Competitions

by Sharon Green

  I was an instant away from saying I’d have two cups of tea, but then rationality came to my rescue. If I sat down for any length of time at all, all those conflicting wants and desires plaguing me in the coach would come right back. I couldn’t let myself be distracted like that, so only one answer to Soonen’s challenge was possible.

  “You want me to sit down for a while to give you the chance to work up the nerve to face me?” I asked with a mocking smile. “Really, Soonen, the extra time won’t do you any good at all, so we’ll skip the tea. Go and find Adept Gerdol, and tell him we’re ready to begin.”

  The flashing look in Soonen’s eyes was a combination of frustration and fear, and then she’d turned away from me to stalk off toward the front of the eating area. She’d also gone faintly red at my accusation, which had been a considerable surprise.

  I’d only been trying to insult and refuse the woman without being put on the defensive, but it looked like I might have struck the nail squarely on the head. Soonen did seem to be afraid to face me, which meant I couldn’t understand why she’d tried to antagonize me. Hadn’t she realized that that would only make things worse between us?

  No logical answer came for that question, so I shelved it for the moment and drifted after Soonen. The woman seemed to be heading for the table that Gerdol had been at yesterday, and sure enough the man was there with his friends. When Soonen spoke to him, her face looking drawn, he seemed startled and upset. They then exchanged a few words, after which Gerdol rose and joined Soonen in coming back to me.

  “Well, good morning, Dama Domon,” Gerdol said heartily as he approached, his mustacheless whiskers rising with his smile. “I certainly hope you had a pleasant evening and rest—but of course you must have. You’re just as lovely as ever.”

  “Thank you,” I said with my own forced smile, fighting to keep my anger from taking over. “You’re very kind … as usual. Now I’d like to begin the testing.”

  “Without first sharing a fortifying cup of tea?” he asked with brows raised, making it sound as though the practice was unheard of. “Surely you’ll join me for a brief time, Dama, while Adept Soonen serves the both of us…”

  “That’s a really tempting offer, sir, but I must decline,” I said when his words trailed off on a coaxing note. I’d never be able to stand his greasy compliments without exploding… “I’ve come for no other reason than to gain the next masteries, and now I’d like to get to it.”

  Gerdol and Soonen exchanged a glance, and strangely enough Soonen showed nothing of relief over not having to serve me. I’d been expecting her to be delighted, and the fact that she wasn’t became another puzzling item for the file of unanswered questions I’d begun to build.

  “Very well, Dama, your wish is our command,” Gerdol finally allowed with a sickly smile, giving me the impression that he’d had no choice but to respond in that way. “Please follow us to the first of the cubicles.”

  The two Adepts didn’t speak as they led the way, but I had the definite impression they wanted to. It would have been nice to know what was going on, but I was almost getting used to their way of doing things. When they reached the first cubicle Gerdol stopped, but Soonen continued around to the other side of it. The far side, like the near, had an opening in the clear resin wall with a free-standing curtain-wall three or four feet behind the opening.

  “This exercise will be the same as it was yesterday, with one exception,” Gerdol said to me when I reached him. “You must burn every grain of sand in the gout thrown up by the device, but at the same time you must protect yourself from attack by Adept Soonen. Soonen is rather stronger than most around here, and for your sake I truly hope you are prepared for this. If not…”

  He let his words trail off in an obvious attempt to frighten me, but obvious or not the attempt began to work. I could see Soonen clearly where she stood, and her arrogance seemed to have returned completely. I glanced away from her in my own obvious attempt to hide hesitation—and suddenly felt shocked. Down by the third cubicle, staring straight at me—It was Beldara Lant!

  For a moment I had trouble understanding why Beldara would be here, and then I realized that she must have managed to qualify on the very last day. I hadn’t seen her since the testing authority had taken her things and Eskin Drowd’s out of the house, probably expecting that neither of the two would qualify. But apparently Beldara had fooled them, and now she was here to try qualifying for the competitions.

