Challenges (38 page)

His words choked off as he paused again in what was very obviously deep embarrassment, and then he turned and walked to the buffet. Jovvi felt Lorand and Rion fighting to control their expressions, just as she was having to do with her own. Vallant’s performance had been marvelous, and Tamma sat staring down at her plate in utter confusion. The temptation was there to help Tamma toward full belief, but Jovvi firmly resisted it. Meddling now with anything but words could only make things worse instead of better.

“It never occurred to me that the testing authority could or would do something like that, but it sounds like them,” Jovvi mused instead. “I don’t know how they’d accomplish it, but why they’d bother is much easier. Anything they can do to disrupt us is completely to their benefit.”

“But of course you know how they would do it,” Lorand put in, speaking as solemnly as Jovvi had. “Just the way I did it last night, or rather, this morning. Anyone with enough strength in Earth magic could do the same, and if the victim started out tired to begin with, it would not even take that much strength.”

“Yes, I do remember now,” Jovvi agreed, not really having forgotten. She’d wanted the point stressed for Tamma, and Lorand, the love, had obliged. “Obviously I should have been more alert, so this is definitely my fault. It was just that I was so exhausted…”

“No, love, the fault wasn’t yours alone,” Lorand disagreed at once. “I was also too exhausted, otherwise I would have been able to detect Earth magic being used. We’ll have to work together to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Jovvi nodded with a smile, more than aware of the fact that Rion had kept quiet throughout all of the previous conversations. He’d apparently made good on his decision to take a vow of silence, which was really very wise of him. And then, suddenly, Tamma rose from the table and left the dining room without a word. Jovvi followed her with her mind until Tamma reached her apartment, and then she released the line with a sigh.

“All right, she’s out of hearing range,” Jovvi told the others, who were all staring at her. “She hasn’t yet made up her mind to believe what she heard, but guilt is making her reexamine her decisions. She may have been blaming Vallant for something someone else did deliberately, and the unfairness of that is very painful for her. But the idea of trusting and believing again is also painful, so she’ll need some time to resolve the conflict.”

“I didn’t much like doin’ that to her, but I didn’t have any other choice,” Vallant said as he brought his plate to the table and sat to Lorand’s left. “My fallin’ asleep this mornin’ was actually
her
fault, for stayin’ in the facility so long. I waited and waited, fightin’ to stay awake, then finally lost the fight. But if I’d pointed that out, she would have accused me of makin’ excuses.”

“And she probably would have dismissed my saying that Naran didn’t leave my side,” Rion put in glumly. “I really do owe you an apology, Vallant, for having such a big mouth. I had no idea why discussing one’s pleasure was a subject to be avoided in polite conversation, but now I believe I’ve learned the reason.”

“If we weren’t part of each other, Rion, Vallant would probably join me in murdering you,” Lorand said dryly. “I know you’re not aware of it, but a man keeps silent about his pleasure for more than a single reason. How would
you
feel if Vallant and I casually told Naran about various esoteric techniques he and I know but you haven’t learned to perform yet? If she then expected you to know about them as well…”

“I would end feeling inadequate and also contemplating murder,” Rion finished with a sigh. “If it weren’t too late, I believe I would seriously consider living a solitary existence again. There’s so much to
know
when one associates with other people.”

“Don’t worry, Rion, you’ll pick it all up in no time,” Jovvi assured him as she patted his hand. “In the meantime, just be careful about what you say to Tamma. She’s still the most vulnerable one among us, and needs to be protected from things the rest of us don’t even notice. She’s doing really well with turning herself around, but she’s still not ready to laugh off frustrating accidents.”

“You’re absolutely right, of course,” Lorand agreed with a frown, “but that picture of her is so different from the one we see in the Blending.”

“I can remember feeling part of myself on guard this morning, and that part was as hard as steel and completely ready to attack or defend.
She
was that part, and not a single corner of her usual problems showed.”

“I don’t remember seein’ my problem or yours either,” Vallant pointed out with raised brows. “I was too busy to notice at the time, but I remember usin’ all the power I needed to get the job done, and didn’t feel crowded or closed in at any time. I’m hopin’ that means what I think it does…”

“And I’m hoping the same,” Lorand agreed, moving his gaze to Jovvi. “What do you think, love? Are we just fooling ourselves, or does being part of the Blending really free us from our problems?”

