Challenges (3 page)

Delin shuddered as he always did at that memory, the one that returned to him time and again in dreams. It had been his first experience with his father’s ways but not his last, and to this day Delin couldn’t imagine himself standing up to the man. Even though they stood eye to eye physically and Delin’s talent was worlds stronger, the least thought of disobeying the man sent Delin into a trembling funk. Challenging the man simply wasn’t possible, not on any level whatsoever. Being out of his house and in a position where he couldn’t simply be ordered back was an incredible relief, but Delin still
needed
more…

“Delin,” Kambil hissed, and Delin looked up to find that he’d fallen into the blackout time of his memories again. More time had passed than he’d expected, and the Five’s entourage was leaving the vicinity of Adriari Fant’s group and heading toward his own. He’d thought they would only have the peasants introduced to them, but apparently everyone was to be given the “honor.”

“And here is the next to last group,” Hiblit Rahms said as the entourage approached, his speech and mannerisms distinct despite the costume and mask he wore. Hiblit had replaced Rigos as the one in charge of the noble challenging Blendings when Rigos had been arrested for the murder of Elfini Weil, and at first Delin had been delighted to have someone other than Rigos assigned to watch them. Delin’s group wasn’t meant to win the Fivefold Throne, Adriari’s group had been chosen for that, but Delin and his groupmates meant to forcibly change that decision. Rigos would have seen what they were up to and would have reported them immediately, but Rigos’s replacement wasn’t likely to be as observant or vindictive.

And Hiblit
was
completely different, only not in a way that would prove beneficial to Delin and the others. There was something seriously wrong with the man, in that he moved as though his clothes were filled with pins that constantly stuck into him, and he never made eye contact with those he spoke to. He merely recited what he’d obviously been told to say, and had even refused a simple cup of tea because he “wasn’t allowed” to eat or drink anywhere but at home. That statement had been made without any visible emotions, but Kambil, who was their Spirit talent, said the man was twisted impossibly tight on the inside. Not only would Hiblit never take a bribe to ignore what Delin’s group would be doing, but he’d certainly even report the bribe attempt itself.

“The people in this group are as follows,” Hiblit said as the Five’s entourage stopped in front of them, his tone distant and his gaze fixed on some invisible object in the distance. “Lord Bron Kallan, Fire magic, Lord Kambil Arstin, Spirit magic, Lord Delin Moord, Earth magic, Lady Selendi Vas, Air magic, and Lord Homin Weil, Water magic. The empire greatly appreciates their cooperation in this matter.”

“Of course it does,” Damilla Sytoss said with one of her enigmatic smiles, clearly ignoring the emotionlessness of the recital Hiblit had made. “We all appreciate their cooperation. And how is your father, Lord Homin? Recovering from his ordeal, I trust?”

“He—he’s gone to our country house to recuperate, Excellency,” Homin stuttered in answer, obviously startled to be personally addressed. Then the fat little man startled Delin by pulling himself together and rising to the occasion. “When I see him again, I’ll be sure to mention that you asked after him.”

“Yes, please do,” Damilla told him with a wider smile, and then they were all moving on toward the last of the noble groups. Hiblit led the way, but Delin had the feeling that the man walked alone through a completely private world.

“Wasn’t that impressive?” Selendi cooed, and Delin turned to see that she’d taken Homin’s arm. “The only one of us spoken to directly was Homin, and I was the one standing right next to him.”

“What do you think that makes
you
?” Bron commented with a snort of ridicule while Homin’s flabby chest swelled with Selendi’s praise. “Most of us were standing next to him, and I certainly didn’t even see
him
turned magically into someone important. He’s the same short, fat—”

“Bron, I need your help,” Delin interrupted immediately, before the fool could finish insulting Homin and starting a fight. “You know we still have to talk to the group we’ll be facing in the first competition, and since you’re our leader I have to ask your advice. Will you step over to one side with me for a moment?”

