“Let him go,” said Astra. “He has dreamed of coming back for so long, and finding his home still here, his brother still alive. Now he must come to terms with the reality.”
“Maldek did it on purpose!” Dirdra said angrily, the only one who had not experienced the vision. “He must have Read what Zanos was searching for-and he brought us right here, just to hurt him!”
“He said we would each find what we came looking for,” said Melissa. “At least Zanos came with the knowledge that it was possible he would find his home exactly like this.”
But some time later, leaving the women to get ready for their journey, Torio went out to find Zanos.
The gladiator sat huddled in his cloak, on one of the mounds of stone on the beach. He was unReadable, using his Adept powers to keep warm. Wordlessly, Torio handed him leggings and boots.
Under that gray sky, even Zanos’ fire-red hair seemed faded. The drizzling rain obscured the cottages from the beach. Torio stopped visualizing, wondering how nonReaders coped by sight alone on such days-it was less depressing, too, merely to Read where he was going by the “feel” of it, without having to see the bleakness of the seascape.
Even the waves pounding the shore sounded desolate in Torio’s ears. Zanos, though, had recovered some of his optimism. “I knew it might be like this,” he said. “Just because no one’s living here anymore, that doesn’t mean my brother isn’t living somewhere else. I didn’t see him die-he had the strength to run away from the slavers. Men have recovered from such wounds. Since our home is gone, it will simply be harder to find him, that’s all.”
And Torio felt the sea wind whip through his cloak again as the roar of the waves sounded for a moment more like the rumbling of doom, bearing down upon them in their helpless darkness. Yet… “When you find your brother,” he said, “he will have his hand again.”
Zanos stared at him. “Is that-?”
“Yes. I don’t know how I know it, and I don’t know any more than what I just told you… but you will find your brother.”
The gladiator managed a small smile. “Thank you, Torio… even though I somehow knew that much myself.”
But then Melissa called, “Torio! Zanos! We’re ready!” and the two men joined the three women for the long, weary journey to the town Torio had found.
Everything went amazingly as planned. Although they were all weary when they arrived-especially the three with Adept powers, who had shored everyone up along the way-there were actually rooms at the inn, and Torio and Dirdra were able to haggle down the price of horses so that all could ride in the morning.
After a good meal, they retired to their rooms just as most people were arriving at the inn. Dirdra took the first watch-on the assumption that if anyone planned to attack them, it would be later, when it was more likely for travelers to be asleep. After four hours, she woke Torio, for the Adepts were the ones who needed to restore their energies.
He Read all secure-suspiciously so. Had Maldek forgotten them? Been distracted by something else?
Or was it part of his game to give them this time to recover? Possibly he had some notion of fair play, or simply lost interest if his opposition were too easy to defeat. Torio longed to go out of body to spy on Maldek, but dared not do so without someone guarding his body. So he Read as far as he could, and waited.
Whatever the reason, absolutely nothing happened that night, and in the morning the travelers ate a hearty breakfast and set off on the road north to the capital city.
It was a two-day ride-and Torio could Read no place to break their journey except within the forest.
Although there were many people on the road when they left the seacoast town, the farther north they traveled the fewer people they saw, and the worse the road became.
They had bought some more layers of warm clothing before leaving town, and today the sun shone, although the breeze was brisk. Once they were a few miles away from the sea wind, they were actually comfortable on their ride. Everyone cheered up.
Until they entered the forest. It loomed abruptly, like a wall across the road ahead-although once they got there they could see the road disappearing into it. Huge trees cut off the sun, and met above the roadway-which in many places was overgrown to a narrow path where they had to ride single-file.
Dense undergrowth spread in every direction, and beneath the canopy of trees the sunny day became dim as twilight.
The Readers kept a watch for dangers, and for the proper trail, for there were often forks and byways.
Off in the woods, a few deer fled at the sound of their passage, but wolves and bears sniffed the air and listened, deciding whether they were hungry enough to risk attacking.
Although he Read no people in the forest, Torio was reminded powerfully of a journey he had made with Wulfston over a year ago, when the roads between Zendi and Wulfston’s lands were not yet free of bandits. Noticing Dirdra shivering, not with cold but with apprehension, he said, “Don’t worry-you’re with Readers and Adepts. We can handle wild animals, or anything else that comes along.” And, to pass the weary miles, he began to tell of the adventure he had had that day with Wulfston.
As he and Wulfston rode through the glorious spring afternoon, Torio Read carefully ahead. Nothing difficult lay before them; the streams had calmed from their recent torrents, and they could relax and enjoy a pleasant ride.
Suddenly, though, something out of the ordinary impinged on Torio’s contentment. “Wulfston- there’s a band of men waiting in that wood ahead of us.”
“Can you Read anything about them? Fear? Anger?”
“Some of both. They haven’t seen us yet… but we’re what they’re waiting for. It’s an ambush!”
“Foolish!” said Wulfston. “You’d think they’d know by now that with a Reader to guide him, a Lord Adept is practically invulnerable. Do you recognize anyone?”
“No-not your people. Hill bandits, from their dress. They might be waiting to try to take any travelers who come along.”
“They probably don’t know you’re a Reader, even if they’ve recognized me.” The black Adept knew well how conspicuous he was. “Are they on both sides of the road?”
“Yes.” Torio explained how far ahead their would-be attackers were, and watched as Wulfston concentrated.
Torio didn’t know what the Adept would do. He must find a way to work with nature, not waste his strength working against her, for they had spent the morning aiding flatlands villagers to dig a well to water their fields in the dry season, Torio guiding and Wulfston using his Adept power to break through rock layers and hold back the debris so that the villagers could shovel it out without hindrance. The Adept had used considerable power, but had taken only a meal and a short rest before they started for home.
Torio feared Wulfston would use fire against their ambushers-it was one of the first powers he had learned to use as a child, and once started, it would take on a life of its own.
But the woods were full of new growth, baby animals-
Before Torio could draw breath to protest against fire, he Read that Wulfston had called upon a different power. On one side of the road, a mother bear stood up and sniffed the air, scenting the gathered bandits as danger to her cubs. She began lumbering in their direction as on the other side a pair of wolves herded their young into their den and set off at a lope toward the second group of hiding men.
Ordinarily, both bear and wolves would have ignored the men near the road, for the animals were not hungry and the men had made no actual move toward their cubs. But under Wulfston’s strange power to
“call” animals, they moved swiftly through the underbrush.
Wulfston urged his horse forward, Torio following.
The bear broke through the brush behind the first group and rose to her full height with a growl. Horses shied and men panicked, dashing for the road as across from them the pair of wolves raced between the legs of the other gang’s horses, nipping and snarling.