“Give me a minute to remember back,” Jovvi said, feeling extremely stupid. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to check before this… Yes, you’re absolutely right. I felt nothing of problems while I did what needed to be done—except for the awareness that I might be stretching things too far. How about you, Rion? Did you notice anything the rest of us missed?”

“Not at the time, but I seem to have noticed something now,” Rion replied slowly. “I remember saying I felt as exhausted as I did after that very first test, but that can’t be true. After only a few hours of sleep, I feel completely restored. That didn’t happen the first time.”

Jovvi joined the others in voicing startled agreement, then said, “That’s another thing I missed, and I wonder how much more there is. I’ll have to—Wait, there’s someone coming.”

It wasn’t really necessary to break off all conversation and pretend to be alone in the room, but Jovvi did it anyway. It was good practice for all of them, against a time when they would be among people who weren’t under her control. A glance showed that the men withdrew into their own worlds just as she had, and then a servant entered from the hall.

“Pardon the intrusion, gentles, but there’s a caller at the door for Dom Coll,” the man announced. “Shall I inform him that Dom Coll is still at breakfast?”

“No, I’ll see him now,” Lorand answered at once, putting his napkin to his lips before tossing it aside and rising. “You can lead the way.”

The servant bowed and did so, and Jovvi felt Lorand’s hope as he followed. Wasn’t Lorand waiting to hear something from or about that friend of his…?

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Lorand followed the servant to the front door, hoping it would be Hat he found standing on the step. The delay in hearing from his friend had worried Lorand, but so much had been going on in his own life that he hadn’t been able to think of a way to follow up on his request to Meerk. Hat could have been anywhere in the city—

“Mornin’ Dom Coll,” Lorand heard as soon as the servant opened the door, but it wasn’t Hat speaking the words. Meerk was back, once again looking semi-respectable, but also looking somewhat disturbed.

“Good morning, Dom Meerk,” Lorand replied politely, very aware of the servant only a step or two away. “Have you had any luck finding that produce I asked you to locate?”

“Sorry t’say I ain’t,” Meerk answered, suddenly sounding as though he wasn’t very bright. “I been lookin’ all over th’ city, but I ain’t found none yet.”

“Isn’t that strange, Dom Meerk?” Lorand pursued, now understanding the man’s disturbance. “I did see some in that warehouse my coach passed, so they must have taken it to
some
shop for sale. Weren’t you able to locate the warehouse either?”

“Now, I found
that
easy enough,” Meerk replied, swiping at his nose with one hand. “They wouldn’ let me in t’look around, tho, so I kinda hung out waitin’ fer th’ stuff t’ come t’me. I waited a real long time, but I never did see none a it.”

“It’s possible that what I saw was a special order for one household,” Lorand mused, just speaking the words while he thought furiously. Hat never came out of the building where the challenge had taken place? That wasn’t very likely, not when there was an easier answer.

“You know, I just had an idea,” Lorand said after a short pause. “Maybe the produce I saw was taken out of a different door in the warehouse while you were watching just the one. If it was and someone working in the warehouse saw it being taken out, they just might know where it was taken
to
. Here’s some silver. If you have to buy the information, do it.”

“Yeah, I like that there idear,” Meerk agreed, pretending to brighten. As he took the three silver dins, he added, “I’ll go askin’ around, an’ if I find sumthin’ out I’ll come back.”

“Just make sure you don’t accidentally offend anyone,” Lorand cautioned, knowing Meerk would understand what he meant. “That special produce is grown only on the farms near where I used to live and I miss having some of it, but not so much that I want to see you get into trouble trying to locate it. If it looks like something like that might happen, come back and discuss it with me first.”

“Sure, sure, don’t you worry none,” Meerk agreed breezily, but his almost imperceptible nod said he understood and agreed. He would try to bribe someone in the building to find out where Hat was, but if it looked like something might go wrong he’d back off and return to report.

