Savage Empire se-1

by Jean Lorrah

  Lenardo pulled his mind from that train of thought. Did the Reader who was guiding the Adepts know that the fault ran through the mountain? Lenardo had lived here twenty years and discovered the fault only today. Another blow shook the keep. Lenardo Read its reverberations along the line of the fault. The greater weakness might be on the other side of the mountain, but the blows were carefully aimed at this side, their strength dissipating through the living rock. At its weakest point, the fault was receiving only faint echoes of pounding force.

  At the next blow, the rock deep beneath the keep gave for the first time. At the tiny slip of edge against edge, the stone beneath Lenardo’s feet seemed to turn to water, lifting him like a gentle wave, settling again into firm earth. Outside there were screams, and a rickety storage shed tumbled over.

  Again Lenardo Read deeply, and he saw that the shift had left a precarious balance; moreover, the crack had extended beneath the mountain^ making it possible that this side could tumble down upon them unless���

  He cursed his lack of engineering and mathematical knowledge-not proper studies for a Reader, he had been told. Instinctively he knew that there was a stress beneath the mountain such that more powerful blows could go either way. With the fault now connecting both sides, there was a possibility that another shift could bring down not only the keep but the mountain slope above it; or the shift could slant in the opposite direction, dropping the cliff face on then-enemy.

  And what good -would it do me to understand it? he thought bitterly. I am no Adept, to direct the stress against the enemy. But would it not be poetic justice if their enemy destroyed its own troops with its own weapon?

  It was useless for Lenardo to move at that moment. If the keep came down, so would the whole side of the mountain; there would be no benefit in being outside. So he remained still, concentrating, Reading the forces within the earth as he waited for the next blow, praying that it would reverberate through the mountain to the other side.

  It came. The ground shifted sickeningly, but Lenardo’s concentration was deep within, hypnotically fascinated by the stress patterns forming, reverberating in shock waves��� waves causing the ground to lurch��� concentrating and running along the crack so that the earth shifted far within��� slow forces, earth moving like incredibly slow swirls of water��� shifting, flowing outward in both directions from the center��� but the weakest point was the cliff side! For an instant he stopped Reading, protecting himself.

  The rumble reverberated through the mountain. There were screams here-but on the other side Lenardo could not prevent himself from Reading disbelief turning to terror as the sheltering cliff became a rockslide, tumbling down on the massed troops, burying them in the midst of their panic.

  And as it happened, as the cliff fell, he Read again that familiar touch, now glaring in panic, Reading fury from three Adepts ranged about him-reaching for him-And they were gone, snuffed like candle flames before the first rocks landed, leaving only the non-Adept army to be buried, screaming, beneath the rockslide.

  The battle continued, for the savage troops in Adigia did not know that what had felt like an earthquake had been the destruction of their main army. But the small army of Adigia and the students of the Academy, together with the townspeople, drove them back easily once the Adept attacks stopped.

  When it was over, Lenardo helped Master Clement out into the sunlight, where the other teachers were already accounting for the students and tending to the injured.

  “I never thought to set foot in this courtyard again,” said Master Clement. “The gods were with us today, turning the evil of our enemy back upon them.”

  “The savages were forestalled,” Lenardo agreed, “but they will raise another army and return, Master. With a Reader working with them, they have us at their mercy.”

  “A Reader with them? Or one they have forced to Read for them, who deliberately caused their destruction this day?”

  “Master, I Read him today. I know who it is��� and I touched upon his hostility to us. I am convinced that what happened today was the result of divided attention, a single Reader attempting to direct an entire battle. He will not make that mistake again.”

  The old man halted, turning clear brown eyes upon Lenardo. “You say you know him. Then it is���?”

  “Galen,” Lenardo acknowledged. “To my eternal shame, my student not only defies the empire but now has joined the ranks of our enemies. Our only hope is that they, who cannot Read, will think he betrayed them today.”

