by Jean Lorrah
Chulaika stared defiantly, refusing to acknowledge Wulfstons analysis.
” Death to the mad witch Z’Nelia,’ ” he quoted, taking grim pleasure in watching her eyes widen in frustration. “You lied to me about what he said. And you let me think that I misjudged my powers and killed him-but you killed him, with Chaiku’s power.”
“That’s nonsense,” said Chulaika. “My son is only three years old. “
“The age I was when my powers first manifested,” Wulfston replied. “A three-year-old could not direct his small strength to kill, but a well-practiced grown woman could. I should have recognized what was wrong with that picture. By maternal instinct you should have shielded Chaiku with your own body, as you did yesterday against Z’Nelia’s attack. But you held him in front of you, using his powers against that man who was too drunk to realize that it couldn’t possibly be Z’Nelia he perceived beneath your veils!”
Wulfston studied Chulaika’s face. “Did you really think you could take over my powers, direct them as you pleased? That was your plan, wasn’t it? The latest of your plans to steal the throne from Z’Nelia.
First you seduced Matu, knowing that the people loved him better than Z’Nelia. You thought you might get him to kill her, and marry you.
“But before you dared propose that plan, you became pregnant with Matu’s child. That gave you something to hold over him-a rival to Z’Nelia’s son, and a potential Mover to protect you if your plans for his father failed.
“Then came the Savishnon. What really happened on Mount Manjuro, Chulaika? Z’Nelia knew about your treachery and Matu’s, and pushed you into the volcano. She didn’t count on Norgu’s love for his father, did she? I wonder if either you or your sister knows anything about love.
“Norgu saved your life. Matu alone could not have saved both you and himself. You found yourself not only with the man you wanted and his unborn child-but with Matu’s son by Z’Nelia! That must have been a happy family group.
“You pretended it was, didn’t you? But Matu and Norgu became closer as Matu trained his older son.
You decided to get rid of them both. Wasn’t that your plan, the day the three assassins attacked? You let everyone assume Z’Nelia sent them. Did you perhaps pose as your sister, so that the assassins themselves thought Z’Nelia directed them?
“No matter. Matu was killed, but Norgu revealed the strength of his powers. He never suspected you; he always assumed Z’Nelia killed Matu. You knew he would eventually seek to depose his mother, but you felt that Chaiku, as Matu’s son and with Mover’s powers, had the right to the throne.
“But Norgu was far older and stronger; to use Norgu and Z’Nelia against one another, you had to move when
Norgu did, long before Chaiku was old enough to be effective in battle. Then you heard the story about me, hired Sukuru. And we know the rest.
“Except,” he added slowly, distastefully, “that you have used your child’s own powers to keep him from learning to talk, to keep that poor little boy from accidentally telling someone of the games you play with him, the things you make him do. “
Chulaika’s skin grew ashen with shock as her secrets were revealed. She clutched Chaiku, but she did not try to attack. What use would it be?
Ashuru spoke. “Chulaika, as a mother I cannot but abhor you. Yet we have in common the desire to depose Z’Nelia, for her powers are combined with madness. We cannot trust you-so what are we to do about you?”
“We could,” said Wulfston, “simply turn her over to Norgu, with the evidence that she, and not Z’Nelia, killed his father.”
Chulaika’s eyes widened. “No! He would kill me, and my baby, too. Or else he would use Chaiku horribly-”
“Worse than you have used him?” Ashuru demanded.
“I’ll help you!” Chulaika pleaded. “I know Z’Nelia-we are twins. Loving her, Matu had no choice but to love me. And our powers-she has the power, and I have the control. If I can only get close enough, I can control Z’Nelia! I can make her turn her powers against herself. Just don’t betray me to Norgu!”
For the moment Wulfston agreed with Ashuru: it was best not to tell Norgu of Chulaika’s treachery. He and the Karili queen shared the same misgivings, but, “Despite how Chulaika has used him,” Ashuru said,
“Chaiku is better off with his mother than with Norgu. If that boy were to gain further power now, before he has learned to use wisely what he has…” She shook her head sadly.
