you don't like what you're see­ing, my suggestion would be to stop looking."

  And with that she gathered her things together and got up, walking away from him in the same way Meerk had done. Valiant rose to his full height and stared after her, fighting the urge to chase after and stop her. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but he knew she wasn't ready to hear them. He knew that, although he certainly wished he didn't....

  Forty-two

  I barely noticed the rest of that day's ride, and didn't sleep very well the following night. Oh, I was certainly tired enough from all the unaccustomed exertions of the trip, and the destruction and desolation we rode through was enough to make anyone want to hide in sleep. But even though Lorand and the other Earth magic people managed to find a corner of land with trees and grass, that didn't help my frame of mind. I spent the night trying to decide whether I felt more hurt or more angry, and even now, after we'd started to move again, I still hadn't decided.

  The day was cool but trying to be pretty, which certainly didn't match the torn-up landscape all around. It was almost as though whoever had done the damage had ruined the land deliberately, making it uninhabitable for the people who used to live there. That was a horrible thing to do, destroy­ing a place so that it was no longer able to support the people who used to five there, but it sounded so typical of the nobility. They could afford to wait until the land re­turned to itself, and it wouldn't have bothered them a bit that the people who had depended on it to survive couldn't wait.

  "This is really awful, isn't it?" a voice said, and I turned my head to see that Alsin had ridden up beside me. "I've read about things like this, the total destruction of land and the people on it, but I never expected to see it with my own eyes. To tell the truth, I wish I hadn't."

  I nodded to show that I understood what he meant, finding it difficult to speak after what we'd passed a little while earlier. The bodies of an entire family had been hung head down near the burned-out remnant of their house, dangled from posts like grisly trophies or sick-minded boasting. They hadn't been hanged like the six farm families we'd found, but I had a terrible suspicion that I needed to have confirmed or erased.

  "Alsin, please tell me the truth," I said, not quite looking at him. "I certainly didn't stare at those bodies long, but even a glance made me believe—Please tell me if they were still alive when they were hung up there."

  "I was hoping you'd missed that," he answered after a small hesitation and a sigh, sounding as ill as I felt. "Those of us with Earth magic didn't, of course, but we all agreed not to say anything."

  "I started out wondering why their hands had been tied behind them," I said, fighting not to become physically ill. "Then I realized that you don't tie dead people, and cursed myself for being so logical-minded. Did they do that just to show what great big marvelous victors they are?"

  "They probably did it as a warning to whoever happened to see it," he answered. "The implication is that the same thing can happen to anyone who tries to oppose them, and it's called terror tactics. If people are so afraid of you that they run away before you reach them, it saves you a lot of trouble. Tamrissa ... I thought you were going to ask about something else when you said you wanted the truth. Do you mind if we talk about that instead?"

  "I think we may find it easier to discuss conscienceless murder," I responded, only glancing at him. "At the mo­ment I'm still trying to decide whether to be furious or just plain angry."

  "Because he tried to tell you what to do with your life,"

  Alsin said with a nod. "I know how that feels because I felt exactly the same, but that's not the important thing involved here. What I need to know is ... Do you intend to obey him?"

  "Obedience doesn't enter into the matter," I said a bit more stiffly than I'd intended, thanks to the extreme annoy­ance filling me. "He asked me to do him a 'favor,' but when I heard what it was I refused. Does that answer your ques­tion?"

  "To a certain extent," he agreed cautiously. "I now know that you won't be telling me to stop courting you, but—is that because you really don't want me to stop, or because you're in the mood to spite him?"

  "Neither," I said at once, refusing to be cornered. "You're both trying to manipulate me into doing things your way, but I refuse to let that happen. I told you in the beginning that I have no real interest in you, but if you want to continue with the courting I still have no objection. And as far as Dom Ro goes, what I have to say to him is between me and him."

  "That's fair enough," he assented with another nod. "Just as it's only fair to keep certain things between him and me. If it comes down to it, can I count on your staying out of anything which might develop? I'm not asking for your help, only your neutrality."

  "I'm going to say this once to each of you, and once only," I stated, deliberately turning my head to look directly at him. "Since I'm the only one who has the final say over my
life, a fight between the two of you would not only be pointless but extremely insulting. If it ever happens, I'll make both of you regret that insult."