  “Lenardo���” Master Clement put a hand on his arm-a most unusual gesture between Readers. “Galen was your student, true. But you cannot blame yourself.”

  “My teaching was not strong or clear enough!”

  “Lenardo, Galen had the fire and optimism of youth. He truly believed we could bargain with the savages, trade Reading for peace. I could not dissuade him, any more than you could. It is sad that he had to learn his lesson this way-but you have been a teacher long enough to know that the only way some people will learn that an idea will not work is to try it and fail. And at that point the teacher must let the student go.”

  “You did not touch his mind, Master. There was hatred in it.”

  “Hatred of the savages,” agreed Master Clement. Lenardo wanted to believe him; after all, he had touched Galen’s mind only briefly. So he did not protest as the old man continued, “The boy must have suffered bitter disillusionment. What you felt was certainly his despair at being forced to work for the enemy.”

  But I taught him, thought Lenardo. I gave him power and failed to instill in him the principles of its use.

  “Magister Lenardo! Oh, please-come and help!”

  It was Torio, calling him to where the injured were being tended. The blind boy knelt beside a still form-Decius.

  Lenardo Read the younger boy, found him alive, but “He joined the fight! He didn’t go with the children, Magister, because I praised him this morning. He thought he was ready to do battle. If he dies, it’s my fault.”

  “He’s not dying, Torio. Only���”

  Decius was ashen with loss of blood. The wound was in his leg, above the knee-a vicious slash through flesh and bone. Nerve and muscle were severed. Lenardo Read the wound, which had almost stopped bleeding since someone had tied a strip of cloth around the leg just above it. Someone who had Read what Lenardo did: no empire surgeon could repair that leg. It would have to come off. Decius would be left a cripple.

  Torio, Reading with Lenardo, began to sob. “I hoped I was wrong! Oh, why did I encourage him to think himself a swordsman?”

  “Torio, you didn’t. You merely told him he would make a swordsman one day-and he would have, with you to teach him. Now you must teach him other skills. Teach him to Read as well as you do.”

  “That won’t compensate for the loss of a leg!” Torio said furiously. “Because I can Read, I don’t need eyes-but no skill at Reading will make Decius any less a cripple. Our enemies’ skills could help him-ours cannot!”

  The boy echoed Lenardo’s own traitorous thoughts. Yet.

  “Torio, was not today’s battle enough to show you how the savages use their powers? They destroy with them-they don’t do good. Their misuse of power brought the attack in which Decius was injured.”

  “I know,” Torio said miserably.. “But why, Magister? Oh!” He suddenly remembered. ” Master Lenardo, why must such power be only for evil?”

  “It is the nature of power to corrupt,” Lenardo replied, the tenet drilled into him since his own power to Read had been discovered when he was eight years old. “Our society is designed so that no one person may hold enough power to corrupt him.”

  It was a set speech. Torio accepted it, kneeling beside Decius. “Yes,” he whispered fiercely, “I know. Still��� why have we never sought to acquire the skills of our enemy and regulate them as we do our own? We have the society that could do it, Master.”

  Lenardo sighed. The old
argument of youth, rising afresh in each generation. “Torio, when you ask that, you are ready for Master Clement’s private tutoring. I will inform him.”

  “Why won’t you teach me, Master Lenardo? You have always been my teacher. There is no reason for us to sit still and let the savages destroy us. Are we savages ourselves, afraid of anything we don’t understand?”

  Just then, Decius stirred and moaned. Both Lenardo and Torio bent over him, their discussion forgotten as they sought to make the injured boy more comfortable. But the worry preyed on Lenardo’s mind. My teaching did not lead Galen in the right path. Because of my weakness, the entire Aventine Empire may fall.

  As soon as the wounded were attended to, preparations for burial of the dead begun, the homeless given shelter, Masters Clement and Lenardo returned to the chamber beneath the keep to report the result of the battle to Portia. Leaving their bodies behind, they entered a plane of privacy. Only another Reader on the same plane could perceive their thoughts, unless they deliberately directed them to someone.

