Dragonlord of the Savage Empire

Chapter Five

Fighting his way out of Aradia's desperate fear, Lenardo tried to project soothing calm. //Aradia, Reading is nothing to be afraid of.// He had never seen such a reaction before. The awakening of Reading ability was a cause for rejoicing, not despair.

//But you can Read me, everything I'm thinking!// Flashes of incoherent scenes that meant guilt to Aradia but nothing to Lenardo.

//You'll learn to shield your thoughts. Besides, there's no one here but me to Read them, and I love you.//

He let the warmth of his caring flow to her, feeling her respond and open to it, giving back joy for joy. Her fear dissolved as she yielded her mind to him as completely as she had her body. For a long time, neither had a coherent thought, but such a height could not be sustained.

Lenardo's own thoughts began to intrude. How could this have happened? And what of his own experience just before Aradia wakened? He had to find out if it had been his imagination, half a dreamVery gently, he removed himself from Aradia's embrace, remaining with his hands on her shoulders. She looked at him expectantly.

He said, "You'll be confused at first about whether people are talking or thinking. Try not to answer their thoughts. That is very disconcerting to nonReaders. It is also against the Readers' Code. Whatever you Read by accident, you are supposed to forget."

"Lenardo, I'm not a child. I can exercise discretion. What I must learn are techniques. Most important, how do I keep you, or especially Julia, from Reading me?"

"The simplest way is to stop Reading."

She frowned. "I can't. Right now I'm getting a sort of echo effect-what you're going to say just before you say it."

"Is it gone now?"

"Yes. What did you do?"

"Stopped Reading. You see? That keeps you from Reading me. There are ways to Read and at the same time keep other Readers from Reading you, but they are difficult to master. They won't work against any Reader more sensitive than you are, and you can slip up and reveal yourself to a less sensitive Reader. For the moment, what you need is to be able to guarantee your own privacy of thought. Refinements can come later."

"How do I stop?" she asked, screwing up her face in concentration.

"Not like that." He laughed. "All right, I'm open to you again."

"I can tell."

//Very well.// He fell into the exercise for teaching children. //Hear the tune playing in my head? Stop listening to it. Just blot it out.//

He sat concentrating on the music, but Aradia's feelings intruded: frustration, anger, fear.

"I can't," she burst out. "I can't shut it out."

"Aradia, relax. That's your own fear preventing you, a double fear. First that you'll never be able to keep the whole world out of your private thoughts, and second that if you once stop Reading, you'll never be able to start again."

"Damn you, Lenardo. How can you Read my thoughts better than I can myself?"

"I have taught hundreds of Readers. Over half of them had the same problem."

"But I'm not a child," she said in irritation. "I'm a full-grown, fully empowered Adept." The small cushion from one of the chairs went sailing toward Lenardo on the force of Aradia's frustration.

He caught it, laughing. "And that solves your problem."

"Hmm?"

"You're not Reading me anymore, and I can't Read you. I should have remembered that when you're functioning as an Adept, I can't Read a thing about you, not even your feelings."

"Oh, you're right. That's a relief, and it seems what's happened hasn't affected my Adept powers." Then, thoughtfully, "Lenardo, exactly what has happened?"

"You're a Reader, Aradia. I've never heard of the ability not appearing until adulthood, but your Adept talent showed first and was trained, and you shut out Reading while you exercised it. And of course you grew up in a society that feared and hated Readers, so you probably suppressed Reading, didn't even recognize it until you got to know and trust a Reader."

"On the other hand," she said, "maybe I caught it from you."

"It's not a disease."

"Perhaps Readers and Adepts don't have two separate talents at all," she suggested. "Maybe it's which one you look for and train and which one you fear. Lenardo, if I can do both, why can't you?"

When he didn't answer, "Try it," Aradia prodded him. '.'Something easy-light the candle."

"I really don't want to carry it out to find a fire."

"No, don't joke. Try to light the candle, Lenardo. Concentrate. It was made to burn. Fire is its natural state. Envision the flame."

Lenardo concentrated until his head began to ache, but no flame appeared. Finally he said, "It's not going to work, Aradia."

"But it has to. If I can Read-"

"You simply have both talents. Some people are painters, and some people are musicians. Rarely, there is someone who can do both. So you have two talents. You are both Adept and Reader."

"Possibly," she said. "But what do I do now?"

"I'll teach you everything I can," said Lenardo. "We'll see how much ability you can develop. Right now, though, you should get some more rest. You said you'd need to sleep till noon today."

"I'm too excited to feel tired. I want to try Reading everything. But what if it's only you I can Read?"

"It may seem that way at first, if you develop the way a child does. It takes a while to Read thoughts other than those a Reader is deliberately projecting. Aradia, you know meditation exercises. Rest this morning and then don't eat until after we try some tests this afternoon."

"Don't eat?"

"One morning's fast can't hurt you, but what kind of dietary compromise can we find for you?"

"Don't even bother to suggest that horse fodder you eat."

"A few days of purifying diet won't hurt you, any more than a few meat meals at your castle hurt me."

"Yes, Master," she said in mock obedience, but she lay down. Although her thoughts were completely unReadable once more, he could see that she went quickly to sleep.

Lenardo had to exercise careful control to stop trembling before he could dress and leave Aradia's pavilion. At home he ate the hot cereal Cook placed before him, not because he wanted it but to avoid another lecture about keeping up his strength. As soon as he dared, he escaped to his room and began to Read.

Zendi was all around him, the morning bustle well begun, the harvesters already in the fields outside the walls, a caravan a three-hour journey away packing up camp to head into the city, while in the hillsHe was Reading effortlessly in every direction, well beyond the city walls that had previously approximated the radius of his nondirected perception. Incredulously, he let the circle expand, Reading east and west slightly beyond his borders and not quite to them north and south, as his lands expanded farther in those directions.

He found the same exquisite clarity that he had previously known only within the small circle of awareness, and he could focus on one thing and see it as if it were there within his grasp, complete to the smallest detail.

What is happening to me? I committed the cardinal abuse, impaired my powers… and now this!

Reading outward in a single direction, he was aware not only of Wulfston's castle but just as easily and at the same time the sea far beyond.

A sleepy Julia was allowing one of the women of Wulfston's household to comb her hair, while the lord of the castle was in his own room, dressing for travel. Then Wulfston went to Julia's room.

"Ready for breakfast?"

"But we can't leave yet," she protested. "Father hasn't contacted me, and he may not be able to reach me at the sea."

//I'll reach you.//

"Oh!" Joy bubbled up in Julia's mind. "Father's here now, Lord Wulfston."

"Hello, Lenardo. Feeling better?"

