Psychicians

by Laurence Dahners

  A flash of panic shot through her. “What’s he want? Do you know?”

  Nantz looked away again, “He’s raising the Tavern’s rents. He thinks high rents’ll make your father grant him your hand in marriage.”

  Daussie squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then said, “Thank you for the warning.”

  Nantz nodded toward the kitchen, “Can I go out the back way? I don’t want to be here when the baron arrives, in case he…”

  “Yes, I’ll go with you.” Daussie led him toward the kitchen.

  Daum stepped toward her from the bar, looking worried.

  As she walked by him, she whispered, “The baron’s coming to raise our rents. Guardsman Nantz says he hopes that’ll force you to grant him my hand in marriage. I’m going to disappear out the back.”

  “Crap!” was all Daum said. When they paused in reaction, he waved them onward, “Go! Go, go, go. We’ll figure out what to do later. Don’t come back until you’re sure the baron’s gone.”

  Daussie led Nantz through the kitchen and out the back, then lost herself in the city.

  ~~~

  Daum had time to run up the stairs and warn Eva. Kazy was there, so he asked her to come down and evaluate the baron’s state of mind. Kazy came down with him and ran into the kitchen.

  The doors opened. This time four guardsmen came in before the baron entered. Two more marched in behind him.

  Daum’s heart sunk as the baron glanced at him, made a gesture, and all six unsheathed their swords. The baron strode over to the bar. With a glare, he said, “Remember me?”

  Daum, scratching between his shoulder blades, nodded. He saw Kazy come out of the kitchen wearing a server’s apron and carrying a plate. She passed behind the baron on the way to deliver the plate to a patron who looked surprised to receive it. Kazy leaned down and the man smiled, Daum supposed because he’d just learned his unordered food was on the house. She stood again and started back toward the kitchen, but Daum had turned his eyes back to the baron.

  The baron was saying, “So, I’ve decided to double your rents. Both here where the tavern’s situated, and out on the other side of the caravan grounds, where I understand you’re renting a site in hopes of collecting some salvage.” The baron produced an unpleasant smile, “I understand your business is doing very well, so you should be able to afford it.” He lifted an eyebrow, “Should you find the rent too onerous, I’m sure we could negotiate something better—for an in-law.”

  Hating the man, Daum nonetheless restrained himself from throwing the knife. He produced a minuscule nod. “I guess we’ll just have to decide whether it’s worth it, staying in Clancy Vail.”

  The baron blinked and Daum thought he hadn’t expected that. Though, why he wouldn’t have was a mystery. Daum had heard that some merchants left the town when the rents had been raised in the past. Even though that was back in his father’s time, you’d think he must’ve known about it… Or, did he think he was immune to such reactions?

  After a moment, the baron gave him a nod back. “That’s up to you, of course. But I’d be careful heading out on the road. It’s dangerous out there… away from the protection of the guardia.” He pivoted and strode out of the tavern.

  Daum thought he should feel relieved to be rid of the man, but found he really wanted to break something. He saw Kazy go into the kitchen. Daum raised his voice and spoke reassuringly to the patrons. “Sorry about that little unpleasantness. I’ll stand you a round of beers, half off.”

  A little cheer went up amongst the drinkers. Several of them got up and headed toward the bar intent on collecting. A man in the back called out, “I for one would be happy to come outside the walls to visit this establishment.” A chorus of others agreed.

  Daum was startled by the idea. He’d thought leaving the city would mean moving to Murchison or some other place. But the rents are far lower outside the walls, aren’t they, he mused thoughtfully.

  He finished serving half-price beers to those who wanted them, then wondered, What’s happened to Kazy? Anxious to get her take on the baron’s psyche, he headed for the kitchen himself.

  Just as he was about to push open the door, he heard Kazy speaking soothingly, “Calm down. It’s way too early to be getting so upset. We don’t have any idea what’s going to happen yet.”

  Daum stopped, hand on the door. He felt guilty about eavesdropping, but it sounded like they were talking about something he needed to know.

  Next came Nylin’s voice, sounding stressed, “But all our money’s invested in the tavern. If the baron drives you to bankruptcy, he’ll be breaking us too. Of course we’re worried.”