  "I'm afraid I'm going to have to take my chances," he replied, looking faintly apologetic but not in the least un­certain. "It's something that happens between men at times, and not a thing easily explained to a woman. If Valiant Ro and I end up facing each other, you'll only be a part of the reason for it. The best I can do is say that I won't force the issue, but if it happens I also won't simply walk away. We'll talk again later."

  He turned his horse and touched it with his heels then, returning to the back of our column. I stared after him, hat­ing what I'd heard. Yes, we certainly would talk again later....

  We stopped at noon to have a meal, but didn't stay in the area long because there was no grazing for the horses. Dur­ing the meal I caught Valiant staring at me, as though he'd witnessed the talk I'd had with Alsin. He couldn't have known what the topic of discussion was, but I had the def­inite feeling he now waited to find out if I'd done him that favor. I met the man's gaze then deliberately looked away, hoping to give him an answer to his question. If it didn't work, he'd find out for certain the next time Alsin brought me one of those silly little gifts, like the three wildflowers he'd been producing....

  But there weren't any wildflowers in the countryside we rode through, nor much of anything else either. After about an hour of trying not to think, I had to admit that the pain wanted me to think about it. Valiant had said that he didn't want Alsin to court me, but when I gave him the chance to say that that was because he meant to do some courting, he'd flatly refused to commit himself. No, he wasn't inter­ested in me himself, he just didn't want anyone else to be interested. And I'd tried so hard...

  "Tamma, are you all right?" Jovvi asked as she guided her horse over to walk beside mine. "You've been trying to keep yourself under control, but I'm afraid it isn't work­ing."

  "I've decided to start a collection of failures," I told her, even more depressed over the fact that she'd had to be dis­turbed. "I have so many of them, after all, that it would be a shame to just throw them out. But please don't worry about me. After this is all over I'll probably never associate with another man again, and the thought of that is very soothing right now."

  "I can't think of anything short of drugging that would soothe that roiling mess inside you," she said, reaching over to touch my arm briefly and gently. "Would you like to talk about it? I'd offer to calm you down with my talent, but I don't think I can. The strength of your mind has been grow­ing at an enormous rate, possibly because you never release the power. Maybe, if you like, I can try joining the link-group ..."

  "But your expression says you think that would just be another failure to add to my collection," I finished for her. "I appreciate your wanting to help, Jovvi, but I seem to have reached the point of understanding that the only one who can help me is me. Try to block me out for a little while, and I'll see what I can do to change the subject of my thoughts."

  "I don't like to feel useless, especially when someone as close as you needs what I can do so easily for others," she complained, making a sour face. "I've been thinking about touching the power all the time myself, and—"

  "What is it?" I asked when her words broke off, and her face took on the expression that said she now heard some­thing with her talent. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

  "More unexpected, very much so," she muttered in an­swer, still listening on the inside. "Do you remember when the Blending checked the distance to the nearest human life this morning? It should be at least another half day's travel away from us, but suddenly I'm picking up something all by myself on the other side of that ruined village just ahead. And not just a few minds, but almost as many as we sensed this morning."

  "Well, I know we weren't mistaken this morning," I said, feeling the frown I'd developed. "So now the question is, where did this group come from? And what are they doing on the other side of a destroyed village?"

  "I don't know, but we'd better tell the others," she said, tightening her grip on the reins and kicking her horse. She took off immediately, of course, but it was another moment before I could do the same. Jovvi had years of experience in a saddle, she'd told me, but usually in a divided riding skirt rather than in an ordinary dress. She found it slightly uncomfortable, but other than that wasn't bothered at all. I, on the other hand, had never ridden a horse in my life, and if my mount hadn't been very patient and almost slow, I probably would have been a nervous wreck....

  Not that any of that really distracted me from worrying about what might lie just ahead of us. My first thought was that the guardsmen from Gan Garee had circled around, but that simply wasn't possible. We'd found that they'd gained just a little on us when we'd checked this morning, but aside from that they were right where they'd been all along. No, this had to be something else, but what?

  By the time I reached the others, Jovvi had already told them about what she'd sensed. Our column had stopped dead, of course, but Valiant didn't like that idea.

  "Let's move up to the edge of that blasted-out village," he said, pointing to the place that lay broken and deserted not far ahead of us. "Those ruined houses and shops won't give us much in the way of shelterin', but they'll be better than nothin'. Pass the word back, then get movin'."