"Father says he's completely recovered," Julia relayed, "and there's no hurry about returning to Zendi. Lady Aradia is still there."

"Still? Lenardo, what are you two up to?"

Julia must have caught something of the consternation Lenardo tried to cover, for she giggled as she told Wulfston, "He says you wouldn't guess in a hundred lifetimes. And… he thinks Aradia should tell you herself."

"If that means Aradia will stay until we get there, I'm delighted," said Wulfston. Then, guiding the gaping servant woman out, he told Julia, "Meet me in the kitchen when you're through with your lesson, and don't forget to tell your father about helping Demetrius find his mares."

"Aww, that was easy," said Julia, but she nonetheless eagerly told Lenardo of helping one of Wulfston's men locate five horses lured into the hills by a wild stallion. He gathered that his foster daughter would soon have a swollen head if left to the adulation of nonReaders.

Only years of training and concentration allowed Lenardo to put this morning's events out of his mind and give Julia her lesson. She was improving rapidly, happy in her work, but she was now torn between her promised holiday and her consuming curiosity about what was happening in Zendi.

//Go and have a good time,// Lenardo told her, //but don't be a nuisance to Lord Wulfston.//

He managed to get through his morning's work and clear the afternoon for Aradia. Beginning with the simplest tests, he sought the limits of her current ability, similar to those of a child whose powers were newly wakened. When Lenardo verbalized his thoughts, she could Read them clearly. Other people were a blur of emotion except for an occasional clear thought, and she could not even sense inanimate objects, let alone visualize them.

"So I'm considerably less of a Reader than Julia," she said when Lenardo decided that it was time to stop.

"At the moment, yes. If you were Julia's age, I'd pat you on the head and encourage you to do better tomorrow. As it is, I don't want to discourage you, but I don't want to raise false hopes, either."

They were in Lenardo's room, seated on either side of his worktable. Now Aradia went to the window, staring out at the courtyard. "I don't know if I want to Read any better."

"Why not?"

"All my life I've judged people by their actions. I'm not sure I want to know their motivations."

"I don't understand."

"I know people act from selfish motives," Aradia explained, turning to face him. "My goal is to make working for me in my people's best interest, yet there are those who become caught up in patriotic fervor, and I might be tempted to trust such people more than those who were merely doing what was expedient."

"Since you recognize the danger, Aradia, I do not think you will fall prey to it."

Her violet eyes studied him. "So you agree."

He nodded slowly. "Galen always acted from enthusiasm. I was the object of his enthusiasm for a time, but then came a time when I disagreed with him. He became disillusioned with me and was easy prey for Drakonius."

"Who wasted no time making it expedient for Galen to work for him," said Aradia. She sat on the edge of the worktable, facing Lenardo. "You have learned quickly, now that you are over the blindness your empire instilled in you. You will be a great leader, Lenardo."

"I was not meant to rule. With every day that passes, I wonder what mistakes I have made."

"You think I do not? Every conscientious ruler worries, but he acts. I did not know whether you could act, Lenardo. That's why I gave you Zendi. You have proved yourself here."

"Insulated. Untested."

"When the test comes, it will be against all of us, and we have passed the test against Drakonius. It will be a long time before anyone will dare attack us. But if we do nothing for long enough, that attack will come." Again her fingers traced the brand on his arm. "Lenardo, I don't want to leave you."

"I don't want you to leave."

"Then-"

"No. Don't say it. Come here." He drew her onto his lap, where she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "Aradia, I don't know protocol among Lords Adept, so I've been making up my own rules."

"You have the right to make the rules in your own land."

"Then in my land, the right and honorable thing for me to do, because I love you and I want you with me always, is to ask you to marry me. I realize that that will present difficulties. We each have a land to rule, and your people might well object to your forming a permanent alliance with a Reader, and one who has been on this side of the pale less than half a year. Still, I want you to know what I would do if it were possible."

She was glowing with serene happiness. "I'm glad you said it first," she murmured. "We'll combine our lands and rule jointly. We have the right to set precedents. Lenardo, I was willing to sacrifice some of my powers for you, as my parents did when they married. After that first time, my strength and accuracy were greatly diminished."

"So were mine," said Lenardo. "But later-"

"Yes," Aradia whispered fiercely, "later. There is something fated between you and me, foretold in ancient legend. When I woke today, after you had gone, I tested my powers. I removed one of the cobbles from the forum floor and lifted it. I split it, Lenardo, and then I crumbled part of it to powder, and I still felt so strong that I broke off a small piece and disintegrated it."He recalled what she had said about disintegrating her father's tumor. "How is it you are not exhausted?"

"I don't know. I have never had such strength. And you?"

"I can Read farther and 'more easily than ever before. I was having difficulty reaching Julia at Wulfston's castle, and then this morning I discovered that without effort I could Read all the way to the sea, I haven't yet dared to try leaving my body. I felt as if I could Read the whole world."

"Leaving your body? What do you mean?"

"The highest, most difficult form of Reading is to dissociate one's… self… from one's body. I did it the day I first Read Drakonius's stronghold for you. You thought I had fainted, remember?''

She studied his face, and he could feel her trying to Read him. "No, I don't think you're lying," she said. "I'm sure you believe that some sort of separate spirit leaves your body. But if that were possible, legends like that of the ghost-king would be fact, not fairy tale."

Lenardo considered. "Was this ghost-king one of your ancestors, Aradia?"

"I'm not joking."

"Neither am I. Someone like you, both Adept and Reader-"

"No!" She wrenched out of his embrace, shoving hard against his chest as she jumped to her feet. "No. There cannot be any life separate from the body. The legend of the ghost-king is meant to warn of the folly of such nonsense."

Reading how upset Aradia was, Lenardo recalled what he knew of savage beliefs. No dieties, no afterlife. "Life is the greatest value," Aradia had once told him. She believed that there was nothing more than her physical life; he remembered that the subject was particularly painful to her because her mother had taken her own life, the worst thing a savage could do. He decided that it was best to change the subject.

"You will understand more as your abilities increase. There's nothing to fear, and we have joyful plans to make."

"Indeed we have. Lenardo, let's not tell anyone yet. I want Wulfston to know first."

"And Julia."

"Julia," Aradia said. "Oh, my. Do you think she'll accept your marriage?"

"You do see the point precisely. As long as she is assured that she will not be losing me but gaining you, I have no fear that she will object. However, there is the matter of explaining to a literal-minded child my seeming hypocrisy. I told her that Readers never marry."

"In the Aventine Empire," said Aradia. "And most Readers are married off, if I understand the system, to produce new Readers. What seems wrong, though, is that only second-rate Readers reproduce; where do Readers like you come from?"

