Destiny

by Sharon Green

  "I'm glad you're still alive, Korge," a soft voice came, and Thrybin's attention left the city they approached to see who rode beside him to his left. That one was Zirdon Tal himself, a true madman who was bound in leather to keep him from escaping his just due.

  "You won't be glad I'm still alive when I give evidence against you at your trial," Korge whispered, knowing Tal would probably hear him. "I also intend to insist that I be allowed to attend your execution."

  "I'm glad you're still alive, Korge, because now I get to kill you a second time," Tal murmured back with a smile that froze what blood Thrybin had left in his body. "They think they have me safely neutralized, but they're entirely wrong. You and they will find that out the hard way. If the empire is to survive, you and those others must die."

  "You're insane, Tal, completely insane," Thrybin whispered, too terrified even to move. "Don't you know that it's those Gandistrans who are the real danger to this empire? They're the ones who have destroyed everything we had, including your own talent."

  "The Gandistrans are risking their lives to save everyone in this empire, including your own useless self," Tal came back, proving that he really was a madman. "Even if your Blending members took you back, you would have no hope of even matching the invaders, let alone besting them. You refuse to admit that very obvious truth, and that makes you the true danger to this empire. If you were in charge you would fall and take the rest of us down with you, but you just can't see that. All you can see is your own desire to be important, no matter how many lives are lost putting you in that position."

  "Denying what Tal just said would be a waste of time," another voice put in before Thrybin was able to sneer at that stupidity, and then the fool Satlan Reesh moved up to ride to Tal's right. "Tal told you the exact truth, and you can't even entertain the idea for a moment. You want what you want, and nothing anyone can say will make you understand that this time you can't have what you want."

  "I'm not surprised to hear you agreeing with a madman, Reesh," Thrybin said, making the effort to speak a bit more loudly so that the fool would hear him. "A useless follower like you needs someone to agree with, just to feel that he actually belongs somewhere - which you don't."

  "You really are stupid, aren't you, Korge," Reesh said with the sort of disdain Thrybin had never heard the man use before. "Someone with intelligence would have noticed by now that that line of nonsense doesn't affect me any longer. So let me repeat what Tal just said: you cannot have what you want this time, no matter how much you want it. You aren't smart enough or capable enough to run this empire, so you never will."

  "Well, we'll just see about that, won't we," Thrybin returned, hating the fact that he was too weak to really tell the fool off. "I'm not without my resources, and once I'm back on my feet we'll see who's smart and capable and who isn't."

  "Don't waste your time trying to bring him in touch with reality again, Reesh," the madman Tal actually had the nerve to say to the fool Reesh. "Korge won't ever be back on his feet again to ruin this empire, so there's no need to worry. But that doesn't leave the field clear for you and the others. The rest of you are just as bad for the empire as Korge is."

  "Dinno and I have already come to that conclusion," Reesh said with a sigh, sounding as if he really spoke to the madman instead of just avoiding an argument as he should have. "The Gandistrans are right to say that the assembly needs to be composed of High Blendings, without Blending members being constantly replaced. Things are going to change radically in this country even if the invaders are stopped. Our companions don't want to hear that, but in a very short time they won't have any choice but to go along with the changes."

  "You can't be certain of that," Tal replied, and oddly enough some of the blaze in the madman's eyes had died down a bit. "Lorimon and Gardan have more than a little influence in the assembly, and they can delay the changes long enough to ruin everything."

  "But the changes won't come through assembly action, Tal," Reesh said gently, as though explaining the facts of life to a boy. "Dinno and I will probably be the only assembly members who step aside voluntarily, but that won't make a difference. When the High Blendings get here, they'll tell the assembly members to step aside. They won't have the patience to ask nicely and then wait for the request to be complied with."

  "You may be right, but I'm not certain you are," Tal said, his brow creased with indecision. "Killing Gardan and Lorimon will probably be necessary just to be sure."

