At that Tadisha squared her shoulders. “Then, Mother, you know what we must do. What I must do.
When the fate of our people is in the balance-”
“It is too dangerous!” hissed Ashuru, with a scowl at Wulfston.
“Princess Tadisha, what do you propose to do?” he asked.
“Seek a Vision of the future,” she replied.
“You can produce prophecies on demand?” he asked in surprise. Lenardo’s flashes of precognition came without warning, as did Torio’s verbal predictions. Neither man could control the gift.
“It is a most exhausting procedure,” said Tadisha, “and does not always provide answers. However, with the Savishnon preparing to attack, Norgu refusing to help us, and your presence an unexpected factor, I must attempt it.” She looked at her mother as if defying her to produce a reason not to.
And Asburu did. “Tadisha, you would risk your life. Since the routing of the Savishnon at Johara, too many Seers who have left their bodies have never returned.”
“Only those who sought to See into the Dead Lands,” Tadisha protested.
“Not entirely,” said Barak. “I have heard tales of those being lost who merely sought to See at a great distance. Things are being Hidden, even from the Sight. Let beware any who trespass, even unintentionally, into areas that are Guarded.”
Ashuru stared at the Grioka. “Barak, am I correct that you were as surprised as the rest of us at the vision Norgu brought of the Savishnon gathering north of the great lake?”
“You are correct. No one had told of it in my presence before.”
“Yet Seers of all tribes have kept watch on the movements of the Savishnon. Until now.”
“If Savishnon Seers have ensnared other Seers trying to spy on them, how did Norgu do it?” Wulfston asked. “The way he uses his Mover’s powers, he can’t be much of a Seer.”
“I think,” Barak said reflectively, “that the Vision was not through Norgu. He Saw it through another Seer. Forgive me, it did not occur to me at the time to seek to know. When I am next in his presence, I will discover it.’
“What else do you not know, Barak-or have you withheld from us?” Ashuru asked.
“I do not know the future,” the Grioka replied with transcendent dignity.
The Karili queen stared at him. “Do you say I am wrong, Barak? Would you have Tadisha risk her life seeking this Vision?”
From sunken depths, Barak’s eyes fixed on Wulfston. “Queen Ashuru, everything I know of Lord Wulfston agrees with the reassurances he gives. But a man may change his mind without breaking his word.”
“Indeed,” said Ashuru, her eyes flicking from Wulfston to Tadisha and back again.
“We must know whether to accept Lord Wulfston’s offer,” said Barak. “Queen Ashuru, you must surely realize that this man will not go home without his brother. If he must, he will go alone to his rescue. He could be captured and used by Norgu, Z’Nelia, or the Savishnon. He could simply fail in the rescue, and blame you for refusing to aid him. Or he could find other allies.”
“There is no guarantee that a Ceremony of Vision will give us the answers we seek,” said Ashuru, “but it will risk my daughter’s life.”
“We can minimize the risk,” said Bark, “and at the same time increase our chances of obtaining knowledge. Tadisha has the power of Vision very strongly, but you also have it, Ashuru. Enter the Vision with her-and so will I. Possibly my powers will enable us to find out what we seek.”
The queen nodded slowly, reluctantly. “Yes, we can at least provide an anchor for Tadisha’s spirit, lessen the danger of her being lost. My daughter?”
“You know I am willing, Mother.”
“I want to be there,” said Wulfston.
“No,” Ashuru replied. “You know nothing of our ways. You could distract Tadisha at a crucial moment.”
“Barak.” Wulfston looked straight into the old man’s eyes. “I have worked with Readers hundreds of times, and never distracted them. As a matter of fact, I once participated in a circle of power that drew a Master Reader’s mind back to his body when it had been wandering, lost, for days. Verify that I will not distract you.”
A small smile curved the Grioka’s lips. “How quickly you have learned to use me, Lord Wulfston. You know that if you demand it, I must tell Queen Ashuru that you speak the truth.”
“It makes no difference,” said Ashuru. “I do not want you there.”
— I do.”
Ashuru’s head turned sharply as she stared at her
daughter.
Tadisha continued, “Lord Wulfston is the subject of the Ceremony of Vision, and I am the Seeker. It is my decision.”
Wulfston was fast learning the negative aspects of Reading; Ashuru made no attempt to conceal her cold fury, but she was trapped. “Very well, Tadisha. Now, we must prepare.”
Wulfston did not know what the preparations were for the Seekers. The two women and Barak went off to the temple, while Kamas was called upon to be Wulfston’s host for a hearty meal. Studying the heavily laden board, Wulfston asked, “When will the ceremony take place?”
“It will begin at midnight,” Kamas replied.
“May I trust you, Kamas?”
The younger man studied him. “To do what?”
“To wake me in time to dress and make any other preparations. Are you a Mover?”
“To a degree, although my Seeing powers are greater. I may be called upon for either function tonight.”
“You know that I am primarily a Mover,” said Wulfston. “If I eat well of the meal you have provided, especially the meat, my body will seek healing sleep, because there is still poison in my blood.”
“Poison? Oh, you mean the kleg. It is not a poison, Lord Wulfston. It does no lasting harm. In proper dosage, it inhibits the powers of either a Mover or a Seer.”
“It rendered me unconscious, twice,” Wulfston reminded him.
Kamas nodded. “In a large dose it does that to anybody. We had to make certain we could capture you the first time, and after you regained consciousness Laruna overdosed you accidentally when the small dose she first gave you did not prevent you from Seeing. We meant you no permanent harm, but Norgu had said you were extremely dangerous.”
“I am. But only to those who attack me first.”
“Then you are a danger to Tadisha.”
“No. She feared I had come to attack your people. I mean her no harm-nor you, Prince Kamas. And I understand your situation perfectly.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have just reached manhood, but have years yet before you will attain the height of your powers. As a man, you feel you should be a protector to your sister, but because she is older, her powers and experience are greater than yours. There are times when you resent her strength, and times when she resents your efforts to protect her.”
Kames stared at him. “How can you know that? Have you some of the Grioka’s talent-or are you that great a Seer?”
“Neither.” Wulfston laughed. “I’m younger brother to a very powerful Lady Adept!”
For one moment Kamas glared at him-and then broke into a grin. “Just don’t tell me things will be better in a few years.”
“All right, I won’t. But may I tell you that things got better between Aradia and me as our age difference came to mean less an less?”
Kamas nodded thoughtfully. “Yes-at least that’s more encouraging than the stuff of legends. Savishna and Shangonu are still fighting, as they have been since the world was new.”
“The two gods?” Wulfston asked. “You worship Shangonu, I understand, and the Savishnon-”
“Savishna, the war god. They are gods, of course, and so can take either sex if they have reason to assume a form recognizable to men. But it is said that Savishna is most terrible in the form of an avenging woman. Her warriors declare themselves faithful to her, and will not touch a human woman until they have won the territory she commands them to take. They lost the battle at Johara four years ago, because of a woman, a rival to Savishna. Savishna is not a forgiving god.”