“You are right,” said Wulfston. “Besides, we need Norgu’s help against both Z’Nelia and the Savishnon.
When all is over, something will have to be done about Chaiku. He cannot be left unprotected once his powers are recognized. But for now-”
Ashuru nodded. “His best protection until we have somehow dealt with Z’Nelia is the one his mother has given him: silence.”
So Wulfston was left to approach Norgu, who had already recovered his physical powers, like any other Adept who had used them to the limit. Emotionally, though, the boy was a seething cauldron. “I will never forgive Z’Nelia! I will kill her!”
Wulfston tried to hide his concern at Norgu’s agitation. “We will all fight Z’Nelia together. Consider what happened here: alone, you are no match for her. But you can join your powers to mine and those of the Movers Ashuru has brought. Let the Seers use their powers of mind to aid us against Z’Nelia. Only by working together do we have a chance to defeat her.”
“I want to kill her with my own hands,” Norgu said. “I will drive my spear through her heart!”
Wulfston curbed his exasperation, and said reasonably, “She will not allow you that close. Think, Norgu.
If you approach her alone, with only your own people, she will do exactly what she did here: take over your body and turn you into a weapon against yourself. Our only possible safety is in numbers, Movers and Seers attacking her together.’
Norgu’s face was wrenched into a pouting scowl. “She is my mother. I have the right to her throne. I am her heir.”
“Then act like the heir to the throne, a leader among men,” Wulfston suggested. “Take the opportunity to gain strong allies. Let us go ahead of you,” he added, lest Norgu should decide to lead the attack, “while you remain as the secret weapon. We will approach Johara first, Movers and Seers attacking Z’Nelia with all our powers. When she is distracted, you launch your attack, and allow me to go in and rescue my brother under cover of your unexpected powers.”
“Z’Nelia is not in Johara,” Norgu said flatly.
“What?”
“She is in our ancestral home in Djahat, ancient seat of the Zionae nation, just three days’ journey from here.”
“I thought the Savishnon held Djahat.”
“They did after they drove my ancestors out, until my mother defeated them. My father and Chulaika and I fled through those Savishnon-held lands after the battle at Johara. With Savishnon between us and Z’Nelia, we felt safe in the lands of the Warimu, but with the Savishnon weakened other peoples moved into those lands, driving the remaining Savishnon northward. A short time ago, Z’Nelia took those lands into Zionae power once more. Now I know she knew where I was, and wanted a common border between our lands.”
“Then,” Wulfston wondered, “has she taken Lenardo to Djahat?”
“Yes,” Norgu replied, “or at least that was her plan when she stole him from me. I must take my revenge, but you are right. Alone I would have to wait until my powers grew stronger. With your help, I can seek revenge now, before Z’Nelia’s madness does any further damage!”
Wulfston refrained from commenting further; he had what he wanted, and could only hope that with the help of Ashuru, Tadisha, and Kamas, Norgu could be kept to their plan.
When he told Ashuru and Tadisha the news, Ashuru said, “I did not think anyone could talk Norgu out of his revenge.”
“He still plans revenge; he is just facing the fact that he doesn’t have the strength to fight Z’Nelia alone.”
Ashuru sh
ook her head. “I had hoped to take him beyond mere acceptance of facts. I failed to heal the wounds left by his mother’s treachery-and, of course, his father’s. Norgu is obsessed with Z’Nelia’s power-madness, yet incapable of recognizing his own.”
“But… you have the capability to heal such madness?”
“I have the knowledge,” Ashuru replied, “but not the time. Norgu needs years of care to counteract his terrible childhood. He is in desperate need of the teaching his father was giving him when he died. If we succeed against Z’Nelia-”
“-Norgu will expect jto take her throne,” said Tadisha. “How are we to prevent him?”
“Wait,” said Wulfston. “Queen Ashuru, can your Seers not work together to heal sick minds quickly, as our Master Readers do at home?”