"My parents were, as you put it, second-rate Readers. I don't remember them very well."

"Has there never been an instance of two Master Readers having a child?"

"Male and female Readers are rigorously segregated."

"But you Read each other."

"Yes."

She put her hand along the side of his face. Ill fell in love with you before I could Read you, but now there is so much more. Lenardo, how can man and woman touch minds like this and not desire to join bodies?//

//They do. That is why the marriages arranged for those who do not reach the top ranks of Readers are generally successful. But for those who remain in the Academies, the mental union with other Readers far more than suffices for physical touch. Aradia, you need not touch me now.//

Ill want to touch you!// Her fingers slid into his hair, and she bent to kiss his mouth possessively. Fire stirred in his veins, and she laughed. //You see? You excite me, Lenardo, and now it will be even more exciting to touch, to make love-//

Passion threatened to overwhelm his control, but he forced common sense to prevail. "I love you, Aradia," he said aloud, "but I don't think we want to announce our intentions to the world by having Helmuth or Arkus walk in on us like this."

"Very well, then," she said wistfully. "Later."

But later, although she moved into Lenardo's room and into his bed, Aradia did not want to make love. Now that she was open to Reading, Lenardo knew that it was not teasing, that she wanted him but felt compelled to wait. He could not find the reason without invading her privacy, but he sensed that she was waiting for something she both feared and longed for.

But when he tried to ask her about it, she avoided the subject, again demanding that he try to exercise Adept power. ' 'Fire talent is the most common and the easiest of all even for the Lord Adept," she told him. But although he tried to 'cooperate and then at her insistence tried to make the silken hangings move, all he achieved was a tension headache. He wondered idly if that was what she had intended.

Three days later, Julia arrived home with Wulfston. When Lenardo lifted his daughter down from her horse, he did not resist her embrace but squeezed her in return, enjoying her happy surprise at his leniency. He could feel her trying to Read him, knowing that something important had happened while she was away.

Wulfston, too, was brimming with curiosity. As soon as they were all together in Lenardo's room, he demanded, "Now, what scheme are you two plotting?"

"No scheme," Aradia replied. "Just happy plans."

Wulfston looked from one to the other and said, "I think I can guess."

"In the Aventine Empire," said Lenardo, "I would have to ask your permission, Wulfston, as Aradia's nearest male kin. Here, however, Aradia is her own mistress."

The black man nodded. "I've been expecting as much ever since fate dropped a man of appropriate age and endowments into Aradia's path. In fact, I feared this very development at first. Aradia, are you certain?"

"I'm certain. Lenardo and I have agreed to marry, unite our lands, and rule jointly. We wanted you and Julia to be the first to know."

Julia was wide-eyed. "But Father, you said-"

"It is not always possible for us to follow the customs of the Aventine Empire," Lenardo said. "We must seek the right way for Readers to live here, child."

"Julia," said Aradia, "won't you be my daughter, too?"

"Lenardo," Wulfston added, "This makes us brothers. Julia, I'll be your uncle. Can you stand so much new family all at once?"

Lenardo hoped that Aradia did not Read that Julia was uncertain about her new mother but delighted to be suddenly related to Wulfston. Searching carefully for the right words, the girl said, "I think it will be very nice. Are you going to have a real wedding, like Arkus and Josa?"

"Indeed," said Lenardo, "and you shall witness for me."

"When does the great event take place?" Wulfston asked.

"As soon as possible," Lenardo said, but Aradia objected.

"We've just had a festival, and we must draw up all the agreements between us. Better to fight it out now than after other parties are involved."

"But Aradia," Lenardo began.

Wulfston let out a burst of laughter. "Oh, you are off to a fine start. You haven't even agreed on a date?"

"Midwinter," said Aradia. "It will be a marvelous excuse for a party at the dreariest time of year."

"Surely we can make it sooner," said Lenardo.

//We're discussing only the formal ceremony,// Aradia told him without thinking.

Julia gasped, and Aradia's shock of realization of what she'd done rang through all three Readers.

The only one unaffected, Wulfston, said, "Julia, when two people fall in love, it's normal for them to want to marry as soon as possible."

"But she- But they-"

Wulfston realized then that Julia had Read something to upset her. "What has happened? Lenardo? Aradia?"

Julia, remembering that nonReaders sometimes projected a thought at a Reader without saying it aloud, stared at Aradia. //Can you Read me?// she demanded.

There was a long moment's suspense before Aradia admitted it. //Yes, Julia, I can.//

Wulfston looked from the girl to the woman and back, then to Lenardo. "Are they-"

Lenardo nodded. "Aradia has learned to Read."

"By the gods," Wulfston whispered, the Aventine oath of his childhood slipping out in his astonishment. Then he grinned. "I was right. I never dared to believe it, but I've suspected all along. It is all the same power-the difference is in how you are trained. Aradia, how did you learn?"

She blushed. "I don't really know how I learned," she replied finally. "One morning I just woke up Reading."

"I can't explain it, either," Lenardo added.

"What about you?" Wulfston demanded. "Have you mastered Adept powers now?"

"Not in the slightest," Lenardo replied. "Wulfston, I think Aradia inherited both abilities from her father."

"Of course she did. But I ought to have both powers, too, even if Nerius was my father only by adoption."

"Wulfston," said Lenardo, "none of us, not Aradia in all her studies, not I in my years at the Academy, ever heard of one person exhibiting both Reading and Adept powers… except Nerius."

"Nerius?" Wulfston frowned. "Nerius was no Reader."

"He never consciously used the power. But when you brought me to Castle Nerius while he lay in a coma, he Read me. You remember after we healed him, when he first saw me, he claimed to have seen me in his nightmares?" Aradia mused, "We thought he simply put Lenardo's face to his faceless fears, but apparently he had actually Read him. And feared him. He tried to kill him."

"What?" asked Wulfston. "I don't recall."

"You were with me," said Lenardo. "It was the day you brought me back to Castle Nerius after I had escaped. Nerius had one of his convulsive attacks. Most of his blows went wild, but two were definitely aimed at me. One killed my horse. Then, inside the castle, he flung a spear at me."

"But it would have hit me," Wulfston protested, "if you hadn't knocked me out of the way. Nerius would never have harmed me, Lenardo. I was as much his son as Aradia was his daughter."

"I know that. He didn't know you were there, Wulfston. Adepts cannot be Read. Nerius was completely untrained as a Reader. Because I am a Reader, he could focus on me, but you and Aradia were unReadable, invisible to him."

Wulfston pondered that. "The first day you were well, then, Nerius also tried to hurt you. Do you remember? He flung a shield across the room at you."