  And to stand there smirking her imagined superiority in my direction. Beldara had been raised to believe that she was the best at Fire magic ever to be born, and even coming out of her small town into the real world hadn’t brought her to a more reasonable attitude. Now she stood there, delaying her own practice, waiting for me to fail the way she’d always said I would.

  The anger I’d begun with had cooled to uselessness, but seeing Beldara and her Soonen-like arrogance brought it back to full, roaring life. Both of those women tried to claim superiority with words rather than deeds, but I’d already stopped letting mere words defeat me.

  “I’m ready,” I said to Gerdol in what was almost a snap as I drew myself up. “Tell Soonen to begin any time she feels up to it.”

  Gerdol’s brows drew down as he gestured to Soonen, but his unhappiness and Soonen’s slight hesitation were no longer my concern. I’d reached for the power and had drawn it into myself, and abruptly found myself weaving two patterns of fire. The first would burn every bit of soil Gerdol now prepared to make the device throw into the air, and the second would keep Soonen’s efforts away from me. Distantly I realized that the second pattern was the same one I used to keep from burning anything but what I was supposed to, and that it was woven power rather than woven fire. But that didn’t matter to me now, not when there were masteries to achieve.

  Gerdol used the lever to make the device throw soil into the air, and that, of course, was when Soonen struck. Even as my hottest fires consumed the soil completely, I was able to feel Soonen trying to set my clothes and hair alight. The way she clenched her fists said she tried really hard, but it just wasn’t possible for her to go around or through my protection.

  “How was that?” I asked Gerdol when the soil was completely gone, pretending to ignore Soonen’s continuing efforts. “Worth another mastery, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Yes, certainly, Dama,” Gerdol quickly agreed, apparently finding himself shaken by my stare. I still retained active contact with the power, of course, and felt as if I could face down the entire world. “You’ve achieved the first of your second-level masteries without a doubt. Let’s continue to the next.”

  Gerdol now seemed to be in a rush to get on with it, and that was perfectly all right with me. As I moved after him and out of the cubicle entrance, Soonen’s attack was immediately cut off. With even a single resin wall between us, it would have to be.

  We didn’t have to wait long for Soonen to stalk to the other side of the second cubicle, and it looked as if her temper had gotten the best of her. If determination were clothing, Soonen probably would have been muffled to the eyebrows. As soon as Gerdol released the spray of water I was to burn to a point beyond steam, her attack resumed slightly stronger than before. This time I happened to notice the actual level of her efforts, and decided not to consider her an Adept ever again. She was a fairly strong Middle talent, but that was a far cry from the operating level of a High.

  “And now we have two new masteries,” I said to Gerdol once all the water was gone without a trace, smiling faintly at the way I’d called myself a High talent without blushing at the boastfulness of the claim. When I finally released my hold on the power I’d be absolutely exhausted, but for now I meant to enjoy the experience of life without fear or nervousness.

  “Two, yes,” Gerdol muttered, his glance at Soonen putting a look of frustrated fear on his face. “You—ah—haven’t mentioned anything about the difficulty of being under attack. I hadn’t realized you would do so well with hiding your effo
rts to resist it.”

  “You think I’m hiding my efforts well?” I asked with a very pleased smile, ignoring his roundabout attempt to get some details on the matter. “How nice of you to say that, Adept Gerdol. And now we’re ready for the third exercise, aren’t we?”

  “Yes, surely,” the man muttered, then edged carefully behind me before leading the way. Soonen’s attack was now causing sparks to strike against my protection, but causing sparks was the most she could do against it. Flame was completely disallowed, and that no matter how red in the face she got.

  As we approached the third cubicle, I smiled faintly to see the fury in Beldara Lant’s eyes. She’d obviously seen me complete the first two exercises, and now clearly hated the fact that I hadn’t failed.

  “You’ll have to move aside, young lady,” Gerdol said to her with impatience in his voice. “The dama is in the midst of achieving masteries, and that takes precedence over a beginner’s practice.”