“Oh, all right,” Bron grudged, obviously unhappy about being torn away from the sport of picking on the helpless, but still willing to go. So far he’d always responded to the nonsense about his being the group’s leader, although from the sneers of derision on the faces of Selendi and Homin, Bron was the only one who still believed the lie. And would probably continue to believe it no matter what anyone said, as long as the ploy wasn’t used to extremes. Bron was truly stupid, but even the terminally stupid eventually saw the light if it was shined in their eyes often enough.

Delin led the way to a spot a short distance away from the others, then he began to fabricate the problem he wanted Bron’s “help” with. He was in the midst of mentioning the obvious, that the first group they would face was composed of three men and two women, when an interruption came. But not an ordinary interruption, and Delin turned with Bron and everyone else to watch what was happening in the middle of the dance floor.

At first the only thing happening was Hiblit Rahms standing there in the midst of everyone and screaming. Head thrown back, eyes closed tight, fists held up and clenched, Hiblit looked like a tortured soul in the Caverns of the Damned. His screams sent a chill through Delin, and he could see he wasn’t alone in feeling that way. All the people who had been dancing were backing away from the man, most of them with shudders of fear. The scream was like that, something to bring unknown and unexplained fear to all those who heard it.

“What’s wrong with him?” Bron demanded unsteadily in a low voice. “Why is he doing that, and why doesn’t someone stop him?”

Bron’s bewilderment was clear, but this time Delin felt that it wasn’t stupidity making the man say what he had. He, too, wished someone would stop Hiblit, most especially as he himself seemed helpless to accomplish the task. To stop the man one would have to go close to him, and somehow Delin was certain that even his talent would be fouled if he sent it to touch the screaming man. Obviously Kambil had been right about how tightly strung Hiblit was on the inside.

And then others began to scream as small gouts of flame erupted to life in more than half a dozen places. Some of the places were the clothing of those people still closest to Hiblit, and the rest described a circle of sorts around the screaming man. Almost a protective circle, Delin thought, one meant to keep people from reaching Hiblit. Guardsmen had come rushing in from the hall when the screams first began, and now they stood with members of the Five’s personal guard, clearly at a loss about what to do.

“Look at that,” Bron said, pointing to a woman whose costume skirt had begun to blaze. “The flames just went out, and the skirt isn’t even singed. It looks like
all
the clothing fires have been put out, and now the ring around Hiblit is being extinguished. Damned strong talent, whoever he is. I can feel the vibrations in the power without needing to reach out.”

“Reaching out might be a good idea,” Delin said, trying not to snarl through his teeth. “It would help to know
who
has a talent that strong, especially if the person turns out to be a member of one of the peasant groups. Give it a try, Bron, and tell me what you learn.”

“Oh, all right,” the mindless fool grumbled, as though the point were completely unimportant. Everyone in the room had probably reached for the power automatically, even those with minimal talent. It was a reflex of self protection in which Delin had fully participated, but awareness of the power used by someone of a different aspect wasn’t possible. Only same aspect awareness worked, and anyone but an imbecile like Bron would already know the source of the great strength he’d mentioned.

“It’s gone now,” the imbecile announced after a moment with a dismissive shrug. “He put out all the fires then released the power, so I can’t tell who it was. But it was probably Edril Lanton, the Five’s Fire magic user. It’s certainly something he
should
have done.”

Delin limited himself to a noncommittal grunt as he felt the Earth magic members of the guard begin to exert magical force on Hiblit, but on the inside he was furious. Edril Lanton was as lazy and unimaginative as Bron, so he was probably the last—after Bron—to have wielded his talent. It might even have been Adriari showing off for her group, the group that the Advisors meant to have Seated this time, but now Delin would never know. And all because Bron was such an incredible ignoramus…!

“They’ve put him to sleep, for all the good it’s done,” Kambil’s voice came as the man stopped beside Delin. “Those little noises he’s making mean he’s still screaming even though he’s unconscious. I have a feeling we’ll be getting another new agent … and I’m curious about who put those fires out. Would you like to ask Bron, or shall I?”

“I already have, and he doesn’t know,” Delin growled, finding controlling his anger almost beyond him. “He said a large amount of strength was being used, but didn’t bother to find out who was using it. By the time he tried, the user stopped. I’m now wondering if it was Adriari, showing off to everyone without putting the arrogance into words.”

