by Sharon Green
"So there's a third option beyond keeping her under control and killing her," Kail said with a somber nod. "I can't say I like it any better than the first two options, but I also can't deny the necessity. Making other people pay for our squeamishness can't be considered fair."
"Not when we ourselves have nothing to worry about," I agreed. "Honrita Grohl can't take over any of us, so we feel tempted to be lenient to spare our consciences. But it's better to have an aching conscience than to leave those who can't protect themselves to be victims to someone's madness."
"But what about the man Ayl?" Issini asked, just as concerned as the rest of her Blending. "Is it possible to take away his talent?"
"I'm not certain, but I don't think it matters," I answered slowly. "Holdis Ayl is so deeply insane that we probably won't be able to do anything to reclaim him. He's very much a danger to those around him, and due to his previous actions the courts will probably have him executed. I can't say I'm sorry."
Most of the others nodded their agreement, but that was all the time we had to talk. Suddenly there were five other people in the room, and the rest of us got quickly to our feet.
"How about that, we made it," Lorand said happily while Vallant headed straight for me. "We all had to really believe we would make it, but once we got past the doubt there wasn't a bit of trouble. Would you like to introduce us to your guests, Tamrissa?"
"I'll be glad to," I answered, really enjoying the feel of Vallant's arms around me. "Driff, Idresia, Edmin, Issini, Kail, and Asri, these are my Blendingmates."
"And now it's fairly obvious why you're the Seated Blending," Asri said as she and the others stared with wide-eyed expressions. "Even if other Blendings will be able to do the same, you can do all these things right now."
"But we won't be the only ones for long," Jovvi said with a smile as she came over to touch my arm. "We'll have to have the classes pass on what we've learned, or we'll have a lot of panicky Blending members descending on us when their own changes start. But right now we have a different problem, so how are we going to tackle it?"
"I've been thinking about that, and I've decided that we shouldn't all go together," I said, reluctantly stepping away from Vallant. "I'll go and take a look at Wilant and his Blendingmates, and if I'm not immediately frozen then I can send what I see back to the rest of you. Until we know that I won't be taken, we shouldn't make an attempt to link up."
"Why do you have to be the one to go?" Vallant said, rather predictably, I thought. "I can do any lookin' around as easily as you can."
"But I'm still our primary protector," I pointed out, touching his face in silent thanks. "We may all be able to use each other's talents, but the one who had the talent originally is still the strongest wielder of that talent. Which means that I'm the one who has to go."
"I was about to voice my own protest, Vallant, but it has come to me that Tamrissa is right," Rion said as Vallant parted his lips to argue. "She is the Blending's protector, and for that reason has the best chance to resist whatever it was that took the other High talents. Our own chances would be just that much less, which might make the difference between success and failure."
"And we can't afford to fail, not with so many lives in the balance," Vallant said after a brief hesitation, obviously hating the conclusion but still making it. "All right, I withdraw my objections."
"Thank you, love," I murmured with a kiss to his cheek, and then I turned to Driff. "All right, now's the time I get to see Wilant and the others lying down on the job."
"Sitting down, actually," Driff corrected with a faint smile. "As far as I can tell they're all still in good health, but that can't continue for much longer. If you find that we can help in any way, just tell us how."
"If I can figure out what help to ask for, you'll be the first to know," I assured him. "But give me a moment and I'll be right with you."
At first I'd intended to simply walk out, but I quickly realized that I couldn't. Instead I went to my loved ones, and spent a moment giving each of them a hug and a kiss. I'd missed them terribly even during the short time we'd been apart, and they seemed to feel the same about me. The reaffirmation of our closeness strengthened me, so that once I finished with Vallant I really could turn and walk out.
It wasn't far to the meeting room where Wilant and the others sat unmoving. Two guardsmen with strong Middle talent stood in front of the door, both of them firmly in touch with the power. I realized then that almost everyone in the palace now touched the power constantly, but then the door to the meeting room was opened and all other thoughts left my mind.
Wilant Gorl and his five Blendingmates sat around a large table, each one looking down at a large book as though immersed in reading. But no one ever got that engrossed in a book, not to the extent of looking as though they were covered with dust.
"You see?" Driff said from just behind me. "They're still in perfect health, but even our Blending entity can't get through to them."
"There's a very good reason for that," I said as I stared at the six victims. "You probably can't see it because you didn't mention it, but there's a … shell of some sort around each of them. Now all we have to do is figure out who put them in those invisible shells, and convince the someones to take the shells off again. Should be nothing to it."
Driff and the others behind me exclaimed in surprise, but learning about the shells wasn't the last startling revelation. Even as I watched, the shells faded and disappeared, and Wilant Gorl suddenly looked up.
"Hey, it's Tamrissa!" Wilant exclaimed, starting to get to his feet. "If she's here, then the others also ought to be - "
His words broke off as he fell back heavily into his chair, clearly finding it impossible to stand up.
