Challenges (46 page)

Today there were more than school children heading for it. It was already a beautiful day, which probably encouraged everyone to get a nice early start, so our fairly rapid progress quickly slowed down to a crawl. The road was clogged with carriages and coaches and people on horseback, and more people walked on the uneven ground to either side of the road. The walkers were most often entire families, some with more than a few children.

“I think I’m beginning to understand why we started out so early,” Jovvi commented as she looked out her window. “We’re still moving, but only barely.”

“The evil of the testing authority and government obviously knows no bounds,” I commented back. “Imagine, being so heartless and cruel as to get us caught in a traffic jam. When I was young, my parents accepted an invitation from a business associate on a festival day. We’d always celebrated at home before, so we had no idea how bogged down it was possible to get. And we couldn’t even turn around and go home. We were stuck for hours, and at the end of it we were limp rags.”

“I seriously doubt if they’ll let us be stuck for that long,” Jovvi said with a chuckle for my comment and story. “The show can’t start without us, after all, and if we show up exhausted we can always refuse to participate. But come to think of it, they don’t yet know we can refuse. Ah, well, at least we have water, tea, and sandwiches to keep us fortified.”

“Which we won’t even sniff at until Lorand tells us it’s safe,” I reminded her. “If necessary, we can link up and ask him to do it.”

“Yes, the distance between us and the men is no problem,” Jovvi agreed. “We’ve Blended this far away from each other before, after learning that the formation was just a beginner’s aid. The arrangement is needed inside our heads, not with our bodies. I wonder how many of the nobles running this thing understand that.”

“Probably very few,” I said after glancing at her. “What I’d like to know is how many of their Blendings have learned it.”

She couldn’t help but agree with that, and then we settled back into silence again. But the silence was only between ourselves, as the noise outside the coach had risen to a relatively high level. People were happy and excited, and some were even singing.

We inched our way forward for another few minutes, and then a different noise began to intrude. It resolved itself into the shouting of men, and shortly thereafter we began to move faster again. When we saw members of the guard chasing walkers away from the very edge of the road and hurrying vehicles along with impatient gestures, we understood what was happening. Any vehicle too slow to keep to a good pace—like the rickety, slanted old wagon filled with women and children being pulled by a single, tired, old horse—was being gotten out of the way onto the side of the road, letting the rest of us continue on.

After that there were no further delays, and when other coaches and carriages and riders were directed toward one of the outlying areas where vehicles and mounts were to be left, we were waved on. The amphitheater loomed large in the near distance, and people were streaming toward it on foot from many different directions. They all pointed excitedly toward our coaches, and some even began to run in an effort to keep up with us.

When we finally came to a stop near one of the private entrances leading to the interior of the amphitheater, there were actually crowds with guardsmen holding them back. One of the guardsmen helped Jovvi and me from the coach while our men got out on their own, and as soon as the crowd saw us they began to cheer. I noticed that none of them actually tried to get too close, but they did cheer with abandon.

The men waited until we’d reached them, and then we all began to walk toward the entrance. Lorand and Vallant grinned and waved to the cheering crowd, which helped to increase the noise. Rion simply put himself behind Jovvi and me, a rear guard we wouldn’t have needed even without the guardsmen being present. But it was a sweet thing to do, and almost distracted me from what we were so casually walking into…

* * *

Lord Idian saw Delin Moord and his group arrive, so he left the crowd around Adriari’s group and hurried over to the new arrivals. Everyone was trying to curry favor with the soon-to-be new Seated Five, of course, and Idian would have been foolish not to do the same. But he had a chore to attend to, after which he’d be able to return to what he’d been doing.

“Good morning, Lord Idian,” Kambil Arstin said politely when he reached them. “It’s a lovely morning, isn’t it?”

“Yes, quite lovely,” Idian said impatiently, wishing that whole thing were already over with. “An apartment has been prepared for the five of you, where you may rest and change your clothing before the competitions begin. I’ve assigned one of my assistants to show you the way, and also to fetch anything you might want or need. But before you go, there’s one change in plans you have to be made aware of.”