  Reesh shook his head with another sigh, then urged his horse to a faster pace. Tal retreated into himself, which let Thrybin return to his own thoughts. Blocking all changes in the assembly would hardly be as difficult as the fool Reesh thought, especially if the members of those High Blendings were killed as soon as they approached the city. Gardan was terrified of losing his place in the assembly, so Thrybin knew the man could be made an ally with very little effort. And since Thrybin was the actual assembly member, he'd be able to replace his Blending members with the same minimal effort. After that…

  After that, Thrybin would take over the assembly as he'd planned to do all along. The empire of Gracely would be his to run as he saw fit, and if those Gandistrans ever showed up again he would have them executed before they knew what was happening. Yes… That picture of the future was so pleasant that Thrybin was easily able to fall asleep as he viewed it with eager eyes.

  Satlan Reesh kept his horse moving until he rode beside Olskin Dinno, who rode a short distance behind Antrie Lorimon and Cleemor Gardan. Lorimon and Gardan headed their column, and they rode as though unaware of anyone behind them.

  "Korge is still plotting and planning, and Tal seems incapable of seeing any kind of reason," Satlan murmured to Dinno. "You and I might have been crossed off Tal's list of future murder victims, but our colleagues just ahead there - as well as the balance of assembly members - are still firmly on it."

  "I was hoping that Tal could be talked around," Dinno replied with a weary shake of his head. "We really can't execute him until we find out if the Gandistrans can neutralize whatever was done to him. Since his efforts were Korge's doing to begin with, Korge can't really complain about the plot turning around and biting him."

  "Of course Korge can complain, and he will," Satlan disagreed with a faint smile. "The man is still determined to be the ruler of this empire, and has no idea that we mean to throw him out of the assembly as soon as we return to the city. He won't just sit back and take any of our plans without screaming."

  Dinno was about to say something, but the words were lost as he - and Satlan - both noticed a large number of people coming out of the city on horseback. In a moment it was possible to see that Frode Mismin led the group, and he held up his hand to halt the column he apparently had come out to meet. Lorimon and Gardan both pulled their mounts to a halt, so Satlan joined Dinno in riding close enough to find out what was going on before they also stopped.

  "I'm sorry, Exalted Ones, but you can't enter the city without a heavy guard," Mismin said as soon as he reached the column and came to a stop near them. "In fact, it might be best if you didn't enter the city at all."

  "Why not?" Lorimon asked at once, heavy concern in her voice. "Frode, you look terrible. What's been happening?"

  "I'm afraid that the six of you who left the city are the only assembly members left alive," Mismin answered heavily, looking like a man who had died but still hadn't lain down. "The rest of the members were killed in their homes, virtually all at once so it wasn't possible to guard anyone after the first death. I managed to locate two of the assassins, but they were killed before I could question them. I have no idea who's responsible for what happened, but I do have the definite feeling that the insanity isn't over."

  "Insanity," Dinno echoed while Lorimon and Gardan made sounds of horrified surprise. "That reminds me of what the Gandistrans made Tal tell us about Ebro Syant's involvement in what went on before we left. I think, Mismin, that you're going to have to use your Spirit magic on Tal to se
e if we can get any definite details on what Syant might have arranged."

  "And there aren't six of us left," Satlan corrected mildly as Mismin stared at Dinno in confusion. "Tal no longer has any talent, and Korge is to be expelled from the assembly as soon as possible. That leaves only four of us, and I have the impression that hiding out won't do any good."

  "I agree," Dinno said at once, ignoring the way Gardan patted the shoulder of a very distraught Lorimon. "What we need to do is find out who's behind the killings, and then the threat won't be hanging over our heads. Besides, staying outside the city could well end our lives even sooner than the attempts of assassins."

  "You can't be saying you failed against the invaders," Mismin stated, shock actually animating rather than freezing him. "How could those people have possibly stood up to six Blendings, not to mention to the strength of those Gandistrans?"

