The Blending Enthroned, Book 1, Intrigues

by Sharon Green

  "Excuse me, Vallant," a soft voice said, bringing Vallant back to the world around him. A girl had stepped into his path, a small, pretty girl he couldn't remember having seen before. She had long blond hair and lovely blue eyes, and the shy smile she showed made her look like an innocent lamb.

  "I'm Silni Fael, a member of one of Jovvi's link groups," the girl went on in an almost breathless way. "I - I don't believe I'm actually speaking to you, and I hope you'll forgive me for being so brazen, but I just had to tell you how I feel. I know you're a man who can always be counted on, and I - just wish I'd met you sooner. I'm sorry."

  And with that she hurried away, leaving Vallant to gaze after her with what must have been a bemused expression on his face. The girl was sweet and precious, someone he might have once tried to get to know better, but he really didn't have the time or the interest for that sort of thing now. If he had met her sooner…

  But thinking about that was a waste of time he didn't really have. Vallant resumed his stride in the direction of where everyone waited for him, more convinced than ever that there must have been some natural law that caused the best things to happen at the worst possible times. If anyone ever found a way around that law, they'd be able to sell the process for more gold than they'd be able to spend in ten lifetimes…

  Chapter 20

  It didn't take us long to clear our campsite, not when we knew when we got there that we would have to remove all traces of our presence when we left. When you're aware of something like that, you don't spread out and make yourself comfortable or generate a lot of litter. You use as small an amount of living space as possible, so there's less to clean up later.

  Once we were mounted we sent out scouts again, then spread out and began to move through the woods. It wasn't very fast or easy going for us, but it didn't have to be. We were, in effect, waiting for that army to get to us, that and for Pagin Holter and his people to be in position behind them.

  Once we were on the move, I had the leisure to glance over at Vallant. He was busy coordinating everyone's movements, looking for all the world as though he had nothing else on his mind. The only thing was, I'd happened to witness a strange little occurrence, and didn't know what to make of it.

  Vallant had gotten Pagin Holter and his people on their way, and then had started back to join the rest of us. He'd almost reached us when a girl had stopped him, spoken to him for a moment, and then had hurried off. The incident hadn't really looked like much, except for the one part of it that insisted on standing out in my memory. Vallant had watched the girl hurry off, and the expression on his face had been an odd mixture of interest and regret.

  So… What did his interest in the girl consist of, and why the regret? Had he been interested in whatever she'd said, and regretted his inability to do something about it - or had he been interested in her and regretted that he couldn't immediately show that interest? I'd spent a long part of my intermittent relationship with Vallant jumping to various conclusions, a good many of them wrong. I didn't want to do the same again, but…

  But I also didn't want to stay involved with a man who felt regret over not being able to get to know the various women he met. There's nothing wrong with a man getting to know - and even admiring - other women, but unless he considers them of less interest than the woman he's involved with, he's wasting his own time and hers by staying involved. Not to mention the pain and uncertainty his attitude brings…

  I took a deep breath to banish the depression that tried to fill me, refusing to let it get a foothold in my emotions until I knew for certain that there was a good reason for its presence. In spite of all the sleep I'd had I still felt the least bit weary, and I didn't need distractions when the time came for us to face that army. We shouldn't have any more trouble freeing the segments than we'd had in the past, but you can't cope with trouble when it comes if you haven't allowed for the possibility of it. If trouble came I meant to be ready, so it was time to think about something else.

  The woods around us was filled with early morning cool, and my horse felt well rested and ready to take on almost anything. My horse and I both would have enjoyed a brisk trot or even an easy lope, but the trees and bushes and other growths in the woods forced us to keep to a walk. It's much easier riding a road, but that would have put us face to face with the advancing army. Sneaking up on them was a better idea than facing them, better for them and definitely better for us.

  Two Spirit magic link groups had been put to either side of the road before we started, and the two parts of our group had used them to judge just how far into the woods we had to go. When they were no longer able to detect us we knew we were far enough away from the road, so we went just a little farther and then turned to parallel the road. We'd given ourselves enough room to allow for inadvertent drift, and still ought to be outside the army's range of detection.

  We moved on for quite a while, the air warming around us as the sun rose higher above the trees, and then the scouts we'd sent out reappeared ahead of us. Vallant called an immediate halt by holding up one arm, and a moment later the scouts were with us.

  "They're not far ahead now, Excellence," the chief scout reported to Vallant softly. "As soon as we detected the head of the column, we came straight back as ordered."

  "Good," Vallant told him with a distracted smile and a nod. "Now you can rejoin the other guardsmen at the rear of the group. Remember that all of you are to stay back until the encounter is over. You and these others linked while you were scoutin', and you got away with it because the army segments weren't linked. If somethin' goes wrong they will link, and they're all a lot stronger than you and the others. Facin' them would be suicide for you, so make sure you stay well back."

