Telepath

by Jolea M. Harrison

  “What about the Base?”

  “I’m not worried that the entire organization is going to collapse in my absence. Boral and Xavier have things well in hand.”

  “And having all three telepaths in the same place won’t make it easier for Maralt to find us?”

  “It might. We’ll have to be careful. Maybe we should consider sending you back for a time.”

  “No.”

  “Dynan—”

  “No. I’m not leaving Dain out here. I’m not doing it. So if having you here with us is going to make it easier for Maralt, then sorry, you’ll have to go back to the Base.”

  Carryn paused for a moment, then relented. “I don’t think it will. Like you, I’ve gotten better at blocking him and now I walk around with a permanent one against him.”

  “Is that why neither of us could tell it was you coming up the road?”

  “Probably.”

  Dynan looked at her a moment. “Why are you here, really?”

  “I’m afraid Maralt is going to kill you both, that’s why.”

  “And if you’re not here to stop him, he’ll succeed.”

  “Something like that.”

  “Did you see something, have one of your visions that makes you think there’s a greater danger?” he asked, but she shook her head.

  “I don’t have them anymore, or at least not any that are decipherable, or at all like the one that came while we were at the Galar Mansion. They are bits and pieces now. Maybe the lack is due to my blocking Maralt on a constant basis that it effects my ability to see.”

  “You don’t think he’s close, do you?”

  “Not now at any rate. We had a report of him back on Cobalt, but I doubt he’ll stay there long.”

  For a moment, as Dynan watched, Carryn seemed completely lost. He could guess she was thinking about Maralt, not as an enemy but as the brother she’d lost. It was unimaginable to him how she was able to cope with it. “You know I don’t blame you for any of this, don’t you?”

  Carryn looked at him, smiling after a moment. “I’ve wondered sometimes how you can trust me.”

  “You aren’t Maralt and you never will be,” Dynan said.

  “I’m responsible for everything that’s happened.”

  “How can you say that? You can’t take responsibility for what Maralt has done. If it were Dain, or even you, I wouldn’t have believed it possible either. How can you blame yourself for not wanting to think your own brother would do this thing?”

  “I should have trusted what I felt from him, instead of wrapping it up in emotional denial. I should have stopped him, and I didn’t. You are the ones left to carry the burden of consequence.” She closed her eyes. “He’ll never turn from this,” she said. “I don’t think he can anymore.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t...I can’t imagine what it must be like, losing your brother. I don’t want to imagine it.”

  “No, you don’t. But you and Dain are different. You always have been. I certainly hope you’re never faced with the same situation, not that I think Dain is anyway inclined in that way. He’s more interested in the pursuit of women, than power.” She glanced overhead, smiling briefly.

  “I guess you would know,” Dynan said and then didn’t mean it the way it sounded. She noticed.

  “Does it bother you that I slept with him?”

  “No. I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t really understand why you did, since you never intended to be with him more than the one time, or I mean...Never mind. It’s none of my business. You think I’ll have to watch Dain?” Dynan asked to change the subject.

  Carryn regarded him a moment, and then moved on. “Maralt’s weakness, his failing was in believing that he could control what he could do, never realizing how easily it would control him instead. He started to close himself away from me, maybe without even realizing it. As long as you and Dain don’t allow that to happen, you won’t ever be faced with it.”

  “You told me something happened to him. Do you know what?”

  “He was always too curious about what he could do. He controlled you, and others, getting into their mind without their consent, and to do so is a horribly corrupting influence, and addictive. When I was appointed your advisor, I think now that he wanted to be the one close to you instead. He was jealous and turned to Kamien. I don’t know. I’m guessing about a lot of it. We didn’t talk very much by then.”

  They sat silently for a while, watching the fire burn down, listening to the stillness of the house, and night sounds that filtered in. A lone bird trilled in the distance, perhaps feeling the coming of dawn.

  “Do you like it here better than Uldian?” Carryn asked.

  “No, not really. Uldian was an adventure. We tried to look at it that way, I think, to keep our real purpose out of mind. It was sort of fun, especially Ralion and his animals. You should have seen Dain trying to help him load the pigs for the trip into town. By the time they were finished they were black with mud.” He smiled at the memory, then pulled in a slow sobering breath. “All that ended when Maralt attacked. Here in Falurn, we all know how deadly serious this is. Since Uldian I don’t think we’ve forgotten it for a single day.”

  “You’ll be going into Yomir next, Alexia Targon’s System.”

  “Yes, on Redomon. Our next little town is once again on the verge of warm weather. I think I’ll be sick of summer by then.”

  Carryn nodded. “Isn’t it due to turn warm here in a month?”

  “No, it’s due to turn searing in a month. The seasons are a little drastic here.”

  “If you’d been at the Base, you’d welcome it. I’m going to turn in,” she said, standing. “I’ll see you in the morning, or rather, when you wake.”

  Dynan nodded, but stayed up for a while, watching the fire, and trying not to think of when Maralt might next catch up to them. The thought that Carryn would stay with them made him feel better about their chances. He went to bed with that thought in mind.