  Kazy continued in even reassuring tones. “You’re right, you should. But you can’t afford to fly off the handle every time we get a bit of bad news. We’ll all work together to decide how to deal with it. Between us, I’ll bet we can come up with several possible solutions.”

  “If we have to move to another city,” Grace said, “that’ll require huge expenditures. We’ll lose all the money that’s been invested in the building here.”

  Sounding as if she’d already thought through all of this, Kazy said, “No, no. We’d sell the building to someone else.”

  “No one’ll buy a building that’s on property with double rents!” Grace said somewhat frenetically.

  “Don’t worry.” Kazy said calmingly, “These buildings are mounted on skids so they can be moved from one property to another.”

  “What?! There aren’t enough horses in the city to move this whole building!”

  “The rooms separate from one another,” Kazy said soothingly. “You move them one at a time.”

  They come apart? Daum thought. He turned his eyes to the doorframe that led into the kitchen, realizing that it was wide enough to bridge two walls—one for the dining room and one for the kitchen. I’ll be damned! He thought with surprise. He looked up, wondering how they kept water from leaking down between the walls and into the doorframe. I’ll have to check that out later.

  He had another thought, If we move, I’ll bet we could arrange the rooms better.

  Hearing no more upset voices from the kitchen, Daum pushed the door open and stepped inside. Kazy had her arms around Nylin and Grace, comforting them despite the fact she was the younger. She looked at Daum, “They heard what the baron said. They’re worried about their investment.”

  Daum nodded. “I’m worried too, but we’ll figure something out.” He turned his eyes to the two young women, “Don’t get too upset. We’ll all get together later tonight and talk about it, okay? Between now and then you should try to come up with ideas about how to deal with this problem. If you’re going to be businesswomen, you’ll need to learn to deal with setbacks.”

  Nylin and Grace nodded, looking thoughtful.

  Daum gave Kazy a meaningful look, “Can we talk for a moment before you go back upstairs?”

  “Sure,” she said, shucking out of the apron. “I’ll be right out.”

  Daum stepped back out to the bar and served two more patrons who’d come up for their half-price beers. When he turned back Kazy was standing beside him. Glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to hear, he said, “What’d you think?”

  She scowled, “He’s telekinetic and his mind’s a cesspool. His other wives are frightened to death of him because he chokes them by freezing the air movement in their tracheas. You remember one of his wives died? That’s because he choked her to death. And the way he thinks about sex…” She looked up into Daum’s eyes, “You know I can hear people thinking about sex but try not to? Well, some of them get excited and start thinking so ‘loud’ I hear it whether I want to or not. And the things some of them think are… disgusting.” She looked away, “You also know I don’t just say that because of my tender years. After all the times and all the ways I was raped, I’m pretty jaded to the whole thing. Most people think about sex a lot and I’ve gotten so used to it I hardly notice.” Her expression turned ugly, “But that man…
most places he’d hang for the things he’s done, much less the things he thinks about.”

  Daum rubbed his eyes and wondered for a moment whether he should try to say something comforting about all the times she’d been raped at the hands of the raiders. But they’d already talked about it so many times in the past… He looked up at her, “Sorry about what’s happened to you. You changed him then?”

  “No.” She shook her head, “I said I wouldn’t change people against their will unless other people, people I respect, think I should. I need some restraint to keep me from just modifying everyone that irritates me.”

  Daum drew back in surprise, “You changed that big drunk who was coming after me!”

  She gave him a startled look, then barked a laugh. “Your thoughts were loudly proclaiming how much you thought he needed to be changed. So, yes I did change him, ‘at your insistence.’” She chewed at her lip, “Though I’ve been thinking I should probably have more than one person give me permission to change someone. For instance, you definitely had a vested interest in having that guy changed. I probably shouldn’t be changing people for one person’s convenience either, should I?”