  "It's a long, ugly story," Dinno answered with a shake of his head. "The short of it is, those invaders are even stronger than the Gandistrans. None of our assembly Blendings stand a chance against the invaders, not when our Blendings have only a single High talent. The Gandistrans stayed behind to do what they can against the invaders, but that may not be enough to stop them. And we already have hundreds of refugees right behind us, desperate to find shelter in the city. You'd better do something to make room for them."

  "If the Gandistrans do manage to stop the invaders, it won't matter that we only have one High talent in our Blendings," Gardan said, his gaze somewhere between Lorimon and Dinno. "We won't have to change the way we do things just because foreigners think we should."

  "Gardan, give it up," Dinno said, weariness thick in his voice. "If the Gandistrans are successful, those High Blendings they put together will be here to take over. If the Gandistrans fail, there won't be anything left for anyone to take over. The world we lived in will never be the same again, so pretending it is will do no one any good. If you can make yourself understand that, you can make your last days as an assembly member really mean something."

  Gardan made no effort to answer and Lorimon stayed just as silent, so Mismin took over and arranged his guardsmen around the four remaining assembly members and they all headed for the city. Satlan rode as quietly as everyone else, but his thoughts were busy. He and Dinno had promised to find other High talents and send them to help the new High Blendings, and that was something that had to be done. With the invaders so close to the city, assassins actually had to take a second place on the list of things that were most important.

  And that realization made Satlan smile. Even if Gardan never came around, at least he, the very unpopular Satlan Reesh, would make his last days in the assembly count. How much more could a man ask of a life that had gone so badly before now? Real acceptance by real people would have been nice, but that possibility was actually more frightening than the thought of death.

  Satlan heaved a private sigh, and then he smiled very faintly. Whatever happened would happen, and the new Satlan Reesh might even be able to cope with it…

  Chapter Thirteen

  Antrie Lorimon had been doing a lot of thinking while she and the others rode back to Liandia. Frode's announcement about the deaths of the remaining assembly members had been shocking, but for some reason the shock had faded rather quickly. Now that Frode was beside her again, her thinking seemed to clarify even more. It would take almost an hour to actually reach the city, and the time would best be spent in making plans.

  "Frode, a lot of things have happened since we last saw each other," Antrie began, speaking as quietly as possible to keep the conversation private. "Will you be upset to learn that I won't be an assembly member for much longer?"

  "I would be upset only if you were, and I don't seem to be getting that impression from you," Frode answered with a frown. "Have you simply decided to retire, or do you expect to lose in the next competitions?"

  "Neither," Antrie answered with a mirthless smile. She then told Frode a shortened version of what had happened and continued with, "So it will definitely be the High Blendings who take over running the empire. I'm part of the old guard, so to speak, and the time has come for us to step aside."

  "But I don't understand," Frode protested. "Why can't you simply join a High Blending yourself? You do have the experience of being part of the assembly, so - "

  "Frode, it isn't that simple," Antrie interrupted, fighting to keep control of her feelings. "In order to be most effective, the members of the Blending have to lie with each other. I … really don't see myself being able to do something like that."

  Frode absorbed that bit of information silently, and Antrie wished she had his talent. Knowing what he happened to be feeling would help quite a lot… Then he looked up and gave her a faint smile.

  "You seem to be picturing bedding a lot of strangers," he said, an odd expression in his eyes. "You might not feel the same if you knew and liked the people involved, but that's for you to say rather than me. If we survive everything we're in the midst of, possibly we can make a start on putting together a Blending of our own…"

  When Frode's voice trailed off, Antrie realized that he'd made an offer that might or might not be one of marriage. Antrie had been raised to believe that marriage was the only thing she might honorably look forward to, but everything that had happened - and all the thinking she'd done - might just be starting to change her mind…

  "Yes, let's discuss that idea once we're no longer in the midst of chaos," Antrie agreed, reaching over to pat Frode's hand. "In the meantime, we need to discuss some of the thinking I've been doing. First on the list is the fact that there are only four assembly members left, and we need to be protected while we see to the defense of the city. I think our defense will be most easily seen to if we're all in the same place."