  Carryn did stay with them, but Dynan quickly discovered the somewhat lazy approach they took to their training came to an abrupt halt. It wasn’t that they hadn’t been doing what they were supposed to do all along. They weren’t doing it to Carryn’s satisfaction. She soon had them up at dawn every day, working out, running laps around the property, and getting them back into the physical condition they needed to be in.

  Dain enjoyed it the most, having some willing competition to practice with a blade, and having Geneal with him didn’t hurt his disposition at all. Her presence greatly increased the quality of food they ate. Sheed didn’t appreciation all the compliments she received.

  Geneal pronounced Ralion in perfect health, and made sure Dain knew he’d done all the right things that saved the guard’s life, and that helped ease his mind.

  Frazier left for the Base a month later, fully refreshed and eager to get back, carrying messages to the King, and Commander Toolin. Geneal would have gone with him, but Dain persuaded her to stay, and then managed to convince Carryn to go along with it.

  Her willingness to look the other way annoyed Dynan more than a little. The double standard wasn’t exactly fair, and the size of the house made it impossible for him to avoid knowing when, where, and how much Dain enjoyed Geneal being there. Aside from having a woman in bed with him more often than not, he otherwise hadn’t displayed much desire for their company on a fulltime basis. Now, they couldn’t be separated. Geneal seemed happy enough, and Dain did anything she wanted.

  They turned a year older. This time there was little in the way of celebration. Geneal made them a special dinner. There weren’t any gifts beyond spending an evening with everyone together, taking a break from guard duties and other responsibilities. The days turned from pleasantly warm to unbearably hot, and equally humid. Near daily thunderstorms did nothing to ease the heat, seeming only to increase the soupy quality of the air. By the end of the summer, a long, lazy four months, they were all ready to pack up and go, but remained the additional month as
planned.

  Carryn stayed with them for a time at their next location, in the Yomir System on the planet Redomon, outside yet another small town. She left them after a month, feeling a need to return to the Base, and check in. Geneal remained behind again. Allie and Gaden Ahreld arrived after Carryn’s departure, and remained during their stay.

  The months passed by. They stayed ahead of Maralt. After Crinalda, he hadn’t been given the chance to get so near them again. Since Dain had learned to recognize the adept’s presence, he knew when Maralt was getting close, and they moved. There were rumors of him always. After they left Redomon, Carryn sent a message that Maralt had been seen at their former location. They knew he was out there, searching for them, but they managed to stay ahead of him.

  Apparently, he had established a base of his own on Muri, the third planet inside the Cobalt System, but not actually part of it. The Murians had long been a source of difficulty for Cobalt’s reigning monarchs. The news that Maralt was there led Dynan to believe a pact had been reached between Kamien and the Murian King, further increasing Cobalt’s military capabilities.

  The Exile Base continued to grow in strength, but the numbers fell far short of what they would need to retake the Cobalt Throne. Dynan began to doubt they’d ever be able to return home. He found himself frequently questioning his reasons for wanting to. He still didn’t feel ready to become King, and with the distance of time, he began to feel that the extracted toll they were all paying wasn’t worth it.

  There wasn’t anything to do for it. They kept moving and time marched on with them, months to years. Then news reached them near the end of the fourth year of exile, not long after their 22nd birthday that Kamien planned to have himself crowned King. Carryn brought them the tidings during one of her periodic visits. They were in the Rynald System, on a planet named Jeminda, in a town Dynan didn’t remember the name of, and it was hot.

  “How can he?” Dynan asked, bewildered, and completely certain they would never make it home again.

  “Apparently the Governors have agreed that the System needs a ruler with the full powers of King. That’s the official story. Taldic got word to Drake that it’s more a case of allow it or perish. Kamien is ruling with brutal tactics to keep the System in line and loyal to him. Those who’ve spoken out against him have disappeared.”

  “Don’t you think it’s time we made plans to attack him then?” Dain asked, pacing in the small sitting room of the equally small house they occupied.

  “How? When we don’t have sufficient strength?” Carryn said. “We’d only succeed in guaranteeing him a long reign. I know this looks like the end of our hopes to ever go back, but it only seems that way. Removing Kamien as King will be no different than removing him as Regent. The fact remains that Dynan is the rightful Heir to the Throne.”

  “How can the High Council sit by, and allow this to happen?” Dain demanded, hardly listening to Carryn. “What do they think they’re getting? Kamien will only gain more power, grow even stronger, making it impossible for us to get back, unless the entire Council is involved.”

  “Actually, he’s been incredibly lax in his efforts to maintain the economic power base that made Cobalt the System leader. His effort to maintain power internally has weakened his influence with the other Systems. It remains to be seen whether his behavior will change once he’s crowned King.”

  “Why else would he be having himself crowned except to gain more power?” Dain asked.

  “Solely to secure his position within Cobalt. He still faces opposition. In truth it’s within the System that he has to exert all his control.”

  “Allowing him to be crowned will only insure that he gains that control.”

  “Not necessarily,” Carryn said. “He’s been Regent for four years, and has yet to gain it, even when he’s had all the powers of a King. It’s more a question of psychology. As Regent he only appeared to have less authority.”