  Feeling thunderstruck, Daum said, “Your own thoughts should figure into it as well. After all, you’re the one who’s been in their brains and who best knows whether or not they should be changed. You probably better than anyone. And, you should take into account whether they’re a danger to someone else at the moment too.”

  Kazy snorted, “You should’ve seen the look on your face. Trust me, there were all kinds of people in the bar that night who thought that guy’s personality needed to be altered. So I was already following any ethics that’d require me to have myself and several other good people decide someone needs to be changed before I do it. If there hadn’t been a consensus that he needed to be changed I could’ve just put him to sleep until more people could weigh in.” She tilted her head, “Of course, if the person wants to be changed, I do it without getting other people’s opinions. Someone who’s depressed and wants to be changed so they won’t be depressed; I think they have the right to decide for themselves.”

  “Well, the baron needs to be changed. I don’t think there’s any doubt about it. He needs to start caring for his subjects and… You say he killed his wife?”

  Kazy nodded. “I got the impression he’s killed quite a few other people too. I just didn’t have time to search his memories for all of them.”

  “Maybe Tarc should take him out. It doesn’t sound like he deserves to just be changed and allowed to live on.”

  “Maybe,” Kazy said thoughtfully, staring down at the floor, “though having Tarc plant a knife in his eye might get traced back to us. Daussie could do it without anyone knowing it was her.” Kazy looked up, “We should all talk about it. We need to ask Vyrda too because she knows the people around here. I keep thinking about Realth and the fight over succession when the king died… supposedly quite a few people got killed. If killing this guy results in a lot of other people dying, maybe changing him is better for everyone.”

  “Yeah,” Daum sighed, “we should definitely talk about it.” Kazy turned to leave but he stopped her, “You said the baron’s telekinetic?”

  Kazy nodded, “Though, as far as I can tell, all he does with it is choke people. Well, he’s choked animals too.” She shook her head, “He may use it for other things. As I said, I certainly didn’t have enough time to go through all his memories.”

  Daum stared at her, “He must! How could he be telekinetic and only use it to choke people?”

  Kazy snorted, “Seems like I’ve heard you had telekinesis for years and only used it to guide arrows and balance knives on the bar?”

  Daum found himself embarrassed. “That’s… so true. All the other things it’s good for seem so obvious in retrospect that I just feel like I’ve been doing them all along.”

  “I know how you feel,” Kazy said. “I keep worrying there’s something I’m missing about how to use my telepathy.”

  Chapter Seven

  Daum looked around at his family. “Let me make sure you’re all up to date—”

  Kazy interrupted, “You’re having this meeting without Nylin and Grace? They’re counting on being here when we make decisions that affect their investment.”

  Daum nodded, “I know. However, there are some things we can’t talk about in front of them—”

  “Such as?”

  He looked at her for a moment, then patiently said, “Whether or not we should kill the baron? If we decided to, who’d do it and how would it be done? Whether you should adjust his personality?”

  “Oh,” Kazy said, the fire that’d been in her voice for the first two objections was gone.

  He looked around, “As I was saying, let me make sure everyone knows what happened today.” He quickly described the events with the baron and what Kazy said the man’s mind was like. “She can describe it to you more fully, but from my viewpoint, the man’s a sociopath desperately in need of a conscience.” He glanced at Kazy, “Obviously, it’d have been much simpler if Kazy’d done that this afternoon… but Kazy has a conscience…” he shrugged, “so she didn’t.” He eyed Kazy, “Any additional comments?”

  She slowly shook her head, “He’s horrible, but I think we all kind of thought that already.” She glanced around at the others, “Daussie’d already come to that conclusion just from the way he acts. She didn’t need a trip through the horrifying sewer of his mind to convince her.”

  Tarc sighed, “If he’s that bad, why didn’t you just do it when he was here? It would’ve been… so much simpler.”

  Kazy smiled, “I think you had some kind of fit of conscience about killing people with your own talent?”

  Looking caught out, Tarc slowly nodded.