  Those of our companions at the head of the column obeyed him immediately about moving, and those behind us passed back the word before quickly following. Alsin was taking his turn leading one of the strings of packhorses to­ward the rear, I knew, which meant we would reach the village before he'd find it possible to join us. With Valiant leading the way, I discovered that even extremely unpleasant circumstances sometimes have their bright side.

  The buildings at the edge of the village were completely destroyed, with nothing but debris left on the ground to show where they'd been standing. A bit farther in there were walls still standing and one or two small houses that seemed intact, but nothing retained a roof. They must have used thatch for roofing, which meant that when it burned it must have collapsed inward, setting fire to whatever the small houses had in the way of furnishings. Not to mention any people who might have taken shelter inside from the at­tack. ...

  By the time we reached the third or fourth house in the village, I'd pretty much decided not to go into any of those buildings no matter what. Happily, though, I didn't have to. The house we stopped near had a large corral behind it, as though it had been used for the temporary holding of horses and cattle herds. That was where we put the horses, still with their saddles and bridles on, but untied. Grass had be­gun to grow inside even though the village itself was cov­ered only in weeds, and the horses had earned a bit of a treat.

  The rest of us gathered at the side of the house, which had three walls still standing. Two of those three walls stood between us and the people Jovvi had discovered so close to us, which would hopefully help a bit if they came even closer. No one said much of anything as our five stood to­gether in the ring of our link-groups, and once everyone was there and in place we quickly Blended.

  The entity was aware of the sense of urgency filling its flesh forms, therefore it lost no time in seeking out those who had come so close to them. There was a very large number of the beings, whose minds all seemed to be filled with turmoil. Fear clearly predominated, with anxiety a close second, and then the entity noticed something odd. The beings were apparently in different relationships to one another, which could be broken down into three groups.

  The first and largest group consisted of the most able talents, Highs and strong Middles with, for the most part, anxiety rather than fear filling them. The second largest group, perhaps a tenth in number compared to the first, were lesser talents, Lows with a smattering of ordinary Middles. This group projected much more fear, but not quite as much as the third and smallest. That group numbered no more than half a dozen, were all Low in talent, and most were terrified. One of the half dozen,
the one who seemed to be most in charge, was furious, his own fear buried deeply beneath his ranting and raving.

  That one was the obvious choice for controlling, but just as the entity decided to touch him it found itself distracted. Another mind trace intruded itself into its awareness, of a pattern and strength which seemed extremely familiar. The entity moved toward that being instead, and rather than take control of it, it made contact.

  —You seem to be the being my flesh forms know as Pagin Holter,—the entity said after taking the being's attention.—Are you aware of what this entity is?—

  "You bet I am!" the being replied with excitement and delight. "You're Valiant, an' Tamrissa, an' Lorand, an' Rion, an' Jovvi! And you gotta be close, somehow! But don't come too close. Most a these here Highs is controlled by th' noble scum, an' there's nothin' they c'n do t'help us. C'n ya get me an' my groupmates away 'thout you gettin' hurt? Us Blendin' don't do no good, 'cause there's too many of 'em who could be turned agin us."

  —This entity would prefer to free those others as well as you and your groupmates,—the entity responded.—It would not be practical for your own entity to give assistance, for you seem to be under surveillance by some of your asso­ciates. Allow this entity to see to the matter, for it appears to be possible to turn matters completely about.—

  The being nodded eager agreement, therefore the entity began the procedure one of its flesh forms had been consid­ering as a possible ploy. Floating to the nearest link-group of Highs, it touched all of their minds together.

  —I am in command,—the entity sent, using the word "I" out of necessity.—This fact may be proven by the simple observation that this entity is the strongest and most able among you. You are therefore obligated to acknowledge this truth.—

  "We acknowledge that truth," one of the flesh forms in the link-group responded for all of them, its tone of voice completely without inflection. "What would you have us do?"

  —The first thing you must do is ignore any previous or­ders given you,—the entity told them.—The second is that you must stand ready to protect the flesh forms of the being called Pagin Holter and those he calls groupmates. The third is that you must link and begin to draw power into your­selves, so that this entity may share that power. The fourth is that you are not to allow others to become aware of what you are in the midst of, and the fifth is that you are to accept instructions from no one but this entity. Should this entity not command you again within the week, you will thereafter be free to command yourselves. Is all of that clear in your understanding?—