Prophecy

by Sharon Green

  And that primary aim might be more easily seen to than the entity had expected. It hadn’t appreciated the point earlier, during its two brief appearances, but its senses now felt more … sensitive and widespread. The entity was growing closer to the way it knew it really should be, which was extremely heartening. There would be more actions available to it once it had reached its optimum condition…

  But for now, the improvement in its senses was very much of a help. Not only was the world about it much clearer, but the flesh forms it was required to examine were also more easily read. Those beings over there were all but terrified, and for that reason were refusing to heed the words of one of the two speaking flesh forms. If those words were heeded, the terror they felt would surely increase, therefore they heeded the second speaking flesh form instead. Denial of the danger was to them a refuge, unlike some of those who stood elsewhere. Those others were prepared to take action against the danger, even if the action were no more than running away.

  The entity ceased inspecting those who were read easily, and moved its attention to those who were more difficult. Among this group would its enemies be found, but apparently not immediately. One after the other, the individuals the entity examined proved to be almost the same as the others. Some wore their feelings clearly upon their faces and others not quite so clearly, but all seemed of the same sort. Ordinary flesh forms, excited to one degree or another…

  The entity pulled back from its investigations, momentarily vexed. Right now there seemed to be no difference between the ordinary flesh forms and those who were enemies, as both groups might be expected to be agitated to some degree. The enemy did, after all, know that they might be discovered and destroyed at any time. The objective, then, would be to produce a different sort of agitation in the enemy, to mark them out more clearly. With that point understood, there remained only the matter of constructing the manner of marking them out.

  A moment of thought brought the entity a possible answer to its needs. The plan would, in a manner of speaking, see to solving two situations at the same time, an economy of effort which the entity fully approved of. With that in mind the entity floated closer to one of the two flesh forms who were speaking, specifically the one called Mollit Feldin. That flesh form was very closed-minded, clinging to its own beliefs no matter the foolishness of them.

  “… so we gotta r’member these here strangers ain’t our own folk,” the flesh form was in the midst of saying, speaking to someone in the throng who had spoken first. “Idroy Welt there’ll b’lieve anythin’ ya tell ’im, since he don’t care none ’bout lookin’ foolish. He allus looks foolish, but I don’t aim t’do th’ same. There ain’t no trouble comin’, th’ trouble’s awready here, an’ it’s that buncha strangers. Like as not they’ll be tearin’ through our stuff soon’s we pack up ’n leave, takin’ whut they want without no one about to say not t’. I ain’t been workin’ m’backside off jest t’ give whut little I got t’ sum slick-talkin’ strangers.”

  “Lorand Coll ain’t no stranger,” the flesh form called Idroy Welt countered, but in a way which suggested that he’d said the same thing many times over. “He’s one a ourn, an’ he coulda gone to any town in this parta th’ country. But he came here, ’cause he still thinks like one a us an’ couldn’t bear the idear a seein’ us done in. If we don’t tend t’ our own backsides an’ get ’em an’ our fam’lies outa here, there ain’t nobody else gonna do it fer us.”

  “Hey, shore there is,” Feldin responded immediately, showing nothing of the fact that the entity now controlled what he said. “We ain’t no more alone now’n we been on our farms. If’n there’s sum trouble headin’ our way, the nobles’ll send us all th’ help we need. An’ why not? Don’t they need us t’make their holdin’s worth sumthin’ more’n jest dirt?”

  The babble of voices which had been sounding all around during the speeches of the two men now increased in volume, as they all reacted to what had just been said. Most of those listening knew better than to expect help from the nobility, but some clutched at the suggestion with the panic of desperation. The minds of that sort were suddenly filled with hope, just as the minds of those with a realistic understanding of the world simply dismissed the idea as wishful thinking. Both of those reactions were to be expected from the natives, but the third reaction…

  The third reaction was feelings of scorn, or ridicule, or actual outrage, in any combination or even all three. The messages came through clearly from the bodily stances and motions of those who felt the emotions, those who were guardsmen and therefore knew the nobility far better than anyone in the town. The entity was able to scan the throng quickly enough to pinpoint which of the flesh forms these were, but that was simply the first step in seeing to the danger. The second step would have to be finding a way to control so many diverse flesh forms.

  Putting them under control a few at a time would be possible, the entity knew, but not highly practical. It floated about examining the various components of the enemy force, seeing how their mode of dress allowed them to blend in with the innocent flesh forms. But now it was also possible to see that they waited for something, were poised to react in a certain way when that something occurred. Their reactions would not be to the benefit of anyone in that town, the entity was certain, therefore something had to be done about them rather quickly.

  And then the entity knew exactly what there was to be done. With their brother/sister entity right there, the answer became obvious. So the entity sent the knowledge to the second, which had not been in existence long enough to begin remembering all that the entity did. The second sent its amused agreement, amused because it, too, now remembered what was possible here, and therefore the entity moved to one side of the throng while the second moved to the other, and then it began.

