Challenges (42 page)

For the second time, Vallant paused to take a good look around. It was just as possible that Holter might have been followed, so Vallant used his ability to check for lurkers. There were none in evidence near either of them, so he continued on to where Holter stood waiting.

“Knew you wus here when you started checkin’ around th’ first time,” Holter said in greeting with a grin, putting out his hand. “Won’t never fergit whut yer inside voice sounds like.”

“And I’d know yours in the middle of thousands,” Vallant agreed with his own grin, taking the offered hand.

“We can’t afford to be found talkin’, so let’s get right down to it. How is it goin’ with your group?”

“Never thought it would happen, but we made it all th’ way t’Blendin’,” Holter replied with a shake of his head. “Thet there fat noble din’t do nothin’ t’help, ’ceot tellin’ us about how t’stand. Thet there’s th’ key, looks like, standin’ in th’ right place.”

“We found that it only has to be done the first few times,” Vallant told him, gesturing the smaller man along to a sunny patch of grass where they might sit. “After that just the touchin’ alone starts the Blendin’, and then you all decide if you want the surface kind or the full meld.”

“You folks been goin’ fer thet vortex thing?” Holter asked, looking surprised as he settled himself on the grass opposite Vallant. “We been stayin’ away frum it, figurin’ thet there’s th’ reason folks ain’t supposta Blend. Losin’ group after group wouldn’ do th’ empire a whole lotta good.”

“That sounds like Eskin Drowd talkin’,” Vallant guessed with disgust. “The man’s a coward, remember, so he’d be sure to come up with a good excuse to avoid takin’ a chance. That vortex business is a lie, put out by the nobles to keep us from bein’ really effective. If you go into the competitions only surface Blended, you’ll lose right away.”

“Damn thet Drowd anyways,” Holter spat as he echoed Vallant’s disgust. “He keeps pickin’ away at me, tryin’ t’ git me riled crazy, an’ th’ others ’r scared t’face up t’ ’im. Been thinkin’ I oughta do sumthin’ t’slap ’im down, an’ now it looks like I ain’t gotta choice. His partyin’ an’ carousin’s been hurtin’ th’ group anyways…”

“Have you found out where the other three groups are?” Vallant asked when Holter’s voice trailed off. “There’s things everybody needs to know, and not just that vortex lie.”

“So happens I did, but there ain’t three more groups, they’s four,” Holter replied, surprising Vallant. “Th’ last group’s kept real close t’ their residence, an’ don’t seem t’know th’ competitions is comin’ in four days. I figured they ain’t gonna be a part a it lessen somethin’ happens t’one a th’ rest a us.”

“I can’t really tell you what to do, but I have a suggestion,” Vallant said slowly. “Drowd won’t do your group much good even if you force him into line, because he simply isn’t strong enough. If it were me, I’d get the Earth magic talent from that extra group, and try usin’ him or her in the Blendin’. There’s only four days left and it might not work anyway, but it’s better than continuin’ to carry a loser like Drowd.”

“It’s funny you sayin’ thet,” Holter mused, studying Vallant in an odd way. “Th’ woman who’s Earth magic in thet there extra group wus parta ours, b’fore they put Drowd in. Her an’ th’ Air magic talent, a decent guy we all liked. Now we got Drowd an’ sum bimbo who keeps tellin’ ever’body how t’talk ’n act. She’s kinda like thet there Beldara Lant, on’y ’bout everythin’ steada jest Fire magic. An’ I gotta tell ya: I seen thet Lant gal agin.”

“Where?” Vallant asked. “It’s been so long since Tamrissa left her behind that I forgot all about her.”

“Sum a us went t’see th’ challenges fer Seated High in Fire magic,” Holter replied. “Our Fire magic talent’s a real nice little gal, an’ she wanned comp’ny t’go see ’em. Me an’ Jerst, th’ Spirit magic talent, went along, an’ there wus Beldara Lant, one a th’ challengers.”

“Don’t tell me,” Vallant said dryly. “She marched out expectin’ to win, but was beaten with very little effort. Lorand’s friend Hat, who’s no more than a strong Middle, ended up as one of the props in the Earth magic farce. Most of Beldara’s strength was pure opinion, which made her another perfect prop. And that reminds me: you and the others have to know that we were all drugged after that very first test. As it stands now, you’ll obey anybody who keys you with the right words.”