  "Thank you, Excellence, we'll remember," the guardsman scout responded with a very faint smile, and then he turned and gestured to his companions. They all rode off to the position they'd been ordered to, but not before glancing at us with odd expressions.

  I had a feeling that those expressions were indications of almost-disbelieving gratitude, stemming from the fact that they'd been ordered out of harm's way. Our predecessors and the rest of the nobility tended to throw away the lives of their guardsmen without a second thought, and many people obviously believed that we would be no different. But we were different, and the only way to prove that is to do rather than boast.

  Everyone else was dismounting, so I did the same and then tied my horse to a small tree where he could graze. It was almost time for us to get to work, and for that we wanted to be sitting down.

  "There's something odd just ahead of us," Naran said as we gathered together, her expression disturbed. "I've been trying to see the details for the last hour, but they refuse to come clear."

  "Are you bein' blocked?" Vallant asked her as we all formed a loose circle. "Do you think it's Ardanis or some of his people?"

  "I can't tell that either," Naran answered, her sigh tinged with annoyance. "It doesn't feel as if I'm being deliberately blocked, so maybe that 'flux' Master Ardanis mentioned is real. If it isn't, I still obviously have a lot to learn."

  "Maybe the details will come clear once we've Blended," Jovvi suggested, obviously hoping to sooth Naran. "Let's try it and see."

  That was clearly the most sensible course of action, so we each found a place to sit down. Our link groups were arranged in wider circles all around us through the trees, and once everyone was settled Jovvi initiated the Blending.

  The Blending entity came into being at once, and as was becoming usual it was the Tamrissa entity. But this time it seemed to be more Tamrissa than entity, something that pleased and amused me. I was the entity with more say than usual, but not the ordinary "I." This Tamrissa was very much the entity, and there was clearly work to be done.

  It felt marvelous to float quickly through the trees until I reached the road. I was aware of the condition of every tree I passed and knew the location of every animal in the woods. I knew the content and texture of every volume of
the air around me, and was also aware of its moisture content and how close the nearest body of water was. I could feel the emotions and mental conditions of everyone within my reach, and was also firmly connected to the various possible futures surrounding this time period. The only awareness that wasn't new was the ability to control fire, and even that ability seemed broader and deeper than usual.

  When I reached the road I began to float along it, looking for the group of flesh forms we had come to rescue. It disturbed me that our strongest lesser entity hadn't yet contacted us, and that disturbance suddenly became entwined with the warning given so recently by the Naran flesh form. If we had made contact with the flesh forms called army, our lesser entity should have done the same.

  It was then that I became aware of what occurred on the road ahead of me. Rather than continuing along the road in the proper direction, the flesh forms called army had stopped and were standing in place. There was a disturbance somewhere to the rear of the formation, but those flesh forms I was able to see showed nothing in the way of interest or curiosity. That must have been because they had been given no orders to do otherwise, I realized, but they were hardly my primary concern. The disturbance drew me with a sense of urgency, and I increased the speed with which I floated in that direction.

  When I arrived at the center of the disturbance, the situation became immediately clear. Our lesser entity had not contacted us because it had not had an opportunity to form, not with the large number of army flesh forms currently attacking its flesh forms. In some way the approach of its flesh forms to the column had been detected, and now they and their link groups were engaged in defending themselves.

  And defense was clearly all they attempted. Had they wished to destroy their attackers, the matter would not have been difficult for them and their tandem link groups. The army flesh forms, however, were being ordered to the attack by those flesh forms called nobles, and were therefore not to blame. To destroy them would negate much of the purpose we had had in coming to that place.

  The flesh forms of our lesser entity and their link groups were holding their own with only a small amount of difficulty, but the situation was not likely to remain so for long. Probability indicated that those flesh forms called nobles would soon lose patience and order a greater number of their enslaved flesh forms to join the attack. Also, even if that possibility failed to come to be, the second greatest one was that the flesh forms of our lesser entity and their link groups would grow weary and lose strength. Then they would truly be in danger, therefore was it necessary that I act now to rescue them as well as the army flesh forms.

  While I assessed the situation, I had become aware of the presence of the two newest Blending entities of our group. They had approached the road and the disturbance from the positions of their flesh forms, to the right and left of the road, but had not come close. That hesitance was in accordance with the instructions previously given them, but now those instructions must change.

  I quickly gathered the entities to me and caused them to understand my desires. They made no demurral, of course, but instead floated away to the positions I had assigned them. I, in turn, returned to the head of the column, the place I had originally approached from, and took up my own position there. My own flesh forms were growing weary, I knew, and although the weariness was not unexpected under the circumstances, its presence cut shorter still the amount of time available to act decisively.

  As rapidly as possible, then, I began to radiate the message "I am in command" toward the foot of the column and the area of disturbance. There, at the site of the attack, the two newest entities received the radiating message. In accordance with their instructions they increased the message's intensity and sent it back, spreading it through the entire group of enslaved flesh forms. When I received the intensified message I also radiated it back, and in a short while the attack faltered and then stopped altogether.