  “It so happens I’m ready to achieve masteries, too,” Beldara announced indignantly, humiliation burning hot in her cheeks. “Let that little do-nothing step aside and wait for me to show you how it’s supposed to be done.”

  “Don’t be a fool, girl!” Gerdol snapped as Beldara turned back to the cubicle’s interior—only to stop and stare at Soonen. “This lady has already achieved the first-level masteries you’re only beginning to practice, and now she’s in the midst of second-level. Do you really want Adept Soonen to attack you the way she’s been doing with Dama Domon?”

  “But … I haven’t seen any evidence of attack,” Beldara returned, trying for belligerence but achieving disturbance instead. “If that other one is supposed to attack her, she isn’t doing a very good job of it. This one probably paid her not to, and that’s why you think she’s so good. Yes, that’s probably it, she paid—”

  “Beldara,” I interrupted her babbling, feeling my anger begin to climb again. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to your idiotic accusations. If you think Soonen’s been paid off, volunteer to take her place. But I do have to warn you: if you attack, I’ll probably find it impossible not to respond in kind.”

  Her eyes widened at that, her startled surprise over my new attitude more than clear. I’d never answered her challenge so directly before, and sudden lack of confidence made her wilt visibly.

  “It’s … not my place to expose your shoddy little tricks,” she muttered as her gaze fell, the faintness of her tone belying the belligerence of her words. “They’ll find you out without me, and then—”

  At that point she simply stopped talking and hurried away, obviously tired of making a fool of herself. Gerdol’s expression said it was about time, and my power-enhanced attitude simply agreed with him. At another time and place I might have felt sorry for Beldara, but right now the only thing concerning me was achieving the rest of the masteries.

  That third cubicle held wooden blocks carved into different shapes, and I burned the one Gerdol chose without harming any of the blocks around it. I had to divide my protective shield in order to do it, but that didn’t seem to affect the strength of the shield. It remained just as strong as it was originally, and that held true through the next two cubicles as well. First a strip of leather and then one of cloth burned without a problem, and the fact that Soonen was just about foaming at the mouth hadn’t increased the strength of her attacks.

  When we finally reached the last cubicle, the awareness of exhaustion was a good deal sharper in my mind. When I released the power I’d probably fall, but achieving all the second-level masteries would even be worth getting bruised. Gerdol was now supposed to choose three feathers, and once I burned each of them cleanly I’d be able to rest and restore my strength.

  “I think I’ll choose … the red, the pink, and the purple,” Gerdol said, pointing out the three widely spaced feathers in the sprawling stack. “You may begin whenever you wish, my dear, but you do seem a bit—fatigued. Perhaps you’d care for some tea before completing this last exercise. I’d be more than happy to permit it.”

  “Thank you, no,” I answered, distantly disturbed over that “my dear.” And he was offering me tea again, as though he knew I’d be too tired to start over if I stopped now. Suspicion tried to flare in my mind, but I was even too tired for that. Instead I wiped at the sweat on my forehead with the backs of two fingers, then turned my attention to the designated feathers.

  Sparks flew from my shield again while I burned the first two feathers, but before I could get to the third there was a sudden, shocking difference in the attack. I nearly staggered at the strength of it, and even worse, my shield trembled under the onslaught. I couldn’t imagine how Soonen had managed to find so much more strength, but then I caught a glimpse of Gerdol, who stood to my left. He stood in the same attitude of straining that Soonen did, which meant he’d now joined her attack.

  That would have been the perfect point for my anger to return, but it couldn’t seem to get past rapidly growing fear. I knew it was beyond me to sustain the shield for long against this strong an attack, and when the shield fell I would certainly burn. Soonen’s frustration had gone on too long for her to be satisfied with burning no more than my clothes and hair, so my life was definitely on the line. If I faltered in protecting myself, I was as good as dead.

