It was not Torio who had persuaded Wulfston not to track down all the outlaws and summarily execute them. It was Jareth, his chief adviser from among his newly inherited people, who had pointed out that under Drakonius’ rule many, many people had been so plundered as to be left with little choice except to prey on others to survive. While the majority had returned gratefully to honest work at Wulfston’s invitation, there were enough suspicious ones that nearly everyone had kin or friend still outlaw.
Wholesale slaughter of the hill bandits might well have turned hesitantly loyal followers against Wulfston once again.
Torio had agreed with Jareth, although for a Reader’s reasons: enduring the pain and death of other people turned any Reader against violence as a solution to violence.
After today’s experience, though, he wondered if he could have been wrong. Might there have been less suffering in the long run had the bandits been permanently eliminated? They had obviously taken Wulfston’s decision as a sign of weakness. How many other bands of minor Adepts were there? What would they learn from what had happened today?
At least they would be easier to find in the future. This trip to Zendi was to meet with some of the Readers who walked the Path of the Dark Moon-those who had not the strength or skill to attain the rank of Magister or Master, but whose numbers had formerly made them the eyes and ears of an empire.
Wulfston intended to offer them his protection and a comfortable living in exchange for their forming such a network in his land.
Today, though, there was only Torio. Having determined that there were no other bandits hiding within a day’s ride in Wulfston’s lands, he Read along the little-used trail to the north, out beyond the border.
There, in the rough terrain where the chain of hills became the foothills of mighty mountains, Torio found a camp. There must have been two hundred people, men, women, and children living in makeshift shelters, tents, covered wagons, and pine-branch lean-tos. It was a sort of semipermanent community which could easily pack up and move-as they seemed to be preparing to do soon.
The camp buzzed with excitement and expectation. Torio had no trouble Reading what was on every mind: within the next few days their leaders would return to tell them they had killed the upstart Wulfston, and they would move in and take over his lands, turning them into an outlaw kingdom where they could live at ease, plundering the foolish ones who still toiled in the fields.
No one here knew that their leaders, those with some Adept powers, lay dead in the quarry far inside Wulfston’s lands. Not one had escaped to tell the tale.
Torio knew that, leader less, they would probably break up again into small outlaw bands… until they could coerce some other minor Adepts to try once more to unite against one lone Lord Adept. At least that was what he told Lenardo when he contacted him in Zendi a few minutes later.
He let Lenardo Read the day’s experience directly from his mind, and then waited for his mentor’s comments.
“You’ve done very well, Torio,” Lenardo told him. “Not long ago you would have come to me immediately, instead of searching for the outlaw camp with your own powers.”
“But what should we do about them?” Torio asked.
Lenardo had left his wife and daughter to entertain Lilith and her son Ivorn, who had just arrived. Now he was in his study, at the table which he and Aradia used for a desk. He selected a map. “The camp is not in our territory. I do not know whether one of the Lords Adept to the north of us considers that area his, or whether everyone leaves that terrain to bandits and wanderers. I don’t think that camp will break up for a few days-they have no way of knowing what happened to their attack force until they send someone to investigate. You found no sign of Readers among them? Somehow they found out that Wulfston would be traveling without a retinue.”
“No Readers,” Torio told him with total certainly. “Spies in Zendi would have heard we were expected, and then it would have been easy enough for just one person to watch Wulfston’s castle to see whether people gathered to form a retinue. And he’s known for avoiding unnecessary ceremony* Besides, I should think that since it’s an alliance of Readers with Adepts that has made their life difficult as bandits, they’d be even more distrustful of Readers than most savages.”
Lenardo smiled. “Who are the savages, Torio? Anybody who isn’t us?” But he obviously didn’t expect an answer. “Get some rest. I’ll Read the outlaw camp in the morning, to make sure they’re not planning to move before we can decide what to do about them.”
“All right, as soon as I’ve reported to Rolf what happened today-Wulfston’s household must think we’re with you by now, unless the watchers have reported otherwise. And if they have, they’ll be worried about us.”
“Good thinking-always be considerate of those who depend on you.”
So Torio withdrew-and then sought the opposite direction, back to the castle where he and Wulfston had begun their journey. It was still early evening; Rolf was just finishing a consulation with local farmers concerning the amount of rain needed in the next week.
Rolf, like Torio, had been born blind, but with a single Adept power: control of weather. Then last summer, with the help of Torio and Melissa, he had learned to Read. Now, although he would never have Torio’s abilities, he no longer used a stick to find his way around, nor required anyone to guide him.
Even with only limited Reading power, he was happy with his newfound independence.
At the moment, he was the only Reader at Wulfston’s castle. He could never have Read to the stonecutter’s cottage where Torio was, but a stronger Reader could always contact a weaker one. When Torio touched Rolfs mind, the other boy quickly responded, “Have you reached Zendi already?”
“No, but both Wulfston and I are unhurt.”
Only after that reassurance did he explain what had happened.
“How could anyone want to attack you and Lord Wulfston?” Rolf asked in genuine bewilderment.
“Lord Torio, you and Wulfston must not travel without a retinue again.”
“We’ll worry about that some other time. What you must do now is watch for spies around the castle.
Somebody knew when Wulfston would be traveling, and that he and I would be alone. That person probably left the area when we did-but be alert for other strangers, Rolf. If one band of malcontents could hatch such a plot, it’s always possible there could be others.”
“Yes, my lord,” Rolf told him, and Torio knew security would be redoubled. So when he broke contact and returned to his body, he was able to relax in the knowledge that he had done everything he had to, and fall asleep-only to toss and turn with nightmares that disappeared when he woke, shaking, with a haunting sense of guilt.
When Wulfston and Torio reached Zendi the next day, everyone in their circle already knew what had happened, and agreed that something had to be done about the outlaw band. “If nothing else,” said Aradia, “we must make an example of them, so that no one else decides we are easy prey.”
She hugged her brother, a striking visual contrast between the small, pale woman with hair so light a blond it looked white in some lights, and the tall black man who called her sister. Wulfston at least looked strong. Aradia’s apparent frailty belied the incredible Adept powers at her command, for she was in the prime of her powers and still growing-as was Lenardo.
Wulfston had been adopted by Aradia’s father when his Adept powers manifested in early childhood.
The two children had somehow grown up best of friends, closer than many siblings by blood. There were still times when Wulfston knew better than Lenardo how to cope with Aradia’s willfulness.
The group of people who together ruled the Savage Empire had grown to include Lenardo, Aradia, Wulfston, Torio, Melissa, Lilith, Ivorn, and Master Clement, who had been teacher to both Lenardo and Torio. Melissa was not there when they arrived; she was at the hospital set up here in Zendi so that the most seriously ill or injured need not be taken all the way to Gaeta for expert care. A Reader grown up in an Academy, like Torio, she had already been a skilled healer when she learned to use Adept powers, and now her ability to cure was almost miraculous.