“And what change is that?” Delin Moord asked smoothly, his smile just as charming as ever. “Nothing that will really inconvenience us, I hope?”

“Quite the contrary,” Idian told him just as smoothly, adding a warm smile. “The Advisors met and discussed the matter, and have now told us that they wish to show their sympathy with and gratitude toward Lord Homin. The poor man has lost a stepmother and an uncle in a very short period of time, and yet has manfully carried on with his duty toward the empire. For that reason it’s been arranged that your first opponents will be different from the group you expected to meet.”

“That’s their idea of a favor?” Homin Weil asked with a snort, actually looking annoyed. “Weren’t they told that we’ve already researched the original group, and there’s scarcely time to do the same with the new one?”

“That’s the beauty of the favor, Lord Homin,” Idian replied, putting a bit more snap into his voice to keep the boy in line. “There’s no need to do research of any sort with this group, as they took their ten gold dins each and immediately began to spend them on one long good time. This morning they’re barely recovered, I’m told, and may even find it impossible to Blend. The change all but guarantees your victory in the first competitions, which will affect your prestige and standing in a very positive way.”

“That’s really quite generous of the Advisors,” Kambil Arstin said with a smile while the others exchanged surprised glances. “Please give them our thanks when you can, and also our assurance that we’ll do all in our power not to disappoint them. Now … you said there’s an apartment assigned to us?”

“Yes, and my assistant will show you where it is,” Idian said, turning to gesture to the boy who had been assigned to assist him. “His name is Glindil, and you need only follow him.”

The five people nodded and went off after the boy, and rather than returning immediately to what he’d been doing, Idian stood staring pensively after the group. His chore was now done and he was, for the most part, out of it, but he couldn’t help thinking about what would come afterward. Everything he’d said about the group’s new opponents was absolutely true, but the same couldn’t quite be said for the reason behind the change…

It had been Lord Anglard Nobin, the Advisory representative, who had given Idian his instructions, and the man had been as coldly distant and unpleasant as ever.

“Why are we doing this?” Lord Anglard had said in answer to Idian’s question. “The reason is perfectly obvious, once you understand that we’ve managed to eliminate all suspects in the murders but one. That one is Delin Moord, and the Advisors want very badly to make an example of the man. The first day of the competitions often leaves dead bodies on the ground, I’m told, and the Advisors don’t want Moord dead so easily. His group can be defeated by one of
our
Blendings on the second or third day without taking casualties, and then Moord will find himself just where the Advisors want him.”

Idian thought about that particular position for a moment, then turned back to Adriari’s group before a shudder took him over. No matter how difficult the competitions turned out to be, they would be a pleasant delight compared to what the Advisors meant to come up with. One could almost feel sorry for Moord … if the man weren’t so objectionable…

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Lorand looked around at the interior of the amphitheater, trying not to gawk like a hayseed. The area they stood in was immense, much larger than the outside of the structure led one to expect. The inner tiers of seats must be suspended over a hollow, despite their having been carved out of stone.

“This place is a madhouse,” Rion said, his near shout reaching only the five of them. “And it looks like we’re the last to arrive.”

“They’re leadin’ two of the groups toward that door,” Vallant pointed out, indicating the area to their left. “The rest are bein’ herded to the right, and herded seems to be a particularly good word.”

“There’s Twimmal, standing next to Lady Eltrina,” Jovvi put in, also pointing. “Neither one of them seems particularly happy, and I wonder why.”

“Maybe we’ll find out,” Tamrissa observed. “Twimmal has just seen us, and he’s hurrying over.”

The fat little noble was
trying
to hurry over, Lorand noted, but his gait wasn’t nearly fast enough to be considered a true hurry. He waddled, actually, but did eventually reach them.

“It’s certainly about time that you got here,” he began without preamble, the petulance in his tone clear despite all the noise. “You were specifically instructed to arrive early, and—”

“Stop right there,” Lorand interrupted coldly, in no mood for taking nonsense from a fool. “If you wanted us here earlier you should have sent the coaches earlier, or possibly done something about the crowds we were caught in. If you people aren’t up to getting this thing done right, you can’t excuse your incompetence by blaming
us
.”

