Wulfston's odyssey

Chapter Five

Wulfston stared at the ring lying glittering on the palm of his hand. Lenardo dead? No!

Norgu swept on out the gate, to where his retinue awaited him.

Wulfston remained in the courtyard, stunned. He stumbled to the watering trough for the horses and sat on its edge, his legs weak with shock.

Traylo and Arlus came running from the castle, straight to Wulfston. Sensing his sorrow, they rubbed against him, whimpering. He slid the ring onto his right hand, then put one hand on the head of each dog.

Their dumb compassion broke through the burning lump in his throat, and his tears fell.

His friend was dead. Not only would he miss him savagely, but how could he face Aradia? Aradia, who even now carried Lenardo’s child?

He must go home at once. Aradia needed him more than ever. Lenardo’s child would need her uncle to help raise and educate her in her fathers stead. And I’ll do right by you, Lenardo, he promised silently, twisting the ring on his finger.

Determination shoved his grief aside. He washed his face in the watering trough, and considered his situation. For the first time, neither the burly guards nor the two female Seers attended him.

But of course they could Read him whenever they wanted to. At least he could make it more difficult for them by bracing to use Adept power. In fact, he realized, he had been doing so instinctively ever since Norgu had told him Lenardo was dead.

Now that the Karili had decided he was not their enemy, how much freedom did he have? He should be able just to walk out of the castle, past the guards at the gate… and into a land where he did not know the language, customs, geography-

He had no money and no friends, but he had responsibilities, Zanos and Astra, Huber, any sailors who had survived the shipwreck-he could not leave them stranded in Africa. First he must find all who had survived. Then they would have to barter their services for passage on a ship home.

Distasteful as it was, the quickest way to earn passage home was as mercenaries in the coming battle with the Savishnon. The Karili had not persuaded Norgu to aid them; they would probably welcome Wulfston’s powers joined with theirs:

Traylo and Arlus suddenly jumped to their feet. The dogs turned as Wulfston did, and ran merrily wagging their tails to greet the Princess Tadisha.

“Is the Assembly over so soon?” Wulfston asked, for he had been about to go back and offer his help in return for theirs in locating his friends.

“No. I asked Kamas to take my place,” she replied. “Lord Wulfston, I am sorry to hear of the death of your friend.”

So she had been spying with her Seeing powers-on Wulfston or on Norgu? Was her sympathy real or feigned? Cautiously, he opened to Reading, ready to reassert his defenses at the first sign of betrayal.

He Read only genuine sympathy as Tadisha said, “You called him your brother.”

“We were closer than many of blood kin. And now, because that fool Sukuru insisted on involving me in his power play, Lenardo is dead.”

At the renewal of his grief, Tadisha reached for his hands, saying, “It’s not your fault! If we hadn’t captured you… I’m so sorry.”

Her green eyes looked into his as she gripped his hands. Suddenly, painfully, the pressure increased. She gasped, “Norgu lied!”

“What?”

She dropped his left hand, and put both of hers around the ring on his right. “This ring-the man who wore it was alive when it was taken from him!”

He stared at her, too much afraid to suffer raw grief a second time to take hope from her words. “How do you know?”

“I have some power to See the history of objects. This ring is new, its history brief. There is much love in it, and no death.”

“Maybe Lenardo just wasn’t quite dead yet,” Wulfston said. “Why would Norgu lie about-?”

“Tell Wulfston I am both alive and well. So he will believe you, tell him-”

“Lenardo? Lenardo!”

The “voice” in his head was so much like Lenardo’s speaking voice that there could be no doubt.

“Wulfston? You can Read?!”

“Yes! Where are you?”

“Five days’ journey from you. I must be very careful, for I am guarded by Seers. They think I’ve fallen asleep in my chair, out of boredom.”

“Are you out of body?”

“No. That I dare not attempt. The Seers were instructed by Norgu-in my presence-that if they found my body unoccupied at any time, they were to move it. I don’t think you know-”

“I’ve been around Readers enough to have an idea,” Wulfston told him with a shudder.

Tadisha could no longer contain her astonishment. “Lord

Lenardo, you are Seeing from Norgu’s castle-without leaving your body?”

“Yes, Lady Tadisha-and I am trusting you not to betray me. Because I dared not leave my body, the only way I had to find Wulfston was to follow Norgu.”

“But five days’ journey-”

“Lenardo is the best Reader in the Savage Empire,” Wulfston told Tadisha impatiently. “Lenardo, I’ve been a prisoner here, but they’ve stopped drugging me. I think my powers will be back to normal soon.”