Aradia said, her throat tight, "I think my father sacrificed his life to save mine. The night of the battle, he knocked me out of the way and took that last thunderbolt himself. How could he know, if he had not Read it? Lenardo, you could not relay as fast as the attacks were coming."

He nodded. "Nerius would have done anything to protect you, Aradia. Wulfston-"

"I'm going to learn to Read, Lenardo," the black man said firmly. "If you won't teach me, Julia will, and I will teach her Adept powers."

Both Lenardo and Aradia Read Julia's eager response. The desire for power was as strong in the child as ever.

Remembering that Julia could Read her, Aradia held her response in control and then went blank to Reading, poised to use her Adept powers.

In moments, the atmosphere in the room had changed from happy family camaraderie to armed truce. Julia moved from her seat next to Lenardo to Wulfston's side, saying, "I'm still learning, but I'll teach you everything I know, Lord Wulfston."

"And I will teach you all I can, child," he replied, becoming as unReadable as Aradia, poised for attack.

Lenardo felt hollow. The new^s that was supposed to have united them all instead had brother faced off against sister, daughter against father.

"Wulfston," said Lenardo, fully open to Reading so that Julia would know he spoke the truth, "of course I will teach you, or try to. What I said was not an excuse to refuse but an attempt to explain why I have been unable to learn Adept abilities. But you are free to teach Julia all she can learn. Aradia will teach her, too. We are sworn allies, not enemies."

Wulfston looked to Aradia. "Sister, does Lenardo speak for you?"

"In this matter, yes. But he speaks truly. He has not mastered even the simplest Adept functions, and he has sincerely tried."

"But we will try further," Lenardo said encouragingly. His soothing was not entirely successful; although his guests maintained courtesy, they continued on guard, and Julia felt betrayed.

He tried to make up to the child that day by allowing her to touch, admitting, "You were right, Julia. There's no harm in touching."

But as he tucked her into bed that night, Julia hugged him for a moment and then said, "You've prepared a room for Lord Wulfston."

"Yes. Josa's father brought her furniture as a wedding present, remember? Arkus and Josa have lent me enough to furnish a room for our guest."

"But no room for Aradia, and her pavilion's gone. Father, can't you see what she's doing? My mother used men that way-"

"Hush! This is not at all the same thing, Julia. You mustn't be jealous. Just because I love Aradia, that doesn't mean I love you any less. I'm your father now, and I always will be. Soon Aradia will be your mother. You must learn to love her, Julia."

"She doesn't want to be my mother," the girl said sullenly.

"Of course she does. Now you go to sleep, and tomorrow you and Aradia spend some time together, get to know each other."

There were tears in Julia's eyes. "She's chained your mind and stolen your powers. You don't believe me now, but you'll find out."

Julia was not Reading. Lenardo knew that she feared Aradia might be eavesdropping, and let it go. He could understand the child's jealousy and uncertainty. He would have to prove to her that she could still rely on him. But Aradia's task would be even more difficult.

Neither Julia nor Aradia had yet been trained not to Read in her sleep, and Lenardo slept restlessly, worried that there might be a clash of nightmares. If there was, he didn't know of it, and in the morning he had the bright idea of setting the two women in his life to teaching each other. That way they would be forced to get to know each other. If Julia spent time Reading with Aradia, she would have to see that there was no ill will in her.

Lenardo took Wulfston with him on his morning's work, trying to explain how to Read. But there were no words for how it was done, and Wulfston protested that he was doing no more than describing what he Read. Nor was Wulfston any more successful than Aradia in teaching Lenardo Adept talent. After an hour's frustration, they gave up and turned to using their individual talents in mutual cooperation.

Their friendship seemed to be back to normal by the time they returned to Lenardo's house at midday, only to find Julia and Aradia in separate rooms.

"She hates me," Julia informed Lenardo when he entered her room. She was sitting on the window ledge, poised as if to jump out into the courtyard.

"Of course Aradia does not hate you," Lenardo said firmly. "It's difficult for a grown woman to take lessons from a child. You must be grown-up enough to understand that."

She swung around and let her legs dangle inside the room. "She's an awful Reader. She can't hardly Read anybody but you or me, and she didn't want to start the lesson off with the Code of Honor. Why did you ever teach her to Read, Father?"

"I didn't teach her, any more than I taught you. She has developed the ability, and now we must teach her to use it."

"She doesn't trust me. I don't think she was really trying to teach me Adept tricks, neither."

"Julia," he said, talcing her hands and pulling her off the window ledge, "I don't think she can teach you. Do you?"

"Yes. I think if she'd once learn to Read real good, she could show you and me both how she does it.''

"Well, perhaps," he said, but he didn't believe it.

One reason Aradia's Reading powers were limited was that she had refused after two days of purifying diet to continue the Readers' dietary restrictions. The problem came up again at the midday meal as Aradia and Wulfston helped themselves to huge servings of meat.

"Aradia," said Lenardo, "can you not at least wait until the evening meal to clog your system?"

"No, I can't, not if I am going to maintain my strength. Wulfston, you should have seen me when I tried Lenardo's diet. By the end of the second day, I couldn't lift a pebble."

"You are exaggerating," said Lenardo.

Wulfston paused with a piece of meat halfway to his mouth. He put it back on his plate and said, "I had forgotten. Let me try your Readers' diet, Lenardo. And you should try ours. It did not harm your Reading powers when we fed you a strengthening diet at Castle Nerius."

"It didn't make me an Adept, either," he pointed out. "Wulfston, you are willing to compromise. I wish you would persuade Aradia. She has both powers but resists my attempts to find a nutritional balance that would allow her to use both efficiently."

"I wonder if that is possible," Wulfston mused, but he left his meat and ate only what Lenardo did.

Wulfston's willingness to cooperate had no effect on Aradia. "I need my strength," she insisted, and beneath her words Lenardo sensed some gleeful hope she was holding secret. Had she found some further extension of her powers?

In the afternoon, they changed partners, with Wulfston and Julia attempting to teach each other while Lenardo and Aradia had their regular lesson. But Aradia was closed to Reading.

"Can't Julia Read us?"

"If we are Reading, yes, except that she is busy doing something else. And she has passed the beginning exercises that you are doing, Aradia. They won't interest her."

"Can she Read us talking if we're not Reading?"

"No. That is, she could not without deep concentration. In a year or so, she'll find it easy enough. Aradia, you're not going to start worrying that Julia is spying, are you?"

"Last night, while I was sleeping, I think she tried."

"I don't think so," Lenardo assured her. "At most, you may have Read one of her dreams. Julia abides by the Readers' Code of Honor."

"You don't," Aradia pointed out. "Why should she? And how can I accept it? I cannot swear celibacy, not any longer."