“How dare you speak to me like that?” Twimmal asked in his high, squeaky voice, obviously deeply shocked. “You people are nothing, and I am—”

“A lot less than nothin’, or you wouldn’t have been tapped as an official flunky,” Vallant finished for him, just as coldly as Lorand had spoken. “That means we’re still better than you, so start flunkyin’ and tell us what’s goin’ on.”

“I don’t know how I’m expected to bear this,” Twimmal whined, still upset and apparently talking to himself. “First that nasty person is placed above Lady Eltrina, and now the peasants feel free to give backtalk. I shall resign my place at once, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Isn’t it time you woke up to the real world?” Tamrissa put in, the hard edge in her tone only just noticeable. “At this point
no
one will be allowed to resign, least of all you. Or haven’t you realized yet that you know too much for your own good? Having knowledge of how a Blending is formed is usually punishable by death, and you’re the only one among them who knows. If you don’t make an effort to share your knowledge, you probably won’t live long enough to see the end of the competitions.”

Twimmal had turned absolutely white, and the fact that he hadn’t fainted was due only to Lorand’s efforts—efforts made only because Lorand finally understood what Tamrissa was up to. She’d had a good idea, and there was no sense in letting Twimmal ruin it by passing out. The fat little man wavered a bit, and then he staggered away without another word.

“That was evil, and I loved it,” Jovvi said to Tamrissa with a chuckle when Twimmal was out of hearing range. “Once he snaps out of the shock he’ll start to tell everyone the way to form a Blending, and that should cause a riot among the nobles. While they’re busy trying to silence him and find out everyone he spoke to, they’ll have less time to plot against us. And wasn’t that interesting about Eltrina? No wonder she’s so bent out of shape.”

“It’s typical of the breed,” Rion put in, nothing of sympathy in his tone. “They let her do all the work, and now, at the last moment, they put in one of their own to take all the credit. Since she must have schemed a long time to get herself into the proper position, she’s probably livid. But even I was told how these things work, so I’m surprised she didn’t expect it.”

“One of her schemes probably didn’t work right,” Vallant put in with distaste. “She strikes me as the sort who’s too busy lookin’ over the men around her to pay attention to every detail. Now she can look at the one they made her boss.”

“I hadn’t realized you’d noticed her attraction to you, Vallant,” Jovvi remarked with faint amusement. “I couldn’t miss it myself, but I decided against mentioning it. I could also tell how put off you were by her.”

“Too bad she didn’t notice the same,” Vallant remarked dryly. “But now that we’ve sent Twimmal flutterin’ away, we’re stuck with just standin’ here. Maybe we ought to remind them about our presence.”

“They know we’re here, and they’re sending someone over to see to us,” Jovvi disagreed, only glancing in the direction of the people she spoke about. “They’re vastly annoyed with Twimmal for wandering off before his job was done, and I think he was supposed to bring someone over to us, but forgot. The man really is an incompetent, empty-headed fool… Ah, the someone is on his way.”

Lorand glanced around casually, and spotted a young man strolling in their direction. His attitude screamed to the world that he was a noble, and one who considered himself really important, at that. Just what they needed in that madhouse, someone else to rub badly against their nervousness…

“Well, it seems that you people were abandoned,” the young man said lightly when he reached them. “I’m Lord Ophin Ruhl, and I’ve been asked to direct you to the place where you’ll wait for things to begin. By the bye, do you happen to know where Lord Twimmal has gone? He surprised us by disappearing like that.”

“He didn’t say where he was going,” Tamrissa responded with complete honesty, then put her head to one side while showing a childlike expression of innocence. “Twimmal can’t possibly be considered anyone’s lord, but you still use the title for him. Haven’t you people learned yet how silly you all look, calling ones like him the same thing you call yourselves? Or can’t you tell what a deficient Twimmal is?”