“Norgu hasn’t drugged me at all,” Lenardo told him. “It took nearly three days free of Sukuru’s potions before I felt completely myself. I’m well, but so far I’ve found no way to evade the Seers Norgu has surrounding me.”

“I’ll come to you,” Wulfston offered.

“Not alone,” Lenardo warned. “Norgu has powers.”

“He’s just a boy,” Wulfston protested. “I am a Lord Adept at the full strength of my powers.”

“I do not know the strength of your powers,” Tadisha put in, “but never has one so young as Norgu shown such power in Africa. And his army has many Seers and Movers, fully loyal to him-they will combine their powers against you, Lord Wulfston, if you attack.”

“If Lenardo can’t escape, and I can’t go to his rescue, then how am I to free him?”

“I have an idea,” said Tadisha. “Lord Wulfston, neither you nor the Savishnon are the primary reason the Assembly gathered here. It was Norgu’s demand that we capture you for him-as if he ruled us all.

The Karili fear what Norgu may be in a few years. Now, while he is still young, we must thwart his domination.”

“Trust her,” said Lenardo. “Tadisha is telling the truth. I will contact you again tomorrow, but I dare not remain in communication for long, lest the Seers guarding me discover it.”

And Lenardos presence was_gone.

Tadisha still held Wulfston’s hand. Now she gave it a tug. “Come back to the Assembly. They are arguing about what we should do now that we have three enemies.”

“Three?”

“The Savishnon first. We must complete our defenses,” she said with a gesture at the newly heightened walls, “for there is now no doubt of their attack. When I left, Mother was proposing riding out to meet them, trying to keep their destruction clear of our towns and villages.

“Second, Z’Nelia… perhaps. Until recently she kept to herself. We thought that whatever powers she had were destroyed or weakened in the battle that produced the Dead Lands. Then, a few months ago, her armies took the lands to the west of hers, on the other side of Norgu’s. Now we learn that she can control a volcano, or raise a storm from across the continent. If she attacked you, why should she not attack anyone else who appears to be a threat to her?”

“Why would she perceive the Karili as a threat?” Wulfston asked. “Sukuru forced me to come to Africa specifically to battle Z’Nelia, so I must appear a genuine menace.”

“Especially now that she has Seen you,” Tadisha agreed.

“What do you mean?”

“You are Zionae,” replied the Karili princess.

“I don’t know what tribe my ancestors came from,” Wulfston said, “but yes, I see resemblances in the few Zionae I’ve either met or Read-Seen.”

“So if you defeated Z’Nelia, her people would be more likely to accept your right to rule them than the right of a foreigner.”

“I am a foreigner. I have my own lands to rule, far from here,” Wulfston told her as he had told Sukuru.

“I don’t want the lands of the Zionae.”

“Perhaps you have come to take possession of the Warimu.”

“The Warimu? Norgu’s people?”

“Norgu is not Warimu, nor was his father.”

“More Zionae,” Wulfston realized. “Well, that makes sense. With Z’Nelia ruling the Zionae, or earlier if her parents were as powerful as she is, any Zionae Adepts- Movers-who wanted to rule would find it easier to conquer another tribe than fight someone like Z’Nelia. But Princess Tadisha, I don’t want Norgu’s lands, either.”

“He will think you do, just as everyone in the Assembly does.”

“Why?”

“Because you and Norgu, are so obviously related.”

“Just because we’re both of Zionae ancestry?”

“Didn’t you see it?” she asked in astonishment. “It goes far beyond tribal characteristics. You and Norgu have a strong family resemblance.”

“I don’t look anything like Norgu!” Wulfston protested, recalling the flabby, overweight boy with round face and unpleasantly pouting features. “Besides, Barak would have known, if he knows everything about people when he meets them.”

“Barak knows of you only what has happened in your lifetime, unless you tell him stories of your family.”

“I see, ” said Wulfston. “And if I had such stories, and believed them to be true-”

“-he would perceive them as true, as he did the story he was told of your prowess.”

“Then a Grioka may be wrong.”

“About stories and songs, yes. Never about direct experience,” Tadisha explained. “The gods give the Griokae that gift, and the ability to make hearers experience what they tell. In return, the gods give them the obligation of recording our history, and passing it from one generation to another.

“Griokae are very wise,” she continued, “and highly respected. If we Karili offended Barak by chiding him for his mistake about you, he might refuse to tell stories of us. He would not teach them to other Griokae. Eventually, the memory of the Karili would be gone from the history of Africa, as if we had never been.”