"That is only for the two highest ranks. I ask you to accept only the basic oath which governs all Readers, even the married ones. Misuse of your powers leads to weakened abilities, Aradia."

"You, of all people, should know that that is mere superstition. You broke your Oath, and your powers have increased."

"I did not misuse my powers," he insisted. "I invaded no one's privacy; I did not use something I Read to harm another or for personal gain. I kept all precepts that govern every Reader of every rank, and that is all I am asking you to do, Aradia. Accept the Code and the diet-"

"I can't," she said in irritation. "I cannot swear to something that will limit my powers to govern, to protect my people, to form the empire that will put an end to the constant power struggles between Lords Adept."

He stared at her. "I thought you had given up that idea."

"I had, until I discovered I could Read. Lenardo, how can you be so blind? I have both powers. I thought-" She shook her head, frowning denial of whatever she had begun to say. "No, I must do it, with you by my side."

Still she was not Reading, but she responded to Lenardo's stricken look. "Can't you understand? I must do this for us, for our people, for our children, Lenardo. What kind of world do you want them to grow up in?"

"Not a world," he replied, "in which power is used only to gain more power. Will you never stop, Aradia? If you form your empire, will your first move be to take the Aventine Empire, and be damned to attempts to make a treaty with them? And what next? Drive north? Take all the savage lands, one after another, war upon war just to prove that you have power? I'll be no party to it, nor will Julia. Your Reading powers will disappear if you use them for personal gain. You'll still be a Lady Adept, but which will you be? Someone like your father, building for the future and making a better life for your people? Or will you become another Drakonius, caring for nothing but conquest-murdering, destroying, until in desperation other Adepts form an alliance strong enough to destroy you."

All color had drained from her face, and her eyes dilated so that they appeared black. But Lenardo turned on his heel and stalked out, heading for Wulfston's room at the other end of the house. Behind him, the door slammed shut.

As he approached, laughter came from Wulfston's room- the Adept's and Julia's. He paused. Wulfston opposed Aradia's plan, and there was little chance now that she could get Julia's cooperation. She would have to come around, and if she did, it would be best if her brother did not know that she had temporarily fallen back into power madness. It had to be temporary. Aradia was too intelligent to cling to a plan that would set her brother and her allies against her.

His fury fading, Lenardo was sorry for his angry tirade. That was no way to handle Aradia. It would only make her more stubborn. If he went back and apologized…

He paced the hallway, trying to determine what to do.

Finally he decided to Read Aradia, just a superficial Reading with no intrusion.

She was lying on his bed, tears streaking her face, a sodden kerchief in her hand. But she was not crying now, and she was completely blocked to Reading.

He knocked at the door and then entered when she neither replied nor Read him.

"Have you thought up more accusations?" she asked, but the words lacked sharpness.

"No," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I've thought up an apology. I know you don't intend mindless conquest, or war. I should not have shouted at you. Will you forgive me?"

"Will you listen to me without jumping to conclusions?" she countered warily.

"Yes."

"Then I forgive you. And you must forgive me, Lenardo."

"For what? For being yourself? I don't suppose you'll ever lose the desire for power. But as long as you care about your people, you will not allow the desire for power to rule you. I should have remembered that, Aradia. With all your power, you would never deliberately hurt anyone."

"Oh, Lenardo!"

She sat up and threw her arms about him, open to Reading-and just as had happened the first time, a whole flood of regretted incidents tumbled into her consciousness. This time, though, there were things he understood, and foremost was the hope she had fostered the past few days that she was carrying his child.

She wanted it very much, he saw, even though she feared what pregnancy might do to her powers. He let his own delight flow to her even as he Read that her flux had begun today, spoiling her hopes.

Before he could attempt to reassure her that they would try again, his pleasure was destroyed by a further flood of guilty memories: she had set out to seduce him as much as he had her! When he had made Julia his daughter, Aradia had feared that the girl would become his heir. But she was certain that he would prefer a child of his own flesh over Julia: Aradia's child, raised and trained in her ways. And the child might inherit both their powers. Educated by Aradia, he would have the unquestionable right, by law of nature, to unite the world under his rule.

For one moment, Lenardo found incredibly funny-and therefore forgivable-the idea that each had set out to seduce the other for ulterior motives. He knew that he had not realized he loved Aradia until after that fateful afternoon, so how could he blame her for reacting the same way? As long as she loved him now, wanted his child out of love, for he could Read Aradia's sincere wish that she had conceived the second time they made love, and not in that first betrayalBetrayal? He pursued the idea.

Aradia had thought him impervious to seduction. So, intending to invite him to her pavilion, she had procured the spicy wine and a drugLenardo thrust her away in horror. "You drugged me?"

"You can break a command implanted in your mind. It was the only way I could be certain-"

"By the gods! Ever since, I have hated myself for what I did that day. But it was not my lust at all, it was your manipulation. I trusted you. It never occurred to me to Read the wine."

Reading his revulsion, she bristled. "You were manipulating me, weren't you?"

"Not by destroying your will."

"Only my powers," she said grimly.

He saw himself through her eyes and cringed. "Yes, I meant to blunt your powers. Manipulation. Deceit. I've learned your savage ways, Aradia, but I will not live by them. I cannot stand what I have become, and I will not have my daughter grow up to be like you. I'm going home."

"Lenardo, this is your home. You may throw me out-"

"No, Aradia, this is your home. You and Wulfston and Lilith can fight out among yourselves how you divide the lands that were mine. I'm taking Julia to Tiberium."

"You can't. They'll kill you."

"Perhaps. But Julia will be placed in an Academy, where she will learn a Reader's disciplines. I don't know if her savage heritage can be controlled, but we must try."

He didn't know whether Aradia was trying to Read him; he had closed his mind to her. But she was clever enough to guess.

"You think Julia will get you through the gates, despite the brand on your arm. Delivering a young Reader from the savages is a fine heroic act."

"Aradia, I am expected to return. You know that. I told you I was sent to stop Galen. The brand is just a ruse."

"One that almost killed you," she said. "That's how much your empire cares about Master Readers. But go back. Tell them of your land left rulerless, theirs for the taking. Maybe it will buy you a few more weeks of life. But it will buy death for hundreds of your people when the empire attacks."

"No, Aradia, you will not use me again. I will neither endanger the people who have come to trust me nor send empire troops into the trap you and your allies would prepare for them. I am through with both deceit and power struggles. If you want to stop me, you will have to kill me… and even if you destroy my body, you will have a difficult time gaining the loyalty of my people if I mysteriously disappear."

Just then Julia burst in, tugging Wulfston by the hand. "Father, what's wrong?"

"We are leaving, Julia. Go and pack. Take anything truly precious to you, for we will not return."