“If it was, we may have a problem,” Kambil murmured as Delin watched the guard members carefully carrying Hiblit out. “I couldn’t sense the amount of power being used myself, of course, but I also couldn’t miss the fact that no one and nothing was actually burned. Both clothing and flesh should have been charred, and that it wasn’t can only be attributed to the user’s quick response and greater than ordinary ability.”

“Faster and better than Bron, you mean,” Delin murmured back, the very important point pushing his anger aside. “It won’t be possible to get the results from the testing of Adriari’s group no matter how much gold we try to offer, so we might be wisest assuming the worst. If Adriari
is
stronger than Bron, we certainly do have a problem.”

“One which would be less troublesome if we didn’t have to face her group,” Kambil agreed with a sigh. “But it’s foolish to think about that, as there’s only one way we can avoid facing them. That way isn’t at all practical, so we’ll have to think of a way that is.”

Delin was about to ask what the impractical way was, when the answer suddenly became clear. If Adriari’s group lost in the first set of competitions, Delin’s group would be able to forget about them. But that would mean having the peasants defeat them, which wasn’t about to happen. The Advisors had made certain that the peasants
couldn’t
defeat them…

Various ideas fleeted through Delin’s mind, their appearance and disappearance like the flickering flame of a candle. There
was
a way to let the peasants win after all, and the thought of having to face them later with his own group caused not the slightest bit of worry. He and his people were good enough to defeat
any
peasants, especially if they happened to have personal problems. Delin decided to look into the matter, and then he’d make his final decision…

CHAPTER FOUR

I didn’t quite feel shaky as they carried the unconscious man out, but that was only because I still held to the power. Once I released it and my usual reactions took over again, I’d probably tremble like a hut in an earthquake. That screaming had been so horrible, so utterly lost and abandoned…

“That was a marvelous exhibition you put on, Tamma,” Jovvi said very softly from beside me. “When those flames appeared, all I could picture was fire spreading and burning everything in reach, including us.”

“That’s what I pictured, so I had to stop it,” I whispered back. “The man isn’t even a Middle talent so it wasn’t hard, but I can’t believe that no one else tried to do the same. There are supposed to be
how
many High practitioners in this room?”

“I think you’ve just discovered that there’s a big difference between ‘supposed to be’ and ‘are,’” she murmured, letting her gaze move around the room. “Almost everyone in here was terrified, and their reaching for the power forced me to use my ability to protect myself rather than help even a little. But before I blocked everything out, I got a small look into that man’s mind. It was horribly painful but it was also strange, only I don’t know in what way. If I’d had even a minute or two longer…”

“Everything in this place seems to be strange,” I said, joining Jovvi in gazing around. “The Five are leaving through a door other than the one the guardsmen carried that man through, and now everyone else looks to be getting ready to leave. What really bothers me, though, is that most of those people seemed to know the man who had the fit, but not one of them is following along to find out how he’ll be when he wakes up. Maybe they know where he’ll be taken and mean to follow after he’s taken there, but somehow I doubt it.”

“You’re unusually perceptive,” Jovvi said with a nod of agreement, still studying people. “They’re all working very hard to forget what happened, and most of them even seem to have managed it. They’re treating it like a bad dream you’re best off not even discussing, but they can’t stay here and do it. That’s why they’re getting ready to leave, so they can put the incident out of their minds.”

“Which means they’ll make no effort to find out why it happened,” I said, hearing the disgust in my voice. “They stroll around pretending to be so very superior to commoners, but they’re no better than my parents and their cronies. Why are decent human beings so rare in this empire?”

“They’re rare because you usually have to be raised by decent human beings in order to become one yourself,” Jovvi answered, finally turning back to look at me. “Most of us in the group seem to be exceptions to that rule, but largely it came about after we all met. And now I think it’s just about time for us to leave, since Lady Eltrina is hurrying in this direction. Apparently there’s a benefit in having been one of the last groups to arrive.”