Wulfston saw in Tadisha’s green eyes how very important it was to her that her people be remembered.

“What if,” he suggested, “Barak would not tell the story of Z’Nelia’s defeat of the Savishnon before today, because she offended him, and he did not want her victory remembered?”

Her expression told him much. “That is a Grioka’s only weapon against so powerful a Mover, but it is a mighty weapon indeed.”

“So,” said Wulfston, “the history of a person is that important here-so much so that because I do not know the history of my family you try to create one, by seeing a resemblance to Norgu?”

“I’m not the only one who saw it. When you first entered the Assembly, and again later, when you and Norgu stood side by side. You could be his brother, Lord Wulfston. You are certainly an uncle or cousin in some degree.”

“Impossible.”

To Wulfston’s annoyance, laughter twinkled in Tadisha’s eyes. “Are you that vain, then? I agree; Norgu makes himself unattractive with his overindulgence in food and his sneers and pouting. But let him harden his body with work, and gain maturity and character in his face, and one day he might be as handsome as you are.”

Wulfston did not like that topic of conversation, or Tadisha’s attempt to turn it to a joke. “Never mind Norgu’s appearance. Why did he lie to me about Lenardo?”

“A childish fit of anger when the Assembly would not bow to his will?” Tadisha suggested.

“From someone who has been ruling his own lands for a year?” Wulfston asked. “That may have been part of it, but he could not survive many impulsive acts, considering the enemies he has.”

“Perhaps he hoped you would leave if you thought your friend beyond your help.”

“No… put yourself in Norgu’s place, Princess Tadisha. Did you notice his reaction as he relived his father’s death? There was no grief! He almost… reveled in the bloodshed.” He looked into her eyes, trying to open to her Reading so that she would know he spoke truly. “I have seen such cases in my own land, among young people who have lost their families in the violence of Adept warfare. Their minds cannot cope with such grief. Their emotions become twisted. Norgu is very dangerous. There is no predicting how someone like that will react.”

She nodded. “He will see you as a threat, especially if he recognizes that you are of his family. He must think you have come to take his throne. While I can See that you would indeed go home this day if he reunited you with your brother, Norgu probably fears that the two of you together would turn on him.”

“I suspect,” Wulfston said slowly, “that he is even more manipulative than that. He wants me to think that Lenardo is dead so that I will take revenge on his supposed murderer. Revenge Norgu understands.

Remember his pleasure in destroying his fathers attackers? But someone sent those killers, and Norgu has not yet had revenge on that someone.”

Tadishas green eyes showed grim understanding. “We Karili are too close to Norgu. We see him as a spoiled child, but he has developed a dangerous cunning. He told you Z’Nelia killed Lenardo. He must think Z’Nelia sent the men who murdered Matu-and of course he could be right.”

Tadisha paused abruptly, staring at him. “I just realized that you never- Lord Wulfston, I do not think I have ever met a man before-at least not a man of such powers- whose first thought would not be of revenge.” She lowered her eyes, suddenly closed to Reading. “Wise men would then put the thought from their minds, knowing revenge only brings more revenge. But what kind of man does not even consider it?”

“One who has witnessed a lifetime of war, and wants no more of it,” he replied. “If Lenardo were truly dead, how would it help his people or his wife and children for me to risk my life in revenge? Those who counsel war would say if I did not kill Z’Nelia she would decide that I was weak, and soon she would come to the Savage Empire to depose me. But how likely is that, when she has her own battles right here?”

“That is true,” agreed Tadisha.

“If, however, I challenged her, provoked her, either she would kill me now, leaving my sister without my help, or if I succeeded in killing or otherwise defeating her, her heirs would then seek revenge on me, perpetuating an enmity I never wanted in the first place.”

Tadisha asked, “Where you come from, do you stand alone in these ideas?”

“No. One ruler cannot end the cycle of revenge; other lords would simply kill him and continue warring, the history of the Savage Lands before this generation. Our alliance is a precarious thing, which must be nurtured for the future. Were Lenardo dead, my first duty would be to go home and help to preserve it.

As it is, my first duty is to rescue my brother. Will your Assembly allow me to address them?”

“I think so. Come, then, and I will present your petition.”

Wulfston was, indeed, allowed to present his offer to aid the Karili against the Savishnon, in return for their help, first in locating his missing friends and the Night Queen crew, and then in retrieving Lenardo from Norgu.

“How much help can you be to us?” challenged Kamas.

