Even as he took Master Clement's arm to help him into the well-protected chamber, the attacking savages sent their power thundering against the tower itself. Pure mental energy shook the very stone about them.
//What are they doing?// Lenardo wondered.
//Wasting their energies, let us hope,// replied Master Clement.
The two men entered the chamber and lay down on the comfortable couches. They would be sending then- minds out now to guide the troops in battle; then: bodies must be left secure behind.
The routine was already old to Lenardo. He removed his boots and stretched out, carefully composing his long limbs so that no part of his body placed pressure on another, no wrinkle of clothing threatened to cut off circulation. The process took only moments, but Master Clement was already waiting when Lenardo's consciousness left his body.
With no physical sensations to distract, the two men began to Read the battle. The savage warriors had already broken through the town's defenses, and the townspeople were retreating to the stronger-walled academy grounds. The academy, however, was the target. It had been attacked before, but never with such numbers, in such a determined effort!
//Tell Tiberium!// instructed Master Clement, then concentrated his efforts on guiding their troops strategically.
Lenardo reached out impatiently, not wanting to deliver messages when he was needed for defense. But the Master was right:-the central government at Tiberium must know that the savages were trying to push the empire's borders back once more-and it looked as if they might succeed!
Concentrating on the academy at Tiberium, Lenardo found himself "there," a faint consciousness floating in the courtyard where young women were practicing the intricacies of an ever-changing dance. The academy at Tiberium was female, as the one at Adigia was male. Briefly touching the minds of those in the courtyard, he found that Portia was not among them. Reading outward, almost at the limit of his strength to hold himself a single entity, he found her in meditation, her thoughts directed inward, not Reading.
Once he had found his object, Lenardo could focus on her, no longer fearing his consciousness would dissipate. How to get her attention? Again traitorous envy suggested, A savage would tug her sleeve or pull her hair. But he was no savage; he had no such power, and would not use it if he had. Besides, a savage could not Read.
//Portia!//
No response. She was the strongest and most skilled of Readers; thus her barriers were the most firm against intrusion. However, she would be sensitive to a concerted attempt to intrude, from a strong and practiced mind. So he mentally shouted at her, seeking over and over to Read her with all his strength… until at last she yielded to irritation and dropped her barriers for a moment to Read who was pestering her.
//Lenardo!// She Read instantly that he was not physically near-even if he had been before her, she would not have recognized his face, as they had never seen one another. Portia's warm greeting was tinged with apprehension. //Why do you contact me?//
//We are under attack here at Adigia. You must ask the emperor for more troops.//
//They are attempting to push back the border again? Or do they seek to take the academy?//
//Both, I think. Portia, we may be able to hold them oft for a few days, but I Read a huge assembly of troops massed in the mountains. They will take us if we do not get help.//
//May the gods protect you, Lenardo. A Reader of your skill should not be left amid the dangers of a border town. Go back now, and tell Master Clement that Portia says an army will be on its way to you by nightfall, or she will take up sword and march to your defense herself.//
//The gods bless you for your help, Portia.// Lenardo withdrew regretfully from Portia's presence. As often as he had contacted her, the Master of Masters among Readers, he had never dared to Read her exterior. Her abilities were renowned throughout the empire. She had to be older than Master Clement, yet confronted with the power and compassion of that vigorous mind, Lenardo could not envision her as an old woman. He could not envision her at all.
Perhaps it was for the best that by law male and female Reader could never meet face to face, unless one or both had been declared unfit for the two highest ranks.
The familiar thoughts flitted through Lenardo's mind in the brief moment it took him to return his conscious presence to the Adigia Academy chamber. Master Clement was Reading the battle, guiding the Readers who led the defenses. Lenardo Read with him briefly, touching Torio's strong mind, the thought coming unbidden, He could be trained to take my place here, were I sent to Tiberium.
But then he had no time for personal thoughts. The battle raged at the very gates of the academy. People rushed to put out fires in two wooden outbuildings. Fire was one of the savages' most potent weapons-but they had to see the target to start the blaze. If they could Read, as well as thrust their powers outward, the empire would be doomed.
Only because they could not Read was it possible to defend against them. As another fire appeared on the roof of the bath house, Lenardo directed young Silvius to it. Silvius led a contingent of townsmen, the gruff men and women following the boy's direction without hesitation- nobody questioned a Reader in battle.
Another blow struck the ancient stone keep, shaking it to its foundations. But it only shook-that savage tactic might tumble a wooden barn, but it was a waste of strength against a building of stone, partly carved from the living mountain rock. Why were they doing it? The Readers speculated that the Adepts among the savages used enormous amounts of physical energy in such blows. They must deplete themselves, for if they could continue that kind of effort indefinitely, they could destroy anything. No one knew their exact limitations.
The blow came again. Why? What was the sense of pounding away at the keep? Lenardo tried to Read the Adepts who were striking against the stone building. As he did so, he caught a faint touch of familiar presence. Shock rang through him but was dispelled by the content of the thought he perceived: //… flaw directly beneath the keep tower. Direct your power low, right at the fault.//
A Reader! A Reader directing the savages! Relaying that horrifying news to Master Clement, Lenardo sent his mind deep beneath the keep, Reading the stresses in the very stone of the mountain. A fault! Centuries of gravitational shifting had produced slippage of rock layers deep under the ground. It was safe enough, though, unmovable by anything short of an earthquake-or the kind of pounding the savages were now inflicting.
//Master Clement! The savages will bring the academy down about our ears!//
The Master Read with him, and Lenardo felt infinite sadness in the old man at the impending destruction. But neither man took time for sorrow-both began at once to broadcast the alarm. //The keep will fall! Get the children out! Take shelter outside, against the walls!//
Immediately, everyone inside the ancient stone building was on the move-except Lenardo and Master Clement. //Return to your body, my son,// said the old Master.
//And you, Master. Hurry! I will help you out through the passage.//
//No. This is the end of the Adigia Academy. I have lived a full life. It is fitting that it end here, defending the academy to the last. Lenardo-I appoint you Master.//
//No!//
//Yes. You have authority now. Help the Readers to escape. They must not be taken! Especially the youngest ones-the ones our enemy could force to work for them. Find a way to get the boys out if you can, Lenardo. Build a new academy. Go now-I shall stay and direct until the battle ends.//
Until they destroy your body, thought Lenardo, but he blocked the thought and his sorrow. //The gods protect you, Master Clement. I shall revere you always as my teacher.//