  Those enslaved flesh forms nearest my position stood at attention as though awaiting orders, which was the most that could be done at the moment. The rest would have to be done by others lacking my weariness, but one further act was necessary.

  Those flesh forms called nobles stood shouting at the formerly enslaved flesh forms nearest to them, demanding that their commands be obeyed. I touched the ones who shouted, insuring that they would continue to shout but do nothing else, and then the entity was gone and it was me alone again.

  "Whew!" Jovvi said, sitting just a little straighter in her place. "If the entity hadn't drawn strength for us from our link groups before dissolving, I'd be flat on the ground right now."

  "You and me both," Lorand agreed as he stretched wide. "At least the entity understood that we can't curl up and sleep right now. We still have too much to do."

  "Like gettin' all those people released completely," Vallant said as he began to get to his feet after taking a deep breath. "Holter and his group will have to do that, along with calmin' down the people they release. We don't want them tearin' the nobles apart before we get a chance to question them."

  "We'll also have to acquire food for them as well as clothing," Rion put in as he joined Vallant in standing. "Did you see how poorly they were dressed? Some are in worse case than the other segments we freed."

  "And if we don't move quickly we'll lost some of them," Naran warned, letting Rion help her to her feet. "I could feel that some of those poor people are hurt so badly that their life threads are almost severed."

  That statement touched me even more deeply than it did the others. It wasn't so long ago that my own life thread had nearly snapped that I didn't feel a shudder run through me as I stood. Vallant had given me a hand up, and as soon as we were all erect we went to the horses. Our link groups were already mounted, so we all hurried toward the waiting column.

  When we reached the place where the nobles had been shouting orders at the segments, we found those nobles surrounded by the bullies called prods as they continued to try giving their former slaves orders. Actually it was just one man doing most of the shouting, the rest simply echoing whatever he said. We dismounted and left our horses with our link groups, and walked closer to the defensive group.

  "All right, that's enough noise for now," Jovvi told the men inside the circle of prods, and then she seemed to address the thin air. "Yes, we would like you and the others to see to the captives. But you'll have to calm them as you free them, and they'll also need to be examined. Naran tells us that some of them need immediate medical attention. Also please take these prods away and sit them down somewhere or use them to do something necessary. We want to question the nobles now, and would prefer that the prods don't get in the way… Thank you."

  Jovvi had been talking to Pagin Holter's group's entity, of course, but the nobles stared at her as if she were insane. It amused me to remember that the only orders I'd given the nobles had been to stay put and continue shouting, which meant they were only loosely under control. That let them show all the outraged indignation they seemed to feel, and the apparent leader bristled up at once.

  "Who in the name of Chaos are you peasants, and how dare you interfere with me?" he demanded as he looked around at us, and then his complexion went even darker as the prods began to move away from him and the others. "You men get back here at once, do you hear, at once! You take your orders from me, not some worthless rabble!"

  "No one will be takin' orders from you again, so you'd better get used to it," Vallant told the man dryly with a very hard edge to the words. "Just stand where you are, and we'll be gettin' around to you as soon as more important matters are attended to."

  The noble growled deep in his throat as Vallant turned away from him to watch what the other Blending entities were doing with the former segments, and then I felt the man reach for the power. When he'd opened himself it became clear that he had Fire magic, so I took a small step toward him.

  "If you feel you have to do that, it's me you'll be facing," I told him mildly as he fought to keep his eyes f
rom widening. "I can tell you that you're not even as strong as the late and unlamented Seated Middle in Fire magic, so you'd better rethink your position. As I'm sure you can tell, I am a High rather than just being called one."

  "You're a peasant is what you are, and I am not," he blustered, obviously trying to get the upper hand by using something other than talent. "You may curtsey to me and acknowledge my authority over you, and then you will come and stand before me in defense."

  "I would dearly love to tell you what you may do, but I was raised not to say things like that," I drawled, all but laughing in his face. "Instead I'll tell you that there's a big difference between saying you have authority and actually being able to prove it. We've already proven our authority, so stop making a fool of yourself and just keep quiet."

  One of the younger men behind the one who had spoken had been getting more and more outraged, and when he heard me virtually call the older man a fool he lost all control of himself. He screamed out his fury, and then he launched himself in attack against me.

  Our short time of Blending had really depleted the strength I'd regained, and only a small part of that strength had been replaced from what my entity-self had drawn from our link groups. But our link groups still had a lot of strength left, and somehow I found myself tapping into the strength of mine as I took one step back and defended myself automatically.

  The younger man closed the distance between us very fast, and then he reached both hands for my throat. He seemed to know that it's difficult to use a talent while you're being choked to death, your mind becoming too scattered to focus properly. But I hadn't had to stop and focus my talent in quite a while, and the man's tactics depended on his actually being able to strangle me.