“If you had not drugged me,” Wulfston replied, “I could demonstrate my powers. Let me explain it this way: undrugged and rested, I can do all that you saw Norgu’s father do in the vision Barak provided-and more. I also have many years’ experience at teaching people with minor powers to use them to best advantage… and to unite them to overcome someone of greater power. If all of you were to work together, as the Movers and Seers of my homeland do, even a Mover of Z’Nelias powers would be helpless against you.”

“Would you then set yourself up as our leader?” Ashuru questioned in acid tones.

“Not at all, Queen Ashuru,” he replied, wondering why she was suddenly hostile again. “You are the leaders of your people; they will not follow a stranger. Nor do I know your terrain, your languages, your customs. As soon as the threat to you is over, and I am reunited with my brother and the people we are responsible for, I will leave Africa.”

Finally Wulfston was dismissed, while the Assembly debated accepting his offer. One of the burly guards appeared again, but this time the man bowed, led Wulfston up a different flight of steps than those to his room, and left him in a kind of study or library, reminiscent of the one Aradia had lost when Castle Nerius was destroyed.

He found books, scrolls, and even clay tablets with writing that looked like pictures of birds and animals.

A little investigation turned up several in the Aventine language, and even a few in the savage dialects.

Those, however, could tell him nothing he did not already know, while the rest he could not read. For once he wished he had Aradia’s talent for languages.

Impatiently, he sat down in a comfortable chair before a large table. He wanted to Read what was going on in the Assembly, but was certain Seers would be on guard for such spying. He wished he had Lenardo’s powers, to reach out and tell his friend this would be a good time to converse. Lenardo hadn’t mentioned Zanos, Astra, or the others, but surely his Reading powers could find them!

Thinking of Lenardo’s powers, though, reminded him of his own, as did his growing hunger. How much of that drug had worked its way out of his blood by now?

He glanced at a candle on the table and casually willed it to light. Nothing happened.

He frowned, wondering why his Reading seemed to be progressing nicely, when he could not seem to use even the simplest Adept power. Probably the vegetarian diet Ashuru had kept him on since his capture. He certainly hoped they would provide him with meat now that he was no longer a prisoner!

He concentrated on the candle as he had as a small boy, just learning to use his powers. To his relief, the flame sputtered to life. He resisted the temptation to start moving furniture, but settled back in the chair and set his concentration to drawing healing fire into his blood, purging away the last of the drug. He could not produce the normal rapid flare of energy, but he could feel his healing powers working as he relaxed and let his body cure itself.

Finally the door opened, and Tadisha entered. Her face, and the fact that she was closed to Reading, told him her news was not good. Wulfston sat up, alert, as she took a chair opposite him at the table and said, “My mother does not trust you-and her voice influences the Assembly.”

“They won’t help me?”

The princess shook her head. “They don’t trust you because you are of Norgu’s family. Blood will tell.”

“I don’t accept that,” Wulfston told her. “Blood makes me look as I do, and gives me my powers, but how a person thinks and acts is determined by circumstances, and by family. And family often has nothing to do with blood. Neither Norgu nor any of his family shaped my thinking, Princess Tadisha.”

“So said Barak. He told of the people you call family, all of them white. None of them taught you to be a Seer,” she added. “Lord Wulfston, I recognized that your Mover’s powers were far superior to your Seer’s, but Lord Lenardo was astonished that you could See at all.”

“It’s true,” Wulfston admitted. “I was unable to access my Seeing ability until I came to Africa. It was as if the life of the great plain spoke to me, and I responded as if…1 had come home.”

“Blood will tell,” insisted Tadisha. “Your ancestors came from the plains. The Zionae lived there for many generations, until the Savishnon caused them to flee to the east. Many tribes hunt there, but it is a dangerous hunt today, for the Savishnon claim that territory, and massacre anyone they find trespassing.”

“Tell me more about the Savishnon,” said Wulfston.

“They come from the far north of Africa, and worship the war god Savishna. They believe their god has instructed them to conquer the entire continent. A generation ago they swept southward, onto the great plain,” Tadisha explained. “Soon they took over the northern areas of the plains, driving the tribes who lived there into exile.

“Five years ago they began a new offensive, with an army so huge none could count it. When my father, Kagele, was killed, my mother persuaded the leaders of other tribes to join us against the attackers. The Assembly was formed. The Savishnon did not expect unity from our many small tribes. We drove them back beyond the great lake.

“We knew, though, that they would be back. We built this castle, and fortified it strongly. Leaders of the tribes set up communications via Seers throughout all the lands now united with the Karili, and granted my mother the right to call them together in any emergency.”

