“And that is why you are up,” Wulfston observed. “It’s all your responsibility until your mother is well.”
He was painfully reminded of Aradia taking over rule of their lands, when their father slid inexorably into coma.
“Yes,” Tadisha replied simply.
“Let Kamas do it,” said Wulfston. “Where is he?”
“Still sleeping. He did not go to bed until he had verified that no one was coming to attack us in our vulnerable state.”
“If it’s safe for Kamas to sleep, then it’s safe for you. You should have had your meal brought to you, Tadisha, and gone right back to sleep.”
“I know that now, she replied wearily. “I wouldn’t be much good to anyone”- a yawn interrupted her words — “as tired as I still am.”
But before Tadisha could find the energy to leave the table, Kamas joined them. He wa? tense, but otherwise restored, for he had neither been injured nor used Adept powers. “Our healers commend your skill, Lord Wulfston. How is it that a warrior is trained in healing?”
“Isn’t that the custom here?” Wulfston asked. “At home, the most powerful Adepts are also the best healers.”
“It makes a Mover popular with the people, but it also weakens his powers. You Saw what happened to Norgu’s father.”
Wulfston smiled sadly. “Unfortunately, most Lords Adept in the Savage Lands felt as you do before our Alliance. We can only hope that the future proves our ways right.”
Before he allowed himself to fall asleep that night, Wulfston braced his Adept powers as Lenardo had suggested. If he dreamed, he did not remember it, and in the morning he woke with the sun, refreshed and eager to act.
He would not invade anyone’s privacy this morning, so he assumed that Tadisha and Kamas were still sleeping until a servant came to him. “Queen Ashuru is awake, and is consulting with Princess Tadisha and Prince Kamas. She requests that you join them.”
Ashuru might be awake, but she was far from well. The superficial burns had healed to skin of a reddish-pink. If left to heal naturally now, with no further Adept stimulus, it would regain its normal color in a few weeks without scarring.
The worst of Ashuru’s injuries, though, did not show; she had not left her bed because she could not.
Nerves along her spine had been seared. She had little feeling in her legs, and could move her arms only with effort. One of the healers was trying to persuade her to be put back into healing sleep again. “Please, Queen Ashuru-the sooner this kind of injury is healed, the better your chances for complete recovery.”
But Ashuru waved the healer aside. “Soon, soon;” she promised. “First we must make plans. Lord Wulfston, do you understand what happened in the temple?”
“Z’Nelia entered Tadisha’s body while she was out of it,” Wulfston replied.
The older woman nodded. “Thank Shangonu, not even a sabenu can command a Seer’s body once the Seer returns to it. And despite all, my daughter succeeded in her quest.”
Tadisha’s Vision! Wulfston had completely forgotten it.
Tadisha looked much better today, rested and healthy. “Lord Wulfston,” she said formally, “we can no longer blame you for bringing trouble upon us, for it is Shangonu’s will that you be here, now, when Savishna rises and Z Nelia seeks power. I had a True Vision:
“The Savishnon will move inexorably toward the east. Since there is no longer a way directly from their lands to
Z’Nelia’s, they will pass through our lands and Norgu’s first, destroying as they go. If we mass our armies and deploy our powers against them, we can hold them to the north-for now.”
“Why is there no way from the Savishnon lands into Z’Nelia’s?” asked Wulfston.
“The road is gone,” Kamas replied.
“Gone? Where?” Wulfston asked. “You can’t take away a road. You can temporarily block a pass with an avalanche; you can tear down bridges; you can flood a valley the road passes through. But with Adept powers it’s easy enough to clear away rubble, rebuild bridges and dams. Z’Nelia’s people have had four years to do so.”
“The Dead Lands,” Ashuru said grimly, “lie in the path the Savishnon would have to take to reach Johara from the north.”
“I see,” he replied.
Ashuru continued, “Lord Wulfston, do you understand why it is not always possible to obtain a Vision of what one seeks-or why such Visions are often incomplete?”
“Yes,” he replied, having been privy to much discussion on the matter after Torio developed the rare gift of prophecy. “The future is affected by both the past and the present. It appears that some events are fated-the will of the gods, the Aventines would say. No matter how we try to stop them, those events happen. The fall of Tiberium was such an event.
“True prophecies concern only such events, which are often foretold many years before they occur. But they are not detailed.” He was staring at his hands as he spoke, and suddenly Lenardos ring came into focus. “The design on this ring,” he continued, “represents a prophecy. ‘In the day of the white wolf and the red dragon, there will be peace through all the world.’ All our world, at any rate, for the white wolf is Aradia, my sister, and Lenardo is the red dragon. Their union represents the unity we have achieved, Readers and Adepts together. And there is peace.”
He could not voice the thought that forced itself, unbidden, into his mind. The prophecy does not say how long that day will last. If I don’t bring Lenardo back to Aradia-
“Yes,” said Ashuru, “prophecies and Visions give only part of the information we would like to know, for all the rest depends on events and decisions that change from day to day. Tadisha’s Vision told that you will play a key role in the upcoming battle, Lord Wulfston. What it did not tell was who will win.”
Tadisha spoke. “The battle will be between the greatest forces ever raised on our continent, and you will be a central figure. That battle will change the fate of Africa.”
Wulfston asked, “What do you mean by ‘central figure’? Or ‘changing the fate of Africa’? Where does Z’Nelia fit in? Because I’m here, will the Savishnon be defeated? Or-?”
Ashuru interrupted with a snort of laughter. “If we could answer that kind of question, we would be gods ourselves.”
Then what good did it do to put Tadisha in such danger? He did not voice the question, although he suspected that Ashuru Saw it despite her weakened condition. If she did, she pretended not to. “So,” she said, “you are a part of our battle plan, whether we want you or not. Shangonu protect us all.”
“I will help you all I can,” he replied. “But first I must ask your aid. The crew of my ship are to be sold at the slave market at Ketu. So that I may rescue them, I ask an escort who knows the land, the language, the customs.”
“And has money to buy your men,” added Ashuru.
Buy them? Before he could protest he realized she was right-the simplest solution was best. “Thank you,” he replied. “I will repay you, of course.”
“There will be no need for repayment,” Ashuru replied. “Either you will lead us to victory, in which case payment is trivial, or you will lead us to our death. And no debts can be repaid to the dead.”
“I will take you to Ketu, Lord Wulfston,” said Kamas.
“I will go too,” Tadisha added. “We must move our armies into position against the Savishnon, and we have promised to help you rescue Lord Lenardo. I am well enough to travel. Mother requires much more healing-”
“With the permission of your healers, Queen Ashuru,” Wulfston said, “I will add my powers to speed your recovery.”
“Your help is accepted,” said the healer, “if the queen permits.”
Ashuru nodded; she was growing weaker.
“One more thing,” said Wulfston. “I must question Barak. His wounds ought to be healed by now.”
“You forget his great age,” said the healer. “But you may speak with him when we waken him to give him nourishment this evening.”
Ashuru struggled to stay awake. “What else do you think Barak can tell you?”