“I don’t believe thet,” Holter said, but his stunned expression said he certainly did believe. “How … whut…”

“That water they gave us to drink wasn’t water,” Vallant said, answering the question Holter wasn’t quite able to put. “We figured it out and worried about it, then we got the luckiest break yet: one of the noble groups is hopin’ we’ll take out their strongest competition, so they sent us the keyin’ phrase. We tried it usin’ somebody who wasn’t keyed, and now it doesn’t work on us anymore. If you like, I can do the same for you.”

“Damned straight I like,” Holter agreed at once, his expression having turned grim. “Never been a slave b’fore, so I ain’t gonna start bein’ one now. You go ahead an’ do ’er.”

“My pleasure,” Vallant told him with a smile. “‘Now is the time for all commoners to come to the aid of the empire.’”

Holter immediately froze where he sat, a breathing statue of flesh. He waited for his instructions, Vallant knew, so he very carefully gave them.

“These are the last commands you’ll be required to obey,” he began, remembering what Naran had told him. “After the last of them you’ll return to yourself, behavin’ as you usually do. First, you’ll never respond to those keyin’ words again. Second, you’ll never respond to any other keyin’ words either. And last, you’re to return to the way you usually are.”

Repeating the same command twice was probably unnecessary, but Vallant agreed with Naran that it was better to be safe than sorry. Holter blinked at him, no longer under the phrase’s control, and then the small man frowned.

“Well, whut’s takin’ s’ long?” he demanded. “Go on ahead an’ do ’er.”

“It’s already done,” Vallant told him with a grin, remembering that he’d reacted in exactly the same way. “Now you’ll have to learn the keyin’ phrase, so you’ll be able to free everybody else.”

Holter had no trouble learning the keying phrase, and then Vallant gave him the wording he needed to use to free others. The small man memorized that as well, and then they were able to move on to the other topics which needed discussing: the fact that full Blending was very draining the first time, but got easier each time it was done; the fact that the Blending bond grew stronger if the male and female members of the group lay together; and the fact that a full Blending was capable of doing a lot more than anyone realized.

“But you’re goin’ to have to find out what those things are by yourselves, because we don’t have all the answers yet,” Vallant finished up. “Oh, and let’s agree now that if they want us to eat or drink anythin’ at the competitions, we all refuse. If they try makin’ us stay anywhere but at our residences, we all refuse. If we give those lowlives any chance at us at all, we’ll deserve anythin’ that happens.”

“I hear thet,” Holter agreed, deeply thoughtful. “They ain’t gonna turn loose a th’ Throne easy atall, so we gotta force ’em… I hope you don’t mind me askin’, but how’s it goin’ with you ’n Tamrissa? After whut you said ’bout stronger bonds ’n all… Last I saw, you two were fixin’ t’start a war…”

“I’d really rather not talk about that,” Vallant growled, suddenly back to feeling the way he had for the last three days. “She claims she knows we have to lie together, but every time I see her she says somethin’ that gets me so mad I can’t see straight. I keep wantin’ to give her a good shakin’, but she keeps a touch on the power most of the time. If I try shakin’ her into rememberin’ what we really feel for each other, it could turn into a battle of our talents. That means I don’t know
what
to do…”

Holter’s expression of confusion prompted Vallant to tell the other man about what had gone on between him and Tamrissa since Holter left the residence. For someone who didn’t want to talk about something, Vallant realized that he left nothing out. But he
needed
to talk about it, and not to the others in his group. They were more than willing to help, but so far their suggestions had done no more good than his own few ideas.

“… so she’s probably waitin’ for the last night before the competitions,” Vallant finally summed up. “She’s afraid of gettin’ involved with me, and nothin’ any of us say to her changes her mind. That’s one true mule of a woman, and when she’s touchin’ the power there’s no arguin’ with her.”

“An’ she’s always touchin’ th’ power,” Holter said, nodding his understanding. “Doin’ thet ain’t hurtin’ her ’r makin’ her real tired? I’d prob’ly be flat dead frum touchin’ it all th’ time.”

“Me, too,” Vallant agreed glumly. “But she seems to be fine, no trouble at—”

“You get a idea?” Holter asked when Vallant’s words stopped dead. “Sure hope so, ’cause it sounds like you need one bad.”