“But the attack never came,” said Wulfston.

“How do you know?” Tadisha asked.

“I grew up in a castle that bore the scars of Adept warfare. There are none here-everything is new, perfectly matched.”

“You are right,” said Tadisha. “A year after we repelled the Savishnon, they regrouped and attacked Johara. You saw today what happened there. For the past four years no more than scattered remnants of the Savishnon have been seen.”

Wulfston asked, “Do the Savishnon wear headbands?

Symbols on their foreheads in beads? I thought I saw some at their camp.”

“Yes, whenever they go into battle.”

“Then it was Savishnon who attacked me on the beach.”

Tadisha nodded. “That is what we have come to expect the Savishnon to be: a constant annoyance, but no longer a threat to our way of life. We had hoped to rid all Karili lands of them.”

“And now they are back as a well-organized army.”

“One surprise after another,” the princess agreed. “You are as great a surprise, if not so certain a threat.

How is it you know nothing of your African origins?”

That again. He might as well tell her the little he knew. “I was only three years old when my parents died.

I remember my mother telling me stories, but not the stories themselves. My father-my adopted father, Nerius- told me everything he knew about my family, but he knew only their history once they reached the Aventine Empire. They were proud citizens, Aventine to the core- which, now that I think about it, makes me wonder what they left behind that they were happy to work their way out of slavery, and apparently never pined for their homeland.”

“Perhaps,” said Tadisha, “you will discover the answer here in Africa.”

“Perhaps I will,” he agreed. “Torio told me I would find ‘where I first began.’ ‘

“Torio?”

“A Reader with the gift of prophecy.”

“Ah. My family has that gift also,” said Tadisha. “Prophecies always come true-in one way or another.”

“I know,” Wulfston said. “Torio said my fate was entangled with Lenardo’s, and here I am. But Tadisha, if the Karili won’t help me, then I must try to rescue Lenardo alone.”

“I think,” she said, her green eyes reflecting the candle flame, “there may be a way to persuade the Assembly, although my mother will be angry if I suggest it. She says aloud that she fears what your presence here may do to the precarious state of affairs in Africa. Privately, however, she is concerned that I have become too… impressed with you. Your ideas,” she amended hastily.

Wulfston could not help smiling. He was finding himself equally impressed with the Karili princess. “There is a way,” he said, “that you need not risk your mother’s displeasure. I am willing to go before your best Seers, and make no resistance to their powers. In my homeland, the process is known as the Oath of Truth, taken before a panel of Master Readers.”

But when they approached Ashuru, she waved the idea away. She was in consultation with Barak, and Wulfston found the scrutiny of the old Grioka almost palpable as the queen said, “I have little doubt of your motives, Lord Wulfston-as far as they go today. What concerns me is your effect on the history of my nation.”

At that Tadisha squared her shoulders. “Then, Mother, you know what we must do. What I must do.

When the fate of our people is in the balance-”

“It is too dangerous!” hissed Ashuru, with a scowl at Wulfston.

“Princess Tadisha, what do you propose to do?” he asked.

“Seek a Vision of the future,” she replied.

“You can produce prophecies on demand?” he asked in surprise. Lenardo’s flashes of precognition came without warning, as did Torio’s verbal predictions. Neither man could control the gift.

“It is a most exhausting procedure,” said Tadisha, “and does not always provide answers. However, with the Savishnon preparing to attack, Norgu refusing to help us, and your presence an unexpected factor, I must attempt it.” She looked at her mother as if defying her to produce a reason not to.

And Asburu did. “Tadisha, you would risk your life. Since the routing of the Savishnon at Johara, too many Seers who have left their bodies have never returned.”

“Only those who sought to See into the Dead Lands,” Tadisha protested.

“Not entirely,” said Barak. “I have heard tales of those being lost who merely sought to See at a great distance. Things are being Hidden, even from the Sight. Let beware any who trespass, even unintentionally, into areas that are Guarded.”

Ashuru stared at the Grioka. “Barak, am I correct that you were as surprised as the rest of us at the vision Norgu brought of the Savishnon gathering north of the great lake?”

“You are correct. No one had told of it in my presence before.”

“Yet Seers of all tribes have kept watch on the movements of the Savishnon. Until now.”

“If Savishnon Seers have ensnared other Seers trying to spy on them, how did Norgu do it?” Wulfston asked. “The way he uses his Mover’s powers, he can’t be much of a Seer.”

