He thought of waking Dirdra, but suspected that the dog was a much better guardian than she could be.
And something told him that a rapport had formed-from this point on, the great gray dog was his.
Sometime later, though, Torio woke alone. The sun was high in the sky. His companions were asleep-unharmed. For a moment Torio wondered if the incident with the animal had been a dream-
but no, there was the empty napkin that had wrapped his cheese, and half his bread was gone as well.
Furthermore, his blankets now sported a coating of wiry gray hairs.
He Read out beyond their camp, and found no sign of people. The dog was almost a mile away, following some kind of trail.
Torio turned his attention to his companions. Melissa woke when he Read her, and got up, stretching and yawning. She curled her lip. “Auf! I stink! We all do-and there’s no place to wash.”
“Sorry-this was the best camp I could find last night,” said Torio.
“I’m not complaining,” she replied. “I certainly was no help. You and Dirdra did very well, considering.”
At the mention of her name, Dirdra woke, all apologies for having fallen asleep without waking Torio first. “We could have been murdered in our beds!”
“Eaten alive, rather,” Torio told her.
“What?”
“You’ll see-I think.”
He was right. Melissa examined Torio’s wounds, which, although only partly healed, had stopped hurting.
Astra wakened and decided to wake Zanos to feed him, touching him on the forehead between the eyes-the only safe way to wake an Adept. By the time the gladiator had shaken off his drowsiness, the dog returned.
He brought back a rabbit, laid it at Torio’s feet, and sat grinning at him proudly, tongue lolling out one side of his giant mouth.
The other four travelers stared as Torio patted the animal on the head. “I hate to tell you this, boy, but Readers are vegetarians.”
“Adepts aren’t!” said Zanos. “Where’d you get that creature, Torio?”
“He came in the middle of the night, and decided to adopt me,” Torio replied, taking the rabbit and handing it to the gladiator. “I think we’d better share this with him, though.” And as they built a fire to cook the rabbit and make tea, he told what had happened.
“It was Maldek again,” said Dirdra. “I was too upset to sleep-but he must have made me. And then sent this beast to murder us.”
“Don’t blame the dog,” said Torio. “He’s just a poor stray that’s been trying to survive since his master died. Look how he responded to a little bread and cheese.”
“Fine animal,” agreed Zanos. “They choose people, you know. People Ahink they choose the dogs, but it’s not so. The dog trainer at the arena used to tell me that only when the dog chose the man would they make a good team in the ring. You know how-? No, of course you never went to the games. But sometimes you’d swear man and dog were Reading one another.”
Torio grinned. “This one’s a Reader, all right- that’s how I got through to him this morning.”
“Really?” asked Melissa. “Here, boy!” she projected, as Torio had done.
But the huge dog didn’t stir, just sat staring at Torio. Out of curiosity, he projected, “Go ahead,” and the image of Melissa petting the animal. At once the dog got up and walked over to Melissa, and let her scratch his shaggy head.
But he would take his orders only from Torio. Even when Zanos offered him the rabbit’s entrails, he looked to Torio for permission before accepting food from anyone else. “He’s chosen you, all right,” said Zanos. “Now you’ll have to name him.”
“He probably has a name,” said Torio. “What’s your name, boy? What did your master call you?”
The dog understood only that Torio was asking something of him-he didn’t understand what. So he dropped to the ground, looking up at Torio from under his eyebrows. When that was not the answer, he sat up and offered a hoof-sized paw. Torio took it, and patted him on the head. “You’re trying to please me-I understand. But I want to know what to call you.”
The dog tilted his head to one side, listening intently, frustrated that he could not make out what his new master wanted.
So Torio tried projecting to the dog the image of a man calling to him-the dog too far away to see his master, but hearing-what? What did he hear that caused him to stop what he was doing and run to the man?
And all the Readers heard it plain as could be in the dog’s mind: “Gray!”
Torio laughed. “Gray! Good boy, Gray!” The dog grinned in delight, and almost knocked Torio over as his tail wagged the whole rest of his body. “Your master wasn’t very original, but he loved you, didn’t he?”
Again Gray didn’t understand, but this time he knew it didn’t matter-he had found his person, and he was happy.
It was late morning by the time the travelers set out once more, wending their way through dense forest until nearly sunset. Gray loped alongside Torio’s horse most of the way, sometimes running off to trail interesting scents, sometimes leaping ahead, but it was clear he would stay with his new master.
Although the Readers remained alert, there were no new trials. When they came to a small creek at midafternoon, despite the chill air they stripped off their gory outer garments and washed them as clean as they could-until one of their group dared waste Adept powers on such a trivial task, some of the stains would remain permanent. But at least the smell was washed away.
As long as they had stopped, they ate while their clothes dried, and Zanos, whose wound was still bothering him, napped.
“Dirdra,” asked Melissa, “exactly what are orbu?”
“They were people once,” the Maduran woman answered. “The sorcerers steal their souls, and make their bodies do their bidding.”
Astra shivered. “That’s exactly what they felt like!”
Dirdra looked down at the bread she had been eating, and set it aside. “Maldek has made thousands of them. When the peasants would not give him in tribute the food they needed to feed their children, he took one out of every family, made him orbu, and left him living with his family, working the fields-someone they loved there beside them every day, eating and drinking and resting, but… dead!”
“Mindless,” Melissa agreed.
“He has ruined our land,” said Dirdra. “The orbu live only for a year or two. The first ones he set on us yesterday-they would have been dead in a few weeks anyway. They feel no pain. They simply go on doing as the sorcerer directs until they drop-or until they are killed as we killed those who attacked us.
But Maldek has made so many, now there are not enough living people to till the fields and pay his tribute. He… seems to have learned that lesson, or else he has so much treasure in his castle now that he thinks he needs no more. At least for the past year or two he has stopped demanding tribute in goods, and has stopped turning masses of people orbu.
“Now he uses it more as an individual threat- and he demands a different tribute.” She raised her eyes, flashing green fire. “I was the tribute he demanded from our village. He has turned other women orbu to serve him, but I think he has tired of that now. He was determined that I serve him freely-but I would not! He is evil! And I have brought his evil down upon you, who have become my friends.”
“He’s holding your brother hostage,” said Torio. “Dirdra, we consider you our friend, as well. We’re going to do everything we can to help you set your brother free.”
She shook her head. “It is no use. Maldek holds in thrall too many with powers. Everyone fears him, for his own powers are greater than those of any Master Sorcerer in memory. He will take you, and toy with you like some great black cat-and then he will devour you!”
The sun was setting when they reached the northern edge of the forest, only a few miles from the city. By mutual consent, they rode on, planning to stay in the city overnight, and find out what they could about Maldek’s castle in the morning.