"But-"

"Go! I will explain on the road."

Wulfston looked from Lenardo to Aradia, his dark skin graying as he recognized the finality of their confrontation. "What has happened here? Julia said you were fighting."

"It's over, Wulfston," said Lenardo. "I got a good look at myself as a savage lord. I cannot live this way."

"Then change it."

Because the young black Adept was completely sincere, Lenardo said, "Perhaps you will change it, Wulfston, or perhaps as you come into the full strength of your powers, you will succumb to the same temptations Aradia has- and I have. Undisciplined power is too dangerous. It may be too late for me, but I can try to see that Julia is not corrupted."

"Where will you go?"

"Tiberium. I could be executed, though I doubt it. They'll find some harmless job for me, but Julia will be safe in an Academy. Wulfston, will you try to make the transition as painless as possible for the people of this land?"

Wulfston went to Aradia, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed, and sat down beside her, putting his arm around her. "We will hold your land as your regents until you return."

"I won't return."

Aradia, who had sat silently since Wulfston's entrance, now leaned into the protection of her brother's arms and said, "Father was right." Her voice was tense with controlled emotion. "Wulfston, do you remember? 'You would steal my daughter's powers,' he said. He called Lenardo 'the foul beast who would ravish my daughter.' ''

"Ravish?" Wulfston stiffened, all conciliation gone. "He tried to-"

"He succeeded. But he could not steal my powers. I stole his."

But Wulfston paid no heed to Aradia's satisfied tone. He rose, stalking Lenardo like the wolf that was his emblem. "You deliberately-you dared to-"

Lenardo could not answer-he could not move: Wulfston held him under Adept control.

"I should kill you," Wulfston said. "If ever I see you again, I will. But for Julia's sake, go."

Aradia asked warily, "Will you keep the child, Wulfston?"

"A Reader? How could I ever trust her? She is a child now, but she would grow up to be like her father. No, Lenardo. Take her back to your empire and let things return to their natural order. We are born enemies, and we must never again forget that fact."

Wulfston took Aradia's arm and led her out past Lenardo, who still could not move. He wanted to explain, but Wulfston would never believe in his sister's treachery. Even if Aradia had betrayed Lenardo, it was not without his full cooperation.

The spell lifted suddenly, and Lenardo collapsed to his knees. He wished he could just lie down and forget everything, but he couldn't. He must get Julia away before either Adept decided that she might be worth keeping after all. He changed quickly into traveling clothes and called for horses and food for a journey. His own packing was simple: the barest necessities. He was a Reader again; he needed no crown, "ho seal of office, no treasure. Even the robes of the Master Reader that he had worn at the festival he left in the chest. He had forfeited the right to wear them.

The wolf-stone pendant he left lying on top of the chest, for he no longer had any loyalty to Aradia. How neatly she had manipulated Wulfston today. Would she finally win her brother to her plan? And Lilith? It was no longer his problem. To the Aventine Empire, Aradia's plans could mean a chance to rebuild and recoup losses if she set the savages fighting among themselves. With his newfound powers, he could Read what was happening here, keep the Emperor informedIf he was once granted the opportunity to display what he could now do, he need not fear execution.

He was just leaving the room, when Helmuth entered. "My lord, where are you going? Why was I not told of your travel plans? You must have a retinue-"

"No, Helmuth. Julia and I are leaving. No one else."

"But it is not seemly, my lord. And messengers must be sent ahead, accommodations prepared."

"No, Helmuth."

The old man studied him sadly. "Something is very wrong, my lord."

"Yes. And the only way I can correct it is to take this journey. When I am gone, you do whatever Lady Aradia or Lord Wulfston says. Tell Arkus."

"But when will you return?"

Lenardo looked into the anxious eyes and Read the sincere concern for him. If he told the truth, Helmuth and many others would quickly guess that Aradia and Wulfston had driven him away. He did not want any kind of revolt, Adept punishments of his people"I cannot say, Helmuth. Take care of my people for me and obey Aradia and Wulfston."

"Yes, my lord."

Lenardo and Julia were seen leaving the city, of course, by the Southgate, where Lenardo had entered on his search for Galen-was it only four months ago?

People waved, and Lenardo waved back. He must make it appear that nothing unusual was happening. Once they were on the main road south, few people came near enough to recognize them. A man and a child in traveling clothes might be anyone, their fine horses indicating no more than that they had found favor with the Lord of the Land.

Julia was astonishingly silent as Lenardo set a pace to cover ground as rapidly as possible without overtiring their horses. Finally she asked, "Father, where are we going?"

"Home," he replied.

"But we just left home."

"We are going to my home, Julia, back to the Aventine Empire where I came from. There you will meet other Readers and get a proper education."

"You're not going to leave me there?"

He Read her panic, the normal child's fear of losing a parent, compounded by the terrible uncertainties she had known in her short life. "No, Julia," he told her. "I'm going to stay in the empire, too."

He didn't tell her mat once he placed her safely in Portia's hands, they would never see each other again. Once she touched the minds of her teachers and classmates in the Academy, she would forget him as quickly as he had forgotten his own parents. I will be the one who will sorely miss Julia, he realized sadly.

Lenardo intended to Read ahead, contact Master Clement, and have his message relayed to Adigia so that the gates would be opened for them on their arrival. He would not rest securely until they were within the walls of the empire.

Before the mysterious expansion of his powers, Lenardo would have had to ride to the wall, find a secure place to hide, and leave his body in order to Read all the way to Tiberium. Now, though still several hours from the border, he could contact Master Clement without even stopping.

But just as he decided to do so, he Read pursuit. Arkus and a troop of ten men were galloping along the road several miles behind them. Lord Lenardo, Arkus projected. Lord Wulfston wants you to return to Zendi.

I'll just bet he does. "Julia, we are being pursued. We must hide."

She didn't question him but followed him off the road into a patch of woods. In a few minutes the soldiers galloped past, Arkus still broadcasting his order.

Julia looked wide-eyed at Lenardo. //Why don't you trust Lord Wulfston anymore?//

//We dare not trust any Adept, Julia. I fear it is you he wants, to bend to his will… or to Aradia's.//

//They couldn't. I'm a Reader. I'd know-//

//You have forgotten already how Drakonius treated people to make them obey him.//

//Lord Wulfston's not like that. And anyway, a Reader can always get away, like we're doing.// They were continuing through the woods, pausing each time they had to cross an open area to Read whether anyone might see them.