"Just stay there until I can have a good look at all of you," Driff ordered as he moved past me into the room. "You can't expect to move so quickly, not after all the time you've been sitting in one place."
"But it's only been five minutes," Oplis Henden protested after failing at his own attempt to stand. "And how did you and the others get back here without anyone knowing you were coming, Tamrissa? What is going on?"
I parted my lips to answer him, but suddenly the room began to swirl around me until everything went dark.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
But I didn't lose consciousness, and an instant later there was light again. In fact I was back in my sitting room, and my Blendingmates were standing all around me. My sudden arrival startled them, and then we were all put off balance when a complete stranger appeared only a few feet away. The stranger was male and a bit smaller than our own men as well as a few years older than us, with brown hair and eyes and showing a friendly smile.
"Good morning, brothers and sisters," he said, his voice as friendly as his smile. "I'm delighted that it's finally time for us to meet."
"I'm glad someone is delighted," I said, beginning to get really annoyed. "Would you like to tell us who you are before I show my own lack of delight?"
"Now, now, Tamrissa, let's not lose our tempers," the stranger scolded with his amusement increasing. "I'm not quite up to your strength either in attack or defense, so I would prefer to keep this meeting amiable. My name is Drees Allovin, and I'm here to answer some questions for you."
"Then let's start with the most obvious question," Jovvi said, her usual outgoing calm conspicuously absent. "Your comment to Tamma suggests that you know us, but we've never seen you before. Would you like to clear up that little mystery?"
"That's what I'm here for," Allovin agreed in what seemed to be his usual open and friendly way. "Why don't we get some tea and then sit down? This could take a while."
"Why don't we get some of those answers first instead," Vallant said, his tone making it clear that he wasn't going to be moving from where he stood. "We're still waitin' to hear how you know us."
"I know you because I've been watching and helping out when I could ever since just before you all came to Gan Garee," Allovin said, and
his own tone had turned gentle. "I wasn't alone doing that, but I was put in charge after the first ones saw you safely to that point. The first ones were getting on in years, so they let younger people take over then."
"When he said 'first ones,' I got an odd flash," Naran put in suddenly, her gaze unfocused. "Did anyone else see the same?"
"Yes, I did," Lorand agreed with a frown. "It looked like someone moved aside a curtain I didn't know was there. What does it mean?"
"It means that we no longer have to hide from your formidable talents," Allovin said with a very wide smile. "It took quite a few of us to keep you from finding out about our presence, but there are very good reasons why we couldn't let you know we were there. If you thought you were chosen to lead the people of this continent into their birthright, you never would have become as close as you have."
"There's that word 'chosen' again," Rion said, the sour annoyance in his voice an excellent match to the way I felt. "Are you trying to suggest that the Guild is right about our being 'chosen'? We don't happen to agree."
"But the Guild is right, only not in the way they believe," Allovin said, his smile still strong. "It was your ancestors who were chosen, brought together on purpose so that they would eventually produce the Blending members that would be needed at this time. Our people knew that only the strongest and best would be able to succeed in this time of upheaval and change. We needed you, but before I get to the details I'm going to sit down."
He walked to a chair and sat, then heaved a sigh.
"This would be easier with a cup of tea in my hand, but your suspicion is understandable," he said. "Everyone has been trying to use and/or manipulate you since you first got to this city, and trust won't come easy. Let me start by saying that I come from a place that has almost nothing but full Blendings, and our society has been around for hundreds of years. And now you should be asking yourselves why you've never heard of us."
"We're not the only ones who have never heard of you," I pointed out. "Those invaders we just defeated never heard of you either, not even when they were killing and taking over all those innocent people. If you and your people are full Blendings, why didn't you stop them?"
"We were just about to, when some of us realized that we couldn't," Allovin said, all amusement suddenly gone. "If we'd stopped them then they'd never have been able to try spreading out to this continent, and two things would also never have happened: the Gracelians would never have been forced to change their political and social arrangements, and you six would not have pushed forward at the rapid rate that you did. Without antagonistic opponents possessing great strength and using a different method of Blending, how long would it have taken you to find what Blending is really meant to be?"
He looked at each of us in turn when he asked that question, but there weren't any quick answers offered back.
"I think you can see more of the whole picture now," he said with a nod. "Or at least more of it than you did. It's fine to talk about the 'greater good,' but it's hard to remember that millions of lives are involved while you watch hundreds and thousands die. The only reason we were able to stand by and simply watch those invaders take over various places is that the initial killing stopped rather quickly. They were - and are - more interested in taking slaves than lives, using the initial slaughter only as a tool to terrorize. When the terror spread, conquering became much easier."
"What about now?" I asked, still not quite convinced. "Since the invaders have already served your purpose, will we be able to go after them where they live once a few more of our people have reached the point we already have?"