  Panic tried to grow from the fear, and it took almost all I had to prevent that. I had to think rather than panic, but the one thought that came was a risky one. If I drew in more of the power I should be able to maintain the shield, but I wasn’t sure I had the strength left to handle more power. If I didn’t I would be just as dead as a burnout, instead of simply burning up.

  And that realization seemed to steady me. I had nothing at all to lose by trying for more power, since life would no longer be worth living if I couldn’t continue to advance to the competitions. With that in mind I opened myself wide, welcoming the golden strength pouring in rather than fearing it. It filled me completely with new vitality, calmed all my worries, and brought another idea that almost made me chuckle.

  Soonen and Gerdol were attacking both in front and in back, so to speak. Their attempts to burn me to ash surrounded me completely, but somehow I was now able to perceive a … level they weren’t operating on. I’d never before been aware of that level, but now I could perceive it clearly—and knew I could use it. It would take my ability around the attacks somehow, and if I liked I could even attack in return.

  But mounting my own attack didn’t seem wise, not when it would cause a delay in my achieving the final mastery. It would do more good to hit the two so-called Adepts in a way that would hurt them in a different manner, and I knew just the thing. So I turned my attention back to the final feather, burned it cleanly, then slumped against the side of the cubicle and turned a weary smile on Gerdol.

  “Done at last, and just in time,” I told him weakly, pretending I saw nothing of his efforts to destroy my shield. “I really need to sit down now, Adept Gerdol, and will appreciate your arm in assistance—as soon as you declare the final mastery.”

  Gerdol turned white and the attack faltered, showing he’d probably pulled out of the joint effort. A moment later Soonen’s efforts stopped as well, and a glance in her direction showed me she’d collapsed into a seated slump against the back curtain-wall. They’d put everything they had into their final effort, and it had turned out not to be enough.

  “C-congratulations, Dama, congratulations,” Gerdol stuttered, his face still white with fear. “You’ve now achieved the level of master, and as soon as I seat you at a table I’ll fetch your master’s bracelet and silver dins. Here, take my arm.”

  Gerdol fussed over me nervously until he got me into a chair at the nearest available table, and only when he hurried off after ringing for a servant did I release my hold on the power. The world swirled dizzyingly for a moment then, but despite utter exhaustion I didn’t faint. I needed desperately to eat, drink, and rest, but other than that I seemed perfectly all right.


  I gasped out, “Food and tea, quickly!” to the servant who came up to me, and once he rushed off I simply sat there and waited. It would have been nice if I’d had two strong arms around me to hold me up in the chair, but—

  My mind clanged to a halt with the shock of that thought, especially since I knew exactly whose arms I’d been thinking about. It was Vallant Ro I wanted, Vallant Ro I’d wanted all along. I no longer had the strength to deny that, no matter how frightening the idea was. Constantly getting angry at him had been an escape reflex, to keep myself free and uninvolved.

  But now I no longer seemed to want to be free, at least where he was concerned. I kept dreaming about being in his bed tomorrow night, and each of those dreams, both sleeping and awake, were filled with desire. I really, really wanted his arms around me, and tomorrow night I would have them.

  Rather than having to fight a shiver of fear, I found myself smiling in anticipation. Even my real-world attitudes seemed to be changing, and I wondered if that was due to the power as well. I didn’t see how it could be, but the question wasn’t important enough to be disturbing. I simply sat back and smiled, and waited for Gerdol to return with my dins. And a master’s bracelet, which I’d have to remember to question him about.

  And tonight … tonight I just might tell Vallant Ro how much I looked forward to being fair…

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Homin was right there to greet Lord Rigos when the Advisory agent arrived, for once feeling less than completely terrified. The relatively peaceful and quiet days he’d passed in his own home had done wonders, so now it was just Rigos himself who brought Homin a generally broad fear. The small man seemed to have one or two character traits in common with the late Elfini, a circumstance which made Homin’s hands tremble even as he forced a smile.