  Portia relayed the message to recall the troops marching toward Adigia, and then listened with sad intensity as Lenardo told her about Galen.

  //You are certain it was Galen, and that he was Reading for the enemy? The boy was a fool, but I never thought him so vile a traitor.//

  Her words stung Lenardo. //I did not think so either. You know I opposed his exile. Portia, something must be done to stop Galen, or the empire is doomed. Every year, the savages force our borders back further. Now, with a Reader to guide them-//

  //Lenardo-Clement-how many others know that a Reader was directing the attack?//

  //Why��� no one,// said Clement.

  //Good. Do not tell anyone.//

  //But Portia,// protested Lenardo, //something must be done!//

  //Indeed, we must put a stop to Galen’s aiding the savages-but in doing so, we must not make our own people mistrust us.//

  //What do you mean?// asked Master Clement.

  //My friends, you have been too long out there along the border, where simple people respect and accept you. Here at the center of government many fear the Readers. We must show that we police our own-or they will fear that any or all of us might turn our talents to abetting the enemy.//

  //But this is the first time-// Master Clement began.

  //Aye,// she replied, //it has finally happened, the secret fear of non-Readers. Did you think only Readers capable of predicting such an event? Others are as intelligent as we-and many far more crafty. For centuries we Readers have disciplined ourselves. The only restriction the government places on us is that we may not hold, office. Do you want to see other restrictions, the academies broken up, non-Readers interfering with the education of Readers?//

  //Portia, surely you-// Master Clement began gently.

  //No, Clement, I do not exaggerate. You do not know the fight I have had to wage against such measures in the senate-ever since the savages destroyed the irrigation lines seven years ago and nearly caused a famine. Many argue that the Readers should have known what the savages planned.//

  //No one can Read so far!// Master Clement protested.

  // We know that,// Portia agreed, //but the non-Readers who fear us also fear that we do not reveal all our powers. If they find out about Galen, there will be widespread distrust of Readers. Should that happen-should the non-Readers rise up against us, refuse to trust our abilities-the empire is doomed.//

  Perhaps the empire is doomed anyway, thought Lenardo. He had meant to shield the traitorous thought, but the rapport with Portia’s agile mind was too strong.

  //Will you give up without a struggle, Lenardo?// she asked.

  //I have been struggling all my life,// he replied, //and yet the savages advance upon us. My family fled the city of Zendi when the savages took it.-1 remember, though I was only five years old. When I came to Adigia as a child, the academy was safe, secure, well inside the border. But year by year the savages advanced, pushing our borders back. I have fought them stroke for stroke with my sword, and I have fought from afar with my mind. To what avail? Only by good fortune was Adigia not taken today-and next time it will be taken. Master Clement and I have already decided the academy must be moved-but how long before the savages advance again to wherever we rebuild?//

  //What would you have me do, Lenardo?// asked Portia.

  //Galen is the immediate danger. No one can find him but another Reader-and I am the one responsible, Masters, for I taught him the skills he now uses against us.//

  //No, Lenardo!// exclaimed Master Clement. //Your power as a Reader exceeds mine. I have just appointed you Master, and had intended to send you safely to Tiberium, no longer risk your life anywhere near the border. The empire needs you as a Reader, not a soldier.//

  //Not a soldier,// Lenardo replied; //a spy. I must stop Galen-bring him home. He is a weapon I crafted; now our enemy has that weapon, and I feel an obligation to take it from them.//

  There was a long pause. Then Portia said, //It may take all your skills, and if you should succeed in persuading Galen-or killing him-then your life will surely be forfeit, Lenardo.//

  //Perhaps. Nonetheless, Galen is my responsibility.//

  //Portia, you cannot let him-// Master Clement began.