"Sorry, but my own people have a prior claim on that pleasure," Allovin said, his smile back and very wide. "We've already started to move after those pathetic cripples, and in a little while they'll all be captives instead of rulers. Freeing their slaves and returning them to their interrupted lives will take an enormous effort and a lot of time, and you six don't have any effort and time to spare."
"You've decided we have something else to do?" Lorand put in, his expression showing nothing of his feelings. "What might that something else be?"
"We're not the ones who have made the decision," Allovin said, holding up one hand. "What you have to do is continue on with what you've already started, which is spreading knowledge of Blending techniques and building on that foundation. I can't tell you much about what you'll discover, because we don't want to limit the possibilities. We'll give you a hand every now and again, and if you come up with something we don't have we'd appreciate being able to share it. But there is one point you'll never have to worry about again."
"What point is that?" Naran asked while I tried to decide whether I believed the man. "The possibility that our lives will ever be free of complete chaos?"
"No, and that's another thing you won't have bothering you," Allovin said behind a small laugh. "Things will begin to settle down for you very soon now, and you'll be able to guide those coming after you to full Blending - and investigating what can be done with the state. The point I meant involves making your offspring and those of your supporters into something other than a spoiled nobility."
"You're willing to tell us how that can be done?" Jovvi asked, only just beating me to asking the same. "If you do, I'm willing to forgive quite a lot."
"There's no need for you to buy the information, because you already have it," Allovin said, and his smile had turned warm and sharing. "It's the state of full Blending itself that will provide everything you need. Your children and those of your followers will be raised with love and the standards of fair play, two essential ingredients for producing people who are healthy in mind as well as in body. You'll accept your children for what they are rather than what you or someone else imagines they should be, and you'll be proud of even their smallest accomplishments. In that way they'll grow up expecting to surpass what their parents accomplished, but if they don't the lack won't bother them. They'll know they're loved and accepted anyway."
"It can't be that easy," I said, the words coming out flat. "If it was, there would be a lot more people having untroubled children."
"But it just may be that easy," Vallant disagreed before Allovin could speak. "My own parents raised competent, lovin', and capable children, and we all knew they were there for us even if they happened to be away visitin' somewhere. One of my brothers wasn't quite as … all-around capable as the rest of us, but that never mattered. My father worked with him until he found somethin' my brother was good at, which happened to be nothin' more than keepin' things neat. So our father found my brother a job goin' from business to business in town, tellin' people the best way to keep their places neat. It worked out well, and my brother did the same for us without charge."
"Proving that even the smallest of talents can be put to good use if someone takes the trouble to try," Allovin said with a nod and another smile, but then the smile disappeared. "The only ones you'll have trouble with are those who, for some reason, are born with … odd differences inside them. You'll find it possible to heal some of those children, but the ones you can't… You'll have to decide for yourselves what to do with them, but one thing you won't be able to do is let them live among you. It won't be good for you or for the children."
"Let's not think about that right now," Lorand said once we'd all exchanged uneasy glances. "We've had enough trouble lately that we don't need to borrow any from the future. Instead let's get back to getting some of our questions answered. Allovin, you said that our ancestors were chosen instead of us, but just how did your people do that? And what about those 'signs' that were supposed to indicate the Chosen Blending? Were your people responsible for those?"
"Yes, we were the ones who produced the 'signs,' all of them," Allovin admitted with a chuckle. "The first sign had to be public so that you would have the support of the Guild when you needed it, and the rest of the signs came when you six needed the bolstering. Even Naran experienced some signs, although I know she never talked about the
m. At first she didn't realize their significance, and later, when she did, she decided not to make the rest of you even more upset than you were."
"You used the Sight to guide you," Naran said abruptly, as though just realizing the truth. "You knew we would need help when we came back to Gan Garee to face the usurpers, so you provided for that help well in advance. Can your people really see that far into the future?"
"It's less a matter of Seeing than of separating out the probabilities," Allovin told her, and now his smile looked encouraging. "The method takes a lot of people working together, and then the probabilities have to be linked to their various possibilities. Once you understand that … taking a drink of water at the wrong time, for instance, can lead to the deaths of a hundred people, you start to learn what to do and what not to. We'll get you started on the right track with that, as soon as you have enough full Blendings to get somewhere with the method."
"Does that mean you determined you'd get the Blending members you needed if certain people were paired off?" I asked, having been thinking about the question. "If so, you're saying you forced people together for your own ends. And that's your idea of doing something good?"
"No, that isn't our idea of doing something good, so we didn't force anything," Allovin stated, all amusement now gone. "We determined which pairings would produce the best results, and arranged for the individuals involved to meet. We did that with ten times the number we actually needed, because we knew that not all the pairings would be made. We did that over and over for two hundred years, and at last got the members of your generation. You may have noticed that you're not the only ones who are third level High talents. You just happen to be the strongest of them, and we did have a hand in bringing all of you together. If you hadn't matched each other so well, we'd never have encouraged the arrangement. But you blended as individuals before you ever Blended formally, and that's when we knew we'd found success."