“I think,” Barak said reflectively, “that the Vision was not through Norgu. He Saw it through another Seer. Forgive me, it did not occur to me at the time to seek to know. When I am next in his presence, I will discover it.’

“What else do you not know, Barak-or have you withheld from us?” Ashuru asked.

“I do not know the future,” the Grioka replied with transcendent dignity.

The Karili queen stared at him. “Do you say I am wrong, Barak? Would you have Tadisha risk her life seeking this Vision?”

From sunken depths, Barak’s eyes fixed on Wulfston. “Queen Ashuru, everything I know of Lord Wulfston agrees with the reassurances he gives. But a man may change his mind without breaking his word.”

“Indeed,” said Ashuru, her eyes flicking from Wulfston to Tadisha and back again.

“We must know whether to accept Lord Wulfston’s offer,” said Barak. “Queen Ashuru, you must surely realize that this man will not go home without his brother. If he must, he will go alone to his rescue. He could be captured and used by Norgu, Z’Nelia, or the Savishnon. He could simply fail in the rescue, and blame you for refusing to aid him. Or he could find other allies.”

“There is no guarantee that a Ceremony of Vision will give us the answers we seek,” said Ashuru, “but it will risk my daughter’s life.”

“We can minimize the risk,” said Bark, “and at the same time increase our chances of obtaining knowledge. Tadisha has the power of Vision very strongly, but you also have it, Ashuru. Enter the Vision with her-and so will I. Possibly my powers will enable us to find out what we seek.”

The queen nodded slowly, reluctantly. “Yes, we can at least provide an anchor for Tadisha’s spirit, lessen the danger of her being lost. My daughter?”

“You know I am willing, Mother.”

“I want to be there,” said Wulfston.

“No,” Ashuru replied. “You know nothing of our ways. You could distract Tadisha at a crucial moment.”

“Barak.” Wulfston looked straight into the old man’s eyes. “I have worked with Readers hundreds of times, and never distracted them. As a matter of fact, I once participated in a circle of power that drew a Master Reader’s mind back to his body when it had been wandering, lost, for days. Verify that I will not distract you.”

A small smile curved the Grioka’s lips. “How quickly you have learned to use me, Lord Wulfston. You know that if you demand it, I must tell Queen Ashuru that you speak the truth.”

“It makes no difference,” said Ashuru. “I do not want you there.”

— I do.”

Ashuru’s head turned sharply as she stared at her

daughter.

Tadisha continued, “Lord Wulfston is the subject of the Ceremony of Vision, and I am the Seeker. It is my decision.”

Wulfston was fast learning the negative aspects of Reading; Ashuru made no attempt to conceal her cold fury, but she was trapped. “Very well, Tadisha. Now, we must prepare.”

Wulfston did not know what the preparations were for the Seekers. The two women and Barak went off to the temple, while Kamas was called upon to be Wulfston’s host for a hearty meal. Studying the heavily laden board, Wulfston asked, “When will the ceremony take place?”

“It will begin at midnight,” Kamas replied.

“May I trust you, Kamas?”

The younger man studied him. “To do what?”

“To wake me in time to dress and make any other preparations. Are you a Mover?”

“To a degree, although my Seeing powers are greater. I may be called upon for either function tonight.”

“You know that I am primarily a Mover,” said Wulfston. “If I eat well of the meal you have provided, especially the meat, my body will seek healing sleep, because there is still poison in my blood.”

“Poison? Oh, you mean the kleg. It is not a poison, Lord Wulfston. It does no lasting harm. In proper dosage, it inhibits the powers of either a Mover or a Seer.”

“It rendered me unconscious, twice,” Wulfston reminded him.

Kamas nodded. “In a large dose it does that to anybody. We had to make certain we could capture you the first time, and after you regained consciousness Laruna overdosed you accidentally when the small dose she first gave you did not prevent you from Seeing. We meant you no permanent harm, but Norgu had said you were extremely dangerous.”

“I am. But only to those who attack me first.”

“Then you are a danger to Tadisha.”

“No. She feared I had come to attack your people. I mean her no harm-nor you, Prince Kamas. And I understand your situation perfectly.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have just reached manhood, but have years yet before you will attain the height of your powers. As a man, you feel you should be a protector to your sister, but because she is older, her powers and experience are greater than yours. There are times when you resent her strength, and times when she resents your efforts to protect her.”

Kames stared at him. “How can you know that? Have you some of the Grioka’s talent-or are you that great a Seer?”

“Neither.” Wulfston laughed. “I’m younger brother to a very powerful Lady Adept!”