  //My old friend,// she said, //I would not send Lenardo if there was anyone else, but only a Reader of his accomplishments has a chance of locating Galen, let alone reaching him. And if Galen has respect for anyone in our empire, surely it will be for his teacher.//

  Despite their bodiless state, Lenardo sensed from Master Clement something like the stinging of tears as he said, //Portia, you know there is only one way Lenardo could cross the border and not be slaughtered at once. He would have to be branded a traitor in a public exhibit at the gates-once branded, how could he ever return?//

  Out of touch with his own body, Lenardo experienced his fear as pure emotion. He had not thought of that-barred forever from home if he should somehow live through his mission! Barred forever from the rapport with other Readers���

  //No,// said Portia, //he would not be prevented from returning. Remember the story of Barachus, who went out in the same way among the savages and returned with detailed plans of their stronghold at Galicium? Through his efforts the savages were driven back, and Barachus became a senator, bearing the brand on his arm as a mark of honor to the end of his days.//

  //Then��� we must see that there is no chance that Lenardo will be killed or driven away if he lives to return,// said Master Clement.

  //Aye,// replied Portia. //I had meant to keep the plan among the three of us-but you and I are old, Clement. There should be a third who knows, younger than we-a Reader who can tell other Readers if we should not be here when Lenardo returns.//

  Lenardo was grateful for the confidence of that “when.”

  //Lenardo,// said Master Clement, //“is there one among our young Readers you would trust with this secret -and your life?//

  //Aye,// Lenardo replied at once. //Torio. He shows promise of becoming more skilled a Reader than I��� and I think knowing what Galen has done will increase his own loyalty to the Empire.//

  Thus it was settled, a plan of Readers, by Readers, the emperor himself not to be told of it until Lenardo had succeeded-or died trying. The failure of the enemy to take Adigia gave them some time, for even the savages could not quickly replace the troops buried when the cliff fell. Nor, Lenardo thought, would Galen be trusted soon again.

  And perhaps they are right not to trust him. He grasped at that hope. Having lived among the savages for over two years now, Galen might have seen the error of his ways and taken the chance to trick the enemy into destroying its own troops. Perhaps��� by the gods, perhaps he was undertaking a rescue mission!

  In order to have privacy amid the academy full of Readers, Lenardo called Torio into his study. It would be another year before the boy was ready to learn to leave his body, despite his rapid progress. Therefore, onc
e they were seated, Lenardo said, “Torio, I must ask you to stop Reading, and merely listen to me. I am about to trust you with my life, and also the safety and security of all Readers in the Aventine Empire.”

  Torio paled and broke into a light sweat. His eyes, which had been fixed on Lenardo as if he could see him, drifted unguided as the boy said, “Why me, Master?”

  “Because you have the talent that will make you a Master yourself one day. You questioned me today just the way another student questioned, not long ago. Do you remember Galen?”

  “Aye. Are you warning me that my questions could lead to the same fate-branded and thrust across the border?”

  “No, Torio. I am telling you what you must not reveal to anyone else: it was Galen who led the attack on the academy today.”

  “Galen Reading for the savages against the academy? Master, no! Surely any Reader would die first!”

  “Torio, we cannot know what methods the savages may have used to force him. It may be that he plotted the destruction of their army today, under the guise of helping them. But either way, he must be taken from the savages.”

  “How?”

  “I am going after him.”

  Lenardo explained the plan-what little there was of it-to Torio. “You are my final security, should I live to return.”

  “Let me come with you!”

  “Nay, child-a blind boy walking as if he could see? You would be recognized as a Reader immediately, killed by the ignorant peasants. No-I must take care not to reveal my abilities until I can find out who among the savages took Galen in-and to what purpose. You, Torio, have important work to do here. You must mature and fulfill your potential as a Reader and, if I succeed, be my entry back within the pale. Only three people know of my mission: the Masters Portia and Clement, and you, Torio. If no one of you is here to persuade other Readers of my loyalty to the empire, then I must remain forever an Exile among the savages.”