//Galen could not get away,// Lenardo told her. //I've mentioned Galen, my student, who went over to the enemy, Reading for Drakonius and his henchmen.//

//Yes. That's why you came here-to stop him.//

//That's right. But Julia, Galen was not an evil person, merely young and very foolish. He blamed other people for his problems instead of trying to solve them himself. And I suppose that is why he allied himself with Drakonius, thinking such a powerful Adept would give him wealth and power in exchange for his services. But do you know t what Drakonius made him do, to test his loyalty?//

//No. What?//

//Help him attack Adigia, the town Galen had come from, where all his old friends were.//

Julia did not respond, trying to shield her thoughts as she pondered that. Then she observed, //If anyone did that to me, I would think it was wicked. But if I was trying to test someone's loyalty, what better way?//

//Child, you are far too old for your years,// Lenardo told her wearily.

//But what happened? Did Galen pass the test?//

//He Read a fault in the rock beneath the Academy at Adigia. By jarring it just a little, the Adepts could cause an earthquake.//

//Oh, I remember. The ground trembled in Zendi. But it didn't work right. Almost our whole army got killed. The mountain fell on them.//

//Yes, and Drakonius blamed Galen.//

//Did Galen do it?//

//We will never know, child. By the time I found him, Galen's mind was so twisted from Drakonius' tortures that he himself did not know when he spoke truth.//

//What did Drakonius do to him?// Julia asked with childish curiosity.

//The soldiers are far ahead of us now,// said Lenardo. //We can return to the road, where we can move faster.//

//The watchers will tell everybody.//

Lenardo could Read that Wulfston's command to him to return was being relayed throughout the land, but the message would have to be sent by foot or on horseback into every settlement, for only the watchers knew the code of flashing lights. By the time it had disseminated widely, Lenardo and Julia would be in the no-man's-land near the border, where no one lived.

It was incredibly easy for two Readers in a mind-blind society to elude pursuit. Aradia could do nothing. Her powers were far less than Julia's.

Ill was caught by watchers once, Julia. I won't be again, nor will you.//

The little girl might not have been able to do it alone. Lenardo estimated that her range was about what his had been limited to by illness and exhaustion the time Aradia's watchers had located him. But with Julia Reading near and Lenardo far, they were able to use the good road to travel quickly when there was no one about and leave it to skirt settlements and avoid other people on the road.

They passed harvesters in the fields, making no attempt to hide when they Read that these people had no idea that they were fugitives. There was a sharp contrast between the well-clothed, well-fed, well-housed people they passed and the hungry, hopeless people Lenardo had Read along this same road on his journey northward last spring. So I have done some good, he thought. Aradia and Wulfston will keep it up. They would never let their people suffer the way Drakonius did.

//What did Drakonius do to Galen?// Julia's tenacious curiosity demanded to be satisfied.

Ill don't know all of it, child. When I found him, he was caged like an animal. One tune I Read Drakonius break the bones in Galen's hand-as a warning, he said. He healed him afterward, but that did not lessen Galen's pain at the time.//

//Do you think Aradia or Lord Wulfston would do something like that?//

//Their methods are more subtle, Julia. Aradia once kept me locked in her castle by planting in my mind the idea that I could not open the door of my room. I don't know if you can understand that that is much more wicked than outright torture.//

She thought it over. //If they can make people think whatever they want, why don't they make us think we want to go back?//

Ill don't think they could implant an idea in the mind of a healthy Reader. They did it to me when I was very ill, while they had me in healing sleep. I was not yet completely well when I found out what they had done, drove the command from my mind, and escaped. So they know they cannot hold a Reader that way. And Aradia tells me no one can be forced by that method to do something he believes to be wrong. It may be that Drakonius tried to chain Galen's mind, and Galen caused the avalanche to fall on Drakonius' army without knowing what he was doing. But now we'll never know.//

//Did you kill Galen, Father?//

//No, not personally. I was guiding Aradia, Wulfston, Lilith, and Nerius. They trapped Drakonius and Galen with the other Adepts and burned them to death.//

He withdrew into his own thoughts, remembering having no time to think or to grieve-not over Galen and not over Nerius-but having to go on into the combat between the armies, with Drakonius' troops still fighting fiercely, not knowing that their leader was dead.

At the mass funeral three days later, Lenardo had not been able to bring himself to speak for Galen. He could not believe that all the boy's bright potential had died so horribly, nor was his ability to accept Galen's death aided by the fact that those who had gone to collect the charred remains in the burnt-out canyon found nothing but a few scattered bones.

Suddenly, imposed on the memory of that charred canyon, rose the vision that had plagued him months before: Castle Nerius in ruins beneath the golden harvest moon, Aradia dead"Father! Father, they're coming back!"

Julia's cry jolted Lenardo back to the present. Four of Arkus' men were indeed coming back toward them. He and Julia rode quickly over a swell of ground, the only nearby shelter. On the other side, they reined in, got down from their horses, and pulled the animals' heads down as they crouched, waiting. The horses began to crop the stubble in the newly harvested field. Lenardo wished for a moment that a field of grain shielded them, until he realized that in an unharvested field they would have left a trampled trail to lead the soldiers right to them.

The men were moving slowly, peering out on either side of the road. They didn't expect to find their quarry in the fields, though. As they passed, one of the men ordered, "Erik, Tav, ride around that patch of woods ahead, then come through it toward us."

Lenardo Read the soldiers carefully. They were puzzled but doing their duty. Why the Lord of the Land would be hiding from his own troops was a total mystery. At least two of them were of the opinion that it was a war game to see whether nonReaders could figure out how to capture someone who could Read their every move, part of whatever plans Lord Lenardo and Lady Aradia had been working on together.

Julia, Reading with Lenardo, smothered a giggle. He touched her touseled curls and told her, //We won't have any trouble eluding that kind of pursuit, will we?//

When the soldiers were out of sight, Lenardo and Julia took to the road again. The sun was low in the sky as they reached the part of the road that had fallen into disrepair. Close to the wall, the road became a wide highway again, but for many miles it narrowed to a badly rutted wagon track, full of holes that could throw a horse if the rider was not careful.

Ironically, there was plenty of shelter here and no one to take shelter from. The fields had been abandoned in Lenardo's childhood, and the woods encroached on them, after all these years almost coming together to form a forest.

They were still more than two hours from Adigia, and Julia was getting tired and cranky. They stopped to eat and rest, while Lenardo Read on ahead to find Arkus setting a trap.

Every savage knew the danger of coming near the walls of the Aventine Empire because of the Readers therein. Near the gates of Adigia, a huge area was kept clear. Even in the blackest night, a Reader with bow and arrow could pick off anyone attempting to approach the gates.

Lenardo had stood watch atop that wall many a time. It was routine duty for boys from the Academy, from the ages of twelve to fifteen. What Arkus did not know was that with the Academy gone and only three Readers now in the town, there was no longer a Reader atop the tower at all times. There was none now, just two guards from the garrison.

