Tlad shot to his feet. "No!"
The violence of Tlad's reaction penetrated the mental fog enveloping the tery. He rose and padded toward the pair.
"What's in the fifth volume?" Rab asked.
Tlad hesitated, then seemed to reach a decision.
"Volume Five tells of the final days of the Teratol society and how they gathered all their records, their techniques, and their hardware into a huge underground cache. Among the items they hid were the super weapons they used to keep the underclasses in line. Volume Five gives the location of that cache."
Rab too was on his feet now. "And it's on its way to Mekk!"
"If that madman gets his hands on those weapons, there won't be a forest left to hide in. He'll have everything that doesn't bear True Shape — whatever that happens to mean at the time — hunted down and destroyed. And a lot of other things will get destroyed along the way. Maybe everything. Is there any way we can intercept that officer?"
"No," Rab said with a quick shake of his head. "Dennel told me that the messenger was scheduled to leave during the night. He's long out of reach by now."
"Dennel?" Tlad said. "Where is he?"
Rab explained what had happened inside the keep.
Tlad nodded and glanced the tery's way. "I suspected Dennel was up to no good."
"He's not important now," Rab said. "I must know: Where is the cache?"
"If the maps were accurate, right under Mekk's fortress. The Teratols seemed to think it was pretty safe — you had to go through the Hole to get to it."
Rab started. "The Hole? Then it's unquestionably safe."
Tlad said, "Surely the Hole is empty now."
"No. The offspring of the original inhabitants still dwell there — no one dares to let them out. And no one enters the Hole willingly. Don't worry: The cache is safe."
"I wouldn't count on it. If Mekk learns that the Hole stands between him and the power to destroy anything that displeases him, he'll find a way around it or through it. He'll get to that cache."
"Then we're doomed."
"Not if we get there first."
"And they call me crazy," Rab said with a humorless laugh. "How do we do that?"
Tlad tugged at his beard. "I can't say. I'm from the coast. I don't know much about Mekk's fortress."
"You certainly know your way around the forest."
"I live in the forest now — I'm a potter, not a fisherman. But there must be some way we can get into the fortress and retrieve that book."
"There is none, I assure you. Mekk dwells in mortal fear of assassination — that's why he's postponed his inspection tour of the provinces so many times. The walls of his fortress are sheer and high — not even our tery friend could scale them."
"How about the main gate? There's got to be traffic in and out of the fortress."
"All civilians must have passes to enter the fortress, and all are sent home at dusk. Mekk's tower is surrounded by troopers day and night. There are no chinks in his armor. I'm afraid we're lost."
"No," Tlad said with a certainty that seemed unfounded, "We're not lost. Every stronghold has at least one weak spot. I'll find it."
He turned and hurried off into the trees.
— XVI-
The psi-folk arrived soon after Tlad's departure, and it was a silently joyous event. They all recognized Rab by his Talent and crowded around him, slapping him on the shoulders and back. Adriel was laid on a drag and had regained consciousness by the time they all returned to the camp area that evening. Rab, Komak, Adriel, and the tery sat apart during the celebratory feast that followed.
Rab gestured to the tery, who had not strayed from Adriel's side during the entire journey, and now listened intently to the conversation.
"This is quite a fellow you have here."
"That he is," Komak agreed.
Rab had made sure to impress upon all the importance of the tery's role in Adriel's rescue. He pressed the point again.
"I can't say it often enough: If not for this fellow, Adriel and I would still be locked within the keep, and the rest of you would be dead at the base of the walls."
"I know," Komak said. "I never thought he would amount to much when Tlad convinced me to bring him into the camp, but he's certainly proved me wrong. He's a smart one — smarter than some humans I've known."
"Is that so?" Rab’s his eyes danced as a smile showed through his freshly washed and trimmed beard. "And you say Tlad was responsible for bringing him into camp?"
"You know Tlad?"
"We've met. A most interesting man. I'm anxious to meet him again. We've many things to discuss. But getting back to our friend here — do you have a name for him, Adriel?"
The girl shook her head carefully; she had complained of a throbbing pain in both temples since awakening.
"No. I was waiting to find a name I like for him but never got around to deciding. He's always been just ‘the tery.’ "
"Then I shall take the liberty of naming him for you. Do you object?"
Adriel did not appear to be in a condition to object to much of anything.
"No. Go ahead," she said. "I could never make up my mind what to call him."
"Good," Rab said, seizing the opportunity. "Then I shall name him Jon."
"Jon is a man's name," Komak said. It was more of an observation than an objection.
"He shall be Jon, nonetheless."
Jon, the tery thought. He liked that name.
— XVII-
Two days later, when Adriel was well enough to travel, Rab assumed the role of leader with Komak’s grateful blessing.
"Which way shall we move?" As always, Komak spoke aloud when Adriel was present.
Jon, the tery, hovered nearby, listening.
"Eastward. That will take us further away from Kitru's realm."
"But it will also bring us closer to Mekk's fortress."
"I know," Rab said.
"Is that safe?"
"Don't worry, Komak. I fully intend to keep a respectful distance between our people and the Overlord's legions. But I'm formulating a plan. It's not fully developed yet. When it is, I'll let you know all the details. Trust me."
"You know I do. We all do."
Later, when Rab wandered off to a secluded spot where they could meet and talk, Jon asked him why he hadn't told the Talents about the cache under Mekk's fortress.
"I don't want to frighten them. Some of them may panic and scatter. That will serve no purpose. We must stick together…and we must have a purpose. Our days of blind flight are over. Our future is tied to what lies hidden under that fortress. So we've got to deal with the problem of Mekk now or spend the rest of our lives on the run."
"How?"
"I don't know…yet. But I sense that our enigmatic friend Tlad will find that elusive weak spot in Mekk's defenses. And when he does, he'll need help. I want us to be nearby to supply that help."
"Why does Tlad want to help Talents and teries?" Jon asked. The question had been troubling him.
"I don't know. Do you trust him?"
Jon nodded. "I owe him my life."
"Then you have good reason to trust him. I have no such reason, yet something within tells me that the fate of the Talents is in some way tied to Tlad and — stranger still — to you, Jon."
Jon was startled. "What can I do?"
"I don't know. But I feel constrained to keep all the pieces at hand until the puzzle can be solved. But as to the here and now," he said, shifting the subject, "I notice you've been avoiding Adriel."
"Yes," was all Jon could say.
Once he had assured himself that she was fully recovered from the drugs, he had kept his distance.