  The entity sent its desires radiating out in all directions, but not just at random as it would have done had it been alone. The desires reached the second and were reflected back, intensified as they radiated out again. The entity received this response and also reflected the incoming emanations, which sent them toward the second again. This happened much more quickly than can be described in words as well as over and over again, and when the effect reached its peak, the entity’s commands were many, many more times more powerful than they’d been at first.

  Those commands reached the disguised guardsmen wherever they were in the crowds, and disobedience simply wasn’t possible. They left off speaking to others or simply standing and listening, and began to make their way toward the stables where the entity’s flesh forms were. They were now under the control of the true Five, and would obey any and all orders given them. The entity had time to reflect that it hadn’t had to discover the whereabouts of these erstwhile enemies to begin with, not with this newly remembered weapon at its command, and then—

  —and then it was Lorand back again, suddenly aware that the entity must have borrowed strength from the link groups. He wasn’t nearly as weary as he’d been at first, but then he remembered just what their Blending had done.

  “Now I know why the nobility is so terrified about having other Blendings running around,” Tamrissa said, actually sounding as shaken as Lorand felt. “I had no idea something like that was possible, and I suppose it wasn’t—until we had another Blending to work with.”

  “There are a lot of things we don’t yet know about,” Jovvi said, looking as disturbed as the rest of their group. “This kind of thing… We’ll have to be careful not to start using it on a regular basis, or we could end up being worse for the empire than the ones now sitting on the Fivefold Throne.”

  “I wonder how much of it those approachin’ Blendin’s from Astinda know about,” Vallant said, his disturbance even deeper. “If Holter and his Blendin’ are goin’ up against them even to talk, this kind of thing—or another—could get them all destroyed. I think they’ll need to take one or two of our fledglin’ Blendin’s along with them, just in case.”

  Lorand nodded as
he immediately saw the sense in that, as did everyone else, so Vallant went to speak to Holter and his group, all of whom looked even more stunned than their own group felt. In a little while, once all the guardsmen reported to them, their personal army would be increased by another two hundred or more, depending on just how many the guardsmen numbered. They’d then be able to spare more link groups for the Blendings which went with Holter, those new Blendings which hadn’t done much more than actually Blend. From the point of no one but the Seated Five being able to Blend to having half a dozen or more of functioning Blendings all around…

  It was a temptation to stand there and shake his head, but Lorand resisted. The times were forcing all sorts of new things to come into existence, and Lorand didn’t quite dread what would happen next. It wasn’t quite dread, but it also wasn’t a wholehearted greeting for the way his world was being turned upside down…

  CHAPTER NINE

  It wasn’t long before their former hunters, the guardsmen sent by the Five, reported to them in the stables. After speaking to Holter and his people, Vallant walked outside for a while to wait for them, or at least that was what he told everyone else. His real reason was that he could no longer bear being inside a building with no windows, with the only exits a long distance between front and back. The hardships of the previous days had been almost a pleasure for him, being experienced, as they were, in the out-of-doors.

  It had gotten to be early evening, so Vallant took a deep breath of the air once he stood to one side of the entrance to the stables. Fresh, that air was, with the promise of rain, and clean compared to what was found in the city. But not as clean as what they’d had on the trail, and not as fresh as the air above the seas. It was possible that Vallant’s aspect should have been Air rather than Water, and that thought curved his lips into a faint, almost mirthless smile. But air was simply air to him, unless it was in a small, tight building without windows or easily reached doors. Then it was completely unbreathable…

  “You’reone of the ones we’ve been ordered to report to,” a voice said, one that was clearly used to authority. “But we were told to report inside the stables, not in front of it.”

  Vallant looked at the man who had approached him, a man who was being watched surreptitiously by the others of his command. They’d been told not to converge on the stables in any obvious manner, and were in the midst of obeying those orders. The man himself was at most ten years older than Vallant, with a hardness which comes from exercising not only authority but ruthlessness. That hardness showed in the man’s craggy features and dark, unblinking stare, in the leanness of his tall build, in the broad shoulders which seemed incapable of being bowed. He was the sort of man Vallant usually disliked on sight, and it was a relief that he didn’t have to make himself like—or be pleasant to—this one.

  “You’ll be goin’ inside as soon as you answer a couple of questions for me,” Vallant said, deliberately using the tone he’d used so often aboard ship. “The first question is, what’s your name?”

  “Captain Nome Herstan, at your orders, sir,” the man replied in the same tone he’d used all along, that of someone putting up with those who were inferiors.

  “All right, Herstan, here’s the second question,” Vallant continued, ignoring the attitude. “How many men did you bring here, and are all of them followin’ you here? Or won’t you know until you and they are all inside the stables?”

  “All told there are two hundred and twenty of us,” Herstan replied without hesitation. “And no, I don’t have to wait to find out. Ten of my men are at a farm not far from here, where we left our horses. I’ve been rotating all of them into the town by that ten at a time, giving them all a chance to rest in turn. We had a long, hard ride getting here, and I want my men at their best when we have to fight.”

  “Except that you won’t be fightin’ who you thought you would,” Vallant replied with a nod. “All right, you can go ahead on in, but leave the rest of your men out here for now. And don’t forget about tellin’ the others you have ten men somewhere else. It won’t help tellin’ me where they are, but there’s someone inside who knows this area.”