  Kazy looked him right in the eye. “Trust me, every man has his fantasies. And to some degree or another, they’re not cool.” When Tarc started to blush, she said, “Since I try to keep from listening in on anybody’s mind unless asked to do so, and I especially try to avoid the thoughts of the people I live with, I’ve only had a few faint brushes with yours… and they’re nothing compared to a lot of the stuff I’ve been exposed to. Of course, I know you’re at least a little bit embarrassed about them, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want me altering your mind so you can’t have them…?” She waited long enough that he, eyes on the floor, eventually gave a little nod of his head. “You, I believe, have decided that it’s okay to use your talent to kill people whom you know have committed capital crimes, or are about to?”

  Tarc nodded, but still didn’t speak.

  “I think that’s reasonable, but with my talent, there isn’t a list of… ‘mind sicknesses’ the general public’s already agreed justify someone like me making… ‘alterations.’ I think I need some kind of external jury, or something… so I don’t make these decisions all by myself.” She paused, then said almost inaudibly, “To keep myself sane.”

  Silence reigned in the room, then Eva said, “I think one of the ancients’ sayings applies here. They used to say, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’”

  After a moment’s thought, Kazy nodded. “Exactly. I think I need someone else to share the responsibility. To be a checkrein on this… power.”

  Tarc looked up, his blush fading. With a wry grin, he said, “Okay, okay. I agree, you should leave my fantasies alone.”

  Daum quickly said, “Agreed. I’d like to try to get this meeting back on track. Are we also agreed that Kazy should try to give the baron a conscience the very next time she gets an opportunity?”

  Daussie said, “Wait a minute. He killed his wife, right? And probably some other people. Those are capital crimes. By Tarc’s criteria, he deserves capital punishment, not an ‘adjustment.’”

  Eva shook her head, “There’re other issues with that decision. Daum asked me to feel out Vyrda on how issues of succession are decided here in the barony. Even with an obvious heir, when the last bar
on died,” her eyes shifted over to Kazy, “by choking on his food… there were two usurpers who rose and tried to kill his son, the current baron. Vyrda says that estimates are anywhere between fifty and a hundred people died during those uprisings.”

  “So, you’re saying he killed his own father as well as his wife!” Daussie said, sounding outraged. “And he gets off with an adjustment?!”

  Eva spoke quietly, “Daussie, I know you have reason to despise the man. But would you really rather fifty to a hundred people died with him? Recognize, since he has no heirs as yet, there’ll be a battle royal over the baron’s seat and far more people will probably die than last time. And, whoever does inherit the barony may be just as bad as this guy.”

  Sullenly, Daussie grumbled, “That’s impossible.”

  Eva laughed, “Don’t be so sure.” She leaned forward and took Daussie’s hand, “And, remember that Kazy’s made some pretty astonishing changes in the few people she’s worked on. It may be that the best baron Clancy Vail can get, would be this guy after Kazy makes some changes. I guess I’m pushing you to think of what’s called the ‘greater good’—where what really matters is what does the most good for the most people.”

  Daussie grinned cynically, “You mean my vengeance isn’t the most important thing?”

  “Oh, come on.” Eva laughed sadly, “All he did was have bad thoughts about you. If we gathered a jury to consider that offense, he wouldn’t get any punishment at all.”

  Daussie snorted shaking her head, “Okay, adjust away.”

  Kazy said, “Shall I go get Nylin and Grace?”

  Tarc said, “Wait one. I think we should discuss an idea I’ve been considering before we get them involved.” He looked around but nobody objected. “I think we should move the tavern outside the wall and put it right on top of that stairwell that goes down into the ancients’ facility.” He looked around at the widening eyes of his family. “Here’re the advantages.” He started raising fingers one after another: “The taxes, uh, I mean, rents are much lower outside the wall.” He lifted another, “We’d be able to get in and out of the facility without anyone knowing about it.” Another, “We could close off the far end of it, then stop paying rent on the land out there.” He turned to Eva, “If Mom ever does get her medical school going, they could do their training in those lighted rooms and use the labs down there.” He lifted another finger, “Maybe someday, after everyone knows about it, Mom’s hospital could even be down there.”