Torio was gone, of course, and the three Readers who had replaced him did not know Lenardo's situation. Two of them did not even know Lenardo, a husband and wife he Read just sitting down to their evening meal with a chubby little boy of perhaps three. It was easy to Read them, not intruding, without their being aware of him.

The third Reader was Secundus, who had been the healer at the Academy. He was a few years older than Lenardo, a quiet, gentle man who had barely achieved the rank of magister and perhaps might have been-denied it except that he was skilled at healing, and such people were always badly needed.

Secundus now had Torio's old room at the inn and was also unaware of Lenardo's scrutiny, being deep into a book of remedies in search of something to cure a catarrh that had so far eluded his skills.

But Arkus could not know that there was no Reader keeping watch from Adigia's wall, and so as the sun set, he deployed his men in a semicircle just out of range of arrows shot from the gatetower. On either side, at a distance from the gate, men lurked near the wall. The rest were close enough to one another in their arc that Lenardo and Julia could not ride between any two undetected.

He considered abandoning the horses and attempting to sneak through on foot. By the time he contacted Master Clement and the message was relayed to Secundus to admit him, it would be well after midnight. Arkus' men would be bored and sleepy.

Arkus' men? No, not the way the young commander kept them trained. And Julia was still a child. If she was weary now, what would she be in a few more hours?

Adigia's troops could be called out, but Lenardo did not want a battle, the slaughter of Arkus and his few men. He realized that the young man trusted him not to call out an army against seven, or not to be able to.

Julia, her supper half eaten, nodded off to sleep. Lenardo let her sleep while he thought. The nearest gate other than the one at Adigia was beyond the Western Hills, in Wulfston's land. It would take several days of difficult travel to reach it, and with the watchers alerting everyone, he was sure that it would be well guarded before they could get there.

The next gate to the east was even farther away, in Aradia's land. The problem was the same. The wall between them, however, passed through dense woods, areas where no one went for years at a time. He could Read places where the trees had so encroached upon the wall that it might be possible to climb over. They would have to abandon the horses, but with any luck they would be safely inside the Aventine Empire by morning.

But he must let Masters Clement and Portia know that he was coming. He Read carefully all around him to be sure no dangers could creep up on them while his attention was far away. No people between them and the gates of Adigia and none for miles in any other direction. No wild animals except some deer in the woods. The deer were skittish and nervous, but since Lenardo could Read nothing else to disturb them, he decided that he and Julia must be the cause. All around them birds were chirping, too, although it was fully dark.

With the incredible ease he had developed these past few days, Lenardo Read to Tiberium. Master Clement was in his study, deep in conversation with Portia, who was, of course, in her own room within the female Academy.

//But I found Drusina's performance well above average,// Clement was saying. I'll recommend that you send her for her medical training and then test her for admission to the rank of magister. I'm certain she is capable, Portia.//

//Clement, Clement, you were out there on the border too long,// Portia replied. //This girl might barely qualify in a time when there was a dearth of fine Readers-//

//There is always a dearth of fine Readers. Just last month you refused Quintus admission to magister rank, even though he passed every test. Master Tervo wept when you denied his candidate-he needed Quintus for his Academy. I need an assistant until Lenardo returns. We are old, Portia. Three Readers of the Council of Masters have died just since I returned to Tiberium. We cannot afford to set an arbitrary standard if no one can meet it. We must admit our best young Readers to the upper ranks or there will, be no one to train new Readers when we are gone.//

At Clement's mention of his name, Lenardo almost made his presence known, but as he was about to interrupt, he Read something from Portia-a denial she was hiding from Clement. She did not expect Lenardo to return- no surprise there. But what was surprising was her faint, pervasive guilt, beginning with his mention and continuing through Clement's plea. He felt her force it away as she said, //That is precisely why we must allow only the very best into our ranks-and Clement, you know that control is as important as strength to a Reader. These young people lack discipline. How can they discipline others?//

//Perhaps,// replied Clement, but Lenardo could sense his old master's deep concern about Portia's attitude.

It was that concern, along with the strange emotions he had Read from Portia, that kept Lenardo from making his presence known. Portia was Master of Masters; she headed the Council of Masters, with full veto power. The Reader who held that post was the best of all Readers, yet Lenardo was able to eavesdrop on her without detection. That could be a fluke, as her attention was elsewhere, but he should not have been able to Read feelings she hid successfully from Clement.

Both Masters were old; Lenardo wondered whether the infirmities of age could be weakening their powers, just as any other infirmity might. He had no idea.how old Portia was, but it seemed to be many years older than Clement. Was it senility? Or were her powers impaired because she had misused them? Why guilt?

Confused and ashamed at what he was thinking, Lenardo nonetheless withdrew without making contact. He would try later, when Clement was alone. His old master would know the proper way to approach Portia to use her influence for Lenardo's safe return.

When he brought his attention back to the nearby surroundings and to Julia, she was awake. //What's wrong, Father?//

How easily the child Read him. //Arkus is guarding the gate at Adigia. We will have to go home by a different way. It will be a difficult journey, but I've found a place where we can climb the wall.//

They cut cross-country at a diagonal, struggling through thick, overgrown forest as they approached the area Lenardo had Read. The trees overhead obscured the stars; the underbrush forced them to twist and turn to. find a way through. Anyone but a Reader would be certain to lose himself in such wilderness.

It was well after midnight when they finally reached the wall, leading their tired horses. Julia stumbled with weariness. Lenardo wondered whether she would be able to make the climb and had her sit down on a fallen log to rest while he stripped the horses and began to lighten their packs to what they could carry on foot. Julia slid off the log onto the mossy ground, fast asleep.

He couldn't help smiling at the exhausted child, when suddenly one of his precognitive flashes revealed the earth heaving, trees fallingHe dropped the pack and fell on Julia, shoving her against the log and covering her with his body.

"Father, what- What're you doing!" she protested in a child's tired whine.

"Lie still!" he said, and then the earthquake came.

Beneath them the ground trembled; leaves and twigs rained down on them. Then they were lifted as if on an ocean wave, the log sheltering them falling away and then back as they were dropped. The horses screamed and crashed off into the woods as trees began to wave like stalks of grain. Lenardo tried to protect Julia as they were tossed and buffeted. Trees fell, slamming into other trees, ancient oaks tottering and ripping from their roots.

Above them, a huge mossy trunk swayed and creaked. If ever I needed Adept power- Lenardo thought, but he was powerless to do anything more than clutch Julia, trying to keep his body between her and falling debris as the monstrous trunk cracked and whipped-and broke, with a huge piece falling toward them in a majestic, slow, inevitable trajectory.