“Quickly?” she asked. “If you mean weeks or months instead of years, yes. But if you mean that I should attempt to heal Norgu before-”
“Not Norgu,” said Wulfston. “Z’Nelia.”
“What?!” Both women spoke at once, two pairs of green eyes fixed on him.
“We have all been assuming,” he explained, “that if we win the upcoming battle, it will mean Z’Nelia’s death. That would create a power struggle between the Karili Assembly and Norgu over rule of the Zionae lands, with the Savishnon ever available to take advantage of any weakness. But what if we do not kill Z’Nelia, but heal her?”
“How do we control her in the battle, so that we can have the chance to heal her?” Ashuru asked.
“Tadisha will be a powerful Seer one day, but she has neither the power nor the training to help me with Z’Nelia now.”
Wulfston looked into the lion’s eyes. “Lenardo has both.”
“Can you speak for him?”
“If he is conscious he will be Reading. The moment he knows what you intend to do, I know he will aid you.”
Ashuru nodded. “Yes-from what I have Seen of Lenardo in your mind, I know that you speak truthfully. But can you give a promise for him, and bind him to it?”
“What do you mean?” Wulfston asked warily.
“Suppose we win the battle, and free Lenardo. Will he stay in Africa as long as it takes to heal Z’Nelia so that she can be trusted on the throne?”
If only I could ask him! Wulfston thought, remembering Aradia, pregnant-but surrounded by Readers and Adepts.
“Perhaps,” Tadisha answered his thought, “I can reach along the road to Johara out of body. Men on horseback couldn’t have ridden that far yet. If Lord Lenardo is conscious-”
“I doubt he’s being taken to Johara,” Wulfston remembered, no longer startled at having his thpughts overheard. For the hundredth time he wished he had the Reader’s training to decide when he wanted to be Read and when not, without having to concentrate on it.
He told Ashuru and Tadisha what Norgu had told him. “Djahat,” said Ashuru. “That is much closer than Johara. Tadisha, Lord Lenardo knows you, but I fear to allow you to leave your body after what happened in the temple.”
“And I fear,” said Wulfston, “that Z’Nelia is keeping Lenardo unconscious. We know he can Read over five days’ distance. If he hasn’t contacted us, I do not think we can contact him.”
“Then I must ask you again,” said Ashuru, “will Lord Lenardo abide by a promise you give for him?”
“I believe he will,” Wulfston replied, “if you will release him from it the moment your own healers can handle Z’Nelia.”
“Agreed.” Ashuru smiled, the first true smile of friendship she had given him. “I know you are concerned about your sister and the child she carries. If we succeed in our endeavor, you and Lord Lenardo should easily reach home in time for the birth of his daughter.”
When Ashuru went to supervise the continuing preparation for war, Tadisha lingered beside Wulfston as they left their conference room. Karili and Warimu troops were arriving daily, and Norgu’s castle overflowed with people.
Structural repairs had been made quickly, as Z’Nelia’s firestorm had not lasted long enough to destroy stone walls. New doors and window frames were already in place, and workmen pounded away with hammers as they replaced the wooden shakes on the roof of some areas. Where the roof was tiled, it might be blackened, but it remained sound.
There was a singular lack of furnishings, however; chairs, tables, and chests had gone up in flames, along with hangings, cushions, linens, and clothing. To Wulfston it was a sadly familiar situation. Fire was a favorite Adept weapon; he had spent many a day in similarly fire-stripped castles and villas.
He had hoped, he told Tadisha, that he had seen the last of such damage.
She shook her head sadly. “How can it ever end, except through some person of great powers eventually ruling all, destroying his enemies?”
“Is that what you would wish for?” he asked.
“No! No-the stories you tell of your lands, where Movers and Seers live together in peace… if only we could do the same.”
They left the castle, Traylo and Arlus at their heels. The town was busy; they cut through a side street, out into what ought to be the countryside, but was now the campgrounds of a growing army.