For one moment Kamas glared at him-and then broke into a grin. “Just don’t tell me things will be better in a few years.”

“All right, I won’t. But may I tell you that things got better between Aradia and me as our age difference came to mean less an less?”

Kamas nodded thoughtfully. “Yes-at least that’s more encouraging than the stuff of legends. Savishna and Shangonu are still fighting, as they have been since the world was new.”

“The two gods?” Wulfston asked. “You worship Shangonu, I understand, and the Savishnon-”

“Savishna, the war god. They are gods, of course, and so can take either sex if they have reason to assume a form recognizable to men. But it is said that Savishna is most terrible in the form of an avenging woman. Her warriors declare themselves faithful to her, and will not touch a human woman until they have won the territory she commands them to take. They lost the battle at Johara four years ago, because of a woman, a rival to Savishna. Savishna is not a forgiving god.”

“Is Shangonu?” Wulfston asked.

“Yes. He is a builder, Savishna a destroyer. But that is the way of gods. Savishna and Shangonu were born of the Great Mother to be the opposing forces that continue life, for the old and weak must make room for the new and strong. But human brothers and sisters should not be opposing forces… and my sister wants you at her Ceremony of Vision. I will do nothing-nor neglect to do anything-to oppose her desire.”

As he had promised, Kamas woke Wulfston before the Ceremony of Vision, and took him to an anteroom of the temple to prepare. They were garbed in plain brown, featureless garments, and Wulfston reluctantly handed Lenardo’s ring over to an attendant, who had also taken Kamas’ chain and pendant.

Then they paused to wash faces, hands, and feet before entering the temple itself.

The temple was a part of the castle, with the castle wall as its front wall, allowing the people of the city to enter for worship. Tonight, however, that door was closed and barred.

Wulfston had seen screens and benches piled up in hallways and anterooms they had passed through on their way here; obviously at times the huge temple was divided with colorful hangings into smaller areas, and worshipers could sit on benches for the ceremonies. Now, though, the temple was empty except for a low round dais in the center, amid a circle of flaming candles set in high wooden holders. Their light flickered across images painted on the ceiling high above, but Wulfston could not make them out.

At the very center of the ceiling, directly above the dias, a circular hole revealed the stars above.

The room could have held hundreds of people. Tonight there were only five: Tadisha, Ashuru, Kamas, Barak, and Wulfston. Wulfston and Kamas silently approached from one side, Ashuru, Tadisha, and Barak from the other. All wore the same plain brown garments.

As they entered the circle of candlelight, they stepped up onto the platform, which appeared to be wood covered with the same plain brown cloth as their robes. Tadisha stepped to the center, the other four around her.

Ashuru said, “This is a Ceremony of Vision, a Seeking to know what the presence of Lord Wulfston of the Savage Empire means to the state of Africa. Shangonu guide us to a true Vision, and protect my daughter while her spirit wanders under his guidance.”

Tadisha bowed to her mother, and received her kiss on the forehead. Then she turned from Ashuru and sank into the cross-legged position used by Readers and Adepts for concentration. Ashuru was now behind Tadisha, Wulfston directly in front of her, facing the Karili queen. Barak was on Tadishas right side, Kamas on her left.

The four who were standing joined hands, as Ashuru said, “We form a circle of protection for Tadisha.

Once we are seated, that circle must not be broken. Lord Wulfston, do you understand?”

“I understand,” he replied. “We must not break the circle.”

Ashuru’s eyes glittered in the candlelight so that he could not read them, but she was apparently satisfied- perhaps because with her Seer’s powers she could tell that this experience was not so alien to Wulfston as he had expected it to be.

The setting was different, the people were different, but the sense of shared energy he felt as they clasped hands was exactly the same as he had known time and again working with Lenardo, Torio, Julia-

The four let go of each other’s hands, but the sense of energy suspended between them remained as they stepped back.

Tadisha sank onto the platform, lying on her back, carefully smoothing her robe beneath her so that nothing would cut off her circulation.

When Ashuru, Kamas, and Barak settled into the cross-legged position that could be held for hours without fatigue, Wulfston did likewise, sitting at Tadisha’s feet. She lay prone, relaxed, eyes closed.

Wulfston had seen the process a hundred times before, but always the moment when the Reader’s face went slack, as if she had gone into a coma, disturbed him. Reading Tadisha’s personality suddenly disappear, he discovered, was even worse.

He composed himself, expecting a long wait. But only a few minutes passed before Tadisha’s eyes opened again and she quickly sat up. She looked around the circle, confused. Then her eyes fastened on Wulfston’s.