  "Yes, that would be the best idea," Frode agreed. "If you're willing to have houseguests, your house would be the easiest to defend."

  "Why can't it be my house?" Cleemor put in abruptly before Antrie could respond. "Why are you offering to guard her house instead?"

  "I'm afraid, Exalted One, that your house could well prove to be too large," Frode replied, speaking with clear deference. Cleemor sounded so out-of-sorts that Frode had apparently decided to soothe the man. "Your house is also … odd in its layout, which would make guarding people extremely difficult."

  "And you know that Tenia would hate having her household disrupted by so many people," Antrie said to a frowning Cleemor. "She could well decide that guards were entirely unnecessary, and demand that they be removed. What would you do then, Cleemor?"

  "I would do what any reasonable man would, Antrie," Cleemor answered, his tone more stiff and formal than she had ever heard it. "I would look into the possibility that she might be right. After all, what real proof do we have that - "

  "Cleemor, stop it!" Antrie snapped, desperately hoping that something would be enough to get through to the man. "I've never spoken to you like this before, but maybe I should have. If Tenia really loves you, she'll stay with you no matter what happens. If she doesn't love you, nothing you say or do will keep her now. In a very short while none of us will be assembly members any longer, and that's a fact you'll be forced to accept even if you don't want to. Isn't it better to make the most of the time we have left by doing the best we can for the people of this empire? If you worry about nothing but Tenia, you'll lose everything else in your life."

  "If I lose Tenia, I don't have anything else in my life," Cleemor muttered, a wild look now in his eyes. "But I won't lose her, not if there's anything in this world I can do to stop it."

  "Standing in the way of the changes ahead won't get you anything but run over," Frode put in without any of the deference he'd used a moment ago. "It's time you woke up, Gardan, and stopped acting like a fool. There isn't anyone in this city who doesn't know that your wife will be gone the instant you no longer have the standing she demands of the man in her life. It's position she wants, not you, and another man would have had th
e stones to throw her out a long time ago. If you're that determined to play slave to a woman, there are plenty of other women you can do it with."

  "How dare you speak to me like that?" Cleemor demanded, his face white with shock and dismay. "You know nothing about my situation, and the entire city certainly knows the same nothing! You're fired, Mismin, and I want you out of my sight this instant!"

  "I'm sorry, Gardan, but you can't fire Frode," Olskin Dinno put in from where he rode behind them. "With only we four left as assembly members, Reesh and I will stand with Antrie to outvote you. You may prefer death to having to stand up to that wife of yours, but the rest of us aren't as eager to be killed."

  "But you and Tenia will still be welcome in my home, Cleemor," Antrie put in quickly when her longtime friend seemed almost about to lose control of himself entirely. "Why don't you leave it to Tenia to make the final decision about what will happen? Come to my house with everyone else, and then send her a note asking that she join you. If everyone is wrong and Tenia really does love you, she'll respond to your note and come to join us."

  "Tenia prefers her own home, and there's no reason she shouldn't," Cleemor muttered, his gaze on the road ahead rather than on Antrie. "Asking her to move to someone else's house is unreasonable, so her refusal would not mean-"

  "Yes, it would," Satlan Reesh's voice interrupted from where the man rode beside Olskin Dinno. "This is an emergency situation, and anyone with sense will know it. If the woman insists that you come to her instead, which you obviously expect her to do, her demand would prove that you mean nothing to her. Making excuses for the awful way other people treat you is pathetic, Gardan. If I don't know that then no one does."

  This time Cleemor made no answer, and that disturbed Antrie more than his previous anger. Tenia meant everything to Cleemor, and it could prove more than possible that he would choose death rather than lose the woman. Antrie parted her lips to speak to Cleemor again, hoping that if she kept at it she might be successful. But before she could voice any part of her feelings, Frode's hand closed around her arm. When she looked at Frode he shook his head, telling her silently not to speak. Well, he was the one with Spirit magic, after all. If he thought it was best to stay silent, Antrie was forced to abide by the decision.