  Herstan matched his nod before continuing on inside, but first he held up a hand for a brief moment. That seemed to be the signal to his men to tell them to stay where they were for now, as the men Vallant was able to see just began to loll around as though waiting for nothing in particular. Which suited Vallant perfectly, as he had no real interest in talking to anyone at the moment. What he most wanted to do was brood, since on his way out of the stables he’d seen Meerk talking to Tamrissa. The sight should have only been annoying, but for some reason it was a good deal more…

  “Vallant, I need to speak to you for a moment,” Jovvi’s voice came as she walked out of the stables and saw him. “Do you mind sharing your peace and quiet for that long?”

  “I’ll never mind sharin’ it with you,” Vallant answered with as true a smile as he was capable of right now. “But shouldn’t you be in there with the others, talkin’ to that guard captain? There are still ten of his men that we haven’t accounted for.”

  “Lorand and Rion will take care of it,” she replied with a smile of her own. “Lorand will know whatever place the man tells him about, and later we can all take care of it. Right now I need to mention the way you left the stables, as though you couldn’t bear to be inside any longer. You’restill bothered by your problem, aren’t you?”

  “Not when I’m part of the Blendin’, and that’s the important time,” Vallant answered with a shrug. “As for the rest … well, it’s just somethin’ I have to put up with since I can’t do anythin’ about it. If complainin’ did any good, I’d be willin’ to start doin’ it right now.”

  “Somehow it doesn’t seem fair that complaining doesn’t do any good,” she came back with a wider smile. “We’d all be so good at accomplishing it… But some time ago I had an idea about how your problem might be … well, not solved but at least settled to the point where you won’t be bothered by it at the wrong time. Lorand needs the same kind of help, and if you two are willing I’ll be glad to try my idea once we leave here.”

  “I’ve been willin’ since the first time you mentioned it,” Vallant reminded her, trying not to feel too much hope. “Even if it isn’t a complete cure, I’ll still be better off than havin’ nothin’ done. As soon as we leave this town I’ll be sure to remind you.”

  “Good,” Jovvi said with a nod, and then her smile faded. “And now that we’retaking the time to talk, I’d also like to ask what you intend to do about Tamma. I would hardly be mixing into your private affairs like this except for a very pressing reason: I’m having a hard time blocking out that horrible disturbance filling you. Since it seems to refuse to go away by itself, I’m forced to offer whatever help I can be.”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m glad you brought up the point,” Vallant said, forcing himself not to back away from the discussion. “I meant to talk to you about it anyway, since it’s somethin’ that needs seein’ to. If you would do me the favor of talkin’ to Tamrissa and tellin’ her that she isn’t yet ready for a serious relationship, I’d really appreciate it. I tried tellin’ her that, but she didn’t believe me.”

  “Ah, now I see,” Jovvi murmured on a gentle exhalation of breath. “That explains a lot… But I’m sorry, Vallant, I can’t say something like that to Tamrissa—because it isn’t true. Are you willing to listen to what is true?”

  “But of course it’s true,” Vallant said, his insides beginning to churn again. “In point of fact it’s been true all along, otherwise I wouldn’t have been sayin’ it. I’d be holdin’ her in my arms and kissin’ her, not spendin’ my time wishin’ I could do those things.”

  “Vallant, it—isn’t—true,” Jovvi repeated, speaking the words a lot more slowly and definitely than she had the first time. “And I will say it again: are you willing to listen to what is true?”

  For a long moment Vallant simply stared dow
n at her, feeling as though he were being threatened by a large group of very big men. It was ridiculous to feel that way, since it was only Jovvi who stood before him. She would never do anything to hurt him, even though some part of him didn’t quite believe that…

  “My dear, you’re the one who isn’t prepared to have a relationship with Tamma, and I can’t really blame you,” Jovvi said when another minute passed without him saying anything. Her tone was very gentle and filled with understanding, but Vallant still flinched as though he’d been struck. “No, really, you can’t be blamed for feeling like that,” she added, putting a hand to his arm. “You’ve been through such an awful lot with her, that it’s a wonder you haven’t wandered off into the night, talking to yourself. You’restill here because you do love her, but a vital part of you can’t bear the idea of being rejected by her again. That’s why you’ve been insisting that she’s the one who isn’t ready. It’s easier than letting yourself admit the truth.”

  By then Vallant had closed his eyes, one shoulder leaning against the stable wall to keep him erect. He didn’t want to say anything aloud, but somehow the words began to come out in spite of that.

  “I—don’t know what to do,” he whispered, feeling Jovvi take his hand in both of hers and squeeze it tight. “I can’t give her up, not when she’s the woman who makes me whole, but the idea of facin’ that … horrible rejection again… Every time she turns and walks away, somethin’ inside me dies a little. If it happens even one more time, the somethin’ is goin’ to die all the way, I know it will. But I won’t be lucky enough to have it take me with it…”

  The flow of words choked off then, turning itself into a knot in Vallant’s throat. Jovvi’s grip on his hand tightened even more, and loving, soothing compassion tried to envelop him.