The eyes were still green, but they blazed with the light of hatred.

It was not Tadisha!

To his horror, he realized that no one else was reacting. Ashuru, Barak, Kamas, all remained in a kind of trance, oblivious to the change in Tadisha.

The look she gave him was rabid. Wulfston had once been called upon to destroy a dog with that look in its eyes, an animal he could not control. He had had to kill it.

But he could not kill Tadisha!

What he Read from the creature facing him, though, was a stranger’s mind awhirl with fragments of memory… and of madness. Incredible emotional agony fed the need to destroy, to kill.

She became unReadable, but not before he realized that the whirlpool of destructive passion could only be-

Z’Nelia!

He jumped to his feet, and so did Tadisha’s body, now a living weapon set to strike him down. A cruel, triumphant smile came to her lips as her arms came up in an unmistakable gesture.

Wulfston braced his Adept powers, hoping all his strength had returned.

“The circle!” cried Ashuru, eyes snapping open. “Don’t break-” A scream choked off her words as Tadisha’s body whirled, lightning streaming from her fingertips as Wulfston Read Ashuru’s agony of recognition that this was not her daughter-too late to protect herself!

Ashuru slumped, burned, and Z’Nelia turned back toward Wulfston.

“Mother!” Kamas gasped, and Wulfston left Ashuru to her sons attentions.

Z’Nelia could use all the force she wanted, and know Wulfston dared not retaliate for fear of harming Tadisha!

Wulfston dropped off the platform to the floor, sending out an Adept command to Z’Nelia to sleep.

A fireball nearly singed his scalp.

Tadishas body was already sleeping; his command had no effect on the evil currently inhabiting it.

Old and feeble as he was, Barak flung himself at Tadisha’s body as she stalked toward the edge of the platform, readying to attack Wulfston again.

When the old man got in her way, she tossed him aside with Adept strength. Wulfston heard the crack of fragile bone snapping as the old man hit the stone floor. One of the candlesticks fell over on him, igniting his robe. Wulfston spared a thought to put out the flame-

But now Tadisha towered above Wulfston, a perfect target that he dared not attack! She reached toward him-

He squatted beside the platform, got his hands under the edges, and lifted.

The next fireball burst against the ceiling.

Tadisha’s body let out a surprised yelp and fell off the platform hard, arms flailing.

More of the tall candlesticks clattered to the floor.

Wulfston frantically looked for cover.

He dived behind the upturned dais, narrowly evading a bolt of Adept lightning that charred even the stone floor.

He peered around the edge as Tadisha’s body lurched to its feet.

Wulfston crouched behind the heavy platform, using Adept strength to roll the unwieldy shield to protect Ashuru and Kamas, who had toppled off when he spilled Z’Nelia.

The dais exploded into fiery shards.

Tadisha’s body faltered, staggering to keep its balance, but there was still terrible hatred in the eyes. Both hands slowly came up to point at Wulfston, and he braced his Adept powers, still not knowing how to defend himself without hurting Tadisha’s body.

He remembered the image of Norgu, Adept strength used up, killing his father’s assassin by flinging the diamond-headed spear with simple muscle power.

Wulfston grabbed for the scattered candlesticks, flinging them one after another at the woman before him. She deflected them, her attention diverted while he thought desperately, needing a solution before he ran out of projectiles or she flung another lightning bolt at him.

Why hadn’t she?

And then he saw. Even in light of the few remaining candles he could see Tadisha’s face turning an unhealthy yellow. Her body staggered more with each bat at an oncoming candlestick. Her movements became weaker, less coordinated-

Blessed gods! Tadisha is no Lady Adept, no great and powerful Mover. Z’Nelia is draining her strength, killing her! I’m killing her! But if I stop, she’ll kill me.

Nonetheless he stopped, realizing even as he did so that there was no longer enough strength in Tadisha’s body for Z’Nelia to seize upon to kill him.

He got up, and grasped her by the arms. “Let her go, Z’Nelia!” he demanded. “Get out of Tadisha’s body. If you harm her, I promise I will hunt you down and kill you with my own hands!”

The green eyes fixed on his, and the mouth grimaced into a parody of Tadisha’s sweet smile. Her hands came up and grasped his arms, nails digging in. “So you do believe in revenge, Beast Lord. You need not hunt for me. We will meet again. And next time, no frail girl will stand between us!”

Suddenly, the hands dropped. Life went out of the eyes and the body slumped backwards. Desperately, Wulfston Read for heartbeat, breathing-and found none.