Meerk turned and began to leave, so Lorand left the servant to close the door and returned to the dining room. Jovvi, Rion, and Vallant were still at the table, so he reclaimed his seat and reached for the pitcher of tea.

“The man who was supposed to find my friend Hat hasn’t been able to locate him,” Lorand reported, knowing the others were waiting to hear about what had happened. “I find that very strange, since they should have thrown him back out into the street after he served his purpose. Unless—”

“Unless what?” Jovvi asked anxiously, probably having felt the jolt in his middle that he’d suddenly been hit with.

“Unless he kept yelling about the competition being a put up job,” Lorand answered slowly, deep illness causing him to stop abruptly in the pouring of the fresh cup of tea. “I … tried to tell him before the challenge started that he was being used, but he didn’t believe me until after he was defeated. Then he made such a scene that they had to carry him out.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Vallant confirmed, disturbance clear in his eyes. “They don’t want people talkin’ about their dirty little games, and our lives aren’t worth much to them. If your friend refused to keep quiet… Are you thinkin’ he didn’t have sense enough to close his mouth in time?”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” Lorand admitted, deciding that he didn’t want another cup of tea after all. “Hat’s never been very bright about certain things, and knowing when to keep quiet is one of them. If they’ve hurt him…”

No one added anything when he let the words trail off, but they were probably thinking the same as he: even if they’d killed Hat, there was nothing any of them could do about it now. Their winning the competitions would be another story, but for right now they were helpless.

“Pardon the intrusion, gentles, but you have another caller,” that same servant announced from the doorway. “This one, however, is the lord from the testing authority, and he requests the presence of all of you. Dama Domon has already been sent for, and the lord awaits you in the library.”

“Please tell him we’ll be there in a moment,” Jovvi said to the man, then continued in a soft voice once he’d bowed and left, “I wonder which one it is. If it’s Twimmal we have to Blend for him, but something tells me we shouldn’t go all the way. What do the rest of you think?”

“I agree completely,” Rion put in at once, echoing Lorand’s thoughts. “What we accomplished is well beyond anything described to us until now, and there’s a possibility they may not even know about it. And if they do, there’s very little sense in telling them we’re capable of it.”

“That’s the way I see it,” Vallant added with a nod which Lorand matched. “We play it safe and easy, and save questionin’ the man until tomorrow or the next day. Gettin’ him under our control might leave marks that show to anybody able to see them, so we ought to let him report our success first.”

“And we better remember to check for those marks when we do touch him,” Lorand said, forcing back his worry about Hat. Until he reached a position where he might do something… “If we can find them first, it might be possible to disguise them in some way. But what about Tamrissa? Does she know what we intend to do?”

“Yes, but someone ought to tell her about the rest of it,” Jovvi said as she rose. “Rion, see if you can pretend to be lecturing her pompously.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult,” Rion said with a faint smile as the rest of them stood as well. “As long as I stay with that one subject, I shouldn’t cause
too
much damage.”

Lorand joined Vallant in chuckling at that, but Jovvi was too busy hurrying out of the dining room to notice. The three of them followed her, and when they reached the front hall they discovered the reason for Jovvi’s hurry. Tamrissa was coming down the stairs, and if they’d delayed even a moment longer, they might have missed the chance to speak to her before she reached the library.

Lorand watched Rion stride over to her and begin his pompous lecture, and after an instant of being startled, Tamrissa played along by looking bored but cornered. As this went on they all continued in the direction of the library, and opening the door finally answered Jovvi’s first question: the portly Lord Twimmal sat in his favorite chair, sipping a cup of tea which behaved better than the last one he’d had there.

“You must know at once that your behavior is completely unacceptable,” the man said as soon as he saw them, heavy annoyance in his too-high voice. “When I arrive I expect you to be waiting for me, so that we may begin at once. My time is much too valuable to be wasted in waiting for
you
.”

“Possibly we can make
our
time just as valuable,” Jovvi said hastily, probably knowing that Lorand—and maybe the others as well—was about to reply in a much less … neutral way. “We’ve discussed the matter among us, and we’ve decided to put personal animosities aside so that we can Blend.”