  Dain turned from her, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this, or that we’re going to sit here and do nothing to stop him.”

  “Not nothing, but a continuation of what we started. While we didn’t anticipate Kamien taking the Crown for himself, I don’t see that it will effect what we’re doing. Here’s something else for you to consider. Travel inside the System remains relatively open, but leaving the System or entering it, are more regulated now than ever. Still, there are people leaving, for whatever reason, and while those people are off Cobalt, they’re hearing of your existence and of your innocence of any involvement with the attack four years ago, something Drake and Xavier are making sure is heard, by the way. When those people return home, they tell others. The people of Cobalt know that you’re out here. I think most now believe it was in fact Kamien who instigated the attack. Most are powerless to provide us any aide. When the time comes for our return, we can at least be assured that the majority of Cobalt’s people will welcome us.”

  Dynan glanced at his brother, finding little in the way of comfort in Carryn’s words, and shook his head. He stood after a moment, and walked from the room.

  ~*~

  Chapter 12

  Dain watched him go, then turned to Carryn. “We won’t survive another four years like this, Carryn. Maybe you should take that into consideration.” He turned to follow Dynan, catching up with him outside, down by the large pond that bordered the property.

  “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

  “I didn’t come here to talk. I came here to make sure you wouldn’t relieve yourself of the problem, and leave the entire mess to me.”

  Dynan stared at him, then rolled his eyes, and sat down heavily. “Why don’t we leave the entire mess to Kamien? He obviously wants it badly enough. You think we’re going to survive much longer doing this? I hate it. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running, living in dumps like this, wondering if tomorrow will be the day Maralt catches up to us.”

  “We’ve survived this long. We’ll make it. You can’t abdicate, Dynan. You’d only be abdicating to me, not Kamien, and I’m not going to let you do that.”

  “He’s going to crown himself King, and the Governors are going along with it! All the Systems are going along with it. You think in two or three or four years, if we even have what we need to attack him by then, he won’t have cleaned out anyone who won’t support him completely? What will we be faced with then? What good will it do to go back, only to spend the rest of our lives fighting against our own people?” He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t want to think about it.” He stood. “I’m going for a walk.”

  Dain hesitated, not liking the idea of Dynan out by himself, but after a moment’s thought, decided it felt safe enough. He watched him until he was too far off to distinguish as more than a moving speck, framed against the distant trees. He turned, and found Carryn watching with him. “This stinks.”

  “I know, Dain, but we have to do our best to keep some sense of optimism. It won’t be easy under the circumstances, but you could do a lot in that regard for Dynan. He feels this a little more acutely than you do, because it is his Throne. Help him out, and try to cheer him up. I’m going back tomorrow. I think I need to be on Base for the duration until after the Coronation. Kamien may make a more concerted effort to locate you, or the Base. He knows it exists, but hasn’t discovered its location yet. Right now, it’s imperative we keep it that way. I’ve already talked to Sheed and Ralion about proceeding with your next move. Orgrel isn’t the most pleasant place though, which will make it doubly hard on you and Dynan, but I think it’ll be the safest location for you. Maralt is on Cobalt right now. Taldic confirmed it. After the Coronation, he’ll likely put extra effort into finding you.”

  “So what’s new?” he said sarcastically. “All right. I suppose this means you’re taking Geneal back with you.”

  “Not with me, but when you move to Orgrel, yes. She wouldn’t cope well with the arrangements you’ll be faced with there, and her presenc
e may likely cause more problems, considering the planet’s inhabitants, than you in particular will like dealing with.”

  “You think I can’t protect her?”

  “I think avoiding the problem would be in everyone’s best interest, especially for the people of Orgrel who you’ll be living among. If too many of them end up dead, Maralt will surely hear of it.”

  Dain frowned at her, but relented. “When?”

  “Two weeks. The Coronation is scheduled days after that.”

  “All right. We’ll manage.”

  Carryn nodded, and left him.

  They departed for Orgrel two weeks later, their company down to the original four. Orgrel was a planet located in the Suma System, a former penal colony, still serving the darker side of society. Abandoned by the System government, the planet’s inhabitants did what they needed to survive in the near desolation that was Orgrel. It was a planet barely inhabitable after the catastrophe that wiped out the entire population, and largely destroyed everything else. The destructive nature of the disaster, only read about before, now loomed before them, a brown barren surface, devoid of any noticeable source of water.

  Dain shook his head as they flew over desolate canyons, and unnatural craters, caused by the weapons of a Star Destroyer class ship. In war, he learned, as if war could justify what he saw through the view screen, the use of the Systems’ most destructive power was allowed when it shouldn’t have been. A Star Destroyer, built to protect the Brittallia System from the threat of outside invasion, and for that purpose only, was then used to exterminate a world’s population over an inner-System dispute.

  After the catastrophe of Orgrel became known, all but one of the Star Destroyer class had been decommissioned and disassembled. The King lost his Throne to his eldest child, who had to fight not only the System’s Regional Governors, but also the High Council to keep her birthright. The one remaining Destroyer was placed in the hands of Dionin Telaerin, to patrol Brittallia, which is what he’d done with it, as their father had as well.