“Peace is possible-with vigilance,” Wulfston said. “But it didn’t happen in a day. We are still building trust among our people, and there are those along our borders who think us weaklings if we do not seek to conquer further. Every so often we have to fight off those who try to conquer us. Armies like this are not as common a sight as they once were in the Savage Empire, but there are still times when we must gather them.”
“We,” said Tadisha. “Us. I wonder if our Karili Assembly will ever have that kind of unity, when even among families we see such conflict. Z’Nelia, Chulaika, Norgu- deadly enemies despite being of one blood.”
“One blood,” Wulfston said flatly. ” My blood.”
An apology leaped to Tadisha’s eyes. “I didn’t-”
“I know.” He smiled, silencing her with a gentle finger on her lips. “I needed to say it aloud. A part of me knew I would find such answers, long before I was forced to journey here and ask the questions. Even before Chulaika’s ship entered the harbor in my land, that part of me was waiting for her… with dread.
When she stood before my throne, I didn’t need Seeing powers to know that she and I were related.”
Tadisha stared at him. “How could you know? You said she was veiled, that all you could see were her eyes.”
“Yes,” he remembered, “her eyes. My memories of my mother are vague, but I remember her eyes.
Deep, penetrating, sad-just like Chulaika’s. Somehow I knew before I even reached Africa that Chulaika’s hatred was toward blood kin.”
He glanced at the dogs, who were playfully wrestling with each other, growling and barking. “It’s why I named those two Traylo and Arlus, without recalling where the names came from. It was a story Nerius told Aradia and me, one time when we were fighting worse than usual.
“I was about twelve, and my powers were taking that leap at puberty that’s also accompanied by lack of control. Father had determined that my powers were likely to become as great as his and Aradia’s… and she resented it. At the time, I thought that was all she resented, but now I realize that Father was spending much more time with me than with Aradia.”
“Kamas and I went through just such a situation not so long ago,” said Tadisha.
“I suppose siblings always do,” said Wulfston, “but your mother didn’t let it get to the stage at which you did something unforgivable, any more than Nerius did. He separated Aradia and me-sent her off for a month with Lady Lilith, and me to an ally of his named Hron. Of course we discovered how much we missed each other, but when we came home the first thing Father did was to sit us down and tell us the story of Traylo and Arlus, brothers of equal powers who fought all their lives over who should hold power in their lands. In the end they killed each other. Nobody won, and their people were left leaderless.”
“We also have such cautionary tales,”
said Tadisha.
“There are others,” Wulfston agreed. “The reason the tale of Traylo and Arlus had such impact, though, is that it came with the object lesson-after being separated for a month, Aradia and I knew that we loved and missed one another and Nerius, and no power struggle was important enough to tear a family apart.”
He thought for a moment, and then added, “Our alliance is like a family. Lenardo became family when he married Aradia. Julia became family when Lenardo adopted her.” He turned to look at Tadisha. ”
I wish…”
But he could not complete the thought-it was the wrong time and place.
“I wish I could be a part of such a family,” Tadisha completed it for him. “But that family is far away, and I have obligations here. Your family here-”
Wulfston shuddered. He still did not feel related to Norgu, Z’Nelia, Chulaika, or Chaiku, no matter what Barak said. “If you insist that blood will tell,” he replied, “then you can never trust me. I couldn’t trust myself if that were true!”
Tadisha grasped his hand. “Oh, no-I didn’t intend- Wulfston, I only meant that you have family here, and thus responsibilities.”
“I have responsibilities because I have given my word, not because I share some ancestors with the people who have attacked you. I will discharge those responsibilities, just as you will discharge yours, Princess of the Karili.”
They looked into one another’s eyes, they held hands, but they might as well have been standing on different continents. Her future lay here, in Africa, while his lay far across the sea, in the Savage Empire.
“If we defeat Z’Nelia,” Tadisha murmured, “who will rule her lands? Norgu is not to be trusted, nor Chulaika, nor Chaiku if his mother raises him. Wulfston, you are of that family. Take the throne. The Karili Assembly will support you. Form an alliance here. Bring peace to Africa. We need you-”