“Yes, it so happens I did get an idea,” Vallant agreed as he began to rise. “It isn’t terribly fair, but you know that old sayin’ about everythin’ bein’ fair in love and war. This is both, so it ought to do just fine. You know how to reach me, Holter, and I’ll enjoy knowin’ how things go.”

“They’ll be goin’ lots better now, thanks t’ you,” Holter said as he also rose, holding out his hand again. “You an’ th’ rest take care now, an’ good luck with thet idea.”

“I’ll probably need it,” Vallant muttered as he shook hands with Holter again. “It’ll be a while before I can try it, but I’ll probably need the time to do some convincin’. Keep your eyes open goin’ back, to find out if anybody tried followin’ you.”

Holter said something about not seeing anybody, so Vallant asked if the man had searched with his ability as well as his eyes. It turned out that he hadn’t, so Vallant described how to do it before they parted to go their separate ways. Holter gave him the oddest look before he walked off, but Vallant didn’t have the time to wonder what it meant. He had to marshal the strongest arguments he could find to get the help he needed against Tamrissa, and
then
…

CHAPTER FORTY

“Who was at the door?” Jovvi asked when I returned to the library and reclaimed my chair. “The servant called him a stranger.”

“Let’s just say he was a stranger personally but not actually,” I replied as I picked up my teacup again. “He was an assessor sent by my father, to appraise the value of
his
house before the sale. The man was a self-important fool, and demanded to be let in to do his job.”

“I should have gone to the door with you,” Jovvi commented while Lorand looked pained. “Entertainment of that sort always interests me. So what did you tell him?”

“I told him that this house belongs to me, not to my father, despite my father’s repeated attempts to steal it,” I said after sipping at my rewarmed tea. “I also told him that I’ve asked the court to do something about my father, because his continual nonsense is distracting me from the competitions I’ll be entering in four days time. I added that if I ever saw that man or anyone from his firm again, I’d include
their
names in my plea to the court.”

“No wonder he began to radiate waves of fear,” Jovvi said with a laugh. “He probably wasn’t told that this is an official residence, otherwise he would never have come here. How did you think of that part about going to court against your father?”

“I thought of it because that’s what I did this morning,” I answered comfortably. “Just defending never wins any battles, you also have to counterattack. After giving the court the details of what my father has done to me so far, I asked the sitting panel if there was any way they could help me. They all seemed angry and upset, and quickly assured me that there was quite a lot that they could do. I can’t wait to find out what they had in mind.”

“I hope it’s something that teaches him a good lesson,” Lorand put in, sounding rather unforgiving. “He’s deliberately trying to distract you so that we won’t be at our best in the competitions. Is he really so uninformed that he doesn’t know what will happen if we lose, or does he expect his gold to buy you back under his thumb?”

“I have the feeling he’s too desperate to think straight,” I said, considering the point. “That man Odrin Hallasser—I now remember people mentioning his name, but not in any friendly or everyday businesslike manner. Most seem to be afraid of him, and I got the impression that they did quite a lot to stay out of his way. My father’s oversized ego led him to make a deal with the man, and now he’s having trouble keeping to his end of the bargain. Dear, sweet Dom Hallasser may even have begun to threaten him.”

“It would hardly surprise me,” Jovvi agreed, also looking thoughtful. “I remember how I reacted to that man, and thought then that your father was a fool for getting involved with him. I just … wonder if going to court was the wisest thing to do. When things become official, I become very uncomfortable…”

“What choice did I have?” I asked as Lorand reached over to touch her shoulder gently in support. They weren’t sitting together, but I was certain they
were
spending nights together. Not that I envied them in any manner at all, or Rion and Naran either. Becoming involved was a foolish thing to do, and I was perfectly delighted that I hadn’t done the same.

“She really did have no other choice,” Lorand assured Jovvi in support of what I’d said. “The visitor she just had proves her father had no intentions of stopping his harassment, and at the very least it was annoying and distracting. The court will hopefully keep us from being bothered again.”

“Yes, I know you’re both right,” Jovvi admitted with a sigh. “The only other choice we had was to visit the man as a Blending, and people would have noticed his abrupt change in behavior. If the wrong someone noticed, it could have—”

Her words broke off abruptly, undoubtedly because of what sounded like a riot coming from the front hall. A woman’s voice rose shrilly above a man’s, and then the two combatants appeared in the doorway I’d left open. The man was the servant currently attending to the front door, and the woman was my mother.